We are now well in to SDB #9 - as usual @bonnieeamick and @onidiras are some of the first observers, kicking off the day with almost 100 observations!
Most of the observations so far are of insects, so here are some of the coolest ones so far:

an awesome Flatid Planthopper from @bonnieeamick - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60928109
@onidiras found this beautiful smout moth - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60898060
and a crazy fly from @jensu - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60891903

Happy Bioblitzing,
Alexis (@alexis_orion )

O segundo dia no Brasil teve 2.300 observações, 600 espécies e 100 novos participantes, mostrando que a Bioblitz está se desenvolvendo muito bem, com 3800 observações, 1200 espécies identificadas e 270 participantes
No Hemisfério Sul já temos 25.000 observações , 600 espécies e 1.800 participantes, ou seja, o Brasil tem participação de aproximadamente 10% a 20% nos 3 critérios. Isto é impressionante.

HOJE DOMINGO: o dia é dedicado preferencialmente à OBERVAÇÃO DE AVES e ANIMAIS.
E morcegos são animais.

Convença um amigo a entrar no Inaturalist e tirar algumas fotos.

Um agradável TERCEIRO DIA de Bioblitz a tod@s!

Em meio a tantas notícias tristes, vamos apoiar a RECONCILIAÇÃO COM A NATUREZA!
Lembre-se, quem conhece cuida!
Equipe Organizadora no Brasil

Sears fire. Estimated containment date 15 October.

O segundo dia no Brasil teve 2.300 observações, 600 espécies e 100 novos participantes, mostrando que a Bioblitz está se desenvolvendo muito bem, com 3800 observações, 1200 espécies identificadas e 270 participantes.

No Hemisfério Sul já temos 25.000 observações , 600 espécies e 1.800 participantes, ou seja, o Brasil tem participação de aproximadamente 10% a 20% nos 3 critérios. Isto é impressionante.

Em Brasília já temos quase 600 observações, 250 espécies identificadas e 50 participantes.

HOJE DOMINGO: o dia é dedicado preferencialmente à OBERVAÇÃO DE AVES e ANIMAIS.
registre també as plantas onde os animais estão.

Convença uma amigo a entrar no Inaturalist e tirar algumas fotos.

Um agradável TERCEIRO DIA de Bioblitz a tod@s!

Em meio a tantas notícias tristes, vamos apoiar a RECONCILIAÇÃO COM A NATUREZA!
Lembre-se, quem conhece cuida!
Equipe Organizadora no Brasil

O segundo dia no Brasil teve 2.300 observações, 600 espécies e 100 novos participantes, mostrando que a Bioblitz está se desenvolvendo muito bem, com 3800 observações, 1200 espécies identificadas e 270 participantes
No Hemisfério Sul já temos 25.000 observações , 600 espécies e 1.800 participantes, ou seja, o Brasil tem participação de aproximadamente 10% a 20% nos 3 critérios. Isto é impressionante.

HOJE DOMINGO: o dia é dedicado preferencialmente à OBERVAÇÃO DE AVES e ANIMAIS.
E morcegos são animais.

Convença uma amigo a entrar no Inaturalist e tirar algumas fotos.

Um agradável TERCEIRO DIA de Bioblitz a tod@s!

Em meio a tantas notícias tristes, vamos apoiar a RECONCILIAÇÃO COM A NATUREZA!
Lembre-se, quem conhece cuida!
Equipe Organizadora no Brasil

O segundo dia no Brasil teve 2.300 observações, 600 espécies e 100 novos participantes, mostrando que a Bioblitz está se desenvolvendo muito bem, com 3800 observações, 1200 espécies identificadas e 270 participantes
No Hemisfério Sul já temos 25.000 observações , 600 espécies e 1.800 participantes, ou seja, o Brasil tem participação de aproximadamente 10% a 20% nos 3 critérios. Isto é impressionante.

HOJE DOMINGO: o dia é dedicado preferencialmente à OBERVAÇÃO DE AVES e ANIMAIS.
Observe também, as flores ou frutos/sementes, visitadas pelos animais.

