HERRERA MORENO Henri William, Ecuador

Abstract (adapted from original project proposal)

At present more than 90% of the ant collection of the Charles Darwin Foundation is stored in alcohol, and approximately 10% is poorly mounted. None of this material has been taxonomically analyzed or classified. Due to the present state of the collection, new  introduced species of ants might be present in these containers without us knowing about it. Mr Herrera's interest during the program rests therefore with learning techniques and methods for the management of a Formicidae collection. He also wants to enrich his knowledge on the taxonomy of neotropic ants.

The knowledge acquired will allow to build for the first time a scientific reference collection, which will serve as a base for the knowledge of the ants of the Galapagos and of continental Ecuador. It will also enable the elaboration of a checklist of the Galapagos ants, the detection of newly
introduced species, and the development of the first taxonomic key of the subfamilies, genus and species of the Galapagos ants.

This knowledge will allow to make recommendations to the Ecuadorian government on monitoring programs for conservation.

Training location: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels; from 8 March to 12 April 2008.