SCU Gone Wild Colleen Henn (Environmental Science, 2016), Taylor Kelly (Biology, 2016), Michelle Bezanson (Anthropology), John Farnsworth (Environmental Studies and Sciences) What is SCU Gone Wild? SCU Gone Wild (SGW) is a community science and natural history initiative with a mission to characterize, record and preserve biodiversity on campus and encourage wildlife observations on campus and on SCU sponsored field trips or field courses. SGW has the broad goal of engaging the SCU community in the “rhythms of landscapes” as individuals and as a collective both on campus and on field excursions. We aim to combine citizen science, long-term research and community involvement in order to highlight our unique campus. SCU Campus Bird Project Our project has grown into a more systematic on- going study that involves recording bird species in each of eight fixed sites across campus. The sites differ in vegetation composition and cover, which affects the number of bird species that utilize the sites. We hope that this project will continue and ultimately influence landscaping decisions on campus, as well as contribute to further bird and biodiversity research on campus. Figure 1. Bird biodiversity study sites. What’s next? • Vegetation analysis • Species density and diversity analyses • Squirrels • Future bioblitzes We thank Willem P. Roelandts and Maria Constantino-Roelandts, The Center for Science, Technology, and Society, and the SCU Provost’s office for support for SCU Gone Wild. Discussion • Site 4 has the greatest number of species observed. • Sites with a low number and diversity of trees (such as site 8), seemed to contain mostly generalist species, ie: American crows, California gulls, and rock pigeons. • Results implicate that specialist bird species are drawn to sites with greater tree richness and diversity. Methods • General bird walks began in Sept. 2014 • Systematic species identification began in Jan. 2015 • Spend 15 minutes in each of 8 sites (Firgure 1, map) • Systematic species count at each site Birds cont. White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinesis European Starling Stumus vulgaris Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater Vaux’s Swift Chaetura vauxi Mammals Family/ Common name Scientific Name Western Grey Squirrel Sciurus griesus Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger Northern Raccoon Procyon lotor North American Opossum Didelphis virginian True Flies Flesh Fly Blow Fly Fungus Gnat Midge Long-legged Fly Parasitoids True Bug Froghobber Leafhopper Aphids Scale Insect Mirid Bug Chinch Bug Beetle (Coleoptera) Lady-bird Beetle Leaf Beetle Rove Beetle Pill Bug Centipede Earthworm Red Wiggler Worm Garden Slug European Earwig American Hoverfly Crane Fly Thrip California Carpenter Bee Honey Bee Western Yellowjacket Ant Termite Western Tiger Swallowtail Insects, Bees, Butterflies, etc. Family/ Common name Birds Family/ Common name Scientific Name California Gull Larus californicus Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Rock Pigeon Columba livia Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna Nuttall's Woodpecker Picoides nuttallii Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii American Robin Turdus migratorius Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis House Sparrow Passer domesticus White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia California Towhee Melozone crissalis Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria Wilson’s Warbler Cardellina pusilla Brant Goose Branta bernicla Campus Bioblitz April 2016 "A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, power lines, and right-angled surfaces. We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it." -Edward Abbey