Erika Burton

Erika joined the lab in 2018 as an 8-month co-op student, where she contributed to a variety of aquatic ecology and field research projects, including field sampling and boat electrofishing for walleye. She later completed an Honours thesis project focused on improving environmental DNA (eDNA) methods for detecting brook trout in streams, including investigating how storm events and humic acids influence eDNA recovery and detection. This work sparked her interest in eDNA applications for aquatic biomonitoring and ultimately led to her MSc research using eDNA in remote freshwater systems in Chile.

After completing her MSc, Erika continued working in the lab as a technician, where she contributed to COVID-19 wastewater surveillance, particularly through qPCR analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples. She was also heavily involved in field-based research activities, including organizing and coordinating field campaigns, preparing sampling equipment, deploying and retrieving field instrumentation, and supporting aquatic ecology field programs.

Erika completed her MSc research, co-supervised by Prof. Barb Katzenback, on the application of environmental DNA (eDNA) for biomonitoring fish communities in remote freshwater systems of northern Chilean Patagonia. Her work focused on rivers draining Volcán Melimoyu, where limited access, high flows, and challenging field conditions made traditional fish sampling difficult or unsafe.

Using eDNA barcoding approaches, she investigated the presence of invasive brown trout (Salmo trutta), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and native puye (Galaxias maculatus) from water samples collected across multiple rivers. Brown trout eDNA was detected at several sites, while Atlantic salmon were not detected and puye were detected only in select locations. At some sites, eDNA sampling was paired with backpack electrofishing to compare molecular and traditional sampling approaches.

Her research demonstrated the value of eDNA as a sensitive, non-invasive tool for monitoring fish species in remote aquatic systems, particularly where conventional fisheries techniques are difficult or impractical. The study also highlighted the importance of environmental conditions, sampling design, and sample handling in interpreting eDNA results and provided a foundation for future use of eDNA metabarcoding to characterize entire fish communities in remote freshwater ecosystems.