Survey of African Orthopteroid Insects, With A New Methodology

0542775 Otte和Naskrecki该项目将总结非洲南部具有经济和生态重要性的直翅目昆虫（蚱蜢、蟋蟀、螳螂及其近亲）的生物多样性，并提供一种在线方法来识别物种。所有主要的生物多样性研究都依赖于一个基本的健全的分类学，依赖于可靠地识别群落成员的能力。非洲生物多样性研究所需的大部分重要收藏品都在欧洲的博物馆里。该项目将提供生物学家无法通过其他方式获得的重要博物馆凭证材料的在线数字照片。因此，它将建立一个虚拟博物馆，供非洲生物学家使用。为此，将建立新的网页，称为南部非洲直翅目网站。因此，与南非和纳米比亚合作的该项目将包括四个部分：对现有博物馆标本，特别是与物种鉴定有关的标本进行数字成像;对可靠鉴定所需的已出版材料进行数字成像;在已知物种丰富的生态区进行收集。（三个生物多样性热点）或具有特殊地理或生态意义;以及建立一个网站，提供用于识别物种和描述新物种的工具。最近的生态和生物多样性研究表明，直翅目昆虫（其物种多样性和丰度）是土地利用和恢复的极好指标，在景观规划、深入了解家畜放养水平、保护区选择、评估保护区价值以及作为快速评估生物多样性的工具方面很有用。南非境内还包括33个世界生物多样性热点中的3个，这3个热点都受到严重破坏。近年来，由于分类学专家的流失，对非洲直翅目的了解已经冻结。南部非洲的大多数保护机构完全依赖学术机构的研究人员提供有关动物群的信息。该项目是一个理想的解决方案，因为南非生物学家已经变得非常依赖通过互联网传输专业知识。 该项目还将为南非科学家的进一步工作奠定坚实的基础。南部非洲主要的生物多样性收藏努力与个人、机构或组织建立适当的伙伴关系，以实现特定目标。在这个项目中，博物馆之间将有相当大的互动。南非昆虫组织网站将与南非国家昆虫标本馆的生物多样性数据库动态链接（农业研究理事会和植物保护研究股的一个组成部分），南非国家公园，纳米比亚生物多样性数据库，东开普省经济事务、环境和旅游部管理的生物多样性数据库，以及纳米比亚青年、国民服务部，体育和文化。本地学生将参与拟议研究的各个方面。他们将帮助收集新材料和准备博物馆标本。该项目的一个非常重要的目标是建立一个培训学生进行生物多样性研究的模式。为此，将与斯泰伦博斯大学建立一个教育部门。

0542775Otte and NaskreckiThis project will summarize the southern African biodiversity of an economically and ecologically important group of insects, the Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, mantids and relatives), and provide an online means to identify the species. All major biodiversity research depends on an underlying sound taxonomy, on the capacity reliably to identify the members of communities. Most of the important collections needed for biodiversity research in Africa reside in European museums. This project will provide online digital photographs of the important museum voucher material not otherwise accessible to biologists. It will, therefore, create a virtual museum for use by African biologists. This will be achieved by creating new web pages, called the Southern African Orthoptera (SAO) website. The project, in collaboration with South Africans and Namibians, will therefore consist of four parts: digital imaging of existing museum specimens, especially those relevant to species identification; digital imaging of already published material which is needed for reliable identification; collecting in ecological regions known to be rich in species (three biodiversity hotspots) or to be of special biogeographic or ecological interest; and developing a website to host tools for the identification of species and the description of new species.Recent ecological and biodiversity research shows that orthopteroids (their species diversity and abundances) are excellent indicators of land use and restoration, and useful in landscape planning, in providing insight into stocking levels of domestic livestock, in reserve selection, in assessing the value of conservancies, and as tools for rapid assessment of biodiversity. South Africa also includes within its boundaries 3 of the 33 world biodiversity hotspots, and all three are severely impaired. Knowledge on African Orthoptera has been frozen in recent years as a result of a loss of taxonomic experts. Most conservation institutions in southern Africa are entirely dependent on researchers from academic institutions for providing information on the fauna. The project is an ideal solution, because South African biologists have become quite dependent on transmission of expert knowledge through the internet. The project will also provide a solid foundation for further work by South African scientists. The major southern African biodiversity collections strive to form appropriate partnerships with individuals, institutions, or organizations to achieve particular objectives. There will be considerable interaction among museums in this project. The SAO website will be dynamically linked to the biodiversity databases of the South African National Collection of Insects (a component of the Agricultural Research Council and the Plant Protection Research Unit), the South African National Parks, the Namibian Biodiversity Database, the biodiversity database run by the Department of Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism of the Eastern Cape, and the Namibian Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture. Local students will be involved in all aspects of the proposed research. They will help in collecting new material and in the preparation of museum specimens. A very important objective of the project is to build a model for training students in biodiversity research. To this end an educational component will be established with the University of Stellenbosch.