Convença uma amigo a entrar no Inaturalist e tirar algumas fotos.

Um agradável TERCEIRO DIA de Bioblitz a tod@s!
Em meio a tantas notícias tristes, vamos apoiar a RECONCILIAÇÃO COM A NATUREZA!
Lembre-se, quem conhece cuida!
Equipe Organizadora no Brasil

Another wonderful effort. Thank you everybody.

The weather was kinder with odd showers, but cold. And yet our results suggest that everyone was busy all over.
A special thanks to rupert, petro and jacki, who join yesterdays honours list, with all having contributed more than 100 observations.

Reserves needing attention are:

• Kenilworth
• Milnerton
• Sandvlei
• Rietvlei
• Bracken

But the four glaring gaps at present are:

• Table Mountain (incl. Signal Hill)
• Steenbras
• Dassenberg
• Joostenberg

A brief summary of progress with our targets - remember our focus is improving nature reserve checklists - our targets are number of species :

Birds - 76 out of target 250 species
Mammals - 8 of 75
Herps - 23 of 60
Fish - still 0 out of 100
Insects - 62 of 500
Arachnids 5 of 100
Molluscs - 15 of 200
Crustaceans - 1 of 60

Plants - 747 of 3,500
Fungi - 16 of 130
Seaweeds - 4 of 90

Marine - 10 of 650
NEMBA Aliens - 29 of 180

Sunday promises to be a better day, but still overcast and cloudy.
Remember that this is about fun and discovering: go out and enjoy!

Hey all!

After about 30 trips around Cook County, lake county and downstate IL too in search of one, and I finally got one. I was only about 20 feet from the car, and on the third log I flipped, I was getting ready to put it back when a centipede got flicked by a yellow-blotched brown tail, and I immediately knew it was a Tiger! It is debatably the best looking one I've seen pictures of from Illinois, so I'm super happy that I found it!.

Until next time,
Simon

@onidiras , one of the SDB's most consistent participants, just posted a moth, Mesophleps sublutiana, which has been document in iNaturalist only 2 other times! Great find!

Hello, fellow Socially Distant Bioblitz-ers!

In half of the world, Socially Distant Bioblitz #9(!) has already began. To kick off this event, we have a few announcements to make about the SDB Series.

First, the SDB Team is now awarding digital certificates to the best photos and audio recordings submitted to each bioblitz! Check out our winners for multiple taxonomic categories from SDB #7 and SDB #8. Their observations are spectacular!

Second, in addition to our ninth event starting today or tomorrow (depending where you are in the world), we have added a 10th event, which will take place on 18 October. Will this be the bioblitz that puts us over the 100,000 goal for observations? Will we see participation from 75 countries by then? It is up to you!

That's all for now. Be well and stay safe!

The SDB Team (@slamonde , @gpasch , @magichin , @alexis_orion )

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was no group outing to Berry Springs Park and Preserve again this month. However, five people wearing face masks checked on the amphibians while staying at least six feet apart from each other at all times.
Three amphibian species were observed: Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Call Index = 2), American Bullfrog (CI = 0), and Gulf Coast Toad (CI = 0). Photos were obtained for Gulf Coast Toad and sound recordings were obtained for Rio Grande Leopard Frog.
At sunset, a flock of Great Egrets was seen overhead and a herd of White-tailed Deer was seen in the fields. A Nine-banded Armadillo was seen after sunset, and a Barred Owl and bats (on the bat detector) were heard after sunset. Over 1.5 inches of rain had fallen four days earlier, and although the water level was much below average, the middle slough spring was flowing again. The water level in the main ponds was below average.
The monitoring period was 19:25 - 20:55.
Participants were Kathy, Amy, and Belinda & Charlotte & Miriam (welcome !).
Environmental conditions at the middle slough springhead at sunset:
Air temperature = 67.5 deg F
Water temperature = 73.5 deg F
Sky = no/few clouds
Water level = much below average
Relative humidity = 66 %

If there is ever a native plant that hosts too many species to take count of it's Eupatorium serotinum -- Late boneset. There are exactly two of these plants in my backyard pocket prairie, purchased from my friends at Morningstar Farms this time last year. It is a veritable bee, wasp, fly, and beetle magnet (among others). It is so fragrant, I like sitting and shooting wildlife right next to the plant.

