Last updated: July 5, 2022
Article
The GWMP All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory: Finding new species near the nation’s capital
B.E. Smith
D. R. OLIVER S. FLINT JR. HAD long suspected that a new species of caddisfly lay hidden in one of the many streams emptying into the Potomac River Gorge (fig. 1). It might be found, he reasoned, flitting around the floodplain forests in Turkey Run Park in northern Virginia, not far from the nation’s capital. Caddisflies are members of the insect order Trichoptera and have aquatic larvae that often hide in cryptlike protective tubes made of sand or other stream debris. The adults appear mothlike, with their two pairs of hairy membranous wings and slow flight, as if blowing on a breeze. As curator emeritus of neuropteroids (net-winged insects) in the Department of Entomology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, Dr. Flint had described more than 1,000 species of caddisflies from 32 different countries, and he was on the trail of yet another one only a few miles from his office.
The entomologist had been tipped off to the potential presence of this new species when he was reviewing the vast Smithsonian collections and found a single female caddisfly that he could not identify. It had been collected in 1921 by W. L. McAtee of what was then the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey, now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The label indicated that the specimen had been taken near “Turkey Run,” now protected in Turkey Run Park, a unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
[An estimated] 86% of extant species are still undescribed. … Should it be surprising that other smaller forms of life—amphipods, beetles, caddisflies—are being found just outside the nation’s capital in an area with one of the highest densities of museums, universities, and research institutions on the planet?
Coincidentally, around the time Dr. Flint was pondering this unique specimen, parkway staff members were workingon their All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) and contacted him to inquire if he could help with caddisfly identifications. Within a few weeks permits were in place and Dr. Flint and NPS staff found themselves on the bank of Turkey Run on a dark, drizzly October night glaring at a hanging white sheet lit brightly by UV light to attract insects. Of the hundreds of caddisflies attracted to the sheet, a male and four females, plus two males and two females that congregated at lights on the front of the resource management building in Turkey Run Park a few weeks later, proved to be the new species that Dr. Flint later described as Neophylax virginica (Flint and Kjer 2011) (fig. 1). Caddisfly collection efforts lasted four years and were expanded to include Great Falls Park a few miles to the north. This work documented 111 species of caddisflies (Flint 2011).
While Dr. Flint was documenting caddisflies, a Smithsonian colleague, Dr. Wayne Mathis, also took an interest in the Potomac River Gorge. Dr. Mathis is a world-renowned expert in shoreflies (Ephydridae), a family of diminutive flies usually found on beaches and riverbanks. His three-year study found four new species of shoreflies, and a new species of snail-killing fly, in the area near where Neophylax virginica was discovered (Mathis et al. 2009; Mathis and Zatwarnicki 2010).
Millions and millions (probably)
Between 1.4 and 1.9 million species of living organisms have been described worldwide (Hamilton et al. 2010; Wilson 1992), and approximately 15,000 new species are added each year (May 2010). Mora et al. (2011) estimated that 86% of extant species are still undescribed and a cottage industry has developed around estimating the number of species on Earth. Erwin (1982) hypothesized that there may be as many as 30 million species of tropical arthropods; Mora et al. (2011) calculated 8.74 million eukaryote species; and May (2010) suggested that a range of 3 to 100 million species is defensible. Undoubtedly, most undescribed species are found in remote tropical latitudes that have long been a draw to biologists enamored with the intricacies, forms, and colors of the diversity of life. Bates (1892) found 700 species of butterflies within an hour’s walk of his Brazilian home, while the 76 butterfly species documented from George Washington Memorial Parkway have remained constant since that number was established in 2004. Tropical locations are so diverse that even in urban areas new bird genera are being discovered (Pacheco et al. 1996). Some researchers, such as Hawksworth and Rossman (1997), have recognized urban temperate areas as being havens for new species within some kingdoms, such as fungi. So should it be surprising that other smaller forms of life—amphipods, beetles, caddisflies—are being found just outside the nation’s capital in an area with one of the highest densities of museums, universities, and research institutions on the planet?
