Discover Life in America

Last updated November 29, 2019

Discover Life in America is a non-profit NGO founded in 1998. It is based in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and is located near the mountain resort city of Gatlinburg in Sevier County, Tennessee.^[1] The primary function of DLIA is to help administer the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a joint effort with scientists and volunteers worldwide to create an inventory of all the living species located in GSMNP. This has been cited as one of the largest efforts of its kind, and has been compared to such efforts as the human genome project in terms of scope and potential effect on the study of biodiversity.^[2] Since it had been established, 922 species new to science and 7,391 species new to the park have been added to the ATBI. There is an estimated 80,000 species currently in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Origin

The first attempt at an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory was conducted by Daniel Janzen in the Guanacaste State of Costa Rica. Due to several political and financial reasons, though, the effort failed in 1996.^[3] In December 1997, a large group of scientists and interested administrators and educators gathered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to discuss starting an ATBI for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Soon after the meeting in December 1997, Discover Life in America was created as the administrative organization for the ATBI of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This was because the Great Smoky Mountains is considered to have some of the most diverse habitats in the world.^[4] The scientists gathered originally estimated that there were 99,000 species of life and in 1998 only about 10% of that estimate were known species.^[5] DLIA was formed to coordinate research with the Park’s administration, and to allow for fundraising and the collection of tax-exempt donations.^[6]

Work and Research

DLIA currently has one full-time employee, and two part-timers. They rely heavily on the aid of volunteers and interns year-round. With respect to the ATBI, DLIA works with scientists to both encourage interest in the national park’s biodiversity and provide them with resources to aid their research.^[7] DLIA maintains a mini-grant program to help fund research relevant to the ATBI and their mission. Other resources DLIA provides for scientists include the arranging of volunteers, arranging housing and general logistics for researchers, and providing lab space and necessary equipment for both fieldwork and lab use.

Science Advisory Panel

A science advisory panel is organized for DLIA in order to provide advice and support to the NGO. The panel currently consists of Dr. Sylvie Earle of National Geographic, Dr. Dan Janzen from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Thomas Lovejoy of the Heinz Center, Dr. Ron Pulliam from the University of Georgia, Dr. Peter Raven of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Dr. Edward O. Wilson from Harvard University.

Related Research Articles

Sevier County ( "severe") is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,889. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville.

Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located 39 miles (63 km) southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,944 at the 2010 Census and an estimated U.S. Census population of 4,144 in 2018. It is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S. Route 441, which connects to Cherokee, North Carolina, on the southeast side of the national park. Prior to incorporation, the town was known as White Oak Flats, or just simply White Oak.

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee City in Tennessee, United States

Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 5,875. Situated just 5 miles (8 km) north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge is a tourist destination that caters primarily to Southern culture and country music fans. The city's attractions include Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country as well as numerous gift shops, outlet malls, amusement rides, and musical theaters.

Pittman Center, Tennessee Town in Tennessee, United States

Pittman Center is a town in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census and 502 at the 2010 census, showing an increase of 25. The town has a large number of overnight rentals and a large campground that house a number of people far larger than the resident population. The average daily population is believed to be around 2,500 people. The town borders Gatlinburg and has six miles of U.S. 321, which supports an excess of ten thousand vehicles a day en route to Gatlinburg.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park U.S. national park in Tennessee and North Carolina

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the centerline of the park. Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park in the United States with over 11.3 million recreational visitors in 2016. The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park on its route from Maine to Georgia. The park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940.

Great Smoky Mountains American mountain range along North Carolina/Tennessee border

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Great Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934, and, with over 11 million visits per year, it is the most visited national park in the United States.

Rollo Howard Beck was an American ornithologist, bird collector for museums, and explorer. Beck's petrel and three taxa of reptiles are named after him, including a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, Chelonoidis nigra becki from Volcán Wolf. A recent paper by Fellers examines all the known taxa named for Beck. Beck was recognized for his extraordinary ability as a field worker by Robert Cushman Murphy as being "in a class by himself," and by University of California at Berkeley professor of zoology Frank Pitelka as "the field worker" of his generation.

Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does Newfound Gap Road. The Appalachian Trail also traverses the gap, as do a small number of other hiking trails.

A BioBlitz, also written without capitals as bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a continuous time period. There is a public component to many BioBlitzes, with the goal of getting the public interested in biodiversity. To encourage more public participation, these BioBlitzes are often held in urban parks or nature reserves close to cities.

More than 1400 species of wildflowers are native to the Great Smoky Mountains. Every spring in late April Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the site of the week-long annual spring wildflower pilgrimage to celebrate this diversity. The park is also the site of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory to inventory all the living organisms in the park. This article lists some of these Wildflowers of the Great Smoky Mountains and references sites for further research.

