Neurons and Nudibranchs Wt-Z - R

Home , Craig Packer, Natural history museum, Simon Tookoome

5/09

'J-M i

Neurons and Nudibranchs wt-z - r.:..

SOME STEEL IS MORE AMBITIOUS THAN OTHERS.

Only Rolex uses 904L steel for its steel watch cases. 904L is a super alloy usually reserved for the chemical industry, where

maximum resistance against corrosion is essential. Corrosion resistance stems from 904L's higher chromium content, which forms a thin, impervious barrier on the alloy's .surface when

exposed to oxygen. In the event of a scratch, the chromium oxide

barrier fills and protects it immediately, effectively reducing

the scratch's propensity to corrode. 904L steel is so hard that

Rolex even had to develop special equipment to machine it.

A mighty 250-ton press is necessary just to stamp out a single

Oyster case from a solid block of 904L. When it comes

to ensuring the lasting beauty of your watch, no measure is too extreme for Rolex. Discover more at rolex.com

OYSTER PERPETUAL MILGAUSS ROLEX

GRAN OFFICIAL ROLEX JEWELER CALL I -800-367-6539. ROLEX * OYSTER PERPETUAL AND MILGAUSS ARE TRADEMARKS. N EW YORK m-

•< - K»~(:f^5-x*¥5«^-5r'4,'-9f/B«»*C5.A---..'>J -- ^; ':-

FE ATU RES

ER STORY 36 BRAINS OF BEAUTIES 42 RATIONAL FEAR The swimming styles of sea slugs Human populations in eastern demonstrate how malleable Africa put pressure on lions— neural circuitry can be. and suffer the consequences.

BY PAUL S. KATZ BY CRAIG PACKER AND JAMES N. NEWCOMB

m ^

D E PARTM E NTS 2 THE NATURAL MOMENT 52 THIS LAND Daddy's Brood On Heron Pond Photograph by Glen Threlfo Robert H. Mohlenbrock

6 WORD EXCHANGE 54 BOOKSHELF Laurence A. Marschall 6 nature.net Wanderlust 58 SKYLOG Robert Anderson Joe Rao

10 SAMPLINGS 60 AT THE MUSEUM News from Nature 64 ENDPAPER 16 PERSPECTIVES Frozen Treasures In Science We Trust Dorothy Harley Eber Paul Bloom

48 GEOSCAPES A Shot In the Dark ON THE cover: Meilbs leonia amid Benjamin von Cramon eel grass In the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Washington. Photograph by Jan Koclan THE NATURAL MOMENT DADDY'S BROOD

Photograph by Glen Threlfo May 2009 N " .KY 1 3 —

^ See preceding two pages

THE NATURAL EXPLANATION BY ERIN ESPELIE

When Australian birdI expert Glen Threlfo spotted a male comb-

crested jacana > {Irediparra gallinacea) preparing a nest on the pads of a lotus pond in the North- ern Territory, he

decided to build a "skybox" to watch the action unfold. He plopped an old wooden table in the shallow water, insects and pond veggies, navigating placed atop it a big cardboard box the lilies on their own long, un- with a cutout viewing window, and webbed toes. returned to his seat periodically for Threlfo points out that the fa- HERE'S TO EVERY the next several weeks. ther was able to protect the chicks After the hen laid eggs, Threlfo from afar, too: "He makes a shrill TOUGH GUY WHO'S noticed that she flew the coop, so to chirping alarm, and all the chicks NOT AFRAID TO SHOW speak, and "wandered around feed- dive under a lily leaf and just poke ing, with no interest in the nest or their little beaks out for breathing." HIS SOFTER YET the offspring." (On larger ponds or They only surfaced at the sight of EQUALLY TOUGH SIDE. billabongs—seasonal water holes their father's form, come to rescue a female will sometimes mate with them—never at the sight of a curi- as many as four different males and ous, looming Threlfo. spend her time fighting intrusive

females.) Instead the male took on The jacana triplets live in Kakadu

all caretaking duties, as most jacana I National Park, a cultural and nat- fathers do. He incubated the eggs for ural World Heritage site in the trop- about two weeks, scooping them up ics of northern Australia. Local Ab- under his wings and moving them if original leaders recently squelched the flimsy nest sank slightly. the plans of a mining company to Upon hatching, the chicks im- dig up the 4 billion dollars' worth of mediately nestled under their father's uranium deposits surrounding Ka- wings, a refuge they continued to kadu. The area's 1,700 plant species, use for many days—for instance, dozens of unusual mammals (some whenever a hawk or raven appeared. in dire straits already), and 280 spe- (Note the two pairs of legs dan- cies of bird—roughly one-third of gling from the father's wings in the Australia's bird species—will cer- photograph above.) But with every tainly benefit from such under-the- passing day they foraged farther for wing care.

'!&. Although Glen Threlfo dabbles in still photography, he *-

FOR THE TOUGHEST JOeS?PN PLANET EARTH.*

1-800-966-3458 gorillatouglKom Madein U.S.f

NATURAL HISTORY !^ ay 2009 X

H-^otyu-ie-'i^ TO THE 2-FOR-1 SAVINGS PLUS FREE TO WORLD S MOST o destinations! LOW COST AIR!

2a^' a

Mediterranean, Black Sea & North Africa 6 departures September - November 2009

10 to 19 nights starting at $2,895 , Save up to 20% plus S199 - S399 Air

India & the East 3 departures November 2009 - January 2010 16 to 26 nights starting at $4,195

2-for-1 Sayings plus Free Air /~fu^rpt^vvue^ Z,OC(i J^ V(y4«-'^* Z-OCQ /toic on select sailings

Asia, Vietnam & THE Indian Ocean 4 departures January - March 2010

13 to 21 nights starting at $3,750 Save up to 20% plus Low Cost Air

=*!^"

f^TDiscovery rv^

life's About Discovery

fby ages of disco very. CO'

lions and Information contafct ybtlf^travei rofess ional or Voyages of Discovery at 1-866-623-2689.

