Dissections: What's the point

WARNING: Somewhat graphic descriptions

During June I had to attend a field trip in Parasitology conducted by my university. The whole point of the field trip was to observe parasites, learn their life cycles and consider how these parasites could potentially affect the host organism. It was a very interesting field trip but not for the faint of heart as a lot of dissections were involved. We were no strangers to dissection. In my second year one of the modules taken by all students was one that familiarized you with a worm and leech dissection, a trout dissection and a rat dissection. Then according to the modules taken you got to do more dissections. Taking Ocean Biology I dissected dogfish, starfish, sea urchins, shrimps and so forth. The point isn't what I dissected though, the point is that some people grew squeamish when they had to deal with mammals while some saw no point and refused to do dissections. To each their own I always say but the whole idea intrigued me. Should dissections be carried on now that we have access to multimedia tools that could easily emulate a dissection and further more reduce animal welfare. Here is my opinion on the matter.

There can only be so much you can learn from a virtual dissection. Things change in animals. When I first performed my first dissection on a rat(Rattus norveticus) I was thoroughly confused. I had looked up manuals and the internal layout of the animal before hand but I found the lungs to be smaller, the intestine to take up much more space than I thought and some parts harder or easier to cut through than I expected. After spending a week dissecting mice and voles in my Parasitology field trip I got less messy and more efficient. I can safely say though that if I were to have a look through the internal structure of the rat online and then dissect I would definitely be surprised by the differences that are present. Not to mention things that get you off guard such as embryos,diseases and most of all the smell.

It could be something that is needed in your line of work. Usually there are specialists about who can perform dissections, forensics and they can determine a cause of death. This is often done to determine if a population is suffering from a disease or parasite, or if a protected species is found dead. Whether you want to be one of those specialists is a different thing all together. However I think that dissections can be vital as you never know what you may come across and how dissections could be a solution to a problem affecting wildlife. If you lack the skill then you may have a harder time determining what's wrong or identifying key issues. Of course each animal has a different anatomy so gaining experience on rats doesn't mean that you can dissect and analyze issues on a deer carcass. However basic skills such as how deep to cut, what to look out for, be prepared for smell, don't puncture the gut and so forth are basic skills that can be applied to any sort of dissection you might come across.

Of course there is the dark side. Animals do have to die for you to learn from dissections. More often than not these animals were to die as they may be part of a control experiment or bred in captivity which means they cannot be released in the wild but the fact is that some institutes actively breed animals for dissection. It's a tough choice to make. By opting to do a dissection then you passively condone to animal killing and welfare. Most institutes do it humanely(or so they claim) and some even use them in sustainable matters. For example we were told that the rats that were dissected were gassed and that they were to be given to a local falconry center after the dissection to feed the birds of prey which I suppose could offer some closure in knowing that the animal have another use after their death. Looking into how your university/institute deals with dissection is a factor that could make you more comfortable with performing one if you really want to do it but feel bad about the animal.

Overall in my opinion I think dissections are a good way to get your hands dirty, learn by acting and enhance your skill set. However it is your own right whether or not you are comfortable in doing them and an alternative option should be provided to those who do not wish to do it. It's up to every individual to decide this for themselves and even if you go ahead with it and you figure out that you cannot stomach it then you should be adamant about stopping right there and now. It's a choice that can be hard on anyone and you should not care what people say or think about you in regards to the matter.

Species of the week:Armadillo

Species of the week:

Nine-banded Armadillo(Dasypus novemcinctus)

1)This armadillo like all others can only be found in the Americas continent.

2)It is a solitary mammal.

3) It is mostly nocturnal.

4)It's an insectivore, feeding mostly on small invertebrates.

5)Although its preferred environment is warm and rainy it is adaptable and hence can be found in scrublands,tropical rainforests and open prairies.

6)An armadillo can have about 10-12 burrows in its range.

7)The nine banded armadillo won't curl into a ball when it's attacked. Instead it will either run away or will dig a small trench and lodge itself in there making it extremely hard to remove.

