Accelerating Biodiversity Discovery Through Innovative Technologies

time: 8:45am (Bogotá)
Presenter: Rudolf Meier (MfN), Authors Donat Agosti (Plazi), Amrita Srivathson (MfN)

Most of Earth’s biodiversity remains unknown: only about 20% of species are formally described, while the remaining 80% remain undescribed. Over the past 250 years, biodiversity research has generated an enormous “analog backlog” of publications and collections, but creating more analog data in an era of machine learning and digital infrastructures is counterproductive. This talk presents a vision for digitally native species discovery and description that integrates hyperdiverse insect research with innovative technologies including high-throughput DNA barcoding on nanopore sequencers, robotic specimen handling and imaging, and artificial intelligence for data extraction and species description. Preliminary species hypotheses generated with cost-effective megabarcoding are validated with targeted morphological research, then translated into species descriptions using AI-assisted tools. In the process, each specimen that is processed becomes the anchor for structured digital records on Zenodo containing sequences, images, metadata, and traits. This ensures that data are FAIR-compliant—interlinked, transparent, reproducible, and immediately reusable for conservation and ecological monitoring. By prioritizing scalability and interoperability, the approach accelerates biodiversity discovery while producing species descriptions that are both human- and machine-readable. In doing so, the vast “dark taxa” of insects can become visible and tractable, enabling biodiversity research, monitoring, and conservation in a truly digital age.

Workshop documents