In a world where climate change and human activities are reshaping ecosystems at an unprecedented rate, researchers are racing to understand the mechanisms driving species adaptation and distribution.
At the forefront of this effort is a research group at the University of Wyoming, which is investigating how these anthropogenic factors influence the movement and evolutionary changes of species. Using innovative methods, including microcosm experiments with the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), they seek to shed light on these complex interactions.
With time being one of the most valuable resources in research, the daily task of monitoring and counting beetles can quickly become overwhelming. According to John Benning, this is when CountThings became the “revolutionary” solution for their data collection process.
”In our research group at the University of Wyoming, we focus on understanding the geographic distributions of species and the limits to adaptation. Specifically, we examine how anthropogenic factors like climate change are affecting the movement and distribution of populations, as well as how these movements are, in turn, causing evolutionary changes to these populations. To explore these interactions and their consequences for population persistence, we utilize microcosm experiments with the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and theoretical models. During our experiments, the key data to collect are the size of the beetle populations, which tells us how quickly they are moving across our experimental landscapes and how well they are adapting to novel environments. Accurate counting of beetle populations is obviously crucial for understanding these dynamics!”
Collecting and interpreting complex data leaves little room for the time-consuming task of counting, not to mention the risk of errors.
“Up til now, our lab has only counted beetles manually. Unfortunately, this method is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error. With thousands of beetles to count every week, simply counting beetles takes up the majority of our person-hours in the lab. Furthermore, even a small margin of error can significantly impact our research conclusions, and humans are imperfect counters. Additionally, the repetitive nature of manual counting is, quite simply, very boring!”
Implementing the CountThings app allowed the research group to quickly automate the process of monitoring and counting only the specific groups of red flour beetles of interest and keep clear evidence of all the data.
“The CountThings app will be revolutionary for our data collection process. It provides quick and accurate counts, freeing up hours of research time each week. The app's user-friendly interface allows our students and researchers to collect data effortlessly.”