Past GMP Projects
Past GMP Projects
National Botanical Garden Malaise Programme (NBGMP): South Africa
The project aimed to develop a comprehensive inventory of Malaise-trappable arthropod species in 11 South African National Botanic Gardens (NBG) by coupling a year-long sampling program with subsequent DNA barcode analysis of the specimens. Malaise traps were deployed at 22 sites (2 traps per NBG – one in the cultivated part of the garden, and the other in the non-cultivated part) then samples were collected weekly.
Canadian National Parks Malaise Program (CNPMP)
A large scale sampling project that examined the diversity of arthropod species across Canadian National Parks. From 2012 to 2014, the program sampled at 43/46 National Parks, the results from the project provide a baseline assessment of arthropod diversity within each park. The results are accessible publicly for further study by taxonomists and ecologists.
Terrestrial Arthropods Monitoring Program (TRACE)
This project aimed to examine long term trends in arthropod communities. Running from 2017 to 2023 across a wide variety of Provincial Parks, National Parks, farms, natural, and urban areas, TRACE utilized CBG’s standard metabarcoding protocol.
Arctic BIOSCAN (ARCBIO)
The ARCBIO project was a key component of developing a baseline understanding of arthropods in the Arctic. Throughout the project members of the CBG team collaborated with community partners, employed local residents and supported bidirectional knowledge transfer. The project developed a reference library useful for monitoring arthropods in the Canadian Arctic.
In addition to arthropods, ARCBIO also included records for over 7,000 herbarium specimens including vascular plants, lichens, and mosses.
LIFEPLAN
info
National Botanical Garden Malaise Programme: South Africa
(2022)
The project aimed to develop a comprehensive inventory of Malaise-trappable arthropod species in 11 South African National Botanic Gardens (NBG) by coupling a year-long sampling program with subsequent DNA barcode analysis of the specimens.
Canadian National Parks
Malaise Program
(2012-2014)
Examined the diversity of arthropod species in 43/46 Canadian National Parks with the goal of providing the baseline data needed to track long-term shifts in species composition.
Tracking the Response of Arthropod
Communities to Changing
Environments (TRACE)
(2018-2023)
Examined the diversity of arthropod species in different Canadian ecozones by analyzing Malaise trap samples in bulk using standard metabarcoding protocols.
Arctic BIOSCAN (ARCBIO)
(2018-2024)
Established in 2018, ARCBIO set up long-term biodiversity monitoring sites across Canada’s North, including Nunavut and the Yukon. Malaise trapping was one part of a broader survey that also included aquatic, marine, soil and eDNA sampling. In 2021, ARCBIO became the Arctic component of BIOSCAN-Canada.
Lifeplan: A Planetary Inventory of Life
(2020-2025)
Created a standardized global biodiversity dataset at 83 locations worldwide and 44 national sites in the Nordic countries and Madagascar, combining Malaise traps with spore, soil, camera, and audio sampling. CBG processed the project’s Malaise trap and cyclone samples.
BioAlfa: Barcoding Costa Rica’s Biodiversity
(GMP Sampling 2021-2025)
BioAlfa is a 10-year national initiative (2019–2029), launched by Presidential Decree, that aims to make Costa Rica the first tropical country to fully know its biodiversity: an estimated one million species, about 4% of the world’s total. Working with Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), CBG processed more than 6.3 million specimens from Malaise traps across the country, making BioAlfa GMP’s largest single contribution.