University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
MaRHE Center, Magoodhoo, Maldives.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2024 Nov;24(8):e14012. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.14012. Epub 2024 Aug 26.
Marine mammals play a fundamental role in the functioning of healthy marine ecosystems and are important indicator species. Studying their biology, distributions, behaviour and health are still technically and logistically demanding for researchers. However, the efforts and commitment have not been in vain, since we are witnessing constant and exponential advancement in the study of these animals, thanks to technological progress in numerous fields. These include miniaturization and performance of biologger tags, which are equipped with sensors for measuring physiological parameters, hydrophones, accelerometers, time-depth records and spatial locations; the use of high throughput 'Next Generation' Sequencing to gain genetic information about communities and individual species from nucleic acids in environmental samples at miniscule concentrations; through, to the possibility of monitoring species with autonomous aerial and underwater vehicles. In parallel advances in computing and statistical modelling frameworks support the analysis of increasingly large and complex data sets. In this issue, O'Mahony et al. (2024) draw from at least two of these innovations: (a) the collection of biological material retrieved from large whales' blows using a modified drone and (b) the use of the samples to infer a wide spectrum of genetic information (both nuclear and mitochondrial) about the target animal/population. The methodology is not completely novel, but the study shows an impressive advancement in the amount of data obtained compared to preceding studies using the same approach. In the wake of these promising results, future perspectives are evaluated in relation to alternative sampling methodologies currently in use. It is possible to speculate that, in the next few years, the combination of non-invasive molecular profiling and enhanced drone technology (e.g. assembling increasingly smaller components, thus expanding capacity for autonomous operation) will open up perspectives that were unimaginable at the beginning of this millennium.
海洋哺乳动物在健康海洋生态系统的功能中起着至关重要的作用，是重要的指示物种。研究它们的生物学、分布、行为和健康状况对研究人员来说在技术和后勤上仍然具有挑战性。然而，这些努力和承诺并没有白费，因为我们正在见证这些动物研究的不断和指数级的进步，这要归功于众多领域的技术进步。这些进步包括生物标记物的小型化和性能的提高，这些标记物配备了用于测量生理参数、水听器、加速度计、时间深度记录和空间位置的传感器；利用高通量“下一代”测序技术，从环境样本中核酸中获取有关群落和单个物种的遗传信息，这些样本的浓度非常微小；通过自主空中和水下车辆对物种进行监测的可能性。与此同时，计算和统计建模框架的进展为分析越来越大、越来越复杂的数据集提供了支持。在本期中，O'Mahony 等人（2024 年）至少借鉴了其中两项创新：（a）使用改进的无人机从大型鲸鱼的喷口中收集生物材料，（b）利用这些样本推断目标动物/种群的广泛遗传信息（核和线粒体）。该方法并非完全新颖，但与使用相同方法的先前研究相比，该研究显示出在获得的数据量方面令人印象深刻的进步。在这些有希望的结果之后，评估了与当前使用的替代采样方法相关的未来展望。可以推测，在未来几年内，非侵入性分子分析和增强型无人机技术的结合（例如，组装越来越小的组件，从而扩大自主操作的能力）将开辟在本世纪初无法想象的前景。
