YALE Environmental NEWS

yale environmental NEWS Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies spring/summer 2010 · vol. 15, no. 2

A Landscape of Fear page 22 FROM THE DIRECTOR

letter from jeffrey j. park, lems while training the next generation of envi- director of the yale institute ronmental researchers and managers. for biospheric studies Yale’s motivation for its new Climate & Energy Institute (YCEI) is reinforced by the The year 2010 will be remembered for the Gulf disaster. The search for alternate energy great drilling-rig blowout off the Louisiana sources is no more urgent today than it was shore. By chance the week of the April 20th before April 20, but the American public may disaster, I had prepared diagrams for my now feel the urgency more. YIBS co-sponsored spring geology seminar to illustrate the inexo- one of this year’s fi rst group of YCEI post- rable descent of petroleum drilling into deeper doctoral awards to Dr. Berat Haznedaroglu, and deeper waters, as we pursue increasingly who will work with Associate Professor Jordan scarce reserves of underground oil. As I write Peccia of Environmental Engineering. Yale this, attempts to cap the blown well have College students have already started to select so far failed, a possible relief well cannot be more course offerings in energy, environ- completed for a month or more, and environment and climate change. The Environmental mental impacts within and ashore the Gulf of Studies (EVST) Program, in concert with allied Mexico are emerging. Yale departments, offered a slate of new semi- Despite the technical sophistication of nar courses on topics from wind energy to modern media culture, we nevertheless seek geographic information systems (GIS) to the villains and heroes in the disaster. We hope politics of river management. The number of that the crisis can be resolved quickly, leav- EVST majors has nearly doubled, a mark of ing lives and livelihoods secure. But this is success for John Wargo and Paul Sabin, chair not a summer action movie. Neither the US and DUS of EVST, respectively. President nor the CEO of BP has the power In addition to Dr. Haznedaroglu, YIBS to reach a mile beneath the sea surface and awarded four additional Donnelley and YIBS plug the leak. Instead we are treated to a sum- Postdoctoral Fellowships in research areas mer inaction movie, repeated each morning ranging from soil-microbe diversity to solar- on CNN. The seafl oor gusher-cam reminds radiation variations to water-resource manage- us that the reach of mankind’s technology ment in developing nations. YIBS supported exceeds its grasp. a successful faculty search in the School of What can a university do in such a crisis, Forestry & Environmental Studies in the fi eld far from the frontlines of legal judgments, oil- of climate-change-impacts research. As a slick remediation and Department of Interior result, Dr. Nadine Unger will join the School oversight? Options for direct actions are few, in the fall, bringing expertise in atmospheric but Yale’s infl uence can be felt indirectly. Two aerosols and the impacts of energy-resource distinguished Yale alumni, William Reilly and and pollution-control policy choices. In the Francis Beinecke, have been appointed by next academic year YIBS will support an President Obama to his investigative com- anthropology faculty search in the fi eld of evo- mission on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with lutionary demography, and seek to establish former Environmental Protection Agency an environmental beachhead within the new (EPA) administrator Reilly as co-chair. Both Microbial Diversity Institute (MDI) on Yale’s Reilly and Beinecke are members of the West Campus with a possible faculty appoint- Leadership Council of Yale’s School of Forestry ment. Among the YIBS research centers, two & Environmental Studies. The spill itself has will have new directors: Associate Professor revealed new physical phenomena that deserve David Post will take the helm at the Center scientifi c study, such as its plume-like mixtures for Field Ecology, and Jeffrey Powell will lead of oil, methane and chemical dispersants that ECOSAVE, effective July 1, 2010. I thank the appear to linger beneath the sea surface. Yale long-serving outgoing directors, Stephen researchers will be assessing environmental Stearns and Elisabeth Vrba, for their service impacts and remediation strategies in the and achievements. coming years, addressing on-the-ground prob-

2 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, SYMPOSIA

yibs/esc friday noon seminars Uganda ■ David Fox, Associate Professor Equity in a Warming Planet ■ Ken Caldeira, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS) of Geology & Geophysics, University of Professor Department of Global Ecology, director Jeffrey Park continues to support the Minnesota; Edward P. Bass Distinguished Carnegie Institution of Washington: Intentional new Yale Climate & Energy Institute (YCEI) by Visiting Environmental Scholar: Contrasting and Unintentional Climate Change: Using providing dates during the spring 2010 semes- Latitudinal Gradients in Mammalian Species Global Models to Inform Public Policy ■ Ernest ter of YIBS/ESC Friday Noon seminars to Richness and Climate During the Middle Moniz, Professor of Physics and Cecil & Ida include YCEI seminar speakers. The schedule Paleocene in Western North America ■ Mary Green Distinguished Professor, Massachusetts proved to serve both audiences of YIBS and Louise Timmermans, Assistant Professor, Institute of Technology: Energy Technology YCEI with an outstanding speaker line-up. Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale for a Low Carbon World ■ Thomas Meyer, University: Exploring the Arctic Ocean ■ Karen Arey Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, YIBS/ESC seminars, which took place in the Hebert, Assistant Professor, School of Forestry University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Our Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center & Environmental Studies: The Social Life of Energy Future: Science and Technology Challenges room 110 were as follows: Sustainable Salmon: Paradox and Possibility in a for the 21st Century. Henry Wilson, YIBS Postdoctoral Associate at Southwest Alaskan Fishery. the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies–Altered Dissolved Organic Matter YIBS and YCEI will again combine their offerings in Structure in Rivers with Agricultural Land Use: YCEI Seminars, which took place in Kroon the fall of 2010. Please visit the YIBS Web site for the Patterns, Potential Causes, and Implications for Burke Auditorium and Sage Auditorium at the schedule of dates and speakers with their topics at Ecosystem Function ■ Donald Worster, Joyce School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, www.yale.edu/yibs/events_yibsesc.html and Elizabeth Hall Professor of U.S. History were as follows: and Environmental Studies at the University William Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of of Kansas and the Dr. Strachan Donnelley Economics, Yale University: Climate Change: An Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholar Economic Perspective ■ Richard Birdsey, Project at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Leader for the Climate, Fire and Carbon Cycle Studies: Darwin in the Grasslands: Evolution, Sciences, USDA Forest Service: Forests and Adaptation, and Environmental History ■ Ellen Climate Change ■ Howard Frumkin, Special Thomas, Lecturer, Department of Geology & Assistant to the Director for Climate Change Geophysics, Yale University: Lessons About the and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Oceanic Carbon Cycle from the End Cretaceous Prevention: Climate Change and Public Health Mass Extinction ■ David Watts, Professor, ■ John Roemer, Elizabeth S. and A. Verick Stout Department of Anthropology, Yale University: Professor of Political Science and Economics, Behavioral Ecology and Conservation of Department of Political Science, Yale Chimpanzees at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, University: Intergenerational and International

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 3 CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, SYMPOSIA

A and C Sifakas (Propithecus verrauxi), Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar.

B Richard Bribiescas, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, presents Marion Schwartz of the Schwartz Family Foundation, the primary sponsor of the symposium, with a framed copy of the symposium poster.” The photographer was Gary Aronsen. AC A Look at Lemur Longevity: Evolution and Senescence in a Unique Primate

On April 30th, leading researchers The symposium, sponsored by the Schwartz vides much needed insight into the evolution in the ﬁ eld of primate behavior Family Foundation, the YIBS Center for Human of primate life histories as well as crucial and Primate Reproductive Ecology (CHaPRE), information on the conservation biology of and life history gathered at the and the Department of Anthropology, took a endangered Malagasy wildife.” Presenters at Yale University Department of long-overdue look at lemur senescence from the all-day event were (in alphabetical order): Anthropology to discuss the multiple perspectives: phylogenetic, demo- Andrea Baden (SUNY, Stony Brook), Richard evolutionary biology of lemur graphic, endocrinological, and life historical. Bribiescas (Yale University), Diane Brockman Both extinct and extant taxa were represented, (University of North Carolina), Laurie Godfrey senescence. and the presentations and an in-depth dis- (University of Massachusetts), Stephen King cussion revealed incredible diversity in this (SUNY, Stony Brook), Richard Lawler (James primate group, on both the species and indi- Madison University), Marion Schwartz (Yale vidual level. As summarized by co-organizer University), and Patricia Whitten (Emory Professor Richard Bribiescas, “Understanding University). Discussants included Stephanie the evolutionary biology of aging in ecologi- Anestis (Yale University), Marina Blanco cally sensitive species such as lemurs pro- (University of Massachusetts), Brenda Bradley (Yale University), Christopher Gilbert (Yale University), Jason Kamilar (Yale University), Emilienne Rasoazanabary (University of Presenters and discussants for the Department of Anthropolgy’s symposium “A Look at Lemur Longevity: Massachusetts), Stacey Tecot (SUNY, Stony Evolution and Senescence in a Unique Primate.” First row: Brook), and David Watts (Yale University). Diane Brockman, Patricia Whitten, Marion Schwartz, Laurie Godfrey, Stephanie Anestis. Second row: Stephen King, Monica Wakeﬁ eld. Third row: Richard Lawler, Chris Gilbert, Andrea Baden, Marina Blanco, Richard Bribiescas. Last row: Jason Kamilar, David Watts, Emily Goble, Stacey Tecot, Tim Webster, Emilienne Rasoazanabary.

4 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 yibs center for the study of trol of sources and sinks of CO2 during the Fox, University of global change weekly seminars Mesozoic and Cenozoic ■ Nicholas Longrich, Minnesota and Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Yale The YIBS Center for the Study of Global Postdoctoral Associate in the Department University: Origin of the grassland ecosystem Change continued its weekly Global Change of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University: in the Great Plains; C4 grass biomass, ecosys- Seminars during the spring 2010 semester. The Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction: Using tem structure, and climate during the Neogene Talks were presented with an emphasis on patterns in the North American vertebrate fos- ■ ■ Isabel Montanez, University of California, deep time—environmental changes of the sil record to understand extinction processe Davis: Reconstructing ancient CO2-glaciation- geologic past and the impact on ideas about Robert DeConto, University of Massachusetts, climate linkages in deep-time ■ Christina Ravelo, future climate change. Speakers and their Amherst: A revised view of the Cenozoic evolu- ■ Ocean Sciences Department, University of topics were: tion of the cryosphere Lee Kump, Pennsylvania State University Institutes of Energy and the California, Santa Cruz: Global climate change of Karl K. Turekian, Department of Geology & Environment: For Peat’s sake: Ins and outs of the last ﬁ ve million years: A view from the Bering Geophysics, Yale University: Multiple fac- carbon cycling at the PETM ■ Kate Freeman, Sea ■ Boaz Luz, Hebrew University: The isotopic tors in the meteorite caused extinctions at the Department of Earth and Mineral Sciences, composition of atmospheric oxygen: Explaining Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary ■ Mark Pagani, Pennsylvania State University: Plio-Pleistocene the mystery of the Dole effect. Department of Geology & Geophysics, lake deposits in Olduvai Gorge: Implications Yale University: Estimates of climate sensitiv- for the hydro-climate of the region ■ Thomas ity from the geologic record ■ Dennis Kent, Algeo, Department of Geology, University of Please visit the Center for the Study of Global Department of Earth & Planetary Science, Cincinnati: Advances in the use of trace-metal Changes Web site for future seminars at www.yale. Rutgers University: Paleogeographic con- edu/yibs/research/CSGC.html proxies for paleoceanographic research ■ David yale symposium on aerosols and climate

A symposium on aerosol effects on climate, Nine presentations, in addition to a dinner currently one of the hottest topics in climate talk by Professor Fung followed by lively discus- research, took place at the Yale Department sion, left participants with the impression of a of Geology & Geophysics on March 26 and very active research fi eld with suffi cient remain- 27. The symposium was presented by the Yale ing open questions to challenge the scientifi c Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS) Center community in years to come. For the interested for the Study of Global Change. Some of the reader, all presentations are available at www.

