Opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age.

Journal: Nature ecology & evolution
Published Date: Jun 1, 2025

Abstract

With biodiversity loss escalating globally, a step change is needed in our capacity to accurately monitor species populations across ecosystems. Robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) offer technological solutions that may substantially advance terrestrial biodiversity monitoring, but this potential is yet to be considered systematically. We used a modified Delphi technique to synthesize knowledge from 98 biodiversity experts and 31 RAS experts, who identified the major methodological barriers that currently hinder monitoring, and explored the opportunities and challenges that RAS offer in overcoming these barriers. Biodiversity experts identified four barrier categories: site access, species and individual identification, data handling and storage, and power and network availability. Robotics experts highlighted technologies that could overcome these barriers and identified the developments needed to facilitate RAS-based autonomous biodiversity monitoring. Some existing RAS could be optimized relatively easily to survey species but would require development to be suitable for monitoring of more 'difficult' taxa and robust enough to work under uncontrolled conditions within ecosystems. Other nascent technologies (for instance, new sensors and biodegradable robots) need accelerated research. Overall, it was felt that RAS could lead to major progress in monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity by supplementing rather than supplanting existing methods. Transdisciplinarity needs to be fostered between biodiversity and RAS experts so that future ideas and technologies can be codeveloped effectively.

