Experimental and field-based validation of environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring of priority fish species in British Columbian streams

准确确定优先鱼类的分布和丰度对于加拿大联邦、省、市和原住民政府做出明智和可持续的资源决策至关重要。水资源的使用、开采和资源开发项目中的干扰都会对鱼类种群造成影响。这些项目通常需要鱼类分布研究，必须覆盖大片土地和/或多年的鱼类群落和鱼类栖息地监测，这可能是昂贵的，危险的，和/或入侵鱼类样本。维多利亚大学和生态鱼研究有限公司提议评估环境DNA （eDNA）是否可以可靠地用于检测不列颠哥伦比亚省溪流中的低密度鱼类，与传统方法（如电钓或夜间浮潜）相比，效率更高，成本更低。eDNA是一种新的物种检测方法，只需从湖泊或溪流中取一勺水，就能发现感兴趣物种的存在。项目的总目标是建立和应用可靠、标准化的环境dna方法，作为环境咨询业评价资源开发影响的可靠手段。更具体地说，目的是支持创建和使用eDNA工具来监测几种运动鱼类，如鲑鱼和鳟鱼，这些鱼类在当地渔业中很重要，是第一民族社区的优先物种。eDNA测试和统计模型方面的创新将应用于对照实验和实地研究，以将鱼类丰度、分布和生境联系起来。这项工作的结果将为提高对环境影响评估和监测的信心和确定性提供必要的资料，并培训这种变革方法的高素质人员。

Accurately determining the distribution and abundance of priority fish species is essential for informed and sustainable resource decision-making by federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations governments in Canada. Water use, extraction, and disturbance during resource development projects can result in impacts to fish populations. These projects typically require fish distribution studies that must cover large tracts of land and/or many years of fish community and fish habitat monitoring that can be costly, dangerous, and/or invasive to the fish sampled. The University of Victoria and Ecofish Research Ltd. propose to evaluate if environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to reliably detect low density fish species in British Columbia streams with greater efficiency and lower cost compared to traditional methods (e.g., electrofishing or night snorkelling). eDNA is a new species detection method that can reveal the presence of a species of interest simply by taking a scoop of water from a lake or stream.The overall project goal is to establish and apply robust, standardized eDNA methods as a defensible means of evaluating resource development impacts by the environmental consulting industry. More specifically, the purpose is to support creation and use of eDNA tools to monitor several sport fish species such as salmon and trout that are important in local fisheries and are priority species for First Nation communities.Innovations in eDNA testing and statistical modelling will be applied in controlled experiments and field-based studies to link fish abundance, distribution, and habitat. The results from the work will provide essential information for increasing the confidence and certainty in environmental impact assessments and monitoring and train highly qualified personnel in this transformative method.