ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5696-7574
Current Organisations
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
,
Griffith University
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Environmental Monitoring | Environmental Science and Management | Environmental Impact Assessment | Fisheries Management
Coastal and Marine Management Policy | Marine Oceanic Processes (excl. climate related) | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments |
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2020
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.15382
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-04-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6199
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-04-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.5142
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-04-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-12501-5
Abstract: Effective marine management requires comprehensive data on the status of marine bio ersity. However, efficient methods that can document bio ersity in our oceans are currently lacking. Environmental DNA (eDNA) sourced from seawater offers a new avenue for investigating the biota in marine ecosystems. Here, we investigated the potential of eDNA to inform on the breadth of bio ersity present in a tropical marine environment. Directly sequencing eDNA from seawater using a shotgun approach resulted in only 0.34% of 22.3 million reads assigning to eukaryotes, highlighting the inefficiency of this method for assessing eukaryotic ersity. In contrast, using ‘tree of life’ (ToL) metabarcoding and 20-fold fewer sequencing reads, we could detect 287 families across the major isions of eukaryotes. Our data also show that the best performing ‘universal’ PCR assay recovered only 44% of the eukaryotes identified across all assays, highlighting the need for multiple metabarcoding assays to catalogue bio ersity. Lastly, focusing on the fish genus Lethrinus , we recovered intra- and inter-specific haplotypes from seawater s les, illustrating that eDNA can be used to explore ersity beyond taxon identifications. Given the sensitivity and low cost of eDNA metabarcoding we advocate this approach be rapidly integrated into biomonitoring programs.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-07-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-05-2022
DOI: 10.1002/EDN3.200
Abstract: Monitoring plans using environmental DNA have the potential to offer a standardized and cost‐efficient method to survey bio ersity in aquatic ecosystems. Among these ecosystems, coastal wetlands are key elements that serve as transition zones between marine and freshwater ecosystems and are today the target of many conservation and restoration efforts. In this sense, eDNA monitoring could provide a rapid and efficient tool for studying and generating baseline bio ersity information to guide coastal wetland management programs. Here, we test an eDNA metabarcoding assay as a tool to characterize vertebrate bio ersity in one of the largest coastal wetlands of Chile, the Rio Cruces Wetland, a Ramsar designated site since 1981. We s led surface water from 49 sites along the entire wetland. Our eDNA approach detected 91genera of vertebrates including hibians, fishes, mammals, and birds, as well as identified several cryptic, exotic, and endangered species. Our results also indicated that the spatial distribution of eDNA from different species is spatially structured despite the complex hydrodynamics inherent in this wetland due to the influence of daily tidal regimes. For hibians and fishes, the number of taxa detected with eDNA was higher in the periphery of the wetland, and increased with proximity to the ocean, a pattern consistent with small‐scale spatial sensitivity for some species and eDNA accumulation downstream for others. Birds and mammals showed somewhat more idiosyncratic distributions. Taken together, our results add to the growing body of evidence showing eDNA can serve as a rapid cost‐effective tool to characterize vertebrate communities in protected coastal wetlands, where visual surveys are difficult and animal collections are often prohibited. The use of multiple primer sets is also recommended as it facilitates the detection of ephemeral terrestrial organisms and resident aquatic organisms that make use of these wetlands.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-09-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-021-96856-W
Abstract: Increasing fishing effort, including bycatch and discard practices, are impacting marine bio ersity, particularly among slow-to-reproduce taxa such as elasmobranchs, and specifically sharks. While some fisheries involving sharks are sustainably managed, collateral mortalities continue, contributing towards 35% of species being threatened with extinction. To effectively manage shark stocks, life-history information, including resource use and feeding ecologies is pivotal, especially among those species with wide-ranging distributions. Two cosmopolitan sharks bycaught off eastern Australia are the common blacktip shark ( Carcharhinus limbatus globally classified as Near Threatened) and great hammerhead ( Sphyrna mokarran Critically Endangered). We opportunistically s led the digestive tracts of these two species (and also any whole prey termed the ‘Russian-doll’ approach), caught in bather-protection gillnets off northern New South Wales, to investigate the capacity for DNA metabarcoding to simultaneously determine predator and prey regional feeding ecologies. While s le sizes were small, S. mokkaran fed predominantly on stingrays and skates (Myliobatiformes and Rajiformes), but also teleosts, while C. limbatus mostly consumed teleosts. Metabarcoding assays showed extensive intermixing of taxa from the digestive tracts of predators and their whole prey, likely via the predator’s stomach chyme, negating the opportunity to distinguish between primary and secondary predation. This Russian-doll effect requires further investigation in DNA metabarcoding studies focussing on dietary preferences and implies that any outcomes will need to be interpreted concomitant with traditional visual approaches.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.14352
