Cypress Hills Bioblitz – Final Report

March 15, 2026

On June 6-8, Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) organized a bioblitz at Cypress Hills Provincial Park on the Alberta side. We were joined by over 70 biologists, other experts, and associated members in a project aimed at recording and identifying as many species as possible over the short 3 days.

In total, the iNaturalist project recorded over 6,000 observations of more than 1,200 species.

Click for full report.

Report sections:

Overview by Ruiping Luo.

Hawthorns in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta Side by Dana Bush.

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of the Cypress Hills Provincial Park by Iain Phillips and Dale Parker.

Cypress Hills Provincial Park Bat Mist Net Survey Summary by Cory Olson.

Cypress Hills Bioblitz 2025: Birds Assessment by Brook Skagen.

Wildlife Tracks and Sign Expertise Improves Rapid Biodiversity Inventories: The 2025 Cypress Hills Bioblitz by Joseph Litke.

Data:

Summary of iNaturalist observations compiled by Ruiping Luo.

Hawthorns compiled by Dana Bush.

Aquatic macroinvertebrates compiled by Iain Phillips and Dale Parker.

Cypress Hills invertebrates compiled by Matthias Buck and Gerald Hilchie.

Corrections and Addendums:

iNaturalist is continually changing, as identifications are corrected and new observations are uploaded. The report and overview capture the state of the iNaturalist project as of December 22, 2025. Major changes and additions made after this date are included below.

March 16, 2026 – Corrections: Plant species (misidentified species included in the final report).

Overview

On June 6 to 8, 2025, Alberta Wilderness Association and our partners organized a bioblitz in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park – Alberta. This bioblitz gathered a diverse group of biologists, other experts and associated participants from across Alberta and Canada. The purpose of this event was to record and identify as many living organisms as possible during the brief three-day period, with many of these observations contributing to the public database hosted on iNaturalist.

These numbers reflect the observations made during the bioblitz on iNaturalist, an online platform that collects observations of living organisms, where the community can help to identify or verify species. It includes species with obscured locations uploaded to iNaturalist during the bioblitz. Of the over 6000 observations made and uploaded to iNaturalist, 4967 were identified to the species level, and 5816 to the genus level. A total of 4119 observations were Research Grade, where they were verified by multiple observers or most of the community agreed on the identification.

The bioblitz was also an opportunity to engage the public in citizen science initiatives. On June 8, the final day of the bioblitz, members of the public were invited to join for guided walks, conversations at information booths, and other activities. In all, this event contributed immensely to our understanding of current Cypress Hills biodiversity while encouraging broad interest in citizen science and the Cypress Hills ecosystem.

Introduction

Cypress Hills presents a unique ecosystem and a diversity of species. The highest point in the Canadian prairies, Cypress Hills was spared from glaciation during the last ice age, providing a refuge for species escaping the frozen world. As a result, the region even contains species that have not been found anywhere else in Canada, such as the Cooper’s Rocky Mountainsnail (Oreohelix strigosa cooperi) and the recently discovered Spring Coralroot (Corallorhiza wisteriana).

Recognized for its unique landscape, history, and ecology, Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park lies on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Contained within the park are forests, lakes, rivers, and grasslands, carved into conglomerate and sandstone formations.

To better understand the biodiversity in Cypress Hills and the change in species distribution, we hosted a bioblitz on the Alberta side of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The bioblitz was held over three days, from June 6 to 8, 2025 and involved experts with a range of different specialties. The purpose of this bioblitz was to record and identify as many species as possible during this time, to provide an update on older surveys of plants and animals in Cypress Hills, and to provide a baseline for the biodiversity of Cypress Hills in 2025.

Location and weather

Cypress Hills is located at between approximately 49° 34’ N and 49° 41’ N, and 110° 24’ W and 110° 0’ W. The park reaches a maximum elevation of 1468 m, and a minimum elevation of 1258 m.

Over the three days of the bioblitz, temperatures ranged from approximately 10°C to 28°C. Wind speeds of 19 to 35 km/h were recorded, with particularly strong winds in the open grasslands and on ridges. Skies were generally cloudy, with intermittent bouts of rain and some sun.

Using iNaturalist

Observations, mainly photographs and audio recordings, were uploaded to iNaturalist, a citizen-science based online platform that collects observations of living organisms. Once posted, the iNaturalist community helps to identify and verify species.

For this bioblitz, an iNaturalist project was started that collected all observations within the boundaries of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park – Alberta during the three-day bioblitz. This project did not include iNaturalist observations with obscured location data, which can be used to protect rare and endangered species. Such obscured observations were collected manually through reporting of bioblitz participants and by searching for data points near the project with exact locations obscured.

