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Sep

21

2007
 
 

Google bugs



Giant search engine helps scientists find where the tiny creatures live bugs from spaceSatellite imagery is helping researchers to pinpoint the whereabouts of rare insects, according to evidence published recently in the Journal of Insect Conservation. Using freely available, high resolution satellite images from Google Earth and Microsoft Terraserver, Smithsonian Institute entomologist Jonathan Mawdsley located nineteen potential oases for tiger beetles at the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland. Tiger beetles are staggeringly picky when it comes to preferred habitat, a characteristic that makes finding small, sparsely distributed suitable patches a nightmare in the field. However, that same trait was used to advantage by Mawdsley, because the favored patches of bare earth were relatively conspicuous among the otherwise verdant satellite images. Tiger beetles were found at fifteen of the newly discovered sites, increasing the reserve’s species count from three to eight. Amazing what you can find on the internet these days. Source: Mawdsley R (2007) Use of simple remote sensing tools to expedite surveys for rare tiger beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Journal of Insect Conservation DOI: 10.1007/s10841-007-9113-6 Image © Jim Jurica

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