Dr Meaghan Duncan1,2, Dr Ashley Fowler3, Dr Julian Hughes3, Prof Broadhurst M.K.4,5, Dr Joseph DiBattista6, Dr Stewart Fielder7, Mr Jackson Wilkes Walburn1, Dr Elise Furlan8
1New South Wales Department Of Primary Industries, Narrandera Fisheries Centre, Narrandera, Australia, 2Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia, 3New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, Australia, 4New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries Conservation Technology Unit, National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University , Coffs Harbour, Australia, 5Marine and Estuarine Ecology Unit, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, , 6Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia, 7New South Wales Department Of Primary Industries, Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, Taylors Beach, Australia, 8Centre for Conservation and Ecology and Genomics, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australia
Australia’s commercial and recreational fisheries are each valued in excess of $2.5 billion per annum. Despite their undeniable collective importance, very few Australian species are supported by appropriate stock assessments. Most species are characterised by severe shortfalls in much of the required basic data, driven by the low value of many individual stocks, the high cost of independent monitoring and the subsequent reliance on low-quality fishery-dependent data, where available. There is a clear requirement to develop fishery-independent population-monitoring approaches for key species that simultaneously encompass sufficient spatial coverage and are cost-effective. A promising genetic approach involves collecting and analysing environmental DNA (eDNA). In the past decade, there have been increasing efforts at estimating the abundance and/or biomass of aquatic organisms from concentrations of eDNA in the water, and with varying levels of success. The objective of this project was to determine if eDNA concentration could accurately estimate the abundance or biomass of two iconic Australian species: mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicas) and Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii). We present the results of a series of aquaria trials to test the effects of time, temperature and fish density on eDNA concentrations. Preliminary results indicate a clear relationship between eDNA concentration and the abundance/biomass of mulloway but not Murray cod. These data will be used to inform future field trials testing the relationship between eDNA concentration and biomass as determined from traditional sampling techniques and hydroacoustic surveys.
Biography:
Meaghan Duncan is a Research Scientist with NSW Department of Primary Industries with over 15 years’ experience in molecular ecology and freshwater fish ecology. She is leading the implementation of eDNA technology into the Freshwater Fisheries Research program with a particular focus on threatened freshwater fish species.