Pitfall Traps

Plywood, stencils, paint, fiber, bamboo. Dimensions variable.

As part of the Danda Ecosystem Monitoring Program, this work was created for the ecology and students of Pratiman-Neema Memorial Foundation in Siddharthanagar, Nepal. The work is adapted from the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program.

A total of six pitfall traps were installed on the west side of the campus with our team and students. The site selection for the pitfall traps was decided through conversation with the director and manager of the school. The site includes a transition zone between wetland to grassland to monitor a riverbank ecosystem. The pitfall monitoring sites contain a wooden platform covering a plastic cup, which is embedded into the ground. The wooden blocks were hand-painted with students using a stencil technique. Each wooden block depicts a different type of insect: Spider, Ladybug, Cicada, Ant, Centipede, and Beetle. A colored flag on a bamboo stick marks each site. On the flag is an embroidered image of the footprints that each insect makes as they walk across the soil.

Students will collect and identify arthropods from the pitfall traps in order to measure surface active arthropod activity. This data provides information about habitat conditions. The presence, absence, abundance and diversity of particular arthropods provide supporting documentation on the ecological condition of the monitoring site. Because arthropods are essential to processes like decomposition and pollination, systems that humans depend on, it is important to learn more about their communities. The monitoring sculptures become a small nature walk. The colorful flags and pitfall traps help orient students as they navigate through the monitoring site. Over time a path will be established by students as they walk throughout the site to collect data.

Students will collect and identify arthropods from the pitfall traps in order to measure surface active arthropod activity. This data provides information about habitat conditions. The presence, absence, abundance and diversity of particular arthropods provide supporting documentation on the ecological condition of the monitoring site. Because arthropods are essential to processes like decomposition and pollination, systems that humans depend on, it is important to learn more about their communities. The monitoring sculptures become a small nature walk. The colorful flags and pitfall traps help orient students as they navigate through the monitoring site. Over time a path will be established by students as they walk throughout the site to collect data.

The Danda Ecosystem Monitoring Program was supported in part by the Burning Man Global Arts Grant