2008 All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) Grant Awards
| Awards Presented to ATBI Researchers
Grant money supplied to Discover Life in America by the Great Smoky Mountains Association and Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, along with grants and donations are supporting All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory research in the Park for the 2008 season. Dr. John Morse, Discover Life in America Board member and Science Committee Chairman, administers the grant program, now in its ninth year. The review panel included five DLIA scientists. Links to the grant summaries are below. 8 standard mini-grant proposals were funded, and 5 specially funded proposals were accepted. The research will delve into a variety of life forms in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some of the research projects are continuations of previous and on-going work. All are coordinated with the Discover Life in America Science Plan and the Park's resource management needs. The grant season is from April 1st though March 1st. |
In the photo below, a young water mite workshop participant works diligently to stir up stream silt
in his attempt to help capture water mites living in the sediment below the stream bed. See Grant 04
below for more watermite project information. 
*Photo by Chuck Cooper*
|
Recipients of the grants will present a report of results to date at the December, 2008 annual meeting of the ATBI, with a final report and geo-referenced data by March 1, 2009 . They will send voucher specimens to the Park and other authorized collections. Individuals and organizations interested in assisting with the funding of future ATBI research please contact Todd Witcher, todd@dlia.org, DLIA Executive Director.
Congratulations to these scientists for their selection for Mini-grant Awards.
| Grant # DLIA2008- |
Principal Investigator | Grant Proposal Title (click on title to learn more) |
| 01 | Dr. Richard Baird | Microfungi of American Beech, Fraser Fir, and Hemlock Forests in GSMNP: Cultural vs Molecular Determinations |
| 03 | Dr. Charles Bartlett | Assessment of Total Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera: Insect) Richness for the GSMNP and Initiative to Develop Web-based Resources |
| 04 | Drs. Ian Smith and Andrea Radwell | Establishing a Water Mite Diversity Baseline for the GSMNP |
| 05 | Jason Love | ATBI 2008 Teacher Internship |
| 06 | Dr. Paul Bartels | Tardigrade Inventory 2008-2009 |
| 14 | Dr. Gary Steck | Diptera Blitz and GSMNP Diptera Checklist Update |
| 16 | Dr. Nathan Sanders | Ant Diversity in the GSMNP, Part V |
| 18 | Dr. Ernest Bernard | Reduction of Sorting Backlog and Segregation of Sorted Hymenoptera into Families |
Congratulations to these scientists for their selection for Special Research Awards.
| Special 2008 Grant |
Principal Investigator | Grant Proposal Title (click on title to learn more) |
| A | Dr. Ernest Bernard | Extension to DLIA2008-18 above for sorting historic Specimens of Micro-Hymenoptera (small solitary parasitic wasps) |
| B | Dr. Jeff Johansen | Capture of all Records for Approximately 1,000 Speices of Algae at Over 100 Sample Sites in the Park |
| C | Dr. Paul Tinerella | Stratified Sampling of Aquatic Hemiptera |
| D | Dr. Nathan Sanders | Ecological Cross-Taxa ATBI Data Analysis |
| D | Dr. Yuliya Sokolova | GSMNP Study of Microsporidia Parasitic to Insects |
| TITLE of Project: | Microfungi of American Beech, Fraser Fir, and Hemlock Forests in GSMNP: Cultural vs Molecular Determinations |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 01 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Dr. Richard E. Baird |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Mississippi Entomological Museum/ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | Mississippi State University |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | PO Box 9775 Mississippi State University, MS 39762 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | rbaird@plantpath.msstate.edu |
| PI TELEPHONE: | (662) 325-9661 |
| PI FAX: | |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $4,625 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
Summary being prepared for webpage. |
|
| TITLE of Project: | Assessment of total Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera: insect) richness for the GSMNP and Initiative to develop web-based resources. |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 03 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Dr. Charles R. Bartlett |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Dept of Entomology and Ecology |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | University of Delaware |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | 250 Townsend Hall Newark, DE 19717 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | 02542@udel.edu |
| PI TELEPHONE: | |
| PI FAX: | |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $2,150 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
Summary being prepared for webpage. |
|
| TITLE of Project: | Tardigrade Inventory 2008-2009 |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 06 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Dr. Paul J. Bartels |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Biology |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | Warren Wilson College |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | CPO 6032 PO Box 9000 Asheville, NC 28815 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | pbartels@warren-wilson.edu |
| PI TELEPHONE: | 828-771-3069 |
| PI FAX: | 828-299-4841 |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $5,000 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
| $nbsp; | |
| TITLE of Project: | Extending Our Knowledge of the Diversity of Water Mites (Acari-Hydrachnidiae) |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 04 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS (PI): | Dr. Ian M. Smith |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Biodiversity |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | KW Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue Ottawa ON K1A 0C6 Canada |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | smithi@agr.gc.ca |
| PI TELEPHONE: | 613-759-1783 |
| PI FAX: | 613-759-1927 |
| CO-INVESTIGATOR: | Andrea J. Radwell |
| DEPARTMENT: | Biological Sciences |
| ORGANIZATION: | University of Arkansas |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | 26 Emporia Street Eureka Springs, AR 72632 |
| ELECTRONIC MAIL: | radwell@razorbackroad.com |
| TELEPHONE: | 479-253-2883 |
| FAX: | 479-575-4010 |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $4,330 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
| TITLE of Project: | ATBI Teacher Internship |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 05 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Jason P. Love |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Citizen Science |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | 9275 Tremont Rd. Townsend, TN 37882 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | Jason@gsmit.org |
| PI TELEPHONE: | (865) 448-9732 Extension: 14 |
| PI FAX: | (865) 448-9205 |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $1,187 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
| The ATBI Teacher Internship will provide an opportunity for local teachers to gain the skills to conduct biodiversity inventories both in the park and in their schoolyards. Specifically, the project will: 1) provide and opportunity for two local teachers to learn about the ATBI and to gain scientific skills to share with students; 2) provide data for the ATBI; 3) improve both the scientific and educational aspect of Tremont’s ATBI activities; and 4) foster relationships with local teachers that will facilitate their continuing participation in the ATBI and incorporation of ATBI research into the classroom. | |
| TITLE of Project: | Diptera Blitz and GSMNP Diptera Checklist Update |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 14 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Dr. Gary Steck |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Florida State Collection of Arthropods |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | Florida State University |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | 1911 SW 34th Street Gainesville, FL 32608 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | steckg@doacs.state.fl.us |
| PI TELEPHONE: | (352) 372-3505 |
| PI FAX: | |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $5,000 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
| TITLE of Project: | Ant Diversity in GSMNP, part V |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 16 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Dr. Nathan Sanders |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | University of Tennessee |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | 569 Dabney Hall Knoxville, TN 37996 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | Nathan.Sanders@utk.edu |
| PI TELEPHONE: | 865-974-5231 |
| PI FAX: | 865-974-3067 |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $4,625 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
| TITLE of Project: | Reduction of Sorting Backlog and Segregation of Sorted Hymenoptera into Families |
| GRANT # DLIA2008- | 18 |
| PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): | Dr. Ernest C. Bernard |
| PI DEPARTMENT: | Entomology & Plant Pathology |
| PI ORGANIZATION: | University of Tennessee |
| POSTAL ADDRESS: | 2431 Joe Johnson Dr 205 Ellington Plant Sciences Bldg Knoxville, TN 37996 |
| PI ELECTRONIC MAIL: | ecbernard@mail.ag.utk.edu |
| PI TELEPHONE: | (865) 974-3653 |
| PI FAX: | |
| GRANT AMOUNT: | $3,083 |
| PROJECT SUMMARY: | |
