Everyone has a heart for beauty – and scientists are no exception.
A study published in Nature Plants in May 2021 found that those flowers that grow beautifully have more opportunities to become the targets of study chosen by researchers. That is to say, the value of appearance not only affects the search for the object, but also affects whether it can become the object of study.
Which one would you choose? | pixabay
In fact, not only the appearance, many factors will lead to researchers can not treat all research subjects equally. The presence of different species is really very different, and highly known species have a higher chance of being studied. Everyone should have heard of the koala koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), but how many people will know about the less popular but more endangered animal of the Queensland wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)? There are more than 5,000 papers on koalas that can be searched on Google Scholar, 616 related images on Wikimedia Commons, and fewer than 1,000 papers on Queensland Fursniff's Wombats, and even fewer than 3. The reality is that some species are being studied, while others are rarely asked.
A：昆士兰毛吻袋熊丨Wikimedia Commons, Eva Hejda / CC BY-SA 2.0 DE(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.zh)
B：树袋熊丨Wikimedia Commons, Diego Delso / CC BY 3.0(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)
C: The number of related papers and pictures of the two | Courtesy of the author
Every species has a meaning and value for research, but "eccentricity" is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, sometimes, the key breakthrough is better than the rain and dew dipping effect. As the old saying goes, "put money on the cutting edge" and use limited scientific research resources in the right place to better balance investment and return.
The "destined son" of the species – the model creature
In the field of biological research, some species are used by biologists to study and reveal the universal laws of the life sciences, and these species that have been selected as research objects are studied by biologists in different fields, and they are called model organisms.
Model organisms are typically species with short growth cycles, simple genomes, and widespread distribution. If you've ever looked at the field of biology, you've more or less heard of model species such as mus musculus, zebrafish (Danio rerio), Caenorhabditis elegans, and Arabidopsis thaliana.
Model creature zebrafish | Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The mice often used in modern experiments, that is, experimental mice are bred from small house mice. Inbreeding, mice produce many strains with different traits but a single genetic background, which can ensure that experimental variables are controllable and the results are reproducible. The number of lab mice consumed each year around the world is too large to count, and these neighbors, who are usually not liked by humans, have made great contributions in many fields such as physiological research, disease research, drug research and development, which are closely related to humans.
The "Super idol" of species – the flagship species
In addition to the preferences of researchers when choosing research objects, animal and plant protection will also have preferences when choosing protection objects.
When considering the extent of protection of different organisms, in addition to considering the degree of endangerment, attention, ecological value, economic value and other aspects will also be considered.
Due to cultural, appearance, popularity and other reasons, some species have a special appeal and attraction to awaken people's awareness of ecological protection, which can promote people's attention to species protection, and are representative species of regional ecological maintenance, which are called flagship species. The impressive national treasure giant panda is one of the most famous flagship species, and its image is also used in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) logo. In addition to giant pandas, species in different ecosystems such as Siberian tiger, crested ibis, Hainan gibbon, and Asian elephant are also flagship species.
Flagship species - Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)丨 Wikimedia Commons, Enio Prado from Campinas - SP / CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
A key part of the protection of wild animals is the protection of their habitat, so in addition to attracting the attention of the public and making it easier to obtain conservation funds and measures, flagship species have an indirect function - to protect other species in their ecosystems. In recent years, China has developed a number of national parks on a pilot basis. Of the first pilot national parks, two are themed with flagship species: Giant Panda National Park and Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park.
There are more than 20 kinds of wild animals under national first-level key protection and more than 90 kinds of wild animals under national second-level key protection in the giant panda national park. Ailurus fulgens, who are classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List, love bamboo like giant pandas and are no less cute than giant pandas, but for various reasons, their attention is far less than other flagship species, and the protection level is only second. Fortunately, there is a certain overlap between its distribution area and giant pandas, and with the establishment of the Giant Panda National Park, it is believed that the future of the red pandas will also be bright. In addition to the red pandas, other precious but unpopular Species of Chinese Autumn Sand Duck, Black Stork, And One-Leaf Grass distributed in the Giant Panda National Park will grow safely under the protection of the giant panda's reputation.
Equally cute red panda | Wikimedia Commons, Magdalena Smyczek / CC BY 4.0(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
And also...... Edible species
Whether it is a model species or a flagship species, it feels that there is a long distance away from us ordinary people. But there is one type of species that researchers prefer that is relevant to each of us: livestock, poultry, food crops, and other species that are related to our basic needs.
Today we have enough milk to drink, grain to eat, and cotton to make clothes is largely due to people's eccentricity: a lot of manpower and material resources are spent to study them, so that their yield and quality are far superior to those of their wild ancestors. For example, through artificial cultivation, we can taste seedsless watermelons. With the development of breeding research represented by hybrid rice technology and the promotion of related high-yield species, the national average rice yield per mu has increased from 773 kg in 1990 to 939 kg in 2020, further ensuring national food security.
Seedless watermelon | Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Whether it is appearance or popularity, when we make a choice, eccentricity already exists. It is better or worse, it is precisely because of the existence of choice that there will be infinite possible results, and the world will be enriched and colorful.
bibliography
[1] Adamo, M., Chialva, M., Calevo, J., Bertoni, F., Dixon, K., & Mammola, S. (2021). Plant scientists’ research attention is skewed towards colourful, conspicuous and broadly distributed flowers. Nature Plants, 7(5), 574–578. doi: 10.1038/s41477-021-00912-2
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_organism
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagship_species
[4] Han Zongxian,Hu Jinyan. Status quo and conservation of red panda resources[J].Biological Bulletin,2004(09):7-9.
[5] https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/367846815
Author: Source of the sky
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