1. Effective conservation decisions rely on accurate survey data, but methods can be resource‐intensive and risk false negative results. Presence of the threatened hazel dormouse (England, UK) is typically confirmed by looking for its nest in survey tubes, over a 6‐month period. As an alternative, environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys have proven benefits in efficiency and accuracy for other taxa, but generally rely on the extraction and amplification of DNA from water, soil or sediment, which are not yet dependable samples for rare terrestrial mammals like the hazel dormouse.
2. At a known occupancy site, paper‐lined survey tubes were used to capture a DNA sample. Like other species of rodent, the hazel dormouse excretes urine freely, and this was highlighted by ultraviolet torch, swabbed from the paper, extracted and hazel dormouse eDNA amplified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).
3. Hazel dormouse presence was confirmed in this way in three out of 50 tubes within 8 days. Detection by conventional nest survey occurred on day 63 when a hazel dormouse nest was found in a single survey tube. We calculate that amplification of eDNA left behind in tubes increased survey efficiency here at least 12‐fold.
4. Synthesis and applications. In this study we demonstrate that eDNA swabbed from a clean substrate placed in survey apparatus can significantly hasten the detection of a rare species. This method has the potential to broaden the application of eDNA to other terrestrial vertebrates, including surveys at large spatiotemporal scales. Beyond presence/absence, the non‐invasive DNA sample could also offer insights into sex ratio, abundance, behaviour and population genetics.

中文翻译：

---

快速检测稀有物种：淡褐色睡鼠穆斯卡迪纳斯·乌维拉纳里乌斯尿液的调查管法医拭子

1. 有效的保护决策依赖于准确的调查数据，但方法可能会占用大量资源，并可能带来假阴性结果。通常在6个月内通过在调查管中寻找其巢穴来确认是否有濒临灭绝的榛树睡鼠（英国英格兰）。作为一种替代方法，环境DNA（eDNA）调查在其他分类单元的效率和准确性方面已证明具有优势，但通常依赖于从水，土壤或沉积物中提取和扩增DNA，而水，土壤或沉积物对于像陆生动物这样的稀有陆地哺乳动物而言尚不可靠。淡褐色的睡鼠。
2. 在一个已知的居住地点，用纸衬里的调查管捕获DNA样本。像其他啮齿动物一样，榛树睡鼠可自由排泄尿液，这是通过紫外线炬，从纸上擦拭，提取并通过定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）扩增榛树睡鼠eDNA来突出的。
3. 以这种方式在8天内在50支试管中有3支证实了榛树睡鼠的存在。在第63天，当在单个调查管中发现榛树睡鼠巢时，通过常规巢式调查进行了检测。我们计算出，留在试管中的eDNA的扩增可将调查效率提高至少12倍。
4. 综合与应用。在这项研究中，我们证明从放置在调查仪器中的干净基质上擦拭eDNA可以显着加快稀有物种的检测速度。这种方法有可能扩大eDNA在其他陆地脊椎动物中的应用范围，包括大时空尺度的调查。除了有无外，非侵入性DNA样本还可以提供有关性别比，丰度，行为和种群遗传学的见解。