Posts Tagged "conservation"

  • Research article in PLOS open-access science journal explains global biodiversity patterns

    [caption id="attachment_1123" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Global patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity analyzed in the study. Each of the 32 bioregions is colored by its vertebrate species richness (amphibian, reptile, bird, mammal richness combined; dark green represents the lowest values and dark red represents the highest values -- click on image for full size)."][/caption] Explaining the variable distribution and abundance of species such as latitudinal gradients has been the goal of

  • Amazon rainforest turning from a carbon sink to a source of carbon

    [caption id="attachment_1109" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The increased fire risk in the Amazon could turn the region from a carbon sink to a net source of atmospheric carbon. (Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory.)"][/caption] Often cited as the lungs of the planet, it's well-known that the Amazon rainforest is under attrition. Agriculture, mining, urban development, hydroelectric dams and global warming each pose separate threats. It seems that the lungs are suffering from the equivalent of lung cancer or emphysema. But just how bad is it, and

  • Listen to Dr. Pimm podcast on the BP oil spill

    [caption id="attachment_882" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="An oiled bird struggles to get over a boom in the middle of the Gulf oil spill. AP Photo"][/caption] Stuart Pimm is interviewed by the Endangered Species Coalition about the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Listen to this podcast (with intro

  • Help stop trade in conflict minerals

    [caption id="attachment_865" align="alignleft" width="178" caption="Cellphone illustrating how conflict minerals are used in its production (Image credit: Enough Project)"][/caption] You've probably heard of blood diamonds, which fund armed conflict in mostly poor and underdeveloped parts of these worlds. Blood diamonds are part of a larger market in conflict minerals. These similarly rare and valuable commodities are mined by corrupt governments or marginal paramilitary

  • Q. What’s the greatest threat to endangered species? A. The Internet.

    A study by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, reported at the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar, says the Internet is the biggest threat to endangered species. (See BBC report.) According to the BBC report, online stores and auction sites help buyers and sellers connect with ever greater ease and simplicity. And they can do it anonymously. At the same time people can easily ship items practically anywhere, given the efficienc y of global shipping and mail services. Bad news. And combined with the

  • 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,

  • Engaging conservationists through social media

    The Neotropical Conservation Foundation provides a great example of how a conservation organization can use social media to engage its audience while at the same time meeting its own needs. The NCF wants a new logo. Rather than roll out a new logo fait accomplis, it posted ideas on its Facebook page and asked "Fans" of the page to comment. Ted Kahn, Executive Director of the NCF and who founded its Facebook Fan page, posted the logo to the page’s photo album and wrote "I created a new logo for NCF. I value your

  • Going, Going,…

    By Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of conservation ecology This century will surely be remembered as the time the Earth bit back—not that Mother Nature hadn't been a little testy before now. In the fourteenth century, plague spread more easily as the population both grew and became more concentrated in urban areas. When Europeans began to travel widely to other parts of the world, they took diseases with them to vulnerable continents—smallpox to the Americas, for example. And, there were plenty of regional examples of cultures, some sophisticated, that declined precipitously, abandoning long-occupied sites where

  • Florida Panther Fights for Survival Again–This Time in Washington D.C.

    The Florida panther has made a dramatic recovery. Whether it will continue to survive now depends on whether we protect its shrinking habitat. Photo by Stuart L. Pimm By Stuart L. Pimm Special Contributor to NatGeo News Watch There's a small plane circling me a thousand feet up and its annoying noise makes it difficult for me to hear the Cape Sable sparrows I'm trying to census for my research. On these April mornings at sunrise, there's usually nothing

  • Florida Keys Shifting Baselines – Thoughts on World Oceans Day

    Since last December, we've been involved with a number of good friends in Key West, Florida, on a green initiative that includes the investigations of medicinal plants of the Florida Keys and northern Caribbean. Following from these interactions with students and colleagues at Duke University and in Key West itself, I had the good fortune of being interviewed last week together with conservation biologist Stuart Pimm on KONK-1630AM community radio by Erika Biddle for her biweekly Eco-Centric World program. Raised in Germany, she participated in the formations of the first political Green Party after witnessing the destruction of

  • World governments to miss goal protecting 10 percent of every ecoregion by next year

    It is unlikely that world governments will keep their pledge to protect 10 percent of every ecological region by 2010, according to a new study published in Biological Conservation. This goal is just one of many agreed upon by world governments through the Convention on Biological Diversity. With less than a year to the goal’s deadline, the study found that half of the world’s ecoregions are currently below the 10 percent threshold. Click to enlarge Percent of each ecoregion protected. (a)