Scientists looking to measure the biodiversity of wild animals in a nature reserve are taking their lead from leeches.
In a new study led by a team of Harvard researchers, DNA samples extracted from the blood meals of leeches were used to map which animals live in the Ailaoshan National Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. The findings suggest that the blood-sucking worms may serve as a simpler, much less expensive surveillance instrument for some biodiversity surveys than existing tools such as camera traps and bioacoustic recorders.