Here is what the wildflower experts of Texas say about it:
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=euse2

And attached are the wildlife possibilities as of today ... with still two months of blooming yet to go.

Thanks to @jensu for kicking off SDB #9 with this millipede found near Stockholm, Sweden! Looking forward to a great day with all of you!

Steven

Hi everyone!

I’m Peter Soroye, and I love being outdoors exploring and looking for cool plants and animals (both big and small). Nature has always been my favourite place to be. When I was a kid growing up in Northern Ontario, I spent many happy days outside in the small woods near my parents’ house, building forts, digging up bugs, and listening to the birds. In the summer when school was out, my parents used to take my siblings and I to Algonquin Park, sometimes for weeks at a time, and we would constantly be hiking, biking, canoeing, and exploring the beautiful park. Being immersed in the outdoors gave me a huge love and appreciation for the animals and plants that lived there, and started me on the path to becoming a conservation biologist (https://www.petersoroye.com/).

I’ve loved exploring nature and the outdoors since I was a little kid, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that because of the color of my skin, this was really surprising for some people. Apparently, Black naturalists and outdoors-people are a rare species. There is a reason for this: historically, Black people (and other minorities) have been deliberately excluded from nature and the outdoors. The effects of this exclusion are still visible today: look at any ad for an outdoor store, promotional images from a Park, or nature documentary, and you will struggle to find any Black faces. Nature should be for everyone regardless of your skin color, but to this day, it can be an unwelcoming place if you’re not white. I’ve had the pleasure to explore nature across the world, from BC and California, to Scotland and South Africa, and while my experience has overwhelmingly been awesome, I’ve also had to experience the surprise, dismissiveness, avoidance, and rare hostility that is sometimes directed towards black people enjoying the outdoors.

For me, the joy of exploring nature and appreciating the beautiful creatures in it far outweighs any feelings others might have of me being there. And this month’s Backyard Bio has been an incredibly fun time for exploring nature! While out discovering the wildlife in my (figurative) backyard, I’ve made some new friends and had a fun time exploring with some old ones as well. Some of these new and old friends were also Black, showing that we Black naturalists are not such a rare species after all!

More and more often, and especially though events like Backyard Bio or the #BlackInNature week that happened across social media this summer, I’m encountering naturalists and outdoors-people who don’t fit the traditional mold of a naturalist or outdoors-person. Organizations like Black Girl Outdoor World (https://www.facebook.com/Browngirloutdoorworld/) and KINxFOLK (https://www.kinxfolk.com/) are making spaces for these historically excluded people to enjoy nature, and more parks and companies are taking steps to make sure outdoor spaces and communities are truly welcoming for everyone.

Nature has always been my favorite place, and I’ll always love sharing that space with other people. If you’ve ever been curious about the world around you, take some time in this last week of Backyard Bio to record and share some of the beautiful and weird creatures around you. And if you’ve been going out for Backyard Bio already this month, use the last couple days to invite someone new out exploring with you. Let’s make sure that we’re doing our best to share the beauty and wonder that we experience exploring the outdoors with everyone.

See you in the wild!

Two known subpopulations of the Common Crag Lizard occur in Gauteng, one in Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve and the other in the Magaliesberg Protected Natural Environment in the Greater Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve. The Magaliesberg subpopulation was first discovered in 2003 by J. Makola (Bates & Whittington-Jones, 2009). Since the discovery, only a few additional records have surfaced.

A study is underway exploring the ecology of the Common Crag Lizard. So if you find yourself on the Magaliesberg mountain or adjacent foothills, please keep an eye out for these magnificent lizards. You will see them sitting on exposed rock surfaces close to suitable crevices where they find refuge from potential threats.