very best scientists within the research fi eld yale.edu/yibs/research/CSGC.html. Mineral dust aerosols observed from space. The image is taken from the of aerosol effects on climate visited Yale and Presenters and their topics were: presentation by Inez Fung on the Great Plains Dust Bowl Event of the presented their latest research and pointed to 1930s. future directions and challenges. Peter Buseck, Arizona State University: Aerosol (NOAA): The imprint of aerosol microphys- The Forum was organized by Karl K. particles as viewed using transmission electron ics on climate ■ Bjorn Stevens, Max-Planck- Turekian, Yale Sterling professor of Geology microscopy ■ Allen Goldstein, University of Institut Meteorologie, Hamburg: Untangling & Geophysics, Inez Fung, professor at the California, Berkeley: Known and unexplored the effects of aerosols on clouds, precipitation University of California, Berkeley, and YIBS organic constituents in Earth’s atmosphere: How and climate ■ Lynn Russell, Scripps Institution Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting well do we understand organic aerosols and of Oceanography: Tracking the contributions of Environmental Scholar at Yale, Dorothy Koch, their role in the climate system? ■ Athanasios organic particles and some possible implications NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Nenes, Georgia Tech: Impacts of aerosols for aerosol forcing ■ Joseph McConnell, Desert (GISS), Research Affi liate, Yale Department of on clouds and climate ■ V. Ramaswamy, Research Institute, University of Nevada: Geology & Geophysics, and Trude Storelvmo, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Aerosols in the polar regions during the past mil- Assistant Professor, Yale Department of (GFDL), National Oceanic and Atmospheric lennium from ice core measurements ■ Dorothy Geology & Geophysics. Administration (NOAA): The imprint of aerosol Koch, Goddard Institute for Space Studies Prominent speakers with diverse expertise microphysics on climate ■ Daniel Rosenfeld, (GISS), National Aeronautics and Space and views gave the audience an intriguing tour Hebrew University: From expanding marine Administration (NASA) and Yale University: through the exciting fi eld of aerosol-climate stratocumulus to suppressing hurricanes: Aerosol-climate interactions during the 20th interactions, with presentations ranging in climate forcing through aerosol impact on Century in the GISS model scale from laboratory studies of single aerosol precipitation ■ V. Ramaswamy, Geophysical particles, to the role of aerosols in coupled Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), National atmosphere-ocean climate simulations. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 5 FACULTY NEWS

approach and natural isotopes to determine major sources, sinks, and ages of various carbon and nitrogen pools in the natural environment. Professor Raymond is also the director of the Long Island Sound Project within the YIBS Field Ecology Center. See page 26 for more on this project. raymond post alonzo smith pagani department of ecology & evolutionary biology

Dr. David M. Post school of forestry tems. In particular, they are interested in the David M. Post was promoted to associate pro- & environmental studies carbon and nitrogen cycles within aquatic fessor with tenure in the Department of Ecology systems. Current research topics include the Dr. Peter Raymond has been promoted & Evolutionary Biology. He received his BS and landscape controls on the watershed export to professor at the School of Forestry & MS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison of carbon, biogeochemical transformations in Environmental Studies. Professor Raymond and his PhD from Cornell University. Post uses estuaries, the physics of air-sea CO2 exchange, received his BS from Marist College and his stable isotope techniques to test long-standing nitrogen cycling in temperate watersheds, and PhD from the College of William and Mary/ questions about food web structure and dynam- determining the age and composition of car- Virginia Institute of Marine Science. A profes- ics, and uses experimental and comparative bon being transported from land to the ocean. sor of ecosystem ecology, his lab’s research approaches to study feedbacks between contem- This research often utilizes the watershed focuses on biogeochemistry of natural sys-

strong message often repeated: when a tsunami A Meditation on Tsunamis strikes, the fi rst sign is that the water recedes, By Stephen Stearns, Edward P. Bass Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and you must then run as fast as you can for Written on Saturday, February 27, 2010. high ground. We did not forget the children of Laupahoehoe, most of whom were not saved. Six weeks ago in Port-au-Prince an earthquake could see the ocean receding and fi sh fl opping In 1960 a volcanic eruption southeast of killed two hundred thousand people. Today the about in tide pools that had never been there Hilo destroyed the town of Kapoho. By the people of Chile took very serious damage from before. Not knowing what was happening, they light of its 1500-foot fountains we could dive at a major earthquake; many lives were lost. And rushed down onto the exposed rocks to look night two miles away. Shortly after that erup- Hawaii dodged the tsunami bullet … this time. at the fi sh. They were caught by the incoming tion stopped in March, the largest recorded I spent the day pinned to the news, waiting wave and swept out to sea, along with pieces earthquake in history, 9.5 on the Richter scale, for the wave to strike, relieved that when it did, of their school. occurred in Chile on May 22, 1960. It launched it was small, for I was born in Kohala on the Some of the children from Laupahoehoe a huge tsunami that again destroyed the Hilo Island of Hawaii eight months after the tsunami climbed onto broken pieces of wooden build- waterfront. Striking at night, it killed 61 people, of April 1, 1946. That one was launched by an ings and were swept thirty miles up the coast many of whom were spectators drawn to the 8.6 earthquake near Unimak, Alaska. Warnings past Kohala. Obed Keawe and Pierre Bowman, ocean to watch the spectacle and surprised by went out by radio, but the most popular morn- both experienced watermen, were watching the size and speed of the wave, which went right ing show in Honolulu had a DJ, Hal Lewis, the aftermath of the tsunami when they saw over the top of the bridge on which they were a.k.a. J. Akuhead Pupule—Crazy Tuna Head the Laupahoehoe children going by offshore, standing. Humans cannot run 35 miles per hour. in Hawaiian Pidgin—whose audience—most clinging to a roof that was riding the current, My father went up in a small plane a day of the population of Hawaii—had gotten heading for certain death in the Central Pacifi c. later to view the aftermath. He saw large mats used to his kidding around. On April 1st his Obed and Pierre jumped into the water on of vegetation, one with a goat clinging to it, warnings were ignored, written off as an April surfboards, paddled out through the chaotic miles out to sea, large sharks circling, and a Fool’s joke. At 7:30 that Monday morning the post-tsunami waves and currents, and brought human corpse fl oating on the surface. tsunami hit the Big Island, and the school eleven children ashore. After that experience, Hilo converted its buses were just pulling into the parking lot at The tsunami killed 159 people and waterfront from businesses and stores to parks Laupahoehoe Elementary School, on the coast destroyed the Hilo waterfront. and sport fi elds. north of Hilo. As the children got off, they The lesson was not lost. I grew up with a The only tsunami that I have seen up close

6 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 porary evolution and ecological interactions. an editor for the journals the Proceedings of the department of geology He works with fi sh and food webs primarily Royal Society of London Series B, the American & geophysics in lakes and streams in New England. He Naturalist, Evolutionary Ecology, and Ethology. Mark Pagani, a geochemist in the Department received the 2002 Raymond L. Lindeman Dr. Melinda D. Smith of Geology & Geophysics, was promoted Award and 2003 IRPE Prize for his work on to professor with tenure effective January food chain length. Post is an editor for the Melinda D. Smith was promoted to associ- 2010. Professor Pagani received his BA at journal Ecology Letters. ate professor on term in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. She received Colorado University, Department of Geology Dr. Suzanne H. Alonzo her BA from the University of Colorado and & Geophysics, and his PhD from Pennsylvania Suzanne H. Alonzo was promoted to associ- her MS and PhD from Kansas State University. State University. He joined the faculty at Yale ate professor on term in the Department of Smith uses large-scale experiments and com- in 2002. His research interests encompass the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. She received parative studies to test how climate change fi elds of biogeochemistry, paleoceanography, her BA from the University of California, and biological invasions infl uence biodiversity and paleoclimatology, with a focus on under- Berkeley, and her PhD from the University and ecosystem function. She works in grass- standing the factors driving climate during the of California, Santa Barbara. Alonzo studies land ecosystems in North America and South Cenozoic era. His approach applies the isoto- the evolution and ecology of reproductive Africa, and salt marsh communities in New pic compositions and abundances of organic traits using mathematical models and empiri- England. Smith is an editor for the journal molecules (biomarkers), and records of stable cal studies of fi sh. She conducts fi eldwork Oecologia. isotope- and trace-element compositions of in Corsica on the ocellated wrasse and in species-specifi c foraminifera to constrain the Connecticut on the tessellated darter. Alonzo is physical and environmental conditions of ancient oceans, terrestrial systems, and the atmosphere.

was launched by an 8.6 earthquake in the of Santorini (Thera) ca. 1600 BC launched a ash thousands of miles, putting down deposits Aleutians on March 9, 1957. We viewed it on the tsunami 80-150 feet high onto the north shore many meters deep in Nebraska and near Kiev, North Kohala Coast at Kapanaia, a bay shaped of Crete. It appears to have critically weakened now laden with fossils of the animals that died. like a capital omega, walled in by steep cliffs, the Minoan civilization and contributed to its Many more could be mentioned. with a narrow entrance facing the sea. First the collapse. Major earthquakes in China were To scale up from merely planetary catas- bay drained dry, to a depth of 20-30 feet, leaving interpreted as signals that the government trophes, what would happen if a nearby super- a huge wall of water at the entrance. Then the had lost the Mandate of Heaven and helped to nova hit the cosmic reset button and turned sea came in, not as a breaking wave but as a justify regime change. The Lisbon earthquake us all into plasma? The good news is that it rapid, potent, lasting surge that pushed the level in 1755, which may have killed a hundred thou- would be over quickly, and for the ﬁ rst 5 or 10 of the bay 35 feet above high tide and rushed sand people, turned Voltaire from a skeptical billion years we would not even notice, for we half a mile back into the valley whose stream believer to a convinced atheist and shaped the would not yet have re-evolved consciousness. drained into the bay. When the water withdrew, course of the Enlightenment. The earthquake When we did, we would probably reconstruct there was a thunderous roar from the huge in Valparaiso shortly before Darwin arrived on a cosmic history very much like the one we rocks it pulled with it, rocks that had withstood the HMS Beagle lifted the harbor by about 50 have produced this time around, since the last the heaviest ﬂ oods of decades, rocks whose feet and convinced him that normal processes, supernova in the neighborhood gave us all our bouncing, bounding turbulence no swimmer operating in the present, could have raised the heavy elements. For a long time, not yet hav- could conceivably survive. Andes, helping him to accept Lyell’s geological ing encountered local catastrophes, we would The surges came several times, at 15-20 ideas and preparing him for his theory of evolution. put ourselves at the center of that story. Then, minute intervals. At the low point of one These events, while they do change the schooled by the local catastrophes of a dynam- interval my father ran out to the center of the course of history, are smaller by many orders ic planet, we would again learn better. stream to photograph the wall of water tower- of magnitude than some catastrophes of the Humans and their civilizations, their ing again at the front of the bay. My mother past. The end-Cretaceous meteorite impact nations and their histories, their hopes and thought he was a blockhead. I was rooting for 65 million years ago in the Yucatan launched their dreams, are small and young. Nature is him. He got the shot. tsunamis that were probably still nearly a very big and very old. Some natural catastro- It was a relatively small tsunami. kilometer high when they met on the opposite phes are so large that nothing that we can do Such catastrophes are natural. They have side of the globe. Gigantic Miocene eruptions will protect us. They have no meaning. They do often changed the course of human history in the Cascades and in the Phlegrean Fields not happen because we did anything wrong or and the shape of human culture. The explosion near Naples sent deadly clouds of volcanic anything right. They just happen.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 7 YALE PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

events

coffee: the world in your cup bioblitz how to see a black hole On view May 29 to September 19, 2010 October 8–9, 2010 October 22, 2010 The Yale Peabody Museum’s latest temporary Peabody scientists and volunteers team up Although they emit no observable radiation of exhibition explores the powerful infl uence of once again with Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo any kind, during the past 16 years dozens of the $60-billion-a-year global coffee industry on in Bridgeport for another BioBlitz covering the celestial objects have been positively identi- the environment, human culture and econo- town of Stratford—a 24-hour race to identify fi ed as black holes. Charles Bailyn, Thomas mies worldwide—from coffee cultivation in as many living organisms as possible in a spe- E. Donnelley Professor of Astronomy and Africa and South America to coffee culture in cifi c area. Visit www.peabody.yale.edu/explore/ Physics and winner of the Rossi Prize from the the United States—and illuminates the fas- bioblitz/ for details. American Astronomical Society for research on cinating stories behind the coffee we drink, black holes: this topic, will describe how black holes can be enabling us to become informed consumers. space warps & time twists studied and what we know about these enig- Presenting sponsor, New Haven’s own On view October 9, 2010 through May 1, 2011 matic objects. a peabody halloween Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea. Exhibition orga- The Peabody’s next temporary exhibition nized by the Burke Museum of Natural History explores the modern search for real black October 30, 2010 and Culture at the University of Washington, holes—the most mysterious and powerful Join us for our annual celebration of the ani- Seattle, with major sponsorship provided by objects in the universe. Featuring hands- mals and nature-based traditions associated The Boeing Company, Microsoft Corporation, on models, computer-based investigations, with Halloween. Starbucks Coffee Company, and the University immersive experiences, and a technology- of Washington. assisted learning environment, the exhibition Information and updates at (203) 432-5050 and peabody summer youth programs lets visitors make sense of the weird ideas www.peabody.yale.edu July and August 2010 behind black holes and examine the evidence Added to the fun of its regular week-long for themselves—science fi ction or reality? summer camp programs at the Museum for students entering 1st to 9th grade—on topics as diverse as biodiversity, astronomy, natural Andrew Hill, the J. Clayton Stephenson science illustration, ancient survival skills, Yale Anthropologist Professor of Anthropology and Curator of ancient cultures and archaeology—this year the Anthropology in the Yale Peabody Museum of Peabody was pleased to announce four addi- Honored by AAAS Natural History, has been elected a Fellow of tional summer camp offerings at Yale’s West the American Association for the Advancement Campus. The new camp programs take advan- of Science (AAAS) for his distinguished contri- tage of acres of woods, walking trails and a butions “to the fi eld of human evolution, and segment of the Oyster River that fl ows through particularly the relationship of hominins to the property on its way to Long Island Sound. the changing ecosystems of which they were a fiesta latina! part.” October 2, 2010 In November 2009, the AAAS Council elected 531 members as Fellows, an honor Our annual celebration of Latin American bestowed on members by their peers in recog- cultures! This day-long festival features perfor- nition of meritorious efforts to advance science mances of traditional and contemporary Latin or its applications and for their contributions American music and dances, along with story- to science and technology. These individuals telling, face painting and mask making. were recognized in February 2010 during the AAAS annual meeting in San Diego. Founded in 1848, the AAAS is an international non-profi t organization dedicated to advancing science around the world. The AAAS publishes the journal Science and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide.

