This project studies the dynastine scarab beetles of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It will provide the first extensive documentation of the taxonomic, geographic, and temporal distribution of dynastines in these countries and will become the first study to provide a means to identify all species of this subfamily. Collections in museums in the United States and the study area will be surveyed to gather data associated with those specimens, and extensive collecting will be conducted to acquire new information and most likely many new species. Authoritatively identified collections will be established at institutions in all three countries. The research will contribute to the development of computer programs for organizing and accessing knowledge about insects and this will provide a resource for future biotic surveys. Results will include an illustrated monograph on the Dynastinae of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize that includes an introduction to the three countries, identification keys for all species, and detailed species accounts (all in English and Spanish).
Taxonomic monographs are cornerstones of comparative biology. Users of this monograph will include scientists working with dynastines, ecologists, and park and reserve managers needing to know the faunal composition of areas they manage. The study area is biologically rich, but it is also an area of increasingly intense land use where pristine areas are succumbing to development. The first step in managing resources in developing countries is identifying the fauna.. Additional products of this project will be the training of a PhD student and training curators and students in the study area that will in turn promote conservation and use of their research collections.