Abstract: Understanding the drivers of dispersal among populations is a central topic in marine ecology and fundamental for spatially explicit management of marine resources. The extensive coast of Northwestern Australia provides an emerging frontier for implementing new genomic tools to comparatively identify patterns of dispersal across erse and extreme environmental conditions. Here, we focused on the stripey snapper (Lutjanus carponotatus), which is important to recreational, charter-based and customary fishers throughout the Indo-West Pacific. We collected 1,016 L. carponotatus s les at 51 locations in the coastal waters of Northwestern Australia ranging from the Northern Territory to Shark Bay and adopted a genotype-by-sequencing approach to test whether realized connectivity (via larval dispersal) was related to extreme gradients in coastal hydrodynamics. Hydrodynamic simulations using CONNIE and a more detailed treatment in the Kimberley Bioregion provided null models for comparison. Based on 4,402 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphism loci shared across all in iduals, we demonstrated significant genetic sub ision between the Shark Bay Bioregion in the south and all locations within the remaining, more northern bioregions. More importantly, we identified a zone of admixture spanning a distance of 180 km at the border of the Kimberley and Canning bioregions, including the Buccaneer Archipelago and adjacent waters, which collectively experiences the largest tropical tidal range and some of the fastest tidal currents in the world. Further testing of the generality of this admixture zone in other shallow water species across broader geographic ranges will be critical for our understanding of the population dynamics and genetic structure of marine taxa in our tropical oceans.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-02-2022
DOI: 10.1002/EDN3.185
Abstract: Environmental DNA (eDNA) has revolutionized our ability to identify the presence and distributions of terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Recent evidence suggests the concentration of eDNA could also provide a rapid, cost‐effective indicator of abundance and/or biomass for fisheries stock assessments. Globally, fisheries resources are under immense pressure, and their sustainable harvest requires accurate information on the sizes of fished stocks. However, in many cases the required information remains elusive because of a reliance on imprecise or costly fishery‐dependent and independent data. Here, we review the literature describing relationships between eDNA concentrations and fish abundance and/or biomass, as well as key influencing factors, as a precursor to determining the broader utility of eDNA for monitoring fish populations. We reviewed 63 studies published between 2012 and 2020 and found 90% identified positive relationships between eDNA concentrations and the abundance and/or biomass of focal species. Key influencing biotic factors included the taxon examined as well as their body size, distribution, reproduction, and migration. Key abiotic factors mostly comprised hydrological processes affecting the dispersal and persistence of eDNA, especially water flow and temperature, although eDNA collection methods were also influential. The cumulative influence of these different factors likely explains the substantial variability observed in eDNA concentrations, both within and among studies. Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence to support using eDNA as an ancillary tool for assessing fish population abundance and/or biomass across discrete spatio‐temporal scales, following preliminary investigations to determine species‐ and context‐specific factors influencing the eDNA abundance/biomass relationship. Advantages of eDNA monitoring relative to other approaches include reduced costs, increased efficiencies, and nonlethal s ling.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-10-2021
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.3726
Abstract: Effective conservation and fisheries management requires data to capture demographic processes and range limits for each species to maximize population health and productivity. This need is constrained by limited funding and resources, particularly for countries with large land areas and coastlines as well as expansive exclusive economic zones. This imbalance means that monitoring efforts are often focused on targets of commercial and recreational fishing, which results in incomplete distributional records for non‐target, small‐bodied, and/or cryptic species. Community‐based citizen science projects offer one potential alternative for scientists and fisheries managers needing this type of information but lacking sufficient resources to gather it. This study investigated whether data sourced from an online citizen science project (iNaturalist: Australasian Fishes) can assist in the distributional monitoring of a subset of fish species. Given the regional focus of this citizen science project, distributional data in the form of occurrence records for abundant, protected, and threatened fish species as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Australia and New Zealand were explored. Data for important commercial and recreational fishery targets in New South Wales were also explored, as a case study of a large jurisdiction with extensive monitoring requirements. The occurrence records for some of these categories of fishes were well represented in the quality‐filtered citizen science data set, particularly endemic fishes whose threat status had not yet been assessed and species not currently under any form of management. Despite gaps in coverage between major urban centres, citizen science data for the best represented endemic fishes were qualitatively comparable to the available geographic distributions for these species. We suggest that quality‐filtered citizen science data can in fact be used to improve taxonomic representation and the geographic breadth of species monitoring with increased participation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2022.114239
