Abstract
In large-scale biodiversity genomics projects, the number of species that could be sequenced exceeds the resources available. Species selection is therefore a crucial component, requiring clear criteria and procedures. In a bottom-up approach, the Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE) project implemented an Automated Decision-Making (ADM) process for species selection based on objective criteria and tested it on simulated and empirical data. Here, we present this species ranking ADM process, which includes three stages: exclusion, ranking, and feasibility check. The composition of selected species retained the diversity of the community-nominated species pool for key taxonomic, geographic, and demographic assessment criteria while reducing bias. Feasibility and funding limits influenced the final selection more than other factors, indicating that investments in these areas would improve available reference-genome diversity. The ADM achieved species selection for genome sequencing in a large-scale biodiversity project in a relatively objective manner consistent with the broader European biodiversity genomic community’s priorities.
Similar content being viewed by others
Signatures of repeated genomic selection associated with human-modified landscapes in genetically independent populations of Rhinella horribilis
Widespread admixture blurs population structure and confounds Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) conservation even in the genomic era
Genomics for monitoring and understanding species responses to global climate change
Acknowledgements
For their valuable discussions concerning the selection process and the individual criteria, we would like to acknowledge the contributions by Ana Riesgo Gil (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales), Bernhard Hausdorf (Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change) and Alice Minotto (Earlham Institute).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information (download PDF )
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Struck, T.H., Marcussen, T., Böhne, A. et al. An automated decision-making procedure for ranking and selecting species in biodiversity projects.
npj biodivers (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-026-00140-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-026-00140-x
Source: Ecology - nature.com
