Diario del proyecto Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021

Happy July Merck BioBlitzers!

Today’s OOTD is our first introduced species highlighted as Observation of the Day, meaning this plant has moved outside of its native range because of human activity. The Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense), also called Canada Thistle or Field Thistle is not yet considered an invasive plant in Vermont, but other states have declared it a noxious weed¹. There were two observations made of C. arvense during the 2019 Merck Forest BioBlitz which were the first two observations of this species in Bennington County!





These observations highlight another valuable characteristic of citizen science participation: tracking invasive species. The State of Alaska alone spends about $1.2 million annually just to monitor invasive species, and another $4.6 million managing them². One of the most difficult parts of this effort is knowing how fast and to where these invasive species spread. While it might be exciting to capture a rare native plant or animal, you might be doing just as much by finding invasive species!

Join us from dawn to dusk on on July 24th and 25th for some fun and safe exploration of everything natural across 3,167 acres at Merck Forest!

Links

Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Photograph: © Eric Jones - some rights reserved - (CC BY-NC)

¹USDA National Resources Conservation Service Plants
²University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research

T-22 days until Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021!

Today’s OOTD is a medium-sized moth in sphinx moth family, Sphingidae. The Small-eyed Sphinx Moth (Paonias myops ) was observed five different times during the 2019 Merck Forest BioBlitz, and collectively, they were the first 5 identifications of 𝘗. 𝘮𝘺𝘰𝘱𝘴 in Bennington County, Vermont! The Small-eyed Sphinx Moth is most active from April to October, and primarily feeds on birch, hawthorn, poplar, cherry, and willow trees.¹





All of these five observations' pictures were taken as part of a nighttime moth observation event hosted during the 2019 Merck BioBlitz; one we have planned again during BioBlitz 2020! Merck Forest staff and BioBlitz participants ready their cameras while they shine a bright light at a white sheet. Moths and other insects of the night take to the sheet, and participants get to observe organisms not often seen!

Join us on July 24th and 25th for some fun and safe exploration of everything natural across 3,167 acres at Merck Forest! More details to come on the nighttime insect observation event.

Links

Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Photograph: © Nathaniel Sharp - some rights reserved - (CC BY-NC)

¹Iowa State University Department of Entomology BugGuide

Hello Merck Forest and Farmland Center iNatters! We hope you enjoyed your 4^th of July weekend and are looking forward to the next BioBlitz 2021 Observation of the Day!


Today’s OOTD is a member of one of the six species of salamanders (order: Caudata) that has been documented at Merck Forest: the Northern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata)! These amphibians are hatched in slowly moving water, usually calm pools in streams, and develop into terrestrial adults¹. This observation was taken near Birch Pond, an area rich in amphibians on the property, but one that has few observations of them! Check out this link to see all the amphibian observations near Birch Pond on iNaturalist.





Join us on Saturday, July 24th and Sunday, July 25th to help us document salamanders, other amphibians, and any wildlife you can find at Merck Forest!

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Good morning Merck Forest BioBlitzers! Today’s OOTD is our first mammal highlighted as Observation of the Day, and one of the most commonly identified of the mammals seen on the Merck Forest and Farmland Center property: the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)! You can see the OOTD here.



The word “porcupine” is of middle or old French origin from the word “porcespin” which aptly translates to “thorn pig”¹. The NA porcupine’s quills are modified hairs which form into barbed, hollow spines. Contrary to a popular presumption, NA porcupines do not “shoot” their quills when threatened, but rather flex them to stand up, where they are more easily dislodged when they contact a perceived predator. After the North American beaver, the North American porcupine is the largest rodent in North America¹.

There have only been 10 research-grade observations of mammals over the past two years of Merck Forest BioBlitz-ing, so come out to Merck Forest and Farmland Center any time on July 24th or July 25th to help us explore and identify our wild furry friends!

