SYDNEY, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Scientists in Australia have found that mosquitoes can act like tiny "flying wildlife surveyors," helping track elusive and endangered animals, offering a powerful non-invasive tool for conservation.
Researchers used DNA found in mosquito blood meals to identify around 70 species of birds and mammals living in Kakadu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory, including several animals that are rarely seen or difficult to monitor, said a statement from Australia's Macquarie University on Thursday.
The technique involves analyzing the DNA of animals from female mosquitoes that have recently fed on. When mosquitoes are trapped, scientists can extract traces of that DNA to determine which species are present in the area, said researchers from the university and the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The study, published in the journal Environmental DNA, found that the mosquito method detected around twice as many mammal species as traditional camera traps, despite only two nights of sampling compared with six weeks of camera monitoring.
The method identified threatened species, including the ghost bat, spectacled hare-wallaby, and white-throated grasswren, a bird recorded only once in Kakadu surveys over two decades.
Mosquitoes effectively act as natural biological sampling devices, said Anthony Chariton, founder of Macquarie University's Environmental eDNA and Biomonitoring Lab, describing them as "thousands of tiny drones flying around every night collecting samples."
Mosquitoes digest blood quickly and stay near prey, giving precise DNA signals of local animals, the researchers said, adding the approach allows biodiversity monitoring without disturbing wildlife. ■
