The Importance of Insects in Australian Aboriginal Society: A Dictionary Survey

Si, Aung; Turpin, Myfany

doi:10.14237/ebl.6.1.2015.399

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…Endomicrobia species are typically intracellular symbionts that live in the guts of termites and other wood-eating insects [ 50 , 51 ] and allow the host to digest cellulose. Termites are a traditional food for some Aboriginal Australians in the Central Desert region [ 52–54 ], and termite mounds are also used in traditional medicine throughout the Northern Territory [ 55 ], suggesting possible mechanisms for the introduction of termite-associated species into the oral microbiota. Therefore, we propose that heritage may play a role in the maintenance of Endomicrobia and other unique oral species in the oral microbiota of Indigenous Australians living industrialized lifestyles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritage-specific oral microbiota in Indigenous Australian dental calculus

Handsley-Davis

Kapellas

Jamieson

et al. 2022

Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health

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Background and objectives Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders (hereafter respectfully referred to as Indigenous Australians) experience a high burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Increased NCD risk is linked to oral diseases mediated by the oral microbiota, a microbial community influenced by both vertical transmission and lifestyle factors. As an initial step towards understanding the oral microbiota as a factor in Indigenous health, we present the first investigation of oral microbiota in Indigenous Australian adults. Methodology Dental calculus samples from Indigenous Australians with periodontal disease (PD) (n = 13) and non-Indigenous individuals both with (n = 18) and without PD (n = 20) were characterized using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Alpha and beta diversity, differentially abundant microbial taxa, and taxa unique to different participant groups were analysed using QIIME2. Results Samples from Indigenous Australians were more phylogenetically diverse (Kruskal-Wallis H = 19.86, p = 8.3 x 1 0 −6), differed significantly in composition from non-Indigenous samples (PERMANOVA pseudo-F = 10.42, p = 0.001), and contained a relatively high proportion of unique taxa not previously reported in the human oral microbiota (e.g. Endomicrobia). These patterns were robust to stratification by PD status. Oral microbiota diversity and composition also differed between Indigenous individuals living in different geographic regions. Conclusions and implications Indigenous Australians may harbour unique oral microbiota shaped by their long relationships with Country (ancestral homelands). Our findings have implications for understanding the origins of oral and systemic NCDs and for inclusion of Indigenous peoples in microbiota research, highlighting the microbiota as a novel field of enquiry to improve Indigenous health. Lay Summary The community of microorganisms in the mouth (oral microbiota) has recently been linked to several chronic diseases that disproportionately impact Indigenous Australians. In this study, oral microbiota differ significantly between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous counterparts, suggesting the microbiota could be a novel factor with potential to improve Indigenous health outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritage-specific oral microbiota in Indigenous Australian dental calculus

Handsley-Davis

Kapellas

Jamieson

et al. 2022

Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health

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“…Similarly, cuchamás , the larvae of the moth Paradirphia fumosa (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), are widely consumed in the Zapotitlán region (Ramos‐Elorduy et al., 2011). Indigenous people in Australia and groups in Papua and New Guinea are also known to eat insects, which are an important source of nutrients in their diet (Meyer‐Rochow, 1973; Si & Turpin, 2015; Yen, 2009, 2010). Likewise, in Africa and Latin America, the traditional culture of eating insects is widespread throughout the continent and plays an important role in nutrient acquisition (Banjo, Lawal, & Songonuga, 2006; Ramos‐Elorduy et al., 1997; Siulapwa, Mwambungu, Lungu, & Sichilima, 2014).…”

Section: Traditional Ecosystem Services By Insects: Nutrition and Bio...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing global challenges with unconventional insect ecosystem services: Why should humanity care about insect larvae?

Morimoto

2020

People and Nature

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Ecosystem services are essential for the health of current and future generations and key to the sustainable development of our societies. The role of insects in providing ecosystem services has been increasingly recognized, becoming the focus of several management and conservation initiatives world‐wide. However, ecosystem services framework traditionally overlooks the full range of services that can be provided by insects, largely because services provided by life stages other than the insect adult are often neglected. In this paper, I first review the traditional ecosystem services primarily attributed to insects, namely edible insects and mass‐rearing for biological control. Next, I provide a collection of unconventional ecosystem services provided by insect larvae which highlights the importance of considering life stage‐specific services in a holistic view of the ecosystem services framework. In particular, I discuss recent advances that revealed how insect larvae can degrade plastic, which is one of humanity's greatest environmental pollutants, and how larvae can be used to produce biofuel to help overcome the increasing contribution of the fossil fuel industry to climate change. I then discuss how toxic compounds produced by the larvae of some insects provide potential new medicines for clinical treatment and lastly, I discuss a unique example of how the larval stage of insects is entrenched into the cultural values of Aboriginal communities in Australia. In conclusion, by acknowledging life stage‐specific ecosystem services provided by insects, this paper raises awareness of unconventional services that can underpin innovative solutions to contemporary global challenges, which can ultimately help create more sustainable and culturally diverse societies.

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“…Of course, we empathize with the farmers whose livelihoods are impacted by the Anabrus simplex and other insect species, but also wish to draw attention to the peaceful coexistence of Indigenous people with these creatures prior to violent colonization and industrial capitalism (Robertson, 2013, p. 97). Si and Turpin (2015) also note the symbiotic cohabitation between insects and Indigenous Australian societies, who give insects roles in traditional ceremonies and myths, and also sustainably consume insects as food and medicine [5]. As settler colonialism irrevocably altered these peaceful ecosystems and trans-species cohabitation, the nature in which insects were viewed among an industrial human-built environment began to shift.…”

Section: Insect Speciesism and Intersectionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical posthumanism for all: a call to reject insect speciesism

Gunderman

White

2020

IJSSP

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PurposeThe authors articulate a posthuman politics of hope to unpack the richly embodied personal experiences and web of relationalities formed through repeated encounters with insects. Interrogating insect speciesism teaches to extend the authors’ compassion and live symbiotically with insects. The authors focus on the narrative of insect decline as impacted by colonialism and white supremacy, enabling insect speciesism to flourish alongside exploitation of other human and nonhuman creatures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors pay particular attention the use of everyday language and framing of insects to “other” them, thereby trivializing and demonizing their existence, including “it's *just* a bug” or “they are pests.” Insect speciesism employs similar rhetoric reinforcing discrimination patterns of other nonhuman animals and humans. The authors focus on the unexpected encounters with insects in domestic spaces, such as an office desk, and through the multispecies space of “the allotment.”FindingsThe authors reflect on two possible posthuman futures: one where insect speciesism is entrenched and unrepentant; the second a decolonized society where we aspire to live a more compassionate and non-violent existence amidst these remarkable and brilliant creatures we owe our very existence on Earth.Originality/valueOne of the most profound lessons of the crisis-driven epoch of the Anthropocene is this: our existence on Earth is intimately bound with the flourishing of all forms of life. This includes complex multispecies encounters between humans and insects, an area of enquiry widely neglected across the social sciences. Faced with imminent catastrophic decline and extinction of insect and invertebrate populations, human relationships with these fellow Earthlings are deserving of further attention.

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The Importance of Insects in Australian Aboriginal Society: A Dictionary Survey

Cited by 17 publications

References 3 publications

Heritage-specific oral microbiota in Indigenous Australian dental calculus

Heritage-specific oral microbiota in Indigenous Australian dental calculus

Addressing global challenges with unconventional insect ecosystem services: Why should humanity care about insect larvae?

Critical posthumanism for all: a call to reject insect speciesism

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