I work in the Department of Evolution & Ecology at the University of California, Davis. My position is complicated, but in essence I help run and teach our large introductory course on Evolution and Ecology.
My scientific background is in the taxonomy and biogeography of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), with expertise in the North America fauna.
I want this site to not only be a place to post information about who I am doing and what my interests are, but also to be a place to post information about North American mayfly taxonomy, with a focus on Western US species. One of my goals is to post information related to California mayfly taxonomy and the resources available, especially for the non-specialist.
My approach here is from the perspective of an educator (see About Me), thus I view what I am posting is more like a field guide; that is, bringing information together. It is not meant to propose changes to mayfly taxonomy. That needs to be done in peer-reviewed journals. Also, what I am posting is not meant to be the definitive taxonomic history of the organisms, but rather some practical suggestions as to where to start (what papers one should have and some identification notes from my own experience–although I can’t help myself but add some history as I am a history buff).
Why am I doing this? Based on conversations I have had with ecologists (primarily grad students), consultants, and those just interested in mayflies, there is no place I can direct folks as a starting point for jumping into the literature. Specialists don’t really need these resources, and so I am not posting for that audience. Also, it is time to build a web-based resource that one can go to. My focus, necessarily, will be California. That is manageable geographically.
Note: I won’t post literature as I don’t want to infringe on copyright; however, I do recognize access to some of the journals cannot be easily had without an affiliation with a university. Which is unfortunate. The web site Ephemeroptera Galactica does have many pdfs of papers, both historic and modern. That is the first place to look (I won’t link to specific papers at that site as they deserve credit for their work and so one should visit their site). One can find a number of papers using a Google search, but sometimes one does hit a paywall if they are not using a university IP address. Again, this is unfortunate.
Organization of the Site
If you click on the Mayflies tab above, it will take you to the California Mayfly page. Click on the Family name and that will take you to a detailed discussion of the literature for that Family. The site will be built from there.
Partial List of Mayfly Resources
Mayfly Central (where you can find the most up-to-date names)
Purdue Entomological Research Collection (home of one of the largest mayfly collections)
Ephemeroptera Galactica (pdfs of many publications can be found here)
California Bioassessment Lab (California State Agency)
Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis (searchable Database of mayflies in their collection)
California Academy of Sciences (searchable database)