SYDNEY, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- An environmental DNA study has identified distinct regions of extraordinary marine biodiversity that can help inform management of a proposed marine park in the state of Western Australia's Exmouth Gulf.
The multi-institutional study, published in Diversity and Distributions, found the Exmouth Gulf was a globally significant refuge for many marine species, according to a statement released Tuesday by the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Researchers applied a meta-barcoding gene sequencing technique to seawater eDNA samples collected from 19 sites over 3,000 sq km across the western, central, southern and eastern gulf, and identified 487 unique taxa, including 440 bony fish, 37 elasmobranchs, seven birds, two mammals and one reptile.
"Exmouth Gulf exhibits significantly distinct marine communities, with the eastern gulf emerging as a hotspot for elasmobranchs and threatened species," said the study's lead author Jessica Pearce of UWA's School of Biological Sciences and Oceans Institute.
Co-lead researcher Josh Bonesso from UWA Oceans Institute and Australian Institute of Marine Science said the findings showed the entire Exmouth Gulf provided a critical habitat for threatened species and represented a bioregion of global ecological significance.
The researchers said eDNA approaches could help identify areas of highest conservation importance to better inform marine spatial planning. ■
