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Using Environmental Dna To Detect Whales And Dolphins In The New York Bight, S. Elizabeth Alter, Carissa D. King, Emily Chou, Sam Chew Chin, Melinda Rekdahl, Howard C. Rosenbaum

Biology and Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Determining how cetaceans and other threatened marine animals use coastal habitats is critical to the effective conservation of these species. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging tool that can potentially be used to detect cetaceans over broad spatial and temporal scales. In particular, eDNA may present a useful complementary method for monitoring their presence during visual surveys in nearshore areas, and for co-detecting prey. In conjunction with ongoing visual surveys, we tested the ability of eDNA metabarcoding to detect the presence and identity of cetaceans in the New York Bight (NYB), and to identify fish species (potential prey) present in …