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LMNGBR BioBlitz LSU Hilltop Arboretum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

April 27-28, 2018 Hilltop Arboretum is 14 acres of land in an urban area featuring hardwood forest on the natural levee of the Mississippi River with natural ravines, plus man-made meadows, wetlands and a pond. Geologically speaking, this area is loess pleistocene terrace. This was the inaugural BioBlitz for both the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge (LMNGBR) and Hilltop Arboretum. This initial BioBlitz produced baseline data and created a hands-on experience for LMNGBR volunteers to learn how to run a BioBlitz. The intent is to include the public in future BioBlitzes. This type of event meshes well with LMNGBR’s primary goal, which is to provide scientific, research-based education to the general public for a better understanding of the local natural ecosystems, and promote conservation and preservation of native plant and animal life and habitats within the Greater Baton Rouge area. A public BioBlitz also aligns very well with the intent of Hilltop Arboretum, which is to remain a model of the natural landscape and for use as an outdoor laboratory. Mr. Emory Smith donated his Hilltop property to Louisiana State University in 1981 because of his love of the natural world and his belief in education. The data was collected primarily in iNaturalist and eBird. In addition to canvassing the property on foot, there was a night blacklighting session and various netting and collection techniques utilized in the pond. The event ran about 9 hours, from 6:30 p.m. Friday through 12:00 p.m. Saturday. The temperature Friday night was in the high 60s, and it was sunny on Saturday, with a low of 52 in the morning and warming up to around 80 when we finished. We had 19 LMNGBR volunteers, with several volunteers returning for both days. Nine guest experts were vital to this effort. A couple of families visiting the arboretum were excited to visit the aquatics table and see the specimens Karen Westphal collected and receive impromptu educational outreach from her. 416 observations were collected, representing 253 species.

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Species Count

Species Category Number of Different Species

Amphibians 4 Aquatic Invertebrates & Mollusks 10 Arachnids 8 Birds 36 Fish 4 Fungi & Lichens 3 Insects 60 Mammals 1 Plants 124 Reptiles 3 Total 253

Thoughts on Results: The number of verified species is low, especially beetles, flies and sedges. Unidentified observations at the Order level or higher were left off of this report. Hopefully this will improve over the next few months and the data can be updated with the additional species. The highest bird count among the species observed was 56 Cedar Waxwings, and the runner-up was 8 Indigo Buntings. The bird team commented that the bird count was good, but they were anticipating seeing a lot more migratory birds. The counts on moths and butterflies were much lower than expected. The experts believe this is due to the harsh freezes we had this winter. The fungi counts were very low due to the dry weather. Reptile and mammal counts were artificially low, as we did not have an expert assisting for those topics. It was suggested that we set up a game camera next year to find mammals.

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Fun Stuff Most Observations Posted - Top 5 99 Amber King 67 Janie Braud 63 Tracey Allen 51 Linda Medine (posted in Amber’s account) 35 Karen Westphal Most Observed Species - Top 5 Green Treefrog Pickerelweed Lyreleaf Sage Alligator Weed Pond Slider Most Species Observed - Top 5 59 Janie Braud 36 Linda Medine 33 Andre Moncrieff 28 Tracey Allen 26 Amber King Top Nature Moment When mama broad-shouldered hawk put on a show with lots of calls, then caught a big snake, and carried it across the meadow to her hungry babies. Weirdest Finds

Oak-Apple Gall by Tracey Allen; Reverse Clover by Janie Braud; Freshwater Jawless Leech by Karen Westphal; Mystery Aquatic Arthropod by Karen Westphal.

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Best Photos

Acadian Flycatcher by Andre Moncrieff; Dew-covered katydid by Linda Medine.

Fragile Forktail with dinner by Amber King; Eastern Bumble Bee flying to Pickerelweed by Ken Bosso; Sleepy Green Treefrog by Peggy Coates.

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Acknowledgements Many thanks to our BioBlitz participants: Guest Experts

LMNGBR Volunteers and Leaders

Additional thanks to: Peggy Coates for her enthusiastic support and various supplies; Helen Peebles, Ken Bosso, and Peggy Coates for the initial input and inspiration; Helen Peebles and Bob Dillemuth for representing CANPS with books, plants and expertise; Amanda Takacs with BREC for the Discover Nature BioBlitz presentation; Matthew Herron for sharing BioBlitz forms; LMNGBR volunteers that invited experts, contributed to a fun and social setting, and helped after the event identifying species in iNaturalist. Thank you to our volunteers that brought sustenance and supplies: Ken Bosso, wifi technology; Colette Dean, food and drink; Katherine Gividen, blacklighting setups and overnight monitoring; Art Scarbrough, photography light box; Dan Strecker, plant species lists; Karen Westphal, aquatic scope, nets, aquarium and supplies; And everyone that brought their cameras and smartphones!

