A Bug's Life: The Biological Basis of Insect Adaptations
Course Description
Insects are undoubtedly the most diverse group of animals (with over a million species estimated), and they play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem health. At the same time, they can devastate human societies by spreading disease and destroying crops. People host complex feelings toward insects, as they provoke instinctive fears, despite also playing beneficial societal roles. In this course, we will look at the biological structures underlying myriad insect adaptations, providing us a new framework with which to answer questions about whether insects feel “pain”, why they have a reputation for resilience, and how complex behaviors such as eusociality may have evolved.
Students will be primed to examine these questions through introductory overviews of topics in insect biology, such as genetics, physiology, taxonomy, behavior, evolutionary biology, and physiology. They will be taught to read and analyze primary literature, and assess empirical evidence. Additionally, we will take short excursions around campus in which students will be taught how to capture insects, and craft their own insect collection. Through lectures, discussion, and citizen science tools, this course will give students a framework with which to understand and appreciate the insects around them.
Meet the Instructor: Kirsten Verster
Dr. Kirsten Verster began her journey studying insects when, at the age of five, she put a beetle to her ear to listen to it—only to have it crawl inside! Despite this, she developed a passion for insect life through her studies and research. As an undergraduate student, she contributed to several different projects ranging from studying butterfly evolution in Florida to looking at spider webs in Puerto Rico. She now has over a decade of experience working on projects covering a wide breadth of arthropod life, from spiders to butterflies. She received a PhD in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley, studying the evolution of flies using techniques in genomics and molecular biology. She has contributed to over ten peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, and has taught various biology classes and workshops to broad audiences, from Girl Scouts to retirees. She is currently a lecturer at Stanford.
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