1184-5469 - Millions of butterflies covering trees, Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico, North America
1184-5470 - Millions of butterflies covering trees, Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico, North America
1184-5472 - Close up of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico, North America
1184-5471 - Millions of butterflies covering trees, Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico, North America
1184-5468 - Millions of butterflies covering trees, Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico, North America
832-389779 - Stoat (Mustela erminea), in winter fur on a snow-covered meadow with field mouse (Microtus arvalis) in the catch, Swabian Alb biosphere reserve, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, Europe
832-385631 - Golden morning light, old Solitaire Oak, English oak (Quercus robur) on the meadows of the Elbe in the morning fog, Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Europe
832-385632 - Morning atmosphere at a lake with reed banks in the Elbaue, Elbe meadows near Dessau, Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Europe
832-385630 - Warm morning light and morning haze at sunrise over a meadow, Elbe meadows near Dessau, Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Europe
860-287450 - Tara Oceans Expeditions - May 2011. Tara with deployed plancton nets. On "station", the boat is drifting without engine or sails. Tara Oceans, a unique expedition: Tara Oceans is the very first attempt to make a global study of marine plankton, a form of sea life that includes organisms as small as viruses and bacterias, and as big as medusas. Our goal is to better understand planktonic ecosystems by exploring the countless species, learning about interactions among them and with their environment. Marine plankton is the only ecosystem that is almost continuous over the surface of the Earth. Studying plankton is like taking the pulse of our planet. Recently, scientists have discovered the great importance of plankton for the climate: populations of plankton are affected very rapidly by variations in climate. But in turn they can influence the climate by modifying the absorption of carbon. In a context of rapid physico-chemical changes, for example the acidification observed today in the world's oceans, it is urgent to understand and predict the evolution of these particular ecosystems. Finally, plankton is an astonishing way of going back in time ? a prime source of fossils. Over the eons, plankton has created several hundred meters of sediment on the ocean floors. This allows us to go back in time, to the first oceans on Earth, and better understand the history of our biosphere. More than 12 fields of research are involved in the project, which will bring together an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from prestigious laboratories headed by Eric Karsenti of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Galapagos
733-8436 - Aerial view of Telescope observatory, near Caldera de Taburiente National Park, UNESCO Biosphere Site, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe
733-8468 - San Sebastian de la Gomera town, Tenerife in the background, San Sebastian de la Gomera, UNESCO Biosphere Site, La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe
733-8437 - Aerial view of Telescope observatory, near Caldera de Taburiente National Park, UNESCO Biosphere Site, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe
733-8467 - San Sebastian de la Gomera town, Tenerife in the background, San Sebastian de la Gomera, UNESCO Biosphere Site, La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe
733-8438 - Aerial view of the salt pans and lighthouse at Faro de Fuencaliente. UNESCO Biosphere Site, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe
733-8439 - Aerial view of Telescope observatory, near Caldera de Taburiente National Park, UNESCO Biosphere Site, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe
832-380410 - Kellereischloss Hammelburg, Red Palace at night, with water reflection, Hammelburg, Rhön Biosphere Reserve, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, Europe