Data Without Borders ICE 2016: Difference between revisions

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::'''Introduction''': One of the most ancient ecosystems in the southeastern U.S.A. is scrub, often associated with ridge systems that were most likely used as refugia during Pleistocene sea level changes. Following sea level stabilization, these habitats effectively remained islands due to unique soil composition and a lack of plant diversity leading to a myriad of floral and faunal endemics. In particular, arthropod endemics abound as in the grasshopper genus Melanoplus (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Melanoplinae). Many genus members possess short wings incapable of flight and are unable to easily disperse over large distances, which makes such Melanoplus species ideal candidates for examining speciation hypotheses. To test such hypotheses, the Puer Group (PG), comprised of 24 species with related morphology, was chosen. The group spans four neighboring states (FL, GA, SC, and NC), contains many scrub endemics, and its males exhibit great genitalia variation. A good beginning for delving deeper into the group’s evolutionary history was determining current species ranges by georeferencing around 5,000 specimens, borrowed from various U.S. collections and gathered in the field during recent expeditions.

::'''Methods''': Via the creation of maps, detailed field notes, and different type of anatomical imaging, the backbone of this project is to collate as much data as possible for the PG.

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::Numerous economically important tree species are threatened with declines due to exotic pests or pathogens. Perhaps the best-known example is American chestnut, a culturally and ecologically important tree decimated by chestnut blight. The loss of American chestnut from the canopy in eastern deciduous forest had profound impacts on vertebrate food webs, but the effects of chestnut loss on insect biodiversity and trophic interactions remain largely unknown. The development of blight-resistant chestnut creates an unparalleled opportunity to study the effects of foundation species loss, and potential recovery, on insect food webs. Our objective is to generate and analyze historical and contemporary insect food webs for chestnut and oak focusing on herbivores and their natural enemies. We constructed a data matrix containing 1,049 records of individual insects associated with chestnut based on information and specimens from the Hopkins Notes and Records System housed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. These records constitute 221 species, including herbivores and their natural enemies. In order to discern the extent of novel data derived from the Hopkins System, we surveyed the primary literature to construct a data matrix containing 259 records of individual insects representing 157 species associated with chestnut. Additionally, we placed three insect flight traps each in the canopies of American chestnut, Chinese chestnut, and red oak trees to discern the contemporary insect fauna sympatric with those tree species. This effort yielded 75, 72, and 75 samples, respectively, for the aforementioned trees with target insects exceeding 100,000 specimens. Lastly, we hand collected 279 lepidopteran larvae to discern host-natural enemy associations on the target tree species. This presentation focuses on three areas: (1) how multitrophic data derived from natural history collections, the literature, and contemporary sampling are gathered and managed; (2) questions data gathered from those sources might address using this research as an example; and (3) how products from this research are disseminated.

| '''Robert Kula''' (Robert.Kula@ars.usda.gov), USDA - ARS, Washington, DC, John Lill - The George Washington University, Eugenio Nearns - Purdue University, and Harmony Dalgleish - College of William and Mary

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::Natural history collections (NHC) are rich repositories that document our planet's ecosystems, both past and present. Within the past decade there has been a surge to revisit NHCs to digitize specimens. Digitized NHCs can provide a wealth of insight on the ecology, abundance, and distribution of rare and common bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila). Studies on the historic abundance and distribution of bee species in particular have revealed alarming trends of population decline and local extinctions. Given the rapidly growing digital vault of bee data across multiple institutions, we will discuss how NHCs can inform the conservation of bees. However, we will also highlight some of limitations and biases of digital specimen data that must be considered when characterizing bee communities.  

| '''Jonathan Koch''' (jonathan.koch@usu.edu), Utah State University, Logan, UT, Joan M. Meiners and Amber D. Tripodi