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IVF clinic bombing should be a security wakeup call for fertility centers, experts say; Illinois is first state to restrict federal access to autism-related data; Virginia ranks in top 10 for lowest rates of deaths on the job; Food security researchers in 20 countries thought they had U.S. funding. Then Trump took office.

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Congress debates Medicaid cuts, FBI pledges to investigate missing Indigenous people, Illinois pushes back on federal autism data plan, and deadly bombing in California is investigated as domestic terrorism.

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New Mexico's acequia irrigation system is a model of democratic governance, buying a house in rural America will get harder under the Trump administration's draft 2026 budget, and physicians and medical clinics serving rural America are becoming a rarity.

Annual wildlife survey documents Florida's changing biodiversity

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Friday, April 18, 2025   

Teams of researchers and volunteers will fan out at dawn Friday with their smartphones and binoculars on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus for a 24-hour biological scavenger hunt, known as "BioBlitz."

The annual event comes as new research shows Florida's natural habitats are disappearing at unprecedented rates, with Southwest Florida among the regions most affected. The fifth annual event builds on last year's discovery of 144 species, including the rare two-striped forktail dragonfly and confirmed river otter activity on campus wetlands.

Mercedes Rasler, a senior biology student at the university, hopes to focus her camera to capture another circling osprey, one of the region's most visible raptors.

"We see a lot of ospreys, a lot of red-shouldered hawks, those are kind of our cool raptors," Rasler reported. "In terms of other species, we've got northern mockingbirds, we've got grackles, blue jays, lots of iconic species, but then also some species that people may not know right away."

This year, participants equipped with the iNaturalist app aim to surpass previous records while contributing to a global database supporting conservation efforts. Anyone, regardless of location, can participate by downloading the app and documenting species in their own area.

Oscar Johnson, assistant professor of ornithology at the university, explained the scientific value of BioBlitz, through its not-so-secret goal of empowering "citizen science" to document biodiversity.

"It's a combination of an event where we can get a lot of people outside and looking at nature, learning about nature, looking at cool bugs, birds, mammals, plants, anything that we can find that's living," Johnson outlined. "Learn about identification, natural history."

The event aligns with similar conservation efforts at other Florida schools and organizations. With ongoing budget constraints and staffing reductions across wildlife agencies, state officials said volunteer-collected data now play an increasingly important role in species monitoring efforts.

Disclosure: Florida Gulf Coast University contributes to our fund for reporting. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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Florida A&M University, a public historically Black land-grant institution in Tallahassee, was founded in 1887. It is one of the largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities by enrollment and the only public HBCU in Florida. (Adobe Stock)

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