Images

Smith-Root eDNA sampler collecting and filtering water from a tributary of the Okanogan River. Researchers are looking for traces of environmental DNA from spring-Chinook salmon that were reintroduced in the river. 

USGS biologist Stacy Simanonok captures a bumble bee in a net during a pollinator survey in the grasslands of the North Dakota plains. Researchers are testing environmental DNA sampling methods to determine if this less invasive way to survey for pollinators generates similar results as traditional netting methods.

An endangered rusty patched bumble bee visiting a butterfly milkweed flower at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

A Northern Great Plains grassland in North Dakota photographed during a survey for bees and flowers.

A sea of purple prairie clover in the Northern Great Plains of North Dakota, photographed during a survey for bees and flowers on private property enrolled in a USDA conservation program.

USGS technicians preparing to sample a grassland for bees and flowers in the North Dakota plains. The technicians are counting the number of blooming flowers in a transect.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest Environmental DNA Laboratory designed artificial flowers to attract pollinators. DNA left behind on the flowers can be collected and analyzed as a non-invasive way to survey for pollinator species diversity and abundance.

An endangered rusty patched bumble bee visiting a prairie dock flower on conservation lands in Illinois. The rusty patched bumble bee is the first pollinator species to be listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the continental United States. 

A technician wades in the Jarbridge River, Idaho, to collect water samples for environmental DNA analysis. 

A hand-driven pump can be used to filter water samples when electricity is not available at the sampling site, or when the weight of sampling equipment is a concern. 

If working in a remote location without access to electricity, and willing to carry a rechargeable cordless driver or drill and a peristaltic pump head, this water filtering apparatus can speed up the process of collecting environmental DNA samples when compared to a hand pump.

A technician filtering a water sample from the Boise River, ID using a motorized pump. When water sampling sites are near an electrical power source, or if you prefer to collect samples and transport them to the lab for filtering, a 120-C AC motor unit can be used with a peristaltic pump head to quickly filter samples.

Water samples may be collected for environmental DNA analysis by directly submerging the filter funnel (connected to a length of silicone tubing) into the stream or pond with the pump engaged.

After a water sample is filtered, the filter is folded and placed into a ethanol-filled vial for preservation.

Water samples may be collected for environmental DNA analysis using a sterile collection bottle or sterile sample bag. The water sample is then poured into the filter funnel with the pump engaged.

Disconnected top and bottom units of a filter funnel and the exposed filter membrane, a common apparatus used for filtering water samples for environmental DNA analysis.

Using sterile forceps, filter paper used to collect environmental DNA from a water samples is folded in half four times, then placed in a vial with ethanol for preservation and storage.

A laboratory technician extracts DNA from filtered water samples for eDNA analysis.