Dr Joanne Littlefair has developed this blog post on her research with colleagues at Queen Mary University and York University, Ontario. This work was supported by the Global Policy Institute.
The real picture of biodiversity loss exceeds our current ability to measure how many plants and animals we are losing. This may come as a surprise, given that extinctions are often well documented. But what is less well known is that most organisations responsible for the annual monitoring of wildlife – from charities to governments – struggle to capture the complete picture of the health of populations, despite increasing public and political interest in understanding these trends.
There are a variety of reasons why it is so difficult to capture an accurate picture of biodiversity loss. “Charismatic” animals such as birds, butterflies and bats are often monitored by local naturalists, and this citizen science data feeds into national programmes keeping track of their populations. Unfortunately, there isn’t a widespread public appetite for counting lichens, fungi, or worms, the unglamourous building blocks of healthy ecosystems. Species such as these are also difficult for professional ecologists to identify, requiring years of specialist experience, a problem which is recognised across the world.
Finally, our natural areas are incredibly diverse, even in the depauperate and highly modified landscape of the modern UK. There are just so many species, and their populations are changing all the time. This temporal data is important for understanding how our interventions to protect nature are working, but is expensive and time-consuming to collect.
Organisms shed tiny amounts of DNA as they interact with the environment. We recently discovered that DNA in the air acts as a unique identifying fingerprint for the animals and plants living close by. The air is rich in this data.
In a recent publication by myself and my colleagues at both Queen Mary University and York University, Ontario, we describe how just two air monitoring stations recovered DNA from over 180 taxa, from wildflowers to owls. The potential for broad taxonomic identification, coupled with continual sampling from existing air monitoring machines, could represent an exciting step-change for organisations struggling to keep up with monitoring requirements.
Our group is interested in engaging with those who could use this data early in the development of this new technology. We were supported with funds from the Queen Mary impact fund and the Global Policy Institute to organise a workplan advancing engagement in several ways. We have been working with the Bat Conservation Trust to test protocols for airborne DNA sampling, using bat hibernation sites as the ideal “test case” for this technology.
In April 2023, we hosted policy stakeholders from 13 government agencies, NGOs and universities to discuss the future of airborne DNA technologies in biodiversity monitoring. Together we heard about new research and spent the afternoon workshopping unresolved challenges and areas of opportunity. This formed a small interdisciplinary community who have subsequently come together to pursue more funding and research opportunities in this area.
Building a clearer picture of biodiversity loss is important. Not only is biodiversity crucial for our food and water security, it is also our greatest defence against climate change. It is only when we can accurately measure our biodiversity that we can understand and mitigate our impacts on the planet.
If you are interested in contributing or using the technology – please do get in touch.
Main image credit: Dimitra Nikolakopolou.
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