diff --git a/_index.db b/_index.db index 26249ac45..b7e664e40 100644 Binary files a/_index.db and b/_index.db differ diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Living_Australia-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Living_Australia-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..ab5af06f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Living_Australia-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +--- +title: "Atlas of Living Australia" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Living_Australia" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:20.267977+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is an online repository of information about Australian plants, animals, and fungi. Development started in 2006. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an organisation significantly involved in the development of the ALA. The Atlas of Living Australia is the Australian node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The ALA is being used to help assess suitability of revegetation projects by determining species vulnerability to climatic and atmospheric change. +The Atlas of Living Australia is hosted by CSIRO and supported by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. + + +== See also == +Australasian Virtual Herbarium +Australian Plant Name Index +Encyclopedia of Life +GBIF + + +== References == + + +== External links == + +Belbin, L.; Williams, K.J. (2015). "Towards a national bio-environmental data facility: experiences from the Atlas of Living Australia". International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 30 (1): 108–125. doi:10.1080/13658816.2015.1077962. ISSN 1365-8816. S2CID 12847147. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurorasaurus-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurorasaurus-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..dca3b1681 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurorasaurus-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +--- +title: "Aurorasaurus" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurorasaurus" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:21.504609+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Aurorasaurus is a citizen science project which tracks auroras through crowdsourced observations from a mobile app and social media, namely Twitter and Facebook. + + +== Development == +Aurorasaurus was created by Liz MacDonald, a space physicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, after she noticed a large amount of tweets about auroras during a 2011 solar storm that produced red auroras visible from Alabama. With Goddard scientist Nathan Case, MacDonald created a real-time map that displays the location of tweets that talk about auroras and have geolocation data. +Aurorasaurus has been supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation. It has been developed through a collaboration between NASA, the non-profit New Mexico Consortium, Pennsylvania State University, and the company Science Education Solutions. + + +== Usage == + +Aurorasaurus contains a real-time map that displays the location of tweets that talk about auroras and have geolocation data. Users then verify if the tweets indicate a sighting. Aurorasaurus also plots a "view-line" onto the map which shows users the predicted area in which they can see the aurora according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's aurora forecast model OVATION Prime. Once enough users report a sighting in an area or around the view-line, a notification is sent to other users in the local area. +Hundreds of citizen science observations collected by the Aurorasaurus team from March to April 2015 showed that more people reported seeing auroras closer to the equator than modeled by OVATION Prime. In 2016, Pennsylvania State University information scientists explored how Aurorasaurus could be used as an early warning system for emergency responders. + + +== See also == +Atypical auroras + + +== References == + + +== External links == +Official website +Bennetto, Casey (April 25, 2017). "Astrophysicist Dr. Katie Mack speaks about "Steve" on local Melbourne radio" (Podcast). Interview. ABC. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Citizen_Science_Association-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Citizen_Science_Association-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..6f6287c36 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Citizen_Science_Association-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +--- +title: "Australian Citizen Science Association" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Citizen_Science_Association" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:22.799795+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +The Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA) is a membership-based organisation that promotes public participation in science and research projects in Australia and internationally. The organisation provides a range of knowledge sharing, networking, professional development, advocacy and promotional opportunities for members and the community to participate in citizen science. The Association operates nationally as well as through five state-based chapters. +ACSA is an incorporated association registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission in 2018. + + +== Activities == +The Association supports a range of activities including a national conference held every two years, workshops and training, bioblitz campaigns, a small grants program, public outreach and education, and collaboration with national and international organisations. +The Association has a memorandum of understanding with other citizen science organisations including the US Citizen Science Association, the European Citizen Science Association, Citizen Science Asia and CitSci Africa Association. The ACSA is a member of the Citizen Science Global Partnership. + + +== References == + + +== External links == +Official website \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avibase-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avibase-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..329d66637 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avibase-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +--- +title: "Avibase" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avibase" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:24.081958+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Avibase is an online taxonomic database that organizes bird taxonomic and distribution data globally. The database relies on the notion of taxonomic concepts rather than taxonomic names. Avibase incorporates and organizes taxonomic data from the main avian taxonomic publishers (The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, Handbook of the Birds of the World, BirdLife International, IOC Checklist and the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World) and other regional sources (e.g. all editions of the American Ornithological Society Checklist of North American Birds since 1886). Taxonomic concepts in over 230 different taxonomic sources have been mapped and cross-referenced to Avibase concepts. +The website also offers checklists for more than 20,000 geographic regions of the world, species pages with taxonomic information and synonyms, and tools for observers to maintain their own sightings and obtain reports, such as a map showing countries or eBird hotspots with target species. + + +== History and purpose == +Avibase was created and is maintained by Denis Lepage, currently senior director, data science and technology at Birds Canada. The data contained in Avibase has been gathered starting around 1991. The Avibase website was launched in June 2003 and has been hosted by Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) since its inception. + + +== Features == +Taxonomic concepts. The database is organized primarily around a table of unique taxonomic concepts. A taxonomic concept is a way of grouping similar taxa together in a database in a more flexible way as compared to specific species names. Each concept represents a unique biological circumscription and has been assigned a unique alphanumeric ID called Avibase ID. Avibase IDs allow the tracking of congruent taxonomic concepts among publication sources. There are approximately 58,000 unique taxonomic concepts described in Avibase. These include concepts traditionally recognized as species and subspecies, but also other taxonomic groupings (subspecies groups), various alternative taxonomic treatments recognized historically, and other concepts representing hybrids, color morphs and invalid or dubious forms. +Nomenclature data. Each scientific name is described to include citation data and the name associated with the original description. Approximately 87,000 scientific names have been recorded in Avibase, and various types of synonyms are also available. +Regional species checklists are available for more than 20,000 regions of the world. This includes all countries, territories and dependencies, and most regions defined in the GADM subnational layers such as provinces, states, prefectures, counties, departments, municipalities and districts (GADM levels 1 and 2), as well as over 2,500 islands. Regional checklists are available in several taxonomic formats and can incorporate common names in a variety of languages. Data for regional checklists originates from multiple of sources, such as the eBird EBD dataset and forums such as the Facebook Global Rare Bird Alert. +Common names and synonyms are available in 271 different languages and regional variants, and there are 21 languages that have a coverage greater than 85% of species with a known common name. +MyAvibase, launched in 2013, provides free tools for users to maintain their life lists and generate reports that are focused on finding target species that the observer has not yet seen, or general regional statistics (e.g. total number of species by country). + + +== Notes == + + +== References == +Mitch, Leslie (2004), "Where Eagles-and Sparrows-Dare", Science, 304: 935, doi:10.1126/science.304.5673.935c, JSTOR 3836936, S2CID 220095931 +Lepage, Denis; Vaidya, Gaurav; Gulralnick, Robert (2014), "Avibase – a database system for managing and organizing taxonomic concepts", ZooKeys (420): 117–135, Bibcode:2014ZooK..420..117L, doi:10.3897/zookeys.420.7089, PMC 4109484, PMID 25061375 +What's in a name? Shifting meanings of biological names, Pensoft Publishers, 2014 +Remsen, David (2016), "The Use and Limits of Scientific Names in Biological Informatics", ZooKeys (550): 207–223, Bibcode:2016ZooK..550..207R, doi:10.3897/zookeys.550.9546, PMC 4741222, PMID 26877660 +Dickinson, Edward C. (2016), "Reinforcing the Foundations of Ornithological Nomenclature: Filling the Gaps in Sherborn's and Richmond's Historical Legacy of Bibliographic Exploration.", ZooKeys (550): 107–134, Bibcode:2016ZooK..550..207R, doi:10.3897/zookeys.550.9546, PMC 4741222, PMID 26877660 +Sterner, Beckett; Franz, Nico M. (2017), "Taxonomy for Humans or Computers? Cognitive Pragmatics for Big Data", Biological Theory, 12 (2): 99–111, doi:10.1007/s13752-017-0259-5, S2CID 90423947 +Christidis, Les; Garnett, Stephen T. (2017), "Taxonomy anarchy hampers conservation", Nature, 546 (7656): 25–27, Bibcode:2017Natur.546...25G, doi:10.1038/546025a, PMID 28569833 +Vaidya, Gaurav; Lepage, Denis; Gulralnick, Robert (2018), "The tempo and mode of the taxonomic correction process: How taxonomists have corrected and recorrected North American bird species over the last 127 years", PLOS One, 13 (4) e0195736, Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1395736V, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0195736, PMC 5909608, PMID 29672539 + + +== External links == + +Official website \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b4abc0fa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +--- +title: "Backyard Worlds" +chunk: 1/3 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:25.266684+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 is a NASA-funded citizen science project which is part of the Zooniverse web portal. It aims to discover new brown dwarfs, faint objects that are less massive than stars, some of which might be among the nearest neighbors of the Solar System, and might conceivably detect the hypothesized Planet Nine. The project's principal investigator is Marc Kuchner, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. + +== Origins == + +Backyard Worlds was launched in February 2017, shortly before the 87th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto, which until its reclassification as a dwarf planet in 2006 was considered the Solar System's ninth major planet. Since that reclassification, evidence has come to light that there may be another planet located in the outer region of the Solar System far beyond the Kuiper belt, most commonly referred to as Planet Nine. This hypothetical new planet would be located so far from the Sun that it would reflect only a very small amount of visible light, rendering it too faint to be detected