Harvard MCZ Annual Report 2013-2014
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT HARVARD UNIVERSITY 2013–2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2013–2014 4 DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE It is impossible to be a productive naturalist in this country without money. I am going to get some money if I can and then I will be a naturalist. —Alexander Agassiz These words, spoken over a century ago The MCZ sadly lost two emeritus faculty by former MCZ director and son of MCZ’s this year, Kenneth J. Boss and Herbert founder Louis Agassiz, still ring true Walter Levi. Ken spent nearly his entire today. Contemporary scientific research professional career at the MCZ, curating is expensive, and students, postdoctoral the Museum’s enormous mollusk fellows, and faculty spend much of their collection for more than 30 years. Herb time applying for grants and other means is widely regarded as one of the grand of funding their work. We in the MCZ are arachnologists of the 20th century. Both fortunate to be able to sponsor several Ken and Herb trained generations of competitive grant programs, which are zoologists who became leaders in their highlighted in the opening pages of this respective fields. While they will truly be report. The MCZ has awarded an average missed among the specimen cabinets of $150,000 per year, and these funds and halls of the MCZ, their impact will have been used to support both field trips be enduring. and laboratory work by MCZ personnel Catherine Weisel The MCZ continues to make steady and to enable non-Harvard scientists to progress transitioning into the third visit collections at the MCZ and other phase of our migration of several institutions. Our newest program, the Farish collections into the Northwest Building. A. Jenkins, Jr. Memorial Fund to support Malacology and Ornithology, as well as student fieldwork, is made possible through portions of Marine Invertebrates and the generous contributions of Farish’s Invertebrate Zoology, joined Mammalogy family, friends and colleagues. I am deeply in the new state-of-the-art collections, grateful to those individuals who have made lab and teaching space. Invertebrate these sources of funding available. Paleontology is the next collection slated to Last year, we introduced our newest faculty- move. While we provide a short update in curator, Dr. Stephanie E. Pierce. Stephanie the enclosed report, I’m looking forward arrived on campus this past summer and is to sharing more details about this immense in the process of establishing her lab. I am undertaking—and accomplishment—in a very pleased to announce that, following future annual report. Stephanie’s successful recruitment, we All of the work highlighted in this have hired another new faculty-curator, report would not be possible without the Mansi Srivastava, AB, PhD. Mansi, who will tremendous efforts of our faculty-curators, formally join the MCZ in summer 2015 staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students. Cover photo credits: as Assistant Professor of Organismic and Top, left to right: Thomas Dai; MCZ I am thankful for their contributions to Evolutionary Biology, will share curatorial Entomology Collection; George making the MCZ a successful and respected Lauder; Julianne Pelaez; Gonzalo responsibilities for our invertebrate institution year after year. Giribet collections. Her research examines the Bottom, left to right: Gonzalo Giribet; evolution of regeneration in animals, Jonathan Woodward; Stephanie including underlying molecular and James Hanken Mitchell, Harvard University News Office; Bridget Irvine; Jonathan developmental mechanisms. I look forward Director Woodward to introducing Mansi and her research Opposite page: MCZ Special more extensively in the next annual report. Collections ANNUAL REPORT 2013–2014 1 Graduate student Zachary Lewis (Hanken “Putnam grants have allowed me to explore SUPPORTING VITAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARch lab) received a Miyata grant in 2012 and a and collect in the many terrains of the former AND TUDENT RAINING Goelet award in 2013. His research focuses supercontinent and have contributed to some S T on evolutionary and developmental patterns of my best-cited papers and most exciting The Museum of Comparative Zoology is proud to offer grants that enable of lung and heart development. The Goelet biogeographic discoveries,” says award made it possible for Lewis to collect Giribet. “But most importantly, scientific research, an important part of our teaching and research missions. lungless salamander embryos in the field, and the grants have provided the Miyata grant supported the collection of resources for the PhD work of studies. Several GUR grant recipients have Hemidactylium scutatum embryos on Cape Cod. three stellar graduate students. gone on to receive Harvard University’s