BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Global Biodiversity Threats
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2025.1671488
This article is part of the Research TopicWildlife ConservationView all articles
Assessing the viability of airborne environmental DNA detection for identifying trafficked lion pelts (Panthera leo) in a containerised environment
Provisionally accepted- 1School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, Australia
- 2Global One Health Alliance Pty Ltd, West Lakes Shore, Australia
- 3Flinders University College of Science and Engineering, Adelaide, Australia
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Accurate and rapid detection methodologies for monitoring the illicit trafficking of threatened species through highly exploited maritime routes are crucial to support law enforcement and conservation efforts. One of the most prominent trafficked species is the lion (Panthera leo), prized for their pelts, bones, and other derivatives, with the intensity of the trade contributing to their current vulnerable International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conservation status. The trade in such wildlife products is facilitated by the limited availability of detection technologies at seaports and border crossings to identify and intercept trafficking efforts. Thus, we explored the feasibility of airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis as a novel method to detect lion pelts concealed in shipping containers. Air samples were collected within close proximity of the pelts, as well as from the external air vents of a sealed container using a custom air extraction device. To enhance trace eDNA capture and attempt to overcome the combined challenges of degraded DNA (common in wildlife trade samples) and a confined environment, samples were collected on plasma polymer-coated HEPA F7 filters. All filter samples captured eDNA from the air, with no significant difference in overall yield across filter types (p > 0.05). However, only three surface-modified filters captured amplifiable P. leo mitochondrial DNA using species-specific primers, and only when sampling occurred in close proximity to pelts. Although the adaptation of eDNA-based detection methods shows potential, our findings demonstrate that the current protocol may be unsuitable for law enforcement applications without significant optimisation and validation.
Keywords: biosecurity, Biodiversity, CITES, conservation, detection, Endangered Species, illegal wildlife trade, Law Enforcement
Received: 23 Jul 2025; Accepted: 01 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Moloney, Brien, Shute, Khabiri, Moloney, Delcheva, MacGregor and Chaber. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Georgia Kate Moloney, georgia.moloney@adelaide.edu.au
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