2008-2009000 080 8-208 2 000 090 9 October 2009
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SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM 2008-2009000 080 8-208 2 000 090 9 October 2009 Dear Museum Friends: This year’s Annual Report ushers in another milestone for the San Diego Natural History Museum—the start of our 135th anniversary. We enter this landmark year on the heels of presenting what I believe are some of the most educational exhibitions we have ever offered. Water: A California Story and Water: H20 = Life could not have been more timely as we enter into mandatory water rationing. We closed the fi scal year with Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS & The Brain— Our Three Pound Gem. This groundbreaking exhibition had 300,000 visitors and reached an unprecedented number of students with its outreach and programming. As importantly, as we move into the anniversary year, we refl ect on the theme from our successful capital campaign, Full Circle, which referred to the Museum’s return to its original mission and vision as a repository and research organization focused on our amazing region. Our fi rst comprehensive strategic planning process, initiated in 1991, led us back to the motivation for our founding: a fascination by early San Diegans with the extraordinary biodiversity of the southern California and Baja California region. It is worthwhile to refl ect on the past year’s accomplishments and on how our mission has consistently guided our efforts in research, education, and exhibitions. The Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias’ contribution to the Annual Report focuses on an exciting centennial project in the San Jacinto mountains. This expedition unites each of our research disciplines as we revisit pioneering work done 100 years ago, collect new data and compare changes. It represents the highest value of what our Museum can accomplish in providing unbiased scientifi c research which can inform and infl uence communities and the decisions of policy makers. On a personal note, I returned from my fi rst sabbatical renewed and invigorated. Working with Board President Eleanor Navarra and the Museum’s Senior Management Team, we have met the challenge of these diffi cult economic times and “trimmed our sails.” None of these decisions were easy, but I am confi dent that we have positioned the Museum to weather the ongoing downturn. We are motivated to strive for excellence by each of you. It is our volunteers, members and donors who have invested in the mission of the Museum and it is our obligation and honor to put into action plans and dreams that will last another 135 years. Please accept our most sincere thanks for your continued commitment to the San Diego Natural History Museum. Sincerely, Michael W. Hager, Ph.D. President and CEO Eleanor A. Navarra Chair, Board of Directors research 4 The Museum’s collections represent a rich and vital source for investigations in many of the fundamental arenas of modern biological sciences. The Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias The Biodiversity Research Center total approximately 9.2 million of the Californias (BRCC) is the specimens, some of which date from research division of the Museum, the 1800s. They represent a rich and and includes Birds and Mammals, vital source for investigations in many Botany, Entomology, Herpetology, of the fundamental arenas of modern Marine Invertebrates, Mineralogy, biological sciences, such as climate Paleontology, and the Research change, evolution, biodiversity, Library. BRCC scientists actively and ecology. pursue independent research projects, which range from BRCC staff members work investigating the systematics collaboratively with universities in the of Heteroptera (plant bugs) to U.S. and Mexico, and are involved in conservation biology research of studies that inform local as well as amphibians and reptiles in Baja binational decisions about endangered California. The BRCC receives project or threatened species, land use, and funding from the National Science conservation. This is the tradition Foundation and other respected that started with the forming of the research-granting foundations. San Diego Society of Natural History in 1874, and is still being carried Each curator is entrusted with caring out today. We are proud to present for a collection of irreplaceable examples of such investigations in the specimens. The Museum’s collections following pages. 