DNA profiling: not just for forensics

Otters in Britain faced a severe decline in the 1970s due to pesticides and habitat loss. Now protected, their numbers are recovering thanks to conservation and reintroduction efforts, especially in the Norfolk Broads. To better understand these shy creatures, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust has collected otter spraints for DNA profiling, aiming to assess their behaviour and population locations.

Using technology developed by Amgen, you will be given different DNA samples from otter spraints (poo). You will practice micro pipetting techniques first, before digesting the DNA using enzymes. You will then set up the samples for gel electrophoresis to separate out the DNA samples for comparison. If time, you can look at your own sample results, or analyse some prepared earlier to draw some conclusions about otter population ranges.