8 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 The Birds that Call West Campus Home Lynn Jones By Lynn A. Jones and Susan Hochgraf, Museum Assistants, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History A highlight was a Brown Thrasher fi rst spotted (YPM) was one of the fi rst departments to by Nicholas. Although fairly common, this spe- occupy Yale’s new 143-acre West Campus in cies usually migrates farther south during the West Haven and Orange. Several of us on the colder months of the year. staff have been taking advantage of our lunch The count offered us a great day. Our six- hours in the park-like setting to observe the hour survey resulted in a grand total of 2,009 wildlife that calls West Campus home. Along individual birds seen either on land or fl ying with Museum Assistant Nicholas Drew, we over West Campus. We identifi ed a total of 33 A Rebekah DeAngelo three birders took our observations to a new species, from the Herring Gull to the Carolina level by organizing the fi rst West Campus Wren, and got unusually close looks at a Christmas bird count. Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting Black-capped The National Audubon Society’s national Chickadees, several warm-weather birds still Christmas bird count, which dates back to lingering behind, and Red-winged Blackbirds 1900, collects baseline data by recording the migrating south. Four species were new to the bird populations present during the winter West Campus bird list Susan has been main- months. This 24-hour survey counts both taining: Carolina Wren, Brown Thrasher, Hairy the number of species and individual birds Woodpecker and Fish Crow. sighted in a pre-defi ned geographic location. The Christmas bird count does not end Our efforts, while not included in the national the birding season, but rather creates a refer- census, were recorded for comparison with ence point for other activities. Already YPM’s B future surveys. West Campus Education Coordinator Tom Ann Prum We began on a cold Wednesday morn- Parlapiano has led an evening “owl prowl” for ing during the Yale winter recess break. Lynn families through West Campus. Though unsuc- began before sunrise by playing audio record- cessful in seeing live owls, both children and ings of owls. Previous owl sightings there had adults had the chance for an up-close look at raised our expectations of a vocal response mounted owls from the YPM ornithology col- from these birds, but the cold, strong winds lections. We also continue our lunchtime bird seemed to keep the owls quiet. Nicholas and walks, which are always open to other West Susan continued the count around daybreak. Campus staff. The West Campus bird list will First light brought a unique experience continue to grow as spring sets in and many that few have the opportunity to witness—the migrants stop in the area.

emptying of an overnight winter crow roost, C which was located across the road from the For information on the birds already spotted and Lynn Jones Yale property. We counted an estimated 1,500 to follow along with our birding efforts, visit Susan Hochgraf’s blog at www.birdingwestcampus. American Crows, with Fish Crows mixed in blogspot.com. among them, as they all took off at sunrise and fl ew over campus. Another hotspot revealed a fl ush of birds along the banks of the Oyster River where it fl ows underneath the main road A Nicholas Drew and Susan Hochgraf get a closer look at the birds of West Campus. through West Campus. We all walked the entire campus, stopping B The birders who braved the cold: Nicholas Drew, Lynn Jones and Susan Hochgraf (left at locations with habitat desirable to birds. to right). Near the main entrance a large open fi eld, C Tom Parlapiano shows Peabody specimens overgrown with invasive Multifl ora Rose, offers at the owl prowl class. D a unique habitat with an abundant winter food D Nicholas and Susan examine an American source for many wildlife species. This fi eld Crow that did not survive the winter. yielded some of the highest counts of the day.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 9

ABCD An Ancient Armored Worm Brought to Life By Jakob Vinther (PhD ’11), Yale Department of Geology & Geophysics

An oversized reconstruction of a remarkable could only fantasize about (after several pints fossil creature occupies one of the display of beer): a machaeridian fossil with soft parts. cases at the Sachem Street entrance of the The discovery would resolve one of the biggest Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center: mysteries in paleontology. an armored worm, called a machaeridian, from My research with Peter Van Roy and Derek the Ordovician seas of about 480 million years Briggs (see “Machaeridians are Palaeozoic ago. Until recently we had no clear idea where armoured annelids,” Nature 451:185-188, to look for relatives of this worm among mod- January 10, 2008) revealed that the newly ern animals. discovered fossil specimen preserves most of The plates that make up the armor of the plates, but also has underneath it a series machaeridians have been known since 1857 of stubby appendages with projecting bund- and were originally interpreted as the isolated les of bristles. Machaeridians turn out to be plates of barnacles, those ubiquitous denizens annelid worms, the group that also includes of rocky shorelines. Others suggested that the earthworms, leeches and bristle worms. They shelly remains might be part of an echinoderm. seem to be close relatives of modern scale Subsequent discoveries from around the world worms, but machaeridians developed a distinc- of rare articulated skeletons showed that mach- tive armor—no modern annelid worm carries aeridians were elongate slug-like or worm-like mineralized plates on its back. The Moroccan animals not more than a few to about 10 cen- machaeridian was a surface crawler. Other timeters long (about four inches). The debate forms that resemble a string of clam shells about their place in the tree of life focused on attached to an earthworm were clearly burro- either mollusks (such as chitons) or annelids. wers. Machaeridians were abundant for more A major aim of my research is to under- than 200 million years in the Paleozoic oceans, stand the mollusks that diversifi ed during but fi zzled out in the Permian period. the Cambrian explosion around 520 million Now that we knew what was under- years ago. Many of these had multiple plates neath the armor plates, it was worth bring- on their back, and I was quite convinced that ing the machaeridian back to life. Esben machaeridians were part of this story. The dif- Horn, a Danish model-maker (see his work fi culty was that, with the total absence of any at www.10tons.dk), heard about this bizarre evidence of the soft tissues of machaeridians, creature and was enthusiastic to reconstruct only their calcareous armor was known. it. After a long correspondence and several A This drawing of the soft body parts of the adjacent fossilized As 2007 began—coincidentally the 150th refi nements, he created a giant machaeridian machaeridian (Plumulites bengtsoni, YPM 221134) highlights the anniversary of the fi rst report of machaeridi- based on Van Roy’s discovery, with insights walking limbs (red), the bristles (blue-gray) and the gut (purple). Modifi ed from Vinther et al. 2008; drawing and photograph ans—I met Peter Van Roy (now a post-doctoral from modern annelid scale worms and inspi- by Peter Van Roy. Reprinted by permission from Macmillan researcher in the Yale lab of YPM director and ration from the color patterns of living mus- Publishers, Ltd., from “Machaeridians are Palaeozoic armoured annelids,” by Jakob Vinther, Peter Van Roy and Derek E. G. Briggs, the Frederick William Beinecke Professor of sels. Horn generously donated his model of Nature 451(7175):185–188, Figure 1. © 2008. Geology & Geophysics Derek Briggs), who the 480-million-year-old creature to the Yale B A complete fossilized machaeridian skeleton. had discovered remarkably preserved soft- Peabody Museum. Several other remark- Photo by Jakob Vinther. bodied fossils in rocks from the Ordovician of ably preserved soft-bodied fossils from the C Model-maker Esben Horn, Jakob Vinther and exhibit designer Morocco. Peter still travels to the desert of the Ordovician of Morocco now in the YPM collec- Laura Friedman at the installation of the machaeridian model. Anti-Atlas region to collect fossils with the local tions are also waiting to be brought back to life Photo by Sally Pallatto.

Berbers every year. That year he brought back by scientists, artists and model-makers. D The ﬁ nished exhibit case with the model in place. A mirror a fossil that just a handful of paleontologists allows the viewer to see the underside of the animal. Photo by Jakob Vinther.

10 yale environmental NEWS / 15:1

Strouthes learned the Micmac language and conducted extensive interviews with community members to uncover their novel system of law and unorthodox means for confl ict reso- lution regarding territorial defense. He offers a thoroughgoing analysis of the effects of settlement on the Eskasoni band, then applies his fi ndings to current discussions of cultural change. In the case of the Eskasoni people, he observes, a choice was made not to maintain an established legal tradition, nor to borrow new titles in the one from the dominant European–North yale university publications American culture, but to invent something in anthropology series new. Despite the common perception that Volumes in the Yale University Publications virtually all culture change in today’s world can in Anthropology monograph series, pub- be traced to diffusion and globalization, this lished by the Yale University Department of imaginative Micmac band demonstrates that in Anthropology and the Yale Peabody Museum of some instances culture change is the result of Natural History, embody the results of research a conscious desire for improvement. directly conducted or sponsored by the depart- Ancient Community and Economy at ment and the YPM Division of Anthropology. Chinchawas (Ancash, Peru) by George F. Lau Publication is supported by the Theodore and Yale University Publications in Anthropology 90 Ruth Wilmanns Lidz Endowment Fund for ISBN 978-0-913516-26-3 Excellence in Scholarly Publications, dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly research and In this groundbreaking study of ancient study of the world and its cultures. Chinchawas, a small agropastoral community To order, contact Yale University Press at in the North Central Highlands of Peru, George (800) 405-1619 or visit www.yalebooks.com. F. Lau, University Lecturer in the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania & Settlement, Nesting Territories and Confl icting the Americas, School of World Art Studies and Legal Systems in a Micmac Community Museology, University of East Anglia, by Daniel P. Strouthes Norwich, England, provides the fi rst full archae- ological investigation of a site of the Recuay Yale University Publications in Anthropology 89 culture. Departing from the traditional focus ISBN 978-0-913516-25-6 on large regional centers in Andean archaeol- Anthropologist Daniel P. Strouthes, associate ogy, the author investigates the rise, history and professor in the Department of Geography & demise of groups at Chinchawas (AD 300–900), Anthropology, and American Indian Studies emphasizing the importance and character of Program, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, rural communities in complex societies. an expert on indigenous law systems and For the fi rst time, the book presents a North American Indian societies and cultures, site-level investigation of highland community The soft fl aps on the back of this modern scale worm are very similar to the structures that carried the mineralized plates on has studied the Eskasoni band of the Micmac organization and social life in fi rst-millennium the machaeridians. Indians of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, over thir- Recuay culture. With detailed attention to Photograph courtesy of Greg Rouse/ Scripps. ty years. In this pioneering book he describes the record of local economy, residential and the novel means of confl ict control involving ceremonial practices, and trade, Lau reveals a territorial defense they invented. His book is more comprehensive account of early lifeways the fi rst study of an indigenous land tenure in the high Andes than has been seen before. system of a settling people as well as the fi rst Through analysis of the site’s distinctive detailed account of the legal history of a Native ceramics and material culture, he establishes American society. a new sequence for the region that charts the rise and fall of a long-vanished Andean people.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 11 A Art Show and Display Highlight Birds of Prey

From January through June 2010, the most recent art display at Yale’s Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center (ESC), “Birds of Prey of the Eastern United States,” showcased 40 original works by 26 members of the Greater New York Chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.

