Month: July 2012

Fieldwork Essentials: the resentment list

/ Chris Buddle / 9 Comments

My last field trip up the Yukon’s Dempster Highway was amazing - in part because of the successful research, and also because of the amazing team of scientists that joined me in the field. We were collaborative, collegial, productive and had loads of fun . During this trip we established something called The Resentment List. I think this list helped make the trip smooth, and I wanted to share the idea.

On our first day out of Whitehorse, I was commenting to my travel-mate, Dr. Barb Sharanowski, about how important it is to avoid resentment from building up during fieldwork - resentment leads to hurt feelings, and resentment can bubble dangerously under the surface and create a difficult working environment. At our first roadside stop, the driver of the RV (post-doc Laura Timms, traveling behind the car I was driving) commented on how inconsistent my driving was. I flippantly answered “no way - I was using the cruise control” - This was all a big joke, and was funny since the roads were hilly and we were being ‘road biologists‘ (i.e., slowing down to stare at wildlife, landscapes, etc). I joked about how we have to be careful that there isn’t resentment built up around my inconsistent driving, and then decided to start the resentment list. Here’s a photo of the beginning of the list:

First page of the Resentment List: it reads “Laura, to Chris ‘driving was inconsistent’; Chris to Laura ‘it was on cruise ‘”

The rules of the resentment list were pretty simple: anything that any team member perceives as something that could lead to resentment was written down during the day. At the end of the day, sitting around the picnic table for dinner, we would share our resentment list(s). The resentment list was mostly full of funny, lighthearted items. For example: “The whole field team resents the Yukon for the weather we are receiving”, “We all resent how we smell” (i.e, after many days soaked in bug spray and lack of showers), or “The lack of grizzly bear sightings is leading to some Yukon resentment”.

Another page from the Resentment List, resenting the lack of nice weather, and the lack of bear sightings in the Yukon

I think, however, that this list actually helped dissolve any potential issues that could nag at us, and lead to more issues in the future. For example, some of us were bothered by one team member’s giant sweep net pole that continually knocked us in the head every time we got into the car. This was aired as a resentment, and we all laughed about it. However, because this was discussed openly, that team member was aware of this little issue and was careful with the sweep-net from then onwards. This may seem like a very small and insignificant issue, but those of you that have spent time in the field know how easily the small things can lead to bigger problems. Here is another example - some of the team members were frustrated with me when I was obsessively e-mailing some photos over an extremely slow WIFI connection - it took way too long and we could have been doing fieldwork instead - this was aired on the resentment list, and this transparent process was an effective way for me to realize what I had done. It helped.

So… next time you are heading off to do fieldwork - consider starting your own resentment list! Heck, you may even find a use for this idea in your laboratory (…or your home..with your partner, room-mates, or family members..?). Try it out, and please let me know if it works.

The resentment list did help our team - look how happy we are!

The happy “road biologists”

Why I study obscure and strange little animals

/ Chris Buddle / 26 Comments

I sometimes find myself defending why I study obscure and strange little animals. Questions such as “what good are they” are asked of me. I sometimes get weird looks when I describe what it is like discovering new distribution records of a tiny jumping spider, or the thrilling anticipation of turning over a rock to see what hides underneath. I have to remind myself that not everyone is fascinated by the natural world. I also think it is worthwhile reminding myself why I study small animals. Here is a list:

The Arctic pseudoscorpion Wyochernes asiaticus (copyright C. Ernst, reproduced here with permission)

I study these animals because they are there even if we can’t always see them.

I study these animals because they are unknown, and stir up a sense of curiosity, wonder and awe; their biology is as amazing as any other species.

I study these animals because they play important roles in their ecosystems; roles that we have yet to fully understand.

I study these animals because they are one piece of a giant biodiversity puzzle - they are as interesting and fascinating as primates, blue whales, oak trees, honey bees, or coral reefs.

I study small animals because they are giants in their own world; size is relative.

I study these animals because they are beautiful; they are a landscape painting; they are a a Bach Cello Suite; they are millimetres of perfection.

I study these animals because they have a history; a history as great as their larger cousins; they are evolution exemplified.

I study these animals because nobody else does.

The Arctic pseudoscorpion Wyochernes asiaticus (copyright C. Ernst, reproduced here with permission)

What are your reasons for studying small, strange animals?

