Jonathan Copeland, PhD - US grants

This field project will investigate an unusual type of synchronous flashing in Southeast Asian fireflies. The Borneo "silent counter," a firefly that flashes continuously, pauses, and then flashes continuously again, will be studied using innovative modern technologies. Dr. Copeland and his colleagues will attempt to demonstrate unequivocally that this firefly is a synchronizer and will focus on the activity of the pacemaker oscillator during the dark ("silent") period. The oscillator- like flash behavior of three other closely related species will also be studied, including two continuously synchronic (no pause) fireflies and a non-synchronic firefly. Since all four species look alike and have been classified as Pteroptyx malaccae, some of the fireflies whose flashes have been recorded will be preserved so that their DNA can later be subjected to restriction-enzyme analysis, to provide a biochemical taxonomic identifier for the behavioral and morphological key to this complex of fireflies. Synchronously flashing fireflies live in the fragile tropical environment of Southeast Asia. Logging and industrial development are rapidly destroying the habitat of this unique type of animal. This research, then, will document an unusual variety of synchronic behavior in fireflies before it becomes extinct. Further, it is important to understand the mechanisms underlying synchrony because synchrony occurs in so few organisms. Other than fireflies, synchronous behavior has been demonstrated only in crickets and humans. Thus, this research could yield insights into the human ability to perform in rhythmic unison. In addition, the modern technologies used in this study will provide, for the first time, quantitative data on synchronous flashing on the same time scale as neurophysiological data that will be obtained in future studies. Thus, this project is valuable as a guide for future neurophysiological studies with implications for human biology. Finally, combining this behavioral study with morphological and DNA studies will clarify the taxonomy of these organisms and, thus, how to preserve them better as their natural habitat shrinks.

This proposal requests instrumentation for a hands-on process- oriented laboratory experience in cell biology for intermediate level students at Georgia Southern University. The pedagogical approach involves mastery learning, discovery learning and process learning. A few techniques are presented repeatedly with elaboration at each repetition. This allows students the safety of making mistakes, and it is through that safety that learning takes place. In addition to learning a few transferable skills thoroughly, we use the writing of a scientific paper as a vehicle to teach data analysis, data interpretation, writing skills, hypothesis testing, and protocol development. Our goal is to propel our students into a research experience which culminates in a complete, full, scientific paper and an oral presentation about techniques and equipment available for cell biology. Students are encouraged to keep a journal of their subjective thoughts concerning the lab. This enables students in an unthreatening way to write about science, and to understand the precise and objective communication of scientific information.

This project will result in the in the organization and presentation of a symposium called "Flash Communication: Fireflies at Fifty", an overdue recognition to the more than fifty years that have passed since the modern era of the study of flash communication began with the initial publications of Dr. John B. Buck on flash communication and synchronous flashing. This symposium will be presented at the January 4-8, 2003 Toronto meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. The symposium is sponsored by the SICB Division of Neurobiology and co-presented by the Society's Division of Animal Behavior.

Objectives. The objectives of the symposium will be 1) to present new knowledge in flash communication arrived at through diverse approaches (cellular, neuroethological, behavioral ecological); 2) to integrate this new knowledge and to facilitate the emergence of new research directions in flash communication; and 3) to publish the observations and conclusions of the symposium in a journal like American Zoologist. Methods. To facilitate discussion at the meeting, a list-server/chat room will be established using the Georgia Southern WebCT. Participants can "chat" prior to the symposium and after the symposium.

Impacts. The primary impact of this project lies in the fact that there has never been a flash communication symposium presented on the national level in American science. It is important to have the symposium now. Many of the older generation of firefly workers have retired or died. This symposium will bring together remaining senior scientists as well as mid-career scientists and beginning scientists for a mutual sharing of old and new ideas. The symposium has the potential for setting the directions of firefly flash communication for the next ten years. A symposium report will be published in American Zoologist, the journal of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, or in a university press like Johns Hopkins University Press, where animal subject specific symposia have been published. This will help to advance knowledge as well. Additionally, fireflies are insects that the general public considers "good". Thus, the results of the symposium, when described by the popular press, may be very accessible to the general public. Fireflies have been used in the past to teach the general public about entomology, hypothesis testing, and the process of discovery in science. An additional impact of the symposium lies in the fact that 31% of the participants are women and 27% are at the very beginning of their scientific career. Thus, the demographic structure of the symposium will play a role in increasing the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups in the sciences.