This expedition from 2019-2023 helped monitor biodiversity in the Maasai Mara of Kenya and trained rangers to do this independently. In doing so, the expedition made itself redundant and handed over to local monitors in 2023. While the expedition was on site, it also recorded a very significant rise in wildlife, reversing previous trends of biodiversity loss.
Blogs/diaries: 2019 I 2020 I 2023
Photos: Google album I Facebook
This project worked for one year only (in 2019), helping to monitor bear, wolf, lynx and beaver in order to help in the creation of Europe's biggest national park in the Carpathian mountains of Romania.
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From 2004-2017 Biosphere Expeditions worked in various locations and seasons in Slovakia, monitoring chamois, wolf, lynx and bear populations and helping to establish protection regimes and resolve human-wildlife conflicts.
Blogs/diaries: 2004 I 2005 I 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2010 I 2012 I 2013 I 2014 I 2015 I 2016 I 2017
Photos: Google album (chamois expedition) I Facebook (chamois expedition) I Facebook (carnivore expedition)
Video archive: Chamois expedition I Carnivore expedition
Expedition reports: 2004 I 2005 & 2006 I 2010 I 2012 I 2013 I 2014 I 2015 I 2016 I 2017
Scientific publications: Mitigating carnivore-livestock conflict in Europe: Lessons from Slovakia (2011) I Tracking wolves in Slovakia by sign survey and non-invasive DNA sampling (2013) I
This coral reef diving project ran from 2008 to 2017 and resulted in the declaration of two protected areas in the region, as well as the creation of local NGO Reef Check Oman.
Blogs/diaries: 2009 I 2010 I 2011 I 2012 I 2013 I 2014 I 2015 I 2016
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2009 I 2010 I 2011 I 2012 I 2013 I 2014 I 2015 I 2016
Scientific publications: Benthic communities of Musandam Peninsula. Poster presented at Coral Reefs of the Gulf Conference, New York University in Abu Dhabi, 17 - 19 Jan 2012 I The implications of recurrent disturbances within the world's hottest coral reef (2015) I The implications of recurrent disturbances within the world's hottest coral reef (2015) I Settlement Patterns of Corals and other Benthos on Reefs with Divergent Environments and Disturbances Histories around the Northeastern Arabian Peninsula (2017) I
This three-year project (2015-2017) in collaboration with WWF Indonesia studied tigers, their prey and human-wildlife conflict in Rimbang Baling Wildlife Reserve and made recommendations for better tiger protection and integrating local people into tiger conservation.
Blogs/diaries: 2015 I 2016 I 2017
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2015 I 2016 I 2017
Scientific publications: Assessing global patterns in mammalian carnivore occupancy and richness by integrating local camera trap surveys (2017) I Panduan Pemantauan Populasi Harimau Sumatera (2017) I Recovery planning towards doubling wild tiger Panthera tigris numbers: Detailing 18 recovery sites from across the range (2018) I Ecological correlates of the spatial co-occurrence of sympatric mammalian carnivores worldwide (2019) I How effective are Tiger conservation areas at managing their sites against the Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS)? (2020) I Tigers and Their Prey in Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling: Abundance Baseline for Effective Wildlife Reserve Management (2020) I Carnivores and their prey in Sumatra: Occupancy and activity in human-dominated forests (2022) I Distribution Pattern and Activities of Felidae and Prey in Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Reserve, Riau (2023)
Biosphere Expeditions worked in Amazonia from 2001 until 2016. During this time, dams were not built based in part on Biosphere Expeditions’ biodiversity studies and impact assessments, local conservationists were trained and found jobs, and a research station was built (which still operates today). Guidelines for boat behaviour at clay licks in the Tambopata Reserve were also incorporated into local management plans.
