– ABOUT
SENTINEL SPECIES GENOMICS INITIATIVE
ENABLED BY
Environmental monitoring is vital for detecting ecosystem change and guiding conservation, restoration and climate adaptation. Across Australia, monitoring programs track species, habitats and ecological condition through field surveys, remote sensing and eDNA. These approaches can show where change is occurring, but they often provide limited insight into the biological processes that determine whether species and ecosystems can persist, recover or adapt.
Genomic data can help fill this gap by revealing patterns of genetic diversity, population connectivity and adaptive capacity. Habitat-forming species such as corals, kelp, mangroves and seagrasses provide insight into the resilience of whole ecosystems, while sensitive biological indicator species can provide early warning of environmental stress.
The Australian Sentinel Species Genomics Initiative will coordinate the development of reference genomes and population-scale genomic datasets for sentinel species across marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. Through national campaigns for ecosystem-forming species and community-led projects focused on biological indicators, the initiative will help identify resilient and vulnerable populations, improve interpretation of environmental change, and support more informed conservation, restoration and climate adaptation decisions.
OBJECTIVES
The initiative has three core objectives.
1. Advance genomic characterisation of sentinel species – generate high-quality reference genomes for priority species to support the study of genetic diversity, functional variation and evolutionary constraint.
2. Characterise population genomic structure across environmental gradients or priority species – generate whole-genome population datasets across geographic and environmental ranges to assess genetic diversity, connectivity and adaptive variation linked to environmental change.
3. Identify genomic signals of ecosystem resilience and vulnerability – use genomic datasets to identify species and populations that provide early biological signals of ecosystem resilience, vulnerability and response to environmental change.
This national effort will establish lasting genomic resources to support environmental monitoring, ecosystem restoration and climate resilience research.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
The Sentinel Species Genomics Initiative will generate genomic resources for species that provide strong biological signals of ecosystem condition and environmental change.
The initiative will be delivered through two complementary themes. The first focuses on ecosystem-forming species that shape major habitats and provide insight into long-term ecosystem resilience. The second focuses on biological indicator species that may respond quickly to disturbance and provide early warning of ecological stress or recovery.
Together, these themes will support both broad assessment of ecosystem stability and earlier detection of emerging change.
Theme 1: Ecosystem-forming species
Ecosystem-forming species create the structure and function of major habitats. Changes in their health, distribution or adaptive capacity can affect entire ecosystems and the species they support.
This theme will deliver coordinated national genomic campaigns for four initial priority groups:
- coral reefs
- kelp forests
- seagrass meadows
- mangrove systems
Each campaign will be guided by a National Working Group of researchers, environmental monitoring programs and ecosystem managers. These groups will develop shared sampling, sequencing and analysis plans across institutions and regions.
This coordinated approach will generate comparable datasets across species and locations. The data will help reveal patterns of genetic diversity, connectivity and adaptive capacity, and support restoration, spatial planning and climate adaptation across Australia’s marine and coastal ecosystems.
Theme 2: Biological indicator species
Some species respond to environmental pressure before broader ecosystem impacts become visible. Species with narrow habitat needs, specialised life histories or limited dispersal may provide early biological signals of ecological stress.
This theme will support community-led discovery projects across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Candidate species may include amphibians, insects and pollinators, reef fishes, intertidal invertebrates and species from alpine, cave and arid systems.
Projects will be selected through open national calls. Researchers, government agencies and environmental organisations will be able to nominate species with strong potential as biological indicators.
Supported projects will generate reference genomes and population genomic datasets across environmental and anthropogenic pressure gradients. The aim is to identify and test species whose genomic variation can reveal changes in ecosystem condition, resilience and vulnerability. Over time, this work will build a set of validated sentinel species that can be used in environmental monitoring and management.
