I couldn't even see what they were eating. So he turned his attention to tiger beetles. The colorful predators had always fascinated Pearson, who collected insects as a boy. The beetles soon proved as useful as they were interesting. I found that I could answer some important questions in ecology that weren't possible with birds.
Tiger beetles lend themselves easily to conservation studies.
For Pearson, the switch was a little more difficult. Because conservation is a relatively new area of biology, he is learning and defining the field as he goes. Most people in conservation biology came from some other field, just like I did. They studied genetics, ecology, or behavior. That's why the ASU scientist has put together a checklist for researchers to use in selecting organisms for use as bioindicators.