We are excited to announce the award of this project on the occasion of the 350 anniversary of the University of Innsbruck.
Amphibians, comprising caudates, frogs and toads, are mediators between earth and water, as they are born out of the water and migrate into land. However, these admirable animals are highly threatened because of the loss of appropriate habitats, the intense use of pesticides and introduced diseases such as BD, leading to a constant decrease of populations – not only in Austria.
Nature-near ponds and puddles can play an important role as habitats for these endangered animals, thus supporting the survival of amphibians. It has yet been impossible to survey all these small waterbodies for the occurrence of the 13 Tyrolean native species. To date an accurate estimation of their distribution is missing.
And that’s exactly what our current project will make possible: Everybody can participate easily via a water sample of his/her private ponds directly send to us. Based on the analysis of the eDNA in this water, Sinsoma will immediately provide you with the information which species do occur.