Fungi Logan Wiedenfeld, LSU Hilltop Arboretum Peggy Coates, Executive Director Plants Helen Peebles, CANPS

Aquatic Invertebrates Jim Wilkins, Sea Grant Arthropods Josephine Antwi, LSU Birds Anna Hiller, LSUMNS Christine Kooi, BRAS Andre Moncrieff, LSUMNS Jerry Seagle, BRAS

Vicki LaPlace Linda Medine Wayne McCartney John Nettles Mary Norris Shea Sargent Art Scarbrough Dan Strecker Karen Westphal

Tracey Allen Ken Bosso Janie Braud Bonnie D’Antonio Leslie Day Colette Dean Bob Dillemuth Katherine Gividen Marcy Hardy Amber King

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Species Summary Amphibians

Green Tree Frog Hyla cinerea Northern Cricket Frog Acris crepitans Southern Leopard Frog Lithobates sphenocephalus Tadpole Anura

Aquatic Invertebrates & Mollusks

Annelids Annelida Arthropods Arthropoda Common Land Snails and Slugs Stylommatophora Flatworm Planarioidea Freshwater Jawless Leeches Glossiphoniidae Pulmonates Pulmonata Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii Smooth Land Slugs Deroceras Snail Gastropodidae Springtails Collembola

Arachnids

Black-Tailed Red Sheetweaver Florinda coccinea Cobweb spider Theridion frondeum Entelegyne Spiders Entelegynae Jumping Spiders Salticidae Meshweavers Dictynidae Orbweaver Eustala Wolf Spider Tigrosa Wolf Spiders and Allies Lycosoidea Fish

Blackstripe Topminnow Fundulus notatus Least Killifish Heterandria formosa Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus Black Basses Micropterus Fungi & Lichens

Gilled mushrooms Agaricales Christmas lichen Herpothallon rubrocinctum Common lichens Lecanorales Mammals

Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

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Birds

Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens Barred Owl Strix varia Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens Fish Crow Corvus ossifragus Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus Great Egret Ardea alba House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus House Sparrow Passer domesticus Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus Purple Martin Progne subis Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus Tennessee Warbler Oreothlypis peregrina Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor

Reptiles

Green Anole Anolis carolinensis Pond Slider Trachemys scripta Speckled Kingsnake Lampropeltis holbrooki

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Insects

Anisoptera, Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis Anisoptera, Citrine Forktail Ischnura hastata Anisoptera, Eastern Pondhawk Erythemis simplicicollis Anisoptera, Fragile Forktail Ischnura posita Anisoptera, Narrow-winged Damselflies Coenagrionidae Bee, Common Eastern Bumble Bee Bombus impatiens Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee Xylocopa virginica Bee, Two-spotted Long-horned Bee Melissodes bimaculatus Bee, Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera Beetle, Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis Beetle, Black Firefly Lucidota atra Beetle, Golden-Headed Weevil Compsus auricephalus Beetle, Margined Leatherwing Chauliognathus marginatus Beetle, Predaceous Diving Beetles Dytiscidae Beetle, Rove Beetles Staphylinidae Beetle, Scarabs Scarabaeidae Beetle, Spotted Cucumber Beetle Diabrotica undecimpunctata Butterflies and Moths Lepidoptera Butterfly, Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor Fly, Common Flower Fly Syrphus ribesii Fly, Crane Fly Tipulomorpha Fly, Flesh Flies Sarcophagidae Fly, Hover Fly Toxomerus Fly, Long-legged Flies Dolichopodidae Fly, Love Bug Plecia Fly, Mosquito Culicidae Fly, Non-biting Midges Chironomidae Fly, Southern House Mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus Fly, Thread-horns Nematocera Mayfly Ephemeroptera Moth, Dusky Groundling Condica vecors Moth, Exasperating Platynota Moth Platynota exasperatana Moth, Gem Moth Orthonama obstipata Moth, Green Cutworm Moth Anicla infecta Moth, Leafroller moth Clepsis Moth, Reticulated Decantha Moth Decantha boreasella Moth, Smoky Tetanolita Moth Tetanolita mynesalis Moth, Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia Moth, Waterlily Leafcutter Moth Elophila obliteralis Moth, Woody Angle Macaria aequiferaria Moth, Yellow-collared Scape Moth Cisseps fulvicollis Orthoptera, Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids Orthoptera Orthoptera, Grasshopper Melanoplinae Orthoptera, Green-Striped Grasshopper Chortophaga viridifasciata Orthoptera, Katydid Tettigonioidea Orthoptera, Lesser Meadow Katydids Conocephalus True Bug, Aphids Aphidoidea True Bug, Aphids Uroleucon True Bug, Assassin Bugs Reduviidae

