Temporary pond crustaceans: An introduction for entomologists

Temporary ponds provide an opportunity for aquatic and semi-aquatic arthropods to flourish without pressure from predatory fish. Groups like Branchiopoda, Copepoda, and Ostracoda are found worldwide in temporary bodies of water, but often poorly represented in natural history collections and collected only by specialists. In just a few years working as a novice, I have made major progress towards understanding the distribution of groups such as Anostraca, Spinicaudata, and Laevicaudata in the state of Florida. However, my material is all that exists to document these groups in many locations. Most of the southeastern United States has never been inventoried. There is also a significant lack of understanding and recognition for these groups among entomologists, even though they are close cousins of hexapods and live in many of the same habitats. This talk will consists of a short overview of my ongoing efforts to document the Anostraca of Florida, and an introduction to the common temporary water crustaceans found in road ditches, storm drains, birdbaths, and other ubiquitous habitats. I provide the tools for entomologists, whom I know are already stopping to look at bugs, to recognize and look out for these bugs as well.