Assignment #1
Based on the article and interview by Dr. Douglas Emlen
ENY 3005/5006
25 points
Due Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 10pm to
Please insert your response after each question and email me your assignment as an attachment on or before 10pm Thursday, September 8th. The filename of your attachment should include your name and “Assignment 1” in the following form: Smith_Assignment 1 (2 points off if not in this form). Please note that this is the filename of the attachment. The subject line of the email should be the same or something similar.
3 point questions:
Use the online NPR interview and “Dig It, and They Will Come” to find your answers.
1) How many named species of onthopagine beetles are there? Describe their appearance, and include three morphological characteristics described by Emlen that make them well suited for their subterranean lifestyle.
2) What is the “weapon” that male dung beetles use to compete for access to females? Explain where horned males compete with each other and how they do so.
3) Dr. Emlen describes work by Drs. Simmons, Tompkins, and Hunt. These researchers found that smaller males have a way to compensate for having fewer matings. Explain.
4) Describe one of Dr. Emlen’s adventures collecting dung beetles (4-6 sentences).
5) Why did Australia import dung beetles?
a. What did entomologists do to help ensure that the introduced beetles did not displace native Australian beetles?
6) What are your impressions of Dr. Emlen and his research? What did you find most interesting in the interview and in the article he wrote?
7 point question:
7) The males of onthophagine beetles may be big or small, hornless or with horns, and they may guard female tunnels or sneak into female tunnels. Explain the morphology and behavior of these beetles, the context of the behavior, and what factor(s) determine what a male becomes.
Dr. Miller ENY3005/5006 Principles of Entomology, University of Florida