Cities Research Institute’s Post

The Rafael Kuusakoski Memorial Fund has awarded grants totaling €48,300 to support young researchers and projects focused on Baltic Sea birds, marine ecology, climate, and landscape conservation. 🕊️ The awarded projects explore topics such as forest integrity and corridors on wildlife species, the impact of climate change on wildlife habitats, the effects of wetland management on bird biodiversity, the changing environment of the Baltic Sea, the role of standing dead wood in nature conservation, the effects of drainage and restoration on beetles as well as the incubation behavior of long-lived seabirds under ecological stressors. Each project contributes valuable insights into the challenges facing our environment and underscores the importance of conservation efforts. 🌱 Find out more about the grant winners from the link in the comments. #Kuusakoski #KuusakoskiRecycling #ResearchGrants #RafaelKuusakoskiMemorialFund #BalticSea #YoungScientists

"Exploration Series: Compelling Reads" #Topic1: Seagrass, often overlooked in discussions about carbon sequestration, holds immense potential in mitigating climate change. With its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at rates comparable to forests, seagrass meadows play a crucial role in decarbonization efforts. Implementing seagrass restoration projects worldwide can not only help in preserving marine biodiversity but it has the potential to also act as a powerful natural carbon sink, capturing significant amounts of CO2. By restoring and protecting seagrass habitats, we can combat ocean acidification, enhance coastal resilience, and contribute to global carbon sequestration goals. Harnessing and surrendering to the power of The Nature to create a #sustainable future! So profound and exciting! #Seagrass #CarbonSequestration #ClimateAction #OceanConservation #SustainableDevelopment #BlueCarbon #ClimateSolution #EcosystemRestoration #MarineBiodiversity #GreenFuture #NaturebasedSolutions #ConscientiousLeadership

🌳 Dive into the world of habitat management with EMEC Ecology! 🌿 Discover how we're preserving and restoring ecosystems to support biodiversity and create sustainable environments. From woodland management to wetland restoration, we are champions of nature conservation. https://buff.ly/3Qje6wl #HabitatManagement #NatureConservation #Sustainability"

🌳 Dive into the world of habitat management with EMEC Ecology! 🌿 Discover how we're preserving and restoring ecosystems to support biodiversity and create sustainable environments. From woodland management to wetland restoration, we are champions of nature conservation. https://buff.ly/3Qje6wl #HabitatManagement #NatureConservation #Sustainability"

"Like other whales, the species was driven nearly to extinction by commercial whaling. But unlike other whales — such as humpbacks, grey whales and blue whales — it has been much slower to recover. Populations of right whales are larger in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as in the Southern Hemisphere. North Pacific right whales were favored by hunters because they swim slowly near shore, and float after death. By the late 1800s, as many as 40,000 North Pacific right whales had been slaughtered." Point Blue Conservation Science https://lnkd.in/gC2-fHUi

For those interested in the preservation of Marine Wildlife this is a very important read. And if you have not been interested so far, this might just get you so.

Our Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program Inventory Ecologist Pete Woods really gets around. Well, he gets around the woods, the meadows, the wetlands.... Here's Pete in the center of the frame with WPC's PNHP Invasive Plant Ecologist Brian Daggs to the right. Pete admits (rather grudgingly, as he is exceedingly modest) that for about 10 years, he was a top iNaturalist observer in Pennsylvania. iNaturalist is an app that anyone can use to record observations of organisms to help scientists understand when and where the organisms occur. Others started posting and “left me in the dust,” Pete points out. “They are significant contributors of data to the PNHP, and we are glad to have them around.” (Pete is way too modest to admit that he has, by a slim margin, the most iNaturalist observations at our Bear Run Nature Reserve.) “But personal totals really don't mean anything,” Pete insists. “The value of the observations is the sheer mass of everyone's data put together, and its usefulness for conservation and science.” Indeed, more than 100,000 people have contributed 2.9 million observations of 22,000 species in Pennsylvania! One example of how the data is used, Pete says, is “A number of biologists in WPC and in the state government are calculating conservation ranks for a couple thousand species for the 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan. iNaturalist observations are one of the largest sources of data for that process.” Thank you Pete, PNHP scientists and ALL observers who contribute to iNaturalist for the understanding and conservation of PA’s species. Interested in becoming a community scientist and contributing to iNaturalist? Check it out: https://lnkd.in/dviGHqd

Have you read the newest issue of our MyZoo Magazine? We had the honor of talking to the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society (SBC) for an article about their important new program studying Andean bears in Machu Picchu – Their 26-person team embarked on a three-week expedition to deploy camera traps across the steep elevations of Machu Picchu to collect vital data on bear ecology, health and habitat use. Scientific data is needed to understand how these bears may be impacted by threats like increasing tourism pressure and forest fires – and these conclusions will help the Peruvian government identify effective conservation actions. Read the full article on our website: https://bit.ly/3SI1eAt Photo courtesy of Michell León/SBC Visit https://bit.ly/42JRSsw to learn more about SBC’s work to protect spectacled bears in Peru. #Syracusezoo #Syracuse #CNY #AndeanBear #SpectacledBear #SBC #SpectacledBearConservationSociety #OnondagaCounty #OnondagaCountyParks #ConservationInAction #ConservationEducation

🐦 Some positive news for the conservation efforts of Kiwi birds! 😲 For the first time in over 150 years, two wild Kiwis were born near Wellington, New Zealand. 📉 Kiwi populations have declined drastically due to non-native predators and habitat loss; currently, only around 68,000 kiwis remain from an initial estimated 12 million birds. ☝️The survival of newly born chicks depends on their ability to defend themselves and fend off predators– Stoats are one of their main threats and have been a driving factor for the population decline. 👍 Conservation efforts like the Capital Kiwi Project focus on reintroducing Kiwis and managing dangers to establish a wild Kiwi population near the country’s capital. 💬 Project founder Paul Ward states these chicks are a “massive milestone for our goal of building a wild population of kiwi on Wellington’s back doorstep.” 👉 Find this interesting? This week, our career theme is Conservation Policy. Follow along to learn what this career is all about by following or searching #successinscience ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #sciencenews #STEMnews #STEM #science #discovery #kiwi #conservation #policy #ecology #environmentalscience #birds #endangeredspecies #smithsonian #conservationpolicy

For National Threatened Species Day, and we asked our Nature Advisory and Ecology Teams to shine a spotlight on a handful of species that need our help the most.💚 It wasn’t an easy task, with so many Australian species under threat. We’ll be sharing a full article soon with deeper insights into Australia’s vulnerable wildlife. For now, take a look at the team’s selection below, and let us know which species resonates most with you (the Cumberland snail is quite an interesting one!) A big thanks to our nature-loving team: Jenni Garden, Danielle Smith, Sarah Day, Cassie Cheeseman, Elena Riano, Katie Denoon. Protecting these species is critical to preserving the balance of our ecosystems, and we’re dedicated to making a difference. If you’d like to learn more about our Nature and Ecology services, feel free to reach out directly to the team or explore our services here: https://lnkd.in/gCMEC257 . . . #EdgeImpact #NationalThreatenedSpeciesDay #ThreatenedSpecies #AustralianWildlife #NatureConservation #NatureAwareness