2009 BioBlitz Report a thank you to donors, sponsors, and partners



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2009 BioBlitz Report

A thank you to donors, sponsors, and partners
The Connecticut State BioBlitz is an event of Herculean proportions that requires the participation and collaboration of participants, partners, and sponsors. Bruce Morton and other Goodwin College faculty and staff and the Friends of Keney Park, Upper Albany Collaborative, and Keney Park Trailblazers were responsible for much of the preparation and logistical aspects of the 2009 Connecticut State BioBlitz. The Dorr Foundation provided a major grant that helped us to launch a highly successful BioBlitz and fund the many facets of the BioBlitz Camp. The Center for Conservation and Biodiversity, Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut provided the scientific backbone of the event--nearly half of the scientists and the two principal organizers (Leanne Harty and David Wagner) are employees of the University. As in all past BioBlitzes, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection played a pivotal role in the sampling, BioBlitz Camp instruction, and public programming activities on Saturday. Other major contributors and sponsors included The City of Hartford, the Town of East Hartford, the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, VCB Association, and Leadership Greater Hartford. To all we extend a heartfelt thank you.

Table of Contents
I. Introduction

- What is a BioBlitz?

- Junior scientists
II. Programs

- Friday program

- Saturday program
III. Our Findings

- 2009 BioBlitz results

- 2009 BioBlitz notables
IV. Conservation and Management Matters
Appendix A. 1999 BioBlitz Results
Appendix B. Additional Data

-Keney Park light trap samples

-Rentschler Field light trap samples
Appendix C. 2009 BioBlitz Publicity
Appendix D. Image Gallery
Appendix E. Twig Composition

I. Introduction
What is a BioBlitz?
A BioBlitz is an intensive 24-hour biological survey of a designated area. Scientists and the region’s top naturalists band together to scour the chosen area for all of the living organisms they can find over the cycle of one day. Species lists, specimens, and/or images are brought to a central location where they are sorted, identified, and tallied. The public is invited to observe the many facets of the BioBlitz and are treated to a day of talks, guided walks, and tours through the scientists’ working areas, kid’s activities, and other related programming. Key results are shared with the public and media at the closing ceremony, which features brief, yet information-laden summaries from more than 25 participating scientists.
The core events of this year’s event--the 10th anniversary of the CT BioBlitz--were held at two locations: in Keney Park, Hartford and at Goodwin College in East Hartford.
Keney Park, a 693-acre park located in northeastern Hartford, served as the location for Connecticut’s inaugural 1999 BioBlitz. The Park includes a golf course, miles of winding trails for hiking, sites for camping, the Matianuck State Natural Area, acres of woodlands, ponds, two sandplains, and much more. Within the boundaries of this expansive urban park, the BioBlitz participants were able to visit and sample a remarkably rich diversity of microbial, plant, and animal life. Samples were also taken in East Hartford’s Rentschler Field, where several rare birds were found.
Goodwin College’s new River Campus served as “BioBlitz Central” and housed the scientists and their collections over the course of the 24-hour event. In addition, the River Campus hosted the event’s public programming as well as the closing ceremony. Goodwin College was founded in 1999 in East Hartford (burgeoning from what previously was known as the Data Institute Business School). Through a major expansion project, the state-of-the-art River Campus was opened for classes in January 2009.
Over the course of 24 hours, 1,715 species were found. Interesting and noteworthy finds include a breeding pair of bald eagles, a peregrine falcon, and a whopping 19-pound snapping turtle from Keney Cove that was used to host a National Geographic Crittercam. An eighteen-pound northern pike attracted considerable attention among those censusing the Connecticut River fish. A marvelous array of fungi—close to three times the number found at Keney in 1999—was collected by the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society. The BioBlitz yielded one new state record—a rare owlet moth (Ufeus plicatus).
Junior Scientists

The Junior Scientist’s Camp has become a principal focus of the Connecticut State BioBlitz.  Middle and high school students from across the state are invited to participate alongside scientists to survey the plant and animal wildlife of the Greater Hartford area.  Each child that was interested in attending was required to submit a 500-word essay explaining why they should be selected to participate as a Jr. Scientist in the 2009 Connecticut BioBlitz. Of the more than 50 students that applied, 27 were selected to attend this year’s camp. 

