iScience: Solving Mount Everest wildlife mystery with eDNA

A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Appalachian State University used environmental DNA (eDNA) to document the breadth of alpine biodiversity at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters) on Earth's tallest mountai.

The research team spent four weeks collecting eDNA from water samples from 10 ponds and streams between 14,763 feet (4,500 meters) and 18,044 feet (5,500 meters.

eDNA searches for trace amounts of genetic material left behind by living organisms and wildlife, providing a more accessible, rapid, and comprehensive method for improving investigative capabilities for assessing biodiversity in aquatic environment.

While Everest's research focused on identification at the order level, the team was able to identify many organisms at the genus or species leve.

For example, the team discovered rotifers and tardigrades, two tiny animal organisms that occur in the harshest and most extreme environments and are thought to be among the most adaptable animals known on Eart.

They also identified pines, which were only found far downhill from where they sampled, showing how wind-blown pollen got into these watershed.

The eDNA inventory will facilitate future biomonitoring and retrospective molecular studies in the High Himalayas to assess temporal changes in ecosystems in this rapidly transforming world as climate-driven warming, glaciers melt, and anthropogenic influences reshape the world's ecosystem.

Dr Tracey Seymon, of the WCS Animal Health Program, co-leader of the Everest Biofield Research Group and leader of the study, said: "Alpine and aeolian environments, often considered barren and virtually lifeless, , but is actually rich in biodiversit.

Dr Marisa Lim, of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said: "We searched for life on the roof of the worl.

Co-leader of the field study, National Geographic Explorers and Research Assistant Professor at Appalachian State University Dr Anton Semon said: "A century ago, when asked 'why go to Mount Everest?', British mountaineering George Mallory's famous answer: "Because it's ther.

By making this open-source dataset available to the research community, the authors hope to contribute to ongoing efforts to build molecular resources to study and track changes in biodiversity on Earth's highest mountain.

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Estimating biodiversity across the tree of life on Mount Everest's southern flank with environmental DNA