Local community groups are being invited to get involved in innovative project to capture DNA from creatures living in the River Wharfe, Yorkshire, UK.

The environmental DNA (eDNA) project is a collaboration between Yorkshire Water, the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, University of Sheffield and youth and school groups, which aims to increase understanding of the river and its inhabitants. Volunteers are filtering water from the river, as well as Grimwith and Swinsty reservoirs, to capture DNA that creatures have shed into the environment, enabling researchers to understand what is living in the river without disturbing its residents.

The survey will analyse DNA from water samples taken by volunteers to monitor the species. Nature Metrics, which supplies and processes the sampling kits, will take DNA from the filters, amplify a section of a gene and sequence the DNA. These sequences are then processed to understand exactly which species are present in the samples.

Rachel Naden, invasive non-native species lead ecologist at Yorkshire Water, said: “This project is vital to understanding the health of the River Wharfe and will hopefully give us more information than ever about the creatures, especially the invasive non-native species living in the river. It is hoped the DNA monitoring will further engage citizen science groups and local schools in the area and help them understand what is present in the river in their community, as many of these species often go unnoticed.

“Ultimately, we hope the results will help increase our understanding of the distribution of native and invasive non-native species within the Wharfe catchment. This will help to safeguard the river and Yorkshire Water’s assets from invasive non-native species, which can cause significant harm.

“Knowing what is living in the river can help those using the Wharfe on a daily basis be more aware of steps they can take to protect the creatures in the river and prevent the spread of invasive non-native species.”

The findings will be compared to traditional surveying techniques to understand if the eDNA study provides additional results to what is usually found in the watercourse.

Charlotte Simons, senior catchment partnership officer at Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, said: “There is so much living in the River Wharfe that you just can’t see.

"We are excited to see what the eDNA results tell us about what is living where, for example, how far do signal crayfish stretch? Where are the best and worst areas for creatures? Are there creatures we did not know were there?

“This is the first time we have carried out testing for DNA and we are pleased to work with Yorkshire Water to try this new method.”