As I’m sure you’ve noticed things have been awfully quiet around here for the last two months. Most of January I was busy with a move, from San Francisco to Chicago. Unfortunately the foundation that was supporting my work at the California Academy of Sciences had some tough financial calls to make and my position was discontinued. Additional layoffs at the CAS only meant there wasn’t any way for me to stay at the museum – such is the ephemeral world of research funding. I’ll miss the amazing friends that I made and the beautiful California landscape, four years sure flies by in a flash. Without a doubt I’ll find something in the not too distant future (if you know of anything let me know!). In the meantime I can focus on experimenting with my photo gear and getting those manuscripts done that have been hanging around for far too long.
Spring/tornado season is just around the corner here in Chicagoland and I think it’s safe to say scenes like this are a thing of the past. Stay tuned for regular updates, new photographs, and where I might be moving to next!
The first annualSits Astea nazionalawill be this summer, July 23-29, 2012! AEBetako mota honetako lehen ekitaldia da (it has been popularin the UKfor quite some time) eta jendea kanpora ateratzera eta sarritan ahaztu egiten zaien sitsaren fauna esploratzera bultzatzeko saiakera bat da. The US has an impressive moth diversity with over 11,000 described species, most of which people can’t name two of. As a citizen science project there will be teams of people submitting their records (photographs or lists) of moths found in yards across the country. If you read this blog you probably have enough interest to participate! This maplists events that are currently registered – have one in your area? Contact that person and join in! There is alsolotsof room to set up your own event. I’ll register in a few months when I figure out where I’ll be, but you can count on it being BYOB (beerdagoa critical field supply).
Coincidentally the Moth Week corresponds with theLepidopterists’ Society National Meetingbeing held this year in Denver, Colorado. Naturalean, everyone will be headed out at night to look for moths. If you’re in Denver and want to see what it is we do, please get a hold of me, I will probably be attending the meeting this year.
Fellow network bloggerDavid Shiffmanis in the final laps of a $10,000 beka erronka. Diruak ez du Daviden blogak Southern Fried Science-n bakarrik lagunduko, baina marrazoen kontserbazioaren ikerketa (funtsekin etiketatuko duen marrazoari izena emateko lehiaketa barne). Take a moment andvote for him, behin behin 24 orduak! He is currently in the lead with a decent %3 margin, let’s keep it that way.
For all intents and purposes this looks like a blue butterfly (as in subfamily Polyommatinae)… it’s very, very blue after all. But assumptions based on color would lead you down the incorrect road; as it turns out this butterfly is actually a species copper. There are subtle difference in wing shape and probably venation, but when I first saw these butterflies I assumed they were a sub-species ofPlebejus icarioides (bertan werehalaberflying at this location on the Kaibab Plateau). But then I began seeing female butterflies (azpitik) interacting with these blues and then it dawned on me – blue copper – Lycaena heteronea austin (Lycaenidae: Lycaeninae)!
This subspecies was originally described in 1998 by the late, handia George T. AustinasL. heteronea rutila. Given however thatrutilamore or less =rutilus, it was later determinedrutilawas actually unavailable and the subspecies name was changed toaustinin honor of George.
I’ve just returned from the annualEntomológica Society of Americaconference in Reno, Nevada! It’s the largest meeting of its kind in the world, baino gehiagorekin 4,000 attendees from all walks of insect research life. My interests are in the systematics, evolution and biodiversity talks – and I’ll try to recap a few of the fascinating presentations I attended over the next few weeks.
Of particular note was a wonderful talk given by the acclaimed bug blogger, Bug Girl! It was wonderful to meet her in person and hear about her own experiences as a blogger. I encourage you to watch the draft of her talk yourself, if you haven’t already!
Denok ospatu beharko genuke egun hau zientzia edo eszeptizismo ekintza batekin. Landatu ikerketaren eta pentsamendu kritikoaren hazia, edo hartu une bat zure horizonteak zabaltzeko. Egunsentia baino lehen jaiki nintzen eta eguzkiaren argiaren atzean goizeko izarrak itzaltzen ikusi nituen. Nire lehen hezkuntzako zientzia-gela eta maiz ikusten genituen Cosmos-en VHS grabazio zirraragarriak ekarri zizkidan gogora.. Harrezkero gure unibertsoaren eta izarren artean dugun lekuaren harridurak hunkitu nau.
Litekeena da jende guztiak ezagutzen du sits edo tximeleta baten eredu estandarra – loreen barruan ezkutatuta dagoen nektara heltzeko lasto-itxurako proboscidea. Lepidopteroen gehiengo zabala landare angiospermoen erradiazioarekin batera dibertsifikatu da, lurreko bizi-ordena anitz eta ugarienetako bat bihurtuz. Paradigma hau, ordea, ez da Micropterigidae aplikatzen, Lepidopteroen leinurik basalena ez ezik, baina polena edo esporak ehotzeko mandibulak gorde dituzten hiru familietako bat dira eta briofitoetan oinarritzen dira., materia organikoa edo onddoak larba ostalari gisa usteltzen dira. Talde honen aniztasunari buruzko aurretiko hipotesiak leinuaren adin zabalean oinarritzen ziren (110 milioi urte) eta antzinako generoen pilaketa. Batek Japoniako espezieari buruzko azken artikulua Yume Imada-k eta Kyotoko Unibertsitateko bere lankideek Micropterigidae-k kontrako frogak eskaintzen ditu eta teknika molekularrak aplikatzen ditu espeziazio alopatrikoaren hipotesia nitxo-aldaketarik gabe probatzeko..
