A challenge among interpreting eDNA results is uncertainty. Over a decade of experience has shown us that some of the most common questions we receive is, can eDNA reliably detect your species and how much can these detections be trusted?
These are simple questions, but the answers are found across many lines of evidence, including sampling methods, sampling design, assay suitability, and lab and data protocols.
That’s why we built EnviroScore, an in-house tool designed built to bring clarity and transparency to eDNA project scoping.
EnviroScore rapidly analyses your species and delivers a clear, traffic-light readiness score. It brings together genetic, taxonomic, and distribution datasets to assess when existing eDNA methods are, or are not, fit for purpose. By understanding knowledge gaps upfront, we can help you identify clear pathways in your species survey to improve detection confidence.
Boost confidence in your eDNA results with EnviroScore.
EnviroScore quantifies taxonomic resolution at the project scoping stage, providing an early, evidence-based understanding of how effectively a chosen method can distinguish target taxa.
Expertly designed by our genetic and data science experts, this tool brings structure and clarity to what is often an uncertain early phase of environmental DNA project planning. By translating complex molecular and ecological constraints into a practical, interpretable traffic-light score, EnviroScore helps teams make more informed methodological decisions before fieldwork or sequencing begins.
This is an ideal solution if you need to:
- Detect threatened or priority species with confidence
- Justify eDNA method selection to clients, regulators or stakeholders
- Have faced uncertainty around assay suitability for specific species
How EnviroScore works
Public and internal genetic sequence availability: We look at how well existing genetic data represents the full diversity and uniqueness of your species. This also includes checking for closely related and co-occurring species to reduce the risk of false positives caused by gaps in reference databases.
Analysing congeners: Next, we assess closely related species within the same genus whose ranges overlap, helping to ensure accurate detection and reduce the risk of false positives.
Assay performance: Next, we assess barcode sequences to determine which assay offers the most accurate and reliable performance for your species.
Review past detections: We review past detections of your species to provide real-world confidence. This tool looks through our detection database and identifies how many times the species have been detected using these assays.
Your confidence score: At each step, the Matrix provides a confidence rating, along with a calculated overall score.
Learn more in our webinar
“EnviroScore quantifies taxonomic resolution at the project scoping stage, helping determine whether existing methods can distinguish the target, where key data gaps exist, and whether qPCR, metabarcoding, or no molecular approach is most appropriate. It’s a way to bring clarity and confidence into early-stage decision-making.”
Dr Luke Noble
EnviroDNA Principal Scientist
Duration: 45 minutes
What You’ll Learn:
- How this work strengthens project scoping and survey design
- Real-world case studies showing how evidence assessment changes decisions
- Open Q&A with our scientific team