Mx Sarah Stephenson1, Dr Ryan Turner2, Dr Sharon Hook1, Dr Jeffrey Dambacher3
1CSIRO & UQ, Hobart, Australia, 2UQ & QLD DES, Brisbane, Australia, 3CSIRO, Hobart, Australia
Biography:
Sarah's current work focuses on examining aquatic communities using high-throughput sequencing. Sarah’s research interest lies in investigating biological community responses to water quality and environmental variables. Sarah has experience of metabarcoding environmental samples for DNA-based analysis of biological diversity. Often this biological data is analysed with environmental contextual data to observe correlations and interactions with environmental drivers of community structure. More recently Sarah’s research interest lies in eDNA assay primer development and single species detection qPCR assays for DNA monitoring coastal species including Irukandji jellyfish, (C. barnesi) and endangered river shark species (G.glyphis) in Far North Queensland.
Sarah recently started a HDR PhD program with Dr Ryan Turner at UQ and Dr Sharon Hook CSIRO as part of the Reef Catchments Partnership at UQ. The focus of the PhD thesis is investigating the potential for integrating eDNA monitoring into the Reef catchments monitoring reporting. The main question of the thesis is: Can eDNA provide ecologically relevant data for indicator metrics of water quality in the GBR catchment context?
Abstract:
It is widely recognised that climate change and declining water quality are the main stressors to the Great Barrier Reef Catchment Area (GBRCA) Australia. While existing monitoring programs assess contaminant metrics, knowledge of the associated ecological impact on the biological communities in the waterways of GBR catchments is missing. When designing a monitoring program, ecosystem models can help to prioritize and focus the monitoring of ecological impacts. Here, we use qualitative mathematical models of terrestrial and stream ecosystems to understand how the main factors governing water quality influence biodiversity. We aim to build qualitative models, for the Wet Tropics and Mackay-Whitsundays catchments, to investigate whether the current contaminant being measured (pesticides, nutrients, and sediments) are suitable for monitoring ecological impact. In addition, the models will investigate other additional measurements (e.g., eDNA indicators) that could be integrated into current risk assessment monitoring. This project investigates how an eDNA approach combined with ecosystem models can add value to monitoring programs to better understand the ecological impacts of waterways in GBR catchment.
The anticipated knowledge will be spatial and temporal DNA-based biological community data from selected waterways within the GBR catchment area, including the Herbert River in Far North QLD. The research is also anticipated to provide knowledge of the positive and negative impacts on trophic functional groups from the qualitative model, which will also identify biological and physical-chemical indicators.
The research project questions are as follows:
What are the key water quality indicators for waterways in the GBR catchments?
Can qualitative models provide insight into the key indicators to be monitored?
Can eDNA-based monitoring programs provide ecological insights into water quality and the health of aquatic systems?
The qualitative mathematical model will inform the indicators to use, and hence will determine the appropriate eDNA assays for ecological impact.