Using environmental DNA to detect an endangered crayfish Cambaroides japonicus in streams

The freshwater crayfish, Cambaroides japonicus , is endangered in Hokkaido, Japan and inhabits burrows. Here, we applied environmental DNA (eDNA) method for evaluating the species distributions with comparing hand-capture method in the headwater streams. We detected the eDNA of C. japonicus from all sites, where we collected C. japonicus , and confirmed that eDNA can be applied to detect burrowing aquatic freshwater crayfish without disturbing their habitats.