A feature article that compiles the scientific evidence for why bird conservation is so critical to humanity. BRI's Adirondack Loon Study is quoted under the section "Winged Sentinels."

BRI research is featured in the March issue of Discover Magazine.

David Evers speaks to Steve Curwood, host of NPR's Living on Earth, about BRI's new report that describes hotspots of unsafe mercury levels around the world.

Negotiators Seek to Finalize Mercury Treaty As Groups Warn About Cost of Inaction
By: International Environment Reporter

You can read the entire article here.

Mercury poisoning is a growing global menace we have to address
Progressive Radio Network

You can read the entire article here.

84% of fish have mercury contamination, new study finds; united nations seeks treaty to reduce mercury poisoning
By: Miriam Raftery

You can read the entire article here.

Gorham scientists find widespread mercury contamination
By: North Cairn

You can read the entire article here.

Mercury poisoning is a growing global menace we have to address
By: Robert F Kennedy Jr and Marc A Yaggi

You can read the entire article here.

New report: Mercury levels in humans and fish -worldwide- regularly exceed health advisory levels
By: RAMONA DU HOUX

You can read the entire article here.

All of earth now a mercury hotspot
By: Derrick Jackson

You can read the entire article here.

A new scientific report finds that humans and marine ecosystems around the world are contaminated with mercury and that mercury levels in humans and fish regularly exceed health advisory guidelines. The report, a collaboration between IPEN and Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), highlights the urgent need for an overall reduction in mercury emissions when government delegates convene next week in Geneva in their final negotiating session to establish an international mercury treaty – the first global treaty on the environment in more than a decade by the United Nations Environment Programme.

 TORONTO – The current health benchmarks for mercury levels in fish are outdated and inadequate and should be strengthened worldwide, according to two international reports released on Tuesday.

Read the entire article here.

New reports released today find that mercury is widespread in fish, and that mercury exposure can be dangerous to human health at lower levels than previously thought. Maine Things Considered host Tom Porter spoke with Dr. David Evers, the executive director and chief scientist of the Biodiversity Research Institute, in Gorham, Maine, which released the latest data.

Listen to the interview here.

Media Advisory

Biodiversity Research Institute Invites You to a Global Webinar on New Findings on Mercury Exposure and Contamination

On December 4, 2012, the Zero Mercury Working Group, in cooperation with scientists from Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) and other prominent scientists, is organizing a global webinar to release new findings that demonstrate extensive mercury contamination of seafood and to summarize recent studies that show health effects from methylmercury occurring below the level that was considered “safe” just a few years ago. Scientists will highlight new research and explain why current government “safety limits” should be strengthened worldwide. The report will be released accompanied by a press release on December 4. This comes ahead of the final round of United Nations negotiations, scheduled in January 2013, for a global mercury treaty.

Click here for more information: http://www.briloon.org/uploads/BRI/index/FINALZMWG_MEDIA_%20ADVISORY.pdf

If you have questions please contact Deborah McKew at 207-839-7600 X222

The Maine Medical Center Research Institute Vector-borne Disease Lab (MMC) announces that it has received funding support from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund to conduct surveillance for Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEv) in Maine’s songbirds in 2013. This funding was awarded following a collaborative pilot study in 2012 between MMC and the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), which found 7.4% of 28 songbirds sampled in the spring tested positive, indicating exposure to the disease. An additional 46 samples from the fall will be processed at the Centers for Disease Control in Fort Collins, CO.

Dr. H. Bruce Rinker, BRI’s director of scientific advancement and development, will speak at the 4^th international EcoSummit in Columbus, Ohio (September 30  to October 5, 2012) on forest systems and Gaia theory.

Wildlife Icon Jim Fowler Brings Conservation Message to Maine

Reported By: Susan Sharon

David C. Evers, Ph.D., executive director of Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), will present current mercury research at a special session at the 16th International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment (ICHMET) on September 26 in Rome, Italy.

BRI biologist Mike Chickering is featured in a Maine Public Radio broadcast.

You can listen to the full story here.

Wing asymmetry spells trouble for long-distance migrators like willets, says Dave Evers of the Biodiversity Research Institute. He's been researching the effects of mercury on wildlife for years and first discovered the problem of wing asymmetry in loons. More recently, he's documented mercury's impact on insect-eating songbirds.

