The list will be useful for the following:

• Biodiversity professionals looking for positions
• Scientists who want to collaborate on projects
• Individuals interested in biodiversity resources in their own region or country
• Organizations looking for potential partnership or joint venture opportunities
• Funding agencies who need reputable organizations to evaluate projects
• Organizations or institutions looking for biodiversity expertise for consulting or research

The database presently includes only basic information about each organization:

• Name of institution
• Institution website URL
• Institution home country
• Institution year of founding

Currently, the list includes 34 organizations. Please note the list does not include academic departments or commercial organizations conducting biodiversity research. This catalog documents organizations whose primary mission is related to biodiversity research and conservation.

The data is organized in a Google spreadsheet and members of the LinkedIn Biodiversity Professionals Group are invited to add information about their institution.

Click here to see the current list: BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE DIRECTORY CURRENT DATA

To add information on your institution please complete the form with the information mentioned above. CLICK TO ENTER INFORMATION INTO THE BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE DIRECTORY

Please contact Biodiversity Professionals if you have any suggestions or ideas about this directory or how it may be used by professionals for networking or research,

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The dodo is perhaps the most famous victim of human-caused extinction. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Estimating the current rate of extinction

Part of the problem is that biodiversity, and therefore the current rate of extinction, is so poorly understood. Estimates of the total number of species range from 5±3 million to 11 million animal species worldwide. Given this uncertainty, the authors grapple with quantifying the natural, or background, rate of extinction. This number gives a baseline against which to evaluate the increased rate of extinction due to human activities. Using a metric of extinctions per million species-years (E/MSY), data from various sources indicate that present extinction rates are at least ~100 E/MSY, or a thousand times higher than the background rate of 0.1 E/MSY, estimated from fossil evidence.

Using technology to prioritize conservation

The good news is that scientists know more than ever before about areas where at-risk species are located, and that new technologies are helping scientists to discover new species and monitor populations, and therefore focus conservation actions more efficiently.

Combining data from bird species with small ranges and significant threats shows scientists where to prioritize conservation efforts. (Click for full size image. Courtesy of Dr. Clinton Jenkins, www.biodiversitymapping.org)

The Science article will appear online Thursday May 29, with an official publication date of Friday, May 30.

CITATION: “The Biodiversity of Species and Their Rates of Extinction, Distribution, and Protection,” by Stuart L. Pimm, Clinton N. Jenkins, Robin Abell, Tom M. Brooks, John. L. Gittleman, Lucas N. Joppa, Peter. H. Raven, Callum. M. Roberts, and Joe O. Sexton. Published May 30, 2014, in Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1246752

References
Explanation of extinctions per million species-years
Where the threatened wild things are (New Scientist maps)

Update
June 20, 2014 — A link to a free PDF of the original Science paper is available on Clinton Jenkins’ website. Click here for the PDF.

The post Paper in Science says loss of species is 1000 times greater than the natural extinction rate appeared first on Biodiversity Professionals.

The students are organizing a teach-in, the Miss Martha Biodiversity Project, to honor Martha, the very last Passenger Pigeon who died on September 1, 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo.

The National Biodiversity Teach-In is a multi-class project, being held September 21-27, 2014. The purpose of the event is to raise national awareness of the importance of biodiversity and its protection, with the ultimate goal of having President Obama proclaim 2014 the “Year of the Passenger Pigeon”.

Student Chairs Karla, Sarah, Abbey and Miranda plan to reach this goal by organizing informational webinars, field experiences and volunteer opportunities.

The students are looking for help from scientists, educators, artists and media professionals to support their efforts. The students are open to any ideas but are looking for your help:

• Do you have expertise in any aspect of Biodiversity and can provide a webinar?
• Are you willing to organize a field experience at a local nature center to highlight the vast and unique biodiversity of your region?
• Could you organize an event in which volunteers could help protect or enhance biodiversity?
• Are you an artist, an author, a poet or a musician who could organize an event or activity to highlight the importance of biodiversity for inspiring creativity?

The students are looking mainly for two possible activities:

1) Presenters to provide webinars during the week of September 22-26th on any biodiversity topic. The organizers want the webinars to last 60 minutes and to be aimed at a student audience, otherwise it is left up to you. The presenter can select the date, the time, length, the topic and the audience. The webinar service that will allow for 3000 participants and also for interaction via Q and A. If you already have a cool presentation for pre-k through first graders you could present that and the school will advertise the webinar to those age groups. If you find little kids a bit scary, and you want to present to high school students or adults, that is fine too.

2) Educators to offer biodiversity experiences through out the country. You could host an onsite hike or talk about your projects or research on Sunday, September 21 or Saturday, September 27th. This event could be anything related to biodiversity, such as stewardship opportunities, nature hikes or photography. The organizers’ vision for these two days is to get people out and enjoying the biodiversity in their communities.

The website is offering interested organizations a listing on their Resource Page.

For more details about the students’ project, visit their website http://nationalbiodiversityteachin.com/

Here’s the contact information for any questions or to let the students know how you can support their projects.
Elgin High School
Environmental Science Program
1200 Maroon Drive
Elgin, Illinois 60120
847-888-5100 ext 8160

Contact: Deb Perryman, email: debbieperryman@u-46.org
Facebook: Miss Martha The Passenger Pigeon
Twitter: @MissMartha1914

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Site purpose

Screenshot of World Archive of Science Pinterest page, showing the variety of topics. (Click for full size image.)

Use of site content

All of the content is available under a Creative Commons License, so you can freely use it for non-commercial purposes provided attribution is given.

Site usability

Plate from Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta. Coleoptera. Volume I-VII, By Henry Walter Bates et al, Bernard Quaritch Limited, London., 1881.

How to use the site

Here’s how to navigate the site:

1. The base URL (http://www.was-archives.org) redirects to the Google Drive page. From here you have several options.
2. Click on the icons (roll over for text descriptions). The two of most interest (to me) are Books and Plates. Click on these for alphabetical lists of the available books and images in the archive. The Books section includes journals, articles and monographs as well as numerous volumes.
3. Alternatively, you can use the search field below the icons, as with any other website.
4. Click the Add to Drive button on any of the document pages to include it in your Google Drive folder for easy access.

Site issues and problems

There are some oddities and annoyances. For example, when you look for Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is buried in the third page of search engine results under the category of “Darwin’s books”. Also when you use the search function, you have to put up with a Google Ad. Sometimes the link goes to the museum blog and then back to the archive, which is a tad confusing.

Conclusions for biodiversity researchers

Overall, I found this website quite easy to use and chock full of biodiversity-related resources. The document reading interface is more user-friendly than the Biodiversity Heritage Library (although the latter’s search function is better). But there is so much here that it should prove an invaluable resource for researchers with the time and patience to explore the vast quantity of information.

Have fun exploring!

(Want us to review your biodiversity-related website? Send us the URL!)

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