Climbers and ecologists work together to perform environmental DNA survey of 90 sites nationwide — Project launched to monitor the health of mountain areas

Professor Michio Kondoh of the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, the Miyagi Mountaineering Federation, and First Ascent Japan (a non‐profit organization), announced that they will jointly conduct a biodiversity survey in mountain areas using environmental DNA. Environmental DNA will be collected from mountain streams and lakes with the cooperation of mountain enthusiasts nationwide, and the collected data will be released around September, through the open data source "ANEMONE DB". The project will promote the creation of a system that will facilitate the public to acquire awareness regarding the environmental changes in mountain areas.

The "Mountain People x Scientists" Environmental DNA Mountain Area Monitoring Project will be the first to carry out environmental DNA surveys in mountain areas. Currently, the target organisms mainly include fish; however, further expansion will be conducted to incorporate terrestrial organisms living in mountain areas. Additionally, attempts to detect mammals, birds, insects, and other organisms will also be performed.

The project aims to conduct an environmental DNA survey of mountain areas, on an unprecedented scale, through the collaboration of climbers, hikers and trail runners, and mountain enthusiasts who are familiar with mountains, along with scientists who have promoted mountain research and environmental DNA monitoring.

Participants include The Miyagi Mountaineering Federation, Yamagata Mountaineering Federation, Akita Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation, Iwate Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Association members, Daisetsuzan National Park Volunteer Liaison Committee, Hirosaki University mountain club, and mountain photographer Gaku Miyake.

Each of these participants will select a mountain per their preference or interest and collect environmental DNA using the environmental DNA survey kit distributed to them. The environmental DNA collected by the participants will be sent to the Kazusa DNA Research Institute for analysis to obtain DNA base sequences. These sequences will then be sent to Tohoku University for data analysis to clarify the types of organisms. The results will then be published through the "ANEMONE DB" open data repository. This analysis will be led by Kondoh in collaboration with the University of Tsukuba, Toho University, and Kyoto University.

The project is expected to provide basic data on distribution of organisms at different altitudes, (migration to higher altitudes) due to the effects of global warming, use of high‐altitude mountains by migratory birds, and biodiversity recovery. Additionally, the data will provide scientific clarification on the balance of nature.

Environmental DNA are DNA fragments released from organisms into the environment that can be analyzed to determine the types of organisms living there. ANEMONE, a biodiversity observation network using environmental DNA, was established in 2019 as a precursor to the large‐scale project research led by Kondoh. Tohoku University, the University of Tsukuba and the Kazusa DNA Research Institute are leading an environmental DNA survey of coasts, rivers, lakes, and marshes with the cooperation of universities, national laboratories, government agencies, and citizen volunteers across Japan. Until now, surveys have focused on marine and riverine ecosystems; however, there is a lack of data from mountainous areas and non‐fish species.