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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>This release can be found in the USGS Newsroom at: <a href="http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4091"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4091</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%'><tr><td valign=top style='padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt'><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.usgs.gov/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=168 height=62 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.gif@01D02B2A.D3EF4AC0" alt="USGS main page"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>News Release<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></span></div></td></tr><tr><td valign=top style='padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%'><tr><td width="25%" valign=top style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>January 5, 2015 <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td valign=top style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%'><tr><td width="25%" style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Susan Kemp <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width="25%" style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>541-750-1047 <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width="25%" style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><a href="mailto:skemp@usgs.gov"><span style='color:blue'>skemp@usgs.gov</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width="25%" style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Paul Laustsen <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width="25%" style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>650-329-4046 <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width="25%" style='width:25.0%;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><a href="mailto:plaustsen@usgs.gov"><span style='color:blue'>plaustsen@usgs.gov</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Endangered Salmon Population Monitored with eDNA for First Time<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=oc_web&url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID%3D4091&title=" title=""Bookmark and Share" t "><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=83 height=16 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.gif@01D02B2A.D3EF4AC0" alt="Bookmark and Share"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>CORVALIS, Ore. — Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Washington State University have discovered that endangered Chinook salmon can be detected accurately from DNA they release into the environment. The <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320714004509"><span style='color:blue'>results</span></a> are part of a special issue of the journal Biological Conservation on use of environmental DNA to inform conservation and management of aquatic species.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>The special issue contains eleven papers that move the detection of aquatic species using eDNA from concept to practice and include a thorough examination of the potential benefits, limitations and biases of applying eDNA methods to research and monitoring of animals. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>“The papers in this special edition demonstrate that eDNA techniques are beginning to realize their potential contribution to the field of conservation biology worldwide,” said Caren Goldberg, Assistant Professor at Washington State University and lead editor of the special issue.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material that contains the biological instructions to build and maintain all life forms; eDNA is the DNA that animals release into the environment through normal biological processes from sources such as feces, mucous, skin, hair, and carcasses. Research and monitoring of rare, endangered, and invasive species can be done by analyzing eDNA in water samples.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>A paper included in the special issue by USGS ecologists Matthew Laramie and David Pilliod, and Goldberg, looked at the potential for eDNA analysis to improve detection of Chinook salmon in the Upper Columbia River in Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada. This is the first time eDNA methods have been used to monitor North American salmon populations. The successful project also picked up evidence of Chinook in areas where they have not been previously observed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>“The results from this study indicate that eDNA detection methods are an effective way to determine the distribution of Chinook across a large area and can potentially be used to document the arrival of migratory species, like Pacific salmon, or colonization of streams following habitat restoration or reintroduction efforts,” said Laramie.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Spring Chinook of the Upper Columbia River are among the most imperiled North American salmon and are currently listed as <a href="http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=E06D"><span style='color:blue'>endangered</span></a> under the Endangered Species Act. Laramie has been working with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Fisheries Program in the use of eDNA to document the success of reintroduction of Spring Chinook into the Okanogan Basin of the Upper Columbia River.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>The papers of the special issue focus on techniques for analyzing eDNA samples, eDNA production and degradation in the environment and the laboratory, and practical applications of eDNA techniques in detecting and managing endangered fish and amphibians.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>The co-editors, Goldberg, Pilliod, and WSU researcher Katherine Strickler, open the special issue with an <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320714004650"><span style='color:blue'>overview</span></a> on the state of eDNA science, a field developed from the studies of micro-organisms in environmental samples and DNA collected from ancient specimens such as mummified tissues or preserved plant remains.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>“Incorporating eDNA methods into survey and monitoring programs will take time, but dedicated professionals around the world are rapidly advancing these methods closer to this goal,” said Goldberg.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Strickler, Goldberg, and WSU Assistant Professor Alexander Fremier authored a paper which quantified the effects of ultraviolet radiation, temperature, and pH on eDNA degradation in aquatic systems. Using eDNA from bullfrog tadpoles, the scientists determined that DNA broke down faster in warmer temperatures and higher levels of Ultraviolet-B light. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>“We need to better understand how long DNA can be detected in water under different conditions. Our work will help improve sampling strategies for eDNA monitoring of sensitive and invasive species,” said Strickler.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>“These papers lead the way in advancing eDNA sample collection, processing, analysis, and interpretation,” said Pilliod, “eDNA methods have great promise for detecting aquatic species of concern and may be particularly useful when animals occur in low numbers or when there are regulatory restrictions on the use of more invasive survey techniques.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>USGS provides science for a changing world. Visit <a href="http://usgs.gov/"><span style='color:blue'>USGS.gov</span></a>, and follow us on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/usgs"><span style='color:blue'>@USGS</span></a> and our other <a href="http://usgs.gov/socialmedia"><span style='color:blue'>social media channels</span></a>.<br>Subscribe to our news releases via <a href="http://usgs.gov/newsroom/list_server.asp"><span style='color:blue'>e-mail</span></a>, <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/UsgsNewsroom"><span style='color:blue'>RSS</span></a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/USGS"><span style='color:blue'>Twitter</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>###<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=oc_web&url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID%3D4091&title=" title=""Bookmark and Share" t "><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=83 height=16 id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image002.gif@01D02B2A.D3EF4AC0" alt="Bookmark and Share"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>