Project Funding: 2009 - 2013

NRA: 2008 NASA: Biodiversity   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
The majority of described species on earth are insects, yet our understanding of global patterns biodiversity focuses mostly on vertebrates and plants. No global models of the diversity, abundance, biomass or distribution of any large insect taxon exist. The result has been that insects generally play only a minor part in conservation planning. We propose to develop biodiversity databases on the spatial distribution of ants, and to use data on habitat structure and soils to generate global models of their diversity, abundance, and biomass — the first such effort for any large insect taxon. Ants have many characteristics that make them an ideal taxon for this research and for conservation efforts. Ants are numerically dominant animals in most terrestrial ecosystems and can comprise up to 10-15% of terrestrial animal biomass. Ant communities are important to ecosystems and ecosystem function. Invasive ant species are a major concern for their economic costs and are a threat to native biodiversity. The primary goal of this research is to incorporate remotely sensed data on habitat structure, topography, and soils into predictive and explanatory models of ant species distribution and diversity. A more specific goal is to understand how these additional data, in concert with existing climate data, can best be used towards the larger goal of understanding patterns of diversity and distribution in insects, the neglected majority of animal life on Earth. We will generate predictive models using a global compilation of >3,200 standardized field surveys and >125,000 geo-referenced field collections, the most comprehensive dataset on ants (and likely any insect group) in existence. Combining these data with remotely sensed environmental variables (climate, topography, soils) and habitat structure data (Lidar, Radar), we will use a maximum entropy modeling approach to build individual species models and generalized models of ant diversity. Our results will identify the most important environmental variables for predicting ant distributions and the utility of specific remote sensing datasets for modeling biodiversity. Ultimately, we will produce the first ever map of the global diversity of a diverse group of insects. NASA's Strategic Subgoal 3A, "Study Earth from space to advance scientific understanding and meet societal needs," is clearly met by this research. Ants and other insects are dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems but are amongst the least understood component of biological diversity. Ants and other insects have major effects on natural and human-influenced landscapes, agricultural and forestry systems, and human habitations. Integrating NASA's fine-grained, remotely sensed data with our uniquely large biodiversity database will serve to advance understanding of the diversity of insects, with practical, economic, and academic benefits to society.

Publications:

Bewick, S., Stuble, K. L., Lessard, J., Dunn, R. R., Adler, F. R., Sanders, N. J. 2014. Predicting future coexistence in aNorthAmerican ant community. Ecology and Evolution. 4(10), 1804-1819. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1048

Diamond, S. E., Cayton, H., Wepprich, T., Jenkins, C. N., Dunn, R. R., Haddad, N. M., Ries, L. 2014. Unexpected phenological responses of butterflies to the interaction of urbanization and geographic temperature. Ecology. 95(9), 2613-2621. DOI: 10.1890/13-1848.1

Diamond, S. E., Penick, C. A., Pelini, S. L., Ellison, A. M., Gotelli, N. J., Sanders, N. J., Dunn, R. R. 2013. Using Physiology to Predict the Responses of Ants to Climatic Warming. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 53(6), 965-974. DOI: 10.1093/icb/ict085

Dunn, R. R., Beasley, D. E. 2016. Democratizing evolutionary biology, lessons from insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 18, 89-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2016.10.005

Finer, M., Jenkins, C. N., Powers, B. 2013. Potential of Best Practice to Reduce Impacts from Oil and Gas Projects in the Amazon. PLoS ONE. 8(5), e63022. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063022

Guenard, P. 2016. High Power Linear Beam Tube Devices. Journal of Microwave Power. 5(4), 261-267. DOI: 10.1080/00222739.1970.11688770

Hulshof, C. M., Swenson, N. G., Weiser, M. D. 2015. Tree height-diameter allometry across the United States. Ecology and Evolution. 5(6), 1193-1204. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1328

Lucky, A., Trautwein, M. D., Guenard, B. S., Weiser, M. D., Dunn, R. R. 2013. Tracing the Rise of Ants - Out of the Ground. PLoS ONE. 8(12), e84012. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084012

Meineke, E. K., Dunn, R. R., Sexton, J. O., Frank, S. D. 2013. Urban Warming Drives Insect Pest Abundance on Street Trees. PLoS ONE. 8(3), e59687. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059687

Miravete, V., Roura-Pascual, N., Dunn, R. R., Gomez, C. 2013. How many and which ant species are being accidentally moved around the world? Biology Letters. 9(5), 20130540. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0540

Thoemmes, M. S., Fergus, D. J., Urban, J., Trautwein, M., Dunn, R. R. 2014. Ubiquity and Diversity of Human-Associated Demodex Mites. PLoS ONE. 9(8), e106265. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106265

Verdolin, J. L., Traud, A. L., Dunn, R. R. 2014. Key players and hierarchical organization of prairie dog social networks. Ecological Complexity. 19, 140-147. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2014.06.003

2011 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• An Insect Scale View of the World   --   (Clinton Jenkins, Andrea Lucky, Beth Gardner, Rob Dunn)   [abstract]

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• NASA Biological Diversity & Ecological Conservation (BDEC) Project Profile