BARCODE OF LIFE DATA: Users from 200 countries

DNA Barcodes

barcode index numbers (species proxy)

Discover how the ability to

read biodiversity will impact you

Explore the simple way that

we can read life on our planet

Imagine a world with biodiversity

identification at your fingertips

Our Plans

iBOL is working to establish an earth observation system that will reveal species, their dynamics, and interactions.

We are tracking ecosystems across the planet and exploring symbiomes – the distinct fungal, plant, and animal species associated with host organisms. We aim to complete this research and establish baseline data for science and society’s benefit before the middle of this century. We aim to accomplish our mission through three major scientific initiatives:

BARCODE 500K

BIOSCAN

PLANETARY BIODIVERSITY MISSION

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BIOSCAN

The 2^nd iBOL PROGRAM

2019 – 2028

BIOSCAN will allow us to forecast changes in biodiversity in response to anthropogenic drivers as well as deepen our understanding of species interactions by probing the symbiome, that is, the array of mitochondrial sequences recovered from a specimen indicative of the species associated with it.

Latest News

Meet Arctic BIOSCAN’s 2022 Field Technicians

This year’s Arctic BIOSCAN biodiversity monitoring activities expanded outside Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk to include Kugaaruk, Gjoa Haven, and Taloyoak. The expansion was made possible by support from Polar Knowledge Canada and the Blue Future’s Pathway program, which together enabled the hiring of a group of Nunavummiut youth to work as field technicians in four communities across Nunavut.

Webinar: Studying the Impacts of Multiple Stressors on Freshwater Biodiversity with (Meta)barcoding

BIOSCAN: Illuminating Biodiversity Webinar – Dr. Florian Leese discusses the use of innovative outdoor experiments and (meta)barcoding to investigate the effects of multiple stressors on freshwater species, communities, and ecosystem functionality.

DNA Barcoding Aquatic Life: new insights for biodiversity science

From Peruvian and Brazilian coastal wetlands, Mexican lagoons, and the Great Lakes in America to Sundaland and China, and many other places around the Pacific, a new special issue features scientific papers exploring with new insights about life under the water through DNA technologies.

Arctic BIOSCAN team prepares for a new field season in Nunavut

Arctic BIOSCAN researchers met with important partners at the Ekaluktuttiak Hunters and Trappers Organization, Kugluktuk Angoniatit Association, Nunavummiut youths sponsored by the SOI Foundation, and scientists from the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, to discuss progress, results, and plans for the 2022 field season.

Webinar: Restoring and Protecting Biodiversity in Aotearoa-New Zealand’s Lakes

BIOSCAN: Illuminating Biodiversity Webinar – Dr. Susana Wood, Senior Scientist at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand, discusses how her research team uses DNA approaches to determine the current and historic health and biodiversity of the lakes in Aotearoa-New Zealand as part of the “Our lakes” project.

Webinar: assessing insect diversity in South Africa’s botanical gardens

BIOSCAN: Illuminating Biodiversity Webinar – Dr. Michelle van der Bank discusses the National Botanical Garden Malaise Programme project which aims to develop an inventory of all species that can be captured in Malaise traps over one year in South Africa’s National Botanical Gardens.

Webinar: New species, new barcodes, new taxonomists – the GBOL III: Dark Taxa concept

BIOSCAN: Illuminating Biodiversity Webinar – Dr. Ralph Peters discusses GBOL III: Dark Taxa, the first DNA barcoding initiative focusing solely on the unknown part of biodiversity. While the project targets Central-European fauna, its “new species, new barcodes, new taxonomists” concept can be replicated across other regions and faunae.

BIOSCAN receives $24 million to illuminate Biodiversity

Can we establish a global biosurveillance system? Can we avert a planetary mass extinction? Helping to answer these and other large-scale questions about life on Earth is the goal of BIOSCAN, a project awarded $24 million in Canadian federal funding this month.

Bulgaria: International conference May 25-27

The International Conference on DNA Barcoding and Biodiversity (ICDBB) will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, from May 25-27. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is organizing the event as part of BULCode Project, supported by the National Program “European Scientific Networks,” Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria.