Scientists just decoded the full genome of the ocean-wandering Trindade petrel

The Trindade petrel is one of the world's most threatened seabirds: a gadfly petrel that breeds on remote islands — including Trindade Island, 1,200 kilometres off Brazil — and roams the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, even interbreeding with related species on Round Island off Mauritius. Researchers have now assembled its full genome to a high standard: 1.25 billion DNA letters, recovering 97.6% of the genes expected in a bird, from a single male caught on Trindade. It is among the most complete genetic portraits yet made of its highly threatened family. A genome like this is a conservation toolkit — it lets scientists read a population's health, inbreeding and adaptability from a feather's worth of DNA, and plan protection for a bird that spends its life beyond the reach of almost every human eye.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: tech innovation