Amid the growing biodiversity crisis, scientists across the globe are increasingly turning to tiny, high-tech tags as a new way of collecting real-time biodiversity data from individual animals.
The practice, known as bio-logging, has emerged as an alternative to traditional methods of assessing biodiversity that only provide a snapshot in time. While researchers hope the data can create a better understanding of how animals interact with their environments, a new study led by University of California, Berkeley researchers found substantial global biases and gaps in the collection of bio-logged data—disparities they say could hinder the development of effective global biodiversity conservation strategies.
The results, which were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the majority of bio-logged data was collected in remote or suburban regions in Europe and the United States, largely ignoring highly urbanized areas and regions experiencing rapid environmental change, particularly across the Global South.
"Bio-logging represents a transformative approach for wildlife conservation," explained Diego Ellis Soto, who completed his PhD at Yale University and is now a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Berkeley lab of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management professor Christopher Schell. “But our greatest threats to biodiversity often occur in areas least monitored, highlighting the critical need for democratizing access to these powerful conservation tools.”
The study, which was co-authored by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Bat Conservation International, highlights how properly addressing data disparities within bio-logging can provide holistic insights into wildlife behavior.
Tiny tags, big insights
According to the paper, bio-logging technologies are capable of providing direct, real-time observations of individual animal performances, survival strategies, and reproductive successes in dynamically changing environments.
Scientists have used tags attached to elephant seals to measure the sea surface temperature and ice formation in the Southern Ocean. Others have used accelerometer sensors, which measure tiny changes in movement, connected to wild boars to detect when animals are sick with African swine fever. These and other applications of bio-logging not only offer insights into animal behaviors but also map environmental conditions essential to species survival and individual animals' health.
For their study, the authors analyzed GPS and movement data collected from tags on migrating white storks to demonstrate how bio-logging can measure critical factors such as energy expenditure, movement efficiency, and sucFcessful reproduction. Location data showed that the tracked storks often feed in landfills, which suggests that the animals may start to rely on foraging in human-modified landscapes to survive.
“Unlike static methods, this approach gives continuous insights into an animal’s perspective,” said senior author Dr. Teague O’Mara, director of conservation evidence at Bat Conservation International. “It tells us more about their day-to-day challenges, and most importantly, shows immediate effects of environmental and human-induced changes as well as how effective our conservation strategies are."
Expanding tracking, increasing data
Despite the practice’s potential, the researchers found that the majority of publicly available data collected via bio-logging corresponds to remote or suburban regions in Europe and the United States. The data largely ignore urban environments and vulnerable areas across the Global South, where development, habitat loss, and climate change may alter animal behavior.
“Scientists have historically prioritized tracking animals of conservation concern, or endangered species in more remote national park areas,” said Ellis Soto. However, he notes that scientists don’t exactly know how animals living in cities or other human-dominated areas behave—or how they cope with rapidly changing environments.
“Studying their lives in these urbanized places is key to designing effective conservation strategies to understand how wildlife shares a crowded planet with us humans,” he adds.
To address this gap, the authors call for the broader deployment of emerging software-defined tracking technologies that can provide real-time, detailed environmental data directly from the animals themselves. Since animals are often considered sentinels of their environments, bio-logging could significantly enhance conservation efforts by allowing immediate, actionable insights into animal health, threats from poaching, and a deeper understanding of local weather conditions.
The researchers also argue that animal bio-logging can be a comprehensive reporting, measurement, and verification system for international biodiversity targets. As global communities strive to achieve ambitious biodiversity conservation goals by 2030, such as protecting 30% of land areas and halting species declines, innovative monitoring methods like bio-logging will be essential.
"Bio-logging can fundamentally alter how we track the success of conservation initiatives: From individuals, to populations, and species," Ellis Soto said. "By integrating real-time animal and environmental data, we can improve the management of protected areas and enhance biodiversity conservation worldwide."
Integrating real-time animal bio-logging data into global conservation strategies represents an unprecedented opportunity to understand and respond to the pressing and worsening challenges that wildlife currently face.
"Deploying these cutting-edge technologies widely and in a fair manner can democratize conservation efforts, ensuring that biodiversity protection measures are effectively targeted and truly global,” said Ellis Soto.
Read the full paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
