MELBOURNE, Australia, (December 16, 2024)/ — Great Australian Wildlife Search (The Search) and Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN)
One hundred citizen scientists are getting their feet wet and collect millions of pieces of DNA to help map wildlife across the east of Australia.
They have received sampling kits for Odonata Foundation and EnviroDNA’s Great Australian Wildlife Search (the Search), allowing them to detect wildlife present in the ecosystem, including those that cannot easily be seen.
Among the groups participating is Watershed Landcare in Central Tablelands NSW. Local Landcare Coordinator, Maddison O’Brien, said her group’s work sampling at four locations last season has led to planned on-ground works to improve habitat for native fish along the Upper Lawson Creek and Cudgegong River.
“We detected important native fish species like the river blackfish, Murray cod and galaxias last season, and from that have set about supporting those vital species through partnerships, tree planting and weed control,” Ms O’Brien said.
“Our community is excited to continue to improve habitat for these fish, and we’re looking forward to tracking biodiversity change through our participation in the Search again this season.”
This spring marks the third annual collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples for the Search. Already the project has led to tangible change in the way ecosystems are monitored.
More broadly, citizen scientists across the east of Australia in 2023 detected six listed threatened fish, four listed mammals and 40 native bird species. The Search provides vital data, allowing researchers to track changes in biodiversity over time.
Odonata’s CEO Sam Marwood said the citizen scientists will collect a small water sample at 190 sites throughout the Basin in the 2024 sampling season.
“The eDNA technology then allows scientists to identify the different traces of DNA in each sample, and match them against a database of genomes,” Mr Marwood said. “We can then determine which species are present in each GPS-tagged water sample – it’s phenomenal technology!”
The 2024 sampling season is funded by Odonata Foundation and the Murray–Darling Basin Authority’s (MDBA) Basin Condition Monitoring Program (BCMP), delivering new monitoring and reporting on conditions in the Murray–Darling Basin. EnviroDNA, a leader in using eDNA to monitor aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems across Australia, is a partner in the project.
Projects funded under the BCMP will inform effective decision making and provide evidence to support the 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation and the 2026 Basin Plan Review.
MDBA’s Chief Executive Andrew McConville said the data provides an accurate snapshot of the species present at each site at a particular point in time. “That’s invaluable data that will help conserve these species,” Mr McConville said.
The samples will be analysed using cutting-edge eDNA technology.
Illumina is a key partner in the program, providing the lab tools to analyse the data. Regional Manager, Dr Evgeny Glazov, said eDNA combined with power of genomics allows the sampling to happen at a scale that has, until recently, been too costly.
“Before eDNA, we’d need a team of scientists to spend hours at each of the 300 locations, photographing and recording each species,” Dr Glazov said. “Now, sample collection happens in a matter of minutes and data can be fully analysed within days!”
