More about our project from International Innovation http://www.research-europe.com/index.php/digital_magazine/international-innovation-environment/
The Caribbean is a hotspot of biodiversity
The Caribbean archipelago consists of no less than 700+ islands and islets stretching over 4000 km. Many of these islands harbor some species that live nowhere else in the world. Because islands are isolated (surrounded by water) species that manage to colonize them may become immediately isolated from other populations of that species. Whether through changes related to adapting to their new environment, or merely changes that occur at random (for example genetic drift), such isolated populations become, through time, genetically and morphologically distinct from the 'source' population on the mainland. Thus, eventually, new species are formed on islands through an interplay of colonization and isolation. Archipelagos with thousands of islands have many opportunities for speciation and as a result the Caribbean is one of Conservation International hotspots of biodiversity: http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/caribbean/Pages/default.aspx
Our project aims to understand how species are formed through the interplay of geology, such as the formation, size, age, and isolation of islands, and dispersal ability, that is the ability of different organisms to travel between isolated landmasses.
Our project aims to understand how species are formed through the interplay of geology, such as the formation, size, age, and isolation of islands, and dispersal ability, that is the ability of different organisms to travel between isolated landmasses.
 From Martinique, Lesser Antilles |
 From the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica |
Why do we study spiders and other arachnids?
Of all the myriad of beautiful plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms that occur on islands, why have we chosen to work with creepy crawly spiders? Well, first of all, we think spiders are extraordinarily beautiful and awe inspiring (see photographs below). But, there are an even better reasons for why we study arachnids:
(1) Arachnids cover the range from exceptionally good (e.g. ballooning linyphiids) to exceptionally poor dispersers (e.g. diplocentrid scorpions and trapdoor spiders).
(2) Sampling multiple lineages is essential to reveal broad biogeographic patterns. Sampling independent lineages that differ in dispersal abilities, but are still ecologically similar, simplifies comparison across lineages and allows for a clearer focus on the role of dispersal.
(3) Many arachnids have short life cycles and thus have the potential to evolve and diversify faster than e.g. vertebrates, allowing for greater resolution of the above questions.
(4) Smaller animals generally have larger populations on islands. Spiders are abundant enough to be readily collected without adverse affect on populations.
(5) Spiders have a particularly rich history of high-quality systematic work. Morphological data is currently being revised (ATOL project) and primers are available for many loci.
(6) The same genetic markers can be used across all lineages, facilitating rapid sequencing and minimizing disparity between datasets. Resulting phylogenies will be maximally comparable, and accuracy of comparative dating will be improved.
(7) Spiders are likely less affected by human activities (although certainly not immune) than vertebrates that have been the focus of biogeographic work hitherto.
(8) Finally, as a result of the rich Dominican and Mexican amber deposits, most lineages we will investigate have fossil representation, giving insight into historical biogeography and improving date estimates. The current state of knowledge of fossil spiders is excellent, with the recent publication of a comprehensive book on Dominican amber spiders (Penney 2008).
(1) Arachnids cover the range from exceptionally good (e.g. ballooning linyphiids) to exceptionally poor dispersers (e.g. diplocentrid scorpions and trapdoor spiders).
(2) Sampling multiple lineages is essential to reveal broad biogeographic patterns. Sampling independent lineages that differ in dispersal abilities, but are still ecologically similar, simplifies comparison across lineages and allows for a clearer focus on the role of dispersal.
(3) Many arachnids have short life cycles and thus have the potential to evolve and diversify faster than e.g. vertebrates, allowing for greater resolution of the above questions.
(4) Smaller animals generally have larger populations on islands. Spiders are abundant enough to be readily collected without adverse affect on populations.
(5) Spiders have a particularly rich history of high-quality systematic work. Morphological data is currently being revised (ATOL project) and primers are available for many loci.
(6) The same genetic markers can be used across all lineages, facilitating rapid sequencing and minimizing disparity between datasets. Resulting phylogenies will be maximally comparable, and accuracy of comparative dating will be improved.
(7) Spiders are likely less affected by human activities (although certainly not immune) than vertebrates that have been the focus of biogeographic work hitherto.
(8) Finally, as a result of the rich Dominican and Mexican amber deposits, most lineages we will investigate have fossil representation, giving insight into historical biogeography and improving date estimates. The current state of knowledge of fossil spiders is excellent, with the recent publication of a comprehensive book on Dominican amber spiders (Penney 2008).
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What is biodiversity and why is it important?
