Monitoring river health using a robotic water sampler

Monitoring river health using a robotic water sampler

By Kim Fulton-Bennett

Source: MBARI

9/21/2020

Researchers from MBARI and the US Geological Survey (USGS) recently published a paper showing several ways that MBARI’s Environmental Sample Processors (ESPs) can be used to monitor the health of rivers. The ESPs, which are essentially robotic laboratories, were used to collect and preserve samples of water from the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers. By analyzing “environmental DNA” in the river water, the researchers were able to detect introduced and invasive animals as well as microbes that can cause disease in humans and fish.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is DNA that is released by organisms into their environment in the form of bits of skin, mucus, or bodily waste. In the case of aquatic organisms, this DNA may be detectable in the surrounding water for as long as several days. The goal of this research, as described in the journal Scientific Reports, was to compare eDNA from water samples automatically collected by ESPs with eDNA from water samples manually collected by humans.

Yellowstone River

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