What's Living in the Lagoon?
eDNA testing
Although they have not always been appreciated by all people, wetlands are amazing places full of life and biodiversity. What is living in the Grovetown Lagoon? This is a question the Grovetown Lagoon whanau have been wondering and asking about over time. In order to know more of the species living in the Lagoon it was decided to do a trial of eDNA testing. Testing the DNA in the lagoon can show what plants and animals are living in and around the water. The samples cost $225 each. One sample was taken at each of the northern and southern outlets of the Lagoon. The sampling involved syringing water through a fine filter, then sending the preserved filter away to a laboratory for analysis. So what did the results show? The eDNA testing results were interesting, although not conclusive and there was one surprise find. It was hoped that the results may show a wide diversity of fish species and that the Lagoon has some rare secretive indigenous birds, such as the Australasian bittern. Also the plants were tested to show if there were any aquatic weed species that the group was unaware of.
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