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Naturalist Training - Incredible Insects
01:39:12

Naturalist Training - Incredible Insects

Naturalist Training - Incredible Insects In our 8th Naturalist training, talk about the magnificent insects that live around us. Insects are fascinating creatures - they are found in almost every habitat on Earth, they can feed on diverse food resources, and they look indestructible. But are they? During this interactive webinar, we will learn about the intriguing lives of insects: we will discuss different groups of insects and how to identify them. How can you tell if it's a bug or a beetle? What does a lady bug larva look like? What are these cicada molts we find on trees? We will explore techniques to find insects at home or on a hike, and how to document them using iNaturalist. This is part 8 of an ongoing series. Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist @ https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into Inaturalist @ https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Part 3: Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants @ https://youtu.be/VJuyz19K4rQ Part 4: Nature Interpretation for the Rest of Us @ https://youtu.be/JqvADIulSQA Part 5: Serpentine Grasslands and iNaturalist Projects @ https://youtu.be/FKbxTt08bMA Part 6: Why City Nature Challenge Matters @ https://youtu.be/DYIyLdOmsSM Part 7: Aquatic Macroinvertebrates @ https://youtu.be/CivYOrl5vRE Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and BioBlitz Club Presenters are Deb Kramer, Merav Vonshak, Barbara Banfield, and Eddie Dunbar Recording date 8/28/24 == CHAPTERS 4:49 - Incredible Insects Introduction by Merav Vonshak 13:06 - Bees & Wasps by Barbara Banfield 41:01 - Beetles vs True Bugs by Eddie Dunbar 1:06:40 - Questions == RESOURCE LIST Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful: - Website: KeepCoyoteCreekBeautiful.org - Facebook: @CoyoteCreekSJ - Instagram: @CoyoteCreekSJ BioBlitz.club - Website: https://www.bioblitz.club/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bioblitz.club == BOOKS - Field Guide to California Insects, 2 edition, California Natural History Guides, Will, Gross, Rubinoff, and Powell, 2020 - Insects of North America, Princeton Field Guides, Abbott and Abbott, 2023 - Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species, Stackpole Books, Charney and Eiseman, 2010 == ABOUT BEES, WASPS, & FLIES - How to tell if a pollinator is a bee, wasp or fly slide show https://www.greatsunflower.org/node/1000250 - Black Soldier Fly https://cesanmateo.ucanr.edu/?blogpost=27407&blogasset=107918 - Bumblee look-alikes https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/biological-control-information-center/beneficial-look-a-likes/bumblebee-look-a-likes/ - California Bumble Bee Atlas: https://www.cabumblebeeatlas.org/ == iNATURALIST PROJECTS - The fly project - we can add that they also formed a community and they teach people how to ID flies - Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/insects-of-the-san-francisco-bay-area - Flies of the US & Canada: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/flies-of-the-us-and-canada - Gall Week September 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/gall-week-september-2024 == RELEVANT NATURALIST TRAININGS - Aquatic Macroinvertebrates: Learn more about aquatic insects and their larval stages https://youtu.be/CivYOrl5vRE - Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants: Learn more about insects and other organisms found on plants, and what can you do to help at the end of the webinar https://youtu.be/VJuyz19K4rQ - A Deeper Dive into iNaturalist: Learn how to document organisms on iNaturalist, and how to improve your observations - https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg - Plant Galls for the Curious Naturalist: Learn more about galls https://youtu.be/7oUAuMlMUEQ
Naturalist Training - Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
01:20:39

