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Nine changes needed to deliver a radical transformation in biodiversity measurement

Nine changes needed to deliver a radical transformation in biodiversity measurement

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Authors

William Sutherland, Neil Burgess, Scott Edwards, Julia P G Jones, Pamela S Soltis, David Tilman, Julie M Allen, Herizo T. Andrianandrasana, Tom August, Kamal Bawa, Sallie Bailey, Tanya Birch, Philipp H. Boersch-Supan, Jeannine Cavender-Bares , Mark Blaxter, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Barnabus H Daru, Adriana De Palma, Cristina Eisenberg, Chris Elphick, Rob Freckleton, Winifred F Frick, Andrew Gonzalez , Scott Goetz, Lior Greenspoon, Christina M. Grozinger, Don L. Hankins, Jonny Hazell, Nick J. B. Isaac, Marco Lambertini, Harris A. Lewin, Oisin Mac Aodha, Anil Madhavapeddy, E.J. Milner-Gulland, James P. O'Dwyer, Andy Purvis, Nick Salafsky, Heather Tallis, Iroro Tanshi, Varsha Vijay, Martin Wikelski, David Williams, Hollis Woodard, Gene E. Robinson

Abstract

Biodiversity is declining in many parts of the world. Biological diversity measurement and monitoring are fundamental to the assessment of the causes and consequences of environmental changes, identification of key areas for the protection of biodiversity or ecosystem services, determining the effectiveness of actions, and the creation of decision-support tools critical to maintaining a sustainable planet. Biodiversity measurement is rapidly changing due to advances in citizen science, image recognition, acoustic monitoring, environmental DNA, genomics, remote sensing and artificial intelligence. In this perspective, we outline the exciting opportunities these developments offer but also consider the challenges. Our key recommendations are to (1) Capitalize on the ability of novel technology to integrate data sources (2) agree to standard methods for data collection (3) ensure new technologies are calibrated with existing data; (4) fill data gaps by using emerging technologies and increasing capacity, especially in the tropics; (5) create living safeguarded databases of trusted information to reduce the risk of poisoning by AI hallucinated, or false, information; (6) ensure data generation is valued; (7) ensure respectful incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge; (8) ensure measurements enable the quantification of effectiveness of actions and (9) increase the resilience of global datasets to technical and societal change. Radical new collaborations are needed between computer scientists, engineers, molecular biologists, data scientists, field ecologists, citizen scientists, Indigenous peoples, policymakers, and local communities to create the rigorous, resilient, accessible biodiversity information systems required to underpin policies and practices that ensure the maintenance and restoration of ecological systems.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32942/X2806C

Subjects

Life Sciences

Keywords

eDNA; genomics; biodiversity; biological collections, Artificial Intelligence, remote sensing, image recognition, Indigenous knowledge, auditory data, eDNA, genomics, biodiversity, biological collections

Dates

Published: 2025-09-24 07:47

License

CC BY Attribution 4.0 International

Additional Metadata

Conflict of interest statement:
None

Data and Code Availability Statement:
Not applicable

Language:
English