Last but not least: Googling paradise
Surfing the Internet can also serve scientific purposes. And even biological ones: Julian Bayliss, a British scientist employed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, used Google Earth to discover a 7,000-hectare area that is home to countless previously unknown animal and plant species.
Surfing the Internet can also serve scientific purposes. And even biological ones: The English scientist Julian Bayliss, an employee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, has used Google Earth to discover a 7,000-hectare area in which countless previously unknown animal and plant species live. As reported by the Telegraph newspaper and the Newsnet, Bayliss used Google Earth to search the entire world for forest regions above 1500 meters. He found what he was looking for in northern Mozambique: Mount Mabu, a place previously unknown to science, lies in impassable terrain - wars had previously made access impossible. Until three years ago, only locals knew about this region.
In the fall of this year, Bayliss set off on an expedition. In the forest of Mount Mabu, the group led by Bayliss and expedition leader Jonathan Timberlake found hundreds of different plant and animal species. These included three new butterflies, a plant and a previously unknown species of snake. The scientists suspect that hundreds of species are still awaiting discovery in the area.
"Such discoveries are not only indispensable for science, but also provide an invaluable service to species conservation in times of deforestation and grazing land reclamation," Timberlake told the Wildlifextra.com portal. The two scientists are certain that more green islands will be discovered via Google Earth in the near future.
In the fall of this year, Bayliss set off on an expedition. In the forest of Mount Mabu, the group led by Bayliss and expedition leader Jonathan Timberlake found hundreds of different plant and animal species. These included three new butterflies, a plant and a previously unknown species of snake. The scientists suspect that hundreds of species are still awaiting discovery in the area.
"Such discoveries are not only indispensable for science, but also provide an invaluable service to species conservation in times of deforestation and grazing land reclamation," Timberlake told the Wildlifextra.com portal. The two scientists are certain that more green islands will be discovered via Google Earth in the near future.
