Phys.org: ‘Zero plant extinction’ is possible, says plant ecologist . “Like animals, many plant species are struggling to adapt to a human-dominated planet. However, plants are often overlooked in conservation efforts, even though they are cheaper and easier to protect than animals and play a pivotal role in bolstering our food, fuel and medical systems.”
Tag Archives: ecosystems
Maui Now: Indigenous knowledge and cutting-edge data aim to help revitalize Hawaiian fishponds
Maui Now: Indigenous knowledge and cutting-edge data aim to help revitalize Hawaiian fishponds. “Three local organizations: Purple Maiʻa Foundation, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo, and Hohonu, Inc., are launching the Loko Iʻa and Coastal Monitoring Project that will help up to 30 Hawaiian Fishpond restoration groups across the state. The project engages local communities in the design process, and will work with them to gather insights on the biggest barriers to fishpond restoration for food production.”
University of Kansas: KU Researchers Launch New Kansas Ecosystems Online Teaching Tool
University of Kansas: KU Researchers Launch New Kansas Ecosystems Online Teaching Tool. “Dana Peterson hopes the new ArcGIS StoryMap Mapping Kansas Ecosystems will draw attention to the wide range of landscapes across the state — and serve as an online resource in classrooms, libraries and homes, for all ages.”
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources: Puʻu Waʻawaʻa Virtual Tour Offers New Ways To Explore
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources: Puʻu Waʻawaʻa Virtual Tour Offers New Ways To Explore. “Hawaiʻi residents have a wealth of natural resources to explore, but in some cases these places can be difficult to visit in person. The newest tour, in a growing collection of virtual tours, takes users to Puʻu Waʻawaʻa and the Nāpuʻu region of Hawaiʻi Island. As the name suggests, the area is home to a number of puʻu (hills or cinder cones) that host rare dry forest habitats and some of the world’s most endangered plants.”
University of Maine: Artificial intelligence can be used to better monitor Maine’s forests, UMaine study finds
University of Maine: Artificial intelligence can be used to better monitor Maine’s forests, UMaine study finds. “Monitoring and measuring forest ecosystems is a complex challenge because of an existing combination of softwares, collection systems and computing environments that require increasing amounts of energy to power. The University of Maine’s Wireless Sensor Networks (WiSe-Net) laboratory has developed a novel method of using artificial intelligence and machine learning to make monitoring soil moisture more energy and cost efficient — one that could be used to make measuring more efficient across the broad forest ecosystems of Maine and beyond.”
Florida International University: Researchers embark on mission to find all the world’s ants
Florida International University: Researchers embark on mission to find all the world’s ants . “With the help of cutting-edge technology, the researchers created a first-of-its-kind global biodiversity map to begin answering a long unanswered question about where ants can be found across the globe. Lurking in this map is another one, a so-called treasure map, to guide future research and exploration into unexplored regions where undiscovered species may be found. This data is the first step in protecting and conserving ant biodiversity.”
Google Blog: Explore resilience in the face of the California wildfires
Google Blog: Explore resilience in the face of the California wildfires. “Through detailed 3D models of famed redwood trees, archival photographs, and multimedia stories from Park employees, you can now explore Resilience of the Redwoods on Google Arts and Culture. Travel through time at California’s first park from the budding preservation movement to Park Rangers’ connections to the trees today. Through interactive 3D, explore centuries of scars and growth of some of the oldest trees in the park and learn about the increasing impacts of fire on the ancient redwood habitat.”
NOAA Research News: NOAA’s National Marine Ecosystem Status website provides one-stop shop for key marine ecosystem data
NOAA Research News: NOAA’s National Marine Ecosystem Status website provides one-stop shop for key marine ecosystem data. “Today, NOAA is announcing a re-launch of its National Marine Ecosystem Status website, a tool that provides easy access to NOAA’s wide range of important coastal and marine ecosystem data. The website provides a starting point for educators, outreach specialists, and the interested public to explore the status of seven major U.S. marine ecosystems and the nation. The re-launch of the site features updated indicator data, new regional coverage for some existing indicators, and a completely new Marine Species Distribution Indicator.”
KDLG: Fishermen as scientists? A new app gathers climate observations from fishermen at sea
KDLG: Fishermen as scientists? A new app gathers climate observations from fishermen at sea. “Fishermen have observed changes in ocean ecosystems for years. But, there was no one place to record those observations. This summer, a new mobile app will gather observations from commercial fishermen on the water to bridge the gap between what they see, and what scientists need to know.”
Victoria Harbor Times: DNA database to track bushfire impact to local wildlife
Victoria Harbor Times: DNA database to track bushfire impact to local wildlife. “The impact of the devastating Black Summer bushfires on native plants and wildlife will be able to be tracked, thanks to a new database being created in Canberra. A DNA database of local flora and fauna is being developed as part of a collaboration between the University of Canberra, the Australian National University and Canberra company Diversity Arrays Technology.”
Earth Institute: A New Global Archive Helps Researchers Chart Changes in Arctic Animals’ Behavior
Earth Institute, Columbia University: A New Global Archive Helps Researchers Chart Changes in Arctic Animals’ Behavior. “Researchers from more than 100 universities, government agencies and conservation groups across 17 countries are involved in the archive, which is hosted by the Max Planck Institute. It currently contains over 200 projects with the movement data of more than 8,000 marine and terrestrial animals from 1991 to the present. ‘Our goal is to use the archive to build a global community across institutions and political boundaries,’ said Martin Wikelski, director at the Max Planck Institute.”
BusinessWire: Esri, UN, and GEO Blue Planet Release Water Health Tool (PRESS RELEASE)
BusinessWire: Esri, UN, and GEO Blue Planet Release Water Health Tool (PRESS RELEASE). “This project empowers countries, especially developing nations, with the information they need to understand potential impacts on coastal water quality, address those impacts, and have routinely updated data to understand and report their progress to the United Nations as part of the SDG initiative. While governments and organizations around the world are already able to conduct these analyses, this project transforms the raw global data into actionable information to make it easier for them to make better-informed decisions.”
BirdLife International: Want to discover world’s top wildlife habitats? This website has them all
BirdLife International: Want to discover world’s top wildlife habitats? This website has them all. “Where can you find out about the world’s most important sites for nature, and the reasons for their significance? The Key Biodiversity Area Partnership is delighted to announce the launch of its new website, containing everything you need to know about all 16,000 sites.”
Earth Institute, Columbia University: What Social Media Can Teach Us About Human-Environment Relationships
Earth Institute, Columbia University: What Social Media Can Teach Us About Human-Environment Relationships. “Recent ecological research used Instagram posts to analyze the preferences of visitors to natural areas around the world. Researchers deduced the activities and feelings that people associated with different environments, including Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The study explores the potential of using social media data to understand cultural ecosystem services—the intangible benefits that people receive from nature—and interactions between people and their environments.”
EurekAlert: New smartphone game lets you solve real-world ecological puzzles
EurekAlert: New smartphone game lets you solve real-world ecological puzzles. “EcoBuilder lets players build their own ecosystem of plants and animals. They throw together a bunch of species of different shapes and sizes, decide who eats who within the confines of the game, and depending on their decisions species will either survive or go extinct. The in-game processes that decide extinction and survival are modelled using the same equations used by scientists to study real world ecosystems. This means that natural phenomena can be reproduced inside the game, creating ecosystems that behave in realistic ways to provide real-world answers.”