in most astronomical surveys conducted to date. However, models of the conjectured planet's atmosphere suggest that methane condensation could in some cases make it detectable in infrared images captured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope. Due to the effects of proper motion and parallax, Planet Nine would appear to move in a distinctive way between images taken of the same patch of sky at different times. In addition to Planet Nine, other objects of interest – such as undiscovered nearby brown dwarfs – would also be seen to move in the project's images. + +== Project description == +Citizen scientists accessing the website search through a flip book-style animation of specially-processed mid-infrared images captured by WISE known as unWISE coadds, taken with filters at the wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 micrometers. The coadded unWISE images permits fainter objects to be detected than previous processing of WISE imagery allowed. In the flip books these coadds are differenced, a process designed to remove most of signal from stationary objects, leaving moving objects intact. The aim is to identify points of light that move between the flip book frames, including slower-moving "dipoles". Citizen scientists who spot a moving object are encouraged to fill out a "Think You've Got One" form which the project scientists review to confirm if there is motion. The images contain instrumental artifacts and are noisy, which hampers the use of automated image processing software and makes the task ideal for exploiting human visual recognition capabilities. Additionally, to improve the ability to detect objects some participants have created their own tools such as Wiseview, a web-based animation visualization tool. +Once candidates have been identified the science team follow-up the most scientifically interesting objects using ground-based telescopes (at sites such as Mont Mégantic Observatory, Apache Point Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, Las Campanas Observatory, Gemini Observatory and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility) and space telescopes (principally the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope), in order to clarify their nature and assign a spectral type if possible. +The project has been awarded a grant from NASA's Astrophysics Data Analysis Program which will fund it until 2020. +In November 2018, the project was "rebooted", with new images and reduced noise. By August 2020, more than 100,000 citizen scientists worldwide had taken part in the project. + +=== Cool Neighbors project === +In June 2023 the project "Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors" was launched. The "Planet 9" predecessor was focused on finding a hypothesised outer planet, which is not ideal in finding faint brown dwarfs. The new project has switched to focus on searching for faint and cool Y-dwarfs. The new "Cool Neighbors" project pre-selects its images with the help of machine learning. + +== Project status == +In December 2017, seven new brown dwarfs were confirmed, as well as two cool subdwarfs. The spectral types of the new brown dwarfs were T0, T2.8, T5, T6, T6.5, and two of type T8. In addition, there were 337 brown dwarf candidates awaiting spectra for confirmation. +As of the first anniversary of the project in February 2018, the project had discovered 17 brown dwarfs and two cool subdwarfs. The coldest object discovered is of spectral type T9, which raises hopes of discovering type Y dwarfs in the future. In addition, a spectrum was also taken of one possibly variable object of unknown type that does not actually exhibit proper motion. There are 432 objects of interest awaiting verification, of which 38 are Y dwarf candidates. +In July 2018 an update on the project's blog stated that in total 42 brown dwarfs had been spectroscopically confirmed from a list of 879 candidates. Fourteen of those confirmed are closer to the solar system than 20 parsecs (65 light-years). +As of July 2019, there are 1305 candidate objects to be followed up, of which there are 131 confirmed objects: 70 dwarfs of type T and 61 dwarfs of type L. Of the candidate and confirmed brown dwarfs, 55 of them are closer to the solar system than 20 parsecs. There are also roughly 100 Y dwarf candidates. +At the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 2020 a summary of the current status of the project was presented and this included 1503 L, T and Y dwarf candidates. In total 221 spectra have been taken of candidate objects. + +== Published discoveries == + +=== WISEA 1101+5400 === + +In June 2017, it was announced that Backyard Worlds had made its first official discovery: a brown dwarf designated WISEA 1101+5400, of spectral type T5.5 and located 34 parsecs (111 light years) from Earth. A paper announcing the discovery was accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters, and Backyard Worlds now holds the record among all Zooniverse projects as having the shortest time from project launch to first publication. + +=== LSPM J0207+3331 === \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-1.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-1.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..5f828ee14 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-1.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +--- +title: "Backyard Worlds" +chunk: 2/3 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:25.266684+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +In October 2018, a participant in the project discovered LSPM J0207+3331 – the oldest and coldest white dwarf known to host a circumstellar disk, despite being 3 billion years old. The time since this star became a white dwarf is far longer than the expected timescale for such disks to be cleared from a system. The disk consists of two rings at different temperatures. This star has been studied with the Keck telescope and is the subject of ongoing research. + +=== W2150AB === + +At the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 2020 the discovery of the wide brown dwarf binary W2150AB was presented by Jacqueline Faherty. The L1+T8 co-moving system is separated by 341 au, being one of three brown dwarf binary systems where both objects are easily resolved by ground-based telescopes. The system has the lowest gravitational binding energy for a brown dwarf binary that is not young and with the primary being a L-dwarf or later. + +=== WISE J0830+2837 === + +The discovery of WISE J0830+2837, the first Y-dwarf discovered by volunteers was also presented at the 235th meeting by project scientist Daniella Bardalez Gagliuffi. The Y-dwarf was not detected by the Hubble Space Telescope, but the Spitzer Space Telescope did detect this object due to it observing at longer wavelengths of light. It is about 11.2 parsec (36.5 light years) distant and has a temperature of about 350 K (77 °C or 170 °F). This estimated temperature would place it between the majority of the Y-dwarf population so far identified and WISE 0855−0714, the coldest object of this type known. + +=== T subdwarfs === +A paper was published in the Astrophysical Journal in July 2020 reporting the discovery of two unusual brown dwarfs; WISEA J041451.67-585456.7 was discovered by Backyard Worlds volunteers and WISEA J181006.18-101000.5 by the NEOWISE Proper Motion Survey, also with the aid of a Backyard Worlds citizen scientist. These high-proper motion objects display unique colors and near-infrared spectra that do not fully match current models. The models producing the best matches to the spectra imply the brown dwarfs have [Fe/H] ≤ -1, meaning they have extremely sub-solar metallicity, containing far lower amounts of elements heavier than hydrogen or helium compared to the Sun. The estimates from the model spectra suggest that these objects have up to 30 times less iron than typical for known brown dwarfs. The authors argue that the spectral properties combined with the estimated low temperatures of approximately 1200-1400 K make these brown dwarfs likely the first extreme subdwarfs of the T spectral class (esdTs) to be identified. The extremely low metallicity implies these brown dwarfs are very old, approximately 10 billion years, as the galaxy at this time would have featured lower quantities of heavy elements. This provides evidence that substellar objects were able to form in the low metallicity environment of the Milky Way's past. +A study by Lodieu et al. observed WISE1810 with a range of ground-based telescopes, using imaging and spectroscopy. They find a closer distance of 8.9+0.7−0.6 parsec, a radius of 0.67+0.32−0.20 RJ and a mass of 17+56−12 MJ. This makes WISE1810 the closest extreme ultra-cool subdwarf and the closest extreme metal-poor brown dwarf known to science, as of June 2022. The optical and infrared spectrum does not show any methane or carbon monoxide absorption, which is expected at these temperatures of about 800 K, and the WISE photometry suggest a depleted methane atmosphere. Only H2 CIA and water vapor absorption is detected, suggesting a carbon-deficient and metal-poor atmosphere, or alternatively an oxygen-enhanced atmosphere. +A study in 2024 discovered three additional T-type subdwarfs and introduced a new classification system for T subdwarfs. This system classified WISE 1810 as a esdT3: and WISE 0414 as a esdT6:. The study also found L and T dwarfs with unusual galactic orbits. 2MASS J053253.46+824646.5 (previous known L subdwarf) and CWISE J113010.07+313944.7 (mild T-subdwarf) were identified as possible members of the Thamnos stellar streams. These two brown dwarfs are on a retrograde Galactic orbit. CWISE J155349.96+693355.2 was found to be a possible member of the Helmi stream (prograde galactic orbit). Three T dwarfs (SDSS J014016.89+015054.1, CWISEP J111055.12-174738.2, and CWISEP J145837.91+173450.1) are found to have high metallicity and might be part of the high velocity thick disk. This population originates from the inner Milky Way and was scattered outwards. + +=== 95 cold brown dwarfs observed with Spitzer === + +In August 2020, the Backyard Worlds team published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal detailing follow-up conducted using the Spitzer Space Telescope on a sample of the coldest discoveries that had been made before the telescope was decommissioned. 95 had Spitzer mid-infrared colors consistent with being a cold brown dwarf, with 75 of these having their proper motion confirmed by comparison to their position in WISE images. Among the discoveries highlighted as most significant were; 3 possible T subdwarfs based on high tangential velocity estimates, a rare widely separated T8 companion to the white dwarf LSPM J0055+5948, and 5 new Y dwarfs, four of which (including the previously published WISE J0830+2837) where Spitzer colors indicate they have spectral types Y1 or later, with only at most 6 of these coldest set of brown dwarfs previously being known. The T8 companion to the white dwarf LSPM J0055+5948 could be the oldest (7-13 billion years old) brown dwarf known to science, together with Wolf 1130C (>10 billion years old). \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-2.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-2.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..2fa7993de --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds-2.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +--- +title: "Backyard Worlds" +chunk: 3/3 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_Worlds" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:25.266684+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +=== Co-moving benchmark systems === +The backyard worlds project found additional co-moving systems. 34 low-mass co-moving companions were discovered in 2022 with the NOIRLab Source Catalog DR2. Later in March 2024 an additional 89 ultracool dwarf companions were identified. This study increased the number of ultracool companions to FGK stars by about 42%. These benchmark system represent a wide variety of systems, including six systems with white dwarf hosts, systems with binary hosts or companions that are binaries, systems with old or young ages, systems with red or blue spectral types and systems with a wide separation of >1000 astronomical units (AU). One young co-moving system consists of GJ 900, a K7+M4+M6 triple star system and the T9-dwarf CW2335+0142, which is a planetary-mass object (~10.5 MJ). Another notable system is CW0627−0028AB, which is a wide T0blue+T3 dwarf system or a possible triple (L5+T2.5)+T3 system. If the distance is confirmed, it would be the widest substellar binary discovered at a separation of about 860 AU. The brown dwarf companion CWISE J060202.17-462447.8 (~52 MJ) to the white dwarf WD J060159.98-462534.40 is an additional contender for the oldest brown dwarf with an age of 10.9+2.6−2.0 billion years. Additional M+T co-moving systems were discovered in April 2024 in a collaborative work together with the CatWISE team. 13 new systems were discovered, representing a 60% increase of the number of M+T systems. The sample includes young and old objects, including the candidate planetary-mass companion 2MASS J05581644–4501559 B and the brown dwarf UCAC3 52–1038 B, which is on a wide 7100 AU orbit. UCAC3 52–1038 B was later found to be a mildly metal-poor old brown dwarf. In December 2024 a team published a list of 51 ultracool dwarfs that are co-moving with white dwarfs. Some of these were also discovered by backyard worlds citizen scientists. In February 2025 follow-up observations of 10 candidate brown dwarfs orbiting white dwarfs were published. 