MAKASSAR, Indonesia, 6 August 2026/AMBioC/ – Intertidal gleaning is the manual collection of coastal invertebrates during low tide. Across the Makassar Strait and Flores Sea in the Wallacea Region, this traditional practice supports food security and the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and women. However, high species diversity and cryptic morphology make the visual identification of harvested mollusks difficult and inconsistent, posing a major challenge to sustainable fisheries management. To address this issue, the ongoing Wallacea GleanDNA research project is being implemented under its grant agreement from 15 July 2026 to 14 July 2027.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring offers a non-invasive tool to track marine biodiversity. Yet, its adoption in the Western Pacific is limited by the lack of a verified local Genetic Reference Library. Without sequence data linked to physical voucher specimens, eDNA reads from seawater samples cannot be identified to the species level. To solve this bottleneck, the AMBioC Research Group at Hasanuddin University launched the Wallacea GleanDNA project. The initiative is funded by a POGO-SAIGe Microgrant under the UN-endorsed Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network (OBON).
The project brings together 14 participants, comprising three principal researchers from Hasanuddin University, one collaborating researcher from the Philippines, six undergraduate fisheries students, one prospective master’s student at Hasanuddin University, and three laboratory personnel. Their involvement spans field sampling, specimen documentation, morphological identification, tissue preservation, laboratory preparation, data management, and research capacity building.
Led by Prof. Dr. Ir. Nadiarti Nurdin Kadir, M.Sc., the project applies an integrative taxonomic approach. Field sampling covers two key representative sites: the coastal waters of Labuangnge in Barru Regency for the Makassar Strait and Puntondo in Takalar Regency for the Flores Sea. Lead Taxonomist Dody Priosambodo will curate 75 morphologically verified voucher specimens. Molecular Lead Dr. Andi Aliah Hidayani will oversee tissue preservation, DNA extraction, and COI gene barcoding. The project also engages Master students to build local biomolecular research capacity.
To ensure global rigor, the team collaborates with marine taxonomist Dr. Kristian Q. Aldea from Catanduanes State University in the Philippines. This partnership cross-validates species lists across shared Indo-Pacific ecosystems. All project outputs will strictly follow FAIR data principles. Morphological occurrence records will be published on the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), while sequence data will be deposited in GenBank and BOLD.
By establishing the first verified genomic library for harvested mollusks in South Sulawesi, the project directly supports UN SDG 14.b and FAO Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines. Ultimately, this foundational baseline enables autonomous biomolecular observing across the Wallacea region. It also serves as a scalable model for tropical archipelagic nations worldwide.
