Project Tierra: Citizen Science Wetland Biodiversity Monitoring

Project Tierra is a citizen science wetland biodiversity monitoring project in which students of all ages collect and record environmental data over the long-term to monitor the biodiversity and overall health of the Watsonville wetlands. The overarching goal of Project Tierra is to provide ongoing data regarding water quality, plant populations and bird populations to the scientific community that will inform wetland conservation and land management decisions in the Pajaro Valley. We are especially interested in using this data to evaluate the success of Watsonville Wetlands Watch restoration projects and guide the adaptive management of these lands.

The current areas of focus are:

• Bird populations: Land and shore bird populations in Watsonville Sloughs and surrounding upland habitats
• Vegetation: Monitoring of native vs. non-native plant populations in restored wetland sites
• Water quality: Water Quality testing at seven locations in the Watsonville Sloughs for temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, turbidity, nutrients, bacteria levels, and aquatic invertebrates

Success of the restoration will be measured by reestablishment of native wetland plant communities, improved water quality, and an increase in biological diversity.

Protocols for collecting data are being designed by local experts in the fields of ornithology, hydrology, botany, restoration, and wetland ecology and are compatible with existing monitoring programs in the region. Participating citizen scientists attend trainings and work in teams to ensure accuracy. They will soon be able to upload their data onto an online database from our website which will also be available to the broader community. We invite resource agencies, universities, K–12 schools, and individuals to utilize this data to answer short term, long term, local, and regional watershed questions.   

For more information, please contact Noëlle Antolin at 831-728-1156, Ext. 5.

Students Study the Chemistry of Wetlands

This spring around 200 students from Pajaro Valley High School chemistry classes stepped out of the classroom to learn about the chemistry of wetlands with Watsonville Wetlands Watch. During the field trip to the Department of Fish and Game preserve at West Struve Slough, students learned how nitrogen and oxygen cycle through healthy and unhealthy wetlands. The students then tested the water for dissolved oxygen and nitrate concentrations.

Later at the Wetlands Educational Resource Center, the students graphed and analyzed data collected over the past year from two Watsonville slough sites. One site was in the industrial region of Watsonville, and the other site was from an agricultural area. The students were asked to compare oxygen and nitrogen levels for the two sites as well as look for patterns in the data. They found that the site closest to agriculture had significantly higher levels of nitrogen, probably due to fertilizer run-off. Using their knowledge of the chemistry of wetlands, the students made recommendations for how to improve the health of Watsonville’s wetlands. Some recommendations included creating native plant buffers around the wetlands, building detention basins near farms to catch runoff, and reducing total agricultural runoff by limiting the amount of fertilizer to a level that can actually be absorbed by plants.

Monitoring Results Are In: Rabbits Prefer Eating Native Grasses

Our third year of Project Tierra’s plant population monitoring began in the first week of May. Three Algebra classes from Pajaro Valley High School took a field trip to the Watsonville Slough Ecological Reserve to continue to track the effects of the coastal prairie restoration project that was implemented in 2008. The goals of the monitoring study included tracking the success of the native plantings on the site and determining whether these natives are able to spread outside the planting area and move into the neighboring grasslands. The results will be used to help the restoration staff plan and implement their coastal prairie restoration projects.

AmeriCorps Interns Nicolas Viveros and John Morley
during the pre-field-trip classroom presentations

The classes received an introductory presentation by restoration staff Jonathan Pilch and Mary Paul along with guest speakers Nicolas Viveros and John Morley, both Americorp interns working on monitoring projects with the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz county and the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project. The students learned about the techniques and methods of monitoring, plant identification, and about the restoration project itself. They then spent a class period in the field collecting data onsite and analyzing the collected data in the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center (WERC) classroom.

Muskrat Preens for Docents Monitoring Wetlands Water Quality

As part Project Tierra, each month four teams of Watch volunteers measure the temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and electrical conductivity at specific sites in the Watsonville sloughs. They also measure nitrates, phosphates, and bacteria on a regular basis. These test results will be used to make decisions about how to best manage and restore Watsonville’s wetlands.

© 2010 John White. © 1995-2011 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

Docents Priscilla Partridge and Cathy Gamble said this about their recent water-monitoring field trip: “Each month we look forward to water quality testing. We go to the same sites, but the landscape is ever-changing. It is always an adventure because we never know what we will see. Waters we deemed ‘stagnant’ in January were ‘flowing’ with visible currents in February. As we readied our testing instruments, a large muddy-brown rodent swam right past us, got out of the water about 20 feet [6 m] away and cleaned itself, clearly aware of our presence but seemingly unconcerned. It was early afternoon, not the usual time to see a muskrat. That day we saw four muskrats and were ‘over-the-moon’ about it.”

The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a dark brown or black mostly aquatic animal that is 16 – 24 inches (40 – 60 cm) long. It can swim underwater for 17 minutes, using its vertically flattened tail for propulsion. Muskrats are usually active at night and eat aquatic vegetation along with crayfish and frogs. They are eaten by foxes, coyotes, large owls, and hawks.

Priscilla Partridge and Cathy Gamble are veteran docents who make significant contributions to the Watch, being key field trip helpers, working in the garden and greenhouse, and spearheading large-scale special projects. Cathy says that seeing a muskrat has been on her “bucket-list” and Priscilla says “We are so lucky to have these beautiful wetlands nearby — full of interesting creatures and peaceful water views.” 04/2011