Lonicera japonica Thunberg
Japanese honeysuckle
an invasive species to North America

Overview

At the retreat we considered ways to coordinate biodiversity studies more productively. We focused on several associated but independent research and education initiatives that could employ students and citizen scientists to survey national parks and local areas of interest.

Here we consider possible ways to organize the efforts of the newly formed ATBI Alliance, an outgrowth of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in Great Smoky Mountains National Park; the Smithsonian Institution's recent Biodiversity Science and Education Initiative; bioblitz and similar events run by numerous organizations, such as the one planned for New York's Central Park by Ed Wilson and his colleagues; Discover Life in America, which coordinates the study in the Smokies, and Discover Life the website, developed by The Polistes Foundation and its partners to help study and share information about nature.

Retreat participants support working toward a better organizational framework to cross-pollinate and coordinate biodiversity projects. We encourage others to join this dialogue. We recommend using an international foundation to share expertise with schools and citizen scientists to identify species and study nature. Below is a draft mission statement, outline of a showcase project that will develop ways to coordinate activities across efforts, and recommendations on how to proceed. To send feedback or join us, please contact any of the individuals listed below.

Mission statement

The following is a possible joint mission statement to be considered and amended by participants:

• Our mission is to discover life and involve students and the public in the process by
  • encouraging exploration; discovery of species and ecological relationships, and understanding changes in the distribution of species over time and space;
  • developing curricula with research protocols that teach students how to do science in the context of discovering biodiversity;
  • creating tools that assist scientists and the public in identifying, mapping, and sharing data.

Showcase project

We propose to develop a multisite, showcase project to test methods by which participants can learn, work together, and share information. We recommend that this pilot project include the following:

• Science objective: to collect accurate, high-quality data on the distribution of target species in parks and local communities.

• Educational objective: to develop and test local, inquiry-based activities that support national and state teaching standards.

• Localities: national and local parks or natural areas
  • Development phase: 1 - 2 parks (May - October, 2006)
  • Test phase: 4 - 6 parks (May - October, 2007)
  • Implementation phase: 50+ production sites in all U.S. states (2008+)

• Community groups: each participating park or natural area must work with an
  • Elementary or middle school,
  • High school, and
  • Informal science organization, such as a local nature center or club

• Initial target plant and animal groups: ants, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, ferns, trees, vines, or selected invasive species that have the potential to be correctly identified and studied by 4th-grade classes at any participating U. S. schools.

• Methods
  • Identification guides -- taxonomic experts and local naturalists will work with Discover Life's technical staff to customize and test regional identification guides for each target group.
  • Research protocols and curricula development -- scientists, park interpreters, and lead teachers will develop science activities for students to study and learn about nature in their local communities.
  • Teacher training -- Park interpreters will train teachers in summer workshops after activities have been tested.
  • Study design -- must include some structured sampling so that changes in biodiversity can be compared over time and space.
  • Web reporting -- school classes and clubs will study species in their local communities and put their findings on the web.
  • Data management -- must weave together data from separate inventories without requiring each to standardize on a single format.
  • Analysis -- provide researchers and students with on-line means to map distributions, display time-series, and analyze data from structured samples.
  • Collections -- schools will develop synoptic reference and voucher collections to help maintain high data quality with a chain of custody.
  • Rewards -- students with winning science fair projects will be awarded trips and summer internships to help survey national parks.

• Equipment and supplies: the project will provide schools with GPS units, digital cameras, and other things required for students to follow the research protocols successfully.

Action items

• Contact potential participants and seek their support as partners.
• Organize and seek funds for 15-20 individuals to attend a workshop to build on the ideas presented here.
• Update this web page, adding participants below, as individuals join and give us feedback.
• Initiate groundwork for the showcase project.

Participants