June 15-21, 2009: Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas, USA

On June 15, 2009, the lab began a two year All Taxa Biotic Inventory (ATBI), project in Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas (BITH), to document aquatic true bug (Insecta: Heteroptera) diversity throughout the Thicket.

Paul spent a week visiting sites among the nearly 100,000 acres of BITH, sampling water bugs from all BITH units, planning future sampling localities, and assessing/recording prime aquatic habitats. The project is funded by the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Big Thicket Association, Texas. The project will run through 2011.

Click on a photo below, from the June 15-21, 2009 trip.