Measuring biodiversity from DNA in the air

The crisis of declining biodiversity(1) exceeds our current ability to monitor changes in ecosystems. Rapid terrestrial biomonitoring approaches are essential to quantify the causes and consequences of global change. Environmental DNA(2) has revolutionized aquatic ecology,(3) permitting population monitoring(4) and remote diversity assessments matching or outperforming conventional methods of community sampling.(3-5) Despite this model, similar methods have not been widely adopted in terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we demonstrate that DNA from terrestrial animals can be filtered, amplified, and then sequenced from air samples collected in natural settings representing a powerful tool for terrestrial ecology. We collected air samples at a zoological park, where spatially confined non-native species allowed us to track DNA sources. We show that DNA can be collected from air and used to identify species and their ecological interactions. Air samples contained DNA from 25 species of mammals and birds, including 17 known terrestrial resident zoo species. We also identified food items from air sampled in enclosures and detected taxa native to the local area, including the Eurasian hedgehog, endangered in the United Kingdom. Our data demonstrate that airborne eDNA concentrates around recently inhabited areas but disperses away from sources, suggesting an ecology to airborne eDNA and the potential for sampling at a distance. Our findings demonstrate the profound potential of air as a source of DNA for global terrestrial biomonitoring.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that DNA from terrestrial animals can be extracted from air samples and used to identify species and their ecological interactions. This method has significant potential for monitoring terrestrial ecosystems.