BiodiversityWorks and the Martha’s Vineyard Atlas of Life conducted their first-ever bioblitz June 17-18, 2022, teaming up the with The Trustees of Reservations for an intensive survey of Long Point Wildlife Refuge. The 632-acre preserve, comprising oak woodland, barrens, grassland, and ocean beach, is one of the Vineyard’s showcase conservation properties.
BiodiversityWorks staff deployed acoustic bat detectors, game cameras, and live traps for minnows, turtles, and small mammals overnight on the 17th. The following day, 14 observers broke up into small teams to document as much of the property’s biodiversity as possible.
Excellent conditions – sunny and not too hot – made the day a pleasure for participants and facilitated finding and documenting wildlife. By the day’s end, 482 observations representing 290 species had been entered into iNaturalist, the community science platform that was used to aggregate data. A birding team entered 47 species of birds into eBird, another popular community science platform. Allowing for species entered into both platforms, the total for the event was 314 species – a satisfying total for a one-day event.
Bioblitzes have grown popular among nature enthusiasts in recent years, combining the serious goal of an intensive wildlife inventory with the social element of a recreational group event. Our first bioblitz was an unqualified success, and we will be definitely be holding more!
Matt Pelikan is the director of the Martha’s Vineyard Atlas of Life project at BiodiversityWorks.