Research project: Terrestrial arthropods of Fiji

Dates

Start date:
2005

Museum investigators

External investigators

  • Neal Evenhuis, Bishop Museum

Funded by

  • US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Description

I am co-Principal Investigator on a US National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal to fund a "Terrestrial Arthropods of Fiji" survey based at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.  The initial project was funded for two years at $US 400, 000.  The collections will be based initially at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, but with the hopes of establishing a permanent Southwest Pacific entomological collection and biodiversity center in conjunction with the Fiji Museum or University of the South Pacific.

This large multi-national project surveyed the terrestrial arthropods of Fiji, trained Fijian parataxonomists, and produced an ongoing series of taxonomic and biogeographic papers in the serial "Fiji Arthropods" (http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/fiji/fiji-arthropods/). As an adjunct activity (not part of the grant) I taught an eight week entomology course at the University of the South Pacific, Suva.

So far I have published one new genus and 59 new species from Fiji and adjacent archipelagoes (Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomons) and plan to continue work on this rich fauna.


Dr Dan Bickel , Research Scientist
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