Traditional techniques to detect the presence and absence of species in natural environments require field-based visual surveys which are time consuming and costly. In recent years, environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a new tool which can reduce the cost and time and is a good complement for visual surveys. In this method, DNA is not isolated from tissues of live individuals but from environmental samples such as water. The use of eDNA is an innovative way for monitoring rare species, species inhabiting inaccessible habitats or for species that are present in an environment only at certain times (eg night habitats). This method is used in the current study to investigate the presence and absence of The Luristan newt (Neurerguskaiser) in its natural habitats. We collected water samples from 14 presence and absence sites and instantly added sodium acetate and absolute ethanol to fix the water samples. DNA was extracted, using IraiZol Kit, then species-specific primers were used in polymerase chain reaction to amplify a 320 bp fragment of the Cytochrome b gene. PCR products were visualized using electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel. We found that eDNA has the cabability of detecting the presence of newt in various water bodies with 78% accuracy. Our results suggest that environmental DNA offers great potential for use in detecting presence and absence of rare and secretive species such as Luristan newt in various ecosystems. Key words species presence and absence, Lorestan newt, eDNA, Environmental samples.