Chimney Tops is a mountain in the central Great Smoky Mountains. It is 4,724 feet (1,440 m) above sea level. Chimney Tops is a double-capstone knob on the eastern slope of the Sugarland Mountain massif, which stretches north-south across the north-central section of the Smokies. Mount Le Conte resides east of Chimney Tops, and Mt. Mingus southeast of Chimney Tops. Thus, while the view from the summit is 360 degrees, Chimney Tops is practically "walled in" on three sides.

Mount Cammerer mountain in United States of America

Mount Cammerer is a mountain on the northeastern fringe of the Great Smoky Mountains, in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is situated on the state line between Cocke County, Tennessee and Haywood County, North Carolina. The Appalachian Trail traverses Cammerer's south slope and a restored fire lookout at the summit offers panoramic views of the eastern Smokies, Cocke County, and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Mount Kephart Mountain in United States of America

Mount Kephart is a mountain in the central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The Appalachian Trail crosses the mountain's south slope, making it a destination for thru-hikers. The Jumpoff, a 1,000-foot (300 m) cliff on the northeast side of the mountain, has views of the central and eastern Smokies. A stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest coats the mountain's upper elevations.

The Sugarlands Valley in the north-central Great Smoky Mountains

The Sugarlands is a valley in the north-central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. Formerly home to a string of small Appalachian communities, the valley is now the location of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters and the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Lying just south of Gatlinburg, the Sugarlands is one of the park's most popular access points.

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The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) is a taxonomic database which attempts to cover published genus names for all domains of life from 1753 in zoology up to approximately 2014, arranged in a single, internally consistent taxonomic hierarchy, for the benefit Biodiversity Informatics initiatives plus general users of biodiversity (taxonomic) information. In addition to containing over 490,000 published genus name instances as at March 2019, the database holds over 1.7 million species names, although this component of the data is not maintained in as current or complete state as the genus-level holdings. IRMNG can be queried online for access to the latest version of the dataset and is also made available as periodic snapshots or data dumps for import/upload into other systems as desired.

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References

↑ http://dlia.org/about
↑ Borenstein, Seth. "Counting Every Species In Smokies Is Planned." Chicago Tribune [Chicago] 18 Dec 1998, n. pag. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-12-18/news/9812180034_1_great-smokies-spiders-researchers>.
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-06-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ MANSFIELD, DUNCAN. "Researchers preparing to start massive Smokies inventory." Associated Press State & Local Wire. (1998): n. page. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://dlia.org/sites/default/files/AP_ResearcherspreparingtostartmassiveSmokiesinventory.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine >.
↑ "Scientists try to record all organisms in the Smokies."Herald Sun [Durham] 07 May 2001, n. pag. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://dlia.org/sites/default/files/HeraldSun_ScientiststrytorecordallorganismsintheSmokies.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine >.
↑ SHARKEY, MICHAEL J. . "THE ALL TAXA BIOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK."Florida Entomologist. (2001): 556-564. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/view/75004/72662>.
↑ Mansfield, Duncan . "In the Smoky Mountains, the Census Never Ended; From Salamanders to Slime Molds, an Ambitious Accounting." Washington Post 27 Jan 2007, A14. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://dlia.org/sites/default/files/WashingtonPost_IntheSmokyMountains,CensusNeverEnded.pdf Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine >.

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[1] ttp://dlia.org/about

[2] Borenstein, Seth. "Counting Every Species In Smokies Is Planned." Chicago Tribune [Chicago] 18 Dec 1998, n. pag. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-12-18/news/9812180034_1_great-smokies-spiders-researchers>.

[3] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-06-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[4] MANSFIELD, DUNCAN. "Researchers preparing to start massive Smokies inventory." Associated Press State & Local Wire. (1998): n. page. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://dlia.org/sites/default/files/AP_ResearcherspreparingtostartmassiveSmokiesinventory.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine >.

[5] "Scientists try to record all organisms in the Smokies."Herald Sun [Durham] 07 May 2001, n. pag. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://dlia.org/sites/default/files/HeraldSun_ScientiststrytorecordallorganismsintheSmokies.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine >.

[6] SHARKEY, MICHAEL J. . "THE ALL TAXA BIOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK."Florida Entomologist. (2001): 556-564. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/view/75004/72662>.

[7] Mansfield, Duncan . "In the Smoky Mountains, the Census Never Ended; From Salamanders to Slime Molds, an Ambitious Accounting." Washington Post 27 Jan 2007, A14. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. <http://dlia.org/sites/default/files/WashingtonPost_IntheSmokyMountains,CensusNeverEnded.pdf Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine >.