eDNA Discovery Day

June 6^th to 7^th, 2026

In the summer of 2025, our lab began testing a simple passive sampler we developed to collect environmental DNA (eDNA). We collected eDNA in the cities of Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo. In Guelph and Kitchener, we detected DNA from Common Freshwater Jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii). To our knowledge this species has never been observed in either of these cities (iNaturalist observations for Common Freshwater Jellyfish in Southern Ontario). Figuring out the best place to look for jellyfish is one goal of our eDNA Discovery Day!

On June 6^th and 7^th, the Hajibabaei Lab and students from the University of Guelph will be hosting eDNA Discovery Day. In the morning of each day, students will be trained at the Arboretum. They will learn how to set up the passive samplers on the first day, and the following day they will be trained on how to collect them. In the afternoons, they will head out into the field to collect their own samples. Students will be sampling the areas of Clythe, Hadati, and Hanlon creek.

A passive sampler that has been resting on a stream bed for 24 hours.

With the data that is gained from these samples, we hope to grow our understanding of the fish present in these watercourses and their distributions. Get a baseline understanding of the aquatic biodiversity in these systems. And, if we are lucky, show that we can find and observe jellyfish in Guelph.