Participants and other experts were asked to help identify and verify species on the platform. We aimed to get as many observations to “Research Grade” as possible.

iNaturalist guidelines state:

Observations become Research Grade when

the community agrees on species-level ID or lower, i.e. when more than 2/3 of identifiers agree on a taxon
the community taxon and the observation taxon agree
or the community agrees on an ID between family and species and votes that the community taxon is as good as it can be

Observations can also be considered “Needs ID” when there is not yet agreement on the species, or “Casual Grade” when the organism is cultivated (domesticated or invasive) or has not met the conditions for verified observations.

Data for this report was compiled December 22, 2025.

Results

In total, 6309 observations for 1206 species were collected on iNaturalist during the bioblitz. This number includes all observations found on the project page, with the addition of 13 observations for 8 species with obscured locations that were not captured by the project. One species (Mangrove Yellow Warbler) was removed as the observation was misidentified and corrected (to Northern Yellow Warbler), though remained in the iNaturalist project.

Figure 1. Map showing area covered by bioblitz (in orange). Colored points represent observations, with colors indicating different taxonomic groups. Map retrieved from iNaturalist; click on image for interactive map.

Prior to June 6, a total of 1413 species were recorded in this region of Cypress Hills, while 1908 species were on record as of June 8, 2025, suggesting 495 species were added to the iNaturalist record over the three days of the bioblitz (see Species List for observations).

In addition to these observations, there were 13 observations for 8 species with obscured locations on iNaturalist. Two of these species were not included in the project and were added to the total species count (see Species List for observations).

Compiling all observations, there were 6298 observations that were identified to at least a kingdom level and could be sorted into one of eight broad categories: plants, insects and other arthropods, birds, fungi, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, fish, and other. Other species included snails and molluscs, worms and leeches, and single-celled organisms. Plants made up the largest group of observations (at 3539 observations) followed by insects and arthropods (at 1882). A few hundred observations were recorded of birds (395) and fungi (273). Fewer observations were recorded for mammals (69), reptiles and amphibians (58), and other (76). Fish had the fewest recorded observations (6).

Figure 2. Number of observations recorded in each category on iNaturalist during the bioblitz.

iNaturalist species counts includes those identified to the genus level or higher. Considering only observations identified to the species level, there were 4965 observations of 983 species. Of these, 4104 observations of 699 species were considered Research Grade. Many of those not identified to the species level or verified to Research Grade were plants and invertebrates.

Figure 3. Proportion of Research Grade species observed belonging to each category. Only species with at least one observation considered Research Grade were included, with the number of Research Grade species provided in brackets.

During the bioblitz, we found:

403 species of plants (342 Research Grade)
388 species of insects and other arthropods (224 Research Grade)
85 species of birds (80 Research Grade)[1]
71 species of fungi (24 Research Grade)
15 species of mammals (14 Research Grade)
4 species of reptiles and amphibians (4 Research Grade)
4 species of fish (4 Research Grade)
13 other species (7 Research Grade)

As with the number of observations, plants and insects and arthropods dominated, accounting for more than half of identified species, both Research Grade and otherwise. Reptiles and amphibians and fish had the fewest species.

[1] One species was removed as it was misidentified and corrected (Northern Yellow Warbler was mistaken as Mangrove Yellow Warbler).

Plant diversity

Classification of plant species into categories completed by Justin Poon.

Plants had the greatest number of observations and identified species. Of the 342 Research Grade plant species, a majority of were forbs (233 species), which encapsulates most broad-leaved, non-woody, flowering plants. Grasses had the second highest number of species (48), followed by shrubs (37). Only a few species of mosses and liverworts (10), trees (9), and ferns and clubmosses (5) were recorded.

Figure 4. Proportion of plant species belonging to each category. Only species with at least one observation considered Research Grade were included, with the number of species provided in brackets.

Arthropod diversity

The second largest category for observations was insects and arthropods. Butterflies and moths dominated the species identified and verified to Research Grade (133 species), followed by beetles (39) and bees, wasps, and ants (15). Flies (11), spiders, mites and ticks (9), and true bugs (9) made up a smaller number of verified species. True bugs contained the family Hemiptera, consisting of aphids, leafhoppers, cicadas, and other related insects. Other arthropod species (8) included grasshoppers and crickets, dragonflies and damselflies, stoneflies, lacewings, crustaceans, and springtails.

