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Introduction: A
modern faunistic study documents the biodiversity occurring in a region,
recognizes patterns in that diversity, and seeks to understand the
processes generating them with analytical study. The Fiji Ants project
uses this integrative approach to study the ant fauna of the Fiji
archipelago. In order to make this research relevant to society,
we are also making the dissemination of biodiversity information a
primary goal of the project. Goals: The objectives of the project can be briefly summarized: 1) Biodiversity Inventory: We have amassed an extensive collection of ant samples from around Fiji from various sources. The collection is summarized here. The samples will be processed to a) produce specimens for taxonomic and molecular work b) develop a robust picture of species distributions in Fiji and c) be used to rigorously and quantitatively sample from a series of communities in each major island group. 2) Taxonomic Revision: Ant research in Fiji began with W. M. Mann's monograph "the Ants of the Fiji Islands" in 1921. Since then small scale collections have been made, but no comprehensive revision has been attempted. Our preliminary sampling indicates the fauna still contains many undescribed species, genera in need of revision, and described species/genera unknown from Fiji. Of particular interest are minor radiations occurring in the genera Cerapachys, Lordomyrma, Camponotus, Strumigenys, and Pheidole. The first installment of this series, on the Lordomyrma of Fiji, is already published. For certain target groups we intend to incorporate molecular phylogenetic methods into the revisionary work. The final goal is to produce a revised, comprehensive monograph - "The Ants of Fiji". 3) Community Analysis: The dataset we are assembling is unique among Fijian (and indeed Pacific Island) ant collections, in that it uses quantitatively rigorous sampling methodology to develop intensive community inventories from a series of sites on each major and several minor island groups. This hierarchical sampling scheme can be used to understand processes operating on different scales. The first analysis we will undertake is to establish patterns of diversity and endemism. What sites/regions/islands have the highest number of species? Which are the most unique? Statistically, what are the abiotic and biotic controls on community membership? After these basic analyses, we intend to test theory-driven hypotheses about the community assembly processes operating on the archipelago. Of particular importance are the relative stochasticity or determinism of the dynamics. 4) Dissemination of Results and Taxonomic Capacity Building: Biodiversity research has little relevance to society unless the findings can be presented to the public in an understandable form. We plan to address this by producing digital resources for ant identification, including matrix based keys, online Automontage images, and descriptions of each genus. We also are committed to building capacity for biodiversity research in Fiji by training students and parataxonomists in the curation and study of ants. |
Project
Goals