Urban biodiversity, look locally
George Washington Memorial Parkway has been conducting its ATBI for 10 years. To date, 4,976 species have beendocumented, including 58 species new to science, 3 species new to North America, 83 new to Virginia, 7 new to the District of Columbia, and 49 listed as rare by the Natural Heritage Programs of Virginia or Maryland. Since 2004, 50 peer-reviewed journal articles have been published concerning the biodiversity and ecology of the parkway. Highlights of these studies include
- Documenting 1,313 species of vascular plants, including 2 native species new to Virginia and a nonnative species new to North America (Steury 2011; Steury et al. 2008; Steury et al. 2013b)
- 480 species of macro-moths, including 1 species new to Virginia and 11 species state-listed for rarity (Steury et al. 2007)
NPS photo / Emily Zivot
- 323 species of beetles in five families, including 3 species new to science, 12 species new to Virginia, and 7 species new to Washington, D.C. (Cavey et al. 2013; Steury et al. 2012; Steury et al. 2013a; Steury and Messer 2014) (fig. 2)
- 91 species of bees from a globally rare plant community type, including 2 species new to Virginia (Steury et al. 2009)
- 55 species of land snails and slugs, including 3 species new to Virginia (Steury and Pearce 2014)
- A crustacean new to science (Holsinger 2009)
- A turtle new to Virginia (Mitchell et al. 2007)
- Three studies of the pollination biology of rare plant species (Barrows et al. 2011, 2012, 2013)
- A 48-hour 2006 bioblitz that documented 19 beetles, 5 true bugs, a fly, a bee, and a copepod new to Virginia (Evans et al. 2008)
Perhaps the greatest challenge now lies not in knowing how many extant species remain unknown, but in finding them before they go extinct. Current extinction rates exceed those of prehuman levels by 100 to 1,000 times (Pimm et al. 1995), and the professional taxonomists needed to describe new species are also becoming rarer (Mora et al. 2011).
George Washington Memorial Parkway will reach the milestone of 5,000 species in 2014. Seven inventory projects are currently under way and four additional projects will be funded through 2018. It is not unreasonable to expect that the park-way will surpass 10,000 species and see an additional 50 journal articles published in the next 10 years. A recent parkway survey of hexapods (collembolans), commonly known as springtails, reported 37 species new to science, but to date, nothing has been published on these finds. Despite continual progress, there is a long way to go to document all taxa at George Washington Memorial Parkway.
References
Barrows, E. M., A. E. Howard, and B. W. Steury. 2011. Phenology, insect associates, and fruiting of Valeriana paucifloria Michaux (Valerianaceae) in the Potomac River Gorge area of Maryland and Virginia, United States. Marilandica 2:6–10.
_______.2012. Fruit production and phenology of Phacelia covillei S. Watson (Hydrophyllaceae) in the Potomac Gorge area of Maryland and Virginia. Marilandica 3:10–16.
_______. 2013. Phenology and floral visitors of Lithospermum virginianum L. (Boraginaceae) in Great Falls Park and Chub Sandhill Natural Area Preserve, Virginia. Marilandica 4:6–9.
Bates, H. W. 1892. The naturalist on the River Amazons. A record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life, and aspects of nature under the equator, during eleven years of travel. John Murray, London, UK. 285 pp.
Cavey, J. F., B. W. Steury, and E. T. Oberg.2013. Leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Bruchidae, Chrysomelidae, Orsodacnidae) from the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County, Virginia. Banisteria 41:71–79.
Erwin, T. L. 1982. Tropical forests: Their richness in Coleoptera and other arthropod species. Coleopterists Bulletin 36:74–75.
Evans, A. V., B. Abraham, L. Biechele, J. Brown,S. Carty, D. Feller, S. Flack, G. Fleming,O. Flint, J. Gibson, et al. 2008. The 2006 Potomac Gorge bioblitz. Overview and results of a 30-hour rapid biological survey. Banisteria 32:3–80.
Flint, O. S., Jr. 2011. Trichoptera from the Great Falls and Turkey Run units of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA. Zoosymposia 5:101– 107.
Flint, O. S., Jr., and K. M. Kjer. 2011. A new species of Neophylax from northern Virginia,USA (Trichoptera: Uenoidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 113:7–13.