Abstract: Fishes represent an important natural resource and yet their ersity and function in dynamic estuaries with relatively high levels of human pressure such as Sydney Harbour have rarely been quantified. Further, Eastern Australia supports the survival and persistence of an increasing number of tropical species found within temperate estuaries owing to increasing average ocean temperatures. A re-valuation of the number of fish species known from Sydney Harbour is therefore needed. In this study, we generated an up-to-date and annotated checklist of fishes recorded from Sydney Harbour based on verified natural history records as well as newly available citizen science records based on opportunistic observations and structured surveys. We explored the spatial and temporal distribution of these records. In addition, we quantified the function, conservation status, and commercial importance of the identified fishes. The number of fish species recorded from Sydney Harbour now stands at 675, an increase of 89 species (15 %) when compared to the most recent evaluation in 2013. We attribute this increase in fish ersity over a relatively short time to the contribution of newer citizen science programs as well as the influx and survival of fishes in the Harbour with preferences for warmer waters. Some fish families were also overrepresented in the more urbanized and polluted sections of the Harbour. In forecasting further environmental impacts on the fishes of Sydney Harbour, we recommend increased integration of collaborative citizen science programs and natural history collections as a means to track these changes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-01-2021
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.13228
Abstract: Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has demonstrated its applicability as a highly sensitive biomonitoring tool across small spatial and temporal scales in marine ecosystems. However, it has rarely been tested across large spatial scales or biogeographical barriers. Here, we scale up marine eDNA metabarcoding, test its ability to detect a major marine biogeographic break and evaluate its use as a regional biomonitoring tool in Australia. North‐western Australia (NWA). We applied metabarcoding assays targeting the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and CO1 genes to 284 surface seawater eDNA s les collected from 71 mid‐shelf, inshore, coastal and nearshore estuarine sites over 700 km of the NWA coastline. Metabarcoding detected a wide range of bony fish (404 taxa), elasmobranchs (44) and aquatic reptiles (5). We detected bioregional and depth differentiation within inshore bony fish communities. These findings support the presence of a marine biogeographic break, which is purported to occur in the vicinity of Cape Leveque, demarcating the border between the Kimberley and Canning bioregions. Inshore bony fish and elasmobranch communities, as well as coastal bony fish assemblages, were additionally found to differ between the South and North Kimberley regions suggesting previously unrecognized subregional differentiation amongst these taxa. The overall compositional data have been used to update distribution information for a number of endangered, elusive and data‐deficient taxa, including sawfish (family: Pristidae), northern river shark ( Glyphis garricki ) and wedgefish (genus: Rhynchobatus ). eDNA metabarcoding demonstrated a high level of sensitivity that was able to discern fine‐scale patterns across the large‐scale, remote and oceanographically complex region of North‐western Australia. Importantly, this study highlights the potential of integrating broad‐scale eDNA metabarcoding alongside other baseline surveys and long‐term monitoring approaches, which are crucial for the sustainable management and conservation of marine bio ersity in this unique marine region.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-04-2017
Abstract: Data from a large-scale restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq) study of nine butterflyfish species in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea provided a means to test the utility of a recently published draft genome (Chaetodon austriacus) and assess apparent bias in this method of isolating nuclear loci. We here processed double-digest restriction site-associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing data to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and their associated function with and without our reference genome to see whether it improves the quality of RAD-Seq. Our analyses indicate (i) a modest gap between the number of nonannotated versus annotated SNPs across all species, (ii) an advantage of using genomic resources for closely related but not distantly related butterflyfish species based on the ability to assign putative gene function to SNPs and (iii) an enrichment of genes among sister butterflyfish taxa related to calcium transmembrane transport and binding. The latter result highlights the potential for this approach to reveal insights into adaptive mechanisms in populations inhabiting challenging coral reef environments such as the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf with further study.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-04-2022
