Research in the Big Thicket

Big Thicket provides opportunities for conducting research in the field.

NPS Photo

One of the most notable aspects of the Big Thicket region is its biodiversity - the amazing array of species found here that truly demonstrates that it is the biological crossroads of North America. As noted in the Animals and Plants pages, this area is home to a wonderful array of vertebrate and vascular plant species unmatched by few places on Earth. However, they represent only a fraction of the diversity of life in the preserve. With the creation of the preserve in 1974, it soon became a research wonderland for those wanting to document new species amid Big Thicket's biological diversity. Studies documenting such things as nearly 1,800 species of insects just in the Lepidoptera family (butterflies, moths, and skippers) only fueled the flames for more researchers to study the Big Thicket. In 2006, efforts began on an All-Taxa Biological Inventory (ATBI). With the assistance of the Big Thicket Association, who seek and obtain grant funding, enlist other partners and new researchers, and who help coordinate the research and synthesis of data, an in-depth ATBI inventory effort is ongoing under a program titled the “Thicket of Diversity”.

 

Conducting Research

Interested in conducting research in the preserve? You'll need a scientific research permit. Read more

 

Learn More

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  We've gone batty

  Bat Research

  Learn about ongoing bat research being conducted in the preserve.

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  Flexing Our Mussels

  Mollusks

  Learn about freshwater mussels, a kind of mollusk that inhabits Big Thicket waters.

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  Park Species Lists

  All of Big Thicket's animal and plant species are listed here.

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  Photo Time-Lapse Project

  Citizen Science

  Use your phone to help us record changes in the environment!