Trapped: Australia's extraordinary alpine insects are being marooned on mountaintops as the world warms

by Kate Umbers, Jaana Dielenberg and Matthew Shanks, The Conversation

A blistered pyrgomorph grasshopper. How will Australia’s alpine invertebrates cope as the climate warms? Credit: Kate Umbers, Author provided

We may not pay invertebrates much thought, but they're the workhorses of all ecosystems. Insects and other invertebrates do essential jobs such as pollinating plants, improving soils and controlling pests. They're also food for many larger animals, which moves nutrients up the food chain.

Invertebrates are vulnerable to rising global temperatures. In response to climate change, many are moving to cooler areas, be that across land towards the poles, or upward in elevation.

But not all invertebrates have that option. In Australia, invertebrates already living at the highest possible elevation—on mountain summits—have nowhere higher to go. So how will they cope? And how can we help them?

Answering these questions is important. Invertebrates underpin Earth's ecosystems—so if their numbers decline, the ecological damage will be felt far and wide.

A life at the top

The invertebrates of the Australian Alps are beautiful and diverse. As in all ecosystems, they make up the largest proportion of our alpine animal species.

Most of our alpine invertebrates are found nowhere else If we don't look after them they're gone forever. And each species extinction is like losing a rivet in an airplane wing; eventually whole ecosystems will crash.

Warmer temperatures can affect invertebrates in many ways. For example, pollinating insects that collect nectar may hatch before plants flower—creating issues for both the insects and the plants. Species that rely on wet or damp conditions may find their habitat dried out. Less harsh, cold conditions may also bring new predators and competitors into their habitats.

Overseas, where mountain ranges are typically much higher, animals have been moving up in elevation to survive. But Australia's mountains are small—less than half the height of many key mountain ranges overseas. This leaves little room to move higher.

Alpine invertebrates tend to live in small, isolated populations on mountain tops. This limits their genetic diversity and therefore the potential that offspring can survive and adapt to changing conditions.

A spider from the Australian Alps looking out from her hole. Credit: Kate Umbers, Author provided

What's more, many invertebrates don't have wings, so can't fly away to a more hospitable place. And being trapped on mountain tops also makes them vulnerable to devastating local threats such as unusually severe or extensive bushfires.

Extraordinary bogong moths

Some species might seem to be moving higher up the Australian Alps. For example, it seems bogong moths inhabit low elevation caves less frequently than they once did. But this probably just shows the species' habitat is shrinking upward.

Each year, bogong moths undertake an extraordinary nocturnal migration. From their starting point many hundreds of kilometers away, they use the stars and Earth's magnetic field to navigate to the Australian Alps in search of cool caves and rock crevices. There, they rest and take refuge from the summer heat, before returning to their winter pastures.

In 2021, bogong moths were listed as endangered because the availability of their summer habitat is declining.

Bogong moths bring an incredibly important influx of nutrients to the alps. They provide food for many animals, including the adorable, critically endangered mountain pygmy possum, as well as many types of birds.

The Taungurung people refer to the bogong moth as "Deberra". The annual concentration of Deberra in the alps is culturally significant to the Taungurung and other traditional custodians.

Deberra have a high fat content and were harvested by Taungurung and other groups for eating. During the harvest, large gatherings of many Aboriginal nations were held and cultural business was conducted.

So Deberra offers not only a rich source of food, but also connection with deeply significant cultural landscapes. They are an important element in the cyclical movement of people and exchange of knowledge within and between Indigenous nations.

For Traditional Owners, Deberra is, like all things, part of the interrelated web of Country. When Deberra travels, human and non-human entities follow. It supports energy flows of many kinds.

Bogong moth habitat on Mount Kosciuszko in summer. The moths migrate to alpine areas in summer. Credit: James Trezise/author supplied, Author provided

The decline of Deberra is a sign that Country is sick. Sick Country tells us the land is not being managed well.

Color-changing skyhoppers

The adults of many alpine invertebrate species live for just a single summer, lay their eggs, then die. They include skyhoppers, a group of alpine grasshoppers unique to Australia, many species of which are threatened.

Skyhoppers rely on a thick snow layer to protect their eggs in winter. But Australia's snow cover is becoming increasingly unreliable as the planet warms.

Thermocolour skyhoppers, listed as endangered, are unique among grasshoppers in that they change color from black to turquoise when their body temperature exceeds 25℃.

