Blog

Consider the following case study regarding invasive parasitoid flies and field crickets on the Hawaiian island of Kauai:   The auditory sexual signal of male field crickets, used to attract females, is produced by males with ‘normal’ wing morphology (a file and scraper that enable sound production). However, this sexual signal also attracts invasive parasitoid flies (Ormia ochracea) that deposit larvae on male crickets, ultimately leading to their death. Zuk et al. (2006) documented a steep population decline over 10 years of study and only a single calling male was observed in 2001 – but by 2003 the population was apparently rebounding (see red line in figure below). Interestingly, the researchers found that nearly all of the remaining males had female-like wings (flatwing morphology) that lack the wing structures to produce song. They report that a mutation causing this flatwing morphology arose the Kauai cricket population in 12–20 generations and occurred on a single gene. Using this information, answer the following questions:   1. The field cricket’s population recovery is an example of (2 points): 2. Is this response likely plastic or adaptive (2 points)?  3. These crickets have relatively short generation times. Explain why this factor may have been important for the population’s survival (2 points)? 4. How do you expect that this response impacted the genetic structure of this field cricket population? Why is this potentially problematic? (4 points)

Explain how climate change is different from weather, how human activities are contributing to modern climate change, and what makes today’s climate change distinct from natural climate changes in Earth’s past. In your response, be sure to: Define the difference between weather and climate. Describe specific human activities that contribute to current climate change. Compare and contrast modern (anthropogenic) climate change with natural climate forcings.

What are the characteristics of the life-sized sculptures found in Qin-Shi Huang’s tomb?

Which dynasty is credited with the unification of China under a centralized bureaucracy and standardized script?

Excel allows you to overlay a legend on a chart as a space-saving option.

The most common indications for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion are a _______________ and _______________.

During a Peripheral Nerve Repair, if the funiculi are joined individually it is the __________________    

Physical stress has been found to:

The vertebrae are separated by cartilaginous cushions called ____________________.

In _______________________ surgery, the infant’s prematurely closed cranial suture lines are excised. The surgery is performed with a 0-degree, 4-mm telescope so that visualization of the scissors can be maintained while the cranium is excised.