Scientists have used AI analysis to create a “biodiversity time machine” that detects pollution levels, extreme weather events, and rising temperatures over a century.
The AI analysis allowed the team to shed light on a century of environmental changes in freshwater lakes, such as rising temperatures and pollution, that could lead to irreversible biodiversity loss.
New approaches could help regulators protect or improve existing levels of biodiversity on Earth.
the study, ‘100 years of anthropogenic impacts are causing changes in freshwater functional biodiversity‘ was published in a magazine. e-life.
How AI analysis creates a biodiversity time machine
Researchers from the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with Goethe University in Frankfurt, used sediment from the bottom of a Danish lake to reconstruct a century-old library on biodiversity, chemical pollution and climate change levels. .
The lake has a well-documented history of changing water quality, making it the perfect natural experiment to test the biodiversity time machine.
AI analysis shows that sediments hold a continuous record of biological and environmental signals that have changed over time, from the (semi-)natural environments of the early industrial revolution to the present day. has become clear.
The research team used environmental DNA (genetic material left behind by plants, animals, and bacteria) to build a picture of entire freshwater communities.
With the help of AI analysis, they analyzed that information in conjunction with climate and pollution data to identify what could explain the historic loss of species that lived in the lake.
Luisa Orsini, Professor of Evolutionary Systems Biology and Environmental Omics at the University of Birmingham and lead researcher on the study, explains: “We take sediment cores from the bottom of lakes and use the biological data within that sediment like a time machine to create a detailed picture of biodiversity over the past century at annual resolution. will be displayed.
“By analyzing biological data alongside climate change data and pollution levels, we can identify the factors that have the greatest impact on biodiversity.”
Which pollutants are causing the most damage to biodiversity levels?
The Biodiversity Time Machine showed that pollutants such as pesticides and fungicides are causing the most damage to biodiversity levels, along with rising minimum temperatures (1.2-1.5 degrees Celsius increase).
However, AI analysis found that the DNA that had been present in the sediment over the past 20 years was beginning to recover. Water quality has improved in areas surrounding the lake as agricultural land use has decreased.
However, although overall biodiversity increased, the communities were not the same as in the (semi-)natural stage. This is concerning because different species can provide different ecosystem services, and their inability to return to a particular location may impede the recovery of certain services.
“The loss of biodiversity caused by this pollution and warming water temperatures is potentially irreversible,” said lead author Niamh Eastwood, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham.
“Not all species found in the lake that became extinct 100 years ago will be able to return. This study shows that if we fail to protect biodiversity, much of it could be lost forever. is showing.”
What’s next?
Next, the researchers will expand their AI analysis from a single lake to lakes in England and Wales.
This new study helps us understand how repeatable the patterns they observed are, and therefore how we can generalize research findings on lake biodiversity pollution and climate change. .
“We have demonstrated the value of AI-based approaches to understanding the historical drivers of biodiversity loss. As new data becomes available, we use more sophisticated AI models to , we can further improve predictions of the causes of biodiversity loss,” concluded co-author Dr. Jiarui Zhou, assistant professor of environmental bioinformatics at the University of Birmingham.
