sambiology's Journal

On Monday, August 19th at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time), I'll be doing a presentation to the Cross Timbers Master Naturalists on my recent trip to Saudi Arabia! On this presentation, I'll be talking about learning your local flora and fauna and how that amplifies your visit to other places. We'll talk a lot about convergent evolution -- how some things that aren't even closely related may look similar in various places based on that specific niche.

If you're able to, please join us online! :) Anyone and everyone can attend!
https://agrilife.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvfuqvrz0pHdED-vcXGPtLx74CJLTUXtvz#/registration

If you do plan on joining, I do have one question:
What is one country that you'd love to visit (as a naturalist) that you've not been to before??? :)

First of all, I recognize my bias -- I LOVE bugs, and I simply love finding so many different kinds of 'bugs' (arthropods in general). They're so tremendously biodiverse, they live anywhere and everywhere, and I think they're genuinely the most interesting organisms on the planet. There is such intrinsic joy when you appreciate bugs.

But, I've also found myself 'defending' my interest in bugs -- specifically, the relevancy of doing biosurveys and documenting lots of bugs at parks. I try to create some good 'talking points' on why bugs matter, but I'd love to hear what others use/say when talking about how important bugs are, and why we should care about bugs. They're not 'game species' like deer or turkey, they're not as big or charismatic as some of the vertebrates -- and heck, sometimes they don't sit still like plants!

Here's my typical message:
Bug diversity means plant diversity.
Bug diversity means bird diversity.
Bug diversity means healthy wildlife habitats.
Healthy wildlife habitats mean more ecosystem services like clean air and clean water.

I also think that bugs are the perfect representatives of the urban ecosystem -- at first glance they may not seem significant, just like a small urban park or a front/back yard may be. But, when you recognize that the urban ecosystem is made up of a mosaic of urban parks, yards, cemeteries, vacant lots, then you notice how important these all are.

Anyways, I'd love to know some of the talking points that you've used when talking about why bugs matter (the relevancy of bugs). :)

Rules:
Observations must be of a plant with a photo and must be in Texas during Oct 20 - 26. If cultivated, observation must be marked as cultivated.

How can I participate?
It's easy! Just download iNaturalist on smartphone, create username and password. You can also go onto the website www.iNaturalist.org and create a username and password. You can use a camera if you don't have phone; just put the observations on iNat using the computer. Use the app to make observations, but go to the website to look at the data!

Do I need to join the project?
No! Any and all observations of plants made in Texas during October 20 - 26 will automatically be added to the project. You don't have to do any extra steps to add observations to the project.

How can I see the progress of the bioblitz?
Search this page that aggregates all of the observations that match the criteria (plants, Texas, photo evidence). You can filter results by your county/region or by individual or plant family or anything else.

Can I observe a native plant that I put in my landscape?
We would rather you observe plants that are wild and not planted... iNaturalist is best used for natural distributions of organisms, so if we do observe cultivated/planted, they need to be marked as cultivated or captive. After all, we do have elephants in Dallas -- but they're captive. So, observations of cultivated plants need to be marked as cultivated.

Why should non-natives or invasives count to this bioblitz?
So, this data is still important to know! This project is for documenting all wild plants.

Where should I go to make observations?
The best place to go includes those wild spaces like no-mow zones or 'weedy' spots. You can observe plants from around your home or roadside (no trespassing allowed!!!). Public parks are ideal - observations made in these public spaces can guide management.

How else can I help?
One of the most important things you can do is help with the identifications! If you know some plants, take a look at the observations that folks are making around Texas:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=needs_id%2Cresearch&place_id=18&taxon_id=47126
This is best done on the computer/PC. You need to have an iNaturalist account to identify observations.
Also, if you notice that folks are documenting cultivated/planted plants, you can mark these as cultivated/captive on the identify screen.