Southern eDNA Society

Date: September 24th, 2025
New Zealand (NZST): 2:30 PM
Australia – East (AEST): 12:30 PM
Australia – West (AWST): 10:30 AM

More info here - sednasociety.com/2025/09/03/s...

Great news! We are restarting our eDNA webinar series this year to share exciting new research with the eDNA community.

Our first webinar is by Josh Koh (DCCEEW): Explainable Multimodal Machine Learning Using Combined environmental DNA and Biogeographic Features for Ecosystem Biomonitoring

Can we circumvent the cumbersome filtration of #edna from seawater to detect rare taxa? Yes! Passively deploying simple cost-effective cotton membranes can, with trade-offs of course. @sednasociety.bsky.social doi.org/10.7717/peer...

The New Zealand Molecular Ecology conference returns for its 27th year! This meeting brings together students, researchers, & industry to divulge the latest in ecological genomics and eDNA. This year, the meeting is held in Raglan, 26-28th of November. You won’t want to miss it! shorturl.at/inWqz

📣 New paper! 📣

We summarise the outputs of last year's @sednasociety.bsky.social Airborne eDNA Workshop & chart a path for airborne eDNA as a transformative tool for #biodiversity, #biosecurity & #conservation.

🔗 tinyurl.com/4a8vb6ja

#eDNA #airDNA #SeDNAS

Building Better eDNA Tools: National Survey on Infrastructure Gaps The Australian BioCommons (https://www.biocommons.org.au) is a national digital infrastructure initiative helping life science researchers accelerate their ability to understand the molecular basis of...

🧬 💻 Help shape the future of national eDNA analysis support

Australian BioCommons & SeDNAs have launched a short survey to identify the computational and bioinformatics needs of our community.

Your input will guide future investments—don’t miss the chance to have your say!
👉 tinyurl.com/yc3eu2ns

Join the Gulf #eDNA Network! 🌊 🧬

Share and stay connected with #eDNA researchers across the Gulf of Mexico. Receive updates on collaborative opportunities, upcoming events, and shared resources. Scan the QR code for more details!

Introducing the SeDNAs Members Starter Pack 🧬

Connect with fellow members of the society, grow your eDNA network, and spark new collaborations!

Comment below or message to be added to the pack

go.bsky.app/GBwDbax

The #eDNA Frontiers group is seeking a skilled Technician or Technical Officer with extensive laboratory experience to join their vibrant and collaborative team at Curtin University.

Learn More about this opportunity here - tinyurl.com/yj45pk2t

🚨 Calling all eDNA folks! 🚨

The 2027 Southern #eDNA Society Conference is coming to Canberra.

We’re forming the Organising Committee—keen on science, comms, logistics, or hosting? Get in touch or tag a mate! Let’s make this a good one.

@sednasociety.bsky.social

PhD Opportunity!

Develop eDNA assays to map the distribution & abundance of Cassiopea jellyfish at Ningaloo.

📍 Griffith Uni
🌊 Fieldwork at Ningaloo, lab work in Perth
🎓 Must secure a competitive PhD scholarship

Contact: k.pitt@griffith.edu.au | zoe.richards@museum.wa.gov.au

Annual Membership:
$100 AUD – Standard/Waged
$60 AUD – Student/Unwaged

Founding Members: no special renewal rate, just renew as Standard/Student as appropriate. Your founding status continues, but membership must be active to access benefits!

Let’s keep building a strong eDNA community together 🧬

There’s also the opportunity to contribute to the future of the field through working groups and workshops on critical and emerging topics 🧬

💡 Stay up to date with the latest eDNA news and opportunities

📉 Discounted rego for the biannual eDNA conference

📚 20% off Environmental DNA journal fees + 15% off Metabarcoding & Metagenomics

📬 Regular newsletters, access to jobs, collabs, events & more

🧬 Membership renewals are now open for the 2025–2026 financial year!

If you're passionate about environmental DNA (eDNA) and want to stay connected, now’s the time to renew (or join!) SeDNAs 🧬🌏

Benefits of being a member👇

A Metadata Checklist and Data Formatting Guidelines to Make eDNA FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a transformative tool for biodiversity monitoring and species detection, yet inconsistent metadata practices hinder data interoperability and reuse. To address...

🚨 Out now in #EnvironmentalDNA led by #MiwaTakahashi: Results of a huge, global effort to facilitate the publication of raw and processed #eDNA data & ensure that dataset we are currently generating, adhere to the #FAIR principles & won't be lost. @gbif.org, #ENA,
doi.org/10.1002/edn3...

Research Officer, Environmental DNA Laboratory - Townsville, QLD, Australia James Cook University (JCU) is creating a brighter future for life in the Tropics and beyond, through education and research that makes a difference locally and globally.  We now have an opportunity a...