(thanks to Crystal Ernst for the stunning photographs of Wyochernes asiaticus - these photos were taken on our recent field trip to the Yukon)

Successful Pseudoscorpion Hunting in the Yukon

/ Chris Buddle / 13 Comments

The Arctic Pseudoscorpion Wyochernes asiaticus

I am heading back home after a simply amazing field trip to the Yukon Territory. As mentioned in a previous post, one of the goals of the trip was to collect more specimens of an Arctic pseudoscorpion Wyochernes asiaticus (Family Chernetidae) - a Beringian species known from Siberia, Tibet, and the Yukon. This species survived the last great glaciation event in North America by living in unglaciated regions of the northwest, including parts of the Yukon. In 2008 I had collected this species under rocks beside high elevation and high latitude creeks and rivers in a few locations in the Yukon. On this trip, my goal was to collect more specimens to further assess the distribution of this Beringian species, and to gather more life-history information including estimates of size and fecundity. Because of the relative rarity of pseudoscorpions, few data exist that describe life-history parameters of these arachnids.

Despite some rather wet and cold weather for a lot of the trip, the pseudoscorpion collecting was completely successful - we were able to collect hundreds of specimens, from the south end of the Dempster Highway (approximate latitude 64.3 degrees N) all the way up into the Northwest Territories (>67 degrees N). We collected specimens under rocks in more boreal regions, as well as the upper headwaters of high elevation creeks - some of these less than a metre wide. Here is an example of one of these northern, high elevation creeks in the Northwest Territories, just beyond the Yukon-NWT border:

An Arctic, high-elevation stream in the Northwest Territories: pseudoscorprion country!

To give you some idea of the ease of collecting, here is an example of what you might find when flipping over rocks beside the creeks:

Several Wyochernes asiaticus (Pseudoscorpiones) females (with yellow eggs visible)

I was also able to capture some video of these pseudoscorpions - as far as I am aware, Wyochernes has never before been videotaped, so this is the FIRST EVER movie of this species!

Our larger research goals included more than pseudoscorpion colleting, and I was in the Yukon with a wonderful team of scientists, including my graduate students Crystal Ernst, Katie Sim, a post-doctoral researcher Dr. Laura Timms, and an entomology professor from the University of Manitoba, Dr. Barb Sharanowski. We all had different objectives and goals for the Yukon trip, and over the next couple of weeks. I will post some more research stories from this field-work to give a sense of the scope of our research efforts in the Yukon.

The research team at the Arctic circle (Laura, Katie, Crystal, Barb & Chris)

A classy canopy-dwelling jumping spider: Hentzia mitrata

/ Chris Buddle / 4 Comments

I have just returned from a week of field work in the Yukon - and will report on that in some detail soon. However, in the interim here is a short story about a lovely jumping spider (Family Salticidae). This is a story that started quite a few years ago, with my graduate student at the time, Maxim Larrivée. Max documented that the spider fauna of canopies of the forests around Montreal hosted fewer spiders than the understorey, and a lower number of species than the understorey (Larrivée & Buddle 2009). However, he also noticed and documented that there were a handful of specific spider species that were more frequently encountered in the canopy compared to the understorey, including a stunning jumping spider Hentzia mitrata. Here’s a photo, courtesy of Thomas Shahan . (you can view more of Thomas’ amazing photographs here):

Hentzia mitrata, copyright T. Shahan, reproduced here with permission

Just recently our laboratory had a publication come out in The Canadian Entomologist on another study of spiders (and beetles) in the canopy of forests at the Morgan Arboretum (Aikens & Buddle 2012). This was work done by my former MSc student Kathleen Aikens. As one part of her work, Kathleen asked whether there was vertical stratification in beetle and spider assemblages - there was, and in addition to that finding, Kathleen again documented that Hentzia mitrata was more common in the canopy as compared to the understorey - here’s a figure from that paper showing those data:

We have now published this finding three times - in Max’s work on foliage dwelling spiders (Larrivée & Buddle 2009), his work on bark-dwelling canopy spiders (Larrivée & Buddle 2010), and now with Kathleen’s work. This is a convincing body of evidence: Hentzia mitrata has a strong affinity for tree canopies.

