Scientists use drones and dna analysis to unlock secrets of rainforest canopy life in peru

High above the forest floor in Peru’s Amazon rainforest, a hidden world of biodiversity has long remained mysterious to scientists. Traditional wildlife monitoring methods like camera traps and acoustic sensors often fail to detect the elusive creatures living in the towering canopy, leaving researchers with an incomplete picture of these complex ecosystems.

Now, an innovative collaboration between ETH Zürich’s Environmental Robotics Lab and nonprofit Wilderness International is revolutionizing how we study treetop life. The team is deploying drones equipped to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) samples directly from rainforest canopies—genetic material left behind by animals through hair, fur, saliva, and other biological traces that settle on leaves and branches high above the ground.

“We have researchers who cover the ground level when it comes to traditional biodiversity research, but what is going on in the treetops is very difficult to understand and assess,” explained Marie Schreiber, head of science communication at Wilderness International. While scientists have successfully used water-based eDNA sampling to identify species in various ecosystems, this approach often misses arboreal species that spend their lives in the trees.

This groundbreaking drone-eDNA combination offers unprecedented access to the canopy’s biological secrets, potentially revealing new species and providing crucial data about rainforest biodiversity. The technique could transform our understanding of these vertical ecosystems and help conservationists develop more comprehensive strategies for protecting the world’s remaining tropical forests and their inhabitants.