Naturalist Training - Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

During our 7th installment of the Naturalist Training series, we focus on macroinvertebrates in our creeks. California boasts a wide range of wildlife on land and in the water. The water-based organisms not only function as food, but also characterize the health of streams. During this presentation, Shelley Pneh will share her excitement about these small but mighty creatures so you can apply your newfound knowledge to help determine the health of our waterways. She has contributed over 250 identified and photographed aquatic insects to CalPhotos, a digital natural history museum database. Presenters are Deb Kramer and Shelley Pneh Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and Grassroots Ecology == This is part 7 of an ongoing series. You can see the whole Naturalist Training playlist here: @ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlDmox4fiBlouwq-K2q6l9N2LJxdp37yo&si=2QShRbjyfqn2PBln Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist @ https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into iNaturalist @ https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Part 3: Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants @ https://youtu.be/VJuyz19K4rQ Part 4: Nature Interpretation for the Rest of Us @ https://youtu.be/JqvADIulSQA Part 5: Serpentine Grasslands and iNaturalist Projects @ https://youtu.be/FKbxTt08bMA Part 6: Why City Nature Challenge Matters @ https://youtu.be/DYIyLdOmsSM == RESOURCE LIST - Shelley Pneh, shelley@grassrootsecology.org - Facebook page @grassrootsecologypage - Instagram @grassrootsecology - Website http://www.grassrootsecology.org/ == BOOKS & ARTICLES Shelley Bug Guide @ https://angelo.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/Bug-Field-Guide-May-2018.pdf "An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America" by Richard Merritt , Kenneth Cummins , Martin B Berg @ https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/introduction-aquatic-insects-north-america Hydrofoil-like legs on mayfly larvae by Ditsche, Hoffmann, Kaehlert, Kesel & Gorb @ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00359-023-01620-2 Phylogenetic Distribution of Extant Richness Suggests Metamorphosis Is a Key Innovation Driving Diversification in Insects by James L. Rainford, Michael Hofreiter, David B. Nicholson, Peter J. Mayhew Tree topology shows evolution of insects where each ring represents 100 million years of evolution over nearly 500 million years @ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109085 == iNATURALIST PROJECTS Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in North America @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/aquatic-macroinvertebrates-in-north-america Recording date 6/12/24
Naturalist Training - Why City Nature Challenge Matters
55:27

Naturalist Training - Why City Nature Challenge Matters

During our 6th installment of our Naturalist Training series, we discuss the City Nature Challenge (CNC), a four-day global iNaturalist event, happening every year on the last weekend of April. Started in 2016, hundreds of cities from around the world come together in a friendly competition to document the most species and observations by the highest number of people. Topics covered help you to: 1. Understand what is the CNC and different ways you can participate. 2. Learn how to host your own event. 3. Gather some tips and tricks on how to find more biodiversity around you. This is part 6 of an ongoing series. Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into iNaturalist https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Part 3: Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants https://youtu.be/VJuyz19K4rQ Part 4: Nature Interpretation for the Rest of Us https://youtu.be/JqvADIulSQA Part 5: Serpentine Grasslands and iNaturalist Projects https://youtu.be/FKbxTt08bMA Presenters are Merav Vonshak and Deb Kramer == RESOURCE LIST Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful: keepcoyotecreekbeautiful.org BioBlitz Club: BioBlitz.Club iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CalAcademy City Nature Challenge website: https://www.calacademy.org/community-science/city-nature-challenge City Nature Challenge 2024 San Francisco iNaturalist project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-san-francisco-bay-area == GLOBAL CITY NATURE CHALLENGE City Nature Challenge: https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/ Global CNC project (if don’t live in a CNC city, and you’d need to join the project for your observations to count): https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-global-project Two global umbrella projects with all the cities: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-eurasia-africa-oceania https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-north-and-south-america == HOW TO HOST A BIOBLITZ Nerds for Nature, 10 Steps to BioBlitz: https://blog.nerdsfornature.org/post/64452358890/10-steps-to-bioblitz National Geographic, How to Host BioBlitz: https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/NationalGeographicBioBlitzGuide.pdf Recorded 4/17/2024
Naturalist Training - Serpentine Grasslands and iNaturalist Projects
01:29:48

