Resurrection ecology
Encyclopedia
"Resurrection ecology" is an evolutionary biology technique whereby researcher
s hatch dormant eggs
from lake sediments to study animal
s as they existed decades ago. It is a new approach that might allow scientist
s to observe evolution
as it occurred, by comparing the animal forms hatched from older eggs with their extant descendants
.
One such researcher in the field is W. Charles Kerfoot of Michigan Technological University
whose results were published in the journal
Limnology and Oceanography. He reported on success in a search for "resting eggs" of zooplankton
that are dormant in Portage Lake
on Michigan
's Upper Peninsula. The lake
has undergone a considerable amount of change over the last 100 years including flood
ing by copper mine debris, dredging, and eutrophication
.
Although the more esoteric demonstration of natural selection is alone a valuable aspect of the study described, there is a clear ecological implication in the discovery that very old zooplankton eggs have survived in the lake: the potential still exists, if and when this environment is restored to something of a more pristine nature, for at least some of the original (pre-disturbance) inhabitants to re-establish populations once presumed lost. The genes valuable to survival of those species in a restored environment are still "readily" available and may be quickly assimilated by the modern populations, perhaps requiring no more than a fortuitous disturbance of the bottom.
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
s hatch dormant eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
from lake sediments to study animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s as they existed decades ago. It is a new approach that might allow scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s to observe evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
as it occurred, by comparing the animal forms hatched from older eggs with their extant descendants
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
.
One such researcher in the field is W. Charles Kerfoot of Michigan Technological University
Michigan Technological University
Michigan Technological University is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake...
whose results were published in the journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
Limnology and Oceanography. He reported on success in a search for "resting eggs" of zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
that are dormant in Portage Lake
Portage Lake
Portage Lake may refer to:Placenames in the United States:* Portage Lake, Maine* Portage Lakes, OhioLakes in the United States:* Portage Lakes * Portage Lake , in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan...
on Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
's Upper Peninsula. The lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
has undergone a considerable amount of change over the last 100 years including flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing by copper mine debris, dredging, and eutrophication
Eutrophication
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
.
Although the more esoteric demonstration of natural selection is alone a valuable aspect of the study described, there is a clear ecological implication in the discovery that very old zooplankton eggs have survived in the lake: the potential still exists, if and when this environment is restored to something of a more pristine nature, for at least some of the original (pre-disturbance) inhabitants to re-establish populations once presumed lost. The genes valuable to survival of those species in a restored environment are still "readily" available and may be quickly assimilated by the modern populations, perhaps requiring no more than a fortuitous disturbance of the bottom.