Read the full story here.

Albany, NY–An extensive study of New York’s Adirondack loon population has revealed that mercury contamination can lead to population declines of the iconic bird. The research effort was a joint project between the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

The Atmospheric Toxics Webinar Series showcases recent research findings supported by the Great Lakes Air Deposition (GLAD) program. Dr. David Evers speaks about Intergrating Multimedia Measurements of Mercury in the Great Lakes Region on July 24, 2012, 2pm-4pm (ET).

Recently the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds, Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) and the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) came together in a major effort to assess the seabirds of the Cay Sal Bank.

Recently the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds, Biodiversity Research Institute and the Bahamas National Trust came together in a major effort to assess the seabirds of the Cay Sal Bank.

BRI’s director of scientific advancement and development is featured in a new documentary called “Mahahual: Paradise Is Not Recyclable,” which draws attention to the problem of plastics pollution in our oceans. The documentary, an initiative by Sustenta.com and produced by Calypso Films, will debut on May 29 in Mexico.

One of the biggest contributors to the decline in migratory bird populations has gone largely unnoticed: white-tailed deer.

BRI executive director, David Evers, published an editorial in the March issue of Science Chronicles. He collaborated on this piece with Tim Tear, director of conservation science for The Nature Conservancy in New York, and David Higby, director of federal government relations for The Nature Conservancy in New York.

Wildlife research biologist Dave Yates, BRI's director of the mammal program, was featured on Bill Green's Maine this week. The segment focuses on the deadly white-nose syndrome.

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announced today that its webcam has captured a peregrine falcon laying its first egg of the season; the egg was dropped in the early morning on Friday, March 16.

Click here for entire article

An exquisite Mexico beach, cursed by plastic

Sea currents act like a conveyor belt, depositing trash on a remote stretch of sand in an ecologically rich region of coral reef and mangrove forests. Locals can only pick up the pieces, bit by bit.

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

Click here to read the entire story

THIRTY YEARS AGO, WHEN I RETURNED TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S Loon Preservation Committee as its director, the outfit was distributing a brochure entitled !e Vanishing Loon.

Sounding an Alarm on Birds and Mercury

Click here to view the entire post.

Mercury’s Harmful Reach Has Grown, Study Suggests

By ANTHONY DePALMA

Songbirds and bats suffer some of the same types of neurological disorders from mercury as humans and especially children do, says the study, “Hidden Risk,” by the Biodiversity Research Institute, a nonprofit organization in Gorham, Me., that investigates emerging environmental threats.

Click here to view the entire article.

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announced today its partnership with IPEN (International POPs Elimination Network*) to conduct a joint mercury research and monitoring study. The goals of this Global Fish and Community Mercury Monitoring Project include generating new scientific data, raising awareness about global mercury pollution, and identifying mercury hotspots, primarily in developing and transition countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Gorham, ME -- Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announced today the launch of its new Wildlife Science and Marine Wind Energy Initiative, an international collaborative effort to inform policy makers and the public about areas of scientific consensus regarding the effects of marine wind energy development to wildlife.

The Initiative will kick off with a two day workshop that will bring leaders in this field together for the first time to pool their knowledge base.

HEALTH RISK: ‘If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant you want to reduce fish consumption as much as possible’
By JOHN MINER, THE LONDON FREE PRESS

Gorham, ME — Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) today announced the appointment of Jonathan L. Atwood, Ph.D. as science director. In this newly created position, Atwood, educator, ornithologist, and conservation biologist, will be responsible for managing the Institute’s staff of 20 researchers working in 10 wildlife science programs.

In early 2012 Dr. Jim Paruk will be leading an Earthwatch Institute expedition studying the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the common loon population in the Gulf of Mexico.

Call of the Wild - BRI scientists provide insight about the common loon in this in-depth story by Kristen Laine.

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has established a new Wildlife and Renewable Energy Program to study and understand the movements of birds and bats and to assess the potential interactions between energy facilities and wildlife.

In partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), BRI is contributing in multiple ways toward the first international treaty of a globally binding instrument on mercury. The goal is for the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to complete a document for the Governing Council by 2013.

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins has introduced legislation to create a comprehensive new program to measure mercury levels across the United States. The bipartisan "Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act" is cosponsored by Senator Tom Carper (D-DE).