Daniel Otte, Ph.D. - US grants

The entomological collections at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) contain over three million insect specimens from around the world. It is a world center for systematic research on orthopterans (grasshoppers, crickets and their relatives). The collection contains over 10,000 type specimens, including some of the earliest-described and commonest species of insects. At the current rate of growth, all storage space will soon be filled. Presently, compactors occupy about 2/3 of the existing floor space, and this project will allow compactorization of the remaining collection, thus allowing a 25% increase in storage capacity. The ANSP houses one of the larger collections of insects preserved in alcohol and on slides. The greater part of this collection consists of aquatic insects, especially members of the family Chironomidae (midges). These flies, as well as the other aquatic groups, constitute an important element of the freshwater fauna and have been used as reliable indicators of water quality. Curation of this collection has lagged relative to to other portions of the collection and a large part of it must be rehoused and properly curated. This project will provide a curatorial assistant to accomplish this task under the guidance of Dr. Selwyn Roback, who assembled most of the collection and will be retiring soon. In addition, a half-time curatorial assistant will be provided to work on the large alcoholic collection of spiders, mites and centipedes and on the Peale Collection, a separately maintained collection of butterflies and moths that has scientific, artistic and historical value.

A comprehensive computer database to the world's orthopteroid insect species (cockroaches, grasshoppers, katydids, mantids, cave crickets, etc.) is being developed at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Both living and fossil species will be included. Presently the file includes over 21,000 species and 133,000 literature records. The larger goal, of which this project is the first part, is to produce a global, taxonomically oriented, multimedia (text, graphics, sound) computer database which will aid taxonomists and other biologists who wish to know which taxa occur in their regions, how to identify them, and what their ecological role is. It will be especially valuable to systematists and managers of insect collections who must struggle with a large and scattered literature. The present project will focus on the North American grasshoppers. This group has been the subject of two books published by the principal investigator, Dr. Daniel Otte - The North American Grasshoppers. Volumes I and II were funded by NSF. The data assembled in this work will be the foundation for the publishing of volumes 3 and 4 of the series. Volume 3 will include the economically important subfamily of Melanoplinae grasshoppers.

This project proposes an international collaborative effort by systematists focusing on the unstudied, undetermined holdings of Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, mantids, roaches walking sticks and related insects) and Diptera (flies) at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. ANSP holds the largest collection of Orthoptera in the world, comprising more than a million specimens from all regions, over 4000 primary types, and an associated collection of insect songs and library of published research. The use of the collection by scientists worldwide through collection visits and loans of specimens confirms it as a worldwide, scientific resource. It is the only collection in North Amer ica to have supported active research on systematics of Orthoptera by a continuum of curators for most of this century. The Diptera collection (flies) contains impressive collections in aquatic fly groups, such as the Chironomidae (aquatic midges), Ephydridae (shore flies) and Tipulidae (crane flies) assembled through active research by curators for well over fifty years. Both collections continue active development through strategic collecting and collection-based research by resident curators and other scientific researchers. Large numbers of specimens (estimated in excess of 170,000) in both collections remain unstudied taxonmically even some years after specimen preparation. In many cases, these insects cannot be recollected due to subsequent habitat destruction, logistical difficulties and other factors, and, in effect, the data carried by these specimens are now unavailable to science and society. These specimens are unidentified to taxonomic levels that would allow retrieval to fulfill loan requests for further scientific study and fall outside the specific taxonomic expertise represented by the resident curators. In addition, many of the scientists potentially interested in studying these insects work overseas and find it difficult to visit the collections. The specimens themselves are too fragile, bulky and numerous to efficiently ship to researchers in the numbers needed to allow taxonomic sorting by specialists and subsequent inclusion in research. This project represents the first such focused effort at reducing the number of undetermined specimens for any Orthoptera collection. Support will catalyze the process by facilitation short-term intensively-focused visits by national and international specialists to sort the undetermined backlog of specimens in their area of expertise to taxonomic levels (generally genus) useful for loan retrieval and study. These visiting curators will also provide valuable advice toward upgrading the classification of the collection in their area of expertise, and in directing us to scientists whose studies might benefit from these newly sorted specimens. These efforts will result in an increase in loans and study of the collection materials for Orthoptera and Diptera, and a reduction of the undetermined specimens to minimal, manageable amounts. In particular, the newly sorted specimens will not only supplement existing research projects, but their availability should provide the impetus for initiation of new lines of research. Additional components of this project focus on readying the specimens in anticipation of the visiting curators and organization and upgrading of the collection curation following their work. This project will complete the rehousing of all specimens of Orthoptera and Diptera from substandard units or vials to safe modern storage. Unprepared specimens in both orders, representing the first collections for these orders in geographic region or life stage, will be prepared and sorted taxonomically. Recuration, including an update of classification, will follow visits of specialists in both orders. The Orthoptera Species File, a computerized taxonomic authority file developed at ANSP, will be used for the first time in any Orthoptera collection to verify and update scientific names, allowing staff and other collection users to work more efficiently and accurately, and serving as a model project for curation of other Orthoptera collections. All completed aspects of this project will be publicized through targeted letters, newsletters, electronic listing services and scientific meetings to reach a wide variety of collection users.

