Thank you to everyone who participated in the bioblitz! We couldn’t have done this without you!
Bioblitz by the Numbers
Number of in-person participants: ~150
Number of identifiers on iNaturalist: ~330
Number of iNaturalist observations posted*: 4,445
Number of species observed: 985
Number of species that were documented in the Preserve for the first time: 253!
Number of species unknown to science: 2!**
*Handwritten notes and eBird checklists were added to iNaturalist using the Lakeshore Nature Preserve iNat account and are therefore included in this number too
**That we know of! There may be more, waiting to be found!
This is a pie chart based on the number of observations from each species group. Almost half of all observations were plants, with insects making up the next-largest proportion. Fungi, birds, and arachnids all had similar numbers of observations, with all other groups having very few. We did manage to find three species of bacteria (identified by the disease they caused), as well as most major groups of life!
Bioblitz Results Summary
By C. Warneke, PhD, UW-Madison Damschen Lab
We had a wonderful inaugural bioblitz at Lakeshore Nature Preserve! Despite the hot conditions and mediocre air quality, we had a turnout of around 150 people over the course of the event! Among these many participants, we had a total of >4,400 individual observations of species in the Preserve. For an urban natural area that averages around 15 iNaturalist observations on an average day during the summer, having >4,400 observations in 15 hours was an astonishing amount of effort!
Among these many observations, we found so many amazing species! One of the purposes of the bioblitz was to help the Preserve understand what species are found here so that we can better manage the habitat to support rare and declining species. We found 10 species that are considered globally threatened as well as an additional 18 that are considered threatened in Wisconsin. These are of special concern for management, and we will continue working to safeguard these species in the Preserve. These threatened species included many of our bats (which are suffering the effects of White Nose Syndrome), native tree species declining due to introduced insects/pathogens, and species that are habitat specialists in prairies or high-quality woodlands.
We were thrilled to see so many people getting excited about our local biodiversity. So often, our local natural areas are thought of as simply “parks,” without the context of providing valuable habitat and, in the case of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, serving as a research, teaching, and outreach facility for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One highlight was when the volunteer researchers who run the Biocore Prairie Bird Banding Observatory caught a Yellow Warbler with interesting plumage characteristics that are not often seen in that species (see above). Understanding our local birds is a key component of the research at the Observatory and this unusual individual was all the more exciting because it was found during the bioblitz! Another highlight was finding two species that are unknown to science! (see photos to the right) These species are under study by scientists that specialize in these species groups, and they will hopefully be named soon. A last highlight was seeing all of the walks and activities that we had during the day and seeing people learn about all sorts of organisms, ranging from plants to parasitic wasps to birds. In Madison, we are thankful to have so many skilled experts and local natural history groups that engage the public in biology!
The Eagle Heights Community Gardens is among the oldest community gardens in the country and are a unique cultural and ecological feature within the Preserve. The gardens not only have a distinct form of local biodiversity in the cultivated plants but provide habitat for wild species that are only found in those settings, within the Preserve, including such previous sightings as White-winged Dove and Harris’s Sparrow. Several gardeners in the community gardens submitted lists of the plants that they grow, helping us to understand the diversity of cultivated species in the Preserve and adding 25 species to the bioblitz count.
As an urban natural area with a previous history of agriculture, the Preserve faces a management challenge of removing invasive species such as garlic mustard and common buckthorn, which harm the ecological integrity of the habitat in the Preserve. During the bioblitz, we collectively documented 421 species of plants (with species-level IDs), of which 271 were native and 150 were non-native (64% native). Not all non-native species are invasive, but this can still be a useful metric to see how well management action is fostering healthy habitats at the Preserve.
Join us for the 1st Lakeshore Nature Preserve bioblitz!
The goal is to get a snapshot of the overall biodiversity of this 300-acre campus natural area. Everyone is welcome, from the excited beginner to the experienced expert. The more participants, the more biodiversity we will be able to find!
Date: June 7, 2025 (rain date June 8)
Time: 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Lakeshore Nature Preserve; Welcome station at entrance to Picnic Point (2000 University Bay Drive, Madison WI 53705) – Getting Here and Parking
Scheduled events: You are welcome to participate anytime throughout the event! If you are looking for a more structured experience or to learn from others, please join one of our scheduled bioblitz walks and activities!