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Today’s Observation of the day is our first species of arachnid (Arachnida) highlighted as OOTD. This observation is of a Yellow Garden Spider (Arigope aurantia) and shows off the intimidating yet beautiful markings on the spider’s abdomen. A member of the orb-weaver family, Araneidae, the Yellow Garden Spider has an extra claw per foot, giving them three, which it uses to help handle threads while spinning its web¹.





Yellow Garden Spiders keep to themselves unless disturbed or harassed, but their bite’s venom is non-allergic and harmless to humans—roughly equivalent to the intensity of a bumblebee sting¹. When threatened, A. aurantia will grab hold of its web and vibrate, creating the illusion that it is larger than it is. Check out this short video of a Yellow Garden Spider shaking its web!


Come to Merck Forest and Farmland Center on Saturday, July 24th and/or Sunday, July 25th to find spiders, other arachnids, and hundreds of other species of wild plants and animals!

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

We’re just about two weeks away from Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021 and the guided experiences are set! Below you will find the schedule for expert-led walks and experiences during the days and nights of Saturday, July 24^th and Sunday, July 25^th. You can expect personalized walks with identification, ecological, and much more information from professionals who are experts in their topic.

Each walk or guided experience will be capped at 10 BioBlitz participants. You can save your spot for a guided experience by signing up at the tables located by the Merck Forest and Farmland Center Joy Green Visitor’s Center from dawn to dusk on July 24^th and 25^th. If the sign-up is full, you are welcome to show up and join the guided experience if another participant does not show.


We welcome and encourage individual exploration if that suits your style as well! Keep an eye out for posts including materials which suggest areas to explore on the property, or ask a Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021 staff member for advice during the BioBlitz weekend.
See you on July 24th and July 25th for a weekend of exploring and documenting wildlife at Merck Forest and Farmland Center!

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Today’s Observation of the Day was made during Merck Forest’s BioBlitz 2019 by Merck Forest and Farmland Center’s now-current Board President Sue Van Hook! Sue has led mushroom walks with Merck Forest for years, and she first joined the BioBlitz effort in 2019 when she led a nature walk focused on mushrooms and other fungi. This observation is of an Ochre Jelly Club (Leotia lubrica) during her nature walk, and was the first observation of this species on the Merck Forest property and in Bennington County, Vermont!





L. lubrica is also commonly referred to as a jelly baby and is often found growing in clumps of many fruiting bodies with irregularly shaped caps. These mushrooms are in fact edible, but are considered to have little to no culinary value¹.


Sue Van Hook is leading a guided experience mushroom walk during Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021 from 9-11am on Saturday, July 24^th, and a lichen walk from 9-11am on Sunday, July 25^th. Come meet Merck Forest and Farmland Center’s new board president and learn about the wonderful world of lichens and mushrooms at the Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021!

Check out this Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021 Facebook post or iNaturalist journal post to see the whole guided experiences schedule.

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Hello Merck Forest BioBlitzers! We’re 12 days away from Merck Forest’s 3^rdAnnual BioBlitz, and today we are going to overview how to use iNaturalist for BioBlitz purposes. This post assumes you already have an iNaturalist account and have joined the Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021 iNaturalist project page. If you still have questions about what iNaturalist is or how to sign up, check out this Merck Forest Facebook post.

So, you have an iNaturalist account and have joined our project. You show up to the BioBlitz at Merck Forest on Saturday, July 24^th, and you see a patch of beautiful pink flowers. You pull out your phone and snap a picture up close and of the whole patch.






Now what?


Let’s use this example of an observation of a Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, made by Merck Forest’s Conservation Intern, Max.

Steps to Turn Your Pictures into an Observation!

1. Let’s assume you don’t have service right away and later pull out iNaturalist to upload the observation. If you have an Android, you tap the green “+” button and select the photos you took from your phone’s photo library; if you have an iPhone, you will have a button that says “Observe” instead.

2. Once the observation is created, you check that your phone uploaded the date, time, and location of the photo, otherwise you add that information.