Email: [email protected] ,

WORD EXCHANGE nature.net by robert anderson WANDERLUST Live and Let Live

Richard King's article, "To Kill a J. HfflM^ Cormorant" [3/09], brings to light

the fact that man is everywhere a ViTTORfo Maestko EiMtoY ill Chief disturbing agent, and that human Steven R. Black Art Director overpopulation is bringing planet Erin Espelie Executive Editor Earth to its knees. Our own survival Senior Editors depends upon cooperation with So far as humans know, the world record our Rebecca Kessler, Dolly Setton for longest nonstop flight by a land bird is environment. We humans need to held by E7, a female bar-tailed godwit. In Melisa Beveridge Assistant Ar! Director learn that are not the center Annie Gottlieb we of 2007, as a satellite tracked her, she flew Copy Chief Graciela Flores Editor-a(-Large the natural world. 7,200 miles from Alaska to New Zealand Florence Brauner Volunteer Jim and Ginger Visconti in eight days. The Web site of the U. S. Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center Contributing Editors Monticello, Florida (http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/ Robert Anderson, Olivia Judson, Avis Lang, Charles Liu, Laurence A. Marschall. Richard Milner. shorebirds/barg_updates.html) displays the Robert H. Mohlenbrock, Joe Rao, Stephan Reebs. Erratunn bird's route. With recent improvements in Judy A. Rice, Adam Summers, Neil deCrasse Tyson In "You Can't Hide, Glycolalde- technology, satellite tracking is answering many questions about animal movements hyde" ["Samplings," 3/09], ribose across the globe. Godwits were monitored Charles E. Harris PnhUsher was called "the backbone of RNA." to learn how a deadly bird flu might be Edgar L. Harrison Advertising Director In fact, ribose molecules and phos- transmitted someday, but wildlife managers Maria Volpe Promotion Director phate groups form that backbone. are collecting similar data from birds, SoniaW. Paratore National Advertising Manager Adam Cohen Advertising Manager sea mammals, and fish with an eye to Meredith Miller Production Manager Natural History welcomes correspon- helping far-flung species in decline. For Joe Sharkey Manager, Publishing Services dence froin readers. Letters should be sent via my guide to Web sites exploring migration e-mail to [email protected] or please visit the magazine online (www. For advertising information naturalhistorymag.com). call 646-356-6508 byfax to 646-356-651i. All letters shoidd Advertising Sales Representatives include a daytime telephone number, and all ROBERT ANDERSON is a freelance science writer Detroit—B2vron Media Sales. 313-268-3996 who lives in Los Angeles. LLC. letters may be editedfor length and clarity. C/jiVrtgo—Robert Purdy & Associates, 312-726-7800

West Coast—On Course Media Sales. 310-710-7414

Toronto—American Publishers Representarives Ltd.. 416-363-1388 Atlanta and Miami—Ric]des and Co., 770-664-4567 South America—Netcorp Media. Ltd., 51-1-222-8038 Natiomil Direct Response—Smyth Media Group, 914-693-8700 Tiies. Crip.M. Thtrz. II.M. Sith p-iH. IM t.tr Market Classified—Medh Options, 800-442-6441 Ttkm orckidr/ll stfrnphmf

Todd Happer Vice President, Science Education

Educational Advisory Board David Chesebrough COSI Columbus Stephanie Ratcliffe Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks Ronen Mir MadaTecli-Isracl National Museum if Science Carol Valenta Saint Louis Science Center

Natui^al History Magazine, Inc.

Charles E. Harris President, Chief Executive Officer Judy Buller General Manager Cecile Washington General Manager Charles Rodin Publishing Advisor Jim Van Abbema Webmaster

To contact us regarding your subscription, to order a new

subscription, or to change your address, please visit our Web site www.naturathistorymag.com or \\Tite to us at

Natural History

RO. Box 5000, Harlan, lA 5 1 593-0257.

Natural History (ISSN 0028-0712) is published monthly, except for combined issues in July /August and December/January, by Natural History Magazine, Inc., in aHiliaiion with the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024. E-mail: nhmaB@na[ural

hisEorymag.coni. Natural History Magazine, Inc., is solely responsible, for editorial content and publishing practices. Subscriptions: S30.00 a year; for

Canada and all other countries: S40.00 a year. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY. and at additional mailing offices. Canada Publications Mail No.

40030827. Copyright © 2009 by Natural History Magazine, Inc. Alt rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be repruduced without written consent of Natural Hiitory. If you would like to contact us regarding your subscrip-

tion or to enter a new subscription, please write to us at Natural History, PC. Box 5000, Harlan, lA 51593-0257. Postmaster Send address changes to

NaUifal History. P.O. Box 5000, Harlan. lA 51537-5000. Printed in the U.S.A.

(^t^ ((fee a iv/ioie o//tey cofi^t/^ij- i ,

5 2009 Office oflhe Governor, Economic Development and Tourism. OJMY09 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 ARAH BLAFFER HRDY

Mothers and Others THE EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

ago, a line of apes began to rear their young differently than their Great Ape ancestors. From this new form of care came new ways of engaging and understanding each other. How such singular human capacities evolved, and how they have kept us alive for thousands of generations, is the mystery revealed in this bold and wide-ranging new vision of human emotional evolution.

"Sarah Hrdy's Mothers and Others is a brilliant work on a profoundly important subject. The leading scientific authority on motherhood has come through again." -E.O.WILSON

"In the study of mothering, Sarah Hrdy has no peer. The ideas are big, bold, and brain-bending." -MARC HAUSER HARVARD 4

Belknap Press / new in cloth / 52 halftones UNIVERSITY (!l PRESS '^ :|f.-,^ ^wr

.^'\ f k •

UARDI^fS Of CHINA'S FlKSlKMPERaR

y TIMEMagazine.

SNOW ON -1 OPENS MAY 22; 20Q9 Purchase ticj^ts at hmnsporg or call 713-639-4629

^onalfunding provided hy UPS i Loc^ljundirf^rovided by GE

c|istQnJ\teeumo/7^ by the «KaanxrPro^-ncial Cultural Reliqs Bureau and the Museum of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, _^eoplesPeoL'!i*i'*Rjruhl!r''7rh'^Republic of China with the Houston Museutn of Natural Science in cooperation with The Bowers Museum and National Geographic Museum.

tlM — .

CURIOSITY?

Did dinosaur meat taste like chicken? Is invisibility possible? Do you find yourself searching tidal pools for life forms? Do you experience heart palpitations when you spot a Pileated woodpecker?

You have chronic curiosity. Since 19OO, miillions of people just like you—have found temporary relief by taking Natural History

-Beulah Henderson

Fairfield, Maine SUBSCRIBE NOW €>= SAVE! '^^S'lo issues for just $25—a savings of 37% off the regular newsstand price

^^ FREE (one-time only) general admission pass to the American Museum of Natural ffistory

^^ Discount on a ticket to the Museum's spectacular IMAa theater during your visit

^^ Discounts on unique items in Museum gift shops, including books, crafts, jewelry, and collectibles

WARNING: side effects may include uncontrollable urge to travel, increased appetite to read, heightened activity in community and public affairs, higher expecta-

tions of products and services, improved quality of life.

