Survey and Inventory of the Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
of the Selenge River drainage basin, Mongolia
Overview:
Research was initiated during the summer of 2004 to document the diversity of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in the Selenge River
Watershed, Mongolia. The project is funded for three years by the National
Science Foundation's Biotic Surveys and Inventories grant. Jon Gelhaus from the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia is the Principle Investigator, and John Morse, from Clemson Univeristy and Barbara Hayford from Wayne State College are Co-Principle Investigators. We became interested in the project during our participation in a study on endemism in Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia.
The Selenge River connects Lake Hovsgol with Lake Baikal, Russia and
study of the river macroinvertebrates shall help us determine the degree of
relatedness between these two ancient lakes. Study of this large watershed
(300,000 square km) is timely as Mongolia is susceptible to environmental
degradation due to many rapid changes in land use and rapid increases in
temperature from global warming. Therefore we include some basic biological
assessment of many study sites. The study includes training of Mongolian
scientists in the taxonomy of Mongolian Tipulidae (Crane flies), Trichoptera
(Caddisflies), Ephemeroptera (Mayflies), Plecoptera (Stoneflies), and Chironomidae
(Non-biting Midges). Furthermore, we have provided research experiences
for U.S. undergraduate students through an REU supplemental grant. Goals
for our project include: