FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Several scientific studies using eDNA analysis for GCN have been published, including:

Rees, H.C., Bishop, K., Middleditch, D.J., Patmore, J.R.M., Maddison, B.C. & Gough, K.C. (2014) The application of eDNA for monitoring of the Great Crested Newt in the UK. Ecology and Evolution, 4, 4023–4032. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1272

Biggs, J., Ewald, N., Valentini, A., Gaboriaud, C. & Griffiths, R.A. (2014) Analytical and methodological development for improved surveillance of the Great Crested Newt. Defra Project WC1067.

Biggs, J., Ewald, N., Valentini, A., Gaboriaud, C., Dejean, T., Griffiths, R.A., Foster, J., Wilkinson, J.W., Arnell, A., Brotherton, P., Williams, P. & Dunn, F. (2015) Using eDNA to develop a national citizen science-based monitoring programme for the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). Biological Conservation, 183, 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.11.029

Rees, H.C., Baker, C.A., Gardner, D.S., Maddison, B.C. & Gough, K.C. (2017) The detection of great crested newts year round via environmental DNA analysis. BMC Research Notes, 10, 327. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-2657-y

Buxton, A.S., Groombridge, J.J. & Griffiths, R.A. (2017a) Is the detection of aquatic environmental DNA influenced by substrate type? PLoS ONE, 12, e0183371. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183371

Buxton, A.S., Groombridge, J.J., Zakaria, N.B. & Griffiths, R.A. (2017b) Seasonal variation in environmental DNA in relation to population size and environmental factors. Scientific Reports, 7, 46294. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46294

Buxton, A., Groombridge, J. & Griffiths, R. (2018a) Comparison of Two Citizen Scientist Methods for Collecting Pond Water Samples for Environmental DNA Studies. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 3. http://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.151

Buxton, A.S., Groombridge, J.J. & Griffiths, R.A. (2018b) Seasonal variation in environmental DNA detection in sediment and water samples. PLoS ONE, 13, e0191737. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191737

Griffin, J.E., Matechou, E., Buxton, A.S., Bormpoudakis, D. & Griffiths, R.A. (2019) Modelling environmental DNA data; Bayesian variable selection accounting for false positive and false negative errors. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Applied Statistics Series C, 93, 372. https://doi.org/10.1111/rssc.12390

Buxton, A.S. (2021) How reliable is the habitat suitability index as a predictor of great crested newt presence or absence? The Herpetological Journal, 111–117. https://doi.org/10.33256/31.2.111117

Buxton, A., Matechou, E., Griffin, J., Diana, A. & Griffiths, R.A. (2021) Optimising sampling and analysis protocols in environmental DNA studies. Scientific Reports, 11, 11637. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91166-7

Buxton, A., Diana, A., Matechou, E., Griffin, J. & Griffiths, R.A. (2022) Reliability of environmental DNA surveys to detect pond occupancy by newts at a national scale. Scientific Reports, 12, 1295. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05442-1