Rivers, lakes and wetlands cover just 1% of the Earth’s surface but are home to nearly 10% of all species, including fish, mammals, birds, insects and crustaceans. But these rich, diverse ecosystems are in free fall. Worldwide, species are declining faster now than at any other time in human history, and fresh waters are losing more species than land or ocean ecosystems.
河流、湖泊及地地球表面1%。不，是近10%物的家，包括、哺乳物、、昆及甲物。不，些富、多的生系正在自由落。目前，遍及全世界的物，比人史任何候更快速度少，且淡水物的失比地或海洋生系更多。
Today about 1 in 4 freshwater creatures face extinction. Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. Across the globe, water quality is plummeting, polluted by plastic, sewage, mining sludge, industrial and agricultural chemicals and much more.
今，大四分之一的淡水生物面。地的消失比森林更快速三倍。 遭到塑料、污水、污泥、工及化物等的污染，遍全球的水正直下降。
It’s challenging to study how these stresses are affecting aquatic life. There are many diverse threats, and river networks cover broad geographic regions. Often they run through remote, nearly inaccessible areas. Current techniques for monitoring freshwater species are labor-intensive and costly.
研究此些力如何影水生生物是挑。有多不同威，亦即河流覆泛的地理域。它往往穿偏、乎法到的地。目前，用於淡水物的技，是密集且昂的。
In our work as researchers in ecology, we are testing a new method that can vastly expand biomonitoring: using environmental DNA, or eDNA, in rivers to catalog and count species. Federal and local agencies need this data to restore water quality and save dwindling species from extinction.
在我身生研究人的研究中，我正在一，能大展生物的新方法：使用河流中的境DNA，也就是eDNA，分及物。邦及地方需要些，恢水及拯救日益少的物免於。
This preview of the film “Hidden Rivers” reveals the diverse and little-known life in Southern Appalachian waterways.
影《匿著的河流》的告片揭露了，於南阿帕拉契山水道中，多而人知的生物。
With traditional biomonitoring methods, scientists count individual species and their abundance at just a few sites. For example, one recent study of mountaintop mining impacts on fish in West Virginia sampled just four sites with a team of four researchers.
使用生物法，科家在少地方，算物及其度。譬如，最近一有山，西吉尼州影的研究，以一支四名研究人的，了四地方。
Collecting and identifying aquatic organisms requires highly skilled ecologists and taxonomists with expertise in a wide variety of freshwater species. For each sample of fish or invertebrates collected in the field, it takes from hours to weeks to identify all of the species. Only wealthy nations can afford this costly process.
收集及水生生物需要，在各不同淡水物方面，有知之具高度技巧的生家及分家。在野外集之每或脊椎物的本而言，需花小到的，所有物。唯富裕家才能得起，昂的程。
Conserving threatened and endangered species and keeping river ecosystems healthy requires monitoring broad areas over time. Sensitive aquatic insects and fish species are the freshwater equivalent of the proverbial canary in a coal mine: If these species are absent, that’s a strong indicator of water quality problems. The cause may be mining, agriculture, urbanization or other sources, as well as dams that block animals’ downstream movements.
保遭威的物，及保持河流生系健康，需著推移，的域。淡水中敏感的水生昆及物，相於煤中所周知的金雀：倘若有此些物，那是水出的一有力指。除了阻物下游活的水之外，原因也可能是、、城市化或其他源。
Scientists sample for fish in a Maryland stream by ‘electrofishing’ – stunning fish with a mild electrical pulse so they can be collected, identified and released after the shock wears off.
科家藉由，使用微弱，以便消退後，收集、及放它的‘流捕法”，在美里州一溪流中，行。
Innovations in genetic technology have created a powerful, affordable new tool that we are now testing. The process involves extracting eDNA from genetic material floating in the water – skin, scales, feces and single-celled organisms, such as bacteria.
在技上的多新，已造出一，目前我正行之功能大、廉的新工具。程涉及，漂浮於水中的物(皮、片、便及胞生物，如菌)中，取出eDNA。
By analyzing this genetic information, we can detect a wide range of species. We started considering using eDNA for our research in 2018, after several studies demonstrated its power to monitor single species of interest or groups of organisms in rivers and oceans.
藉由分析信息，我能探出泛的物。在2018年，了我始考，eDNA用於我的研究。在若干研究後，明了其河流及海洋中，令人感趣之一物或生物群的能力。
Collecting eDNA is easy: One 4-ounce water sample can capture remnant DNA from thousands of aquatic species. Another benefit is that it doesn’t require killing wildlife for identification.
收集eDNA很容易：一4盎司的水本，能千水生物中，得留的DNA。另一好是，它需死野生物，行。
In the lab, we analyze the DNA from different taxonomic groups one by one: bacteria, algae, fish and macroinvertebrates – organisms that lack backbones and are large enough to see, such as snails, worms and beetles. Many researchers study just one group, but we assess all of them at the same time.
