Detection of exogenous lake trout and endogenous spectaclecase DNA in the Big Piney River from an experimental release of lake trout slurry to study eDNA transport, September 2023

This dataset includes eDNA concentrations of water samples from an experimental release of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) slurry used to analyze eDNA transport in the Big Piney River, Missouri. The spectaclecase (Cumberlandia monodonta) was also included as a target species due to the proximity of a known spectaclecase population at the slurry release site. The slurry, a frozen block of ground lake trout, was released on September 26, 2023, at approximately 9:00 am CST. Water samples were collected from transects at 5, 100, 600, and 800 meters downstream of the slurry release site before the slurry was introduced and periodically for 4 hours after slurry deployment.