Naturalist Training - Serpentine Grasslands and iNaturalist Projects

During our 5th installment of our Naturalist Training series, we focus on two subjects: 1. Serpentine grasslands Our main topic will be serpentine grasslands and the soil they form on. We will have a guest expert joining us for this section, Paul Heiple, who is a geologist and a plant expert. He will discuss the characteristics of serpentine soil and how only certain plants can grow on it, forming our serpentine grassland habitat that is home to many endemic plants. 2. iNaturalist projects How to create them, how to use them, and why! We will give examples of some of our favorite projects, and hopefully entice you to upgrade the way you use iNaturalist. Also, we will create a project together and add some observations! This is part 5 of an ongoing series. Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into Inaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Part 3: Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants can be found at https://youtu.be/VJuyz19K4rQ Part 4: Naturalist Training - Nature Interpretation for the Rest of Us can be found at https://youtu.be/JqvADIulSQA Presenters are Merav Vonshak and Paul Heiple == RESOURCE LIST iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org iNaturalist project on serpentine plants of the western US https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/serpentine-plants-of-the-western-united-states Vol. 1 of Ecology, Phytogeography & Physiology Series; "Serpentine and its Vegetation" R. R. Brooks "California Serpentines: Flora, Vegetation, Geology, Soils, and Management Problems" by Arthur R. Krucheberg INATURALIST PROJECTS LISTED IN THE PRESENTATION Amazing Aberrants ARThropod. Arthropods on snow Ask a Lichenologist Backyard Pollinators Bay Area Beach Blobs Coyote Creek Biodiversity Dock Fouling in California Fascinating Fasciation Flies of the US and Canada Found Feathers Funny common names Galls of California Home Compost Exploration Life in cow pats of the world Mystery Oak Leaf Skeletonizer Never Home Alone: The Wild Life of Homes + analysis North American Animal Tracks Database Open Space Authority Biodiversity Pacific Newt Roadkill (Main Project) Predators Scatology Serpentine Plants of the Western United States Skulls and Bones Snapshot Cal Coast 2023 The Pot Fouling Project UV fluorescent organisms And a few more worth mentioning - Animal Architecture Microscopy Mimicry Gallery The Butt End Of Nature seeds and fruits U.S. Terrestrial Nature and Plastic WeirdWildWonders Gall Week
Naturalist Training - Nature Interpretation for the Rest of Us
01:28:33

Naturalist Training - Nature Interpretation for the Rest of Us

During our 4th Naturalist Training, we will explore effective ways to share your passion for nature in this presentation by Michael Hawk from Jumpstart Nature. Learn to make any nature topic engaging. Whether a field trip, casual hike, or chance encounter, learn how to make any nature experience fun, engaging, and relevant. You’ll also learn how to connect with your audience and turn experiences into the beginning of a journey of discovery. This is part 4 of an ongoing series. Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into Inaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Part 3: Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants can be found at https://youtu.be/VJuyz19K4rQ Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, BioBlitz Club and Jumpstart Nature Recording date 2/7/24 == RESOURCE LIST BOOKS - Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy at https://bookshop.org/a/98007/9781604699005 - Interpreting Our Heritage by Freeman Tilden, who is often viewed as one of the pioneers in nature interpretation at https://bookshop.org/a/98007/9780807858677 WEBSITES - Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful at KeepCoyoteCreekBeautiful.org - Nature's Archive Podcast at https://naturesarchive.com - Jumpstart Nature at https://jumpstartnature.com - Jumpstart Nature Podcast at https://jumpstartnature.com/podcast/ - BioBlitz Club at bioblitz.club - iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/ - National Association for Interpretation offers resources, training, continuing education, and certifications in interpretation at https://www.interpnet.com/ - South Bay BioBlitz Events hosted by BioBlitz Club at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/south-bay-bioblitz-events SOCIAL MEDIA - Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/coyotecreeksj/ - Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CoyoteCreekSJ/ - Nature's Archive Instgram at https://www.instagram.com/naturesarchive - Nature's Archive Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NaturesArchive/ - Jumpstart Nature Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jumpstartnature/ - Jumpstart Nature Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jumpstartnature - BioBlitz Club Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bioblitz.club/ - BioBlitz Club Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bioblitz.club
Naturalist Training - Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants
01:12:47