7 turned out to be brown dwarf companions, one turned out to be a brown dwarf binary, one turned out to be the companion to a star and one was not confirmed due to blending in the spectrum. + +=== Additional discoveries === +This list contains additional notable discoveries by the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project. + +== See also == + +Amateur astronomy +Citizen science +Zooniverse projects: + +== References == + +== External links == +Official website \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan_Biodiversity_Portal-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan_Biodiversity_Portal-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f6d1a7fa1 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan_Biodiversity_Portal-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,114 @@ +--- +title: "Bhutan Biodiversity Portal" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan_Biodiversity_Portal" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:26.518057+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Bhutan Biodiversity Portal (འབྲུག་སྐྱེ་ལྡན་རིགས་སྣ་འཆར་སྒོ།) is a consortium based citizen science website comprising key biodiversity data generating agencies and can be used by anyone. The portal is an official online repository of data on Bhutanese biodiversity. + + +== History == +Access to the updated and reliable information on the biodiversity of Bhutan for effective conservation was a major problem. The Bhutan Biodiversity Portal was created to address this issue. +In 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, a project agreement was initiated under the framework of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which was formalized in 1994. Bhutan Integrated Biodiversity Information System(BIBIS) was created subsequently in 2002. The aim of the information system was to create a biodiversity platform which will be accessible to anyone interested in the biodiversity of Bhutan. +The BIBIS was later upgraded and developed into a web-based web portal in 2008. Since 2011 the portal have been upgraded and developed into the present form. This gave birth to the present Bhutan Biodiversity Portal. The Present portal was officially launched on 17 December 2013 coinciding with the National Day of Bhutan by the then Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Lyonpo Yeshi Dorji. + + +== Features == + + +=== Species pages === +The species page feature of the Portal provides curated and updated information on various taxa found in the country. Editing and creation of the species pages is limited to approved curators and admins only. + + +=== Observations === +The observations feature of the Portal provides platform to the users to record observation of various taxa from within the country. This section of the Portal promotes the participation from the users to document the biodiversity of Bhutan in the form of images, audios and videos. As on 08-03-2020 the portal has a total of 64585 observations. Users can add to the observations through the contribute link in the menu. Besides the image, sound and video observations, users can add checklist, documents and datasets. + + +=== Maps === +The Maps module of the Portal provides various geo-spatial information through an interactive user interface. They are displayed in the form of layers. Currently the Portal provides the following map layers. + + +=== Documents === + + +=== Discussions === + + +=== Datasets === + + +=== Groups === + + +=== Contribution === +Contributions to the portal can be made in the following + +Adding/Editing a species page (needs special permission) +Add an observation can be done through multiple observations +Adding a list +Adding documents +Adding dataset +Add a trait/Value +Add a fact +Add a data package + + +== Technology == +The portal uses the opensource Biodiversity Informatics Platform codebase developed and maintained by Strand Life Sciences. The Strand Life Sciences and the India Biodiversity Portal provides all the technical backstoppings assisted by the Information and Communication Services Division under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. + + +== Platforms == +Users of the portal can interact with the portal in various ways. They can access or contribute to the portal through: + +the web based portal accessible at https://biodiversity.bt Archived 2020-02-06 at the Wayback Machine +Android app available on playstore +iOS app available on appstore + + +== The Consortium == +The consortium is supported by the following national and international organizations. + + +=== National Biodiversity Centre (Bhutan) === +The National Biodiversity Centre (Bhutan) is the secretariat for the consortium. The National Biodiversity Centre is a government institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests of Bhutan. + + +=== Information and Communication Services Division === +The Information and Communication Services Division under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests was established under the Ministry in 1992. The Division currently provides technological backstopping to the Portal. + + +=== College of Natural Resources === +The College of Natural Resources (Bhutan) is a college under the Royal University of Bhutan. + + +=== Department of Forests and Park Services === + +The Department of Forests and Park Services of Bhutan is represented by the following institutions. + + +==== Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Forestry Research and Training ==== +The Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Forestry Research and Training is a research based training institute under the Department of Forests and Park Services of Bhutan. + + +==== Nature Conservation Division ==== +The Nature Conservation Division is one of the five functional divisions under the Department of Forests and Park Services established in 1992. It currently acts as the focal of the protected areas and biodiversity conservation in Bhutan. + + +=== WWF Bhutan === + + +== Awards == +The National Biodiversity Centre (Bhutan) as the secretariat to the consortium received the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Mountain Development Award 2018 on the occasion of International Mountain Day on 11 December 2018. + + +== References == + + +== External links == +Official website +National Biodiversity Centre +Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Archived 2020-03-18 at the Wayback Machine \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion_Oyster_Project-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion_Oyster_Project-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..d84dd8724 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion_Oyster_Project-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +--- +title: "Billion Oyster Project" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion_Oyster_Project" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:27.690183+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +The Billion Oyster Project is a New York City-based nonprofit organization with the goal of engaging one million people in the effort to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor by 2035. Because oysters are filter feeders, they serve as a natural water filter, with a number of beneficial effects for the ecosystem. The reefs they form increase habitat and subsequent marine biodiversity levels, and help protect the city's shorelines from storm surges. +The Billion Oyster Project believes that engaging community members—especially young people—in reef restoration will lead them to become more environmentally aware in the future. The project aims to engage hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and community scientists in marine restoration-based STEM educational programming. It involves 80 restaurants in an oyster shell recycling program, which provides the project with shells for building new reefs. +The project grew out of the activities of students at the New York Harbor School, as of 2025 located on Governors Island, who started growing and restoring oysters in New York Harbor in 2008. The school continues to be the project’s main educational partnership, involving students through internships and waterfront experience in seven Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. Along with Harbor School, the Billion Oyster Project is stationed on Governors Island and the scope of their work is confined to the five boroughs of New York City. + + +== History == +Oyster reefs in New York City are thought to have covered more than 220,000 acres (890 km2) of the Hudson River estuary and filtered water, provided habitat for other marine species, and attenuated wave energy, but are now functionally extinct in the Harbor due to overharvesting, dredging, and pollution. +The initiative was the brainchild of Murray Fisher and Pete Malinowski, and grew out of the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School in 2014. A $5 million National Science Foundation grant allowed the program to spread to thousands of public middle school students starting in 2015. + + +=== Achievements === + +As of December 2025, more than 150 million oysters had been restored to New York Harbor, with 17 acres (69,000 m2) of reef area restored. More than 11,000 high-school and middle-school students have taken part in the project. Approximately 2,000,000 pounds (910 metric tons) of oyster shell have been recycled. In 2020, expansion into mobile spawning tanks at Red Hook, Brooklyn, allowed for significant increases in capacity. + + +== Projects == + + +=== Living Breakwaters === +Living Breakwaters is a project overseen by the Billion Oyster Project in Staten Island intended to reintroduce oysters while also protecting against storm surge, increasing biodiversity, improving water quality, and creating educational opportunities. This project is funded in part by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which contributed $60 million partly for the purpose of disaster recovery from Hurricane Sandy, but also to prevent similar disasters in the future. Staten Island was greatly affected by erosion and flooding from the 2012 storm, particularly along the south shore. +The project started in Tottenville, a neighborhood once famous for its oyster population. As part of the strategy, discarded oyster shells from over 70 New York restaurants are collected and left outside for a year to be naturally cleansed of organic matter. Baby oysters are then placed on the shells by students at New York Harbor School, a maritime-focused public high school located on Governors Island. The oyster larvae are of the currently existing population, rather than introducing those of other populations, which runs the risk of also introducing invasive species. The oysters will be placed onto several walls in the water made of low-acidity permeable concrete. +The oysters on the walls will create 13,000 feet (4,000 m) of natural breakwaters one-quarter mile (0.40 km) off the shore of Tottenville as part of a risk-management effort against climate change, in light of an expected rise in both storm frequency and sea levels. The oysters are intended to naturally filter the water, making it more attractive to marine life and thus restoring biodiversity. The construction of the project is an opportunity for local classrooms and the community to get involved and see marine biology in action. The Living Breakwaters citizens advisory committee was established in 2015 and looks to gather opinions of the locals on decisions through the project. Project construction was originally planned to start in late 2019, but ultimately began in 2021. + + +== References == \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..998089bbf --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 1/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +A BioBlitz, also written without capitals as bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists, and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a continuous time period (e.g., usually 24 hours). There is a public component to many BioBlitzes, with the goal of getting the public interested in biodiversity. To encourage more public participation, these BioBlitzes are often held in urban parks or nature reserves close to cities. Research into the best practices for a successful BioBlitz has found that collaboration with local natural history museums can improve public participation. As well, BioBlitzes have been shown to be a successful tool in teaching post-secondary students about biodiversity. + +== Features == +A BioBlitz has different opportunities and benefits than a traditional, scientific field study. Some of these potential benefits