การประยุกต์ใช้ environmental DNA ในการติดตามประชากรของสัตว์ทะเลเลี้ยงลูกด้วยนมในกลุ่มของโลมาและพะยูน โดยอาศัยฐานข้อมูลทางด้านนิเวศวิทยาและพันธุศาสตร์

Over the past decades, population monitoring based on the use of molecular markers has strongly extended the possibilities of ecological monitoring to provide a rapid and reliable biodiversity assessment. For Sirenians and cetaceans, biopsy darts are often used as the source of biological sampling. However, these invasive approaches occur in close proximity to the targeted species and potentially cause stress or risks of injury to the animals. Although stranded sample collection is noninvasive, this approach is time consuming and require the implementation of large stranding networks and/or dedicated surveys while the scale and severity of current threats demand immediate management planning. The delay in obtaining baseline data on population genetics might hamper conservation actions and the rate of population recovery. Recent development in genomic technologies have advanced environmental DNA (eDNA) based detection and biodiversity monitoring. Without the need to capture animals or direct observation, the novel method using the presence of DNA in water, soil or sediment has been applied to detect both native and invasive species in freshwater habitats. Key results from this project will establish baseline information of conservation status and distribution. The developed technique can be applied to improve detection in freshwater and marine ecosystem and provide insights into how wildlife populations have responded to human activities. The project outcome will assist the government agencies to make an informed decision on land use zoning and threat reduction within biodiversity hotspots for the sake of sustainable development and human wellbeing. Expected outcomes, social and environmental impacts from this project will strengthen regulations on natural resources utilization and serve as a model for integrative ecological and genetic monitoring to minimize further biodiversity loses. Moreover, this national and international collaborative research across academic fields will strengthen engaging research networks, enhance publication productivity, technology transfer and development in wildlife monitoring techniques.