Early Detection of Introduced Arthropods (EDIAS) The Early Detection of Introduced Arthropods (EDIAs) project is a joint effort to determine the most effective methods for detecting introduced nuisance species in island ecosystems. Conducted by the EvoLab at the University of California, Berkeley’s Rausser College of Natural Resources with collaborators on the islands of Hawaii, Guam, and Okinawa, our team works hard to understand introduced species on a wide range of vulnerable island ecosystems. We propose to develop a biosecurity monitoring system that uses field sampling and next generation sequencing (NGS) technology to speed the identification and tracking of introduced arthropod species in real-time. Our interdisciplinary approach, combining molecular biology, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing, will contribute to the advancement of biosecurity monitoring and the protection of the environment.
Hawaii Dimensions of Biodiversity We are using the Hawaii Island chronosequence to understand out how communities of arthropods assemble over time, and particularly the relative roles and timing of ecological processes (migrating into a community, trophic levels) and evolutionary processes (adaptation and speciation). Rosemary Gillespie, Berkeley Evolab, and colleagues from University of Maryland, Cornell, British Museum, and University of Hawaii
Adaptive evolution and community assembly of island spiders We have multiple projects including adaptive radiation of Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders, color polymorphism in Hawaiian Happy Face spiders, adaptive radiation of Hawaiian Ariamnes spiders, and studies on spiders from different islands systems in the Pacific & Indian oceans. Ashley Adams, Susan Kennedy, Henrik Krehenwinkel, and Rosemary Gillespie
Building a Reference Database of Arthropods on Hawaii and Guam. In order to produce the most accurate representation of species and genus level composition in our metabarcoding data, we have launched a large-scale effort to barcode museum and collection specimens across the Hawaiian Islands and well as arthropod collections in Guam. We hope these efforts will make species identification and early detection of invasive species more precise and rapid. Madison Pfau, Fontanna Zhi, collaborators in Guam and Hawaii, Rosemary Gillespie, George Roderick.
Spider gut contents, Attempting to use gut content information across taxa in Hawaii to understand food web dynamics and predation processes across spider populations in Hawaii. Susan Kennedy, Madison Pfau, Fontanna Zhi, Rosemary Gillespie.
Spider microbiomes. Determining the relative function and role of microbiomes in spider digestion and fitness. Susan Kennedy, Sophia Tsau, Madison Pfau, Rosemary Gillespie.
Role of invasive plants on Hawaiian arthropods. Ashley Adams, Madison Pfau, Lauren Mandel, Anna Holmquist, Rosemary Gillespie.
Previous Projects
Island Digital Ecosystem Avatars (IDEA) Project: Moorea The IDEA Project is attempting to digitize an entire island ecosystem from ‘genes to satellites’, to build advanced computational models of a range of complex socio-ecological systems, particularly islands (coupled natural-human systems) and cities (built environment). George Roderick and colleagues from CRIOBE-CNRS-EPHE, ETH Zürich, and Oxford.
Moorea Biocode The Moorea Biocode is the first comprehensive inventory of all non-microbial life in a complex tropical ecosystem. George Roderick and Jeremy Andersen and based at UC’s Gump South Pacific Research Station in French Polynesia.
Pacific Peperomia This project uses a phylogenomic approaches to unravel the origins and biogeography of one of most diverse angiosperm radiations in the Pacific. Jun Ying Lim.
Habitat evolution in the Hawaiian flora This project examines the interplay between habitat evolution, dispersal and diversification in the diverse and unique Hawaiian flora, using novel hierarchical Bayesian models. Jun Ying Lim
Spolas parasitoids of Hawaii Wasps in the genus Spolas play an important, yet unknown role in control of native insects of Hawaii. Natalie Graham and Bob Peck
Insect parasitoids of the Big Island, Hawaii We are using collections, rearing, and metabarcoding of gut contents to understand the role of parasitoids in Hawaiian biological communities. Natalie Graham with collaborators Bob Peck, Pat Conant, Paul Banks, and Savannah Miller
Diffuse interactions between invasive and native species Invasive and native species have unpredictable impacts on pollination networks in Hawaii contain Jennifer Imamura and George Roderick
Assessing the importance of invasive species in native ecosystems We are using metabarcoding and machine learning to understand the importance of invasive species. Noriyuki Suzuki, Henrik Krehenwinkel, Jeremy Andersen, George Roderick, Rosemary Gillespie
Biodiversity Inventory of Spiders of Sulawesi, Indonesia. In 2015 we received a NSF grant for a “Biotic Inventory of Terrestrial Vertebrates, Spiders, and Haemosporidian Parasites of Sulawesi, Indonesia” (PI Jim McGuire, co-PIs Rauri Bowie, Rosemary Gillespie, Susan Perkins (AMNH)). The first expedition was in summer 2016, when Pete Oboyski represented the arthropod contingent from Berkeley. Anna Holmquist now has a NSF GRFP to study the spiders of the island, and finished her first expedition in September 2017. Anna Holmquist, Rosemary Gillespie
Chemical recognition in spiders This project investigates the role of chemical cues in the speciation and adaptive radiation of Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders in the context of inter- and intra-species interactions (species and mate recognition). Ashley Adams
How do spiders choose different substrates? This project investigates the role of chemical cues in the speciation and adaptive radiation of Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders in the context of environmental interactions organisms have with their surrounding abiotic environment. Jenny Xu, Ashley Adams
Venom and its role in spider mating, Shuanger Li, Ashley Adams
Evolution of silk genes in non-web building Tetragnatha spiders Cory Berger, Ashley Adams
Repeated evolution of elongated leg spines in the green spiny-legged Tetragnatha spiders Anna Wood, Ashley Adams
Biocontrol retrospectives, George Roderick and Jeremy Andersen
Tetragnatha multilocus phylogeny, Susan Kennedy