Over the course of the 24-hour event, students were able to work with more than 20 scientists and DEP biologists.  Camp highlights included learning about bats with Jenny Dickson (CT Department of Environmental Protection); catching aquatic organisms using nets with Neil Hagstrom (CT Department of Environmental Protection); setting turtle traps with Susan Herrick (Univ. of Connecticut); attending nighttime excursions to observe scientists collecting fish species using electroshock technology (CT Department of Environmental Protection wildlife biologists); or nocturnal insects using mercury vapor lights and large white sheets with Dr. David Wagner (Univ. of Connecticut); releasing a large female snapping turtle with an attached National Geographic Crittercam1 with Tobias Landberg (University of Connecticut doctoral candidate); attending walks focusing on botany with Juan Sanchez, vertebrates with Brian Hiller (Univ. of Connecticut), invertebrates with Moria Robinson (Middlebury College), Shawn Binns (University of Connecticut), and Sabina Perkins (Stanford University) and mammal tracking with Jamie Fisher (White Memorial Foundation); mist netting birds and banding them with Chris Fields (Audubon Society) and Shannon Kearney (CT Department of Environmental Protection); touring ”BioBlitz Central” where scientists, grad students, and dozens of the region’s top naturalists were assembled and busy working through their specimens. In addition to all of the above, the Junior Scientists had the opportunity to ride on bass boats out onto the Connecticut River; go “frogging” with Susan Herrick on Friday evening; listen to the hunting calls of echolocating bats; observe a pair of nesting bald eagles; attend an assortment of public walks and talks led by scientists; and much, much more. 

BioBlitz organizers received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from the youth participants and their parents.  The Jr. Scientists camp coordinator, Edward Smith of Two Rivers Magnet School (East Hartford), is certain a few biologists were “made” that day.   For some of the Junior Scientists the event was an epiphany.  Smith felt it was the best BioBlitz Camp of the three that he has organized and led.   Evaluation forms were sent to each student over the summer—results of which can be obtained from Ed Smith.

In August, each student was mailed a CD with 50 “best of” images from the 2009 Connecticut State BioBlitz that had been assembled by Chris Jelly.   



Image: Undergraduate students leading a nature walk in Keney Cove.


II. Public Programming and Outreach
Friday Program at Keney Park
The BioBlitz kickoff at 3:00 PM; opening ceremonies, and public barbecue were held in Keney Park. The official welcoming ceremony with public addresses by local leaders, officials, and a guest speaker was held Friday from 5 PM to 6:30 PM at the Keney Pond House. Much of the planning and logistical support came from Friends of Keney Park with help from the Upper Albany Collaborative and the City of Hartford.
The event’s opening ceremony, led by Councilman Luis Cotto, enjoyed participation from various dignitaries. A representative from Mayor Eddie Perez’s office provided the initial welcoming remarks. Robert Painter discussed the history and future of the BioBlitz, and a representative from Congressman Larson’s office read a message from Congressmen Larson, in which the efforts of the board members, Bayyinah Lyons, Henry Hester, and the friends of Keney Park were acknowledged. University of Connecticut professor David Wagner spoke about the role that events like the BioBlitz play in outdoor (science) education. His remarks were followed by Dr. Jeremy Teitelbaum, the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut, who spoke about the Natural History Museum and the scientific and outreach values of the Connecticut State BioBlitz.
The program culminated in an engaging and humorous keynote speech by Richard Conniff—a world-famous author who has written a half-dozen books. Conniff regaled the audience with personal accounts from his colorful experiences abroad. Afterward Conniff signed copies of his new book, “Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals.”
After the welcome speeches and presentation by Conniff the scientists, both junior and adult, as well as the attending public were treated to a barbecue sponsored by the Friends of Keney Park
Saturday Program at Goodwin College (East Hartford)
Goodwin College’s River campus was home to a rich program of talks and presentations that occurred on the patio and in the auditorium from 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday (see Table 1). In addition there were numerous exhibitors lining the main hallway that interacted with the public (see Table 2).
Table 1. Scheduled Talks and Presentations.

Auditorium

11:00- CT Turtles

Dennis Quinn,  

CTHerpConsultant LLC


11:30- CT River Turtlecams in Action

Tobias Landberg, UConn


12:00- Homing and the Herring

Eric Schultz, UConn


12:30- Small Mammals of Connecticut

Jamie Fischer, White Memorial Foundation


1:00- Invasive Plants

Logan Senack, Connecticut DEP


1:30- Chimney Swifts!

Margaret Rubega, UConn


2:00- Connecticut Snakes

Chuck Annicelli, Herpetological Surveys LLC


2:30- Bats

Jenny Dickson, Connecticut DEP




Patio Talks, North Courtyard

11:15- Crayfish, Shrimp, and Kin

Alberto Mimo, North East Naturalist
11:45- Caterpillars

Michael Singer lab, Wesleyan University


12:15- Spiders, Centipedes, and Scorpions John Wallace
12:45- Connecticut’s Fungi

Connecticut Valley Mycological Society


1:15- Aquatic Insects

Alex Meleg, UConn


1:45- Turtlecams in Action

Tobias Landberg, UConn


2:45- Dangerous Bugs

Parker Gambino, Res. Assoc.

American Museum of Natural History



Table 2. 2009 Connecticut State BioBlitz Exhibitors

American Museum of Natural History

Herpetological Surveys, L.L.C.

Connecticut Audubon Association—Glastonbury

Park River Watershed Revitalization

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection

UConn Museum of Natural History

Connecticut Valley Mycological Society

University of Connecticut, Storrs

CTHerpConsultant, L.L.C.

VCB Association

Friends of Keney Park

White Memorial Foundation

Goodwin College White Memorial Foundation



In addition to the above, the program included two hands-on “Nature Art” workshops for children.




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