​We live in fast paced times where the human definition of long term is often next month. But the ecological and evolutionary processes driving biodiversity play out over periods ranging from decades to millennia. Part 1 of this series discussed the what of biodiversity – what it is and the challenges in defining and measuring it. In Part 2, we’ll discuss how of biodiversity – how it emerged and how it has changed over past millennia.

Looking out your window on a sunny day you’ll notice the different shrubs, trees, birds, and possibly a rabbit in your yard.  And when you go for that hike in the park, there will be untold insects, maybe a frog, snake, or salamander. And of course, you can’t forget the wonderful morning smell of the skunk that passed through last night, or the deer quietly grazing in a neighbor’s meadow.

What you just experienced in a small way is the variety of life inhabiting the Earth – the biological diversity, or biodiversity, of nature. Biodiversity underlies everything we do as Master Naturalists.

At our last members meeting, Amy Johnson, the Director of Virginia Working Landscapes, discussed various biodiversity studies her group is involved with, pointing out some of the ways that scientists (and citizen scientists such as Master Naturalists) study biodiversity and its implications.

Scientists, however, have long debated how to precisely define and measure biodiversity.  Is it the number of species? Is it the number different functional roles being fulfilled by various species in an ecosystem? Is it the genetic diversity in a population? Is it the diversity of ecosystems and how species come together in different assemblies?
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The table below shows some of the many elements and dimensions that scientists consider when studying and measuring biodiversity:

The figure below shows another way of looking at biodiversity.  Notice the three “standard” ways that scientists typically look at biodiversity – genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity – and some of the alternative ways – compositional diversity, structural diversity, and functional diversity.

Source: P. Duelli, M.K. Obrist / Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 98 (2003) 87–98

By now you’re getting the sense that biodiversity is much more than the “variety of life.” In some respects, trying to define it is akin to the parable of the blind men and an elephant.[1]  In other respects, it depends on what you are studying – local habitats, food webs, a particular species, or a larger landscape or region. For example, a study of a local habitat or niche may focus on biodiversity as the number of different species in that habitat or the genetic variation of the resident populations.

If the scale of the study is larger, say a watershed, landscape, or larger geographic region, the focus may be on the diversity of community assemblies or ecosystems present. Studies of food webs likely will focus on the diversity of functions different species perform.

These different perspectives on biodiversity (species, functions, communities) are also not independent of each other, but interrelated.     

A formal definition that attempts to encompass these various dimensions of biodiversity is the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, an international agreement among 150 nations, which defined biodiversity as:

“…the variability among living organisms from all sources including, [among other things], terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.”

This definition recognizes biodiversity as including genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity, among other dimensions and elements.   
 
How is Biodiversity Measured?
It will come as no surprise that given the complexity of the biodiversity as a concept that there is not a single measure for biodiversity. Most biodiversity measures have two basic components – some measure of the number of entities present and some measure the degree of difference between those entities. For example, biodiversity can be measured by the number of species in a specific area, using such metrics as species richness (how many distinct species in an environment), or metrics such as evenness (how close in numbers each species in an environment is), rank abundance  (relative species abundance), and various other species diversity indices, such as the Simpson Index or Shannon Index, that capture the degree of difference between species in a sample. Endemism richness is another type of biodiversity measurement that focuses on the proportion of rare, locally occurring endemic species. The field of biodiversity measurement is a subject that can cover several graduate courses in ecology.

To illustrate the problem of measuring biodiversity, look at the illustration below - which of the two areas below do you consider to have a higher biodiversity? 

