WildinSync

Weltkarte mit Markierungen in Nord- und Südamerika, Europa, Afrika und Asien. Text 'WildinSync' in gelber Schrift unten.
As of August 2025, WildinSync comprised 91 sampling sites in around 30 countries – and more are constantly being added. Klick on the map to view the current sites.

WildinSync, a non-profit initiative by researchers at WSL and ETH Zurich, promotes eDNA as a cost-effective and highly accurate method for long-term biodiversity monitoring. It brings cutting-edge technology to partners worldwide and provides them with eDNA kits – free of charge thanks to sponsors.

Water samples from rivers, lakes, or oceans are processed locally or in partner laboratories, and data is securely saved at WSL in the EnviDat platform and made freely accessible online.

In addition, WildinSync looks at nature from space: with the help of Sentinel-2 and Landsat satellites, we record temperature trends, changes in forests and vegetation, and traces of human intervention.

We store some of the DNA obtained in a biobank. This allows the samples to be re-evaluated later using more advanced technologies.

A global early warning system for nature

Logo von WildinSYNC, zeigt eine stilisierte Weltkugel mit einem DNA-Strang und dem Schriftzug 'WildinSYNC' in zwei Farben.

Biodiversity is declining dramatically, and traditional methods are often too expensive to respond to the urgency of the situation.

The data from WildinSync serves as an early warning system for biodiversity loss, disease outbreaks, and invasive or endangered species, and checks whether nature conservation measures are effective.

For example, species detected by eDNA – mainly fish and mammals – are compared with expected species based on expert knowledge, indigenous knowledge, and historical data. Deviations indicate whether a site is impaired.

WildinSync also relies on open-source solutions, from the design of the pumps and standardized protocols to freely accessible data, courses, and publications.