Archive for the "Biodiversity" Category

  • A list of biodiversity institutes is a resource for researchers

    Our sister site, SavingSpecies has published a directory of biodiversity institutes around the world. The list includes 27 organizations whose primary mission is related to biodiversity and science. The list is open access for all who might benefit from a one-stop directory. The list is also available for additions and editing so that it can keep track of new institutions. Scientists, researchers, job-seekers and funding agencies could benefit from the list. For more information about the list, see the SavingSpecies post: A directory listing biodiversity

  • Does the word biodiversity hinder public awareness and what can we do about it?

    I recently commented on the relative stagnation in searches for the word “biodiversity” during the first three quarters of 2010 -- a possible failure of the UN’s Year of Biodiversity. It’s hard to say if the lackluster performance of search results reflects lack of public interest in biodiversity. At least part of the problem may be in the term itself. In this, the Year of Biodiversity, the BBC reports that when members of the public were asked what they thought what

  • Linkedin group for biodiversity professionals

    [caption id="attachment_1006" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Our logo for the Biodiversity Professionals group on Linkedin"][/caption] Biodiversity has been in the news recently (yay!). And thousands of people are actively engaged in various aspects of biodiversity (also yay!). But there are not a lot of professional networking resources specifically for folks in biodiversity careers (boo!). A lot of the social networking resources revolve around Facebook and Twitter. These are great, but the conversation tends to be a bit scattered and is often cause-based or promotional. Biodiversity professionals need a place where they can engage in more focused conversations.

  • Daily Telegraph is wrong! Biodiversity is NOT a scam

    [caption id="attachment_993" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="A Daily Telegraph blogger asserts that biodiversity is a scam. But he's the one who's scamming."][/caption] Blogger James Delingpole has got me mad. He wrote a post on the Daily Telegraph blog claiming that environmentalists are "ditching climate change" as a cause. Instead, he says, they are taking up biodiversity as "the new big lie." Wrong. One big lie is that environmentalists are ditching climate change in favor of biodiversity. Anyone who follows the field knows that climate change is one cause

  • Losers in the skeeter wars

    [caption id="attachment_949" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Monarch butterflies were among the most visible casualties of the spraying in Grand Forks, ND. (Images courtesy of Wikipedia.)"][/caption] An article in North Dakota's Grand Forks Herald reports that residents woke last Thursday morning to a " jarring spectacle of dying butterflies and dragonflies on the sidewalks." The die-off, including thousands of monarch butterflies, was brought about by routine seasonal spraying to control mosquitoes. An editorial points

  • The best biodiversity blogs: reviews and rankings

    [caption id="attachment_930" align="alignleft" width="204" caption="Forest fruits from Barro Colorado illustrate tropical rainforest biodiversity. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)"][/caption] Biodiversity is in the news. 2010 is the UN Year of Biodiversity, which has done much to raise public awareness. So inevitably we are seeing more blogs dedicated to the topic. Yay! But it's hard to sort out the wheat from the chaff. Google "biodiversity blog" (with quotes) and you get several thousand hits. Which of those can you put into your RSS reader? Which bloggers

  • Leading the Bioblitz

    Dr. Pimm is taking a leading role in this year's Bioblitz. According to Wikipedia, a Bioblitz is "a special type of field study, where a group of scientists and volunteers conduct an intensive 24-hour (or 48 hour) biological inventory, attempting to identify and record all species of living organisms in a given area." Stuart led the birding contingent for a Bioblitz in Indiana in 2009. (Read the blog posts about the 2009 bioblitz, in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.)

  • Conserving indigenous areas would significantly reduce carbon emissions caused by deforestation

    [caption id="attachment_511" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Courtesy of NASA"][/caption] According to a PLOS Biology study reported March 15 in NatureNews, "deforestation in protected areas and indigenous lands is 7–11 times less than in the surrounding areas." Such an observation offers a clear way ahead for advocates of rainforest conservation. By supporting preservation of indigenous lands and other protected areas (ILPAs), organizations "could slow forest loss, conserve biodiversity and preserve local cultures." Given the failure of last December's climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark,

  • Stuart Pimm is awarded the Tyler Prize

    [caption id="attachment_497" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is the premier award for environmental science, environmental health and energy conferring great benefit upon mankind."][/caption] This morning sees the following announcement from Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement website. "Two conservationists whose careers have centered on understanding ecosystem functions as the essential foundation for ecosystem restoration will share the 2010 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. The award, consisting of a $200,000 cash prize and

  • New rules for biodiversity should boost options for biological pest control

    [caption id="attachment_479" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Larva of the lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea feeding on an aphid. Lacewings are often available from biological pest control dealers. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)"][/caption] Our increasingly interconnected world is helping crop pests spread ever faster and more widely. Chemical pest controls are effective but expensive and soon become obsolete as organisms evolve resistance. Biological pest controls are a natural solution to agricultural pests that, compared with chemical pesticides, need fewer repetitive treatments, are less likely to engender resistant pest strains and don't present pollution problems. But

  • Will Ecuador’s plan to raise money for not drilling oil in the Amazon succeed?

    Ecuador's Yasuni National Park is full of wealth: it is one of the richest places on earth in terms of biodiversity; it is home to the indigenous Waorani people, as well as several uncontacted tribes; and the park's forest and soil provides a massive carbon sink. More