Principal Investigators, Project Staff, and Collaborators

The Project ALAS Principal Investigator has always been the Director of OTS for administrative reasons at Duke University, the institution that receives the grants, but each phase of ALAS has had a somewhat different set of project Co-Principal Investigators. The main architects and managers of the project are Robert K. Colwell and John T. Longino. Colwell is an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Connecticut. In addition to his role as Project Director, he is responsible for information management and analysis. Longino, an entomologist from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, is Scientific Coordinator for the project; he has been largely responsible for sampling design and implementation. Henry Hespenheide, an entomologist from the University of California, Los Angeles, has also been a Co-Principal Investigator on all phases of ALAS. He studied arthropods at La Selva over many years, providing a strong foundation of identified material for the La Selva collection and liaison to an extensive community of collaborating taxonomists. Other Co-Principal Investigators have included representatives from INBio (currently Jesus Ugalde) and other taxonomic collaborators for some of the major focal taxa (B. V. Brown, D. Grimaldi, R. W. Holzenthal, M. Kaliszewski, E. Lindquist, P. Naskrecki, M. Sharkey).

Project ALAS relies heavily on the talents of the on-site project staff, Parataxonomists Danilo Brenes, Ronald Vargas, Maylin Paniagua, and Flor Cascante (in the photo above, left to right). These four capable local naturalists, who have received extensive training through INBio and from the ALAS Investigators and Collaborators, are in many ways the heart of the project, without whom it would not be possible. They are responsible for all day-to-day operations, including field sampling, specimen mounting, labeling, database entry, specimen loans, local financial management, and outreach to visitors to La Selva.

Taxonomic collaborators

Project ALAS relies on the talents of over 100 collaborating taxonomists from the international taxonomic community. The list below includes current and past collaborators.

Acari, Acariformes (Astigmata)
B. M. O'Connor: several families of Astigmata

Acari, Trombidiformes
T. Goldschmidt: families of Trombidiformes

Acari, Acariformes (Oribatida)
V. Behan-Pelletier: Ceratozetoidea
M. Colloff: Scapheremaeidae
S. Mahunka: Galumnidae
A. Napierala: Phthiracaroidea
W. Niedbala: Phthiracaroidea
R. A. Norton: Mochlozetidae, part of Enarthronota, Lohmanniidae, Galumnatidae
Z. Olszanowski: Crotoniidae
H. Schatz: Oppioidea
A. Szywilewska: Phthiracaroidea

Araneae
G. Bodner: Salticidae
J. Coddington: Araneae
G. B. Edwards: Salticidae
G. Hormiga: Araneae
M. Ramirez: Araneae
C. Viquez: Araneae

Neuroptera
N. Penny: Neuroptera

Odonata
C. Esquivel: Odonata
W. Haber: Odonata
D. Paulson: Odonata
D. Wagner: Odonata

Trichoptera
R. Holzenthal: Trichoptera

Orthoptera
P. Naskrecki: Tettigonioidea
T. Cohn: Raphidophoridae
L. Desutter-Grandcolas: Gryllidae
D. Nickle: Tettigoniidae
G. Morris: Tettigoniidae
D. Otte: Acrididae
H. Rowell: Acrididae

Hemiptera
C. Bartlett, Delphacidae
J. Cryan: Fulgoroidea, Cercopoidea
C. Godoy: Cicadellidae
D. Maslov: Reduviidae
D. Rider: Pentatomoidea
J. Urban: FulgoroideaDiptera
A. Borkent: Ceratopogonidae
S. Brooks: Dolichopodidae
B. Brown: Phoridae (Apocephalus)
J. Burger: Tabanidae
J. Cumming: Empididae
E. Fisher : Asilidae
S. Gaimari: Lauxaniidae
J. Gelhaus: Tipulidae
D. Grimaldi: Drosophilidae
M. Hauser: Syrphidae
M. Irwin: Therevidae
S. Marshall: Sphaeroceridae
R. Nelson: Asilidae
A. Norrbom : Tephritidae
T. Pape: Sarcophagidae
M. Pollet: Dolichopodidae
L. Quate: Psychodidae
A. Stark: Empididae
F. C. Thompson: Syrphidae
M. von Tschirnhaus: Agromyzidae
T. Wheeler: Chloropidae
N. Woodley: Stratiomyidae
M. Wood: Tachinidae
M. Zumbado: Syrphidae and Tachinidae

