Transcript View slideshow here - American Museum of Natural History

1
Getting a Grip on 5000 Taxa and
500,000 Specimens:
Lessons from a
Planetary Biodiversity Inventory
Project
presented by
Randall T. Schuh
Curator and Chair
Division of Invertebrate Zoology
American Museum of Natural History, New York
2
Heteroptera: True Bugs
•
•
•
7 infraorders
85 families
40,000 described
species
3
4
Miridae: Plant Bugs
•
Infraorder:
Cimicomorpha
• 1,350
valid genera
• 10,200
valid species
• mostly
phytophagous
• high
host specificity
• many
myrmecomorphic
• some
aposematic
Systema Naturae, 1758
Linnaeus,C.
World fauna
17 Miridae spp.
No figures
5
Biologia Centrali Americana, 1883, 1884
Distant, W. L.
Central American fauna
200 Miridae spp.
5500 specimens of
Heteroptera
Hand-colored figures
6
Fauna of British India, 1904, 1910
Distant, W. L.
Tropical Asian fauna
86 Miridae spp.
~ 300 specimens
B&W line drawings
7
South African Animal Life, 1960
Carvalho, J. C. M.
South African fauna
42 Miridae species
< 500 specimens studied
B&W figures
8
9
Species Accumulation
1600
Palearctic
1400
1200
Nearctic
1000
800
600
Neotropical
400
Ethiopian
200
Oriental
Australian
0
r
a
ye
71
8
1
91
8
1
12
9
1
32
9
1
53
9
1
73
9
1
93
9
1
10
1
Australian Miridae, 1994
• 180 described species
• 1.8% of known world fauna
• ~ 500 species in collections
• 25,000 specimens in collections
• 35 published host records
11
1
Gerry Cassis
north of
Kalbarri National Park,
Western Australia
October, 1996
12
1
Australia: 1995--2002 Localities
%
%
%%
%
%%
%%
%
%
%
%
%%
%
%
%%
%%
%
%
%
%
%
$%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%%
%%
$
$
$
$$
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%%%
%%
%
%
$$ $$$
%
$
$%
#
%
%
$$%
$
#%
%
%
$$$
%
#
#
$
#
$$
## #%
# $
#
$
$
$
#
#$
$
%%
#$%
%
%
# %
$
$
$$%%
#
#$
#
$
#
#
%
$
#
$ $$$
%
%
$
$ ### ########
#$$#$%
$
#$#
$#
#$####$#$
$##%
$#
> 400 localities
%%
% %
%
$ $ $ $ $$$$
$$ $ $$
$
$$$$
$
$
$
%
##### ###
%
%
$$$$
%
# # #### ## #
#
#
#
%
%%
%%
%%
#% %
% %
% %
%%
##
#%
#
% %# #%%
#$
#%
###
$
%
#### #
# ##
##$# %
$
$ ## #
$
###
# #
####
##
# ## ##
##
##
###
##
#
## ###
##
#
## #
P bi _ a u str al ia _ lo c a liti e s r ev
#
%
$
$
#
%
#
$
19 9 5
19 9 6
19 9 7
19 9 8
19 9 9
20 0 1
20 0 2
20 0 4
Co u n try .sh p
13
1
Australian Miridae: 2002
•
210 described species: + 15%
•
> 1,500 spp. in collections: + 300%
•
> 100,000 specimens: + 400%
•
1,400 recorded hosts: + 4000%
14
1
Planetary Biodiversity Inventories
Funding: US National Science Foundation, 2003
Criteria: Worldwide and monophyletic taxa
Duration: 5 years
Projects: Eumycetozoa (slime molds): 1000 species
Solanum (Solanaceae): 1500 species
Miridae (Heteroptera): 5000 species
Siluriformes (cat fishes): 2500 species
http://research.amnh.org/pbi
15
1
16
1
Target Taxa: Orthotylinae and Phylinae
Status as of 2003
•
8 recognized tribes
•
485 described genera
•
3900 described species
•
~ 90 new genera
•
~ 1200 new species in
collections
17
1
Exemplar Orthotylinae and Phylinae
18
1
PBI Goals
•
~ 1000 new species to be described
•
improved classification
•
5,000 target spp. in Systematic Catalog
•
27,000 pages in Digital Library
•
~ 500,000 specimens in Specimen Database
•
3500 vouchered host plants
•
~ 20,000 habitus, morphology, host, and
habitat images
19
1
Overview of PBI Approaches
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Internet dissemination of information
Systematic Catalog
Specimen Databasing
Georeferencing
Unique Specimen Identification
Species Pages
Processing of Existing Collections
Digital Imaging
Field Work/Specimen Processing
Host Documentation
Transmitting Systematic Information
over the Internet
20
1
21
1
22
1
23
1
Systematic Catalog:
On-line Relational Database
Features
•
•
•
•
Up-to-date nomenclature and classification
Annotations on relevant literature
Host and geographic information from literature
Portal to other databases/features
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Specimen Database
Species mapping
Host data from specimens
Digital Library
Image Database
Species pages
Web-based aids to identification
24
1
25
1
26
1
27
1
28
1
29
1
30
1
Specimen Database
Functions of PBI Specimen Database
• Capture specimen data
• Incorporate unique specimen identification
• Serve data over the Internet
Possible Approaches
• Off the shelf vs. newly developed application
• Browser-based vs. program-based access
