From October 10th to 24th, in response to an invitation extended by Prof. Ming Bai (Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science), Prof. Norman MacLeod (School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University) visited Beijing’s Institute of Zoology [Chinese Academy of Science], the Cangzhou Normal University, the Hebei Agricultural University and the China Agricultural University to offer training lectures at the Key Technologies of Insect Diversity, Pattern Assessment and Intelligent Monitoring System in the Belt & Road Region Training Course (hereafter termed “the course”). As a Scientific Consultant for the course program, which was organized by Prof. Bai, Prof. MacLeod contributed remarks at opening ceremonies and delivered a pair of specialist presentations on topics concerning his personal research experience involving advanced data-analysis methods for which he is a widely acknowledged international expert.
Delivery of this course was a linked closely to the 10th anniversary celebrations of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as it extended the Belt and Road concept into the realm of international scientific research and biodiversity conservation. On October 18th, President Xi Jinping presided over the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and announced eight major steps China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality BRI collaborations. President Xi emphasized that China will work with all parties to enhance cooperative relations with BRI partners and, through this effort, take this cooperation into a new stage of high-quality development with unparalleled efforts made to achieve global modernization across the BRI community.
The course’s opening ceremony was held in Cangzhou on Oct. 11th, to implement the BRI national strategy, respond to BRI opportunities and establish scientific education and technology as a core BRI deliverable. During the ceremony, Prof. MacLeod remarked on the importance of establishing a network of insect biodiversity monitoring sites in BRI-partner countries in order to collect baseline data on the state of this important, though neglected, group of animals. Subsequent to the collection of these data these monitoring site can be restudied in order to document how local insect populations are responding to climate change, unusual weather events, and habitat loss; all of which will provide the empirical basis for designing strategies to mitigate the effects of these factors at the local, regional, and (ultimately) the global levels. The development of such strategies is of fundamental importance if humanity is to avoid causing unprecedented numbers of species extinctions in the coming decades.
In his training lecture later that afternoon Prof. MacLeod reviewed his recent use of advanced mathematical methods to identify geographic populations of the Old World Screw Worm Fly (Chrysomya bezziana) from images of their wings. This pest species causes damage to livestock across Africa, the Middle East, India, China and Southeast Asia costing hundreds of millions of yuan each year. Control of Screw Worm Fly outbreaks requires that the source population be identified. Prof. MacLeod’s research has provided a quick, easy, consistent, and inexpensive means of accomplishing this task. The same methods used by Prof. MacLeod in his study can also be used to characterize insect populations of any sort for the purpose of monitoring their states.
Later in the course, on Oct. 19th in Baoding, Dr. MacLeod delivered a second presentation focusing on his use of advanced artificial intelligence (machine learning) methods to study wing eco-morphological adaptations present in a large group of African and Asian dragonflies belonging to the genus Trithemis. Here, Prof. MacLeod was able to show that Trithemis species, which had undergone repeated and independent colonizations of different habitats, had developed similar wing adaptations that fit them for life in different landscape and water-course habitats. This is a classic case of convergent evolution and, once again, the same methods pioneered by Prof. MacLeod can be employed to monitor insect biodiversity, as well as the diversity of other animal and plant groups.
Professor MacLeod’s lectures well received by the course participants. He has already had offers of collaboration on similar projects that will form part of the scientific legacy of this innovative and important international insect monitoring project linked directly to China’s equally innovative and important Belt and Road Initiative.