Figure 5. Proportion of insect and arthropod species belonging to each category. Only species with at least one observation considered Research Grade were included, with the number of species provided in brackets.

This group also had the highest proportion of species that were not considered Research Grade. Grasshoppers and crickets, in particular, were difficult to verify (only 2 of 13 species observed were considered Research Grade on iNaturalist).

Table 1. Number of species observed in each category for insects and arthropods. Species indicated the total number of unique species identified. Research Grade species indicates the number of species with at least one observation verified as Research Grade.

Category	Common Name	Species Number	Research Grade Species
Lepidoptera	Butterflies and moths	186	133
Coleoptera	Beetles	85	39
Diptera	Flies	28	11
Hymenoptera	Bees, wasps and ants	23	15
Arachnida	Spiders, mites and ticks	22	9
Hemiptera	True bugs	19	9
Orthoptera	Grasshoppers and crickets	13	2
Odonata	Dragonflies and damselflies	5	2
Plecoptera	Stoneflies	2	1
Neuroptera	Lacewings	1	1
Malacostraca	Crustaceans	1	1
Entognatha	Springtails	1	1

Additional observations

As well as participating in the three days of the bioblitz, many experts prolonged their observation time and recorded additional observations before and after the official bioblitz. Temperatures were slightly warmer in the days following the bioblitz, reaching a high of 34°C on June 9, with more clear and sunny days.

To account for these additional species, we searched iNaturalist for species observed in Cypress Hills between May 30 and June 15, 2025. From this, we identified species that had been recorded in the weeks before and after our bioblitz, though not during the three days of the bioblitz.

In addition to the species observed during the bioblitz, we found 25 species that were recorded before or after the event, with 11 of these species considered Research Grade. Of these, there were 8 plants, 13 insects and arthropods, 3 birds, 2 mammals, and 1 fungi.

Presentations

During the evenings of June 6 and 7, experts were invited to give presentations on topics related to Cypress Hills. Cam Goater and Kevin Floate began with presentations on the natural history and ecology of Cypress Hill, followed by Dale Leckie presenting on the geology of the region. Kallum McDonald presented the following evening on invasive species, and Ilan Domnich finished with a presentation on native bees.

Public Engagement

On June 8, 2025, the final day of the bioblitz, members of the public were invited to participate, learn from experts, and submit their own observations. The event was joined by several families and even some individuals who had travelled specifically to attend the bioblitz.

At the learning centre in Elkwater, eight booths were set up, containing displays by:

Alberta Community Bat Program (ACBP)
Alberta Mycological Society (AMS)
Alberta Native Bee Council (ANBC)
Alberta Native Plant Council (ANPC)
Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA)
Royal Alberta Museum (RAM)
Cam Goater (Professor at University of Lethbridge, host-parasite interactions and zombie ants in Cypress Hills)
Dale Leckie (Geologist, author of Scenic Geology of Alberta: A Roadside Touring and Hiking Guideand Rocks, Ridges, and Rivers: Geological Wonders of Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks)

In addition, there were three guided hikes around Elkwater and Cypress Hills, led by Lindsey Wallis (Alberta Wilderness Association) and Lea Randall (Wilder Institute), and joined by Kallum McDonald, Kristina Stephens, Dale Leckie, Joseph Litke, and Benny Acorn. Alyssa Metro and Corianne Brons (Alberta Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy) were joined by Kevin Floate and Benny Acorn for pond dipping, and Ilan Domnich and Tiffani Harrison (Alberta Native Bee Council) led a bug walk featuring a netting and vialling demonstration.

Discussion

The 2025 Cypress Hills bioblitz added thousands of observations and hundreds of species to iNaturalist. Over the three days of the bioblitz, experts and other participants created an extensive record of the many species found at Cypress Hills, providing a current report of the biodiversity in this unique region.

In particular, this event created a strong record of plants and invertebrates, especially for species that are often overlooked by casual observers. Most observations and new species added to iNaturalist for Cypress Hills were plants or arthropods.

A bioblitz also provides an opportunity to engage with non-scientific members of the public, to facilitate collaboration and communication between scientists with distinct specializations, and to encourage data collection through citizen science initiatives. Through presentations, tables and activities, experts shared their knowledge of history, geology and ecology with others. Many experts and participants collected samples not only within their specialties, but also of other species that were shared on iNaturalist.

iNaturalist worked well as a platform for amateur observers, with the community helping to identify and confirm species. However, there were several limitations. For instance, sightings of birds or fast-moving species could not always be recorded, and were unable to be verified. Verification was restricted largely to photographic or audio recordings, and often did not capture all the distinguishing traits of species. Observations by biologists with extensive expertise, who confidently identified organisms within their expertise, were unable to have these organisms verified by the larger community. In some cases, DNA analysis or observations from multiple times during the organism’s lifecycle were necessary to confidently identify a species, and these could not be confirmed through the iNaturalist community.

