BioBlitz Auckland 2008
Searching in Smith's Bush
During the 24-hour BioBlitz, which was held in the 10 hectare reserve of Smith’s Bush, North Shore City, on 4-5th April, searchers found 946 different species. This was an excellent effort especially as the bush was very dry and not at all conducive to development of many species such as fungi.
Never-the-less, a number of notable collections of fungi were made which were surprising for a small patch of bush in a city location. The relatively low number of exotic species detected is also noteworthy. The most stunning collection was the native oyster mushroom, Pleurotus australis, from the inside of a hollow, living puriri tree; this was found by a very observant school student during one of the many guided walks with scientists. It was the largest specimen of this fungus ever collected, measuring 20 x 20 cm! Other important finds included three different fungi previously known only from type collections, and a slime mould that will almost certainly be a species new to science.
Other interesting finds were
- large numbers of sizeable banded kōkopu (native fish) living in a short stretch of the stream flowing through Smith’s Bush
- unusually large numbers of native tunnel web spiders living in holes in the massive old puriri trees
- also good numbers of a large native hunting spider under logs.
Visitor highlights included three groups of Takapuna Intermediate students and one group from St Mary’s Primary School who participated in several activities prior to BioBlitz starting. Many more students visited after school on Friday and later with parents.
In the marquee, the displays of live geckos, kakariki, native fish, praying mantids, stick insects, and large spiders attracted plenty of attention. Visitors made the most of opportunities to look at microbes, small invertebrates, lichens, fungi and moulds under microscopes. Auckland Regional Council’s biosecurity group display of ‘undesirables’ provided an excellent discussion point. Activities for children included make-your-own-stamp, insect olympics and hunting for ‘bugs’ in leaf litter.
The programme of conducted walks was very popular … especially the night activities such as light-trapping for moths, and spotlighting insects and spiders from the boardwalk.
A raised board walk runs in a large loop through the forest passing close to many of the extraordinarily large puriri, taraire, and kahikatea trees. The board walk made for an ideal vantage point for spotlighting the nocturnal funnel web and sheet web spiders without risk of accidentally bumping into one of these rather large spiders. As the parent of one little girl, who was really enjoying the walk, said … “this is really cool but I bet I know who’s not sleeping in their own bed tonight” (the little girl nodded vigorously).
BioBlitz was opened by Mr Andrew Williams (Mayor of North Shore City) and Mrs Jo Brosnahan (the Landcare Research Board Chair) closed BioBlitz 24 hours later. Ruud Kleinpaste also joined in on Friday with the school students. The event attracted media attention from TV1, TV3, NZ Herald, Radio NZ National, and Radio Live.
The final tally:
| Conifers | 5 |
| Dicotyledons (flowering plants that have two embryonic leaves when the seed germinates, e.g. trees & shrubs) | 153 |
| Monocoyledons (flowering plants that have a single embryonic leaf on germination, e.g. grasses) | 63 |
| Ferns & fern allies | 19 |
| Liverworts & mosses | 60 |
| Lichens | 43 |
| Algae | 28 |
| Fungi & bacteria | 150 |
| Fish | 4 |
| Freshwater invertebrates (insects, shrimps and other small animals without backbones) | 35 |
| Mammals | 4 |
| Birds | 28 |
| Reptiles & amphibians | 1 |
| Molluscs (snails, slugs) | 7 |
| Insects | 229 |
| Spiders, mites & other archnids | 84 |
| Nematodes (tiny unsegmented round worms) | 21 |
| Other invertebrates (e.g., millipedes, centipedes, isopods) | 12 |
BioBlitz organising committee consisted of Peter Buchanan, Rachael Glendining, Karyn Hoksbergen, Paula Wilkie, Grace Hall, Judy Grindell … (all Landcare Research), Abigail Forbes (Auckland Regional Council), Margaret Stanley (University of Auckland), Ewen Cameron (Auckland Museum).
Special thanks go to all the people who took part - about 60 staff from Landcare Research, Auckland Museum, University of Auckland (staff and students), Unitec, Auckland Regional Council, Crop & Food Research, WaiCare, Kaipatiki Restoration Group, the Bugmobile (Christchurch), the Auckland Ornithological Society, the Auckland Botanical Society, the Forest and Bird Society, and several knowledgeable ‘amateurs’. While there were some very very tired people at the end, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the cameraderie of working together towards a common goal.
The organising committee also wishes to acknowledge the in-kind support provided by Landcare Research, and the financial support from Auckland Regional Council and the Lion Foundation.
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