Wildlife Detective Work

Biodiversity Days
Almost 35,000 Massachusetts residents participated in the state's Biodiversity Days, held from June 8 to 10, 2001. Armed with binoculars, field guides, compasses, cameras, sketchpads, and notebooks, they scoured their towns to record all the animal and plants they came across during their walks. Their findings will be entered into a state database created last year.

The purpose of the "Visible Species of Massachusetts Database" is to record the diversity of wildlife that exists in Massachusetts. To date, 15,000 species have been identified. Officials with the state's Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) say that the information will be used to monitor the activity of wildlife populations in Massachusetts' 351 towns and may help in the development of bills designed to preserve and protect various species.

Inspired to be a wildlife detective yourself? Download the EOEA workbook to help you get started. The workbook will help you explore the wide range of wildlife located in any area, whether urban or rural. It will show you how to identify the species you discover and record what you find.
Check the EOEA database to see what plants and animals were found in various towns across Massachusetts last year.

Nurturing Nature
Part of the reason the state of Massachusetts has sponsored Biodiversity Days is to make citizens aware of the wealth of animal and plant species that surround them. The philosophy is that once people become more familiar with the wildlife they coexist with, they will be more likely to work to protect those species.

Fostering environmental awareness is important because there are now approximately 175 species of vertebrate and invertebrate animals and 250 species of native plants listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in Massachusetts.

Endangered species are native species in danger of extinction; threatened species are likely to become endangered in the near future; and special concern species are native species that have suffered a decline that could threaten the species if allowed to continue unchecked.

In the last 300 years, seven known animal species have become extinct. Massachusetts coastal waters are the winter home of the world's most endangered large marine mammal, the North Atlantic right whale. Only 300 of these whales now exist, down from several thousand.

Find out more about the North Atlantic right whale.

Discover some of the endangered, threatened or special concern species in Massachusetts.

Threats to Biodiversity

The largest threat to biodiversity is loss of habitat — the area in which a plant or animal lives. Every day, Massachusetts loses 44 acres to development. Whenever humans cut down trees and tear up land to build roads and houses, they also tear up and divide natural habitats. In this way, development leaves species more vulnerable to disease, food shortages, and predators.

Learn why trees are such an important part of habitats in the Riverdeep Logal Middle School Science Gateways activity, An Overview of Photosynthesis. (This activity and the ones listed below require Logal Express. Download a free trial subscription.)
"Urban Sprawl Changes Landscape" is a Riverdeep story that explains the consequences of urban sprawl.
Read the Riverdeep story, "Life without trees."

The second biggest threat to wildlife diversity is the introduction of nonnative species into an area. Many foreign species can displace and destroy native species, which decreases an area's biodiversity.

Learn More
Experiment with and explore population biology with Riverdeep's Life Science Gateways and Biology Explorer activities:

More Links

Learn to match tracks with the animals that created them.
Learn what your school can do to save endangered species.