Across Australasia in the past 5 years over 100,000 eDNA samples that have been taken from rivers, estuaries and oceans – what does the next 5 years hold?
Researchers and end-users have used the outputs of eDNA analyses for a variety of applications including detection of endangered species and invasive ones. Increasingly we are seeing that, if executed well, a tree-of-life eDNA analysis can provide vital ecosystem intelligence for much more than the application that it was originally collected for. This ‘additionality’ has the ability to defragment how environmental monitoring is commissioned and how data is used both now and in the future.
This presentation will explore how DNA-derived metrics and models might be used to greater effect and how future applications of eDNA – including microbial signatures and population genetics - might be used to take eDNA past how eDNA is currently perceived i.e. as a presence/absence tool that is wholly reliant on reference data
The primary aim of this talk is to take a step beyond the current barriers to uptake, and speculate about what the potential of the DNA toolkit can bring to aquatic environments. Finally, it will provide a progress report on how eDNA is tracking as a tool to engage communities with their blue backyard.