Unveiling the Smokies: How Discover Life in America is Mapping the Hidden Biodiversity of the Great Smoky Mountains

This presentation will describe and explain the work of Discover Life in America (DLiA), a nonprofit organization committed to studying and conserving biodiversity, with a focus on its flagship project, the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The ATBI, launched in 1998, is a comprehensive effort to document the estimated 60,000 to 80,000 species within the park. But an ATBI is more than just a checklist of species names. It is a complex and living database of species locations, habitats, genetic diversity, population density, symbiotic relationships, and predator-prey interactions. Working cooperatively, expert scientists specializing in all different forms of life discover new species needing protection, identify new threats in time to act, and understand how to protect a complex and valuable ecosystem like the Smoky Mountains. DLiA has successfully doubled the number of known species in the park and identified 1,092 species that are new…