Hydra collecting for citizen scientists v2

The freshwater cnidarian Hydra has been a model system for regeneration and developmental biology for over 250 years, but much remains unknown about their biodiversity and global distribution. As a citizen scientist, you can contribute to our understanding of Hydra in the wild by becoming a "Hydra Hunter". All it takes is a few simple materials and a little patience. Collecting Hydra in the wild can be challenging. You will certainly not find them everywhere you look. Keep in mind that NOT finding Hydra is still useful information because this will help us understand the environmental factors that effect their distribution. Metadata submission form: https://forms.gle/cAZCiiRCyE922G5t5 Please contact chyland@sandiego.edu for more information or to receive a Hydra collecting kit. Hydra collecting kits were purchased with a grant to Kimberly Sladek from the University of San Diego Associated Students Government. Thank you to Rob Steele for helpful feedback on this protocol. References: Campbell, R. D. (1983). Hydra Collecting. In H. M. Lenhoff (Ed.). Hydra: Research Methods. New York: Springer Science + Business Media. Martínez, D. E., et al. (2010). Phylogeny and biogeography of Hydra (Cnidaria: Hydridae) using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 57, 403-410. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.06.016