Researching the Great Lakes since 1966
The Great Lakes Center is an institute of researchers and educators at SUNY Buffalo State University dedicated to investigating the ecology of the Great Lakes and their tributaries. Our staff are full time research scientists or technicians and one is also a professor with the Biology department. In addition to lab facilities on the main campus, the GLC also has a field station on the waterfront and a fleet of boats to conduct our field studies. The center offers Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees in Great Lakes Environmental Science.
Events
GLC and Biology Seminar: Dr. Floria Uy - November 2
“Parasites exploit plasticity to reprogram social wasps”
Dr. Floria Uy, University of Rochester
Monday, Novemer 2, 3:00 p.m.
Science and Mathematics Complex (SAMC) 151
Seminar Abstract: Prolonged coevolution between hosts and parasites can generate novel and complex host phenotypes. Intriguingly, neuroplasticity, intended to provide advantages to hosts, can instead be exploited to enable rapid phenotypic change that benefits the parasite. We leveraged the parasitic insect Xenos peckii (Strepsiptera), which infects the social wasp Polistes fuscatus to elucidate how traits can be decoupled to generate an extended phenotype. Both parasite sexes inhibit reproduction and manipulate the social behavior of female workers, but not of male hosts that do not have castes. In addition, only adult female X. peckii remain as obligate endoparasites and extend the lifespan of workers, but not of male wasps. Therefore, we hypothesize that the parasite controls plasticity that mediates caste-related traits that are critical for parasite survival and fitness. We first utilized a time series of females hosts that revealed how parasites manipulate key genes in the developing brain of hosts. Second, multi-omic signatures of infected adult brains showed similarities with uninfected gyne brains, highlighting pathways shown to regulate longevity, reproduction, diapause, and neuromodulation. However, parasites cannot effectively manipulate some of these traits in male hosts, which supports our main hypothesis. Together, our results reveal novel insights about how plasticity facilitates reprogramming female wasps into an extended phenotype that decouples behavior, reproduction, and lifespan.
Buoys
The buoys have been retrieved for the winter. See you next spring!
Four things to know about Buffalo State's Great Lakes Center
Multi-use research, education, and training venue
Staff engage in year-round research
Part of the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS)
Offers two graduate degree options
Why it matters
The Great Lakes are the largest system of accessible freshwater on Earth: these inland seas are bounded by eight states and one province and contain about 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water. Over 30 million people live within the watershed, including more than one-tenth of the U.S. population and one-quarter of the Canadian population. It's easy to see just how many people depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water, agriculture, transportation, industry, power generation, fisheries, and recreation.
Though incredibly vast, the Great Lakes are threatened by decades of hard use. Lake Erie in particular is densely populated, heavily industrialized, and heavily cultivated for agriculture. Toxic chemicals and nutrients accumulated over time from direct disposal, runoff, and atmospheric deposition are still within the basins of these lakes. This is partially due to their incredibly slow outflow rate as well as the large input of pollutants, especially nutrients from agricultural and municipal runoff. Other stressors to the Great Lakes are aquatic invasive species and habitat degradation. Continued urbanization reduces habitat refuges for native species, while increased international shipping can increase the risk of the invasion of non-native species.
Buffalo, New York, is one of 17 large city regions on the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Center at Buffalo State University is in a unique position to provide high-quality research and education opportunities to people who are living on and being impacted by Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The center has a research facility located on the waterfront, a fleet of boats, and field equipment that it can use to help answer questions about the ecological processes and patterns acting on the system. This is a prime site for students who wish to study how humans both create and resolve ecosystem-scale problems, especially those related to freshwater systems.
