Biodiversity of the Schoodic Peninsula: results of the insect and arachnid bioblitzes and the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park, Maine

Chandler, Donald; Manski, David; Donahue, Charlene; Alyokhin, Andrei

From Official Summary and Discussion "The results of each bioblitz were based on a 24-hour snapshot in time of the species present in the Schoodic District during mid-summer. In general, collecting was op¬portunistic, and not all park lands were sampled or given the same amount of sampling effort. Thus, the number of arthropods recorded during the bioblitz events represents a conservative estimate of the total biodiversity of the area. Despite the limitations in these data, overall arthropod biodiversity was surprisingly high given that this section of the park is <1,000 ha in size and that a majority of the habitat was very homoge¬neous—coniferous trees predominate in this portion of anp (Table 1). The Mt. Desert Island list published by Procter (1946) has been the only compre¬hensive list based on long-term attention to a specific area in New England. Charles Johnson spent a week to 10 days collecting on the island for eight years, which was followed by William Procter sponsoring visits by taxonomists to add to these records over the following 19 years. This led to documentation of 6578 species of insects and arachnids in 349 families for the island. The eight one-day bioblitzes have produced 1605 species in 248 families, one-fourth the number of species from a much smaller and quite homogeneous area, and from a comparatively very short time investment. These bioblitz results produced 525 new park species records, and for the state of Maine, 109 new state records—clear contributions to the scientific knowledge of both the park and the state. Particularly notable for the park were the increases in known species for the Collembola (from one to 53 species) and spiders (89 new species records added to the 154 known). Even in large and comparatively well-known groups such as the beetles (154 new records), moths/butterflies (82 new records), and flies (53 new records), there have been siginicant additions in knowledge of diversity. At least 24 invasive species from Europe were noted for the first time for the park, though most of these have been previously recorded as present in the state. These additions clearly indicate that Procter’s (1946) list is just the first attempt to document the insect and arachnid biodiversity of Mt. Desert Island, and that the Schoodic bioblitzes have sub¬stantially extended this list while documenting the appearance of a number of invasive species since that time. Park scientists can now talk more knowledgably about the arthropods that are in the Schoodic District of the park. For example, the surveys provided information about the presence of nonnative species, serving as an early warning to managers about the potential for new invasive pest species. The reference collection of specimens will also serve as a core educational and scientific asset at serc. Park interpreters can use the information to help inform public and student science-education programs. In addi¬tion, these baseline data can be used for education and future studies on the Schoodic Peninsula..." See notes for rest of summary and discussion..

Biodiversity of the Schoodic Peninsula: results of the insect and arachnid bioblitzes and the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park, Maine

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