Biologists, naturalists to conduct 20-hour "bioblitz" at VCU Rice Center, June 12-13

By Mike Frontiero
VCU School of Education

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University's Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences will host Virginia BioBlitz 2004 - a 30-hour race against time to identify every living thing in the 342-acre living laboratory along the James River.

From 9 a.m. Saturday, June 12, to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 13, a group of 70 or more scientists, naturalists and volunteers will tally as many plants and animals as they can find to help raise public awareness of Virginia's biodiversity.  Located in Charles City County, just southeast of Richmond, the Rice Center provides an opportunity to survey the flora and fauna of eastern Virginia.

"The Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences is a place of robust ecological diversity, and I anticipate that the BioBlitz survey will give us an extremely valuable baseline ecological assessment for the extensive future work that will occur on site," said Dr. Thomas F. Huff, vice provost for VCU Life Sciences. "The information from this cataloging will help to inform and guide our use of the property and may point to avenues for research that we have not identified yet."

The BioBlitz was invented in 1996 by scientists from the National Park Service and inaugurated in Washington, D.C., by scientists from the NPS, National Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution.  BioBlitzes - sort of Olympic events for scientists to record every species of plant and animal in a specific location over a matter of hours - are now conducted across the country.

The Virginia BioBlitz provides an opportunity for professional biologists, students, naturalists and families to work together in the field. Teams will survey plants (vascular and non-vascular), vertebrates (reptiles, amphibians, fishes, mammals, birds) and invertebrates (spiders and their kin, butterflies and moths, dragonflies and damselflies, and beetles).

Biologist and event organizer, Chris Ludwig, is optimistic about the chance for significant finds.  "I wouldn't be surprised if we found species new to the site, county, or even state.  There is even a remote chance for a species new to
science!"

As a survey tool, the annual BioBlitz can provide a snapshot for any group of organisms. This snapshot can and has revealed new state and seasonal records, providing another layer of data that might suggest further directions for investigation.

The Rice Center is a 342-acre tract of land located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County. The wooded property, which includes a 70-acre lake, was once a hunting ground for Native Americans, a Civil War encampment for Union troops, and a YMCA camp. It was given to VCU as a gift in October 2000 and now serves as a living laboratory for VCU students and faculty to study the environment.

The first Virginia BioBlitz was held in May 2002, at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County. Approximately 100 biologists, naturalists, students, and volunteers tallied 1,377 species in the park during a 24-hour survey period. The 2003 BioBlitz was held at Douthat State Park in the Allegheny Mountains of western Virginia. Even in a downpour, nearly 1,000 species were recorded. This year's BioBlitz at the Rice Center will give participants a chance to explore the plant and animal communities of Virginia's Coastal Plain.

The event is co-sponsored by the Virginia Herpetological Society, the Virginia Natural History Society, the Entomological Society of Washington, The Virginia Academy of Science the Richmond Herp and Bug Society and the Virginia Native Plant Society. Other participating institutions and societies include: Smithsonian Institution, USDA-ARS, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond, Hampton University, Richmond Audubon Society.

For more information, visit the 2004 Virginia BioBlitz Web site at http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/vnhs/bioblitz2004.htm.