spongymesophyll@gmail.com
Pursuing a Ph.D. at:
How to take a Litter Sample
Trips:
Jamaica 1998
More Photos
Hawaii 1999
Belize 2001
Thailand 2003
Cost Rica 2005
Taiwan 2006
GSMNP
2006
2007
2008
2009
Ecuador 2008
Photobook
Big Bend, TX 2009*
WY and SD 2009*
Web Publications:
Science Creative
Quarterly
LA Oak Twig Project
Scolytinae of LA
Hosted Literature:
George Henry Horn
The Fauna of British
India: Odonata
On top of the old wooden tower at Tiputini, Ecuador, 2008.
Research
My earliest research was on dragonflies (Odonata) in Missouri, and this resulted in later research opportunities in Thailand (see pubs.).
My masters at the University of Missouri was chiefly a survey of the Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) of Missouri State Parks (see pubs.).
Presently my research is centered on beetles in rotting wood (saproxylic Coleoptera). I have several current projects: 1) inventory and succession of saproxylic beetles in Great Smoky Mountains National Park; 2) inventory and succession of saproxylic beetles in Feliciana Preserve, Louisiana; 3) beetles in fine oak twigs (see pubs.); and 4) revision of the eastern species of the genus Sonoma (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae).
Publications
Ferro, M. L., R. W. Sites, and A. Vitheepradit. 2009. Contributions to the faunistics of Odonata in Thailand. Insecta Mundi 0104: 1-24. [PDF]
Ferro, M. L., M. L. Gimmel, K. E. Harms & C. E. Carlton. 2009. The beetle community of small oak twigs in Louisiana, with a literature review of Coleoptera from fine woody debris. Coleopterists Bulletin. 63: 239-263. [PDF]
Companion web page: LA Oak Twig Project
Swenson, N. G., D. L. Mahler, M. L Ferro, and A. Ritchie. 2007. The energetic determination, spatial dispersion and density dependence of Myrmeleon ant lion pits in Las Cruces, Costa Rica. Biotropica 39(6): 774-777. [PDF]
Ferro, M. L. and R. W. Sites. 2007. The Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera of Missouri state parks, with notes on biomonitoring, mesohabitat associations, and distribution. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 80(2): 105-129. [PDF]
Ferro, M. L. and R. W. Sites. 2006. Description of the larva of Gomphidictinus perakensis (Laidlaw) (Odonata: Gomphidae), with distributional notes. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 108(1): 76-81. [PDF]
Presentations at Entomological Society of America's Annual Meeting
An (almost) empty room in a packed house: Coarse woody debris class V islands of low diversity in a diverse leaf litter sea in GSMNP. 2008. Poster
Fine beetles: The community structure of Coleoptera in twigs and the efficacy of using twig bundles as a collecting technique. 2007. Poster (Second Place)
Saproxylic beetles in the rough. 2006. Poster
Effect of Loblolly Pine coarse woody debris (CWD) on Coleoptera species richness. 2005. Poster
The fauna of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera of Missouri state parks with notes on biomonitoring, mesohabitat associations, and distribution. 2004. Oral Presentation (First Place)
Distribution of Odonata in Thailand with associations of adults with larvae. 2003. Poster
Louisiana State Arthropod Museum,
Louisiana State University
Current Mystery Species
Mystery Paederinae
Oddities from the
Wee Hours:
Anti-Gravity
Slum Arcology
Welwitschia
Monster in the Closet*
Future of Cotton [pdf]
Sites Worth Visiting:
Coleopterists Society
Insecta Mundi
Zootaxa
ZooKeys
Neuroptera.com
Bio Heritage Lib
Kiva.org
ABE Books
GPS Visualizer
1984