Crossing Boundaries

"For thousands of years and countless generations, migratory birds have flown the same long-distance paths between their breeding and feeding grounds. Understanding the routes these birds take, called flyways, helps conservation efforts and gives scientists better knowledge of global changes, both natural and man-made. QUEST heads out to the Pacific Flyway with California biologists to track the rhythm of migration."

"A new NASA-led study seven years in the making has confirmed that natural forests in the Amazon remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit, therefore reducing global warming. This finding resolves a long-standing debate about a key component of the overall carbon balance of the Amazon basin."

Includes some great species-specific migration and tracker maps, + Esri's wind map and others related to wildlife and natural resources

" overgrazing of native plants by deer that open up more growing space for invasive exotic plants that deer find unpalatable"

"Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species. "

What a fun article to use as a conversation starter during discussions focused on experimental design, or adaptations.

"How can we, as educators, give our students the opportunity to publish their work to a worldwide audience while staying within the limits of copyright law?"

From the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, "inspirational thoughts from scientists, thinkers, and conservationists on what biodiversity means to them"

"A video from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme explains global warming and projected changes in the near future."

2 animated images showing one year of seasonal transformations on Earth, created by stitching together 12 cloud-free satellite imagery mosaics of Earth (NASA's "Blue Marble Next Generation") for each month.

A great variety of unusual maps to trigger discussion, especially if you trim off the labels and ask students to speculate on what they are seeing. - World Map of Earthquakes Since 1898 - Map of Where 29,000 Rubber Duckies Made Landfall After Falling off a Cargo Ship in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean - The 7000 Rivers that Feed into the Mississippi River - Worldwide Annual Coffee Consumption Per Capita - Earth's Population by Latitude and Longitude

"Empower your students to collaborate and learn from each other within MixedInk's fun, social, environment. Write, edit & remix: Assign students a text to write together. Then they'll create their own versions,edit their peers' work, and weave different versions together into new ones. Comment & evaluate: Students comment on their classmates' submissions and rate different versions to identify the best written, most popular language and ideas. Discuss the top version as a class: Explore the strengths and weaknesses of the class's favorite texts together."

Enter your zipcode and download a "Pollinator Guide" with information about native plants specific to your ecoregion.

"Andrew Farnsworth, the project leader of BirdCast, discusses new methods to aggregate data from birders with the help of modern technology."

"The soils in tundra, grasslands, tropical forests are very different, but they have one thing in common; they all host an astounding diversity of life. Inhabiting these underground worlds are millions of species, which play vital roles in maintaining soil health and preserving the balance of their ecosystems. A new study shows that biodiversity underground is much greater than previously thought, with a direct relationship to life on the surface. "

NY Times article about modeling bird migration using eBird citizen science data along with habitat variables

Streamer is a new way to visualize and understand water flow across America. With Streamer you can explore our Nation's major streams by tracing upstream to their source or downstream to where they empty. In addition to making maps, Streamer creates reports about your stream traces and the places they pass through.

"Tour Builder is a cool web tool that allows users to create narrative stories using text, graphics, pictures, videos and Google Maps.Tour Builder lets you pick the locations right on the map, add in photos, text, and video, and then share your creation. "

Maps show threats from sea level rise and storm surge to all 3000+ coastal towns, cities, counties and states in the Lower 48.