We Have Identified Many Non-native Species in Mount Holly

As of late May the Biodiversity Project has made 1,644 total observations in town. We are now 109 observers, including 38 project members who have identified 659 species (56 new species since April!) in Mount Holly. That breaks down into 330 plants, 141 insects, 74 birds, 59 fungi, 17 mammals, 8 amphibians, 5 reptiles, and several smaller groups. Among these, observers have identified at least 28 species of non-native plants and 14 species of introduced insects. Some of these are now common but a few are an important ecological and economic threat to our forests and agriculture. Invasive non-natives like Purple Loosestrife and Phragmites displace native plants and provide little benefit (food, cover, etc.) to native wildlife. Invasive aquatic plants and algae can devastate the ecosystem of wetlands and lakes. In order to deal with these invasives we need to continue to identify and monitor them so effective controls can be applied in their management. If we know what they are and where they are we can take measures to protect our native ecosystems. The flip side of invasive species are the threatened species and project participants have identified 18 threatened species in town. These are birds and plants that need extra protection to prevent their continued decline and loss.

These are some of the key roles of the Mount Holly Biodiversity Project and I thank you for joining in this exciting and important effort. As a member of this Project you can always view these data yourself by looking at "Stats" on the home page. If you use the "Filters" you can see the data for specific types of observations too. It's fun to try this and I encourage you to give it a try yourself.

Spring has brought out all kinds of wildflowers, birds, insects (including black flies!) everywhere and there’s much more to come. Migratory birds like warblers, grosbeaks, hummingbirds, thrushes, flycatchers, are moving in and passing through. Please try to submit observations of those common species that you see in many places around town to help us learn about their distribution and abundance. We need photographs and reports of the fish and aquatic plants in Lake Ninevah or Star Lake too.

Posted on May 28, 2021 03:40 PM by jcorven