Biodiversity is not simply the number of species, it encompasses anything from genetic diversity to the diversity of ecosystems and biomes. Thus, biodiversity has been defined as the "totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region". The Caribbean is rich in biodiversity both because it harbors a high number of species, many of which are endemic (that is, occur nowhere else), and is also rich in terms of ecosystem diversity.
The importance of biodiversity is difficult to overstate. One way to discuss its value is in terms of direct material benefits to mankind, often referred to as ecosystem services. Biodiversity underlies ecosystem functioning and services provided by the ecosystem such as maintaining air quality, stabilizing climate, purification of water, pollination of wild and commercially grown plants, prevention of erosion, to name a few. Many materials are derived directly from wild organisms, such as, wood, silk and other fibers, dyes, rubber and oil. Biodiversity is also a reservoir of genetic traits, which we use e.g. to produce new medicine, and to overcome diseases and other threats to crop. There are also non-material benefits of biodiversity, such as its tremendous aesthetic value which inspires us to walk in and explore nature, inspires artists of many kinds, and underlies many cultural traditions. One could thus readily argue that biodiversity is of great intrinsic spiritual value to mankind.
The importance of biodiversity is difficult to overstate. One way to discuss its value is in terms of direct material benefits to mankind, often referred to as ecosystem services. Biodiversity underlies ecosystem functioning and services provided by the ecosystem such as maintaining air quality, stabilizing climate, purification of water, pollination of wild and commercially grown plants, prevention of erosion, to name a few. Many materials are derived directly from wild organisms, such as, wood, silk and other fibers, dyes, rubber and oil. Biodiversity is also a reservoir of genetic traits, which we use e.g. to produce new medicine, and to overcome diseases and other threats to crop. There are also non-material benefits of biodiversity, such as its tremendous aesthetic value which inspires us to walk in and explore nature, inspires artists of many kinds, and underlies many cultural traditions. One could thus readily argue that biodiversity is of great intrinsic spiritual value to mankind.
Dominican outreach - teaching underprivileged children about nature
As part of this project we created a spider biodiversity camp for
underprivileged children in the Dominican Republic in summer 2012. Our goal was to introduce them to the thrill of discovering the biodiversity that surrounds them, to the relevance of science in their world, and most importantly to their own potential as young scholars. We are doing this work in collaboration with Dominican Outreach (http://dominicanoutreach.webs.com/), a program directed by Father Dale
A. Johnson, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We worked with Father Dale to create a science camps in which we tought children how to
collect, preserve, and identify arachnids, providing them with keys to spiders
they are likely to encounter. The children worked side-by-side with project participants working in the Dominican Republic as part of our collection efforts in that country. We will create resources that will be easily modified for similar spider-based biodiversity outreach programs in other regions of the Caribbean. We will involve students at our respective
universities in this outreach program, with the goal of instilling in them the
importance of engagement of scientists with society.
Upward bound
In summer 2013 we got involved in the Upward Bound summer college science program, a UVM-based K-12 activity funded by the Department of Education and directed by Elaine Leavitt. The group of 17 high school students, including mostly minority students, consisted entirely of young women and men aiming to be the first generation of their family to go to college. We familiarized them with the scientific process, critical thinking, experimental design, and hypothesis testing, and also taught them about local spider diversity, the importance of biodiversity, as well as about our ongoing biogeography project in the Caribbean. This program includes a field component collecting arachnids using a variety of methods, followed hands-on experience with identifying them. Many of these students have never had the opportunity to do fieldwork before. The course terminated with student presentation of their research projects. Our goal is to help prepare these young scholars for the challenges lying ahead in college and in their future careers; preparation they are unlikely to get from home. The funds for this program have just been renewed for another three years, and we plan to continue this activity annually. For more information on this activity see http://uvmupwardboundarachnids2013.wordpress.com/.
In summer 2013 we got involved in the Upward Bound summer college science program, a UVM-based K-12 activity funded by the Department of Education and directed by Elaine Leavitt. The group of 17 high school students, including mostly minority students, consisted entirely of young women and men aiming to be the first generation of their family to go to college. We familiarized them with the scientific process, critical thinking, experimental design, and hypothesis testing, and also taught them about local spider diversity, the importance of biodiversity, as well as about our ongoing biogeography project in the Caribbean. This program includes a field component collecting arachnids using a variety of methods, followed hands-on experience with identifying them. Many of these students have never had the opportunity to do fieldwork before. The course terminated with student presentation of their research projects. Our goal is to help prepare these young scholars for the challenges lying ahead in college and in their future careers; preparation they are unlikely to get from home. The funds for this program have just been renewed for another three years, and we plan to continue this activity annually. For more information on this activity see http://uvmupwardboundarachnids2013.wordpress.com/.
