Abstract

Peter Osborne spent a sabbatical in northern America and was surprised that so many scientists and students stated that caribou migration was largely the result of mosquito pressure. He failed however to find any documented evidence of this claim although he was constantly confronted by the well known «facts» that mosquitoes had been observed to drive caribou crazy and even kill juveniles. The issue Osborne wishes to focus is that an experimentally unsubstantiated anthropomorphism appears to have become critical evidence in support of a theory. A recent article in Nature (393, 511-513, 1998) devoted to the uses of 'science in fiction' to stimulate thought and discussion about aspects of academia encouraged him to write the following comment in the form of a parody of ancient Greek dialogues.

Highlights

  • Peter Osborne spent a sabbatical in northern America and was surprised that so many scientists and students stated that caribou migration was largely the result of mosquito pressure

  • Skepticus: What makes Alaskan and Canadian caribou migrate? Status Quovicus:If you mean what factors contribute to the seasonal movement of caribou from highland calving grounds to Arctic coastal tundta the answer is considered to be the interaction of availability of forage and insect pressure

  • S: Intuitively I can accept the importance of the availability and quality of forage but, insect pressure? SQ: Yes, mosquito harassment of caribou is considered by biologists and some members of the general community to be a most important factor contributing to the migration of caribou

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Summary

Introduction

Peter Osborne spent a sabbatical in northern America and was surprised that so many scientists and students stated that caribou migration was largely the result of mosquito pressure. Status Quovicus:If you mean what factors contribute to the seasonal movement of caribou from highland calving grounds to Arctic coastal tundta the answer is considered to be the interaction of availability of forage and insect pressure. SQ: Yes, mosquito harassment of caribou is considered by biologists and some members of the general community to be a most important factor contributing to the migration of caribou.

Results
Conclusion

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