Assessing a New Tool for Early Detection of Endangered Turtles on Proposed Transportation Projects

Details

• Creators:
  Davis, Mark ; Costantini, Maria ; Katz, Aron ; Sperry, Jinelle ; Larson, Eric
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Corporate Contributors:
  Minnesota. Department of Transportation. Office of Research & Innovation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Aquatic Life Construction Projects Endangered Species Environmental Monitoring Genetics Sampling
• Publication/ Report Number:
  2025-35
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Minnesota
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Minnesota. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  As turtle populations decline worldwide, there is an increased need for rapid and reliable monitoring of species to meet the need of increased regulatory burdens. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a monitoring tool for rare species is becoming increasingly common, but there is a still a need to optimize methods in the laboratory and the field at a per assay level. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of environmental DNA (eDNA) for detecting Blanding’s turtles and wood turtles across Minnesota. We developed two highly sensitive eDNA assays, sampled aquatic habitats across multiple seasons aligned with key life history stages of the turtles, analyzed occupancy and detection probabilities based on these sampling efforts, and assessed the costs associated with implementing these surveys. Both of our assays are developed up to the “Operational” level on the Thalinger eDNA validation scale and can be used with confidence for detecting turtles. We found that Blanding’s turtles are easier to detect in the late summer and early fall months and are more likely to occupy smaller bodies of water. Individual predictor for wood turtles were weakly supported and would benefit from increased replication targeting this species in future studies. We found that our per sample cost of this study was $79.38, however cost per detection varied with time of year and species. These eDNA assays are rapid, reliable tools for detection of Blanding’s and wood turtles at a reasonable cost and provide potential for greatly improved methods of monitoring these rare species throughout Minnesota.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  1036341 WO2
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4f4962f660169bb95846ca32a3286cd81f611d2c7c4f53719343c9a6bc6e2dc424677cbb2504ee11597aaa9b56a6c44320e0e46c211c9924d884281d03aa180b
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/87597/dot_87597_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.56 MB ]