BGSU Zoom News

Monday, August 28, 2017

BGSU teams with Wood County to monitor mosquitoes | Dzur honored for advancing democracy

Dan Pavuk sorts mosquitoes collected as part of a partnership with the Wood County Health Department.

BGSU TEAMS WITH WOOD COUNTY TO MONITOR MOSQUITOES

Notice an uptick in mosquitoes in northwest Ohio? You can thank climate change. Warmer summers mean longer mosquito seasons, and milder winters signify a higher survival rate for mosquitoes.

Those conditions, which have allowed for the emergence of diseases such as that caused by Zika virus, are cause for concern — especially as mosquitoes that vector, or carry, such viruses migrate farther north.

“What’s happened the last two to three years has led to a lot of concern about mosquito-borne pathogens and viruses,” said Dr. Dan Pavuk, an insect biologist and lecturer in Biological Sciences at Bowling Green State University. “South Florida last summer in mosquito season had more than 200 cases of the Zika virus in humans that were actually documented to be transmitted by mosquitoes. That has spurred the interest in revitalizing a lot of the mosquito surveillance.”

The Wood County Health District recently received a $17,696 grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to study mosquitoes in Wood County. The health district contracted with BGSU to assist in its mosquito surveillance project.

Pavuk and two undergraduate biology students, Erica Eskins of Bellevue, Ohio, and Hannah Alanis of Oregon, Ohio, have been working on the project all summer. They’ll set the traps throughout Wood County, including three sites in Bowling Green and one each in Pemberville, Grand Rapids, Perrysburg, Rossford, North Baltimore and Walbridge.

Jackson on Trump’s presidency – El Mundo
Messer-Kruse research on KKK activities at the University of Wisconsin – The Cap Times
Davis on algal blooms – Planet Forward
Foust, journalism students discuss ESPN decision– NBC24

DZUR TO BE HONORED FOR ADVANCING DEMOCRACY

Albert Dzur

Dr. Albert Dzur, professor of political science and philosophy at Bowling Green State University, is the winner of the 2017 Laurence and Lynne Brown Democracy Medal from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University.

The McCourtney Institute promotes rigorous scholarship and practical innovations to advance the democratic process in the United States and abroad. The institute awards the Brown Democracy Medal annually to honor the best work being done to advance democracy in the United States and internationally.

“Albert Dzur’s work represents an important new frontier in democratic theory,” noted Michael Berkman, professor of political science and director of the McCourtney Institute, in announcing the 2017 Brown Democracy Medal recipient. “When partisan rancor is at an all-time high and confidence in democratic processes is at an all-time low, Dzur shows that democracy is still an effective and empowering way for citizens to address their common problems.”

VIEW STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS

Watch an archived presentation of President Mary Ellen Mazey’s Aug. 25 State of the University address online.

Watch Video