Please share this request with your fellow naturalists that frequent the area.

Happy Exploring!

My friends and I kayaked on the Charles River this afternoon! The weather was AMAZING: it was sunny, warm but not humid, and an overall beautiful day to be outside. I think we were near Harvard? We could also see parts of the Boston skyline, including the Prudential Center. While different from your typical nature "walk," I was able to snap some photos of wildlife while in my kayak and on land in the surrounding area. My phone was in a plastic bag to avoid getting wet, so some of the photos aren't the best quality. However, you can still see the different organisms! There were mallards and geese swimming in the river... A LOT OF GEESE. We had to constantly make sure we didn't crash into groups of them in the water! Also, I spotted some really cool mushrooms on a tree while in my kayak and quickly whipped out my phone to take a snapshot. I found some green lichen on a tree once I was on land. I also found a plant with pretty purple flowers on it and another plant with a yellow flower that I thought I would include.

The species that I've chosen to locate on a phylogenetic tree is commonly known as goldenrods, belonging to the genus Solidago. This genus comprises around 100-120 species of flowering plants and belongs to the Asteraceae family. Species belonging to the genus Solidago generally grow from 2cm to 2.5m in height, have small heads with yellow pistillate ray florets, and perfect disc florets (Semple, 2020). The following characteristics matched the goldenrods I captured and thus I was able to properly identify my observation.

One adaptation that all observed species in my group project have in common is the apical meristem. This tissue is the growth region in plants that is found within the root tips as well as the tips of new shoots and leaves. The following adaptation is essential in triggering the growth of new cells in young seedlings through the process of rapid cell division (Libretexts, 2020).

A unique adaption of one of my observations is the broad-winged thistle's ability to thrive in lands that are disturbed by humans. Many native thistles are early successional disturbance-adapted species, meaning that the disturbance of ecosystems by humans benefits their reproduction (Eckberg, 2017). Disturbances create open spaces where the plant's seedlings germinate and grow more readily than in dense grass covers. For instance, fires create open habitats for thistles by preventing invasion and overgrowth of shrubs and trees (Eckberg, 2017).

References
Eckberg, J. (2017). Native Thistles [PDF]. Xerces Society.
Libretexts. (2020, August 15). 25.1E: Structural Adaptations for Land in Seedless Plants. Retrieved from https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book:General_Biology(Boundless)/25:_Seedless_Plants/25.1:_Early_Plant_Life/25.1E:_Structural_Adaptations_for_Land_in_Seedless_Plants
Semple, J. (2020, July 22). Solidago. Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/research/goldenrods

We just finished our virtual program for the Virginia BioBlitz. This morning, we set a goal to record 100,000 observations and 6,500 species. Guess what! We ended up tallying 111,000+ observations covering 6,600+ species by 5.30pm.

We want to thank you all for your dedication and generosity.
More importantly, we are not done with this project.
So please share your observations today, tomorrow and every day!
Please check the event website for updates at https://sites.google.com/view/virginiabioblitz/
Happy bioblitzing!

1. One adaptation that all the observations in your group project have in common
   As “Eukaryotes” is a very wide range of species I don’t believe they have necessarily one adaption that they share in common. However I think we can observe two distinctly within our project. The flowers that we observed are all colourful, which serves to help them populate more of their surrounding area. Their colour aids them in repopulation because bees will be more attracted to the bright colours. Another adaption that you can see is the bugs we’ve found all share a brown colour to them. This is likely because of our mostly urban areas that we were taking photos in. The brown colour will help the insects blend in to their surroundings and thus survive better.

2. One unique adaptation for one of the observations
   I observed a Canadian creeping thistle. The adaption that this plant has is the thistle on its leaves that surround the flower. This is useful in helping the plant defend itself from herbivores that might try and eat it, as it will be more difficult for herbivores to reach the Canadian thistle.

3. Pick one observation and locate that species on a phylogenetic tree.
   I chose to locate the virgina creeper(Parthenocissus quinquefolia) on a phylogenetic tree. It falls in the plantae kingdom, under the Vitales Order and belongs to the family vitaceae.