Blogs/diaries: 2003 I 2005 I 2006 I 2008 I 2009 I 2011 I 2014 I 2015 I 2016
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2001 I 2002 I 2003 I 2005 I 2006 I 2008 I 2009 I 2011 I 2013 I 2014 I 2015 I 2016
Scientific publications: Parrot colpa and geophagy behaviour from the El Gato region of the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone, Amazonia, Peru (2002) I Distribution, ecology and conservation status of the Blue-headed Macaw Primolius couloni (2007) I The Influence of Habitat, Season, and Detectability on Abundance Estimates across an Amazonian Parrot Assemblage (2012) I Diet and Geophagy Across a Western Amazonian Parrot Assemblage (2014) I Food availability and breeding season as predictors of geophagy in Amazonian parrots (2017) I The effects of tourist and boat traffic on parrot geophagy in lowland Peru (2017) I
The coral reef expedition to Tioman Island, Malaysia started in 2012 and ran until 2016. Biosphere Expeditions provided vital data on coral reef health and human-induced threats within the Tioman archipelago – data that were previously unavailable. We also helped build the foundation for 'Cintai Tioman', a long-term programme to increase social and ecological resilience on the island.
Blogs/diaries: 2012 I 2013 I 2016
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2012 I 2013 I 2016
Scientific publications: Five Years of Reef Check Monitoring Data for Tioman, Perhentian and Redang Island (2013) I Building Capacity for Socio-ecological Resilience to Coral Bleaching Events & Climate Change in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand (2014) I Status of Reefs in Selected Southeast Asia Countries (2015) I First record of multi-species synchronous coral spawning from Malaysia (2016) I
This project studied human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka in 2005 and had to be cancelled due to the then civil war that flared up in the region in the subsequent years.
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Biosphere Expeditions worked in Namibia for twelve years from 2002 until 2014. In that time it played a small role in the establishment of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, at the time the world's largest wildlife conservation area, spanning five southern African countries. It also played a pivotal role in establishing the country's largest leopard conservation research project, working with local ranchers and resolving human-wildlife conflict, which led to a significant reduction in big cats killed in the country. A research station was also built.
Blogs/diaries: 2002 I 2003 I 2004 I 2005 (spring / winter) I 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2010 I 2011 (rotation 1 / rotation 2) I 2012 I 2013 I 2014
Photos: Google album (Central highlands / Caprivi) I Facebook (Central highlands / Caprivi)
Video archive (Central highlands / Caprivi)
Expedition reports: 2002 I 2003 I 2004 I 2005/2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2010/11 I 2012 I 2013 I 2014
Scientific publications: The Conflict between Cheetahs and Humans on Namibian Farmland Elucidated by Stable Isotope Diet Analysis (2014) I Cheetah Rangewide Status and Distribution (2017) I Citizen science and wildlife biology: Synergies and challenges (2018) I Sex‐specific dietary specialization in a terrestrial apex predator, the leopard, revealed by stable isotope analysis (2018) I Sex and species differences of stress markers in sympatric cheetahs and leopards in Namibia (2019) I
This expedition studied cetaceans on the west coast of Scotland in 2013. Data gathered were used in local and national Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) and to advise the Scottish government on the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
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Data collected by expeditions from 2003 until 2012 helped with the declaration Saylyugemsky National Park, a protected area for snow leopards and other wildlife in the Altai Republic, Central Asia. In addition, local poachers were converted into conservationists by paying them for verifiable camera trap pictures of snow leopards surviving year-on-year.
Blogs/diaries: 2003 I 2004 I 2005 I 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2010 I 2011 I 2012
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2003 I 2004 I 2005 I 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2010 I 2011
Scientific publications: Мониторинг снежного барса (Uncia uncia Schreber, 1775) в горном массиве Талдуаир на Алтае / Monitoring of the snow leopard (Uncia uncia Schreber, 1775) in the Talduair massif in the Altai (2007) I Мониторинговые исследования орнитофауны в горном массиве Талдуаир на Алтае (2020) I
From 2006 until 2011, this project studied jaguars and pumas of the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil. Recommendations for the management and protection of jaguars were incorporated into national and state-wide jaguar action plans in Brazil.
