Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

ARCTIC CORNER

News about studies of arctic insects 

Introduction
Arctic Corner provides a forum for news of particular arctic interest, replacing the Biological Survey's newsletter Arctic Insect News (1990-2000). Contributions to Arctic Corner are always welcomed by the Editor (see general information). 

The Alaska Insect Survey Project
James Kruse, University of Alaska Museum, 907 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6960 USA, fnjjk1@uaf.edu

Less is known about the insect fauna of Alaska than about any other major region in the United States and Canada. The identity, biology and wider environmental relationships of many Alaska species remain unknown, making comparisons to partial historical data and neighboring northern areas impossible. No concentrated, coordinated efforts are underway to inventory Alaskan invertebrates. The Alaska Insect Survey (AIS), an indispensable systematic inventory on a powerful, internet-accessible database, is proposed to remedy the incomplete knowledge of Alaskan diversity and biology. The database will make information available on the results of new exploratory collecting, providing a desperately needed baseline to monitor the change in species composition as is predicted to be a result of climate change, and stimulating continued research into systematics, biogeography, and ecology. Managers will have access to an insect faunal inventory to make legitimate geographical comparisons and have the scientific basis required for habitat and species protection.

The objectives of the AIS are as follows: (1) Research. The AIS proposes to focus taxonomic expertise on Alaska insects using sites that have been established for both long and short term studies. A focus on historical and LTER sites offer the unique opportunity to integrate ecological and systematics research as well as expand collaborative efforts in entomology. Sites chosen along natural transects in poorly known areas, particularly in boreal Beringia, will optimize the potential for the discovery of new species. The resulting database is expected to enable and invigorate studies in systematics, biogeography and ecology. (2) Training. The AIS will train students in curation, phylogenetic systematics, morphological and molecular investigation, biogeography, entomological field techniques, and databasing. (3) Coordination and Products. The AIS is a plan for long-term and coordinated studies of Alaska insects. Participation by scientists and relevant organizations are actively sought. A yearly Summer Field Workshop will enhance coordination of the project at all levels and encourage collaboration. Results of the inventory will be available on a web-accessible database. Research will be published and keys and other interactive products will become available on the internet as they are completed.

The idea for the AIS was inspired by the Biological Survey of Canada, and the literature concerning it. The early conceptual papers produced by Drs. Danks, Downes, and Ring were highly influential on the strategy outlined in the AIS grant proposed to the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Biotic Surveys and Inventories program. Several BSC collaborators have already expressed interest in helping with the AIS project, and I look forward to approaching others with specific needs as they arise. If you would like to volunteer your expertise on a certain group or groups, I would be happy to hear from you by email: fnjjk1@uaf.edu (note the number one, not a small L) or by post: Dr. James Kruse, University of Alaska Museum, 907 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6960 USA.

European Workshop of Invertebrate Ecophysiology 2001

The fourth European Workshop of Invertebrate Ecophysiology (EWIE IV) was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, 9-15 September 2001. The meeting was attended by about 100 people, half of them from Russia but many from elsewhere, including delegates from 12 European countries as well as Japan, Canada, the United States and South Africa. The scientific program was very full and included sessions on diapause and life-cycle strategies, variation in ecophysiological traits, overwintering and cold hardiness, the effects of temperature and thermoregulation, and water relations and respiration. The main programme comprised 17 invited and 36 contributed lectures and more than 50 poster presentations. Halfway through the meeting, a social day allowed visits to parts of St. Petersburg State University, Peterhof palace, and the canals of St. Petersburg.

The workshop was dedicated to the memory of the late Prof. Alexander Danilevky (1911-1969), author of ground-breaking research on insect diapause and of the famous book Photoperiodism and seasonal development of insects (1961; English translation 1965), who worked at St. Petersburg State University. It was well organized at that university by Prof. Vladilen Kipyatkov, assisted by Elena Lopatina and others. Many presentations dealt with diapause, so that there was somewhat less emphasis than in earlier workshops on polar and cold-hardiness themes.

Many papers from the workshop have been submitted for publication – they are currently in review for the European Journal of Entomology or Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae. (Proceedings of the 1995 and 1998 workshops can be found in Eur. J. Ent. 93(3), 1996 and 96(2), 1999.)

The fifth EWIE will be held at Roskilde University, Denmark, during 2004, hosted by Dr. Hans Ramlrv [hr@virgil.ruc.dk].

Hugh Danks