Fall 2023

_{BANNER IMAGE: A barn owl in flight. | Photo by Roger Hangarter}

On the need for a center to address unprecedented losses of biodiversity

by Ellen Ketterson and Alex Jahn

We live in an unprecedented era, witnessing the greatest loss in global biodiversity in recorded history. This irrecuperable loss of natural variety, from genes to ecosystems, is resulting in the loss of ecosystem services including pollination and pest control, while increasing the risk of zoonotic diseases crossing from wildlife to humans. Such complex, multi-faceted issues require informed, science-driven solutions at both local and global scales.

To meet the challenge of declining biodiversity, a group of scientists and scholars at Indiana University have established the Midwest Center for Biodiversity (MCB), whose mission is to understand the causes of biodiversity loss and to formulate feasible solutions.