Coleoptera of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A.

Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

Documenting regional species diversity is an urgent task because the extinction crisis has become more acute and more apparent to the collective conscience of society. The insect order Coleoptera (beetles) is an obvious starting point for this endeavor because it is the largest order of insects and constitutes over 25% of total animal diversity worldwide. Likewise, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) is an obvious place to begin because it is a national treasure constituting one of the most biologically diverse and unique landscapes in North America and is located in one of the most densely populated parts of the U.S. This project will be conducted by a team of 44 cooperating scientists engaging in an ambitious effort to completely document beetle diversity in GSMNP. Methods will include fieldwork by scientists, students and volunteers, morphological and molecular analyses, and computer databasing. The project is fully integrated with other teams of researchers conducting biotic surveys as part of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in GSMNP, including data and specimen exchange, joint collecting events ("bioblitzes"), and networking at the annual ATBI Conference. Products from the Coleoptera project of the ATBI will include computer generated identification guides, internet species profiles, and research publications. Project scientists have estimated that 3000 species will be recorded, representing 105 different beetle families. Previous work has already documented 25 species new to science and this number is expected to double during the four-year project. Ultimately, the beetle fauna of GSMNP will be the best documented in the entire world. The project is coordinated with Discover Life in America, Inc (DLIA), an organization devoted to documenting life in U.S. national parks that serves as a liaison between our team and participating units in the National Parks Service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). The Coleoptera project is a significant part of a larger endeavor to assist national parks and other conservation areas in the development of inventory methods to compile data about biological diversity. This work is being conducted under the broad umbrella of the GSMNP ATBI to document all species within the park. Already, other national parks are implementing the synergistic model established at GSMNP. Completion of the beetle survey will serve these broader goals by demonstrating that the single most diverse group of animals can be successfully documented. Beyond this, parks and reserves in China and Nepal are closely monitoring this survey in developing initiatives to save habitats and preserve biodiversity there. The education components of this project will transfer basic knowledge of the importance of all living things using beetles as examples to the youth of America through the classroom and positive interactions with scientists in the field. Products that will be available through the web have the potential to teach millions of people about biodiversity and the importance of knowing and understanding the organisms that share this world with us.