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Article
BellyButtonBiodiversity
Citizenscientistsnavigate‘theintimateforestsoftheumbilicus’
Forthecompletearticlewithmediaresources,visit:
http://nationalgeographic.org/news/belly-button-biodiversity/
ByKimberlyDumke
Wednesday,May22,2013
Lookatyournavel.Doyouknowwhatitis?Itisascar,ormark,thatremains
whereyourumbilicalcordattachedyoutoyourmotherbeforeyouwereborn.
Yournavelistechnicallynamedtheumbilicusandiscommonlycalledthe“belly
button.”Allhumanshavethem.Othermammalshavethemaswell,although
theirsareusuallysmoothorflat—oftenjustathinlinehiddenbyfur.
Lookatyourbellybuttonagain.Areyouan“innie”oran“outie”?Ifyouhavean
indentationordepression—ifyoucanputthetipofyourfingerin—thenyouarean
innie.Mostpeopleareinnies.Ifyouhaveabumporprotrusion,thenyouarean
outie.
Whatdoyouthinkisinyourbellybutton?In2011,ateamofscientistslaunched
theBellyButtonBiodiversityProjecttofindout.Thesescientistswerefromthe
biologydepartmentofNorthCarolinaStateUniversity(NCState)andtheNature
ResearchCenter(NRC)attheNorthCarolinaMuseumofNaturalSciences.
“We'reinterestedinhelpingpeopleunderstandandappreciatethemicroscopic
specieswithwhichweshareourdailylives,”saysteammemberDr.Holly
Menninger,anentomologistandNCState’sdirectorofpublicscience.
Usuallywhenwethinkofbodybacteria,shesays,wethinkofthebadmicrobes
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thatcauseillness.Butinreality,mostoftheorganismsonourskinareourfirst
lineofprotectionfrompathogens—organismsthatcancausedisease.
It’saJungleinThere!
Forthisproject,peoplewipedcottonswabsinorontheirbellybuttons.Thefirst
groupof66sampleswascollectedfromvisitorstothemuseumandother
participants.
Dr.MegLowman,ateammemberanddirectoroftheNRC,says,“Thisprojectwas
notonlyinclusiveofallvisitors,butalsohelpedteachthemaboutthechallenges
andtechniquesbehindthecollectionofscientificdata.”
Theresearchteamdiscoveredthatbellybuttonsareverydiversehabitats!Intotal,
theydiscovered2,368differentspecies.Morethanhalfofthosemaybenewto
science.
“Thebellybuttonsremindedmeofrainforests,”wroteDr.RobDunn,abiologist
atNCStateandtheproject’sleader,inablogpost.“Theydifferedmorethanwe
expected.”
Eachparticipant’sbellybuttonhostedabout67differentspecies.Yetnotonewas
commontoeveryperson,andonlyeightwerefoundonatleast70percentof
participants.
Theteamconsideredfactorsincludingage,sex,andwhetherthepersonhadan
innieoranoutie.Despitethisresearch,thescientistscan’tquiteexplainwhysome
bellybuttonshadaparticularspecies,whileothersdidnot.
Theresearchersdidlearn,however,thattheeightmostcommonspecieswere
amongthemostabundant.Thismeansthatifaspecieswasfoundinabelly
button,thatbellybuttonusuallyhadalotofthatspecies!
InNovember2012,theteampublishedtheirfirstfindingsinapapercalled“A
JungleinThere:BacteriainBellyButtonsareHighlyDiverse,ButPredictable.”They
willsoonhave600samplesfrompeoplealloverNorthAmerica.
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“Withthisvariety,wemaywellbegintoexplainthedifferencesamongpeoplein
termsoftheintimateforestsoftheirumbilicus,”Dunnwrote.
CitizenScience
Menninger’steamispassionateaboutengagingpeopleofallagesinthewhole
processofscience,fromcollectingandanalyzingdata,tomakingobservations,
producingnewhypotheses,anddeterminingwhattostudynext.
BothNCState’sbiologydepartmentandNRChavemultiplecitizenscience
initiativestogetthepublicinvolved.TheseincludeArmpit-pa-looza,astudyof
armpits;acensusofcamelcrickets(alsoknownas“sprickets”);andSchoolof
Ants,whichisidentifyingantsandmappingtheirbiodiversityacrosstheUnited
States.
“Onedoesn'thavetogoofftotheAmazonrainforesttoexperiencebiodiversity.
Itexistsinyourbackyard,yourbasementandevenyourbellybutton!”says
Menninger.“Thisbiodiversityiscriticaltothefunctioningandhealthofour
ecosystems—bethatonourskin,orourforestsandstreams.”
So,willyoubeacitizenscientist?Joinuphere!
Armpit-a-palooza!
CamelCricketCensus!
SchoolofAnts!
Vocabulary
Term
abundant
bacteria
Partof
Definition
Speech
adjectiveinlargeamounts.
plural (singular:bacterium)single-celledorganismsfoundinevery
noun
biodiversity noun
biology
noun
citizen
science
noun
ecosystemonEarth.
allthedifferentkindsoflivingorganismswithinagivenarea.
studyoflivingthings.
scienceprojectorprogramwherevolunteerswhoarenot
scientistsconductsurveys,takemeasurements,orrecord
observations.
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Term
critical
Partof
Definition
Speech
adjectiveveryimportant.
data
plural
noun
(singular:datum)informationcollectedduringascientific
study.
depression
noun
indentationordipinthelandscape.
diverse
adjectivevariedorhavingmanydifferenttypes.
communityandinteractionsoflivingandnonlivingthingsin
ecosystem noun
anarea.
personwhostudiesinsectsandtheirinteractionwiththe
entomologistnoun
environment.
forest
noun
ecosystemfilledwithtreesandunderbrush.
function
fur
verb
noun
toworkorworkcorrectly.
thickhaircoveringtheskinofananimal.
habitat
noun
environmentwhereanorganismlivesthroughouttheyear
orforshorterperiodsoftime.
hypothesis
noun
statementorsuggestionthatexplainscertainquestions
aboutcertainfacts.Ahypothesisistestedtodetermineifit
isaccurate.
indentation noun
initiative
noun
intimate
mammal
microbe
dent,cut,ordepression.
firststepormoveinaplan.
adjectiveverypersonalorprivate.
animalwithhairthatgivesbirthtoliveoffspring.Female
noun
mammalsproducemilktofeedtheiroffspring.
noun
tinyorganism,usuallyabacterium.
microscopic adjectiveverysmall.
markorindentationonamammal'sabdomenthatindicates
navel
noun
wheretheumbilicalcordlinkingthefetusandthemother
wasattached.Alsocalledanumbilicusorbellybutton.
obscure
verb
todarkenorpartiallyblock.
pathogen
protrusion
noun
noun
organismthatcausesadisease,suchasavirus.
somethingthatswellsorsticksout.
rainforest
noun
areaoftall,mostlyevergreentreesandahighamountof
rainfall.
species
noun
groupofsimilarorganismsthatcanreproducewitheach
other.
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Term
stream
umbilical
cord
Partof
Definition
Speech
noun
bodyofflowingwater.
flexiblecordconnectingthefetusofamammalwiththe
noun
mother'splacenta,providingnourishmenttothefetus.Also
calledafunis.
Articles&Profiles
NationalGeographicNews:WhatLivesinYourBellyButton?StudyFinds'Rain
Forest'ofSpecies
Interactives
YourWildLife:WhatisLivinginYourHouse?
Websites
YourWildLife:BellyButtonBiodiversity
©1996–2016NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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