Until recently, five skyhopper species were known to science. But when researchers walked the entire 655-kilometer Australian Alps walking track, they discovered 15 species of skyhopper exist—each separated by the rugged mountain landscape.

The true biodiversity of the alps is unknown. What we do know is that it is heavily fragmented. What may look like one species across the alps is likely to be many species each occupying small areas. This means they're even more vulnerable than currently recognized.

Helping them hang on

Much of the Australian Alps region is contained in national parks, but this alone is not adequate protection for our alpine biodiversity.

Greenhouse gas emissions to date have put our alpine biodiversity on a knife's edge. Australian and international governments must swiftly undertake far more ambitious climate action to cool the alps.

And more effort is needed to give our alpine ecosystems the best chance of coping with climate change. This includes allowing Traditional Owners to connect to and manage Country and removing threats such as feral species, disease and habitat destruction.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Vanishing glaciers threaten alpine biodiversity, warns study

Extreme heat is changing how people experience the outdoors

by Andrew Moore, North Carolina State University

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Summers are getting hotter as greenhouse gas emissions trap heat in the atmosphere—a problem that's impacting how millions of people enjoy the outdoors during the warmest months of the year, according to one NC State expert.

For outdoor enthusiasts, the summer months have generally provided ideal conditions for recreational activities such as running, hiking and biking. But as temperatures increase, peoples' behaviors are changing.

While people are still participating in outdoor activities during the summer, they're increasingly looking for ways to avoid the heat, according to Aaron Hipp, a professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at the College of Natural Resources.

"Many people are trying to run or bike in the early morning hours to avoid extreme heat," said Hipp, whose research examines how, where and why public built environments impact health behaviors such as physical activity and recreation.

High temperatures kill more people in the United States every year than any other extreme weather event, with an annual average of about 700 people dying from heat-related illnesses across the country.

Unfortunately, climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves around the world. The average number of heat waves in the U.S. alone has increased from two per year to six per year since the 1960s.

Aside from exercising earlier in the day, many people are looking for outdoor areas where they can avoid direct sunlight. That includes parks and other green spaces with trees, which lower surface and air temperatures by providing shade.

People are also increasingly visiting outdoor locations where they can wade or swim in natural bodies of water. North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which is home to five beaches, recently recorded its third busiest year on record.

"Without a doubt, more and more people are beginning to seek out these spaces on hotter days to find relief. But as these spaces grow in popularity, they're becoming increasingly crowded. That can lead to a reduced experience."

Crowding limits the available space for people to engage in certain activities, according to Hipp. When people feel that their behavior is constrained or that a space doesn't meet their needs, they can develop feelings such as anxiety or frustration.

Hipp added that indoor spaces are also becoming increasingly crowded with people looking to engage in recreational activities, including children who participate in summer camps and sports programs. Many of these camps and programs operate under policies that require them to relocate indoors if it's too hot outside.

But the increasing usage of indoor spaces could have implications for the mental and physical health of participants, according to Hipp. While extreme heat can negatively impact physical health, recent studies suggest that outdoor exercise can generate greater health benefits, including decreases in depression.

At the same time, however, Hipp's research group has found that high temperatures can cause children to slow down on playgrounds, mostly because the equipment is too hot. Many children also spend more time sitting in shaded areas or drinking water. This means they're not getting as much physical activity.

"If your ability to participate in outdoor activities is limited due to extreme heat, you're not as likely to enjoy the mental and physical health benefits—whether it's reduced stress, reduced cardiovascular disease or reduced cancer risk," Hipp said.

Hipp said communities can help to promote physical activity in outdoor spaces by investing in certain water-based elements to mitigate the effects of extreme heat, whether that's providing spraygrounds or water fountains in parks.

Communities can also utilize green infrastructure such as tree plantings in urban areas. This is especially vital for low-income and non-white neighborhoods, which remain disproportionately vulnerable to heat due to disparities in tree cover.

"Green infrastructure can provide places for people to be active. It can provide shade and protective areas when it's warmer," Hipp said. "To me, it's a no-brainer."

