9 research outputs found

    The Trichoptera barcode initiative: a strategy for generating a species-level Tree of Life

    Get PDF
    DNA barcoding was intended as a means to provide species-level identifications through associating DNA sequences from unknown specimens to those from curated reference specimens. Although barcodes were not designed for phylogenetics, they can be beneficial to the completion of the Tree of Life. The barcode database for Trichoptera is relatively comprehensive, with data from every family, approximately two-thirds of the genera, and one-third of the described species. Most Trichoptera, as with most of life’s species, have never been subjected to any formal phylogenetic analysis. Here, we present a phylogeny with over 16 000 unique haplotypes as a working hypothesis that can be updated as our estimates improve. We suggest a strategy of implementing constrained tree searches, which allow larger datasets to dictate the backbone phylogeny, while the barcode data fill out the tips of the tree. We also discuss how this phylogeny could be used to focus taxonomic attention on ambiguous species boundaries and hidden biodiversity. We suggest that systematists continue to differentiate between ‘Barcode Index Numbers’ (BINs) and ‘species’ that have been formally described. Each has utility, but they are not synonyms. We highlight examples of integrative taxonomy, using both barcodes and morphology for species description. This article is part of the themed issue ‘From DNA barcodes to biomes’

    A Wind Tunnel as a Senior/Capstone Design Project: Laboratory Enhancement and Assessment of Student Learning

    No full text
    Senior-level engineering students spend their final year designing and constructing challenging engineering-based capstone design projects in groups of two or more. The main objective of the senior design project is to give students first-hand knowledge of how the engineering design process works in a simulated industrial environment. Specifically, it is meant to familiarize students with the key objectives of senior design: design, construction, and testing. In addition to satisfying the learning objectives of senior design, a wind tunnel was constructed to enhance the fluid mechanics laboratory. The completion of the wind tunnel satisfied the two major goals of the project: completion of the senior design course objectives, and laboratory enhancement. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the students learning the fundamentals of design, construction, and testing, student surveys were completed and reported

    PESI - a taxonomic backbone for Europe

    No full text

    The evolution of asymmetric genitalia in spiders and insects

    No full text

    1994 Annual Selected Bibliography: Asian American Studies and the Crisis of Practice

    No full text
    corecore