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Poster Short Abstract

Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) is considered a glacial relict species in Finland. We used environmental DNA to map the presence of unknown populations of arctic charr in eastern Lapland. Citizen scientists collected water samples from 94 water bodies. The study was more successful than expected.

Poster Abstract

When the continental ice sheet began to retreat, ice lakes formed at its edges, such as the Salla Ice Lake in eastern Finnish Lapland. As the lake receded, smaller water bodies formed in its area, enclosing organisms such as the cold- and deep-water species arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), an example of a glacial relict in this area. In this research, we used the environmental DNA (eDNA) to investigate whether unknown relict populations of arctic charr exist in the waters of eastern Lapland.

We used citizen science to collect water samples from 94 waterbodies. We recruited participants through a press release posted on the University of Oulu webpages and several national newspapers. We defined the research area, but within it, we allowed citizens to choose the water bodies themselves, ensuring that no pond or lake was sampled twice. Easy-to-use equipment, rubber gloves, and instructions were posted to citizen scientists. In return for their work, the participants will receive eDNA mapping results of the water bodies they sampled. The study ended up being more successful than we expected, and more people were willing to collect samples than we had equipment for, thus showing high public interest in participating in fish eDNA sampling.

We did not find any new relict populations of arctic charr, but we confirmed their existence in known ponds. These few ponds must be protected urgently before the relict charr disappears.