Jake Dalzell

My favourite butterfly, which I first saw during lockdown. They are the
most delicate of the white species (Pieridae) found in Ireland and
flutter through grasslands in May and June.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://irishplants.org/images/other_grasslands/lagan_meadows/courting_flight.jpg"
decoding="async" width="650" height="464" />
<figcaption>June 2021 A male Wood White courting a
female.</figcaption>
</figure>

#### Taxonomy {#taxonomy .wp-block-heading}

For a long time, scientists wondered why Wood Whites (*Leptidea
sinapis*) were fairly widespread and common in Ireland, when they were
so rare in England. Then, first in the 80s and then in 2011, it was
realised that there were two more "cryptic species" hidden within the
Wood White¹. Réal's Wood White (*Leptidea reali*) was the first to be
discovered and said to be found throughout Ireland (except for the
Burren, where *L. sinapis* is found). However, when it was further split
in two in 2011, our species was named the Cryptic Wood White (*Leptidea
juvernica*)². It's a great demonstration that insect taxonomy is
challenging and that there is a lot of hidden biodiversity yet to be
discovered.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full">
<img
src="https://irishplants.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20210524_121244.jpg"
class="wp-image-295" loading="lazy" decoding="async"
srcset="https://irishplants.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20210524_121244.jpg 1900w, https://irishplants.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20210524_121244-300x236.jpg 300w, https://irishplants.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20210524_121244-768x605.jpg 768w, https://irishplants.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20210524_121244-1536x1210.jpg 1536w"
sizes="(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px" width="1900" height="1497" />
<figcaption>A Cryptic Wood White butterfly at Lagan Meadows,
Belfast.</figcaption>
</figure>

#### Ecology {#ecology .wp-block-heading}

Cryptic Wood Whites can be difficult to see during the flight period in
May and June, but at the right site they can be common. The best site I
have found for them was [Lagan
Meadows](https://irishplants.org/other_grasslands/lagan_meadows.html){rel="noreferrer noopener"
data-type="URL"
data-id="https://irishplants.org/other_grasslands/lagan_meadows.html"
target="_blank"}, in a patchy mosaic of damp species-rich grassland and
bramble scrub. Here the foodplants (vetches) are common in young,
developing scrub and in long grass. I have also seen them at Murlough
NNR on mature dune grassland. The species can exist on very small and
fragmented sites: the site at Lagan Meadows is small (around 5 ha)³; I
believe [our
field](https://irishplants.org/field.html){rel="noreferrer noopener"
target="_blank"} was colonised from a hedgerow/road verge population
with little-to-no species-rich grassland nearby.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://irishplants.org/images/other_grasslands/lagan_meadows/wood_white_on_cardamine.jpg"
decoding="async" width="700" height="340" />
<figcaption>May 2021 A Wood White nectars on
Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) in a damper part of Lagan
Meadows.</figcaption>
</figure>

##### Foodplants {#foodplants .wp-block-heading}

Warnock⁴ studied the species' preferences in Armagh and found they
mostly prefer to lay their eggs on Meadow Vetchling (*Lathyrus
pratensis*), also using Lesser Bird's-foot Trefoil (*Lotus
corniculatus*), Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil (*Lotus pedunculatus*), and
rarely Bush Vetch (*Vicia sepium*). At Murlough they mostly use Lesser
Bird's-foot Trefoil⁴. in Edenderry, O'Neill and Montgomery³ only saw
egg-laying on Meadow Vetchling.

In the same study⁴ nectar plants included Bush Vetch, Meadow Vetchling,
Lesser Bird's-foot Trefoil, Tufted Vetch (*Vicia cracca*), Ragged Robin
(*Lychnis flos-cuculi*), and Red Clover (*Trifolium pratense*). At
Murlough they have been observed using Tormentil (*Potentilla erecta*).

