Arima Valley BioBlitz 2013
Click on the logo for a short film about the event
On the 21st-22nd September 2013, the second Trinidad & Tobago Bioblitz took place in the Arima Valley, Trinidad. The valley is situated at the heart of the Northern Range and researchers went from the peak of Morne Bleu to the streams along the bottom of the valley.
Map showing the survey area (within the red circle) and the basecamp (green house)
The event was led by Mike G. Rutherford and was a collaboration between the UWI Zoology Museum (UWIZM), the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club (TTFNC) and the Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC). The volunteers for the event came from many places including staff and students from the University of the West Indies Dept. of Life Sciences, John Murphy from the Field Museum, members of the T&T Serpentarium, representatives from Fisheries Division and many other nature enthusiasts. The basecamp was in the Mango Room at the AWNC and participants also stayed at the William Beebe Tropical Research Station.
From the basecamp at the Asa Wright Nature Centre the teams recorded a smashing sum of 772 species. Some highlight discoveries were a velvet worm, an armadillo, and several rare and endemic land snails. More than 100 guests were given walking tours around the grounds.
The event was covered in the local media and on many social networks and blogs, click on the links below:
Search the T&T Bioblitz Facebook page for posts about the Arima Valley Bioblitz.
Issue 4/2013 of the TTFNC Quarterly Bulletin was dedicated to the Bioblitz. Click here.
A poster about the event is available for download as a PDF. Click here.
The Arima Valley 2013 Bioblitz Final Report is available for download as a PDF. Click here.
