News

In this interview, CBO Director, Leah Gerber discusses the important questions at the intersection of conservation science and policy.

Interview transcript

CBO affiliated researcher Rolf Halden, director of the Biodesign Center for Environmental Security, contributed to this EHP focus piece:

New Link in the Food Chain? Marine Plastic Pollution and Seafood Safety

Halden is co-leading a CBO research focal area on Biodiversity and Public Health with a keen interest in this emerging issue of micro plastics as aquatic pollutants.

CBO Director, Leah Gerber has joined the Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management task force. Task force scientists will work together in a series of meetings to create a practical blueprint that fisheries managers can use to operationalize ecosystem-based management. The team will provide recommendations in 2016.

Space is still available; pre-registration is required at www.azgfd.gov/careerday   

Do you know someone who is interested in a career in wildlife conservation and management?

If so, encourage them to attend the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Wildlife Management Career Exploration Panel being held in north Phoenix from 9 a.m. until noon this Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. The event, which is geared toward high school and undergraduate college students, is free, but pre-registration is required to attend. More specific information will be sent to participants after they register.

Participants will have the opportunity to hear from a panel of current Game and Fish employees who will provide an overview of their responsibilities, job activities, and their background experience. These panelists will include:

• A wildlife manager (game ranger)
• A wildlife biologist
• A wildlife health specialist/veterinarian
• A wildlife education specialist

The panel presentations will be followed by a short question-and-answer session with all panelists along with an opportunity to meet the individual panelists to ask more specific questions. Representatives from local colleges and wildlife non-profit organizations will also be available to showcase educational and volunteer opportunities.

Children younger than 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

Remember, space is limited, and pre-registration is required in order to attend the event. To register, click here.

Can't make the event but still want to view it? You can sign up to receive information about a webcast of the event by clicking here.

If you have questions, contact Mike Demlong at mdemlong@azgfd.gov or Eric Proctor ateproctor@azgfd.gov.

The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy (MSC) has created a new position of Director of the McDowell Sonoran Field Institute, the organization's research arm.  This is a unique position in that MSC leads the country in managing urban/preserve interface (30,000 acres) and in the citizen science research MSC does to inform preserve management.

Click HERE to find out more

"Here’s why mass-poisoning pikas is a terrible idea (and not just because look at their fat little faces)"

Science writer Bec Crew blogs in Scientific American about the impacts of pika poisoning on Qinhai-Tibetan plateau.

Crew cites CBO Advisory Board member, Andrew Smith and doctoral student Maxwell Wilson's important studies on pika published recently in the journal Ambio.

The CAP-LTER-Conservation Alliance Community Wildflower Survey has been selected for funding from the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance research grants program. The project, lead by CBO advisory board member, Sharon Hall will pilot a community-based research and educational program to monitor the long-term ecological impacts of the urban environment in native Phoenix-area Sonoran Desert preserves.

CBO and partners from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Mission:Wildlife and the University of Maryland were awarded support from the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) to develop new decision tools for recovery and spending decisions in endangered species conservation. The research team is comprised of an international group of decision scientists, ecologists and agency personnel. The team will apply structured decision-making approaches in the context of the new Species Status Assessment process being developed by the FWS. SESYNC will support a series of workshops focused on the development of a decision framework for endangered species recovery action prioritization and recovery budget allocation.

If you missed Joe Arvai's seminar last month, click HERE to see video of his talk online.

Join us tomorrow to learn about summer opportunities at United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Recruiters from the USFWS will be on campus at ASU to highlight their Summer 2015 Directorate Resource Assistant Fellowship Program.  The Program is designed for seniors (beginning in Fall 2015), or 2015 graduates who will be attending graduate school beginning in Fall 2015, or graduate students who have completed their first year of graduate school.

There will be 60 positions spread across the US in a variety of different venues.  And, best of all, Fellows may be eligible for a permanent position with the USFWS.

Bring your resume and join us for pizza

Wrigley 308

Noon – 1:00,  Thursday November 20th

USFWS DRA Fellowship

As CBO prepares to celebrate it's launch this week with the arrival of Dr. Georgina Mace, Nature publishes a call for broader participation in conservation. The call is signed by 240 conservation scientists, include six from ASU, all affiliates of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes.

ASU scientists support call for inclusion in conservation science

On Nov. 6, a letter signed by 240 of the world’s leading conservationists, including six from ASU's new Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, was published in the journal Nature. The letter, titled “A call for inclusive conservation,” expresses discontent with a divisive debate in the conservation field over whether nature should be protected for its own sake or for the benefit of humankind.

To remedy this, the letter proposes an ethic of inclusiveness – one that recognizes the merits of each approach and encourages broader participation from the conservationist population. The letter’s six Center for Biodiversity Outcomes signatories agree that adoption of this ethic will help engage and align an expansive audience with conservation efforts.

Nature publishes the open letter as the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, a partnership between the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and School of Life Sciences, prepares to celebrate its launch on Nov. 13-14.

CBO partner, The Central Arizona Conservation Alliance, a Desert Botanical Garden initiative released it's inaugural website this week.

The Conservation Alliance facilitates and leverages community engagement to study, restore and promote the mountain park preserves of metro Phoenix.

Visits mymountainparks.org to get involved!

ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean & Professor, Ferran Garcia-Pichel finds evidence of climate change impact on microbes. Article in the New York Times.

A Microscopic Issue of Unknown Consequences: On Warmer Planet, Range of Soil Microbes May Change

This new book by SOLS professor and CBO Advisory Board member, Charles Perrings explores the many dimensions of human-driven biodiversity change.

Our Uncommon Heritage: Biodiversity Change, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being

Cambridge University Press, 2014

The School of Life Sciences announces a Master of Science degree in Plant Biology and Conservation.

The goal of the Research Grants program is to support research that assists land managers in making informed decisions about the natural and cultural resources of the partnership’s focal preserves: City of Phoenix Desert Mountain Parks and Preserves, Maricopa County Regional Parks, and City of Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Grants will support applied and/or useable basic research that 1) fills gaps in the ecological, social, and cultural understanding of Preserve resources, and 2) addresses specific management issues.

More information: CAZCA RFP.2014 Research Grants

This article examines the need for national and international regulatory reform before gene drives can be used in the wild. Science Express. 2014. Regulating Gene Drives

James Collins discusses a call for rapid adaptation and leadership in research and educational institutions.

Leadership and Change in Twenty-First Century Higher Education. BioScience. 5, June 2014.

Ben Minteer reflects on the importance of acknowledging our limited ability to right our wrongs.

"Is it right to reverse extinction?". Nature. 14, May 2014.