phenoshAIpe - revolutionizing biodiversity monitoring with eco-morphospaces and machine learning

• Applicant: Dr. Florian Braig
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions ; Methods in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 569182277

The rapid loss of plant and animal species, along with fewer experts to study them, means we need better ways to watch over nature's health and the resources it provides for us. New tools are helping, such as studying traces of DNA found in the environment and using computer programs to identify plants and animals from images. However, these new methods also bring new challenges. To address these issues, we can combine computer programs analysing the physical features of living things in an ecosystem with counting how many of each species are present by looking at their DNA traces in the environment. By putting these two methods together, we can overcome some of the problems that come with newer ways of studying nature. I will create a computer program to assess the health of rivers and streams based on images of insects. The images are first manipulated to strengthen the contrast of edge regions. They are then processed by a neural network to extract the shape of the animal which will be transformed into a mathematical object. To compare these mathematical objects, one for each stream, with the stream’s health status, I will create references based on animals that show good or bad health. I will study these comparisons using statistical analysis. To this comparison I will add animal lists and counts from their DNA traces in the environment. This combination will allow us to make accurate statements on stream health, sense changes in stream health, and predict changes earlier than with current methods. This method will reduce the time and cost necessary for large scale schemes. In summary, this project will create a new way to think about the way we control nature's health.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: Finland
• Host: Dr. Stefan Prost