Dr Cecilia Villacorta Rath1, Professor Damien Burrows1
1James Cook University, , Australia
Biography:
As per previous Abstract
Abstract:
The Bloomfield River cod (Guyu wujalwujalensis) is one of Australia's most range-restricted freshwater fishes, occurring only within a small section of the Bloomfield River catchment in the Wet Tropics of north Queensland. The catastrophic flooding associated with Tropical Cyclone Jasper in 2023, raised concerns about the persistence of the species, habitat degradation, and the potential spread of introduced fish species into previously uninvaded reaches of the catchment. To support conservation planning and post-disturbance assessment, eDNA sampling was incorporated into a multidisciplinary survey program designed to evaluate the status of native and introduced freshwater fishes across 13 sites of the Bloomfield catchment.
Conventional surveys confirmed the persistence of Bloomfield River cod following Cyclone Jasper and revealed the presence of introduced khaki grunter (Hephaestus tulliensis), Wet Tropics tandan (Tandanus tropicanus) and guppies (Poecilia reticulata) upstream of Bloomfield Falls, where they were historically absent. These findings highlight growing biosecurity risks to a highly vulnerable endemic species.
This presentation will discuss how eDNA tools are being developed and applied to improve detection of both threatened and invasive fishes in remote tropical catchments, and how molecular monitoring can complement traditional survey approaches to guide conservation and management of freshwater biodiversity in a rapidly changing environment.