Parsons Field Institute & Citizen Science October 2020 Newsletter

Parsons Field Institute

Citizen Science News

Dear Parsons Field Institute and Citizen Science Friends,

Check out the latest for the fall season:

Fall program planning update.

September butterfly survey records lowest number of butterflies on record.

Heritage Grant: Parsons Field Institute receives grant to study desert tortoises.

ASU students create AI tool for bat surveys.

Homeowner Association Outreach Research: Seeking contacts and CC&R documents.

Regional Desert Defenders project highlighted in AZ Republic.

USGS shares progress report on RestoreNet sites in Northern Arizona.

Soil crust research partner publishes article on emerging research studies and findings.

Fall Citizen Science Program Update

COVID-19 continues to impact us all. As much as possible, we will strive to provide opportunities for all of our incredible citizen scientists to participate in our field projects!

Unfortunately, we may continue to need to limit participation at this time in order to facilitate safety and social distancing.

As Fall planning continues, we will keep you updated on the status of Conservancy precautions and project strategies.

2020 Fall Butterfly Survey Results

By Doug Jensen

Steward Coordinator

This September the Parsons Field Institute conducted our semi-annual butterfly counts in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Participation was limited to a very small number of experienced specialists due to the ongoing pandemic.

Six teams of counters observed only 25 butterflies in 5 species. As indicated by Dr. Ron Rutowski, who guides the effort, "definitely a record setting count...these are the lowest numbers we have seen in any count on the Preserve." Over the seven years we have been counting, a typical census generates around 700 butterfly sightings representing approximately 23 species. Of course such variation is of significant scientific value. The data are retained locally by the Parsons Field Institute of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and reported nationally to the North American Butterfly Association, co-partners in this research initiative.

We look forward to the time when we can again invite a broader audience, including the general public, to participate with this fascinating project.

Empress Leilia butterfly by Scott Sprague

Gray Hairstreak butterfly by Scott Sprague

Conservancy Awarded Competitive Heritage Grant

Heritage Grant to fund desert tortoise telemetry project

Thanks to a generous Heritage Fund grant, the Conservancy will soon embark on new projects to better understand and protect wildlife in the Preserve. These funds will be used to determine how urbanization and other human factors affect species such as desert tortoises and bats and what can be done to protect them.

The project will also focus on community education and engagement to help protect wildlife and maintain habitat connectivity. Projects will likely kick off next spring. If you would like to learn more or are interested in helping, please contact Tiffany Sprague (tiffany@mcdowellsonoran.org)

Photo credit: Lisa Miller

Computer Science students from ASU undertake difficult bat tracking project

Partnership with ASU leads to new AI tracking tool for bat project

Excerpt from blog post:

By Ryan Kemmer, Jerimiah Kent and Michael Umholtz, Arizona State University students

In June 2020, the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy partnered with Arizona State University’s School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering (CIDSE) to sponsor a capstone project. The project’s purpose statement detailed the need for a software application capable of automating emergence counts of bats observed entering and leaving a gated mine in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. These emergence counts provide valuable information about bat activity at this site. To conduct these counts, IR lights and video cameras are utilized to record the mine entrance. The lengthy videos are then manually reviewed by volunteers who log exit and entrance events. This process is subject to human error and requires a significant amount of time and effort. Software that automates the counting process could increase accuracy and free up volunteer time....

Read the full article on our latest blog post.

Homeowner Association Outreach Research: Seeking Contacts and CC&R documents

Invasive species such as stinknet and fountain grass increase the risk of wildfires, threatening our desert ecosystem. Many of these are found in neighborhoods in Maricopa County. A research project led in partnership by the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and Central Arizona Conservation Alliance (CAZCA) will be working with Homeowner Associations to address this issue.

Through interviews and collected information, we will research pathways to partner or assist HOAs with proper removal of invasive species and reduce the negative impacts they have on our desert environment.

We have identified HOAs around the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We are seeking help finding contact information and covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs).

Please check out our list of HOAs in need of contact information.* If you have any information to add, please feel free to add to the document or email Mary Fastiggi, Parsons Field Institute Coordinator at mary@mcdowellsonoran.org.

*You'll need a gmail to view the HOA list. If you can't see it, Mary can send you it as a PDF by email.

Thank you!

Regional Desert Defenders project highlighted in AZ Republic

The Parsons Field Institute helps lead regional invasive plant species removal efforts.

Learn about our work on this citizen science project below:

RestoreNet progress update

USGS shares year one report card for Northern Arizona sites.

Last fall, the Parsons Field Institute joined a broad effort to research restoration techniques led by the US Geological Survey, called RestoreNet. This research project uses a network of restoration sites that test seeding treatments such as pitting, mulching, and artificial nurse plants (ConMods) to try to improve germination and establishment.

USGS recently released a progress report with preliminary results from one year of data at sites in Northern Arizona. Initial analysis suggests that pitting treatments work best to help seeds get established.

You can read more about RestoreNet and view the progress report here.

*Please note, these initial results do not include data from the sites the Parsons Field Institute installed last fall.

Soil crust research partner publishes new paper

Our soil crust research partner, Dr. Anita Antoninka from Northern Arizona University, has recently published a review article discussing the importance of biocrust restoration, examining current advances in research, and discussing what is needed for future success and implementation.

You can read the full article "Biological soil crusts in ecological restoration: emerging research and perspectives" in the journal Restoration Ecology.