UA News

Giant water bugs look frightening, but they're role models of fatherhood and contribute greatly to our world.

Up close, giant water bugs are in the menagerie of nature's scariest-looking miniature monsters.

But a University of Arizona graduate student, who will talk about giant water bugs at Biosphere 2 on Halloween, studies them as role models for fatherhood.

Christine Goforth, a doctoral student in the department of entomology, will present a talk titled "Monsters of the Deep: The Life and Times of Giant Water Bugs" at Biosphere 2 at 2 p.m. Saturday. The talk is included in the price of Biosphere 2 admission.

As a 2009-2010 Biosphere 2 Science and Society Fellow, Goforth is part of a program designed to help bridge the gap between UA student scientists and the public.

Giant water bugs are found in many aquatic habitats across the country, including Arizona, and are well-known among scientists for their unique behaviors, Goforth said.

 In Arizona, they range in size from about three-quarters-of-an-inch to about two-and-one-half inches long. Water bugs found elsewhere range in size from half-an-inch to five inches in length.

"It's hard for someone who has never seen an aquatic insect to appreciate what these animals provide. Aquatic insects do some amazing things and contribute greatly to our world. But how many people know that?" Goforth said.

"For insects, they are exceptional predators and are able to eat fairly large animals, such as tadpoles, fish, snakes, and even the occasional bird. It is unusual for insects to eat such large animals, especially animals with backbones," she said.

Male giant water bugs also are excellent parents and care for the eggs they have fathered until they hatch, Goforth added. Her work focuses on how the eggs benefit from these behaviors.

"Parental care would not exist in giant water bugs if the fathers weren't providing something the developing water bugs require as they grow. This parental care is absolutely necessary in the giant water bugs," she said.

In her research, Goforth is narrowing in on what the eggs need to survive and how parental care provides those things. She said she hopes that her work will lead to a greater understanding of why parental care exists in giant water bugs so that she can suggest how these behaviors might have evolved. The information will be useful to scientists studying parental care or the evolution of behavior.

By studying the egg stage of the giant water bugs, Goforth said she has gleaned an understanding of these insects' habitat requirements, and that this understanding may eventually contribute to conservation strategies.

"Many aquatic insects are currently at risk of extinction due to habitat loss and climate change," Goforth said. "As more and more people use more and more water, we will see a steady decline in aquatic habitat availability. It is vital that we learn as much as we can about aquatic insects now so that we can help protect them in the future."

The Biosphere 2 Science and Society Fellows program is in its second year. Fellows strive to communicate the value of their work to nonscientists through talks, discussions and blogging.

That's important, Goforth said, because the public has a powerful role in guiding scientific policy and education around the country.

"Blogging is a great way for scientists to communicate their findings to the public," Goforth said. "Blogs are easily accessible by the public and are becoming increasingly acceptable as a form of reliable news."

Her blog can be found at dragonflywoman.wordpress.com.

Goforth has found that she has written about things that aren't widely accessible. Over the summer, she wrote about a dragonfly swarm she encountered at a Tucson lake – and received hundreds of hits to her blog from people looking for information about similar swarms all over the country.

"Although swarming behavior is known among dragonfly researchers, the information is not readily available to nonscientists, and I am happy to provide information that people want to know," Goforth said. "It's nice to know that I am helping people understand their world a little better."