BioBlitz In Stratford, Connecticut

Members of the Yale Peabody Museum joins forces with The Connecticut Audubon Society and Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo for a “BioBlitz” of Stratford, Connecticut.

Scientists come together and try to count every species that lives in a town or park as fast as they can and often, over years, the same places are visited each season to look for differences.

Many organizations are involved with the Stratford BioBlitz, but it is co-hosted by Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, The Connecticut Audubon Society and Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo.

The species count begins Friday at 3 p.m. with the goal to identify as many species as possible in a 24 hour stint.

Consider The Spotted Salamander

So easy to miss, yet salamanders are pure magic to view, if you take the time to look for them.

Amphibians, such as this spotted salamander that appeared one spring in Killingworth, Connecticut, tell volumes about the health of the world in which they live. Since they have permeable skin, salamanders literally inhale their environment through their skin. Toxins, such as insecticides or weed killer used in yards can mean no more salamanders. (Read more about this at www.thedailygreen.com.)

The Connecticut Amphibian Monitoring Project (CAMP) started in 1998 and is a long-term study to assess population trends taking place in Connecticut over a 15-year period.

From the CAMP site: "Volunteers are trained to identify the 22 species of amphibians native to Connecticut and on how to use standard amphibian census techniques, like frog call surveys, salamander cover searches and night road transects for migrating amphibians.

"Information gathered from the project will provide a baseline for analyzing changes in relative species diversity and abundance of Connecticut amphibian populations."

Partners in this project include Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Kellogg Environmental Center, and Connecticut Audubon in the Northeast Corner. Also, Menunkatuck Audubon Society, Pfizer Teacher Resource Center, Sacred Heart University, Science Center of Connecticut, and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

A comprehensive site about salamanders (including a sound clip of the noise they make) is http://ctamp.homestead.com/MoleSallies.html.