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Bug's Eye View
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Aquatic insects use polarized light to find water, where they live, mate and breed. In nature, the strongest producer of polarized light is water. Today's anthropogenic world creates much confusion for these insects, as objects like vehicles, glass buildings, plastics, solar panels, and even manhole covers, all produce polarized light of their own. A seemingly ordinary object to us, manhole covers are just one of many objects in our industrialized environment that draw these insects away from water, where they perish on the hot surfaces heated by the sun. In a world with growing urbanization, and increasing temperatures, could these small but numerous creatures be dwindling right under our noses?
My research will determine the spatial extent of these polarized surfaces in the City of Edmonton, and to what extent these polarized surfaces are impacting the population of aquatic insect species in the area. The focus will be on Corixidae, as the large biomass flux of these species in the spring and the fall nourish fish and bird species found in the North Saskatchewan River. The loss of these small but mighty insects would negatively affect the entire aquatic ecosystem.
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- Date created
- 2024-06-01
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