Each work was accompanied by an explana- tion of its subject written by the artist. Birds of prey have always occupied a special place in the human imagination and have been represented in the symbolism of the mythology, art and literature of many cultures and civilizations throughout history. Eagles have long been equated with nobility and power, falcons with speed and freedom and owls with wisdom, C darkness and death. Curated by Guild member Dick Rauh, this juried show of works in a variety of media—including oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, graphite and even the techniques of silverpoint and linoleum block print—interprets these magnifi cent wild raptors as they really are and communicates the wonder and awe that can be found in their world. Many of the participating artists have had their art featured in solo and group exhibi- tions in museums and galleries throughout the United States and abroad. The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (www.gnsi.org) is a professional nonprofi t educational organization that encourages high standards of competence and professional ethics in the fi eld of scientifi c B illustration. The work of Guild members can be seen at www.science-art.com. A A comparison of the skulls of a Bald Eagle (Accipitridae: To accompany the Guild show, the ESC Haliaeetus leucocephalus, YPM 105523), a Great-horned Owl D (Strigidae: Bubo virginianus, YPM 109152) and a Brown Falcon rotunda features a small exhibit case on (Falconidae: Falco berigora, YPM 104779) from the YPM “Monophyly or Convergence? Uncertain C Golden Eagle with Rat collections. Photo by Sally Pallatto. Aquila chrysaetos and Rattus norvegieus Evolutionary Origins of Birds of Prey.” Developed Watercolor on paper B Harriers are similar to owls and unique among diurnal raptors by ornithologist Kristof Zyskowski, collections The Golden Eagle hunts along the Hudson River singly and in in having unusually large ear openings and a facial disc, a ruff of teams. Several groups can be observed through the seasons as stiff, movable feathers around the face that helps the bird detect manager of the Division of Vertebrate Zoology one commutes along the river by train or when hiking nearby prey by collecting sound. Both the Northern Harrier (Circus at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, trails. This particular bird is captive at New York’s Bronx Zoo. cyaneus), top, and the Short-eared Owl (Asio fl ammeus), bottom, With feathers in quill, the bird was a more stationary subject well can be seen patrolling coastal marshes of New England (such as the case asks whether raptorial features evolved suited to close study of his treatment of the prey provided to at Hammonasset or Stratford in Connecticut). Both hunt mostly him. Painting by Chris Sanders. © 2009 Chris Sanders by listening and can detect prey (usually small rodents) even independently as an adaptation to a similar completely hidden in vegetation. Photo by Sally Pallatto. lifestyle or resulted from close relationships D Great Horned Owl with Her Babies in these groups. The exhibit uses taxidermy Bubo virginianus Watercolor on paper mounts of a Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) What is most intriguing about the Great Horned Owl is its face. and Short-eared Owl (Asio fl ammeus) and com- The large, yellow, front-facing eyes, partially covered by “brow” feathers, give it an intense, piercing and stern expression. The parison of skulls of a Bald Eagle (Accipitridae: large “ear tufts” that give the bird its name are neither ears nor The ESC is an ideal location to showcase works of Haliaeetus leucocephalus, YPM 105523), a Great- horns but feathers, of course, and are not related to hearing at all. Theories as to the purpose of the ear tufts include providing natural history art and scientifi c illustration in the horned Owl (Strigidae: Bubo virginianus, YPM species recognition, camoufl age and non-verbal communication natural sciences. For submission guidelines visit 109152) and a Brown Falcon (Falconidae: Falco in dense woodlands. This owl can live in forests, deserts, plains www.peabody.yale.edu/collections/esc/esc_art.html and parks, where it feeds on rodents, birds, amphibians, fi sh, berigora, YPM 104779) to tell this story. large insects and road kill. Painting by Judy Aronow. © Judy Aronow 12 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 Barn Owl Tyto alba Watercolor and gouache on paper This medium-sized nocturnal raptor, one of the most widely distributed birds in the world, is found on all continents except Antarctica and is most recognizable by its lovely heart-shaped face. Even with a 43-inch wingspan, the Barn Owl’s fl ight is stunningly silent, due to soft, fringe-edge feathers. With its excellent low-light vision, it hunts mostly at night and its ability to hunt by sound alone is the best of any animal tested. It nests in hollow trees and cliff cavities, but will also use nest boxes and buildings, especially barns, of course. This raptor eats small mammals, preferring rodents as its meal of choice. When the rodent population goes up, so does the population of Barn Owls! Painting by Judy Aronow. © Judy Aronow yale environmental NEWS / 15:1 13 YALE PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

New Discoveries Among Old Fossils: “Collecting” Dinosaurs in the Peabody Basement by Daniel Brinkman, Museum Assistant II, and Nicholas Drew, Museum Assistant, Division of Vertebrate Paleontology

According to his former graduate student George Gaylord Simpson, the late Richard Swann Lull, Yale’s ﬁ rst Sterling Professor of Geology and a past director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (YPM), often remarked “that the best [fossil] collecting he knew was in the basement of the Peabody Museum, where reposed much of the great Marsh Collection, including innumerable undescribed specimens and some that Marsh, himself, had never laid eyes on.” Made more than 50 years ago, Lull’s observation remains true today— new specimens are still being discovered among the many dinosaur fossils in the YPM basement.

In March 1877, English missionary, teacher and Lakes was eventually hired in June 1877 to self-trained artist Arthur Lakes, who would later continue collecting specimens exclusively for become one of Colorado’s most accomplished Marsh. Lakes and his crews collected fossils geologists, discovered some fossilized teeth near Morrison intermittently for more than two and massive bones while prospecting with a years, excavating 10 major quarries and a few friend in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains other, less extensive sites. The material from near Morrison, Colorado. Lakes sent letters one excavation, Quarry 5, was the focus of and sketches announcing these discoveries to our “collecting” efforts in the YPM basement. the two most prominent American vertebrate The rock at Quarry 5 consisted of very hard paleontologists of the day: Othniel C. Marsh sandstone that was especially diffi cult to break. A at Yale and Edward D. Cope at the Academy of Removing fossils from such hard rock proved Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. frustrating and Lakes and his men resorted Marsh was Yale’s fi rst professor of paleon- to using sledgehammers. Unfortunately, the tology and Cope was his main scientifi c rival brittle, fossilized bones and teeth were indis- and, later, his most despised antagonist. In criminately broken along with the rock, creat- sending letters and specimens to both men, ing a complex, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle Lakes unwittingly helped trigger the great dino- of shattered pieces for YPM preparators to saur bone rush in the American West that soon contend with today. (Fossil preparators are the followed. During the next two decades both highly skilled scientifi c technicians who remove Marsh and Cope employed teams of workmen fossils from their rock matrix and glue the to collect dinosaur fossils for them out West. pieces together for study and display.) The rapid pace of new discoveries was fueled Lakes and his crews sent tons of excavated by the intense personal and professional rivalry Quarry 5 material to Marsh, who identifi ed, between Marsh and Cope. The two would inde- among the other skeletal remains, fragments of pendently name more than 140 new dinosaur a large bony plate and long pencil-shaped teeth species between them, of which 37 (31 named that he attributed to a new kind of large plated B by Marsh and 6 by Cope) are still considered reptile. In November 1877, he created the order valid today. Stegosauria for this newly discovered reptile and the fossil designated YPM 1850 became A The pencil-shaped teeth of the type specimen of Diplodocus lacustris (YPM 1922). Photo by Nicholas Drew. the holotype (or name-bearing) specimen of the fi rst species recognized for this new order, B Partial bony plate of the type specimen of Stegosaurus armatus (YPM 1850). Photo by Nicholas Drew. Stegosaurus armatus. Marsh named several other species of stegosaur over the next few years (all C O. C. Marsh’s fi rst full skeletal reconstruction for Stegosaurus published in 1891. From The Dinosaurs of North America, by from Wyoming), including Stegosaurus ungula- O. C. Marsh, 1896. Sixteenth Annual Report of the U.S. tus, the fi rst stegosaur for which he had a full Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of YPM Archives. skeletal reconstruction drawn.

14 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 Shipping label from a crate of dinosaur bones collected from Lakes’ Quarry 10 and shipped by Arthur Lakes from Morrison, CO, to New Haven, CT, by rail in December 1877. Photo courtesy of YPM Division of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Although Marsh initially believed that G H the long, pencil-shaped teeth from Quarry 5 (now catalogued as YPM 1922) belonged to D Stegosaurus armatus, he realized later, after the discovery of more dinosaur remains in Wyoming, that they actually belonged to a new kind of sauropod (a giant, long-necked, long- tailed, big-bellied, plant-eating dinosaur) that he named Diplodocus lacustris in February 1884. Marsh went to his grave in 1899 thinking that only two kinds of dinosaur had been collected E from Lakes’ Quarry 5: Stegosaurus armatus and Diplodocus lacustris. Although only a fraction of the fossils from Quarry 5 has ever been prepared, this has not prevented generations of paleontologists from poking around in this unprepared material looking not only for other recognizable skeletal elements, but for additional kinds of fossil animals in it as well. In 1998, Colorado paleon- I tologist Kenneth Carpenter found a Diplodocus D A recently discovered tooth fragment probably attributable to -like tail vertebra mixed in with material attrib- Camarasaurus. Credit: Nicholas Drew uted to stegosaur YPM 1850. E This recently discovered tooth fragment belonged to a large F Then in 2001, also in this material, he and meat-eating dinosaur, possibly Allosaurus. Credit: Nicholas Drew

YPM Curatorial Affi liate Peter Galton reported Daniel Brinkman for identifi cation. F Museum Assistant Nicholas Drew examines a large block of fi nding a possible shinbone of the large, meat- Through our meticulous “collecting” sandstone excavated from Lakes’ Quarry 5 that contains probable eating dinosaur Allosaurus and the fragmentary efforts, we discovered several more frag- Camarasaurus tooth fragments. Credit: Daniel Brinkman limb bones of a Diplodocus-like sauropod. mentary teeth and a couple of jaw fragments G A newly discovered jaw fragment probably attributable to Recent work both at YPM and in the reopened probably attributable to Diplodocus lacustris, Diplodocus lacustris. Credit: Nicholas Drew Quarry 5 near Morrison has since added to the three fragmentary teeth of a large meat-eating H Newly discovered tooth fragment probably attributable to list of specimens and kinds of fossil animals dinosaur (possibly Allosaurus), and as many Diplodocus lacustris. Credit: Nicholas Drew now known from that quarry. as seven fragmentary teeth probably belong- I Arthur Lakes’ watercolor painting of his crew excavating Apatosaurus bones at Quarry 10 near Morrison, ca. 1877. We began our fossil “collecting” in the ing to the blunt-faced sauropod dinosaur Credit: YPM Archives YPM basement early in fall 2009 when a major Camarasaurus (an animal not previously air-handling-system renovation in the Kline reported from any of Lakes’ excavations near smaller Lakes’ site near Quarry 5. Moreover, Geology Laboratory building necessitated not Morrison). All of these specimens were heav- Apatosaurus bones are known from Lakes’ only the reshuffl ing of Division of Vertebrate ily damaged when excavated, thereby making nearby Quarry 8 and are especially abundant Paleontology collections within the YPM–KGL their precise taxonomic identifi cations diffi cult. at his extensive Quarry 10, about 9,000 feet complex, but also the relocation of some hold- In addition to our “collecting” efforts in (almost 2 miles) from Quarry 5. ings to Yale’s West Campus, including tons of the YPM basement, the Morrison Natural Recent discoveries in the YPM basement the unprepared material from Lakes’ Quarry History Museum in Colorado has recently and at the reopened Quarry 5 have substan- 5 originally catalogued as Stegosaurus armatus reopened Quarry 5 hoping to fi nd even more tially increased both the number of specimens YPM 1850. Museum assistants Nicholas Drew fossils. So far, according to its director and and kinds of fossil animals known from this and Scott Poglitsch were assigned the task of chief curator Matthew Mossbrucker, their quarry, making it the richest one of the ten packing and moving this unprepared material excavations have produced the tooth plate of that Arthur Lakes and his crews worked near to West Campus. a new species of lungfi sh, dozens of stegosaur Morrison (though Lakes’ expansive Quarry 10, This meant that each chunk of sandstone tracks, including those of juveniles, and the which yielded so many Apatosaurus bones, still had to be individually examined for the pres- claw bone of the “brontosaur” Apatosaurus. holds the local record for the most skeletal ence of fossilized bone or tooth fragments and Although Apatosaurus has not been reported elements recovered in a single quarry near then bagged and labeled, resulting in the fi rst before from Quarry 5 proper, YPM Curatorial Morrison). Given the results of our recent “col- piece-by-piece examination of this material in Affi liate John McIntosh has recognized prob- lecting” activities, it seems that Professor Lull more than a century (if ever). Fossils thought able Apatosaurus ajax skeletal elements (the was right: the best fossil collecting for some to belong to animals other than Stegosaurus end of a thigh bone and some tail vertebrae of us really does take place in the basement of were turned over to Museum Assistant II catalogued together as YPM 4833) from a the Peabody.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 15 Peabody Receives Grant for Care of Fossil Fish Collection By Marilyn Fox, Preparator, Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation Laboratory

The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History sented include both jawless and jawed fi shes, (YPM) Division of Vertebrate Paleontology has and bony and cartilaginous fi shes. received a grant for the conservation of its fos- Every specimen treated during the project sil fi sh collection, approximately 7,600 speci- is digitally photographed. The images will be mens ranging in age from Devonian to the made available through YPM’s searchable Tertiary. The $149,282 award from the Institute online catalog. Researchers will then be able to of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will see our holdings of a particular animal without allow the division to clean the specimens, having to travel to the division. place them in new acid-free trays, and eventu- Museum Assistant Vicki Fitzgerald and ally rehouse the entire collection together in 53 the Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation Lab’s new museum-quality cabinets provided by Yale crew of experienced volunteers are performing for storage in a recently renovated storeroom this work. Fitzgerald was also responsible for that will provide appropriate environmental supervising both of our previous grant-funded conditions for fossil materials. projects: the conservation of the large dino- These fossil fi sh specimens include large saurs collected in the 19th century under the holdings from the Devonian Cleveland Shale of direction of O.C. Marsh and the conservation Ohio, the Triassic–Jurassic Newark Supergroup of the fossil vertebrate specimens obtained in Connecticut and New Jersey, and the from Princeton University when it ended its Fossils of tiny Eocene fi sh (VP.004005) from the Green River Formation in Wyoming. Photo by Vicki Fitzgerald. Cretaceous Niobrara Chalks of Kansas. The paleontology program. collection dates back to some of the earliest We have made some interesting discover- collecting done in the American West in the ies during this project. Some of the specimens 1870s, with additional signifi cant contributions collected in the 1870s from the Cretaceous made in the 1960s and the 1980s. Taxa repre- Niobrara Chalks of Kansas had never been

An example of the specimens within this collection, this ﬁ sh fossil from the Green River Eocene deposits in Wyoming was prepared by Preparation Lab volunteer Mary Weigand. Photo by Marilyn Fox.

