Noontime Notions – Documenting Biodiversity in the Smokies: What We’ve Found, What It Means, and What Comes Next

Since 1998, the small nonprofit Discover Life in America has been documenting life in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its flagship project, the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), is based on the bold question: “What if we listed every living thing in the Smokies to better understand just how biodiverse the park actually is?”. Twenty-eight years later, the ATBI includes over 22,800 known species. Even more impressive, over 1000 of those species are completely new to science. Now, in an era of increased conservation threats like climate change and insect decline, it’s time to turn this dataset into focused action. This talk will cover the history of this incredible organization, dive into some of the most fascinating species in the ATBI, and discuss how this data can transform the way that all of us conserve biodiversity in Southern Appalachia.

Sam Rosolina is the Vice President of Applied Innovation at Microbial Insights, a laboratory focused on the use of bioremediation to address soil and groundwater contamination. He also serves as Board Chair for Discover Life in America, one of the four nonprofit partners of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Born and raised in northeast Tennessee, Sam developed an early appreciation for nature and has spent his career working to protect it. He holds a BA from Berea College and a PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.