This page lists titles, dates, and venues for taxonomic workshops I have prepared and presented; each has focused on freshwater Annelida, with emphasis on the aquatic Oligochaeta of North America. Numerous colleagues over the last 35 years have provided encouragement, advice, and unselfishly shared their taxonomic and systematic expertise with me - in particular, Ralph O. Brinkhurst, R. Deedee Kathman, Kathryn A. Coates, Steven V. Fend, Donald J. Klemm, William Moser, Stuart R. Gelder, Tarmo Timm, Warren U. Brigham (deceased), Jack D. Unzicker (deceased), Alison R. Brigham, Milt W. Sanderson (deceased), and Donald W. Webb (deceased). Without their support and enthusiasm for excellence in taxonomy, I would not have been able to prepare and present the following workshops. The past and present Executive Committee members of the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) [formerly, the North American Benthological Society (NABS) - 1975-2011] have been extremely supportive of taxonomic training, especially through their underwriting of taxonomicworkshops and taxonomy fairs at annual meetings. In 2001, the NABS Technical Issues Committee established the Taxonomic Certification Subcommittee to develop a certification program for aquatic macroinvertebrate taxonomists throughout North America. This subcommittee met in Annapolis, MD, in mid-January 2003 to establish the mechanics and testing procedures for this certification program. This subcommittee was then elevated to standing committee status (as the NABS Taxonomic Certification Committee to develop the mechanics and procedures for the NABS Taxonomic Certification Program - TCP), at the 51st annual Society meeting in Athens, GA, in May 2003. Dr. Trefor B. Reynoldson (Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada) was chosen to serve as the TCP coordinator. Trefor retired from this position in December 2008; the current coordinator is Dr. Murray Colbo, who has expertise in bioassessments and dipteran systematics. Please visit the SFS TCP website for additional information, including testing procedures, list of recognized experts, information regarding submission of identified and verified specimens for use during tests administered through this program, and recently established options for recertification.
Taxonomic Workshops Prepared and Conducted By M. J. Wetzel (and in collaboration with others, where noted)
1. "The Distribution, Ecology, Systematics, and Taxonomy of Aquatic Annelida in the Midwest." Presented to scientific staff of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center, Columbia, Missouri; December 1990.
2. "Aquatic Annelida (Aclitellata and Clitellata) in the Southeast, with emphasis on distribution, ecology, systematics, and taxonomy." Presented to scientific staff at Duke Power Company, Huntersville, NC; October 1991.
3. "As the Worm Turns, and In Search of Opportunity: Aquatic Annelida (Aclitellata and Clitellata) in the West." Presented to biology staff and students at Northern Arizona University, Department of Biological Sciences, Flagstaff; November 1991.
4. "The Distribution, Ecology, Systematics, and Taxonomy of Aquatic Annelida in the Southeastern United States." Presented to scientific staff and students of various universities, state agencies, and private consulting firms, hosted by Normandeau Associates, Inc. and Clemson University, in Clemson, SC, 11-13 November 1992.
5. "Aquatic Oligochaeta occurring in the northeastern United States." Presented to biology staff and students at Castleton State College, Castleton, VT; October 1993.
6. "The Distribution, Ecology, Systematics, and Taxonomy of Annelida in North America." Presented to scientific staff at the National Water Quality Assessment Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Arvada, CO; {Part I - November 1995}.
7. "The aquatic Annelida of North America: Introduction, general distribution, ecology, taxonomy, and systematics, with emphasis on collection, processing, slide mounting, and identification of specimens." Presented to scientific staff of the Department of Zoology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden, April 1996.
8. "The Distribution, Ecology, Systematics, and Taxonomy of Annelida in North America." Presented to scientific staff at the National Water Quality Assessment Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Arvada, CO; {Part II - March 1997}.
9. "The aquatic Annelida of North America: Introduction, general distribution, ecology, taxonomy, and systematics, with emphasis on collection, processing, slide mounting, and identification of specimens occurring in the southeastern United States." Presented to scientific staff of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tampa; 2-3 November 1998.
10. "Introduction to the collection, processing, identification of freshwater Oligochaeta." Presented to scientific staff of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department Conservation, and University of Missouri faculty, staff, and graduate students, at the Enns Museum of Entomology, University of Missouri, Columbia; 6-7 March 2000.
11. "Taxonomy, Systematics, and Ecology of Aquatic Oligochaeta." An all-day workshop, underwritten by the Technical Issues Committee of the North American Benthological Society (NABS) and the US Environmental Protection Agency; organized and co-presented by Mark J. Wetzel, R. Deedee Kathman (Aquatic Resources Center, College Grove, TN), Steven V. Fend (US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA), and Kathryn A. Coates (Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc.), Sunday 28 May 2000, at the 48th Annual Meeting of NABS at Keystone Resort, Colorado. This workshop was underwritten by a non-construction grant from the U.S. EPA, through the North American Benthological Society (NABS) Technical Issues Committee (TIC). Our appreciation is extended to Susan Jackson (U.S. EPA), Susan Davies (Chair, NABS TIC), and Kim Haag (Treasurer, NABS) for their assistance in procurement of funding for this 2000 workshop. These funds also supported the preparation and publication of a workshop workbook (Wetzel et al. 2000). This 2000 workbook is now out of print; it has been superseded by several updated and expanded versions, compiled for use during subsequent workshops, listed below.
