I
t wasthestorythatcapturedthe
nation’simagination.Lastyear,an
internationalgroupofscientists,
nicknamedtheSuperNatural
Historyteam,hadcomecloserto
solvingoneofthemostenduring
mysteriestheworldhasever
known– doesNessieexist?
Fordecades,therehavebeen
reportedsightingsofa monstrous
creaturelurkinginLochNess.Butthe
enigmaticbeasthasalwaysavoided
detection,despitea numberofserious
investigationsusingthelikesof
submarinesandsonar.In2018,a team
ledbyProfessorNeilGemmell,from
theUniversityofOtagoinNewZealand,
spentseveralweeksontheScottishloch
collectingbucketloadsofwater,which
werehauledbacktoa labfortesting.
Whattheresearchershopedtofindin
thesesamplesweretelltaletracesleft
bythewildlifelivingintheloch– inthe
formofso-called‘environmentalDNA’.
Traditionally,scientistshavekepttrack
ofspeciesusingmonitoringmethodssuch
ascatchingandtagging,orcameratraps.
Buttechniquesliketheseareoftentime-
eDNA
THE NEW
NUMBERS
GAME
EnvironmentalDNAisthelatestgenetictechniquethatlookssetto
revolutionisethewaywesurveywildlifeandprotectbiodiversity.
THEeDNAREVOLUTION
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008wpt
Report Jheni Osman
Illustration Elly Walton
NEWS FEATURE
32 BBC Wildlife May 2020
NEWS FEATURE