8)Depending on the Hemisphere their mating season varies. In the Northern Hemisphere it takes place  in July-August while in the Southern Hemisphere it's around November-January. That means that the armadillo mates around summer time regardless of Hemisphere.

9)The armadillo can cross water bodies by either inflating its intestines or submerging itself and walking along the bottom.

10) It can hold its breath for an impressive 6 minutes.

Species of the Week: European Otter

Species of the Week:

European Otter(Lutra lutra)

1. The otter's diet mainly consists of fish but during seasons where fish are scare(usually winter) it also eats insects, frogs, crusteceans, birds and sometimes berries.
2. The otter is a territorial animal competing in territory with only members of the same sex. So for example males will only compete with males and it is common for male and female territories to overlap. They are usually solitary animals or living in small family groups of a male and female.
3. Otters are non seasonal breeders. That means that they will breed at any time of the year so long as they are capable of breeding.
4. Their territories are vast, ranging to up to 40km^2.
5. Part of their territories should include at least a few water bodies and prime territory locations are judged by food and water body availability.
6. An otter's gestation period lasts about 60-65 days and give birth to 1-4 pups
7. European otters have a longer tail,shorter neck and greater visage than it's North American river cousin.
8. Pollution, hunting for the fur trade and habit loss and fragmentation are the main threats to the European Otter.
9. It's IUCN status is Near Threatened
10. The European Otter is also found in Asia.

Zoology myths

As every student returning home after the holidays, meeting up with old friends and relatives is somewhat of a requirement. One subject that comes up is what my degree is exactly. Usually this follows up with people asking whether they should start studying the same thing. So I have decided to clear some things up here in the blog. Hopefully this will clear your perception of what Zoology is exactly and whether you want to pursue it or not. However before I go on, let me say that I am studying at a Scottish University( there are difference between the English Universities) and that also I have just finished my second year and that there are two more years to go until I finish my undergraduate. Don't let this article be your final decision point. Your best bet is to find someone studying Zoology at the Universities you want to join or in the country you want to study and ask them about the degree. Then make up your mind.

Firstly. Zoology is not a extensive hands on animal degree. Although you do get to handle some animals, odds are those animals are either small enough to be contained in the lab,predicable enough to study or they are dead already and dissections and observations need to be conducted. If you envision yourself as a Zoology student, going out in the field every day studying wild animals then it's time for a rough reality check. Most Universities shy away from such teaching tactics as they are expensive, unreliable and often might be dangerous. If you want such experience then you are better off checking with Universities before you apply or wait until you can conduct your own research. That being said you might get to study wild animals on your field trips and at some labs and those moments are often treasured.

You can't avoid plants. There are people out there that don't find plant life interesting. If you think that in your Zoology degree you won't come across plants at all then you are mistaken. Plants are an important part of an animal's life cycle and hence you will come across them even in small doses every once in a while. Some plants might be important for conservation, important for animal behavior and hence merit being studied a lot more. So be prepared for some plant biology in your degree.

You can't avoid math. This is one of the largest misconceptions that I once thought myself. I thought I would be doing Zoology and that's it. Statistics and model maths are important parts of the science in zoology and so you will be taught about them, required to include them in plenty of lab reports and will be a basic content of your undergraduate and further studies. Most biologists struggle with them and their computer programs so I would advise you pay close attention to statistics and try and learn as much as you can about them.

You will spend a lot of time on the computer or reading books. Scientific papers don't write themselves and neither do essays. Be prepared to do a lot of background reading, working with statistical software, creating or working with computer and writing up reports. Some computer knowledge will get you a long way in your degree and although you are taught the basics, a few tricks will make your life easier.

It won't always be interesting. Let's face it. We are human beings and as humans we find some things interesting and some boring. Even if you love animals some parts of your education will be boring either due to the subject, the lecturer or because something else is on your mind. Don't assume that just because your degree deals with animals that everything will be interesting. I honestly hope that everything is interesting in your studies but so far I have had lectures I couldn't stand and I think it will always be that way.

