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Great fun hanging out with @mostfun.bsky.social as our poster neighbour! Lots of aquatic fungi love & many people got their stickers! 😍😍😍 #wbf2026 #worldbiodiversityforum #aquaticfungirock

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Global & regional processes are super important, but we also need to locally generate knowledge & awareness on aquatic fungi, so next was the poster session ft. our Indianapolis Zoo funded project investigating the ascomycete fungi in our White River & wider Indiana, led by @huzefaraj.bsky.social

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It's amazing to see all the recent work that has gone into generating knowledge on these little known & overlooked species. For me, the journey started with the IUCN Species Survival Commission Freshwater Conservation Committee's "Fantastic Freshwater" in 2022 & it even got a shout-out!

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Yesterday was a big day for #aquaticfungi at the #WorldBiodiversityForum in Davos. We had a great session on "Closing knowledge gaps in fungal biodiversity and its conservation", with several talks from Biodiversa+ funded consortia FUNACTION & MoSTFun! @funaction.bsky.social @mostfun.bsky.social

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Watch this space for more news about both projects! Next stop now: Davos, Switzerland for the World Biodiversity Forum. Swapping fish for fungi!

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To do so, the project team from ZSL & Mexican partners held 3 local community workshops, to plan their return, bringing back the spring sites/ponds & associated activities! These workshops were part funded by an Indianapolis Zoo conservation grant. A true privilege to attend & see this work LIVE!

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Next stop: El Potosi, Nuevo León, Mexico - aka putting ex situ into practice! The area was home to 3 spp of pupfish - all Extinct in the Wild & still alive because of ex situ efforts. The goal is to bring them back home!

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Huge thank you to the team from Albuquerque BioPark & the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group for expertly guiding us through the process!

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The first two weeks of June were all about freshwater fish! 1st stop: Albuquerque - Ex situ conservation planning for highly threatened species of fw fish! Working hard & playing hard, Team Palearctic managed their way through around 60 spp!

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Freshwater molluscs are highly threatened in North America. From spring endemic snails in tiny ecosystems drying up before our eyes to vanishing mussel populations due to channelization, damming, pollution & invasive species, the outlook is dire but our experts kept going nonetheless! Thank you all!

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Because all work and no play makes mollusc assessors - or really anybody! - sad, we also visited the White River Mussel Propagation Facility at the Bureau of Water Quality in Muncie, a project supported by the Indianapolis Zoo! @protectspecies.bsky.social

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Our task: assess the extinction risk status of ca. 500 species of North American freshwater molluscs. Part of a wider initiative to complete the IUCN Global Freshwater Mollusc Assessment, the workshop will contribute to the goal of providing the first ever global assessment for freshwater molluscs.

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

2 weeks ago, we hosted an IUCN Red List Assessment workshop for North American freshwater molluscs, with 20 experts from the IUCN SSC Mollusc Specialist Group, the IUCN SSC Center for Species Survival network, & AZA SAFE North American Freshwater Mussel & @fmcs-mollusk.bsky.social & many others! 🐌

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Here's a new blog post on the Indianapolis Zoo website to re-live our #WorldWaterRun adventures! Ft. Indiana waterways, hiking, running, birdwatching, conferences, dogs, sunshine & lots of fun! @minaguli.bsky.social @runblueofficial.bsky.social www.indianapoliszoo.com/.../world-wa...

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Voting closes on 4 April @ 1:30pm Eastern Time. Till then, vote daily for your favorite!

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

There is a widespread belief that only birds & mammals can win a competition such as this. This is a great opportunity to disprove this (in my books BS) theory. If you love an underdog/underbug story - now is the time to vote! #UproarChallenge

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

It's the FINAL ROUND of the Indianapolis Zoo Uproar Conservation Challenge! Four species - who will win? Two of my favorites are still in the competition: the Bolivian Ornate Tiger Beetle & the Kyrgyzstan Wild Tulip!

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The BOZIBE v TULIP match up will no doubt break my heart. I am torn between these two, and it's neck and neck...

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WEST AFRICAN SLENDER-SNOUTED CROC It's a croc that sings, nay, duets! And males/females can reverse their roles in the duets. I picture Sonny & Cher - I got you babe!

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MOOREAN VIVPAROUS TREE SNAIL AMAZING good news story: was Extinct in the Wild but conservationists have worked tirelessly for a VERY LONG TIME to bring this species back to the wild. And they did it! @zslofficial.bsky.social @zslscience.bsky.social

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SPIKY YELLOW WOODLOUSE Just LOOK at it, it's a rockstar! This funky dude is important to its native ecosystem, the cloud forest on St Helena, where it is busy helping with nutrient cycling, amongst other things! #DYK it also glows in the dark (under UV light)?

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QUEEN ALEXANDRA BIRDWING Not just a "queen" but also pretty much as big, tip to tip, as a ruler (a standard 30 cm one)! Largest butterfly in the world!

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SULAWESI CARDINAL SHRIMP It's bright red like Indiana's state bird, the Cardinal! It lives in the ancient Malili Lake system in Sulawesi, Indonesia! These ancient lakes are true evolutionary laboratories of freshwater life with many unique species that do not exist elsewhere!

