UW Grad Student Wins Regional Honor for Beetle Research

A University of Wyoming graduate student has been honored for her research showing that, among other things, a rare aquatic beetle in central Wyoming is found in more streams than had been documented previously.

Audrey Lindsteadt is the winner of the 2024 Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (RM-CESU) Student Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishment by students at institutions in states including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Washington, as well as Alberta, Canada.

Lindsteadt, now a Ph.D. student in UW's Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, completed the beetle research as a master's degree student in the Department of Zoology and Physiology.

"Audrey is talented, engaged, devoted and a curious scientist with a strong work ethic and outside-the-box thinking. Although Audrey's research focused on a rare beetle in harsh conditions, her results provide a new take on rare species management, which she is shaping into a new paradigm that managers can use for rare animals living in specialized or harsh habitats," wrote Lusha Tronstad, the lead invertebrate zoologist in UW's Wyoming Natural Diversity Database who was Lindsteadt's adviser. "Audrey is an amazing student with fresh insights, unique interests and unparalleled abilities that will contribute to her success in her education and beyond."

Lindsteadt found that the narrow-foot Hygrotus diving beetle, previously only known in 16 salty streams in central Wyoming, exists in three additional streams in two new watersheds, including the Big Horn Basin. That information informed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2023 decision to not list the beetle for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"I believe Ms. Lindsteadt's information was critical to many facets of my agency's species status assessment, including our evaluation of its life history, physiological tolerances and range," wrote Julie Reeves, a former biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Wyoming Ecological Services Field Office. "Without the information from Ms. Lindsteadt and our partnership with (UW's) Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, the (Fish and Wildlife) Service would not have been able to fully understand the resiliency, redundancy and representation of the narrow-foot Hygrotus diving beetle, and would not have been able to determine its current or estimate its future viability, ultimately leading to our decision that the species does not warrant protection under the ESA."

The narrow-foot Hygrotus diving beetle was discovered in 1964. The small insect inhabits intermittent streams and ephemeral pools with high concentrations of dissolved salts. It feeds on larval mosquitos, midges and other insects. Lindsteadt found that the beetles choose to live in streams where they have a high likelihood of dying, likely because there is less competition from other insects -- not because they're adapted to the harsh conditions.

"Information from Audrey's project is changing the way we should think about and manage endemic species," Tronstad wrote. "Audrey's results provide a framework to base other studies of rare species that live in harsh environments. Such species are critically important ecologically and monetarily because they are frequently petitioned for Endangered Species Act listing."

Lindsteadt came to UW after completing her bachelor's degree in biology at Missouri Western State University.

About the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

With rapidly growing and urbanizing populations, the Rocky Mountain Region presents opportunities for innovative and creative resource management. The RM-CESU meets these opportunities by bringing together the region's best scientific talent and scholarship to help manage resource problems across social, cultural, economic, political and environmental arenas.

The RM-CESU works to aid in the development and transmission of knowledge to land managers, political and industry leaders, and others who need such information. The RM-CESU conducts research, education and technical assistance on both agency-specific issues and on issues concerning areas of mixed ownership.