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BRI Webcams and Education Initiative
BRI would like to welcome Patrick Keenan to the staff. As our new education/outreach coordinator and as head of our new program, Sharing Wildlife Education With The World, Patrick will be helping to bring more of BRI's work to the public. He will also assist in the expansion of our wildlife web cam program.
BRI is currently seeking second sites for its bald eagle and common loon cams and will be adding some new species in the near future. We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of FPL, Maine Hydro, and for new contributions from the Maine Community Foundation, WOW Fund, The Horizon Foundation, Idexx Laboratories, the Davis Foundation, as well as gifts from individual donors. Stay tuned to our website for the latest.
BRI Webcams
Staff photo: Juvenile Bald Eagles - 6.5 weeks
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Mercury in the Mesoamerican Reef
BRI's Tim Divoll
is working together with the Wildlife Conservation Society and local fishermen from Belize to understand mercury issues in the Mesoamerican Reef. Recent mercury (Hg) data collection found that 88% of sharks and 37% of Goliath groupers measured had muscle mercury levels that exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency human health standards. Read more about this ongoing work at:
Belize Sharks
Staff photo: Nurse sharks and Caribbean Reef sharks taken in Belize for subsistence purposes
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Mercury and Bats: South River,Virginia
BRI researchers led by Dave Yates are now into their third season investigating the impact of mercury (Hg) on resident bat populations along the South River in Northwest Virginia. Findings from the 2006 and 2007 field seasons revealed mean blood Hg levels downstream of a historic mercury source to be sixteen times higher than their reference counterparts and mean fur Hg levels to be six times higher. To read more about this ongoing study, visit:
South River Bats
Staff photo: Red Bat
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BRI Staff
David Evers, Ph.D. - Executive Director
Lee Attix - Business Manager
Theresa Daigle - Office Manager
Patrick Keenan - Outreach Coordinator
Kate Taylor - Loon Program Acting Director
Chris DeSorbo - Raptor Program Director
Melissa Duron - Forest Songbird Program Director
Wing Goodale - Seabird Program Director
Oksana Lane - Wetland Bird Program Director
Lucas Savoy - Waterfowl Program Director
Dave Yates - Mammal Program Director
Sarah Folsom - Biological Assistant
Chris Niven - Biological Assistant
Tim Divoll - Biological Assistant
Julie Franklin - Communications Specialist/ Newsletter Editor
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Greetings!
Welcome to the BioDiversity Monitor, the first e-newsletter of the BioDiversity Research Institute (BRI). In this issue, we present one of BRI's core research themes - mercury in the environment. Read highlights of BRI research from across North America and parts of Central America where wildlife are being used as indicators of contamination: Loons and eagles in lakes and rivers; Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows in estuaries; Townsend's Big-eared Bats in forested floodplains; and the Goliath grouper and various shark species in tropical marine waters.
BRI is a research and conservation organization uniquely positioned to conduct independent science. We actively assist state and federal governmental agencies with difficult environmental issues, help industry develop environmentally-sound solutions, and work with other nonprofit organizations coordinating grassroots initiatives. Through the innovative use of webcams and blogs, BRI also works to engage and personalize wildlife issues among students, educators, and the public. Unlike other nonprofit organizations, BRI does not have a formal membership, but we are committed to sharing our findings.
The world is shrinking. As our population grows, our collective presence stresses natural mechanisms responsible for a healthy earth. Clean air and water are no longer a given. Ecosystem sustainability can quickly weaken. Biological diversity can be lost. Fortunately, through awareness and fortitude, we can control our "eco-destiny." BRI is working hard to help attain that goal.
- David Evers
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National Mercury Monitoring Network
 BRI Executive Director David Evers has been working for years in coordination with scientists from across the U.S. and Canada to devise a comprehensive long-term mercury monitoring program. These efforts may soon be rewarded. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has introduced a bill, cosponsored by Senators Clinton (D-NY) and Lieberman (I-CT), to establish a National Mercury Monitoring Network. For a summary of this effort and more information about the impacts of mercury, visit:
MercNet
Kevin A. Byron photo: Senator Susan Collins observing a Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
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On the Trail of the Yellow-billed Loon
 Under consideration for federal listing as an endangered species, the Yellow-billed Loon has eluded the understanding of the scientific community. Most fieldwork involving the capture of loons occurs in the dark of night, but when the Yellow-billed Loon breeds - in areas of the Arctic tundra - the sun never sets. BRI's Chris DeSorbo and colleagues have spent the past year perfecting a technique for capturing loons in daylight. This summer they may have succeeded, at last opening the door to understanding this bird at risk. To read more about the importance of this initiative, visit:
Yellow-billed Loon
Staff photo: Dave Evers (BRI), Joel Schmutz (USGS) and Jeff Fair
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Contaminants in Maine Bird Eggs
 Last March, BRI's Wing Goodale offered a first glimpse at a comprehensive project that measured 192 synthetic contaminants from the eggs of 23 bird species in Maine. The
report received front page news coverage throughout New England,
appeared as an AP feature story, and was picked up by most major news
channels. Goodale presented his findings to the Maine legislature and
continues to share his results to audiences throughout New England. For more on this report and links to news coverage, follow:
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Mercury in Coastal New England Wetlands
 Since 2004, BRI's Oksana Lane and colleagues have been measuring blood mercury (Hg) levels in Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows at several refuges throughout New England. They found that sparrows from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Massachusetts consistently measured higher for blood mercury than sparrows from other study sites. Researchers are now busy determining the reason for elevated mercury levels at the Parker River NWR and what this means for saltmarsh ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them. For more information:
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Karen O'Brien (USFWS) photo: Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (left) Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (right)
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