 
The two areas have the same number of individuals (20).  The area on the right has more species (8) (species richness), but the ecosystem on the left has greater evenness across species as reflected in a higher Shannon Index. The Shannon Index quantifies the uncertainty in predicting the species identity of a random individual (i.e., the less difference there is among species, the greater evenness). As the Shannon index approaches zero, species differences approach zero (monoculture), hence a larger Shannon Index number is indicative of greater the biodiversity.  The two areas might also be compared based on endemic richness.  For example, if the ant, beetle, and frog in the right ecosystem were endemic species to that particular local area, then the ecosystem on the right might be considered more biodiverse and worthy of conservation.
Biodiversity also might be measured by the variety and number of different functions that species fulfill in an ecosystem, such as primary producers, herbivores, and carnivores.  Functional diversity can be measured in a number of ways (Laureto, et al., 2015; Song, et al., 2014). One way is by the complexity and connectivity of a food web and the functional roles in the food web. In Figure 2, functional diversity on the right side would likely be different from the left side (e.g., the right-side area, populated by frogs, beetles, and ants in a pine forest would likely produce different functions and food web structure than the left-side area dominated by crows and salamanders).
Apart from species and functions, biodiversity might also be characterized by the degree of ecosystem diversity. Ecosystem diversity is the largest scale of biodiversity measurement, and within each ecosystem, there is a great deal of both species and genetic diversity. In Figure 2, one could study biodiversity by comparing the differences in communities and species assemblies between the left and right side “ecosystems”.
An example of ecosystem diversity is the Southern Appalachian region—stretching from West Virginia and southwestern Virginia to northern Alabama.  This region has a number of diverse ecosystems which contributes to the area’s high biodiversity.
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Fun Fact: Virginia has over 3800 species, including the third-highest number of amphibian species, and the 13th highest number of vascular plant species in the United States.
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Within this region, Virginia has a variety of physiographic areas—from western mountains and valleys, to rolling hills, to Tidewater estuaries— that provide many habitats supporting a wide variety of ecosystems. For example, the Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area—covering about 25,000 acres in Russell, Smyth, Tazewell, and Washington counties—is considered to be Virginia’s “most biologically diverse [management area], due in large part to the vast differences in elevation on the area” and is particularly known for the diversity of fish and mussels in the area’s watersheds.  On the other side of the state, the aquatic ecosystems and wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s southern coastal environments are sites of significant biodiversity.
 

​Master Naturalists and Biodiversity

As a Master Naturalist, you are involved with biodiversity at every turn.  Stream monitoring and water quality assessments are based on sampling the macro-invertebrate species richness found in a particular reach of a stream. Butterfly surveys record the number and differences in species found in a local area. Volunteer work on native plants, pollinator gardens, and habitat restoration is fundamentally aimed at supporting greater biodiversity.  Feeder Watch and the Great Backyard Bird Count help assess the diversity of local bird populations. And that ubiquitous invasive plant removal projects, and more recently our work with Spotted Lanternfly monitoring, are aimed at threats to biodiversity. I am hard pressed to think of any project we undertake as Master Naturalists that is not tied either directly or indirectly to biodiversity. 

There are a number of resources you can use for further insights about biodiversity – some our listed below in further reading and references.  Also, on the ORMN website there are blogs,  science research, news articles and other resources on various aspects of biodiversity.

In the next installment of this series, we’ll travel back in time a few hundred million years to see how biodiversity has waxed and waned over the millennia. Until then, get out and enjoy the variety of life around you!

Further Reading
The Diversity of Life, by Edward O. Wilson (1992, Harvard University Press)
The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt’s New World, by Andrea Wulf (2016, Knopf)
Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, by Carl Zimmer (2006, Harper Collins)

References
Duelli, P. and M. Obrist, (2003). Biodiversity indicators: the choice of values and measures, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 98: 87-98.

Gaston, K.J. and Spicer, J.I. (2004). Biodiversity: An Introduction, Blackwell Publishing, 2nd Edition
Laureto et al., (2015). Functional diversity: an overview of its history and applicability, Natureza & Conservação, 13(2): 112-116, doi.org/10.1016/j.ncon.2015.11.001.

Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Biodiversity Synthesis, by The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005, World Resources Institute)

Mora, C.; et al. (2011). "How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?". PLOS Biology. 9 (8): e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127.

Song et al, (2014). Relationships between functional diversity and ecosystem functioning: A review. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 34: 85–91. Doi: 10.1016/j.chnaes.2014.01.001.

