SAMPLING air to detect crested ibises represents a groundbreaking application of environmental DNA (eDNA) technology for monitoring this species in China. This innovation offers a new approach to studying their distribution and ecological status, China’s State television reported Sunday.

At the Weihe River estuary wetland in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, Northwest China, monitoring personnel used an environmental air DNA sampler to collect air samples in search of traces of crested ibises.

The device captures DNA from crested ibises present in the surrounding air onto a membrane.

This membrane is then taken back to the laboratory for extraction and analysis to confirm the presence of the bird.

To detect crested ibis DNA amid samples potentially contaminated by human and other bird DNA, a local research team developed a species-specific targeted monitoring technology, the report stated.

Using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method, the device can detect even a single DNA molecule in the environment, explained Luo Yining, deputy director of the Ecological Quality Monitoring Office at the Shaanxi Provincial Environmental Monitoring Center.

“This technology enables monitoring animal presence without the need for capture,” said Zhang Cuirong, deputy director of the Analysis and Testing Center at the Xianyang Environmental Monitoring Station.

She added that the technology can be further refined to monitor the population size and distribution of crested ibises and could potentially be applied to monitor other rare species.

The research team has compiled genomic data for crested ibises from more than three cities, encompassing birds of different ages, sexes, and geographic populations, which will support future studies.

Shaanxi is home to more than 7,700 crested ibises, accounting for 80% of China’s total population and over 71% of the global population, according to Science and Technology Daily.

(SD-Agencies)