ToolboxLab TestingLive Census (eRNA Activity Survey)

Labeled water sample bottles packed for certified lab analysis

Lab Testing

Live Census (eRNA Activity Survey)

Name: Live Census (eRNA Activity Survey)
Brand: Lake Pulse
Price: 3000.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Not who has been here. What is alive and active right now.

$3,000

Checkout arrives with the store connection. Orders attach to the lake on your account.

Overview

eDNA tells you an organism's genetic material was somewhere in the system at some point. Environmental RNA tells you an organism is alive, metabolically active, and here now. RNA begins degrading within minutes to hours of leaving a living cell, and that fragility is exactly what makes it informative: a positive eRNA signal is far less likely to come from a long-dead cell or from water that drifted in last week.

It also means eRNA cannot be collected the way eDNA is. Valid eRNA sampling requires high-volume pumped filtration to concentrate enough viable transcript signal, and immediate on-site chemical preservation to lock the snapshot before it breaks down. That is what the Osprey platform, supplied by our genomics partner, is built to do.

Live Census reads the whole active community by metabarcoding. It is best used as the second step, not the first: to interpret a Lake Census, to check a lake's living response to a bloom or a management action, or to confirm whether what a census found is actually alive.

Sold in sets of three. Three sampling locations is the minimum order, for the same reason it is on the Lake Census — one point is not a picture of a lake. You keep the raw sequence files, archived and reprocessable as reference libraries improve.

One of four genetic tests. “Census” reads the whole community; “Watch” looks for one named species. Lake Census and Species Watch read DNA; the two “Live” tests read RNA, which only living, active organisms produce.

Lake Census — DNA, broad: what lives here?
Species Watch — DNA, one species: is it here yet?
Live Census — RNA, broad: what is alive and active right now?
Live Watch — RNA, one species: is it alive and active here now?

Most lakes should start broad and narrow down: census first, then watch, then confirm. Which genetic test should your lake start with?

Note on methodology: eRNA analysis is not an EPA-approved method. It is a research-grade ecological tool, and results are not suitable for regulatory or compliance use.

What's detected & how

2 targets · eRNA activity survey (metabarcoding)

What's detected & how for Live Census (eRNA Activity Survey)
Target	What's reported
RNA of the living, active community	Active taxa; samples positive (x of 3); relative read abundance
Functional activity	Stress-response and toxin-gene expression markers

RNA of the living, active community
What's reported:
Active taxa; samples positive (x of 3); relative read abundance
Functional activity
What's reported:
Stress-response and toxin-gene expression markers

You get

Active-community list and activity markers in your lake's Flora & Fauna
Laboratory report and raw sequence files (FASTQ) in Documents & Reports

How it's produced

Test type: eRNA activity survey (metabarcoding)
Sample: Three preserved water samples, collected by you
Analyzed by: Genetic partner laboratory
Method: eRNA metabarcoding
Turnaround: 15–20 business days from lab receipt
Method basis: Peer-reviewed molecular method; not EPA-approved

Product category

Physical ProductShips to you
ConsumableLab testing
ServiceBy the Lake Pulse Boathouse

Availability
Kits ship in 2 business days
Shipping
Flat-rate to your front door. Shipping details
SKU
E-RNA-001

Example result

87 taxa active

Toxin-gene expression detected in cyanobacteria

Turnaround

Results are available in 15 - 20 business days of the lab receiving your samples.

What problem does this solve for our lake?

This is the most expensive item in the Toolbox, so the case for it should be specific. eRNA is worth buying when a decision turns on three questions that eDNA cannot answer.
Is the detection alive and local? eDNA persists for days to weeks and travels considerable distances. A detection can reflect a dead organism, material carried in on a bird, or an upstream source. Before a lake spends money responding to an invasive detection, knowing whether there is a living, functioning population here is worth more than another eDNA run.
Is a harmful organism actually causing harm? Detecting a cyanobacteria genus is not the same as knowing whether it is expressing toxin-production genes. eRNA reads functional activity, not just presence.
Is the ecosystem responding? Gene expression shifts in near-real time. That makes eRNA the only genomic tool that can tell you whether a treatment worked, whether a restoration is taking, or whether the biological community is under stress right now rather than last season.
The pattern that justifies the price is a decision with a larger number attached to it — an alum treatment, an invasive-species response, a restoration project someone will be asked to verify. Used as a general survey, this is the wrong product and eDNA is the right one.

What's included?

