To celebrate the end of this years Sea Star Surveys and all of the early mornings and wet feet put in by our citizen science team of volunteers, we are finishing up our Sea Star Surveys this month with an Intertidal Bioblitz Event!

Sea Stars are an important keystone species, vital for maintaining biodiversity in the intertidal and subtidal zones. Without Ochre stars our tide pools would run rampant with mussels and barnacles, their favourite food source. Sunflower Stars also act as a population control for urchins, helping maintain important kelp forest ecosystems. The data that we collect in this Bioblitz Event will help us evaluate the biodiversity of our Sea Star Survey sites, complementing our 8-year long-term monitoring study of Sea Star Wasting and its effect on the intertidal ecosystem.

Bring your friends and family and come explore the tide pools with us after each Sea Star survey!

Come and join us for a Bioblitz Event:

★Thursday, August 11th, from 8-9am at Frank Island

★Friday, August 12th, from 8-9am at He-Tin-Kis Beach (Wild Pacific Trail)

★Saturday, August 13th, from 9-10am at Tonquin Beach

★Sunday, August 14th, from 10-11am at Rosie Bay

You can sign up for our Sea Star Surveys here: http://www.simrstofino.org/seastarvolunteer.

Learn more about our Sea Star Stewardship Program in our StoryMap here: https://arcg.is/0iD0DW.

Remember to dress for the weather, wear sturdy waterproof footwear (for traversing slippery rocks) and come ready to record some intertidal species (with your phone and the iNaturalist app downloaded).

We can't wait to get our feet wet with you!