Provided by North Carolina State University How parks and green spaces can improve your health

Body images: How tech can co-opt our physical selves, and how art can save us

by Stanford University

Credit: Meson Press

Shane Denson is an associate professor of film and media studies at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. He's also a deep thinker about our data-rich world and the technologies driving it. Biosensing technologies, such as virtual reality, wearable trackers, and smartwatches, both harvest and commoditize physical data that come back to us as advertisements and lifestyle recommendations.

In his latest book, "Post-Cinematic Bodies" (Meson Press, 2023), Denson charts a troubling encroachment on the human body—a phenomenon he calls "metabolic capitalism," which applies dangerous norms of age, beauty, gender, and race to alter how we perceive our bodies. We talked to Denson about his viewpoint and why he thinks there is still hope for change.

What is your basic argument?

Denson: "Post-Cinematic Bodies" argues that the contemporary media landscape—characterized by predictive algorithms, "smart" devices, robots, and so on—subtly transforms our bodies and our embodied relations to the environment. For example, smart devices track our every movement and measure each calorie, turning our metabolisms into data that is bought and sold. These devices are mediating a new system of "metabolic capitalism." We are being subtly "alienated" from our own bodies as our physical habits are enlisted in producing revenue for corporations.

You say this is a matter of aesthetics, but also of politics. In what ways is it political?

Denson: The goal of the book is twofold: first, to shed light on the way that our bodies are integrated and anticipated by these systems—often without our awareness; and second, to imagine ways contemporary media art can help us resist co-optation. In political terms, if virtual reality, augmented reality, wearables, and other forms of new media were ever to fully enlist our bodies as producers of value, our behaviors would have to be made predictable.

Thus, our bodies are being "normed" by facial recognition, augmented and virtual reality, and generative AI. This norming process has far-reaching implications for constructions of gender, ability and disability, race, and other deeply political matters.

You say technologies are "challenging the existential relation that 'I' have to 'my' body." Is human existence under threat?

Denson: I don't know that I would go so far as to say that human existence is under threat, at least not in the science-fictional imagination of AI taking over. The threat is far more mundane but insidious nonetheless. The new algorithmic media, operating predictively and at microtemporal speeds, bypass our consciousness to take aim at bodily processes—metabolism, heart rate, eye movement, brain wave activity—exposing them to predictive shaping.

I am most worried about the way algorithms standardize perception and action, threatening human diversity. If, as the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartres asserted, "existence precedes essence" and each of us is free to forge our own essence, then these new technologies are preempting our decision-making agencies. New "essences" might be engineered and implemented algorithmically, before we can even blink, much less think.

These systems are apparent in something as routine as a Snapchat selfie where we perceive ourselves in a virtual mirror augmented with bunny ears or a big mustache. Each Snapchat filter is founded on norms of what a "typical" face looks like and also applies troubling normative schemas of age, weight, race, and beauty. The algorithms are an intervention between self and perception. Ableist, racist, and gender-essentialist biases become the real-time filter through which the embodied subject (mis)recognizes itself.

The endgame here appears grim. Is it?

Denson: I'm not often accused of being an optimist, but I'm not a pessimist either. Throughout the book (and my previous book, "Discorrelated Images," Duke University Press 2020), I am at pains to show the cracks in the façade offering opportunities to redirect technology toward better ends—or to build a less awful world, at least. A lot of what makes these systems so cynical is the consolidation of power. The data is generally invisible to the users who produce it and who are in turn influenced by it. Worse yet, the markets where the data are traded are invisible, too. Maybe this only shapes the ads I see, but what happens when my insurance company has the data?

Are there remedies?

Denson: Occasionally, metabolic capitalism becomes visible; most often it's through art. The artists I highlight in the book—Ian Cheng, Hito Steyerl, Hyphen-Labs, Catie Cuan, Rashaad Newsome, Teoma Jackson Naccarato and John MacCallum, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, among others—are transforming these invisible algorithms into sensory experiences. Some are interested in reengineering the bodily norms to challenge the white, heterosexist norms at the heart of the algorithms.

They are doing things like building motion-capture libraries focused on African and African American dance. Others provide embodied experiences of metabolic capture by turning them into aesthetic events. It is the artists who give me hope. They show that it is still possible to rearrange the relationship between users, infrastructures, and experiences—if only we can redistribute or challenge the underlying power structures.

Provided by Stanford University 

Social media play an important role in users' perception of the ideal body, study shows

  

How microplastics are making their way into our farmland

by Branaavan Sivarajah and Jesse Vermaire, The Conversation

In Canada and around the world, biosolids are widely used to improve agricultural farmland

 soil. Biosolids being sprayed on an agricultural field. 

