Biodiversity | conservationhaiku.org

Pacific golden plovers (Pluvialis fulva) are waders, also known as shorebirds. They breed in the Arctic—Siberia and western Alaska—in June and July. They winter across the Pacific—southeast Asia to northeastern Africa, as well as California and Hawai’i. Kōlea is the Hawai’ian name for the species.…

Kōlea

A bioindicator is a species that helps scientists and environmental managers infer the quality of its habitat. Bioindicators can be plants, birds, reptiles, mammals—any species that is sensitive to certain changes or factors in the environment. Commonly, aquatic macroinvertebrates are used as bioindicators for waterways,…

Bioindicators

Many flowering plants cannot reproduce without pollen deposited by foraging animal pollinators. Ecosystems, wildlife, and people benefit substantially from the work of these animals. They maintain plant biodiversity, play important parts in food webs, and contribute to oxygen production and carbon sequestration by aiding plant…

Pollinators

The rivers of the Wet Tropics in northeast Australia are perennial, meaning that they flow throughout the year. The Little Mulgrave River (shown above) is one of these perennial flowing rivers, and a tributary to the Mulgrave-Russell River complex that ultimately empties into the Great…

Perennial Flows

Dams, like the one pictured above, can have detrimental effects on freshwater ecosystems and their connectivity. The dam above is the Prairie du Sac, which sits on the Wisconsin River, and fragments connections between the Wisconsin River and downstream Mississippi River (140 km downstream as…

Fragments

The Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island in the southernmost portion of South America. The island is shared by Chile to the west and Argentina to the east. It is the Argentine portion which is home to Tierra del Fuego National Park,…

Subantarctic Park

The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) generally inhabits slow-moving freshwater—such as slow-moving streams and rivers, marshes, lakes, and ponds—with areas of dense vegetation for shelter and feeding. The species is native to Canada, the continental United States, and northern Mexico….

Eastern painted turtle

Natural history museums are scattered across the globe. Many of these museums are also 100s of years old, housing incredible archives and samples of animals, plants, and artisan items that demonstrate how people have depended on nature throughout time. In recent years governments have started…

Dusty shelves

I am passionate about increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and because of this I am also often inspired to write about this passion. In 2015 & 2016 a number of high-profile examples of bias and under-representation of women in science were…

Diversity in STEM

Today rainforest covers less than 1% of Australia’s landmass. Historically rainforest cover would have been greater, and over geological time periods rainforest expanded and contracted across Australia. Current rainforest cover in Australia has been influenced by human land use clearing and fragmentation caused by…

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Posts tagged ‘Biodiversity’