IUPUC professor studying endangered mayflies with Indy Zoo grant

An IUPUC professor has received a grant from the Indianapolis Zoo to study threatened and endangered mayfly species in Indiana.

The grant will support IUPUC Associate Professor of Biology Luke Jacobus’ research and monitoring of 12 threatened or endangered mayfly species that have not been found in Indiana for 50 years or more. One of the species has not been seen here in 190 years.

Jacobus said that 37 species of mayflies are listed as threatened or endangered in Indiana. He will go on 11 collecting expeditions to search for the mayfly species in at least 15 locations to evaluate current habitat conditions.

He says “This project will help us know which species really are in trouble and which ones are thought to be scarce simply because nobody has looked in the right place at the right time.”

The college announced this week that the grant is part of a $350,000 zoo program to support conservation programs.