9707776 OTTE Katydids are one of the most conspicuous groups of insects world-wide. In the 200 years since Linnaeus, 1193 genera and 7188 species of Tettigoniidae (katydids) have been described. Numerous new species are being described each year; many more species are deposited in museums and await description. A large number of species remain to be collected. But the underlying classification is outdated, inadequate, and often wrong. Existing classifications of Tettigoniidae are based largely on 19th and early 20th century works. No cladistic methodology has been applied to studies on their relationships. Because the vast majority of world species remain to be discovered or described, it is appropriate now to improve the taxonomic framework and prepare for the future. In this work by Daniel Otte and Piotr Naskrecki, a new katydid classification, based primarily on morphological characters of the insects and based on sound phylogenetic principles, will be produced. The results will be distributed both in traditional printed form and as an interactive, searchable catalog and phylogenetic tree available on the Internet and CD ROM. This work will provide the first solid phylogenetic framework and a reference base for future research on Tettigoniidae.

9870226 Otte Taxonomy provides the core knowledge-base on which all discussion of biological diversity hinges. Currently only the most superficial kinds of inventories and monitoring are possible because relatively few species are known (it is estimated that less than 13% of the species on Earth have yet been described), and because knowledge on those that have been named is so difficult to obtain from the literature. There is no comprehensive catalog of the 1.75 million known species, and 90% of the described species have never been included in regional accounts of biotas, or in identification manuals or modern monographs. In this project we will provide the scientific community with a complete internet-accessible catalog to all of the approximately 40,000 species of orthopteroid insects (an economically important group of insects that includes grasshoppers, crickets, mantids, and cockroaches) (http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/Orthoptera/). The website constitutes a complete and fully referenced synonymic catalog to all species and subspecies of the world. It includes pictorial aids and species-specific sounds to aid in identification, and it will soon contain easy to follow pictorial keys to the major groups. It will be useful to anyone wishing to determine any species in this assemblage from anywhere on earth, and will be especially useful to those engaged in biodiversity surveys and monitoring. It will be possible for anyone with access to the web to reach into the world's great museums to view type specimens, exemplars, and diagnostic images from the original literature, and to listen to samples from their sound archives.

