John W. Brown, Team Leader for Butterflies and moths 

Arthur V. Evans, Bioblitz Coordinator/Beetle Team Leader

Arnold W. ?Butch? Norden, Team Leader for land snails, terrestrial/aquatic planarians

Richard Orr, Team Leader for dragonflies and damselflies

Arthur Evans

Bioblitz Coordinator/Beetle Team Leader

Education: D.Sc., entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa; B.A., entomology, California State University-Long Beach; M.S., biology, California State University-Long Beach Expertise: Coleoptera
Tools of the trade: aspirator, beating sheet, ultra violet light

Arthur V. Evans is fascinated by beetles. The title of the book he co-authored in 2000, ?An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles,? should be proof enough. According to his book, beetles are the most successful creatures on earth: about 350,000 species of beetles have been described since 1758. Evans is a former director of the Insect Zoo at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and is a research associate for the Smithsonian Institution and the Virginia Museum of Natural History. The Potomac Gorge BioBlitz represents his fourth BioBlitz. He is also co-author of ?Introduction to California Beetles.?

Mark Khosravi

Reptile/Amphibian Team Member

Education: M.Ed. George Mason University; B.A. biology degree George Mason University
Expertise: local amphibians and reptiles
Most interesting discovery: garter snake mating ball
Tools of the trade: pitfall traps, snake hook, digital camera, motion-detecting camera

Mark Khosravi has taught freshman biology and advanced placement environmental science at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke for eight years. A graduate of George Mason University, Khosravi also volunteers during the summer for his alma mater monitoring water quality and other environmental factors on Pohick Bay and the Potomac River. A photo he took of a garter snake mating ball, which has never been recorded in Virginia before, was published in a Smithsonian book titled, ?Snakes in Question.?

?People aren?t always aware of what?s out there,? he says. ?When they see a snake, they immediately think it?s poisonous. I try to teach my students and others about the importance of reptiles and amphibians to the entire natural system.?

Jason D. Gibson

Reptile/Amphibian Team Leader

Education:  M.S., environmental studies, Longwood College; B.S., Biology, Old Dominion University; Teacher certification, Old Dominion University
Expertise:  reptiles/amphibians
Most interesting discovery:  Bilateral bullous spectaculopathy or swelling of tertiary spectacle, which is a covering over the cornea in both eyes in Nerodia sipedon (northern watersnake)
Tools of the trade:  Stump ripper, Hoop turtle traps, hands
 
Jason D. Gibson has been bitten more times by snakes than he can remember. He has tracked reptiles and amphibians across many parts of Virginia, including Powahatan County, the City of Chesapeake and Richmond County. His love for herpetology began when he was a young boy. Every Sunday after lunch at his grandparent's home near a pond he would catch southern toads during breeding seasons and watching them hatch. Gibson, who is a biology teacher at Galileo Magnet High School in Danville, has researched everything from skin lesions and shell diseases in Virginia turtles to road mortality of snakes in central Virginia. As president of the Virginia Herpetological Society, he is regular contributor to the group?s publication, Catesbeiana.

Arnold W. ?Butch? Norden

Team Leader for land snails, terrestrial/aquatic planarians

Education: M.S., Aquatic Ecology, Towson University; B.S., Biology, Towson State University
Expertise:  Forest floor invertebrates, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles
Most Interesting Discovery: New species of Entocytherid ostracods, aquatic isopods, amphipods and planarians
Tools of the Trade:  Jars, alcohol, sharp eyes and a strong back

Butch Norden?s obsession with natural history began in grade school when he discovered a milk snake on a school trip, and for the next fifteen years amphibians and reptiles were his passion.  He has always been fascinated by all things natural, and his tendency to be distracted by a pillbug, lichen or burrowing crayfish resulted in more than a few ?serious? conversations with his grad school advisors. 

