Below is a sample of ongoing ATBI projects. Additional project descriptions will be added, so check back frequently or submit a description to Neil Cobb.
Deer Creek Watershed Project
The Nature Conservancy will sponsor a 'Bio blitz' on July 20-22 along Deer Creek just outside of Boulder, Utah. Situated between the Dixie National Forest and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Deer Creek Watershed is a unique and relatively unspoiled natural area. Scientists and nature enthusiasts will conduct an all taxa biodiversity inventory of this area in an effort to identify plant and animal species and better understand the ecology of this area. The Conservancy is seeking volunteers with field experience or science backgrounds to help with this exciting event. For more information or to sign up, please contact Linda Whitham, at 435-259-4629.
The Aquatic Annelida of the Colorado River and it's Tributaries, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Numerous taxonomists and systematists with expertise in one or more groups of plants and animals are participating in this project, and are being assisted by ecologists, data specialists, aquatic and terrestrial biologists, teachers, students, and regional volunteers. My primary focus for this project is to identify freshwater oligochaetes, leeches, and any other aquatic or semi-aquatic annelids that I have collected from the Colorado River, its direct tributaries, and other unique habitats within the GCNP. I especially welcome any specimens that you may have collected from aquatic habitats within the GCNP, and your published records of aquatic and terrestrial Annelida from this region. Your findings (with credit) will be incorporated into this website, and your publications will be included in the literature cited section of this document if you forward a reprint to me. Your suggestions for and comments on this project are welcome.
Developing an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) program for Canyon de Chelly National Monument
A two-year “All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory” (ATBI) program has been proposed for Canyon de Chelly National Monument. This will be an extension and expansion of our existing ATBI activities at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in that we will solicit wide participation for a number of “bioblitzes”. These biolblitz surveys will inventory a wide variety of taxa and several important habitats. The ensuing taxonomic database will greatly increase the number of species known to exist in the monument and provide important habitat information for conservation planning. We will also provide training in biodiversity studies and conduct biodiversity workshops that target k-12, the public, and local students.
Identify and Recatalog the Entomology Collection of ZionNational Park
The entomology collection at ZION has been identified and cataloged over the years, however; the collection is disorganized and the catalog records are unreliable. Due to this disorganization, the collection lacks adequate accountability and it is unusable to researchers and park staff. With no subject matter expert, the park is unable to verify species identification and update nomenclature. Under the direction of an expert, this project will organize, verify, recatalog, and upgrade storage of the collection; providing improved accountability and accessibility.
Inventory and Monitoring of Terrestrial Riparian Resources in the Colorado River corridor of Grand Canyon
This project is an extension of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring activities in riparian habitats of the Colorado River corridor of Grand Canyon National Park that took place during 2004. These findings will continue to present managers with a useful set of tools to assess the impacts of dam management decisions on the plants and animals in riparian habitats along the Colorado River. The results from this additional monitoring represents another opportunity to assess changes in the status of the biota surveyed by this project over multiple years. The data were collected during a series of river trips extending from January through September, 2004. Supplemental work was done during day-trips upstream from Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area after the spring and fall trips. The vegetation, arthropod, herpetofaunal and small mammal surveys were conducted during one spring field trip.
Long-Term Monitoring of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods in National Park Service Units of the Southern Colorado Plateau Network
The overall purpose of the this project is to develop and test a rigorous and repeatable protocol for long-term monitoring of ground-dwelling arthropods, and to conduct pilot monitoring in pinyon-juniper woodlands at GRCA and MEVE. We plan to conduct ground dwelling arthropod community pilot studies at Mesa Verde (MEVE) and Grand Canyon (GRCA) National Parks within Pinyon-Juniper forests in spring and summer 2007.
The Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network (SCPN) of the National Park Service is implementing a monitoring program for terrestrial arthropods in selected upland ecosystems. Arthropods perform essential ecosystem functions such as decomposition, nutrient recycling and pollination, and are an important food resource for higher organisms. Their small size and rapid population growth rates permit them to be responsive to both fine-scale spatial variation and short temporal scales. Consequently, arthropods are typically useful indicators of environmental change. Arthropods are likely to respond rapidly to management practices, potentially informing these decisions faster than if longer-lived organisms are used.
The goal of monitoring ground-dwelling arthropods is to provide status and trends data on key species and community composition as one of several indicators of ecosystem condition. Questions to be addressed include:
What are the seasonal and annual trends in arthropod composition and abundance?
What are the relationships among arthropod composition and abundance, vegetation structure and composition, soil stability, and soil moisture?
Information of the status and trends in ground-dwelling arthropod assemblages will be integrated with monitoring data relating to: 1) vegetation composition and structure, 2) soil stability and upland hydrologic function, and 3) bird community dynamics, to report on the overall condition of these ecosystems. Monitoring of ground-dwelling arthropods will be limited to pinyon-juniper woodlands occurring at Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) and Mesa Verde National Park (MEVE).
