week 3 blog reflection
Reflection on ‘Environmental DNA (eDNA) Detection Prbobability is Influenced by Seasonal Activity of Organisms’
This article discusses the important of understanding the context of the species in question being investigated by eDNA. In this case, the Black Warrior Water Dog and Flatwater Musk Turtle. The Black Warrior Dog has a context of being more active in cooler seasons, with the Musk Turtle being more active in warmer seasons. Does ‘activity’ affected by season affect eDNA detection? This paper found that, yes, it does. The paper was somewhat vague on what ‘activity’ was, though. It makes sense that creatures that are moving around or spread out more would be more likely to shed eDNA in more places. Also, if the fish are reproducing in the winter, it would particularly make sense that more DNA would be available. This paper is meant to say that one should be aware of context and history of species to best utilize eDNA population sampling. However, one could also argue that simply using eDNA to sample throughout the year and analyzing the results could also lead to the receiving the data, and making the same conclusions; if one saw larger speaks during winter, one would assume they are more ‘active’ or populous during the winter; one of the first guesses would be that it might the breeding season.