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.3809
Abstract: Analysis of environmental (e)DNA can facilitate an understanding of the presence and distribution of aquatic species. However, eDNA detection using quantitative PCR requires validated and standardized species‐specific assay designs. This study presents two eDNA assays to detect Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii , and mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus (two ecologically vulnerable Australian species), based on small fragments of the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene. A comprehensive description of species‐specific assay development, from assay design to testing in silico, in vitro and in situ , has been included to guide effective assay design and validation in future studies. The results indicate that the assay was species specific for M. peelii within its natural distribution. However, the assay also lified genomic DNA from two allopatric and endangered congeners ( Maccullochella ikei and Maccullochella mariensis ), thus potentially facilitating their eDNA detection elsewhere. In contrast, the A. japonicus assay was highly species specific with no lification among close relatives. Both target‐species assays are highly sensitive to as few as four and 10 copies per PCR reaction, respectively. This study has demonstrated that the assays assessed are effective tools for detecting the targeted species in situ from environmental DNA s les, which will assist efforts to conserve and manage their stocks.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-05-2022
Abstract: Global warming is modifying the phenology, life‐history traits and biogeography of species around the world. Evidence of these effects have increased over recent decades however, we still have a poor understanding of the possible outcomes of their interplay across global climatic gradients, hindering our ability to accurately predict the consequences of climate change in populations and ecosystems. We examined the effect that changes in biogeography can have on the life‐history traits of two of the most successful range‐extending fish species in the world: the tropical rabbitfishes Siganus fuscescens and Siganus rivulatus . Both species have established abundant populations at higher latitudes in the northern and southern hemispheres and have been identified as important ecological engineers with the potential to alter the community structure of seaweed forests (Laminariales and Fucales) in temperate regions. Life‐history trait information from across their global distribution was compiled from the published literature and meta‐analyses were conducted to assess changes in (i) the onset and duration of reproductive periods, (ii) size at maturity, (iii) fecundity, (iv) growth rates, (v) maximum body sizes and (vi) longevity in populations at the leading edge of range expansion in relation to sea surface temperature and primary productivity (a common proxy for nutritional resource levels). Populations at highest latitudes had shortened their reproductive periods and reduced growth rates, taking longer to reach sexual maturity and maximum sizes, but compensated this with higher fecundity per length class and longer lifespans than populations in warmer environments. Low primary productivity and temperature in the Mediterranean Sea resulted in lower growth rates and body sizes for S. rivulatus , but also lower length at maturity, increasing life‐time reproductive output. The results suggest that plasticity in the phenology and life‐history traits of range‐expanding species would be important to enhance their fitness in high latitude environments, facilitating their persistence and possible further poleward expansions. Quantifying the magnitude and direction of these responses can improve our understanding and ability to forecast species redistributions and its repercussions in the functioning of temperate ecosystems.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 26-01-2018
Abstract: The comment by Myers-Smith and Myers focuses on three main points: (i) the lack of a mechanistic explanation for climate-selection relationships, (ii) the appropriateness of the climate data used in our analysis, and (iii) our focus on estimating climate-selection relationships across (rather than within) taxonomic groups. We address these critiques in our response.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6566
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-10-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.4566
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-11-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8887
Abstract: We conducted a quantitative literature review of genetic ersity (GD) within and among populations in relation to categorical population size and isolation (together referred to as “insularity”). Using populations from within the same studies, we were able to control for between‐study variation in methodology, as well as demographic and life histories of focal species. Contrary to typical expectations, insularity had relatively minor effects on GD within and among populations, which points to the more important role of other factors in shaping evolutionary processes. Such effects of insularity were sometimes seen—particularly in study systems where GD was already high overall. That is, insularity influenced GD in a study system when GD was high even in non‐insular populations of the same study system—suggesting an important role for the “scope” of influences on GD. These conclusions were more robust for within population GD versus among population GD, although several biases might underlie this difference. Overall, our findings indicate that population‐level genetic assumptions need to be tested rather than assumed in nature, particularly for topics underlying current conservation management practices.
