A BioBlitz, also written without capitals as bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists, and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a continuous time period (e.g., usually 24 hours). There is a public component to many BioBlitzes, with the goal of getting the public interested in biodiversity. To encourage more public participation, these BioBlitzes are often held in urban parks or nature reserves close to cities. Research into the best practices for a successful BioBlitz has found that collaboration with local natural history museums can improve public participation. As well, BioBlitzes have been shown to be a successful tool in teaching post-secondary students about biodiversity.
Features A BioBlitz has different opportunities and benefits than a traditional, scientific field study. Some of these potential benefits include: Enjoyment – Instead of a highly structured and measured field survey, this sort of event has the atmosphere of a festival. The short time frame makes the search more exciting. Local – The concept of biodiversity tends to be associated with coral reefs or tropical rainforests. A BioBlitz offers the chance for people to visit a nearby setting and see that local parks have biodiversity and are important to conserve. Science – These one-day events gather basic taxonomic information on some groups of species. Meet the Scientists – A BioBlitz encourages people to meet working scientists and ask them questions. Identifying rare and unique species/groups – When volunteers and scientists work together, they are able to identify uncommon or special habitats for protection and management and, in some cases, rare species may be uncovered. Documenting species occurrence – BioBlitzes do not provide a complete species inventory for a site, but they provide a species list which makes a basis for a more complete inventory and will often show what area or what taxon would benefit from a further study. Increases interest in science – BioBlitzes helps to build interest from the general public in science and environmental studies by enabling direct communication and inclusive activities.
History The term "BioBlitz" was first coined by U.S. National Park Service naturalist Susan Rudy while assisting with the first BioBlitz. The first BioBlitz was held at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, D.C. in 1996. Approximately 1000 species were identified at this first event. This first accounting of biodiversity was organized by Sam Droege (USGS) and Dan Roddy (NPS) with the assistance of other government scientists. The public and especially the news media were invited. Since the success of the first bioblitz, many organizations around the world have repeated this concept.
Since then, most BioBlitz contain a public component so that adults, kids, teens and anyone interested can join experts and scientists in the field. Participating in these hands-on field studies is a fun and exciting way for people to learn about biodiversity and better understand how to protect it.
In 1998, Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson and Massachusetts wildlife expert Peter Alden developed a program to catalog the organisms around Walden Pond. This led to a statewide program known as Biodiversity Days. This concept is very similar to a BioBlitz and occasionally the two terms are used interchangeably.
A variation on the BioBlitz, the Blogger Blitz began in 2007. Rather than gather volunteers and scientists at one location, participant blogs pledged to conduct individual surveys of biodiversity. These results were then compiled and mapped. The purpose of this blitz is not to survey down to species level across all taxonomic groups, but rather to raise awareness about biodiversity and provide a general snapshot of diversity.
From 2007 through 2016 National Geographic Society and the US National Park Service partnered to put on a Bioblitz in a different National Park each year culminating in a Bioblitz across the National Park Service in 2016 as part of the National Park Service Centennial Celebration. The iNaturalist platform was used as the recording tool for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Centennial Bioblitzes in this series.
Highlights of the 2016 nationwide BioBlitz include: The National Parks BioBlitz—Washington, D.C. was the cornerstone of the national event. Nearly 300 scientists and experts led more than 2,600 students and thousands of members of the general public in all 13 of the National Capital Region's parks. As of the closing ceremony on 21 May, nearly 900 species were recorded from this area alone. The Biodiversity Festival at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall served as a window to events across the country, with regular live feeds featuring species discoveries on jumbo screens located on the National Mall. E. O. Wilson, "father of biodiversity", was a significant part of the pre-BioBlitz events, including the Special Speaker Series at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the 2016 National Parks BioBlitz Scientist Dinner at National Geographic Headquarters on Thursday, 19 May. The BioBlitz Dance was a common activity throughout the festival weekend. Participants danced with John Griffith, founder of the dance, on the main stage several times at Constitution Gardens, and on the jumbotron from other park units across the nation. National parks and participating partners shared their BioBlitz activities via social media, using the hashtags #BioBlitz2016 and #FindYourPark. During the weekend's event, #BioBlitz2016 ranked in the top 10 on Twitter! At Cabrillo National Monument, Green Abalone (Haliotis fulgens) was documented. For the past thirty years, abalone have faced substantial conservation concerns due to overharvesting and disease. Their presence in the Cabrillo Rocky Intertidal Zone can be described as ephemeral at best. Knife River National Park conducted an ArcheoBlitz. A centuries-old bison tooth was found at Big Hidatsa Village, which was occupied from about 1740 to 1850. DNA extracted from this tooth can provide data on bison populations before their near-extinction at the end of the 19th century, a useful comparison for managers of modern herds. At Great Smoky Mountain National Park, experts teamed up with about 100 5th graders. Together they set out to explore pollinators and succeeded in discovering nearly 200 species. While it is too early to tell if they found any new species, they have added significant information to the park's database. Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve conducted a lichen survey and added several new species to their park list. One of those identified is Xanthoria elegans. This species of lichen survived an 18-month exposure to solar UV radiation, cosmic rays, vacuum and varying temperatures in an experiment performed by the ESA outside of the ISS. Channel Islands National Park broadcast a dive with oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, with support from the National Park Trust. The feed was featured online and on the jumbotrons on the National Mall and enabled the public to follow the exploration of one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world, the giant kelp forest. The National Parks BioBlitz used the iNaturalist app to deliver real-time information on species finds. Verified data will be included in National Park Service databases and international databases tracking biodiversity on the planet. This application can be used by parks and citizen scientists well into the future. Beginning with the 2010 NPS/NGS BioBlitz at Biscayne National Park, NPS initiated a corps of Biodiversity Youth Ambassadors. Each year through 2016, a student ambassador is selected by the host park to participate in the BioBlitz and assist in raising biodiversity awareness to their peers and in their home communities. In addition to the new NCR Biodiversity Youth Ambassador, Ms. Katherine Hagan, Ms. Mikaila Ulmer, 11, was selected to be the National Park Service Biodiversity Youth Ambassador representing the President's Pollinator Conservation Initiative for the National Park Service.
