Exploring the microwilderness with an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI)

Researchers at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) at Harvard University are collaborating with the National Park Service (NPS) and Boston Harbor Islands Partnership to inventory insects and other invertebrates in Boston Harbor Islands national park area. The project aims to integrate three main themes: (1) Science, (2) Education and Outreach, and (3) Management.

Twelve of the 34 islands within the park have been intensively surveyed for arthropods using a variety of trapping methods.

[left to right: Leaf litter extraction, Malaise trap, Beating sheet]

To date, over 800 species have been identified, and over 10,000 specimens have been entered into a publicly accessible database. Location, collection method and date, and habitat are associated with each specimen. High resolution images are included for each species.

Undergraduate students are undertaking their own research in conjunction with the project.

Education and Outreach

Goal: Engage and excite the public—students, teachers, visitors, citizen scientists—about biodiversity on a local scale by making all components and products of the ATBI accessible

In and out of the classroom: MCZ and NPS staff are working together to develop curriculum for grades 5-8. Much of the curriculum can be found at the NPS site. Our "bug kit" includes equipment for catching insects, as well as basic identification guides and data sheets for sorting activities. Teachers have received training in how to use the kit with their students in workshops, and park rangers use the bug kit in classroom activities and field expeditions to the islands. This will be the third year that all 5th graders from the Wellesley school district participate in the ATBI as part of a program hosted by Thompson Island Outward Bound. At the college level, undergraduate biology classes from Harvard have taken several field trips to the islands to collect insects for their lab investigations. All specimens collected during these activities are ultimately contributed to the inventory project.

Public events: The park has hosted several "bioblitzes" to investigate the diversity of particular groups (e.g., beetles, intertidal invertebrates) within a short time period (24 hours or less). These scientist-led programs have attracted professional, amateur, and novice entomologists to engage in collecting activities. "Family Fun Days" during the summer also allow people of all ages to participate in collecting and learning about insect diversity. Interpretive exhibits showcasing the project are planned for the Boston Harbor Islands visitor center and for the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Showcasing insect diversity: The high magnification insect images produced in the Imaging Lab at the MCZ are a key component of various educational and outreach media and products. These include 3-D images, informational brochures, biodiversity posters, and a "Predator Prey" card game that teaches players about the ecology and diversity of insects on the Boston Harbor Islands.
 

Management

Goal: Provide data to park managers to inform management plans and decisions

The challenge for park resource managers is to incorporate the wealth of biodiversity information collected by the ATBI into their management efforts. Invertebrates have not traditionally been the focus of management plans, save for a few rare charismatic species, such as butterflies, or "pest" species, such as mosquitoes. There are, however, many more opportunities for utilizing information on insect biodiversity in the park, for instance:

• Establishing baseline data for future monitoring efforts (e.g., monitoring pollinators associated with native plant restoration projects).
• Documenting and protecting significant microhabitats for biodiversity.
• Monitoring exotic species introductions into Boston Harbor, a busy international port.
• Developing a plan to use "indicator taxa" for assessing ecosystem integrity.
• Contributing data to regional or nationwide databases for use in large-scale studies, such as effects of global climate change on species distributions.