include: + +Enjoyment – Instead of a highly structured and measured field survey, this sort of event has the atmosphere of a festival. The short time frame makes the search more exciting. +Local – The concept of biodiversity tends to be associated with coral reefs or tropical rainforests. A BioBlitz offers the chance for people to visit a nearby setting and see that local parks have biodiversity and are important to conserve. +Science – These one-day events gather basic taxonomic information on some groups of species. +Meet the Scientists – A BioBlitz encourages people to meet working scientists and ask them questions. +Identifying rare and unique species/groups – When volunteers and scientists work together, they are able to identify uncommon or special habitats for protection and management and, in some cases, rare species may be uncovered. +Documenting species occurrence – BioBlitzes do not provide a complete species inventory for a site, but they provide a species list which makes a basis for a more complete inventory and will often show what area or what taxon would benefit from a further study. +Increases interest in science – BioBlitzes helps to build interest from the general public in science and environmental studies by enabling direct communication and inclusive activities. + +== History == +The term "BioBlitz" was first coined by U.S. National Park Service naturalist Susan Rudy while assisting with the first BioBlitz. The first BioBlitz was held at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, D.C. in 1996. Approximately 1000 species were identified at this first event. This first accounting of biodiversity was organized by Sam Droege (USGS) and Dan Roddy (NPS) with the assistance of other government scientists. The public and especially the news media were invited. Since the success of the first bioblitz, many organizations around the world have repeated this concept. +Since then, most BioBlitz contain a public component so that adults, kids, teens and anyone interested can join experts and scientists in the field. Participating in these hands-on field studies is a fun and exciting way for people to learn about biodiversity and better understand how to protect it. +In 1998, Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson and Massachusetts wildlife expert Peter Alden developed a program to catalog the organisms around Walden Pond. This led to a statewide program known as Biodiversity Days. This concept is very similar to a BioBlitz and occasionally the two terms are used interchangeably. +A variation on the BioBlitz, the Blogger Blitz began in 2007. Rather than gather volunteers and scientists at one location, participant blogs pledged to conduct individual surveys of biodiversity. These results were then compiled and mapped. The purpose of this blitz is not to survey down to species level across all taxonomic groups, but rather to raise awareness about biodiversity and provide a general snapshot of diversity. +From 2007 through 2016 National Geographic Society and the US National Park Service partnered to put on a Bioblitz in a different National Park each year culminating in a Bioblitz across the National Park Service in 2016 as part of the National Park Service Centennial Celebration. The iNaturalist platform was used as the recording tool for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Centennial Bioblitzes in this series. +Highlights of the 2016 nationwide BioBlitz include: \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-1.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-1.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9491e5af1 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-1.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 2/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +The National Parks BioBlitz—Washington, D.C. was the cornerstone of the national event. Nearly 300 scientists and experts led more than 2,600 students and thousands of members of the general public in all 13 of the National Capital Region's parks. As of the closing ceremony on 21 May, nearly 900 species were recorded from this area alone. +The Biodiversity Festival at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall served as a window to events across the country, with regular live feeds featuring species discoveries on jumbo screens located on the National Mall. +E. O. Wilson, "father of biodiversity", was a significant part of the pre-BioBlitz events, including the Special Speaker Series at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the 2016 National Parks BioBlitz Scientist Dinner at National Geographic Headquarters on Thursday, 19 May. +The BioBlitz Dance was a common activity throughout the festival weekend. Participants danced with John Griffith, founder of the dance, on the main stage several times at Constitution Gardens, and on the jumbotron from other park units across the nation. +National parks and participating partners shared their BioBlitz activities via social media, using the hashtags #BioBlitz2016 and #FindYourPark. During the weekend's event, #BioBlitz2016 ranked in the top 10 on Twitter! +At Cabrillo National Monument, Green Abalone (Haliotis fulgens) was documented. For the past thirty years, abalone have faced substantial conservation concerns due to overharvesting and disease. Their presence in the Cabrillo Rocky Intertidal Zone can be described as ephemeral at best. +Knife River National Park conducted an ArcheoBlitz. A centuries-old bison tooth was found at Big Hidatsa Village, which was occupied from about 1740 to 1850. DNA extracted from this tooth can provide data on bison populations before their near-extinction at the end of the 19th century, a useful comparison for managers of modern herds. +At Great Smoky Mountain National Park, experts teamed up with about 100 5th graders. Together they set out to explore pollinators and succeeded in discovering nearly 200 species. While it is too early to tell if they found any new species, they have added significant information to the park's database. +Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve conducted a lichen survey and added several new species to their park list. One of those identified is Xanthoria elegans. This species of lichen survived an 18-month exposure to solar UV radiation, cosmic rays, vacuum and varying temperatures in an experiment performed by the ESA outside of the ISS. +Channel Islands National Park broadcast a dive with oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, with support from the National Park Trust. The feed was featured online and on the jumbotrons on the National Mall and enabled the public to follow the exploration of one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world, the giant kelp forest. +The National Parks BioBlitz used the iNaturalist app to deliver real-time information on species finds. Verified data will be included in National Park Service databases and international databases tracking biodiversity on the planet. This application can be used by parks and citizen scientists well into the future. +Beginning with the 2010 NPS/NGS BioBlitz at Biscayne National Park, NPS initiated a corps of Biodiversity Youth Ambassadors. Each year through 2016, a student ambassador is selected by the host park to participate in the BioBlitz and assist in raising biodiversity awareness to their peers and in their home communities. In addition to the new NCR Biodiversity Youth Ambassador, Ms. Katherine Hagan, Ms. Mikaila Ulmer, 11, was selected to be the National Park Service Biodiversity Youth Ambassador representing the President's Pollinator Conservation Initiative for the National Park Service. + +== BioBlitzes by country == + +=== Australia === +The Woodland Watch Project (part of the World Wide Fund for Nature) (WWF) has organised BioBlitz's in the wheatbelt area of Western Australia in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. +Two 'SpiderBlitz's' (variants of the BioBlitz concept) were organised in 2007 and 2008 in the wheatbelt by WWF to focus attention on threatened trapdoor spiders, and their unique habitats. +Wheatbelt Natural Resource Management Wheatbelt NRM ran a BioBlitz around the wheatbelt town of Korrelocking in 2012. +The Discovery Circle program (UniSA) ran two BioBlitzes at a park in Salisbury and wetlands at Marion, South Australia. +The Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness www.alcw.org.au has run three successful bioblitzes – in Bermagui 2012, Pambula 2014 and Mimosa Rocks National Park 2014. The Atlas of Life works in association with the Atlas of Living Australia (the national biodiversity database) +takayna BioBlitz The Bob Brown Foundation runs an annual takayna BioBlitz in Tasmania, Australia. The takayna BioBlitz is a festival of science in nature, held in one of the world's last truly wild places. This event brings together scientists, experts, naturalists and members of the public for a weekend of environmental scientific discovery. See: bobbrown.org.au +Tarkine BioBlitz, 19–22 November 2015, was the first BioBlitz in Tasmania. More than 100 people surveyed moorland, rainforest, rivers and coastline in the remote Tarkine region in support of the Bob Brown Foundation's campaign for a Tarkine National Park to protect the natural values of the region. +Melbourne City Council conducted a BioBlitz in 2014 and 2016, engaging citizens in nature conservation in cities [2]. + +=== Canada === +Active Bioblitz \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-2.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-2.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..18c7b6003 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-2.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 3/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +The Robert Bateman Get to Know BioBlitz started in 2010 to celebrate the international year of biodiversity. In a partnership with Parks Canada there were many sites all across Canada which celebrated bioblitzes on the international day of biodiversity (22 May). +British Columbia +There has been an annual BioBlitz in Whistler, BC since 2007. The 2013 BioBlitz reported 497 species. +Metro Vancouver has hosted their annual BioBlitz at Burnaby Lake Regional Park since 2010. This bioblitz has much public participation with many activities including pond-dipping, nature walks and meeting live animals up close. The species count currently stands at 488, including a Western Screech Owl, Red-legged Frog, Brassy Minnows and Common Fern which, despite its name, had never been found in the area before. +Ontario: +The Royal Ontario Museum and several other organizations have sponsored BioBlitz in the Toronto area since 2012, with the 2015 event scheduled for the Don River watershed. The 2014 Humber BioBlitz had over 500 participants and counted 1,560 species, including 2 spiders that were new to Canada. +The Rouge National Urban Park hosted a Bioblitz event on 24 and 25 June 2017. The previous Bioblitz at the park was held in 2013 where over 1700 species of flora and fauna were identified. + +New Brunswick: +The New Brunswick Museum has held an annual bioblitz since 2009 in Protected Natural Areas (PNA) around the province. Scientists spend two weeks each year in the field, alternating June in one year with August in the next to catch seasonally available biodiversity. The bioblitz was held in Jacquet River Gorge PNA 2009–2010, Caldonia Gorge PNA in 2011–2012, Grand Lake PNA in 2013–2014, Nepisiguit PNA in 2015–2016, and Spednic Lake PNA in 2017–2018. More information is here. The 2013-2014 bioblitzes were the subject of a documentary +Inactive and historic BioBlitz + +The Canadian Biodiversity Institute held numerous BioBlitzes between 1997 and 2001. +Victoria's Beacon Hill has had two BioBlitzes, in April 2007 and October 2007. They successfully gave thanks for the biodiversity of the region. Beacon Hill has since been a site for Arborblitzs, which focus on identifying all the trees within the park. +Saint Mary's University (Halifax) held BioBlitz in Nova Scotia between 2008 and 2010 with the report on the 2010 BioBlitz available here. +The Warren Lake BioBlitz was scheduled for 11–13 August 2011. Warren Lake is on the east side of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There is a hiking trail which circumnavigates the lake and it will be considered the border of the BioBlitz, i.e., there will be quite an extensive aquatic focus. +Stanley Park in Vancouver held BioBlitz between 2011 and 2013. +Harrison Hot Springs had a BioBlitz in July 2011 to highlight the biodiversity of species in the Fraser Valley. + +=== Hong Kong === +In Traditional Chinese this has been referred to as: 生態速查 (Ecological quick check). +First HK's BioBlitz was organized by Tai Tam Tuk Foundation from 24 to 25 Oct 2015. 