12. Two-day workshop on taxonomy of aquatic Oligochaeta was presented 16-17 March 2005 to bioassessment personnel at Duke Energy facilities, Huntersville, NC.
13. An introductory course on identification of aquatic Oligochaeta was presented to participants of the 31st meeting of the Carolinas Area Benthologists Workshop, Duke Energy facilities, Huntersville, NC. 18 March 2005.
14. Three-day workshop on taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of the aquatic Oligochaeta and Branchiobdellidae of North America, with emphasis on the fauna occurring in Florida [co-presented with S.V. Fend and K.A. Coates, S.R. Gelder, and R.D. Kathman]; 21-23 February 2006, at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Bureau of Laboratories facility in Tallahassee. This workshop was presented to professional bioassessment personnel employed by /under contract to the FDEP.
15. Three-day workshop on taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of the aquatic Oligochaeta of North America, with emphasis on the fauna occurring in Florida; 9-11 May 2006, at the University of Florida Department of Entomology and Nematology, Gainesville, FL. This workshop was presented to participants of the annual spring workshop associated with / underwritten by the Florida Association of Benthologists.
16. "Introduction to the taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of freshwater oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) of North America." An intensive half-day workshop presented to participants at the annual meeting of the Association of Mid-Atlantic Aquatic Biologists (AMAAB), convened at Cacapon State Park, near Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, Thursday, 3 April 2008.
17. "Introduction to the taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of freshwater oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) of North America, with emphasis on species occurring in Missouri and adjacent states." A three-day workshop, sponsored and underwritten by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Environmental Services Program, and convened in the Agriculture Building on the campus of the University of Missouri - Columbia, 6-8 January 2009.
18. "Introduction to the taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of freshwater oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) of North America." A three-day workshop sponsored and underwritten by EcoAnalysts, Inc., and convened at their corporate facilities in Moscow, Idaho, 4-6 March 2009. 19. "Introduction to the taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of freshwater oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) of North America." A three-day workshop sponsored and underwritten by Watershed Assessment Associates, convened at their corporate facilities in Schenectady, NY, 17-19 November 2009.
> A complete citation for the workbook used for the Missouri, Idaho, and New York workshops (listed immediately above), is noted via the link "Publications" from the navigation bar at the bottom of this page. Copies of this workbook are no longer available as we are updating it; we hope to have another version completed sometime in late 2013, likely for one or more workshops now being considered. >
19. "Australian Marine and Freshwater Oligochaete Identification Workshop", co-presented by Dr. Christer Erséus (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden), Adrian Pinder (Research Scientist, Science Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia), and Mark J. Wetzel (Research Scientist, Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA). This workshop was presented on 7 September 2012 at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle, Western Australia, immediately preceding the 12th International Symposium on Aquatic Oligochaeta (ISAO12), which also convened at the Esplanade Hotel on 9-13 September.
Upcoming Workshops.
None planned at this time.
Taxonomy Fairs
I have participated in all 13 of the taxonomy fairs held during the annual meetings of the North American Benthological Society / Society for Freshwater Science: 1999 (Duluth, MN), 2000 (Keystone Resort, CO), 2001 (LaCrosse, WI), 2002 (Pittsburgh, PA), 2003 (Athens, GA), 2004 (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 2005 (New Orleans, LA), 2006 (Anchorage, AK), 2007 (Columbia, SC), 2008 (Salt Lake City, UT), 2009 (Grand Rapids, MI), 2010 (Santa Fe, New Mexico), 2011 (Providence, Rhode Island), and 2012 (Louisville, Kentucky). I extend my appreciation to Dave Penrose, Susan Norton, Kim Haag, Susan Jackson, Irwin Polls, Gerald Jacobi, Dave Feldman, Dawn Hamilton, Chris Outlaw, Bobby Louque, and other members of the NABS / SFS Technical Issues and Taxonomic Certification committees for their support of training workshops and the annual taxonomy fairs that underwrite excellence in taxonomy. All of us thank Bobby Martin (Martin Microscope Company) and his company's staff members for their perennial support of the taxonomy workshops and taxonomy fairs convened during our annual society meetings, and especially for providing numerous microscopes for our use and unselfishly sharing his professional microscopical expertise with us.
I have participated in the Taxonomy Fairs organized by the Florida Association of Benthologists (FAB), presented during the annual FAB meetings in December 2009, December 2010, November 2011, and most recently, during the annual Association meeting, convened at the new Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve facility in Eastpoint, FL, 6-8 November 2012. Upcoming Taxonomy Fairs. The 14th annual SFS Taxonomy Fair is currently being organized for the upcoming 61st annual Society meeting that will convene in Jacksonville, Florida, 19-23 May 2013.
Questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas? Please E-Mail them to me at: mjwetzel{AT}illinois.edu
The site navigation bar at the bottom of this page directs you to resume-related information, some of my research projects, the INHS Center for Annelida Resources, and the INHS Annelida Collection.
page update: 22 January 2013.