OKLAHOMA EVOLUTION/CLIMATE NEWS–MARCH 2021

1.  Anti-science/pro-science education legislation in other states

2.  This sea slug can lose its head and regenerate new body in three weeks

3.  OU Research Study Named Finalist for PNAS Cozzarelli Prize

4.  Wind is replacing coal as the most important energy source in Germany

5.  A plant gene may have helped whiteflies become a major pest

6.  Japan’s cherry blossom earliest peak since 812

7.  Spring BioBlitz! OK 2021 this April

8.  March video

9.  March books

ANTI-SCIENCE/PRO-SCIENCE EDUCATION LEGISLATION IN OTHER STATES
Arkansas–Arkansas’s House Bill 1701, filed on March 11, 2021, if enacted, would allow — although not require — teachers in the state’s public and open-enrollment charter schools to “teach creationism as a theory of how the earth came to exist.”
The bill is sponsored by Mary Bentley (R-District 73), who previously introduced House Bill 2050, which would have allowed “public schools to teach creationism and intelligent design as theories alongside the theory of evolution,” in 2017. The bill died without receiving a hearing when the legislature recessed. Joining Bentley in sponsoring House Bill 1701, from the Senate, is Gary Stubblefield (R-District 6).  More at NCSE and Sensuous Curmudgeon.
Florida–A new poll from the Saint Leo University Polling Institute shows that the level of public support in the Sunshine State for teaching climate change in the state’s public schools continues to be high.Presented with “Climate change should be taught as accepted theory in public primary and secondary schools,” 67.8 percent of Floridian respondents strongly or somewhat agreed — comparable to 2020, when 70.4 percent agreed, and 2019, when 65.2 percent agreed.
As recently as 2019, there were bills in the Florida legislature that threatened the integrity of science education by calling for “balance” in state science standards and instructional materials with regard to “controversial issues” — evidently including climate change as well as evolution.  More at NCSE.
Minnesota–Minnesota’s House File 550 and Senate File 666 died in committee on March 12, 2021, the deadline for committees to act favorably on bills in the house of origin. The identical bills would have, if enacted, required school districts and charter schools in the state to provide climate justice instruction “aligned with current scientific research and integrated into existing programs, curriculum, or the general school environment.”  More at NCSE.
Rhode Island–Senate Bill 464, introduced on March 4, 2021, and referred to the Senate Education Committee, would, if enacted, require the state department of education “to develop a set of key environmental, climate, and sustainability principles and concepts” and to take a variety of steps to ensure that they are reflected in Rhode Island’s public schools.
Of particular note, the bill calls for the revision of the state science standards for science and social studies where appropriate, for guidance to be given of how to incorporate climate change into math and English language arts, and for teacher professional development in science, civics, and social science to include the key principles and concepts.  More at NCSE.
U.S. Senate–The Climate Change Education Act is again in the Senate. S. 966, introduced on March 25, 2021, would authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to institute a competitive grant program aimed in part at developing and improving educational material and teacher training on the topic of climate change.Among the findings listed in the bill are “[T]he evidence for human-induced climate change is overwhelming and undeniable” and “Only 30 percent of middle school and 45 percent of high school science teachers understand the extent of the scientific consensus on climate change” — a reference to the NCSE/Penn State survey of climate change educators.  More at NCSE.

THIS SEA SLUG CAN LOSE ITS HEAD AND REGENERATE NEW BODY IN THREE WEEKS

At least two species of sacoglossan sea slugs are capable of severing their own heads from their bodies and then growing an entirely new body, including a heart and other internal organs. The authors of a new study published in the journal Current Biology postulate that the secret to the decapitated slugs’ survival might lie in the algae that makes up the majority of their diet.It’s a type of self-amputation known in biological circles as “autotomy,” and many species exhibit some form of the phenomenon, most notably lizards and salamanders, which shed their tails (caudal autotomy) to evade predators (the tails usually grow back). Sea cucumbers can respond to stressful situations by ejecting their internal organs, which then regenerate. Starfish can shed their arms; sometimes those arms grow into new starfish. It’s much more rare in mammals, but there are two species of African spiny mice that can shed their skin to escape a predator’s clutches, regenerating all the damaged tissue (including hair follicles, sweat glands, fur, and cartilage).  More at Ars Technica, Wired, New York Times, and Mother Jones.  Original paper at Current Biology.