50 experts leading 300 secondary students recorded more than 680 species in 30 hours, covering marine, terrestrial and intertidal habitats, in Tai Tam site of special scientific interest (SSSI). This event comes as part of the ‘Biodiversity Festival 2015’, an Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) lead project that encompasses many events, exhibitions and seminars, and is a major section of Hong Kong's Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP). Highlights included 2 species of moth that are extremely rare and native to Hong Kong, the first official record of coral in Tai Tam Bay and the first official record of juvenile horseshoe crabs on Hong Kong island. Data are made available through an online platform iSpot. +BioBlitz@CityU is a competition in the small wooded park on university campus organized by City University of Hong Kong on 4 March 2016. +On 21–22 Oct 2017, Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre organized their first BioBlitz. This center was jointly established by the Environmental Protection Department of HK Government and The University of Hong Kong in 2008. 100 participants and volunteers found 151 species in Lung Fu Shan with the guidance of 11 experts within 24 hours. In 2018 this was expanded to separate bioblitz surveys into four animal groups: Birds; Butterflies, (other) Insects, and Amphibians and Reptiles. And in 2019 another bioblitz is planned. +Tai Tam Tuk Foundation organized their second BioBlitz on 3–4 Nov 2017. They translated the iNaturalist app and slideshow into Chinese with the help of Hong Kong Explorers Initiative and the technical support of Scott Loarie and Alex Shepard from iNaturalist.org for better data collection among local participants. Also, they organized the pilot self-guided activity "DIY BioBlitz" with the help of Environmental Life Science Society, HKU and the teacher training in this event. Data are made available: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/hk-bioblitz-2017 This event is subvented by Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of HK Government. +In January 2019 the Hong Kong BioBlitz @ Hong Kong Park was carried out in Kong Kong Park. Utilizing iNaturalist and experts from the Natural History Museum, London, and Tai Tam Tuk Eco Education Centre. +With popularity of City Nature Challenge in Hong Kong since its first participation in 2018, bioblitzes have increasingly been combined with this and other iNaturalist based challenges such as the Hong Kong Inter-School City Nature Challenge. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-3.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-3.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..ad0f6f829 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-3.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 4/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +=== Hungary === +BioBlitz Events in Hungary are organized by the Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society http://www.biodiverzitasnap.hu/ since 2006, starting with the eco-village Gyürüfű and its surroundings in Baranya County. Since then the Society organizes BioBlitz Events (called also Biodiversity Days) every year, sometimes even several events a year, during which 60-80 experts and researchers contribute to a profound momentary inventory of a chosen area in Hungary, and from time to time in cross-border areas in joint-projects with neighbour countries. The Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society invites local inhabitants and the interested public to join their events, and focusses in its outreach to young local and regional pupils and their teachers just like students from Hungary and abroad. The BioBlitz Events are taking place in partnership with the local National Park Directories, Municipalities and Civil Organisations. A rather fresh approach is the involvement of high school students during their obligatory community/voluntary work into research and field work in the topics of biodiversity and nature protection based upon long term co-operation contracts with schools and educational centres. The main goals pursued by the Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society are to promote the correct understanding of biodiversity in its true context, based upon data collection, monitoring, research and expertise, passing on knowledge from generation to generation and outreach to the broader public. It also aims to strengthen national and international networks. The results of the BioBlitz Events are published in print and on-line media and serve mainly as fundamentals for maintenance-instructions for protected areas and for appropriate natural-resource management, but also for educational purposes. + +=== India === +On 20 May 2025, the first BioBlitz event took place in Odisha at Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhubaneswar. More than 400 species of various taxa have been documented during the 24 hours of rigorous survey. A total of 50 participants of 30 institutions/organizations have participated in the event. + +=== Ireland === +An Ireland's BioBlitz Event has been held annually since 2010 – established by the National Biodiversity Data Centre http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/ to celebrate International Year of Biodiversity. A unique feature of this event is that it has a number of parks through the island competing against each other to see which site records the most species over a 24hr period. The event is usually held on the third weekend in May each year. +In 2010, the first year it was held, Connemara National Park won the competition having recording 542 species. In 2011, Killareny National Park won the event having recorded an astonishing tally of 1088 species. Crawfordsburn Country Park won in 2012 having recorded 984 species. All of the data are made available through an online mapping system, Biodiversity Maps http://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/# and hard copy species lists are produced http://bioblitz.biodiversityireland.ie/bioblitz-species-lists-now-available/ +The event is co-ordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre who maintain a special website http://bioblitz.biodiversityireland.ie/ each year so that progress with the event can be tracked on-line. +To cater for the success of BioBlitz in Ireland, support is provided for a special 'Local BioBlitz Challenge' for local sites. Also, on 14–15 June 2013 Limerick City hosts the first Urban BioBlitz in Ireland. +On 1 May 2014, the first Intervarsity BioBlitz was held with support from the National Biodiversity Data Centre. University College Cork, National University of Ireland Galway, Trinity, Dublin City University and Dundalk IT all competed to count Biodiversity on campus, with NUIG being the inaugural winner. + +=== Israel === +On 24 April 2014, the first BioBlitz in Israel took place in Yeruham lake park. The event was supported by Ben Gurion University of the Negev. 531 different species were found. A second Bioblitz is scheduled to take place on 26 March 2015. + +=== Malaysia === +Since 2011 the Malaysian Nature Society has held an annual birdwatching bioblitz named "MY Garden Birdwatch". + +=== México === +Since 2019 the Rancho Komchén de los Pájaros has held an annual bioblitz. Check out the iNaturalist results + +=== New Zealand === + +Landcare Research, in conjunction with colleagues in other institutes and agencies, held BioBlitzes in Auckland in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008; and in Christchurch in 2005. A BioBlitz was planned for early April 2009 in Christchurch. Other New Zealand BioBlitzes have been held in Hamilton and in Wellington. +The first marine BioBlitz occurred on the Wellington South Coast over a month, since a marine BioBlitz is trickier weatherwise than a terrestrial one. +In March 2012 Forest and Bird organised a BioBlitz on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast of the South Island. It is the site of the proposed Escarpment Mine Project. +See a List of BioBlitzes in New Zealand. + +=== Pakistan === +The first BioBlitz in Pakistan was organized at Hazarganji Chiltan National Park on 15 April 2023, by The First Steps School. + +=== Poland === +The first BioBlitz in Poland was organized in Sopot in May 2008 by the Polish Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences. + +=== Portugal === +Faro was the first city in Portugal to have a BioBlitz, in October 2009. + +=== Singapore === +The Singapore National Parks (NParks) Community in Nature (CIN) program have been running BioBlitz in various parks and gardens across Singapore to coincide with the International Day for Biological Diversity. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-4.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-4.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..5123d8d86 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-4.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 5/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +=== Slovenia === +Slovene's first BioBlitz took place on 19/20 May 2017, in Draga (in central Slovenia). The event was conducted during the project "Invazivke nikoli ne počivajo: Ozaveščanje o in preprečevanje negativnega vpliva invazivnih vrst na evropsko ogrožene vrste" and supported by the Slovene Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. The event was held in cooperation with Societas herpetologica slovenica, the Botanical Society of Slovenia, the Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora, and the Slovene Dragonfly Society. During the event, 124 experts participated and 1,588 different species were found. +BioBlitz Slovenia 2018 was held in Rače (in northeastern Slovenia) on 15/16 June. Altogether, 71 experts from 21 different organisations participated, and at the end of the 24-hour event 934 species or higher taxon were identified. BioBlitz Slovenia 2018 was organised by four NGOs: Societas herpetologica slovenica, the Slovene Dragonfly Society, the Botanical Society of Slovenia, and the Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora. +A third BioBlitz Slovenia took place on 17/18 May 2019, in the Lož Karst Field. As a part of the project "Še smo tu – domorodne vrste še nismo izrinjene", it was supported by the Slovene Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. Eighty experts participated and 899 different species were found. BioBlitz Slovenia 2019 was organised by three NGOs: Societas herpetologica slovenica, the Slovene Dragonfly Society, and the Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora. +The results of the events are published in print and on-line media and journals, also together with the list of species. BioBlitz Slovenia became a traditional annual event and has its own webpage. + +=== Spain === +In Formentera (Balearic Islands), during the Posidonia Festival 2008, there was a bioblitz. +Barcelona (Catalonia) hosts a BioBlitz yearly since 2010, organized by Barcelona City Council, University of Barcelona and Natural History Museum of Barcelona, in collaboration with several naturalist and scientific societies. First BioBlitzBcn was held in June 2010 at Laberint d'Horta and Parc de la Ciutadella. Second in October 2011 at Jardí Botànic de Barcelona. Third in May 2012 at Jardí Botànic Històric. +The university of Almeria organizes the AmBioBlitz in April yearly since 2018, with the collaboration of CECOUAL (Centre of Scientific Collections of the University of Almería) and Observation.org +The Pablo de Olavide University, from Seville, will host in April 2021 its first BioBlitz in collaboration with Observation.org and Biological Station of Doñana-CSIC + +=== Sweden === +Sweden's first BioBlitz was organized in Röttle (Gränna) on 4 and 5 August 2012. +On 7 and 8 September 2012 a BioBlitz was organized in Fliseryd near the river Emån. A total of 345 species were reported in this former industrial site on islands in the river. +Sweden's fourth BioBlitz will be organized in Högsby on 5 and 6 June 2014. + +=== Taiwan === +Taipei 228 Peace Park 2008 BioBlitz on 20 December, sponsored by Taiwan Forestry Bureau and National Taiwan Museum, found more than 180 plants, 11 birds and 1 mammal. + +=== Trinidad & Tobago === +Tucker Valley Bioblitz 2012 was the first bioblitz in Trinidad and possibly the Caribbean. It was organised by Mike G. Rutherford, curator of the University of the West Indies Zoology Museum (UWIZM) with help from the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club (TTFNC) and was sponsored by First Citizens Bank. The 24-hour event found 654 species – 211 plants and 443 animals. +Arima Valley Bioblitz 2013 was based at the Asa Wright Nature Centre. The event found 139 vertebrates, 247 invertebrates, 30 fungi, 7 diatoms and 317 plants making a total of 740 species. +Nariva Swamp Bioblitz 2014 was based at the Forestry Division Field Station near Bush Bush Forest Reserve, the teams found 742 species. +Charlotteville Bioblitz 2015 was the first event to take place in Tobago. Based at the Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC) there was a large marine component and all together 1,044 species were recorded. +Port of Spain Bioblitz 2016 took the event to the nation's capital and included a Nature Fair with over 20 local NGOs, government organisations and charity groups putting on a biodiversity and environmental display. 