Why learn about insects? - Rivanna Master Naturalists · Why learn about insects? "the insects are...
Transcript of Why learn about insects? - Rivanna Master Naturalists · Why learn about insects? "the insects are...
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Why learn about insects?
Rivanna Master Naturalists
21 April 2015
Linda S. Fink
Duberg Professor of Ecology
Sweet Briar College
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Goals for Insect Week
Understand
1. features that characterize arthropods in general, insects specifically
2. how much variation there is in all aspects of insect biology
3. ecological, economic, public health importance of insects
Feel prepared to
4. participate in insect projects as Master Naturalists
children's and school programs
pollinator and foodplant gardening
monitor native insect populations, stream health, exotic insects
measure biodiversity (e.g. bioblitz, NABA butterfly count)
citizen science (e.g. Journey North, Monarch Watch)
5. learn more about insects
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Numbers of
described
species
(approximate)
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Why learn about insects?
Dominant multicellular life form on the planet
• Number of species
• Numbers of individuals
• Biomass
A “species scape”
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Why learn about insects?
"the insects are so numerous that if they were
divided equally among each one of the earth's 6
billion human inhabitants, each of us would be
allotted 1 x 1018 insects -- that's a billion billion --
1,000,000,000,000,000,000." [J. Myers, several
years ago!]
locusts
mayflies
monarch
butterflies
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Why learn about insects?
Ecological rolespollination
seed dispersal
fungal dispersal
nutrient cycling
predators and parasites
prey
phytophagy
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Why learn about insects?
Ecological rolespollination
seed dispersal
fungal dispersal
nutrient cycling
predators and parasites
prey
phytophagyphyto- plant
phag(o)- eat
stem borer
fruit pest
leaf miner phloem feeder
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Why learn about insects?
Human requirementsAgriculture and food production
beneficial and harmful
Health and disease
human, livestock, companion animals, plants
Scientific discovery
Culture
Economics
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Why learn about insects?
Health and disease (human, livestock, companion animals): Medical and Veterinary Entomology
mosquito life cycle
Mosquito-borne diseases
Encephalitis
West Nile Virus
Equine encephalitis
Malaria (Plasmodium, protist)
Yellow fever (virus)
Dengue fever
West Nile Virus incidence, US, 2008
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Other insect-borne diseases
Typhus: Rickettsia bacteria, R. prowazekii
Vector = body louse, Pediculus humanus corporis
multiple epidemics of historic significance include:
Irish famine (1846-1849)
WWI (millions of deaths)
WWII (Nazi concentration camps)
Plague: bacteria, Yersinia pestis
Vector = flea
Reservoirs = rodents, including rats
Justinian plague (6th c): killed > 100 million
"Black Death" (14th c): killed 60% of European pop
Trypanosoma (protists)
African trypanosomiasis / sleeping sickness (tsetse fly vector)
10,000 new cases / year (WHO)
American trypanosomiasis / Chagas disease (reduviid bug vector) affects 8-11 million people in the Neotropics (CDC)
flea
body louse
Triatoma infestans
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Why learn about insects ticks?
Diseases transmitted by ticksLyme disease
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Ehrlichiosis
Babesiosis
Rickettsiosis
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Economic value, negative
Insects consume or destroy
•10% of GNP in large, industrialized nations
•up to 25% of GNP in some developing countries
Malaria control, elimination, and research & development
• $ 5-6 billion per year
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Economic value, positive
Increased crop value from bee pollination
• more than $15 billion per year
Beneficial predators and parasites reduce
crop losses from agricultural pests
• $4.5 billion per year
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“If all mankind were to disappear, the
world would regenerate back to the
rich state of equilibrium that existed
ten thousand years ago. If insects were
to vanish, the environment would
collapse into chaos.”
E. O. Wilson
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But the best reason to study insects is...
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But the best reason to study insects is...
they are amazing
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But the best reason to study insects is...
they are amazing
Alex Wild
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But the best reason to study insects is...
they are amazing
Alex Wild
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But the best reason to study insects is...
they are amazing
Alex Wild
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But the best reason to study insects is...
they are amazing
http://planetapex.blogspot.com
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Who are the insects?