Credit: Branaavan Sivarajah, Author provided

Microplastic pollution is a global environmental problem that is ubiquitous in all environments, including air, water and soils.

Microplastics are readily found in treated wastewater sludge—also known as municipal biosolids—that eventually make their way to our agricultural soils.

Our recent investigation of microplastic levels in Canadian municipal biosolids found that a single gram of biosolids contains hundreds of microplastic particles. This is a much greater concentration of microplastics than is typically found in air, water or soil.

Given that hundreds of thousands of tons of biosolids are produced every year in Canada, we need to pay close attention to the potential impacts such high levels of microplastics might have on the environment and find ways to reduce microplastic levels in Canada's wastewater stream.

Municipal biosolids

Municipal biosolids are produced at wastewater treatment plants by settling and stabilizing the solid fraction of the municipal wastewater inflow.

In Canada and around the world, municipal biosolids are used to improve agricultural farmland soil. This is because they are rich in nutrients needed for plant growth, such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

Biosolids applied to an agricultural field. Credit: Branaavan Sivarajah, Author provided

Municipal biosolid applications are carefully regulated in Canada for heavy metals, nutrients and pathogens. However, guidelines for emerging contaminants, such as microplastics, are not currently available.

While current wastewater treatment plants are not explicitly designed to remove microplastics, they are nevertheless efficient at removing nearly 90 percent of microplastic contaminants. The removed microplastics are often concentrated in the settled sludge and eventually end up in the biosolids.

Microplastics in municipal biosolids

Previous studies have shown that municipal biosolid waste is an important pathway for microplastics to enter the broader terrestrial ecosystems, including agricultural fields.

In collaboration with scientists from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, we conducted the first pan-Canadian assessment of microplastics in municipal biosolids. We analyzed biosolid samples from 22 Canadian wastewater treatment plants across nine provinces and two biosolid-based fertilizer products.

We found hundreds of microplastic particles in every gram of biosolids. The most common type of microplastic particles we observed were microfibres, followed by small fragments. We found small amounts of glitter and foam pieces too.

Microplastic concentrations in municipal biosolids are substantially higher than other environmental networks in Canada like water, soil and river sediments. This provides further evidence that microplastics are concentrated in biosolids produced at wastewater treatment plants.

Microplastics in municipal biosolids. A-C: Processed biosolid samples; D-F: Assortment of microplastic particles in biosolids. Credit: Jesse Vermaire, Author provided

Reducing microplastics

Wastewater treatment plants are well-equipped to remove large plastics like bottle caps and plastic bags from municipal wastewater. However, microplastic particles are so small they can't be caught by current treatment infrastructure, so they end up concentrating in wastewater sludge.

As wastewater streams concentrate microplastics, they also offer an opportunity to reduce the plastic pollution that is entering the environment. While researchers across Canada are working to find insights on the short- and long-term ecological consequences of microplastic pollution on soil ecosystems, one solution is already clear.

Microplastics can be reduced at sources via systematic reductions in the use of single-use plastics, washing clothing with synthetic fiber less frequently and removing microfibres using washing machine filters. These approaches will help minimize the amount of microplastics that get into the wastewater stream and, ultimately, into the broader terrestrial and aquatic environments.

Building new technologies at our wastewater treatment plants to remove microplastics through physical or chemical means should also be explored.

We need to better understand the impact of high concentrations of microplastic on agro-ecosystems where biosolids are applied, including its impacts on soil-dwelling organisms like earthworms and insects. We also need to start building national guidelines for microplastic levels in biosolids and agricultural soils.

More information: Branaavan Sivarajah et al, How many microplastic particles are present in Canadian biosolids?, Journal of Environmental Quality (2023). DOI: 10.1002/jeq2.20497

Journal information: Journal of Environmental Quality 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Scientists study how a diabetes drug affects soils

Microplastic pollution: New device uses wood dust to trap up to 99.9% of microplastics in water

by University of British Columbia

Different types of wood waste can be used to create the water filter. 

Credit: UBC Forestry/Jillian van der Geest

Could plants be the answer to the looming threat of microplastic pollution? Scientists at UBC's BioProducts Institute found that if you add tannins—natural plant compounds that make your mouth pucker if you bite into an unripe fruit—to a layer of wood dust, you can create a filter that traps virtually all microplastic particles present in water.