Publisher: Authorea, Inc.
Date: 07-08-2023
DOI: 10.22541/AU.169140460.03190700/V1
Abstract: Adaptive radiation as a result of ecological opportunity can have profound effects on the evolutionary outcome of species. On coral reefs, parrotfishes have been considered as one of the most dramatic ex les of adaptive radiation unique in their extreme dietary specialisation. Using abrasion-resistant biomineralized teeth, parrotfishes are able to mechanically extract protein-rich micro-photoautotrophs growing in and amongst reef carbonate material. This unique ability to exploit a previously untapped trophic resource is thought to have led to the early ersification of the parrotfishes. In order to better understand the key evolutionary innovations leading to the success of these dietary specialists, we sequenced and analysed the genome of the spotted parrotfish (Cetoscarus ocellatus). Our findings reveal significant expansion, selection, and duplication within several gene families responsible for detoxification, including the cytochrome p450 gene family and non-cyp450 carboxylesterases. We find preliminary evidence that the structural mechanism responsible for the extreme hardness and biomineralization of parrotfish teeth may be a result of poly-glutamine expansion in the enamel protein ameloblastin. We also detect expansion and selection for several genes related to pigmentation and sequential hermaphroditism. Together, these results highlight a potentially complex interplay of adaptive radiation and sexual selection operating on coral reef ecosystems.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1111/EVA.13450
Abstract: Many coral reef fishes display remarkable genetic and phenotypic variation across their geographic ranges. Understanding how historical and contemporary processes have shaped these patterns remains a focal question in evolutionary biology since they reveal how ersity is generated and how it may respond to future environmental change. Here, we compare the population genomics and demographic histories of a commercially and ecologically important coral reef fish, the common coral grouper ( Plectropomus leopardus [Lacépède 1802]), across two adjoining regions (the Great Barrier Reef GBR, and the Coral Sea, Australia) spanning approximately 14 degrees of latitude and 9 degrees of longitude. We analysed 4548 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers across 11 sites and show that genetic connectivity between regions is low, despite their relative proximity (~100 km) and an absence of any obvious geographic barrier. Inferred demographic histories using 10,479 markers suggest that the Coral Sea population was founded by a small number of GBR in iduals and that ergence occurred ~190 kya under a model of isolation with asymmetric migration. We detected population expansions in both regions, but estimates of contemporary effective population sizes were approximately 50% smaller in Coral Sea sites, which also had lower genetic ersity. Our results suggest that P. leopardus in the Coral Sea have experienced a long period of isolation that precedes the recent glacial period (~10–120 kya) and may be vulnerable to localized disturbances due to their relative reliance on local larval replenishment. While it is difficult to determine the underlying events that led to the ergence of the Coral Sea and GBR lineages, we show that even geographically proximate populations of a widely dispersed coral reef fish can have vastly different evolutionary histories.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 05-10-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-09-2019
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12980
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-09-2021
DOI: 10.1002/EDN3.252
Abstract: Environmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly being used to assess community composition in marine ecosystems. Applying eDNA approaches across broad spatial scales now provide the potential to inform biogeographic analyses. However, to date, few studies have employed this technique to assess broad biogeographic patterns across multiple taxonomic groups. Here, we compare eDNA‐derived communities of bony fishes and invertebrates, including corals and sponges, from 15 locations spanning the entire length of the Omani coast. This survey includes a variety of habitats, including coral and rocky reefs, and covers three distinct marine ecoregions. Our data support a known biogeographic break in fish communities between the north and the south of Oman however, the eDNA data highlight that this faunal break is mostly reflected in schooling baitfish species (e.g., sardines and anchovies), whereas reef‐associated fish communities appear more homogeneous along this coastline. Furthermore, our data provide indications that these biogeographic breaks also affect invertebrate communities, which includes corals, sponges, and broader eukaryotic groups. The observed community shifts were correlated with local environmental and anthropogenic differences characteristic of this coastline, particularly for the eDNA‐derived bony fish communities. Overall, this study provides compelling support that eDNA sequencing and associated analyses may serve as powerful tools to detect community differences across biogeographic breaks and ecoregions, particularly in places where there is significant variation in oceanographic conditions or anthropogenic impacts.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-12-2021
