Alexander B OrfingerDalton State College | DSC
Alexander B Orfinger
BS - Biology, MS - Biology, PhD - Entomology
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39
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Introduction
I am currently an Assistant Professor of Biology at Dalton State College in Georgia, USA. My research largely centers on caddisfly (Trichoptera) systematics, though I have broad interests in natural history, taxonomy, ecology, evolutionary biology, and invasion biology of a wide range of taxa, but especially aquatic insects and fishes.
Publications
Publications (39)
The genus Cernotina Ross, 1938 is represented in the southeastern United States by three nominal species: Cernotina calcea Ross, 1938, Cernotina spicata Ross, 1938, and Cernotina truncona Ross, 1947. Of all Cernotina species, only the larva of C. spicata has been described to date. The goal of this paper is to describe, illustrate, and diagnose the...
The Polycentropus confusus species group (Trichoptera:
Polycentropodidae) comprises 19 nominal species occurring
throughout the eastern Nearctic Region. This group has never
been comprehensively treated, prompting its full revision here.
Males of all 19 species are redescribed and illustrated, and the 14
known females of the group are described and...
We present an inexpensive, versatile, and robust mounting system for Hester-Dendy (HD) multiplate samplers that are useful in aquatic biological studies and freshwater biomonitoring programs. Detailed instructions are provided outlining the construction and deployment of a concrete block system featuring threaded anchors for screwing in HD columns...
Although the alpha taxonomy of male caddisflies (Trichoptera) is largely well resolved in North America
north of Mexico, significant work is needed to improve knowledge of larval stages. The genus Polycentropus Curtis,
1835 (Polycentropodidae) typifies this fact, with larval descriptions available for only 5/29 Nearctic species. The
speciose easter...
Larval taxonomy of caddisflies (Trichoptera) lags behind that of adults. Taxonomic
knowledge of Nearctic representatives of Polycentropus Curtis, 1835 (Polycentropodidae) is particularly poorly resolved with the larva of only one of 30 species described and with no western Nearctic larvae known. Herein, the late-instar larvae of four of seven weste...
In a stroke of good luck for aquatic scientists and insect enthusiasts, the May 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM) in Grand Rapids, Michigan coincided with a spectacular hatch of hydropsychid caddisflies. To estimate density, we enumerated caddisflies on 12 polarized window panels on the western face of the DeVos Place, which faced the Gran...
Denning described the apparently uncommon species Polycentropus timesis (Denning, 1948) based on a single male specimen from Massachusetts. Since its original description, additional specimens of P. timesis have been collected from New Hampshire and Michigan. The previous description and illustration of the species are inadequate. Here, the male of...
This study aimed to analyze the sex ratio, spawning seasons, length at first maturity, length distribution, length–weight relationship, and relative condition factor of Cultellus maximus (Gmelin, 1791) in Southern Vietnam. A total of 1037 individuals of C. maximus were collected at 3 sampling sites from June, 2019 to June, 2020. The sex ratio was f...
In the recent article by Orfinger et al. (2022), Figures 3–6 were published with incorrect captions. The figures with correct captions are shown below.
Earth’s biodiversity is still so poorly known that only about two million (Bánki et al., 2021) of the estimated nine million or more eukaryotic species (Larsen et al., 2017; Mora et al., 2011) have been described. This puts taxonomists in a race against time to discover biodiversity before it is lost as a result of the Anthropocene mass extinction....
Roughly 18,000 species are described annually as new to science, while estimated extinction rates are comparable to or even exceeding these new discoveries. Considering the estimates of up to 15 million extant eukaryotic species on Earth, of which only about 2 million have been described so far, there has been a recent 'boom' of new potential appro...
Alpha taxonomy of caddisflies (order Trichoptera) is based primarily on male genital morphology. As such, associations of adult females and other life stages typically require conclusive association with the species’ identifiable male. The aim of this study was to use molecular methods to associate females and larvae of Polycentropus species repres...
The larva of the limnephilid caddisfly Limnephilus sackeni Banks, 1930 Banks, N. (1930), ‘New Neuropteroid Insects from the United States’, Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 37, 223–233..[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] is associated, described, diagnosed, and illustrated for the first time. The larvae of this species can be readily separated from othe...
The jumping bristletail Pedetontus gershneri Allen, 1995 (Microcoryphia: Machilidae) is reported from the state of Alabama, USA, for the first time, extending its known range east-southeast by roughly 588 km. The first partial mtDNA barcode was generated for the species. Notes on color variation and sampling needs of Microcoryphia are briefly discu...
A new eastern Nearctic species of tube-making caddisfly of the genus Polycentropus Curtis 1835 (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae) is described and illustrated based on adult males and females. Polycentropus aileenae n. sp., a member of the Polycentropus confusus Species Group, is reported from the Canadian province Nova Scotia and the U.S. states Ten...
Faunal surveys are necessary to understand the diversity,
distribution, biology, and conservation of organisms. Numerous
trapping methods have been developed and optimized for various
groups of animals. Despite targeting particular taxa of interest,
the capture of non-target organisms (“bycatch”) is a common
occurrence. One example is the bycatch o...
