European Bioinformatics Institute | EMBL-EBI’s Post

Is danger approaching? Invasive species are spreading out of control! Invasive species, which cause extensive harm to crops, devastate forests, facilitate the spread of diseases, and disrupt ecosystems, are rapidly proliferating worldwide, with humanity struggling to contain their expansion, according to a significant scientific assessment released on Monday. This failure to control invasive species is resulting in annual damages and income losses exceeding $400 billion, which is equivalent to the GDP of countries like Denmark or Thailand. However, experts believe this estimate significantly underrepresents the true costs. The report is published by the intergovernmental science advisory panel for the UN Convention on Biodiversity (IPBES). #Science #ScienceNews #Biology #Animals #InvasiveSpecies https://postozen.com/ida05

In an era where biodiversity is under threat from environmental pressures, there is an urgent need for centralised, accessible, and actionable data. The Global Biodiversity Portal is a unified hub for genomic biodiversity data. With robust search functionality, dynamic filtering options, and real-time updates, the Global Biodiversity Data Portal makes it easier than ever to find genomic information for your species of interest. Find out more and give the Global Biodiversity Portal a try. https://lnkd.in/e5Z6ktDh #globalbiodiversity #datascience #conservation #genomics #biodiversity #bioinformatics #opendata #openaccess Earth BioGenome Project Ensembl EMBL Wellcome Sanger Institute Peter Harrison

🌍 Fresh Off the Press: Check out our latest policy brief. What has digital sequence information on genes to do with biodiversity conservation?" Read insights from FNI Senior Researcher Christian Prip. 🧬Digital Sequence Information (DSI) has reshaped international rules on benefit-sharing from genetic resources. 🌱UN Biodiversity Convention is in negotiations to develop a benefit-sharing mechanism for DSI. 💰 This mechanism could be a game-changer for financing global biodiversity protection. Short, but important read on the intersection of genomics and biodiversity conservation! 📖🌱 #Biodiversity #GenomicData #PolicyBrief https://lnkd.in/d676ktPh 

In December 2022, the UN adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), aiming to conserve genetic diversity across all species by 2030. This mandate involves 196 countries reporting on genetic diversity, not just in economically valuable species, but in all flora and fauna. Recently, Dr. Rebecca Jordan and Associate Professor Catherine Grueber led an international effort, published in Ecology Letters, demonstrating the feasibility of genetic diversity indicators for global reporting. These indicators, crucial for species’ adaptation to environmental changes, include population size and genetic distinctiveness. Their findings across 900 species in nine countries highlight that over half of these populations are at risk due to inadequate size to sustain genetic health. Yet, proactive measures like Sweden’s genetic monitoring programs offer hope. Species and ecosystems don’t care about borders; they’re interconnected. So, protecting them means supporting efforts worldwide. #GlobalConservation #Biodiversity #Research

🌱 Advancing Biodiversity Monitoring with Metabarcoding 🧬 Metabarcoding is revolutionizing biodiversity monitoring by enabling rapid and comprehensive species identification from environmental samples. However, the patchy availability of high-quality reference sequences poses a significant challenge. To address this, collaborative efforts are underway to curate comprehensive genetic reference sequence databases. These efforts are crucial for enhancing species-level taxonomic resolution and accuracy in biodiversity assessments. By investing in the development of robust reference databases, we can unlock the full potential of metabarcoding for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. Let's work together to build a solid foundation for biodiversity monitoring in the digital age. #Metabarcoding #BiodiversityMonitoring #Conservation #Genomics #Collaboration

🌊 The research grant will focus on collecting, identifying, describing and naming new species of seaweed that live in deeper waters off #Hawaii - This project will add to biodiversity records data and more. #UHMResearch

It is easy to order plants to be shipped directly to your door. Make sure you do your due diligence. Just because you can grow it in your climate does not mean you should. “Species invasions can devastate biodiversity, agriculture, and livelihoods, so it’s worrying that so many naturalised species seem poised to spread further. But there is a glimmer of hope that invasions are much more limited than they could be – ecosystems may be holding off invaders better than we expected, and good management could help stem the spread.” #ecology #invasivespecies #biodiversity

The group has painstakingly profiled aquatic biodiversity in Trishuli, Karnali, Gandaki, and Mahakali rivers using #eDNA, developing extensive datasets to monitor the long-term health of the river systems – building the country’s first fish DNA reference database in the process. To learn more: https://lnkd.in/dKiH59Zi #BiodiversityConservation #Preservation #WildlifeConservation #Datasets #Databank #DNA #Database #Wildlife #Biodiversity #Genomics #Biobank #Biobanking #Himalayas

Fri 2024-02-23 04:59 (With updated link) Final laid-out version of the IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment Report now available IPBES secretariat EM/2024/09 Final laid-out version of the IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment Report now available Dear IPBES members, observers and other interested stakeholders,   You will recall that in its decision IPBES-10/1, the Plenary approved the Summary for Policymakers of the Thematic Assessment of Invasive Alien Species and their Control.   The laid-out version of the full Assessment Report in English has now been finalized and I am pleased to inform you that you can access it at the following link: https://www.ipbes.net/ias Additionally, seven factsheets containing highlights on selected themes from the Report are now available via the same link above.   Please contact the IPBES secretariat at [email protected] if you have any trouble accessing the Report.   I thank you for your continued support of the work of IPBES. Yours sincerely, Dr Anne Larigauderie | Executive Secretary Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Copyright © 2024 Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to the IPBES mailing list or you are a focal point, bureau, MEP, expert, stakeholder, or secretariat member Our mailing address is: Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) UN Campus Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1 Bonn 53113 Germany

Day 9 - Hexagons As a trustee of the National Biodiversity Network Trust, it would be remiss of me to not use data from the NBN Atlas at some point of this #30DayMapChallenge. My Masters degree was in Biological Recording, it was all about habitat and species data, and the foibles of both. Most notably, the issues that there are in species data bias. People tend to record interesting species, near where they live or near ‘honey-pot’ sites, and there has been an exponential increase in species data produced despite the fact that we are one of the most nature deleted countries in the world. To demonstrate this, I have downloaded records from the NBN Atlas since 2010 for a ubiquitous species, that is probably in every city, town or village in the UK. You will see it everywhere! But has it been recorded everywhere? You would think that given the NBN Atlas holds over 130 million bird records, that a humble species like the Feral Pigeon would be represented in this data fairly evenly.  Think again! So for Day 9 - here is a density map of species records for the Feral Pigeon, using 10km hexagons. Here's an interactive map on Felt : https://lnkd.in/exMdS4kE All of my maps, and more details about this one can be found on my website.