1. Although having a tolerance for harsher conditions, the Chinese evergreen have adapted to thrive under the warmer climates, as they grow best at around twenty-two degrees Celsius.
2. All of my observations tend to be growing lower, closer to the ground. This adaptation allows plants to be shielded from less ideal weather conditions.
3. The Chinese evergreen is closely related to species including Aglaonema tenuipes and Aglaonema nitidum.

One adaptation that I was able to notice with all the plants was that they all had adapted to where they were planted in the sense that, such as some were flat while others grew densely. This can be seen individually in the monk's-rhubarb where there was only a small growth area. It's stalks were long and thin, compared to it's larger leaves. I chose to look at Peppergrass's phylogeny placement. Lepidium is a genus of plants that includes species like garden cress and maca, and are in the mustard/cabbage family.

Hello everyone,

Better late than never, here are the Top 3 best photos and audio, listed by category! Each winner can click on the link to their digital certificate award. A HUGE thank you to @gpasch and The Lost Tinamou nature preserve for creating the awards. The Lost Tinamou (TLT) is also giving a TLT t-shirt as a prize for the best audio (won this time by @andreacala), and they hope to have a great winner next time, too! :-)

Lastly, don't forget to sign up for the next two Socially Distant Bioblitz events on 27 September and 18 October!

Category: Audio Recordings

Best Audio: Great Horned Owl by @andreacala

Category: Fungi

First Place: Phallus haitangensis by @rachwl

Second Place: Lace Lichen by @sedgequeen

Third Place: Hoof Fungus by @tanniii66

Category: Plants

First Place: Peacock Moraea by @cecileroux

Second Place: Impatiens insignis by @karoconniff

Third Place: Talinum fructicosum by @adorantes

Category: Herpetofauna

First Place: Southern Leopard Frog by @imacuriousjuan

Second Place: Gulf Coast Toad by @puffin21

Third Place: Western Fence Lizard by @scubabruin

Category: Mammals

First Place: Big Brown Bat by @colincroft

Second Place: Eastern Gray Squirrel by @base736

Third Place: Townsend's Chipmunk by @ericarlson

Category: Birds

First Place: Yellow Warbler by @andreacala

Second Place: Eastern Turkey Vulture by @astrobirder

Third Place: Great Kiskadee by @cmtercero

Special Mention: Chestnut-tailed Minla by @karoconniff,
Killdeer by @sedgequeen,
Western Gull by @andreacala, and
Mew Gull by @hln_m_t.

Category: Insects

First Place: Pale Grass Blue by @karoconniff

Second Place: Parallelia arctotaenia by @onidiras

Third Place: Spilostethus saxatilits by @amzamz

Special Mention: Autumn Meadowhawk by @booksandcookies,
Chinese Mantis by @imacuriousjuan, and
Graphocephala gothica by @mmulqueen.

Hoy cumplo tres meses de ser participante en naturalista con mis observaciones ya casi a diario. Hasta este momento, llevo hechas 410 observaciones, de 131 especies diferentes, y he realizdo 209 identificaciones para otros usuarios. Estas últimas son de las especies que conozco bien o una que otra que he aprendido a clasificar de acuerdo al aprendizaje que he adquirido al participar en esta red de naturalistas. Me agrada mucho conocer las especies que me rodean, y al ser parte de esta red he aprendido a observar con más cuidado cada una de las especies que encuentro para así poder identificar cada una de estas de acuerdo a sus razgos, colores y patrones específicos. Agradezco a todos aquellos que al identificar las aportaciones que hago, brindan su ayuda para mi aprendizaje de la clasificación de los seres vivos y de la flora y fauna que encuentro a diario.

Hello Naturalists!

Happy Digital Science Saturday: Biodiversity Blast sponsored by the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History!

