Our researchers have developed a new method of monitoring threatened coral ecosystems, by analysing water from the area.
Usually, conservation efforts depend on visual underwater surveys, which can be labour intensive and require a high level of expertise, to gather data on species distribution and population.
The Curtin method involves analysing environmental DNA – traces of DNA from coral, other underwater species and the substrates they have interacted with – extracted from the sampled water.
The method, which was first deployed off the coast of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in late 2019, has been found to be noticeably faster than traditional underwater surveys.
It has also been shown to detect species that have not been detected by underwater surveys, including those that look identical to other known species and rare and endangered species.
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