How Changes in Plant Community Structure Affect Ant Communities

We investigated how change in plant community composition brought about by annual grass-specific herbicide application affects terrestrial arthropod communities, with special emphasis on the mutualists of the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly, Plebejus icarioides fenderi (Family: Lycaenidae). Larvae of this species form facultative mutualisms with ants, who chase away potential predators of the larvae. We used pitfall trapping to compare ant communities between control and herbicide-treated plots through time. The extent to which major changes in plant community composition affect the mutualistic ant community differed among years. Our findings may have relevance for management decisions if the focus of the conservation effort has strong ecological interactions with greatly affected non-target species

crisscrossing Science Episode 055: Frogpocalypse: The Grim Ribbiter

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) discuss the rapid decline of amphibian species. They consider several reasons why amphibians might be going extinct at a faster rate than similar species and why these extinctions are important

crisscrossing Science Episode 060: Lightbulbs

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) explain where light comes from when a mommy photon and a daddy photon love each other very much. . . . In reality, light is a way that atomic particles are able to exchange energy. All sources of light are derived from this simple fact. From this idea, Crosser and Tillberg discuss how different light bulbs work and discuss pros and cons to different types

crisscrossing Science Episode 059: Animal Reproduction

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) celebrate their respective birthdays by discussing animal reproduction. There is a wide array of animal behaviors related to this topic, and each behavior involves logical developments intended to improve the ability for animals to pass their traits to the next generation

crisscrossing Science Episode 066: The Long and the Short of It

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) continue to discuss how some units are defined. This time, the discussion is about length. We have come a long way from defining length based on body parts, and some of this progress is discussed. For a similar discussion about the definition of units that focuses on time, see the Related Resource field below

crisscrossing Science Episode 069: From the Big Bang to the Big Chill

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) tackle the questions of how the universe started and how it will end, as well as all the evidence supporting these answers

crisscrossing Science Episode 065: Myrmecophytes (Ants in Our Plants)

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) delve into Chad\u27s research. Tillberg has studied the symbiosis between certain trees and ant species, called myrmecophytes, in Costa Rica. These trees provide homes for ants, and the ants protect them from other pests

crisscrossing Science Episode 062: Virgin Birth

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) discuss parthenogenesis, the asexual reproduction that some species are able to do, despite normally requiring a mate to reproduce. Crosser and Tillberg explain some of the mechanisms and note some examples of this behavior

crisscrossing Science Episode 064: Building a Better Clock

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) take the time to discuss how clocks have improved over the ages. They even discuss how atomic clocks work and what improvements are being made today

crisscrossing Science Episode 057: Building Eyes from the Ground Up

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) discuss how complicated organs such as eyes were able to evolve from simple, light-sensitive cells to the vast number of different types of eyes that are found in the animal kingdom