A Tale of Two Islands

A Tale of Two Islands: Themes From Classic Literature In Travels And Research on Lesvos (Greece) and Santa Cruz (USA) Islands by Dr. John M. Hranitz (from departmental newsletter)
Megachile apicalis visiting yellow-star thistle.	Like the Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities, this story is rooted in history and duality. Dr. John Barthell, a professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, and I met and worked together as faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma beginning in 1995. We conducted collaborative research on an invasive leafcutting bee’s (Megachile apicalis) unique ability to nest and develop as larvae at high temperatures and, in 2000 through 2003, we showed that female M. apicalis nest in risky, high temperature grasslands containing a preferred invasive host, yellow-star thistle. The two immigrants found each other because both Old World species prefer hot, dry habitats; not at all similar to the way fate introduced Luci Manette and Charles Darnay in Dickens’ classic. Surprisingly, we know very little of this bee’s native distribution and habitat use in the Old World. I was excited last winter to receive an invitation from Dr. Barthell to join their NSF-funded research team studying social and solitary bees in Turkey and Greece and compare native (Island of Lesvos) and non-native (Santa Cruz Island) populations of M. apicalis.
Amy Savitski, an undergraduate at BU, was selected for the research team bringing the total to four faculty and six student researchers traveling through Turkey and Greece. We arrived in Istanbul and absorbed the culture while arranging travel to Ankara (Turkey) and Lesvos (Greece). Known as Constantinople in the Byzantine era and positioned at the junction between Europe and Asia, Istanbul is one place where Eastern and Western Civilizations meet. The layers of the city and the Aegean coastline reveal serial civilization by Greek, Roman (Byzantine), and Turkish inhabitants coincident with introductions of new culture, science, and technology.
The Hagia Sophia through a water fountain in Istanbul. A prime example of how eastern and western civilizations merge in Istanbul. The central portion was formerly a Byzantine Catholic church later converted to the Red Mosque after Turkish occupation.
As in Homer’s Iliad, we stood at the archeological site of Troy, surveying the Trojan plain where the first Achilles’ tendon gained notoriety. At times, the expedition seemed reminiscent of Homer’s Odyssey because travel involved the art of witty negotiation with cab drivers plus feats of strength to lug luggage laden with research equipment. If you prefer classic television to classic literature (Nick at Nite?), perhaps you are familiar with one of the first popular medical TV dramas, Marcus Welby, MD? After completing experiments on yellow-star thistle in Kalloni Bay near Ancient Pyrra, our return trip featured a layover at the modern city of Bergama (Turkey) and an excursion to the archeological site of the Asklepion, one of the earliest medical centers and the first psychiatric center in the world. This is where the famous Roman physician Claudius Galen, who was actually Greek, maintained a medical library and gained medical insights from treating gladiators at his hometown of Pergamum. Of course, a tale of two islands needs a second island, in this case it is Santa Cruz Island along the coast of California. Santa Cruz Island is an ideal comparison to Lesvos because M. apicalis and yellow-star thistle have both successfully colonized this island and the climate and latitude are comparable to Lesvos. Studies this year compared the pollinator guilds and nectar use of pollinators on yellow-star thistle between the two islands. Amy Savitski is comparing the genetic diversity of samples of native and non-native M. apicalis for her Research in Biology II experience. In this story of two islands the themes of scientific discovery, history of science, and cultural diversity replace those of fate, rebirth, and class struggle. However, an ending has not yet been written, with more to come in the future!
At Bergama, ruins of the Acropolis (positioned on the hilltop) can be seen through the pillars of the Asklepion (foreground) where Cladius Galen worked as a Roman physician.