
A snapshot of diversity – a North Queensland BioBlitz exploring plant and animal diversity at a reforested urban park in Malanda, Atherton Tablelands
Bioblitzes are public events that engage the community and stimulate learning about the natural environment. On 9 November 2024, a bioblitz was held in Dungavel Park, Malanda, Qld, which is a public park with open areas and a narrow, revegetated riparian corridor replanted 20-25 years ago. During the event, which was attended by c. 300 people, experts and public participants were invited to make and submit observations of biodiversity over a period of 24 hours. A research team from the School for Field Studies and various specialists of different groups of biodiversity also conducted targeted surveys of plants, invertebrates, birds, reptiles and amphibians throughout November. We documented a total of 461 species, which included 262 species of plants including algae (1 spp.), bryophytes (12 spp.), ferns (11 spp.), gymnosperms (3 spp.) and flowering plants (235 spp.). Of the 249 vascular plants, 169 species were native, while 80 species were non-native. We also recorded 14 species of lichen, three of macrofungi, 107 of invertebrates, and 75 species of vertebrates. Although the sampling effort was intensive for only a limited time, the data collected should be considered a snapshot of the biodiversity of the site. Some groups of organisms, such as non-vascular plants, fungi, invertebrates, fishes and mammals remain underrepresented. Nevertheless, the plant and animal diversity documented is significant considering the highly modified environment at the bioblitz site and that most of the observations were recorded from the riparian strip. We conclude firstly that older revegetated rainforest patches, even when subject to heavy anthropogenic use, can provide important habitat for native biodiversity. Secondly, bioblitz events are useful initiatives for documenting local biodiversity, engaging the public, and promoting educational outreach about nature. Finally, we recommend organising similar events for other localities and habitat types within the Australian Wet Tropics to document and spread awareness about local biodiversity, and we hope that this work presents a useful example of how biodiversity data from future bioblitzes can be reported.
