Collaborators

Fiji Terrestrial Arthropod Survey
The NSF-funded Fiji Terrestrial Arthropod Survey is working closely with the Fiji Ants project to make specimens available for study and a forum available for the publishing of taxonomic research. In return, the Fiji Ants project is entering all of the data collected from the ant specimens into a central bioinformatics database designed by the Survey, and depositing voucher specimens produced by the project in the Bishop Museum’s insect collection.

University of the South Pacific
Dr. Linton Winder (USP, Fiji) is offering the use of USP facilities to the Fiji Ants project for a taxonomic training workshop being organized for the summer of 2007. As an academic advisor, Dr. Winder is generally interested in building collaborative relationships between the project and two Fijian USP Masters students, Ms. Hilda Waqa and Mr. Sunil Raj Prasad, who are pursuing academic careers in entomology. A recent recipient of a Darwin Initiative Grant, Dr. Winder and his students are also considering working with the Fiji Ants project to develop a printed guide book to the ants of Fiji. The project is currently seeking funding to assist Ms. Waqa and Mr. Prasad with two studies to measure the diversity of arboreal ants and ground ants as along elevational gradients on the island of Viti Levu.

Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has offered considerable logistical support for ant-related field work in Fiji since 2003. The WCS staff has been an invaluable asset to the Fiji Ants project and numerous other biodiversity endeavors on the islands by helping to make local contacts, taking scientists into remote field sites, and generally promoting the cause of biodiversity conservation. In return, Eli Sarnat, acting as the taxonomic training coordinator for the Fiji Terrestrial Arthropod Survey, has taught the WCS staff how to professionally collect, curate and identify insects. With the support of the current South Pacific director, Kathy Walls, the Fiji Ants project is currently seeking funds to employ two WCS staff as ant parataxonomists.

Pacific Ant Prevention Program
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community's Pacific Ant Prevention Program is to give Pacific Island countries and territories the protection they need to prevent and address ant invasions which jeopardize agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods. Together with PAPP and WCS, Eli Sarnat is organizing an Invasive Ant Surveillance Project in Fiji’s major port city, Lautoka, in February 2007.

Andrea Lucky
Andrea Lucky is a fellow doctoral student in the Ward Lab at UC Davis where she is working on a revision of the ant genus Leptomyrmex. Phylogenetic analysis is a central focus of Andrea’s thesis, and she is developing a strong background in the acquisition, interpretation and analysis of molecular data by working on her own research as well as that of the Ant AToL. Together, Andrea and Eli Sarnat are collaborating on a phylogenetic analysis of the Fijian Lordomyrma with the objective of presenting our results at the annual meeting of the Pacific Branch Entomological Society of America in March, 2007.