Although Charles Darwin wrote about flower polymorphism in the wild carrot, Daucus carota, the function of the conspicuous central dark floret is still unclear. We used video recordings to evaluate the functional significance of the dark central floret as a shortdistance signal for insects landing on the umbels and analyzed the location of landing points, landing orientation and visit duration. These parameters, as well as insect attraction did not differ on umbels with and without a dark central floret. Hence, we found no evidence for the role of the dark central floret in the pollination of D. carota. Umbels with a dark central floret, however, were parasitized significantly less often by the gall midge Kiefferia pericarpiicola than umbels without a dark central floret. We propose that the dark central floret may play a role in reducing parasite infestation by mimicking an already present gall or deterring oviposition of the gall midge by other means.
IntroductionDissecting animal organs is a method of biology teaching that offers a direct and authentic view into morphological structures and enables hands-on activity and multisensory experiences. However, the dissection process is often associated with certain (negative) emotions that might hinder successful learning. One such emotion that is particularly common during dissection is disgust. Experiencing disgust can negatively affect emotional experiences. Consequently, alternatives for dissection in biology lessons are being sought.MethodsIn this study, the method of dissection is compared with two common methods of teaching the anatomy of the mammalian eye: watching a video and working with an anatomical model. The focus of the comparison is on the influence on the following emotional qualities of experience: perceived disgust, perceived interest, well-being and boredom. Two hundred and eighteen students (Mage = 14.19, SDage = 1.02 years, 52% female) from secondary schools in Germany participated in a two-hour lesson on the anatomy of the mammalian eye using one of the three aforementioned teaching methods.FindingsOur results show that perceived disgust was higher for the dissection group than in the ones that worked with a video or a model. We found that dissecting and watching a video led to a similar level of interest, well-being, and boredom. The anatomical model was perceived as less disgusting but more boring than the dissection. The detailed videos of a dissection seem to offer similar positive emotional experiences when compared to dissecting in class and may be an alternative approach when teachers have concerns about performing a real dissection.
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