While the experiment remains a lab set-up at this stage, the team is convinced that the solution can be scaled up easily and inexpensively once they find the right industry partner.

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic debris resulting from the breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste. Keeping them out of water supplies is a huge challenge, says Dr. Orlando Rojas, the institute's scientific director and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Forest Bioproducts.

He noted one study which found that virtually all tap water is contaminated by microplastics, and other research which states that more than 10 billion tons of mismanaged plastic waste will be dispersed in the environment by 2025.

"Most solutions proposed so far are costly or difficult to scale up. We're proposing a solution that could potentially be scaled down for home use or scaled up for municipal treatment systems. Our filter, unlike plastic filters, does not contribute to further pollution as it uses renewable and biodegradable materials: tannic acids from plants, bark, wood and leaves, and wood sawdust—a forestry byproduct that is both widely available and renewable."

Captures a wide variety of plastics

For their study, the team analyzed microparticles released from popular tea bags made of polypropylene. They found that their method (they're calling it "bioCap") trapped from 95.2 percent to as much as 99.9 percent of plastic particles in a column of water, depending on plastic type. When tested in mouse models, the process was proved to prevent the accumulation of microplastics in the organs.

Dr. Rojas, a professor in the departments of wood science, chemical and biological engineering, and chemistry at UBC, adds that it's difficult to capture all the different kinds of microplastics in a solution, as they come in different sizes, shapes and electrical charges.

"There are microfibers from clothing, microbeads from cleansers and soaps, and foams and pellets from utensils, containers and packaging. By taking advantage of the different molecular interactions around tannic acids, our bioCap solution was able to remove virtually all of these different microplastic types."

Collaborating on sustainable solutions

The UBC method was developed in collaboration with Dr. Junling Guo, a professor at the Center of Biomass Materials and Nanointerfaces at Sichuan University in China. Marina Mehling, a Ph.D. student at UBC's department of chemical and biological engineering, and Dr. Tianyu Guo, a postdoctoral researcher at the BioProducts Institute, also contributed to the work.

"Microplastics pose a growing threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health, demanding innovative solutions. We're thrilled that the BioProducts Institute's multidisciplinary collaboration has brought us closer to a sustainable approach to combat the challenges posed by these plastic particles," said Dr. Rojas.

More information: Yu Wang et al, Flowthrough Capture of Microplastics through Polyphenol‐Mediated Interfacial Interactions on Wood Sawdust, Advanced Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202301531

Journal information: Advanced Materials 

Provided by University of British Columbia

How microplastics are making their way into our farmland

 

Florida's academic standards distort the contributions that enslaved Africans made to American society

by Rodney Coates, The Conversation

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The state of Florida ignited a controversy when it released a set of 2023 academic standards that require fifth graders to be taught that enslaved Black people in the U.S. "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their benefit."

As a researcher specializing in the history of race and racism in the U.S., I—like a growing chorus of critics—see that education standard as flawed and misleading.

Whereas Florida would have students believe that enslaved Black people "benefited" by developing skills during slavery, the reality is that enslaved Africans contributed to the nation's social, cultural and economic well-being by using skills they had already developed before captivity. What follows are examples of the skills the Africans brought with them as they entered the Americas as enslaved:

1. As farmers

During the period between 1750 and 1775, the majority of the enslaved Africans that landed in the Carolinas came from the traditional rice-growing regions in Africa known as the Rice Coast.

Subsequently, rice joined cotton as one of the most profitable agricultural products, not only in North Carolina and South Carolina but in Virginia and Georgia as well.

Other African food staples, such as black rice, okra, black-eyed peas, yams, peanuts and watermelon, made their way into North America via slave ship cargoes.

Ship captains relied on African agricultural products to feed the 12 million enslaved Africans transported to the Americas through a brutal voyage known as the Middle Passage. In some cases the Africans stowed away food as they boarded the ships. These foods were essential for the enslaved to survive the harsh conditions of their trans-Atlantic trip in the hulls of ships.