Authors

  • Stephen Pringle
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. s.pringle@kent.ac.uk.
  • Martin Dallimer
    Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. m.dallimer@leeds.ac.uk.
  • Mark A Goddard
    Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
  • Léni K Le Goff
    School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Emma Hart
  • Simon J Langdale
    Synthotech Ltd, Milner Court, Hornbeam Square, Harrogate, UK.
  • Jessica C Fisher
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Sara-Adela Abad
    Mechanical Engineering Department, University College London, London, UK.
  • Marc Ancrenaz
    HUTAN, SWD, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
  • Fabio Angeoletto
    Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gestão e Tecnologia Ambiental da Universidade Federal de Rondonópolis, Rondonópolis, Brasil.
  • Fernando Auat Cheein
    Department of Engineering, Harper Adams University, Newport, UK.
  • Gail E Austen
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Joseph J Bailey
    Applied Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
  • Katherine C R Baldock
    Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
  • Lindsay F Banin
    Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Penicuik, UK.
  • Cristina Banks-Leite
    Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, UK.
  • Aliyu S Barau
    Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.
  • Reshu Bashyal
    Greenhood Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
  • Adam J Bates
    Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottinghamshire, UK.
  • Jake E Bicknell
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Jon Bielby
    School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
  • Petra Bosilj
    Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
  • Emma R Bush
    Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Simon J Butler
    School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.
  • Dan Carpenter
    Digital Ecology Limited, Bristol, UK.
  • Christopher F Clements
    School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Antoine Cully
    1] Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris 06, UMR 7222, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (ISIR), F-75005, Paris, France [2] CNRS, UMR 7222, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (ISIR), F-75005, Paris, France.
  • Kendi F Davies
    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
  • Nicolas J Deere
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Michael Dodd
    University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
  • Rosie Drinkwater
    Palaeogenomics Group, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany.
  • Don A Driscoll
    School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Australia.
  • Guillaume Dutilleux
    Acoustics Group, Department of Electronic Systems, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
  • Mads Dyrmann
    Department of Engineering-Signal Processing, Faculty of Science and Technology, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. madsdyrmann@eng.au.dk.
  • David P Edwards
    Department of Plant Sciences and Centre for Global Wood Security, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
  • Mohammad S Farhadinia
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Aisyah Faruk
    Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Millennium Seed Bank, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, UK.
  • Richard Field
    School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
  • Robert J Fletcher
    Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
  • Chris W Foster
    School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
  • Richard Fox
    Butterfly Conservation, Manor Yard, East Lulworth, UK.
  • Richard M Francksen
    Institute of Science and Environment, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, UK.
  • Aldina M A Franco
    School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
  • Alison M Gainsbury
    Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, FL, USA.
  • Charlie J Gardner
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Ioanna Giorgi
    School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, UK.
  • Richard A Griffiths
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Salua Hamaza
    Biomorphic Intelligence Lab, Department of Control & Operations, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands.
  • Marc Hanheide
    Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
  • Matt W Hayward
    Centre for Conservation Science, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Marcus Hedblom
    Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
  • Thorunn Helgason
    School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Sui P Heon
    Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnerships, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
  • Kevin A Hughes
    British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Cambridge, UK.
  • Edmund R Hunt
    School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Daniel J Ingram
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • George Jackson-Mills
    Institute of Design, Robotics, and Optimisation (iDRO), School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
  • Kelly Jowett
    Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK.
  • Timothy H Keitt
    Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Laura N Kloepper
    Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
  • Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
    Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research IZW, Berlin, Germany.
  • Jim Labisko
    Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
  • Frédéric Labrosse
    Intelligent Robotics Group, Department of Computer Science, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK.
  • Jenna Lawson
    UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Wallingford, UK.
  • Nicolas Lecomte
    Department of Biology and Centre d'Études Nordiques, University of Moncton, Moncton, Canada.
  • Ricardo F de Lima
    Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
  • Nick A Littlewood
    Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Aberdeen, UK.
  • Harry H Marshall
    RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Cambridge, UK.
  • Giovanni L Masala
    School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Lindsay C Maskell
    UKCEH, Lancaster Environment Centre, Bailrigg, UK.
  • Eleni Matechou
    School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Barbara Mazzolai
  • Alistair McConnell
    School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Brett A Melbourne
    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
  • Aslan Miriyev
    Physical AI (PAI) Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
  • Eric Djomo Nana
    Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
  • Alessandro Ossola
    Department of Plant Sciences, University of CA, Davis, MA, USA.
  • Sarah Papworth
    Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK.
  • Catherine L Parr
    School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
  • Ana Payo-Payo
    Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
  • Gad Perry
    Department of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
  • Nathalie Pettorelli
    Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London NW1 4RY, UK.
  • Rajeev Pillay
    Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
  • Simon G Potts
    Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, Reading University, Reading RG6 6AR, UK. Electronic address: s.g.potts@reading.ac.uk.
  • Miranda T Prendergast-Miller
    Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
  • Lan Qie
    School of Natural Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
  • Persie Rolley-Parnell
    Insect Robotics Group, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Stephen J Rossiter
    School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
  • Marcus Rowcliffe
    Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK.
  • Heather Rumble
    Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the West of England Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Jon P Sadler
    School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
  • Christopher J Sandom
    School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
  • Asiem Sanyal
    Fauna & Flora (International), The David Attenborough Building, Cambridge, UK.
  • Franziska Schrodt
    School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
  • Sarab S Sethi
    Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom; s.sethi16@imperial.ac.uk.
  • Adi Shabrani
    Sabah Landscape Programme, WWF-Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
  • Robert Siddall
    Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstraße 3, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
  • Simón C Smith
    School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Robbert P H Snep
    Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • Carl D Soulsbury
    School of Natural Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
  • Margaret C Stanley
    School of Biological Sciences, Waipapa Taumata Rau - University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Philip A Stephens
    Conservation Ecology Group, Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK.
  • P J Stephenson
    IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group, Laboratory for Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Matthew J Struebig
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Matthew Studley
    Bristol Robotics Laboratory, UWE Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Martin Svátek
    Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
  • Gilbert Tang
    Centre for Robotics and Assembly, School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing (SATM), Cranfield University, Bedford, UK.
  • Nicholas K Taylor
    Edinburgh Centre for Robotics (ECR), School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Kate D L Umbers
    School of Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Robert J Ward
    Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Boscombe, UK.
  • Patrick J C White
    Centre for Conservation & Restoration Science, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Mark J Whittingham
    School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
  • Serge Wich
    School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
  • Christopher D Williams
    School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.
  • Ibrahim B Yakubu
    Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.
  • Natalie Yoh
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
  • Syed A R Zaidi
    School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
  • Anna Zmarz
    Department of Geoinformatics, Cartography and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
  • Joeri A Zwerts
    Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
  • Zoe G Davies
    Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.

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