African-clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) are invasive to many aquatic ecosystems across the globe worldwide. For an accurate and efficient determination of their distribution, the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) could facilitate broad surveys rooted simply in the collection of water samples from inhabited water bodies. Therefore, in this study, using species-specific primers, an eDNA method was developed to evaluate the distribution of African-clawed frogs in Japan. This newly developed method was tested in ponds in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, and compared with conventional cage trap surveys. Overall, we successfully developed the abovementioned eDNA method and it was shown to be as effective as the conventional capture-related technique.

非洲爪蛙（Xenopus laevis）入侵了全球许多水生生态系统。为了准确有效地确定其分布，环境 DNA (eDNA) 的使用可以促进从居住水体收集水样的广泛调查。因此，本研究利用物种特异性引物，开发了一种 eDNA 方法来评估日本非洲爪蛙的分布。这种新开发的方法在日本和歌山县的池塘中进行了测试，并与传统的笼式陷阱调查进行了比较。总体而言，我们成功开发了上述 eDNA 方法，并且它被证明与传统捕获相关技术一样有效。