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From a news release from Lake County Forest Preserves:
108 scientists, 713 acres, 24 hours. Results of the 2008 Middlefork Savanna BioBlitz are still trickling in. So far it’s insects by a rostrum, er, nose!
On June 27 and 28 the Lake County Forest Preserve District, Lake Forest Open Lands Association, and Lake Forest Park and Recreation District held Lake County’s very first BioBlitz. Teams consisting of nationally renowned taxonomists had just 24 hours to locate and identify as many species of plants and animals as possible.
The clock started ticking at 4:30 p.m. on June 27, and concluded at 4:30 p.m. on June 28. More than 100 taxonomists spotted, trapped, tracked, netted and counted mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, insects, fungus, lichens and plants on 713 acres of open space at Middlefork Savanna. Three weeks later, their finds total 1,098 species, and the number is still growing.
The biodiversity demonstrated through this event reflects the quality and variety of habitats at Middlefork.
Among the finds were some surprises and rarities. The presence of three species included on Illinois’ threatened and endangered species list was confirmed, including two birds and one plant. The fish team found a brook stickleback, a new site record and bit of a surprise: an eastern milk snake was also identified. This was not a huge surprise, but the snake is a shy and hard to find species not previously reported at Middlefork Savanna.
It took less than two hours for one team to spot 25 different dragonfly and damselfly species. The count grew to 38 species by the end of the event, a high number of species for a single location.
Five great birds for the region were identified: red-headed woodpecker, Wilson’s phalarope, king rail, least bittern and bald eagle. Silverweed, a plant normally found on the beaches of Lake Michigan, was another highlight.
Perhaps the biggest highlight was the cooperation of so many world-class field researchers. A central area called the Tally Tent housed equipment and specimens for each taxonomic group. With so many teams sorting in one area, it was easy to take an unidentified species across the Tally Tent to another group for help. This cross-disciplinary approach helped the numbers soar.
BioBlitz centered around the biodiversity of Lake County. The inventory site was the 713-acre Middlefork Savanna, an area that includes the 576-acre Lake County Forest Preserve in addition to Lake Forest Park and Recreation District’s Elawa Farms and Wildlife Discovery Center and Lake Forest Openlands Association property.
"Middlefork Savanna is one of just two high-quality examples of tallgrass savanna remaining in all of North America,” said Bonnie Thomson Carter, president of Lake County Forest Preserve District. “Because of the unique plants and animals found at this preserve, the District has restored large areas of Middlefork Savanna. Data from BioBlitz will provide Forest Preserve staff with an in-depth assessment of the success of past restoration efforts and help to determine how to care for Middlefork Savanna in the future.”
BioBlitz was initiated to study and celebrate the biodiversity of Middlefork Savanna. Secondary goals of the program included exposing neighbors of the preserve to the biodiversity in their area, conservation, and methods of wildlife study.
For more information regarding this event and associated data, please visit www.LCFPD.org/bioblitz.
For more information on Lake County Forest Preserves go to www.LCFPD.org.
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