Marbled Crayfish

Artist's (mine) rendition of the
marbled crayfish

First of all, hello and welcome to my blog “Unwind the Helix”. The goal of this blog is loosely to discuss recent events in the world of biology, genetics, and evolution.

While working on a full length piece on conservation and our role in the ecosystem, I came across a news article discussing the marbled crayfish, “Geneticists Unravel Secrets of Super-invasive Crayfish”. The main reason for this sensationalist title is due to the origin of this species and the unique traits they picked up.

Photograph: Fredrik von Erichsen

It is thought that this relatively new species was first observed/ created in the 90’s in a tank in Germany when two distant crayfish species accidentally happened to breed. The resultant mixed crayfish has three sets of chromosomes, as opposed to humans and most other animals (tripoid vs diploid), and is able to breed by itself, a trait called parthenogenesis. Because it can effectively clone itself, it poses a substantial threat as an invasive species in parts of Europe and especially in Madagascar, where it is thriving with the help of locals. Since arriving in Madagascar in around 2007, the marbled crayfish has extended its war front into the interior of the small island country and is out-competing the local crayfish species. Conservationists see this invasion as a threat to local biodiversity and have been urging locals to refrain from helping them but the farmer instead put them in their rice fields to grow free crayfish snackies. Nobody can stop the unstoppable tide of marbled crayfish snackies.

Comments

SpaceX Paves the Next Wave of Space Explorations +bonus

SpaceX Falcon Heavy launching with 4 MerlinD1 Boosters For our final assignment in this Science writing class we have to write a feature story with a human element to draw readers in, I chose Elon Musk’s success in the privatization of space craft development and launch. Unfortunately this week I won’t be talking about that, apologies. I want to take a break from writing about current assignments because I am already tired of it and instead talk about what I wrote as a comment in another classmate’s blog. Book review round two, that’s right reader, today I will be talking about my favorite science fiction series, Ender’s game, and the trilogy that follows. For those that haven’t heard, the 2013 movie was actually adapted from a book of the same name from 1985, WOW. That book, written by Orson Scott Card, had genius boy Andrew Ender Wiggins thrust into a space militant training facility to develop the best minds into tactical war geniuses for the eventual return of the formics,...

Using Snow Coat as an Example of Climate Change and Adaptive Traits

Least Weasels as drawn by skilled illustrator In a recent study in Science Journal, climate researchers L. Scott Mills, et al, are using seasonal coat changes as an example to demonstrate the need for adaptive rescue strategies for saving species from human initiated climate change. Many species in snow covered areas have adapted to seasonal snow by possessing white coats in the winter and then shedding them for brown coats when snow is less prevalent, this trait is known as winter coat polymorphism. The study tracked the coloration of four species of hares, three weasles, and arctic wolves in relation to their geographical location and annual snow cover. Using over 2500 samples from over 60 countries the researchers determined ranges for the species sampled where there are white only, brown only, and both white and brown. This research is important for conservationists to recognize the effect adaption has on fitness in changing climates. It recognizes in discreet ways how ...

Squidward

I have been sick for the past week and half of my spring break, so I am double posting today to make up for the lack of content. Soon after we finished our final draft for our interview assignment we began getting ready for a book review. My professor presented a list of books within the last year or two that would make good choices for a paper, and one of them, Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of Cephalopods instantly grabbed my attention. I have always been interested in intelligence in animals other than humans and I decided on the spot to stop looking and pick that one. Upon further research, Squid Empire isn’t available at my school so I looked into what else I could find on cephalopods related to their intelligence. An equally interesting title, Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness , by Peter Godfrey-Smith, came up in my search and I requested it to be shipped to my campus. A scientist with philosophic leanings, Godfrey-Smith discusses the cep...

Unwind The Helix

Search This Blog