Opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age

With biodiversity loss escalating globally, a step change is needed in our capacity to accurately monitor species populations across ecosystems. Robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) offer technological solutions that may substantially advance terrestrial biodiversity monitoring, but this potential is yet to be considered systematically. We used a modified Delphi technique to synthesize knowledge from 98 biodiversity experts and 31 RAS experts, who identified the major methodological barriers that currently hinder monitoring, and explored the opportunities and challenges that RAS offer in overcoming these barriers. Biodiversity experts identified four barrier categories: site access, species and individual identification, data handling and storage, and power and network availability. Robotics experts highlighted technologies that could overcome these barriers and identified the developments needed to facilitate RAS-based autonomous biodiversity monitoring. Some existing RAS could be optimized relatively easily to survey species but would require development to be suitable for monitoring of more 'difficult' taxa and robust enough to work under uncontrolled conditions within ecosystems. Other nascent technologies (for instance, new sensors and biodegradable robots) need accelerated research. Overall, it was felt that RAS could lead to major progress in monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity by supplementing rather than supplanting existing methods. Transdisciplinarity needs to be fostered between biodiversity and RAS experts so that future ideas and technologies can be codeveloped effectively.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Published
2025-05-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02704-9
Citations
10
Primary Topic
Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
7.13

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article

Opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age

Sarah Papworth, Mark A. Goddard, Ricardo F. de Lima, Richard A. Griffiths et al.
10 citations
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence
7.13
article

Opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age

Sarah Papworth, Mark A. Goddard, Ricardo F. de Lima, Richard A. Griffiths, Philip A. Stephens, Jessica C. Fisher, Laura N. Kloepper, Kelly Jowett, Timothy H. Keitt, Emma Hart, Jake E. Bicknell, Jon P. Sadler, Richard Fox, N. Taylor, George Jackson-Mills, Antoine Cully, Syed Ali Raza Zaidi, Jenna Lawson, Lindsay C. Maskell, Rajeev Pillay, Frédéric Labrosse, Rosie Drinkwater, Miranda T. Prendergast‐Miller, Lan Qie, Aslan Miriyev, Margaret C. Stanley, Thorunn Helgason, J. S. Pringle, P. J. White, Jim Labisko, Serge A. Wich, Matthew J. Struebig, Richard Field, Robert Siddall, Adi Shabrani, Joeri A. Zwerts, Martin Dallimer, Nicolas Lecomte, Edmund R. Hunt, J. Marcus Rowcliffe, Carl D. Soulsbury, Franziska Schrodt, Issaka Yakubu, Christopher F. Clements, Marc Ancrenaz, Asiem Sanyal, Natalie Yoh, Sarab S. Sethi, Christopher J. Sandom, Nicolas J. Deere, Richard M. Francksen, Léni K. Le Goff, R.P.H. Snep, Sara-Adela Abad, Salua Hamaza, Brett A. Melbourne, Joseph J. Bailey, Nathalie Pettorelli, M Dodd, Aliyu Salisu Barau, Katherine C. R. Baldock, Gilbert Tang, Robert J. Ward, Alison M. Gainsbury, Lindsay F. Banin, David P. Edwards, Fábio Angeoletto, Jon Bielby, Marcus Hedblom, Charlie J. Gardner, Ana Payo‐Payo, Aisyah Faruk, P. J. Stephenson, Simon Geoffrey Potts, Simon J. Langdale, Eric Djomo Nana, Mohammad S. Farhadinia, Gail E. Austen, Nick A. Littlewood, Martin Svátek, Ioanna Giorgi, Gad Perry, Zoe Georgina Davies, Sui Heon, Matthew Studley, Kevin A. Hughes, Heather Rumble, Alistair C. McConnell, Eleni Matechou, Alessandro Ossola, Catherine L. Parr, Don A. Driscoll, Fernando Auat Cheein, Giovanni Luca Masala, Reshu Bashyal, Emma R. Bush, Dan Carpenter, Mark J. Whittingham, Guillaume Dutilleux, Petra Bosilj, Simon J. Butler, Christopher W. Foster, Kendi F. Davies, Kate D. L. Umbers, Robert J. Fletcher, Anna Zmarz, Daniel J. Ingram, Adam J. Bates, Barbara Mazzolai, Matt W. Hayward, Harry H. Marshall, Christopher D. Williams, Stephen J. Rossiter, Aldina M. A. Franco, Stephanie Kramer‐Schadt, Marc Hanheide, Mads Dyrmann, Persie Rolley-Parnell, Simón C. Smith
article en
10 citations

