Fairy shrimp were all over the place, as were people of all ages, with their phones out, gloves on, and cryotubes handy. We got lucky with the weather, too! 41 people collected samples from 6 pools including the big playa. Teenagers took off their shoes to experience the squish of vernal pool mud. Two people celebrated their birthdays at the bioblitz; one birthday crew drove all the way up from Santa Barbara to join for the day. Afterwards, we met up with professor Michael Dawson and feasted on Indian food buffet.
I’m thrilled to pass along the amazing photographs and stories of the people who attended so you can read about the experience from their vantage points. Here’s Mr. Hollister’s blog post with photos and even a video of an endemic fairy shrimp!
http://www.mrhollisterphoto.com/home/uc-merced-vernal-pool-reserve-edna-collection
The full photo collection can be viewed here:
http://www.mrhollister.com/getout/vernal%20pool%20eDNA/
Here’s a screenshot of what you would see if you clicked that link.
Thanks to everyone who came out! We’ll do another bioblitz there in late April or May. Email us at uc.caledna@gmail.com if you want to join!
