Opening the Question: How Many Species Exist?
How many animal species live on Earth? That was the opening question Tanya Berger-Wolf posed to her audience at Penn State University on Friday, April 24, in the Forest Resources Building at University Park.
The answer is striking. Scientists estimate around 8 million animal species exist on the planet. Yet fewer than two million have ever been scientifically described. Moreover, most of the natural world remains unknown to modern science. Berger-Wolf’s lecture, titled “AI for Nature: From Science to Action,” tackled this enormous gap head-on.
The event was part of the Distinguished Lectures in Life Sciences series, presented by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Berger-Wolf is a professor of computer science engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University.
BioCLIP: AI That Identifies Over a Million Species
What BioCLIP Does
BioCLIP is an artificial intelligence tool that Berger-Wolf and her collaborators trained on taxonomic data. Today, it can reliably identify over one million animal species. That number represents a major leap forward for conservation science.
Furthermore, BioCLIP goes beyond simple identification. It also allows researchers to cluster and compare related species by shared or similar biological traits. As a result, scientists gain richer insights into the connections across the animal kingdom. This capability forms the foundation of a growing field Berger-Wolf calls imageomics.
Imageomics: A New Field of Biological Discovery
Turning Images into Biological Insight
Imageomics merges image analysis with genomics and biological science. Instead of relying solely on field observation, researchers use AI-powered image data to decode traits, behaviors, and evolutionary patterns at scale.
Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes, introduced the lecture with a strong endorsement. “Tanya Berger-Wolf has defined a new field of AI for nature, to help monitor, map and conserve biodiversity,” Grozinger said.
Notably, Berger-Wolf leads the NSF-funded Imageomics Institute, which drives this research forward at a national level. Additionally, she co-leads the US-Canada co-funded AI and Biodiversity Change (ABC) Global Center, expanding this work internationally.
Berger-Wolf’s Leadership in AI and Ecology
Roles That Shape Global Science Policy
Beyond research, Berger-Wolf shapes conservation policy at the highest levels. She serves as director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute at Ohio State University. Her advisory roles span multiple influential organizations.
These include the U.S. National Academies Board on Life Sciences, the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences, the Global Partnership on AI/OECD, the National Ecological Observatory Network, and The Nature Conservancy.
Why Her Interdisciplinary Work Matters
Berger-Wolf’s approach is fundamentally cross-disciplinary. She bridges computer science, ecology, and biology to create tools that scientists actually use in the field. Consequently, her work doesn’t stay in the lab — it drives real-world conservation decisions across the globe.
Wild Me and Wildbook: Conservation in Action
A Non-Profit Built on AI
Berger-Wolf co-founded Wild Me, an AI-powered conservation non-profit that developed Wildbook — a platform that tracks individual animals using photo identification. Wild Me is now part of Conservation X Labs.
Wildbook earned recognition from UNESCO for its contributions to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, Wildbook enables researchers and citizen scientists worldwide to identify and monitor endangered species through crowd-sourced photographs. Therefore, it scales conservation efforts in ways traditional science cannot match.
Through Wildbook, ordinary people become active contributors to biodiversity science. Indeed, this model of community-powered AI research is one of Berger-Wolf’s most impactful innovations.
Awards, Recognition, and Global Impact
Honors That Reflect Pioneering Work
The scientific community has widely recognized Berger-Wolf’s contributions. She earned a spot on the prestigious AI 100 Global Thought Leaders list by H2O.ai. She also received the OSU College of Engineering Lumley Interdisciplinary Research Award.
In addition, she is an elected fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) — one of the field’s highest honors. Together, these accolades reflect the breadth and depth of her influence across computer science and conservation biology.
Conclusion: Why AI for Nature Matters
The work Berger-Wolf presented at Penn State represents more than scientific progress. It offers a blueprint for how humanity might protect the natural world in an age of rapid biodiversity loss. With AI tools like BioCLIP and platforms like Wildbook, researchers can finally work at the pace and scale that nature’s crisis demands.
As Berger-Wolf’s lecture made clear, artificial intelligence is not just a technology for industry. It is becoming one of the most powerful tools available for saving the planet’s species — and ultimately, for saving nature itself.
