iDiv Biodiversity Research

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Please note that iDiv staff are currently unavailable via email. This is due to an attack on Leipzig University’s IT systems, which have now been taken offline. For urgent enquiries, please reach out by telephone.

Note that emails sent to idiv.de addresses since Wednesday, 28th at 10:40 have not reached and will not reach the addressees.

Latest information on the iDiv website: idiv.de

⏳ One of the most fascinating concepts discussed by Prof Damaris Zurell on #InsideBiodiversity is extinction debt.

As climates change, scientists can often predict that conditions in some locations are becoming less suitable for particular species. Yet those species may remain present for years, or even decades. This means today's bird communities may still reflect past environmental conditions rather than current ones. 🐦‍⬛

Understanding these delays is important because the absence of local extinctions today does not necessarily mean ecosystems are unaffected by climate change.

🎧 Listen to the episode: insidebiodiversity.podigee.io

@unipotsdam @idiv

🐦 How are the birds doing?

Birds are among the best-monitored animals on Earth, giving scientists a rare opportunity to track biodiversity change over time.

In this episode of #InsideBiodiversity, macroecologist Prof Damaris Zurell (@unipotsdam) joins host Dr Volker Hahn to explore what decades of bird monitoring reveal about change on a global scale.

The conversation explores how habitat loss, land-use change, climate change, and direct exploitation shape bird populations, and what individuals can do to help, from supporting conservation efforts to creating better habitats in their own gardens.

🎧 Listen to the episode: insidebiodiversity.podigee.io

🌍🌿 The European Biodiversity Observation Coordination Centre (EBOCC) was presented at the #CBD #COP17 side event “Monitoring Biodiversity Across Scales: From Local to Global” last week. The discussion highlighted a key challenge for biodiversity policy: ensuring that monitoring data are comparable, reliable, and useful for tracking progress towards global biodiversity targets.

📊 Building on scientific work under EuropaBON, EBOCC aims to improve the coordination of biodiversity monitoring and reporting across Europe. Through six pilot Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs), the initiative is developing more harmonised and operable data workflows across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, helping facilitate data mobilisation and reduce reporting burdens for EU Member States. By demonstrating how regional cooperation can improve biodiversity monitoring and reporting, EBOCC could offer a model for other regions and contribute to efforts to coordinate biodiversity monitoring across multiple countries. Monitoring is essential for ensuring action for nature.

🔬 iDiv and the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg lead EBOCC’s Scientific Quality Assurance team, bringing together expertise in biodiversity monitoring to strengthen the scientific foundations for coordinated monitoring and reporting. The team comprises Prof. Dr Henrique Pereira, Dr Néstor Fernández, Prof. Dr Helge Bruelheide, Dr Lina M. Estupiñán Suárez, and Christian Langer.

🌱 By fostering collaboration, promoting #FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable), and supporting the future development of policy-relevant indicators, EBOCC helps translate biodiversity observations into evidence that can inform decision-making.

🤝 EBOCC partners: @adelphi_berlin @idiv @UniHalle @Umwelt_AT @SYKEint @inbovlaanderen @Le_Museum VLIZ, @OFBiodiversite @VITObelgium Data Cove, adelphi global

🇪🇺 Funded by the European Union

Photo: This photo is of EuropaBON experts at an #EBOCC workshop held at iDiv in early October.

🌍 A new study in @ConLetters maps climatic stability and wildlife connectivity across Europe, analysing 78,793 protected areas and connections between 10,908 sites for 10 large mammals. 🐻🦌

The findings show where to protect connections, restore habitats, and address movement barriers. 🏔️

📄 @UniHalle, @UniJena, @NaturaConnect, WildE

idiv.de/climate-change…