24th Annual Student Research Conference
You Want Me to Touch What?!
Gender Bias in Insect Collections
Sarah D. Meyer
Dr. Laura Fielden, Faculty Mentor
There is an interesting bias inherent in the collection of insect specimens, as arthropods are incredibly diverse and yet only a small fraction of these taxa are studied or collected. Many insect collections contain large, conspicuously colored, charismatic specimens, yet half of the described North American species are less than 6mm in length. The focus of this study is to assess differences between male and female student insect collections, to determine if there are any gender biases present in insect collections. In fall 2010, students enrolled in Truman State University's BIOL 316 course were required to create an insect collection containing at minimum fifty specimens. Nine male and ten female collections from this class are currently being analyzed to determine gender related differences in various aspects of the insect collection, including: average insect size(mm), insect diversity(prevalence of given orders), and collection location.
Keywords: Entomology, Insects, Gender Studies, Education
Topic(s):Biology
Education
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 17-2
Location: MG 1098
Time: 9:45