Developing cost-effective marine biosecurity surveillance between government and industry for detection of introduced marine species in Western Australian using eDNA.
Ms Claire Wellington1, Dr Justin McDonald1
1DPIRD, Perth,, Australia
Abstract:
Effective detection of introduced marine pests (IMP) in areas such as commercial ports require a collaborative approach, as port environments can be highly complex both above and below the water. The Aquatic Pest Biosecurity section within the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) developed the State-Wide Array Surveillance Program (SWASP) in collaboration with Western Australian Port Authorities and port industry stakeholders.
The SWASP utilises passive settlement arrays and molecular analyses to provide regular marine pest surveillance from the tropics to temperate regions of Western Australia. Marine growth biomass collected from the arrays are processed using environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to identify the presence of IMP within a specific geographic location. Metabarcoding using nuclear rRNA 18S and mitochondrial CO1 assays assess the marine biodiversity present within the samples as well as detects any DNA signatures attributable to IMP.
The program has proven to be highly effective as a means of fostering stakeholder involvement and, importantly for IMP surveillance. The participation in SWASP has grown from three to 11 ports, spanning over 11,000 km of the west Australian coast. The program has embedded valuable relationships between the biosecurity regulator and stakeholders ensuring reliable and effective ongoing surveillance in marine biosecurity for the state.
We discuss the development and outcomes of the program, as well as current challenges and developments in applications of eDNA tools for marine biosecurity.
Biography:
Biography to come