[Odonata-l] [SoWestOdes] annual odonate surveys

[chris kline]

Hi Dennis and others,
   
  Seems like (in AZ at least) the ode people aren't quite as well organized as the lep people, or maybe there just aren't as many of us.
   
  Here at Boyce Thompson Arboretum (Superior, AZ) we do a monthly dragonfly walk from May thru October.  With that, we are able to keep track of what we have flying here locally plus make an attempt to try to get other folks jazzed about odes.
   
  In the near future I am wanting to structure our dragonfly program a hair differently, to create more of a "citizen science" atmosphere with the program, and hopefully encourage our participants to travel throughout AZ looking for odes.
   
  Something that Rich Bailowitz and I have discussed from time to time is how to get new, young people more involved in looking for odes (and other creatures too).  I'm sounding like a crusty old flatulant here (all of 43!).  Seems like with the advent of "state standards" and their focus on the molecular level of biology (at least in Arizona public schools), there has been a virtual abandonment of field biology.
   
  I think all of these tangents relate to your question of whether other states are tracking their odes.
   
  chris

Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net> wrote:
          Those on CalOdes, the California odonate listserve, know all about 
this, but I'd like to disseminate the idea.

Kathy Biggs, the Odonata Central of California, has been encouraging 
people in the state to get out there and find all of the species 
known to occur in the state each year. She keeps a running tally of 
species reported, and this year, for example, they have reported 103 
of the 111 species known from the state. This may be the total for 
2006, as the flight season rapidly shuts down. It might prompt 
someone to ask about the status of the 8 species not seen and why 
they weren't. In most cases, it will probably be because no one 
visited the very few places they are known to occur. Alternatively, 
they were sought and couldn't be found, which might be of significance.

This seems to be a great way to encourage people to get out in the 
field, and in addition it prompts those in the field to look for all 
species, common and rare, each year. By encouraging a search for 
every regional species, we can continue to keep track of all species 
in each state (or province, or country), an important monitoring tool 
for those that are rare or peripheral or are known to change in 
occurrence over time. And of course, the more time spent in the 
field, the more we will learn anyway.

Are there any other regions that pursue this survey strategy?
-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
Chris Kline
Senior Instructional Specialist
Boyce Thompson Arboretum
37615 U.S. Highway 60
Superior, Arizona  85273
(520) 689-2723
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