AUTHOR=Baker C. Scott , Steel Debbie , Nieukirk Sharon , Klinck Holger TITLE=Environmental DNA (eDNA) From the Wake of the Whales: Droplet Digital PCR for Detection and Species Identification JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science VOLUME=5 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00133 DOI=10.3389/fmars.2018.00133 ISSN=2296-7745 ABSTRACT=
Genetic sampling for identification of species, subspecies or stock of whales, dolphins and porpoises at sea remains challenging. Most samples have been collected with some form of a biopsy dart requiring a close approach of a vessel while the individual is at the surface. Here we have adopted droplet digital (dd)PCR technology for detection and species identification of cetaceans using environmental (e)DNA collected from seawater. We conducted a series of eDNA sampling experiments during 25 encounters with killer whales,