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Dragonfly enzymes point to how they interact in ecosystem

Dragonfly
A four-spotted skimmer dragonfly (photo courtesy of Shannon McCauley)

New research reveals that understanding small physiological activities in dragonflies could reveal a deeper understanding of how they interact with other organisms in an ecosystem.

In the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, PhD student Denon Start worked with professors Shannon McCauley and Ben Gilbert to show how physiological differences among larvae of 17 dragonfly species determine their distributions in ponds in and around the Koffler Scientific Reserve.