A DNA detection tells you a species' genetic material was in the water. It does not tell you why. A zebra mussel signal at a busy boat launch could mean an established colony — or a contaminated boat that visited last week. Those two situations call for very different responses, and Live Watch is built to tell them apart.

Live Watch looks for the RNA of one named species, using a targeted assay. Because RNA begins degrading within minutes to hours of leaving a living cell, a positive result is strong evidence the organism is alive and active where you sampled, not just that its DNA passed through.

It also means eRNA cannot be collected the way eDNA is. Valid eRNA sampling requires high-volume pumped filtration to concentrate enough viable transcript signal, and immediate on-site chemical preservation to lock the snapshot before it breaks down. That is what the Osprey platform, supplied by our genomics partner, is built to do.

Use it to confirm, not to screen: after a Species Watch or Lake Census detection, to check whether a treated or removed population is still active, or where a response decision depends on knowing the organism is alive. Sold in sets of three sampling locations — typically the detection site and two nearby.

One of four genetic tests. “Census” reads the whole community; “Watch” looks for one named species. Lake Census and Species Watch read DNA; the two “Live” tests read RNA, which only living, active organisms produce.

• Lake Census — DNA, broad: what lives here?
• Species Watch — DNA, one species: is it here yet?
• Live Census — RNA, broad: what is alive and active right now?
• Live Watch — RNA, one species: is it alive and active here now?

Most lakes should start broad and narrow down: census first, then watch, then confirm. Which genetic test should your lake start with?

Note on methodology: eRNA analysis is not an EPA-approved method. It is a research-grade ecological tool, and results are not suitable for regulatory or compliance use.