The BOLD dataset "DS-POLYCSS Nearctic Polycentropodidae (Trichoptera)" contains publicly accessible molecular data and associated voucher collection data. Data include two loci (nuclear 28s rRNA D2 and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase C (COI)), specimen images, collection data, and additional specimen data. Data pertain to hundreds of treated speci...
In an effort to evaluate the taxonomic uncertainty of the species status of Hexagenia orlando Traver, 1931 (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae), molecular data were used for the first time to test its current classification. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) haplotypes were evaluated using three types of analyses in the form of distance-ba...
It has been suggested that suckermouth armoured catfishes of the genus Pterygoplichthys Gill, 1858 (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) might use brackish water systems as a means to disperse between freshwater bodies. This study aimed to explore the dynamics of Pterygoplichthys spp. distribution in relation to salinity gradient and provide population char...
Entomologists study the most diverse group of animals on the planet. Still, a glaring contrast exists when comparing the diversity of the organisms studied with the scientists doing the studying. It is no secret that science fields in the United States, including entomology, suffer from a severe lack of diversity and have since their inception. An...
We describe here a new caddisfly species of the genus Polycentropus (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae) based on males from numerous localities throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Polycentropus dinkinsorum is a member of the P. confusus Species Group and is readily separated from its congeners based on aspects of the ma...
Here we build on the manifesto 'World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, issued by the Alliance of World Scientists. As a group of conservation biologists deeply concerned about the decline of insect populations, we here review what we know about the drivers of insect extinctions, their consequences, and how extinctions can negatively impact humanity...
The fate of humans and insects intertwine, especially through the medium of plants. Global environmental change, including land transformation and contamination, is causing concerning insect diversity loss, articulated in the companion review Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions. Yet, despite a sound philosophical foundation, recog...
Polycentropus harpi Moulton and Stewart (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae) is transferred to Plectrocnemia Stephens, resulting in the name Plectrocnemia harpi (Moulton and Stewart, 1993), new combination.
Dozens of introduced exotic freshwater fish species inhabit the state of Florida. These nonnative fishes interact with freshwater commercial fisheries in a variety of ways, influencing catch abundance, composition, and revenue. Using a 22-year data set collected from a commercial haul seine fishery, we aimed to explore the dynamics of yield and rev...
The giant burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia limbata (Serville,
1829) (Figure 1) is one of the most widespread mayflies
in North America and is well known for its importance
in ecosystem health and water quality monitoring. The
mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) are an ancient lineage of
aquatic insects originating more than 300 million years
ago (Merritt and...
Surprisingly little is known about the basic biology of many large raptor species. Zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers can help remedy this knowledge gap by providing a wealth of data on species whose in situ counterparts are difficult to study. We present one such example here by recording multiple new longevity records for the Barred Owl (St...
Surprisingly little is known about the basic biology of many large raptor species. Zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers can help remedy this knowledge gap by providing a wealth of data on species whose in situ counterparts are difficult to study. We present one such example here by recording multiple new longevity records for the Barred Owl (St...
We present an account of flower-feeding by 2 species of mydas flies in Florida. We observed adults of Mydas clavatus and Mydas maculiventris feeding on flowers of both typical and unusually large (tree-form) Licania michauxii (Gopher Apple; Chrysobalanaceae). We also observed M. maculiventris feeding on flowers of Serenoa repens (Saw Palmetto; Arec...
Citation: Orfinger AB, Goodding DD. 2018. The global invasion of the suckermouth armored catfish genus Pterygoplichthys (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): annotated list of species, distributional summary, and assessment of impacts. Zool Stud 57:7. (2018) The suckermouth armored catfish genus Pterygoplichthys (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) includes popula...
We describe Melanosternarchus amaru as a new genus and species of Apteronotidae from the deep channels of blackwater and clearwater tributaries of the Amazon River in Brazil and Peru. The new species superficially resembles members of the widespread “Apteronotus” bonapartii species group, from which it can be readily distinguished by expanded bones...
The range of the staphylinid beetle Tachyporus nitidulus (Fabricius, 1781) (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Tachyporinae) is extended to include the state of Florida, USA. The record is based on a single female specimen collected via Malaise trap in a rural yard in Baker County, Florida in 2007.
It is well documented that pan trap color greatly influences arthropod catch composition. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that pan trapping catch varies with habitat. The goal of this study is to present preliminary data on pan trap yield from an imperiled ecosystem marked by high rates of endemicity, longleaf pine flatwoods. Yellow, blue, a...
This study reports the length-weight relationship (LWR), Fulton's condition factor (K), and sex ratio of the non-native catfish Hoplosternum littorale (Hancock, 1828) in Florida for the first time. Sampling was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 in Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area in Christmas, Florida. A total of 477 specimens were cau...
Evolution is fundamental to the understanding and contextualization of all of the life sciences. However, widespread public confusion and denial surround evolutionary theory. To better illuminate some of the issues concerning evolutionary misinformation, an abbreviated review of the fundamentals of modern evolutionary theory, a discussion and clari...