Dr Kathryn Korbel1, Dr Mattia Sacco, Dr Michelle Guzik
1University Of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia
Biography:
Kathryn Korbel is a freshwater ecologist with over 20 years’ experience in researching groundwater ecosystems, including developing eNA approaches to assess biodiversity and ecosystem functioning within aquifers. She is currently based at the University of Sydney, where she leads research focused on riverine and groundwater ecology, ecosystem health, and innovative biomonitoring tools. Prior to joining academia, Kathryn managed multidisciplinary scientific research teams within government agencies, contributing to the advancement of freshwater and groundwater environmental assessment programs. Her research focuses on understanding ecosystem health in surface and subsurface waters, with a particular emphasis on integrating eDNA methods into environmental monitoring and management frameworks. Kathryn has played a key role in improving groundwater-specific eDNA sampling, laboratory, and bioinformatic workflows, helping to strengthen the reliability and application of these techniques in challenging subterranean environments. She is also a co-lead of the Global Research in Groundwater eDNA initiative, an international collaboration bringing together researchers and practitioners to advance the use of eDNA in groundwater ecosystems worldwide. Through this work, she has established an extensive network of international research partnerships dedicated to improving the understanding, protection, and management of groundwater biodiversity.
Abstract:
Knowledge of groundwater biodiversity and ecosystem functions lag far behind that of surface waters, despite groundwater playing critical roles in maintaining water quality, sustaining river baseflows, and providing refugia for aquatic species. As such, the use of eDNA may prove vital to rapidly increase our knowledge of these ecosystems, which is essential given the impacts of human activities on groundwaters including increased abstraction for mining and data centres.
Here we present the first global environmental DNA (eDNA) survey and describe the value and importance of this tool for groundwater biodiversity and ecological dynamics understanding. This project used eDNA to monitor biodiversity in 47 high-profile groundwater sites across 19 countries spanning Europe, Australia, America and Africa. Initial researcher-based surveys revealed substantial variation in groundwater eDNA sampling, PCR and bioinformatic methodologies and highlighted challenges associated with interpreting eDNA data in subterranean environments. From this survey, we devised specific groundwater sampling procedures, equipment and extraction protocols. We used 6 primers (4 targeting metazoans, 1 prokaryote and 1 fungi) and sampled a range of ecosystems including alluvial, karst and fractured rock aquifers. The project demonstrates the value of eDNA for detecting groundwater taxa, highlights the benefits of multiple-primer approaches and provides baseline biodiversity information for participating regions. It also exposes major gaps in reference databases, a particular challenge in groundwater ecosystems where many species remain undescribed or are new to science