##### Courtship {#courtship .wp-block-heading}

Courtship generally occurs on the nectar plant. I have observed two
courtship displays on Bush Vetch, and one on grass. The male hovers
behind and above the female, then lands facing her and begins to wave
his proboscis on either side of her, while she occasionally flaps her
wings. If she approves of the male, mating follows, but I have never
seen this and it seems to be rare⁴ -- most males are rejected.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">

<figcaption>May 2020 A video of two pairs at Lagan
Meadows courting. In both, the female rejected the male.</figcaption>
</figure>

This fairly complex ritual has evolved as a response to the similarity
of the different *Leptidea* species -- the female has to spend a long
time working out if the male is actually the same species as her⁵. Why
do they stay separate species at all then? Well, the different species
occupy different niches in the areas where their ranges overlap. It is
advantageous for them to make sure they mate with those of the same
species, as the offspring will then share the specialisation to that
niche⁶. Hybrid offspring would be less well-adapted to either of the
niches of its parents; this is a form of *[outbreeding
depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outbreeding_depression){rel="noreferrer noopener"
data-type="URL"
data-id="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outbreeding_depression"
target="_blank"}*.

#### Conservation {#conservation .wp-block-heading}

Heal⁷ reported that the Cryptic Wood White spread rapidly northwards
into north-east Ulster along the railways in the mid-20th century. It is
now in retreat⁴^,^⁸; the main concern is habitat loss⁹. At Lagan Meadows
the habitat is quickly becoming inappropriate as grazing has stopped --
this will stop the disturbance needed to create new areas of young
scrub, and lead to the loss of the species-rich grassland.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<img
src="https://irishplants.org/images/other_grasslands/lagan_meadows/leptidea_print.jpeg"
loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="650" height="457" />
<figcaption>December 2021 A linocut print I made
inspired by the Wood Whites I saw over lockdown.</figcaption>
</figure>

## References {#references .wp-block-heading}

*N.B.* I have changed the format to superscript numbers Vancouver style
as I think it is less intrusive!

1. Dincǎ, V., Lukhtanov, V. A., Talavera, G., & Vila, R. (2011).
 Unexpected layers of cryptic diversity in wood white *Leptidea*
 butterflies. *Nature Communications*, *2*(1).
 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1329
2. Cryptic Wood White. \[online\] *UK Butterflies*.
 https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=juvernica
 \[accessed 31 Dec 2022\]
3. O'Neill, J., & Montgomery, I. (2018). Demographics and spatial
 ecology in a population of cryptic wood white butterfly Leptidea
 juvernica in Northern Ireland. *Journal of Insect Conservation*,
 *22*(3--4), 499--510. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10841-018-0077-5
4. Warnock, N. (2008). The ecology and conservation of *Leptidea reali*
 (Real's Wood White) in Northern Ireland. MSc Thesis, Queen's
 University Belfast.
 http://ns340113.ip-5-196-79.eu:7080/images/3_programmes/papillons/biblio/43.pdf
5. Friberg, M., Vongvanich, N., Borg-Karlson, A. K., Kemp, D. J.,
 Merilaita, S., & Wiklund, C. (2008). Female mate choice determines
 reproductive isolation between sympatric butterflies. *Behavioral
 Ecology and Sociobiology*, *62*(6), 873--886.
 https://doi.org/10.1007/S00265-007-0511-2
6. Friberg, M., Leimar, O., & Wiklund, C. (2013). Heterospecific
 courtship, minority effects and niche separation between cryptic
 butterfly species. *Journal of Evolutionary Biology*, *26*(5),
 971--979. https://doi.org/10.1111/JEB.12106
7. Heal, H. (1965). The Wood White, *Leptidea sinapis* L., and the
 Railways. *The Irish Naturalists' Journal*, *15*(1), 8--13.
 https://www.jstor.org/stable/25536916
8. Staats, W. T., & Regan, E. C. (2014). Initial population trends from
 a 5-year butterfly monitoring scheme. *Journal of Insect
 Conservation*, *18*(3), 365--371.
 https://doi.org/10.1007/S10841-014-9644-6
9. *Leptidea juvernica* -- cryptic wood white. \[online\] *Northern
 Ireland Priority Species*.
 http://www.habitas.org.uk/priority/species.asp?item=430857
 \[accessed 31 Dec 2022\]

My favourite butterfly, which I first saw during lockdown. They are the most delicate of the white species (Pieridae) found in Ireland and flutter through grasslands in May and June. Taxonomy For a long time, scientists wondered why Wood Whites (

 Leptidea sinapis

) were fairly widespread and common in Ireland, when they were so rare in England.