TO ORDER^ Visit naturalhistoryinag.com or call 1-800-234-5252. (Outside the U.S., please add %0 for postage

and call 5 1 5-247-763 1 for customer service.)

GUARANTEE: If you don't feel better after three issues, stop taking JVafura/Hisfor)) immediately and request your money back for the unused portion of your subscription. CURE & PREVENTIVE FOR THE ORDINARY

vmm>' EST. 1900 '-^ —

SAMPLINGS

Drawing on the Wall

Modern Australia lacks big land predators, pointed ears. Those but until about 30,000 years ago, the last three features continent was ruled by Thylacoleo aren't preserved carnifex, the marsupial "lion." Several in skeletons, but well-preserved skeletons of the leopard- Aborigines would size beast have been found. Now, a newly have known them discovered cave painting offers a glimpse well. Australia's of the animal's external appearance. first people In June 2008, Tim Willing, a naturalist landed on and tour guide, photographed an ancient the painting on a rockshelter wall near the continent Reconstruction shore of northwestern Australia. Kim at least 40,000 of a marsu- Akerman, an independent anthropologist years ago and were pial "lion"; cave art suggests the animal had stripes. based in Tasmania, says the painting contemporaries of the unmistakably depicts a marsupial lion. big predator. It shows the requisite catlike muzzle, Previously known rock paintings hinted "tiger." That species succumbed to com- large forelimbs, and heavily clawed at marsupial lions, but were rudimentary petition from humans in 1936, much as the front paws. And it portrays the animal and could have depicted the other striped marsupial lion may have done millennia with a striped back, a tufted tail, and marsupial predator, the dog-size Tasmanian before. [Antiquity] —Stephan Reebs

Tube Viewing Portrait of a Virus

Of all the odd creatures in the sea, barreleyes are among the strangest. The deep-sea fishes have bizarre tubular eyes that point upward. The eyes are good at spotting quarry silhouet- ted against the dim light above, but they can't see what's right in front of the mouth. So, how do the animals feed? Up to now, barreleyes were known only from dead specimens caught in trawl nets. That changed when Bruce H. Robi- son and Kim R. Reisenbichler of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute sent a remotely operated vehicle 2,000 feet undersea off California. Video observations of three barreleyes, of the species Macropinna microstoma, revealed that

the fish could pivot their eyes forward, after all.

The ichthyologists captured one fish and carefully brought it

to the surface, it where survived for a few hours in a shipboard Viral shein.a

tank. ' When they turned its body so the head pointed up, it million times swivelled its eyes to keep looking up, bringing the area in front actual size of the mouth into its view. Barreleyes may feed just so, launch- ing from below to steal food from the tentacles of jellyfish. The colorized image above shows the outer shell, or

Rounding out the barreleyes' peculiarity, Robison and "capsid," of Penicillium stoloniferum virus F (PsV-F). It Reisenbichler noticed that M. microstoma has was created by postdoctoral fellow Junhua Pan and his a transparent, fluid-filled dome covering the adviser, Yizhi Jane Tao of Rice University in Houston, top of its head. The structure is too fragile to along with eight colleagues. They used cryoelectron have survived on previous specimens less microscopy to image the virus, X-ray crystallography

gently caught. It may protect the eyes to infer its atomic structure, and advanced computing

from jellies' stings. [Copeia) methods to re-create it In 3-D.

—S.R. Viewed on a computer, the 3-D re-creation shows ail 120 copies of the single protein that makes up the capsid each copy in the right position. (Four appear above in red and yellow.) The computer can even pinpoint each of the five million or so atoms that constitute the 120 proteins. PsV-F is a double-stranded RNA virus that infects a fungus closely related to the producer of penicillin. Understanding its capsid structure in such detail may inspire new strategies to fight off infections in humans by other double-stranded RNA viruses. {PNAS) —S.R.

10 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 Measles remains a deadly killer that threatens children worldwide. The Measles Initiative, which has supported the vaccination of more than 500 million children in over 50 countries, is a partnership committed to reducing measles mortality. + Leading this effort are the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, Centers for American Control and Prevention, World Health Cross Disease Red Organization and UNICEF. To learn more, please

visit www.measlesinitiative.org.

^^^A Helping i ^ BD live heal' n

prevents reuse A life-saving vaccine against measles has been disable after injection, which available since the 1960's; yet measles remains a and the potential spread of infectious diseases. leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths in In addition, BD is supporting an intensive providers to the world. Immunization for every at-risk child is program to teach healthcare the objective of the Measles Initiative. inject the vaccine correctly.

For the past 45 years, syringes made by BD have Named one of the World's Most Admired delivered more measles vaccines than any other Companies''' as well as one of the World's Most provides advanced company's. It is only natural that today, BD Ethical Companies,' BD would partner with the American Red Cross in medical technology to serve the global supporting this life-giving program. community's greatest needs.

- Helping all people live healthy lives. BD SoloShot ' syringes are ideal to deliver the BD measles vaccine because they automatically

' FOKTUNB, March 2009 ' Ethisphere" Magazine, June 2008

SAMPLINGS "1 Byrial by Hyena Half a Nap

Many diurnal birds migrate only at night, and surprisingly, they don't appear to suffer unduly from sleep loss. Restless at night dur-

ing migratory season even in the lab, they still perform well on learning tests, for example. The key to their resilience may be a string of quick daytime naps, a new study suggests. Biologist Thomas Fuchs of the Univer- sity of Pittsburgh at Johnstown had already Fossil human hair magnified 300x noticed that migrating Swainson's thrushes The oldest known human hair be- spend just 5 percent of their daylight hours— longed to a 9,000-year-old mummy when they rest from flying—with their eyes disinterred from an ancient Chil- closed. To confirm that the birds were indeed ean cemetery. Until now: a recent sleeping, Fuchs and three collaborators discovery pushes the record back recorded the brain waves of seven captive some 200,000 years. (And the newly thrushes. They found that the birds' repeated discovered strands received a rath- eye closures, which usually lasted twelve sec- ].. :i^'' '"^^^^ '=nm'W: i er less dignified burial.) onds, did coincide with true sleep. Swainson's thrush While excavating in Gladysvale Thrushes, like many other birds, some- Cave, near Johannesburg, South times sleep with only one eye shut. And than none at all: that so-called "unihemi- Africa, a team of researchers from Fuchs's recordings confirmed that when spheric sleep" helps birds react quickly to signs the University of the Witwatersrand one eye is closed, only the opposite brain of trouble. Thus predators have less chance of discovered an ancient brown-hyena hemisphere is dozing. As other studies have catching the weary travelers napping. latrine. Upon inspection, hyena found, half a brain and one eye are better (Biology Letters) -S.J?. coprolltes—fossilized dung appeared to contain uncannily hairlike structures. Lucinda Backwell, a paleontolo-

