Gene method reveals behemoth migration

Mammoths and huge sharks. Gene sequencing can do more than just reveal diseases. It allows us to follow in the footsteps of Earth’s most enigmatic animals – both modern and extinct.

Water remembers animals

Fish and marine mammals give off a slight quantity of DNA to the ocean due to cells that are cast off via scales, faeces, secretion, etc. Gene sequencing of ocean water samples can detect this evidence and deter-mine which species were on specific locations. In 2016, Danish scientists used the method to monitor populations of the world’s biggest fish, the whale shark, in the Persian Gulf. The analyses allowed them to identify 61 individuals and map out the movements of each shark.

Soil includes ancient DNA

DNA evidence of animals might have been in the ground for millennia. In 2016, sequencing of soil samples from Alaska allowed Danish scientists to find the remains of mammoths, bison, moose, etc. They could see how the animals had migrated from Siberia to America during the most recent ice age.

Intestines reveal fly victims

Gene sequencing of stomach and bowel contents can reveal what an animal ate. After carrying our such analyses of scavenging flies in the Ivory Coast, German scientists found out that the flies had fed on 22 different species – from frogs over porcupines to monkeys. As the flies feed on all types of animals, the analyses can be used to monitor the entire biodiversity of an area.