absolutely, 37 plant families in my dataset represented by a single species
Essentially my entire survey was purely observational, with almost zero trapping or collections of any kind (my intent was for the survey to be as non-destructive as possible given the site is already under high pressure from many threats). I ran some moth sheets at night, collected perhaps 4-5 insect specimens for ID, and collected maybe 15-20 tricky plant specimens to send to herbaria for ID, but apart from that just taking photos!
I think in particular the key for me for making sure I was able to ID things was just taking as many photos as possible; for many plants I observed, I’d take anywhere between 10-50 photos in the field of a single specimen, and then whittle those down to 20 to upload to iNat. E.g. this rare native herb I found during my last trip: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103134384. It’s extremely similar to at least 5-6 other species in the general area, and the key requires multiple different characters to get to an ID. I not only took 30+ photos, but also collected some fruits and brought them home, as the seeds are an important character.
I think also just spending so much time in there, I got to a point where I had become so familiar with everything that I could instantly tell when I had encountered something new, and so then it was just a matter of making sure I photographed every single feature to make sure I’d be able to ID it later. Also very important was remembering/geotagging the exact/pinpoint location of individuals. In many cases I would find a plant that was clearly new for me, but because it didn’t have fruit or flowers at the time, I wasn’t able to make an ID out of 2-3 options. So I’d ensure I knew the exact location, and I’d then keep returning to that specific individual until the features I needed appeared. For some species, I tracked individuals over the course of 7-8 months waiting for fertile material so I could ID them.
Pretty much yes. Plus things like looking under logs/rocks, etc.
Two things that definitely helped with the insect count:
Doing surveys in there at night. I’d say at least 30% of the species I found, I only saw them at night time.
Setting up a sheet + light at night; during good conditions (warm, no wind, no moon etc), I’d often get up to 100 species visiting the light in a single night.
Fairly busy, yes. My count of 900 insect species is definitely just the tip of the iceberg as well. If I actually did some trapping in there with pitfalls, malaise traps, leaf litter sifting, etc., I have no doubt that my species count would increase by a few thousand at least.
well, I finally wrapped up this project. Ended up visiting the reserve another 16 times this year. All up from ~380 hours of surveying, finished with 1926 species. For anyone interested, I made a website summarising the whole thing: https://tmesaglio.github.io/duck-river-biodiversity-survey/
You can also download the final 428 page report I wrote by clicking on the big hyperlinked text on the homepage of that site.
Bristletail!! Thats awesome. Love it! So cute too.
Interesting the closest is a cave species. Its been long hypothesised that cave species move through MSS habitat and cave is just our peak into that world because it is where humans fit. It certainly in your photo is not like surface ones I am used to seeing but more cave like.
This thread has been an absolute delight to read. Thank you to all who have participated and turned it into this beautiful work.
A question came up while reading it. Does anyone know of any visual works (documentary, film, collection of vlogs, etc.) that show the process of surveying an area?
I have gotten a feel for the process by reading this topic. Yet I can imagine a visual display of it would deepen my understanding and appreciation of it. I found my desire for this increasing during my read through.
For me, someone with limited knowledge of Nature, visual display works really well. I have little sensitivy to and enthusiasm for remembering taxa and methodologies etc. when it comes to Nature.
Thank you very much for sharing this process @thebeachcomber. I found it a very enjoyable read, and while Nature is not my number one interest in life, and not my work, I now want to see more!
for anyone interested, I’ve finally formally published my plant species list for the reserve, plus my reassessment of the historical surveys + their combination with mine to generate an all time master species list.
All up, 727 plant species (360 native, 367 non-native) recorded from 1976-2023 in an area of just 20 ha. For just my own survey, I recorded 546 species in the reserve over a four year period
here’s a cool comparison of my original species curve I posted when I started this thread almost 4 years ago (!), vs the final species curve. Still not flattened off!
Just when you think you have seen it all.
I have visited an area about 4 times the size of yours an average of 4 times a year for over 8 years.
I have been going there less often and each time I seem to make fewer observations. On my last visit I discovered a species that is vulnerable in this state and critically imperiled in surrounding states. Of the 81 observations on iNaturalist that averages 1 every 200 square miles. So now I am anxious to get back out there. How long is something you have to decide for yourself.
Interesting question and thanks for spurring me to do a little analysis. I have been walking the trails and fields and wading a few marshes behind beaver dams in a small area in western Placer County CA and have been accumulating species for 2 1/2 years now. It appears that I am not plateauing yet. And I was fortunate to observe a couple of endangered Crotch’s Bumble Bees the other day.
Not knowing anything about where you’ll publish, which may influence how many years would be seen as adequate (e.g. by reviewers), I don’t think we can adequately answer that question. It’s always a difficult question, though. But when you do publish, include a link to the iNaturalist project for your survey. That way, anyone reading your paper will be able to look at the iNat project to see any future observations.
Hi, Chuck. Well, I saw the other curves above mine and figured there must be a way to generate them through iNat, but I could not figure it out. So, I went to “Your Observations” and clicked on the “SPECIES” box. Then I went to “Filters/Date Observed/Range” and set the start date (I kept the start date fixed at 12/1/2021) and the end date for each consecutive month. Then I took the number of species which iNat found (listed under the “SPECIES” box) and put it in a spread sheet (in this case, Google Sheets). Took a little time, but I was glad to see the results. I am a little amazed at the number of new species I still find with just casual observing. I know if I would branch into other areas, like being better at plants, or microbiology, I would find many more. Message me if you have more questions or if this is not clear.
Just read your bio - yes, it is all about energy flow.
