Droplet digital PCR assays for the quantification of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from environmental DNA collected in the water of mountain lakes.

ABSTRACT: Classical methods for estimating the abundance of fish populations are often both expensive, time-consuming and destructive. Analyses of the environmental DNA (eDNA) present in water samples could alleviate such constraints. Here, we developed protocols to detect and quantify brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) populations by applying the droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) method to eDNA molecules extracted from water samples collected in 28 Swedish mountain lakes. Overall, contemporary fish CPUE (catch per unit effort) estimates from standardized survey gill nettings were not correlated to eDNA concentrations for either of the species. In addition, the measured environmental variables (e.g. dissolved organic carbon concentrations, temperature, and pH) appear to not in

SUBMITTER: Capo E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6919618 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature