Survey and Inventory of the Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of the Selenge River Drainage Basin, Mongolia

该项目是对蒙古中北部色楞格河及其支流的大型无脊椎动物（昆虫、软体动物、甲壳类动物和其他动物）的清查。占地面积超过30万平方米公里，色楞格河流域位于一个活跃的地质带，连接着世界上最原始的古湖之一的霍夫哥尔湖和世界上最古老、生物多样性最丰富的贝加尔湖。在淡水水生生境中，大型无脊椎动物，特别是昆虫，构成了生物多样性的很大一部分。 其分类（鉴定）和分布的研究提供了重要的结果，了解水生群落的进化，地理和生态。 Selenge盆地日益增长的经济发展和人口正在通过采矿，未经处理的废物，农业，过度放牧，火灾和气候变化对水生生物群落造成压力。 这里提出的项目不仅将产生关于色楞格河流域生物多样性的基本科学知识，而且还将为蒙古政府提供监测水质的标准。 该项目包括一个为期三年的全面抽样方案。 将进行为期三个月的考察，对一系列水生大型无脊椎动物进行取样，评估生境并测量水道的物理特征。 主要研究人员是在世界各地拥有广泛实地经验的知名昆虫科学家，包括在蒙古Hovsgol湖完成一项重大库存项目。 考察将与蒙古科学家和学生以及其他科学家合作，重点是培训蒙古学生发展国内科学专业知识。该项目的目标包括调查水生昆虫和其他无脊椎动物群体的主要群体，合作出版调查结果，并开发相关的文献数据库，基于分布记录，地点和栖息地分类，以及标本图像。数据库将由蒙古和美国科学家汇编，并将通过互联网提供。 根据以前的工作，在湖Hovsgol流域的这些调查人员，这项拟议的实地调查应增加85%，目前已知的700水生大型无脊椎动物物种的群体进行研究。 在这些新增物种中，我们预计将发现100个或更多的新物种，并增加近600个蒙古和中亚高原物种的首次记录。除了严格的科学研究重要性之外，这项调查和由此产生的研究将提供许多相关的好处。关于物种及其丰度的知识被用作衡量水生生境健康状况的一个重要尺度，并在世界各地例行用于监测水质。广泛的水生无脊椎动物的采样沿着收集水质和河岸带的测量将直接有利于努力建立一个基线，为未来的水质监测计划。 这些科学知识将有助于指导蒙古政府保护环境和发展生态旅游。 拟议的调查将使这些美国科学家能够与现有的蒙古科学家开展有意义的合作，并在实地和实验室培训蒙古学生。

This project is an inventory of the macroinvertebrates (insects, mollusks, crustaceans and other animals) of the Selenge River and its tributaries in north central Mongolia. Occupying over 300,000 sq. km., the Selenge River basin lies in an active geologic zone, and connects Lake Hovsgol, one of the world's most pristine ancient lakes, with Lake Baikal, the world's oldest and most biologically diverse lake. In freshwater aquatic habitats, macroinvertebrates, particularly insects, comprise a large portion of biological diversity. Studies of their taxonomy (identification) and distribution provide important results for understanding the evolution, biogeography, and ecology of aquatic communities. Increasing economic development and population in the Selenge basin are stressing the aquatic community through mining, untreated wastes, agriculture, over-grazing, fires, and climate change. The project proposed here will generate not only basic scientific knowledge of the biodiversity of the Selenge basin, but will also provide the Mongolian government a yardstick for monitoring water quality. This project encompasses a comprehensive, three-year sampling program. Three month-long expeditions will be undertaken to sample a range of aquatic macroinvertebrates, assess habitats and measure physical characteristics of the waterways. The principal investigators are established insect scientists with a broad range of field experience around the world, including the completion of a major inventory project at Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia. The expeditions will be collaborative with Mongolian scientists and students, and other scientists, with a focus on training of Mongolian students to develop in-country scientific expertise. Goals for this project include surveying the major groups of aquatic insects and other invertebrate groups, collaborative publication of the survey results, and development of associated databases for literature, specimen-based distribution records, locality and habitat classification, and specimen images. Databases will be assembled by Mongolian and American scientists and will be available over the Internet. Based on the previous work in the Lake Hovsgol watershed by these investigators, this proposed field survey should increase by 85% the currently known 700 aquatic macroinvertebrate species in the groups to be studied. Among these additional species, we expect to find 100 or more species new to science and to add nearly 600 first records for species within Mongolia and the central Asian plateau. Beyond a strictly scientific research importance, this survey and resulting research will provide many associated benefits. Knowledge of species and their abundance is applied as an important measure of the health of aquatic habitats and is used routinely throughout the world to monitor water quality. Broad sampling of aquatic invertebrates along with the collection of water quality and riparian zone measurements will directly benefit efforts to establish a baseline for future water quality monitoring programs. The scientific knowledge will be useful in guiding Mongolia's government in its attempts to protect the environment and to develop eco-tourism. The proposed survey will allow these U.S. scientists to develop meaningful collaborations with current Mongolian scientists and to train Mongolian students in the field and laboratory.