SCU Gone Wild
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Transcript of SCU Gone Wild
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