For this module, I was tasked with identifying the main tree species that a visitor would come across if visiting the Mainside of Marine Corps Base Quantico. I chose to stick with native species, although some ornamentals that are introduced may be readily observed as well (Bradford Pear and Crape Myrtle for example). In the presentation, I describe characteristics of each species, with photos to highlight helpful identification features.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Thursday, July 23, 2020
A review of the mobile app "Seek" by iNaturalist
Background
Citizen Science is a way of collection of scientific data through crowdsourcing methods. With the advent of GPS and high quality camera equipped smart phones, numerous organizations have created mobile applications that equip the average citizen to take photos and document species across the globe. Even if the species are unknown or misidentified, other citizen scientists can review photos to confirm or deny accurate identification. Additionally, for those willing to learn, these apps give the user the ability to learn from others ID tricks and apply these to their own field excursions.
That's my brief review of Citizen Science. It does have its caveats, but overall citizen science increases the amount of amateur scientists in the field documenting millions of more observations than could ever be recorded by professionals themselves. If you'd like more information on Citizen Science or would like to get involved, head over to either of these websites and they will give more in depth explanations as well as numerous opportunities to get involved!
As such, we were tasked with picking a mobile species identification app. I understand I am weak in my identification of plants, so I chose to download and review the mobile application Seek, by iNaturalist.
iNaturalist is a mobile app for both android and apple platforms. iNaturalist was developed through joint efforts between National Geographic and California Academy of Sciences. I'm not reviewing their namesakes' app, but their mobile identification app "Seek".
My Review of Seek
I've had a smart phone for a number of years now, so I've learned most of the ins and outs of basic applications. Seek provides a very user friendly interface. On the app's opening screen, the app uses your phone's GPS to locate you and show you a swipe-able list of nearby species. While I haven't used this feature per se, I think it is a great feature for anyone working to identify common species of anything other than common plants. I'm not sure if there is an algorithm generated to display the most tagged species within "X" proximity of your location or what, but that would make sense. I used Seek to identify and learn grassland plant species and invasive species. To identify a species, you simply click the photo icon and Seek uses your phone's camera to view whatever species you are looking at. I noticed especially with plants that finding a species when it is flowering is helpful, but not always required. From my understanding seek uses other users' verified photos and compares it to the species you are observing to help identify it. The app will go through 'levels of identification' to family, genus, and hopefully to species, but it will use the common names (binomial nomenclature is used as well). (Tip*: If you're unsure of what I mean in the previous sentence, check out my Ecology presentation here, slides 5-8 specifically)
If/when Seek is successful in identifying your species, you have the option to take a photo of it, recording it in a section entitled "My Observations". At this point, you can view information about the species including higher quality photos of your species. You can scroll through and look at the taxonomy of the species (see Tip* above), whether it is native or introduced (and how-so), view a range map and some other data tidbits including similar species. I'm sure Seek has a margin of error and some may be a result of similar species. I have noticed that different lighting situations can make it more difficult to identify a species and/or mis-identify the species.
As far as drawbacks to the app, the only two that exist for me are 1: you must have internet access to be able to identify a species while mobile. If you find yourself in a situation where you don't have access, you can still take several photos of the species in question, and upload them into the app when you get service for identification. I'm not sure if Seek uses GPS coordinates from your geotagged photo however. The other drawback I've found is mine sometimes gets stuck in a loop. There are features on the app called "Species Badges and Challenge Badges" that encourage users to get out and complete a 'challenge' and identify more species to earn the badge. For example, I currently have three levels of badges for simply observing 1, 5, and 20 plants. There are badges for insects, fungi, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fishes, mollusk and arachnids. There are also Challenge Badges that encourage people to find X birds, or X species near a river. Sometimes when I have completed a 'Species Challenge', the app puts me in a loop of going back and forth between the species that earned me the challenge and the Challenge Badge reward itself. This isn't that big of a deal as I can just close the app and open it right back up.
