Meeting 1134 Minutes

Minutes from the 1134th Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

President David Lubertazzi called the 1134th meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:40 pm on Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 at MCZ 101. Approximately 15 members and guests were in attendance.

New business: Election of CEC officers for 2011-2012 year.

Dr. Jessica Rykken of Harvard presented our first-ever 3D talk entitled Boston Harbor Islands All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory: Discovering the microwilderness of an urban island park.

The Boston Harbor Islands All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) began five years ago. Its major goals include cataloging and educating the public about arthropod biodiversity in the park. Dr. Rykken has played a vital role in coordinating both the inventory and educational efforts. She first addressed the club shortly after the project started in 2005, and returned in April to report what has been learned from the more than 1700 species and 65,000 specimens the ATBI has processed to date.

The study included 10 sites, 9 Harbor islands of various sizes plus the World’s End peninsula. The larger islands provided more species, but a marsh on Grape island and a wet meadow on Calf island boosted diversity on those islands. Multimedia educational outreach materials included a website, card games, and posters.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary