Mini-BioBlitz events help “Bridge the Gap” for biodiversity at George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri (2013, 2014) and Buffalo National River, Arkansas (2014) Jan Hinsey (Jan_Hinsey@nps.gov) and Theresa M. Johnson (Theresa_Weiss-Johnson@partner.nps.gov) National Park Service (NPS), Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Republic, MO WHAT IS A BIOBLITZ? Professional scientists, students, and citizen scientists work together to find and identify as many different taxa as possible within a designated area using scientific methods. NPS INVENTORY & MONITORING (I&M) Baseline inventories and long-term monitoring of important indicators are used by park managers to make good, science-based decisions in managing natural resources. Only a few taxa are monitored - many go undiscovered. WHY A BIOBLITZ? Helps “Bridge the Gap” - provides taxa level information not easily obtained during routine monitoring. Increases knowledge of taxa in parks. Increases public awareness of natural resources and sense of stewardship. Engages diverse audiences of volunteers and park visitors in taxa discovery. Provides students career based networking opportunities with professional scientists. MINI-BIOBLIZ EVENTS Historically, NPS focused on ‘all taxa’ BioBlitz events - involved long term planning, major funding, and substantial park and volunteer participation. Simpler one-day events were conducted at George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri (2013, 2014) and Buffalo National River, Arkansas (2014) that focused on one to four taxa groups. Professional scientists from surrounding universities and citizen scientists participated. RESULTS 53 volunteers, collected 203 unique taxa, 143 taxa had never before been documented for these parks (Hinsey and Johnson 2013, 2014). Taxa included: aquatic insects, aquatic plants, land snails, small mammals, terrestrial insects and their relatives (spiders, millipedes, etc.), and water mites. Professional scientists from four universities participated: Missouri Southern State University, Missouri State University, Pittsburg State University, and University of Arkansas. CONCLUSIONS/DISCUSSIONS Conducting multiple mini-BioBlitz events may be just as effective as a large one-time event. Experiences resulted in the development of a step-by-step guide for planning and conducting a BioBlitz event for small- to medium-size NPS units (Hinsey and Johnson 2015). WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN A BIOBLITZ? Contact a national park near you: www.nps.gov Or contact an I&M network: science.nature.nps.gov/im/ BIODIVERSITY DISCOVERY VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJllzkqnIX4 ALL photos below by NPS HTLN staff Water mite photos by A. Radwell Hinsey, J. A., and T.M. Johnson. 2014. George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA) BioBlitz event - 2013. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/HTLN/NRDS—2014/686. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado (https://irma.nps.gov/App/Reference/Profile/2215024). Hinsey, J. A., and T.M. Johnson. 2015. George Washington Carver National Monument and Buffalo National River BioBlitz events - 2014. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/HTLN/NRDS—2015/XXX. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado (https://irma.nps.gov/App/Reference/Profile/XXXXXXX). Hinsey, J. A. and T. M. Johnson. 2015. Planning and conducting a BioBlitz event at a National Park Service unit. Natural Resource Report NPS/HTLN/NRR—2015/935. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado (https://irma.nps.gov/App/Reference/Profile/2221051/).