Shifting approaches to monitoring

Traditional methods for ecological monitoring are expensive, labour-intensive, and require specialist training, making them poorly suited to community involvement and use in remote areas of northern Australia. This creates challenges for monitoring the spread of endangered native species for conservation as well as invasive species that pose a risk to biosecurity.

Newer techniques such as environmental DNA (eDNA) are expanding possibilities for ecological monitoring in the region and creating opportunities for communities to take the lead – with significant benefits for northern Australian biodiversity and biosecurity.

Harnessing eDNA for community-powered monitoring

We are working with local communities on a range of projects using eDNA methods to gain insights into species distribution across northern Queensland, including invasive and endangered species. Using our simple and cost-effective eDNA sampling kits, community partners and volunteers can easily collect water samples for analysis in our eDNA laboratory.

Working with communities significantly increases the geographical spread and number of samples than can be collected, expanding our capacity for targeted ecological monitoring and improving long-term data collection. Supporting community-led monitoring efforts also builds local knowledge and capacity and creates shared ownership in the protection of biodiversity in northern Australia.

Fish assemblages in tropical waterways

We are developing an eDNA metabarcoding technique to comprehensively assess fish assemblages in tropical waterways. eDNA metabarcoding identifies multiple species from a single water sample, providing a community-level snapshot of fish species to help us understand ecosystem health and potential threats to fish biodiversity in these waterways.

Water samples are collected by OzFish Unlimited and Townsville City Council volunteers through the CreekWatch citizen science initiative for analysis in our eDNA laboratory. This project will provide a more complete picture of fish assemblages in our tropical waterways, informing waterway management.

Invasive ants across Great Barrier Reef islands

We are partnering with local communities to improve monitoring for four species of invasive ants across high-risk islands of the Great Barrier Reef using eDNA.

Samples are collected in the field by Indigenous Rangers, citizen scientists, and tourism operators. Our researchers then extract DNA from these samples to detect yellow crazy ants, electric ants, red important fire ants, and tropical fire ants. These invasive ants pose a serious threat to native wildlife on islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

By monitoring for these four invasive ant species, this project will identify early incursions and potential changes in abundance over time. Results will inform future efforts to prevent incursions of invasive ants, with detection potentially triggering targeted eradication programs.

Cane toads in Torres Strait

We are working with Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) Rangers on the early detection of cane toads in freshwater bodies in Torres Strait.

Cane toads are a problematic invasive species across Queensland – poisoning predators and outcompeting native animals. The outer islands of Torres Strait remain among the few cane-toad-free places in Queensland.

Cane toads need water contact every day to hydrate, allowing our researchers to detect their DNA in the sampled water even if only a single toad is present. TSRA Rangers are using our specialised eDNA kits to collect water samples that are then analysed in our eDNA laboratory to detect any genetic traces of cane toads.

Monitoring programs like this one provide a practical tool for early detection of invasive species to support local biosecurity efforts.

Project details

These projects are led by Dr Cecilia Villacorta-Rath, and include partnerships with OzFish Unlimited, Townsville City Council, the Queensland Government Department of Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and Torres Strait Regional Authority and funding from the National Environmental Science Program.