Sub-Saharan Africa’s eDNA evidence base is still mostly aquatic—and the reference library is part of the bottleneck

A systematic review found 88% of studies focused on aquatic systems, 48% targeted fish, and 68% reported incomplete reference libraries as a barrier to species-level identification.

Wild Lands Ecological Intelligence Editor
Wild Lands Institute · 29 September 2026

Evidence: Peer-reviewed
Geography: Sub-Saharan Africa
System: Biodiversity monitoring across aquatic and terrestrial systems

WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

A PRISMA-guided systematic review of eDNA biodiversity studies in sub-Saharan Africa through April 2026 found 88% focused on aquatic ecosystems and fish were the primary target taxon in 48%. Southern and East Africa were better represented than Central and West Africa, and 68% of reviewed studies reported incomplete reference libraries for African taxa as a limitation on species-level resolution.

WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

The limiting infrastructure for molecular monitoring is not only sequencers and field kits. Reference libraries, taxonomic capacity and regional coverage determine what an eDNA signal can actually become in a management decision.

CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

This is a systematic review of an emerging and uneven literature, not a field comparison of eDNA accuracy across the continent. The article is peer reviewed and citable but the publisher notes that the final formatted version is still forthcoming.

SOURCE

Frontiers in Conservation Science
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