gist in the group, took a sediment Anyone who has seen giant sand dunes, the researchers discovered. Their ultimate size

block containing several coprolltes tall ones stretching many hundreds, even depends upon the average thickness of the back to the lab for a closer look. She thousands, of feet across the desert floor, lowest layer of the atmosphere, which starts and a colleague carefully removed has surely wondered how they get to be so at Earth's surface and within which heat forty of the "hairs apparent" from big. Scientists, too, have deliberated the recirculates. The thickness of this convec- one of the coprolltes and subjected question for years. The sandy behemoths tive layer varies from several hundred yards

half to scanning-electron micros- form in China, the Sahara, Namibia, and Iran near the ocean to more than a mile above copy. Sure enough, fossilized hairs among other desert areas, and they come in inland deserts, owing to annual variations in they were, and five showed remark- ridge, star, or crescent shapes. ground temperature. ably preserved surface scales. Bruno Andreotti and Philippe Claudin of Winds flowing over dune fields are con- Comparing the scales to those of the Laboratory of the Physics and Mechan- strained within that layer. As dunes grow a variety of animals—an admittedly ics of Heterogeneous Media in Paris and col- wider and taller, they confine the wind flow tricky undertaking— Backwell's leagues now have some answers. The team slightly more, which, in turn, arrests the team concluded that human hairs studied giant-dune fields on-site, analyzed dune's growth. were the best match. Dating of the aerial and satellite photos and meteorologi- So, the thicker the layer, the bigger the cave's limestone layers showed that cal data, and ran aerodynamic models to dunes. Reaching heights of 1,600 feet or the dung had been deposited some- investigate dune growth. more, star dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert time between 257,000 and 195,000 No matter the shape, giant dunes grow of north central China may be the biggest. years ago. During that period, both by the amalgamation of smaller dunes, the {Nature) —Harvey Leifert early Homo sapiens and a relation, H. heidelbergensis, roamed the South African landscape. A couple of chilling explanations spring to mind as to how human

hairs might have become lodged in

hyena dung. Backwell thinks it most likely that a brown hyena scavenged an ancestral human's remains. (Journal of Archaeological Science) —Sarah Hoffman Giant dunes in Grand Erg Orjsnt^l, Algeria

12 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 ^^m Natural ORV Aucl^roN Dallas, TX

Heritage Auction Galleries has become the World leader in Natural History Auctions.

These unique auctions feature a variety of Museum Quality Specimens from around the world including Rare & Exotic Gems, Minerals, Meteorites, Zoology and Dinosaur reproductions.

Whether you wish to sell an entire collection or just one valuable item, only Heritage, the unchallenged world leader in the sale of Natural History can help you do that.

Our next Natural History Auction is on May 17th, in our new Natural History Annex in Dallas, TX. A fully illustrated color catalogue will be available for this auction as well as online previews.

• David Herskovi/itz 3500 Maple Avenue 1 7th Floor Receive a free copy of this Dallas, Texas 75219 catalog, or one from Director of Natural History HERITAGE

• -;)/ f v' V 16617 SAMPLINGS Schinderhannes bartelsi: the fossil, right, and an artist's The Little Pinch reconstruction, below left

While cutting slate for roof Schinderhannes bartelsi, bartelsi was likely a predator shingles in the 1990s, a German as the team named the speci- with good eyesight, the team quarry worker spotted a four- men, represents a new marine concludes. It had tail flukes inch fossil embedded in one of genus and species that lived and unique finlike pectoral the slabs. His sharp-eyed dis- in the Early Devonian epoch, structures that probably made

covery has enabled paleontolo- some 400 million years ago. it a fast, agile swimmer. reasons. Paleontologists must

gists to fill a major gap in the On its head, the specimen Unfortunately, the quarry wait for new fossils to turn up evolution of early arthropods, bears a pair of "great" append- that over several decades elsewhere—or hope that slabs

says Gabriele Kiihl, a Ph.D. can- ages—spiny, segmented projec- yielded S. bartelsi and many already excavated may fill some

didate at the University of Bonn. tions—that probably helped it other Devonian fossils has of the remaining gaps in arthro- With her professor, Jes Rust, wrangle food. been closed for economic pod evolution. (Science) —H.L. and Derek E. G. Briggs of Yale, Until now, paleontologists she analyzed the new fossil. had thought such great-ap- Nutcracker Suite pendage arthropods died out about 100 million years Come lunchtime, bearded always picked one that was earlier. They're thought capuchin monkeys place hard heavy and hard enough for

to share a common nuts on one stone and crack nutcracking, then carried it ancestor with scor- them open with another. That and the nuts to an anvil a few pions and horseshoe skill places them in the elite feet away. When the research- crabs, whose pincers tool-using set among animals. ers slyly presented different

evolved from ancestral The monkeys, it now seems, stones made to look alike, the appendages. are quite deliberate in their monkeys handled them first to From its deadly- work. New research shows that judge their usefulness. looking appendages they carefully select the right What's more, field obser- and large eyes, S. "hammer" for the job, and vations suggest that to open

carry it to an "anvil" some dis- softer food items, such as seeds tance away, a habit until now or fruits, the monkeys choose known only in chimpanzees. lighter, easier-to-carry stones

THE WARMING EARTH still (D A team of primatologists that are hard enough to led by Elisabetta Visalberghi, do the job. The behavior shows of the Institute of Cognitive that capuchins can plan ahead Ozone and the Greenhouse Sciences and Technologies in for a task, Visalberghi and her Ozone-depleting chemicals are becoming scarce in Earth's Rome, tested wild bearded team say.

