Public Archaeology - What Should have been in The News

While proofreading a scientific journal article I recently wrote, I found myself thinking “wow, this is really boring!” Scientists always write their journal articles in technical, impartial terms so as to sound as objective as possible. That’s part of the reason why scientific conferences are so enjoyable; you often get an opportunity to find out about the real problems scientists encountered while trying to conduct their field research. That got me thinking – what if scientists wrote the blunt, honest truth about our field research experiences instead of the dry, dispassionate scientific jargon that we feel compelled to write? So for your benefit here are some of the things a scientist might write in a journal article and what it might have actually meant.

Now you might think I’m joking but some of the things I mentioned really happened either to me or someone I know. Guess which ones! So remember if you are ever reading something written by a scientist, there’s often a much more interesting story behind it than anyone will ever know.

Seven years ago I went to northern Manitoba in search of a rare water-lily with American botanist John H. Wiersema. This water-lily appeared to be a fertile hybrid between two species: Fragrant Water-lily (Nymphaea odorata) and Pygmy Water-lily (N. leibergii). The only problem was that the specimen had been observed only once way back in 1948 by renowned botanist Homer J. (no not Simpson!) Scoggan. In order to determine if the water-lily was a unique species, we needed some fresh DNA!

After a fruitless (literally and figuratively) trip in 2007, Manitoba Hydro graciously flew both John and I up north to search a small river for the elusive water-lily in July of 2008. After a long boat ride, our persistence was rewarded with the first sighting of the water-lily in 60 years. John took DNA samples to give to his research associate Dr. Thomas Borsch to do the required genetic research. The genetic work confirmed that this plant is a fertile species of hybrid origin that does not reproduce with either of the parent species. Six years later, a peer-reviewed paper describing and naming the new species as Lori’s Water-lily (Nymphaea loriana) has been published the the NRC Press journal Botany (Read more here). The water-lily was sadly named after Dr. Wiersema’s late wife.

Most people do not realize how long and laborious the procedure to scientifically describe new species is. Herbarium specimens must be studied, field work undertaken, and often genetic and biochemical laboratory work performed. This process can take years, even decades to complete as scientists usually cannot spend all of their time doing research (other stuff like tedious paperwork usually gets in the way). Even after the research is all done, a species is not officially recognized until it has been peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal. Further, the specimens collected must now be protected and cared for in perpetuity as they are the official documentation of the species’ existence, a task that The Manitoba Museum gladly undertakes. The dried, pressed specimens were glued onto special acid-free paper, labelled, databased, and stored in a climate-controlled vault for future reference and scientific research.

Now the next phase begins: conservation. This species is endemic to Canada, meaning that it is found nowhere else in the world. My colleagues and I estimate that there are only about 750 Lori’s Water-lilies in the world, making them extremely rare. Pollution of our northern waters from agriculture and natural resource development, and changes in water levels due to climate change are potential threats to this species here and in central Saskatchewan where two other populations are found. In a soon to be submitted paper, my colleagues and I will be recommending that this new species be protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, due to its extreme rarity.

For many years native prairies and forests were considered “waste lands” because they don’t produce food for people to eat. But increasingly scientists are finding that natural areas are actually essential for our food production system.

In a recently published paper in the Journal of Pollination Ecology (click here to read), I documented which prairie wildflowers provide food for the pollinators of crop plants like canola. Canola, being a mass flowering crop, produces primarily pollen and some nectar to entice insects, such as domestic honeybees, and native bumblebees and sweat bees, into pollinating them. Pollination by insects greatly increases the seed set of canola. However, before and after canola flowers, its pollinators need something to eat. Enter the wildflowers!

Wildflowers typically start blooming in late April and are in bloom until mid October, providing hungry pollinators with healthy, nutritious nectar and pollen to eat. Essentially, without wildflowers, the bees that we rely on to pollinate our canola crops would starve. And yet sadly these wild plants are being dug up, sprayed with herbicides, and choked out by exotic European weeds. Intensification of agriculture is the main factor causing the collapse in domestic honeybee populations as well as the endangerment of native bees and other pollinators like the monarch butterfly. Wild insects that need prairie plants, such as flower and bee flies, also play an import role in the biological control of pests like aphids.

And so I would like to suggest that we begin re-wilding our province lest our pollinator populations collapse to the point that we can no longer grow canola, sunflowers, or strawberries any more. Protecting the remaining prairies, oak savannahs, and tree bluffs is one important thing we can do. Another is to begin restoring the prairies alongside our farmlands. The Iowa Department of Highways has been replacing exotic weedy species in roadside ditches with native prairie plants creating beautiful stretches of highways that team with insect life and provide crop pollinators with habitat (click here to learn more). Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a useful tool for controlling pest populations on croplands while minimizing the impact on wild pollinators.

Lastly, please look to your own yard. Are you growing plants that are visited by pollinators? If not, consider growing at least some native wildflowers as our pollinators are adapted to feeding on them, not introduced exotics. I know that butterfly gardens are popular but really it’s the bees and flies that are doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to crop pollination. The more pollinators you nourish, the better your own garden yields of tomatoes, peppers, squashes, apples, and berries will be!

Still scared of getting stung by a bee? You probably shouldn’t be as we don’t have any “killer bees” in Manitoba. Our native bees are not aggressive (although some wasps and hornets can be) and will more than likely leave you alone unless you step on them or hit them. Also many wild bees are actually stingless! Check out www.PrairiePollination.ca for more information on the wild bees of Manitoba.