Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

News and Notes

News and Notes
Grasslands conference at 2000 meeting
Survey’s website expanding
Biodiversity brief published
Spider newsletter published
New cone and seed insect web site
Nature Discovery Fund makes first award
Summary of the Scientific Committee meeting
Members of the Scientific Committee

Comments on Error Rates in Insect Identifications

Request for Cooperation (form)

Grasslands conference at 2000 meeting

The joint annual meeting of the ESC / ESA / SEQ (Montreal, 2-7 December 2000) includes an informal conference about grassland arthropods in support of the Biological Survey’s active project on this subject. The program of the conference as currently constituted is listed below.

Introduction. T.A. Wheeler, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC

From pasture to pens: the role of cattle in structuring agroecosystems on the modern prairie. K.D. Floate, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB

The use of fire as a biodiversity and conservation management tool in tallgrass prairies.   R.E. Roughley and D.A. Pollock, University of Manitoba,Winnipeg, MB

What, if anything, is a wheat stem maggot? Diversity of Meromyza (Diptera: Chloropidae) in Canadian native grasslands. T.A. Wheeler, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC

Endemism and dispersal of short-horned bugs (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha) in Pacific Northwest intermontane grasslands. K.G.A. Hamilton, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, ON

Project Update: ongoing studies on North American grassland arthropods

Round Table Discussion: progress and priorities for research on North American grassland arthropods.

Survey website expanding

The website of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods) is being modified and greatly expanded to include many publications and other materials in electronic form. There may be some disruptions in the site during this expansion. For further details, see The Website of the Biological Survey article in this newsletter.

Biodiversity brief published

The Biological Survey has just published a brief entitled “Terrestrial arthropod biodiversity projects - building a factual foundation”, intended to reinforce appropriate guidelines for the study of arthropod biodiversity, and including consideration of costs.

The abstract from the brief reads as follows:
“Guidelines for conducting studies of arthropod biodiversity properly are reinforced using results from selected recent studies in Canada. The costs for doing such work are also given explicitly. The necessary components of a biodiversity study, and selected examples, are briefly tabulated for ready reference. Careful advance planning should include explicit scientific objectives and ways to ensure that the work proceeds to completion. Work on more than one taxon is necessary, because neither patterns of species richness nor relevant ecosystem involvements can be extrapolated from one taxon to another. Plans for identification, normally to species, are especially important, requiring specific collaboration with systematists. Protocols for sampling, sorting, specimen preservation and data management should be clearly defined and costed. Curation and retention of specimens and ongoing scientific and other publications are also essential if projects are to have real long-term value. Examples and references illustrate how these components can be developed. Proper support for studies of biodiversity, as opposed to superficial promotion of its importance, therefore requires mechanisms to provide stable long-term funding.”

The brief is available in electronic format on this web site in the Publications section. Paper copies are available from the Survey Secretariat (bsc@mus-nature.ca)

[Danks, H.V. and N.N. Winchester. 2000. Terrestrial arthropod biodiversity projects - building a factual foundation. A brief from the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods). Biological Survey of Canada Document Series No. 7, ISBN 0-9692727-9-0. 38 pp.]

Spider Newsletter Published

A new annual newsletter about Canadian spiders and students of the group has been launched by editors David Shorthouse and Chris Buddle of the University of Alberta.

The inaugural issue of the Canadian Arachnologist (May 2000) contains an account of current arachnologists in Canada as well as a variety of information about spiders. The aim of this freely distributed newsletter is “to promote communication, initiate collaborative efforts, announce meetings of interest, and other arachnological activities among professional and amateur Canadian arachnologists.”

New cone and seed insect web site launched

(http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/TIP/IIG/)

Staff at the Seed Pest Management section of the BC Ministry of Forests recently launched a new website related to insects affecting conifer and seed production in British Columbia. Currently the site provides a listing, by tree species, of insects and other organisms of concern to conifer cone and seed production in British Columbia, general information on the conifer cone and seed industry and tree breeding in British Columbia, a section containing important information about cone and seed insect ecology and a search engine. The search engine yields revelant documents on the site that provide basic information about the species in question.

The authors of the site are eager for feedback. Contact: Robb Bennett, Seed Pest Management Officer, BC Ministry of Forests, 7380 Puckle Road, Saanichton, BC, V8M 1W4. Email: Robb.Bennett@GEMS6.gov.bc.ca

Nature Discovery Fund Makes First Award

The Nature Discovery Fund of the Canadian Museum of Nature, a fund developed to promote taxonomy in Canada and facilitate the discovery and naming of Canada’s biodiversity, has made its first award. NDF is pleased to announce that Ms. Stephanie Boucher of the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, is the first recipient of funding in support of her work “Diversity of Agromyzidae (Diptera) in disjunct grasslands of the southern Yukon”. Ms. Boucher has just completed an MSc. in Entomology at McGill University. Funding from NDF will go towards the publication of her thesis results. For further information about the fund and for instructions on application procedures, please visit http://nature.ca/research/ndfund/ndfund_e.cfm

Members of the Scientific Committee