Products and Deliverables

photo of a lake

Assessment of Biodiversity of Chironomidae in Tier 1 SLICE Lakes of Minnesota

A database of material from this research project will be established and maintained at the University of Minnesota. The database will be at the specimen level and will include associated images (photographs and line drawings of identifying characters). Barcode labels will be added to pinned and slide-mounted specimens. Each adult specimen will then be uniquely identified by its bar code, and all information associated with that specimen will be retrievable by code. For alcohol preserved material, one vial of multiple individuals will be functionally equivalent to a specimen in a series. We will use Biota or more recently developed software to capture specimen data and images, particularly of genitalia and other taxonomic characters. To minimize confusion managing the database, the same Graduate Research Assistant will do all data entry.

Continued Development of this Web Site: The second application of the database will be to add capability to this World Wide Web site, which is dedicated for the project. We will construct links for each Tier 1 lake that will enable users to generate comprehensive taxon lists, by locality, and by subfamily, tribe, genus and species for Chironomidae. Once established, the database of species and images can form the basis of an interactive identification system. As faunas of SLICE Lakes and other lakes in Minnesota become better known, we will develop taxonomic keys with links to images and specimen/collection data for each taxon. Our web site and associated database will be of use to systematists, ecologists, conservationists, resource managers, and policy makers to access information about known and newly discovered aquatic biota of the SLICE Lakes. Web pages will reside on a server maintained by the CFANS at the University of Minnesota. The home page will have links to the home page of the UMSP, home pages of the DNR SLICE Lakes Program, and the home page of Chironomidae Research Group. Other links to various aquatic and environmental forums on the Internet will be considered and evaluated for development. The home page will be updated throughout the project, providing up-to-date summaries of key project milestones and results.

Deposition of Specimens: Voucher collections of each species encountered in each SLICE Lake will be assembled and prepared for long-term deposition and curation in the Insect Museum of the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota. Undescribed species encountered in this project will be prepared for description, and holotype material will be incorporated into the Insect Museum of the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota. When possible, paratype or additional voucher material of Chironomidae will be sent to the United States National Museum and to the University of Bergen for incorporation into their comprehensive Chironomidae Collection. Material will also be made available to interested colleagues as formal loans.