atmosphere, and the ozone layer is on the mend. That's thanks capuchins in the Brazilian Those feats of intelligence

to the Montreal Protocol of 1987 and Its amendments, an inter- forest. Along with nuts, they aren't limited to one species. national agreement banning ozone-munching chemicals. But offered the monkeys two Another team of biologists global warming also influences the layer's recovery, and wheth- or three kinds of hammer recently reported hammer and

er it is hurrying or hindering the process varies by location, a stones—hard siltstone versus anvil use in yellow-breasted new study shows. brittle sandstone, or heavy capuchins. (Current Biology, Less ozone means more ultraviolet-ray exposure and an el- versus light quartzite, for ex- Primates, American Journal evated risk of skin cancer. Greenhouse gases have a cooling ef- ample. The capuchins almost ofPrimatology) —S.R. fect way up in the stratosphere, which helps slow the chemical Bearded capuchin hammers open a nut. reactions that destroy ozone. Lower down, of course, the gases have a warming effect. Unfortunately, that warming alters airflow patterns back up in the stratosphere, in ways that interfere with ozone recovery. Darryn W. Waugh, an atmospheric scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and several colleagues ran a computer simulation that takes those contradictory influences into ac-

count. Probably because of differences in the airflow changes, the outcome varies from place to place. The simulation predicts that at northern mid-latitudes the ozone

layer will effectively heal, returning to its pre-1960 state by 2040, many decades earlier than without climate change. In the tropics,

on the other hand, ozone levels will indefinitely stall 20 percent

short of a full recovery. At southern mid-latitudes and the South Pole—where the infamous hole persists—recovery will be slow, but the layer should return to its pre-1960 state by the end of the century. {Geophysical Research Letters) —S.R.

14 NATURAL HISTORY May 200? —

Discover A Whole New World With Rosetta Stone!

del fiori su un balcone

Arabic • Chinese (Mandarin) • Danisli • Dutch • English (American) • English (British) • French • German • Greek • Hebrew

Hindi • Indonesian • Italian • Irish • Japanese • Korean • Latin • Pashto • Persian (Farsi) • Polish • Portuguese (Brazil) • Russian

Spanish (Latin America) • Spanish (Spain) • Swahili • Swedish • Tagalog (Filipino) • Thai • Turkish • Vietnamese • Welsh

Rosetta Stone brings you a complete language-learning solution, wherever you are: at home, in-the-car or on-the-go. You'll learn quickly and effectively, w^ithout translation or memorization. You'll discover our method, which keeps you excited to learn more and more.

• You'll experience Dynamic Immersion* as you match real-world images to words spoken by native speakers so you'll find yourself engaged and learn your second

language like you learned your first.

• Our proprietary Speech Recognition Technology evaluates your speech and coaches you on more accurate pronunciation. You'll speak naturally.

• Only Rosetta Stone has Adaptive Recall;' that brings back material to help you 100% GUARANTEED where you need it most, for more effective progress. SIX-MONTH MONEY-BACK

• And Rosetta Stone includes Audio Companion- so that you can take the Level 1 Reg. $259 NOW $233 Rosetta Stone experience anywhere you use a or player. CD MPS Level 1&2 Reg. $410 NOW $377

Innovative software. Immersive method. Complete mobility. It's the total solution. Level 1,2&3 Reg. $540 NOW $494 Get Rosetta Stone The Fastest Way to Learn a Language. Guaranteed.'

O2008 RoseRa Slone Ltd. All rights reserved. Offer applies to Personal Edillon only. PalenI rights pending. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer. Prices subject to cliange without notice. Six-Mont ti Money-Back Guarantee is limited to product purchases made directly from Rosetta Stone and does not tnclude return shipping. Guarantee does not app^ to an online subscription or to Audio Companion purchased separately from Ihe CD-ROM product- All materials included with Itie product at the lime o( purchase must be returned together and undamaged to be eligible for any exchange or refund.

Call Online (877) 291-4459 RosettaStone.com/nhs059 RosettaStone To get this offer, use promotional code nhs059 when ordering. Offer ezpirei August 31, 2009, J —

PERSPECTIVES

In Science We Trust

Beliefs about the natural world that are present in infancy influence people's response to evolutionary theory.

By Paul Bloom

minority of Americans subscribe manifestation of the powerful role of psychologists have studied what sur- A to an unusual theory about the religion in American culture. But in prises and what bores a baby, based origin of people and other animals. collaboration with Deena Weisberg, on how long the baby looks at some- They are often adamant about the a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers Uni- thing. They conclude that babies have

truth of this theory, and believe that versity, I have drawn upon research in a foundational understanding of the

it is the only one that should physical and social worlds. be taught to children. But if By about four months, and you press them on the theo- perhaps even earlier, ba-

ry's details, their answers are bies expect objects to fall muddled. It turns out that if unsupported; they know these people understand lit- that objects continue to ex-

tle of what they are defend- ist when hidden; and they ing; they are just parroting demonstrate surprise if one back what they have heard object passes through an- from others. Who are they? other. They know that if you They are Darwinians put an object behind a screen people who claim to be- and then put another object lieve in evolution by there, when the screen drops natural selection. two objects should be re- That may be surprising. vealed, not one or three. Aren't creationists, after all, Babies can also make the ones who are supposed sense of the actions of mov- to be ignorant and irratio- ing social beings and re- nal? The word minority spond appropriately to those was a tip-off, though. In actions. Yale psychology the United States there are graduate student J. Kiley many more creationists than Hamlin, Yale psycholo-

Darwinians. About half of gist Karen Wynn, and I Americans polled by News- have presented six- and week in 2007 claimed that ten-month-old babies with

Conceptually correct painting its layers from crust evolution did not occur at of Earth and to a puppet show in which inner core, made by seven-year-old Mia Stella. Usually children do not all—that God created hu- one character is helped up a achieve a coherent understanding of a spherical Earth until they reach mans in their present form. hill by another and pushed the age of twelve or thirteen. Younger children resist the idea because Most of the rest conceded they think all people and things on the opposite side wou/d fall off. down by third. When the that evolution might oc- babies are then offered the cur, but guided by the hand of God. cognitive science to defend a different opportunity to touch the two pup- More than twice as many Americans view. We suggest that the psychol- pets, they almost always reach for believe in the virgin birth ofJesus ogy of those who reject evolutionary the "helper," not the "hinderer."

