Most people come to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) to see elephant seals and penguins. Ginny Edgcomb came for the microbes.
Source: voices.nationalgeographic.com
Amazing. We know so very little about Earth’s creatures.
Tag Archives: biodiversity
iSpot: Crowdsourcing Biodiversity Data – Science Codex
“Launched in 2009, iSpot is a citizen science platform aimed at helping anyone, anywhere identify anything in nature. To date, around 42,000 people have registered as iSpot users and over 390,000 observations have been made, leading to the identification of more than 24,000 species.”
Source: www.sciencecodex.com
EU and GBIF to collaborate on improving biodiversity information for developing countries
The European Union and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility have launched a four-year €3.9 million project aimed at increasing the amount of biodiversity information available for developing countries.
(Photo by Martin Heigan).
Source: www.eurekalert.org
GR: It would be good to include a literature review and a plan for surveys and monitoring.
Gatlinburg conference to examine biodiversity issues
Adam Jones: Autumn view of fog from Morton overlook great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA
Gatlinburg conference to examine biodiversity issues The Mountain Press Discover Life in America, the nonprofit organization that studies biodiversity in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will host its 18th Annual All Taxa Biodiversity… Source: The Mountain Press.
Preserving flora, fauna: Biodiversity park in Murree
“The park is being developed for preserving local flora and fauna, said an official of the EPD.
“The park, developed at a cost of Rs92.183 million by the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) with the technical and professional support of International Union for the Conservation of Nature, will open during the first week of March.”
Source: tribune.com.pk
Educational Resources | Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
Here’s some great #IYS2015 snow day activities for kids: http://t.co/d8pDqQptkA
The Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative was launched in September 2011 and is open to all those interested in developing a coherent platform for promoting the translation of expert knowledge on soil biodiversity into environmental policy and sustainable land management for the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services.
Source: www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org
GR: We must remember that without soil, the Earth would be as barren and lifeless as the moon. Soils host at least one-fourth of Earth’s biodiversity: a tablespoon of soil holds more creatures than the whole pop. on earth http://t.co/BZGX3tsa4j.
Operation Owl: boxes help save these beautiful bellwethers of biodiversity
A Working-based volunteer group strives to create habitats for these nocturnal birds and inspire children to help in conservation, discovers Patrick Barkham.
“These mostly nocturnal birds of prey are an enduring symbol of wisdom and mystery in our culture and children’s books. Harry Potter has triggered a renewed fascination with them. Everyone seems to love owls but there is a problem: populations, particularly of barn owls, have massively declined because of habitat loss but also partly because there are no homes for these much-loved species.
“The possibilities for inspiring schools and young people are endless: owls are a keystone species, bellwethers of biodiversity, and Operation Owl hope that sparking local interest in owls at the apex of a food chain will help people treasure prey species – voles, shrews and invertebrates – and the healthy grasslands, heathlands and woodlands on which they all depend” (Source: www.theguardian.com).
How to set up your own Operation Owl
GR: At least three species of owls live all or part of the year around my place. We have a Barn Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owls, and Great Horned Owls. Last fall I installed a Barn Owl box, and I hope to have residents this summer. Our local Barn Owl story is here.
Canada Announces 2020 Biodiversity Goals
OTTAWA, Feb. 9, 2015 /CNW/ – Today, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council, announced Canada’s 2020 biodiversity goals and targets, which will guide further action on the conservation and sustainable use of living resources in Canada. These goals and targets were collaboratively developed by federal, provincial and territorial governments and benefited from input provided by Aboriginal organizations and stakeholders. Source: www.newswire.ca
GR: Perhaps the drop in oil prices will help biodiversity compete with resource harvest.
The IPBES Biodiversity Initiative Will Need Our Support
GR: The IPBES (International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) could provide a useful central resource for the many nature conservation programs already in place. China and others are trying to block this.
The United States will probably refuse to participate. Our oligarchical view is that nothing should slow development and “progress.”
For many of us who care about wildlife and its habitat, this program seems to be coming very late. Perhaps better late than never, but for dying animals and plants, late is a tragic word.
From Nature: “An effort aimed at protecting ecosystems, modelled on the agency battling climate change, will need protecting from powerful enemies, warns Ehsan Masood.
“There was something different about Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), when he rose to address a major conference on biodiversity in Bonn, Germany, late last month. His signature green tie was absent; a red alternative hung in its place.
“Red for danger, Pachauri said, to acknowledge the peril facing ecosystems and much of the natural world. Danger, he added — pausing for effect — was not a word he could use in the highly politicized context of climate change. Researchers who investigate and log Earth’s diminishing biodiversity, he was hinting, have yet to encounter the kind of distortions and politicization that are a regular feature for those who work on global warming. But for how long will that continue?
“The Bonn conference was the third plenary meeting for a major initiative that explicitly aims to mimic the workings and impact of the IPCC, including eventually drawing up laws that would put a scientific brake on rampant development. As such, it is likely to make powerful enemies. One of its first reports will assess the state of pollinating insects. Others will explore the highly charged question of how to value ecology. The red tie is a sign of things to come” Source: www.nature.com.