Asbury Biology Professor and Students Publish Rare Salamander eDNA Research from Great Smoky Mountains National Park

FROM ASBURY LABWORK TO PUBLISHED JOURNAL FINDINGS

Asbury University Professor of Biology Dr. Ben Brammell and students who worked in his lab recently published an article in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology titled: “eDNA monitoring of a rare salamander: The use of eDNA in detection of Eurycea junaluska in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.” Authors included three Asbury alumni who conducted research with Brammell: Sara Brewer ’24, Elizabeth Strasko ’21, and Madeline Cox ’20. Additional authors included Dr. Jarrett Johnson (Professor of Biology, Western Kentucky University) and Dr. David Peyton (Professor of Genetics, Morehead State University).

The group developed molecular tools to detect a rare salamander species found only in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina: the Junaluska salamander, Eurycea junaluska. The tools, called “assays,” allow detection of the salamander from water samples using environmental DNA.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a relatively new technique that enables the detection of species using the DNA they leave behind in water, soil, or even air. eDNA is especially useful in detecting cryptic organisms: organisms that are rare and/or secretive and therefore difficult to detect via traditional collection methods. The first study using eDNA to detect animals was published in 2008. Since that time, the number of eDNA studies published annually has increased exponentially as the technique has revolutionized the manner in which ecological studies are conducted.”

Dr. Ben Brammell Professor of Biology

The Asbury-led research team collected water samples throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which encompasses 816 square miles of rugged terrain, including most of the Junaluska salamander’s range. Samples were field filtered and then analyzed in Dr. Brammell’s lab at Asbury University (AU). In total, the group detected the Junaluska salamander at four of the fifty sites sampled. Occupancy modeling results indicated that elevation, stream size, and east/west location within the park were significant predictors of Junaluska salamander habitat.

In addition to providing novel data concerning salamander habitat and tools for future conservation efforts, the research provides an excellent training opportunity for students.

“We utilized quantitative PCR, gene cloning, synthetic DNA, and Sanger sequencing in the lab as well as command line computer analysis and AI to complete DNA sequence evaluation and occupancy modeling. These tools are universally used in molecular biology today, including in the biomedical sciences,” Brammell said. “So, this provides a great opportunity for students to learn and become competent in these techniques.”    

All three AU alumni who participated in the research are in Ph.D. programs in the sciences. Brewer is a second-year student in the Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Ph.D. program at the University of Kentucky. Strasko completed an M.S. in biology at Western Kentucky University in 2024 and is a second-year student working on a Ph.D. in biology at Auburn University. Cox will start a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Louisville in August 2026.

“I love getting to work with our students,” Brammell said. “The most rewarding part of my career is the opportunity to observe students go through a transformation from enthusiastic but inexperienced young people to competent colleagues that share an interest in and love for science and the natural world. Partnering with them in research is extremely rewarding.”