When we move through our environment, we leave traces of our DNA behind. Many of us are aware of this from shows like CSI. People leave their DNA at the scene of the crime, and by sampling and sequencing that DNA, law enforcement can track them down.
Scientists are now using the very same technique to figure out which species have been moving through a habitat. When DNA is sampled from the environment in this way, it is called 'environmental DNA’, or eDNA.
Researchers at the University of Derby, in collaboration with Twycross Zoo, are using eDNA to aid in conservation efforts of the West African chimpanzee.
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West African chimpanzees, a subspecies of common chimpanzee, are not only genetically distinct from other chimpanzees, but they also have their own unique behaviours. They are, for example, the only non-human species known to fashion spears to hunt their prey.
This critically endangered subspecies faces many threats in the wild, from deforestation to commercial bushmeat hunting. Their population has declined by around eighty percent in the last few decades.
Understanding exactly where the chimps live is vital to their conservation. By sampling air and soil in suspected chimp habitat and analysing the eDNA in these samples, scientists can figure out if any of it belongs to chimps – and therefore if chimps live in the area.
“We will be first testing the technique with samples from [Twycross] zoo before testing it on the ground with wild chimpanzees,” Dr Joana Carvalho tells BBC Wildlife.
When the method is ready to use, scientists and zoo staff will travel to Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, to take DNA samples from the environment. These results will then be used to aid in conservation efforts.
There is hope that sampling for eDNA will not be restricted to scientists in the future. “It requires minimal equipment and it is easy to sample,” says Dr Alessia Bani, "making it ideal for citizen science projects including personnel from zoo or reserves, [and] wildlife conservation trusts.”
Excitingly, this method could be used to look for the presence of a whole range of endangered species, not just chimps. eDNA may be an essential tool for conservationists in the future.
Main image: West African chimpanzee/University of Derby, Twycross Zoo
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