The scarcity of quantitative, comparable data on invertebrate biodiversity has made the development of focal taxa that may serve as informational surrogates or proxies for broader patterns of invertebrate biodiversity a high priority for the research and biodiversity conservation communities. This effort has been hampered by a lack of coordination among researchers needed to establish common methods, agendas and taxonomic resources. Addressing this problem is the overarching purpose of the Scarabaeinae Research Network (ScarabNet) project. ScarabNet will link together a large, international network of scarab beetle taxonomists, ecologists and conservation biologists committed to developing the practical and scientific infrastructure necessary to establish scarabaeine (dung beetles) as a focal taxon for use in conservation practice, ecology, systematics, and biogeography. ScarabNet will channel the current research output of its members toward a suite of cooperatively designed standardized sampling methods, centralized taxonomic resources, and collaborative research agendas. Through annual meetings, electronic communications, and databasing tools, ScarabNet will: (1) Synthesize existing information on the taxonomy of Scarabaeinae, including collating historical literature, especially identification keys to taxa. This information will form the foundation of the first on-line catalog of the world's Scarabaeinae and a clearinghouse for taxonomic and identification resources. (2) Design a standardized, quantitative approach to using scarabaeine communities as biodiversity surrogates or proxies worldwide. (3) Create a central on-line repository for comparable datasets on dung beetle communities and their response to anthropogenic and ecological factors. (4) Develop priorities for scarabaeine research on key global conservation issues. And (5), foster collaboration between network members, within and across disciplines, by implementing means of sharing data, specimens, and taxonomic resources. This project will unite a broad array of taxonomists, ecologists, and conservationists to accelerate the pace of scarabaeine systematics and ecology, and broadly enhance the usefulness of each participant's research in the biodiversity conservation context. Scarabaeine dung beetles have enormous potential as an invertebrate focal taxon; they are supported by widespread ecological and behavioral research, a group of active systematists focused on Scarabaeinae's species-level taxonomy, and quantitative support for their uses as environmental and biodiversity indicators. ScarabNet will allow the research and conservation communities to capitalize on these opportunities by developing the informational tools and infrastructure that must support a useful invertebrate focal taxon. The effort will also serve as an effective, low-cost model for future collaborative networks dedicated to establishing other invertebrate taxa as biodiversity focal taxa, or for coordinating ecological or systematic research more broadly.
