We are pleased to announce our recent publication in Royal Society Open Science using eDNA to generate population level sequence data to address the population structure of harbor porpoise in southeast Alaska. Link to the full manuscript can be found here: http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/cgi/content/abstract/rsos.180537 *Abstract:* Determining management units for natural populations is critical for effective conservation and management. However, collecting the requisite tissue samples for population genetic analyses remains the primary limiting factor for a number of marine species. The harbour porpoise (/Phocoena phocoena/), one of the smallest cetaceans in the Northern Hemisphere, is a primary example. These elusive, highly mobile small animals confound traditional approaches of collecting tissue samples for genetic analyses, yet their nearshore habitat makes them highly vulnerable to fisheries by-catch and the effects of habitat degradation. By exploiting the naturally shed cellular material in seawater and the power of next-generation sequencing, we develop a novel approach for generating population specific mitochondrial sequence data from environmental DNA (eDNA) using surface seawater samples. Indications of significant genetic differentiation within a currently recognized management stock highlights the need for dedicated eDNA sampling throughout the population’s range in southeast Alaska. This indirect sampling tactic for characterizing stock structure of small and endangered marine mammals has the potential to revolutionize population assessment for otherwise inaccessible marine taxa. Cheers, Kim -- Kim M. Parsons, Ph.D. Research Biologist Marine Mammal Laboratory NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, WA 98115 AND Conservation Genetics NOAA, Northwest Fisheries Science Center 2725 Montlake Blvd E Seattle, WA 98112 cell phone 206 661 5446 lab phone 206 302 2428 kim.parsons@noaa.gov http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/personnel/nmmlprofile.php?name=Kim.Parsons https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=8unbZEYAAAAJ&view_op=list_wo... [NGOS - Government Contractor for Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC NOAA] "There is no science without fancy, and no art without facts." S.J. Gould