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We rounded off the conference with many interesting talks, networking & a lot of coffee - before I walked home to reach a total of 10.7 km of shuttling to & from in the name of #freshwater #conservation! That counts towards #worldwaterrun, right? @runblueofficial.bsky.social @minaguli.bsky.social

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A quick lunchtime Bikeshare bike ride to let the dog out added a few more kms. #DYK the White River Alliance Clear Choices Clean Water campaign can give you tips on how to act on behalf of clean water! Like picking up your dog's 💩! thewhiteriveralliance.org/programs/cle....

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I gave a presentation about our AZA SAFE program for North American Freshwater Mussels. #WorldWaterRun bib of course made an appearance!

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It's Day 2 of #WorldWaterRun & some members of Team Indianapolis Zoo were attending the Indiana Academy of Science Annual Meeting. I tried to make the most of a day spent mostly indoors - starting with an early morning walk to the meeting venue!

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There's a lot of wildlife to be spotted, turtles, beavers, mink, bald eagles, + much more, especially under the water's surface, all in an urban setting! The Indianapolis Zoo recently funded a project sampling the White River for aquatic fungi, too! Also - fish art!

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The White River is right on our zoo's doorstep. The White River Trail runs past/alongside the Urban Wilderness Trail and past Indy’s first Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. It was designated the first Certified Sustainable Trail by the Indiana Wildlife Federation!

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And we're off! #WorldWaterRun is underway so we enjoyed the sunshine along the White River right here in the heart of Indianapolis. Team Indianapolis Zoo is off to a good start with the first 4.1 km (x4) in the bag!

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

ROUND 2 is open in the Indianapolis Zoo Uproar Conservation Challenge. Our Hoosier Cavefish sailed through Round 1 but is facing a very tough battle in Round 2! Please share & vote! Voting ends March 23! uproar.indianapoliszoo.com

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I’m joining the #WorldWaterRun from 20-22 March with Team Indianapolis Zoo!🌍💧 Water shapes all of our lives - in my case also my work life in #freshwater conservation, but many of the water systems that we & other species rely on are in crisis! @runblueofficial.bsky.social @minaguli.bsky.social

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

🚨FINAL FEW HOURS OF VOTING IN ROUND 1🚨 Scores are tight in these 3 matchups! Queen Alexandra's Birdwing v Green Pitcher Plant Horseshoe Crab v Bozibe African Manatee v Nubian Flapshell Turtle Vote: uproar.indianapoliszoo.com #uproarchallenge @iucnbutterflysg.bsky.social

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Through an Indianapolis Zoo funded project, Huzefa Raja, a member of the IUCN SSC Aquatic Fungi Specialist Group, sampled the White River & wider Indiana for aquatic fungi - picking up submerged sticks for culture in the lab! @huzefaraj.bsky.social @iucnaquafungi.bsky.social

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

#DYK: the Indiana Sooty-Spored Freshwater Fungus was only discovered & described LAST YEAR! Now it's competing in the Indianapolis Zoo Uproar Conservation Challenge! Find out more about this amazing species below - then cast your vote for this underdog! uproar.indianapoliszoo.com #UproarChallenge

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Monni Böhm @monnikaboom.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

🚨🚨🚨Call for submissions!!!🚨🚨🚨 We're excited to announce our upcoming special issue in the journal Diversity: "Innovating & Integrating Conservation Tools to Address the Global Extinction Crisis & Prevent Ecosystem Collapse". More info: www.mdpi.com/journal/dive... @mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social

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I can't wait to start implementing this plan. It's such a pleasure to work with this group of people - musselheads are amongst the best!

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3. grow a community of practice in freshwater health and freshwater mussel conservation across AZA 4. develop and activate a resilient coordinated community to advance the conservation education and communication about freshwater mussels and healthy freshwater systems across AZA.

Lampsilis cardium (Plain Pocketbook) displaying mantle lure which mimics a fish. © Kentaro Inoue

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Over the next 3 years - we will: 1. develop a resilient network of organizations and individuals to advance the conservation of North American freshwater mussels 2. build the capacity of AZA partners to assess the conservation status and extinction risk of freshwater mussels (to be continued...)

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🚨🚨🚨 Shell yeah!!! Excited to announce that our first 3-year plan for our AZA SAFE program for North American Freshwater Mussels... HAS BEEN PUBLISHED!!! 🙌

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13/ Other stuff happened... but first of all, time to recharge our batteries so we can get on with all the work that came out of the Congress... here the only other view I had of Abu Dhabi all week long, from the hotel...

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12/ The Congress also marks the end of an era, with a new SSC Chair voted in. Thank you to Jon Paul Rodrigues & his Chairs Office team for helping & guiding us over the past... eight?... years & making our jobs so much fun!

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11/ "Micro"-meeting with the chair of the IUCN SSC Sturgeon Specialist Group, who dropped in for a quick visit! The conservation "fun" never stops for sturgeon folk & this is why: www.indianapoliszoo.com/gcss/blog/st...

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10/ Interlude II: more blasts from the past at Congress!

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9/ Learning about the IUCN Freshwater Strategy - can't wait to see the document for wider consultation!

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8/ Great job to the Centers for Species Survival Freshwater & Trees for the great reception at the @reversethered.bsky.social Pavilion on integrated conservation actions for freshwater & tree species! Great speakers assembled! 💪

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7/ Interlude I: some of the blasts from the past met at Congress ❤️

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