Wildlife Queensland - Platypus eDNA

Dataset description: Wolston and Centenary PlatypusWatch Project 2023. A citizen science project supported by the Brisbane City Council's Lord Mayor's Environment Grant 2023. Wildlife Queensland PlatypusWatch , in partnership with the Wolston and Centenary Catchments (WaCC), developed a community platypus observational and environmental DNA (eDNA) project to monitor the iconic platypus in a vulnerable area of Brisbane. The Wolston Catchment is located west of Brisbane and has four main waterways: Sandy, Bullockhead, Ric Nattrass and Wolston Creeks. These creeks have many compounding impacts related to the land use types across the area, such as industrial activity. The local platypus populations are at an increased risk of decline as these impacts, such as vegetation removal and water pollution, degrade the waterways. By monitoring their distribution in the catchment, we can help mitigate these concerns by delivering the information to the council and other stakeholders to develop action plans for the areas of concern.