Pond Life
Collecting insects as a child in the prairies near his Iowa town became a life-long passion for University of Canterbury postgraduate Mark Galatowitsch
In nature, says Mark Galatowitsch, you have your generalists and your specialists.
The specialist has a hard road to travel. Take the panda. It lives almost exclusively on bamboo. If the bamboo dies off, the panda is in trouble. Specialists are less able to adapt to different conditions and are extra vulnerable to predators. But give them their ideal conditions and they are able to easily out-compete other organisms.
Mark Galatowitsch- University of Canterbury (School of Biological Sciences)
The generalist, meanwhile, lives a life of variety: if its pond dries up, it’s no big thing. If its favourite food declines, it grabs another. From the rats scurrying through the sewers of New York, to our own damselfly, who flits from pond to pond, the world seems made for generalists. Even we humans, says Galatowitsch, are generalists. By not having a restricted diet and by having an ability to adapt or change our environment to suit our needs, the primates we evolved from were able to quickly colonise and survive in different parts of the world.
Galatowitsch is every bit the specialist—his specialty is the insect world. He first became interested in insect ecology in primary school, collecting insects in the prairies near his Iowa town. This childhood passion stimulated a desire to become an ecologist and contribute to environmental problem solving. He pursued a biology degree at Allegheny College because of their strength in undergraduate research. As an undergraduate he participated in several applied and basic research projects on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This year, Galatowitsch is off into the Canterbury and Marlborough high country in New Zealand to study the area’s temporary and permanent ponds and lakes. The major challenge, he says, is crossing paths with the creatures he’s after. Organisms that rely on highly variable ponds may only be present for weeks or months out of the year. “The limited availability of these habitats and organisms can make field surveys and experiments difficult.”
Generalist aquatic invertebrates face many challenges by living both in ponds that can dry up and lakes with fish that love to gobble them up. “I am studying how these invertebrates have adapted to survive, thrive and move between both habitats.” To survive in both these habitats they might have different strategies to escape drying up in temporary ponds and avoid a variety of predators. Another strategy may include flying between the ponds and lake so their offspring develop in both habitats. “They want to spread their luck and hopefully maximise how many survive. By studying these generalist invertebrates we can better understand how particular species can survive and move between different environments which may be important for how they react to climate change, human land-use and invasive species.”
“By being a part of The Freshwater Ecology Research Group (FERG) group I’ve learned a lot about different ecology and genetics research techniques and have made great contacts with people at other universities and government funded institutions.”
Galatowitsch arrived in New Zealand in August 2010 and thus far describes his experience at the University of Canterbury as “excellent.” “By being a part of the FERG group I’ve learned a lot about different ecology and genetics research techniques and have made great contacts with people at other universities and government funded institutions like the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Department of Conservation (DOC). These new colleagues and research skills, particularly the use of genetics to test ecological questions under the guidance of Assistant Professor Sharyn Goldstein, provide excellent training for a career at a research institution.”
Galatowitsch intends to pursue a career in insect ecology or conservation biology in aquatic systems (streams, wetlands and lakes) with either an NGO or a research institution. “Ideally these positions would allow me to educate the public and conduct research. This way I could further raise environmental awareness of students and community members and improve their ability to assess and address local ecological impacts.”