Who are their relatives?
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Traditional Classification
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
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Traditional Classification
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Major body plans
sponges chordates segmented worms
roundwormsmolluscs echinoderms
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Phylum: Arthropods
spiders
scorpions
crustaceans
centipedes
horseshoe crab
insects
and more...
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Let's look at some animals....
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Arthropod Characteristics
• External hardened skeleton of cuticle
• Periodically shed exoskeleton to grow (molt, ecdysis)*
• Segmented body is organized into 2 or 3 functional units
• Jointed, paired appendages
• More than two pairs of limbs
• * trait shared with several other phyla
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Let’s look at the external skeleton
Functions
Physical protection
Waterproofing
Sites for muscle attachment
Locations for sensory receptors
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all photos from Alex Wild
Variation in exoskeletons
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Honeypot ants (Camponotus inflatus)
membrane
dorsal sclerite
Alex Wild
Variation in exoskeletons
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Coloration
pigment molecules in the cuticle
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Coloration
structural colorsphysical characteristics affect light
scattering
interference
diffraction of light
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Sensory structures: Chemoreceptors
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Sensory structures: Mechanoreceptors
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Sensory structures: Visual receptors
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PROBLEMS WITH HAVING AN
EXOSKELETON?
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nutmeg66 on flickr.com
britannica.com
pinebaskets.tripod.com
•External skeleton is not cellular
•it doesn’t grow
•To increase in size, an arthropod must
•shed its old skeleton
•produce a larger one
•Molting (ecdysis)
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nutmeg66 on flickr.com
britannica.com
pinebaskets.tripod.com
Molting (ecdysis) is risky
physical injury
dessication
predation
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Molting is associated with both
growth and development
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Molting is associated with both
growth and development
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Traditional Classification
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
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What are the major groups of Arthropods?
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Arthropod
Class
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Distinguishing characteristics: body regions
crustaceantrilobite
chelicerate
myriapod
hexapod
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Distinguishing characteristics: appendages
crustaceantrilobite
chelicerate
myriapod: 1 pair antennae, many limbs
hexapod: 3 pair of legs
& 0-2 pair of wings on
thorax; 1 pair of
antennae
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Crustaceans
• two body regions: cephalothorax and abdomen
• two pairs of antennae
• most appendages are two-branched
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Chelicerates
• two body regions: cephalothorax and abdomen
• lack antennae
• six pairs of unbranched appendages
• 1st appendage pair = chelicerae (jaws)
• 2nd appendage pair = pedipalps. These may appear leglike or may be highly modified
• pairs 3-6 = leglike
jumping spider
chelicera
pedipalp
pedipalp
pseudoscorpion
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Chelicerates
•Arachnids (spiders, mites,
ticks, scorpions)
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Myriapods
• Two body regions:
head and trunk
•One pair of antennae
• Appendages
unbranched
• Many pairs of legs
•Millipedes: most are
herbivores or detritivores
•Centipedes: most are
carnivores
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Hexapods
• Three body regions: head, thorax, abdomen
• one pair antennae
• three pairs of legs on the thorax
protura
dipluraspringtails
(Collembola)
photo by Alex Wild
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Collembola
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Collembola
Podura aquatica lives on surface of ponds!
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Hexapods
• Three body regions: head, thorax, abdomen
• one pair antennae
• three pairs of legs on the thorax
protura
dipluraspringtails
(Collembola)
photo by Alex Wild
and, of course, the
hexapods include the
INSECTS
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Insects
• Three body regions: head, thorax, abdomen
• one pair antennae
• three pairs of legs on the thorax
photo by Alex Wild
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Quick Review
What features
distinguish
ARTHROPODS from
other animal phyla?
What features
distinguish INSECTS
from other arthropod
classes?
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ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
INSECTS
multicellular
heterotrophicexternal skeleton
molt
jointed appendages
3 body regions
1 pair antennae
3 pair of legs
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Let’s take a break