SCU Gone Wild Colleen Henn (Environmental Science, 2016), Taylor Kelly (Biology, 2016),

Michelle Bezanson (Anthropology), John Farnsworth (Environmental Studies and Sciences)

What is SCU Gone Wild?

SCU Gone Wild (SGW) is a community science and

natural history initiative with a mission to

characterize, record and preserve biodiversity on

campus and encourage wildlife observations on

campus and on SCU sponsored field trips or field

courses. SGW has the broad goal of engaging the

SCU community in the “rhythms of landscapes” as

individuals and as a collective both on campus and

on field excursions. We aim to combine citizen

science, long-term research and community

involvement in order to highlight our unique campus.

SCU Campus Bird Project

Our project has grown into a more systematic on-

going study that involves recording bird species in

each of eight fixed sites across campus. The sites

differ in vegetation composition and cover, which

affects the number of bird species that utilize the sites.

We hope that this project will continue and ultimately

influence landscaping decisions on campus, as well as

contribute to further bird and biodiversity research on

campus.

Figure 1. Bird biodiversity study sites.

What’s next? • Vegetation analysis

• Species density and diversity analyses

• Squirrels

• Future bioblitzes

We thank Willem P. Roelandts and Maria Constantino-Roelandts, The

Center for Science, Technology, and Society, and the SCU Provost’s

office for support for SCU Gone Wild.

Discussion • Site 4 has the greatest number of species observed.

• Sites with a low number and diversity of trees (such as

site 8), seemed to contain mostly generalist species, ie:

American crows, California gulls, and rock pigeons.

• Results implicate that specialist bird species are drawn to

sites with greater tree richness and diversity.

Methods • General bird walks began in Sept. 2014

• Systematic species identification began in Jan. 2015

• Spend 15 minutes in each of 8 sites (Firgure 1, map)

• Systematic species count at each site

Birds cont. White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinesis

European Starling Stumus vulgaris

Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus

Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater

Vaux’s Swift Chaetura vauxi

Mammals Family/ Common name Scientific Name

Western Grey Squirrel Sciurus griesus

Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger

Northern Raccoon Procyon lotor

North American Opossum Didelphis virginian

True Flies

Flesh Fly

Blow Fly

Fungus Gnat

Midge

Long-legged Fly

Parasitoids

True Bug

Froghobber

Leafhopper

Aphids

Scale Insect

Mirid Bug

Chinch Bug

Beetle (Coleoptera)

Lady-bird Beetle

Leaf Beetle

Rove Beetle

Pill Bug

Centipede

Earthworm

Red Wiggler Worm

Garden Slug

European Earwig

American Hoverfly

Crane Fly

Thrip

California Carpenter Bee

Honey Bee

Western Yellowjacket

Ant

Termite

Western Tiger

Swallowtail

Insects, Bees, Butterflies, etc. Family/ Common name

Birds Family/ Common name Scientific Name

California Gull Larus californicus

Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura

Rock Pigeon Columba livia

Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna

Nuttall's Woodpecker Picoides nuttallii

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus

Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans

Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni

American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos

Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii

Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis

Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

California Towhee Melozone crissalis

Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata

Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum

Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens

Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria

Wilson’s Warbler Cardellina pusilla

Brant Goose Branta bernicla

Campus Bioblitz April 2016

"A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness

without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt,

power lines, and right-angled surfaces. We need wilderness

whether or not we ever set foot in it."

-Edward Abbey