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Mercury studies in Indonesia. Climate change studies in Tanzania. Biodiversity studies in South Dakota. Marine mammal surveys in the Atlantic Ocean.

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The sun shines on the cold, deep blue ocean at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Portland Head Light, an iconic landmark that draws in three million visitors each year, stands proudly at the edge of the rocky shore.

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The ocean covers approximately 70 percent of Earth’s surface and is the largest livable space on our planet. Deep below there exists a realm inhabited by a wide variety of marine mammals—whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, and manatees—that embody a mysterious and profound connection to cultures worldwide.

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Dynamic Duo Brave High Seas for High Stakes

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About a decade ago, BRI hosted a Bio Blitz at our River Point bird monitoring station in Falmouth, Maine.

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At Biodiversity Research Institute, our passion drives us to explore diverse projects across continents—from monitoring mercury levels to studying offshore wind development and tracking waterfowl movement.

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Neon green hoods, turquoise bellies, ornate crowns—neotropical birds come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Combined with unique patterns, textures, and song, they either blend in or stand out in thick jungles filled with hundreds of other species competing for the same or similar resources.

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Two things stand out when you walk into Ed Jenkin’s office: he always offers a welcoming smile, and once you acknowledge him, your eyes are drawn to the beautifully curated, vibrant artwork on his walls—photographs he has taken of the many species of birds and the variety of landscapes where he has studied these birds around the globe.

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Biodiversity Research Institute announces publication of a series of multiyear research studies that assessed the global impact of mercury on air, water, fish, and wildlife in a two-part special issue of Ecotoxicology, an international scientific journal devoted to presenting critical research on the effects of toxic chemicals on populations, communities, and terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

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Why does the world need so many types of mushrooms, or spiders, or birds, or any other species? The answer is wrapped up in the term biological diversity. Every species on Earth plays an integral part in the health of our planet. When an organism becomes extinct, a wide web of other organisms suffers, and we all suffer in the long run. The study of mushrooms has helped scientists understand the intricate connectedness all species have to the earth and to each other.

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Author and field biologist Jeff Fair has followed loons, bears, and other wild spirits across the North from Maine to Alaska for more than 40 years, studying and writing about what his pursuit of them has allowed him to find.

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As an ecological modeler and the director of BRI’s Quantitative Wildlife Ecology Research Lab, Evan spends much of his time considering innovative ways to analyze large datasets such as the 2023 Maine Bird Atlas, or working with offshore energy wind developers along the Atlantic coast.

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Understanding that climate change is a global threat does not always mean that an individual perceives climate change as personally relevant or harmful, nor a priority in need of addressing. Talking about climate change in a way that fosters meaningful engagement is increasingly important to move individuals towards action.

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In a sparsely furnished office in Kajiado, Kenya, large sheets of white paper cover nearly an entire wall. Quick illustrations, mind maps, color-coded charts, and task lists cram the pages with plans and strategies for grazing management orchestrated by the newly formed Kajiado Rangeland Carbon Project team. In the language of the local Maasai tribe, Kajiado means The Long River; the region is located south of Nairobi and bordering Tanzania. Staff on this project understand what is at stake and are eager to embark on an adventure that will help enhance their local economy while conserving wildlife and precious habitat.

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Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with funding from the Global Environment Facility, and executed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the Eliminating mercury skin lightening products project will work to reduce the risk of exposure to mercury-added skin lightening products, raising awareness of the health risks associated with their use, developing model regulations to reduce their circulation, and halting production, trade, and distribution across domestic and international markets.

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Careful siting of renewable energy development seems to play a key role in minimizing impacts to wildlife, but this requires detailed knowledge of where animals breed, winter, and migrate. To address this need, BRI established a wildlife and renewable energy program in 2009, which has evolved over the past 12 years into BRI’s Center for Research on Offshore Wind and the Environment (CROWE).

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BRI’s field biologists seek out opportunities that put them into close contact with the natural world. In fact, those encounters captivate, awaken, and spark their motivation and passion.

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BRI is proud to tell its story in a new video featuring stunning cinematography that captures the work we do and why we do it.

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Julia Gulka tackles emerging environmental issues in an office surrounded by photographs, illustrations, and personal watercolor paintings of the birds she studies and the places she has traveled.

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On the remote island of Rota, a tiny dot in the vastness of Oceania, a group of field biologists from distant places join forces each year to study threatened and endangered species of bats, indigenous crows, and other wildlife. In 2017, New Zealand native and bat specialist Josh Guilbert started full-time research on the “Friendly Island.” That first year, he met two seasonal volunteers who had previously worked at a wildlife research group in Maine—Biodiversity Research Institute.

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The threat chemical pollution poses to biodiversity on a global scale has been acknowledged in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. In its current form, Target 7 proposes to regulate the release of chemicals to the environment and names specific indicators focusing on pesticides, nutrients, and plastic waste. The Minamata Convention on Mercury reinforces that Target 7 of the Framework must include the following per new supporting publications: nonagricultural biocides, PFAS, toxic metalloids including mercury, and endocrine disrupting chemicals.

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BRI is part of an international group of scientists who published a joint letter in Science, just prior to the next round of international negotiations on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This letter urges more attention to the diversity of contaminants that pollute the environment and adversely impact biodiversity.

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New study Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining published in Nature Communications. An international team of researchers documented substantial mercury accumulation in soils, biomass, and resident songbirds in some of the Amazon’s most protected and biodiverse areas.

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Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), announces the publication of the scientific paper Savanna fire management can generate enough carbon revenue to help restore Africa’s rangelands and fill Protected Area funding gaps in the December issue of the journal One Earth. The new study builds on a history of collaborative and independent research by BRI, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Soils for the Future, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) that has culminated in this paper, which quantifies the benefits of savanna fire management in Africa.

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Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) is part of a collaborative team, led by Duke University, that has received a total of $7.5 million to assess the risks that offshore wind energy development along the East Coast may pose to birds, bats, and marine mammals. BRI’s role is to lead the avian research components for the five-year project Wildlife and Offshore Wind (WOW): A Systems Approach to Research and Risk Assessment for Offshore Wind Development from Maine to North Carolina.