Nine changes needed to deliver a radical transformation in biodiversity measurement

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.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-09-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.32942/x2806c
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
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article

Nine changes needed to deliver a radical transformation in biodiversity measurement

Pamela S. Soltis, Anil Madhavapeddy, Nick J. B. Isaac, S. J. Goetz et al.
Species Distribution and Climate Change
article

Nine changes needed to deliver a radical transformation in biodiversity measurement

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

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.

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Species Distribution and Climate Change
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