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November 25, 2019
On October 21, 2019, ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber delivered a congressional briefing funding needs to implement the Endangered Species Act 2019.
The congressional testimony title was “Solving the Biodiversity Crisis and Saving Endangered Species: The critical need for federal funding.” The event took place in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington D.C.
November 25, 2019
On Saturday, September 23, 2019, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes participated in the university’s annual Homecoming block party.
The block party had 14 acres of over 100 tents with fun games, food and hands-on educational activities. Conservation students at our booth interacted with families and engaged them in biodiversity conservation related activities to educate them on its importance.
November 5, 2019
The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and Conservation International welcomed Assistant Research Professor Katie Cramer as part of the ASU-CI partnership.
Cramer is a marine conservation ecologist and an Oceans Science Fellow at CI. She is part of an international consortium of scientists working on the Reef Futures Project, an initiative funded by a €6 million grant from the Belmont Forum.
November 5, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes’ partner The Natural Capital Coalition has recently released The Natural Capital Commitment, which asks businesses to commit to conservation and sustainable decision-making within their organization.
In the past, our partnership with them led to the development of The Natural Capital Protocol for the Ocean. This protocol is a decision-making framework that helps organizations identify their direct impacts and dependencies on natural capital.
This commitment aims to enable businesses to act on their impacts, which will sufficiently restore their relationship with nature.
For more information, click here.
October 30, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber helped make strides in the recovery of the white abalone species through the White Abalone Restoration Consortium.
White abalones are sea snail herbivores. They were the first marine invertebrates added to the Endangered Species Act. Poaching, overfishing and disease have been the main threats to the species, causing them to become one of the most at-risk species in the world in 2001.
October 29, 2019
Beth Polidoro, ASU New College professor and Center for Biodiversity Outcomes associate center director of biodiversity valuation and assessments, was featured in an Arizona PBS special about her research on plastics in seafood.
Plastic pollution has been a trending topic in the news for its ecological impact and health implications for humans and animals. Within only the last couple of decades, scientists have discovered microplastics being retained by organisms.
“Plastics have been found in pretty much all types of fishes, oysters, mollusks, phytoplankton and zooplankton —the primary producers of the ocean— and many of it is coming from large amounts of garbage that’s coming into the oceans from river systems around the world,” said Polidoro.
October 28, 2019
On October 24, 2019, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes partnered with the School of Life Sciences to host a Hugh Hanson Seminar by Professor Susana Cárdenas Díaz from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.
Cárdenas Díaz directs the university’s Institute of Applied Ecology and is a professor in the College of Biology and Environmental Sciences.
During the presentation, which was attended by 25 people, Cárdenas Díaz discussed preference data from a survey of tourists in the Galapagos National Park and its Marine Reserve. Their research investigated tourists’ willingness to pay for the recovery of two marine endangered species—the hammerhead shark and green sea turtle—through visitor fees and donations.
October 25, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes professor of practice and senior director of the blue production program for Conservation International’s Center for Oceans, Jack Kittinger, and ASU-CI former postdoctoral research associate Elena Finkbeiner, co-authored a new Nature publication titled “Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy.”
Blue economy is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth. This concept has recently gained much attention due to the growing concern about the future state of the ocean as human exploitation and ocean-based industries continue to increase.
October 16, 2019
The ASU School of Life Sciences and the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes invite you to a Hugh Hanson Seminar to learn about marine wildlife conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.
This presentation will take place on Thursday, October 24, 2019, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the School of Life Sciences, Wing-C, room 202, ASU Tempe campus.
Light refreshments will be served. RSVP is required.
View Source | September 24, 2019
Michael Brown, Samantha Cheng and Jim Tolisano, along with dozens of conservation and development researchers and practitioners representing ASU's Conservation Solutions Lab, have penned a new opinion piece, released September 24, 2019, on Mongabay. The scientists call for a crucial change in the way conservation efforts are undertaken.
