Detalle de: Monitoring rainforest biodiversity

Protecting ecosystems that are vital for stabilizing the global climate and preserving biodiversity is more urgent than ever. Rainforests, which play a key role in the planet’s carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle, are home to over 50% of the world’s biodiversity. However, the rapid loss of these still poorly understood tropical forests is pushing many species toward extinction. Our efforts to protect these ecosystems are limited by the lack of effective tools to monitor wildlife at the scale and speed required to prevent further degradation. We are collaborating with the Providence+ team in the context of the XPRIZE Rainforest challenge to develop a scalable solution for monitoring rainforest biodiversity using in situ environmental DNA metabarcoding. In partnership with the Comparative Genomics Lab at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE-CSIC), the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), and the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá (Brazil), we are creating a computational and experimental framework capable of rapidly profiling species in monitored areas through autonomous sampling. This system integrates other biomonitoring technologies used by Providence+, such as bioacoustics and satellite image analysis, to assess the ecological status of these regions. Our framework aims to improve our understanding of rainforest ecological dynamics and empower local communities and governments to manage their natural resources more effectively, supporting conservation and sustainability efforts.