For the Global Snapshot of Biodiversity for the Great Nature Project, I issued a challenge to make at least one observation of each of the 13 iconic taxa in iNaturalist between May 15-25. I'm trying to do this myself and there's only a few days left to make observations, so I thought I'd report my progress here. Some of you prolific iNaturalists should be able to do this pretty easily by just looking harder for some things you don't usually pay attention to.
I've also made a point to make at least one observation during each day of the Global Snapshot, which I've sometimes barely managed to do. I've spent way too much time in front of my computer working! In spite of that, here's my status:
Plants - DONE (easy, though I realized I don't have many.)
Protozoans - I'm on the hunt for slime molds today!
Fungi (including lichens) - Not done! I thought I had a fungus observation... I'll find one.
Mollusks - DONE (snails & slugs)
Ray-finned fishes - This is going to be hardest for me. I know where I can find some goldfish as a last resort, but I'm trying not to include captives in my count.
Birds - DONE (easy to see, harder to photograph)
Reptiles - I should be able to find a turtle, but i haven't yet.
Amphibians - DONE
Mammals - DONE (squirrels are so easy here)
Insects - DONE (almost as easy as plants)
Arachnids - DONE (almost as easy as insects)
Other Animals (stuff that doesn't fall into another more specific animal category) - DONE (you might have to think a little for this one, but this includes millipedes, isopods, annelids, crustaceans, and more)
Kelp, Diatoms, and Allies - DONE! (I am most proud of this one - the cyanobacteria Nostoc! You might be able to find this green blobby stuff too after a rain. Here's a great little article about it.
I've got 9 out of 13, so just 4 to go! I'll have my eyes peeled for reptiles, fish, fungi, and slime molds (protozoans) this weekend. If I didn't have my toddler in tow I'd get these no problem, but "hiking" with a two year old is matter of finding the right spot in the woods where both of us can happily explore. Wish us luck!
Larva found on a cultivated chocolate mint plant.
I don't think I've ever seen seedlings before, but this looks like poison ivy to me. Still has cotyledons.
Found buried under leaf litter under a log in the woods.
I was super excited to see this after a day of rain. Grows in the scrubby grass in some gravelly space near the metro station.
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Great critter searching, Carrie!...I have never been so happy to see a mouse as I was today, just to knock mammals off my list! Shucks, but I forgot the 'other' category; so tomorrow am going to try to visit a crustacean in a nearby stream. Best of luck with protozoans and toddler!!
That's great, Heather! Still no protozoans for me, but I did get fungi (lichen) and fish! I was very excited about the fish. They were teeny tiny! http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1533149
Now I'm down to reptiles and protozoans. I saw a roadkill snapping turtle the other day but it was on a highway exit ramp where I definitely could not stop, and road kill turtles make me so incredibly sad. I saw a turtle at a nature center today and took a photo just in case, but I'll keep looking on Sunday and Monday. I'm using this as an excuse to explore new areas that I haven't visited before.
Do you have an update, Carrie? Were you able to catch a little reptile of some sort?!?
I got my reptile, but not my slime mold :-(
I'll do an update after I crunch all of the other numbers.
This was a really cool idea. I just found your journal. I love the quest to get a ray-finned fish. Some recent blogs I've been following have people that are into species fishing and microfishing. That might be a great way to expand your species counts in fish.
Thanks @vermfly! I learned about species fishing from this post by @kueda: http://www.inaturalist.org/journal/kueda/4576-microfishing-tenkara-tenkara-microfishing
I've never tried though!
If you want to find more journal posts, you can check this for everything posted to iNat: http://www.inaturalist.org/journal/
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