Dr Andrew Weeks1,2, Paul Reich3, Sam Marwood4, Dr Michael Schackleton5, Prof. Nick Bond5, Anne Buchan3, Josh Griffiths1, Dr Luke Noble1, Dr Sue Song1, Dr Nenad Bartonicek1
1EnviroDNA, Brunswick, Australia, 2The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 3Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning, East Melbourne, Australia, 4Odonata Foundation, South Melbourne, Australia, 5Centre for Freshwater Research, La Trobe University, Wodonga, Australia
Determining the presence or absence of a species is integral to making informed management decisions in biodiversity conservation, but detecting species in an environment can be difficult, time consuming, expensive, and often highly invasive. These challenges tend to restrict the scale and frequency of biological surveys, ultimately limiting information available to environmental managers. This lack of data is accentuated greatly at the landscape-level, where there are few datasets available for understanding biodiversity patterns over large spatial and temporal scales. Environmental DNA metabarcoding has been shown to be a sensitive, efficient and cost-effective method for assessing biodiversity in water samples and shows promise as a method that can be used to assess aquatic biodiversity over large spatial scales. Here we combine eDNA metabarcoding with a large citizen science program to assess vertebrate diversity at 2000 sites throughout Victorian waterways. Sites were selected across Victoria’s river network using a generalised random tessellation stratified design, taking into consideration environmental gradients and priority aquatic species. Citizen scientists were engaged through various networks, registered their interest and selected sites through a website (www.thegreataustralianplatypussearch.org). eDNA sampling kits were sent to ~300 participants from around Victoria and data on sampling was recorded through an App. All samples were then processed for the presence of platypus DNA using a TaqMan qPCR assay, and then through an eDNA metabarcoding assay targeting vertebrate species. We discuss the results from this program, highlighting the potential for citizen scientists and eDNA analyses to provide real time assessments of aquatic biodiversity.
Biography:
Andrew is an ecological geneticist who specializes in applying genetic principles to the conservation of Australian wildlife. He is a founding Director of EnviroDNA and Cesar Australia, and holds a position at the University of Melbourne as a Senior Research Fellow. Andrew is interested in both the research and application of eDNA methods to different sectors including environmental management, conservation, agriculture and biosecurity. He has been working in the area since 2012, partnering strongly with Melbourne Water initially to understand eDNA sampling and detection methods.