Once I observed enough species it asked me if I wanted to download iNaturalist as I was completing a lot of challenges. I declined. My purpose of using the app was to help identify plants at specific location. In the future, I may download iNaturalist because unlike Seek, iNaturalist documents every occurrence of a species that you observe, essentially expanding databases of species' known ranges. This is where the Citizen Science part comes in. I've included images below that really speaks volumes to what iNaturalist has the capability of providing to science. Keep in mind each of the data points below are daily observations. The graph shows observations plotted against time (in days).
The top photo shows an increase in submissions beginning right around when COVID-19 began. Once temperatures warmed up and people started getting out, observations spiked.
This bottom photo shows observations from the mobile app, by phone over time.
I'm biased, as I am a Wildlife Biologist by trade. I find the app to be highly accurate in it's identification abilities and it's inability to identify a species without enough information. I just attempted to use an old Eastern Box Turtle photo in to identify a reptile, and it said it could identify it to the Genus of Box Turtles, but couldn't go any further. There's a chance it said this too because it wasn't using the geotagged attributes of the photo based on my current location (we only have one species of box turtle in Northern Virginia). I think the app is very easy to use and user friendly. If you're not able to use the app well, it just requires some practice.
If I had to rate Seek, I'd give it a 10/10. I'll likely download iNaturalist in the future, but for now, I'll stick with Seek as that's where my individual need is.
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Invasive Species on Quantico
This module had us explore invasive species presence on our area of study. In the slideshow below, I have outlined information about native species in my area of study and highlighted invasive species that occur within this area. Some of the invasive species occur throughout the base and by no means is this an exhaustive list. From this course alone, I've documented and learned an additional 11 species of plants that I was previously unable to identify, nor did I know they were invasive. As I continue to explore the vast area Quantico has to offer, I am sure I will learn more about species that in fact aren't native to our area.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Web Soil Survey Information
I'm a novice when it comes to soils and soil information. I know the basics, but have never had to assess soil content or anything similar in any parts of my career. I understand the value of knowing soils and soil attributes in certain settings and job fields and the benefits this information can provide when dealing with agriculture for example.
I began my exploration of the Web Soil Survey by accessing USDAs website, poking around a bit, then opening up the actual WSS interface to explore my AOI (area of interest).
I uploaded GIS files to delineate my AOI, which worked exceptionally well.
I uploaded the entire base perimeter for the AOI (upper photo), and then zoomed in on Mainside Quantico for the lower photo.
I think I've mentioned in previous posts, but I find immediate intrigue in these maps because I want to see if I can use them to hone in on locations for Morel mushrooms that may (or may not) be found on the base. I'm jumping ahead, but I also decided to download this soil data for use with GIS' spatial analyst tools to find where my vegetation layers and the soil layers overlap, and target those areas for searching.
In the tab entitled "Intro to Soils", I found it extremely helpful to see the range of topics listed and the wealth of information listed under each subsection. Below, I've included a photo of just some of the topics covered on this page.
Under the next tab, Suitabilities and Limitations for Use, I found this section to be very difficult to understand. There are "?" tabs as well as "View Description" tabs that provide more information in each section, but I found myself confused on how 'ratings' were classified within a section and what each rating meant.
I watched the recommended YouTube tutorial video, but I felt like this was more of an intro of how to use the WSS interface than the components within. It did seem to be geared to a class that may already have an understanding of Soil Science and the terminology within the website.
An important concept I did retain from tutorial is to keep in mind the purpose of the WSS tool - to provide coarse information for broad-scale projects. For on the ground, site-specific applications (depending on what is needed), it may require soil-core samples from your site location in order to accurately determine soil properties within the AOI.
On Quantico, the Federally Endangered Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) exists on the base in site-specific areas. I could possibly use the WSS and point locations from our surveys to identify areas of potential SWP habitat and search for new locations on the installation. I may be able to use the methods mentioned above, identifying forest-type and soil type of known locations, and search for similar areas of overlapping layers in efforts to find more populations on the base.
