The long read: Scientists have identified 2 million species of living things. No one knows how many more are out there, and tens of thousands may be vanishing before we have even had a chance to encounter them
RAINFOREST EXPLORER
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New and noteworthy updates from the Amazon Rainforest & the Morpho Institute
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The Morpho Institute
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“Peru still has many treasures hidden in unexplored nooks and crannies, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the opportunity to uncover them. To this day, it may be some of the most virgin terrain I’ve ever visited.” 
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Students analyze a map to identify and describe the relationship between habitat loss, land cover, and indigenous territories. After analyzing the effects of human activity on the current map, students make a prediction about how railroad development may impact the rain forest ecosystem and distribution of indigenous populations.
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Poison frogs in a South American rain forest carry tadpoles to water. But the males aren’t choosy about whose tadpoles they transport.
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The Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area (MKRCA) is located adjacent to one of our study sites. This tract of Peruvian rainforest bigger than California’s Yosemite National Park is officially protected and we are working with the Maijuna to incorporate their conservation story and sustainable development initiatives into our field programs. Read more about the MKRCA and its formation...
The Morpho Institute's insight:
We are thrilled to amp up our "conservation through education" mission and support the indigenous Maijuna and their quest to protect nearly a million acres of their ancestral territory in the Amazon
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"Sprawling mining operations in Brazil are destroying much more of the iconic Amazon forest than previously thought, says the first comprehensive study of mining deforestation in the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Surprisingly, roughly 90 percent of deforestation related to mining occurred outside the mining leases granted by Brazil’s government. Mining-induced deforestation was 12 times greater outside the mine lease areas than within them, extending as far 43.5 miles (70 km) beyond mine borders.
The Morpho Institute's insight:
This is a must watch if you want to stay up to speed with current Amazon threats. Great work and article from the University of Vermont. More info here: http://bit.ly/2i4SVNx
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The Morpho Institute's insight:
We LOVE working with university groups like St. Peter's! Check out their reflections on their 2018 Amazon Expedition with us!
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The Amazon in particular has been a major concern for environmentalists. Currently, around 85 percent of the world´s supply of palm oil is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia alone. But as demand rises and plantation land becomes less available in these areas, producers are increasingly looking elsewhere to expand cultivation. The Amazon and other tropical areas around the equator are hot spots for future plantations since oil palm trees need temperatures between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius, regular rainfall and strong sunlight to thrive.
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Conservationists are cautiously optimistic about new moves by Peru to invest in ecosystem services, protect forests, mitigate climate change and offset biodiversity losses.
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I distinctly remember the first time I accidentally stabbed my hand on the spine of an Astrocaryum palm, and thinking to myself, “Why on Earth does this plant possess such horrendously vicious spines?!”
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For as long as people have lived in the Amazon, turtles have likely been on the menu. But what was once low-impact subsistence hunting escalated dramatically after the arrival of Europeans. From the 1700s onward, demand for turtle eggs and meat skyrocketed. And the eggs weren’t just for eating: estimates suggest that more than 200 million…
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In a development that has important implications for conservation, scientists are increasingly focusing not just on what species are present in an ecosystem, but on the roles that certain key species play in shaping their environment.
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The first bursts of deforestation in tropical areas can push a lot of species – more so than previously though – closer to extinction due to the loss of habitat, as…
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Sprawling mining operations in Brazil are destroying much more of the Amazon than previously thought, says the first comprehensive study of mining deforestation in the iconic rainforest.
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The Amazon could help solve many of the problems facing mankind but we need to unlock the area's potential in a way that carefully preserves it.
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TRANSFORMATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR K-16 EDUCATORS
The Morpho Institute's insight:
Nurture YOUR inner explorer and join us in the Amazon next summer! Registration open!
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A look at 12 books on climate change and biodiversity ... and humanity's current scrambling of the biosphere.
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Ants that live in the Amazon rainforest canopy have orders of magnitude more bacteria in their guts than those that live on the ground
The Morpho Institute's insight:
With all the new research on human gut bacteria...Amazon ants may add an interesting new perspective!
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The Amazonian manatee is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, a consequence of centuries of hunting after the European discovery of the Amazon, along with modern day local hunting, trade, and entanglement with fishing gear. (Six out of the ten radio-tagged manatees studied were hunted by local communities over the course of the research.) Dams can exacerbate these threats, as the human population — and therefore the demand for meat — increases during and after dam construction.
The Morpho Institute's insight:
Yes - the Amazon has manatees!
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A strong-beaked bird named after Barack Obama, a fire-tailed titi monkey and a new pink river dolphin are among species recorded by the Living Amazon Initiative of the WWF Network
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What is the good of science and art if we cannot relate to one another as human beings? This was my personal jungle to battle with: these networks of wicked problems that give me as an artist much to work with, but also makes me as a person very concerned about the future of mankind in general.
The Morpho Institute's insight:
This. Fascinating perspective on the interface of art, science, climate change, and the Amazon. Inspired.
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(Borrowing from a J&B whisky commercial from the 1990s…) Tradition says: “A tree must begin its life from the forest floor”. Tradition says: “A tree shall fo…
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Even low levels of logging in the Amazon rainforest may lead to great losses in biodiversity, new research has found. The research looked at 34 different plots in the state of Pará -- a focal point for Amazon protection efforts in the last decades. They found that even low levels of logging leaded to negative effects on dung beetle diversity and rates of dung beetle-mediated
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“Peru still has many treasures hidden in unexplored nooks and crannies, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the opportunity to uncover them. To this day, it may be some of the most virgin terrain I’ve ever visited.”
The Morpho Institute's insight:
Just one of the many reasons we love Peru!
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The forests of Wayqecha, Peru rely on moisture from clouds to sustain themselves but climate change is moving that cloud layer higher every year. Plant ecologist Dan Metcalfe is in the midst of a bold experiment: by eliminating the cloud layer from a portion of the forest, he is attempting to see what exactly will happen as the cloud forest dries out.
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