762 species were found in and around the city. +Icacos Bioblitz 2017 was the final event organised by Rutherford and took the bioblitz to the far south-west of Trinidad and recorded 769 species. +Toco Bioblitz 2018 was organised by a committee made up of TTFNC members and staff from the University of the West Indies Department of Life Sciences from the St. Augustine campus. The north-east corner of Trinidad yielded 906 species records. + +=== Türkiye === +The first BioBlitz event in Kocaeli Province was held in Ormanya on 17 September 2021, with the support of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. 113 different species were found at the event. + +=== United Kingdom === + +Natural History Consortium host the National BioBlitz Network hosting free resources for running a BioBlitz event and the national BioBlitz Calendar. (www.bnhc.org.uk) +Examples of regions and organisations which have held BioBlitz events include: \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-5.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-5.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..74f14e4fe --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-5.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 6/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +First UK Marine BioBlitz undertaken by the Marine Biological Association and the Natural History Museum together with other partners. Wembury, South Devon 2009 +Bristol – Organised by Bristol Natural History Consortium +Northumberland – Organised by Northumberland Biodiversity Network +New Forest National Park – Organised by New Forest National Park Authority +Swansea – Organised by Swansea City Council +Cairngorms – Organised by Cairngorms Biodiversity +Dundee – Organised by Dundee City Council +Leicester – Organised by Leicester City and County Council +Isle of Wight – Organised by Isle of Wight Council +London – Organised by OPAL +Derby – Organised by Derby City Council +Brighton – Organised by Sussex Wildlife Trust +Bath – Organised by Bristol Natural History Consortium +Mothecombe, Devon, – Marine and coastal BioBlitz – Organised by OPAL and the Marine Biological Association +Jersey – Organised by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust +Fife – Organised by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust and "Celebrating Fife 2010" +Cambridge – Organised by Cambridge University +Lincolnshire – Organised by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust +Nottingham – Organised by Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group +Flintshire – Organised by Flintshire County Council +North Ayrshire – Organised by North Ayrshire Council +Lancashire – Organised by Lancashire Wildlife Trust +Kent – Organised by Kent Wildlife Trust +Corfe Mullen – Organised by Corfe Mullen Nature Watch +Cornwall – Organised by ERCCIS +North Devon – Organised by Coastwise North Devon. +Sandford – Organised by Ambios +Mount Edgcumb – Marine and coastal bioblitz organised by the Marine Biological Association \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-6.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-6.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..6cd490b66 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-6.md @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 7/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +=== United States === +Alaska: The Chugach National Forest and Alaska Department of Fish & Game-Diversity Program organized the first BioBlitz in Southcentral Alaska on 23 and 24 July 2011, to coincide with the International Year of Forests. Arizona: More than 5,500 people, including 2,000 students and 150 scientists, attended the 2011 Saguaro BioBlitz, (21–22 October) and discovered 859 species during the 24 hour inventory period. Included in that total were more than 400 species, mostly invertebrate animals and non-vascular plants, which were previously unknown in the park. The accompanying Biodiversity Festival had an integrated art program that included pieces featuring local species, created by local students, seniors, and artists. California: The Santa Monica Mountains NPS/National Geographic Society BioBlitz (30–31 May 2008) was accomplished through collaboration with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, California State Parks, and Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department. Six thousand participants discovered more than 1,700 species during the 24 hour inventory period. California: The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research hosted a BioBlitz in the San Dieguito River Park on the North Shore of Lake Hodges in Escondido 25–26 April. California: The San Diego Natural History Museum began hosting a yearly BioBlitz starting in 2008. The 2008 BioBlitz was held in Balboa Park and in 2009 the event was held at Mission Trails Regional Park on 1–2 May. California: The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden organized a BioBlitz of its natural spaces in May 2007. California: Golden Gate National Recreation Area: On 28–29 March 2014, participants in the BioBlitz at Golden Gate Park sites, including Pt. Reyes National Seashore, Muir Woods National Monument, the Presidio of San Francisco, Mori Point, and Rancho Corral de Tierra observed and recorded biodiversity in habitats ranging from the redwood canopy to windswept beaches. Highlights included the first ever canopy survey of redwoods at Muir Woods, the first-ever, park sighting of a climbing salamander in Muir Woods; sightings of great horned, spotted, barred and saw-whet owls; and a mountain lion at Corral de Tierra. Colorado: The National Wildlife Federation has been providing a toolset based on the eNature.com species data in the Denver/Boulder metropolitan area since 2004. Results are online. Colorado: On 24–25 August 2012, more than 150 scientists joined forces with 5,000 people of all ages and backgrounds to seek out the living creatures in Rocky Mountain National Park. Inventories took place in various ecological life zones, including ponderosa pine forests, the subalpine region, the tundra, and mountain meadows. Among the overall total of 490 species discovered, 138 were previously unknown to be in the park. A companion festival at the Estes Park Fairgrounds advanced and celebrated public awareness of biodiversity. Connecticut: The Center for Conservation and Biodiversity and Connecticut State Museum of Natural History have held nine BioBlitz events since 1999. The current record for a single Connecticut BioBlitz was set 3–4 June 2016 in a 5-mile radius around the Two Rivers Magnet School in East Hartford, where 2,765 species were recorded in the 24-hour period. Many of the organisms sighted in the 2016 BioBlitz were documented in an online iNaturalist project. The previous record was set in 2001 at Tarrywile Park in Danbury, where 2,519 species were recorded in the 24-hour period. District of Columbia: A BioBlitz at the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C. in 1996 found approximately 1000 species. Washington, D.C. 2007: The National Geographic Society held a BioBlitz in Rock Creek Park on 18–19 May. The event was later on a segment of the TV series Wild Chronicles which airs on PBS. Participants included J. Michael Fay, Sylvia Earle, and Boyd Matson. The first National Park Service/National Geographic Society BioBlitz took place on 18–19 May 2007. A wide breadth of taxonomic groups was examined, including amphibians and reptiles, invertebrates, birds, fish, fungi, mammals, plants, insects, and more. The total number of species found was 661 over a 24-hour period. Florida: In Manatee County, the local government's Department of Natural Resources (formerly Conservation Lands Management) has sponsored annual BioBlitz events, every spring since 2007. The surveys rotate between the county's different parks and preserves. This event, however, involves only a 12-hour survey instead of the standard 24-hour. Florida: On 30 April – 1 May 2010, 2,500 citizen scientists worked with their professional counterparts to explore life in one of the nation's largest marine national parks, Biscayne National Park. More than 800 species were found, including a number of species rare to the park, such as the mangrove cuckoo, and silver hairstreak butterfly. Also, 11 species of lichen and 22 species of ants were found that had not previously been documented in the park. Hawaii: At Punahou School, a biannual BioBlitz is organized by the students. The event examines certain parts of the campus, and has been held there since the summer of 2008. The BioBlitz there happens once in winter, and once in summer. Hawai'i: at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in 2015, working under the theme of I ka nānā no a ’ike ("By observing, one Learns"), traditional Hawaiian cultural practitioners, "alakai’i," were integrated into the survey teams, providing a holistic approach to the research and exploration activities. More than 170 leading scientists and alakai’i, teamed with thousands of public participants of all ages to explore one of the most fascinating biological landscapes in the world. Together they documented species that thrive in ecosystems from sea level to the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Exciting finds included 22 new species added to the park's species list, and sightings of 73 threatened species, including the nēnē and Kamehameha butterfly. The number of fungi species on the park's list more than doubled, with 17 new fungi documented at the close of the event. Illinois: The Field Museum of Natural History and other organizations held a BioBlitz in Chicago in 2002. There are several bioblitzes in parts of the forest preserves of Cook and Lake County. Indiana: Indiana Dunes National Park – On 16 May 2009, more than 150 scientists, assisted by 2,000 grade school students and other members of the public, explored the sand dunes, lake shore, forests, wetlands, prairie, and streams of the recreation area. The excitement persevered through driving rain and high winds and resulted in the discovery of more than 1,200 species. Louisiana: The NPS/National Geographic Society BioBlitz at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (17–18 May 2013), brought together leading scientists and naturalists from around the country and local citizens of all ages. Inventories included herpetofaunal counts, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate inventories, avifauna observations, and native and non-native plant surveys. Participants also used technology, such as tree cameras and smartphones, to record and understand the diverse ecosystems of this unique national park. At the time of the event's closing ceremony, 458 species had been identified, including a rare Louisiana milk snake, 288 plants, and 122 invertebrate species. Maine: The Maine Entomological Society and other organizations have been holding Entomological BioBlitzes at Acadia National Park every summer since 2003. Results of the 2003-2011 blitzes were summarized by Chandler et al., 2012, showing that 1,605 species representing 348 families of insects were taken and identified over the 8-year period. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-7.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-7.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..fb34e4a1a --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-7.md @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 8/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Many were new to the Park fauna, and a significant number were also new to the known state fauna. Maryland/DC/Virginia, 2006: The Nature Conservancy sponsored a Potomac Gorge BioBlitz where more than 130 field biologists and experienced naturalists volunteered their expertise in an effort to see how many species they could find. During a 30-hour survey period from Saturday, 24 June, through Sunday, 25 June their surveys revealed more than 1,000 species. Maryland: Jug Bay BioBlitz was sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's (M-NCPPC) Patuxent River Park staff and rangers, 30–31 May 2009. Massachusetts +2006 collaboration between the Boston Museum of Science and the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. The first bioblitz in a series sponsored by the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. The first bioblitz to utilize CyberTracker and NatureMapping technologies for data collection. On 25–26 June 2010, a BioBlitz was held in Falmouth, Massachusetts, using town conservation land and adjacent land owned by the 300 Committee (T3C), Falmouth's land trust. Surveys for 15 taxa were planned. About 120 volunteers participated. Preliminary estimate of 930 species found but this number is likely to increase as data are finalized. Full results to be published later in 2010 on the T3C website. On 29 September 2010, the TDWG Techno/BioBlitz was held alongside the Annual Biodiversity Information Standards Conference in Woods Hole. On 8 July 2019, the Great Walden BioBlitz was held at Walden Pond, Massachusetts, surveying a five-mile radius around Walden Woods. Organized by Peter Alden in honor of E.O. Wilson's 90th birthday and the 30th Massachusetts bioblitz, public participants were encouraged to explore Walden Woods and Minute Man NHP using the iNaturalist phone app to help document species. Minnesota: A group of organizations including the Bell Museum of Natural History has sponsored BioBlitzes in natural areas in or near the Twin Cities yearly in June since 2004. Missouri: Sponsored by the Academy of Science of St. Louis, partners from the public, academic and corporate sectors collaborate on the Academy of Science-St. Louis BioBlitz at urban parks, such as Forest Park in St Louis . Held at least once a year since 2006, the academy's BioBlitz has hosted future BioBlitz leaders from throughout the country and is a signature event of one of the oldest Academies of Science in the USA. www.academyofsciencestl.org +New Hampshire: +Odiorne Point State Park: The Seacoast Science Center has been hosting an annual BioBlitz! in September since 2003. The park's diversity of coastal habitats provides BioBlitzers the opportunity to find marine, freshwater and terrestrial species. The Center compiles and maintains each year's data. Squam Lakes. 