The Cryptic Wood White butterfly

Scott Edmunds

*We are pleased to see the 2022 Junior Research Parasite Award go to
Jack Pilgrim for his work published last year in GigaScience, so here we
highlight the ecosystem of awards acknowledging different parts of the
research cycle.*

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized">
<img
src="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ariel-HkN64BISuQA-unsplash-1024x771.jpg"
class="wp-image-4277" loading="lazy" decoding="async"
srcset="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ariel-HkN64BISuQA-unsplash-1024x771.jpg 1024w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ariel-HkN64BISuQA-unsplash-300x226.jpg 300w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ariel-HkN64BISuQA-unsplash-768x578.jpg 768w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ariel-HkN64BISuQA-unsplash-1536x1156.jpg 1536w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ariel-HkN64BISuQA-unsplash-2048x1541.jpg 2048w"
sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" width="768" height="578"
alt="data awards: research parasites" />
</figure>

[Jokingly spurred](https://twitter.com/iddux/status/690563238979723267)
by a controversial medical editorial calling people carrying out data
re-use and meta-analyses "research parasites", this gave rise to the
launch of the ["Research Parasite
Awards"](https://researchparasite.com/) focused on data reuse to
recognize and promote exemplar participants in this scientific
ecosystem. We've been supporters and sponsors of the data awards since
their launch in 2016, and eagerly await the announcement of the winners
each January at the Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing in Hawaii. This
currently consist of two awards: the first recognizes an outstanding
contribution from a junior parasite (postdoctoral, graduate, or
undergraduate trainee), and the second recognizes an individual for a
sustained period of exemplary research parasitism.

This year was particularly satisfying to see the Junior Parasite Award
go to Jack Pilgrim at Liverpool University for his work [published last
year](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab021) in *GigaScience*
(read the [paper](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab021) and
[blog](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/rickettsia-bacteria-to-rule-them-all/)).
A remarkable study presenting a serendipitous finding from studying the
entire the barcode of life database. While we can state we had no
involvement in the judging, this is the first time the work in one of
our papers has been rewarded. Although we are no strangers to prizes for
data sharing (see the [BMC Open Data Award
winne](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/bioinformatics-birthdays-and-booze-at-boston-bosc/)r
[Assemblathon2](https://doi.org/10.1186/2047-217X-2-10)), and have also
been awarded for our own efforts in data sharing (see our [2018 PROSE
award for innovation in
publishing](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/gigascience-prose-award-for-innovation/))
this is the first time we've had papers acknowledged for data reuse.  As
a journal focussed on open science we are big promoters of research
parasites ([and research on
parasites](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/reproducible-research-resources-researching-parasites/)),
and try our best to feed them with open data and tools. As data
producers are already recognised by the [Research Symbiont
Awards](https://researchsymbionts.org/) (last year's winner COVID-19
hero Zhang Yongzhen also [winner of the *GigaScience* Prize for
Outstanding Data
Sharing](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/covid-19-hero-wins-gigascience-prize/)),
then we as a data journal and amplifier of these efforts probably fit in
this data sharing food web as a data vector.

::: {.wp-block-image}
<figure class="aligncenter size-large">
<img
src="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Jack-Pilgrim-2.jpg"
class="wp-image-4279" loading="lazy" decoding="async"
srcset="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Jack-Pilgrim-2.jpg 512w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Jack-Pilgrim-2-300x300.jpg 300w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Jack-Pilgrim-2-150x150.jpg 150w"
sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" width="512" height="512"
alt="Jack Pilgrim data awards winner" />
<figcaption>Jack Pilgrim, winner of the 2022 Junior Research Parasite
Award</figcaption>
</figure>
:::

To gain additional education insight from these exemplar data re-use
case studies *GigaScience* has been offering the Junior Parasite Award
winners an opportunity to publish commentaries talking about what
lessons they have learned from carrying out their exemplary research.
This publication hopefully being an additional and useful reward for
winners who are all Early Career Researchers. Previous winner Claire
Duvallet [discussed the
humility](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz148) required in
carrying out studies based on reuse of others data, and Ayush Raman
[covered the need](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab015) to
establish a baseline to avoid errors in secondary analyses. The [latest
commentary](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab086) from 2021
winner Nicolás Nieto goes beyond a first perspective view to gives a
wider (and team-based) overview on the relationship between research
parasites and fairness in machine learning. AI and ethics being a
particularly topical and contentious area, especially with a new
Algorithmic Accountability Act [just being
proposed](https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-booker-and-clarke-introduce-algorithmic-accountability-act-of-2022-to-require-new-transparency-and-accountability-for-automated-decision-systems)
in the US Senate.

