From a watery grave to flesh-eating bugs

After spotting an unexpected beetle, the taxonomist Kipling Will found himself fighting for his life• Read about more scientists who go to extremes lengthsI've done fieldwork on every continent except Antarctica. My area of research at the University of Berkeley, California, is the taxonomy and systematics of beetles, while I also investigate the evolution of chemical defence. We go out and locate a certain species of beetle, normally by scrambling around in the depths of a jungle, then record aspects about their habitat and life history and extract genetic material to do a DNA analysis.Many taxonomists study hard to find, new and obscure (but scientifically important) species, often involving long drives, tough hikes, little food and sleep only to face thick, wet, prickly jungle to hack through. I spend a lot of my collecting time out in the forest or bush at night, as that's when the beetles I study are active. I'm probably always at some level of risk, but I've been doing this for so long that I hardly assess that very carefully.The only time where it's felt like I've been in any serious jeopardy was in New Caledonia, an island in the southwestern Pacific. I was there for an expedition with some colleagues, and so far it'd been a pretty wet trip. I'd done a hike one day up to a site and found some undescribed species, so I wanted some more specimens. I headed back another day to same place, hiking the 700 metres elevation. About halfway up the trail, I saw this beetle wa...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Biology Taxonomy Technology Features The Observer Science Source Type: news