Geraldine Wright

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Geraldine Wright
Alma mater University of Wyoming (BSc), University of Oxford (PhD)
Scientific career
Institutions Ohio State University, Newcastle University, University of Oxford

Geraldine (Jeri) Wright is an insect neuroethologist in the United Kingdom. In 2018 she became the Professor of Comparative Physiology/Organismal Biology at the University of Oxford and in 2021 she was appointed Hope Professor of Zoology. [1]

Contents

Education and career

Born in Wyoming in the United States, Wright did a BSc in Botany at the University of Wyoming and then a PhD in insect nutrition and herbivory at Hertford College, University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in 1994. [2]

She moved to Ohio State University to do postdoctoral research on olfaction in honeybees in the Rothenbuhler Honeybee Laboratory and she also completed an MSc in Statistics at Ohio State University. [3]

Wright later moved to Newcastle University as a lecturer, then Reader and subsequently Professor in Neuroethology. She moved to the University of Oxford in 2018 where she is Professor of Comparative Physiology/Organismal Biology and Tutorial Fellow of Hertford College. [4]

Research

Wright's research has looked at the effects of intoxication in honeybees with ethanol, finding that with increased ethanol consumption the bees spent less time on normal behaviours such as flying, walking and grooming, and instead spent more time upside down. [5]

She has also done research to look for emotions in bees, testing their responses to smells that were unfamiliar to them.  Bees that had been subjected to an uncomfortable experience prior to the test were less likely to test the smells, and were perceived as pessimists compared to those that had not had the experience.  Levels of neurotransmitters such as Octopamine, dopamine and serotonin were also lower in bees that had the uncomfortable experience. [6]

Her work has also looked at the effects of insecticides on bees, finding that a combination of insecticides can have a greater detrimental effect on bee learning and memory than a single compound. [7] Wright also found that the nicotine present in neonicotinoid insecticides may 'give bees a buzz', as honeybees and bumblebees preferred food containing neonicotinoids over that without. [8] In contrast she found that caffeine can improve the memory of bees of a particular scent that might bear nectar [9] and subsequent research by Wright showed that bees have two neurons in each tastebud which help regulate bees' response to particular tastes. [10]

Related Research Articles

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A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insecticide</span> Pesticide used against insects

Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to be a major factor behind the increase in the 20th-century's agricultural productivity. Nearly all insecticides have the potential to significantly alter ecosystems; many are toxic to humans and/or animals; some become concentrated as they spread along the food chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bumblebee</span> Genus of insect

A bumblebee is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imidacloprid</span> Chemical compound

Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide belonging to a class of chemicals called the neonicotinoids which act on the central nervous system of insects. The chemical works by interfering with the transmission of stimuli in the insect nervous system. Specifically, it causes a blockage of the nicotinergic neuronal pathway. By blocking nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, imidacloprid prevents acetylcholine from transmitting impulses between nerves, resulting in the insect's paralysis and eventual death. It is effective on contact and via stomach action. Because imidacloprid binds much more strongly to insect neuron receptors than to mammal neuron receptors, this insecticide is more toxic to insects than to mammals.

Pesticides vary in their effects on bees. Contact pesticides are usually sprayed on plants and can kill bees when they crawl over sprayed surfaces of plants or other areas around it. Systemic pesticides, on the other hand, are usually incorporated into the soil or onto seeds and move up into the stem, leaves, nectar, and pollen of plants.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothianidin</span> Chemical compound

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References

  1. ↑ Jesus College, College announces new Hope Professor of Zoology, 14 September 2021
  2. ↑ "Geraldine Wright Profile". The Rhodes Project. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "Q & A: Geraldine Wright" (PDF). Current Biology . 22 (10): 387–388. 22 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "New Fellows". Hertford College | University of Oxford. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "Intoxicated Honey Bees May Clue Scientists Into Drunken Human Behavior". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Castro, Jason. "Do Bees Have Feelings?". Scientific American. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Are Honeybees Losing Their Way?". National Geographic News. 14 February 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Briggs, Helen (23 April 2015). "Bees 'get a buzz' from pesticides" . Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Stromberg, Joseph. "Even Bees Get a Buzz When They Drink Caffeine". Smithsonian. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "Bees get an intense sugar high from nectar due to special neurons • Earth.com". Earth.com. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
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