The Coelenterates, A Scientific Controversy...

 

To coelenterate or not to coelenterate, that is the question...

Whether 'tis Nobler in the nomenclature to correlate
The Threads and Barbs of nematocysts,
With the colloblasts of the ctenophores,
And by opposing end their correlation: to declassify, to reclassify
No more; and by classify, to say we reorganize
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That gelatinous bodies are heir to? 'Tis a re-classification
Devoutly to be wished. To declassify, to reclassify,
To reclassify, perchance to genetically code; aye, there's the rub,
For in that coding, what truth may come,
Comprehending these evolutionary differences,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes Joy of so long life...

(with deepest apologizes to The Bard)


Science is active, it is about observing, testing, considering, and refining. With Science we learn additional information and refine our perspectives, the case of the cnidarians and the ctenophores is an excellent example; Science utilizes the method of using our best-current-facts to comprehend the world around us. Our ability to *see* the natural world around us changes greatly over time due to advancing technologies (microscopes, telescopes, genetic coding, etc.) and of course the effect of standing-on-the-shoulders-of-those-that-went-before (discovery builds on discovery, comprehension on comprehension... ).

E. Haeckel- Cnidaria

To quote- science is "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment"... Anyone can do it, but Science demands from the *researcher/observer* open-ness not only to new ideas but to being able to follow the evidence where it leads and acknowledge changes/updates in information.

So... what does this have to do with our coelenterate controversy?

...any excuse for a Haeckel! Ctenophora

Cnidarians (anemones, corals, and jellyfish) and ctenophores (comb jellies) *used to* be categorized in the same Phylum, Coelenterata; both are very simply structured, gelatinous-bodied, and lack a backbone (invertebrate). BUT! research over time (which is *how* research happens : ) has shown that the differences between the cnidarians and the ctenophores are substantial enough to place them in separate phyla: Coelenterata (a.k.a Cnidaria) and Ctenophora; because of some similarities and a history of grouping them together the two phyla are sometimes still colloquially (non-scientifically) grouped together for convenience and called coelenterates (so, be gentle, sometimes change takes time! ;)  ).



So, what are some of those differences which led scientists to go to the lengths of creating a whole new PHYLUM?!?
(and how the heck do you pronounce coelenterate, cnidaria (UK), and ctenophore anyway?!?)

	Cnidarians (Coelenterates)	Ctenophores
Symmetry -body	Radial	Bi-radial
Digestive tract	Incomplete (single) digestive opening, food enters and leaves the body through the same opening	Complete (one way) digestive tract with 2 openings: oral (mouth) and anal.
Prey capture	*Stinging cells- cnidocytes/ nematocysts	Sticky cells- colloblasts
Larval form	Planula	Cydippid
Development	Diploblastic, with true tissue	Triploblastic

(by the way, any terms/words you are uncertain of can easily be found online! I’m in a rush today! : )

*Those stinging cells are key by the way!

It appears that cnidarians are more directly in-line evolutionarily, and that the ctenophores are more of a sibling group to all other animals. Ctenophores have muscle and nervous systems that seem to have evolved independently from other modern animals (google Hox and Homeotic gene contingents!). Where the ctenophores sit in their forms and functions excluded them from being grouped in the Phylum Coelenterata.

So, you see, what some people may think of as a negative, "controversy", Science sees as normal growth and development. We start with basic information, and then, based on observation, testing, and consideration we develop and refine the information. Since our abilities and technologies improve our ability to perceive more of the natural world improves also; consider the path to what we know about genetics ...

Double Helix

...in 1866, the monk, Gregor Mendel published a paper based on his plant experiments (done in the garden of the monastery) that became the basis for the Mendelian laws of inheritance, Meischer published his first paper identifying "nuclein" (now called DNA) in the cell nucleus in 1871 (without the microscope *that* would have been rather impossible), 1900 Mendel's work was rediscovered by several researchers (confirming their work), in 1910 Kossell received the first Physiology/ Medicine Nobel Prize based on the discovery of the 5 nucleotide bases (go google that, it's something you should know!), Hershey and Chase demonstrated that DNA carries our genetic material in 1952, 1953 was the "discovery" of the double helix (yeah, the double helix was always there, but until we could "see" it we couldn't *see* it! ... y'know?), in 1977 Sanger developed a sequencing technique to sequence (read) the first full genome (the complete set of genes in an organism), 1990 saw the launch of The Human Genome Project (yes, that would be the sequencing/reading of ALL of the genes in a human), in 2001 the first draft of the human genome was released with the project completed in 2003 (to 99.99% accuracy and 2 years early), in 2008 due to technological advancements the costs of genetic sequencing drops with the development of next-generation sequencing platforms, the first comprehensive analysis of cancer genomes is published in 2009...


