Biodiversity of arthropods on the islands of the Pacific
Rosemary Gillespie, Professor
Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
This project focuses on the biodiversity of insects and spiders on Pacific islands. Biodiversity surveys often accumulate a ton of specimens, but it is usually hard to figure out what the species actually are. Many species cannot be identified because they are immature, or are not yet described.
In this project, we are trying to figure out what the species – especially spiders, leaf-feeding arthropods and soil arthropods – are in biodiversity surveys from Pacific Islands. This is part of a large project to understand the origins of biodiversity in the islands of the Pacific, mostly Hawaii but also French Polynesia, the Marianas, and Okinawa, Japan. We are especially interested in the interplay between native and invasive species in the biological communities of these islands.
Role: Undergraduates involved in this project would be working on questions of evolution and adaptation in different groups of Hawaiian (mostly) specimens of arthropods (insects, spiders, millipedes, etc.) to sort and prepare specimens for DNA extractions. Specific tasks may include specimen identification, measuring specimens, recording functional characteristics, using sterile lab techniques, and using micropipettes for basic laboratory tasks.
Qualifications: Applicants should be organized, proactive and possess an interest in evolutionary biology. Interest in learning or prior experience in arthropod identification (e.g. insect or spider biology). Desirable but not essential: prior experience with micropipettes, DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis, PCR or any other wet lab experience.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Sven Weber, Post-Doc
Hours: to be negotiated
Related website: https://nature.berkeley.edu/edias-project/
Related website: https://www.instagram.com/edias.project/