Egileek bidaiatu zuten 46 Japoniako artxipelagoko tokiak eta guztiak bildu zituen 16 espezie endemiko ezagunak, espezie berri batzuk, eta seguru asko genero berri bat. Sits horiek basatian aurkitzea ez da hain zaila habitata nola aurkitu eta nola ez arroka irristagarrietatik erortzen badakizu.; baina behin lekua aurkitzen duzunean sitsak ugariak izan daitezke. Micropterigidae ez da harritzekoa beren briofitoekin lotuta, erreka eta ibaien ondoko habitat hezeetan gertatzen direnak. Poltsiko isolatuetan mugitzen den animalia minutu eta motel baten izaerak espeziazio alopatrikorako ematen du. Mikrolepidoptero askok ozta-ozta hegan egiten dute beren landare ostalaritik eta egiten dutenean ere ez dira ezagutzen distantzia luzerako. Genero eta espezie gehienak Japonian zehar guztiz isolatuta dauden arren, badaude generoa kasu batzuk Paramartyria populazioen barruan gertatzen da Issikiomartyria. Espezie hauek beren ostalari-baliabideak nola banatu ditzaketen zehatz-mehatz ezezaguna den arren, oso litekeena da bizi-zikloetan denborazko aldea izatea.. Hemen Kalifornian konplexu nahasgarri bat dago Apodemia espezie gutxi batzuk biltzen dituzten tximeletak eta (Noski) udaberriko eta udazkeneko ugaltze-sasoietan landare berean banatzen diren azpiespezieak.
Ikusgarria, larba gisa bildutako mikropterigido bakoitza gainean bakarrik aurkitu zen Knowphalum conicum gibeleko espeziea, habitat berean beste hamalau espezie briofito eskuragarri egon arren. Aspalditik ulertzen zen Asiako Micropterigidae-ek gibeleko zuloez elikatzen zirela, baina haien ostalariaren espezifikotasunaren hedadura ez zen inoiz kuantifikatu. Elikadura-portaera berdina dirudi inkestatutako espezie guztietan, beldarrak briofitoen goiko aldean bazkatzen dituzte goiko ehun-geruzak kontsumitzen dituztenak.
COIren analisi filogenetikoa, 18S eta EF-1α geneek zuhaitz oso kongruenteak sortu zituzten metodo analitiko anitz erabiliz. Badirudi Japoniako genero endemikoak eta jakitea elikadura-estrategiak ondo babestutako klado monofiletiko bat osatzen dute (berdez). Laburbilduz, ostalariaren Micropterigidae espezifikoen erradiazioa bereizketarekin bat datoz, altxatzea, eta japoniar lur-masa isolatzea gutxi gorabehera 20 Duela milioi urte. Ezin zen zaila izan Japoniako Micropterigidae-en aniztasuna irla bera bezain zaharra izan zitekeen hipotesia proposatzea.; eta gaur egun onartutako gertakaria da espeziazio alopatrikoa behin uste baino maizago gertatzen dela. Baina teoria horiek kuantifikatzea eta hori nola eta zergatik gertatzen den azaltzea da zehazki zientzia.
Aipatutako Literatura
Imada Y, Kawakita A, & Kato M (2011). Banaketa alopatrikoa eta dibertsifikazioa nitxo aldaketarik gabe briofitoak elikatzen diren sits leinu basal batean (Lepidoptera: Mikropterigidae). Espedienteak. Zientzia biologikoak / Errege Elkartea, 278 (1721), 3026-33 PMID: 21367790
Scoble, MJ. (1992). Lepidopteroak: Forma, funtzioa, eta aniztasuna. Oxford Univ. Sakatu.
That’s how the saying goes, Eskuineko? Two weeks ago I participated in the 5th annualNational Geographic BioBlitzover in Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. It was a great excuse to get back into the field and it was the first time I collected Arizona in the fall. Temps were still pushing the mid 90’s but things had been dry and the impressive abundance of the monsoon season was long gone. In total my moth colleagues and I collected around 140 species of Lepidoptera, 56 of which were microleps! Sadly though it seems that either other insects were far and few inbetween, or other entomology teams didn’t carefully tally everything they saw. Bakarrik 190 arthropods were counted in total – we lost to vascular plants (325 Espezie) and even fungi (205)!
Hemen da short interviewwith me in abenetanhot tent with lots of kids (who must have given me this cold I now have). Perhaps my wild estimate of a possible 15,000 species in the US is on the high side, but it’s notimpossible.
Beste australiar erraldoi bat “mikrolep”, (ziurrenik) Maroga setiotricha: Xylorictidae – 60 mm-tan neurtuta. Horrelako hegoekin hegalari ikaragarriak egin behar dituzte. Xyloryctinae Moths of Australia blogaren arabera, larbak zurtoin zulatzaileak dira Akazia sp. (Mimosaceae). Ale hau azaroan bildu zen 1962 Ed Rossen eskutik, Canoonan, Queensland.
CNN has now jumped on the bandwagon of FOX-esque bashing of scientific funding. Reporter Erin Burnett “txostenak” on the federal funding of $5.7 million dollars to help fight the invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys). Burnett’s sarcasm is nearly thick enough to break into SNL levels of ridiculousness, but she seems genuine in her distain for this story. It’s clear that in her mind the $5.7mil has been wasted on methods to keep these bugs away from overly sensitive suburbanites and out of your hair. A quick Google search for this insect yields a veryinformative page from PennStateas result #1, and it even has great images of the damage these bugs can cause to crops. Back in reality, it is not surprising that the government would fund research on a potentially critical new invasive species, one that has already proven to be highly destructive to some of our nations most important (and lucrative) crops.