0TTE 9815919 The goal of this proposal is to assess the effect of the ant, Pheidole megacephala (the big-headed ant) which has been introduced into Hawaii from Africa and now appears to threaten the diversity of crickets and other insects directly, and other components of the fauna indirectly (crickets are a major component of bird diet). Although the exact date of introduction remains uncertain; reports suggests the presence of this ant early in the century and its particularly devastating effect on arthropods. Evidence of ant predation is still indirect, but it is strong. Recent observations on the prevalence of crickets (October 1997 and January 1998) indicate a sudden and severe reduction of crickets in formerly rich areas. The baseline data upon which this pessimistic assessment is based was collected over a 19 year period. Otte studied the biogeography and systematics of crickets on all Hawaiian Island, collected at 644 geographic points, recorded more than 11,000 cricket songs, and described approximately 190 new species. Over a 9 year period Shaw has researched the phylogeny, species boundaries and behavior of the genus Laupola, with the goal of understanding how new species arise in this island laboratory. During that time she visited many of the cricket rich areas described by Otte (1994). In October 1997 areas previously having huge cricket populations were found to have virtually no crickets at all. Examination of the habitat revealed large numbers of big-headed ants. Observations were conducted again in January 1998 at which time no crickets were heard. Otte recorded crickets at 207 sites on the Island of Kauai. The majority of these sites included members of the genus Laupala. October and January surveys included only one long transect. The goal of this proposal is to assess the impact of ants at a number of lowland and highland habitats. The effect of El Nino must be kept in mind. Because an earlier El Nino in the 1980's had no visible effect on crickets (d espite considerable drought ) the current population decline may not be weather related. The effect of introduced plants must also be kept in mind. The presence of certain weedy plants in the affected transect is noticeable. but, because crickets are not host specific on plants and survive in areas with a high density of exotic plants, vegetational changes are not the likely cause of populations crashes. The possibility that a natural predator-prey cycle is occurring must be considered. Since the ants have been present in Hawaii for over 90 years, the current surge is baffling. Is this classical predator prey cycle? Have these areas been invaded by ants in the past? Will there be any populations crash and subsequent revival of crickets? The possibility that ants will exterminate cricket species is a high possibility. Surveys in Tahiti show that there is now no upland cricket fauna on Moorea-an area known to have had an endemic fauna in the past. Introduced ants are so abundant that the setting of cricket traps is impossible-baits are removed by ants within minutes of setting. The current distribution of six species of Laupala will be determined and compared to baseline data from past studies. Population levels will be assessed and correlated with presence or absence of ants. Crickets and ant colonies will be established at Harvard and Rutgers Universities to assess the effect of ants on crickets in various developmental stages. Cricket colonies will also be kept in several laboratories until the fate of field populations can be assessed.

Survey of Orthopteroid Insects of Hispaniola

The rapidly expanding human population is putting great pressure on the Hispaniolan forests and other natural areas. Many species have probably gone extinct. Others are endangered. This project will assist in the biotic inventory of insects by intensively surveying the orthopteroid insects (crickets, katydids, grasshoppers, cockroaches, mantids, and stick insects). Despite their ubiquitous presence and significance in agriculture, the orthopteroids are poorly known in Hispaniola.

The specific goals of the project are to sample a variety of habitats with special emphasis on the mountain reserve areas, identify the known species, describe and name the species not yet known to science, provide keys on the internet to identify the species (and information on the habitats and distributions of species), and collaborate with local biologists in building an infrastructure for future Hispaniolan entomological research.

The oldest parts of Hispaniola are about 105 million years old. Because of its age and proximity to the rich Neotropical biota, Hispaniola has the third highest plant diversity of the world's oceanic islands. It is expected that the insect diversity, once known, will be huge, perhaps comparable to that of the continental tropics. The total number of recorded Orthopteroids from Hispaniola is 238; however, the actual number may be as much as six times the number presently known.

Because of the pioneering use of the internet to provide taxonomic information, this project will almost immediately benefit the local infrastructure of biodiversity studies in Hispaniola and will help to promote entomological research. The principal vehicle for communicating the results will be an existing global taxonomic database to orthopteroid insects (Orthoptera Species File Online: http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/orthoptera).