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True Bug, Black Stink Bug Proxys punctulatus True Bug, Leafhopper Exitianus True Bug, Leafhopper Membracoidea True Bug, Leafhopper Sibovia occatoria True Bug, Privet Leafhopper Fieberiella florii True Bug, Rice Stink Bug Oebalus pugnax True Bug, Shield-Backed Bug Homaemus True Bug, Spittlebugs Cercopoidea True Bug, Water Boatmen Corixidae True Bug, Water Strider Gerridae True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies Hemiptera Wasp, Mud Daubers Sceliphron Wasp, Oak-Apple Gall-Wasp Amphibolips confluenta Plants

Grass Dichanthelium Grass, Bermuda grass Cynodon dactylon Grass, Ryegrass Lolium Grass, Vasey Grass Paspalum urvillei Plant Agavoideae Plant Cichorieae Plant Mahonia Plant Polypodiales Plant, Alligator weed Alternanthera philoxeroides Plant, American beautyberry Callicarpa Americana Plant, American black nightshade Solanum americanum Plant, American holly Ilex opaca Plant, American snowbell Styrax Americana Plant, American water plantain Alisma subcordatum Plant, American white waterlily Nymphaea odorata Plant, Annual Blue-eyed Grass Sisyrinchium rosulatum Plant, Arrowheads Sagittaria Plant, asters and allies Astereae Plant, Bird's-eye speedwell Veronica persica Plant, Black elderberry Sambucus nigra Plant, Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum Plant, Brazilian Vervain Verbena brasiliensis Plant, Bristle thistle Cirsium horridulum Plant, Calico aster Symphyotrichum lateriflorum Plant, Canada wild lettuce Lactuca Canadensis Plant, Carolina crane's-bill Geranium carolinianum Plant, Carolina horse-nettle Solanum carolinense Plant, Carolina laurelcherry Prunus caroliniana Plant, Carolina ponysfoot Dichondra carolinensis Plant, Carolina sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus Plant, carrot family Apiaceae Plant, Catchweed bedstraw Galium aparine

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Plant, Cattails Typha Plant, Common duckweed Lemna minor Plant, Common lantana Lantana camara Plant, Common Sow-thistle Sonchus oleraceus Plant, Common Spike-rush Eleocharis palustris Plant, Curly dock Rumex crispus Plant, Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Plant, Darrow's Blueberry Vaccinium darrowii Plant, Devil's Walkingstick Aralia spinosa Plant, Dogfennel Eupatorium capillifolium Plant, Dollar weed Hydrocotyle bonariensis Plant, Dwarf Palmetto Sabal minor Plant, False nettle Boehmeria cylindrical Plant, Field madder Sherardia arvensis Plant, Flatsedges Cyperus Plant, Florida Anise Illicium floridanum Plant, Frank's sedge Carex frankii Plant, Globe Flatsedge Cyperus echinatus Plant, Goldenrods Solidago Plant, Greater plantain Plantago major Plant, Green Dragon Arisaema dracontium Plant, Green Flatsedge Cyperus virens Plant, Greenbriers Smilax Plant, Ground ivy Glechoma hederacea Plant, Hairy buttercup Ranunculus sardous Plant, Huckleberries Gaylussacia Plant, Indian strawberry Potentilla indica Plant, Irises Iris Plant, Japanese storax Styrax japonicus Plant, Knapweeds Centaurea Plant, Lanceleaf Greenbrier Smilax smallii Plant, Largeflower pink-sorrel Oxalis debilis Plant, Leafy blue flag Iris brevicaulis Plant, Lizard's tail Saururus Plant, Looseflower Water-willow Justicia ovata Plant, Lyreleaf sage Salvia lyrata Plant, Manyflower marshpennywort Hydrocotyle umbellate Plant, Mississippi River wakerobin Trillium foetidissimum Plant, Moss Bryophyta Plant, Needlepod Rush Juncus scirpoides Plant, Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia Plant, Pickerelweed Pontederia cordata Plant, Piedmont Azalea Rhododendron canescens Plant, poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans Plant, Procumbent Pearlwort Sagina procumbens Plant, Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium Plant, Red Mulberry Morus rubra Plant, Reversed clover Trifolium resupinatum Plant, Rose family Rosaceae Plant, Scarlet sesban Sesbania punicea Plant, Sedges Carex

