The Biodiversity Institute
Critical Message
The UW Biodiversity Institute stands in solidarity with everyone demanding equal access to the resources and benefits of our society, including justice, healthcare, quality education, and safety to recreate, and support to do professional and community science We recognize the inequities of our national, state, and local institutions. We are committed to being more inclusive in our actions and programs and to making more accessible the understanding and appreciation of biological diversity topics.
The Biodiversity Institute:
The mission of the Biodiversity Institute is to foster the understanding, appreciation and conservation of biological diversity through innovative research, education, and outreach, and by engaging a broad audience in the scientific process.
The Biodiversity Institute works with scientists, resource managers, educators, and the public to further the understanding and conservation of biodiversity. We seek to provide a unique service to Wyoming and beyond by facilitating collaborative research projects, disseminating research, distributing grants, and providing educational, outreach, and citizen science programs for scientists, students and the public
Research Funding Highlights
In-Press Publications
In-press research publications funded by Biodiversity Institute grants and produced by BI affiliated faculty and staff.
For a complete list of primary academic, and natural science publications click here.
Community Science Programs
Community science is a collaborative research effort that connects scientists and science enthusiasts in the broader community. Anyone can become part of the scientific process by participating in community science projects and collecting data to answer important research questions.
Frogs, toads and salamanders are disappearing around the world - but you can help by tracking their whereabouts in the Rocky Mountain region! Adopt a catchment, visit the site to find which frogs, toads and salamanders you can find, and be part of the Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project!
The Biodiversity Institute, Audubon Rockies and The Nature Conservancy host an annual 24-hour Bioblitz event in which teams of scientists, teachers, volunteers, environmental educators, and community members join forces to find, identify, and learn about as many local plant, insect and animal species as possible.
Our Winter and Summer Moose Days are an opportunity for community members to participate in the management and conservation of area moose populations, while enjoying our national forests at the same time!
The Monarchs and Milkweeds program is designed to work with you - citizen scientists across Wyoming - to gather observations of where, when and how many monarchs and milkweed plants you find in the state. Through this, we hope to gain a better understanding of where monarchs migrate through Wyoming, at what time of year, and in what densities. We also hope to learn where and which species of milkweeds exist in Wyoming. With your help, we all can learn more about these wonderful organisms!
Did you know... that Wyoming’s streams and lakes are home to seven kinds of native mussels? You may not have noticed them, and they are not the kind you can eat, but they are working hard behind the scenes to keep Wyoming’s waters clean!
Join other citizen scientists conducting spring surveys of the short-eared owl, in March through May, taking advantage of the unique courtship flight behavior of Short-eared Owls that makes them particularly visible during this time of year. Watch the short video clip below of this amazing and unique courtship behavior. Surveys are conducted once in early Spring and once in late Spring/ early Summer at dusk in appropriate habitat across eight Western states.