Book Louse (IMAGE)
Caption
Urban ecologists have been observing how socioeconomics impact species diversity for nearly two decades. Previous studies have determined that higher affluence is frequently associated with more biological diversity across species of plants, birds, bats, and lizards--a phenomenon coined the "luxury effect." Scientists have only recently begun examining the relationship between socioeconomics and arthropods, a group that includes insects and their close relatives. Arthropods can have six legs (like moths), eight legs (like spiders), or sometimes one hundred legs (like centipedes), and fly or wander from the outside environment into the indoor world. The image above highlights an arthropod often identified indoors: the book louse. "The biodiversity of the indoor environment is still a relatively unexplored area of research," says Michelle Trautwein, co-author and curator of entomology at the Academy. "Our houses are really permeable and dynamic. Through our studies, we hope to inspire citizens all over the globe to get curious about the species in their everyday lives. We still have so much to learn about indoor ecology and the ever-evolving relationship between humans and arthropods."
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© Matt Bertone of North Carolina State University
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