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UNT’s Zacchaeus Compson has built his research on using environmental DNA (eDNA) — the genetic material shed by organisms — to identify species in bodies of water.

“Fundamentally what I do is like CSI for the environment,” says Compson, assistant professor of biological sciences. “We can take a sample of water, filter it and then analyze the DNA to tell us all of the species present at a specific location.”

Testing for eDNA is increasingly being used by researchers in a range of science fields to measure biodiversity in water. For instance, this approach is helping Compson detect invasive species before they impact ecosystems and identify — non-intrusively — the presence or absence of endangered species to inform conservation efforts for projects funded by the United States Geological Survey and Texas Comptroller, respectively.

“eDNA sampling approaches are being rapidly adopted because DNA allows scientists to collect biodiversity data without having to invade or disturb the habitat of native, sensitive or endangered species,” Compson says.

One drawback to eDNA approaches is that scientists don’t know much about how eDNA moves through ecosystems and degrades, but Compson hopes that will soon change. Gaining a better fundamental understanding of eDNA to fill in that knowledge gap is the focus of his latest project, which is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. Compson is part of a multi-university team of researchers on the project, including collaborators at the University of Alabama and Penn State University.

Over the next five years, the team will analyze the movement and degradation of eDNA in streams from varying ecosystems across the U.S., from Puerto Rico to Alaska. These streams are part of the NSF-funded National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), which is organized by the Battelle Memorial Institute. Locally, Compson and his team will collect samples at Pringle Creek, a core NEON site that runs through the Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands in Wise County.

“Knowing more about how eDNA moves through the environment and degrades can help us be more thoughtful in using this approach for research and conservation,” Compson says.