On 20-21 April, 2012, join Discover Life for the Spring Natural History Survey, and help collect data on species and their interactions. This 24-hour multi-site event will celebrate the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences opening their Nature Research Center’s new wing. This spring survey is a stepping-stone towards building a permanent network of study sites to monitor target groups of organisms around the world.
Participants will photograph moths and other creatures that come to lights at night. They will upload their photographs, tag them with date and location, and then help identify species. For how to participate in the study please see the Simple protocol for monitoring moths.
The purpose of the moth survey is two fold:
1) To study lichen moth abundance relative to other species of moths, looking for pollution effect.
2) To collect preliminary data on what species of moths are located where, so that we can choose relevant species for phenological comparison. For phenology we are hoping to find moths that are easy to identify, fairly common, and widespread throughout Eastern N. America.
This event is open to everyone. If you would like to help organize study sites, refine research protocols, train participants, or collect data at a site, please contact us. We will post details here as they become available. Organizers include Discover Life, Encyclopedia of Life, Nature Research Center and other partners.
In addition, you can submit nightly or semi-nightly data such as Discover Life has been collecting in Clarke County for nearly 2 years. If you or anyone you know is crazy enough to do that, please please contact Nancy at Discover Life [contact information below].
Outreach, education, albums, and general information
Nancy Lowe — email: nancy@discoverlife.org — telephone: USA-404-272-4526