An international team of researchers has discovered that thousands of ambient air quality monitoring stations around the world are unwittingly recording environmental DNA (eDNA).
Global warming has been known to cause severe loss of biodiversity, but researchers have struggled to quantify its effect due to the lack of infrastructure for tracking extinction rates - until now.
A vital source of biodiversity data has been identified by new research in air quality monitoring stations. These stations have been collecting dust and pollution particles for decades. However, their filters have also accidentally collected valuable samples of eDNA, which can be used for analysing the progression of climate change.
As part of this research, scientists found evidence of eDNA of over 180 plants and animals in only two air quality monitoring locations. Therefore, the data kept in all the stations across the world could have a massive impact on this field of study...