AppState BioBlitz 2022's Journal

Hi everyone,

we are putting together a slideshow to feature some of the best pictures and most unique finds from our BioBlitz last week on the monitors around Rankin. You can help by letting us know which observations you would like to see featured!

As you browse through the project pool, you can click on the observations you like and add a star to mark your favorites. If you want to see what has been submitted for a particular group of organisms or from a particular user, you can narrow that down using the Filters. If you have a favorite species, you can type that into the Species window and see our observations for it. You can also use this method to find e.g. everything in a particular family or order. If you can't find any of the features I'm talking about, you may have to log in on the website - I'm not sure if and how they show up on the various phone apps.

For those really interested in the details of what we've found, I've printed out a couple of copies of a preliminary species list and put that with the poster in Rankin. Feel free to pick one up! This is still work in progress so we'll be posting an updated list again some time next week.

Thanks again everyone for the strong support and participation in the BioBlitz!

Please join us if you're around campus tomorrow for some cupcakes and to recognize the top scorers!

Hi everyone! Thanks for making our first ever AppState BioBlitz such a fun experience and resounding success!

Our challengers at UNC Greensboro have conceded to our win, haha! Thanks for the challenge, UNCG! We're definitely up for a rematch next year. :-)

Thanks also to those who stopped by for our little awards ceremony in the Rankin lobby yesterday. For those who missed it, here are the winners. It really came down to a tight battle between two dedicated students, one from Biology and one from Geography and Planning:

• @leighalobelia took home the prizes for most species observed overall, as well as Master Botanist and Master Mycologist for observing the most plant species and fungal species, respectively.
• @rivermont scored the prizes for best photography, as well as Master Entomologist and Master Ornithologist for observing the most insect species and bird species, respectively.

This adorable chipmunk observed by rivermont was selected to adorn our AppState BioBlitz 2022 buttons. (If you couldn't make it to the celebration yesterday and want a button to pin on your jacket, contact Marta.)

A couple of honorable mentions go to:

• @tsn for providing over 1,500 identifications on our observations during our BioBlitz week. Wow, thank you so much for your help! I would also like to thank everyone else who participated (intentionally or unwittingly) by providing identifications and quality control for our observations.
• Our runner-ups for most species who didn't win a prize but still each made over 100 qualifying observations during the BioBlitz week: @brynnaselah, @dendro-julia, @hannah_lilly, @emma_nicholson, @seanavery1, and @brookesbees. Great engagement from everyone!
• All instructors who announced the challenge in their classes, went on field trips, or provided extra credit or other encouragement for students to participate. Special thanks to our emeritus faculty who decided to emerge from retirement to contribute!
• Also a big shout-out to our participants from Lees-McRae College and Watauga High School! If you ever need help with a BioBlitz challenge, let us know!

We really had a blast with this and definitely want to do it again. If you have feedback what went well and what didn't and how to improve it for the future, please let us know.

Annkatrin and Marta