2008. The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in collaboration with Squam Lakes Association and Squam Lakes Conservation Society in cooperation with the Holderness Conservation Commission, the US Forest Service Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, UNH Cooperative Extension, Plymouth State University, NH Fish and Game Department, and Ecosystem Management Consultants. New Jersey State +Highlands, NJ +Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit, 2011. On 16–17 Sept., science students, along with park staff and over 150 volunteers, located nearly 450 species, mostly birds, terrestrial plants and invertebrates. Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit, 2015. On 18–19 September, the American Littoral Society, in partnership with the National Park Service, hosted the second Sandy Hook BioBlitz. Over 150 scientists, naturalists, and volunteers raced against the clock to identify as many species as possible. This BioBlitz found 75 birds, 12 fungi/lichen, 21 fish, 2 reptiles/amphibians, 44 marine invertebrates, 2 insects, 13 mammals, 15 aquatic plants, and 87 terrestrial plants. New York State +New York City +Central Park, 2003. This BioBlitz found more than 800 species, including 393 species of plants, 78 of moths, 14 fungi, 10 spiders, 9 dragonflies, 2 tardigrades, 102 other invertebrates, 7 mammals, 3 turtles, 46 birds and 2 frog species. s. Central Park, 2006. In collaboration with the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, the Explorers Club, the American Museum of Natural History and the Boston Museum of Science. This is the first bioblitz in history to incorporate the collection and analysis of microorganisms. Central Park, 2013. On 27–28 August 2013 a BioBlitz at Central Park was held in partnership with Macaulay Honors College of CUNY. With help from the Central Park Conservancy over 350 Macaulay students worked with nearly 30 scientists and cataloged more than 460 species. New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, 2014, 6 and 7 September, in partnership with Macaulay Honors College of CUNY. The Saw Mill River watershed in Westchester County, September 2009. Groundwork Hudson Valley, leading the Saw Mill River Coalition, conducted a Saw Mill River BioBlitz on 25–26 September with more than 50 scientists from a wide variety of fields. A concurrent conference on the health of the river was held at Pace University in Pleasantville that was open to the public and had activities geared for children. Funded by a grant from Westchester Community Foundation with additional support from US EPA and NYS/DEC Hudson River Estuary Program. Major co-sponsors joining the effort were Westchester County Parks, Recreation and Conservation; Teatown Lake Reservation; Pace University's Department of Biology and Health Sciences; Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Studies; Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society; Greenburgh Nature Center; and the Saw Mill River Audubon. North Carolina: The North Carolina Botanical Garden in collaboration with the Morehead Planetarium sponsor an annual bioblitz in September on garden-owned property. Ohio: The Geauga Park District has hosted an annual BioBlitz at different park district properties since 2003. Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Biological Survey hosted an annual BioBlitz at different locations around Oklahoma starting in 2001. Their 2010 BioBlitz will be held on 8–9 October at Kaw Lake in north-central Oklahoma with a base camp at Camp McFadden. Pennsylvania: Phipps Conservatory hosted a Bioblitz on 10 June 2018, in Pittsburgh. Rhode Island: Rhode Island Natural History Survey has conducted a BioBlitz at a different site in the state every year since 2000, including a "backyard bioblitz" held in 2020, during COVID. Rhode Island BioBlitz may be the longest running annual BioBlitz in the world. In the 23 events through 2022, the average participation is 163 and the average species count is 1022; the record participation of 302 people and the record species count of 1,308 species were both in the Jamestown Rhode Island BioBlitz of 2012. Vermont: The Vermont Institute of Natural Science held a BioBlitz in 2004 at Hartford. Washington: BioBlitzes conducted using NatureTracker software on PDAs for conservation planning./ +Wisconsin: The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) hosts an annual BioBlitz program that began in 2015. MPM events have occurred at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee (2015), Grant Park in South Milwaukee (2016), Fox River Park in Waukesha (2017), Lake Farm County Park/Capitol Springs Recreation Area in Madison (2018), Riveredge Nature Center in Saukville (2019), and Whitnall Park in Franklin (2020). The non-profit Biodiversity Project held three Great Lakes BioBlitzes with support from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and NOAA in 2004. The sites were Riverside Park in Milwaukee; Baird Creek Parkway in Green Bay; and Wisconsin Point in Superior. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-8.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-8.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..5648c4e3a --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz-8.md @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +--- +title: "BioBlitz" +chunk: 9/9 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioBlitz" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:29.067343+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +== See also == +Australian Bird Count (ABC) +Bush Blitz an Australian Government variant of the concept co funded by BHP Billiton and with the participation of Earthwatch Australia +Breeding Bird Survey +Christmas Bird Count (CBC) (in the Western Hemisphere) +City Nature Challenge +Seabird Colony Register (SCR) +The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds +Tucson Bird Count (TBC) (in Arizona, US) + +== References == + +== External links == +BioBlitzes at National Geographic +National BioBlitz Network (United Kingdom) Archived 1 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_the_World-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_the_World-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a2f2e23f3 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_the_World-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +--- +title: "Birds of the World" +chunk: 1/1 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_the_World" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:31.616071+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Birds of the World (BoW) is an online database of ornithological data adapted from the Handbook of the Birds of the World and contemporary reference works, including Birds of North America, Neotropical Birds Online, and Bird Families of the World. The database is published and maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and collects data on bird observations through integration with eBird. The database requires a subscription to access the majority of its entries, but offers institutional access to many libraries and birding-related organizations, participating in the National Information Standards Organization's Shared E-Resource Understanding practice as a publisher. +The database is frequently cited in regional checklists and distribution map studies, either as a point of comparison or a source of data. + + +== History == +Birds of the World was originally developed in the early 1990s through collaboration between the American Ornithologists' Union, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. The goal of the project was to produce an illustrated guide to all of the birds of the world; its first iteration was in the 17-volume Handbook of the Birds of the World, published by Lynx Edicions over the course of 22 years, from 1992 to 2014. After the Cornell Lab of Ornithology acquired the rights to the contents of the Handbook of the Birds of the World, the online database was launched in March of 2020. +A significant portion of the audiovisual content available in Birds of the World is collected through citizen science data collection as provided by eBird. Content is also included from the Macaulay Library, as it was gathered in the Internet Bird Collection by Josep del Hoyo, the initial founder of Lynx Edicions, and his colleagues in 2002. + + +== Description == +Birds of the World is a subscription-access database that aims to describe comprehensive life history information on birds. This includes: + +Species accounts +Details on taxonomy, habitat, breeding, diet, and behaviors +Family accounts +Hybrid and subspecies descriptions and photos +Migration and range maps +IUCN Conservation Status +Literature cited +Common names in multiple languages + + +=== Free resources === +Birds of the World provides various resources other than those provided with an institutional or individual subscription to the service. James A. Jobling's Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, which would be published by Lynx Edicions as the HBW Alive Key to Scientific Names In Ornithology, is accessible as a searchable database on the Birds of the World website, allowing for free access to the definitions of the various scientific names of birds. The HBW Alive Key has been the underpinning for developments between the Cornell Lab and BirdLife International to produce a unified checklist of the birds of the world, and is currently used to form the list of bird species on the IUCN Red List. + + +== References == + + +== External links == +Birds of the World website +The Key to Scientific Names on Birds of the World \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-0.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-0.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..04527a066 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-0.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +--- +title: "Do-it-yourself biology" +chunk: 1/3 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:30.373685+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Do-it-yourself biology (DIY biology, DIY bio) is a biotechnological social movement in which individuals, communities, and small organizations study biology and life science using the same methods as traditional research institutions. DIY biology is primarily undertaken by individuals with limited research training from academia or corporations, who then mentor and oversee other DIY biologists with little or no formal training. This may be done as a hobby, as a not-for-profit endeavor for community learning and open-science innovation, or for profit, to start a business. +Other terms are also associated with the do-it-yourself biology community. The terms biohacking and wetware hacking emphasize the connection to hacker culture and the hacker ethic. The term hacker is used in the original sense of finding new and clever ways to do things. The term biohacking is also used by the grinder body modification community, which is considered related but distinct from the do-it-yourself biology movement. The term biopunk emphasizes the techno-progressive, political, and artistic elements of the movement. + +== History == +The term "biohacking" as well as the concept of do-it-yourself biology has been known as early as 1988. +Biohacking entered the San Francisco programmer and maker communities as early as 2005, through simple demonstrations of basic experiments. As DIYbio experiments became the focus of SuperHappyDevHouse hackers, the hobby gained additional momentum. +In 2005 Rob Carlson wrote in an article in Wired: "The era of garage biology is upon us. Want to participate? Take a moment to buy yourself a lab on eBay." He then set up a garage lab the same year, working on a project he had previously worked at the Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkeley, California. +In 2008, the DIYbio organization was founded by Jason Bobe and Mackenzie Cowell and its first meeting held. +In 2010, Genspace opened the first community biology lab, Ten months later it was followed by BioCurious, and Victoria Makerspace. Many other labs and organizations followed, including but not limited to Counter Culture Labs in