Explainer: DNA hunters

Genetic clues can tell scientists which organisms have been moving through the environment

“Traces of DNA are left behind by every species everywhere,” says Ryan Kelly. He is an ecologist with the University of Washington at Seattle. He also works at the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Scratch an itch, he says, and you shed skin cells containing your DNA. Pets and other animals leave behind bits of dead skin known as dander. Reptiles shed skin as they grow. There’s even DNA in poop.

“Just like forensic scientists do at a crime scene every day, we are detecting that trail of DNA that’s left behind,” explains David Lodge. He’s a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. And he hunts for signs an animal has been around by scouting for bits of the DNA it had shed. Scientists refer to this genetic litter as e-DNA. Here, the “e” stands for environmental.

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