FIU awarded $2 million to combat illegal wildlife trade

FIU’s fight against the illegal wildlife trade of sharks, rays and turtles has just received $2 million to develop a new tool for forensic detection.

Researcher Diego Cardeñosa is an investigator in one of 10 projects receiving funding under the Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice (PACSP) program, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Cardeñosa and a multidisciplinary team of scientists are developing new species identification technology, analyzing online wildlife trade markets and implementing artificial intelligence modeling to better understand, and ultimately disrupt, illegal wildlife trade supply chain operations. Their goal is to develop a universal test that can be used to identify highly traded species anywhere in the world.

Now in its second year, the PACSP program is designed to catalyze deep collaboration between researchers advancing basic science and conservation partners engaging in on-the-ground conservation. 

“Securing one of the most competitive grants in the nation validates our commitment to combatting wildlife crime,” said Cardeñosa. “This project represents the culmination of years of research and dedication to establishing FIU as a leader in wildlife forensics.”

Cardeñosa has dedicated his career to finding new and more effective ways to combat illegal trade of turtles, sharks and rays. He developed a portable, rapid DNA test that identifies specific shark species in a fraction of the time and cost as that of traditional testing. Cardeñosa and the team can build on his work with this grant.

Overall, the projects focus on a range of species — from sharks, turtles and grizzly bears to Venus flytraps and Hawaiian honeycreeper — and the outcomes will have far-reaching implications for biodiversity and conservation, policy and the economy.  

"The fundamental knowledge these projects create, even though related to specific species, will unlock innovative conservation efforts across a broader range of threatened species and ecosystems," said Lara Littlefield, executive director for programs and partnerships at the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. "For instance, studying whether mosquitos infected with bacteria can limit the spread of malaria among birds in Hawaii could ultimately limit disease spread among other animals more broadly." 

Each project extends basic science into on-the-ground conservation to address critical knowledge and data gaps, enabling greater real-world impact to benefit species and ecosystems.

"The unique partnerships this program creates forge a roadmap to broader conservation action by uniting the skills, expertise and tools needed to address the most urgent threats to our natural world," said Susan Marqusee, NSF assistant director for biological sciences. "These projects also will engage the public, policymakers, law enforcement and others in conservation through education, outreach and other broader impacts." 

The project titled “Strengthening conservation partnerships by advancing molecular and analytic tools for disrupting illegal wildlife trade” is a collaboration between FIU’s Global Forensic and Justice Center, Worchester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Maryland. Learn more about the Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice program and view the full list of awards and awardees by visiting nsf.gov.