Megan Pelletier 9/22/15 Ecology Lab Article Summary: Variation in selection pressures on the goldenrod gall fly and the competitive interactions of its natural enemies This article talks about Eurosta solidaginis which is the goldenrod gall fly and its interactions with its natural enemies. The natural enemies that are discussed in this article are Eurytoma gigantea and the E. obtusiventris which are both different types of parasitoid wasps, Mordellistena unicolor which is a beetle and two predatory birds the Dendrocopus pubescens which is the downy woodpecker and Parus atricapillus the black-capped chickadee (Abrahamson, 1989). These natural enemies eat the larvae of the goldenrod gall fly while in the gall. The galls are found on tall goldenrod plants. The goldenrod fly induce ball-shaped galls on the stems of …show more content…
The gall is made of plant tissue but aspects of genetically coded stimulus from the insect makes the gall from the normal plant tissue (Abrahamson, 1989). The gall can be many different sizes in diameter. Survival depends on the gall size, the smaller the galls means that the larvae is vulnerable to parasitoid oviposition, but when the galls are larger they are more likely to be attacked by avian predators (Abrahamson, 1989). Gallmaker enemies can influence the survival of individual gallmakers. The natural enemies of the gallmakers can have a potential effect and alter gallmaker traits for other generations if survivorship varies (Abrahamson, 1989). This study wanted to know three things, how many gallmakers there are as well as how many natural enemies there are, and to what extent of the goldenrod fly mortality was due to insect and bird enemies listed above. They also wanted to know what gall size did these natural enemies prefer and what kind of
Intro: Charles Darwin’s natural selection comes to mind when viewing the aggressive behaviors in crickets. This interaction comes into play specifically when competition for resources, such as foods and females, are scarce. Thus, only the organism most fit in the environment would be allowed to survive and pass on its genes. Pioneers of animal behavior, pave the way to understanding the why animals act the way they act (von Frisch, 1967; Lorenz, 1952; and Tinbergen 1951). With further integration between different biological organizations, we see the rise of new possible research, especially in crickets (Wong & Hoffman, 2010). The house crickets, Acheta domesticus, would normally display little to no aggression between males because of their natural behavior to live in groups. But when isolated for a length of time, ag...
Richard Conniff uses strong scientific facts in his essay to get his major point across to the audience. One of the major facts he uses stood out as it disproved many a wives tale about the common household fly. Most people think of flies as dirty animals who fed on dead animals and spread disease. Conniff uses a study that found flies tested from dirty areas contained more a lot mor...
Pillbugs are also known as terrestrial isopods but non scientific names include sow bugs and woodlice. These terrestrial isopods are in the class of crustaceous, this class includes lobsters and crabs and is part of a larger group named arthropoda. Pillbugs have four pairs of mouthparts, and have multiple flexible joints. Pillbugs also have a flat and rounded back, wide head, 14 legs with 7 pairs all together, and they have the ability to roll into a ball when in danger. Pillbugs have 7 main “trunks”and have multiple overlain gills which allow the insect breathe. The diet of a pillbug consists of dead or decaying plant or animals, and pillbugs are both scavengers and omnivores. Due to their gills pillbugs live in areas with high humidity such as under fallen trees, logs, rocks, bushes, and wet leaves. In our hypothesis we state that if the pillbugs are accustomed to breathing water, then they will be drawn to the less sweet liquids.
However, evidence such as fossils is more than enough to lend support and disprove any other theory to the development of species. Examples used by Root-Bernstein and McEachron also provide strong support to evolution. The authors detail how natural selection works in both insects and germs to create organisms better adapted to methods of control. Disease used to run rampant, until the creation of vaccines which led to many diseases becoming extinct. Root-Bernstein and McEachron note that the diseases that have survived to this day have been constantly mutating and evolving to become more resistant to any attempts at suppression. The same can be said for insects that have been consistently exposed to pesticides. The ones that survived the pesticides were able to reproduce and pass along a resistance to their offspring which in turn makes the species more resilient and better suited to their
Dr. May Berenbaum, an entomologist at University of Illinois, has conducted over 40 years of research on parsnips and the parsnip web worm. During her lecture on March 22nd, she explained how parsnips are invasive weeds that are full of toxic furanocoumarins. Interestingly, the parsnip webworm only eats the parsnips and is able to process the toxin very well. The interactions between the web worm and parsnips cause the parsnips to select for plants with a higher amount of furanocoumarins in order to defend themselves from the worms. When the worms are not there, i.e. in New Zealand, the parsnip plants grow taller and develop more ways to attract pollinators, and they do not put energy into having as many furanocoumarins
Females like to choose mates who have very bright colors as it is a sign of the male’s good health and vigor. The natural and sexual selection can affect populations in three ways: directional (environmental conditions change in a consistent direction; one extreme of phenotypes is favored), stabilizing (environmental conditions are relatively constant; intermediate phenotype is favored), and disruptive selection (environment has more than one type of useful resource; both extremes of phenotypes are favored). An example of directional selection is pesticide resistance since only the insects with a resistance are favored; an example of stabilizing selection is that the smallest lizards have a difficulty defending their territory whereas the largest lizards are most likely to be eaten by owls; an example of disruptive selection are the black-bellied seedcrackers since they either have a large beak (which they can use to eat had seeds), or a small beak (which allows them to eat soft seeds). Disruptive selection shows a balanced polymorphism, which is when two or more phenotypes are maintained in a
Some individuals have developed different traits to help them in the process of intra-sexual competition. The organisms with more distinctive traits have greater reproductive success. More genes of those traits are then ‘selected’ and are passed onto the offspring of the organisms. Throughout time variability in these traits becomes
As useful as their tongue is for collecting nectar it is useless in capturing insects hidden inside flowers, even though insects do provide most of the protein...
