White-nose Syndrome Research and Conservation Grants

Application Deadline June 30, 2023.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is pleased to announce the availability of funding in 2023 for research and conservation action to support the management of white-nose syndrome (WNS) and susceptible bat species. The Service provides financial and technical assistance to nongovernmental, university, and private researchers, as well as state and local governments, Native American tribes, and federal agencies, for the management of WNS and conservation of bats. Funded projects will investigate priority questions to improve our ability to manage the disease and implement management actions that will help to conserve affected bat species.

As of April 2023, WNS is confirmed or suspected in bats in 39 states and eight Canadian provinces, and evidence of the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has been detected in at least four additional states and two provinces without additional signs of the disease. Numerous North American and Eurasian species of bats have been confirmed with WNS or detected carrying Pd.

For information on WNS and previously funded projects, please see: http://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/Funding through WNS Research and Conservation Grants provides critical resources for maximizing the benefits of conservation efforts for bats.

UIS Online Cave and Karst Glossary

Since our announcement about the plans for the Glossary in the NCKRI News last December, Mike Lake and I now have it available on the web for use by cavers, scientists and managers.

The recent releases:

• the 2700-term Stage 1 of the UIS Glossary.
• links between the bare terms in the long-established UIS Caver's Multi-lingual  Dictionary and their actual definitions in the Glossary.
• an extra web page of the Multi-lingual Dictionary that now groups its concepts according to their speleological subject, as well as their original Hungarian alphabetic order.

A project of the UIS Dictionary Sub-commission, further development of the Glossary will include refinement of some of the definitions after feedback, many extra terms added, definitions in non-English languages, stronger linkages to the Multi-lingual Dictionary, a convenient interface for the addition of peer-reviewed definitions by the various speleo-disciplines, and co-ordination with the UIS KarstLink Linked Data Ontology. And of course proper presentation of several scientific equations that are currently displayed only in plain text format.

Everyone interested is invited to follow or contribute to the project.

Glossary: http://uisic.uis-speleo.org/uisglossary-en.html

Multi-L Dictionary: http://uisic.uis-speleo.org/lexintro.html#definitions

Glossary Project: http://uisic.uis-speleo.org/lexgloss.html 

Glossary Forum: http://uisic.uis-speleo.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=19

KarstLink: http://uisic.uis-speleo.org/exchange/karstlink/index-en.html

Geologize Online Course

Dear NCKRI Reader,

We are delighted to inform you that the American Geosciences Institute, in partnership with the AAPG Foundation, is offering AGI Member Societies FREE access to the Geologize online course “Practical Geocommunication.” As a member of our society, you can take advantage of this free offer immediately.

The course, valued at $400 per person, provides an excellent opportunity for geoscientists to become more effective and powerful public ambassadors for our field, something that is urgently needed. Given the challenges facing both our field and society more broadly, it has perhaps never been more vital to effectively communicate geoscience to the public and other stakeholders.

HOW TO GET FREE ACCESS TO THE TRAINING

1. Go to the AGI society landing page here.
2. Click on the 'AGI Access' button.
3. Register for the course (Free)
4. Click on the link 'Have a coupon?'
5. Enter the code 'nckri-agi-pggz-2324' to remove the price.
6. Start learning!

Please note that the number of uses for this coupon is limited to our membership, so do not share this code with anyone outside our organization.

During the course, you will have access to lessons, quizzes, assignments, and direct interaction with the course instructor, Dr. Haydon Mort, through forums. The training counts as nine hours of Continuing Professional Development, and a certificate is provided upon completion. In addition to becoming a more powerful voice for geoscience, you can gain a valuable professional credential.

The free offer is available for one year, so you are encouraged to take advantage soon!

Best wishes,

NCKRI

June 4-10, 2023 NCKRI celebrated cave week by having several in person initiatives in partnership with Inspired by Science. June 6th, we had "Cave Night" and was joined by families from the Carlsbad area to learn how people mapped and explored caves. Each family received their NCKRI cave map and compass, then searched for their special treasure while learning how to orienteer. In this picture Scientist in Parks, Raquel Lugo, explains how to read the map to an eager family.

On June 8th, NCKRI participated in STEM night at Southeast New Mexico Community College put on by Inspired by Science. During the event, Education Program Manager, Devra Heyer and SIP, Raquel Lugo, illustrated the diversity of caves through karst specimens from around the Permian Basin.

Social Media and Educational Resources

If you missed out on Cave Week this year, sign up for the Cave Week mailing list. Also check out the Cave Week Toolkit for education and outreach materials you can use all year round!

Online Event

November 6-7,2023

Abstract Deadline:

July 28, 2023

The CaveMAB Network will be hosting a free, international webinar, Sustainable Tourism Solutions in Cave and Karst Biosphere Reserves, on November 6-7 2023. The webinar will be held in recognition of the UNESCO International Day of Biosphere Reserves as we take “inspiration from of the solutions already implemented in BRs to build genuinely sustainable development everywhere, with full respect for nature and for the living world.”  Keynote speakers include Dr. Natasa Ravbar, Senior Research Associate, Karst Research Institute of Slovenia, and Dr. Kelly Cerialo, Professor, Paul Smiths College, Champlain Adirondacks Biosphere Network, USA. 

We invite you to share presentations on implementation, management, and/or research for sustainable tourism solutions have been implemented at your Biosphere Reserve. For those interested we ask you to submit a brief abstract in English (150 words maximum) to cavemab@protonmail.com. This Zoom online meeting will include two half-day sessions each beginning with a keynote address followed by selected presentations. Each speaker will have 12 minutes to present followed by a 3-minute period for questions. A presentation template will be provided. Proceedings will be published online following the webinar.