Projects
eDGES V2 (2024 - present)
Project 1 - Improving reptile monitoring in the Pilbara
New eDNA methods to survey threatened and elusive reptile populations in the Pilbara region, where mining activity overlaps with the greatest diversity of lizards and snakes in WA.
Project 2 - Underground fauna detection and conservation
Developing high-resolution eDNA tools to monitor the biodiversity of groundwater habitats, thereby gaining new evolutionary insights and better conservation of species in this hidden world.
Project 3 - Tracking environmental restoration of Salar de Punta Negra
Using eDNA, groundwater data and ecological models to provide guidelines for long-term rehabilitation of Chile’s Punta Negra salt flat – environmentally damaged due to water extraction.
Project 4 - Detecting invasive marine species
Advancing high-precision eDNA technology, allowing early detection of invasive marine species such as foreign oysters and sea squirts to help make more informed management decisions.
Project 5 - Mapping marine life in the Northern Pilbara
Documenting the diversity of marine species in the Pilbara region, many of which are currently unknown. The findings will be compiled into a book, Marine Life of the Pilbara, to help in identifying and distinguishing between native and invasive species.
Project 6 - Broad-scale monitoring of land ecosystems with eDNA
Developing and optimising eDNA methods for measuring terrestrial biodiversity changes at broad scales. One goal is to reduce the reliance on special equipment and cold storage allowing for efficient eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring in dry, remote areas.
Project 7 - Living waters of Western Australia (LiWA)
This project will enhance the ability to monitor wetland health using DNA-based survey methods, crucial for tackling wetland loss in WA. Ancient DNA from sediments will be used to examine past biodiversity changes. The project will include a citizen science component and collaboration with Traditional Owners to increase the societal value and help us interpret the impact of past and present biodiversity challenges.
Project 8 - Measuring species abundance with eDNA
eDNA methods can show if species are present but not how many individuals there are. This project will develop new cutting-edge methods to estimate species abundance from eDNA samples.
Project 9 - Using environmental DNA in natural capital accounting
Aims to develop a framework for implementing eDNA indicators of biodiversity into natural capital accounting. By merging environmental and economic information, businesses can track their impacts and make more informed, sustainable decisions.
eDGES V1 (2020 - 2024)
Project 1 - eDNA monitoring and conservation genomics of the Pilbara Olive Python
Aims to merge eDNA monitoring with whole genomic analyses to study the Pilbara Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus barroni), resulting in deep population genomic insights and evolutionary ecology information to guide conservation priorities. A key outcome in this study will be the generation of the first Olive Python reference genome.
Project 2 - Subterranean fauna detection and conservation
Develops new high-resolution eDNA tools for monitoring genetic diversity in subterranean animals across different sites, in order to facilitate their conservation and obtain new groundbreaking information into the evolutionary processes in this hidden world.
Project 3 - Fuctional ecology of Chilean precordillera lakes: towards a Wetland Health Index for birds
By uniquely combining eDNA technology with isotope analysis this project aims to not only investigate the wetland biodiversity but also characterize ecosystem web dynamics from sediment microbes to the migratory Chilean flamingos. This will allow us to understand the food chain and identify keystone species that are indicators of wetland health.
Project 4 - Improve Sensitivity and Specificity of eDNA metabarcoding tools for Invasive Marine Species detection
Project 5 - Benthic communities associated with port and harbour infrastructure in the Pilbara: Targeting invasive marine species
Project 6 - Terrestrial ecosystem biomonitoring with eDNA across the tree of life: the Olympic Dam case study
The objective of this project is to validate cutting edge molecular tools to assess terrestrial biodiversity (soil microbial communities, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates) and commence development of an eDNA based metric for evaluating the condition of terrestrial ecosystems. This approach to ecosystem monitoring will advance the study of individual species to understanding entire ecosystems and how species interconnect.
