Rare bird’s detection highlights promise of ‘environmental DNA’

Waterholes visited by the endangered Gouldian finch contained trace DNA that allowed scientists to detect the bird’s presence.Credit: photographereddie/Getty
November 22, 2019
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DNA gathered from remote waterholes in northern Australia has been used to detect an endangered bird in the wild for the first time. The result is the latest milestone in the rapidly maturing science of environmental DNA, in which traces of genetic material from soil, water or ice are used to identify the presence of plants and animals.

Original Article

birds
research
conservation science
endangered species