...and one of the RESULTs of all of that scientifically acquired knowledge? Modern medicine that allows targeted treatment of many genetics illnesses.

Science builds on *small* steps...
... ok, sometimes we get lucky and we get a big step, but you know what I mean...

And we *still* have a lot to learn about genetics!

This is how science is supposed to function, always improving on it's self, and how we see our world.

Release the Bees! -or- How to Build a Bee House (in less than 3 hours)

Last year our apple and pear harvest was ridiculously small;
the year before we made a huge batch of cider (hard and soft ;) , apple and pear pies for everyone, apple butter, preserved pears, and apple mint jelly... so, we really missed all of that with our small harvest! We also noticed very few bees last spring. We garden organically, and we aren't sure of the cause, but we're not taking unnecessary chances with our harvest so we've bought some mason bees to boost our crops!

(follow this link to a post about the wonderful mason bee!)

We're also setting up different types of housing for the bees, so the females can pick and choose where they want to lay their eggs (every mason bee female is a *queen*, lays eggs). This post covers how to build a bee house that is easy to clean (a clean house helps keep the bees healthy!) and reuse from year to year. The instructions include videos and photos.

Materials (for exact house), metric sizes given are close approximates:

• 1"x6" x ~ 8' (closest metric standard to ~2.54cm x 15.24cm x 2.44m) for cell trays, house sides and house bottom (do NOT use cedar or treated wood for the wooden trays/cells); cut to
• (10) cell trays- 1"x6" (closest metric standard to ~2.54cm x 15.24cm) each at 5 1/2" (13.9cm) long (fir, pine, hemlock, etc)
• (2) side pieces- 1"x6" (closest metric standard to ~2.54cm x 15.24cm) each at 8 3/4" (22.26cm) long (adjust length if needed, but the pieces should equal the height of your stacked cell trays and the spacer pieces)
• (1) bottom piece- 1"x6" (closest metric standard to ~2.54cm x 15.24cm) at 6" (15.24cm) long
• 1"x8" x ~18" (closest metric standard to ~2.54cm x 20.32cm x 45.72cm) for roof (cedar may be used, but do NOT use treated wood); cut the (2) roof pieces by cutting board exactly in half with a 45 degree angle (which creates the roof peak joint)
• (2) ~ 1/2"x3"x 5 1/2" (1.2cm x 7.62 x 13.97cm) spacer pieces (clean scrap wood)
• 1/8" or narrower (.32 cm) x ~2' (60.96cm) long  metal rod (non-corrosive e.g. stainless steel) for stabilizing rod; cut in half or cut in place to correct length 
• screws
• (8) #8 1 1/4" deck screws (or similar)
• (5) #6 x 1 5/8" trim screws (or similar)
• picture hanging wire and (2) screws
• wall hook
• silicone caulk 
• glue (non-toxic) or small nails/brads/screws ~3/4" (used to attach 2 spacer pieces)
• optional:
• roofing metal/adornments ;) - copper, plexi, etc.
• stain/ sealant/ permanent marker
• wood and/or wire trim

Equipment:

• clamps (can use elastic/ bungee cords or ...)
• saw
• drill 
• 5/16" to 3/8" drill bit (~8.5mm to 9.5mm)
• 1/8" drill bit (size slightly larger than stabilizing rod) (3.17)
• driver bits or screw drivers (to fit screw heads) 
• clamps 8"/ bungees (2) that will hold the blocks tight while you work with them

Methods:
Finally! Here we are, finally getting to the "how to"! No worries, this is pretty easy... and if you have any questions post them to me and I'll help you sort it out :) . If you aren't used to woodworking these directions will walk you through making the bee house pictured above (and then add your own unique detail touches if you want); if you have some experience with woodworking you can just riff off of the techniques used here to create your own unique style of bee house!