16 yale environmental NEWS / 15:1 unwrapped and were still in their original newspaper, wood and string packages; some were even in candy or cigar boxes, others were stored in old fruit boxes stacked on top of cabinets. a We left some of these specimens wrapped, to be kept for possible future exhibits or historical research. All the newspaper wrapping removed C from the specimens were archivally sealed. We also discovered a map to localities where fossils were collected, drawn on a rail- road station map. Locality maps are rare from these expeditions, so this one could provide clues to ﬁ nding the sites where the specimens were collected. This IMLS-funded project will raise the conservation and storage of these specimens to the highest conservation standard, bringing D the YPM Division of Vertebrate Paleontology one step closer to achieving its overarching goal of preserving and making every specimen in its collections instantly available for study.

B E

A All the fossils are stored in foam-lined acid-free specimen trays. With the catalog number and YPM preﬁ x clearly written on each bone, researchers will be able to identify every bone as belonging to a speciﬁ c individual specimen.

B These boxes hold specimens collected in 1873, still in their original newspaper wrappings. All wrappings were encapsulated in archival enclosures and will be kept in the Division’s collections where they will be available for future study. Photo by Marilyn Fox.

C Vicki Fitzgerald and Curatorial Afﬁ liate Alan Gishlick (PhD ’02) examine specimens in the collection. Photo by Marilyn Fox.

D and E Teeth of the Miocene sharks Heptranchias primigenius (top) and Odontaspis taurus (bottom). Photo by Vicki Fitzgerald.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 17 RESEARCH AND PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Prescribed Burning at the Yale School Forests Brent Frey, Yale School Forests Research Coordinator

The prescribed burn program at Yale-Myers several different forest patches within an area Forest is an excellent manifestation of the of the forest known as the Red Front Lot. School Forest’s research, management, and Habitats promoted by the prescribed burns educational mandate. Depending upon the include several open forest meadows and an vagaries of New England weather, prescribed oak-savanna. Ongoing research compares ﬂ o-

FES (3) Yale Ann Camp, Dr. fi res are attempted each spring on our for- ristic patterns and soil development between estland in northeastern Connecticut. This burned areas and protected reserve patches spring the weather cooperated splendidly and, within. The prescribed fi re program also serves bolstered by the help of fi re offi cers from the as a valuable teaching tool, providing students Connecticut Department of Environmental hands-on experience in fi re ecology. Students Protection and a keen band of Yale School of of Dr. Ann Camp’s Fire Ecology course as well Forestry & Environmental Studies graduate stu- as interested students from the school commu- dents, we carried out several controlled burns. nity participate. Additionally, these sites form The fi res were successful in top killing woody an important part of our demonstration trail regeneration and thus helping to maintain network, with the Red Front Trail focused on meadow habitat. wildlife habitat management. These burns contribute to our larger goal of A Flames engulf some downed wood and a snag within the promoting early successional shrub and grass- forest meadow. land habitat favorable to early seral wildlife, B Our newly minted band of prescribed burners stands proudly habitats that have become less prevalent on in the smoldering meadow. the landscape due to changing land-use pat- C Guided by a forest offi cer from the CT DEP, William Lynam terns. Spring burns are rotated annually among (FES’10) uses a drip torch to start the fi re line in the oak savanna. A

Microbial Diversity Institute

Looking at the smoke billowing from a power mortality, infectious diseases are second only symbiotic association between bacterial and plant or the aftermath of a catastrophic ﬂ ood, to heart disease, and the three biggest killers— eukaryotic microbes, animals would not be able it is hard to believe that tiny microbes are HIV, tuberculosis and malaria—result from a to respire nor would plants photosynthesize. responsible for many of the major events virus, a bacterium, and a eukaryote, respective- The Microbial Diversity Institute (MDI) was that occurred in Earth’s history, and in the ly, all of which are microbes, and each infecting formed to investigate such diverse microbe- formation and destruction of our physical and and killing humans in its unique fashion. And mediated processes. Its three broad focus areas biological environments. As a cause of human let’s not forget smallpox, typhoid, diphtheria, concern the role of microbes in ecology and hepatitis, West Nile, Swine Flu, Lyme disease, the environment, the molecular and genomic polio, measles, herpes, and the plague. Even diversity of microbes, and the interactions your glass of pasteurized milk—recogniz- between microbes and their hosts. Members of ing that pasteurization eliminates more than at least ten departments at Yale already conduct 99.99% of all microorganisms—still contains research in these areas, and the MDI will serve a number of bacterial cells equivalent to the to link researchers on Science Hill, the Yale population of Mexico City. School of Medicine and West Campus. With But the problems and questions extend an initial target size of ten new faculty, each far beyond those relating to human disease. member of the MDI will maintain a research lab Microorganisms recycle the elements that make on West Campus but also have their primary up all living systems and make them avail- appointment in an existing department, an able as nutrients and metabolites for other life arrangement that will foster the broader goal of forms. The generation of atmospheric oxygen— extending interactions among researchers span- microbes; the broad-scale global distribution ning the entire Yale community. of plants—microbes; and without the ancient

18 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 F&ES NEWS

Microbes Contributing Less to Climate Warming

The physiology of microbes living underground The new simulations suggest that if microbial could determine the amount of carbon dioxide efﬁ ciency declines in a warmer world, carbon emitted from soils on a warmer Earth, accord- dioxide emissions will fall back to pre-warming ing to a study published in Nature Geoscience. levels, a pattern seen in ﬁ eld experiments. But

B Researchers at the University of California if microbes manage to adapt to the warmth— at Irvine, Colorado State University and the for instance through increases in enzyme activ- Yale School of Forestry & Environmental ity—emissions could intensify. Studies have found that as global temperatures “When we developed a model based on increase, microbes in soil become less effi cient the actual biology of soil microbes, we found over time in converting carbon in soil into that soil carbon may not be lost to the atmo- carbon dioxide, which is a key contributor to sphere as the climate warms,” said Matthew climate warming. Wallenstein, of the Natural Resource Ecology Microbes, in the form of bacteria and fungi, Laboratory at Colorado State University. use carbon for energy to breathe, or respire, “Conventional ecosystem models that didn’t and to grow in size and in number. A model include enzymes did not make the same developed by the researchers shows microbes predictions.” exhaling carbon dioxide furiously for a short Mark Bradford, assistant professor of ter- period of time in a warmer environment, leav- restrial ecosystem ecology at the Yale School of ing less carbon for growth. As warmer temper- Forestry & Environmental Studies, said there is atures persist, the less-effi cient use of carbon intense debate in the scientifi c community over C by the microbes causes them to decrease in whether the loss of soil carbon will contribute number, eventually resulting in less carbon to global warming. “The challenge we have in dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere. predicting this is that the microbial processes “Microbes aren’t the destructive agents of causing this loss are poorly understood,” he global warming that scientists had previously said. “More research in this area will help So far, two new faculty have been hired believed,” said Steven Allison, lead author reduce uncertainties in climate prediction.” to the MDI: Nancy Moran, who studies the of the study and assistant professor of ecol- genetic and ecological interactions of bacte- ogy and evolutionary biology at UC Irvine. rial symbionts and their hosts, and Howard “Microbes function like humans; they take Ochman, whose research investigates the in carbon-based fuel and breathe out carbon forces operating on the evolution of bacterial dioxide. They are the engines that drive carbon genomes. In Fall 2010, they will be joined by cycling in soils. In a balanced environment, Eduardo Groisman, a Howard Hughes Medical plants store carbon in the soil and microbes Institute (HHMI) investigator whose work use that carbon to grow. The microbes then explores the mechanisms by which pathogenic produce enzymes that convert soil carbon into and commensal bacteria modify their gene atmospheric carbon dioxide.” expression patterns so that they can survive The study, “Soil-Carbon Response to and proliferate within host tissues. And there is Warming Dependent on Microbial Physiology,” presently a search for junior faculty members contradicts the results of older models that whose research explores new areas of micro- assume microbes will continue to spew ever- bial diversity. We envision the MDI to be unlike increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the any other institute or department in the world atmosphere as the climate continues to warm. in fostering innovative approaches to the study of microbes—and this is just the formula when studying the diversity, relationships, functions and interactions of the most ancient group of organisms on the planet.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 19 F&ES NEWS

Kroon Hall Achieves LEED’s Highest Rating

nonpotable needs such as toilets and irriga- In addition to achieving LEED platinum status, tion. Water demand is further reduced by low- Kroon Hall received the following recognition: fl ow plumbing and irrigation fi xtures. ■ Excellence in Design Award The building earned all 17 points in the Environmental Design + Construction Energy and Atmosphere category for building Magazine commissioning, which is the process of ensur- ing that the building is operating as intended; ■ Building of the Year reducing the use of harmful refrigerants; Architects’ Journal 100 Awards onsite renewable energy production; building ■ International Design Award energy performance; and measurement and Royal Institute of British Architects verifi cation of operational performance. The ■ Silver Award rating was achieved through passive design, American Council of Engineering Companies optimized lighting and incorporation of renew- of Massachusetts Excellence Awards, A view of Kroon Hall’s top fl oor from the Knobloch able energy sources onsite, which includes Environment Center. Photo by Robert Benson Photography. Connecticut a 100-kilowatt rooftop array of photovoltaic panels. ■ Judges Award for Innovation in Sustainability Kroon Hall has been awarded LEED plati- Kroon Hall achieved 6 points out of 13 in American Council of Engineering Companies num certifi cation by the U.S. Green Building the Materials and Resources category. Credit of Massachusetts Excellence Awards, Council. Under the LEED (Leadership in Energy is given to the selection of architectural, struc- Connecticut and Environmental Design) rating system for tural and landscape materials used in the ■ Most Intriguing Green Building new construction, Kroon Hall was awarded 59 building and for recycling. Points are awarded Connecticut Green Building Council points, seven more than required for the top for the percentage of materials that were pur- rating of platinum. ■ Top Ten Award chased from within a radius of 500 miles from “The faculty and students of our environ- Committee on the Environment, American the building or are made of recycled materials. ment school are working in a setting that Institute of Architects The project purchased 16 percent of the mate- superbly embodies their aspirations,” said rials with recycled content and 34 percent from ■ Honor Award for Design Excellence President Richard Levin. regional sources. Almost 80 percent of the American Institute of Architects New The 58,200-square-foot Kroon Hall, which timber purchased for the building is certifi ed by England opened in January 2009, was designed to the Forest Stewardship Council. ■ Design Award use 81 percent less water and 58 percent less The maximum 15 points was awarded American Institute of Architects Connecticut energy than a building of comparable size and for Indoor Environmental Quality. Points are to generate 25 percent of its electricity onsite ■ Citation for Integrated Design Process achieved for projects that maximize daylight from renewable sources. Designed by Hopkins Beyond Green High-Performance Building and have views to the outdoors, use high- Architects, in collaboration with Centerbrook Awards, Sustainable Buildings Industry effi ciency fi ltration for air ventilation, give occu- Architects and Planners and Atelier Ten, Kroon Council pants control of their visual and thermal envi- Hall incorporates a wide range of sustainable ronment and utilize fi nished products with low ■ Tucker Design Award strategies and design features refl ected in its concentrations of volatile organic compounds. Building Stone Institute LEED rating. The building achieved 4 out of 5 points for ■ Wood Design Citation Award Kroon Hall earned 12 out of 14 possible Innovation and Design. The project achieved Wood Design & Building Magazine points in LEED’s Sustainable Sites category points for its green education program, green through environmental sensitivity to the build- ■ Award of Merit for New Construction housekeeping plan and exemplary performance ing landscape design and the promotion of Project Team Awards, Connecticut Building for potable water savings. public transportation. Congress

It earned all fi ve points for Water Effi ciency ■ Winner, Build Connecticut Award by incorporating many innovative water-saving Associated General Contractors of and water-reusing features. Stormwater is col- Connecticut lected from the roof and courtyards, fi ltered ■ Winner, Smart Environments Award through native aquatic plants and used for all International Interior Design Association and Metropolis Magazine