Friday, July 10, 2020
Obtaining weather data and climate information for Quantico
(12 August 2020) I've added the next three paragraphs to my original post. For actual data-driven information, skip to the section 'Quantico', below. The next three paragraphs are my 'feel' of living in Virginia for nearly 26 years since the early 90s.
Northern Virginia experiences nearly the full effect of all four season: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Springs have varied over the past few years, with the most recent one being one of my favorites in recent history (5 years). Generally, Spring begins anywhere from late March to mid-April. We see days start to warm into the 50 and 60s. Summer begins anywhere from mid-May to mid-June, depending on the transition period from Spring to Summer. Summer usually takes over early-mid June, through late September. Cooler Fall temperatures last from early October through November. Winter generally lasts from December through early March.
The transition of Spring in 2020 occurred gradually from early to mid-May, through the end of June. At the onset of July, hot and humid days ensued (as is characteristic for Northern Virginia Summers). This temperatures will remain through August and partly into September. As a kid growing up in Virginia, I felt like I remembered the end of September heat yielding to cooler temperatures, but in recent years it hasn't appeared to follow suit. Hotter weather seems to persist through early October, with cooler Fall temperatures (low 80's max for highs, normally in the mid 70's for the high). Again, as a kid, I can remember fall lasting all of October and November. We'd see the occasional snow in late November, but in December certainly. In recent years, it seems as though December holds warmer temperatures (in 2016 and 2018 I believe it was nearly 70 around Christmas Day). Northern Virginia generally sees mild winters, with temperatures rarely getting in the single digits. Temperatures seem to stay mostly between mid teens (max) for lows and mid 40s for highs. In 2018 we had a solid 2-3 weeks, maybe a month of single-digit lows and barely mid-teens for highs. The Potomac River had reportedly frozen over, but I can't find any articles to support that, just anecdotal evidence and my memory (questionable, at best). Colder Winter temperatures last through late February to mid-March routinely.
Personally, I LOVE the seasonal changes that occur in Virginia, especially the fall colors (I've heard Michigan's colors are better). I've been let down the past few years with Virginia Fall and Winter weather - this may be my favorite two seasons. Winter of 2016 however, Northern Virginia saw nearly 24 inches of snow in one big storm. We haven't had too many snow events since.
Apart from my ramblings, here are some actual quality resources (not my memory) for accurate weather data specific to the base and/or region.
Quantico
As a military base, MCBQ itself provides a webpage of weather information. On
this website the base lists a 'base operating status' that mainly informs
employees of the conditions on the base. We most often see codes Blue and Red
during the winter when the area has moderate to heavy winter weather events.
Additionally, they provide phone numbers that provide the same information for
those without internet capabilities. They provide a heat index guide as well,
and a phone number for both sections of the base (mainside and west side) to
obtain this information. You can find this website here:
https://www.quantico.marines.mil/Resources/Weather/
Additionally, Quantico has both
Facebook
and
Twitter pages
that are updated to reflect the current base operating status. Personally, I
use the Facebook page often to find the most up-to-date weather
information.
Quantico has a meteorological station located on Turner Airfield (KNYG) on
mainside. This weather station provides weather information used by
NOAA.
>For generic weather information, I tend to use the National Weather Service website
(NOAA) as my weather reference, especially for hourly forecasts. The
hourly charts
provide you with charts with at least 10 different metrics, including
humidity, temperature, rainfall forecasts and wind data, among others for up
to 2 days in the future (on the hourly basis).
This past spring, I spent some time looking for information on soil
temperatures in the area while looking for Morel mushrooms. I found this
interactive map on an
NRCS website
that provides information on soil temperatures and moisture, precipitation
information (snowfall included), and various stream datasets.
If interested in topics regarding global climate change including datasets,
impacts of climate change, responses to climate change or even just basic
information on what climate change and the basics, you can explore either of
these options:
All three are excellent sources that provide you with as little or as much
information as you would like to learn about.
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