Environmental DNA (eDNA) removal rates in streams differ by particle size under varying substrate and light conditions.

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a sampling tool offers insights into the detection of invasive and/or rare aquatic species and enables biodiversity assessment without traditional sampling approaches, which are often labor-intensive. However, our understanding of the environmental factors that impact eDNA removal (i.e.

Suspended Materials Affect Particle Size Distribution and Removal of Environmental DNA in Flowing Waters.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) in aquatic systems is a complex mixture that includes dissolved DNA, intracellular DNA, and particle-adsorbed DNA. Information about the various components of eDNA and their relative proportions could be used to discern target organism abundance and location. However, a limited knowledge of eDNA adsorption dynamics and interactions with other materials hinders these applications.

Particle size influences decay rates of environmental DNA in aquatic systems.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is a powerful tool for remote detection of target organisms. However, obtaining quantitative and longitudinal information from eDNA data is challenging, requiring a deep understanding of eDNA ecology. Notably, if the various size components of eDNA decay at different rates, and we can separate them within a sample, their changing proportions could be used to obtain longitudinal dynamics information on targets.