20 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 yale environment 360 video wins national magazine award

Yale Environment 360 has won the 2010 National Magazine Award for Digital Media for best video for an original report that it produced and posted on the site about mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. The video, Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, was one of fi ve fi nalists in the video category that included videos produced by National Geographic and The New York Times style magazine. Directed by Chad Stevens and produced by Yale Environment 360 and the multimedia company MediaStorm, the 20-minute video depicts the enormous environmental and human costs of mountaintop removal mining. The practice, which involves blasting the tops off mountains to get at the coal seams below, has destroyed or severely damaged more than a million acres of Appalachian forest, buried nearly 2,000 Amphibians as miles of streams in mining debris, contami- nated water supplies and driven some local Environmental Omen Disputed residents from their homes. “We are extremely proud of this award Amphibians, for years considered a leading The team, led by Jacob Kerby, an assistant and I hope it helps shed even more light on indicator of environmental degradation, are professor of biology at the University of South the issue of mountaintop removal mining and not uniquely susceptible to pollution, accord- Dakota, based its analysis on information its effects on the people and environment of ing to a meta-analysis published in Ecology gleaned from the US Environmental Protection Appalachia,” said Roger Cohn, editor of Yale Letters. Agency’s (EPA) Aquatic Toxicity Information Environment 360. After a review of over 28,000 toxicological Retrieval database, examining 1,279 species, Yale Environment 360, an online magazine tests, researchers from Yale, the University of among them segmented worms, fi sh and launched in June 2008, was one of just six South Dakota and Washington State University bivalves, such as clams, insects and snails. online-only magazines to receive a nomination are challenging the prevailing view that Those species were exposed in water to vari- as a fi nalist for this year’s National Magazine amphibians, with their permeable skin and ous concentrations of 107 chemical agents, Awards, which are regarded as the most pres- aquatic environment, are particularly sensitive including inorganic chemicals, pesticides, tigious awards in magazine publishing. This to chemical threats and, as such, are “canar- heavy metals and phenols, a class of organic is the fi rst year that the American Society of ies,” or predictors of environmental decline. chemical compound. Magazine Editors has sponsored National “The very simple message is that for most “What our results suggest is that all ani- Magazine Awards for digital journalism. of the classes of chemical compounds we mals are susceptible to chemical stressors and Leveling Appalachia was the fi rst video pro- looked at, frogs range from being moderately that amphibians are potentially good indica- duced by Yale Environment 360. susceptible to being bullet proof,” said David tors,” said Kerby. “But there isn’t any evidence Published at the Yale School of Forestry & Skelly, professor of ecology and a member of that they’re a uniquely leading indicator. We Environmental Studies, Yale Environment 360 the research team. “There are other kinds of tried to be comprehensive in the types of features reporting, commentary and analysis environmental threats that have led to their chemicals and organisms that we examined.” on global environmental issues. It has been decline, including habitat conversion, being recognized for digital and editorial excellence, harvested for food and the global spread of the The paper, “An Examination of Amphibian Sensitivity winning a 2009 Online Journalism Award for chytrid fungus, which is mowing down these to Environmental Contaminants: Are Amphibians Poor Canaries?,” is available at www.interscience. Best Specialty Site Journalism. species in its path.” wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122658158/PDFSTART.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 21 F&ES NEWS

A Landscape of Fear By Bruce Fellman Originally published in Environment:Yale magazine

Picture yourself in a meadow in high summer. Tall downy grasses, amid a colorful patchwork of buttercups, knapweed, Indian paintbrush and butterfl y weed, sway languidly under a sultry sun. Monarch butterfl ies, hum- mingbird moths and droning bumblebees skitter atop the fl owers in jittery haste for nectar. Thoreau, you fancy, could have been inspired in that meadow to write “The Inward Morning”: How could the patient pine have known / The morning breeze would come, / Or humble fl owers anticipate / The insect’s noonday hum... . It is the picture of peace. Don’t believe it. Just below the brilliant spatter of green, yellow, purple and orange are scenes of wanton violence that often end in sudden death. A spider, its eyes glinting in the light, feels movement and gnashes its jaws in anticipation, waiting to ambush a meal. A nearby grasshopper inches along, calmly munching on grass and a wildfl ower, unaware of its fate.

It won’t be long. ing and structure of the natural world. part of the ecosystem, was to put the brakes Or maybe it will. The grasshopper feels At its most basic, Schmitz’s work, now in on an overabundance of elk. However, things something, too, and stops its forward prog- its 17th year in the meadows of the Yale-Myers didn’t work out quite as planned. To be sure, ress. Like a human being about to confront a Forest, involves monitoring and recording the wolves killed prey, but in short order the predator of the same species from around the what happens during the summer in a series elk dealt with their newfound fear of predation corner, the insect starts behaving in a way we’d of screened-in cages, each roughly one square by changing their feeding patterns and moving fi nd very familiar. Inwardly and outwardly, the meter in area and one meter high. Inside away from the more open range areas. grasshopper seems to be afraid. these microcosms, various combinations of “Elk are important for maintaining the spe- Dror Hawlena, a Gaylord Donnelley spiders, grasshoppers and plants go about cies diversity and productivity of grasslands,” Environmental Postdoctoral Associate at the their business. says Schmitz. “There’s evidence that both School of Forestry & Environmental Studies “This is a wonderful model system,” says declined after the wolves were brought back.” (F&ES), is piecing together how grasshoppers Schmitz. But, he quickly adds, the research is That evidence was clearly present in the react to spiders, arachnid “monsters” intent on about much more than the natural history of enclosures in the Yale-Myers meadows. But making a meal of insect prey. The grasshopper’s the organisms that he and his colleagues have instead of wolves, which were in short supply physiological response to potential doom is, had under consideration since 1993. “What in Connecticut, Schmitz worked with Pisaurina perhaps surprisingly, “quite similar to our own,” we’re getting out of these small enclosures are mira, the nursery web spider and a dominant says Hawlena. “Grasshoppers may have differ- broad conceptual insights that we can apply to predator in the meadows. There were other ent glands, but their stress reaction involves the much larger systems.” spiders haunting the grasses, but P. mira, same hormones and endocrine mechanisms Natural resource managers and policymak- which employs a sit-and-wait hunting strategy, found in humans. In fact, you see this in all ers alike can use fear factors and other NCEs to was simply the one he encountered fi rst when vertebrates—and we’re now fi nding it in inver- predict, with a much greater degree of accuracy he began his work. “Choosing it turned out to tebrates, too. It’s one of the most fundamental than has previously been possible, what our be pure serendipity,” he recalls. responses, and the most critical. If you can’t impact on the planet might be. Taking these The most common grasshopper in the fi eld, respond quickly in an emergency, you die.” fundamental but, until recently, overlooked pro- and the one Schmitz used in the research, was a That response, it turns out, is critical in cesses into account can, says Schmitz, lead to red-legged species known as Melanoplus femur- another way. “How a grasshopper avoids a better ways of carrying out such seemingly unre- rubrum. Its favorite food is Kentucky bluegrass predator can lead to the transformation of an lated projects as the management of timber har- (Poa pratensis). The insect was less inclined to ecosystem,” says Oswald Schmitz, Oastler vests in the boreal forests of Canada, the rein- eat goldenrod, which was also very common, or Professor of Population and Community troduction of wolves and other top predators to a variety of wildfl owers, such as Queen Anne’s Ecology. Schmitz, who oversees Hawlena’s the national parks and the implementation of lace, that fl ourished in the area and were well- research, along with that of numerous gradu- biological control programs in agriculture. represented in the enclosures. ate students and undergraduates, is a pioneer “You want to avoid unintended conse- When he started tallying up his initial in an effort to understand how fear and other quences,” says Schmitz. For example, when results, he noticed something odd. “The so-called nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) help wolves were brought back to Yellowstone, one spiders had no net effect on prey density,” determine the species composition, function- impetus, besides the restoration of a missing Schmitz explains.

22 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 If the predators weren’t eating many of the herbivores, then there shouldn’t have been much difference between the enclosures that contained spiders and grasshoppers and those with grasshoppers alone. But he found measur- Bob Handelman able changes in prey behavior when spiders were present, and, by the end of the season, there were signiﬁ cant differences in the diversity and abundance of grassland plants between the two kinds of enclosures. The spiders, he said, were leaving a “predation signature.” Schmitz had stumbled upon the unexpected ecological consequences of a landscape of fear. “Many biologists grew up viewing prey simply as animals waiting to be eaten, and if you didn’t get eaten, you were ﬁ ne,” says Evan Preisser ’98, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Rhode Island and a co-editor of a 32-page special feature on NCEs in the Left to themselves, the grasshoppers would rather spend their time munching on nitrogen-rich grass that stimulates their own growth and reproduction, as well as results in high-quality fertilizer. But with spiders in the picture, their stress increases and their diet changes.

September 2008 issue of the journal Ecology. “But that’s akin to saying that if you were in a mall when a ﬁ ght broke out and someone got shot, you were okay as long as you weren’t hit. In reality, even though this had no direct impact on you, it probably would have terriﬁ ed

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 23 F&ES NEWS

you and, as a result, caused you to make all the spiders be affecting the plants?” he asked. restrial ecologists, who were still enmeshed in sorts of changes in your life. And if everyone Then came an “Aha!” moment—the result, research about the direct effects of predation. present that day reacted the same way, even ironically enough, of a graduate school research “Os was the exception,” she says. small changes in behavior manifested over project in behavioral ecology—and a bitter Schoener’s fi ndings in the Bahamas and a large population could have profound and disappointment. A Canadian by birth, Schmitz Schmitz’s conversations with Peckarsky and unexpected effects. NCEs are, in essence, the started his research career in the late 1970s at others provided “the impetus to get into food wages of fear. The genius of Os’ work is that it the University of Guelph, where he studied the web work,” Schmitz says. Still, when he came gives us a much more nuanced view of reality.” foraging behavior of deer and evaluated whether to Yale in 1992, there was considerable doubt In the enclosures that had spiders, the supplemental feeding programs were cost- that indirect effects played a signifi cant role in grasshoppers changed both what they ate and effective. As a doctoral student at the University shaping terrestrial systems. “But no one had when and where they ate it. P. mira is typically of Michigan, he examined deer foraging from an really looked,” he says. most active early in the day, but when the spi- economics viewpoint, using a then-promising The more Schmitz pondered his early ders and the grasshoppers were together in the analysis tool called portfolio theory, to see results, the more he realized that the changes cages, the potential prey shifted its peak activi- whether deer were maximizing their returns by he observed in the grassland plants were not ty and feeding period from morning to midday. “investing” in a broad portfolio of food items the direct result of prey being consumed and, The grasshoppers also tended to congregate that would minimize the risk of starvation. thus, of there being fewer hungry herbivores in the relative safety of the upper reaches of “Unfortunately, by the time I fi nished my in the meadow. Rather, he had documented the goldenrod. These tactics helped the insects doctorate in 1989, this approach had been an indirect effect: a predator causing a shift in avoid their predators, but at a cost—the eclipsed by people interested in how avoiding prey behavior that, in turn, cascaded through increased risk of stress, sometimes fatal, from the risk of predation shaped the behavior of the plants, as the grasshoppers switched to a the heat. In addition, the spider-confronted animals,” says Schmitz. “I vowed to get out of less nutritious, but safer, diet. grasshoppers ate considerably less of the blue- behavioral ecology.” This discovery and years of subsequent grass they preferred and turned more to the But a landmark 1989 paper in Ecology by refi nements of the key role played by what are goldenrod and the wildfl owers. Thomas Schoener, a University of California at now known as “trait-mediated interactions”— By the end of the summer, the minimead- Davis community ecologist, changed his mind. think, fear—almost didn’t happen. And here’s ows without spiders had different plant com- Schoener, whom Schmitz calls his “academic where serendipity came in. There’s another munities than those with resident arachnid grandfather,” and his colleague David Spiller common spider in the meadow: Phidippus predators. In the former, goldenrod, which looked at what happened to the animal and rimator. This jumping spider is an active preda- can dominate its competition, held down the plant life on small islands in the Bahamas when tor, always on the hunt, and, unlike its sit-and- abundance and diversity of the grasses and the researchers manipulated the number of wait co-conspirator, never lingers in the same wildfl owers, such as clover, black-eyed Susan lizards present in experimental enclosures. The place for long. and wild strawberry. But where the nursery web lizards preyed on web-building spiders, which, in When Schmitz examined this hunter’s spiders sat patiently and waited for a grass- turn, preyed on insects. Changing the number of impact in the enclosures on grasshoppers and hopper meal, there was less goldenrod and a lizards present not only had a direct impact on in grasslands alike, he got different results. P. greater variety of the other plants. the spiders, but it also had an indirect effect on rimator knocked down prey numbers consider- This pattern held even in enclosures that prey insects and the plants they consumed. ably, so there were fewer grazers to munch contained spiders whose jaws had been glued “The Schoener paper showed the value of down the bluegrass. But because it was impos- shut by the researchers so that they could no looking at predators not just in terms of their sible for the grasshoppers to determine where longer hunt. The fear they continued to strike interactions with prey, but also in terms of the this predator was, the prey didn’t shift its in their prey was enough to push the stressed myriad effects they could have in ecological behavior and diet toward the goldenrod and grasshoppers into predator-avoidance mode— communities of carnivores, herbivores and wildfl owers. and the plant community into an altered state. plants,” says Schmitz. “It offered me a way Goldenrod is the dominant competitor in (The operation, by the way, requires a gentle toward a more holistic perspective of entire the meadow, and without herbivores to keep it touch—the spider is held between two soft systems.” somewhat in check, it eventually overshadowed sponges while a dab of super glue is squirted Aquatic biologists such as Bobbi Peckarsky, its fellow plants. Paradoxically, fewer grazers between the jaws. This experimental strategy then at Cornell University, had documented resulted in lower species diversity. is possible only because nursery web spiders various aspects of these so-called “trophic “Had I started working with the jumping can go as long as two months between meals cascades” in streams while investigating the spiders, I might never have encountered the without starving to death.) interactions of trout, stonefl ies and mayfl ies. behavior-shift story,” says Schmitz. Schmitz looked at results he called “coun- But in the early 1990s, Peckarsky explained And he and Hawlena might never have terintuitive” and scratched his head. “If you’re that her work and other aquatic studies like it become interested in looking at fear factors. not losing grasshoppers to predation, how can weren’t commonly on the radar screens of ter- The researchers already knew that grasshop-

