Synopsis: During a BioBlitz, biologists intensely survey wildlife (e.g., mammals, birds, fish, insects, fungi, plants, microbes) within a designated site for a short duration, usually 24 hours. Bioblitzes involve researchers and the general public working together to identify all species in the location, providing a snapshot of its biodiversity. It also provides a unique opportunity for biologists to communicate science about local wildlife and ecology to the public. In NYC, Macaulay Honors College has led two large-scale bioblitzes. BioBlitz 2014 was in the NY Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY and included over 20 biologists and 400 Macaulay Honors College students.
Project: Macaulay Honors College BioBlitz 2014
Host: Macaulay Honors College
Organizers: Kelly O'Donnell (Macaulay Honors College), Lisa Brundage (Macaulay Honors College), and Jessica Arcate Schuler (NY Botanical Garden)
Website: http://macaulay.cuny.edu/
Date: September 6 and 7, 2014
Location: NY Botanical Garden, http://www.nybg.org/ (Bronx, NY)
Fish Taxon Leader(s): Peter J. Park
Participants: Students of Macaulay Honors College
Methods: Seining and Trapping
 |
| Seining (Photo Credit: Kelly O'Donnell) |
 |
| Kevin Parsons filming a Gee Minnow Trap with a GoPro camera (Photo Credit: Kelly O'Donnell) |
Species Caught (and Released) by Site:
I. Site 1: Bronx River, south of waterfall (Method: Seining)
Fish Species:
Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)
Tessellated Darter (Etheostoma olmstedi)
Sucker spp. (Catostomus spp. - observed, not caught)
 |
| Tessellated Darter (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park) |
 |
| Mummichog (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park) |
-------------------------------------------------------------
II. Site 2: East Lake and West Lake (Method: Seining) 
Fish Species:
Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus)
 |
| Displaying a Sunfish (Photo Credit: Kelly O'Donnell) |
-------------------------------------------------------------
III. Site 3: Bronx River, north of waterfall
A. Site 3a: Bronx River, north of waterfall (Method: 1/4" mesh Gee Minnow Traps)
Fish Species:
Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus)
Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)
Tessellated Darter (Etheostoma olmstedi)
 |
| Redbreast Sunfish (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park) |
B. Site 3b: Bronx River, north of waterfall but downstream of Site 3a. (Method: Seining)
Fish Species:
Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus)
White Sucker (Catostomus commersonii)
Tessellated Darter (Etheostoma olmstedi)
 |
| White Sucker (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park) |
Other Species:
Crayfish
 |
| Crayfish (Photo Credit: Joseph Ugoretz) |
Comments: In preparation for BioBlitz 2014, Park visited these sites and observed two species that were not caught during this event.
He filmed a Bullhead catfish (Ameiurus spp.) in Site 3b, Bronx River north of the waterfall. See video below.
 |
| Bullhead Catfish nursing young (Video Credit: Peter J. Park) |
In addition, an American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) was caught, tagged, and released in a site south of the waterfall by students of John Waldman (Queens College). See below:
 |
| American Eel (Photo Credit: Alexis Kleinbeck) |
Additional Info: All procedures and activities described above were permitted by the NY DEC.
Follow-Up: Park presented BioBlitz 2014 fish survey data on Oct. 9, 2015 at the 2nd Youth Educational Seining Programs (YES) Symposium at the Sarah Lawrence College Center for the Urban River at Beczak in Yonkers, NY. The talk was titled "A summary of fish collection efforts during Macaulay Honors College BioBlitz 2014 at the New York Botanical Garden"
In the Press: BioBlitz 2014 was featured in the Tuesday, September 23, 2014 issue of Greenwich Time (www.GreenwichTime.com).
Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Joe Rachlin (Lehman College) and Barbara Warkentine (SUNY Maritime College) for their expertise on fishes of the Bronx River. We are also grateful to Michael A. Bell (Stony Brook University), Pokay Ma (Queens College), and John Waldman (Queens College) for the loaning of equipment for this event.
Further Reading:
Murdy, E. O., R. S. Birdson, and J. A. Musick. 1997. Fishes of the Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Page, L. M. and B. M. Burr. 2012. Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York.
Pappantoniou A., J. W. Rachlin, and B. E. Warkentine. 2007. An evaluation of the ichthyofauna of the Bronx River, a resilient urban waterway. Northeastern Naturalist 14(4): 531–544.
No comments:
Post a Comment