About Jonah Ventures
Jonah Ventures was founded in 2013 by two ecologists, to help other scientists answer ecological questions by sequencing environmental DNA. Although initially focused on reconstructing animal diets, Jonah Ventures expanded to use quantitative PCR and Next Generation Sequencing with aquatic and terrestrial eDNA. Now we are revolutionizing the world of eDNA by making it available to everyone through our citizen science kits, creating isothermal and CRISPR assays, and constantly researching and developing quicker, more effective, more affordable ways to detect eDNA while not compromising on quality of data.
Our team of scientists is dedicated to the advancement of our field through research and development.
Our Team
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Joseph Craine, PhD
Co-owner/Co-founder
Ecologist with over 15 year experience. Author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications and one book with Princeton University Press. Extensive experience in plant ecology and plant-grazer interactions.
PhD University of California, Berkley
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Noah Fierer, PhD
Co-owner/Co-founder
Molecular Ecologist with over 15 years experience. Author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Extensive experience in sequencing microbial communities, fungi, and plants.
PhD University of California, Santa Barbara
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Jessica Devitt, MS
Laboratory Research Manager in the Next Generation Sequencing Lab.
MS Georgia Southern University
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Devin Leopold, PhD
Bioinformatician/Data Scientist.
PhD Stanford University
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Nicole Witzel, MS
Research Associate, Sales, and Customer Support.
MS Tennessee State University

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Jennifer Jankowiak, MS
Research Scientist and Manager of the qPCR lab.
MS Stony Brook University
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Nick Schulte, PhD
Research Scientist
PhD University of Colorado, Boulder
We’re advancing science together. Check out these published research projects we’ve helped with!
Diet
Anderson, W. M., Boughton, R. K., Wisely, S. W., Merrill, M. M., Boughton, E. H., Robeson, M. S., & Piaggio, A. (2018). Using DNA Metabarcoding to Examine Wild Pig (Sus scrofa) Diets in a Subtropical Agro-Ecosystem. In Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference (Vol. 28, No. 28).
Bledsoe, E. K. (2020). The Role of Patch-and Landscape-Level Processes in Shaping Desert Rodent Communities (Doctoral dissertation, University of Florida).
Craine, J. M., Angerer, J. P., Elmore, A., & Fierer, N. (2016). Continental-scale patterns reveal potential for warming-induced shifts in cattle diet. PloS one, 11(8), e0161511.
Craine, J. M. (2021). Seasonal patterns of bison diet across climate gradients in North America. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-11.
Craine, J. M., Elmore, A., & Angerer, J. P. (2017). Long-term declines in dietary nutritional quality for North American cattle. Environmental research letters, 12(4), 044019.
Craine, J. M., Cannon, M. V., Elmore, A. J., Guinn, S. M., & Fierer, N. (2017). DNA metabarcoding potentially reveals multi-assemblage eutrophication responses in an eastern North American river. bioRxiv, 186452.
Craun, J. N. (2018). Effect of Residual Feed Intake on Angus Heifer Grazing Distribution, Diet Selection, and Behavior (Doctoral dissertation).
Drakeley, M. M., & Reuter, R. (2018). Efficacy of a Fecal DNA-Based Method to Measure Diet Components in Cattle. Journal of Animal Science, 96, 81-82.
Fieseler, A. C. (2021). The Effects of Urbanization on the Diets of Colony Cats: A Tail of Six Colonies (Doctoral dissertation, Hofstra University).
FRASER, J. D. (2020). RED KNOT (CALIDRIS CANUTUS RUFA) DIET RECONSTRUCTION USING DNA METABARCODING ANALYES OF FECES COLLECTED IN VIRGINIA. Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia’s barrier islands, 1.
Hayes, T. A. (2020). Managing Forest Disturbances: Effects on Mule Deer and Plant Communities in Montana’s Northern Forests.
Hecker, L. J., Dewart, L. T., Epperson, D. M., Rawleigh, G., Sheppard, A. C., Nielsen, S. E., & Edwards, M. A. (2020). Ronald Lake wood bison research program: 2020 semi-annual report. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2H1.
Hopkins, D. J. (2019). Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA.
Hundertmark, K. (2017). ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES AND PASSERINE DIET (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Biology and Wildlife Paul Layer, Dean College).
Jesmer, B. R., Kauffman, M. J., Murphy, M. A., & Goheen, J. R. (2020). A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89(12), 2825-2839.
Jorns, T., Craine, J., Towne, E. G., & Knox, M. (2020). Climate structures bison dietary quality and composition at the continental scale. Environmental DNA, 2(1), 77-90.
King, S. R., & Schoenecker, K. A. (2019). Comparison of methods to examine diet of feral horses from noninvasively collected fecal samples. Rangeland ecology & management, 72(4), 661-666.
King, S. R., Schoenecker, K. A., & Manier, D. J. (2019). Potential spread of cheatgrass and other invasive species by feral horses in western colorado. Rangeland ecology & management, 72(4), 706-710.
Leonard, J. L. (2016). Evaluation of Bison (Bison Bison) Ecology at the Olson’s Bison Conservation Ranches, Pine River Ranch, Manitoba, Canada.
Leonard, J. L., Perkins, L. B., Lammers, D. J., & Jenks, J. A. (2017). Are bison intermediate feeders? Unveiling summer diet selection at the northern fringe of historical distribution. Rangeland ecology & management, 70(4), 405-410.