Christ as in natural selection. theory is not so different from that of And when they watch the climber

Why do so many people reject people who endorse it. puppet "make friends" with one of evolutionary theory? Some scientists the others, ten-month-olds show

fault the educational system, and call Consider first that all babies have cer- surprise (by staring longer) if the for more and better biology classes. tain beliefs and expectations. Ba- climber befriends its "enemy." Others see this state of affairs as a bies can't tell us so, but developmental None of this should be unexpect-

16 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 — ——

Tour the Louvre with a World-renowned Art Historian

Discover a great way to enhance your appreciation of the Louvre. Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre, our 12-lecture course, is Taught by Professor Professor Richard Brettell, a veritable guided tour of this sprawling one-time art academy, The University of Texas at Dallas now world-famous public museum. Your guide is Professor Lecture Titles Richard Brettell, Margaret McDermott Distinguished Professor 1. Palace to Museum 7. De La Tour, Le Nain, and of Art and Aesthetics at the University of Texas at Dallas and The Story of the Louvre 1 7"'-Century Painting renowned art critic and historian. He starts with an introductory 2. Leonardo and the Origins 8. Claude and Poussin lecture, and then offers a selective sampling of the grand mas- of the Collection French Painters in Rome terpieces and many hidden lesser-known gems. Experience the 3. Italian Renaissance and 9. Watteau and Chardin Baroque Painting 10. Boucher, Fragonard, and the full range of the Louvre from the Italian Renaissance, Baroque 4. Spanish School of Painting Rococo in France and Flemish paintings, to Rembrandt, Vermeer, and the French 5. Rubens and Flemish 11. Jacques-Louis David and School. Join Professor Brettell on an exhilarating tour of one of Painting; Early German His School the great museums of the world. 5. Rembrandt, Vermeer, 12. Delacroix and Ingres and Dutch Painting The Great Dialectic This course is one of The Great Courses' a noncredit recorded

college lecture series from The Teaching Company." Award- winning professors of a wide array of subjects in the scienc- Order Today! es and the liberal arts have made more than 250 college-level Offer expire-s Friday, June 19, 2009 courses that are available now on our website. Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre Course No. 7175 12 lectures (30 minutes/lecture)

DVDs ^i99:«f5^ (now $39.95

+ $5 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee Special price for shipping, processing, and lifetime satisfaction guarantee for this offer only. 1-800-TEACH-12 Priority Code: 33575 The Teaching Comtanv* Tbtjrj rfUfrlant Ltemia[ Eitrj Dtf ClU.IT PHOltSlOM, Cmai LOl'lisQ, Guixt Vauh www.TEACH12.com/2nh GUARU.Tmj." Iceland ^^^^^^B^HH^Î Denmark ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^ 1^1 Sweden ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^V ^^1 France ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H I^H Japan ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BT^^^1 United Kingdom ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hn jjiji^l Norway ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^m ^^^H Belgium ^^^^^^^^jjmiHji i^^^H United States United Kingdom Spain ^^[^^^^^jijjjjjij^ji ^^^^1 Germany ^^^^^^^^^HHHHp l^^^l Italy ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^P -^^^H Netherlands f////l//ll/^^^^^^^///jf jJI^^^^H Hungary ^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ^^^^H Luxembourg '^^^^^^^H ij^^^^l Ireland ^^^^^^^^HB ^^^^^^1 Slovenia -^tîM/^^^Bi Ji^^^^l Finland -mSSSSSSSS i^^^^^l Sweden Finland Czech Republic jBi^^H^B^^B jjjjjjj^^^H jW& Estonia IIHHHHIIiHIiRr ^^^^^^1 Portugal ^^^BjjSS[[S|jjj j^^^H Malta wSSB^B^^SSkSBS _III^^^^Î Switzerland ^^^^^^^HBBB i^^^^H Slovak Republic ^^^^^^^^^^B^ Hpii^RI Poland ^^^^^^^HHHB jBt' Austria ^^^^^^^^BSSB hE Croatia I^^^^HBSBB mk Romania ^^^^^^^Bsssr .jL Japan Switzerland Greece ^^^^^^^^BSSS hk Bulgaria ^^^^^^^^^^r _,^^^^—g^H^m True flH Not Sure False I Lithuania m^^^^^^BBSSS Latvia HIHIHEhhw __^^^^^^1 Cyprus ^—^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g- H^l^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l Data from opinion polls conducted in thirty-four countries United States 3KK/ttM ^^^^^^^^^1 between 2001 and 2005 show the proportion of each Turkey country's population that holds the theory of evolution

20 40 60 80 100 to be true or false, or that is not sure. The pie charts Percent emphasize the contrasts between selected countries.

ed. Such physical and social assump- the student has, namely alternative psychologist Stella Vosniadou and tions mesh nicely with the world we conceptual frameworks for under- her colleague W. F. Brewer, then live in—objects do fall down, it is standing the phenomena covered by of the University of Illinois at Ur- better to interact with someone who the theories we are trying to teach." bana-Champaign, found that when is a helper—and this innate knowl- One example is the shape of the children are taught about the Earth, edge gives babies a head start in Earth. Children's belief that unsup- they often distort the scientific

interacting with and learning about ported objects fall downward is understanding in systeinatic ways. objects and people. The problem is adaptive in the world we live in, When asked to draw the Earth or

that advanced scientific theory clash- but it makes it hard for them to see model it with clay, for instance, es with many of these commonsense the world as a sphere—if it were a some children depict it as a sphere biases. Objects may seem solid, but sphere, they can't help thinking, the with a flattened top or as a hollow they are mostly empty space. It seems people and things on the other side sphere that people live inside. as if objects fall downward, but they would fall off Something similar happens in

fall toward a spherical Earth. It is difficult for children to shake the domain of evolution. There is

This clash leads to problems. As this view. It is not until the age by now a large body of research psychologist Susan Carey of Harvard of about twelve or thirteen that suggesting that humans are natu-

University puts it, the main difficulty children demonstrate a coherent ral-born creationists. When we see

with teaching science to children is understanding of a spherical Earth. nonrandom structure and design, we

"not what the student lacks, but what In some striking experiments, the assume that it was created by an in-

18] NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 .

