Area of Study: galapagos scanvenger beetles

In her work as Darwin Leader, Duda Menegassi followed a team of scientists from Charles Darwin Research Station, in the island of Isabela, part of the Galápagos archipelago. The mission: to find a tiny scavenging beetle (Ataenius cavagnaroi), described by Cartwright in 1970 and unique to the Galápagos that could be in the middle of an exciting evolutionary chapter. The scientists are investigating the potential wing reduction of this insect. Losing its ability to fly could be a possible consequence to a bigger presence of cattle in the island of Isabela and therefore a bigger food offer for the insect that thrives in the poop of those large animals. Surrounded by food, flying might be just a waste of precious energy.  That’s how evolution begins and what better place to tell this story than in a place so remarkable by its role in Charles Darwin’s theory? To understand better, the team from Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) will first need to find some new specimens of the beetle, since the ones they have in the collection are more than 10 years old. Duda tells this story directly from the field as the scientists try to put this this evolutionary puzzle together.