DOI: 10.1002/EDN3.270
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-05-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S42003-023-04919-7
Abstract: Hybridisation and introgression of eukaryotic genomes can generate new species or subsume existing ones, with direct and indirect consequences for bio ersity. An understudied component of these evolutionary forces is their potentially rapid effect on host gut microbiomes, and whether these pliable microcosms may serve as early biological indicators of speciation. We address this hypothesis in a field study of angelfishes (genus Centropyge ), which have one of the highest prevalence of hybridisation within coral reef fish. In our study region of the Eastern Indian Ocean, the parent fish species and their hybrids cohabit and display no differences in their diet, behaviour, and reproduction, often interbreeding in mixed harems. Despite this ecological overlap, we show that microbiomes of the parent species are significantly different from each other in form and function based on total community composition, supporting the ision of parents into distinct species, despite the confounding effects of introgression acting to homogenize parent species identity at other molecular markers. The microbiome of hybrid in iduals, on the other hand, are not significantly different to each of the parents, instead harbouring an intermediate community composition. These findings suggest that shifts in gut microbiomes may be an early indicator of speciation in hybridising species.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-10-2022
DOI: 10.1111/JFB.15231
Abstract: A new species of deep-water epinephelid fish is described from the west coast of Australia based on 14 specimens, 99-595 mm standard length. Hyporthodus griseofasciatus sp. nov. is endemic to Western Australia from Barrow Island to Two Peoples Bay in depths of 76-470 m. It has a series of eight grey bands alternating with eight brown bands along the body and the soft dorsal, soft anal and caudal fin margins are pale cream to white. It is distinguished from its nearest congener, H. ergastularius, by the presence of a star-like pattern of radiating lines on the head versus an overall brownish colour in the latter as well as significant differences in the quantitative analyses of 25 morphological characters. The two species have allopatric distributions on either side of the Australian continent. H. griseofasciatus is distinguished from H. octofasciatus by several grey bands being distinctly narrower than other grey bands (vs. all grey bands subequal in the latter) and the presence of broad white margins on the dorsal, caudal and anal fins (vs. narrow or absent in the latter). Some scale counts appear to also differ. Analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequences revealed reciprocally monophyletic clades with fixed differences and genetic distances typical of recently erged species of fishes.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-08-2017
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-06-2020
DOI: 10.1002/EDN3.93
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-12-2019
Abstract: Effective biomonitoring is critical for driving management outcomes that ensure long-term sustainability of the marine environment. In recent years, environmental DNA (eDNA), coupled with metabarcoding methodologies, has emerged as a promising tool for generating biotic surveys of marine ecosystems, including those under anthropogenic pressure. However, more empirical data are needed on how to best implement eDNA field s ling approaches to maximize their utility for each specific application. The effect of the substrate chosen for eDNA s ling on the ersity of marine taxa detected by DNA metabarcoding has not yet been systematically analysed, despite aquatic systems being those most commonly targeted for eDNA studies. We investigated the effect of four commonly used eDNA substrates to explore taxonomic ersity: (a) surface water, (b) marine sediment, (c) settlement plates and (d) planktonic tows. With a focus on coastal ports, 332 eDNA s les from Australia (Indian and Southern oceans) and Kazakhstan (Caspian Sea) were collected and analysed by multi-assay DNA metabarcoding. Across study locations, between 30% and 52% of eukaryotic families detected were unique to a particular substrate and <6% of families were found in all four substrates. Taxonomic composition varied significantly depending on the substrate s led implying that the suitability (and bias) of an eDNA substrate will depend on the focal taxa. These findings demonstrate that single substrate eDNA metabarcoding likely underestimates the total eukaryotic ersity. Future eDNA experimental design should consider incorporating multiple substrates or select substrate(s) best suited to the specific detection of target taxa.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-04-2019
