Protecting our Australian ground dweller, the Ninu (Greater Bilby)
- Post by: CIPPS
- 16 June 2025
- Comments off
Extracting DNA from Ninu scat to save an iconic marsupial from extinction
Australia is home to about two-thirds of the world’s known extant species of marsupials, including Tasmanian devils and quolls (dasyurids or carnivorous marsupials), kangaroos, koalas, and wombats (diprotodonts or herbivores), and bilbies and bandicoots (permelemorphs). Marsupials are an iconic group of animals due to their “pouches” or fold they use to protect their young and nourish them on milk. Sadly, our beloved Australian marsupials have suffered severe population declines since European arrival, with 34 recorded extinctions. National efforts have been actioned to increase conservation and breeding programs and raise awareness to prevent further extinction of threatened marsupial species.
Bilbies are medium-sized, nocturnal, ground-dwelling marsupials with an extensive history of cultural and ecological significance to many Indigenous Australians. The bilby family includes the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) referred to as Ninu by the Kiwirrkurra community who we worked with in this project, and the lesser bilby (Macrotis leucura) otherwise known as Yallara by Indigenous communities. Currently, the Ninu is a threatened species, and the Yallara have been extinct for over five decades. In order to increase conservation strategies to maintain the growth of the Ninu population, our CIPPS Chief Investigators Professor Carolyn Hogg and Professor Kathy Belov, Research Fellows Dr Kate Farquharson, Dr Luke Silver, and Dr Emma Peel, worked with Indigenous Rangers in Western Australia and conservation managers to develop a method for monitoring Ninu genetic diversity across Australia.
Our CIPPS researchers successfully generated a detailed genomic map of the bilby using past and current genetic data from Ninu and Yallara. They developed a toolkit to study bilby scat to track their genetic diversity, which can inform ecological and conservation efforts to protect managed and wild Ninu across Australia. Members of the Kiwirrkurra community will use findings from the genetic information gained from the Ninu scat to monitor how land management actions, such as feral cat management or traditional burning, can influence genetic diversity.
This project has garnered excellent engagement from both local and international media outlets with 168 news stories reported across 12 countries, including ABC’s 7:30 and News Hour, 70 radio stories, and more than 50 online news articles like The Guardian, ABC news, Cosmos Magazine, and MSN.com. Our story has had an estimated reach of 200 million people globally and an advertising value of $1.9 million. It is one of many initiatives that exemplify our commitment to supporting impactful local science to save endangered species from extinction in Australia.
The Guardian:
News:
Cosmos magazine:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/bilby-genome-sequenced/
Citation: Hogg, C.J., Edwards, R.J., Farquharson, K.A. et al. Extant and extinct bilby genomes combined with Indigenous knowledge improve conservation of a unique Australian marsupial 2024, Nat. Ecol. Evol., 1311.
Doi: 10.1038/s41559-024-02436-2
CIPPS contributors: Carolyn Hogg, Katherine Belov, Katherine Farquharson, Emma Peel
