Economic Assessment of Bioanalytical Tools Supporting Vietnam’s Endemic Biodiversity Research

Abstract

Vietnam's amphibian biodiversity is highly threatened and not well documented, which is an urgent need for the development of efficient monitoring tools. This study assesses to ecological performance and economical viability of the environmental DNA (eDNA) methods using eDNA methods compared with traditional Visual Encounter Surveys (VES) in detecting endemic amphibian in Vietnam. Using secondary data sets based on peer-reviewed research, we were able to construct a Vietnam-adapted analytical framework combining logistic regression modelling, estimates of the detection probability, cost-effectiveness ratios and scenario-based simulations of monitoring. Results indicate that the concentration of eDNA in the environment is the best predictor of qPCR detection and eDNA allowed three to six-fold higher detection probabilities than VES for all focal species. Although eDNA surveys were more expensive to owe upfront, the cost per unit detection probability was much lower, and Increment Cost-Effectiveness Ratios showed that eDNA surveys only needed to cost USD 130-180 to achieve one extra unit of detection probability compared with VES. Scenario analysis further showed that eDNA-only and mixed methods approaches provide much higher detection performance than VES alone. Overall, the results show that eDNA is a cost-effective, high sensitivity method that can be used for enhancing biodiversity monitoring and supporting conservation planning in Vietnam.