A groundbreaking new technique, which detects minute DNA traces in water, offers new hope for the protection of rare and endangered aquatic species including Britain's population of Great Crested Newt by making it much easier to find them in the depths of ponds and streams.

In one of the world's first applications of the pioneering new survey method, a Defra-funded research project has discovered that monitoring levels of environmental DNA (eDNA) in water is a remarkably accurate and rapid method for detecting the Great Crested Newt.

Working with the Freshwater Habitats Trust, myAcorn conducted spatial analyses for the Great Crested Newt in relation to ponds in the UK.