UC Merced Vernal Pool Reserve eDNA Collection

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Laura, Zephyr and I headed out to the UC Merced Vernal Pool Reserve on a gorgeous and warm late-January Saturday morning to participate in a community science bioblitz.  We helped collect soil and sediment samples in the Veranal Pools from which researchers at UC Merced and UCLA will extract environmental DNA.  The scientist will use DNA extraction and sequencing techniques to figure out what lives in the area, from microbes to fungi, plants and animals.  How cool is that?  This collection day was put together by the CALeDNA Project which I found out about through Twitter.  

Zephyr had a great time collecting samples and spotting fairy shrimp.  So did we!

Playa Pool. The largest vernal pool in California.

Looking for fairy shrimp.

Who doesn’t love watching an awesome endangered fairy shrimp swimming in a vernal pool? pic.twitter.com/Q8ZlNBQAcD

— Ryan Hollister (@phaneritic) January 26, 2019

Last, but not least, here's a rough draft high resolution photosphere of the two vernal pools that we sampled.  As you can see, the lighting was very harsh and hazy, so I hope to come back on a clear day to make some great scenes when the Sierras are visible.  Enjoy!