McDermott, M. T. (2017). Arthropod communities and passerine diet: Effects of shrub expansion in Western Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Nielsen, D. P., & Matocq, M. D. (2021). Differences in dietary composition and preference maintained despite gene flow across a woodrat hybrid zone. Ecology and evolution, 11(9), 4909-4919.
Peterson, C. J. (2020). Selection of Forage and Avoidance of Predation Risk by Partially Migratory Mule Deer.
Powers, D., Timlin, C. L., Dias, N. W., Santili, F. V., & Mercadante, V. R. G. (2018). 153 Progesterone Concentration, Follicle Diameter and Corpus Luteum Volume in Beef Cows Supplemented with Ca Salts of Soybean Oil. Journal of Animal Science, 96(suppl_1), 81-81.
Sanders, L. E., & Chalfoun, A. D. (2018). Novel landscape elements within natural gas fields increase densities but not fitness of an important songbird nest predator. Biological Conservation, 228, 132-141.
Scasta, J. D., Jorns, T., Derner, J. D., Lake, S., Augustine, D. J., Windh, J. L., & Smith, T. L. (2019). Validation of DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples using cattle fed known rations. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 255, 114219.
Schuette, P., S. Ebbert, A. Droghini, and T. Nawrocki. 2022. Small mammal diet indicates plant diversity, vegetation structure, and ecological integrity in a remote ecosystem. Biodiversity and Conservation.
Sherrill, C. W. (2019). Analyzing Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) Management Practices and the Importance of Forbs in the Diet of Cattle and Bison on Tallgrass Prairie (Doctoral dissertation).
Shiels, A. B., Bukoski, W. P., & Siers, S. R. (2018). Diets of Kauai’s invasive rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri): evidence of seed predation and dispersal in a human-altered landscape. Biological Invasions, 20(6), 1449-1457.
Shively, R., Barboza, P., Doak, P., & Jung, T. S. (2018). Increased diet breadth of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) at their northern range limit: a multimethod approach. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 96(1), 31-38.
Sullins, D. S., Haukos, D. A., Craine, J. M., Lautenbach, J. M., Robinson, S. G., Lautenbach, J. D., … & Fierer, N. (2018). Identifying the diet of a declining prairie grouse using DNA metabarcoding. The Auk: Ornithological Advances, 135(3), 583-608.
Venter, Z. S., Hawkins, H. J., & Cramer, M. D. (2019). Cattle don’t care: Animal behaviour is similar regardless of grazing management in grasslands. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 272, 175-187.
Venter, A. S. (2019). Managing herbivory over space and time: consequences for vegetation and cattle responses in African rangelands.
Wright, K. W. (2018). The evolution of diet breadth in Melissodes bees (Apidae: Eucerini).
Water
Brandl, S. J., Johansen, J. L., Casey, J. M., Tornabene, L., Morais, R. A., & Burt, J. A. (2020). Extreme environmental conditions reduce coral reef fish biodiversity and productivity. Nature communications, 11(1), 1-14.
Cannon, M. V., Craine, J., Hester, J., Shalkhauser, A., Chan, E. R., Logue, K., … & Serre, D. (2017). Dynamic microbial populations along the Cuyahoga River. Plos one, 12(10), e0186290.
Craine, J. M., Henson, M. W., Thrash, J. C., Hanssen, J., Spooner, G., Fleming, P., … & Fierer, N. (2018). Environmental DNA reveals the structure of phytoplankton assemblages along a 2900-km transect in the Mississippi River. bioRxiv, 261727.
Clementi, G. M., Bakker, J., Flowers, K. I., Postaire, B. D., Babcock, E. A., Bond, M. E., … & Chapman, D. D. (2021). Moray eels are more common on coral reefs subject to higher human pressure in the greater Caribbean. Iscience, 24(3), 102097.
King, L. R. (2019). The Response of Utah Lake’s Plant and Algal Community Structure to Cultural Eutrophication.
Marden, B., Brown, P., & Bosteels, T. (2020). Great Salt Lake Artemia: ecosystem functions and services with a global reach. In Great Salt Lake Biology (pp. 175-237). Springer, Cham.
Simonin, M., Rocca, J., Gerson, J., Moore, E., Craine, J., Fierer, N., & Bernhardt, E. (2019, January). Large shifts in riverine microbiomes exposed to mountaintop coal mining activities in Central Appalachia: regional and longitudinal assessments. In Geophysical Research Abstracts (Vol. 21).
van Zinnicq Bergmann, M. P., Postaire, B. D., Gastrich, K., Heithaus, M. R., Hoopes, L. A., Lyons, K., … & Bakker, J. (2021). Elucidating shark diets with DNA metabarcoding from cloacal swabs. Molecular Ecology Resources, 21(4), 1056-1067.
Wilson, S. B., Steury, T. D., Gitzen, R. A., & Ditchkoff, S. S. (2020). Fall and Winter Diets of Eastern Gray Squirrels in a Seasonally Flooded Ecosystem in Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist, 19(4), 771-780.
Other
Craine, J. M., Barberán, A., Lynch, R. C., Menninger, H. L., Dunn, R. R., & Fierer, N. (2017). Molecular analysis of environmental plant DNA in house dust across the United States. Aerobiologia, 33(1), 71-86.
Lennartz, C., Kurucar, J., Coppola, S., Crager, J., Bobrow, J., Bortolin, L., & Comolli, J. (2021). Estimation of Geographic Origin from Dust Using Plant DNA Metabarcoding.
Pasiche-Lisboa, C. J. (2019). Bryophyte and lichen communities in boreal forests are maintained through the dispersal and establishment of asexual propagules.
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