Outline of Essay: Being Unseen: the Gift of Oppiella nova

I

A strange gift from John Lussenhop – small colony of O nova

Commonest animal in terrestrial ecosystems

My first encounter with this animal 20 years earlier

Common but rarely analyzed.

Introducing main themes of essay: necessity, minute inspection of nature, amplified connection between humans and nature, commonplace rather than rarity.  Connection with Thoreau!

II

Classification of mites

Morphology

Predation on mites (ghoulish story of beetles feeding on mites)

Diversity of community

            Poor man’s tropical rainforest

            Illustration of temperate zone diversity

            Enigma/Enigma resolved

Ecological role of mites

III

Specifics on Oppiella

Diagnostic characteristics

List of exotic locations where it’s found

List of less exotic locations

What is known ecologically

Aggregation patterns

A lone O nova shows up at the mall!

IV

Association with people

No comprehensive studies of urban populations

Project with Amanda Henderson :Great Oppiella nova census 2013

22 billion O nova in Lincoln Park?

Hypothesis: diminished population because of leaf removal

V

Conclusions

Necessity: means essential but also intimately connected, rendering of serves

Broader concept of necessary

~3000 words

Great Oppiella nova Census 2012: Kerosene Extractions

Sample Kit (these are available at the Env Science desk if any DePaul students want to help us sample for this project.)  Please contact me at lhenegha at gmail.  Or drop by 203 McGowan S.

DePaul Undergraduate Amanda Henderson taking sample in DePaul Urban Garden

Sample transferred into contained in lab (stored in 70% alcohol until critters can be extracted)

Sample is sieved in 150 u sieve - retaining mites but getting rid of small particles.

Small amount of kerosene added to sample - the soil critters float in kerosene.  Other parts of sample settle out

Rotating sample to mix the kerosene throughout the sample

Kerosene and arthropods are pipetted into sieve and rinsed in ethanol and placed in petri dish 

Amanda inspects sample under binocular microscope.

Oppiella nova - pictures taken in a previous photo shoot in the Heneghan lab.

For more on this project please visit here

Being Unseen: The Commonest Animal You Have Never Seen

See details of this project over at City Creatures Blog.