David Hedrick from Chattanooga Zoo, Dr. Michael Freake and a student from Lee University, and freelance writer Charli Kerns, surveyed for Hellbenders in an undisclosed East Tennessee location. This stream had never been surveyed for Hellbenders before. The fish, mollusk, aquatic invertebrate, reptile, and amphibian diversity at this location was excellent, but yesterday’s trip yielded no Hellbenders…. There was lots of habitat left unexplored. One tool that helps us in our search of difficult habitats is eDNA sampling. Yesterday, we collected a water sample, that will be filtered and that filter will be tested for the presence of Hellbender DNA! This allows us to determine how to allocate research time and conservation resources. This season we received a grant from the Ron Geollner Hellbender Conservation Fund, through the Cryptobranchid Interest Group, to help cover a portion of the expenses of a field study we are conducting along the Cumberland Plateau.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 14:07:32 +0000
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