ABSTRACT



This research involves a taxonomic revision of grasshoppers of the subfamily Melanoplinae, accounting for 37% of the known species north of Panama in the Americas. This project includes collaborative activities among scientists in the U.S., Argentina, and Mexico, and will generate new collections of material from northern Mexico, Mato Grosso, Brazil, and highlands of Ecuador. Existing classifications of New World grasshoppers are almost all wholly or substantially artificial. Phylogenetic analyses in this study will form the basis for a natural, predictive classification. Special emphasis will be placed on the large and important genus Melanoplus. Described species of this genus account for more than half those of the subfamily and perhaps 20% of American species remain undescribed. The project will result in a clarification of relationships among species groups and genera of the subfamily; production of comprehensive electronic taxonomic "publications" including catalogs and interactive, web accessible diagnostic keys; collection of new specimens and species; an analysis of evolutionary patterns within this diverse group.

Accurate identification and predictive classifications for melanopline grasshoppers will be a valuable resource for many biologists. These animals are of interest to a wide range of researchers for several reasons. Among them are documented rates of speciation more rapid than known for any other terrestrial environment. Species of the subfamily annually consume 6-12% of available forage and are serious pests in crops and gardens. Currently, it is difficult to identify species or to distinguish among those that are harmful, beneficial, or neutral with regard to agriculture. Increasingly, these insects are of interest to conservation biologists as well. The reference materials produced will have both research and teaching applications.

0542775
Otte and Naskrecki
This project will summarize the southern African biodiversity of an economically and ecologically important group of insects, the Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, mantids and relatives), and provide an online means to identify the species. All major biodiversity research depends on an underlying sound taxonomy, on the capacity reliably to identify the members of communities. Most of the important collections needed for biodiversity research in Africa reside in European museums. This project will provide online digital photographs of the important museum voucher material not otherwise accessible to biologists. It will, therefore, create a virtual museum for use by African biologists. This will be achieved by creating new web pages, called the Southern African Orthoptera (SAO) website. The project, in collaboration with South Africans and Namibians, will therefore consist of four parts: digital imaging of existing museum specimens, especially those relevant to species identification; digital imaging of already published material which is needed for reliable identification; collecting in ecological regions known to be rich in species (three biodiversity hotspots) or to be of special biogeographic or ecological interest; and developing a website to host tools for the identification of species and the description of new species.
Recent ecological and biodiversity research shows that orthopteroids (their species diversity and abundances) are excellent indicators of land use and restoration, and useful in landscape planning, in providing insight into stocking levels of domestic livestock, in reserve selection, in assessing the value of conservancies, and as tools for rapid assessment of biodiversity. South Africa also includes within its boundaries 3 of the 33 world biodiversity hotspots, and all three are severely impaired. Knowledge on African Orthoptera has been frozen in recent years as a result of a loss of taxonomic experts. Most conservation institutions in southern Africa are entirely dependent on researchers from academic institutions for providing information on the fauna. The project is an ideal solution, because South African biologists have become quite dependent on transmission of expert knowledge through the internet. The project will also provide a solid foundation for further work by South African scientists. The major southern African biodiversity collections strive to form appropriate partnerships with individuals, institutions, or organizations to achieve particular objectives. There will be considerable interaction among museums in this project. The SAO website will be dynamically linked to the biodiversity databases of the South African National Collection of Insects (a component of the Agricultural Research Council and the Plant Protection Research Unit), the South African National Parks, the Namibian Biodiversity Database, the biodiversity database run by the Department of Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism of the Eastern Cape, and the Namibian Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture. Local students will be involved in all aspects of the proposed research. They will help in collecting new material and in the preparation of museum specimens. A very important objective of the project is to build a model for training students in biodiversity research. To this end an educational component will be established with the University of Stellenbosch.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

The Entomology Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (ANSP) will use these funds to revitalize its current research facility to ensure the conservation of one of the nation's most important entomological research collections, and in doing so, support and promote 21st century research and research training. This award provides funds to renovate and upgrade the defective wooden open-shelved mobile compactor system with state-of-the-art compactorized metal cabinetry including sealed metal doors. Insect storage cases that are a proprietary part of the cabinetry shelving will be replaced as required. The deteriorating compactor deck surface, which exacerbates the risk of additional damage to the collection, will be repaired. The renovation of the existing HVAC system will mitigate fluctuations in temperature and humidity that also threaten the collection. The research facility's deteriorating ceiling tiles will be replaced with pest and water-resistant "clean room" tiles increasing the effectiveness of the HVAC renovation.

