Mr Gary Young1, Dr. Benjamin Allen1,2, Dr. Peter Murray1,3, Dr. Elise Furlan4
1University Of Southern Queensland, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, Toowoomba, Australia, 2Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 3University of Southern Queensland, School of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Toowoomba, Australia, 4University of Canberra, Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, Institute for Applied Ecology, Canberra, Australia
Biography:
Gary Young is a Masters Candidate for the University of Southern Queensland and a Senior Conservation Officer for the Queensland Government. He has over ten years' experience in the conservation, monitoring, and management of wildlife across both protected and non-protected areas. His research focuses on investigating the impacts of domestic cattle grazing intensities on avian fauna communities. He has more recently augmented his research to apply experimental designs comparing eDNA sampling methods from remote artificial waterbodies in semi-arid environments of Australia.
Abstract:
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a revolutionary tool to monitor biodiversity and is highly effective in aquatic ecosystems. However, its application in terrestrial habitats, particularly arid regions, remains underexplored. Artificial waterbodies, such as farm dams and troughs, play a vital role in sustaining wildlife in these remote inland environments and present valuable opportunities for eDNA collection. Yet, despite their ecological significance, terrestrial avian species have been largely overlooked in eDNA research especially in agricultural regions. In this study, we introduce and validate a highly sensitive, species-specific DNA assay to detect the nationally threatened southern squatter pigeon (Geophaps scripta scripta). Experimental field trials were conducted across a 20,000 hectare cattle property in semi-arid tropical Australia, using both active (syringe) and passive (filter) water sampling methods at multiple farm dams and cattle troughs across different seasons. We found the syringe sampling generally outperformed the passive methods in eDNA detection across waterbody types and seasons. Interestingly, while visual observations of the squatter pigeon from camera traps at each sampling site aligned with eDNA detections across sites, the exact locations did not always coincide. This discrepancy highlights the complementary nature of visual and eDNA-based monitoring techniques. The availability of a species-specific DNA assay for the southern squatter pigeon marks a significant advancement to assist in the conservation, monitoring and management of this nationally threatened species.