A group of websites and databases dedicated to monitoring and quantifying the biodiversity of various species across the globe.

 

Resonating Bodies 

Defined as “A series of art installations and community outreach projects which focus on the biodiversity of pollinators indigenous to the ecosystem of Canada”, Resonating Bodies is a wordpress site with information on bee biodiversity, art and community projects, and extra resources. There are tutorials on creating your own bee boxes, pollinator gardens and a list of bees native to Canada.

 

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 

A non-profit organization that works to protect invertebrates and their natural habitats, Xerces has a number of biodiversity resources, identification guides, books and magazines, and ways to get involved in conservation efforts. They have a number of citizen science programs, where users contribute sightings of various invertebrates to create a huge database. Their citizen science projects are listed below:

Bumblebee Watch 
Migratory Dragonfly Partnership 
Western Monarch Count 
Western Monarch Milkweek Mapper

 

Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute 

Tracking the biodiversity of Albertan species, the ABMI has a large collection of raw data alongside data formatted into maps, species analyses and a 10 year review of biodiversity in the province. Much like Xerces, AMBI has a program where citizens can log and track their sightings of local species of animals and plants, known as NatureLynx.

 

Border Free Bees 

Dedicated to raising awareness and engaging in pollinator protection in urban sites, the Border Free Bees project partners with scientists, communities, governments and businesses to bring together art and functionality in order to promote pollinators across the country.

 

United States Geological Survey

Created as an act of Congress in 1879, the USGS has a vast amount of data on everything planet Earth, from natural resources to biodiversity throughout the country. In particular, it has the works of Sam Droege, a wildlife biologist who specializes in bees and biomonitoring programs.

 

Bugguide.net 

Another user run site, Bug Guide is a forum collecting pictures of bugs across the United States and Canada. It includes identification guides and an Identification request tab, where you can ask experts what kind of bug you have on your hands. Information on identified specimens includes all the taxonomic data alongside the range, lifecycle, estimated population and the history behind their name.

 

Encyclopedia of Life 

Hosted by the museum of Natural History, the EOL is a collection of open-access data on biodiversity around the world. The goal of the EOL is to bring all the data scattered around on different websites together into one easy-access website. It covers both multi-celled organisms like plants, animals and fungi as well as single celled organisms like archaea and protists.

 

INaturalist 

INaturalist hosts an incredibly large citizen-science project, collecting photos and locations of plants and animals submitted, identified and validated by users. They share the data with scientific databases, allowing scientists to research and publish papers based on the submissions. They also host “Bioblitzes”, where people try to find as many species as possible in a given amount of time.

 

Discover Life 

A free online identification tool, Discover Life also boasts a global species map, over 1 000 000 unique species pages and a daily moth identification test to keep your ID skills sharp. They’re partnered with multiple field and research stations that assemble data on the species present.

 

IUCN Redlist 

An official database of threatened species around the world, the IUCN is regarded as a critical way to monitor biodiversity around the globe, with frequent updates on how given populations are doing in the wild. It collects data on both plants and animals.

 

Alberta Council for Environmental Educators 

Dedicated to advancing education about the environment throughout Alberta, the ABCEE works to get the youth interested and excited in protecting the environment. They work with over 200 organizations to improve the quality of environmental education throughout the province.

 

Barcode of Life 

Abbreviated BOLD, the Barcode of Life is a vast collection of genomic data from species all around the world, with almost 8 million sequences uploaded as of April 2019. It allows for the identification of species based on their DNA, using COI mitochondrial sequences.

 

Integrated Taxonomic Information System 

A partnership of multiple North American agencies and the United States government, the ITIS provides scientifically credible taxonomic data on any living thing from animals and plants to fungi and protozoa. Each species has a page verifying its status as a unique species, with a reference section for scientific articles mentioning said species.