Biological invasion is a widespread, but poorly understood phenomenon. Elton’s hypothesis, supported by theory, experiment, and anecdotal evidence, suggests that an important determinant of invasion success is resident biodiversity, arguing that high diversity increases the competitive environment of communities and makes them more difficult to invade. Observational studies of plant invasions, ...

Provision of free, universal access to biodiversity information is a practical imperative for the international conservation community — this goal should be accomplished by promotion of the Public Domain and by development of a sustainable Biodiversity Information Commons adapting emergent legal and technical mechanisms to provide a free, secure and persistent environment for access to and use ...

Access to and sharing of data is essential for biodiversity conservation. However, workers from developing nations that harbor rich biodiversity often do not have access to biodiversity information and often are not keen on making what data they have accessible to others. Open access initiatives offer a great opportunity to make the world’s biodiversity information accessible to anyone, at any ...

Biotagging used audio-visual equipment to engage a range of individuals in ‘tagging’ plants and animals with specific and local meaning to them. This was an experiment in subverting conventional approaches to biodiversity monitoring with the aim of expanding ideas of both biodiversity and citizen science.

Bioprospecting describe the procedure of exploration, extraction, screening and trading of new products using biological diversity as source. Bioprospecting process is a multidisciplinary enterprise that involves various research actors and scientific subjects. Also a bioprospecting program investigates the indigenous understanding about practices and characteristics of medicinal plants and ani...

Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development is a project of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The project was made possible by the support of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). IIED is a company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England. Reg. No. 2188452. VAT Reg. No. GB 440 4948 50. Registered Charity No. 800066 Mining, Min...

Introduction Biodiversity, short for biological diversity, is the variety and variability of living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they live (Primack, 1993). One of the more widely accepted definitions (Noss and Cooperrider, 1994) extends the concept of biodiversity to include “the ecological and evolutionary processes that keep [these systems] functioning, yet ever changing an...

This paper provides an overview of efforts to create an informatics infrastructure for the biodiversity community. A vast amount of biodiversity information exists, but no comprehensive infrastructure is in place to provide easy assess and effective use of this information. The advent of modern information technologies provides a foundation for a remedy. Biodiversity informatics infrastructures...

Biologists seek an understanding of the biological and environmental factors determining local community diversity. Recent advances in metacommunity ecology, and neutral theory in particular, highlight the importance of dispersal processes interacting with the spatial structure of a landscape for generating spatial patterns and maintaining biodiversity. The relative spatial isolation of a commu...