1. The Current State of Arthropod Biodiversity Data:Addressing Impacts of Global ChangeNeil S. Cobb (Northern Arizona University) Katja Seltmann,(American Museum of Natural History), and Nico Franz(Arizona State University)May 5, 2014Tri-Trophic Thematic Collection Network

2. The Current State of Arthropod Biodiversity Data:Addressing Impacts of Global Change Focus on North American United States > Canada How many species can we model future distributions under climate change? (n>30) Museum Occurrence records: Major taxonomic and functional groups Biogeography Timeline Linking trophic connections 3. Race Against TimeArthropods comprise ~70% of described species, only 15% of climate impact studies~15% of arthropod species have been described, 70% for North America(?)Less than 10% of arthropod species have enough occurrence dataArthropod occurrence data resides primarily in museum collections600,000 million specimens worldwide, 17 million not accounted for254 million Total specimens in NA collections85 million Total North American specimens (?)Annual Additions3.8 million total new specimens per year1.2 million new North American specimens per year# Specimens (Millions)300250200150100500North American Arthropod CollectionsTotalArthropodSpecimens(USA-Canada-Mexico)NorthAmericanSpecimensNorth AmericanSpecimensDigitized 14. North American Arthropod CollectionsKey EstimatesCurrent Holdings237 million specimens accounted for>17 million not accounted for254 million Total specimens in NA collections85 million Total North American specimens (?)Annual Additions3.8 million total new specimens per year1.2 million new North American specimens per year# Specimens (Millions)76543210Can we catch up?NASpecimensDigitizedTo DateNASpecimensDigitizedPer YearNASpecimensCollectedPer Year(USA-Canada-Mexico) 15. North American Arthropod CollectionsTotalArthropodSpecimens(USA-Canada-Mexico)NorthAmericanSpecimensNorth AmericanSpecimensDigitized# Specimens (Millions)300250200150100500 16. 4003002001005-Fold increase in digitization2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 2055Year# Digitized Specimens (millions)0Projected # of NA specimensCurrent rate of digitizationCan we catch up? 17. Biogeography of NA Arthropod Collections692,749 Species Records (Georeferenced)# Records / 2500 km2 18. Timeline of Arthropod Collecting120 4.2 million total records120100806040201840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000Year CollectedNumber0100806040201840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000Year Collected# Specimens Digitized (Millions)01,526 records before Columbus637 records in future2011201220131.6 million recordsPre-Climate Change 19. Research Ready Data (identified to species & georeferenced)50000 52,604 speciesless than 30 >= 30 >= 100 >= 500 >=1000# of Occurence RecordsNumber of Species4000030000200001000008,871 species (11%) 20. Taxonomic Distribution: Databased SpeciesAraneaeOrthopteraHemipteraHymenopteraColeopteraDipteraLepidopteraNumber of Species300002500020000150001000050000# Species in NA # Species in database 21. AraneaeOrthopteraHemipteraColeopteraHymenopteraDipteraLepidoptera# Records (Millions)1.41.21.00.80.60.40.20.0Taxonomic Distribution: Expected vs Observed RecordsExpected Observed 22. Vector pests Aquatics Herbivores Pollinators Predators Parasitoids# of Species400003000020000100000Ecological Distribution: Databased Species# Species in NA # Species in database 23. Vector pests Aquatics Herbivores Pollinators Predators Parasitoids# Records (Millions)2.01.51.00.50.0Ecological Distribution: Expected vs Observed RecordsExpected Observed 24. Status of Research-Ready Arthropod Biodiversity Data1. Fraction of specimens digitized, but enough to model for climate change impacts.2. Current rate of digitization needs to increase exponentially to fully utilize existing specimen data.3. Biogeography of specimen records suggests significant bias.4. Historical data indicate a number of taxa can be used to test for climate change responses now.5. Taxonomic breadth of data generally good (except Diptera).6. Ecological categories demonstrate good coverage (except predators & parasitoids). 25. Stacked Species Distribution Models Can assess overlap among species Predicted community types Examine Biotic InteractionsPresent2090PlantEnemiesHerbivorePollinator Networks 26. Modeling Biotic AssociationsAssessment of Trophic Network Data1. RigorousData-filteringFramework2. Highconfidencein < 20%of recordedassociations 27. ConclusionsTCN CollaborationLots to do Lots to work withTake Your PickReally11% Full 28. Next StepsExtend analysis to Mexico and Central America.Compare with other continents and oceans as well as other phyla in North America.Create website that provides near real time statistics toidentify gaps and advertise research-ready data. 29. Timeline Biogeography of NA Arthropod Collections692,749 Species Records (Georeferenced) 30. Conclusions: A few suggestionsPromote Interoperability of user-friendly databases & software (Symbiota, Arthropod Easy, GBIF [Arctos], CalBug?)Push for technological advances (InvertNet imaging [100s to >1000 specimens per image])Crowd-sourcing (Notes from Nature)Increase # of observable species (DiscoverLife)Extend beyond political boundaries (SpeciesLink, GBIF) 31. Specific ways museums can address climate change impacts on Arthropods1. Provide occurrence records from museum specimens2. Provide expertiseA. Monitoring ProgramsB. Observational InventoriesC. Taxonomic revisionsD. Identification Services through loansE. Training Taxonomists and Parataxonomists 32. We compiled distribution records for all Sphingidae of Sub-Saharan Africa (south of ca.17 N latitude, including Madagascar), based on an extensive search of publishedliterature and the internet:1. Lepidoptera blogs,2. specimen trading sites,3. the Barcode of Life Database (http://www.barcodinglife.org),4. the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (http://www.gbif.org )5. correspondence with a large number of professional and amateur collectors,6. our own field sampling, and7. through databasing several major natural history collections(e.g. museums in London, Berlin, Paris, Munich, Tervuren and Pittsburgh). 33. Assessment of Trophic Network DataFiltered Association NetworkUnfilteredAssociationNetwork (RawData)Highconfidencein < 20%of recordedassociations 34. Proposed Activities to increase our knowledge of species distributions.Crowdsource data entry (Notes from Nature)Promote technological advances (InvertNet)Increase informed observations (mobile identification apps, NextGen field kit) 35. COLLECTING EVEN DATA:The occurrence of an insectspecies on a plant genusCompute frequencyof occurrence on aparticular plant genusCompare with all insectcollecting events on any plantANALYSIS: evaluate insect/plantassociations with different scoresModify algorithm to improve fitof model to data based on resultsScores: High, Medium, or Lowconfidence in insect--plantassociationHEURISTIC DATA:Larvae present?Multiple specimens?Voucher specimen available? 36. ~105,000 Described Arthropod Species occur in US-CanadaPossibly ~35,000 Undescribed Arthropod Species 37. 1. Small labels2. Poor taxonomic resolution3. Lack of coordinationUse sp, sp., spp, sp? Etc as exampleiDigBio takes everything: when are going to start improving the quality of the data? 38. 476,946 insect specimens37collections and subcollections476,946online records388,451georeferenced records21,505type records41records of species in redlists5,855distinct accepted speciesspp. names recordsaccepted 190,855synonyms 2,361not found 209,372not identified 74,358 39. Focus on North America United StatesOver 6,000 species of potential pestsWorld Food Production would be reduced by 1/3 as a resultof unchecked insect pests