Automated eDNA sampler deployed in reservoir to look for invasive golden mussel

SCCWRP and its partners have successfully deployed a prototype device that can automatically collect environmental DNA (eDNA) at a reservoir in San Bernardino County to look for signs of the presence of an invasive mussel species – part of a pilot project exploring more rapid ways to collect eDNA.

The deployment, which took place over a two-week period in August at Citrus Reservoir in Redlands, used an automated eDNA sampler developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) to detect golden mussel. The highly invasive freshwater species has been found in more than a dozen water bodies across California since first being discovered in the San Francisco Bay Delta in 2024; it can disrupt water delivery systems by clogging pipes and pumps in reservoirs.

eDNA, which is the DNA that organisms shed into their environment, offers a promising alternative to traditional field collection and identification of species. Researchers hope that real-time eDNA data from automated samplers could be used to enable routine, early detection of a range of invasive, threatened and difficult-to-observe species.

The Citrus Reservoir eDNA samples will be analyzed in the coming months to look for evidence of golden mussel, as well as fish species of interest.