Potential Use of Environmental DNA to Monitor Brook Trout Population Dynamics, Washington Creek, Ontario

The project objectives include testing and application of a non-invasive environmental DNA (eDNA) methodology to determine presence/absence of brook trout fish species in the Grand River sub-watershed. In addition, brook trout population abundance and biomass estimates based on eDNA signal intensity are compared to the relative estimates of abundance/biomass obtained from traditional surveying methods (e.g., electrofishing). This data set is collected for the Pillar 3 project titled “Next Generation Solutions to Ensure Healthy Water Resources for Future Generations”, under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

Stream water collections were conducted on monthly basis to determine seasonal fluctuations in brook trout eDNA. This was contrasted with traditional surveying methods (i.e., electrofishing) with the final goal to explore whether eDNA has a comparable potential to detect seasonal changes in fish biomass and abundance.

Washington Creek stream data – collected using a GPS device to determine exact site coordinates, stream width and depth were measured with a measuring tape and a meter stick, respectively, velocity was determined with a velocity meter;
Washington Creek fish numbers and species identification – Smith-Root electrofishing backpack unit was used for fish collection that were immediately identified by experienced surveyors;
Fish fork length, fish whole body weight – determined using a fish measuring board (cm), whereas body weight was measured using a scale (g);
Washington Creek brook trout quantitative polymerase data (cycle threshold – Ct values), and Washington Creek brook trout eDNA copy numbers – a TaqMan based assay with species specific primers targeting brook trout mitochondrial cytochrome b were used for qPCR amplification.

Servos, M., Katzenbeck, B., Burton, E., Marjan, P., Doxey, A., Craig, P., John, G., Bragg, L., Dhiyebi, H., & Michael, L. (2019). Potential Use of Environmental DNA to Monitor Brook Trout Population Dynamics, Washington Creek, Ontario. Waterloo, Canada: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN). (Unpublished Data).

https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/PDCSearchDOI.jsp?doi_id=13083