We asked Jack Pilgrim for his comments on winning this years award, and
he has obliged with the following:

> "I'm honoured to receive this year's Junior Research Parasite Award.
> The study which has been acknowledged relating to identifying
> bacterial contaminants within the Barcoding of Life Database (BOLD)
> was an unexpected research direction for myself. As a qualified
> veterinarian, my PhD focussed on assessing the potential impacts of
> bacterial symbionts on the ability of biting insects to transmit
> viruses to animals. It was only through the serendipitous finding that
> genes from my main bacterium of study, Rickettsia, were being
> misclassified as a common molecular marker for taxonomic
> classification (DNA barcodes), that I had the opportunity to take on
> my first project analysing large secondary data sets.

> With this in mind, I'd like to thank Alex Smith at the University of
> Guelph and collaborators at BOLD, who kindly granted access to DNA
> sequences and metadata which was not publicly available at the time.
> Without this open and collegiate attitude, this study would not have
> been possible in the first place. Our finding of \>1000 bacterial
> sequences in BOLD not only unveiled *Torix Rickettsia* as a neglected
> component of insect biology but also demonstrated the value of
> 'research parasitism' and networking within science. Finally, I'd like
> to thank the Hurst lab where I spent 4 enjoyable years studying the
> ecology of insect microbiota. In particular, my friends Stefanos
> Siozios, Panupong Thongprem, Helen Davison and Greg Hurst who were all
> co-authors on the study." 

This year *GigaScience* also sponsored the other prizes, and
congratulations are also due to 2022 Senior Research Parasite Awardee
Murat Eren for his work re-using data at the intersection of
computational biology and microbiology/microbiome research, as well as
the honourable mentions for Kuoyan Cheng, Nishanth Ulhas Nair and
Duran-Frigola. Please [follow and support the
awards](http://researchparasite.com/) as they continue to showcase and
celebrate the importance of data sharing and reuse.

**Further Reading** 
Park Y, Greene CS. A parasite's perspective on data sharing.
*Gigascience*. 2018 Nov 1;**7**(11):giy129. doi:
[10.1093/gigascience/giy129](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giy129).

Duvallet C. Data detectives, self-love, and humility: a research
parasite's perspective. *Gigascience*. 2020 Jan 1**;9**(1):giz148. doi:
[10.1093/gigascience/giz148](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz148).

Raman AT. A research parasite's perspective on establishing a baseline
to avoid errors in secondary analyses. *Gigascience*. 2021 Mar
12;**10**(3):giab015. doi:
[10.1093/gigascience/giab015](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab015).

Nieto N, Larrazabal A, Peterson V, Milone DH, Ferrante E. On the
relationship between research parasites and fairness in machine
learning: challenges and opportunities. *Gigascience*. 2021 Dec
20;**10**(12):giab086. doi:
[10.1093/gigascience/giab086](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab086).

Pilgrim J, Thongprem P, Davison HR, Siozios S, Baylis M, Zakharov EV,
Ratnasingham S, deWaard JR, Macadam CR, Smith MA, Hurst GDD. Torix
Rickettsia are widespread in arthropods and reflect a neglected
symbiosis. *Gigascience*. 2021 Mar 25;**10**(3):giab021. doi:
[10.1093/gigascience/giab021](https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab021).

The post [Vectors of data awards: acknowledging the entire data sharing
food
web](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/vectors-of-data-awards/){rel="nofollow"}
appeared first on
[GigaBlog](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog){rel="nofollow"}.

We are pleased to see the 2022 Junior Research Parasite Award go to Jack Pilgrim for his work published last year in GigaScience, so here we highlight the ecosystem of awards acknowledging different parts of the research cycle.

Jokingly spurred by a controversial medical editorial calling people carrying out data re-use and meta-analyses “research parasites”, this gave rise to the launch of the “Research Parasite Awards” focused on

Rogue Scholar Posts

The Cryptic Wood White butterfly

Vectors of data awards: acknowledging the entire data sharing food web