This pilot study presents an environmental DNA (eDNA) assay for sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus and brown trout Salmo trutta, two species of economic and conservation importance in the Republic of Ireland. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of eDNA for assessing presence of low-abundance taxa (here, P. marinus) for environmental managers, and they highlight the potential for assessing relative abundance of rare or invasive freshwater species.
Keywords: brown trout; eDNA; qPCR; sea lamprey; threatened species.
© 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.