One of the amazing parts of the Greater Sax-Zim Bog Ecosystem is the amazing biodiversity found across the bogs, swamps, upland and lowland conifer forests, agricultural lands, riparian mixed forest, and waterways that make up this landscape. Biodiversity has been logged by the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog since the first annual Sax-Zim Bog BioBlitz and our list has continued to grow!
The following lists of species diversity have been compiled from observations during BioBlitzes, from observations by individuals who enjoying documenting species in the Bog, and from other resources including research papers by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, herbarium records from the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s collection, museum specimens from the Bell Museum, documentation by experts and novices alike from citizen science platforms like iNaturalist, eBird, BugGuide, and beyond. The observations are not necessarily representative of what species exist in the Bog every year (birds or butterflies that are prone to vagrancy), nor are they observations that reflect species solely utilizing the Bog in an entire year (wintering birds). These observations are composed into a list that is meant to be updated and reviewed constantly, with new understanding of species taxonomy or new identifications offered on hard to ID species groups.
The lists included below reflect the biodiversity documented up to November 2023, which includes a total of 3,501 species. The lists on our website will be updated during November of each year, as summer is our time for documenting biodiversity and by November, things have slowed down (at least a little!).
As of the most recent update to our species list (June 21, 2024) our documented biodiversity is now up to 3,643 species! Recent additions include 2 new horsefly and 3 new deerfly species, 5 new moths including boreal forest specialist Lasionycta secendens, and few rust and parasitic fungi including Abrothallus halei (which parasitizes the lichen Smooth Lungwort!).
If you are interested in the presence/absence of certain species, have questions about the included lists, or want to share documentation of species missing from the list, please contact Head Naturalist Clinton (naturalist@saxzim.org).
If you use iNaturalist, please consider reporting species when visiting the Sax-Zim Bog! The Greater Sax-Zim Bog Ecosystem is documented as a landform on iNaturalist, which means you can seek out the species diversity of the region via their platform: Greater Sax-Zim Bog Ecosystem.
List below are organized by major species groups included with Flora and Fauna. Further, species are sorted by taxonomic relationships and alphabetically by Latin names. Some species included may not have English common names and may only be referenced by a Latin name.
Within any additions or corrections to the lists, please contact Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org.
Enjoy these lists!
FLORA and FUNGA LISTS
FAUNA LISTS