Multi-technology Integrated Survey for Inventorying Terrestrial Vertebrates

Biodiversity monitoring is essential for understanding environmental changes, protecting threatened species, and making informed conservation decisions. However, traditional monitoring methods such as direct observation are often time-consuming, labor-intensive, and limited coverage. Here we conducted an integrated survey for inventorying terrestrial vertebrates in the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve in southwestern China. We integrated three non-invasive methods: camera traps, leech eDNA, and water eDNA, to overcome the limitations of a single method and improve monitoring efficiency. Our integrated survey identified a total of 102 wild terrestrial vertebrate species, including 60 mammals, 27 birds, 14 amphibians, and 1 reptile. We found that the water eDNA identified the highest number of species (71 species, accounting for 70 % of the total detected species), with the other two methods both identified 32 species respectively. Notably, only 8 species were detected by all three methods, indicating complementarity of the three methods for inventorying terrestrial vertebrates. Our study provides an example of integrated survey methodologies for terrestrial vertebrate monitoring and inventorying. It highlights the effectiveness of combining different methods for inventorying biodiversity and their potential for evaluating conservation effectiveness, thus offering comprehensive information for developing adaptive conservation strategies and ecosystem management plans.