DSA RESEARCH GRANT 2023 AWARDEES
ANA MARÍA HERNÁNDEZ VÁSQUEZ (CUBA)
My name Ana María Hernández Vázquez, and I am a researcher in the Applied Genetics group in collaboration with the Entomology group of the Faculty of Biology at Havana University. Cuba is home to 88 species of dragonflies, six of which are endemic. Three of these endemics, the damselflies Protoneura capillaris, Neoneura maria and Neoneura carnatica are catalogued by the IUCN as Data Deficient (DD), due to the lack of information on their abundance, distribution and ecology. Many of the localities known for these species are not included in protected areas. Deforestation, habitat fragmentation, as well as water pollution and overuse in Cuba, are major threats for their conservation. The objectives of our project are, first, to collect quantitative data on the species occurrence and abundance in order to document population trends. Also, we aim to study aspects of their natural history, like their specific habitat requirements, reproductive and oviposition behavior, community ensembles and, for the first time, perform genetic studies to assess the levels of diversity and population structure. We hope all these data will help to understand the best conditions to guarantee the survival of the species, contributing to their conservation. We greatly appreciate the DSA support to the study and conservation of Cuban dragonflies.
CRISTIAN MENDOZA
(COLOMBIA)
My name is Cristian Mendoza, I’m a Colombian biologist and I am currently a PhD student in the lab of Dr. Leandro Juen (LABECO) at the Federal University of Pará in Brazil. My research is focused on a morphological and molecular analysis of the tenuissima group species complex comprising Psaironeura bifurcata and Psaironeura tenuissima. These species are distributed in the Amazon basin, and their males present a high degree of morphological variation in cerci (including about 14 known morphotypes), so intra- and interspecific boundaries are unclear. Therefore, the main objective of my project is to determine whether there is evidence of cryptic diversity within this complex through a population analysis across their distribution.
EMILY SCHILLING
(USA)
Emily Schilling earned her B.A. in Biology and French from Colgate University and her Masters and PhD in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine. She is currently the Associate Director of the University of Minnesota’s Itasca Biological Station, located in Itasca State Park in northwestern Minnesota. Emily spends her summers at the Station, running a field biology course program, doing science engagement and outreach with the public, and facilitating student and faculty experiences in an immersive living-laboratory. Prior to serving in this position, Emily was an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies for 9 years at Augsburg University, a small liberal arts college in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she taught courses in Environmental Science, Freshwater Ecology, Conservation Biology, and water-human relationships. Emily's research addresses gaps in our understanding of how freshwater ecosystems function in natural and human-altered landscapes with the goal of generating data that informs freshwater biodiversity conservation. Much of her work focuses on macroinvertebrates inhabiting naturally fish-free lakes and ponds, especially dragonflies, which are top predators in these unique ecosystems. Her recent work focuses on understanding the migratory pathway of Aeshna canadensis. This DSA grant will fund her upcoming field work at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, Canada.
YISELLE CANO COBOS
(COLOMBIA)
My name is Yiselle Cano Cobos and I’m from Colombia, where I’ve been studying the diversity and distribution of our odonate species. Currently, I’m a Ph.D student at Dr. Javier Muzón’s lab in Argentina carrying out the project “Phylogenetic systematic of Oxyagrion and Acanthagrion (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) using a combined approach of molecular and morphological data”. The main objective is to assess the taxonomic status of both genera and their species. This phylogenetic hypothesis will help me to study the morphological characters that separate these genera and redefine them in an evolutionary context.
DSA REsearch grant 2022 awardees
hannah wojtysiak (USA)
My name is Hannah Wojtysiak, and I am an M.S. student in Dr. Nancy McIntyre's lab at Texas Tech University. I study a rare species of dragonfly and its associated odonate assemblage, Somatochlora calverti, in the Florida panhandle region. My research aims to describe the nymphal habitat of S. calverti, the composition of other odonate taxa it occurs with, and to compare streams that do and do not support the species at a landscape and local scale.
Find me on Instagram at @hannahwoj0.
Ángel Solís Blanco (Costa rica)
It is intended to develop a research project in Costa Rica, a country that is a very narrow portion of the American continent (about 140 km wide, 350 km long) through which organisms such as birds, butterflies and odonates, migrate from north to south and vice versa. Specifically, this project plans to obtain objective and quantified information on the seasonal migration of two Odonata species from north to south, Pantala flavescens and P. hymenaea, when passing through this narrow biogeographic bridge. It is intended to obtain information on the migration period, migration hours, climatic factors that influence migration activity, geographical accidents that influence migration routes, daily flight activities, feeding, resting, etc. It is intended that with this information we will be able to complement it with observations in other American countries in order to obtain a future broader and more detailed diagram of the migration of these two species.
Daniela ayala sánchez (Colombia)
My name is Daniela Ayala Sánchez, I'm 26 years old and I am a Colombian biologist interested in contributing to the knowledge of the diversity and ecology of dragonflies and damselflies. Nowadays, I’m studying in Mexico to obtain my master’s degree with the project "Genetic and morphological analysis to clarify phylogenetic relationship within Euthore Selys,1869 (Odonata: Polythoridae)”, relying on specimens from entomological collections in Colombia. For a megadiverse country such as Colombia, understanding more about its own biodiversity is essential to confront its conservation challenges. On the other hand, integrating different disciplines will allow us to study the taxonomy of this group more reliably, which would be a great contribution to the field of odonatology. I am happy to contribute to the knowledge of my country’s odonatofauna and I greatly appreciate the DSA support, which will help me fulfill the goals of my project.
Find me on Instagram at @dragonflies_co.
2021 DSA RESEARCH GRANTS AWARDED!
The DSA Odonate Research Grant Program finished its fourth year in awarding small grants to help pay expenses for odonate research in the DSA focal region. Three awards were made:
1) Biddy, A.R. Can species distribution models identify genetic isolation? A case study examining genomic structure of a high-altitude, stream specialist damselfly (Canyon Rubyspot, Hetaerina vulnerata) across “sky islands” in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
2) Husband, D. Odonates Assemblages Across Four Wetland Types in the Texas Panhandle.
3) Peters, D. Using Dragonfly Exuviae as a No-Kill Approach to Monitor Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Potomac River.
2020 DSA RESEARCH GRANTS AWARDED!
The DSA Odonate Research Grant Program finished its third year in awarding small grants to help pay expenses for odonate research in the DSA focal region. Three awards were made:
1) Hartman, M.E. Diet assessment of Odonata in Maryland agroecosystems using next generation sequencing.
2) Hoyos Blanco, A., C.F. Valencia, C.A. Bota Sierra. Demography, polymorphism and natural history of Mesamphiagrion gaudiimontanum (Coenagrionidae) in the Santa Inés Páramo complex (Colombia).
3) Silva dos Anjos, C., and A. Parise Pinto. Taxonomic revision of South American dragonfly genus Elga Ris, 1909 (Odonata: Libellulidae).