The TDWG Audubon Core Task Group

The TDWG Audobon Core Maintenance Group is exploring the possibility of chartering a Task Group to work on developing controlled vocabularies for ac:subjectPart (http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/terms/subjectPart) and ac:subjectOrientation (http://rs.tdwg.org/ac/terms/subjectOrientation). These controlled vocabularies would facilitate improved searching for particular views of live organism or specimen images, and would eventually become part of some …

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Resolving Relationships among the Megadiverse Butterflies and Moths with a Novel Pipeline for Anchored Phylogenomics

Abstract The advent of next-generation sequencing technology has allowed for thecollection of large portions of the genome for phylogenetic analysis. Hybrid enrichment and transcriptomics are two techniques that leverage next-generation sequencing and have shown much promise. However, methods for processing hybrid enrichment data are still limited. We developed a pipeline …

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A phylogenomic analysis of lichen-feeding tiger moths uncovers evolutionary origins of host chemical sequestration

Highlights •Phylotranscriptomic analysis helps resolve early relationships in Lithosiini. •Phylogeny highlights subtribal and generic relationships in need of further study. •Phenolic sequestration patterns more similar within than among lichen moth species. •Sequestering phenolics produced by a single pathway may represent a synapomorphy. •Phenolics from orcinol series may form the basis of chemical defense in …

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Predicting resilience to hurricane disturbance across forests of Puerto Rico

Catherine Hulshof (Virginia Commonwealth University), Carla Restrepo (University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras), Akito Kawahara (FLMNH), and Neil Cobb (NAU). Contact: cmhulshof[at]vcu[dot]edu The proposed study will investigate the relationship between Lepidoptera diversity, abundance and life history traits (resource type, wing color and size, seasonal diapause, and flight period) in contrasting …

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LepSnap Update

By Andre Poremski   LepSnap is getting closer to launching the iOS version (Android in August). Fieldguide is using the network “Inception v3” model, which is currently the best performer on the ImageNet challenge and the one generally recommended in the TensorFlow tutorials & by Grant Van Horn at Visipedia. …

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Poweshiek Skipperling data needed!!

Hi everyone, Chris Marshall, Anna Monfils, Andy Warren, Neil Cobb and I have been discussing a potential collaborative project with the broader LepNet community. LepNet is interested in accumulating records (images and distribution data) of the endangered North American Poweshiek Skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek, Hesperiidae) for a study led by Dr. …

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2017 Annual Report Numbers

Digitization: Transcription for records and high-resolution images. We are on target to meet our digitization (i.e., transcribing, georeferencing, and imaging) goals despite having to address unexpected challenges in refining protocols, implementing workflows, and for several museums organizing physical collections in preparation for digitization. We have produced 457,788 records (120% of …

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BioUnify COST Grant proposal brings EU biodiversity scientists and their data together

PUBLIC RELEASE: 19-JAN-2016 BioUnify COST Grant proposal brings EU biodiversity scientists and their data together PENSOFT PUBLISHERS SHARE  PRINT  E-MAIL IMAGE: BIODIVERSITY INFORMATICS IS AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH. BIOUNIFY LAYS OUT HOW THE EUROPEAN CONTRIBUTION TO THIS GLOBAL ENDEAVOUR COULD BE STRENGTHENED.view more CREDIT: NASA < HTTP://WWW.NASA.GOV/MISSION_PAGES/NPP/NEWS/VEGETATION.HTML > Mobilisation, …

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Matthew Nielsen Project

Evolution in response to climate change in the seasonal polyphenism of Colias eurytheme butterflies Matthew Nielsen Summary: At the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Matthew Nielsen (NSF-PDRG 1609023) is digitizing images of specimens of a single species (Colias eurytheme) from multiple collections across the US and developing software in python to analyze wing pattern variation …

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Lepidoptera of North America Network: Documenting Diversity in the Largest Clade of Herbivores Insect herbivores and their host plants dominate terrestrial biomes and may constitute nearly half of the earth’s species-level diversity. With >157,000 species worldwide and 14,300 species in 86 families documented in North America, butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) …

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