HONOLULU – Bishop Museum has received a $450,000 grant over two years to survey selected biodiverse terrestrial arthropods in Fiji under the direction of Dr. Neal L. Evenhuis. The funds, provided in part by the National Science Foundation ($400,000) and the Schlinger Foundation ($50,000) will support the Museum’s efforts to produce survey findings, which will include databases, checklists, and scientific papers, available to a wide user community through the web and peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Fiji is one of the most unique island groups in the Pacific, offering insight into the biogeographic dynamics that have taken place in the Pacific’s southern island groups and their relationship to the faunas of surrounding land masses. As a result, survey findings can be used as comparative examples when studying similar faunas in places such as New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and New Caledonia.

It is estimated that there will be over 500 new species of flies, beetles, aquatic bugs, ants, wasps, and spiders that will be discovered and described by specialists during the course of this study in Fiji. Community meetings will be held to inform villagers about the project and will be used as a medium for interaction between scientists and villagers providing opportunity to learn from each other about the natural heritage of Fiji. After sorting, specimens collected during this project will be databased and sent to specialist’s world-wide who have agreed to further identify and describe new species they find in the material collected.

Participating researchers will then submit the findings to peer-reviewed papers concerning Fiji terrestrial arthropods, which will be made available via the web, electronically and hard copy.

A treasured resource of Hawaiian history and heritage Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop as a tribute to his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty. Located at 1525 Bernice Street, the Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $14.95 for adults; $11.95 for youth 4-12 years, special rates for kama‘āina, seniors and military; children under 4 years and Bishop Museum Association members are free. For information, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.