Embedded Files
NOAA scientists retrieved three biodiversity monitoring structures (called ARMS) from the bottom of Puget Sound, near the Nisqually Delta. This video shows all the cool critters they found, and why they are doing this research.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. These organisms work together in an ecosystem to maintain and support all life on Earth.
Greater biodiversity can help make ecosystems more resilient to natural and human-driven threats. People all over the world are working to understand, document, and maintain the planet’s biodiversity.
Studying Biodiversity
Studying Biodiversity
According to the National Geographic, "Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery."
Biodiversity can also refer to the number of species found within a defined area (like the Great Lakes region). Studies on biodiversity measure the health of an ecosystem and help improve our understanding of how human activity is impacting Earth's biodiversity.
Biodiversity studies are happening all across the world, in a variety of habitats and ecosystems. Youth and educators can study the local biodiversity where they live and learn about how every ecosystem is connected. Local biodiversity studies can be just as meaningful and important as global biodiversity studies. Digital tools and community science projects are also available to connect you to a global community of conversationalists, scientists, researchers, and learners!
Educational Materials
Educational Materials
Digital Tools and Databases
Digital Tools and Databases
A BioBlitz provides a way to record biodiversity, the variety of wild living things found in a given area. For example, the Sea Grant Great Lakes BioBlitz collects data from the entire Great Lakes Basin US and Canada and runs for four weeks.
iNaturalist is a digital tool and database of organisms collected by communities, scientists, researchers, educators, learners, and more all across the world. You can upload photos and audio recordings to iNaturalist, and the data can help research, conservation, and education outreach.
Check out our More to do with iNaturalist page for information on how to start your own BioBlitz and iNaturalist project.
Seek is a free, child-safe app developed by iNaturalist to help people discover the natural world by identifying plants and animals, while earning badges along the way!
No registration is involved, and no user data is collected. Seek will ask permission to turn on location services, but your location is obscured to respect your privacy while still allowing species suggestions from your general area. Your precise location is never stored in the app or sent to iNaturalist.
Try out the National Geographic's monthly challenges for fun ways to use the Seek app!
Discover Great Lakes aquatic species through the Great Lakes Water Life Explorer database. static photo gallery with access to regionally-specific taxonomic lists and keys where such were available as well as links to a host of regional resources for the various taxa. Additional segments were added by the partners over the years in support of a variety of projects with the gallery eventually including fish, benthic invertebrates, zooplankton and algae.
Activities and Lesson Guides
Activities and Lesson Guides
Grades: 3 - 5
Description: Students select and map an area. Then they practice finding direction, determining scale, and identifying natural and human features.
Grades: 3 - 5
Description: Students select an area, identify the species living there, and complete a species inventory.
Grades: 6 - 12+
Description: Students conduct a plot study to observe and record the presence of all living organisms in a selected area.
Grades: 3 - 12+
Description: Articles, videos, and more, all about biodiversity, ecosystems, and species.
Other Resources
Other Resources
Sea Grant Michigan created this website on the biodiversity of the Great Lakes. Explore different species of birds, plants, aquatic life, reptiles, and amphibians that call the Great Lakes home with the resources available.
Listen to this episode of the NOAA Ocean Podcast and learn about how researchers across the country are working together to create the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network. Hear from NOAA's Gabrielle Canonico as she explains what marine biodiversity is, why it's important, and how collecting biological marine data is different from collecting physical data like water chemistry, water temperature, and wind speeds.
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