Six XPrize finalists emerge after testing conservation tech in Central Catchment Nature Reserve

SINGAPORE - Like putting a swab into the nose to detect Covid-19, a “swab” of the forest can reveal much about the myriad of flora and fauna there.  

To document as many species in as little time as possible, Swiss team ETH BiodivX deployed five drones to Singapore’s Central Catchment Nature Reserve – to sample the air, and collect genetic material from trees as well as water samples. 

Meanwhile, a robotic rover roamed the forest floor, snapping photos of the surrounding flora and fauna and collecting DNA samples from vegetation.

The team, led by Swiss university ETH Zurich, was one of 13 from around the world that tested their technologies in Singapore from late May to early June, as part of the semi-finals of a US$10 million (S$13.3 million) global competition.  

Known as

XPrize Rainforest

, the competition is looking to identify viable tech solutions that could automate how scientists survey and study the world’s degrading rainforests.

There are three rainforest basins in the world – the Amazon, which is the largest at 6.7 million sq km, more than twice the size of India; the Congo basin; and South-east Asia.

They play an important role in the climate system, because trees on the equator can absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide through photosynthesis all year round.

Rainforests are also home to many human communities, as well as many different species of rare wildlife.

Teams comprising scientists and robotics engineers had 24 hours to test their technologies in a defined plot within the nature reserve, and another 48 hours to analyse the data and provide an assessment of the species found there.

On July 24, ETH BiodivX was one of six teams selected to advance to the finals of the competition, as they presented technologies that had the best potential to survey rainforests remotely.  

Next year’s finals, according to the organisers, will be held at a more “remote and challenging” location. 

Teams will also need to demonstrate the scalability of their technologies and maximise performance on both biodiversity surveying and producing insights in order to meet the prize criteria, said California-based organisation XPrize. 

Explaining ETH BiodivX’s technology, Dr Stefano Mintchev, the team’s co-lead researcher, told The Straits Times that environmental DNA (eDNA) represents the genetic traces that a living thing leaves in the environment.  

“This could be an animal that is losing skin and hair particles, its saliva, or its faeces, that we collect and process in our database – which we can then trace back to the relevant species.”

But eDNA is present for only a certain period of time, which can vary from hours to weeks, and can be degraded through radiation from the sun or washed away by rain, said Dr Mintchev.

So, each drone is equipped to capture audio recordings and photos as well, to ensure that the eDNA collected corresponds to the “correct” type of plant or animal species. 

Dr Mintchev’s team collected water samples too, as Singapore’s frequent rainfall means that some eDNA from trees could be washed into streams or rivers.

About 50 environmental DNA samples were collected by ETH BiodivX. 

These samples were then processed in a portable “lab”, which the scientists carried in their backpacks, allowing them to extract the relevant genetic material, process them and identify the species – all within 48 hours.

Prior to testing its tech here, the team had a dry run at the Masoala Rainforest in Zoo Zurich, which has a microclimate similar to Singapore’s hot and humid weather.  

This ensured that the tech is well adapted to the Republic’s climate, and that the drones do not get entangled in the lush, dense canopies of the forest in the Central Catchment, Dr Mintchev added.

The biodiversity found in both habitats, however, were vastly different, noted Dr Mintchev, who identified species common in South-east Asia – a bioluminescent snail (Quantula striata), a native bee (Apis cerana), and the Timonius wallichianus, which is an important tree for caterpillars and butterflies.

Asked how the team felt about getting into the finals, he said the achievement was a “remarkable milestone”, and it will continue to improve its technology.

“We will build the skills and tools needed to translate our biodiversity measurements into meaningful insights that can help preserve rainforests,” he added.

Mr Lim Liang Jim, Singapore’s National Parks Board’s (NParks) group director of conservation, told ST that NParks had worked closely with XPrize to host the semi-finals, as the agency saw the potential to advance both local and global conservation efforts through the technologies that the teams were trialling. 

“Findings from the competition will continue to be reviewed in detail. They will augment our own biodiversity data compiled through NParks’ comprehensive surveys and long-term monitoring efforts,” he added. 

For instance, he noted, one team from the United States – Team Waponi – deployed a sensor platform to record insects.  

The platform, known as Limelight, contained moth recorders, which can record audio at supersonic frequencies, to help collect bioacoustic data, along with broad-spectrum ultraviolet lights to attract insects, which are then photographed.

Asked why the team had chosen to shine the spotlight on insects, Team Waponi leader Thomas Walla said insects perform many functions such as pollination and decomposition, so measuring their diversity is a good indicator of their many interactions in a forest.  

During the competition, the team managed to test its platform only at the highest level of the forest canopy – in order to prevent the tech getting tangled in the understorey.  

But the challenge at the finals would involve surveying all levels of the forest canopy, said Professor Walla. 

XPrize executive vice-president of biodiversity and conservation Peter Houlihan said: “Testing in Singapore was the global premiere of completely novel deployment mechanisms for remote sensors in tropical rainforests, as well as an impressive demonstration of ground-breaking field eDNA capabilities that signal a major advancement for the field of biodiversity monitoring at large.”

He added: “As the teams further their solutions through finals testing, we are glad to already learn of keen interest from partners and stakeholders around the world, including the National Parks Board of Singapore, to adopt these meaningful technologies.”