CSBR: Natural History: Facilitating Collections-Based Research on Insect Pollinators of the Sonoran Desert Region

蜜蜂、蝴蝶、飞蛾和苍蝇被认为是开花植物最有效的昆虫传粉者。该项目将保护在索诺兰沙漠和马德兰天空岛地区收集的传粉昆虫标本，这些标本目前处于危险之中，因为它们要么被存放在个人收藏中，要么存放在大学里，这些大学不支持更广泛的昆虫研究收藏，也不支持策展人员对这些材料的未来护理。由此产生的专业策划，全面的收集将反映在这个生物多样性热点地区发现的物种的杰出多样性。这些收集还将促进亚利桑那大学正在进行的几项研究和培训计划，包括我们为传粉媒介提供分子鉴定资源的计划，该地区本地蜜蜂的长期监测项目，以及通过检查传粉媒介在其访问的花朵上留下的eDNA将传粉媒介与其寄主植物联系起来的研究项目。该项目将惠及公众和各级学生（K-12、社区学院和大学本科生以及研究生）。由研究生领导的策展团队将直接参与这个垂直整合项目的各个方面，为他们提供领导机会和博物馆科学方面的培训。研究人员将从标本中获取标签数据，并将这些数据发布在节肢动物网络（SCAN）、iDigBio和全球生物多样性信息设施（GBIF）上。此外，已经数字化和地理参考的1200个本地植物标本，以及为它们授粉的66,000个本地蜜蜂标本，将被装入植物标本室，加入UA植物标本室，并添加到西南环境信息网络（SEINet）。Ecdysis和SEINet中的扩展标本网络功能将使科学家能够将传粉媒介的标本与其寄主植物物种和特定寄主植物标本联系起来，从而在这两个大型共生数据库网络之间建立正式的联系，这将促进传粉媒介-植物的研究和持续的标本数字化工作。精心策划的昆虫传粉媒介的全面收集和相关元数据的数字化将直接并立即使几个学生培训项目受益，包括两个西班牙裔服务机构：皮马社区学院（PCC）和亚利桑那大学（UA）的基于课程的本科研究经验（CUREs）。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Bees, butterflies, moths, and flies are considered among the most efficient insect pollinators of flowering plants. This project will protect specimens of pollinators collected within the Sonoran Desert and Madrean Sky Island regions that are presently at risk since they are housed either in personal collections or at universities that do not support broader research collections of insects with curatorial staff that would foster future care of the material. The resulting professionally curated, comprehensive collection will reflect the outstanding diversity of species found within this biodiversity hotspot. The collection will also facilitate several ongoing research and training initiatives at the University of Arizona, including our program providing molecular identification resources for pollinators, long-term monitoring projects of native bees in the region, and research projects linking pollinators with their host plants by examining the eDNA of pollinators left on the flowers they visit. The project will benefit the public and students at all levels (K-12, community college and university undergraduates, and graduate students). Curatorial teams, led by graduate students, will be directly involved in all aspects of this vertically integrated project, providing them leadership opportunities and training in museum science. Researchers will capture label data from specimens and publish those data on the Ecdysis, Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network (SCAN), iDigBio, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). In addition, 1,200 native plant specimens, which have already been digitized and georeferenced and which are associated with 66,000 native bee specimens that pollinate them, will be mounted on herbarium sheets, accessioned into the UA Herbarium, and added to the Southwestern Environmental Information Network (SEINet). Extended Specimen Network functions in Ecdysis and SEINet will allow scientists to link specimens of pollinators with their host plant species and specific host plant specimens when those are available, thus making a formal association between these two large Symbiota database networks which will promote pollinator-plant research and continued specimen digitization efforts. A well curated, comprehensive collection of insect pollinators and digitization of associated metadata will directly and immediately benefit several student training projects including Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) at two Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Pima Community College (PCC) and the University of Arizona (UA).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.