The ecology of environmental DNA: how natural history and habitat influence molecular surveillance for rare and invasive organisms

Dr. Eric Larson

Associate Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Abstract

Molecular surveillance of organisms that may be difficult to detect by conventional methods has grown in popularity over the past decade. A variety of related approaches, broadly termed environmental DNA (eDNA), are increasingly applied to monitor for invasive, imperiled, and economically important species across both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Substantial research to date has focused on best practices for the capture, preservation, extraction, and identification of eDNA in the laboratory. But how do environmental conditions or organism behavior and natural history influence the performance of eDNA? I will report a series of short, related case studies on the ecology of eDNA under field conditions, exploring abiotic and biotic contexts that determine when eDNA does and does not work well.