We have had an eventful few months at ARI since our last eNews issue. We joined in the events of Science Week alongside our colleagues across the department, shared our research, collaborations and impact in government policy and environmental management decision-making. ARI also turned 55, celebrating more than 50 years as Victoria’s leading environmental research institute and making long-lasting contributions to environmental sciences.

A special congratulations to Dr Carlo Pacioni as part of the University of Canberra’s dartR Team winning the Australian Museum Eureka Prize! Read on further to learn more about their innovative work.

In this issue for Biodiversity Month, we showcase emerging new technologies that can help deliver cost-effective species surveys and monitoring, our involvement in a statewide collaboration to restore platypus habitat, and the outcomes of a long-term monitoring program in temporary freshwater wetlands.

Best wishes.

James Todd

Chief Biodiversity Officer and Director of the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (DEECA)

Early this month, the Australian Museum Eureka Prize award ceremony was held, Australia’s most comprehensive national science awards. One of our researchers, Dr Carlo Pacioni, as part of the University of Canberra’s dartR team won the 2025 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Excellence in Research Software. The team created a free, open-source software that helps researchers around the world analyse complex genomic data to support conservation, agriculture, and health. DartR has transformed how genetic data is used – improving breeding programs, protecting endangered species and advancing research across more than 900 peer-reviewed studies. Well done and congratulations to Dr Carlo Pacioni and the wider dartR team!

We developed ARISA, a world-leading software model that rapidly identifies animal calls from large audio datasets. Together with ARIEL, a supplementary tool that streamlines the call validation for our researchers, these technologies are making acoustic monitoring more efficient and cost effective. These tools are leading to new detections of critically endangered species from archived recordings and expanding the coverage of our current surveys.

In recent years, eDNA has become a popular cost-effective option in research and monitoring programs. It can be useful in detecting: species that are rare or hard to find; multiple species; and early incursions of pests and/or diseases. However, eDNA is still a new and evolving technology and comes with limitations and uncertainties. ARI has been working with eDNA since 2018 and can offer expert support on its use in research and monitoring.

In 2021, the platypus was listed as vulnerable in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. ARI is coordinating Platy Patch, a 4-year statewide initiative, co-funded by the Australian Government, Victorian Government, and Melbourne Water. The project aims to improve streambank and aquatic habitat for platypus and other Commonwealth-listed threatened species, across 14 sites and 10 regional centres. Platy Patch also supports the Melbourne Water innovative ‘Smart Water Network’ technology on Monbulk Creek, which provides environmental flows to reduce stormwater and climate change impacts. The Platy Patch project is a state-wide collaboration involving government agencies such as Catchment Management Authorities, councils, water corporations, Zoos Vic, One Tree Planted, Australian Platypus Conservancy, Parks Vic, Landcare and Traditional Owners. ARI is also leading the monitoring and research component of Platy Patch.

Temporary freshwater wetlands are important habitats, supporting diverse plant communities which improve water and soil quality and provide resources for aquatic animals. They experience periodic cycles of filling and drying, and in agricultural landscapes are often grazed. Our long-term monitoring program is helping us to understand the responses of vegetation to grazing in this wetland type by comparing livestock exclusion plots with open grazed plots at trial sites. So far, after 4 to 5 years of livestock exclusion our results demonstrate that in certain situations carefully managed grazing can benefit native vegetation. The findings build confidence in Victoria’s guidelines for managing grazing in wetlands. 

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Barrow, J. S., Yen, J. D., Koehn, J. D., Zampatti, B., Fanson, B., Thiem, J. D., Tonkin, Z., Koster, W. M., Butler, G. L., Strawbridge, A., Brooks, S. G., Woods, R., & Morrongiello, J. R. (2025). Location of capture sufficiently characterises lifetime growth trajectories in a highly mobile fish. Movement Ecology, 13 (18)

Koh, P. Y., Yen, J. D., Lyon, J. P., West, M., & Morrongiello, J. R. (2025). A statistical model for predicting water temperature in temperate rivers and streams. Marine and Freshwater Research, 76, MF24152

Kopf, R. K., McPhan, L., McInerney, P. J., Zampatti, B., Thiem, J., Koster, W., Butler, G. L., Bond, N., & Thompson, R. M. (2025). Intraspecific body size determines isotopic trophic structure of a large river fish community. Journal of Animal Ecology, 94, 1435–1448

Maceda-Veiga, A., Colin, N., Mac Nally, R., Salvadó, H., de Sostoa, A., & Yen, J. D. (2025). Effects of the invasive riparian plant Arundo donax on riverine fish: a call for action? Science of The Total Environment, 996, 180139.

McNamara, K., Greet, J., Mole, B., & Jones, C. S. (2025). Livestock Grazing and Dense Willow Shading Negatively Impact Instream Plant Growth. River Research and Applications 1–15

Ramsey, D.S.L., Cripps, J., Scroggie, M.P., Pacioni, C., Hufschmid, J., Berger, L., Scheelings, F., Lynch, M.,Bennett, A.T.D. & Skerratt, L.F. (2025). Assessing the risks of endemic and exotic diseases to Victorian terrestrial wildlife. Technical Report Series No. 387. Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Heidelberg, Victoria.

Regan, T.J., Bruce, M.J., van Harten E.M. & Lumsden, L.F. (2025). Estimating the potential effectiveness of wind farm mitigations using structured expert elicitation. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 394, Heidelberg, Victoria.

Rogers, D. I., Piersma, T., Minton, C. D., Boyle, A. N., Hassell, C. J., Rogers, K. G., Silcocks, A., & Gutiérrez, J. S. (2025). Coastal Shorebirds Delay Maturity More Than Inland Ones. Ecology and Evolution, 15(7), e71679.

Ryding, S., McQueen, A., Symonds, M. R., Tattersall, G. J., Victorian Wader Study Group, Australian Wader Studies Group, Rogers, D. I., Atkinson, R., Jessop, R., Hassell, C. J., Christie, M., Ross, T.A., & Klaassen, M. (2025). Shape‐shifting in relative wing length of juvenile shorebirds: no evidence of developmental temperatures driving morphological changes. Ecography, e07801.

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Compiled by Raras Santosa

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