Final Report November 2015

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Final Report November 2015 Final Report Final Report November 2015 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County ........................................................................................ 3 BioBlitz ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Weather .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Methods and Results .................................................................................................................................... 5 Amphibians and Reptiles .......................................................................................................................... 5 Birds .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Butterflies.................................................................................................................................................. 8 Dragonflies and Damselflies...................................................................................................................... 9 Fish .......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Fungi ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Invertebrates ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Mammals ................................................................................................................................................ 16 Mosses, Liverworts and Lichens ............................................................................................................. 17 Sciomyzidae (Snail-killing Flies) ............................................................................................................... 18 Vascular Plants ........................................................................................................................................ 20 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix A .................................................................................................................................................. 22 Appendix B .................................................................................................................................................. 30 Appendix C .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Cover Photo Credits: Gerald Davidson – Orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme) Mark Donnelly – Swamp Spreadwing (Lestes vigilax) Julie Kulak – Fungus (Tetrapyrgos nigripes) JoAnn Monge – Purple Prairie Clover (Petalostemum purpureum) Glenn Perricone – American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) Jeff Smith – White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) 1 Executive Summary For 24 hours starting on Friday, June 26, 2015, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County hosted a Centennial BioBlitz, during which professional and citizen scientists surveyed 3,700 acres across four forest preserves to document the plants and animals that live there. The BioBlitz was one of many events in 2015 celebrating the Forest Preserve District’s 100th anniversary. A whopping 953 different taxa were documented during the 24-hour period. The majority of these were identified to species, however some invertebrates were only identified to genus or higher. The breakdown across major taxonomic groups follows. Group # Taxa Vascular Flora 439 Non-vascular Flora 140 Vertebrate Wildlife 146 Invertebrates 228 TOTAL 953 Participants recorded 60 species that had not been observed in DuPage County Forest Preserves previously including: • 39 invertebrate species • 13 fungi species • 6 lichens species • 2 moss species One of these invertebrate species, Pteromicra similis Steyskal, a tiny parasitoid species in the Sciomyzidae family, had never before been recorded in Illinois. This discovery (a male/female pair) also represents the westernmost record of the species. Rare observations included: Two Illinois-endangered birds: Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Nine dragonfly/damselfly species considered imperiled in Illinois according to the Illinois State Musuem One butterfly (Dion skipper, Euphyes dion) on the “Species in Greatest Need of Conservation” list compiled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources On Saturday, June 27, the Forest Preserve District also hosted a public Nature Fest at St. James Farm Forest Preserve to celebrate northeastern Illinois’ biodiversity and to allow the public to interact with BioBlitz participants. The event was attended by an estimated 1,900 people. 2 Introduction The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is a governmental conservation agency whose mission is to acquire and hold lands containing forests, prairies, wetlands, and associated plant communities or lands capable of being restored to such natural conditions for the purpose of protecting and preserving the flora, fauna and scenic beauty for the education, pleasure and recreation of the citizens of DuPage County. The Forest Preserve District was established in 1915 and today owns or manages nearly 26,000 acres (12% of the County) as public open space containing five education centers and 145 miles of trails and receiving over 4 million visitors annually. BioBlitz A BioBlitz brings together scientists to count as many species of organisms as they can find in a defined geographic area in a 24-hour period. That area for the Centennial BioBlitz was four connected forest preserves totaling 3,700 acres: Blackwell, St. James Farm, Herrick Lake and Danada (Figures 1 and 2). Base camp, near the geographic center of the survey area, is located at: 88° 9’ 39” W, 41° 49’ 58” N. Nature Fest—a six-hour event to allow the public to interact with scientists and learn about biodiversity—ran concurrent with BioBlitz on Saturday, June 27, 2015. The four BioBlitz forest preserves were chosen with the Nature Fest in mind to accommodate significant public attendance for the fest. As the following report will detail, more than 130 professional scientists and citizen scientists, supported by dozens of District staff and volunteers, documented 953 different taxa of vertebrate wildlife, invertebrates, vascular plants and non-vascular flora during the event. Nature Fest attracted over 1,900 people. The Centennial BioBlitz was the first event of its kind in the history of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. It was so named because it was part of the year-long celebration of the District’s 100th Anniversary. In conjunction with the associated Nature Fest, the Centennial BioBlitz was the natural resources centerpiece of the District’s centennial commemoration. Weather Weather during the 24-hour period of BioBlitz was unseasonably cool, particularly on Friday evening, when temperatures were in the mid-60s. Cloudy skies gave way to a light but steady rain starting at 7:00 PM and continuing into the overnight hours; according to AccuWeather, precipitation totaled 0.2 inches. The overnight low was 58°F. Saturday’s temperatures, which started off at a crisp 58°F, rose to a high in the mid-70s under mostly sunny skies. 3 DuPage County FIGURE 1. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF THE BIOBLITZ HELD ON JUNE 26-27, 2015 IN DUPAGE COUNTY, ILLINOIS. FIGURE 2. BLACKWELL, ST. JAMES FARM, HERRICK LAKE AND DANADA FOREST PRESERVES WITHIN DUPAGE COUNTY WERE THE FOCUS OF THE 24-HOUR BIOBLITZ ON JUNE 26-27, 2015. 4 Methods and Results A complete list of the 953 taxa recorded can be found in Appendix A. Amphibians and Reptiles Team Leader: Dan Thompson Sampling was conducted by District volunteers (10), professors and students of nearby universities (5), staff of other environmental agencies (2) and Forest Preserve District staff (2). Five amphibian species (American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus; Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeiana; Green Frog, Lithobates clamitans clamitans; Northern Leopard Frog, Lithobates pipiens; CREDIT: PAM RAWLS and Western Chorus Frog, Pseudacris triseriata) and seven FIGURE 3. VOLUNTEER MARK BAVETZ SEARCHES FOR TADPOLES AT ST. JAMES FARM FOREST PRESERVE. reptile species were found (Chicago Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis semifasciatus; Common Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis; Common Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentine; Midland Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi wrightorum; Midland Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta marginata; Plains Garter Snake, Thamnophis radix and Spiny Softshell, Apalone
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