Tilman, David (2012). Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability amid Human Domination of Global Ecosystems, Daedalus, 141(3): 108-120, Summer 2012.
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[1] The parable is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other.
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​BONUS FEATURE

​SERC: Landscaping for Biodiversity: A plant-insect perspective
Webinar Recording 

Also, please find additional resources provided by Dr. Burghardt:

• Select natives for your particular soil conditions and bird needs: https://www.audubon.org/native-plants
• Native plant finder (can pick a butterfly moth and find out what you can plant to host it): https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/About
• National Wildlife Federation (Native plants, certified wildlife habitats): https://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife.aspx
• Information on native plant cultivars: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/index.shtml
• PDFs of studies: https://www.karinburghardt.com/publications

Email: kburghar@umd.edu
Website: www.burghardtlab.org
Twitter: @plantinsectppl

The variety of life on the Earth is an enduring source of wonderment and mystery. Whether you are bird watching in your backyard, counting invertebrates to assess stream quality, planting oak trees and native plants in your local park, or hiking through Shenandoah National Park, the diversity of life is all around you. Its why you look out your window in the morning and stock the bird feeder in the winter.
 
Biodiversity is at the core of everything we do as Master Naturalists. Whether it’s citizen science projects, stewardship, or education outreach, a Master Naturalist must understand the patterns of nature -- the interconnected relationships between plants, birds, trees, insects, mammals and their environment. Without biodiversity, there would be no patterns or relationships in nature to observe.  There would be no nature.

So how did biodiversity arise, what is biodiversity, and how is it changing over time?  In this six-part series, I will explore each month the many facets of biodiversity, what it means for us, and how we can sustain it.  The series will cover the following topics:

• Part 1:  Biodiversity-What is it?
• Part 2:  Biodiversity: The Long View
• Part 3:  The current state of biodiversity
• Part 4:  What threatens biodiversity?
• Part 5:  Why is biodiversity important?
• Part 6: What can be done to protect and promote biodiversity?

So put on your wonderment goggles (free with three box tops and a self-addressed stamped envelope) and come along for the ride…..
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What is an invasive species? An invasive species is "an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health" - click here for more

Spotlight on a local invasive species:  Garlic Mustard - click here 
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The cost of invasives, read this article - click here   

​Look up invasive species and lots more at this cool website - click here

Trilliums, bloodroot, violets - many wildflowers of spring in eastern North America bloom thanks to ants. The tiny six-legged gardeners have partnered with those plants as well as about 11,000 others to disperse their seeds. The plants, in turn, "pay" for the service by attaching a calorie-laden appendage to each seed, much like fleshy fruits reward birds and mammals that discard seeds or poop them out. But there's more to the ant-seed relationship than that exchange, researchers reported last week at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, which was held online.   Read More Here.

By Charlotte Hartley 
Aug. 6, 2020 , 11:00 AM
Science Magazine

With their dazzling metallic hue, the blue fruits of the laurustinus shrub (Viburnum tinus), a flowering plant popular in gardens across Europe, are a sight to behold. But it’s what lies beneath the surface that’s caught the attention of scientists in a new study.

Researchers viewed samples of the fruit tissue through an electron microscope to examine their internal structure. They found no blue pigment as is typical in other blue fruits such as blueberries—just layers and layers of blobs. These blobs turned out to be tiny droplets of fat, arranged in a manner that reflects blue light—a phenomenon known as “structural color”—the team reports today in Current Biology.

Below the fat droplets lies another layer of dark red pigment, which absorbs any other wavelengths of light and intensifies the blue shade. The team verified these findings using computer simulations, confirming that this type of structure can indeed produce the precise shade of blue seen in the laurustinus.

The striking color of laurustinus fruits may signify its high fat content to birds. Although structural color is well-documented in animals, including in vibrant peacock feathers and delicate butterfly wings, it is rarely observed in plants. What’s more, this is the first time that fats have been found responsible for this mechanism. The team suspects it may be more widespread, and hopes to identify this type of structure in other species.

Posted in: 

• Plants & Animals   doi:10.1126/science.abe2087

Bird of the Yellow Mask
REC Cooperative Living
August 2020

The distinctive hooded warbler sings its song through the East and South.  Read about it HERE.

By drilling into lake bottoms, researchers collect mud cores with fossil pollen that reveal the history of plants. 
ANTHONY BARNOSKY

By Elizabeth Pennisi 
Science
Aug. 5, 2020 , 12:00 PM

Recent human activity, including agriculture, has had a greater impact on North America’s plants and animals than even the glaciers that retreated more than 10,000 years ago. Those findings, presented this week at the virtual annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, reveal that more North American forests and grasslands have abruptly disappeared in the past 250 years than in the previous 14,000 years, likely as a result of human activity. The authors say the new work, based on hundreds of fossilized pollen samples, supports the establishment of a new epoch in geological history known as the Anthropocene, with a start date in the past 250 years.

“It’s hard to overemphasize how profound the effects of ending a glacial cycle are,” says Zak Ratajczak, an ecologist at Kansas State University, Manhattan, who was not involved with the work. “So for humans to have that kind of impact is pretty amazing.”

For more than 10 years, researchers have debated when humans started to make their mark on the planet. Some argue agriculture transformed landscapes thousands of years ago, disrupting previously stable interactions between plants and animals. Others argue the launch of large-scale mining and smelting operations—seen in glacial records going back thousands of years—means the Anthropocene predates the industrial revolution. For geologists, however, the epoch starts with a different signal: nuclear explosions and a sharp uptick in fossil fuel use in the mid–20th century.

But some skeptics suggest the ice ages have had an even greater effect on the world’s ecosystems. To test that idea, Stanford University paleoecologist M. Allison Stegner turned to Neotoma, a decade-old fossil database that combines records from thousands of sites around the world. Her question: When—and how abruptly—did ecosystems change in North America over the past 14,000 years? Climate-altering glaciers, which started their retreat roughly 20,000 years ago, pulsed back during a cold period called the Younger Dryas, from about 12,800 until 11,700 years ago. After that, North America abruptly warmed, marking the beginning of our current epoch, the Holocene.

To answer her question, Stegner and colleagues looked at how vegetation shifted in locations across North America, using fossilized pollen to determine which species of plants were present at any given time. From 1900 records of mud cores drilled from lake bottom, Stegner found 400 with enough fossil pollen—and accurate enough dating—to analyze.

She and her colleagues then tracked how the mix of pollen in each core changed over time, paying close attention to abrupt shifts. Such shifts can mark the transformation of an entire ecosystem, for example, when a grassland becomes a forest or when a spruce forest changes into an oak forest. Looking at 250-year intervals, the researchers ran two types of statistical analyses that separately picked out temporary and long-term disruptions. “Allison used some very creative and rigorous methods,” says Jennifer McGuire, a paleoecologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology who was not involved with the work.

When the last ice age ended, forests and grasslands regrew across North America, creating a landscape that remained stable for thousands of years. But humans have changed all that, Stegner reports this week. Her team found just 10 abrupt changes per 250 years for every 100 sites from 11,000 years ago to about 1700 C.E. But that number doubled, to 20 abrupt changes per 100 sites, in the 250-year interval between 1700 and 1950. When the ice sheets of the Younger Dryas retreated, starting about 12,000 years ago, that number was 15. This suggests, Stegner says, that human activity starting 250 years ago—from land use change to pollution and perhaps even climate change—had more of an impact on ecosystems than the last glaciers.

The researchers also analyzed whether some regions have changed more swiftly than others. Over the past 250 years the U.S. Midwest, Southwest, and Southeast have undergone massive shifts from forest, grassland, and desert ecosystems to agriculture and tree plantations, she says. In contrast, Alaska, northern Canada, and parts of the Pacific Northwest underwent more changes as the glaciers melted than in the past 250 years.

“We already know plenty about climate change,” says Kai Zhu, an ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “This study adds land use change, [which] might accelerate climate change in altering plants at a continental scale.”

That’s worrisome, McGuire adds, because plants are the foundation of an ecosystem. “This rapid turnover is a harbinger of the extinction risk and the overall ecosystem disruption that is impending,” she says. At another meeting session, she and student Yue Wang reported “very similar trends” after using pollen to examine how forests, tundra, deserts, and other biomes have bounced back from disruptions through time. Combined, the new work “eliminates any doubt” that humans have set off a new geologic epoch, Stegner says.

doi:10.1126/science.abe1902
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Tis the Season for Turtles: Maryland turtles are out and about in summer's warm weather.
Published July 28, 2020 in Conservation 

A turtle isn't Maryland's state reptile for nothing.

Eighteen turtle species can be found throughout the state and in state waters—in ponds and bogs, streams and rivers, woodlands and wetlands—from the mountains of Garrett County to the waters of Worcester County and everywhere in between.

With so many turtles making their way (slowly) around, it's not uncommon for Marylanders to encounter them in the wild, particularly in summer when the weather is warm. If you see one, what should you do?

The general rule—as with all wildlife—is to keep a respectful distance and look but don't touch. You can disrupt a turtle's activity by touching or moving it. For example, aquatic species encountered on land are most likely females looking for a suitable spot to dig a nest and lay eggs. Females strive to find the perfect location where predators can't find their eggs and where their hatchlings can find their way back to water. Handling them during this vulnerable time would be very disruptive.

Eastern Box Turtle
With their dark shells covered in yellow-orange spots, Eastern box turtles are one of the most encountered species in Maryland, often found while hiking through forests. Unfortunately, many box turtle populations are now in decline due to habitat loss from development and road mortalities.

This woodland species is terrestrial, spending most of their time on land, in sunny open spaces as well as shady hiding places. They have a strong homing sense and are known to live out their lives in an area about the size of a football field, which is why they should never be picked up and moved.

An exception is if you find a box turtle in a place where it's not safe, like trying to cross a road. Each year, countless turtles are killed by cars. Among the tips the Mid-Atlantic Turtle and Tortoise Society offers for helping a turtle cross a road is to move it the shortest distance possible in the same direction it was heading, at least 30 feet from the road. Follow MATTS' recommendations for safely handling turtles, using two hands to hold both sides of the shell and lifting gently. A thorny briar patch or carpet of fallen leaves gives the turtle places to hide from predators.

Red-Eared Slider
From March to September, these turtles with bright red stripes on the side of their heads can be spied swimming and basking in the Inner Harbor, Lake Montebello and Lake Roland, among other spots in Baltimore City and most Maryland counties. They prefer freshwater habitats but can tolerate low-salinity, brackish water, and favor the still water of ponds, lakes, reservoirs and slow moving sections of rivers to fast moving streams.

These turtles are an invasive species, native to the mid- and south-central United States. Thanks to the pet trade, the red-eared slider is now the world's most widespread freshwater turtle. Hatchlings the size of a quarter can grow bigger than a dinner plate and live for 30 years, so irresponsible pet owners choose to release the turtles rather than continue to care for them. Red-eared sliders with shells bigger than 4 inches can still be sold in Maryland pet shops, but it's illegal to sell hatchlings. If you see red-eared slider turtle hatchlings for sale in Maryland, it's best to report it to the Natural Resources Police at 410-356-7060. And if you have a pet turtle of any kind that you can no longer keep, do the right thing; don't release it into the wild.

A close relative of the red-eared slider, the yellow-bellied slider, is now being observed with increased frequency around Maryland. Yellow-bellied sliders are native to the southeastern U.S. and, like the red-eared slider, are most likely now being seen in Maryland because people have released unwanted pets into the wild.

Snapping Turtle
Snapping turtles are another common species found throughout Maryland, in or very near fresh or slightly brackish water. They can grow quite large—with a shell length ranging from 8 to 14 inches—and their bites pack a punch. Because their necks are long and flexible enough for their powerful jaws to reach most parts of their body, it's not a good idea to touch one or pick it up.

Female snapping turtles sometimes lay their eggs a fair distance from the water they emerged from, so you can sometimes find hatchlings far from water, trying to make their way to it. It's important to leave the hatchling outdoors, but if you feel it's in danger, you can carefully move it closer to the water's edge where there is plenty of mud and places to take cover.

Diamondback Terrapin
The diamondback terrapin is Maryland's official state reptile and has been affiliated with the University of Maryland College Park since 1933. Terps officially became the school's mascot in 1994. To protect diamondback terrapins in Maryland, a 2007 state law (which the National Aquarium helped pass) bans removing them from the wild for commercial purposes.

Young terrapins are vulnerable to predators on land, in water and from the sky, including birds, raccoons, opossums and foxes. They prefer brackish water and spend their early years hiding in marsh grass habitat that gets flooded by high tides twice a day. If you find a terrapin out of habitat, it's best to release it in the nearest marsh grass habitat during a high tide.