Please check out all of the biodiversity related educational videos on our website!
https://www.pgmuseum.org/museum-events/2020/9/26/science-saturday-biodiversity-blast

Join us LIVE at 3PM today as we explore different habitats of Monterey County and discuss our favorite places to explore. Then be sure to stick around as we announce the winners of our INaturalist BioBlitz. Museum staff will answer your questions. Everyone is welcome for this family friendly interactive activity.

Saturday, September 26th at 3:00PM
Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84322188715

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at schneider@pgmuseum.org
Thank you,
Jaclyn Schneider

Nota sobre la Gran BioBúsqueda del Sur, de mano de Benjamín Bender, quien coordina los proyectos para Mendoza, desde el IADIZA-CONICET

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/gran-biobusqueda-invitan-argentinos-tomar-fotos-armar-nid2450940?fbclid=IwAR2CRpN2NTUCT2IGD-PM2zeWc3Jeka5HfinaHoMiv6Vi2NcCHescgyrRSJc

Gracias Benjamín!

De la mano de María Regina Silva, quien coordina los proyectos de Tierra del Fuego y difunde el evento desde el Museo del Fin del Mundo

https://www.facebook.com/TVPNoticias/videos/1011804452593338

Gracias Regina!

The Athens Nature Center initiative, a group of local nature enthusiasts, is partnering with the City of Athens Environment and Sustainability Commission and iNaturalist to facilitate the exploration of biodiversity around people's houses and neighborhoods. Participation only requires a free iNaturalist account and access to a camera and phone or computer. Using the iNaturalist app or web-based platform, observations of insects, plants, mammals and all kinds of other living beings can be documented with a phone camera and then uploaded to iNaturalist. Once the observation arrived in iNaturalist's repository, volunteer experts helps with identifying the organism in question. Even before a human expert looks at your observation, a computer learning algorithm immediately provides a first assessment, which is often surprisingly accurate.
Dr. Stefan Gleissberg, president of the Athens Nature Center initiative says “most people will underestimate the diversity of life around them. For instance, just around uptown Athens, iNaturalists have so far scored more than 300 species, most of those plants and insects. The Biodiversity in the City of Athens project allows everyone to explore, keep track, and learn about the living things around them. It's an easy and fun way to learn about what's native to the area or introduced from elsewhere, what is wild or planted.”
When identification is suggested, a link to Wikipedia allows the curious to learn more about the discovery. Observations shared on the platform become part of a biodiversity record of Athens and its neighborhoods, attesting to the richness of life around us that too often gets overlooked. iNaturalist will help the Sustainability Commission to track species within the city over time and use this as a measurement of the amount of biodiversity within Athens. Users can slowly build and improve their nature literacy, allowing them to enhance the way we see and appreciate what is around us, changing with each season.
The project page can be found at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/biodiversity-in-the-city-of-athens-ohio. A separate iNaturalist project page is provides for most neighborhoods, and this may prompt some users to boost their neighborhood biodiversity pride and ambition. It can also inform how backyards and city land can be managed to sustain or improve suitable habitat for animals and plants. This year has been marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, and many residents find themselves spending more time at home. This can be an opportunity to explore the backyard, neighborhood, and nearby parks and get acquainted with the natural beauty that surrounds us right here, in Athens, Ohio.
Thanks to the Athens Conservancy and the City of Athens for advice and support. Paul Logue and Rob Wiley provided GIS files, and Stefan Gleissberg designed and implemented the project. iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society.

Princeton Field Guides will be issuing Plant Galls of the Western United States, a guide to "536 species of plant galls found west of the Rockies" priced at $29.95. Publisher states:
Looks at 536 gall species with 232 species not previously included in any field guide
Features more than 120 species new to science
Examines for the first time more than 90 species from southwestern oak trees
Contains more than 150 species from most of the deserts of the western states

https://press.princeton.edu/books/ebook/9780691213408/plant-galls-of-the-western-united-states

Trying out the journal feature with a collection of today's observations. A great afternoon with many mushrooms spotted. Even found my favourite, Amanita muscaria. Fall is here!

So far, the only ones that don't fit a specific species are around Houston. There was an identification of a yellow frontalis around Lubbock