Abstract
During October to December 2008, over 50 water bodies from Kununurra to Esperance were surveyed for Phytophthora species by over 20 volunteers using "fishing" baits. Water bodies sampled included creeks, rivers, private dams, estuaries, and lakes. The main aim was to catalogue the diversity of Phytophthora species present in the water bodies. The outbreak of P. ramorum in California and Europe, where early detection of an infested area was important to the success of containment and eradication efforts, has popularised the stream surveys in native ecosystems worldwide. Additionally, our project aimed to develop methodologies for continual monitoring of water bodies in disease free areas for Phytophthora species that cause landscape problems and for monitoring of introduced species from interstate or overseas. No water body was free of Phytophthora. A total of eight Phytophthora species were found, four of which are yet to be officially described. The talk will outline the species caught, their significance in relation to other studies, and presents some future directions for the project.