About the time that he started thinking about a Masters Thesis topic, Butch shifted toward invertebrates. ?There are so darn many of them and we know almost nothing about even the ones in the average backyard,? Norden says. Norden?s graduate research explored the ecology and distribution of the aquatic triclad planarians that inhabit Maryland, and his interest in invertebrates has deepened, although he still can?t resist stopping to check out any herp that crawls, swims or hops by.  Butch is presently the Central Region Planner for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources? Public Lands Policy and Planning Unit, and pursues ecological research on landsnails and other invertebrates in his free time.

John W. Brown

Team Leader for Butterflies and moths

Education: Ph.D., Entomology, University of California, Berkeley; B.S., Zoology, San Diego State University; A.A., General Education, Southwestern College
Expertise: Microlepidoptera
Tools of the trade: blacklight traps (a small bucket with a funnel and blacklight on the top)

John W. Brown is a moth man. He grew up an ?outdoorsy? kid and has always had a keen interest in plants and the things that set on them, including birds and bugs. Brown is a research entomologist with the Systematics Entomology Laboratory at the National Museum of Natural History, where he works on the pest family Tortricidae. He also is a member of the Washington Biologists? Field Club. Brown has participated in other BioBlitzes, but is particularly interested in the Potomac Gorge because of the topographic diversity??the north shore gets more shade, while the south shore is a bit drier,? he notes.

Richard Orr

Team Leader for dragonflies and damselflies

Education: M.S., Entomology, Brigham Young University; B.S., Biology, Southern Oregon University
Expertise: Odonata
Most Interesting Discovery: New dragonfly species on the Potomac River

Mr. Orr has been employed since 2003 by the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) as the Assistant Director for International Policy and Prevention.  Co-chaired by the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Interior, NISC coordinates federal invasive species programs and works closely with state and local governments and private organizations.  Mr. Orr was previously employed as a Senior Entomologist with USDA?s Animal and Plant Heath Inspection Service (APHIS) for 22 years.  For the final ten years with APHIS, Richard was involved in the development and design of risk assessments, risk management projects, and interagency and interdepartmental projects dealing with various invasive alien species. 

Before joining USDA APHIS, Richard conducted international and domestic entomological research, including a 2-yr natural history study of West African timber pests for the Smithsonian Institute.  Over the past 20 yr, he has been actively involved with ecological and distributional research involving dragonflies and damselflies for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Nature Conservancy, and Maryland?s Department of Natural Resources.

Zachary Loughman

Crustacean Crew Leader

Education: B.S. West Liberty State College,
M.S. Marshall University
Expertise: Crayfish ecology and natural history, herpetology
Most interesting discovery in the field: Un-described
crayfish species
Tools of the trade: Minnow seine, dip net, shovels
and patience!

Zachary Loughman has been interested in nature since an early age. A West Virginia native, Zac spent his childhood growing up in the creeks and wooded hillsides of Northern West Virginia chasing salamanders and catching snakes. Later on in life Zac attended college at West Liberty State College and received an MS in biology from Marshall University. During his tenure at Marshall University, Zac worked under Dr. Thomas K. Pauley and assisted on several herpetological projects focusing on West Virginia reptile and amphibian conservation. While at Marshall, Zac fostered a deep interest and passion for conservation biology and natural history of North American crayfishes. Since his time at Marshall, Zac has been the research Specialist at Schrader Environmental Education Center in Wheeling West Virginia. Projects Zac has worked on have led to the discovery of un-described crayfish species and a better understanding of the natural history of these enigmatic animals.

Thomas J. Henry

Team Leader for True Bugs

Education: Ph.D., Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park; M..S., Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; B.S., Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Expertise: Heteroptera of the world, especially Miridae.
Tools of the Trade: Beating net, sweep net, blacklight, Malaise traps.

Thomas Henry specializes in true bugs, the fifth largest group of insects. He is a research entomologist with the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D. C.  His research specialty, the family Miridae, often called plant bugs, comprises of over 10,000 species in the world.  Two hundred to 250 species of plant bugs can be expected to occur along the Potomac Gorge.  Tom has conducted fieldwork all over the world and has published numerous articles on true bugs, including a Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and Continental United States that documents over 4,000 North American species.

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