24 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 decades of experimental and theoretical work If there’s no escape from a spider—Schmitz and in Resolving Ecosystem Complexity, a Princeton Hawlena modeled this in fi eld and laboratory setups, University Press book, due out this summer. “The beauty of this work is that with the but it could easily happen in nature if spiders or any insights we’ve gathered, we can predict what an ecosystem will look like if we change it in other predator, for that matter, were especially abun- some important way,” he says. In the vast boreal forests of Canada, one dant—the grasshoppers do something else familiar. company is already putting these insights into practice. Mistik Management oversees the They crave carbs. planting and harvest of softwood trees on the company’s nearly 4.5 million acres of land in pers reacted to the presence of a sit-and-wait the increased carbohydrates they require. So northwestern Saskatchewan. The typical logging spider by changing their behavior and moving the insects cope with the metabolic demands operation, says Schmitz, who has worked with elsewhere. The situation is very similar to what of stress, but, according to research currently Mistik, involves clear-cutting and then replant- a human would do when walking down a dark being reviewed for publication, there’s literally ing primarily with white spruce saplings. But street in a less-than-sterling neighborhood— no free lunch. Grasshopper mothers stressed there’s always been a problem with this strategy. fi rst chance you get, you cross over to a seem- out by chronic predation risk having offspring “Aspen trees tend to come back fi rst in a clear- ingly safer and lighter location rather than stroll that are 15 percent smaller than those of moth- cut and choke off spruce growth,” he says. by that creepy-looking character hanging out on ers living in spider-free zones. Also, mothers in Based on his work in the enclosures, the corner. the risk zone produce kids with poorer jumping Schmitz had an idea. While moose and deer “We don’t understand how grasshoppers ability. “This results in offspring that are more did a fi ne job of grazing aspen sprouts, the detect the location of the spider,” says Hawlena, vulnerable to predation,” says Schmitz. herbivores largely avoided young spruce, which “but when we subject them to the risk of chronic There’s another cost, as well—this one to are fi lled with noxious chemicals. But with predation, they react just like we would.” the meadow. When it comes to fertilization, wolves frequenting the clear-cuts, the fear-fi lled Hawlena placed each overwrought insect nitrogen trumps carbon. Compared to their moose and deer stayed far away. inside a metabolic chamber—a transparent cyl- grass-fed, living-is-easy counterparts, grasshop- In an experiment, which involved acres inder about 3.5 inches long and three-quarters pers on the high-carb, anti-stress diet produce instead of meters, Schmitz compared clear- of an inch in diameter—used to measure car- excrement that is harder to break down and cuts with areas in which Mistik cut most of bon dioxide output. “They breathe faster and less nutritious for plants. Grasshopper bodies the timber but left patches of standing trees. their metabolism increases,” he explains. even refl ect this change in diet; in death, the “These became refuges for the moose and If there’s no escape from a spider—Schmitz corpses containing higher carbon don’t offer deer,” he says. and Hawlena modeled this in fi eld and labora- the premium fertilizer benefi ts of those that The herbivores tended to avoid the open tory setups, but it could easily happen in nature had more nitrogen in them. areas, and even when they entered they were if spiders or any other predator, for that matter, Schmitz estimates that grasshoppers, liv- ineffective at keeping the aspen out. Not so were especially abundant—the grasshoppers do ing and deceased, contribute between 5 and 10 when there were refuges. “By changing the something else familiar. They crave carbs. percent to a grassland’s overall nutrient bud- way we harvested the landscape, we were able “Stressed grasshoppers need more energy,” get. So more spider-induced herbivore pres- to let nature effectively manage for us,” says says Hawlena, “and they get it from eating sure on the goldenrod can not only alter the Schmitz. “And at no real cost.” more goldenrod.” diversity and abundance of plant species in the Mistik has since adopted the refuge Left to themselves, the grasshoppers would meadow ecosystem, it can also result in poorer technique. For this company, looking for rather spend their time munching on nitrogen- fertilizer. This, along with changes in the com- a more sustainable way to manage its rich grass that stimulates their own growth and position of the leaf litter and the soil bacteria, resources, the landscape of fear has become reproduction, as well as results in high-quality may eventually change the kinds and amounts a landscape of opportunity. fertilizer. But with spiders in the picture, their of minerals available in the ground—and the stress increases and their diet changes. “Their varieties of plants and animals that can thrive. immediate needs become more important than And so, says Schmitz, “being scared to the future,” says Hawlena. hell can signifi cantly change an ecosystem’s They head for the goldenrod, whose chem- nutrient budget and transform the way it istry—the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is tilted looks and functions.” toward carbon—provides the grasshoppers with Schmitz has synthesized nearly two

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 25 YIBS CENTERS

YIBS Center for Field Ecology: supporting field based research and teaching in ecology and the environmental sciences

Pilot Research for Graduate Students The CFE Pilot Research Grants Program was created to help early career PhD students to explore fi eld ecology projects of their own choosing and gather the pilot data required to justify external funding. Research on “fi eld ecology” is defi ned broadly to include fi eld- based projects that draw from behavior, ecology, evolution, epidemiology, paleontology, and related fi elds. Since 2002, the Pilot Research Grants’ program has supported the research of 94 graduate students from fi ve academic units: Anthropology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Epidemiology & Public Health (EPH), Geology & Geophysics (G&G), and Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). The diversity of research funded by Pilot Grants is amazing. The fi rst four cohorts of 48 students funded from 2002–2005 have gradu- ated and many have jobs in academia and resource management. They include: Michael Muehlenbein (Anthropology, PhD 2004), an assistant professor at Indiana University; Erika Edwards and Cassy Dunn (both EEB, The Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS) Center for Field Ecology PhD 2005), who are assistant professors at (CFE) supports fi eld-based research and teaching in ecology. CFE was Brown University; Mark Urban (F&ES, PhD founded in 2002 to help Yale become a world leader in ecology. Major 2006), an assistant professor at University of Connecticut; Nathan Havill (EEB, PhD initiatives include a Pilot Grant Program to support graduate student 2006), a research scientist with the USDA research in ecology, initial support for a climate change experiment in Forest Service; John Vanden Brooks (G&G, Connecticut salt marshes, long-term sampling of Long Island Sound, PhD 2006), an assistant professor at John and efforts to improve the research facilities on Yale University’s natural Hopkins University; Eric Palkovacs (EEB, PhD 2007), a visiting assistant professor at Duke lands. Research supported by CFE bridges fi ve academic units and has University; Manja Holland (F&ES, PhD 2008), addressed topics as diverse as the evolution and ecology of the mos- the research programs offi cer for the Graham quitoes that spread dengue fever, the responses of mammals to climate Institute at the University of Michigan; and change at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, and the retention of heavy Annika Walters (EEB, PhD 2008), a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow with the metals in the wetlands of New England. CFE support for teaching has National Marine Fisheries Service. exposed a generation of undergraduate and graduate students to an In 2009 and 2010, CFE funded 14 graduate experiment that tests the infl uence of climate change on New England’s student pilot projects. Among them, Elisabeth salt marsh ecosystems. Forrestel (EEB) is using phylogenetic and functional approaches to test the relationship between biological diversity and ecosystem function in grasslands. Troy Hill (F&ES) is testing how salt marsh deterioration and erosion infl uences the retention of heavy metals in salt

26 yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 marshes in Long Island Sound. Andrew Jones cesses. As with the previous experiment, this new (EEB) is testing the effects of intraspecifi c experiment will serve as a long-term platform for completion on the niche breadth of juvenile research and teaching in EEB and F&ES. anadromous alewife, a federally listed species of conservation concern. Katy Richards- Long Island Sound Project Hrdlicka (F&ES) is studying genetic variation A YIBS CFE funded team is measuring sev- in a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium eral key indicators of ecosystem function and dendrobatidis, that has been implicated in marine ecosystem health in Long Island Sound. the decline of amphibians on fi ve continents. The research team includes Dr. Raymond, Dr. Thomas James (F&ES) is studying the infl u- Mary Beth Decker (EEB), Dr. Paul Turner (EEB), ence of climate and fi re on forest development Dr. Ellen Thomas (G&G), graduate students in Mongolia. Derek West (EEB) is testing how from F&ES, undergraduate students from Yale climate change and nutrients alter the trajec- College, and collaborators from the University tory of ecosystem development in lakes. of Connecticut. The goal is to build a time series that will provide new insight into short and long- Hands-on Experience for Undergraduate term changes in the health of the Northeast’s Students and Research Platform for Climate largest estuary. Sampling is conducted approxi- Change mately 14 miles southeast of New Haven In 2005, CFE funded the construction of a rain- Harbor at the University of Connecticut’s Central fall exclusion experiment in a coastal salt marsh Sound Buoy, which is moored to the seafl oor located at the Richards Property, Guilford in 90 feet (27 meters) of water. Measurements Professor Peter Raymond checking equipment on the University (part of the Yale University natural lands). The include high-frequency monitoring of nitrate, a of Conneticut MYSound Project Central Long Island Sound Buoy. experiment was designed by Melinda Smith critical nutrient, using an in situ optical sensor (EEB) and Peter Raymond (F&ES) to assess permanently deployed aboard the Central Sound the effects of climate change, in particular Buoy; weekly sampling of jellyfi sh and zooplank- changes in precipitation amounts, on coastal ton populations; collection of benthic micro- salt marsh ecosystems. From its inception, the organisms (foraminifera) for population studies experiment has been maintained as a long-term and paleoceanographic proxy development; and platform for both research and teaching in EEB isolating and studying the evolutionary ecology and F&ES. Recently, Dr. Smith and colleagues of Caulobacter crescentus bacteria. Sampling is received funding from the Yale Climate and also conducted for several other indicators of Energy Institute to expand upon this research. ecological and biogeochemical importance. They are currently establishing a new experi- In addition to this research at the Buoy, ment at the Richards Property, as well as fi ve Decker and Raymond teamed up with Jamie other sites along the Connecticut coastline. Alonzo and the Yale Peabody Museum’s The experiment will examine the impacts of EVOLUTIONS After School Program two aspects of climate change—warming and (EVOking Learning & Understanding Through altered precipitation amounts—on the ability Investigations Of the Natural Sciences) to proof salt marsh ecosystems to keep pace with duce an interactive museum exhibit focused on sea level rise. Specifi cally, the experiment will the Long Island Sound. For this project, the high measure how warming and reduced precipita- school students worked in groups to research tion impacts salt marsh sediment accretion topics related to pollution, food webs and fi sher- rates and above and below-ground productivity. ies. In collaboration with video game designer These two processes are critical for allowing Kent Golden and simulator designer Ginger salt marsh ecosystems to increase in elevation Booth, students helped design an interactive over time with rising sea level, and thus prevent game called “Race to the Lighthouse,” in which their loss via inundation. Understanding of how student-produced videos were used to teach climate change impacts sediment accretion concepts related to the health and conservation rates and productivity is poorly understood, and of Long Island Sound. In addition, an interactive this research will be among the fi rst to examine kiosk equipped with a barcode scanner allowed how climate changes may impact these pro- visitors to scan and learn about items and ani-

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 27 YIBS CENTERS

Samatha Attwood mals encountered in coastal Connecticut. The Dr. Gabe Benoit (F&ES); and by Dr. David Skelly kiosk and game are currently on display at the (F&ES) for teaching Aquatic Ecology. In recent Peabody Museum on the third ﬂ oor near the history, researchers have accessed Linsley Connecticut dioramas. Pond from a beach owned by the Linsley Lake Association. In 2008, David Post secured the Yale Natural Lands money to re-establish access to Linsley Pond Yale University owns natural lands from salt through Yale University property at the north marshes along Long Island Sound to forest land end of the lake. The Linsely Pond property now in northern Vermont. CFE administers a number has a parking area, storage shed, and a dock of small parcels of land including property at which allows greatly improved access to Linsley Linsley Pond, where Yale researchers and stu- Pond for research and teaching. dents have studied limnology since the 1930s; Bethany Bog, which is a glacial kettle lake with For further information you may contact Professor a unique ﬂ ora that has lain neglected for years David M. Post, the director of CFE, or visit the CFE Web site at www.yale.edu/cfe and is under some threat from local dumping; and a tract of about 200 acres next to the Yale Golf Course, which is mostly used by locals for recreation. Linsley Pond is used for research by Dr. David Post (EEB), Dr. Peter Raymond and

Katy Richards-Hrdlicka, Doctoral Candidate, F&ES, searching for amphibians at the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchﬁ eld, CT.

