Insects Make Up The Majority Of Animal Species (IMAGE)
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A recent study of textbooks aimed at introductory biology courses finds that they devote less than one percent of their text to discussing insects, which make up more than 60 percent of animal species. The study authors argue that this provides a poor foundation for understanding ecosystems, biodiversity, and other core aspects of biological research. "Insects are essential to every terrestrial ecosystem and play important roles in everything from agriculture to human health - but our analysis shows that students taking entry-level biology courses are learning virtually nothing about them," says Jennifer Landin, a teaching associate professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University and senior author of a paper on the study. The artwork shown here, by Landin, highlights some of the diversity among insects.
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Jennifer Landin
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