Biology subjects

Widdicombe, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Widdicombe, S..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Finding dugongs through environmental DNA: a complementary tool for population surveillance

Detecting dugongs at low densities remains a major challenge for conservation monitoring, particularly in remote or turbid coastal habitats where conventional surveys are difficult. Environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a complementary approach, but robust species-specific tools are needed before it can be confidently applied to dugong surveillance. We developed and analytically validated a quantitative PCR TaqMan assay for detecting dugong (Dugong dugon) eDNA and evaluated its performance across controlled aquarium conditions in Australia and Abu Dhabi, and wild populations in northern Australia and the Arabian/Persian Gulf. The assay detected dugong eDNA in aquarium and field samples, with Sanger sequencing confirming amplification of dugong mitochondrial DNA from positive field detections. Our assay provides a robust and geographically transferable tool for targeted dugong eDNA detection, performing reliably across contrasting coastal environments and widely separated populations. This approach can strengthen local-scale surveillance of low-density or difficult-to-detect dugong populations.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2024

Making the Monitoring Framework of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework fit for purpose.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is the most ambitious agreement on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use to date. It calls for a whole-of government and whole-of-society approach to halt and reverse biodiversity loss worldwide. The Monitoring Framework of the GBF lays out how Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are expected to report their progress. A CBD expert group provided guidance on its implementation, including a gap analysis to identify the strengths and limitations of the indicators in the Monitoring Framework. We present the results of the gap analysis, highlight where more work is needed and provide recommendations on implementing and improving monitoring to allow effective and comprehensive tracking of the GBFs ambition. We find that with the headline and binary indicators, which Parties are required to use, the Monitoring Framework fully covers 19% of the GBFs ambition and partially covers an additional 40%. Including disaggregations of the headline indicators improves coverage to 22% fully and an additional 41% partially. Adding optional (component and complementary) indicators brings full coverage to 29% with an additional 47% partial coverage. No indicators are available for 12% of the GBF. In practice, the coverage of the Monitoring Framework will depend on which indicators (headline and binary as well as component and complementary) and disaggregations are used by countries. Disaggregations are particularly relevant to monitor the cross-cutting considerations defined under section C. Substantial investment is required to collect the necessary data to compute indicators, infer change, and effectively monitor progress. We highlight important next steps to progressively improve the efficacy of the Monitoring Framework.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Using camouflage for conservation: colour change in juvenile European lobster

Changes in coloration enable animals to refine their camouflage to match different visual environments. Such plasticity provides ecological benefits and could potentially be exploited to support conservation or stock enhancement efforts. One application could be ensuring that hatchery-reared animals, reared to stock wild populations, are appropriately matched to their environment on release. European lobster (Homarus gammarus) hatcheries aim to restock or enhance local lobster populations by rearing juveniles through their most vulnerable stages, then releasing them into the wild. However, little consideration has been given to their camouflage and the implications of matching individuals to their release site. This study assesses to what extent juvenile lobsters can change coloration to match their background and whether hatchery practices could be altered to enhance lobster camouflage. We test this by switching individuals between black or white backgrounds in the laboratory and monitoring their coloration over time. Our work demonstrates the capacity of juvenile lobsters to change lightness in response to their surroundings. We show that juvenile lobsters are capable of small changes in luminance (perceived lightness) to better match their background over 2-3 weeks. These changes potentially correspond to improved camouflage, based on a model of predator (European pollack, Pollachius pollachius) vision. However, over a longer period (5 weeks), lobsters maintained on either background converged on the same darker coloration, suggesting that lobsters also experience changes in appearance associated with ontogeny. By refining the approaches used here, there is potential for hatcheries to rear lobsters on backgrounds that better match their release site. However, such manipulations should be considered in the context of ontogenetic changes and release timing (which varies between stocking programmes). This study highlights the potential to use colour change in stocking and aquaculture, as well as gaps that could be addressed through further research in this area.

ecology↗