Species Paper on Tenodera sinensis (Chinese mantis)
THE SPECIES I CHOSE IS TENODERA SIENESIS( CHINESE MANTIS)!
In week 1, each student will be assigned an arthropod species. Your job is to find and summarize a technical scientific study that somehow involves that species. The article should be published in a peer-reviewed journal and be within the last 20 years.
You will write a paper that contains the following elements: (1) a short review of the biology of the species, (2) a summary of the focal article, and (3) specific suggestions for further research. The report should contain at least five references from peer-reviewed literature (one of which can be the focal article). The report should be between 1500 and 2500 words, not including the references. Figures are encouraged. Downsize figures so that the total file size is no more than 5mb.
Proper citation of references is an extremely important skill in scientific writing. An attempt is made to back up any factual statements in a paper with published studies and to credit contributions to ideas and hypotheses. Typically there are short "in-text" citations in the body of the paper, and these citations have a full bibliographic reference in a "Literature Cited" section at the end. Scientific papers have their own stylistic customs, which vary from journal to journal. When submitting a manuscript to a journal, you go to the "instructions to authors," where the stylistic requirements are described, and you follow those instructions very closely. It is important to be absolutely consistent within your manuscript, ensuring that every reference has all the needed elements and is correctly formatted. In this class, we will use the following citation and reference format: APA 7th edition. A general description of the style is here: https://www(dot)mendeley(dot)com/guides/apa-citation-guide. This is the default style in Microsoft Word under the “References” tab in “Insert Citation”. APA 6th edition is also acceptable. Online and downloadable resources such as EndNote and Mendeley can also help generate and organize citations and references, and style guides can assist in formatting. In-text citation should always contain the last name of the author(s) and year published of the source you are citing when available, partly or entirely in parentheses.
Some general stylistic pointers: Write out numbers one through ten. For numbers greater than ten, use numerals. (11, 12, etc.). For decimal numbers, use numerals (1.2, not one point two). For decimal numbers < 1.0, include the 0 before the decimal point (Sex ratio = 0.56). USE METRIC UNITS!
Define words (briefly) that you use which are not generally used or may have ambiguous meanings. Define them when you first use them in the text.
Do not insert "advertisements" in your paper: e.g., "it is interesting to note that...", "a fascinating result is..." Let the reader decide what is interesting or fascinating.
A general goal of a References section of a paper is that a reasonably diligent scholar 20 years in the future could find a particular source. Think about reasonable evidence of permanency.
Tenodera sinensis (Species)
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)
Summary
Tenodera sinensis is a species from China and other parts of Asia with a unique developmental characteristic. The species was introduced into North America in the 1890s from Asia parts (Cannings, 2007). The introduction of the species was to control other insects in the fields such as grasshoppers. The control of grasshoppers in 1937 and 1938 was possible by the use of Praying Mantis (Cannings, 2007). Since the 1990s, the species has expanded to different parts of the world. The exotic species provide an accurate description of the species. The species is available as a biocontrol agent to help in dealing with complex insect problems. The mantis species have functional benefits that make them suitable for a good ecosystem. According to Kral (2012), the praying mantises use binocular retinal disparity to determine and capture prey. The compound eyes have an early determination of the prey and discover the right approach to ambush the prey. The species usually lie down and wait to ambush prey. The apposition of praying mantis eyes makes it possible for the species to have a good vision in daylight. The eyes of the species have 4,000 to 9,000 ommatidia that assist in increasing the resolution (Kral, 2012). The increase in resolution makes the mantis determine the prey for an easy hunting process. The image points to the nervous system for the species to increase the spatial resolution.
The mantis uses its raptorial forelegs to capture prey after a proper view by the compound eyes. The size of praying mantis varies in age with early nymphs being 2.5cms and adults growing up to 6cm (Kral, 2012). The binocular triangulation of a mantis focus on capturing the prey using the raptorial forelegs. The species has a large binocular field of the compound eyes that increases the disparity of the image. The image appears closer to that it was making the mantis miss the prey. The mantis underestimates the distance of the prey due to the large binocular field of compound eyes and the executed strike does not reach the prey. The mantis requires to determine the horizontal and vertical position of the prey using left and right eyes for accurate execution of the strike. The giant motion detectors of the species assist in moving in the acute distance and executing a strike. The visual field and motion detectors of the species are sufficient to trigger a strike. All mantises perform peering movements before jumping onto objects such as grass, or stems (Kral, 2012). The peering movements of the mantis assist the visual system of the mantis to determine the distance range of the stationary object. Mantis finds it hard to determine the easily accessible perch due to the different estimates of distance by the frontal and lateral eye region.
The exotic species, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis are biocontrol agents for grasshoppers and other insects in the fields (Cannings, 2007). The mantises are becoming unsuitable for biological control due to slow reproduction. The collection of mantis specimens assists in the behavioral, morphological, and physiological research of the species. Tenodera sinensis has different preferences in choosing the height and leaf sizes. The difference in preference is due to the developmental stage of the species. The first nymphs tend to select the lower positions on vegetation compared to the older nymphs. The higher points of vegetation are risky for the mantis due to the easy preying by birds and spiders. The young mantis climbs the highest compared to the nymphs and older mantis. The young mantis becomes easy prey for the birds and spiders. The older mantis prefers lower heights of vegetation to avoid predation. The species, Tenodera sinensis appears in lower parts of the vegetation compared to other species of mantises (Watanabe, Miyamaoto & Yano 2013). The lower positions of Tenodera sinensis increase the growth of vegetation and the mantis. The species prefers the lower parts of vegetation regardless of the developmental stage to increase the survival rate in the ecosystem. The mantis that select heights require efficiency in foraging and are often found on flowers. The mantis on flowers eat bees and flower-visiting insects. The mantis selects the more grown-up vegetation species to avoid predation. The quality and availability of habitat patches determine the distribution of mantis.
The study of male reproductive behavior of Tenodera sinensis helps in understanding the mantids. The conflict of male complicity and sexual cannibalism remains controversial. A few studies have attempted to understand the risk of cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism occurs when the female insect kills and consumes the male before, during, or after mating. Sexual cannibalism is a trait by several insects to adapt to female aggression. The mantids have sexual cannibalism, which represents an extreme form of sexual conflict. species gains valuable reproductive resources through cannibalism (Lelito & Brown 2006). Sexual cannibalism has nutritional benefits to the females and eliminates the possibility of future mating by the male mantis. Unlike spiders that fertilizer one-spider male mantids have the potential to fertilize many females during their lifetime.
Sexual cannibalism is controversial because it stops the productivity of the male mantis. The attacks by females diminish the male’s mating success. A male mating partner should be willing to sacrifice his life to inseminated partner. The female mantis value the food item compared to the insemination. The decrease of repeated sperm usage makes it hard for the species to have a high population in the ecosystem. Lelito and Brown (2006) study the complicity of sexual conflict and sexual cannibalism in Tenodera sinensis and test how to change the behavior of male mantis to reduce the chances of being eaten by the female mantis. The analysis of the benefits and risks of cannibalism on male mantis assist in determining the right approach to deal with the issue. The male reproductive success conflict occurs when the female mantis values the nutritional value of the male than the insemination process. The hungry fe...