Oakland, CA, Baltimore Underground Science Space in Baltimore, MD, TheLab in Los Angeles, CA, Denver Biolabs in Denver, CO, and SoundBio Lab in Seattle, WA. +It has been estimated that in 2014 there have been 50 DIY biology labs around the world. +In 2016, the first conference to focus specifically on biohacking was announced to take place in September in Oakland, CA. +DIY biology is projected to develop even more into structured systems that have built legitimacy and public trust, with a community behind it that can be scientifically credible. + +== Aspects == +The DIYbio movement seeks to revise the notion that one must be an academic with an advanced degree to make any significant contribution to the biology community. It allows large numbers of small organizations and individuals to participate in research and development, with spreading knowledge a higher priority than turning profits. The DIY Biology Movement revolves around the ideals of using non-establishment research in order to allow for the freedom of research by people who are not considered qualified by regulatory bodies. In recent years, there are various DIY ways to live healthy and many of them also focuses on different simple ways to biohack mind, body, metabolism, and sleep. +The motivations for DIY biology include (but aren't limited to) lowered costs, entertainment, medicine, biohacking, life extension, and education. Recent work combining open-source hardware of microcontrollers like the Arduino and RepRap 3-D printers, very low-cost scientific instruments have been developed. + +=== Community laboratory space === +Many organizations maintain a laboratory akin to a wet-lab makerspace, providing equipment and supplies for members. Many organizations also run classes and provide training. For a fee (usually between $50 and $100), members can join some spaces and do experiments on their own. DIY biology laboratories often use online forums, social media, and websites to communicate with other laboratories and DIY Biology enthusiasts in order to share their research with other laboratory bodies and communities. + +=== Open source equipment === +The DIY biology movement attempts to make available the tools and resources necessary for anyone, including non-professionals, to conduct biological engineering. One of the first pieces of open source laboratory equipment developed was the Dremelfuge by Irish biohacker Cathal Garvey, which uses a 3D printed tube holder attached to a Dremel rotary tool to spin tubes at high speeds, replacing often expensive centrifuges. Many other devices like PCR machines have been recreated extensively. In recent times, more complex devices have been created such as the OpenDrop digital microfluidics platform and the DIY NanoDrop both developed by GaudiLabs. Opentrons makes open-source software, affordable lab robots, and got its start as a DIY biology collaboration at Genspace. Incuvers makes telemetric chambers for cellular research that are affordable and allow for complete customizability of their environments. OpenCell, a London-based biotech lab provider hosts regular biohackathons to help encourage more opensource development. + +=== Advocacy === +Most advocacy in biohacking is about the safety, accessibility and future legality of experimentation. DIY Biology findings are unregulated for the most part and therefore are deemed trustworthy by Trust Architecture, which the laboratories founded. Trust Architecture is a set of systems that make a source or laboratory credible using infrastructure. Todd Kuiken of the Woodrow Wilson Center proposes that through safety and self-governance, DIY biologists won't be in need of regulation. Jo Zayner has proposed that safety is inherent in biohacking and that accessibility should be the foremost concern as there is large underrepresentation of social and ethnic minorities in biohacking. + +== Research topics == +Many biohacking projects revolve around the modification of life and molecular and genetic engineering. + +=== Genetic engineering === +Genetic Engineers are a subculture of biohackers as one of the most accessible forms of biohacking is through engineering microorganisms or plants. Experiments can range from using plasmids to fluorescent bacteria, controlling gene expression using light in bacteria, even using CRISPR to engineer the genome of bacteria or yeast. + +=== Medicine === \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-1.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-1.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..62c75f20e --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-1.md @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +--- +title: "Do-it-yourself biology" +chunk: 2/3 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:30.373685+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +Restricted access to medical care and medicine has pushed biohackers to start experimenting in medically related fields. The Open Insulin project aims to make the recombinant protein insulin more accessible by creating an open source protocol for expression and purification. Other experiments that have involved medical treatments include a whole body microbiome transplant and the creation of open source artificial pancreases for diabetics, such as OpenAPS, Loop and AndroidAPS. Many initiatives have taken place using DIY Biology to help people medically during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative (RaDVaC), which is a group made up of Harvard and MIT scientists who synthesized and researched a COVID-19 vaccine using their own personal lab. Other laboratory spaces created medical-grade face shields and other COVID-19 relief mechanisms in response to the pandemic. + +=== Implants === +Grinders are a subculture of biohackers that focus on implanting technology or introducing chemicals into the body to enhance or change their bodies' functionality. +Some biohackers can now sense which direction they face using a magnetic implant that vibrates against the skin. + +=== Art === +In 2000, controversial and self-described "transgenic artist" Eduardo Kac appropriated standard laboratory work by biotechnology and genetics researchers in order to both utilize and critique such scientific techniques. In the only putative work of transgenic art by Kac, the artist claimed to have collaborated with a French laboratory (belonging to the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) to procure a green-fluorescent rabbit: a rabbit implanted with a green fluorescent protein gene from a type of jellyfish [Aequorea victoria] in order for the rabbit to fluoresce green under ultraviolet light. The claimed work came to be known as the "GFP bunny", and which Kac called Alba. This claim by Kac has been disputed by the scientists at the lab who noted that they had performed exactly the same experiment (i.e., the insertion of the jellyfish GFP protein-coding gene) on numerous other animals (cats, dogs, etc.) previously and did not create Alba (known to the researchers only as "Rabbit Number 5256") under the direction of Kac. The laboratory consequently kept possession of the transgenic rabbit which it had created and funded and the "transgenic art" was never exhibited at the Digital Avignon festival [2000] as intended. Kac—claiming that his rabbit was the first GFP bunny created in the name of Art—used this dispute to popularize the issue as one of disguised censorship by launching a "Free Alba" campaign. A doctored photo of the artist holding a day-glow-green tinted rabbit appears on his website. The members of the Critical Art Ensemble have written books and staged multimedia performance interventions around this issue, including The Flesh Machine (focusing on in vitro fertilisation, surveillance of the body, and liberal eugenics) and Cult of the New Eve (In order to analyze how, in their words, "Science is the institution of authority regarding the production of knowledge, and tends to replace this particular social function of conventional Christianity in the west"). +Heather Dewey-Hagborg is an information artist and biohacker who uses genomic DNA left behind by people as a starting point for creating lifelike, computer-generated, 3-D portraits. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-2.md b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-2.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1bd040418 --- /dev/null +++ b/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology-2.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +--- +title: "Do-it-yourself biology" +chunk: 3/3 +source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-it-yourself_biology" +category: "reference" +tags: "science, encyclopedia" +date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:30.373685+00:00" +instance: "kb-cron" +--- + +== Criticism and concerns == +Biohacking experiences many of the same criticisms as synthetic biology and genetic engineering already receive, plus other concerns relating to the distributed and non-institutional nature of the work, involving potential hazards with lack of oversight by professionals or governments. Concerns about biohackers creating pathogens in unmonitored garage laboratories led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to begin sending its representatives to DIYbio conferences in 2009. The arrest and prosecution of some members for their work with harmless microbes, such as artivist Steve Kurtz, has been denounced as political repression by critics who argue the U.S. government has used post-9/11 anti-terrorism powers to intimidate artists and others who use their art to criticize society. +Existing regulations are not specific to this field, so that the possibility of pathogenic organisms being created and released unintentionally or intentionally by biohackers has become a matter of concern, for example, in the spirit of the re-creation of the 1917 flu virus by Armed Forces Institute of Pathology researchers in 2005. In the US the FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate has worked with the American Association for the Advancement of Science's National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to convene a series of meetings to discuss biosecurity, which have included discussions of amateur biologists and ways to manage the risks to society it poses. At the National Institutes of Health, National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity leads efforts to educate the public on "dual use research of concern", for example with websites like "Science Safety Security". In 2011, DIYbio organized conferences to attempt to create codes of ethics for biohackers. +A 2007 ETC Group report warns that the danger of this development is not just bioterror, but "bio-error". +Further regulation into research conducted by these DIY Biology laboratories could lead them to being able to produce government-backed data. However, the movement was founded on the core ideals of unregulated biological innovations. In order to keep these laboratories accountable, Trust Architecture and regulatory bodies are implemented in the community to ensure accountability. +While detractors argue that do-it-yourself biologists need some sort of supervision, enthusiasts argue that uniform supervision is impossible and the best way to prevent accidents or malevolence is to encourage a culture of transparency, where, in essence, do-it-yourself biologists would be peer-reviewed by other biohackers. DIYbio argues that fear of potential hazards should be met with increased research and education rather than closing the door on the profound positive impacts that distributed biological technology will have on human health, the environment, and the standard of living around the world. Due to the lack of precedent regarding such a business model, the DIYbio founders see this as an opportunity to be innovators in regulatory and safety policy. +Given the ongoing controversy surrounding biosafety, one of the ways people can become more aware of how to incorporate safety is through understanding which levels of experimentation require regulation. According to the National Institute of Health guidelines for research involving recombinant DNA, experiments are categorized based on their potential risk, with higher-risk work, such as manipulating pathogenic organisms. While lower-risk activities, such as basic laboratory techniques that do not involve harmful agents, may be exempt or require minimal oversight. + +== Groups and organizations == +Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS), in Baltimore, Maryland +Biocurious, in Sunnyvale, California +Boston Open Science Laboratory (BOSLab), in Cambridge, Massachusetts +Counter Culture Labs, in Oakland, California +Four Thieves Vinegar Collective +Genspace, in Brooklyn, New York +the Open Insulin Project, an international collaboration +Victoria Makerspace, in Victoria, British Columbia +DIYbio, an online network +Biohacking Village, a village within DEF CON, the cybersecurity conference +SoundBio Lab, a DIY biology makerspace in Seattle, Washington + +== See also == +Amateur chemistry +Open science +Body hacking +Grinder + +== References == \ No newline at end of file