Monitoring Endangered Species With DNA (Like Jurassic Park)
A new way to monitor & protect endangered species. Using DNA analysis of animal blood from creatures that feed on animals. Scientists can now map animal populations at the highest resolution ever. Also, this method will scale globally.
San Francisco, United States, January 20, 2016 (Newswire.com) - A pioneering geneticist is developing a new way to monitor and protect animal populations in forested areas.
Overview
The technique uses DNA analysis of blood, taken from leeches or insects that feed on animals, which are collected by rangers during routine patrols.
Mapping Animal Populations
Animal populations are mapped at the highest resolution ever. This enables conservationists to monitor threats and respond if populations decline.
Threatened Species
Many threatened species live in the target area, including two critically endangered species, the Western Black Crested Gibbon (est. global population: 1,300) and the Pangolin.
Global
This project is in Ailao Shan Nature Reserve, China's most biodiverse region. But the technique will be scaled globally, to monitor and protect animals around the world, by means of a lab to train international teams how to implement it.
Background: Professor Douglas Yu
The project leader, Professor Douglas Yu, is at the forefront of methods development for biodiversity assessment and has carried out multiple large-scale field-biology projects.
Yu is a graduate of Princeton; holds a PhD from Harvard; and is Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia (UK) and Principal Investigator and Director of the Ecology, Environment and Conservation Center at the Kunming Institute of Zoology (China).
Future27 Platform
Future27 is a platform for technologies that address environmental problems at scale.
We are hosting a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for this project (https://www.future27.com/campaign/108/a-revolution-in-wildlife-protection).
Companies, charities, or individuals can apply to fundraise in the following categories:
Biodiversity
Drinking Water
Deforestation
Education
Energy Saving
Food Production
GHG Emissions
Habitat Preservation
Pollution
Products and Packaging
Recycling
Renewable Energy
Renewable Fuels
Resource Use
Sustainable construction
Transport
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Sean McMahon
Founder,
Future27
www.future27.com
Supporting projects that solve environmental problems at scale
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E: sean@future27.com