Abstract

With biodiversity loss escalating globally, a step change is needed in our capacity to accurately monitor species populations across ecosystems. Robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) offer technological solutions that may substantially advance terrestrial biodiversity monitoring, but this potential is yet to be considered systematically. We used a modified Delphi technique to synthesize knowledge from 98 biodiversity experts and 31 RAS experts, who identified the major methodological barriers that currently hinder monitoring, and explored the opportunities and challenges that RAS offer in overcoming these barriers. Biodiversity experts identified four barrier categories: site access, species and individual identification, data handling and storage, and power and network availability. Robotics experts highlighted technologies that could overcome these barriers and identified the developments needed to facilitate RAS-based autonomous biodiversity monitoring. Some existing RAS could be optimized relatively easily to survey species but would require development to be suitable for monitoring of more 'difficult' taxa and robust enough to work under uncontrolled conditions within ecosystems. Other nascent technologies (for instance, new sensors and biodegradable robots) need accelerated research. Overall, it was felt that RAS could lead to major progress in monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity by supplementing rather than supplanting existing methods. Transdisciplinarity needs to be fostered between biodiversity and RAS experts so that future ideas and technologies can be codeveloped effectively.

Nature Ecology & EvolutionVol. 9(6)
University of East Anglia (GB), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES), Universidade Federal de Rondônia (BR), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (IL), Fauna and Flora International (GB), University of Leeds (GB), Rainforest Alliance (US), British Antarctic Survey (GB), Zoological Society of London (GB), Butterfly Conservation (GB), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (GB), University of Lisbon (PT), Natural Environment Research Council (GB), University of Nottingham (GB), University of Liverpool (GB), Deakin University (AU), University of Northern British Columbia (CA), University of Auckland (NZ), Université de Moncton (CA), Aberystwyth University (GB), University of New Hampshire (US), Universiti of Malaysia Sabah (MY), University of Sussex (GB), George Mason University (US), Queen Mary University of London (GB), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (GB), University of the West of England (GB), Royal Holloway University of London (GB), University of Colorado Boulder (US), Durham University (GB), Utrecht University (NL), The Open University (GB), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO), University of Kent (GB), University of Cambridge (GB), Edinburgh Napier University (GB), Scotland's Rural College (GB), Norwich Research Park (GB), Rothamsted Research (GB), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB), Sabah Wildlife Department (MY), VUC Aarhus (DK), University of Surrey (GB), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Italian Institute of Technology (IT), Heriot-Watt University (GB), Northumbria University (GB), University of Bristol (GB), University of Oxford (GB), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB), Sabah Environmental Trust (MY), Synthomer (United Kingdom) (GB), Digital Science (United Kingdom) (GB), Boscombe Community Hospital (GB), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (DE), Bristol Robotics Laboratory (GB), International Union for Conservation of Nature (CH), University College London (GB), University of Warsaw (PL), Imperial College London (GB), Anglia Ruskin University (GB), University of Lincoln (GB), Nottingham Trent University (GB), Mendel University in Brno (CZ), Liverpool John Moores University (GB), Western Sydney University (AU), Lancaster University (GB), University of Reading (GB), University of South Florida St. Petersburg (US), University of Newcastle Australia (AU), University of Birmingham (GB), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE), Cranfield University (GB), University of California, Davis (US), Newcastle University (GB), The University of Texas at Austin (US), Wageningen University & Research (NL), Harper Adams University (GB), Bayero University Kano (NG), University of Cumbria (GB), University of Lausanne (CH), Delft University of Technology (NL), University of Edinburgh (GB)
George Mason University, University of Cumbria, University of Northern British Columbia, University of South Florida, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet, Queen Mary University of London, Heriot-Watt University, Harper Adams University, Nottingham Trent University, Northumbria University, Anglia Ruskin University, Université de Moncton, Trent University, Aberystwyth University, University of East Anglia, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Oxford, Newcastle University, University of Leeds, University of Sussex, University of Reading, Cranfield University, University of Bristol, Edinburgh Napier University, Durham University, University of the West of England, Deakin University, Technische Universiteit Delft, University of Surrey, Liverpool John Moores University, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Universidade de Lisboa, Université de Lausanne, Mendelova Univerzita v Brně, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung, Scotland’s Rural College, Western Sydney University, Directorate for Biological Sciences, College of Science, George Mason University, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Wageningen University and Research, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Royal Holloway, University of London, Research England, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, British Antarctic Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence
7.13
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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