Conservation of the Uglies

In conservation biology determining which species to protect can often be a difficult decision.  Iconic species such as the Monarch Butterfly often evoke stronger calls for conservation from the public than lesser known species.While any type of conservation is in theory a good thing, not focusing on the ecological roles different species play in a given habitat is a poor strategy.  For example, researchers have named a new species of snail (Charopa lafargei) in Malaysia after a quarrying company (Lafarge) in hopes it may delay or prevent the company from destroying the habitat in which the snail was found.  Furthermore, a survey by George Mason University found that survey respondents were more likely to want to save "patriotic" or cute  named organisms than those with other names (Shiffman, 2014).  While the public opinion of a given species should not have much of an impact on ecological decision it can, and often does, have profound impacts on influencing government agencies.  Not only can public approval help a species by making it more visible to the general public but it also can generate important monetary donations which lesser known species would not be able to get.  While conservation of species is an important topic I think that the general public would be well advised to support all species rather than to pick "favorites" as biodiversity is something we all should value.

Java mouse-deer at the Jerusalem Zoo (Wikipedia)

Works Cited:

Shiffman, D. (2014, December 16). Could an Animal's Name Save It from Extinction? Retrieved March 16, 2015, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-an-animal-s-name-save-it-from-extinction/

North American Native Bees

The average U.S. citizen may be surprised to know that the common honey bee (A. mellifera) is not a native bee species to North America.  While the importance of the honey bee to agriculture is unquestionable, a number of native insect species also act as pollinators in North America.  Carpenter Bees for example, are native bees found in North America as well as a number of cuckoo bees.

Native Bees pollinate crops native to North America including: tomatoes, blueberries, pumpkins, eggplants, and a number of other important crops.  While some native bees are social like the honey bee a number of other species live solitary lives or don't construct traditional combs.  Much like non-native honey bees a number of these important pollinators are also on the decline.  For more information on native bees read here.

Native Sweat Bee (Agapostemon virescens)

Works Cited: 

Native Bees of North America. (2010.). Retrieved March 6, 2015, from http://bugguide.net/node/view/475348

Controlling Mosquitoes with Genetics

Mosquitoes are well known vectors of a number of pathogens that can infect and cause sickness or death in humans.  Because of their role in disease transmission, the control of mosquitoes is an important focus for many countries.  Traditionally pesticides have been used to kill both the adults and larval forms of various mosquito species.  These techniques include fogging at night for adult mosquitoes and applying Bt toxin  or oil based larvicides on water surfaces to inhibit larva from breathing or to outright cause larval death.


 


Recently, health officials in Florida hope to implement a different strategy.  They plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys to combat dengue fever and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.  The push for approval from the FDA to release GMO mosquitoes is that health officials in Florida indicate that years of insecticide spraying have caused high levels of resistance in the target species of mosquito, A. Aegypti.  The move is not without controversy though as some groups oppose the use of GMO insects (Allen, 2015).

Prior history would show that sterile males, albeit not genetically modified have been successful in controlling another Dipetran species in the United States, the screwworm fly.  In my opinion, field trials should be initiated as these GMO mosquitoes could save both human suffering and the costs for caring for infected individuals.

Works Cited:

Allen, G. (2015, January 28). Florida Health Officials Hope To Test GMO Mosquitoes This Spring. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/28/382168407/florida-health-officials-hope-to-test-gmo-mosquitoes-this-spring

Learning Styles: An education myth debunked by science.

Many teachers and students believe that they have a specific learning style.  For example, some students will claim that they are, "visual" or "kinesthetic" learners.  This long held belief that students learn in specific fashions is apparently a myth.  According a Nature Reviews Neuroscience, by Paul Howard-Jones, the interconnections of the brain and numerous educational and lab studies fail to support teaching to student learning styles (2014).  Furthermore, neuroscientist and writer, Christian Jarrett writes, 
"surprisingly few studies of this format (learning preference) have produced supporting evidence for learning styles; far more evidence (such as this study) runs counter to the myth. What often happens is that both groups perform better when taught by one particular style. This makes sense because although each of us is unique, usually the most effective way for us to learn is based not on our individual preferences but on the nature of the material we’re being taught" (2015).

