Trinity Bioblitz

July 2013

The first ever Trinity Campus Bioblitz took place on the 22nd of May with an enthusiastic turn out from both staff and students. The MSc. Biodiversity and Conservation class efficiently organised the event on behalf of the TCBR and we would like to thank them all for their time and effort. The aim of the Bioblitz was to record as many different types of species found in the Campus, taking note of their location and abundance. An important and useful recording approach to monitor species diversity.

Trinity Bioblitz was launched in the main square by Èanna Ní Lamhna, one of Ireland’s much recognised and loved wildlife presenters and environmental educators. The Campus was explored and investigated by teams of keen wildlife recorders who were led by experts in botany, zoology and general ecology. The Luce Hall became a hub of activity as species were identified and recorded. A range of species were recorded from aquatic pond-life to common insects. Mammals weren’t forgotten either with an urban fox spotted running through campus.

The Bioblitz was the first ever held on Campus and provided a wonderful insight into its range of biodiversity. During just four hours of recording, we found 126 species on Trinity Campus: 94 species of plant, 19 bird species, 7 insects, 3 non-insect invertebrates, and 1 species each of lichens, fungi and mammals. The latter was the fox, Vulpes vulpes, which live on campus. The weather was pretty dismal which probably accounts for the low number of insect species observed on the day. Well done to all the recorders, identifies, data enterers, and particularly to the MSc class, led by Karen Shevlin and Sheila Murphy who organised the event. The data will be sent to the National Biodiversity Data Centre (http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/).”