Among other monitoring methods during the Summer School, water sampling for environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis, as well as swab samples from amphibians, was conducted at the artificial reservoirs of the Petzen ski resort in the Geopark Karawanken (Austria) on 15 July 2025, at three different sites.
These lakes serve as water storage for snow production but also represent potential habitats of ecological interest, where environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches can be applied to assess the occurrence of pathogens such as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The primary aim of this study was to detect DNA traces from animals in water and on amphibian skin to assess the potential presence of the chytrid fungus (Bd), the pathogen causing chytridiomycosis in frogs.
As a result of this research, no DNA of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was detected in the tested samples. The positive control confirmed the validity and reliability of the detection system. The absence of amplification in all field-derived samples suggests that the chytrid fungus was not present in the tested amphibian swabs or water samples at the time of sampling. This negative result must be interpreted in the context of ecological variability and potential limits of detection, but the inclusion of a strong positive control ensures that the methodology itself was sound and free of technical errors.
The exercise also successfully trained participants in laboratory skills, including pipetting, DNA extraction, and qPCR analysis, reinforcing both theoretical and practical knowledge of possibilities in environmental monitoring and the spread of environmental hazards. This field campaign successfully demonstrated standardised sampling of eDNA from freshwater reservoirs and amphibians. The data collected provide a solid foundation for molecular analysis within the scope of the HUMANITA project.