The School Malaise Trap Program: Coupling educational outreach with scientific discovery

Abstract

The School Malaise Trap Program (SMTP) provides a technologically sophisticated and scientifically relevant educational experience that exposes students to the diversity of life, enhancing their understanding of biodiversity while promoting environmental stewardship. Since 2013, the SMTP has allowed 15,000 students at 350 primary and secondary schools to explore insect diversity in Canadian schoolyards. Students at each school collected hundreds of insects for an analysis of DNA sequence variation that enabled their rapid identification to a species. Through this hands-on approach, they participated in a learning exercise that conveys a real sense of scientific discovery. As well, the students contributed valuable data to the largest biodiversity genomics initiative ever undertaken: the International Barcode of Life project. To date, the SMTP has sequenced over 80,000 insect specimens, which includes representatives of 7,990 different species, nearly a tenth of the Canadian fauna. Both surprisingly and importantly, the collections generated the first DNA barcode records for 1,288 Canadian species.

Improved protocols to accelerate the assembly of DNA barcode reference libraries for freshwater zooplankton

“…Although the insect fauna of Canada has been heavily surveyed using DNA barcodes (i.e., Steinke, Breton, Berzitis, & Hebert, ), the DNA barcode‐based identification of chironomids, especially larvae, remains extremely difficult and in progress in the Great Lakes (e.g., Failla, Vasquez, Hudson, Fujimoto, & Ram, ). Because of this, only eight of the 35 BINs detected from 79 specimens could be identified to the species level.…”

“…Although the insect fauna of Canada has been heavily surveyed using DNA barcodes (i.e., Steinke, Breton, Berzitis, & Hebert, 2017), Vázquez-Yeomans, Elías-Gutiérrez, Ivanova, & Hebert, 2010), which is a marine environment. Although this species is considered brackish, their larval stages were unknown previously.…”

Diversity of parasitoid and parasitic wasps across a latitudinal gradient: Using public DNA records to work within a taxonomic impediment

“…If this were the case, we should expect that estimating latitudinal patterns of diversity within parasitoids would require a massive influx of new samples and sites. Adding new sites or localities that are immediately connected to standardized molecular diversity estimates (such as the School Malaise Trap Program described by Steinke et al 2017) would likely provide a formidable addition to such a strategy. Latitudinal trends in diversity for parasitoids have previously shown multiple patterns including declines in diversity with latitude (Hespenheide 1979;Noyes 1989a;Gaston and Gauld 1993;Gaston 2000), mid-latitude peaks (Owen and Owen 1974;Janzen and Pond 1975;Janzen 1981;Quicke and Kruft 1995;Skillen et al 2000), and the absence of any cline (Veijalainen et al 2012).…”

Stigmella multispicata Rociene. & Stonis, an Asian leafminer on Siberian elm, now widespread in eastern North America (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae)

“…The material of S.multispicata from the United States and Canada originates from several sources; the few adult specimens from Canada were collected during the School Malaise Trap Program (Steinke et al 2017). Leafmines in China were collected by EJvN during a collaboration between groups in The Netherlands and China in the 1980s (van Driel and van Nieukerken 1985, van Nieukerken and Liu 2000) and again during a 2013 visit of EJvN to Beijing and Tianjin.…”