Blogs/diaries: 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2010 I 2011
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2010 I 2011
Scientific publications: Jaguar persistence in fragments of the Altantic Coastal Forest, southeastern Brazil (2007) I Proyecto Puma: Studying and conserving puma and jaguar in Brazil (2007) I Environmental quality for jaguar, puma and ocelot in Guaratuba Bay, State of Paraná, using the programs Capture and Presence (2008) I Loss of historical range of jaguars in southern Brazil (2009) I Volunteer expeditions support felid research projects (2009) I Qualidade de ambiente para a onça-pintada, puma e jaguatirica na Baía de Guaratuba, Estado do Paraná, utilizando os aplicativos Capture e Presence (2011) I Sampling and analysis of data for large terrestrial mammals during short-term volunteer expeditions (2013) I
From 2006 until 2011 this project researched the ecology and status of the Arabian leopard in the Dhofar and Musandam regions of Oman. The project was stopped when it became clear that there was little support and willingness to act upon recommendations locally.
Blogs/diaries: 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2010 I 2011
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2006 & 2007 I 2008 I 2009 & 2010 I 2011
Scientific publications: The leopard in the Arabian peninsula-distribution and subspecies status (2006) I Critically Endangered Arabian leopards Panthera pardus nimr persist in the Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve, Oman (2006) I Arabian Leopard, Panthera pardus nimr, status and habitat assessment in Northwest Dhofar, Oman (Mammalia: Felidae) (2009) I Volunteer expeditions support felid research projects (2009) I Arabian leopard in lowland region on the south face of Jebel Samhan, Oman (2013) I Sampling and analysis of data for large terrestrial mammals during short-term volunteer expeditions (2013) I The Arabian leopards of Oman (2014) I First photographic record of twin Arabian leopards in the wild (2014) I Camera trapping of Arabian leopard in the Nejd region of Dhofar Mountains (2015) I Multiple methods increase detection of large and medium-sized mammals: working with volunteers in south-eastern Oman (2016) I Big cats in borderlands: challenges and implications for transboundary conservation of Asian leopards (2021) I
From 2006 until 2011 this coral reef conservation project assisted the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area, Bay Islands, Honduras with managing and protecting their coral reefs.
Blogs/diaries: 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2011
Photos: Google album
Expedition reports: 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2011
Scientific publications: Black Band Disease upon the Reefs of Los Cayos Cochinos, Honduras (2007)
This expedition ran from 2010 to 2011 and was about the conservation of the Australian flatback turtle. When Australia created the world's largest network of marine reserves in 2012, the Roebuck Commonwealth Marine Reserve, in Western Australia, site of the expedition, was made part of the network, and is described as ‘foraging area adjacent to important nesting sites for flatback turtles’, just as suggested in the expedition reports.
Photos: Google album I Facebook
This expedition to the Spanish Pyrenees working on lammergeyers also known as bearded vultures (Europe’s biggest vulture) ran for one year in 2008 and helped to reverse EU high altitude carcass removal regulations. The regulations were designed to combat the spread of BSE / mad cow diesease, but this was starving high mountain vultures and bears.
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Between 2001 and 2004 this expedition studied wolves and birds of the Kinburnska Kosa in the Ukraine. This led to the declaration of a national park, protecting an important stop-off point for many migratory birds, as well as a haven for fauna and flora (it boasts, amongst other things, Europe's biggest orchid field).
Photos: Google album I Facebook
This first-ever expedition by Biosphere Expeditions ran from 2001-2003, studying wolves in the Bieszczady Mountains National Park, Poland. It played an active role in saving wolves from being declared legitimate hunting targets in the area. It also captured and collared the first ever wolf in the Polish Carpathians.
Photos: Google album I Facebook
Expedition reports: 2001 & 2002
Scientific publications: Gospodarka łowiecka i pasterska a ochrona wilka i rysia w Bieszczadach (2002) I Selectivity of wolf predation on red deer in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland (2005)