They will always remember the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize, which recognizes Putnam Expedition Grants have taken generosity and the opportunities outstanding scholarly work by students. MCZ faculty, postdoctoral researchers and provided by their Putnam Tanner Strickland (Losos lab) investigated students on collecting expeditions around expedition grants.” the relationship between environmental and the globe. The program, made possible by morphological variation in the large-headed gifts from MCZ Faculty member Mr. George The MCZ’s collections anchor anole, Anolis cybotes. “With my GUR, I was Putnam, Jr., AB 1949 and MBA 1951, and Mrs. the Museum’s mission to serve able to sequence genes that illuminated the Nancy Putnam, was established to assist with as a teaching and research dynamic inter-island relationships of one travel expenses incurred in the collection of institution. Ernst Mayr Travel lizard species across a number of Caribbean specimens and data relating to the study of Grants, made possible by a islands,” says Strickland. comparative zoology; the specimens collected gift from renowned systematist on these expeditions are subsequently added Ernst Mayr, former Professor Robert Cooke to the MCZ’s collections. Preference is given of Zoology and Director of Gonzalo Giribet in Chile Zachary Lewis (center) with Prof. to projects that acquire living specimens in the MCZ, facilitate short visits to museum MCZ grants are available for research Jim Hanken and members of regions where habitats are threatened and collections for researchers around the world the Hanken lab on a collecting performed in the lab, in the field, and with for collecting fossil specimens in regions most at every stage of their careers. The principal expedition on Cape Cod museum collections. Approximately $150,000 likely to hold important clues for unraveling objective of these grants is to stimulate is awarded each year, and these funds evolutionary strategies. taxonomic work on neglected taxa; they are provide essential support for researchers particularly designed for scientists who might at many stages of their careers, including Since 2000, Gonzalo Giribet has received otherwise have difficulty in obtaining access to undergraduate and graduate students, several Putnam grants that have taken him to museum specimens that are necessary for their postdoctoral researchers, faculty at the MCZ New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and South research. While preference is given to studies and Harvard, and scientists around the world. Africa. Most recently he has been examining that use the MCZ’s collections, applications to Grants in Aid of Undergraduate Research Tanner Strickland work at other museums are also eligible. (GUR), funded by the Myvanwy M. and George M. Dick Scholarship Fund for Science Susan Drymala, a graduate student from Students, support faculty-supervised research Graduate students in MCZ faculty-curator labs North Carolina State University, received an by Harvard College undergraduates. Projects are eligible for Robert G. Goelet Summer Ernst Mayr Travel Grant in spring 2013. By in any subject area are eligible for support, Research Awards and Miyata Grants. Funded observing fossil specimens at the MCZ and although priority is given to those that utilize through gifts from MCZ Faculty member three other institutions, she was able to gather MCZ research collections, laboratories and Mr. Robert G. Goelet and Mrs. Alexandra important data for her master’s thesis, which facilities, as well as related fieldwork. Recently, Goelet, Goelet Awards support travel to field involves improving phylogenetic analyses sites and related expenses. The Miyata Grants and understanding of paracrocodylomorph the Harvard University Herbaria and Arnold Gonzalo Giribet Arboretum joined the MCZ in funding program was established in 2008 through gifts reptiles. “With my Ernst Mayr Grant, I was GURs that support projects in plant biology, from MCZ Faculty member Dr. Barbara Wu, soil invertebrates in Chile. Prof. Giribet able to clarify relationships at the origin of including those that utilize the Arboretum’s PhD 1981, and Mr. Eric Larson, AB 1977, in plans to amass a comprehensive collection Crocodylomorpha, revealing trends in body size living collections. commemoration of their friend Dr. Kenneth of harvestmen, centipedes and velvet worms and bauplan evolution across a key transition in Miyata, PhD 1980. Miyata grants are intended from the highly fragmented temperate forests early archosaur evolution,” says Drymala. She Students are particularly encouraged to of Chile and further his ongoing projects on was also able to conduct close examination of to defray field research costs for graduate Jessica Cundiff Gonzalo Giribet apply for funding that facilitates senior Gondwanan biogeography to test hypotheses taxa closely