AN INITIATIVE OF THE WILDSCREEN TRUST UPDATE SPRING 2002

It’s all aboard ARKive! With the team now numbering ARKive’s Initiation 16, the ARKive project is making enormous On 5th March, at the Linnean progress, with films and Society in London, ARKive held its photographs flooding into official initiation to recognise its the Wildscreen Trust’s founders, supporters and funders. offices from around the Guests from a wide spectrum of world. Images and major scientific institutions, recordings have now been conservation bodies and project selected for more than half supporters attended. Christopher Parsons OBE the species featuring in the British Chapter and After a short introduction from the Trust’s Collins, Director of UNEP – WCMC. research is well under way Chairman, Chris Curling, ARKive's founder and Liz Forgan, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the 500 species kick- visionary, Christopher Parsons OBE made a thanked the ARKive team and affirmed the starting the Globally short presentation to the distinguished HLF’s backing and support for the project. crowd of around 90, demonstrating the Their funding has allowed around 1000 Endangered Chapter. importance of the project. A short video British species to be catalogued and archived about ARKive was shown which included whilst the New Opportunities Fund has Work continues in association endorsements from Achim Steiner, Director enabled work to begin on recording 500 of with Hewlett Packard Labs on General of IUCN, Claude Martin, Director the world’s most endangered species. ARKive’s core technical General of WWF International and Dr Mark infrastructure. This has included the development of a ‘state of LATEST GLOBAL the art’ media accessions system to support the processing of vast ARRIVALS amounts of media by ARKive’s In the New Year, the so far decidedly research team, and the anglophilic ARK threw open its digital implementation of a doors to globally endangered species. In sophisticated media vault in the first phase there is room for which digital copies of selected approximately 500 species, reflecting media can be stored securely for examples from all corners of the globe posterity. and from all the major animal and plant groups and habitat types. The search is The technical team is also Wildscreen Festival 2002 now on for footage and stills of the planet’s most threatened species. We looking at how best to deliver The world’s largest and most prestigious have received a terrific response from this amazing array of media over wildlife film festival is once again being held dedicated individuals all around the the Internet via the ARKive in Bristol 13 - 18 October. With greatly world, locating media for 125 species so website, which will launch late expanded content for delegates, a broad far. But there is much to be done. Imagery this year - making a visit to the range of public events and the key note for many species remains elusive - from ARKive website an enjoyable, speech by Prof E O Wilson, this will be the persecuted primates to polluted most exciting festival so far. If you are entertaining and educational polychaetes we are appealing for any interested in entering the film competition or experience for all. information. being a delegate see www.wildscreen.org.uk.

ARKIVE ● SPRING UPDATE ● 2002▼ CREATURE Educating the world FROM THE ARKive’s Education Team, supported by an extensive network of educational advisors, is hard at work developing ways to give CROSTON learners worldwide useful and enjoyable educational experiences LAGOON when visiting the ARKive web site. The Jennings ribbon worm (Prostoma jenningsi) is known Layered levels of learning are being resources for teachers. from only one pond in the world, developed to ensure there is something By using specially designed interactive situated in the small town of suitable for all, from youngsters to learned educational activities, we will encourage Croston, Lancashire. Discovered professors. These will include selected users to take personal ‘learning pathways or in 1971, the species was last images, appropriate supporting information, journeys’ through ARKive’s resources and to a cross-indexed glossary, plus links to further take positive action towards the conservation recorded in 1978, after which information and activities as well as of the world’s wildlife. contamination of the pond by fertiliser the following year was thought to have contributed to Government LATEST BRITISH the species’ disappearance. It was one of ARKive’s greatest ARRIVALS challenges to find an image of asks for help The research is now complete for the first this species, and an article was 500 species of the British Chapter. More found at the start of the year than 120 organisations and individuals are from ARKive detailing its recent rediscovery donating images and recordings, from DEFRA (the UK government’s Department Nature PL.com, just up the road in Bristol to nearly 24 years after it had last for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) has Stanislav Krejcik in the Czech Republic! So been seen. The scientific expert commissioned ARKive to create a pilot far, 248 tapes of moving footage (covering mentioned has now offered to go project to compile an on-line identification 105 species) have been watched and 2741 out and search for the worm once guide for CITES listed corals, to help slides have been logged (covering 351 again and take photographs of this customs officials around the world control species). For several of the rarest species, little-known creature for ARKive. the trade in these endangered species. It is such as the glutinous snail (Myxas hoped that this pilot coral project will lead glutinosa), we think that we have located to additional ARKive chapters of CITES- the only known photographs but we are MOST listed species. happy to be proved wrong! WANTED! There are still some species from CONTACT Thanks to our British Chapter list that we The Wildscreen Trust, PO Box 366, have been unable to locate even Bristol, BS99 2HD United Kingdom contributors a single image of – especially Tel: +44 (0) 117 915 7100 The Wildscreen Trust would like to take this some of the beetles and lower Fax: +44 (0) 117 915 7105 opportunity of thanking all those enabling plants. A detailed list of our most Email: [email protected] ARKive to become a reality, including the wanted species can be viewed at Web site: www.arkive.org generous support of: www.arkive.org. If you can FUNDERS & SUPPORTERS provide us with any leads then Harriet Nimmo Tel: +44 (0) 117 9157103 we would be most grateful. Our [email protected] next list is now being drawn up IMAGE PROVIDERS and will include both common Richard Edwards Tel: +44 (0) 117 9157107 and endangered British [email protected] species. Please contact TEACHING & EDUCATION us with your recom Allan Hopkins Tel: +44 (0) 117 9157178 and all those who have contributed media to -mendations. [email protected] ARKive - the commercial media libraries, the MARKETING & PR wildlife and conservation organisations and Hamish MacCall Tel: +44 (0) 117 9157102 the enthusiastic individuals - without whom [email protected] ARKive would not be possible. For a full list of all those involved please visit www.arkive.org

ARKIVE ● SPRING UPDATE ● 2002