The Osprey platform ships to your site as two coordinated cases:
Osprey Control Case — stays on site for the duration of your program. Pump system, battery and charger, control electronics, tubing, sample mounts, flow meter, pre-filters, and labeled instructions.
Osprey Sample Case — travels between your site and the lab. Sample cartridges, shipping mounts, and pre-measured preservation buffer.
Return postage for the Sample Case
Three (3) sampling locations — the minimum order
Laboratory analysis by eRNA metabarcoding across the active community, with full chain of custody
Paired eDNA results from the same sample, on request
Your raw sequence files (FASTQ), yours to keep, archived and available for reprocessing later
Results loaded into your lake's account
Field workflow: cases arrive, run the pump per the provided guidelines, roughly 15 minutes of sampling per run, set the genetic signal with the buffer, ship the Sample Case back. One-time test, return both cases; ongoing program, keep the Control Case and cycle only the Sample Case.
Note on methodology: eRNA analysis does not run an EPA-approved method. It is a research-grade ecological tool, and results are not suitable for regulatory or compliance use.

What's not included

Sample collection. You run the platform; we supply everything needed to do it correctly.
Standard grab or syringe-filter collection. It will not concentrate enough viable transcript signal for a valid eRNA result.
Single samples. Three locations is the minimum order.
Boat or shoreline access to your three sampling locations, and a person available to run roughly 15 minutes of pumping per sample
Maximum sensitivity for one named species. For a single-species question, order Live Watch.
Quantified toxin concentrations. Detecting expression of toxin-production genes is not the same as measuring microcystin in the water.
Chemistry of any kind
Regulatory or compliance determinations
Treatment, remediation, or applicator services

Requirements

Immediate on-site preservation. RNA begins degrading within minutes to hours, so the buffering step happens at the water, not back at the house.
High-volume pumped filtration per the provided guidelines — roughly 15 minutes per sampling run
The Sample Case shipped back the same day it is filled
Somewhere secure and dry to keep the Control Case if you are running a multi-visit program
Sampling timed to the question. eRNA is a snapshot of a moment, so the moment has to be the one you care about.
A Plus, Lake Admin, or PRO subscription to have results loaded into your Lake Pulse account
Questions about site selection, timing, or which genetic test fits your lake? Contact the Lake Pulse Boathouse before you order.

What you get back

Results

A view of the living, active community at each of your three locations
Living-presence evidence — whether detections reflect active organisms rather than residual or transported DNA
Functional activity — what organisms are doing, including stress response and toxin-gene expression
A near-real-time readout of biological response to conditions, treatments, or restoration work
Paired eDNA and eRNA on the same sample, on request
Interpreted results are found in Flora & Fauna in the Lake Pulse Portal
Your raw sequence files (FASTQ) filed in Documents & Reports — the actual data, not just the report built from it
A permanent archive. Reference libraries improve every year, and a sample sequenced today can be reprocessed against a better library later. The Boathouse can arrange a re-run of archived data for a small fee.
Data can be charted in the Analytics Hub, used to trigger alerts, or shared across your lake community
Results are found in your lake's portal, accessible only to Plus, Lake Admin, and PRO subscription tiers

Pro tips

This is the second test, not the first. Screen with a Lake Census, then use Live Census where it matters what is alive. Buying eRNA for a general species list pays a premium for a question eDNA answers.
Sample when the question is live. During the bloom, during the response, four weeks after the treatment. A snapshot taken at a quiet moment tells you the lake was quiet.
Leave the Control Case on site if you have a program. The per-sample economics change completely when only the Sample Case cycles.
Toxin-gene expression is not a toxin measurement. If a board needs a microcystin number, that is a different test.
Pair it with a major management decision. The natural buyer is a lake about to spend heavily on alum or aeration and wanting to know whether the biology supports the plan.
Ship the Sample Case the same day, every time. The preservation buffer protects the sample; it does not make it indefinite.

Results sync to the Portal for Plus, Lake Admin, and PRO subscribers

Results from this product land in your lake's shared record in the Portal — next to everything else your lake has ever measured, instead of in an inbox.

Compare subscriptions

About these results

Every result shows the date and time each sample was collected. eDNA and eRNA detect genetic material, not organisms directly. DNA can persist after an organism has left or died, and can arrive from upstream or on boats, birds, or bait. Read counts reflect relative genetic signal, not the number, size, or biomass of organisms. Species names depend on reference-library coverage; some detections resolve only to genus or family. A detection is evidence to follow up, not confirmation that a population is established, and a non-detection does not prove absence. These are not EPA-approved methods and are not a regulatory determination. Results can help you make decisions about safe swimming and water use, but no result is definitive for every place and time. It is always good practice to check posted signs and your state or local health authorities.

RNA indicates recent biological activity. Activity markers are relative within this survey.

Questions on this?

Our team can help you choose the right solution for your lake, explain how results sync to your Portal, or point you to the right subscription.

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