PARTNERS
Theme 1: Habitat-forming species
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Australian Coral Genomics Working Group
- Dr Kate Quigley (co-lead) – Minderoo Foundation
- Dr Ira Cooke (co-lead) – James Cook University
- Dr Claire Ross – WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)
- Dr CX Chan – University of Queensland
- Professor Cynthia Ryginos – AIMS/University of Queensland
- Dr Damien Thompson – CSIRO
- A/Professor Emma Camp – University of Technology Sydney
- Dr Luke Thomas – AIMS
- A/Professor Tom Bridge – Australian Museum
- A/Professor Zoe Richards – Curtin University
- Sarah Richmond – Bioplatforms Australia
Australian Kelp Genomics Working Group
- A/Professor Melinda Coleman (co-lead) – NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Dr Georgina Wood (co-lead) – Flinders University
- Dr Samuel Starko (co-lead) – Curtin University
- Dr Anusuya Willis – CSIRO
- Dr Dave Wheeler – NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- A/Professor Prue Francis – Deakin University
- Dr Scott Bennett – University of Tasmania
- Professor Thomas Wernberg – University of Western Australia
- Professor Vincent Bulone – Flinders University
- Dr Ziggy Marzinelli – University of New South Wales
- Sarah Richmond – Bioplatforms Australia
Australian Seagrass Genomics Working Group
- Dr Elizabeth Sinclair (co-lead) – University of Western Australia
- Professor Craig Sherman (co-lead) – Deakin University
- Professor Paul York (co-lead) – James Cook University
- Professor Michelle Waycott – Adelaide University
- Professor Adriana Vergés – University of New South Wales
- Professor Gary Kendrick – University of Western Australia
- Professor Kathryn McMahon – Edith Cowan University
- A/Professor Jason Tanner – South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI)
- Professor Steve Purcell – OzFish
- Dr Tim Glasby – NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Dr Emma Jackson – Central Queensland University
- Dr Beth Strain – University of Tasmania
- Professor Paul York – James Cook University
- Sarah Richmond – Bioplatforms Australia
Theme 2: Biological indicator species
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Biological Indicator Genomics Advisory Group
- Professor Andrew Young (Chair) – CSIRO
- Professor Ary Hoffmann – University of Melbourne
- A/Professor Jennifer Donelson – James Cook University
- Dr Rebecca Jordan – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- Professor Morten Allentoft – Curtin University
- Professor Adrienne Nicotra – Australian National University
- Professor Jenny Davis – Charles Darwin University
- Dr Shannon Corrigan – Minderoo Foundation
- Sarah Richmond – Bioplatforms Australia
KEY INFORMATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT INFORMATION
Bioplatforms Initiative DOI: https://doi.org/10.
Umbrella Bioproject ID: PRJNA1498688
Please use this ID when submitting any derived data to a database that is a member of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC), such as GenBank/NCBI, ENA or DDBJ.
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Citation Guidelines
To cite the general initiative:
Australian Sentinel Species Genomics Initiative, 2026, https://doi.org/10.25953/qb6c-z777
To cite a specific dataset:
Australian Sentinel Species Genomics Initiative, 2026, https://doi.org/10.25953/qb6c-z777, [year-of-data-download], [full dataset title], [dataset-access-URL], accessed [date-of-access].
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Acknowledgement Statement
We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Australian Sentinel Species Genomics Initiative Consortium in the generation of data used in this publication. The Initiative is supported by funding from the Minderoo Foundation and Bioplatforms Australia, enabled by the Commonwealth Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
If relevant, also credit other organisations involved in the collection of the particular dataset you are using, as listed in the ‘project_lead’ and ‘project_collaborators’ in the metadata record.
CONTACT US
Project Manager
Theme 1:
Sophie Mazard – Bioplatforms Australia
smazard@bioplatforms.com
Theme 2:
Aude Touffu – Bioplatforms Australia
atouffu@bioplatforms.com
General Manager, Science Programs
Sarah Richmond – Bioplatforms Australia
srichmond@bioplatforms.com