Scientists and volunteers on Saturday successfully completed their counting of plants and animals in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The park’s first-ever BioBlitz, a 24-hour celebration of nature tied to the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, was a major success, said park spokeswoman Jennie Vasarhelyi.
“We’re absolutely pleased with the results,” she said. “We’re pleased with the numbers and we’re pleased with engaging the public in a big way in such an event.”
More than 550 volunteers had signed up to be part of the nature census, she said.
Cuyahoga Valley recorded 3,440 observations totaling 657 species of plants, birds, fish, butterflies, reptiles, mussels, bees, salamanders, frogs, spiders, insects, algae, mosses, lichens, moths and bats that were uploaded to the iNaturalist mobile app by 300 observers.
Additional sightings will be uploaded in the coming days, she said.
Weather had little impact on the counting, but the rain did hurt attendance at the two-day Biodiversity Festival for the public at Howe Meadow in the park, Vasarhelyi said.
The science experts from 22 agencies and institutions led more than 120 surveys of plants and animals at six locations in the 33,000-acre federal park between Akron and Cleveland.
Results include:
• A 90-minute survey for spiders found 24 species. It took place at night and people used flashlights to locate spiders by looking for their eye shine.
• A group used an acoustic sensor to listen for the echolocation of bats. They located 105 big brown bats, as well as a silver bat and a hoary bat. The big brown bat is a species that is doing better than others in the face of white-nose syndrome, a fatal disease that is devastating bat populations. Silver and hoary bats are less common.
• Surveyors conducting a bird census at Virginia Kendall Lake found 66 species of birds, including the uncommon black-billed cuckoo.
• Staff from EnviroScience Inc. of Stow conducted electro-shocking of fish at Indigo and Virginia Kendall lakes. An uncommon species identified was the black bullhead catfish.
• Scientists working at the Ledges in Boston Township identified a rare species of lichen. Because lichens are sensitive to air pollution, a healthy population is a sign of improved air quality.
Of the 126 national park units conducting BioBlitzes, the Cuyahoga Valley had the most observers and the most observations using iNaturalist during the event, Vasarhelyi said.
Data from the BioBlitz at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, including photographs of recorded species, is available online at www.inaturalist.org/projects/2016-national-parks-bioblitz-cuyahoga-valley
Scientists must validate and analyze results. A preliminary count and species list will be available by July 31. Final results of the National Parks BioBlitz will be announced on Aug. 2, the date of the park service’s birthday.
Nationwide, preliminary statistics include 39,950 observations, 5,477 species, and 2,578 observers. You can view the nationwide results online by visiting http://go.nps.gov/2016bioblitz.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.