5 The San Jacintoacin Centennial Resurvey is the quintessentialnti example of the quality of research at tthe San Diego Natural History Museum.m. San Jacinto Centennial Resurvey In 1908 the Museum of Vertebrate 2008, Curator of Birds and Mammals region in 1908 but aided by wildfi re Zoology of the University of Philip Unitt has spearheaded and the spread of exotic grasses), California, Berkeley, mounted our team of ornithologists, spread of the desert cottontail an expedition to the San Jacinto mammalogists, herpetologists, (Sylvilagus audubonii) and cactus Mountain region of Riverside County, ecologists, and support staff as they mouse (Peromyscus eremicus) to pioneering the exploration of southern have made expeditions into such elevations considerably higher than California’s biology. On the 100th areas as Tahquitz Valley, Carrizo known in 1908. The discovery of a anniversary of this expedition, Creek, Palm Canyon, and Lake Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (Rana from 2008 to 2011, the San Diego Hemet, collecting specimens and muscosa) in Willow Creek, a new Natural History Museum (SDNHM) data, and photographing each region. locality for that severely endangered is retracing its path to see how the Analysis of the data may reveal species, was welcome news for the area’s wildlife has changed over the how multiple factors such as urban conservation of one of southern last century. The expedition of 1908 development, agriculture, wildfi re, California’s rarest amphibians. represented a unique benchmark, fi re suppression, decreased rainfall, allowing our scientists today to and global warming have affected the The San Jacinto Centennial Resurvey analyze how the wildlife and habitats area’s birds, mammals, reptiles, and is the quintessential example of the of southern California are responding amphibians over the past 100 years. quality of research at the San Diego to environmental change, using the Natural History Museum. It is a longest historic perspective possible. Notable discoveries so far include multi-disciplinary, broad-based, long- the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) term research project which, when The San Diego Natural History at Tahquitz Valley (it was known completed, will provide environmental Museum’s research team has been previously in southern California scientists, ecologists, community visiting the same 19 sites as those only from the San Bernardino planners, and other stakeholders with surveyed in 1908, collecting data on Mountains), nesting of the Hermit invaluable data—facts which, while all species of vertebrates in the region Warbler (Dendroica occidentalis) being of immediate use, may very so that comparisons can be made. at Fuller’s Mill, and the Savannah likely play a completely unknown role The original expedition, led by Joseph Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis for those who reside in California long Grinnell, Harry Swarth, and others, nevadensis) at Lake Hemet (both after we are gone. was documented with numerous birds not previously known to specimens, photographs and nest south of the San Bernardino copious fi eld notes that allow today’s Mountains), the invasion of the scientists to design the current effort Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Aimophila as a true comparison. Starting in rufi ceps; absent from the San Jacinto 6 Research Without Borders In April 2009 Dr. Jon Rebman, Curator used to determine what species are Baja California, and scanned and of Botany, made a collecting trip on found in what areas, what plants indexed fi eld notes from the muleback into one of the most remote are fl ourishing, what species may historical collections of former regions of Baja California, the Sierra have declined over time, and how curator Reid Moran. de la Libertad. This area is practically scarce a particular species may be. uninhabited and inaccessible, and This comprehensive aggregation of Information technology is allowing thus represented a chance for the information is enormously important our researchers to squeeze ever more botanists to fi nd and collect plants for the “big picture” it can provide. knowledge out of specimens that that might be newly documented continue to be brought in by the as occurring in the peninsula, or In December of last year, Dr. Rebman tried-and-true techniques of fi eld potentially even plants unknown to initiated the establishment of the work and collecting. science. As he rode in on muleback, Baja California Botanical Consortium he carried that most venerable and (BCBC), a group including four basic implement of the botanist’s tool institutions from both sides of the kit, the wooden plant press. border, in addition to the SDNHM, to combine their data to provide In sharp contrast to the humble just such a “big picture” of what plant press, our researchers also is happening with the plants of increasingly rely on sophisticated Baja California. This information digital information as one of the best is available to researchers on our tools to advance their cause and to Baja California website at bajafl ora. share their expertise. As interest org. Although tools are still being grows in conserving biodiversity and developed to make the database promoting environmental protection, fully searchable for the public at the data we can compile from large, a wealth of the Museum’s collections, such as those found in own resources are already available, academic and museum herbaria, including photographs of plants, are very signifi cant. Specimen data images of regional habitats, a gleaned from a range of herbaria database of historic place names of such as our own at the San Diego Natural History Museum can be pooled and the resulting information 7 Paleontological salvage operations at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law yielded some amazing fi nds this past winter.