telligent being. George Newman, a by random variation and differen- also true for children whose parents postdoctoral associate at Yale, along tial selection can create complex accept the theory of natural selec- with Yale psychologist Frank C. structure—design without a design- tion! Evolutionary biologist Richard Keil, showed three- to six-year-olds er—that is an unnatural idea, and Dawkins was right to complain, a picture of either a messy or a neat children and adults balk at it. then, that it seems "as if the human pile of toys, followed by a picture Psychologist Deborah Kelemen brain were specifically designed to of either a teenage girl (identified as of Boston University, for instance, misunderstand Darwinism." the toy owner's big sister) or an open finds that children insist that every- window (letting in the wind). Chil- thing has a purpose. Educated West- "Those built-in biases cannot be the dren as young as three said that both ern adults believe that human-made I whole explanation of adult re- the sister and the wind could have artifacts have purposes (cars are to sistance to science. Humans might caused the disorder, but that only the drive around in) and that body parts start out as natural-born creation- sister could have caused the orderly have purposes (eyes are for seeing), ists, but some end up as Darwinians. arrangement. In another experiment, but young children take this further, Culture must play a role. Newman and colleagues found saying the same for animals (lions In one recent study of the accep- that even one-year-old babies look are for being in the zoo) and for nat- tance of evolutionary theory in thir- longer, indicating surprise, when a ural entities (clouds are for raining). ty-four countries, the United States computer animation shows a neat And psychologist Margaret Evans came in second to last. The only pile to be caused by a rolling ball. of the University of Michigan found country more Darwin-resistant was This makes perfect sense; the the most direct evidence for natural- Turkey [see chart on opposite page] creation of order typically requires born creationism. She carried out a There are also differences within intelligence. As the prominent Texas series of studies in which she asked societies that need to be explained. congressman Sam Rayburn once children flat out where they believe What is special about the 14 per- put it, "Any jackass can kick a barn animals come from. Their favorite cent of Americans who, in another down, but it takes a carpenter to answer is God. That is true of chil- study, asserted that natural selec- build it." Although Darwin showed dren whose parents are fundamental- tion is definitely true? how a nonintelligent process driven ist Christians—no surprise—but it is Looking within the United States,

Ease of use, peace of mind.

Be able to bathe safely, without worry with a Premier Walk-In Bath.

Independence and security are only a phone call away. If you struggle taking your bath, talk to us at Premier about our extensive range of walk-In baths.

• Enjoy a relaxing bath again, without the fear of slipping or falling.

• The walk-in door feature allows easy access and exiting.

^M^drfithfirum«» jets soothe away your aches and pains.

IB' Yes! Please send me a FREE COLOR BROCHURE about Premier Walk-In Baths Name

Telephone

Address

City

State Zip

Send to: Premier Bathrooms Inc. 2330 South Nova Rd., South Daytona, Florida 321 \9

CODE 60059 | I

P§'>GM\ije§^ the difference between Darwin- Kusch of the University of Cam- religious and political authorities

ians and creationists does not reduce bridge in England points out, "Our favor it, and some people have cho- to smarts or education: studies of teachers, parents and friends, as well sen to defer to them. It is not that college students found no differ- as the media of mass communica- most creationists have assessed the ence in how well (or poorly) they tion teach us close to everything scientific arguments and found them understood the theory of evolution, we know about history, and much wanting. Instead, it is a matter of

whether they believed it was true or about the social and natural worlds trust. Some people trust their pastor not and no matter how much biol- we live in." Kusch notes that if you over their science teacher, the Pope ogy they'd studied. When research- were to strip away from your mind over Richard Dawkins. ers asked the students who endorsed all knowledge acquired through tes- Deference has implications for Darwinian beliefs to explain the timony, very little would remain. science education. If it is important theory of natural selection, their an- to have an educated public in do-

swers were on average no more ac- fe are smart when it comes to social mains such as evolution, stem-cell curate than those of the students that wslearning. Even children know research, diet, and global w^arming, rejected evolution. Many in each enough to trust the testimony of some the goal should not necessarily be group misunderstood the theory, people more than that of others, and to teach citizens the specifics of the coming up with something closer to to trust different people on different relevant scientific argument. Life is Lamarck's view than Darwin's. subjects. Four- and five-year-olds, too short for nonspecialists to learn So while an evolutionary biologist for instance, are aware that adults the relevant facts and theories in all might argue that giraffes evolved long know things that other children do of these domains.

necks because the ones with longer- not, such as the meaning of the word Rather, it is worth making the than-usual necks got more food from hypochondriac. When given conflicting more general point that the com- trees and hence tended to have more information about a word's meaning munity of scientists really does have offspring, many students would say from a child and from an adult, they a legitimate claim to trustworthi-

that it is useful to have a long neck prefer to learn from the adult—un- ness—scientific inquiry involves and so (somehow) giraffes will have less the adult is proven to be unreli- procedures, such as experiments and longer-necked children. They believe, able. They also know that adults have open debate, that are strikingly suc-

as Lamarck did, that there is some varied areas of expertise, that doc- cessful at revealing truths about the mysterious force that causes animals tors know about fixing broken arms physical and biological world. The to become better adapted to their and mechanics know about fixing success of science is also evident environments, and they confuse this flat tires. They prefer to learn from from its practical applications, every- with modern evolutionary biology. a knowledgeable speaker rather than thing from antibiotics to airplanes. What distinguishes, then. Darwin- from an ignorant one. Further, one should emphasize

ians and creationists? A likely answer There is nothing irrational about that when it comes to learning about to this question emerges from the deference to authority. Some sort nature and the cosmos, a scientific

more general question of how we of "division of cognitive labor" is consensus, because it has been rig- come to learn about the world. Some essential in any complex society, orously tested and questioned, car- of our beliefs emerge through per- where any single individual lacks the ries more weight than a political or

sonal experience, which is how a per- resources to evaluate all the claims religious one. Anyone interested in son knows the taste of an apple, the that he or she hears. Scientists them- diminishing the resistance to science color of her house, or the sound of selves defer all the time; any re- in the United States should focus on his child's voice. Some beliefs emerge searcher has to draw upon the work convincing people that this charac-

through conscious deliberation, of others, taking certain results and terization is true by teaching chil- which might apply to the views about ideas on faith. And certainly non- dren how science works, and why.

evolution that a scientist or theolo- scientists defer. I know that E=mc",

is a psychology at gian might hold. But most of what a and that the Earth is billions of years Paul Bloom professor of Yale University. Bloom has written for scientific person knows is learned from other old, but I cannot give arguments journals such as Nature and Science, and people, through hearsay or testimony. for either of those claims. I believe for popular outlets such as the New York It is only from other people that them because I trust that the sources Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic. He we even know where and when we are reliable. I have faith in science. is the author or editor offour books, including were born, and who our parents are. everyone shares that faith. Not How Children Learn the Meanings of If you think about it, little of creationism your The second reason why Words (The MIT Press, 2000) and, most knowledge of the world actually is so popular, apart from its intuitive recently, Descartes' Baby: How the Science comes from your own direct expe- naturalness, is that in some societ- of Child Development Explains What rience. As the philosopher Martin ies (including the United States), Makes Us Human (Basic Books, 2004).

