Invasive Species Data Quest

Invasive species are plants, animals and micro-organisms that have been accidentally or deliberately introduced into areas beyond their native range. Invasive species pose the second greatest threat to biodiversity in the world. Natural areas such as forests, wetlands and lakes provide many ecosystem services and benefits. Natural areas provide food and shelter for wildlife, can remove pollutants from air and water, produce oxygen and provide valuable educational and recreational opportunities. Invasive species pose a significant threat to these natural areas, and once established they are costly and difficult to eradicate and can often cause irreversible damage to local ecosystems.

The reporting and mapping of invasive species plays an important role in understanding where species have spread to, when new species have been introduced, and which species are established near species at risk. We rely on citizen scientists to help with the reporting and mapping of invasive species, and this is where you can help by participating in the City Nature Challenge! The Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council has prepared two Data Quests for the 2022 City Nature Challenge: one for invasive plants and one for bird and prey observations.

Data Quest 1: Invasive Plants.
Data on invasive plants can be collected by walking in a park, on a trail, at the beach and even by simply walking down the street. Can you find any invasive plants in your neighborhood? If you can, the best pictures can be taken of individual leaves, flowers and stems, and a picture of the whole plant. If you need help figuring out which plants are invasive, you can look at plants that have already been reported to the NSISC iNaturalist project, or you can visit our website: https://nsinvasives.ca/fact-sheets/

Data Quest 2: Bird photographers.
We are challenging bird photographers to post two photos- one photo of the bird and a second photo of its prey. Some invasive prey you can look for are European green crabs, Chinese mystery snail and smallmouth bass. Pictures of prey will help us determine whether our native birds are consuming invasive species.

Remember to Play Clean Go while you are participating in this years City Nature Challenge; clean any plants and insects off your clothing and gear when entering and leaving an area to stop invasive species from spreading. You can learn more about our Play Clean Go program here: https://nsinvasives.ca/play-clean-go/

Good luck!

Publicado el abril 28, 2022 03:01 TARDE por jgilice1