在室中，我逐一分析，自不同分群的DNA：菌、藻、及大型脊椎物(骨架且大到足以看到的生物，譬如牛、蠕及甲)。多研究人只研究一群，不我同估所有些生物群。
We then match our DNA sequences with freshwater species that are already catalogued in existing databases. In this way, we can chart the distribution and abundance of these organisms within and across rivers.
然後，我有中，已被目的淡水物，行比我取得的DNA序列。藉由方式，我能出此些生物，在河流及河流之的分度。
This process requires just a cheap filter, a syringe and vials, and anyone can do it. Commercial eDNA companies charge less than $200 to extract and sequence a sample.
程需要一便宜的器、一注射器及一小瓶。因此，任何人都能做到。商上的eDNA公司，取出及排序本的索不及200美元。
1. 此些撰文者溪流中，收集的大多eDNA是微生物的(上中的灰色 DNA)。倘若有特殊技，他不‘’，自其他分群之不常的DNA。因此，他的查生一，如底部左之大多保涉及的群，是太罕而法，也就是落入罕出之‘尾’的物度曲。藉由使用靶向引物(特定生物群特有的短DNA片段)，它能如右所示，大如藻、肢物及等，不太富的群eDNA。 (援用自原文)
Using this method, we extensively surveyed 93 rivers in West Virginia – looking at the entire tree of life, from the tiniest bacteria to fish – in two days with a four-person team.
使用方法，我以一支四人的，在天泛查了，西吉尼州93河流(察最小的菌到的整生命)。
The Appalachian rivers that we study teem with life. These are some of the world’s most biologically diverse temperate freshwater ecosystems, home to many fish species, as well as salamanders, crayfish, mussels and aquatic insects. Many are found nowhere else. We tallied more than 10,000 different species in those 93 waterways.
我研究的阿帕拉契山河流充生。些是世界上生物最多性的一些淡水生系。除了螈、小、及水生昆之外，也是多的家。多是其他地方不被的。我在那93水道中，了1多不同物。
The area where we worked is an intensive coal mining region, which heavily affects waterways. Liquids draining from mines are acidic, but in this region they react with limestone rock, so the net effect is to make local streams alkaline.
我行研究的地，是一重影多水路的密集煤。坑排出的液是酸性的，不在地，它石灰岩生反。因此，效是使地溪流呈性。
Mine drainage also increases streams’ salinity and concentrations of sulfate and other contaminants. Our research revealed that mined watersheds held 40% fewer species than areas without mining operations, and the organisms we detected were less abundant than in unaffected rivers.
坑排出的水也增加了，溪流的度及硫酸其他污染物的度。我的研究揭露，的流域具有比有作地，更少40%的物，且我的生物度比未受影的河流少。
We believe this new approach represents a revolution for biomonitoring, expanding our ability to quantify and study freshwater life. It’s also an important new conservation tool, allowing scientists to track changes in populations of endangered or invasive species. Researchers also can use eDNA to monitor biodiversity or discover new species in oceans or soils.
我，新方法代表了生物的一大革。大了我量化及研究淡水生物的能力。也是一重要的新保工具，使科家得以追踪或入侵物群的化。研究人也能使用eDNA，生物多性，或海洋或土壤中的新物。
This open-science method makes all DNA data widely available, with nearly all sequences placed in public repositories. Moving forward, we expect that it will aid many types of research, as well as state and local monitoring and conservation programs. Investments in collecting eDNA and identifying organisms and analyzing their genetic signatures will continue to make it a more effective tool
由於乎所有序列被放在公共存中，放式科的方法，使所有DNA泛可使用。展望未，除了州及地方的及保之外，我也期待，能有助於多型的研究。在收集eDNA及生物分析其特徵的投上，使其成更有效的工具。
Efforts are underway to better target various individual species, focusing on those that are endangered, invasives that damage ecosystems and sensitive species that serve as indicators of river health. Scientists are freezing eDNA samples at -112 degrees F (-80 C) in expectation that technological advances may yield more information in the future.
行中、更佳定不同物的多努力，著重於那些是、破生系之入侵物，及充河流健康指的敏感物。在期盼技的多步，於未能生更多信息上。目前，科家eDNA本冷在 -112(-80℃)。
Traditional monitoring approaches remain valuable, but eDNA adds an important new tool to the toolkit. Together, these approaches can begin to answer many questions about food webs, the conservation status of species, reproduction rates, species interactions, organisms’ health, disease and more.
的方法仍然有用，不eDNA工具包，增添了一重要新工具。 之，些方法能始回答有食物、物保、繁殖率、物相互作用、生物健康、疾病等，多。
址：https://theconversation.com/scientists-at-work-we-use-environmental-dna-to-monitor-how-human-activities-affect-life-in-rivers-and-streams-164529
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