The TropWATER eDNA lab (JCU) is looking for a Postdoc Research Fellow for a full-time, 2-yr role on applied biosecurity & biodiversity monitoring projects across Nth Aus. Join a passionate team applying eDNA tools to real-world conservation and management challenges.

tinyurl.com/bdh43rum

From surprise platypus to wandering cane toads, here’s what we found hiding in NSW estuaries Researchers worked with Indigenous Rangers to map life in 34 estuaries across NSW using environmental DNA - and made a host of unexpected discoveries.

Curious about what lives in NSW (Australia) estuaries?

We established a new open access baseline with more than 10,000 taxa for >250 sites using #eDNA methods.

Short summary online today with links to video and a site map

theconversation.com/from-surpris...

@sednasociety.bsky.social

Environmental DNA for One Health: Monitoring Pathogen Risk in Northern Australia Job in Darwin NT - SEEK Maxine is a Molecular biologist, and her experience spans primary industry and environmental disciplines focused on using genomics tools.

The project will involve fieldwork across the Top End to support early disease detection and a One Health approach in northern Australia.

For more info, visit: tinyurl.com/y6cuj8p7

Tropical diseases, their hosts, vectors, distribution & patterns of dispersion remain poorly understood in Nth Aus, despite proximity to potential disease sources in SE Asian countries. Nth Aus is remote, and a haven for wildlife with likely pathogen risk at the wildlife-livestock-human interface.

An exciting PhD opportunity has opened up to Australian citizens/residents 🇦🇺 or New Zealand citizens 🇳🇿 at Charles Darwin University.

The project will focus on developing eDNA & invertebrate derived DNA methods for assessing pathogen risk and host range at the wildlife-livestock-human interface.

🧬 PhD opportunity: Pathogen risk at the wildlife–livestock–human interface

More info in the thread or link below ⬇️

tinyurl.com/2s8ryzuw

3 PhD + 1 Masters opportunities in New Zealand Funded PhD Opportunities at Lincoln University, Aotearoa-New Zealand!  Applicants must meet the Lincoln University entry requirements.  🌊🧬 Project 1: Historical Changes in …

🧬 Master’s Thesis Scholarship: Microbial Genetics in Lakes

This scholarship is only available to New Zealand citizens or residents 🇳🇿. We’re offering a funded Master’s project investigating microbial metagenomes from over 150 lakes across Aotearoa New Zealand.

🔗 More info: tinyurl.com/mr4429jy

Characterising cyanobacteria from extreme environments at Lincoln University (New Zealand) on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Characterising cyanobacteria from extreme environments at Lincoln University (New Zealand), listed on FindAPhD.com

🌊 Project 3: Characterising Cyanobacteria from Extreme Environments

This PhD will involve isolating & characterising nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria from extreme environments, including Antarctica.

🔗 More info: tinyurl.com/2t9a2jn3

The impacts of freshwater acidification and trace metals on freshwater algae at Lincoln University (New Zealand) on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - The impacts of freshwater acidification and trace metals on freshwater algae at Lincoln University (New Zealand), listed on FindAPhD.com

🌊 Project 2: Impacts of Freshwater Acidification & Trace Metals on Algae

This PhD will investigate how acidification & trace metals affect freshwater algae communities.

🔗 More info: tinyurl.com/mryhe9wb

Historical changes in microalgal communities in coastal Aotearoa-New Zealand at Lincoln University (New Zealand) on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Historical changes in microalgal communities in coastal Aotearoa-New Zealand at Lincoln University (New Zealand), listed on FindAPhD.com

🌊 Project 1: Historical Changes in Microalgal Communities in Coastal Aotearoa

This PhD will use sediment cores, eDNA & palaeoecological tools to uncover how human impacts & environmental change have shaped our coastal ecosystems over time.

🔗 More info: tinyurl.com/3kcr899y

🎓 3 funded #PhD + 1 #Masters opportunity at Lincoln University in Aotearoa, New Zealand!

More details in the thread or link below ⬇️

tinyurl.com/mr4429jy

Report: DNA barcode needs for the Top End In June 2024, 55 professionals gathered at a workshop with the aim of understanding the status of DNA barcode libraries for northern Australian species. The outcomes of this workshop are now availa…

Detailed information can be found in the report here - tinyurl.com/y82jkj6a

#SeDNAs #Biodiversity #DNAbarcoding #TopEndScience #eDNA @andyharford.bsky.social

Key recommendations included:

🔎 Strategic partnerships to maximize funding and resources.
🧬 Expanded training in taxonomy, molecular biology, and bioinformatics.
📢 Platforms to showcase successes and raise awareness of DNA tools.

🧬 Big steps for biodiversity science in northern Australia!

In June 2024, 55 experts came together to assess the status of DNA barcode libraries for the region’s unique species. Their insights are now available online, offering a roadmap to strengthen our genetic reference data.