• Assemble all of the materials and equipment
• Measure and mark 1"x6" board at 5 1/2" length each for 10 cell tray pieces

• Cut 10 cell trays

• Stack the 10 cut cell trays together, cut side down, and prepare to clamp them together

• Clamp together and prepare cell trays for drilling and then number the boards on the side, in order, 1-10 (this will be important later)

• Set up to drill holes in to the cell tray boards. You want the cell holes to each end up 5 to 5 1/2" (~14cm) deep, this may take a couple steps to achieve. First I drilled the holes using a drill press to about 4 inches deep (I was in a hurry to do this and didn't want to wait to buy a longer drill bit ;) , which created a very straight start, then followed that up with a regular drill to get the depth to 5" to 5 1/2".
• I spaced the holes about an inch apart. You can mark them if that helps you keep track.

• Drill the holes! Drill holes directly into the joints between the boards. You are creating the bee cells where the boards join so you can easily take the cells apart to clean and care for your bees and bee house.

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• Drill the holes between 5" and 5 1/2" deep (note the numbered boards ;) . I followed up the drill press, which gave me a nice straight 4" deep cell hole to start, with a handheld drill to drill the holes to 5 1/2"

• Note the numbers (1-10) on the side of the cell trays

• Drill a hole (using a bit slightly larger than your stabilizing rod) through all of the cell trays in each of the rear corners, for 2 stabilizing rods that will keep the cell trays from slipping. My drill bit was NOT long enough to drill through all of the cell trays at once so I drilled through four at a time and kept removing the top two cell tray boards to drill down through two more cell tray levels until I went through all of the cell tray boards in the stack

• Build the house walls for the cell trays by pre-drilling the holes, then using the deck screws to attach the the side walls to the bottom of the house, making the internal width of the house the same as the width of the cell trays. Make sure to line up the back edges of all pieces evenly so the extra lip of the bottom piece sticks out the front of the house. Silicone the joining edges of the wall and bottom on the inside

• Drill stabilizing rod holes in to house bottom/base, use bottom 2 cell trays as a drilling template to line up the holes for the bottom insert. Do NOT drill all the way through the bottom/base! You want the bottom to hold the rod in place.

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• Temper the insides of each cell with a propane torch. This will help clean up any bits and darken the inside of the cell

• Affix the 2 spacer pieces, one to the center of the bottom of the bottom cell tray and one to the center of the top of the top cell tray. Set the stack of cell trays in the housing... it should be a snug fit. 
• Put the stabilizing rods through the cell trays and push firmly in to the bottom/base piece. 
• Use 2 deck screws (pre-drill!) to attach the top edge of the house walls to the top spacer Be careful not to over-tighten as you will seasonally remove these screws, and these screws are just there to give extra (probably unneeded) stability

• The back of the bee house, with picture hanging wire. Roof is only set in place at this point to make sure the stabilizing rods are cut to the right length. Cut the stabilizing rods!!! Put silicone between the 45 angle of the roof and join the 2 pieces. If needed, use a box to square up the roof corner, pre-drill, and use three trim screws to screw the two halves of the roof together. Silicone the roof joint. I also sealed the top and sides of the roof, because I wanted to keep the color of the roof light and watertight. Line up the roof so about 1/4" of the roof overlaps to the back of the house, which gives the front a large overlap. Center, pre-drill, and attach the roof to the sides of the bee house using the 2 remaining trim screws, silicone over screw heads.

and from the front......

• Location! location! location!  The bee house should be mounted in a sunny south-facing area where it also gets early sun, preferably on a wall or solid fence of some sort. We mounted ours on the wall next to our garden area. We pre-drilled the hole since the wall is cement board. Make sure to mount it sturdily.

• The bee house ready for the bees!

• The bees in the house. The top spacer piece is a perfect place to set out the bees as they are getting ready to come out of their cocoons.

Coming Soon!

• More about mason bees (link)
• More about North American native bees (link)
• More about honey bees (link)