ECOLOGY:
Toward a Global Biodiversity Observing System
R. J. Scholes,1* G. M. Mace,2 W. Turner,3 G. N. Geller,4 N. Jürgens,5 A. Larigauderie,6 D. Muchoney,7 B. A. Walther,6 H. A. Mooney8
Tracking biodiversity change is increasingly important in sustaining ecosystems and ultimately human well-being.
1Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Natural Resources and Environment, Post Office Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
2Centre for Population Biology, National Environment Research Council, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK.
3Earth Science Division, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters, 300 E Street S.W., Washington, DC 20546-0001, USA.
4NASA Ecological Forecasting Program, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS171-264, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA.
5University of Hamburg, BioCentre Klein Flottbek and Botanical Garden, Ohnhorststrasse 18, 22609 Hamburg, Germany.
6DIVERSITAS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Maison Buffon, 57, rue Cuvier-Case Postale 41, 75231 Paris, Cedex 05, France.
7Group on Earth Observations (GEO), 7 bis, avenue de la Paix, Case Postale 2300, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland.
8Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
*Author for correspondence. E-mail: bscholes{at}csir.co.za.
