Owen Finnegan ’25

Posted on April 15, 2025

Using Enviromental DNA to Detect and Quantify Atlantic Silversides in Rhode Island
Owen Finnegan ’25, Environmental Biology major
Faculty mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Markert, Biology

Here we test whether eDNA concentrations consistently reflect the abundance of fish in a given area. We compare physical catches to the levels of eDNA in the water using quantitative PCR (qPCR) at three sites in Rhode Island. A native and plentiful species like Atlantic Silversides is the perfect organism to for calibrating our methods as recorded catches of Atlantic Silversides from our collections range from 0-1500+ individuals.

Poster Presentation: Wednesday, April 23, 1:30 – 3 p.m.

16th Annual Celebration Schedule