Examining Environmental DNA in the Peruvian Amazon

Assistant professor of biology Jamie Becker and environmental science major Alexander Kabrich joined a team of teachers, artists, and researchers in the Peruvian Amazon to pilot new methods for capturing and sequencing environmental DNA (eDNA). In collaboration with the ACEER Foundation and the Delaware Teachers Institute at the University of Delaware, Kabrich and Becker traveled to the Loreta region of Peru, where they learned traditional ecological knowledge from the Maijuna indigenous community of Sucusari.

"One of the major things I pulled from this trip is how vast the ecosystems of the Earth can really be. I would recommend this trip to others because it provides a good insight into what I had learned in classes at Alvernia. I was able to apply some of my knowledge directly while in the field," said Kabrich,