Current Projects
MVZ researchers are Principal Investigators on a diverse range of topics,
ranging from molecular and behavioral studies to biodiversity informatics.
Many of these projects are funded by the National Science Foundation
and other sources. Some of the active projects and grants in the Museum
are listed here.
An online database that draws together
all available information on the biology and conservation of amphibians,
worldwide.
A community-based research effort
to develop an evolutionary tree for all amphibians.
A project funded by the Moore Foundation
that involves worldwide collaboration of natural history and geospatial
data experts. The primary goal of this project is to maximize the
quality and quantity of biodiversity data that can be mapped in support
of scientific research, planning, conservation, and management. The
project promotes discussion, manages geospatial data and data standards,
and develops software tools in support of this mission.
Our ongoing effort to make accessible the valuable ancillary documentation to our fieldwork, including field notes, journals, photos, correspondance, and annotated maps. Thousands of pages and photos have been scanned, and portions are available for
reading online. We are improving access and policies with our
latest funding from the CLIR.
To understand long term dynamics that determine species distributions in the Western USA, the MVZ has worked to resurvey of its major expeditions prior to 1940, with a goal of comparing faunas from the past with the present. We started in 2003 resurveying the
Yosemite transect.
Part of the MVZ's ongoing efforts to lead the biodiversity informatics community in distributed database access and improvement,
VertNet aims to bring MaNIS, HerpNet, ORNIS and FishNET to the cloud.
With the
support of the National Geographic Society Conservation Trust and
the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, wildlife specialists
are headed to Kenya's Masailand to get a precise measure of the current
lion population and attempt to broker a peace between the predators
and livestock owners.
The Laikipia Predator
Project in northern Kenya was established in 1998 to explore the ecology
and conservation of African predators that conflict with man.
A molecular analysis of relationships between behavior,
demography, and patterns of genetic variation in tuco-tucos (Ctenomys)
of South America.
