At a time when climate change and urbanization are poised to set off a new wave of extinction, some members of the scientific community are turning toward backyard biologists for the data they need to monitor ecosystems and protect struggling species.

Scientists are using new and creative ways to help protect endangered and at-risk species and the ecosystems they — and humans — depend on for survival, according to a Jan. 12 press release.

A new series of stamps from the Royal Mail has been issued to commemorate ten endangered species in Britain. The almost-gone insects range from the stag beetle to the Adonis blue butterfly. They include the red-barbed ant and the hazel pot beetle. Then there is the noble chafer, the southern damselfly, the barberry carpet moth and the purbeck mason wasp. All of them vulnerable or endangered. They are part of the “Action for Species” series which highlights endangered species and were photographed from specimens in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London. It has a comprehensive collection of 28 million specimens.