About This Project

Millions of years ago, high oxygen levels led to giant insects like dragonflies with 70 cm wingspans. This project tests whether modern insects can grow larger in a controlled 30-35% oxygen environment. A 1m³ sealed chamber will house select species, tracking size, lifespan, and adaptations over three years. Results will provide insight into prehistoric gigantism and evolutionary adaptation, helping us understand how oxygen influences insect growth.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

For millions of years, Earth’s atmosphere had much higher oxygen levels than today—up to 35% compared to our current 21%. During these prehistoric periods, insects grew to gigantic sizes, with fossil records showing dragonflies with 70 cm wingspans and millipedes over 2 meters long. Scientists believe this was due to increased oxygen availability, which allowed their respiratory systems to support much larger body sizes. While short-term laboratory experiments have shown that insects can grow larger under high-oxygen conditions, no one has attempted a long-term, self-contained experiment to test whether modern insects could evolve into significantly larger forms in a controlled ecosystem.

What is the significance of this project?

This project could provide valuable insights into evolutionary biology, atmospheric science, and adaptation. By recreating an ancient oxygen-rich environment, we can observe how insects respond over multiple generations, potentially witnessing real-time evolutionary changes. If successful, this experiment could confirm or challenge existing theories about prehistoric gigantism, contribute to understanding how ecosystems change with atmospheric shifts, and even offer insights into how modern species might adapt to environmental changes in the future. No other study has attempted to sustain an artificial high-oxygen biome long enough to measure evolutionary shifts, making this a groundbreaking experiment.

What are the goals of the project?

The primary goal of this project, ‘Gigantio Genesis,’ is to test whether modern insects can grow larger under high oxygen levels over multiple generations. A 1m³ sealed environment with 30-35% oxygen will replicate prehistoric conditions. Insects such as beetles, centipedes, millipedes, crickets, cockroaches, and decomposers will be monitored for size, lifespan, and behavioral changes. A small aquatic section will support dragonfly larvae, testing oxygen’s effects on both land and water species.

This study will determine whether oxygen alone triggers growth or if other factors play a role. Since it involves only invertebrates, IACUC approval is typically not required, but ethical research standards will be followed. This research could offer insights into prehistoric ecosystems and evolutionary adaptation, forming the foundation for future large-scale studies.