The scanners use a technology called near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which currently has many applications, from measuring food quality to monitoring blood oxygen levels in the medical field. The idea is simple: A portable NIRS scanning device emits near-infrared light onto an animal\u2019s body surface. Some of the light is absorbed while some gets reflected. The device measures the reflected light, producing a \u201cspectral signature,\u201d unique to each species, like a fingerprint.<\/p>\n
To get to the final step of identifying species using the scanner, researchers first need to build a robust reference database linking each species in its environment to its spectral signature. Kelly Torralvo, a senior researcher in the Terrestrial Vertebrates Ecology Research Group at the Mamirau\u00e1 Institute, is working to build such a database for reptiles and amphibians of the Mamirau\u00e1 Sustainable Development Reserve in Brazil\u2019s Amazonas state.<\/p>\n
Every night, Torralvo sets out with her flashlight, searching for herpetofauna among branches and leaves. Whatever she finds, she brings back to her field base\u2019s laboratory within the reserve. There, Torralvo uses a device to scan each animal and detect its \u201cspectral signature\u201d using NIR technology.<\/p>\n
Torralvo co-authored a study<\/a> in 2023 in which the researchers showed that NIRS technology could identify five out of the eight amphibian species they tested, with an 80% reliability, using only one spectral reading per individual.<\/p>\n \u201cNIR is a revolutionary technology,\u201d Pedro Pequeno, ecologist and researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology in Syntheses of Amazonian Biodiversity, told Monteiro.<\/p>\n He said it is already widely used in chemistry and has \u201chuge potential for application in biology.\u201d Pequeno explained that species identification can be tricky, typically requiring experts, expensive genetic testing or labor-intensive bioacoustics methods. \u201cWith NIR, it\u2019s almost like magic! With a calibrated database, all you have to do is pass the light beam through it and, voil\u00e0: the species is recognized,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Torralvo said the potential of the NIR tool lies in combining the knowledge of biodiversity experts with available technology. \u201cBy assisting in species recognition, this method can facilitate processes in countless activities related to academic studies, monitoring, inspections, and management and conservation actions. [Also] in places where there is no expert to perform recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n The technology also has the potential to be used to monitor the illegal wildlife trade, Torralvo said \u2014 it can help identify if seizures include the meat of endangered animals mixed with other species, a tactic used by criminals to confuse inspectors.<\/p>\n \u201cThe method is very promising because it involves portable and relatively low-cost equipment,\u201d Torralvo said.<\/p>\n Read the full story by Miguel Monteiro in English here<\/a> and in Portuguese here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Banner image of experts using NIR technology for laboratory analyses. Image by Miguel Monteiro.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n