Publications
2025
Duangdee T., Sanpanich K., Lukehurst S.S., Wells F.E. (2025). Clarification of the identity of oysters in the genera Magallana and Saccostrea in the upper Gulf of Thailand based on 16S rRNA sequences. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 73: 12–33. https://doi.org/10.26107/RBZ-2025-0002
2024
Tan S. H.M., Wells F.E, Lukehurst S.S., Strong E.E., Sanpanich K., Duangdee T., Ambarwati R., Tan K.S. (2024). Unravelling the Brachidontes variabilis species complex (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) of the Indo-Pacific region. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 90 (4): eyae037. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyae037
Tan K.S., Tan S.K., Lukehurst S.S., Wells F.E. (2024). Assessing the threat of the oyster genus Magallana (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) in Singapore to the Australian marine environment. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 72: 162–183. https://doi.org/10.26107/RBZ-2024-0014
Wells F.E., Lukehurst S.S., Fullwood L.A.F., Harvey E.S. (2024). Distribution of intertidal rock oysters in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Management of Biological Invasions, 15(1): 131–143. https://doi.org/10.3391/mbi.2024.15.1.08
Wells F.E., Duangdee T., Sanpanich K., Lukehurst S.S. (2024). Status of the invasive charru mussel Mytella strigata (Hanley, 1843) in the upper Gulf of Thailand five years after it was first surveyed. BioInvasions Records, 13(1): 69–82. https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2024.13.1.07
2023
Beasley-Hall, P.G., Murphy, N.P., King, R.A., White, N.E., Hedges, B.A., Cooper, S.J.B., Austin, A.D., Guzik, M.T (2023) Time capsules of biodiversity: Future research directions for groundwater-dependent ecosystems of the Great Artesian Basin. Frontiers in Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1021987
Campbell, M. A., Laini, A., White, N. E., Allentoft, M. E., & Saccò, M. (2023). When nets meet environmental DNA metabarcoding: Integrative approach to unveil invertebrate community patterns of hypersaline lakes. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 41(4): 1331–1340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-022-2151-9
Laini, A., Stubbington, R., Beermann, A.J., Burgazzi, G., Datry, T., Viaroli, P., Wilkes, M., Zizka, V.M.A., Saccò, M. and Leese, F., 2023. Dissecting biodiversity: assessing the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure of an insect metacommunity in a river network using morphological and metabarcoding data. The European Zoological Journal, 90(1): 320–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2197924
Mousavi-Derazmahalleh M., Ellis R.J., D’Rozario B.L., Berry T.E., Peverley G., Dawkins K.L., Campbell M., White N.E. and Allentoft M.E. (2023). Rock pools as a source of environmental DNA for the detection of the threatened Pilbara olive python (Liasis olivaceus barroni). Front. Environ. Sci., 11:1187545. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1187545
Perina, G., Camacho, A. I., Danks, M., White, N., & Guzik, M. T. (2023). Two new species of Atopobathynella (Parabathynellidae, Bathynellacea) from the Pilbara region, Australia. Systematics and Biodiversity, 21(1): 2228326. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2023.2228326
Saccò, M., Mammola, S., Altermatt, F., Alther, R., Bolpagni, R., Brancelj, A., Brankovits, D., Fišer, C., Gerovasileiou, V., Griebler, C., Guareschi, S., Hose, G. C., Korbel, K., Lictevout, E., Malard, F., Martínez, A., Niemiller, M. L., Robertson, A., Tanalgo, K. C., Guzik, M.T., … Reinecke, R. (2023). Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem. Global Change Biology, 30: e17066. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17066
Simpson T.J., Wellington C.M., Lukehurst S.S., Huerlimann R., Veilleux H., Snow M., Dias J., McDonald J.I.(2023). Development of a real-time PCR (qPCR) method for the identification of the invasive paddle crab Charybdis japonica (Crustacea,Portunidae). PeerJ 11: e15522. https://peerj.com/articles/15522/
Takahashi, M., Saccò, M., Kestel, J. H., Nester, G., Campbell, M. A., Van Der Heyde, M., … & Allentoft, M. E. (2023). Aquatic environmental DNA: A review of the macro-organismal biomonitoring revolution. Science of The Total Environment, 162322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162322
van der Heyde, M., White, N.E., Nevill, P., Austin, A.D., Stevens, N., Jones, M. and Guzik, M.T., (2023). Taking eDNA underground: factors affecting eDNA detection of subterranean fauna in groundwater. Molecular Ecology Resources. 23: 1257–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13792
2022
Saccò, M., Blyth, A. J., Douglas, G., Humphreys, W. F., Hose, G. C., Davis, J., … & Halse, S. A. (2022). Stygofaunal diversity and ecological sustainability of coastal groundwater ecosystems in a changing climate: The Australian paradigm. Freshwater Biology, 67: 2007–2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13987
Saccò, M., Guzik, M. T., van der Heyde, M., Nevill, P., Cooper, S. J., Austin, A. D., … & White, N. E. (2022). eDNA in subterranean ecosystems: Applications, technical aspects, and future prospects. Science of The Total Environment, 153223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153223
Saccò, M., Campbell, M. A., Nevill, P., Humphreys, W. F., Blyth, A. J., Grierson, P. F., & White, N. E. (2022). Getting to the root of organic inputs in groundwaters: stygofaunal plant consumption in a calcrete aquifer. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.854591
2021
Saccò, M., White, N. E., Harrod, C., Salazar, G., Aguilar, P., Cubillos, C. F., … & Allentoft, M. E. (2021). Salt to conserve: A review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems. Biological Reviews, 96(6): 2828–2850. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12780
Saccò, M., White, N. E., Campbell, M., Allard, S., Humphreys, W. F., Pringle, P., … & Allentoft, M. E. (2021). Metabarcoding under brine: microbial ecology of five hypersaline lakes at Rottnest Island (WA, Australia). Water, 13(14): 1899. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13141899
2020
Burgazzi, G., Laini, A., Ovaskainen, O., Saccò, M., Stubbington, R. and Viaroli, P., 2020. Communities in high definition: Spatial and environmental factors shape the micro‐distribution of aquatic invertebrates. Freshwater biology, 65(12): 2053–2065. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13599