3. You need to give the observation some sort of identification, so you tap “What did you see?”. iNaturalist suggests the photos are of Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, and if you agree, you select that identification. Otherwise, you may only select the genus Asclepias, or simply “Plants.” Even a broad identification is better than none at all!

4. You click the green check mark to submit the observation, and congrats! You’ve just participated in the Merck Forest 2021 BioBlitz!

Because you’ve already joined the iNaturalist project, the observation will automatically be saved to the Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021 effort. It will be used to assess how many observations and species were found on the property this year, and it could be used by researchers all over the world!

We hope to see you on Saturday, July 24^th and Sunday, July 25^th for Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021!

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

Photographs: © Max Miley - some rights reserved - (CC BY-NC)

T-11 days until Merck Forest BioBlitz 2021! Before we get to today’s Observation of the Day, we have an announcement!

This Sunday, July 18^th from 11am-12pm, tune into Manchester, Vermont’s 102.7 WEQX for Sunday Brunch with Joy and her guests, Conservation Manager and Conservation Intern for Merck Forest, Tim Duclos and Max Miley, and Nathaniel Sharp, a Data Technician for the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE). We will be talking all about Merck Forest’s BioBlitz 2021, iNaturalist at Merck Forest and VCE, and having good-hearted conversations with Joy. Happy listening!

Now for the OOTD!
Today we’re looking at the only ray-finned fish (Class Actinopterygii) identified on the Merck Forest property—the Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus). The Slimy Sculpin was identified during the Merck Forest BioBlitz 2019, and these observations were the first two identifications of Slimy Sculpin in Bennington County, VT!





Slimy Sculpin prefer cold rocky streams or lakes, making Merck Forest’s larger streams a well-suited habitat for C. cognatus. They are a nocturnal fish with an inefficient ability to swim, so they seem to “hop” along the bottom. Their poor swimming abilities may be due to the lack of a swim bladder, which other fish use for buoyancy when suspended in water¹.
There aren’t any fish-focused guided experiences this year for Merck Forest’s 3ʳᵈ Annual BioBlitz, but don’t let that stop you from documenting aquatic species if you are safe and keep habitat disruption and animal interaction to a minimum.
Join us on Saturday, July 24^th and Sunday, July 25^thfor as much or as little time as you want while you help us explore and document all the plants and wildlife you can find on Merck Forest’s 3,200 acres!

Links
Merck Forest Website Event Page
Merck Forest Registration Page
iNaturalist Project Page
Facebook Event Page

¹NatureServe Explorer: Cottus cognatus

This Sunday, July 18^th from 11am-12pm, tune into Manchester, Vermont’s 102.7 WEQX for Sunday Brunch with Joy and her guests, Conservation Manager and Conservation Intern for Merck Forest, Tim Duclos and Max Miley, and Nathaniel Sharp, a Data Technician for the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE). We will be talking all about Merck Forest’s BioBlitz 2021, iNaturalist at Merck Forest and VCE, and having good-hearted conversations with Joy. Happy listening!

Now for the OOTD!


Today’s Observation of the Day is a common plant you’ll find almost anywhere people are, but only during Merck Forest’s BioBlitz 2019 was it first officially identified in on Merck Forest property and in Bennington County, Vermont! The Greater Plantain (Plantago major) grows about anywhere that has been disturbed by humans: in lawns and fields, along roadsides, or near railroad tracks, for example.





The Greater Plantain was introduced from Europe, thought to be one of the first plants brought to the Americas by colonizers. It gained the name “white man’s footprint” from some indigenous peoples to North America because it grew wherever European colonizers lived. The small seeds are a common contaminant in cereal grains, and therefore have been distributed all over the world¹.


An observation like this shows us how we can ignore some of the most common plants and wildlife around us, but they are there nonetheless!


Come join us on Saturday, July 24^th and/or Sunday, July 25^th for as little or as much time as you’d like to document common or rare plants and wildlife during Merck Forest’s 3^rd Annual BioBlitz!