Cost: Free!
Frequently asked questions
- What is a bioblitz?
Think of a bioblitz as a nature scavenger hunt where scientists, naturalists, students, and community members come together to identify as many species as possible (plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms) within a particular area over a set time period. - How can I get involved?
Register here. By registering, you will receive an event schedule, updates, including weather cancellations, and a summary of the results! You can attend in-person by exploring on your own, joining a guided walk/survey, volunteering at the welcome station, or participate virtually by identifying observations on iNaturalist. Please reach out to lakeshorepreservebioblitz@gmail.com for more info. - What if I forget to register prior to June 7?
You can register on the day of the event! Visit the welcome station at the entrance to Picnic Point (2000 University Bay Dr). Any iNaturalist observations taken in the Preserve on the day of the event will be counted toward the project, regardless of registration status. - What activities are happening during the bioblitz?
You are welcome to record observations on your own or join one of the scheduled bioblitz walks and activities. - Why are we doing a bioblitz?
The Lakeshore Nature Preserve’s 2023 Master Plan provides a clear direction and recommendations for its native habitats. We want to collect baseline data, both to help guide ecological restoration and management of the land and as part of an effort by the Office of Sustainability to understand what species live on the UW-Madison campus. - How will participants record what they find?
We want to make it easy for you to join in the fun! Participants can record species in four different ways.
a) We are primarily recording observations using iNaturalist. Get help signing up and using iNaturalist.
b) Birders can submit checklists to eBird. Get help signing up and using eBird.
c) Want to go “old school”? We will also accept handwritten notes!
d) Some organisms may require microscopic characters and/or specimens for species-level identification. If you need to collect specimens, please let us know in the registration form. A bioblitz organizer will contact you. - If I already use the Seek app will that work for the bioblitz? What is the difference between Seek and iNaturalist?
Unfortunately, Seek alone will not work for the bioblitz. Seek houses its data only within the phone of the user and doesn’t share it without that user’s permission, and thus the Preserve would not have access to the observations. Seek does have a functionality that allows posting to iNaturalist through Seek, but it must be done at the time of the Seek observation. Observations that are posted to iNaturalist via Seek will count for the bioblitz! The difference between Seek and iNaturalist is that both are produced by the same nonprofit organization, but have different interfaces and goals. Seek is largely produced to help people become interested in the natural world and doesn’t aid in scientific efforts. To make identifications, Seek draws on the iNaturalist dataset. iNaturalist is for everyone, regardless of skill level, and has more community engagement and contributes to scientific efforts (like this bioblitz!). - What resources will be available?
Some identification tools will be available and can be used at the welcome station including a dissecting microscope, field guides, and hand lenses. Feel free to bring your own tools or resources. - What if I can’t participate on June 7 but still want to help?
You can help identify observations on iNaturalist after the event. Visit the iNaturalist Lakeshore Nature Preserve Bioblitz project. - How long is the bioblitz?
The bioblitz will run from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on June 7, 2025. If your group of species needs to be observed before 6:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., let us know on the registration form. - What if it rains on June 7th?
The rain date is June 8. If it rains both days, we will cancel and try again in 2026. - Can I bring my kids?
Yes! Everyone is welcome to participate, including youth under age 18 with a supervising parent or guardian. - Can I bring my dog?
We prefer you leave pets at home for the bioblitz, but leashed dogs are permitted in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Owners must pick up and properly dispose of waste. - How can I find out what species were found?
If you register for the event, we will send you the results. We will also post the results on this webpage. We hope to have lists for: birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, dragonflies, bees, plants, fungi, lichens and more! - What if I have limited mobility?
The welcome station will be located at the entrance to Picnic Point, just across the road from UW Lot 130. The main path out to the tip of Picnic Point and the Temin Lakeshore Path are accessible with paved or crushed, packed limestone surfaces. Many other areas are accessible for limited-mobility visitors: Muir Knoll, Observatory Hill Overlook, the Class of 1918 Marsh, and others. Check out our getting here and parking page for close-in parking. Please contact us with questions about accessibility.
Do you have more questions about the bioblitz? Contact us at lakeshorepreservebioblitz@gmail.com