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12905
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-10-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S42003-021-02733-7
Abstract: Rising temperatures and extreme climate events are propelling tropical species into temperate marine ecosystems, but not all species can persist. Here, we used the heatwave-driven expatriation of tropical Black Rabbitfish ( Siganus fuscescens ) to the temperate environments of Western Australia to assess the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that may entail their persistence. Population genomic assays for this rabbitfish indicated little genetic differentiation between tropical residents and vagrants to temperate environments due to high migration rates, which were likely enhanced by the marine heatwave. DNA metabarcoding revealed a erse diet for this species based on phytoplankton and algae, as well as an ability to feed on regional resources, including kelp. Irrespective of future climate scenarios, these macroalgae-consuming vagrants may self-recruit in temperate environments and further expand their geographic range by the year 2100. This expansion may compromise the health of the kelp forests that form Australia’s Great Southern Reef. Overall, our study demonstrates that projected favourable climate conditions, continued large-scale genetic connectivity between populations, and diet versatility are key for tropical range-shifting fish to establish in temperate ecosystems.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-02-2023
DOI: 10.3390/D15030322
Abstract: Non-invasive, low-cost methods for censusing depleted fish populations are being prioritised among many jurisdictions worldwide. Collecting environmental DNA (eDNA) could offer one such option for augmenting fish population assessments. However, candidate species need to be carefully selected because species-specific DNA shedding and decay rates are affected by many biotic and abiotic factors that may influence relative abundance estimates. In this study, we sought to ascertain if the eDNA of a depleted Australian teleost, mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus, reflects its weight under controlled aquaria conditions. With four experiments, we investigated the relationships between mulloway eDNA concentrations and their weight tank−1 as a function of: (1) time post-tank establishment (2) water temperatures (within the species’ tolerance range) (3) stocking densities and (4) among in idual, similar-sized fish. The concentrations of eDNA in tanks stabilised after six days, and a positive relationship was found between fish weight and eDNA concentration, despite some variability in shedding rates by similar-sized fish. There was also a positive effect of water temperature on eDNA concentrations, which reinforces the need to control for such abiotic factors. We conclude that there is strong utility in applying eDNA concentrations as an index of relative abundance for mulloway under controlled conditions, which justifies future field-based investigations.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-09-2019
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13183
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 05-08-2020
Abstract: Hybridization events are not uncommon in marine environments where physical barriers are attenuated. Studies of coral reef taxa have suggested that hybridization predominantly occurs between parapatric species distributed along biogeographic suture zones. By contrast, little is known about the extent of sympatric hybridization on coral reefs, despite the large amount of biogeographic overlap shared by many coral reef species. Here, we investigate if the propensity for hybridization along suture zones represents a general phenomenon among coral reef fishes, by focusing on the marine angelfishes (family Pomacanthidae). Although hybridization has been reported for this family, it has not been thoroughly surveyed, with more recent hybridization studies focusing instead on closely related species from a population genetics perspective. We provide a comprehensive survey of hybridization among the Pomacanthidae, characterize the upper limits of genetic ergences between hybridizing species and investigate the occurrence of sympatric hybridization within this group. We report the occurrence of hybridization involving 42 species (48% of the family) from all but one genus of the Pomacanthidae. Our results indicate that the marine angelfishes are among the groups of coral reef fishes with the highest incidences of hybridization, not only between sympatric species, but also between deeply ergent lineages.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-09-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.5622
Location: United States of America
Location: Saudi Arabia
Start Date: 09-2016
End Date: 09-2019
Amount: $292,169.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity