world greenroof biodiversity project

So, the first project I landed into here in Portland is a study of green roof beetles! It was started last year (or even further back?!) by Stephan Brenneisen in cooperation with the city of Portland. There were a lot of volunteers from organizations like the Xerces Society and of course Portland State U too. Basically, we are collecting beetles, on roofs and at comparative ground sites to document what we find in a few major cities around the world (mexico city, basel, san fransisco and portland!) We collect the insects from vinegar-filled cups (pitfall traps) that we insert into the substrate/soil. Busy insects making their ways along the substrate/ground surface don't notice the cups, fall in, and most won't make it out. More on how we will analyze the data and important research questions we will zone in on later. In the meantime here are some pics from over half of the roofs we visit as part of this study. Special mention to Sydney Gonslaves (shown below inserting a pitfall trap) who is the MS student and mastermind behind the Portland sites.