Mr Jake Dempsey1, Dr Josh Newton1, Prof. Morten Allentoft1,2
1Curtin University, , Australia, 2University of Copenhagen, , Denmark
Biography:
Jake is a PhD candidate focusing on environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches for reptile biomonitoring. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Plant Biology and a Master of Science in Wildlife Conservation and Management at University College Dublin, where he conducted eDNA-based research during both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies. His current research aims to develop and validate metabarcoding assays and novel sampling methods to improve the detection of terrestrial reptile communities, with a focus on the Pilbara, Western Australia.
Abstract:
Reptiles are declining globally, with more than 20% of species threatened with extinction. Effective monitoring is therefore increasingly important, yet many reptiles are elusive and difficult to detect using conventional survey methods. Environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a promising non-invasive alternative, but its application to terrestrial reptiles remains limited due to low detection success and high false-negative rates. Considering Australia as an example; 40% of the terrestrial vertebrates are reptiles, many of which are both endemic and endangered, so unless we can overcome this challenge, eDNA has a major limitation as a terrestrial biomonitoring tool on this continent.
This presentation will discuss the challenges and opportunities of terrestrial reptile eDNA biomonitoring and examine the evidence for the biological and methodological factors limiting detection success. In particular, it will explore four key challenges: (i) the 'shedding hypothesis', (ii) inefficient sampling strategies, (iii) the suitability of commonly used vertebrate metabarcoding assays for reptile detection, and (iv) incomplete reptile reference databases.