Pushing the boundaries of eDNA research – opportunities to inform Australia Marine Park management

Dr Steffan Howe¹

¹Parks Australia, Kingston, Australia

Abstract:

At 3.3 million km2, Australia has one of the world’s largest representative networks of marine parks. Australian Marine Parks (AMPs) help conserve marine habitats and the marine species that live within and rely on these habitats. Parks Australia manages an extensive Science program for the AMPs and is in the process of developing an AMP Science Strategy and Science Plans that clearly articulate our priorities. Implementing a Science Program for such a vast and often remote area is logistically challenging and expensive. Rapid advances in technology such as eDNA techniques provide exciting opportunities to further our understanding, and improve management, of marine life in the parks.

Environmental DNA can play an important role in allowing collection of new data that can’t currently be collected, and also to complement existing methods, to provide a much greater understanding of the diversity and health of marine life in the AMPs. Parks Australia and science partners are already doing eDNA sampling in the AMPs to better understand biodiversity in some areas but also seek to push the boundaries of eDNA techniques. Key opportunities for eDNA techniques in the AMPs include biodiversity surveys and building eDNA reference libraries, detection of invasive or range expanding species, abundance of key species and populations (threatened and keystone species), and modelling of population extent (including habitat-forming species).

This presentation will provide an overview of the science and management needs with respect to eDNA, and case studies on existing eDNA use in the AMPs.

Biography:

Steffan Howe did his PhD investigating the effect of temperature on coral from Port Phillip Bay. He then spent four years working with Eritrea’s Coastal, Marine and Island Biodiversity Conservation project in the Red Sea, after which he returned to Australia and worked for the Department for Environment and Heritage in South Australia as Marine Planning Liaison Officer and spent a short period as Acting Manager of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park. He was the Marine Science Manager at Parks Victoria for over ten years where he managed the research and monitoring programs for Victoria’s Marine Protected Areas. Over the past two and half years Steffan has played a key role in developing a Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement (MERI) system for the Australian Marine Parks (AMPs) and setting strategic directions for the AMP Science program.