eDNA sampling-the lost Syr Darya shovelnose. Kazakhstan, Syr Darya river, Ak Tas area 20.03.2025

Описание: Life-on-earth.ru popular science project

Search for the lost Syr Darya shovelnose sturgeon (Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi) https://www.rewild.org/lost-species/s...
was initialed by Re:wild https://www.rewild.org/ within its search for lost species effort https://www.rewild.org/lost-species

The 2025 expedition (the second expedition)

You may find info on the first expedition in search for the Syr Darya shovelnose sturgeon to the middle stream of the Syr Darya river that occured in 2019 on the webpage of the Life-on-earth.ru popular science project:
https://life-on-earth.ru/amu-darya-an...

and additional info on the Syr Darya shovelnose on another webpage:
https://life-on-earth.ru/amu-darya-an...

The second expedition in search for the Syr Darya shovelnose sturgeon took place from Mrach 12 to March 23 2025 in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and was aimed at environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling along the Syr Darya river and some of its tributaries from the middle stream up to the upper stream as well as at general ecological monitoring of the river for its current suitability as the habitat for such sophisticated fish as the Syr Darya shovelnose sturgeon.

Southern Kazakhstan, Turkistan Region, the town of Kyzylasker area
The Syr Darya river, Ak Tas (the White Rock) area

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.11141...

20.03.2025

Location of the eDNA sampling
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.11389...


The expedition participants:

Dr. Bernie Kuhaida, expedition leader, aquatic conservation biologist, Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute
https://tnaqua.org/conserve/who-we-ar...

Dr. David Neely, associate research scientist, Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute
https://tnaqua.org/conserve/who-we-ar...

Christian Swartzbaugh, University of Georgia PhD candidate working with Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute

Akbarjon Rozimov, PhD candidate, Fish Evolution and Genomics Group, Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Jobir Sobirov, head of Ichthyology and hydrobiology laboratory, Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Sirojiddin Namozov, PhD candidate, Ichthyology and hybrobiology laboratory, Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Alexey Chernyak, Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA), curator of the Rarest Eurasian Sturgeon Species Conservation Programme
https://earaza.ru/programs/

eDNA samples were analysed by Dr. Laura Weldon, The eDNA Concultancy
https://theednaconsultancy.co.uk/