As a result of these limitations, there are likely errors in the iNaturalist record compiled during the Cypress Hills bioblitz. Using this record to understand species range and distribution should be done with caution.

Regardless, this bioblitz helped showcase the incredible biodiversity of Cypress Hills, and the many rare and distinctive species of the area. The information we collected supports our understanding of the local ecosystems and species distributions. It emphasizes the importance of Cypress Hills, encourages interest in the area, and could aid in future management and protection of this unique region.

Gallery

(photos by Cameron Hunter, Lindsey Wallis, Debborah Donnelly, Ruiping Luo, Sandy Davis, Sarah Eisenbarth-Topacio)

Scenery of Cypress Hills

Getting to know each other around the campfire

Full days of collecting data

Presentations!

Public engagement: hikes, activities and demonstrations.

Other resources on Cypress Hills

Research papers

Bird, C. D. (1962). Bryophytes of the Cypress Hills Provincial Parks, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Botany, 40(4), 573-587.

Newsome, R. D., & Dix, R. L. (1968). The forests of the Cypress Hills, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. American Midland Naturalist, 118-185.

Hilton, D. F. (1985). Dragonflies (Odonata) of Cypress Hills provincial park, Alberta and their biogeographic significance. The Canadian Entomologist, 117(9), 1127-1136.

Phipps, J. B., & O’Kennon, R. J. (2007). Hawthorns (Crataegus: Rosaceae) of the cypress hills, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1031-1090.

Widenmaier, K. J., & Strong, W. L. (2010). Tree and forest encroachment into fescue grasslands on the Cypress Hills plateau, southeast Alberta, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management, 259(10), 1870-1879.

Randall, L. A., Chalmers, L. D., Moehrenschlager, A., & Russell, A. P. (2014). Asynchronous breeding and variable embryonic development period in the threatened Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) in the Cypress Hills, Alberta, Canada: conservation and management implications. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 128(1), 50-56.

Goater, C. P., Dyck, J., Proctor, H., & Floate, K. D. (2018). Hyperparasitism of an avian ectoparasitic hippoboscid fly, Ornithomya anchineuria, by the mite, Myialges cf. borealis, in Alberta, Canada. The Journal of Parasitology, 104(2), 111-116.

Sommers, M. D., Randall, L. A., & Barclay, R. M. (2018). Effects of environmental variables on the calling behaviour of Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens) in Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 96(2), 163-169.

Dempsey, Z. W., Burg, T. M., & Goater, C. P. (2019). Found, forgotten, and found again: systematics and distribution of Cooper’s Rocky Mountain snail (Oreohelix cooperi) on a sky island in the Canadian Prairies. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 97(9), 833-840.

Criscione, C. D., van Paridon, B. J., Gilleard, J. S., & Goater, C. P. (2020). Clonemate cotransmission supports a role for kin selection in a puppeteer parasite. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(11), 5970-5976.

Dempsey, Z. W., Goater, C. P., & Burg, T. M. (2020). Living on the edge: comparative phylogeography and phylogenetics of Oreohelix land snails at their range edge in Western Canada. BMC evolutionary biology, 20(1), 3.

Bezanson, G. A., Goater, C., & Floate, K. D. (2022). Comparative patterns of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) diversity in native fescue grassland and wooded habitats in the Cypress Hills, Alberta, Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 154(1), e35.

Larson, D. (2024). Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands, vol. 5: Beetle Diversity of a Canadian Prairie Homestead. 10.3752/bsc.2024.1.

Surveys

Botanical Survey Cypress Hills Forest (1945).

Resource Inventory, analysis and conceptual survey study of Cypress Hills Provincial Park (1973).

Soil Survey of Cypress Hills, Alberta and Interpretation for Recreational Use (1981).

Surveys for Vascular Plants of Special Concern and for Birds and Mammals in Selected Habitats within Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Alberta (2000).

An Inventory of Botrychium Paradoxum and Botrychium Pendunculosum in Southern Alberta (2002).

Annual Christmas Bird Count Results (and historic records for Medicine Hat 1982-2022).

Guides and other materials

(PDF) Lepidoptera of Cypress Hills Provincial Park

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Plants (1983).

Common lichens of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (2008).