surrey-bc_biodiversity 的日誌

It's been a year since the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) celebrated the first annual Lost Species Month. Here are some highlights from the past year:

-Four species from Re:wild’s most wanted lost species list were rediscovered this year: Attenborough's Long-beaked Echidna in West Papua, Fagilde’s Trapdoor Spider in Portugal, De Winton's Golden Mole in South Africa, and Big Puma Fungus in Chile.

-Additionally, from IUCN's taxa-specific partnerships with American Bird Conservancy and Birdlife International for birds and Shoal Conservation for freshwater fish, the Mayr’s Honeyeater in West Papua and Leopard Barbel in Turkey were also found.

-The first-ever multi-taxa lost species expedition was undertaken in Makira, Madagascar, with Wildlife Conservation Society, The Peregrine Fund, University of Antananarivo, Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation, and American Bird Conservancy, which resulted in the rediscovery of a record 21 lost species.
Learn more at https://www.rewild.org/lost-species

In celebration of Lost Species Month, the IUCN's Species Survival commission in partnership with Re:wild and Reverse the Red, will once again host a webinar series. (As these are 6am PDT, register at https://www.reversethered.org/events to get the recordings, or tune in live if you are an early bird!)
-Tuesday, October 8 at 9am ET. Storytelling Expo: How We Talk About Lost Species.
-Tuesday, October 15 at 9am ET. Data Driven: The Strategy of Lost Species.
-Thursday, October 31 at 9am ET. Models: How Citizen Science Contributes to the Search for Lost Species.

Remember "All is not lost. We can protect and restore our planet."

"An invasive, freshwater jellyfish is popping up in B.C. waters in the thousands and future sightings could increase rapidly, according to UBC research."
https://oceans.ubc.ca/2024/09/03/thousands-of-jellyfish-clones-are-multiplying-in-b-c-lakes/?

While we don't have any large 'boatable' lakes in Surrey, we do have some large constructed wetlands that this species could end up colonizing. Especially given the amount of waterbirds moving between waterbodies in Surrey. So add this one to your list of introduced species to watch for.

This project from south of the border is tracking what appears to be dieback issues happening with sword fern.

"What could be more iconic of the PNW than a lush fern understory? Unfortunately, previously healthy stands of western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) have been declining throughout the Puget Sound Region (western U.S.) in the course of the past decade. The cause of the decline is not yet known and we need your help to identify potential sites where sword ferns may be affected."

While there isn't any indication this is an issue here in BC it is good to be on the lookout to identify any possible occurrences.

To learn more about contributing to this project go to
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/sword-fern-health-watch

This project from south of the border is tracking what appears to be dieback issues happening with sword fern.

"What could be more iconic of the PNW than a lush fern understory? Unfortunately, previously healthy stands of western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) have been declining throughout the Puget Sound Region (western U.S.) in the course of the past decade. The cause of the decline is not yet known and we need your help to identify potential sites where sword ferns may be affected."

While there isn't any indication this is an issue here in BC it is good to be on the lookout to identify any possible range expansion sooner rather than later.

To learn more about contributing to this project go to
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/western-sword-fern-decline-in-the-pacific-northwest

National Moth Week (NMW) is held annually worldwide during the last full week of July and celebrates the beauty, life cycles, and habitats of moths around the world.

Moths are often underrated and overlooked for their critical role in pollination. Celebrate these amazing and diverse organisms through National Moth Week!
See how many moth pictures you can get up on iNaturalist.

https://nationalmothweek.org/

Check out this observation by reimond, multi-frame capture of a barred owl sucking up an earthwork like it's a noodle! https://inaturalist.ca/observations/216907827

Just a friendly reminder of the iNaturalist World Bee Day/Week project MAY 17, 2024 - MAY 23, 2024 - go out observe, post and share.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/world-bee-day-week-2024/

Community science project on ground nesting bees.
And check out those pollen pants!
“Help locate and map ground nesting bee sites to support conservation efforts with iNaturalist . Researchers at Cornell are seeking your help to better understand and protect the nests of solitary, gentle, ground-nesting bees. Even though 90% of bees are solitary and 70% of bees nest in the ground, knowledge about solitary ground-nesting bees is lacking. This project will study how factors like soil characteristics affect these bee populations, which will help us learn how to protect and improve nesting habitat for bees that provide crucial pollination services. By promoting nesting sites for native bees, we can enhance ecosystem and agricultural sustainability and resilience."

https://www.gnbee.org/
Project link to join: https://inaturalist.ca/projects/ground-nesting-bees-3e6882c0-a112-4ddb-b043-1da25638ce96

A shout-out to everyone who contributed this year. Some phenomenal observations and image captures that helped Surrey contribute to making Metro Vancouver the national lead at over 14,000 observation, beating Montreal by just over 20!

Metro Vancouver also ranked 33rd in North and South America as part of the international results.

I hope you'll continue to contribute throughout the year. the observations you make are integral to helping the City of Surrey in monitoring local biodiversity. As growth pressures increase and further pressure is put on the City's natural assets, community science efforts are a critical facet in well-informed land use planning.

Simply put, your data counts.

Looking forward to seeing the regulars and new iNaturalist enthusiasts join in again in 2025!

Sincerely,

Pamela Zevit RPBio
Biodiversity Conservation Planner
City of Surrey

It's been a frenetic week. We're getting down to the wire, just edging over 900 observations which is pretty awesome considering we have ~20 less observers than last year and a lot crappier weather this time around. And the ID's are still going strong which is great as having robust data is our real end goal for community science in Surrey.

For those tracking how we're doing regionally and nationally, Metro Vancouver is now leading across Canada, edging out Montreal by a mere 54 observations. Talk about east against west!

But there are still many hours to go, so we won't really know if the 'wet' coast came out on top nationally (for the first time ever) until cutoff tomorrow at 8:59 am.

So enjoy what's left of your Sunday night and stay tuned for the big reveal tomorrow from California.