Coleoptera
R. Anderson: Curculionidae (Rhynchophorinae)
P. Berg: Coleoptera
S. Clark: Chrysomelidae
C. Duckett: Chrysomelidae
T. Erwin: Carabidae
B. Farrell: Bruchidae
W. Flowers: Chrysomelidae
D. Furth: Chrysomelidae
A. Gonzalez: Scolytinae
L. Guerra: Scolytinae
R. Hamilton: Atellabidae, Rhynchitidae
H. Hespenheide: Curculionidae, Buprestidae
F. Hovore: Cerambycidae
J. Hulcr: Scolytinae
P. Johnson: Elateridae
L. Kirkendall: Scolytinae, Platypodinae
K. Koivisto: Scolytinae
G. Morse: Bruchidae
W. Opitz: Cleridae
J. Prena: Curculionidae
D. Rees: Scolytinae
J. Rifkind: Cleridae
E. Riley: Chrysomelidae
V. Savini: Chrysomelidae
A. Short: Hydrophilidae
A. Solís: Scarabaeidae
C. Staines: Chrysomelidae
P. Thomas: Staphylinidae
K. Thunes: Scolytinae
A. Tishechkin: Histeridae
K. Zhaurova: Chrysomelidae

Lepidoptera
G. Brehm: Geometridae
J. W. Brown: Tortricidae (Chlidanotini, Euliini)
S. Bucheli: Lepidoptera
M. Canfield: Geometridae
M. DaCosta: Arctiidae
D. Davis: Tineidae
M. Epstein: Limacodidae
S. Garrett: Tortricidae
A. Heddle: Tortricidae
A. Kawahara: Lepidoptera
S. Lee: Lepidoptera
J. Montero: Lepidoptera
K. Nishida: Lepidoptera
P. Oboyski: Tortricidae
E. Phillips and J. Kruse: 3 genera Tortricidae
J. Powell: Tortricidae
J. Razowski: Tortricidae, Cochylini
J. Rota: Choreutidae
B. Sullivan: Lepidoptera
D. Wagner: Gracillariidae
S. Weller: Lepidoptera
J. Zaspel: Lepidoptera

Hymenoptera
K. van Acterberg: Braconidae
R. Adams: Formicidae
B. Bolton: Formicidae
A. Boring: Braconidae
M. Branstetter: Formicidae
R. W. Brooks: Apoidea
J. Carpenter: Vespidae
C. Darling: Perilampidae, Eurytomidae (part)
A. R. Deans: Evaniidae
F. Fernandez: Formicidae
I. D. Gauld: Ichneumonidae
T. L. Griswold: Apoidea
P. Hanson: Ichneumonidae
C. Hansson: Eulophidae (Entedontinae)
J. Heraty: Eucharitidae
A. Himmler: Formicidae
A. Kumar: Vespidae
J. LaPolla: Formicidae
J. Leathers: Braconidae
J. Longino: Formicidae
L. Masner: Proctotrupoidea
J. S. Noyes: Encyrtidae
S. O'Donnell: Vespidae
J. Pickering: Braconidae
K. Pitz: Braconidae
D. Quicke: Braconidae
L. Schonberg: Formicidae
B. Sharanowski: Braconidae
M. Sharkey: Braconidae
S. R. Shaw: Braconidae
D. Smith: Symphyta, Aulacidae
R. R. Snelling: Apoidea
M. Solís: Hymenoptera
J. Ugalde: Ichneumonidae
A. Valerio: Braconidae
D. B. Wahl: Ichneumonidae
P. Ward: Formicidae
M. S. Wasbauer: Pompilidae
J. B. Whitfield: Braconidae
J. B. Woolley: Signiphoridae, Aphelinidae
R. Zuñiga: Ichneumonidae

Diptera
A. Borkent: Ceratopogonidae
S. Brooks: Dolichopodidae
B. Brown: Phoridae (Apocephalus)
J. Burger: Tabanidae
J. Cumming: Empididae
E. Fisher : Asilidae
S. Gaimari: Lauxaniidae
J. Gelhaus: Tipulidae
D. Grimaldi: Drosophilidae
M. Hauser: Syrphidae
M. Irwin: Therevidae
S. Marshall: Sphaeroceridae
R. Nelson: Asilidae
A. Norrbom : Tephritidae
T. Pape: Sarcophagidae
M. Pollet: Dolichopodidae
L. Quate: Psychodidae
A. Stark: Empididae
F. C. Thompson: Syrphidae
M. von Tschirnhaus: Agromyzidae
T. Wheeler: Chloropidae
N. Woodley: Stratiomyidae
M. Wood: Tachinidae
M. Zumbado: Syrphidae and Tachinidae