Aquatic Entomology: Major Assignments for 2010

C. Riley Nelson, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. Email: .

You will have three major assignments to complete during the course. They overlap in content and differ in presentation:

Identification Guides: 10% of course grade

Biomonitoring Report: 15% of course grade

Aquatic Insect Collection: 30% of course grade

Identification Guides

My vision is to help you create brief identification sheets for each of the Orders, Families, and Genera of aquatic insects found in western North America, with particular emphasis on Utah. Each student will be responsible for about 10 -20 sheets total, as Powerpoint slides or perhaps a MS Word document. The 2006 Aquatic Entomology class built on some sheets I had used in Texas as well as class handouts given by Wilford Hanson of Utah State University (Hanson 1982 and George Edmunds at the University of Utah (Edmunds 1986). I have electronic copies of these Order based files. We want to expand it to include all genera of western North America and to include images this time. I have taken photographs of many of these taxa and want them included in the identification sheets. Additionally we have a nice camera/microscope system for taking more photographs of individual features. You will be taking and organizing these photographs. You may also choose to do some quick but effective illustrations of key features. We will not be taking illustrations from other published sources. We need to work quickly on this at the beginning of the semester. We will use these sheets to identify specimens in our insect collection and biomonitoring samples.

Biomonitoring Report

In addition to the general collecting we will be doing during the course we will sample several sites in a quantitative manner. Your participation is required. Participation includes some or all of the following: choosing of site, mapping the site, taking the samples, picking the samples, identifying the taxa in the samples, counting the number of each taxon in the samples, creating summary tables and graphs, and completing a report suitable for use by government agencies needing information on a site. Ideally we could produce several peer reviewed journal articles. You may include any and all specimens from this Biomonitoring assignment, as long as they are referenced clearly for me to recognize while I am grading your collection.

Collection

This is the most complex assignment of the course. Most, if not all, specimens will be preserved in 70% ethanol. All must be labeled to a professional standard as they may become part of the permanent collections in the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. Each student will turn in an insect collection properly curated so that I can grade it quickly and efficiently. The total collection must include the following with these percentage points possible:

Basic collection: 65 %

More taxa and rearing: 20 %

Technique and effort: 15 %

Total: 100 %

Extra credit 10 %

The Basic collection consists of the following numbers of taxa, each worth a point:

Orders # of families # of genera

Ephemeroptera 5 3

Odonata 3 2

Plecoptera 5 4

Hemiptera 6 4

Megaloptera 1 1

Coleoptera 5 3

Trichoptera 6 4

Diptera 5 1

Number of taxa:

8 36 22 Total points: 65

More taxa and rearing. In this category each additional taxon is worth a point, as in the Basic collection. A total of 20 points is expected from this category.

Technique and effort. This is subjective on my part and is awarded up to 15 points, as generally guided by the following criteria:

Criterion: Possible points

Neatness 2

Labeling 2

Organization 2

Diversity within taxa 1

Attempted rearing 1

Unusual habitats 3

Unusual specimens 3

Long series 1

Extra effort and credit. Additionally you may add another 10% to your collection grade by adding even more taxa, at a rate of 0.5% per taxon (Orders, Families, and Genera).

Literature Cited

Edmunds, G. F., Jr. 1986. An annotated generic check-list of aquatic and semi-aquatic insects of Utah. Univesity of Utah. Unpublished class handout.

Hanson, W. J. 1982. Identification notes for aquatic entomology. Utah State University. Unpublished class handout.

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