Not everyone cares. This is something that I learned the hard way. I thought everyone will be interested in learning about wolves, their conservation and politics. Unfortunately that is not the case. However it makes sense. In your year alone will probably be a hundred people or more. Not everyone will find the same things interesting as you do and not all tutors or lecturers will either, although hopefully a large number of people will have some common ground with you to share.

I don't want to give the image of a horrible degree though. I love what I am doing now even if it involves an unhealthy amount of statistics. Hopefully however this will give you a clearer image into what Zoology is and is not and might steer you in the right direction. If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to contact me and I will try and answer them.

Species of the Week: The Grey Wolf

So I decided that every Sunday I will be posting a species of the week. I will give about five to ten facts for each species. If you have a species that you want featured then please add it to the comments.

Species of the Week:

Grey Wolf(Canis lupus)

1. The wolf's can be found in most of the Northern Hemisphere. It is dominant towards the North, but can also be found in Italy, Greece and France.
2. Wolves tend to form packs from 2 individuals to about around 5-10.
3. The largest pack recorded is the Druid Pack in Yellowstone National Park which had 37 wolves in it at one time.
4. Despite their reputation, there have been around thirteen wolf attacks recorded in the 21^st century
5. Wolf territories will change depending on prey availability but the average is deemed to be 35km²
6. Wolves usually hunt large mammals such as deer, bighorn sheep, moose, elk and bison although they often hunt smaller mammals as well such as rodents.
7. Some wolves in the Great Bear Rainforest have been documented catching and eating salmon.
8. Wolves mate in January-February.
9. Gestation period lasts around 60-63 days and around 4-6 pups are born.
10. The best season to observe wolves is in winter where snow tracks are easier to spot and the pack is usually more active in hunting.

De-extinction

Lately there are a lot of articles and talks going on about using DNA to bring animals back from extinction. Although most magazines and websites have actually covered this subject and I think they did a better job at it I would however like to give my opinion about the subject.

The experience of witnessing an animal that has been extinct for thousands of years will very likely be a mixture of curiosity and excitement. The things we can learn from studying a mammoth or a saber toothed cat will shed light on evolutionary research and behavioral research as well all sort of other researches. In addition to that conservation efforts may be helped tremendously by providing a viable population for struggling species. In these aspects then cloning and reproducing an extinct species is interesting. But of course there is the other side of the coin.

To recreate a species then a surrogate mother will be needed. In the case of a mammoth then an elephant is likely to carry the embryo and then give birth to the baby mammoth. If that's the case, given our knowledge of environmental and behavioral changes then how can we be sure that what we have is a mammoth the way that they used to exist. It might look like a mammoth but will it behave like a mammoth?

In addition to that some species' habitat is completely changes. Talks about reintroducing mammoth to the Siberian wilderness in order to recreate the pristine habitat the existed are just nonsense in my head. Firstly the mammoth has no predators. It is unlikely that the big cats or wolves will be able to bring down enough mammoth to affect the population. I mean sure the African elephant has no top predators either but we know that. The mammoth co-existed with direwolves, saber tooth cats and all sort of large carnivores and we don't have enough evidence to suggest that these predators did not hunt mammoth.

Another point is animal welfare. Most of the animals brought back so far have suffered for a brief while with lung or heart problems until they finally died. There is little doubt that this won't happen again. It is a natural process of learning from our mistakes. However how many animals must suffer and die in order to de-extinct a species that probably went extinct for a reason.

Finally, despite it being a potential conservation tool, it is also likely that some people may not be so concern with conservation now that species can be brought back. Who cares if there are less than 400 Scottish wildcats. All we need is some DNA, reproduce them and reintroduce them. Unfortunately this method won't work since the habitat needs to be replicated as well. However I feel that the feeling of urgency to take action for certain species may be lost if people know that species may be brought back from extinction.

Overall, despite cloning species, bringing species back from extinction, the certain practice should be put in the back of the shelves. We need to focus and conserve whatever environment we have now, allow that to flourish before we consider reproducing an animal that went extinct.

Hiatus

Hello everyone,
I am currently taking a few weeks off due to exams coming up. I might post something but nothing is certain until the end of May.
Take care
Pete