UPDATE 2022 - We expand the BB Challenge to EUROPE
We are now searching for participants for the Black Bucket Challenge 2022 in five different European cities.
If you live in Berlin, London, Munich, Zurich or Vienna and are interested which animals (mostly insects) develop in waterbodies in your garden or backyard and want to be part of a cool project - then you are perfectly qualified to join our CITIZEN SCIENCE TEAM !
Just write me an email for further information or registration ([email protected]) or use the contact form below. :)
Update 2021
The Black Bucket Challenge in Salzburg 2021 ended successfully. Every bucket was colonized by insect larvae. We are identifying all insects right now and inform you and the winners about the results as soon as possible. STAY TUNED!
About the Project
Who?
We are looking for people who live in or around the city of Salzburg and are motivated to be part of a Citizen Science Project - the Black Bucket Challenge! You have access to a garden and a secure site where you can place our 1-liter-bucket for three months? - Perfect!
How?
You will get the bucket and all the material you need.
We ask you to place the bucket in your garden, add a temperature logger, small bags containing beech leaves and one liter of Volvic water (everything provided by us) at the beginning of April or May 2021. Then the bucket should remain there open for three months. Afterwards you seal the bucket, bring it back to the Faculty of Natural Sciences - or we will come and collect it to analyze its content (animals that colonized and remained leaves) in our laboratory.
What happens inside the Black Bucket?
After installing the buckets, insects and other small aquatic animals will begin to colonize. Lentic watersystems like tree holes, saucers, graveyard vases etc. are habitat for a range of species, especially for the larval stages of many insects like flies, midges, beetles and so on. These systems can provide important ecosystem functions like the "production" of pollinators and decomposition of leaves. In this experiment our Black Bucket will serve as an artificial tree hole. Insects and other animals oviposit into the water - larvae grow and develop inside the waterbody - often feeding on leaves and other degraded material. After a certain period as pupae, the individuals hatch as adults (capable of flight!) out of the water.
Why?
Little is known about biodiversity of aquatic systems in urban city centers.
With your help, we can find out:
- where in Salzburg we can find the highest biodiversity within the Black Buckets.
- if urbanisation (e.g. the degree of sealed surface, high temperatures) affects the communities in these systems.
- how much and which species decompose leaf-litter.
What you can win
We will have three winners - participants with:
- the highest biodiversity inside their bucket (highest number of different species).
- the highest number of individuals inside their bucket.
- and the highest amount of leaf-decomposition.
The winners will be announced here on this website, receive a photo-collage of "their" species and a goodie bag of the University of Salzburg.
Who we are
My name is Anna Sommer - I am a PhD-Student within the team of Prof. Petermann at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Salzburg. We are a team of biologists that regularly run interesting research projects.
The Black Bucket Challenge is part of my dissertation in which I investigate the biodiversity of aquatic microecosystems and possible effects of urbanisation in Salzburg and other European cities.
If you want to learn more about our research - check out our University-webpage:
https://www.plus.ac.at/umwelt-und-biodiversitaet/forschung/fachgebiete-der-zoologie/ag-petermann
How you can participate
If you are interested in our project and want to participate - just write an e-mail to [email protected] or fill in the contact-form until mid of march 2022.
This project is funded by
the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
