Dr Joel Huey, Mr Syngeon Rodman, Ms Jessica Delaney, Mr Ryan Ellis, Dr Juliana Pille Arnold, Mr Dean Main, Mr Michael Curran, Dr Kathryn Dawkins
1Biologic, East Perth, Australia, 2Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Perth, Australia, 3eDNA Frontiers, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Biography:
Joel manages Biologic's molecular systematics group, who apply molecular tools to support environmental surveys and monitoring programs. Joel's experience includes projects on population genetics, conservation genetics, biogeography, phylogenetics, molecular systematics, and eDNA.
Abstract:
The Vulnerable blind cave eel (Ophisternon candidum (Mees 1962)) is known from three disjunct populations in the north-west of Western Australia: Cape Range, Barrow Island, and the Robe River (mainland Pilbara). The Robe River population has been monitored by Rio Tinto Iron Ore since 2019, after the first specimen was detected in 2009. Since 2009, only eight specimens have been collected, owing to the challenges of sampling subterranean and hyporheic habitats for vertebrate fauna. Using metabarcoding and species-specific qPCR probes, a further 33 sites have had positive hits for the blind cave eel. Monitoring this species is ideally suited to eDNA methods, significantly improving our understanding of its range and habitat use. Here we provide the latest update on the distribution of the Pilbara population of the Blind Cave Eel since 2020, including expanding it’s known range with eDNA methods. We also discuss developments in eDNA methods to monitor this species and the value of “accidental” eDNA detections when monitoring other species.