WSL Researchers Track Down Rare Newts With Environmental Genetic Tests

(CONNECT) WSL researchers have helped members of the Grande Cariçaie Association (VGC) to track down the great crested newt in the Grande Cariçaie on Lake Neuchâtel, which had been thought to have disappeared for 20 years. To this end, the researchers took water samples from various locations in the wetland and examined them for environmental DNA (eDNA) of the highly endangered newt species, explained WSL in a press release. The term eDNA refers to genetic material that the species in question release into the environment via their skin or excretions.

Using this method, the researchers were able to detect great crested newt DNA at three of the sites studied. The presence of the newts was then confirmed by members of the VGS by visual observation at night.

In earlier, purely scientific experiments with environmental DNA, the researchers had only compared their findings with observational data, some of which had been collected weeks earlier. In the current case, however, it was possible to ensure "that the observations match one to one", Martina Lüthi, post-doctoral researcher in the research group, is quoted in the press release. In tracking down the great crested newt, which was thought to have disappeared, the researchers were also able to apply their method to a nature conservation project for the first time.

According to the researchers, the use of eDNA lends itself to the protection of rare species, as it allows larger areas to be checked for the presence of individual species. Visualized in this way, the habitats of endangered animals could be specifically protected. ce/hs