I decided to palpate the spine of the scapula. I did this because the scapula is more defined in the back making it easier to feel on my partners back. I was able to locate the scapula on the rib cage and also the scapulae surface. I was capable of palpate the indentations at the superior and inferior halves of the bone as well. The easiest place to palpate was the scapula surface. The surface was very visible when my partner extended his arm out to his side. The most challenging to palpate was the indentation because I had to really feel for it. Even with my partner extending his arm out I could barely find it. I had to have my partner put his arm down and extend it back out to find the indentation.
Outline the physical similarities between the (Blaptica dubia) cockroach and the cricket. Explain previous studies on physical stress in the cricket and in different species of cockroaches. Briefly discuss how the metabolic rate between the two species has been found to be very similar.
The objective of this experiment is to determine what genes are responsible for the white-eye color in two strains of Drosophila melanogaster, known as the common fruit fly. Drosophila is used as the experimental organism for many reasons which include its small size, easy maintenance, short 10 day generation time, and a fully sequenced genome. The characteristics of the wild type, which is the most common phenotype found in nature, include brick red eyes, long wings, gray/tan body, and smooth bristles. Of course, there are mutations that occur that cause specific traits to deviate from the wild-type phenotype. These traits include wing length, bristle shape, body color, and eye color.
“Organic Wisdom, or Why Should a Fly Eat Its Mother from Inside.” Ever Since Darwin. New York, New York and London, England: W.W. Norton & Company, 1977.
The cape sundew is a small-rosette carnivorous plant. It is a free-flowering evergreen, perennial, of differing heights. It forms a scrape that grows up to 1 foot tall and can bear up to 20 flowers. It has short woody rhizomatous stems, which accumulate and retain dead foliage of each previous season. It has many long, deep, and very well-developed roots. Its leaves are bright green and radiate from the stem. The lamina are linear ligulate, with a petiole that is about the same length as the lamina, being ~3 cm long (Brunner, 2012). The leaf apex is truncate to obtuse. The lamina has knob-shaped tentacles on its adaxial side, which are stalked with mucus covered glands covering the leaves surface. The mucus like fluid on the tentacles is an acidic enzyme that assists in the digestion of the plants prey. This species is considered pubescent with many trichomes covering the majority of the plant. The flowers found on the cape sundew are simple, and generally come in colors of red, pink or white with each flower borne on a single stem. Each flower generally has 5 petals that are from 12-14 mm across. Stamen are short with a rhomboid connective, with the locules diverging below. St...
I absolutely loved Stick Fly—my attention was captured during the entire play. There were moments when and I cried and there were other moments when I laughed. The scene was amazing! It looked so realistic, especially the bookshelf and the kitchen cabinets. I could have lived in that house if it was really a house. The set design and the actors’ clothes fit in with the time period. The lighting was great also. There were these window panels hanging around the room and as the scenes changed the lights over the panels caught people’s attention. I would notice people turning around looking at the lights. Also my favorite was the light outside of the kitchen window. Once again, it looked very realistic the light would change as the time of day changed. You were able to notice when it was day, evening, and night due to the light from the kitchen window. Another thing that made the scene so realistic was that the sink actually worked. Overall, the set was amazing!
On September 11, 2007, Guam’s first Coconut Rhino Beetle, or Orcytes rhinoceros, was discovered on Tumon Bay, Guam near a wedding chapel (Moore). Unlike other beetles that appear quite sluggish and only feed on grass, such as the South African Beetle, the Rhino Beetle is very powerful (Hungay 314). A group of these beetles are able to feed off all the palms of a palm tree, until there is nothing left but the branch. The adults attack the trees, and the grubs—or maggots—live in the dead palm trees (Miller). This is a disaster for the tourist industry on Guam. This same beetle caused a problem in Palau in the 1940s, and still is. It wiped out fifty percent of the main island’s palm trees, and in some of Palau’s smaller islands, the beetles have wiped out the trees all together. Not only are palm trees expensive to buy and maintain, they are also the main attraction of an island that relies on tourism. And ...