The Academy's Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability is home to more than 100 dedicated scientists, researchers, and support staff. Together, we travel the world in our efforts to discover new knowledge about Earth's biodiversity, and to rapidly apply that knowledge to a wide range of protections.
From specific initiatives such as our in-house Scientific Diving department—dedicated to surveying and protecting Earth's largely unexplored oceans—to priorities that include the rapid sharing and application of the data we collect, we're committed to being a visible and active force in efforts to sustain life on Earth.
Deep in the Sierras, Academy scientists on the Thriving California team are engaged in a multi-year partnership with the US Forest Service to investigate the relationship between intentional fire and enhanced biodiversity—and how both can boost forest resilience in the future.
The Hope for Reefs team recently made its first scientific expedition to Roatán, a Honduran island in the Caribbean that's part of the second-largest barrier reef on Earth. The scientific dive team surveyed the island's mesophotic reefs and met with Roatán Marine Park staff and the local dive community.
For the official launch of our Islands 2030 initiative in the Lesser Antilles, Academy staff traveled to St. Martin to research its unique terrestrial biodiversity and embark on exciting collaborations with local communities.
In early-2022, deep-diving Academy Hope for Reefs researchers, along with local partners, conducted the first-ever biodiversity surveys of the Maldives' twilight, or mesophotic, zone—and formally identified a number of new-to-science species, including the stunning Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse, pictured here.
Photo © Yi-Kai Tea
The mission of the Academy's Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability (IBSS) is to gather new knowledge about life's diversity and the process of evolution—and to rapidly apply that understanding to our efforts to sustain life on Earth.
Dr. Brian Fisher investigates ant populations in one of the last remaining pristine forests in Madagascar.
New nudibranchs, sea urchins, corals, and fish in the most biologically diverse marine ecosystem on the planet.
The Afar region in Ethiopia has played host to some of the world's most important hominin discoveries.
See why Academy scientists journeyed to the western Pacific to study Palau's surprisingly pristine coral reefs.
Dr. Bob Drewes works to document and help protect São Tomé and Príncipe's many unknown, endemic species.
The Hope for Reefs team ventured to the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar to dive its unexplored mesophotic zone.
Journey to Penang, Malaysia, as Academy scientists conduct a floor-to-canopy bioblitz of an ancient rainforest.
Academy researchers joined international scientists to explore and survey the Red Sea's at-risk richness.
The Academy is home to the world's largest collection of scientific specimens from the Galápagos Islands.
The Gaoligong Shan region hosts one of the most diverse assemblages of plant and animal species in all of China.
Academy scientists suspect the Verde Island Passage may be “the center of the center” of marine biodiversity.
Since 1997, Academy scientists have been documenting Myanmar's biodiversity and empowering local scientists.
In March 2014, ichthyologist Luis Rocha traveled to the Cayman Islands to study and collect invasive lionfish.
Jack Dumbacher has been mapping bird distribution across Papua—making some startling discoveries in the process.
North America, South America, Asia, Africa—our 2007–2012 expeditions spanned those continents and more.
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