• Open source vs. proprietary software
• Stand-alone vs. network-based usage
31
1
PBI Specimen Database Approach
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tailored to invertebrate collections
Browser based
Open source software
Data entry over Internet to central server
Efficient data entry
Batch loading of unique specimen identifiers
Multiple modes
–
–
–
–
Museum Mode
Field Mode
Identification Mode
Edit Mode
32
1
33
1
Georeferencing
GEOLocate
•
•
•
•
Stand alone program
Easy to use
Individual & batch processing
Manual correction capability
Limitations
– parsing of locality names
– still under development
http://www.museum.tulane.edu/geolocate/default.aspx
34
1
35
1
36
1
Unique Specimen Identification
Justification
• Facilitate specimen tracking
Necessary Attributes
• Machine readability
- Bar codes
- Matrix codes
• Human readability
• Small size of code-bearing labels
• Ease of integration into
existing collection practices
37
1
38
1
39
1
Species Pages
Original concept
•
•
•
•
•
Nomenclatural history
Descriptions/diagnoses
Figures
Distributional summary
Biological data
New capabilities via Internet
•
•
•
•
Dynamic updates
Dynamic mapping
Improved access
Links to additional resources
Fauna Insectorum Germanicae, 1805
Panzer, G.W.F.
9 Miridae spp.
Hand-colored figures
40
1
41
1
42
1
Processing of Existing Collections
Select specimens that:
• Increase taxon numbers
• Extend geographic coverage
• Extend host coverage
Groups of taxonomists sort specimens to:
• Minimize handling
• Speed processing
Sort according to following hierarchy:
• Taxon
• Geography
• Sex
43
1
Difficulties and Solutions
Difficulties encountered
•
•
•
•
Historical organization of collections
Pinned directly into boxes/drawers
No sorting to family-rank taxa and below
Lack of web-based inventories
Solutions proposed
•
•
•
•
•
Systematic organization of collections
Movement to drawer and unit system
Sort to family-rank taxa and below
Use of unique specimen identification
Creation of web-based inventories
44
1
Principal PBI Collection Resources
Table 1. PRINCIPLE WORLD COLLECTIONS OF ORTHOTYLINAE AND PHYLINAE
Acquisition of Collections: Specific
Collection
Geographic Coverage
45
1
No.
No.
No.
specimens Studied databased
American Museum of Natural History World (significant Australian holdings)
150,000
75,000
37,500
Australian Museum, Sydney
Australia*
58,000
3,000
35,000
Bishop Museum, Honolulu
Tropical Asia, Pacific Islands
15,000
10,000
7,500
California Academy of Sciences
World (important Nearctic holdings)
15,000
12,000
5,000
Canadian National Collection
Nearctic including Mexico
50,000
37,500
25,000
Hamburg University
Palearctic (important for reference)
6,000
5,700
0
Linnavuori Collection, Turku, Finland Middle East, Africa
40,000
36,000
0
Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro
mostly Neotropical (many types)
2,000
1,980
0
Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva Palearctic (no figures available)
Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris
Europe, Africa, Madagascar
10,000
6,500
0
Museum Zoology, LIPI, Bogor
Tropical Asia
2,000
0
0
Nankai University Insect Collection
China
5,000
3,000
0
Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden
Tropical Asia (no figures available)
Natural History Museum, London
World (historical; many types)
10,000
9,500
0
Plant Protection Res. Inst., Pretoria South Africa
3,000
1,500
0
Royal Central African Museum
Central Africa
2,000
1,000
0
Smithsonian Institution
World (most Nearctic types)
75,000
50,000
25,000
Texas A&M University
Mexico, SE USA
25,000
10,000
2,500
Zoological Lab., Okayama University mostly Eastern Asia
10,000
3,000
6,000
Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg
World (premier Palearctic collection)
75,000
60,000
0
Zoological Museum, Helsiniki
World (historical; some types)
2,000
1,980
0
Totals
555,000 327,660
143,500
46
1
Digital Imaging of Specimens
Microptics-USA
•
•
•
•
Unique lighting
High depth of field
Real-time focusing
Rapid image
acquistion
• High resolution
47
1
48
1
Field Work Fundamentals
•
•
•
•
•
•
Application of taxon focused techniques
Maximize discovery of new taxa
Extend geographic coverage
Maximize biological information
Maximize specimen quality
Maximize specimen numbers
49
1
Collecting Equipment
50
1
Collecting Video
(A video of collecting was shown at this
stage in the slideshow.)