BioBlitzes by country Australia The Woodland Watch Project (part of the World Wide Fund for Nature) (WWF) has organised BioBlitz's in the wheatbelt area of Western Australia in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Two 'SpiderBlitz's' (variants of the BioBlitz concept) were organised in 2007 and 2008 in the wheatbelt by WWF to focus attention on threatened trapdoor spiders, and their unique habitats. Wheatbelt Natural Resource Management Wheatbelt NRM ran a BioBlitz around the wheatbelt town of Korrelocking in 2012. The Discovery Circle program (UniSA) ran two BioBlitzes at a park in Salisbury and wetlands at Marion, South Australia. The Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness www.alcw.org.au has run three successful bioblitzes – in Bermagui 2012, Pambula 2014 and Mimosa Rocks National Park 2014. The Atlas of Life works in association with the Atlas of Living Australia (the national biodiversity database) takayna BioBlitz The Bob Brown Foundation runs an annual takayna BioBlitz in Tasmania, Australia. The takayna BioBlitz is a festival of science in nature, held in one of the world's last truly wild places. This event brings together scientists, experts, naturalists and members of the public for a weekend of environmental scientific discovery. See: bobbrown.org.au Tarkine BioBlitz, 19–22 November 2015, was the first BioBlitz in Tasmania. More than 100 people surveyed moorland, rainforest, rivers and coastline in the remote Tarkine region in support of the Bob Brown Foundation's campaign for a Tarkine National Park to protect the natural values of the region. Melbourne City Council conducted a BioBlitz in 2014 and 2016, engaging citizens in nature conservation in cities .
Canada Active Bioblitz The Robert Bateman Get to Know BioBlitz started in 2010 to celebrate the international year of biodiversity. In a partnership with Parks Canada there were many sites all across Canada which celebrated bioblitzes on the international day of biodiversity (22 May). British Columbia There has been an annual BioBlitz in Whistler, BC since 2007. The 2013 BioBlitz reported 497 species. Metro Vancouver has hosted their annual BioBlitz at Burnaby Lake Regional Park since 2010. This bioblitz has much public participation with many activities including pond-dipping, nature walks and meeting live animals up close. The species count currently stands at 488, including a Western Screech Owl, Red-legged Frog, Brassy Minnows and Common Fern which, despite its name, had never been found in the area before. Ontario: The Royal Ontario Museum and several other organizations have sponsored BioBlitz in the Toronto area since 2012, with the 2015 event scheduled for the Don River watershed. The 2014 Humber BioBlitz had over 500 participants and counted 1,560 species, including 2 spiders that were new to Canada. The Rouge National Urban Park hosted a Bioblitz event on 24 and 25 June 2017. The previous Bioblitz at the park was held in 2013 where over 1700 species of flora and fauna were identified.
New Brunswick: The New Brunswick Museum has held an annual bioblitz since 2009 in Protected Natural Areas (PNA) around the province. Scientists spend two weeks each year in the field, alternating June in one year with August in the next to catch seasonally available biodiversity. The bioblitz was held in Jacquet River Gorge PNA 2009–2010, Caldonia Gorge PNA in 2011–2012, Grand Lake PNA in 2013–2014, Nepisiguit PNA in 2015–2016, and Spednic Lake PNA in 2017–2018. More information is here. The 2013-2014 bioblitzes were the subject of a documentary Inactive and historic BioBlitz The Canadian Biodiversity Institute held numerous BioBlitzes between 1997 and 2001.