YIBS Center for Ecology and Systematics of Animals on the Verge of Extinction (ECOSAVE)

One of the original Centers supported by the prime focus of YIBS, as well as being the only Powell notes that the science being done in Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS) conservation research organization based in the international arena at Yale is extremely is the Center for ECology and Systematics of Yale College. widespread and diverse, but has not yet been Animals on the Verge of Extinction, ECOSAVE. In the transition of directorship, Powell particularly highlighted in Yale University’s This Center was founded and directed by envisions refocusing ECOSAVE to emphasize expanding footprint in global and interna- Professor Elisabeth Vrba (G&G) since its international work directed toward conser- tional studies. He hopes this newly re-oriented inception in 1992. A new director, Professor vation biology. Given that the vast majority YIBS center will help emphasize and bring to Jeffrey R. Powell (EEB) will assume leadership of endangered biodiversity exists outside the fore the global science being done at the of ECOSAVE on July 1, 2010. This YIBS center the US, this emphasis is only natural. This University. has been the major YIBS initiative explicitly “internationalization” also ﬁ ts well with the Another change in the workings of the centered on conservation of biodiversity, a University’s efforts in globalization. Indeed, Center will be to open it up to all Yale research-

28 yale environmental NEWS / 15:1 STUDENT NEWS

eeb students awarded nsf graduate fellowships

In April 2010, fi ve graduate students in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) were awarded the prestigious and highly competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. The awards cover full tuition and stipend for three years. The new EEB award winners were: Karin Burghart, an incoming EEB graduate student from the University of Delaware with an interest in botany and ecology. April Dinwiddie, fi rst year EEB graduate student from Mount Holyoke College with interests in insect development and evolution. Teresa Feo, a fi rst year EEB graduate student from the University of California Berkeley with interests in behavioral and morphological evolution of birds. Andrew Jones, a second year EEB graduate student from Cornell University with interests in fresh water lake ecology. Jacob Musser, fi rst year EEB graduate student from the University of Minnesota with interests in development, molecular evolution, and the evolution of novelty. These fi ve awardees will join our current EEB NSF graduate fellows Jerome Weis and ers with interests in biodiversity studies, espe- Both the YIBS Director Park and new Kim LaPierre. An additional NSF Graduate cially those centered in Yale College. The plan ECOSAVE Director Powell would like to Research Fellowship was awarded to graduat- is to put in place a small granting program to acknowledge the leadership displayed by ing Yale EEB major Sonia Singal ’10. Singal support international biodiversity studies being Professor Vrba for having the imagination also received a two-year Fulbright Fellowship done by Yale faculty, staff, and students. These and foresight to initiate a conservation- to study viral evolution in Montpellier, France, funds could be used for students to spend based center at a time when biodiversity and will start her NSF fellowship at the time abroad to initiate a research program, or studies were in their infancy, as well as her Washington University in St. Louis in 2012. to bring a colleague from abroad, especially strong leadership over the past 18 years. those from biodiversity “hotspot” countries, Several important research projects have who want to explore collaboration with a Yale- been supported by ECOSAVE during this based laboratory. Shortly, a small committee of time, including work on African mammals, interested individuals will be formed to fl esh Galápagos reptiles, South American birds out the new vision and workings of ECOSAVE. and plants, and Antarctic fi sh. In addition, While it is a diffi cult time fi nancially to ECOSAVE supported the publication of a undertake new initiatives, YIBS Director Jeffrey book (Deer, Antelopes, Giraffes, and Relatives: J. Park sees the YIBS research centers as Past, Present and Future), organized a highly important mechanisms for seeding new ideas successful symposium in 2009, and found- and new projects, helping to sprout research ed the YIBS Molecular Systematics and ideas to develop stronger funding proposals Conservation Genetics Laboratory, which to outside agencies or foundations, or to sup- has now taken on a life of its own. port fully the kind of research project whose expenses are indeed modest.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 29 BASS SCHOLARS

de queiroz olson richards

three bass distinguished visiting to revolutionize how biologists communicate Jacques Gauthier would like him to discuss environmental scholars to serve the results of their discoveries about biodiver- mammalian molecular phylogenetics in the in the spring 2011 sity. Systematics Discussion Group (SDG). Jeffrey Park, director of the Yale Institute Although often thought of as being primar- While at Yale, Dr. Olson plans to partici- for Biospheric Studies (YIBS), is pleased to ily a theorist, Dr. de Queiroz’s CV speaks no pate in a seminar-reader-tutorial workshop on announce the appointment of three Edward less forcefully to his many and varied empirical issues related to phylogeography, taxonomy, P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental contributions. He works with equal facility on species limits, and collections-based research Scholars during the spring 2011 semester. fossil and recent vertebrates, but focuses pri- that will be of interest to several students, marily on extant reptile evolution using cutting- including those working and volunteering at dr. kevin de queiroz edge morphological and molecular techniques. the Peabody Museum. Dr. Olson will serve as Dr. Kevin de Queiroz, Curator of Amphibians He has even made interesting contributions to a Bass Scholar from March 14, 2011 to May 7, and Reptiles at the National Museum of the study of amphibian reproductive biology 2011. Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, will and lizard feeding ecology, ecomorphology, and dr. paul richards serve as an Edward P. Bass Distinguished island biogeography, as well as having produced Visiting Environmental Scholar in the the standard checklists, dichotomous keys, and Dr. Paul Richards, Professor of Technology Department of Geology & Geophysics (G&G) species descriptions of the alpha taxonomist. and Agrarian Development at Wageningen during the spring semester of 2011. He will He also has an active fi eld program University, Department of Social Sciences, be in residence from February 1, 2011 to April Professor Gauthier notes that “Kevin de Technology & Agrarian Development Group, 30, 2011. Queiroz is a world-class curator, systematist, was nominated as a Bass Scholar by William Dr. de Queiroz was nominated by Professor vertebrate morphologist, herpetologist, and Kelly, Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies of Geology & Geophysics Jacques Gauthier. He evolutionary theorist, and we look forward to in the Department of Anthropology. Professor has made exceptional contributions to several having him at Yale as a Bass Scholar.” Richards will be in residence in Anthropology areas of evolutionary biology and is a leading from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. dr. link olson fi gure in the fi eld of systematic biology, hav- Richards, an anthropological commentator ing produced diverse and signifi cant works on Dr. Link Olson, Curator of Mammals and and researcher on agricultural technology and the theory, methods, history, and philosophy Acting Curator of Ethnology and History African farming systems, has worked in Sierra of phylogenetic inference that have altered the University of Alaska Museum, will serve as Leone for over thirty years, conducting ethno- landscape of the discipline. For example, he an Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting graphic studies of Mende village rice farming clarifi ed thorny ontological and epistemologi- Environmental Scholar in the Department of systems and forest conservation on the Liberian cal issues on the nature of the entities that Anthropology, during the spring 2011 semester. border. After the region became affected by the can participate in the evolutionary process. Dr. Olson’s research on molecular phyloge- Sierra Leone civil war (1992–2002), he turned His infl uential work on species concepts in netics, phylogeography, and biogeography to analysis of that confl ict and has written more particular will be of broad interest to the depart- is of interest to several faculty in Biological widely on the anthropology of armed confl icts. ments of G&G, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Anthropology notes Professor Eric Sargis, who In his work on agriculture, Richards argues, (EEB), Anthropology, YPM and at the School nominated Dr. Olson. Dr. Olson will work with following Durkheim, that human technique and of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) Professor Sargis and his colleagues profes- skill underpins human action and institutional and the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural sors Richard Bribiescas, Brenda Bradley, David change, and began by examining everyday liveli- History, as a number of faculty and students Watts, and Andrew Hill in Anthropology. hood activities like farming. He coined the term at Yale wrestle with the “species problem” on Also, Professors Richard Prum and “agriculture as performance” based on years of daily basis. To these accomplishments must be Thomas Near from EEB are enthusiastic about observing the refl exivity of African farmers and added his conceptual and organizational leader- having Dr. Olson at Yale. In addition, because their responses to stress and risks, and drawing ship of the PhyloCode project, which promises of his research on systematics, Professor on his own skills and interest in musical perfor-

30 yale environmental NEWS / 15:1 Peter and Rosemary Grant to Serve as Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholars in The Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Peter and Rosemary Grant, British evolution- Peter was made a Fellow of the Royal ary biologists, will serve as the Edward P. Bass Society in 1987 and Rosemary in 2007. In 2008 Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholars both Peter and Rosemary Grant were among during the fall 2010 semester. The Grants are the thirteen recipients of the Darwin-Wallace emeritus professors at Princeton University Medal, which is bestowed every 50 years by the and are noted for their work on Darwin’s fi nch- Linnean Society of London. In 2009 they were es on the Galápagos Island named Daphne recipients of the annual Kyoto Prize in basic sci- Major. They have spent six months of the year ences, an international award honoring signifi - each year since 1973 capturing, tagging, tak- cant contributions to the scientifi c, cultural and ing blood samples, and releasing fi nches from spiritual betterment of mankind. the islands, and were the subject of the book They will serve as Bass Scholars from The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in September through December in the Yale Our Time by Jonathan Weiner (Alfred A. Knopf, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. 1994), which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fi ction in 1995. In 2003 the Grants were joint recipients of the Loye and Alden Miller Research Award, and won the 2005 Balzan Prize for Population Biology.

mance. His populist faith in African farmers to Instead, Richards has argued the involvement survive and prosper, despite the magnitude of of youth in the Revolutionary United Front the risks they faced, was set out in Indigenous rebel movement was a form of social resis- Agricultural Revolution (1985). tance to patrimonial rule in Sierra Leone, did Fighting for the Rain Forest (1996) showed not appear to have a strong underlying motive how the involvement of youth in Sierra of greed (for the diamond revenues), and was Leonean rebel movements had little to do with a considered response rather than a spon- widely perceived “barbarism” of rebel groups taneous, “barbaric” movement. Grievances in resource-rich regions. War is, also, part of a were partly responsible for the violence that “performance” with its origins in history, social undoubtedly did afﬂ ict Sierra Leone during orders, and human agency. The widely held its civil war and for which the Revolutionary “New Barbarism” theories of Robert Kaplan United Front was partly responsible. Richards and others had suggested abundant natural has advised aid and humanitarian agencies on resources, like Sierra Leone’s diamonds, were African post-war reconstruction, demobiliza- a magnet for human greed and civil conﬂ ict. tion and skills-training.

yale environmental NEWS / 15:2 31 Yale Environmental News Non Proﬁ t Org. Yale University U.S. Postage P.O. Box 208105 PAID New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8105 New Haven, CT Permit No. 526 Address Service Requested

©2010 Yale University. All rights reserved. The Yale Environmental News offers information on environmental research, teaching and outreach at Yale University. It is published by the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS), with the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (YPM) and the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES).

Directors of the Environmental Partnership Jeffrey Park Director, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies and Professor of Geology & Geophysics www.yale.edu/yibs www.geology.yale.edu Derek E.G. Briggs Director, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Geology & Geophysics www.peabody.yale.edu Peter Crane Dean, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies www.yale.edu/environment

We welcome submissions from faculty, staff publication series Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and students. To submit an item, please contact: Rose Rita Riccitelli, Editor Tel: 203.432.9856 Fax: 203.432.9927 E-mail: [email protected] www.yale.edu/environment/publications Design: Yale Printing & Publishing Services Maura Gianakos Assistant Editor · Explore more than 50 titles Rosemary Volpe Cover Image: Bob Handelman · Download free pdfs Submission Deadline for Next Issue Fall 201o: October 15, 2010 · Order print-on-demand copies

Jane Coppock, Editor · [email protected] yale environmental 32 NEWS / 15:2 printed on 30% PCW recycled paper