Synopsis
Frogs are amongst the most threatened animals on the planet, and one of the obstacles in their effective conservation management is a lack of data- frog species can be notoriously difficult to detect. Environmental DNA (eDNA) provides a new tool for detecting rare or cryptic species, and has shown promise in frogs. However, many questions remain.
Aims
- Compare traditional surveys with eDNA surveys for threatened frog species.
- Determine the influence of frog density on eDNA detections of frogs.
- Use eDNA to discover new sites for threatened frog species.
Student benefits
- Learn fieldwork and molecular techniques.
- Increase our understanding of how eDNA results can interpreted for conservation.
- Help inform the conservation of threatened frog species.
- Work with the Australian Museum Herpetology/FrogID team.
Supervisor: Dr Jodi Rowley