The Academy of Natural Sciences was established in 1812 and is the oldest natural science institution and museum in the Americas. The Entomology Department at ANSP holds one of the larger and more taxonomically complete entomological collections in North America with an extensive collection of insect specimens dating from the early 19th Century. The primary focus of ANSP entomological research is systematic entomology. The renovation project ensures that the collection's worldwide holdings continue into the 21st century as a biological library documenting disease vectors, agricultural pests, climate and environmental variables, and the phylogeny, taxonomy, ecology and biodiversity of our insect fauna. The new compactor design will increase storage capacity by ca. 20% promoting collection growth and the integration of a backlog of accessioned material currently unavailable to researchers. The collection serves a local, regional, national and international audience and is used extensively by students and educators from a broad range of academic institutions, and by resident and visiting scientists. The renovation of the Entomology research facility at ANSP ensures that this significant collection will be protected and available in perpetuity to the scientific community for research and study, and to the general public through Academy exhibitions, educational programs and behind-the-scenes tours.

Improvement of the Entomology research infrastructure will enhance research training of the next generation of educators, scientists and systematic entomologists. Opportunities for entomology research in the Entomology Department will be increasingly accessible to the participants of the Academy's Women in Natural Sciences Program, a science enrichment program for high-school girls, next-generation volunteers, university students, including Research Experience for Undergraduate Program participants, and secondary and home schooled students. Modernization of the Entomology research facility will benefit greatly the day to day functioning; fulfilling loan requests, addressing information and data requests, fielding questions from the public, hosting students and scientists, systematics research, and collection care and curation. Renovation allows the recuration and organization necessary to undertake the creation of a species database of the collection ultimately served to the internet for national and worldwide use.

Understanding and documenting the world's biodiversity is the first step in biological conservation. Among many biodiversity hotpots around the world, southern Africa is particularly well-known for its diverse and unique plants and animals. Over the past decade, scientists have documented more than 600 species of grasshoppers from this region. Grasshoppers are ecologically and economically important as they are critical components of terrestrial ecosystems, especially grasslands, and include several serious pest species. Despite the years of biodiversity research in southern Africa, scientists have recognized that there is a certain fauna that has never been fully explored - the flightless grasshoppers occupying the mountain forests in South Africa. The forest patches and isolated mountain peaks in this area represent habitat islands, and there is no other land-based system of habitat islands in the world with the number, size, and configurational complexity as the Afromontane zone in South Africa. This project focuses on understanding the total diversity of grasshoppers in this amazing and complex landscape and the processes shaping this diversity. The results from this project will provide critical information about species diversification in complex habitats and help researchers better understand species diversity and distributions in similar habitats in the US and around the world.

This project will focus on the grasshopper family Lentulidae, which is endemic to southern Africa, and address the following two questions: (i) What is the total species diversity of Lentulidae in the alpine and Afromontane regions in South Africa? and (ii) What are patterns of speciation and diversification in Lentulidae as related to their geographic distribution? Scientists will explore inselbergs (isolated mountain peaks rising abruptly from surroundings) and adjacent plateaus in the Drakensberg Escarpment and the Afromontane forest patches in South Africa in search of new species. Using modern taxonomic techniques, the scientists will rapidly describe this unique grasshopper fauna and make the resulting specimen-level data digitally available to the public. The project will also reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among the focal taxa to examine how these small flightless grasshoppers have colonized and diversified in isolated inselbergs and Afromontane forest patches. Specifically, genome-scale single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data will be generated using RAD-Seq to estimate phylogeographic patterns as well as for inferring population genetic structures for those species that appear to be widespread. The project will provide hands-on research and mentoring experience for undergraduate students at Texas A&M University and Drexel University.