Calling All SDMYCO Citizen Scientists! Join us as we participate in the FIRST-EVER Continental Mycoblitz this week – August 12-19, 2019!
A mycoblitz, similar to a ‘bioblitz’, is an intense and time-limited survey, completed by ordinary citizens (like you!) of all the organisms living in a given geographic area. This one will be the first ever in North America focused solely on fungi!
This event, a collaboration between NAMA (North American Mycological Association), NAMP (North American Mycoflora Project), iNaturalist, and The National Geographic Society, is an effort to increase documentation and knowledge of fungi across North America.
How to Participate
Before Foray Week
- Visit the Event Page – The Mycoflora Mycoblitz page will give you an overview and answers to FAQs
- Register HERE
- Review the online training documents – Become familiar with the process to submit collections to this project: Collecting Mushrooms for Science and iNaturalist Mycoblitz Protocols.
- Download Field Data Slips – Download and print BOTH field data slips so that the collections you make can be used for the Mycoblitz AND for storage at The San Diego Natural History Museum as part of the San Diego Barcoding Project. These field data slips are individually numbered and should be filled out for each collection you make.
- Download the iNaturalist Mobile App – Both Android and IOS versions are available. Check your preferred app store for the download. If you do not have a mobile device, you can participate by utilizing the web interface to report your observations.
- Join the “Continental Mycoblitz 2019” project in iNaturalist – You can join from the mobile app or now from your favorite web browser. You can join this project at any time.
During Foray Week
- Choose your foray location. Many areas have local regulations that may prohibit the collection of mushrooms on specific properties. This includes many state and local parks across the country, and all national parks. Specimens may not be collected or submitted from prohibited areas as a part of this project. Any specimen submitted from an area with limitations on collecting must have a collecting or scientific research permit sent with the collections in order for the specimens to be accepted. So where can you collect? Private property is ideal and public areas without any restrictions.
- Create new observations of mushrooms you encounter. This can be done through the iNaturalist mobile app in the field (with cell service) or the web interface at home. With each new observation, be sure to select the project for your event and whether you collected the specimen. The mobile app uploads the photos to the reports online.
- Take multiple photos of the mushrooms with your cell phone or camera in the field. Your photos are most valuable to science if they include GPS location data: make sure it is turned on! Take a nice image near ground level from the side, as well as an image of the top, the stem, and the spore bearing surface (gills or pores on the underside of the cap).
- If you think you might submit the specimen, take an image of a field data slip with the specimen. This will help to ensure you can associate the images with the correct specimens.
- Enter the field data slip number into the “Voucher number(s)” field in the mobile app.
- Collect the specimen. Store your field slip (or the portion with the number) with the specimen. Back at home, dry the specimens with a dehydrator or fan – Use the duplicate number at the bottom portion of the voucher slip to organize collections as they are being dried. Once they are cracker dry (usually 1-2 days) put the voucher slip and the specimen in a ziplock bag. Please put the iNaturalist number (in the URL of your observations) and the species name on the voucher slips. This will save us a huge amount of time once we receive the collections
- Deliver your dried specimens – We will be collecting all San Diego County samples locally before sending to the national collection processing facility. The top specimens that are selected as a part of this event will have their DNA “sequenced” or examined. We are likely to find multiple species that are new to science during this event. Your collections could be part of this. Deliver your samples two ways:
- In Person: Email sdmycomich@gmail.com to arrange a time for in-person drop-off
- Mail to:
- SDMycoblitz
℅ Michelle Jachimowicz
4483 Winona Ave, #4
San Diego, CA 92115
- As a reminder, we are looking for:
- Specimens with complete metadata – color images from multiple angles (including the spore bearing surface), a filled out field data slip, and fully dried specimens.
- Locally uncommon, rare, or otherwise interesting species.
- Try to make a few of your specimens from one of the following groups for this event: Cortinarius, Inocybe, Amanita sect. Vaginatae, and/or the Marasmiaceae.
Happy Hunting!