Share What You See
If you happen to see a turtle or other reptile in the wild, whether during the City Nature Challenge or not, consider uploading a photo and information to iNaturalist to share your find with others!

​7/29/2020 
by Marsha Walton
AAAS








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Herpetologist and University of Arizona Ph.D. candidate Earyn McGee’s research has her well prepared for obstacles like oppressive heat, treacherous terrain and even venomous animals. Her field research takes her to the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona, where she’s determining the effects of stream drying on lizard communities for her doctorate research in conservation biology. This enables McGee a closeup look in studying lizards and their diet, and how the climate crisis may be altering it. She and the undergraduates she works with must first deftly catch the reptiles, weigh and measure them, then document their sex and overall health.

It is demanding and unpredictable work. And it has sometimes been made riskier by unsettling encounters with police, whose actions imply that, as a young scientist of color, she does not have a right to conduct her field studies.
“Where I work is pretty remote,” says McGee. “A lot of the time, it's Border Patrol, or some form of law enforcement stopping us [from working]. Last year, we had these military guys follow us into our site. A couple of days prior, we were out in the group with a whole lot of white people, we didn't have that same type of surveillance in the same exact spot,” says

Already well known as a science communicator on social media, McGee counters such racist incidents with the message that the natural world belongs to everyone to love and to protect. And she stresses that excitement for nature can come at any point in time, whether hiking through a National Park or looking up at a tree in New York City. Her courage in speaking out went viral shortly after a white woman made racist threats against Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper in Central Park on May 25, 2020. McGee and several colleagues, who had already been communicating about academic and diversity issues, sprang into action. They created #BlackBirdersWeek.

Photos and experiences soon flooded social media from all over the world. In interviews and podcasts during the week (May 31-June 5), scientists and naturalists shared examples of Black people, from birders to hikers to photographers, enjoying nature and outdoor spaces. The Central Park incident of racism, and the Twitter and Instagram responses to it, became another visible, widely shared facet in what’s become known as the U.S. Civil Rights racial injustice reckoning of 2020.

Besides her activism aimed at adults, McGee also shares her knowledge about wildlife conservation with a younger
audience. Lizards may be small, she says, but they can also be very swift and very clever. “[Catching] them the first time, depending on the lizard, can be relatively easy. But that next time when they see you coming, they're like, ‘Oh no, not this again,’ and they take off running,” she says.

And she has some stories of these types of experiences she often shares on her social media accounts. “So I'm running after this lizard, sprinting. This lizard is really putting up a good chase. I'm hopping over logs and rocks and stuff. I caught her, but before I did, I took a picture and I told people on Twitter the story of what happened,” says McGee.

Her followers were intrigued by the elusive lizard story. Since June 2018, thousands of curious students and adults regularly scour the photos on her informal Twitter quiz, using the hashtag, #FindThatLizard. After locating the reptiles, McGee then shares details about their camouflage, eating habits and survival skills. She’s heard from many science teachers who now start their classes off with this quest.

McGee says lizards are an easy sell to get kids hooked on science. In her outreach work, she shares fun facts about lizards, such as some lay eggs, some give live birth, others can even clone themselves. And what’s not to love about a Gila monster, asks McGee? “People pay money to come from all around the world for the hope of seeing this lizard (the Gila monster). It's one of few venomous lizards in the world, and compounds from its saliva have been used to create medical treatments for diabetes. So, lizards are cool,” she says.

McGee’s activism and fearlessness led to her recognition as one of the younger AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors. In her role as an ambassador, McGee shares with young girls her expertise on the power of social media for women and underserved minorities in STEM fields. She also hopes to introduce young girls to career paths in natural resources.

Still, McGee knows other types of outreach are needed to improve diversity and equity in STEM. While she says there is currently a lot of activism on her own campus to combat racism and xenophobia, McGee says institutions need to do more to assist Indigenous Mexican-American and undocumented students. When her studies are complete in about a year, McGee plans a career as a science communicator, perhaps hosting a nature show on TV. And her quest for social justice will stay closely tied to her career path. “I really want to be able to create pathways for Black, Indigenous, other people of color to enter into natural resources fields, and even if they don't want to do it as a job, maybe find it as a new hobby. So that's really what I hope to accomplish in the future,” said McGee.