Elizabethtown College Associate Professor of Biology David Bowne, recently had work published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, The Canadian Entomologist.
The experimentation for Bowne’s research paper, “An investigation of demographic and component Allee effects in the Madagascar hissing cockroach,” is the result of his scientific partnership with his daughter, Maria Wohlbowne, who is a student at Elizabethtown Area High School.
Maria Wohlbowne conducting research in 2018
When she was in the sixth grade, Wohlbowne became captivated with her school’s colony of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and asked for some of her own, as a Christmas gift.
Interested in learning more about the nature of the insects, the two created an experiment designed to study whether the cockroaches were better in groups and would thrive in higher density conditions. This uncommon state is known as the Allee effect.
They began their experiment in August 2017 and conducted their research every two months, until January 2019. After a period of writing and analysis, Bowne and Wohlbowne submitted their paper for review in September 2021, and had it published in April 2022.
“Never discount the interests of children,” Bowne said. “With encouragement and guidance, those interests can develop into impressive accomplishments. In this case, a fascination with hissing cockroaches led to new scientific understanding.”