Bioblitz/Mycoblitz – June 4th, 5th, and 6th – Brown County State Park
Come and help us collect mushrooms throughout the park for these three days. A Bioblitz is basically a survey of all living plants/animals/organisms within a geographic area. The mushroom team will be led by Ron Kerner of indianamushrooms.com. We will be camping at the state park all weekend, so if you are interested in attending and/or camping, just let us know and we can gather all of the mushroom people at adjoining campsites. This is where we will work out the initial structure and goals of the group.
Here is some additional information on the event:
Brown County State Park
PO Box 608, 1405 SR 46E
Nashville, IN 47448
Park Office: (812) 988-6406
Nature Center: (812) 988-5240
www.browncountystatepark.us
http://www.IN.gov/dnr/parklake/5909.htm
Dear Bioblitzer:
Welcome to the second annual Brown County State Park Bioblitz! We are excited to have you join us and other field investigators for this cooperative, educational and worthwhile endeavor. Like last year, the Bioblitz helped park staff learn what is represented in your particular area of expertise and helped establish property community mapping boundaries, one of our resource management objectives. It will again allow the public to learn the increasingly important role of today’s biologists and botanists in an ever-demanding world. And we hope for you to have a good time with everyone in the rugged and green hills of Brown County, Indiana!
Date and Time:
While the traditional Bioblitz is a timed event limited to 24 hours, the size of this property (16K a., Indiana’s largest state park) adds more challenges. The Bioblitz will last all weekend. We have a window of arrival and field time to include the entire weekend from 8am, Friday, June 4 to 12 noon, Sunday, June 6, 2010. Please plan on conducting your field investigations for however long you can, anytime during this 2.5 day weekend. All participants need to check in at the Nature Center upon arrival. The Nature Center will serve as “Bioblitz Headquarters.” There you’ll find information, support, reference materials, coffee, snacks, and many colleagues and visitors. Please make sure you check-in before beginning any survey work.
Survey Logistics:
Survey participants should register first at Bioblitz Headquarters and then meet up with colleagues for field work. Surveying times will vary, of course. The moth and bat crews might meet up Friday evening, for example, and then work the night. Birders will start at dawn. The botanists get to sleep in. So, in order to coordinate the survey work, we’ve designated a leader for each major group/taxon of organisms to be surveyed. Below is a list of taxon leaders (or possible ones) so far. If your taxon is not listed, please contact the Nature Center (812-988-5240) about becoming a taxon leader. Some of you may be the only Bioblitzer for your taxon. All team leaders must fill out the Scientific Rapid Assessment Permit, found on the website.
(This is a tentative list of taxa team leaders; we are open to having more teams). Let us know if you are interested, also if you would like to present to the public.
Birds: Jeff Riegel ( jkreigel@birdcountry.us)
Herps: Andrew Hoffman ( hoffmana10@hanover.edu), or Jim Horton ( stardali84@hotmail.com)
Insects: (beetles) Jeff Holland ( jdhollan@purdue.edu),
aquatic macroinvertebrates- Rebecca Kalb ( rkalb@purdue.edu)
Fungi: Ron Kerner ( ronkerner@indianamushrooms.com)
Algae: Tara Darcy-Hall ( todarcyh@indiana.edu)
Bryophytes:
Vascular Plants: Tom Swinford ( tswinford@dnr.in.gov),
Grasses: Keith Clay ( clay@indiana.edu)
Mammals/ Bats: Megan Caylor, mkjcaylor@gmail.com
Survey Techniques:
Our goal is to identify as many species as possible. During the field work, we encourage species identification by observation only, with minimal disturbance to organisms and habitat. Taxa leaders must fill out the Scientific Rapid Assessment Form. Voucher specimens are not needed for the Bioblitz. There will be opportunity to “showcase” specimens to the public, Saturday, at 11am-4pm, at the Bioblitz Headquarters. Bioblitz Headquarters will be set up for limited specimen work. You’ll find an indoor area with tables, field guides, electrical outlets, and internet access. All Bioblitzers should bring their own field supplies and other equipment – binoculars, nets, specimen vials, UV lights, stereoscopes, Berlese funnels, etc. Please be aware that you’ll need to report your findings to your taxon leader, who in turn will report to the person keeping a tally of all the species we find. Species total will be tabulated throughout the weekend and on view at the Bioblitz Headquarters, with a final tally at noon on Sunday.
Reporting Results:
Please keep a tally of your species. We will have a list of species, such as the exotic, invasive, or rare and endangered ones that we would like to have GPS coordinates for. All geographic info will be accepted, with gratitude! There will be laptops set up at the Bioblitz headquarters, ready to absorb your survey information.
We recognize that some organisms will not easily be identified to species during the Bioblitz. For these cases, try to list morpho-species – the number of members of a given genus or family. This will allow us to get an approximate total number of species for your taxon by the end of the Bioblitz.
Visitors:
There will be lots of visitors and volunteers throughout the weekend. Most public interpretive programs will take place on Saturday. There is opportunity for you to present an interpretive program for park visitors, i.e., nature hike, “creature feature”, moth sugaring, miss nets, creek walk, or have some visitors help you in the field (lug around equipment, help you spot stuff, etc.). Hands-on field experience would be very effective in educating the public. We will have a “species showcase” at Bioblitz headquarters, Saturday, 11am-4pm.
Food and Camping:
To show you our appreciation for your hard work, we will waive the park entrance fee for all registered researchers, and provide complimentary camping in our primitive Rally Campground. Also, the Friends of Brown County State Park will offer complimentary snacks for Bioblitz researchers at the Headquarters.
Please register for camping in the Rally Campground by calling ahead, (812) 988-5245. The Abe Martin Lodge with new Water Park is also available at (812) 988-4418, 1-877-LODGES1FREE or Indianainns.com.
Gear:
If you have any questions please direct them to Jim Eagleman at the Brown County State Park Nature Center, (812) 988-5240, or email jeagleman@dnr.in.gov. If you have yet to register, you can do that online at the Bioblitz website, http://bcspbioblitzeventbrite.com. Your taxa team leader will contact you as the Bioblitz approaches. Thanks again for your interest and enthusiasm. We’ll see you in a few weeks.
Many thanks for your help!
Jim Eagleman
Interpretive Naturalist/ Bioblitz Coordinator
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