News and Media

New York Botanical Garden Ethnobotanist Ina Vandebroek comments on the disconnect between science and the botanical remedies that are so abundantly used in many immigrant communities.

The Guardian Article

“These scientific facilities are a backbone of our research enterprise. They must have the resources needed to sustain scientific progress during this chaotic period,” said Dr. Robert Gropp, Executive Director of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. “Science is an engine we need to reignite the economy and to combat future public health and environmental problems.” The US bioeconomy was estimated to be about $1 trillion per year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN), Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance), and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) surveyed individuals affiliated with US biodiversity science collections to better understand the effects of COVID-19 related disruptions and closures on biodiversity research and education collections, and the people who use and care for these scientific resources.

“The response to the survey was tremendous, with more than 390 individual responses,” said Dr. Barbara Thiers, President of SPNHC and Vice President for Science at The New York Botanical Garden.

Survey results include the following:
• 96% of natural history collections were unavailable for use in April.
• Most of the scientific collections reported some regular monitoring of resources, but less than 30% were being monitored for pests – a significant threat to collections.
• More than 90% of respondents were working from home, mostly on some aspect of data transcription based on specimen images captured prior to the shutdown.
• When asked about chief concerns arising from a 1-3 month closure:
o Just under 64% were worried about their ability to provide vital research resources;
o Just under 49% were worried about a loss of funding for collections care materials and supplies;
o Just over 47% were concerned about their ability to provide outreach opportunities for the public;
o Nearly 47% were concerned about the loss of staff because of budget cuts;
o 43.5% were concerned about their ability to meet existing grant and contract deadlines.

Biodiversity Collections Network Article

These hubs of activity that bind nature together are incredibly important to nearly everything that lives on land. And many have vanished.

One of the priority areas for lichen conservation is Appalachia, especially the southern mountains in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. For more than a decade NYBG lichenologist James Lendemer has worked with colleagues and students to build the case that this area is a global hotspot for lichen diversity—and one that is critically imperiled. In the process, they published the monumental, Field Guide to the Lichens of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Center for Plant Conservation Newsletter

In the Herbarium 2020 challenge, researchers are invited to tackle the problem of identifying species of land plants. This challenge is distinguished in that the included images depict dried specimens preserved on herbarium sheets, exclusively. Herbarium sheets are essential to plant science, as they not only preserve the key details of the plants for identification and DNA analysis, but also provide a rare perspective into plant ecology in a historical context. As the world’s second largest herbarium, NYBG’s William and Lynda Steere Herbarium contributed a dataset of over 1 M specimens representing over 32,000 species for this year’s challenge.

FGVC7 on Google AI blog

Details on Kaggle

Details on Github

Daniel Atha, a botanist at the New York Botanical Garden who lives near the park, joined the group after meeting them at a volunteer drive. He convinced Ms. Lehmann that instead of boxwoods, she and her fellow volunteers should plant native species, which would attract pollinators, insects, and create a waypoint for animals, and humans, between Central Park and Riverside Park. “This is a community garden, with the parks department, but instead of vegetables, we’re planting for the birds and the butterflies,” Mr. Atha said while working in the garden last fall.

One person’s vision, inspired volunteers, expert advice, a successful rat abatement program, and Verdi Square is Rat Park no longer!

NY Times Article

When they started their project, researchers had estimated that the 463 species that were documented in Great Smoky Mountains National Park represented at least 90% of the total number of lichen species in the park. After walking at least 2,000 miles and devoting personal funds and countless hours to the effort, they have identified a total of 920 lichen species — a record for a national park — including eight that occur nowhere else in the world and one that had been presumed to be extinct. In addition to doubling the number of species known for the park, Tripp and Lendemer described more than 35 species that were new to science.

National Parks Article

AHS Award Announcements

In this podcast episode, host Cassandra Quave speaks with Dr. Ina Vandebroek—ethnobotanist and expert in wild Caribbean plants used as food and medicine. They discuss root tonics and other local delights like “bissy” and “cerassee,” which also play an important role in food and medicine in Jamaica.

Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

In a study published by the online research journal Science Advances, scientists analyzed the largest compilation of global plant observation data ever assembled to determine how many of the roughly 435,000 total plant species should be considered very rare. They found that 36.5 percent, or more than 158,000 species, fall into that category.

SCIENCE TALK BLOG POST

SCIENCE ADVANCES ARTICLE

SCIENCE TALK BLOG POST

NATURE MAGAZINE ARTICLE