RUI: Collaborative Research: Microbiological Survey and Inventory of Gregarines Parasitizing Aquatic and Riparian Insects of the Texas Big Thicket

Peru State College, Peru NE

Investigators

Abstract

Microbiological Survey And Inventory Of Gregarines Parasitizing Aquatic And Riparian Insects Of The Texas Big Thicket: The fundamental questions of biology remain "What is it?"; and, "What does it do for a living?" These questions are answered by studies of biodiversity that survey the organisms of a region and try to understand how these organisms contribute to the stability and diversity of the system. This project is a study of biological diversity that targets an understudied group with profound scientific implications: the most common parasites (gregarine protozoans) of the planet's most common animals (insects). Although scientists estimate that over 5 million species of gregarine parasites exist, less than 2,000 species are currently known, thus the project will discover a large number of new parasitic species that play an important ecological and evolutionary role in the stability and diversity of aquatic and riparian (shoreline) habitats in the Big Thicket of eastern Texas. The project focuses on the Big Thicket, sometimes called the "Biological Crossroads of America" because plants and animals from 3 distinct life zones all occur in the region, because no thorough survey of the insect life in the Big Thicket exists. The Big Thicket is a permanently endangered habitat whose biodiversity is preserved in a series of corridor parks forming the Big Thicket National Preserve. The project will provide a robust estimate of aquatic and riparian insect diversity in the Big Thicket predicated on a public specimen base yielding both ecosystem and community data for theoretical studies and management decisions in this fragile and broadly impacted federal preserve. The project will produce host and parasite specimen collections, preserved tissue specimens for future genetic analysis, and taxonomic descriptions and identification documents in both electronic and printed form. Electronic descriptions, digital images, and project databases are available through the project's WWW site http://science.peru.edu/gregarina. This project will more than double the existing gregarine specimen base, providing data to support meta-analysis of gregarine diversity patterns and provides a skeleton for future systematic revision of the Nearctic gregarines. This project is important in a larger societal context for both scientific and infrastructural reasons. Scientifically, the project provides important information no only about insects and their parasites, but about the factors that create and maintain parasite diversity. Thus the scientific implications extend from the theoretical ecology of emerging disease to the design and evaluation of federal, state, and local biodiversity management strategies in America's parks and reserves. Perhaps more importantly, the project places a premium on undergraduate training through all phases of the research. These training opportunities will increase diversity within science: historically over 50% of our undergraduate researchers are from underrepresented groups. The project is designed to train a new generation of scientists to meet the needs of American science in the new millennium while developing and providing new Internet resources for public education and the public at large. Biological indicator data is made available for download and use in formulating public policy and resource management strategies.