ECALS: Loading studies interim report October 2013

Here we follow up the loading studies interim report from July 2013 and include results
from laboratory studies assessing the effects of diet on eDNA shedding rates by
bigheaded carps(silver and bighead carp). In order to understand how eDNA behavesin
the environment, we must understand how it enters the system. In our July interim
report, we addressed three of our four hypotheses that could influence the shedding
rate of eDNA by these fish (Table 1; hypotheses A, B and D). We now provide results
from studies that tested the fourth hypothesis (C), cellular debris from the gut-lining
shed via excrementis a major source of shed eDNA.