Biodiversity Monitoring & Assessment
The Biodiversity Monitoring & Assessment (BIODIV) team focusses on innovating the way data is collected in the field to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of living organisms within the Critical Zone. As a national hub at the interface between the scientific community and decision/policy makers in Luxembourg, the BIODIV team is developing and using cutting-edge technologies to strengthen knowledge and competences on biodiversity monitoring in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across the country.
KEY EXPERTISE
Understanding biodiversity dynamics
Designing sampling procedures and field data collection approaches for surveying a range of living organisms and evaluating the conservation status of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems.
Technological innovation for ecological survey and monitoring
Developing applied ecological survey methods combining high-tech devices (e.g. image sensors, acoustic loggers) and artificial intelligence to automate field data collection, management and processing.
Taxonomic expertise
Providing world-leading expertise and pushing back the boundaries of knowledge on the classification of freshwater microalgae and macroinvertebrates.
Analytical approaches and techniques
Applying sophisticated analytical methods (e.g. spatial modelling of species distributions, site occupancy modelling, population trend analyses, capture-mark-recapture analyses) to document and understand biodiversity dynamics in space and time.
MAIN APPLICATIONS
Biodiversity monitoring
Putting large-scale monitoring programmes into action on the ground to document the changing state of biodiversity based on well-designed sampling procedures and innovative technological approaches for field inventories.
Natural resource management
Assessing the impacts of environmental management and ecological restoration strategies and actions on biodiversity.
Science-policy interface on biodiversity
Producing science-based evidence and knowledge to contribute to the development of core biodiversity indicators for the European Environment Agency and to support the Government of Luxembourg in implementing environmental regulations and meeting legal obligations.
Freshwater quality monitoring and surveillance
Using macroinvertebrates and microalgae as indicators of water quality in freshwater ecosystems.
High-level training on diatoms
Offering customized courses on diatom taxonomy and ecology in rivers, lakes and soils for specialists involved in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.
Examples of specific applications:
Biodiversity monitoring programme in Luxembourg
Implementing sampling approaches at national scale to document and report on the conservation status of protected species (EU 92/43/EEC Habitats Directive), the threats posed by invasive alien species (EU regulation n°1143/2014), water quality (EU 2000/60/EC Water Framework Directive), or to develop indicators for entire species groups (e.g. butterflies).
Wild pollinator monitoring programme in Luxembourg
Carrying out a national monitoring programme aligned with the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme to understand insect pollinator decline, its causes and its impacts, and to support the elaboration of an action plan for pollinators in Luxembourg.
Technological innovation for field data sampling and analysis
Developing and implementing automated data retrieval devices (e.g. underwater camera trap for amphibian survey) and novel approaches for biological data analysis based on artificial intelligence, bioinformatics or genetic tools (e.g. Diatombase and Diat.barcode, an open-access barcode library for diatoms).
Environmental change impact assessment
Estimating the combined impacts of multiple environmental drivers of native biodiversity decline (e.g. habitat degradation, climate change, pollution, invasive alien species).
EQUIPMENT
High-tech devices for wildlife camera trapping in a range of ecosystems
Including in house prototype developments.
Targeted groups: forest mammals, underwater amphibians and flying insects
Bioacoustics equipment
Automatic sound recorders
Trapping material
Small mammals traps, butterfly nets, pan-traps, amphibian and crayfish traps
Sampling equipment
Electric fishing material, freshwater macroinvertebrate and diatom sampling equipment
Identification tools
Field binoculars, field cameras, (stereo)microscopes with digital camera, ultra-high-resolution analytical field-emission scanning electron microscope
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Butterflies in Luxembourg: distribution, trends and conservation. Mestdagh et al. (2024) Ferrantia 90, Musée national d’histoire naturelle, Luxembourg, 287 p.
- Global trends and scenarios for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services from 1900 to 2050. Pereira et al. (2024). Science 384,458-465. DOI: 10.1126/science.adn3441
- Multi-decadal improvements in the ecological quality of European rivers are not consistently reflected in biodiversity metrics. Sinclair et al. (2024) Nature Ecology and Evolution. 8, 430–441
- A species-level trait dataset of bats in Europe and beyond. Froidevaux et al. (2023) Scientific Data 10: article number 253 .
- Diatom DNA metabarcoding to assess the effect of natural radioactivity in mineral springs on ASV of benthic diatom communities. Baker et al. (2023). Science of the Total Environment 873: 162270.
- The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt. Haase et al. (2023) Nature 620: 582–588.
- Long-term trends in crayfish invasions across European rivers. Soto et al. (2023) Science of the Total Environment 867: 161537.
- The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss. Jaureguiberry P., Titeux N. et al. (2022) Science Advances 8: eabm9982.
- European Grassland Butterfly Indicator 1990-2020. Van Swaay et al. (2022) Butterfly Conservation Europe & SPRING/eBMS & Vlinderstichting report VS2022.039.
- Extinction of austral diatoms in response to large-scale climate dynamics in Antarctica. Pinseel et al. (2021) Science Advances 7: eabh3233.
