Shea Perry: Surveying 'Data-Gap' Invasive Species with WNY PRISM

A digital badge is a new type of credential that allows you to show the specific skills you've gained through learning experiences. It's a clickable icon that can digitally display your work and accomplishments to key audiences, like future employers or graduate schools, when embedded on your digital resume, UB Portflio or LinkedIn.

Learn more about micro-credentials and digital badges from UB's Office of Micro-Credentials.

This project involved surveying areas such as Deleware Park, Great Baehre Conservation Park and some on-campus sites for the invasive species, Lesser Celandine and Callery Pear. Shea focused on reporting sightings of these plants on IMapInvasives. Here is what Shea had to say about the experience:

What I Did:

"For this project, as part of a team of four, I conducted surveys for WNY PRISM on Lesser Celandine and Callery Pear, two gap species. We established priorities for survey site selection and conducted independent species surveys. The survey results were directly used in the WNY PRISM species evaluations. We also did data analysis and literature reviews on our survey data and target species to calculate important spread metrics and determine habitat connections for callery pear and lesser celandine, respectively. The final project output included a mutually agreed-upon region of surveyed sites, as well as a written report containing survey results, literature reviews, and data analysis. We helped create more sightings of these underreported "gap" species on the online tool- IMapInvasives. This helps show areas of extreme spread and growth and some new area where it has just started to come in. I'm most proud of learning how to use this technology because I have now been using it constantly outside of this project to report invasive species."

What I Learned:

"I developed skills like leadership, communication, problem-solving, and time management. My biggest takeaway from this experience was truly how invasive species are everywhere, and we need much more help and volunteers than just my small survey group to help report the species, especially Lesser Celandine and Callery Pear. This project is much different than all the other group projects I have completed before. I was much more engaged and felt like I was doing something good for the environment and I feel as though it has improved my outlook on other classes and other projects I'm involved in. I believe other students should experience a project like this because it is so different and nice to get outside and see what you've been learning about in a classroom and actually be able to help ecologists stop the spread."