Rohrer & Pashler (2012), explain that this myth continues to hold credence with many educators and students because it is founded a basic ideas which are true.  For example, while some students are poor visual learners this does not imply that an anatomy textbook should have less diagrams.

Works Cited:

Howard-Jones, P. (2014). Neuroscience and education: Myths and messages. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Jarrett, C. (2015, January 5). All You Need to Know About the 'Learning Styles' Myth, in Two Minutes | WIRED. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2015/01/need-know-learning-styles-myth-two-minutes/

Rohrer, D., & Pashler, H. (2012). Learning styles: Where’s the evidence? Medical Education, 634-635.

Gynandromorphs in Nature

Male and female sexes are often quite obvious in many species of animals in the natural world.  Male birds, for example, can often have brightly colored feathers when compared to their female counterparts.  Sometimes, though errors can occur in cell division of the fertilized and an organism can develop exhibiting both male and female characters (Wall, 2011).  This error is fairly uncommon but a number of documented cases exist.  For example, a number of butterfly species have been found that are bilateral gynandromorphs, each sex gets half of the insect: wings, genitalia, body size, and other sex-related features.  Gynandromorphs can also form in insect species when a female has eggs which are fertilized by more than one sperm or from symbiotic bacterial infections (Parry, 2011). Bilateral gynandromorphs have also been documented in birds as well.

Works Cited: 

Adams, J. (2014, December 11). Georgia Lepidoptera. Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://www.daltonstate.edu/galeps/

Parry, W. (2011, May 31). Gender-Bender Bugs Impress Collectors. Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/14207-gynandromorphs-butterfly-moths-arthropods-genetic-anomaly.html

Wall, T. (2011, May 31). A Gender-bender Colored Cardinal : DNews. Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://news.discovery.com/animals/bi-color-cardinal-mystery-110531.htm

Insect Camouflage & Coloration

Cryptic coloration, body shape, and other adaptations are often common place in the insect world.  While most of us are familiar with walking sticks looking like tree or plant stems a variety of other insects have unique strategies for survival.  One group of insects that often can have rather grisly way of camouflaging themselves are assassin bugs.  The assassin bug, Acanthaspis petax, has the perhaps one of the coolest body armors in the natural world.  What is it?  A. petax uses the dead carcasses of ant prey to cover its body.  Research completed in 2007 found this corpse filled defense helps repel spiders from preying on them (Stromberg, 2012).

                                                          Photo by Mohd Rizal Ismail

Another unique way of protecting yourself in the insect world is to resemble something big and tough, such as a snake. A number of caterpillars of moths and butterflies mimic the appearance of snakes to deter predators.  One such caterpillar is the spicebush swallowtail butterfly larva (Beiser Field Station, 2008).


Image credit: Beiser Field Station

Works Cited:
Spicebush Swallowtail. (2008, October 7). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/spicebush.htm

Stromberg, J. (2012, May 8). This Insect Uses Its Victims' Carcasses As Camouflage. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-insect-uses-its-victims-carcasses-as-camouflage-83656246/?no-ist

Gut bacteria that can Degrade Plastic

Indian mealmoths (Plodia interpunctella) have recently been discovered to harbor bacteria which can degrade polyethylene.  The bacteria in question, a Bacillus and Enterobacter species, were isolated from the guts of P. interpunctella and demonstrated significant degradation of polyethylene with "tensile strength dropped by 50%, and their ability to repel water droplets fell by 30%. And after the microbes grew on the polyethylene for 60 days, the mass of the plastic films decreased by 10%, and the molecular weights of the polymer chains dropped by 13%" (Pelley, 2014). 

Other studies complete 2011 found bacteria living in shallow pits on polyethylene  plastic found in ocean waste.  Researchers indicated that, " almost 25% of the baceteria on one polyethylene surface were vibrios, bacteria from the same group as the cholera bacterium" (Zaikab, 2011).

Electron microscopy reveals the inhabitants of a plastic bag fished from the Sargasso Sea.T. Mincer/G. Proskurowski

Works Cited:

Pelley, J. (2014, December 4). Pantry Pests Harbor Plastic-Chomping Bacteria. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pantry-pests-harbor-plastic-chomping-bacteria/

Zaikab, G. (2011, March 28). Marine microbes digest plastic. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110328/full/news.2011.191.html