Once on plantations in the land now known as the United States, enslaved people occasionally were able to cultivate small gardens. In these gardens, reflecting a small amount of freedom, enslaved men and women grew their own food. Some of the crops consisted of produce originating in Africa. From these they added unique ingredients, such as hot peppers, peanuts, okra and greens, to adapt West African stews into gumbo or jambalaya, which took rice, spices and heavily seasoned vegetables and meat. These dishes soon became staples in what would become known as down-home cooking. Crop surpluses from the communal gardens were sometimes sold in local markets, thus providing income that some enslaved people used to purchase freedom. Some of these African-derived crops became central to Southern cuisine.

2. As cooks and chefs

The culinary skills that the West Africans brought with them served to enhance, transform and produce unique eating habits and culinary practices in the South. Although enslaved Africans were forced to cook for families that held them as property, they also cooked for themselves, typically using a large pot that they had been given for the purpose.

Using skills from various West African cultures, these cooks often worked together to prepare communal meals for their fellow enslaved people. The different cooking styles produced a range of popular meals centering on one-pot cooking to include stews or gumbos, or layering meat with greens. The meals comprised a high proportion of corn meal, animal fat and bits of meat or vegetables. Communal gardens, maintained by the enslaved, might supplement the meager supplies and what was available from hunting or fishing. Some of the cooks who emerged from these conditions became some of the highest regarded and valued among the enslaved in the regions.

Enslaved chefs blended African, Native American and European traditions to create unique Southern cuisines that featured roasted beef, veal, turkey, duck, fowl and ham. Desserts and puddings featured jellies, oranges, apples, nuts, figs and raisins. Stews and soups changed, given the season, sometimes featuring oysters or fish.

3. As artisans and builders

Slave ship manifests reveal that enslaved Africans included some who were woodcarvers and metalworkers. Others were skilled in various traditional crafts, including pottery making, weaving, basketry and wood carving. These crafts were instrumental in filling the perpetual scarcity of skilled labor on plantations.

When planters and traders considered purchasing an enslaved Black person, one of the key factors influencing their decision and the price was their skills. Slave auction sales included carpenters, blacksmiths and shoemakers.

Architectural designs showing West African influences have been identified in structures excavated from some colonial plantations in various areas of the South Carolina Lowcountry. These buildings, with clay-walled architecture, demonstrate that the West Africans came with building skills. Excavated clay pipes in the Chesapeake region reveal West African pottery decorative techniques.

Across the nation, multiple landmarks were built by the enslaved. These include the White House, the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, Fraunces Tavern and Wall Street in New York, and Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

4. As midwives, herbalists and healers

As Africans entered the Americas, they brought knowledge of medicinal plants. Some enslaved women were midwives who used medical practices and skills from their native lands. In many cases, while many of these plants were unavailable in the Americas, enslaved Africans' knowledge, and that gleaned from Native Americans, helped them to identify a range of plants that could be beneficial to treat a wide range of illnesses among both the enslaved and the enslavers. Enslaved midwives delivered babies and, in some cases, provided the means for either avoiding pregnancies or performing abortions. They also treated respiratory illnesses.

These practices and knowledge grew as they began incorporating techniques from Native American and European sources. They employed an interesting array of these practices to identify herbs, produce devices and to facilitate childbirth and maternal health and well-being. They utilized several herbal remedies such as cedar berries, tansy and cotton seeds to end pregnancies.

In 1721, of the 5,880 Bostonians who contracted smallpox, 844 died. Even more would have died had it not been for a radical technique introduced by an enslaved person named Onesimus, who is credited with helping a small portion of the population survive.

Onesimus, purchased by Cotton Mather in 1706, was being groomed to be a domestic servant. In 1716, Onesimus informed Mather that he had survived smallpox and no longer feared contagion. He described a practice known as variolation derived by West Africans to fight various infections.

This was a method of intentionally infecting an individual by rubbing pus from an infected person into an open wound. Onesimus explained how this treatment resulted in significantly milder symptoms, eliminating the likelihood of contracting the disease. As physicians began to wonder about this mysterious method to prevent smallpox, they developed the technique known as vaccinations. Smallpox today has been eradicated worldwide primarily because of the medical advice rendered by Onesimus.

Regardless of how Florida's education standards misrepresent history, the reality is that the Africans forced to come to America brought an enormous range of skills. They were farmers, cooks, chefs, artisans, builders, midwives, herbalists and healers. Our country is richer because of their skills, techniques and knowledge.

Provided by The Conversation 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Origins of the plantation system revealed