InvertNet: An Integrative Platform for Research on Environmental Change, Species Discovery and Identification

InvertNet: An Integrative Platform for Research on Environmental Change, Species Discovery and Identification

Project Summary

Arthropods (insects, spiders, crabs) are the most diverse and abundant group of macro-organisms in biological collections, but are underrepresented in databases accessible online or elsewhere. This project will centralize access to and synthesize information from 160 years of North American arthropod collections. It will use innovative technology, including optical 3D imaging and reconstruction, to support scientific inquiry on the effects of land use change on biodiversity, and basic research on species discovery and identification. The award will provide IT infrastructure for collection digitization, digitally-assisted curation, and collection management; availability of specimen-level data for scientific inquiry on human impacts on biodiversity; and greater use of and appreciation for scientific collections by non-scientists through access to specimen images and related data.

Project Leadership

Project Lead PI (Lead Principal Investigator): Christopher Dietrich, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Co-PIs: Gregory Zolnerowich, Kansas State University; Anthony Cognato, Michigan State University; Paul Tinerella, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Paul Johnson, South Dakota State University; Daniel Young, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Johannes Klompen, Ohio State University; Jennifer Zaspel, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh; Andrew Short, University of Kansas; Jeffrey Holland, Purdue University; John Rawlins, Carnegie Institute; Robert Sites, University of Missouri, Columbia; Gregory Courtney, Iowa State University; David Rider, North Dakota State University, Fargo

NSF Award Number

1115112

Project Website

http://invertnet.org/

Project Collaborators

Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Iowa State University
Kansas State University
Michigan State University
North Dakota State University
Ohio State University
Purdue University
South Dakota State University
University of Illinois
University of Kansas
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University Wisconsin – Madison
University Wisconsin – Oshkosh