2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/26/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE FLUVIAL TRANSPORT AND DEGRADATION OF FRESHWATER MUSSEL EDNA | Virtual Platform

LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE FLUVIAL TRANSPORT AND DEGRADATION OF FRESHWATER MUSSEL EDNA

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging tool in conservation used for species detection, but eDNA dynamics within aquatic ecosystems, especially transport and degradation, remain poorly understood. Moreover, it remains difficult to relate eDNA concentrations to biomass or distance to the population source. In this study, we developed one- and two-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality models to examine the longitudinal and transverse transport of freshwater mussel eDNA in the Big Piney River in the Ozarks Highlands region of southern Missouri. We collected high resolution bathymetry and topography data to generate the model geometry along a 2 km river reach. We also collected water surface profiles, discharge, and cross-channel velocity to calibrate and validate the hydrodynamic model. We then coupled the validated hydrodynamic model with a water quality model to simulate the longitudinal and transverse transport and degradation of eDNA from a federally endangered mussel, Cumberlandia monodonta. The simulated results were compared to eDNA field measurements at several locations downstream from a C. monodonta population. The results of this study will help improve the understanding of eDNA fate and transport in aquatic environments and provide insight to relate eDNA to population metrics.

Transport
Geomorphology
Models

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Presenters/Authors

Brandon Sansom (), U.S. Geological Survey, bsansom@usgs.gov;