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Arboretum is a 134.6M sample dataset designed to advance AI for biodiversity applications by providing a large-scale, accurately annotated multimodal dataset that includes images and corresponding textual descriptions for a diverse set of species. Arboretum aims to facilitate the development of AI models for species identification, ecological monitoring, and agricultural research. Additionally, we introduce three new benchmark datasets: Arboretum-Unseen, Arboretum-LifeStages, and Arboretum-Balanced. As the authors of this submission, we affirm that we bear all responsibility in case of any rights violations or ethical issues associated with this work. We confirm that the submitted work is original, and if it includes third-party content, it is used with proper permissions and attributions.

We introduce BioTrove, the largest publicly accessible dataset designed to advance AI applications in biodiversity. Curated from the iNaturalist platform and vetted to include only research-grade data, BioTrove contains 161.9 million images, offering unprecedented scale and diversity from three primary kingdoms: Animalia ("animals"), Fungi ("fungi"), and Plantae ("plants"), spanning approximately 366.6K species. Each image is annotated with scientific names, taxonomic hierarchies, and common names, providing rich metadata to support accurate AI model development across diverse species and ecosystems. We demonstrate the value of BioTrove by releasing a suite of CLIP models trained using a subset of 40 million captioned images, known as BioTrove-Train. This subset focuses on seven categories within the dataset that are underrepresented in standard image recognition models, selected for their critical role in biodiversity and agriculture: Aves ("birds"), Arachnida ("spiders/ticks/mites"), Insecta ("insects"), Plantae ("plants"), Fungi ("fungi"), Mollusca ("snails"), and Reptilia ("snakes/lizards"). To support rigorous assessment, we introduce several new benchmarks and report model accuracy for zero-shot learning across life stages, rare species, confounding species, and multiple taxonomic levels. We anticipate that BioTrove will spur the development of AI models capable of supporting digital tools for pest control, crop monitoring, biodiversity assessment, and environmental conservation. These advancements are crucial for ensuring food security, preserving ecosystems, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. BioTrove is publicly available, easily accessible, and ready for immediate use.

ROV pilots filmed this glass squid while exploring the Colorado-Rawson submarine canyon off the coast of Argentina. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The marine biologists of the Schmidt Ocean Institute are a busy bunch. Over the last few years, scientists aboard the research vessel have spotted rare Antarctic squid, discovered multiple octopus near Costa Rica, and even cataloged over 100 potential new species off the coast of Chile. To kick off 2026, the Institute released a trove of new images and videos highlighting some of their latest observations from the south Atlantic Ocean.

With great biological havoc comes great opportunity. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. About 445 million years ago, our planet completely changed. Massive glaciers formed over the supercontinent Gondwana, sucking up sea water like an icy sponge. Now called the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME), Earth's first major mass extinction wiped out about 85 percent of all marine species as the ocean chemistry radically changed and Earth's climate turned bitter cold. However, with great biological havoc also comes opportunity.

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Nearly one in three U.S. households harbor a cold-hearted killer. Some even have a well-known proclivity for torture. And while the popular pets are best known for downing birds and cornering mice, they are also adept at hunting all manner of bugs. Host a cat in your home long enough and you'll likely become accustomed to regular deliveries of amputated insect legs, wings, or the occasional whole carcass.

Arboretum is a 134.6M sample dataset designed to advance AI for biodiversity applications by providing a large-scale, accurately annotated multimodal dataset that includes images and corresponding Arboretum aims to facilitate the development of AI models for species identification, ecological monitoring, and agricultural research. The dataset is hosted on Hugging Face. Our dataset will be available for as long as the iNaturalist Open Dataset is maintained.

The archipelago's total bat tally now stands at 85 different flying mammals. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A few weeks ago, conservationists announced the milestone discovery of the 1500th known bat species, . October's Bat Appreciation Month celebrations apparently aren't done yet. With only a few days remaining before Halloween, a research team has described another new species residing in the Philippines for the journal .

With healthy populations of animals that disperse seeds, tropical forests can absorb up to four times more carbon. Deforestation, hunting, and wildlife trade threaten the hornbill's ability to disperse seeds throughout Asian tropical forests. A lot of attention has been paid to how climate change can reduce biodiversity. Now MIT researchers have shown that the reverse is also true: Loss of biodiversity can jeopardize regrowth of tropical forests, one of Earth's most powerful tools for mitigating climate change. Combining data from thousands of previous studies and using new tools for quantifying interconnected ecological processes, the researchers analyzed numerous tropical sites where deforestation was being followed by natural regrowth, focusing on the role of animals such as birds and monkeys that spread plant seeds by eating them in one place and then defecating someplace else. Evan Fricke, a research scientist in the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the lead author of a paper on the work, has studied such animals for 15 years, showing that without their role, trees have lower survival rates and a harder time keeping up with environmental changes.