Using Museum Records and Distribution Models to Reconstruct the Historical Assemblage for Midwest Plecoptera

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"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."Natural history museums are irreplaceable sources of species data and they are often the only source of historical data. Yet, many are poorly supported, putting their contents in jeopardy of decay or abandonment. This project uses mathematical models, museum data, and new specimens to reconstruct an assemblage of stream dwelling, Midwest aquatic insects. Stoneflies (Insect order Plecoptera), the most environmentally sensitive of aquatic insects, are useful indicators of water quality. Their ranges shrank dramatically after 1950, the greatest losses being in highly agricultural and urbanized Illinois. Other Midwest areas appear similarly imperiled.The objective of this project is to use museum data to answer several important conservation questions: Are changes in stonefly communities in other Midwest areas concordant with Illinois' experience? What factors predict changes in stonefly communities? Are rare or common species at greater risk of loss? Broader impacts include: government and NGOs use of historical expectations to improve water quality assessment; NGOs use of 'Stonefly Red Book' data on conservation status to set conservation priorities; scientist and public use of open access species pages with valid names, distributions, and identification keys; and education of a new generation to tackle aquatic insect conservation issues.