Hamilton, A. J., Y. Basset, K. K. Benke, P. S. Grimbacher, S. E. Miller, V. Novotny, G. A. Samuelson, N. E. Stork, G. D. Weiblen, andJ. D. L. Yen. 2010. Quantifying uncertainty in estimation of tropical arthropod species richness. The American Naturalist 176:90– 95.
Hawksworth, D. L., and A. Y. Rossman. 1997.Where are all the undescribed fungi? Phytopathology 87:888–891.
Holsinger, J. R. 2009. Three new species of the subterranean amphipod crustacean genus Stygobromus (Crangonyctidae) from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Pages 261–276 in S. M. Roble and J. C. . Mitchell, editors. A lifetime of contributions to myriapodology and the natural history of Virginia: A festschrift in honor of Richard L. Hoffman’s 80th birthday. Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 16, Martinsville, Virginia, USA.
Mathis, W. N., K. V. Knutson, and W. L. Murphy. 2009. A new species of the snail-killing fly of the genus Dictya Meigen from the Delmarva states (Diptera: Sciomyzidae). Proceedingsof the Entomological Society of Washington 111:785–794.Mathis, W. N., and T. Zatwarnicki. 2010. New species and other taxonomic modifications for shore flies from the Delmarva states (Diptera: Ephydridae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 112:97–128.
May, R. 2010. Tropical arthropod species, more or less? Science 329:41–42.
Mitchell, C. M., B. W. Steury, K. A. Buhlmann, and P. P. van Dijk. 2007. Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) in the Potomac River and notes on eastern spiny softshells (Apalone spinifera) in northern Virginia. Banisteria 30:41–43.
Mora, C., D. P. Tittensor, S. Adl, A. G. B. Simpson, and B. Worm. 2011. How many speciesare there on Earth and in the oceans? PLoS Biology 9(8):e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127.
Pacheco, J., B. Whitney, and L. Gonzaga. 1996. A new genus and species of Furnariid from the cocoa-growing region of southeastern Bahia, Brazil. The Wilson Bulletin 108:397–433.
Pimm, S. L., G. J. Russell, J. L. Gittleman, andT. M. Brooks. 1995. The future of biodiversity. Science 269:347–350.
Steury, B. W. 2011. Additions to the vascular flora of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Banisteria 37:35–52.
Steury, B. W., D. S. Chandler, and W. E. Steiner. 2013a. Vacusus vicinus (LaFerte Senectere) (Coleoptera: Anthicidae): Northern range extensions to Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, and Kansas. Banisteria 41:97–98.Steury, B. W., S. W. Droege, and E. T. Oberg. 2009. Bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) of a riverside outcrop prairie in Fairfax County, Virginia. Banisteria 34:17–24.
Steury, B. W., G. P. Fleming, and M. T. Strong. 2008. An emendation of the vascular flora of Great Falls Park, Fairfax County, Virginia. Castanea 73:123–149.
Steury, B. W., J. Glaser, and C. S. Hobson. 2007. A survey of macrolepidopteran moths of Turkey Run and Great Falls National Parks, Fairfax County, Virginia. Banisteria 29:17–31.
Steury, B. W., T. C. MacRae, and E. T. Oberg.2012. Annotated list of the metallicwood-boring beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County, Virginia. Banisteria 39:71–75.
Steury, B. W., and P. W. Messer. 2014. Twelve ground beetles new to Virginia or the District of Columbia and an annotated checklist of the Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) from the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Banisteria 43:40–55.
Steury, B. W., and T. A. Pearce. 2014. Land snails and slugs (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda and Pulmonata) of two national parks along the Potomac River near Washington, District of Columbia. Banisteria 43:3–20.
Steury, B. W., J. K. Triplett, and J. Parrish. 2013b. Noteworthy plant collections: Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia. Castanea 78:138–139.
Wilson, E. O. 1992. The diversity of life. Belknap Press, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 424 pp.
About the author
Brent W. Steury (brent_steury@nps.gov) is the Natural Resources Program manager at George Washington Memorial Parkway, Turkey Run Park Headquarters, McLean, Virginia 22101.