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Plant, Sedges Cyperaceae Plant, Sheep's sorrel Rumex acetosella Plant, Slender vetch Vicia ludoviciana Plant, Soft Rush Juncus effuses Plant, Southern arrowwood Viburnum dentatum Plant, Southern dewberry Rubus trivialis Plant, Spotted spurge Euphorbia maculata Plant, Swamp rose mallow Hibiscus moscheutos Plant, Swamp smartweed Persicaria hydropiperoides Plant, Sweet Pepperbush Clethra alnifolia Plant, Sweetleaf Symplocos tinctoria Plant, Tall blue lettuce Lactuca biennis Plant, Taro Colocasia esculenta Plant, Umbrella papyrus Cyperus involucratus Plant, Venus' looking-glass Triodanis biflora Plant, Violets Viola Plant, Virginia Dayflower Commelina virginica Plant, Virginia pepperweed Lepidium virginicum Plant, Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica Plant, Water Meal Wolffia australiana Plant, White clover Trifolium repens Plant, White Morning-glory Ipomoea lacunose Plant, Whitesnow Drymaria cordata Tree, American hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree, American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Tree, American sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua Tree, Bigleaf magnolia Magnolia macrophylla Tree, birches and allies Betulaceae Tree, Hercules' club Zanthoxylum clava-herculis Tree, Loquat Eriobotrya japonica Tree, Parsley hawthorn Crataegus marshallii Tree, Persian silk tree Albizia julibrissin Tree, Red Buckeye Aesculus pavia Tree, Roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii Tree, Southern red oak Quercus falcate Tree, Spruce pine Pinus glabra Tree, Sweetbay magnolia Magnolia virginiana Tree, Trifoliate orange Citrus trifoliate Tree, Tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera Tree, Two-wing Silverbell Halesia diptera Tree, Willow oak Quercus phellos Vine, Carolina snailseed Cocculus carolinus Vine, Cross vine Bignonia capreolata Vine, Pepper vine Ampelopsis arborea Vine, Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia

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Lessons Learned iNaturalist Project Error: When volunteers tried to tag their observations as part of the BioBlitz project, it would give an error. We found out that the upgraded BioBlitz project module is now different than a regular project. You just upload observations like usual - all observations within the designated BioBlitz area, dates and times will automatically be indexed to the BioBlitz project. Since the observations were not tagged, you had to check the project to make sure they were included. This will come in very handy for the public because they will not have to understand what a project is nor remember to tag it. iNaturalist Location Error: Three volunteers had problems with some of their observations not being added to the project, even though all of the settings appeared correct. An iNaturalist tech was able to figure it out. It was determined that the “location accuracy circle” on the map was larger than the boundary of Hilltop Arboretum. Once the location circle was resized, the observation was included in the project. iNaturalist Wild Designation: The tech person at iNaturalist that helped solve our error mystery contacted me and asked that since it is an arboretum, that we make an effort to tag any of the plant observations that we know were planted. To do this, select “No” in the “Organism is Wild” portion of the Data Quality Assessment section of the observation. Pond: The initial thought was that the pond was relatively free of debris, but Karen found that her nets would constantly catch on debris. Photo booth: Camera flashes and the lights that came with the photo box kit did not highlight the colors of the insects very well. We will have to experiment with different colored light sources. Schedule: The weekend of the BioBlitz was scheduled on a very busy bird migration weekend, so birders were out of town. Also, one of the LMNGBR certification classes was the same Saturday. The volunteer turnout was good, however it was not quite enough people to stick to the formal schedule of walks that were planned. It evolved into a free-range event, which seemed to suit the volunteers that were there quite nicely, but a tighter schedule will be important for a larger group and/or the public. Track It Forward: We used the public setting on the shift sign ups so guest experts could register themselves. It worked very well, however we found out that when a guest signed up, they were included in our volunteer count for our monthly pricing, so we inadvertently went over the limit.