The Role of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI)
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 Click photo to enlarge. Photo by Charles Wilder. "If you see the nodding pogonia in bloom, consider yourself extremely lucky. The plant spends several years growing underground, storing food and energy until conditions for flowering are optimal. Then, even when it does bloom, each flower only lasts a day or two." From Wildflowers of the Smokies by Peter White. |
 Fungus gnats on Goldenrod |
Progress Reports |
 Physarum viride |
PrologueManaging the natural systems of national parks unimpaired, and accessible for present and future generations, has inherent intellectual challenges as well as implications for society that are larger and more fundamental than Congress could have realized. To fulfill this mission, a logical place to start is to know what we manage— the species that live in national parks. A fundamental reason for All Taxa Biodiversity Inventories, for me, is stated in the caption for a recent letter from Russell Train to the editor of the New York Times: “National Parks are for Americans of All Species.”We should get to know them. |
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The Science Approach to the Smokies ATBIThe Smokies ATBI Science Plan calls for a traditional sampling approach to operate in parallel with a structured sampling approach, and relies on taxonomic authorities organized into Taxonomic Working Groups (TWIGs) for the critical tasks of identifying specimens, describing species, developing species lists, and training students. |
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To Date: Over 200 scientists are helping out, and the numbers are growing. Many other scientists contribute their time in identification but never visit the Park. None are involved full-time, and some receive very small amounts of funding to help defray costs. DLIA also attempts to provide good housing for free, and the Park provides support with orientations, maps and other GIS requests, technical contacts, planning for sampling and logistics whenever possible. Two and a half years of continuous Structured sampling concluded in spring 2003. Emphasis is now be on identification of specimens and revising field collection protocols. To find out more about these new species records for the Park and newly discovered species, go to ATBI Discoveries. But it's NOT just a list! In the Smokies’ the ATBI approach, value is placed not just on what is found, but on discovering the species:
This information is gathered for each taxon. This has been of immediate and material value to Park managers, heralding a new level for intelligent stewardship of natural reserves. These data will give the Smokies a strong foundation for advanced ecological research well after the ATBI project is completed. |
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Education - An Integral Goal: Education for
both youth and adults is seen in its widest sense, and not just for its own sake, but to provide sustained assistance to many phases of the
ATBI. A large array
of educational opportunities are being explored. These vary from high numbers of young students as part of the USNPS’s formal environmental
education programs, to individuals in home schooling programs who collect and sort samples. At one end of the spectrum are very young children,
who can only learn from and be inspired by the project. At the other end are retired entomologists for example, who help tremendously with
the Science. Support is being offered to graduate students conducting taxonomic studies in the Park; for example, at a small liberal arts
college (~600 students total) several departments have been organized to tackle one group of animals (tardigrades), Park-wide. The most
formidable challenge is fitting the right group to the right scope of project, as well as providing enough "structure" — in
both senses of the word — to maintain quality science product and life-changing experiences.
One surprise for DLIA and Park partners has been that many citizens believed that all the species were already known in all of their national parks! Some citizens are also astounded to learn that their own yards and neighborhoods probably have undescribed species — they’re not just in national parks. The Next Generation of Taxonomists: With the dearth of taxonomic authorities for an increasing number of groups, efforts are being made at the Smokies to recruit serious students into this area of science. While having many contacts at all age levels, we unabashedly scout these groups for new potential science talent. The critical element is teaming these sincere students with research scientists, whenever possible. We are still experimenting with different formulations linking science and education. One of the greatest potentials is at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob. The USNPS’s Science Learning Center concept was developed at the Smokies by a combined team of educators and scientists, including Park staff. It is a facility that is dedicated to providing temporary residential quarters for visiting scientists, some lab space, and full time Park science and education professionals to push the boundaries of scientist-student interactions in accomplishing scientific inventories, monitoring and research. The concept has been embraced by top USNPS leaders. The US Congress has funded nearly a dozen additional such efforts (~$220,000 each), and has signaled its intent to provide the USNPS with a full complement of 32 such Science Learning Centers nation-wide. |
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Other related facilities:
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Web Site: Data management will be linked to the many other functions that will occur here. A "species page" will be developed for each taxon encountered that will include: photo "thumbnails" of each life stage, audio, video, natural history, relative abundance, seasonality, links to parasites, predators, pollinators and other associated species, and range maps with special attention paid to reserve-based distribution maps. Databases used by scientists will be dynamically linked to a Geographic Information System, so that spatial and other data are easily updated. An early ad hoc estimate of the number of non-microbial taxa in the Smokies was 100,000. However, this was an informed "guess", it could be half that, or twice that. As the life of the Smokies reveals itself, taxonomists are starting to develop image-based identification keys that will also be put on the web. We believe these interactive keys could become revolutionary, empowering citizens to accurately identify many more taxonomic groups than is now possible…much as the Peterson Field Guide Series accomplished in the 20th century for groups that are currently well known. |
 Winter Mountains |
Funding: Funding for the pilot years has included one-time funding of about $250,000 each from 3 proposals (NSF, USNPS, USGS), plus about $150,000-200,000 per year from local sources, mostly from the Friends of the Smokies and Great Smoky Mountain Association. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently funded a three-year, $400,000 grant to inventory the algae of the Park. Currently, most science is donated services by the hundreds of operating scientists. Full operations costs are being refined. Costs per year will depend on the degree of phase-in for the various investigations of each group of life. Current estimates (which will change as analysis of the pilot continues) for full operations show approximately several million dollars per year for several years, then a decrease over several years to zero. |
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The Potential Role of ATBI's: Lessons from the Smokies We believe that creating regional, inclusive organizations - with scientists at the center - to accomplish intensive inventories will keep the quality of the scientific products high. It also creates a potent mixture of dedicated people in various disciplines who will solve problems in innovative ways (as seen with Science Learning Centers) often with beneficial effects that go far beyond the boundaries of the reserve and bio-region. By blending valid science and education in a direct and mutually beneficial goal, a regional awareness of biodiversity is occurring. Fostering a "pride of place" from a biodiversity standpoint - in any region - capitalizes on values that citizens in that region, or state, or country already hold. Resulting local/regional grass roots support provides the scientific/education communities with resources that ordinarily are not available, but will be critically valuable in protecting natural habitats and processes inside and outside of the host reserve. This support comes directly in the form of donations and volunteers and also indirectly through elected officials. We believe that units of the USNPS and other fully protected reserves can become baselines for assessing levels of change at all geographic scales for all species groups, if the ATBI concept is undertaken in earnest. ATBI’s by themselves cannot solve all the global, regional and local environmental problems. They should be valued however, not only for the acquisition of the best biodiversity inventory data practical and the intelligent management of public lands that will follow, but also because they will make possible the development of the best-crafted ecological monitoring, inspire and recruit new taxonomists and ecologists, and begin mobilizing/organizing citizen involvement in ecological conservation. This is imperative if we are to make any progress, anywhere. The Smokies and other emerging ATBI’s are prototypes. A network of many such efforts, centrally coordinated, would make a measurable difference in the global ecological crisis. |
