Improving Wildlife Surveys Through Environmental DNA – Dr Katy Klymus
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Metabarcoding of Environmental DNA Samples to Explore the Use of Uranium Mine Containment Ponds as a Water Source for Wildlife’, from Diversity, an MDPI journal. https://doi.org/10.3390/d9040054
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About this episode
To understand how human activities impact wildlife, biologists need to know which species are present within a given area. Traditional methods of surveying species are often labour intensive, time consuming, and expensive. However, recent advancements in genetic analysis may provide powerful new survey tools to complement existing methods. Through her research, Dr Katy Klymus at the US Geological Survey tests the efficacy of one such tool, environmental DNA metabarcoding, for identifying wildlife affected by contaminated water sources.
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