Field Stations Foster Serendipitous Discoveries In Environmental, Biological Sciences
April 15, 2009
North America’s biological field stations have long been home to a rich legacy of research results, scientists say, making them important places for serendipitous discoveries in the biological and environmental sciences.
In a paper published in the April issue of the journal BioScience, researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network and other groups state that few people realize the value of the data and specimens held at field stations–until an event such as a disease outbreak or environmental disaster triggers their use.
“At a time when we are reinvesting in our nation’s academic infrastructure, it’s critical that we also invest in one of our greatest treasures–America’s biological field stations,” said William Michener, a biologist at the University of New Mexico and co-author of the paper.
Peter McCartney, program director in NSF’s Division of Biological Infrastructure, agrees. “Support for field stations is an important part of NSF’s overall investments in biological infrastructure,” he said. “They provide scientists with research opportunities, while fostering the regional and continental scale sampling provided through the LTER Network and the National Ecological Observatory Network [NEON].”
The paper, “Biological Field Stations: Research Legacies and Sites for Serendipity,” cites three examples in which major serendipitous discoveries occurred at field stations:
Birds: Feather Color Is More Than Skin Deep
April 15, 2009
Where do birds get their red feathers from? According to Esther del Val, from the National History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and her team, the red carotenoids that give the common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) its red coloration are produced in the liver, not the skin, as previously thought.
Their findings, published online in Springer’s journal Naturwissenschaften, have implications for understanding the evolution of color signaling in bird species.
Carotenoids have important physiological functions, including antioxidant, immunomodulating, and photoprotectant properties. Carotenoid pigments are also used by many bird species as colorants, and are responsible for most of their red, orange and yellow coloration. In particular, carotenoid-red coloration in birds has been shown to act as an ornament, signaling the nutritional and health status of the individual and its ability to locate high quality resources. Recent studies have suggested that the transformation of carotenoid pigments takes place directly in the follicles during feather growth.
4/17 Science Assessment blogs
April 13, 2009
1. Which answer choice correctly identifies the abiotic items in a pond?
a. fish, plants, parasites
b. plants, water, and rocks
c. fish, dissolved gases, and parasites
d. water, dissolved gases, and rocks
4/16 Science Assessment
April 13, 2009
1. Which statement correctly describes how chromosomes function in an organism?
a. the chlorophyll in chromosomes helps produce sugars for energy.
b. the patterns of chromosomes are color-coded for different ribosomes.
c. the codes in chromosomes determine what proteins the cells produce.
d. The number of chromosomes segments determines how proteins enter the cell.
4/15 Science Assessment
April 13, 2009
1. A DNA molecule is being transcribed onto a RNA molecule. The next base to be transcribed on the DNA sequence is adenine. Which base will be complements in the RNA molecule?
A. uracil
B. adenine
c.thymine
d. guanine
4/14 Science Assessment Blog
April 13, 2009
A pea plant’s cells have one allele for tallness (T) and one for shortness(t). According to Mendel’s law of segregation, which alleles could be passed on to the pea plant’s sex cells?
A. T or t
B. TT or tt
c. T, t, or Tt
d. TT, tt, or tt
Science Assessment Blog 4/13
April 13, 2009
Which statement can be explained by Mendel’s law of dominance?
a. Heterozygous offspring will exibit the dominant trait in the phenotype.
b. During gamete formation, the two allelles responsible for the trait seperate.
c. Allelles from different traits are not distributed to sex cells independently of one another.
c. Alleles for different traits are not distributed to sex cells independently of one another.
d. Alleles for a trait are recombined at fertilization producing the genotype for the offspring.
Microbes In Mud Flats Clean Up Oil Spill Chemicals
April 6, 2009
Micro-organisms occurring naturally in coastal mudflats have an essential role to play in cleaning up pollution by breaking down petrochemical residues.
Research by Dr Efe Aganbi and colleagues from the University of Essex, presented at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting at Harrogate March 30, reveals essential differences in the speed of degradation of the chemicals depending on whether or not oxygen is present.
In aerobic conditions (where oxygen is present), benzene, toluene and naphthalene, which all occur in petroleum, were rapidly degraded by microbes. In the absence of oxygen degradation was slower and only toluene was significantly broken down. This means that in a healthy marine ecosystem where the water is oxygenated, petrochemical contamination can biodegraded by micro-organisms, but if the oxygen supply is depleted by pollution and other processes leading to the breakdown of organic matter in the soil, the contamination will persist.
While almost all known aromatic hydrocarbons (the petroleum breakdown products) are degraded with oxygen only a few can be completely broken down in the absence of oxygen. However, in a contaminated environment oxygen is quickly depleted and anaerobic breakdown (without oxygen) becomes an important mechanism for getting rid of contaminants
The scientists also investigated the impact of the three chemicals on the make-up of different estuarine microbial communities. Over time the types of micro-organisms changed as the compounds were degraded. In aerobic conditions, benzene and toluene did not appear to affect community structure but naphthalene stimulated the growth of Cycloclasticus spirillensus, a bacterium known to break down oil residues. These bacteria might be used as a natural way of cleaning up pollution.
Genes That Make Bacteria Make Up Their Minds
April 6, 2009
Bacteria are single cell organisms with no nervous system or brain. So how do individual bacterial cells living as part of a complex community called a biofilm “decide” between different physiological processes (such as movement or producing the “glue” that forms the biofilm)?
4/10 Science Assessment Questions
April 3, 2009
1. Plants require mositure, oxygen, carbon dioxide, lighjt, and minerals for growth. These requirements are best described as
a. biotic factors
b. abiotic factors
c. climate factors
d. respiratory factors