The scientists argue that conservation efforts must specifically engage frontline communities – those people intimately situated in and around landscapes targeted for conservation – and elevate their role such that they can take the lead in planning and directing nature conservation.
Co-developing solutions with frontline communities requires groups that fund, implement and research conservation to revise their role and approach. In addition, learning from community experiences and adapting solutions over time can improve conservation efforts globally.
September 23, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber recently coauthored a letter on Science titled “Solve the biodiversity crisis with funding.”
In the letter, Gerber and a team of conservation scientists from other universities and representatives from Defenders of Wildlife call on Congress to fully fund wildlife conservation programs to protect imperiled species.
September 20, 2019
ASU-Conservation International Professor of Practice Jack Kittinger, along with a team of experts from The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and California Environmental Associates have built a research agenda on Blue Water Marine Protected Areas via a report titled "Developing a Shared Research Agenda for Blue Water MPAs."
Blue Water MPAs are open ocean areas designated to protect marine biodiversity and other cultural and natural resources. The efficacy of marine reserves varies greatly depending on where they are located and how they are managed.
September 19, 2019
Beth Polidoro, ASU New College professor and Center for Biodiversity Outcomes associate director of biodiversity valuation and assessments, was featured in an ASU Now article about her ambition to mitigate microplastics and pollutants in our oceans.
With the help of her Salt Water Assessment Team, Polidoro has made progressive strides in alleviating the plastic pollution problem through her research on contaminants found in seafood.
August 30, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Faculty Affiliate David Manuel-Navarrete’s expertise on Amazonian biodiversity was featured in an Arizona PBS special of the television program Arizona Horizon.
During the interview, he answered pressing questions regarding the environmental impact of the current Amazon fires. He also explained why this year’s fires are more devastating than previous ones and how this crisis will affect us at national and global scales.
August 29, 2019
What is the future of coffee in a changing climate? How can we enhance the livelihoods of farmers while protecting the nature that surrounds them?
Conservation International and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research partnered with Arizona State University to help answer these questions.
“Farmers and government planners are making decisions today based on their past experience,” ASU-CI Professor of Practice and CI Peru's Director of Science and Development Percy Summers said. “This works in a [short-term, predictable] world, but increasingly change has become the new norm.”
August 19, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber was quoted this week in a Time article addressing the recent changes made by the U.S. federal government to the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
The article, titled “The Trump Administration’s Changes to the Endangered Species Act Risks Pushing More Species to Extinction” echoes the concern of various conservation scientists who fear the changes will further threaten imperiled species.
August 15, 2019
Beth Polidoro, ASU New College professor and Center for Biodiversity Outcomes associate director of biodiversity valuation and assessments, was recently featured in an ASU Now article about her recent discovery of chemical pollutants in the urban lakes of Phoenix.
Polidoro and her team found contaminants in fish such as phlates (microplastics), PAHs (such as car emissions or forest fire combusted materials), pesticides and metals.
August 8, 2019
The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes is currently hiring a new project manager. Applications close on Thursday, August 22 at 3:00 p.m. (AZ time).
The new project manager will help plan, direct, organize and execute the strategic goals of the center. The project manager will coordinate internal and external proposal development; act as the primary center liaison for partnerships and research collaborations; act as primary center contact for ASU and external engagement; identify and implement project management tools for program planning.
Click here to learn more and apply.
July 31, 2019
The Arizona State University–Conservation International partnership supported two postdoctoral researchers from 2017–2019 who were jointly advised by a CI scientist and an ASU faculty member to advance cutting-edge conservation research.
One of the researchers, Elena M. Finkbeiner, is the Fisheries Science Program Manager for Conservation International’s Global Fisheries and Aquaculture Program.
July 31, 2019
The Arizona State University–Conservation International partnership supported two postdoctoral researchers from 2017–2019 who were jointly advised by a CI scientist and an ASU faculty member to advance cutting-edge conservation research. One of the researchers, Krista Kemppinen, answered a few questions for us in a new Q&A:
