Why do I need to sample also during winter in the arctic as no spores are produced?
A. Detecting dead spores produced far away will give important information about long-distance dispersal
Q. Do you need a permanent power supply to participate?
A. No, the sampling device runs on a car battery. This you will need to purchase and transport yourself.
Q .Why two samples per week?
A. The Monday samples will be used for the analysis to be done during the first phase of the project. The Tuesday samples will be stored in conditions that preserve DNA for a very long time. In ten years from now, sequencing technology is likely to have revolutionized compared to the current state of the art. Those samples can then provide a highly valuable point of comparison.
Q. What is the exact routine of sampling?
A. On Monday morning, place a new eppendorf tube into the sampler and turn it on. On Tuesday morning, stop the machine, take the eppendorf tube containing a sample, label it with ready-made labels that we will provide. Place a new eppendorf tube into the sampler and turn it on. On Wednesday morning, stop the machine, take the eppendorf tube containing a sample, and label it. Between Wednesday morning and Monday morning you may use the sampler for your own purposes. Every three months, mail us the eppendorf tubes that you have accumulated.
Q. What will the data look like?
A. See the excel table (to come) for an example. This involves the probabilistic placements of one sample originating from our methodological case study.
Q. If I pay for the sampler myself, how do I order it?
A. Fill in the sign-up form and select payment option 2. We will place your order with the company, so you will get the discount through the project. The company will contact you about billing options (credit card, pre-payment, bill) before shipping.
Q. How are the samples (Eppendorf) stored? At what temperature?
A. Samples should be stored frozen, even though they will be sent to us without refrigeration. You will only be holding on to a maximum of 24 tubes at any given time, so not a lot of freezer space is needed.
Q. Can I sample a location different from the one I indicated in the subscription form?
A. If the originally planned site doesn’t work out, please let us know about the new site as soon as possible. We prefer you not change from a natural to an urban environment, or move the site more than a 100 kilometres or so.
Q. Can I add a co-author later on?
A. We can usually accommodate a co-author later on provided they made a significant contribution to sampling. We don’t want more than two authors per site as we will the quickly have 100 co-authors…