51
1
Processing Field Collections
•
•
•
•
Centralized mounting and labeling
Label copy derived directly from locality
database
Centralized rough sorting after host
labeling
Unique specimen identifiers added as
part of rough sorting process
52
1
Locality and Host Labels
53
1
Host Specificity in the Miridae
1170
1092
Mirid Species: 3044
Host Species: 1420
1014
936
858
Observations
780
702
624
546
468
390
312
234
156
78
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
FREQUENCY OF HOST PLANT SPECIES PER MIRID SPECIES
15
16
17
18
54
1
Host Documentation and Vouchering
•
•
Vouchers collected, pressed, and
associated with insect associates
Vouchers photo-documented
–
–
•
•
•
In field (digital SLR camera)
As herbarium specimens (scanning)
Vouchers identified by specialists
Vouchers deposited in recognized
herbaria
Voucher data part of insect labeling
Processing host
vouchers, Sept. 2004,
Compton Herbarium,
Cape Town
Vouchers ready for drying
55
1
SOUTH AFRICAN FIELD WORK
Western Cape as a PBI target area:
Namaqualand–Little Karoo–Fynbos
•
•
•
•
•
•
Extreme plant diversity and endemism
Unique biotic affinities
Limited prior sampling
Few publications and described taxa
Unstudied by classical & modern authors
No local specialists
56
1
South African Orthotylinae and
Phylinae: 1961, 1974
1961:
12 described species
0 documented hosts
250 specimens studied
1974: 100 described species: + 850%
50 documented hosts
2000 specimens studied: + 800%
57
1
58
1
South Africa: 2003, 2004 Localities
#
$$ $
$$$
$$
$$$
#$
#
###$#$
$
#
#$
#$
$$
$#$
$$
$
$ $#$
$ ##
$##
$
#
$
$$#
$$#
$ #
#
#
#
#
# #
#
## # ### # ##
$
#
#
######
#
#
##
#
Pbi_south_africa_localities revised.dbf
# 2003
$ 2004
#
Pbi_australia_localities revised.dbf
Country.shp
>120 localities
South African Orthotylinae and
Phylinae, 2005
•
> 250 species: + 250%
•
> 350 documented hosts: + 700%
•
> 20,000 specimens: + 1000%
59
1
Looking west from Vanrhyns Pass Summit
60
1
Northern Namaqualand, SE of Kamieskroon
61
1
Collecting near Kamieskroon, northern Namaqualand
62
1
Cupressaceae: Widdringtonia sp. Widdringtoniola sp.
63
1
Solanaceae: Lycium sp.
Karoocapsus sp.
64
1
Geraniaceae: Pelargonium cucullatum
undescribed
65
1
Aizoaceae: Lampranthus sp.
Eminoculus sp.
66
1
Fabaceae: Lebeckia sericea
67
1
Pseudosthenarus sp.
Asteraceae: Leysera sp.
undescribed
68
1
69
1
AUSTRALIAN FIELD WORK
Australia as a PBI target area
• High plant diversity and endemicity,
especially in west and southwest
• Limited sampling
• Few publications and described taxa
• No local specialists historically
Open Acacia woodland, South Australia
70
1
Sand dune, north of Kalbarri Park, Western Australia
71
1
Heath lands, near Esperance, Western Australia
72
1
Xanthorrhoeaceae: Lomandra sp. Kirkaldyella sp.
73
1
Restionaceae: Hypolaena humilis
undescribed
74
1
Loranthaceae: Amyema sp.
Hypseloecus sp.
75
1
Proteaceae: Conospermum sp.
undescribed
76
1
Proteaceae: Grevillea sp.
3 undescribed
77
1
Proteaceae: Adenanthos cuneatus
undescribed
78
1
Myrtaceae: Melaleuca sp.
undescribed
79
1
Chenopodiaceae: Rhagodia sp.
undescribed
80
1
Casuarinaceae: Casuarina sp.
Austromirini sp.
81
1
Fabaceae: Acacia sp.
Austromiris sp.
82
1
Asteraceae: Waitzia acuminata
“Wallabicoris” sp.
83
1
PBI Accomplishments
•
20% increase in available specimens
•
20% increase in known species diversity
•
Continental-scale increase in geographic
coverage
•
> 500% increase in host-documented
specimens
•
> 1000% increase in host vouchers
84
1
PBI vs. Faunistics
•
World vs. local collection resources
•
World vs. regional perspective
•
Broad-scale vs. narrow taxonomic
conclusions
•
All-inclusive phylogenetic theories
•
Broad-scale vs. narrow biogeographic
conclusions
•
Broad-scale vs. regional taxonomic tools
•
One-stop biodiversity information shopping
85
1
Issues Clarified
•
•
•
Need for study of basic insect taxonomy
Need to improve biodiversity knowledge on a
global scale
Need to improve knowledge of insect biology
86
1
Acknowledgments
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gerry Cassis
Sheridan Hewson-Smith
Jason Larimer
Brenda Massie
Ella Massie-Schuh
Lorenzo Prendini
Michael Schwartz
F. Christian Thompson
Steve Thurston
Christiane Weirauch
Denise Wyniger
National Science Foundation
American Museum of Natural History
Australian Museum
http://research.amnh.org/pbi
87