We are a graduate class in Conservation Ecology at Delaware State University (DSU). On the campus is a 30-hectare forest fragment that supports a heron rookery, a pair of Bald Eagles, and a well-maintained and popular educational nature trail. This forest is also used extensively as a classroom. The Delaware Department of Transportation has proposed putting a road through the woods. We used the semester class to do a rapid biodiversity assessment of the property, which provided not only an inventory of several taxa, but allowed the instruction of methodologies for varied surveys and analyses. We examined the physical characteristics of the soil and water, surveyed mammals, birds, herptiles, fish, bivalves, ground-living beetles, and compiled an extensive plant list from previous inventories. Finally, we interviewed numerous user groups to examine attitudes about the Woods and the type and amount of use. Our objectives were to (1) catalogue the biodiversity, (2) examine the area for species of concern, (3) describe, to the extent possible, what impact losing this campus resource would have on both the biodiversity and human users, and (4) use this exercise to demonstrate the theoretical underpinnings and methodology of conservation biology and team-write a manuscript for potential publication.
Results/Conclusions
Using standard techniques, we documented species richness in mammals (10), herptiles (10), fish (5), ground-living beetles (5 genera), and bivalves (3). These low counts were most likely affected by the seasonality and short time for data collection. We were able to get a more thorough assessment of the number of avian species. We documented 39 bird species during nine point counts. Jackknife and CHAO2 methods estimated species richness as over 55 during April 2009. Vegetation has been monitored for many years; thus our list is nearly exhaustive with 121 plant species. One of the most important benefits of the College Woods is its role in education and recreation. During the past five years over 2000 individuals from the public and campus communities have visited the Woods for programs and approximately 20 courses have been taught there. The course yielded a rapid inventory of biodiversity for a small, valuable, threatened wooded area on the DSU campus and allowed us to examine and understand theoretical concepts of conservation biology through application of standard monitoring techniques for various flora, fauna, and abiotic elements. We hope to publish this project and to preserve this valuable urban campus resource for posterity.