Naturalist Training - Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants

Naturalist Training - Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants During our 3rd Naturalist Training presentation, we will explore some of the fascinating and little-known creatures that live on plants. Galls are small structures induced by insects (usually) on many plant species, they may look like pink stars, fussy hairs, or apples. Leaf miners are tiny fly or moth larva that live between the two layers of the leaf. And there are many others, if you just look closely! This is part 3 of an ongoing series. Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into Inaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and BioBlitz Club Recording date 9/27/23 == RESOURCE LIST - Merav Vonshak merav.von@gmail.com - Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bioblitz.club/ - Website https://www.bioblitz.club/, including a short discussion about useful gadgets here. - iNaturalist website: https://www.inaturalist.org == BOOKS - Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants and Animals among California's Oaks, Kate Marianchild 2013 - Leafminers of North America – 2nd Edition – 2022 Charley Eiseman - http://charleyeiseman.com/leafminers/. - Plant Galls of the Western United States, Russo 2021 - Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species, Eiseman & Charney, 2010 - Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, Douglas Tallamy, 2020 == WEBSITES - Homegrown National Park @ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ by Douglas Tallamy, including a native plant finder and other resources - California Native Plant Society @ https://calscape.org/: find the perfect native plant to support life in your yard - The Xerces Society @ https://www.xerces.org/ == PODCASTS - Jumpstart Nature podcast @ https://jumpstartnature.com/category/podcast-episodes/ : The 1st episode will be released on 10/2, and it’s about the yard of the future. - Nature’s Archive podcast @ https://podcast.naturesarchive.com: Episode 79 is about Pollinator Friendly Yards @ https://podcast.naturesarchive.com/2023/09/11/pollinatorfriendlyyards/ - Science Friday: A recent segment about native bees and their relationship with native bees @ https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/local-native-bees/ == iNATURALIST PROJECTS Most of these are manual projects. To contribute observations, please join the project, and then manually select it from the project list. - The wonderful diversity of life on Coast Live Oak: @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/the-wonderful-diversity-of-life-on-coast-live-oak -- Our new project, created as an outcome of the presentation @ https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/local-native-bees/ - South Bay BioBlitzes A project including all 108 BioBlitz Club events! @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/south-bay-bioblitz-events - Galls of North America: For the entire continent @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-north-america - Galls of California: California galls only @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california - Gall Week Umbrella Project A seasonal event documenting galls from around the world @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/gall-week-umbrella-project - Leafminers of North America iNaturalist project @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/leafminers-of-north-America == UPCMOMING EVENTS - Fall BioBlitz at the Palo Alto Baylands, Saturday, 10/14, from 9-11 am We’ll document the fall migration together, as well as Baylands plants, insects, and so much more! This event is with Environmental Volunteers. Info & RSVP @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-baylands-bioblitz-with-environmental-volunteers-tickets-686128568017 - BioBlitz at Coyote Creek Trail near McCarthy Rd, Sunday, 10/22, from 9:00-11:30 am This is a favorite fall event location, with migrating birds, beautiful spiders ready for Halloween, and more. This event is with KCCB. Info & RSVP @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coyote-creek-trail-bioblitz-registration-717040025017?aff=bb - North Coyote Valley Conservation Area (Laguna Seca), Sunday, 11/5, from 9-12 This event is with SCVAS. Info & RSVP @ https://www.bioblitz.club/event-info/north-coyote-valley-conservation-area-laguna-seca-november-bioblitz - Hellyer Park Fall BioBlitz, Saturday, 11/11, from 9-11:30 This event is with KCCB. More info and link will be available later on BioBlitz.club
Naturalist Training - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist
01:01:22

