Our Animal Sciences students at University Centre Reaseheath recently went out collecting DNA samples from our resident toads on campus.

This was to assist researchers at the University of Wolverhampton in their attempts to better understand nationwide toad declines.

Under the close supervision of lecturing staff, students extracted DNA from toads as they were migrating towards their spawning grounds, via taking swabs of the inner mouth (buccal swabbing).

The swabs will be preserved in vials of ethanol (preservation fluid) and posted to PhD students at the University of Wolverhampton for further analysis. This will unveil the genetic trends associated with common toad declines.

If you would like to conduct similar research and want to study an Animal Science degree, please visit our Animal Science courses page on our website to see the range of courses we offer.

Some of the other exciting things our Animal Science undergraduates get up to are explained in the articles below:

Animal Science undergraduates praised for South African projects

Students gain internationally recognised qualification in wildlife rescue

Animal Science students explore South-West England