Bioblitz was a really interesting and eye-opening experience. We were able to actively participate in on-going ecology research. I was part of the Microbes taxon. The purpose of Microbes was to see the diversity of bacteria that could exist in different types of soil within the Botanical Garden. In this group, we took samples of soils from different areas of the Botanical Garden and were asked to take pictures of the soil. Then, using the front-facing camera, we were to take a picture of the sky to show the amount of sun exposure/coverage that specific patch of soil had. After recording down the time and taking pictures, we used a plastic tube to take a core of whatever soil we were collecting. We were then asked to describe the soil – coarse, fine, clay, dry, moist. We took samples from the Rose Garden, the old-growth forest, and the new-growth forest.
Our group leader explained the difference between the care of the plants in each of the areas. The Rose Garden is watered and fertilized very often in order to grow the variety of roses. The old-growth forest is essentially a regular forest that has been left alone to grow on it’s own without any human interference, and is over decades old. The new-growth forest is a forest that they tried to bring back and regrow. This area is generally free of human interference as well, but is still maintained.
A picture of the soil, featuring a little earth worm.
Three soil samples taken from the three different areas
After we collected all our samples, we sat down and our group leader talked about different ways that the diversity of bacteria could be measured. She gave us a sheet that showed data from an actual experiment where the researchers sampled soil just as we did. It was really cool to experience doing field work that ecology researchers did. In addition, our group leader also told us the samples we collected would actually be tested in a lab to identify all the different species of bacteria that were in the soil.
Overall, I really enjoyed BioBlitz and I would love to be able to do it again.
