Sampling large geographic areas for rare species using environmental DNA: a study of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus occupancy in western Montana |
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| Authors: | K S McKelvey M K Young W L Knotek K J Carim T M Wilcox T M Padgett‐Stewart M K Schwartz |
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| Institution: | 1. U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, U.S.A.;2. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.;3. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.;4. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.;5. Hellgate High School, Missoula, MT, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | This study tested the efficacy of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling to delineate the distribution of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus in headwater streams in western Montana, U.S.A. Surveys proved fast, reliable and sensitive: 124 samples were collected across five basins by a single crew in c. 8 days. Results were largely consistent with past electrofishing, but, in a basin where S. confluentus were known to be scarce, eDNA samples indicated that S. confluentus were more broadly distributed than previously thought. |
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| Keywords: | distribution eDNA genetics occupancy quantitative PCR |
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