But why? Why is this species more common in the canopy compared to the understorey? What does it eat in the tree-tops? Where does it overwinter? (our deciduous forest are bare, cold and snowy in the winter!). As is typical, I have no idea. We have yet to embark on any life-history study of Hentzia mitrata in the canopy, but it would be well worth pursuing. In my experience, this species is not all that common in understorey habitats at our latitude, yet there it is, watching us with its big, curious eyes as we enter its tree-top realm:

Hentzia mitrata, copyright T. Shahan, reproduced here with permission

References

Aikens, K.R. & C.M. Buddle. 2012. Small-scale heterogeneity in temperate forest canopy arthropods: stratification of spider and beetle assemblages. The Canadian Entomologist, in press. doi:10.4039/tce.2012.51

Larrivée, M. & C.M. Buddle. 2009. Diversity of canopy and understorey spiders in north-temperate hardwood forests. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 11: 225–237 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-9563.2008.00421.x

Larrivée, M. & C.M. Buddle. 2010. Scale dependence of tree trunk spider diversity patterns in vertical and horizontal space. Ecoscience 17:400-410 DOI 10.2980/17-4-3403

Hunting Pseudoscorpions in the Yukon

/ Chris Buddle / 6 Comments

In four days I head off for two weeks of field work in the Yukon. I’ve written about this stunning place before, and my student Crystal also posted about the upcoming adventure. Our time will be spent doing some final collections as part of the Northern Biodiversity Program, and I will also be hunting pseudoscorpions.

A selection of Pseudoscorpions

Although I have a fondness for harvestmen and spiders, pseudoscropions are truly fascinating, and the most curious of the Arachnids. They are small arachnids ( most are < 5 mm in length) that resemble scorpions, minus the ‘tail’. They are found around the world (except Antarctica), and although only a few thousand described species, globally, they are morphologically diverse, and beautiful. Pseudoscorpions are predators of other small invertebrates, and they typically live within leaf-little, soil, tundra or other substrates on the ground. They are also phoretic, and sometimes found hanging onto the legs or bodies of other insects. To learn all about the biology of pseudoscorpions, I recommend reading Weygoldt’s book.

C. Buddle venturing towards Sheep Creek, Yukon, to search for pseudoscropions

I have a longstanding interest in Pseudoscopions from Canada, and keen to obtain more records to increase the distribution notes for Canada’s fauna. My trip to the Yukon next week will include searching for a fascinating species: Wyochernes asiaticus. In North America, this species was described as W. arcticus by William Muchmore in 1990, and is considered the most northern pseudoscorpion on this continent. Muchmore’s paper was based on 6 specimens collected under rocks beside Sheep Creek, Yukon. When I was in the Yukon in 2008, I went to Sheep Creek, looked under rocks beside the creek and there were hundreds of specimens to be found:

A Wyochernes (Chernetidae) pseudoscorpion, under rocks at Sheep Creek

Later, Muchmore determined that W. arcticus is the same as a species from Asia (W. asiaticus). So… those of you that know your glacial history are aware that sections of the Yukon remained unglaciated during the last ice age. Quite a number of taxa have been found in that region of the Yukon whose closest relatives are from Siberia and other parts of Asia. They are relicts of the past, and labeled ‘Beringian’ species because of the Beringian land bridge that used to join North America to Asia. That tiny pseudoscorpion is a perfect and stunning example of a Beringian species - it is known only from Siberia, Mongolia, possibly Tibet, and from a few localities in the Yukon.

You can probably anticipate my excitement - when I was last in the Yukon almost all the dry creek beds up the Dempster Highway hosted Wyochernes asiaticus. I am most eager to collect more. I will be collecting them to test some life-history theories, verify distribution records, and see just how far north this species can be found. NOTE: IF YOU ARE THINKING OF DOING YOUR OWN COLLECTIONS IN ARCTIC REGIONS, INCLUDING THE YUKON, YOU NEED A SCIENTIFIC PERMIT TO DO SO. You cannot collect in these parts of the world without authorization. This makes sense-the beauty of the North cannot be taken for granted and needs to be studied with caution:

The Yukon.

As you can guess, the Dempster highway is a rather isolated and remote region. I will not likely be posting again until after my return. Later in July, I do hope to share some more research stories with you…and I can pretty much guarantee there will be discussions about pseudoscorpions!

References:

Buddle, C.M. 2010. Photographic key to the Pseudoscorpions of Canada and the adjacent USA. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 10, 03 February 2010, available online at http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/b_10/b_10.html, doi:10.3752/cjai.2010.10.

Muchmore, W.B. (1990). A pseudoscorpion from arctic Canada (Pseudoscorpionida, Chernetidae) Canadian Journal of Zoology, 68 (2), 389-390 DOI: 10.1139/z90-055

Muchmore, W.B. (1996). On the occurrence of Wyochernes in Asia (Pseudoscorpionida: Chernetidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 10(6): 215-217. Link