Just looking at the map of Alley Pond Environmental Center was overwhelming – there was so much area to cover with so little time. Although it seemed a daunting task, after spending the day there I was pleasantly surprised to see how many different species can live together within a small environment. My group was assigned to be on the lookout for insects of all kinds. It didn’t take long before we saw hornets, bumblebees, beetles, crickets, millipedes and butterflies, to name a few. We found some on flowers and leaves while others had burrowed homes within trees.
While we were engaged in documenting the variety and quantity of insects in the park, I noticed an algae-covered pond. It reminded me of what we recently discussed in class about how algae forms in ponds from the phosphorus and nitrogen in the water. Therefore, although it wasn’t part of my group’s assignment, I chose to tweet about the algae-covered pond because it shows how the environment interacts with organisms and how they are dependent on each other. This represents one of the lessons of BioBlitz, that it is incumbent upon us to understand the interactions in nature and to appreciate them. What an eye-opening experience!
