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The Conversation
The Conversation
Wendy Morgado Gamero, PhD candidate in Biology, McGill University

How environmental RNA can give us a real-time picture of freshwater biodiversity

Researchers used environmental RNA in water from Lake Hertel near Montréal to monitor aquatic biodiversity. (Jiaqian AirplaneFan), CC BY

As climate change and human activity threaten freshwater ecosystems like lakes and rivers, it’s more important than ever to know how the species who inhabit them are being impacted. But traditional methods of monitoring species, such as catching animals, are challenging to implement and can miss rapid changes.

What if we could track life without capturing or directly observing individual animals? It turns out we can, by reading the DNA and RNA they leave behind in the water.

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