How will the ‘molecular revolution’ contribute to biological recording?

TLDR

Advances in DNA sequencing—high throughput, low cost, and sensitivity—have sparked a revolution in biodiversity monitoring, with environmental DNA (eDNA) enabling detection of rare species, community profiling, and public engagement, and complementing traditional surveys to provide unprecedented insights into species distributions. The paper aims to outline basic approaches for molecular biodiversity monitoring, illustrate their effectiveness through case studies, highlight challenges, and argue for rapid development of methods to manage and integrate eDNA records into existing biological databases to improve species distribution knowledge. The study reviews fundamental molecular monitoring methods, presents case studies demonstrating their effectiveness, and examines challenges and limitations affecting molecular biological recording.

Abstract

Soaring throughput, plummeting costs, and increased sensitivity for assaying degraded or low-concentration DNA are driving a revolution in the way that we monitor biodiversity. Arguably the biggest 'game-changer' is environmental DNA (eDNA), which refers to free-floating DNA released by organisms into their environment. Rare or elusive species can be detected with greater sensitivity and accuracy using eDNA than by most conventional methods, and we have the capability to screen and describe whole communities, as well as perform targeted monitoring of single species. This paper discusses the basic approaches for molecular monitoring of biodiversity, provides case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of the techniques, and considers any challenges and limitations that could impact molecular biological recording. It is argued that eDNA surveys offer exciting new opportunities to engage the public in biological recording and that molecular approaches will complement conventional surveys, enabling unprecedented insights into species distributions. Finally, with the number of eDNA studies increasing at a rapid pace, it is argued that there is a need to rapidly establish ways of managing molecular records. Integrating molecular records into existing biological records databases would enhance our understanding of species distributions and may be something that the Biological Records Centre should be considering to mark its landmark anniversary.