Got bugs? U of G collecting samples to catalogue Canada’s biodiversity

GUELPH – BugQuest is a nationwide community science project run by the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (CBG) at the University of Guelph. The goal is to set up 1,000 traps across Canada to survey insect diversity.

“This is a huge project,” says CBG post-doctoral scholar Dr. Ross Stewart. 

“The largest we’ve done is 300 traps over several years, so it will really increase our sample size.”

The BugQuest team is sending Malaise traps to Canadians and asking them to install them in public spaces including parks, schools, botanical gardens and zoos.

Looking like a tent, they collect insects inside a bottle for subsequent biodiversity assessment. Samples are then returned to CBG for analysis using DNA barcoding and sequencing technology.

“The goal is to make science more tangible to Canada’s youth,” Stewart said. “We want students to participate and receive a list of the species together with photos of the species found in their schoolyard so they can understand what’s going on with their insects.”

The project is open to anyone, but Stewart says they’re currently focusing on schools in central and northern Canada, as they already have plenty of recruits in southern Canada.

“We want to target areas where it’s been difficult to deploy traps,” he explained. “We’re putting a lot of effort into making sure we can gather data from all across Canada.”

Participation is free, and Stewart says it has been easy to recruit participants.

The collected data will be shared back with the sampling sites, so everyone involved can see their contribution in the massive project.

Participants will have access to an online database sharing details on species lists, images and statistics for sites across the country.

Samples collected through BugQuest will be added to CBG’s digital DNA library, which added its 15 millionth specimen last year. Ever growing, it’s the largest digital DNA archive in the world.

Dr. Paul Hebert, CBG’s founder and CEO, pioneered DNA barcoding more than 20 years ago. The technique uses a short segment of a specimen’s genome to accurately identify its species and add it to a global database.

“BugQuest is a hugely exciting and much needed project as it will allow primary and secondary school students across Canada to lead the largest biodiversity survey ever undertaken in our nation,” said Hebert in a press release.

As the world stands on the brink of a mass extinction event, Stewart says the data collected in this project will be invaluable in the assessment of global biodiversity.

“It’s priceless,” he says. “We’ve never had such a detailed picture of Canadian biodiversity. We’re generating baseline data to see something that’s never been seen before and may never be seen again.”

Right now, BugQuest is just running in Canada. But Stewart hopes as they perfect the collecting and testing methods, it will set the stage for the activation of similar programs around the world.

Anyone interested in participating can sign up for a test kit on the BugQuest website.

BugQuest is part of Bioscan, funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund and by the Canada Foundation for Innovation.