The imperiled status of sawfishes globally has warranted the development of robust and reliable tools to study them. Madalyn Cooper developed a non-invasive detection method harnessing environmental DNA and applied the method in a survey of coastal and riverine habitats in the global tropics and subtropics where the sawfishes face risk of extinction. The methods and findings of Madalyn's PhD are significant for agencies and practitioners working toward the management and conservation of sawfish populations, and furthers the application of eDNA methods for rare and threatened species
