New Species Discovered!
A new species of insect was discovered in a cave on Easter Island by researcher Jut Wynne and his research crew. The insect, a type of book louse, was found in a cave within the Roiho lava flow in west-central Easter Island in the South Pacific Ocean. The species is only about 1mm in length and is in the Lepidopsocidae family and the genus Cyptophania.
Researchers consider this find especially exciting since most of the island’s native life has gone extinct. "This could be very important for piecing the natural history of the island together,” said research leader Jut Wynne an ecologist with the Colorado Plateau Research Station at Northern Arizona University and a Ph.D. candidate in biology at Northern Arizona University.
More information can be found at Livescience.
Infrared Spectrometry Laboratory and Training Launched
LLECB is proud to announce the newly established Infrared Spectrometry Laboratory (ISL). ISL is an LLECB initiative focused on teaching and training in the environmental and Earth Sciences. The newly acquired ASD Inc. FieldSpec® Max 3 portable spectrometer is a benchmark instrument ideal for numerous remote sensing and Earth Sciences applications, providing sprectral measurements in the 350-2500 nm range. LLECB resource staff are leading spectrometer training short courses and workshops during Spring 2011.