Naturalist Training - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist

Naturalist Training - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist This interactive presentation is an introduction to community science and iNaturalist. We will explain what iNaturalist is and how we use it at our BioBlitz events. You'll learn the "why" - why should you use the iNaturalist app, if you aren't doing so already, and how can you improve your experience, if you're already a user. We will provide examples of scientific studies using iNaturalist data in order to learn about our environment. This is Part 1 of a new series of naturalist presentations. Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and BioBlitz Club Recording date 7/19/23 Resource List from Merav Vonshak - Merav Vonshak merav.von@gmail.com - Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bioblitz.club/ - Website https://www.bioblitz.club/, including a short discussion about useful gadgets here. A few community science programs I mentioned: North America: - **7/22-30** – National Moth Week – document moths at https://nationalmothweek.org/ - eBird – a huge database for reporting bird observations (global) at https://ebird.org - Zooniverse – help researchers analyze data of various studies at https://www.zooniverse.org/ - Firefly Atlas – for firefly observations at https://www.fireflyatlas.org/ - SOD – Sudden Oak Death blitzes at https://nature.berkeley.edu/matteolab/?page_id=148 - Rockd – app for recording geological observations at https://rockd.org/ Bay Area/ California: - The Newt Patrol project – https://www.bioblitz.club/newts - Data at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pacific-newt-roadkill-main-project-lexington-reservoir - City Nature Challenge – iNaturalist global event at https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/ - Snapshot Cal Coast – https://www.calacademy.org/calcoast - The Jasper Ridge Ant Survey – https://jrbp.stanford.edu/research/jrbp-ant-survey Some local organizations with great community science programs: - Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful – https://www.keepcoyotecreekbeautiful.org/ - Sequoia Audubon Society – https://www.sequoia-audubon.org/ - California Academy of Sciences – https://www.calacademy.org/citizen-science - Wholly H2O – https://whollyh2o.org/ ** if you’d like to hear more about the Newt Patrol or the Jasper Ridge Ant Survey – please email merav.von@gmail.com
Newt Patrol presentation ICOET
14:22

Newt Patrol presentation ICOET

A presentation for the 2021 ICOET conference. Abstract: Since 2017 a group of citizen scientists has been monitoring roadkill mortality of two species of pacific newts: California Newt (Taricha torosa) and Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) along a road near Lexington Reservoir, Los Gatos CA. The newts migrate from the hills to the reservoir and the creeks nearby in order to reproduce. They start migrating after the first substantial rains, and head back early spring (November-May). Many of them get hit by the busy traffic on the road surrounding the reservoir. For the past three seasons we have been surveying a 4.2 miles section of the road, recording an average of about 5,000 dead newts per year. This is one of the highest rates of herpetofauna mortality on roads ever reported globally. We record each newt using a smartphone, and share our observations on iNaturalist (https://tinyurl.com/6csrsbf4). We also record other species, with over 800 individuals of 100 species documented so far. Newt roadkill counts were affected by rainfall and frost. Although newts prefer to migrate on rainy nights, once they start migrating, they continue even during a long dry spell. In addition to our monitoring program, this year we also studied the impact of weather conditions on the persistence of dead newts on the road, in order to estimate how many newts are being missed by our teams. We are highly concerned about the survival of the two newt populations. 5,000 dead newts a year are not sustainable. With climate change, fewer breeding ponds will be available for the newts to reproduce in. Plans to develop further recreational activities along this road will attract even more traffic into the area. So far, different attempts by local environmental advocates have failed to engaged the different agencies in finding and funding solutions. We will discuss possible solutions.

OTHER RESOURCES

Michael Hawk interviewing Merav Vonshak for his podcast Nature's Archive, posted on October 28, 2020. For a summary and some resources, you can view the interview also on Nature's Archive page here

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