OU RESEARCH STUDY NAMED FINALIST FOR PNAS COZZARELLI PRIZE
A University of Oklahoma research study on the causes contributing to a declining insect population was named the finalist for the prestigious Cozzarelli Prize through the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The OU article received the “2020 Cozzarelli Prize Finalist” designation in the applied biological, agricultural and environmental sciences class, one of six scientific disciplines within the National Academy of Sciences.
The article, “Nutrient dilution and climate cycles underlie declines in a dominant insect herbivore,” by Ellen Welti and Michael Kaspari draws on evidence that insect populations have been steadily declining and proposes a novel hypothesis that a significant contributing factor to this decline is attributable to rising carbon dioxide levels making plants less nutritious, a concern not only for insect populations but ecological systems at large. More at ou.edu.  Original paper at PNAS.

WIND IS REPLACING COAL AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ENERGY SOURCE IN GERMANY

In 2020, 502.6 billion kWh of electricity were generated in Germany and fed into the power grid. That was 5.9 percent less than in 2019, reports the Federal Statistical Office. The decrease is at least partially due to the lower electricity demand as a result of the lockdown to contain the corona pandemic in spring 2020.
The share of renewable energies in the amount of electricity generated and fed in domestically rose from 42.3 percent in 2019 to 47.0 percent in the previous year. With wind power, at 25.6 percent, for the first time a renewable energy source had the highest share of the amount of electricity fed into the grid in one year, thus replacing coal as the most important energy source. In 2020, 5.4 percent more electricity was generated from wind power than in 2019, when the proportion was 22.8 percent.  More at heise and Slashdot.

A PLANT GENE MAY HAVE HELPED WHITEFLIES BECOME A MAJOR PEST

At some point between 35 million and 80 million years ago, a whitefly landed on a leaf and started sucking its sweet sap. That fahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yATDf4XhjvEteful meal provided more than sugar. Somehow, a gene from the plant wound its way into the whitefly’s genome, a new study suggests, and may have helped its ancestors become one of the most notorious agricultural pests today.
The gene helps plants neutralize and safely store certain toxSpring BioBlitz! OK 2021 held this Aprilic molecules they use to deter herbivores. In whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci), it allows the insects to feed on flora, undeterred by one of the plant world’s best chemical weapons, researchers report March 25 in Cell. This plant-to-insect gene swap is the second ever documented, and the clearest example of an insect effectively commandeering the genetic toolkit of their “prey” to use it against them.  More at Science News, The Atlantic, and New Scientist.  Original paper at Cell.

JAPAN’S CHERRY BLOSSOM EARLIEST PEAK SINCE 812

The cherry blossom season, Japan’s traditional sign of spring, has peaked at the earliest date since records began 1,200 years ago, research shows.
The 2021 season in the city of Kyoto peaked on 26 March, according to data collected by Osaka University.
Increasingly early flowerings in recent decades are likely to be as a result of climate change, scientists say.
The records from Kyoto go back to 812 AD in imperial court documents and diaries.
The city has experienced an unusually warm spring this year.
The previous record there was set in 1409, when the season reached its peak on 27 March.  More at BBC and Slashdot.  Data report here.

SPRING BIOBLITZ! OK 2021 THIS APRIL

Spend the entire month of April celebrating and observing Oklahoma’s natural diversity!

How do I Participate?
Register for free!
Participate where ever you feel comfortable – online, backyard, local park, or travel to a natural area in the state
Record species observations online through iNaturalist and eBird
Record phenology observations of redbud trees through BudBurst
Participate in inventory Challenges to earn prizes 
Join our Facebook Live events that include virtual field trips
Join our BINGO games on Zoom
Attend small, in-person BioBitz activities at Oklahoma State Parks 
More at BioBlitz! OK Virtual Nature Center – Spring Edition!

MARCH VIDEO
Darwin and an old science book

MARCH BOOKS
Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA by Neil Shubin. Review at NCSE.

Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive by Carl Zimmer.  Reviews at Kirkus and New York Times.