Hundreds Prep for "Bioblitz" of New York's Central Park

John Roach
for National Geographic News

June 26, 2003

On July 21, 1853 city officials drafted plans to give New Yorkers respite from the din that incessantly rang forth from their city's teeming streets—a park in the center of town on 843 acres (340 hectares) of treeless, rocky terrain and stagnant swampland.

A century and a half later, Central Park is one of the world's most recognized public spaces. It constantly hosts concerts, rallies, and weddings. It offers peace of mind to thousands each day. More than 25 million people visit it each year.

The greensward is also believed to be a hotspot of urban biodiversity. But scientists have never canvassed all the park's species in its 150-year history.

That changes tomorrow, when hundreds of scientists, naturalists, and curious volunteers will swarm through the park in a 24-hour "bioblitz" to tally every plant and animal species they can find.

"There has never been any kind of comprehensive survey of the park to try and catalog in some form all the living organisms across the spectrum," said Jeff Stolzer, a spokesperson for The Explorers Club.

The venerable non-profit, together with other New York City-based park, wildlife, and conservation organizations, is staging the event to raise awareness about global biodiversity by acting locally. Organizers aim to demonstrate that species diversity even exists in the center of one the world's largest cities.

"Biodiversity is a hard word to understand," said Elizabeth Johnson, manager of the Metropolitan Biodiversity Program for the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History. "Really what it refers to is our natural world—species and ecosystems and their interactions. It encompasses all life, is everywhere, and we are part of it."

Building Park Biodiversity

New York City purchased the 843 acres (340 hectares) of raw land that would become Central Park for approximately U.S. $5 million. Ten million cartloads of dirt, trees, shrubs, and plants lay the foundation for what the park is today.

During its 150-year history, the park has experienced periods of neglect and great vibrancy. It first crumbled from splendor in the 1910s and 1920s. The park was restored in 1934, but fell back into disrepair between 1960 and 1990. It has since returned to glory.

"It's the best it's ever been. It really has been wonderfully restored," said Regina Peruggi, president of the Central Park Conservancy. "It has taken a period of 20 years and there is still [U.S.] $50 million worth of work to be done. But the park really looks glorious."

According to Peruggi there are 275 bird species that call the park home for at least part of the year, making it one of the best birding spots along the entire East Coast. The birds share their habitat with over 26,000 trees, 150 acres (60 hectares) of water, 250 acres (100 hectares) of lawn, 8,968 benches, and perhaps the most unusual, diverse species of all—the New Yorker.

New Species?

Organizers of Bioblitz are not certain how many different living species will be cataloged during the event, but they are braced for surprise.

The discovery of a new centipede species previously unknown to science was announced in July 2002 by the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. It was the first new species discovered in the park in over 100 years.

"People were intrigued that there could be discoveries like this made right in the center of the park," said Johnson. "So we all decided, 'Let's go in and do a Bioblitz and see what else we can find.'"

Event organizers say they would not be surprised if other new species to science were found or, at the very least, species that were not previously known to reside in the park.

"We're not saying we're going to discover the missing link, but there will be some surprises," said Stolzer. "Even if there aren't surprises, then let's at least have an idea of what's there."

What's There?

Individual surveys of trees, plants, birds, fish in the park's ponds, and even the insects in leaf litter have been conducted over the 150-year history of the park, but never before a tally of all species.

"One of the challenges is how to survey the smaller invertebrates that are harder to see and hard to identify," said Johnson. "We need taxonomic experts to tell these things apart."

To help do this, the event organizers have recruited naturalists and scientists with expertise in various animal and plant groups to lead teams of volunteers through the park and identify what is there.

Volunteers include a group of birders from the Wildlife Conservation Society—which managers New York's zoos and aquariums including the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo—who will survey The Reservoir region of the park with global positioning system (GPS) receivers and a map specialist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"This is a way for us to get involved in an event that we think will be historic," said John Delaney, a spokesperson with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Among the specialists recruited for the event is National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle, who will help cataloge the species that thrive in the park's 150 acres (60 hectares) of ponds.

The organizers say that the 24-hour time limit and season constrain the range of species, particularly migratory birds, that will be found.

"The average person going to explore the park may or may not know the term biodiversity or its official definition, but they value biodiversity because they value the park for what it brings to them: a place of shade and greenness where they can be out and enjoy nature," said Johnson.