Sunday Aug. 6th OLRA held an eDNA sampling workshop kicking off our eDNA project. Ecologist Cameron Von Bratt of Freshwater Ecosystem Services, explained the importance of biodiversity to the survival of all life, especially species like humans and loons who are at the top of their food chains. eDNA analysis makes detecting and monitoring biodiversity much more efficient, affordable and simpler than ever before. Citizen scientists can be instrumental in gathering such data.
Nature Metrics (Guelph) supplied OLRA with 9 sampling kits, 6 of which were used to sample sites where water flows into Otter Lake and Little Otter Lake from other lakes and wetlands. This will give us biodiversity info about our lakes as well as those other water bodies in our watershed such as Salmon Lake, Rankin Lake and Sovereign Lake. (See map here.)
Species on earth are disappearing at an alarming rate. Historically it has been very expensive and time consuming to monitor biodiversity so it did not get done. However, this new eDNA technology is helping to economically identify species that were in water during in the last 24 – 72 hours by identifying their DNA shed in the water.
There is a fast growing database of DNA “fingerprints” of organism worldwide. The samples OLRA collects will be analyzed, contribute to this growing database and also kept on file at Nature Metrics so that they can be re-assessed as new species’ DNA information becomes available. For more info on eDNA analysis check out the Nature Metrics website and video here.
Thanks go to Brian Hindley and Cameron Von Bratt who took the samples and to all who participated in the workshop too (L-R in photo Mary and Richard Hood, Nicole Mailloux, Cameron Von Bratt, Brad Chittick, Brian Hindley and photographer Kerry Mueller). Thanks also go to the Chitticks for the use of their tent and property.
Look for more news on this project in our fall newsletter.