BioSCAN

Home Research

Project Description (From main project [|site]) In 2012, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County launched a new research initiative: //NHM Biodiversity Science: City and Nature// (NHM BioSCAN). This first-of-its-kind scientific investigation will discover and explore biodiversity in and around one of the world’s largest cities: Los Angeles. In three years of sampling from the urban core right out through less-urban surrounding areas, we will focus on the insects, the most diverse group of animals on our planet. We will discover and document the diversity of insect species living with us in Los Angeles as well as test intriguing hypotheses about how natural areas around the city affect its biodiversity, and specifically, how light in the urban environment is affecting its inhabitants. NHM BioSCAN will take full advantage of our Museum base by directly engaging the public in the discovery and exploration of their home city.

Insect sorting [|procedure].

Trap designs from LA Makerspace

Global light pollution data taken from the GLOBE At Night 2012 survey. Comparison of light pollution levels with the number of insect species found per country. Results of this background research:

October 2013 results for comparing the density of insect species by country with a number of different economic, environmental, and demographic variables. || PM2.5 micro grams per cubic meter || 20 || 0.00902173 ||
 * Variable compared with species density || Function || Correlation coefficient || units of x || Average value of x for LA || Predicted density of insects (km^-2) ||
 * Light Pollution || y=-0.8184x + 4.5091 || 0.78577 || Magnitude || 2.75 || 2.26 ||
 * Urban Land Cover || y = 10.589x^ 1.2628 || .33705 || Fraction || 0.354 || 2.85 ||
 * Population Density || y=0.0002x^1.3367 || .32838 || People per sq kilometer || 4743.2 || 16.40 ||
 * % Arable Land || y = 0.0008x^2 - 0.062x + 1.307 || .05223 || % Arable land || .04 || 1.30 ||
 * GDP PPP per capita || y = -6E-05x + 2.4408 || .19074 || Dollars || 26148 || 0.87192 ||
 * PM10 || y = -0.0032x + 0.5885 || .00443  || PM10 micro grams per cubic meter || 105 || .253 ||
 * PM2.5 || y = 5E-07x 3.2715 || .26415

Background research papers on trapping insects. Results are summarized here.