Six years of Odonata observations in Northern Plymouth County and vicinity

Fred SaintOurs

University of Massachusetts , Boston  

 

Abstract:

Six years of observing Odonata in the North River watershed and surrounding areas has led to numerous new county records and other interesting observations. Relatively uncommon species such as Southern Pygmy Clubtail (Lanthus vernalis), Arrow Spiketail (Cordulegaster obliqua), Umber Shadowdragon (Neurocordulia obsoleta), Mocha Emerald (Somatochlora linearis), and Cyrano Darner (Nasiaeschna pentacantha) were recorded here for the first time as a result of formal and informal searches conducted by SaintOurs and others. This presentation will cover results gathered from habitat studies for some of these species, local diversity "hotspots", and other Odonata-related topics from the Plymouth County area.

 

Biography: Frederick H. SaintOurs has been documenting and studying Odonata throughout the northeast and the American tropics for the last seven years. He has worked as consultant in rare species surveys, and has been contributing records for statewide inventory programs throughout New England as well as articles for Ode News and the New England Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology. He has organized and led numerous surveys and workshops on aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring and
identification in streams and rivers through grants received from the National Science Foundation, Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, and the Riverways Program. Currently he is developing image-based, web-accessible, invertebrate identification tools as part of the Electronic Field Guide (EFG) project at U-Mass Boston.

 

Contact Info: Fred SaintOurs, 376 Prospect Street , Norwell , MA 02061 . Email: fred.saintours@umb.edu