Biodiversity Research Institute

Where are the #UplandSandpipers going? 🌎🌍 From 2022 to 2024, BRI and partners have fitted 23 satellite transmitters on Upland Sandpipers in Downeast Maine and northern Aroostook County. By deploying transmitters, this project has enabled first-time documentations of local and regional movement of Maine Upland Sandpipers, spring and fall #migration timing, travel routes, stopover and wintering areas, and breeding site fidelity. Data from these individuals demonstrated that #Maine Upland Sandpipers overwinter in different areas of South America than other breeding populations studied! Deployed tags provide relevant information to a wide variety of #conservation and management decisions in Maine. This project is done with support from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and in partnership with The Nature Conservancy in Maine, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Alaska. All birds were captured and handled by trained biologists under proper federal and state permitting and released unharmed.

Guidance for Pre- and Post-Construction Monitoring to Detect Changes in Marine Bird Distributions and Habitat Use Related to Offshore Wind Energy 🦅 An expert committee of the New York State Offshore Wind Environmental Technical Working Group (E-TWG) has released guidance for conducting pre- and post-construction monitoring to detect changes in marine bird distributions and habitat use related to offshore wind development. The committee also developed guidance for the use of existing avian survey data for site characterization purposes. 🌊 The guidance was developed with extensive stakeholder feedback. These recommendations are intended to support environmental research in the U.S. Atlantic but have broad applicability to research efforts in all regions of offshore wind development. The guidance documents are available at: https://lnkd.in/erDKUsik #OffshoreWind #OffshoreWindDevelopment

Did you know there are five species of loon found across North America? BRI’s loon program works with organizations across the Northern Hemisphere to conserve loon populations! 📸: 1 - Loon species (credit: lain Stenhouse); 2 - Common Loon; 3 - Pacific Loon; 4 - Red-Throated Loon; 5 - Yellow-billed Loon; 6 - Arctic Loon

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Read the article to learn more about how BRI's Center for Mercury Studies is working to #MakeMercuryHistory

#Seabirds are revealing important insights about #mercurypollution in the Gulf of #Maine. These birds play a key role in the food web, and monitoring their health can help us understand the impacts of #mercury to human health and the environment. 🌊 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dBPkVn5K

Welcome to the first edition of CROWE News! This newsletter brings you the latest insights and updates from BRI's Center for Research on Offshore Wind and the Environment. Read more to learn about BRI's contributions to the 2024 State of the Science Workshop! #OffshoreWind

Today, BRI along with CarbonSolve, Soils for the Future Africa, and Soils for the Future Tanzania recognize International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. 🌍🌎🌏 Together, we celebrate the diversity of life on earth by doing biodiversity surveys together with local communities in Africa. In particular, we partner with many members of the Maasai culture to share knowledge about the natural world. This formal and informal knowledge sharing is critical to the success of soil carbon projects based on making changes in livestock grazing management of pastoral communities. Photos: 1 – A grazing block visit with Maasai cattle herders by Francis Kipees, the Magadi Region Grazing Coordinator Supervisor for Soils for the Future Africa. 2 – Recording biodiversity survey field data by Joseph Kimirei, an intern from Wildlife Research and Training Institute and Ed Jenkins of BRI 3 – Attending a carbon project meeting and celebration – Jackson Kikardi, Country Director, Soils for the Future Africa 4 – Maasai women listening to a presentation from Purity Lesinko - Soils for the Future Africa Finance and Compliance Manager. 5 – Exchanging knowledge about Rapid Rotational Grazing with a local community Grazing Committee. #IndigenousPeoples #IndigenousPeoplesDay

Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute are collaborating with BRI and Soils for the Future Tanzania to conduct #biodiversity baseline surveys across the Longido and Monduli Rangeland #Carbon Project (LMRCP) area. 🌱 The recent meeting at the TAWIRI headquarters in Arusha focused on producing valuable reference collections of insects and plants! TAWIRI volunteers Nosim Ritte and Wilfred Sengo are holding the grasshopper and dung beetle specimens that were collected in Longido and Monduli Districts. 📸: Dr. Iddi Mfunda

That's a wrap on #ICMGP2024! The Conference featured panel discussions on the #effectiveness of the #MinamataConvention and presentations on #mercury impacts to #biodiversity. BRI works with organizations around the world, including UN Environment Programme, The Nature Conservancy, and Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica - CINCIA. Together, we work to #MakeMercuryHistory! Check out the article to read more about what BRI scientists were up to!

Biodiversity Research Institute is hiring a quantitative ecologist! 🐋 This position will join the Quantitative Wildlife Ecology Research Lab (QWERL), and will involve conducting marine ecology research, including developing habitat use models and providing ecological and technical support for offshore wind energy development stakeholders. Check out the full job posting here: https://lnkd.in/eRDGMRiu