With its scientific partners, EDF R&D has trialled an innovative method called environmental DNA: the researchers take a sample of water, from a river for example, extract the DNA, and then amplify and sequence this DNA. By comparing the results with a baseline, they can then determine which species are present, even the rarest. To understand the biodiversity of ecosystems and in particular to count and identify fish, EDF R&D also uses hydro-acoustics to record the presence of fish in the water and acoustic cameras to understand their behaviour in the vicinity of EDF's generation facilities.