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Field Notebook

Field Notebook. Why Take Field Notes?. Why Take Field Notes?. Provides an objective, organized, permanent record of what you saw and thought Useful to others! Can be very valuable… For government surveys, Environmental Impact reports, etc. Long term analyses…

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Field Notebook

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  1. Field Notebook

  2. Why Take Field Notes?

  3. Why Take Field Notes? • Provides an objective, organized, permanent record of what you saw and thought • Useful to others! Can be very valuable… • For government surveys, Environmental Impact reports, etc. • Long term analyses… • Heightens your observational skills • If you have to write about it, you are forced to make clear, quantifiable observations • Improves your own memory

  4. Grinnell Field Notebook • Most common method of documentation by biologist worldwide • Developed by Joseph Grinnell (1877-1939) • Designed to aid scientific research

  5. Joseph Grinnell- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology • "Our field-records will be perhaps the most valuable of all our results. ...any and all (as many as you have time to record) items are liable to be just what will provide the information wanted. You can't tell in advance which observations will prove valuable. Do record them all!” • - Joseph Grinnell, 1908

  6. I’m not a scientist. Why should I take field notes? • Most useful 10, 25 or even 100 years from now • If they are well taken, you can submit them to the Academy or the Intern program – if you take field notes, you SHOULD try to have them donated to an appropriate institution • eBird, feederwatch, other citizen science projects

  7. Citizen Science (Crowd-sourced Science) • Public participation in scientific research • Allows completion of large scale projects • Documents biodiversity • Education & outreach • Combats nature deficit disorder • Instills value

  8. Who was Joseph Grinnell? • Professor, field naturalist, conservationist & Zoologist • Ecological niche • First director of the University of California’s Berkeley Museum of vertebrate Zoology • Surveyed & collected California species late 1800s • Colorado desert • Mt Whitney • San Jacinto Mtns • Sierra Nevada • Lassen • http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/science/earth/07grin.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&sq=monuments&st=nyt&scp=1183

  9. Grinnell Resurvey Project • "At this point I wish to emphasize what I believe will ultimately prove to be the greatest value of our museum. This value will not, however, be realized until the lapse of many years, possibly a century, assuming that our material is safely preserved. And this is that the student of the future will have access to the original record of faunal conditions in California and the west, wherever we now work.” • Joseph Grinnell, 1910://www.pnas.org/content/106/suppl.2/19637.full • 1904-1940 • 13,000pg of notes!!

  10. Field Notebook • 8.5” X 5.5” looseleaf paper (archival optional) • Small binder or clipboard to hold it in the field • Permanent water-proof pen (optional) • Small pocket-sized notebook (optional)

  11. Objectives • Introduction to keeping a field journal • Document observations • Hone observation skills

  12. Components of a Grinnell Notebook • Field Journal • Fully written entries on observations as they are happening • Species Accounts • Detailed observations of a chosen species • Catalog • Records of when & where specimens were collected • We will not be using this section

  13. Journal

  14. Journal

  15. Journal- Name & Year

  16. Journal- Month & Day

  17. Journal- Header

  18. Journal- Locality

  19. Observation Checklist • Time • Date • Locality- Underlined with Squigly line • Route • Weather (Temp, cloud types, wind, rain, etc) • Habitat (Backyard, desert, wetland, oak woodland) • Vegetation (Where, insects, blooming, fruits) • Animal behavior) • General notes • Sketches, maps, photos, information • Arrival & departure times • List of species seen with brief description

  20. Write Everything Down! • Notes must be processed or expanded into a complete, permanent record: the Journal – while still fresh in your mind. • Notes are just that – jottings to jog the memory and efficiently record observations • Don’t leave anything out - an oblique reference will not be understood by anyone ten years later • Pay attention to the writing (this is a public record!) • Complete sentences • Correct grammar and spelling • Avoid jargon and abbreviations

  21. Drawings

  22. Maps

  23. Species Accounts • Detailed observations of an individual species • Format is the same • Include description at Three scales • One species per account • One page of observations

  24. Species Accounts • Include behaviors • Vocalizations • Description of appearance • Location • Use of habitat

  25. Be clear, concise, precise… • Use QUANTIFIABLE terms • Saw birds singing in the park today. VS. • 4 California Towhees on the ground near the North Entrance of the California Academy of Sciences giving single sharp high pitched “peeek” notes.

  26. Our Modifications of the Grinnell Notebook • We will omit the catalog section • We will add • “Natural History Report” section • “Patch” field notebook entries

  27. Field Notebook Entries • You will be completing a “Journal” entry for each field trip • You will complete assigned “Species Accounts” for each field trip • Due the class after the field trip • Patch entries

  28. Natural History Reports • These are research projects that will substitute for a research paper • You will research species you have observed or species of interest • 3-4 pages • Include natural history of the species such as • Habitat, geographic range, diet, behaviors, mating habits, etc

  29. Patch Entries • In addition to field notebook entries for class field trips, you will be making observations of at a “patch” locality • Include observations such as seasonal changes, species presence

  30. Resources • http://www.your-nature-journal.com/grinnell-system.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Grinnell • http://mvz.berkeley.edu/Grinnell.html

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