FOGS database against illegal wildlife trade launched

FOGS (Forensic Genetics for Species Protection) will initially start with European vertebrate species that are relevant to illegal trade. The aim is to later apply this technology to species protection worldwide. Many native bird species and some exotic species, such as grey parrots and the hyacinth macaw as well as some monitor lizard species, have been included in the database. To build this up, the research team used more than 4,000 samples from wild and zoo animals during the five-year project period, which is now coming to an end.

"With FOGS, we have created a tool to track down illegal wildlife traffickers and protect endangered species," explains Albia Consul, project coordinator at the LIB's Museum Koenig Bonn. Thanks to a large number of stored molecular genetic samples, the database enables customs offices and nature conservation authorities to identify confiscated evidence for criminal investigations in a forensic manner.

The reference samples make it possible to quickly and accurately identify species, their geographical origin and their affiliation to populations. Albia Consul: "We have created a good basic framework. However, the data portal is of course only as good as the number of reference samples and should be continuously expanded."

"Wildlife trafficking is now the fourth largest sector of organised crime. This is where we come in with our scientific expertise, with education and with the establishment of a network of players from various specialist areas in the fight against illegal trade," emphasises Albia Consul.

The FOGS symposium "Wildlife Crime in Germany" on 22 and 23 February 2024 at Museum Koenig Bonn will bring together representatives from the fields of species conservation, criminal investigation, science and politics. It aims to facilitate an exchange on the future of forensic methods in species conservation and initiate a network to combat illegal wildlife trafficking.

Since July 2019, scientists at the LIB have been working on a publicly accessible database as part of the FOGS project. Genetic methods can be used to reliably identify material from endangered animal species. This is made possible by the coupled analysis of two molecular markers. The high genetic information value makes it possible to assign an individual to a population.

In FOGS, LIB researchers have systematically applied the new SNPSTR technology (single nucleotide polymorphisms short tandem repeats technology) to wild animals for the first time. This technology combines short DNA segments (STRs), which are often repeated one after the other in the genome of an organism, with selective genetic changes (SNPs). This method allows parental analyses and the differentiation of populations. "With some additional molecular possibilities, we will soon be able to make statements about whether animals come from legal breeding or are illegal wild catches, for example," says Albia Consul, describing the dimensions of this method.

SNPSTR markers also make it possible to determine the origin of unknown animals at population level. This allows poaching hotspots to be identified and confiscated animals to be returned to their original population.

The launch of the FOGS data portal does not mark the end of forensics, emphasises Albia Consul: "A major goal for us would be to set up a forensics centre at the LIB in order to be able to react quickly to illegal wildlife trade in direct exchange with the authorities and thus combat it in a targeted manner."

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has funded the FOGS project with 1.5 million euros since mid-2019 as part of the research initiative for the conservation of biodiversity.