Daniel White

Dan White joined Bennelongia in November 2021 after 14 years of research and lecturing and at Australian and New Zealand universities and institutes. Immediately before joining Bennelongia, Dan was in the National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub at the University of Western Australia, working in collaboration with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and Australian Wildlife Conservancy on conservation genetics of various marsupial mammals, including population modelling and the detection of genetic inbreeding. Previous work at Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua in New Zealand includes studying genetic diversity of translocated wētā giant crickets to aid conservation efforts, examining genetic diversity and population connectivity of the migratory freshwater fish Galaxias maculatus and giant snails (Powelliphanta spp.), and developing real-time PCR assays for the identification of cryptic species of invasive marine invertebrates. His work has resulted in the publication of over 20 peer reviewed scientific research papers

With his considerable experience of using genetic analysis to understand species’ ecology and to discriminate between species, Dan adds considerably to Bennelongia’s DNA analysis expertise and report writing capacity. At Bennelongia, genetic work focuses on describing genetic variation of mitochondrial barcoding genes to delimit subterranean and terrestrial invertebrate species and understand species distributions. As well as ensuring the high quality of genetic work, since Dan’s arrival molecular capability at Bennelongia has increased including growth of the DNA team, the addition of state-of-the-art molecular labs, the development of new techniques including the use of eDNA to detect species of conservation significance and the resources to analyse population-level questions. Additionally, he is establishing a Research Group at Bennelongia to facilitate the publication of highly impactful scientific findings (genetic and non-genetic) in peer reviewed research journals. To date Dan has written 27 high level Bennelongia reports for numerous mining clients, including desktop assessments, detailed surveys and impact assessments for both subterranean fauna and SREs

Visit here to see a full list of Dan’s publications.