BioDiscovery

In 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. Here, a young participant and scientist examine an organism of one of the 972 species discovered.

NPS photo.

Discovering a world yet to be seen

The National Park Service (NPS) protects the diversity of living organisms found within park units nationwide. Yet, conservative estimates indicate that as many as 80-90% of the species in parks are undiscovered. This gap in knowledge makes it impossible to protect living resources from threats – such as invasive plants and animals, diseases, human population pressures, and variations in climate. We aim to close this gap by developing innovative approaches to assist parks with biodiversity conservation efforts that are scientifically rigorous, tailored to individual park needs, and encouraging of public engagement with science and biological resources.

BioDiscovery expertise includes:

• Technical assistance for planning bioblitz events,
• Project management support for creating new citizen science programs,
• Training on biodiscovery tools like iNaturalist,
• Guidance for hiring and mentoring interns,
• Help with synthesizing and analyzing biodiversity data,
• Coordination of data management and sharing, and
• Geospatial analysis support.

Biodiversity Across the NPS

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