20 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 Special Advertising Section

Pim/^h Scenic ^omd, NoiVAJo Naiion

Infest

--; '>>

'.-" ^M$^' -v'?v ,'Al0ihmi^i^ > '-• feH-.: Scenic BijWAijS % i*Alv llAf nA Smcial Adveriisina Seciion ?AND CANYON S T A T R

Relax and Recharge Your Batteries in ArlZOna

Top: Enjoying the rosy sand RIZONANS thrive on a beaches and sparkling waters special way of life in the great of Lake Powell; outdoors. The state prides below: Birding at tself on a relaxing, open- Patagonia Lake State Park. air lifestyle that takes full advantage

of sunny skies and the beauty of its landscape. Entertainment options in Arizona are as wide open as the stunning scenery: first-rate golf, world- class spas, fine outdoor dining and lake activities at Lake Powell, the second casual nightlife. This state of dramatic largest man-made lake in the U.S. Lake

deserts and vistas also offers some very Powell is surrounded by spectacular inviting ways to refresh yourself with rock canyons and unusual formations.

a splash or more of water. If you're The lake, which is 186 miles long and visiting Phoenix or Tucson, you'll find 400 feet deep, has nearly 2,000 miles water parks galore. And many Arizona of shoreline, with rosy sand beaches

resorts also offer water park amenities. to walk along. You can explore its If you enjoy swimming or water scenic coves by powerboat or personal sports while communing with nature, watercraft or enjoy other water you'll find some great opportunities pastimes such as swimming, fishing,

around the state. Arizona even has its scuba diving, snorkeling, water skiing own natural waterslide. Slide Rock or ski tubing. State Park, located in lush Oak Creek Tucked away in the rolling hills

Canyon, takes its name from a 30- of southeastern Arizona is a hidden foot-long waterslide formed by the treasure. Patagonia Lake State Park natural erosion of the rocks of the overlooks a 265-acre man-made lake creek bed. Visitors can slide down this where anglers catch crappie, bass, slick natural water chute or wade and bluegill, and catfish. Whitetail deer sun along the creek. roam the hills, and great blue herons How about playing in the water in stalk the shoreline. The tracks of one of the most beautiful places in the the New Mexico/Arizona railroad lie world? Lake Havasu, in northwestern beneath the lake, and remnants of the Arizona, offers sparkling waters amid old historic line may be found at the a craggy desert backdrop and 450 Nature Conservancy in Patagonia. miles of beautiful shoreline. With You'll find Arizona a wonderful place Lake Havasu City as your base, you to unwind. No hassle or congestion can launch your own watercraft or here, just a seamless blend of natural rent a boat or jetski for the day. Or beauty and casual comfort that will take in the scenery allow you to relax and absorb its

Above left: Splashing in with a cruise special graces. tlie natural waterslide on an authentic at Slide Rock State paddlewheel boat. For your free travel packet, call Park; bottom left: 1-866-406-6740 toll-free visit Sliding at Sidewinder You can also or Water Park. enjoy all manner of arizonaguide.com. The rough trail taught you what's most important in hfe - sometimes the day's end calls for more than a camphre.

'Grab life. Immerseyourself in a day full of advenfure and a nignt full of fun.

...e to discover and definitely more than you expect, all waiting here for you. For vour free travel packet, call 1-866-406-6740 toll-free or visit arizonaguide.com. GRAN'D CANYO Left: Kitt Peak National

Observatory, one of tlie world's leading observatory complexes; below: scenic mountains surrounding Tucson

and observatory at the mountain top. In addition to witnessing science in action, the views from the peak can't be beat. Astronomy enthusiasts

can also get their fill of cutting-edge research and information from the University of Arizona's top- tier science and astronomy programs. UA scientists recently collaborated with NASA on an exploratory mission to Mars, and you can learn about this exciting space adventure at the UA's Science Operations Center. UA teams helped launch and successfully land the Phoenix spacecraft Photo by Jim Scoiti after a 422-million-mile trip to TUCSON'S cloudless adventure to glimpse the heavens the red planet. The robotic lander skies, clean air, and low through a powerful 24-inch studied soil samples in search of

humidity make it an ideal telescope. Mt. Lemmon is also water and potential habitability city for stargazers. Averag- home to NASA's 40- and 60-inch and transmitted the data back to ing 350 nights of clear skies each Steward Observatory telescopes, scientists at the university. year, Tucson is home to some of which aid in detecting near-earth For more information about Southern the world's top observatories and asteroids and minor planets in Arizona astronomy adventures, go astronomy research facilities, giving our solar system. Steward also to www.visitTucson.org/visitor/ amateur astronomers unparalleled houses an on-campus observatory outdoor/astronomy. access to the stars. in midtown Tucson, which offers On the Tohono O'odham reser- public lectures and nighttime vation just south of the city, Kitt viewings.

Peak National Observatory is part The Smithsonian Institution's of the National Optical Astronomy Fred Whipple Observatory, lo- Observatory (NOAO) and boasts cated in Southern Arizona near the the world's largest collection of town of Amado, is better known optical telescopes. For more than a by its location, Mt. Hopkins. This decade, Kitt Peak's Visitor Center is the largest field installation of and observatories have offered the Smithsonian Institution Astro- visitors a chance to view the night physical Observatory (SAO) outside sky and learn about planets and Cambridge, MA. Since October distant galaxies through three 1968, it has been used as the site powerful telescopes. for experiments requiring extremely Atop 9,157-foot Mt. Lemmon, dark skies, dry climate, and good the University of Ai'izona's brand- "optical seeing." Visitors can take a new Mount Lemmon SkyCenter narrated shuttle ride up a 10-mile invites the public on an overnight road to the working research center It's Unreal How Real We Are

Listen closely and you'll hear the centuries-old echoes of ancient

Native Americans, Spanish Conquistadors and Wild West legends.

1-888-2-Tucson TUcsonJ^ www.visitTucson.org/culture | Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau —

Scenic Bi^weiijs Right: Spider Rock Sffecial Adveriism0 SecHon '-mm"^BRAND CANYON-'STATE at Canyon de Clielly National IVlonument;

left: Navajo weaving

and otiier crafts Destination Beauty have become world- renowned art forms

Scenic Road is a 105-mile thread the design and color

that weaves its way from 1-40, near of Navajo weaving. the Arizona/New Mexico border, Navajo rugs, blan- north to Canyon de Chelly National kets and tapestries, Monument on Navajo Routes 12 yarn, tools, looms, and 64. plants for dyes, classes and weavers

Spider Rock, inside the Monu- can all be discovered along Dinetah

ment, is a spectacular red sandstone Scenic Road.

monolith standing over 800 feet This same thread also weaves its

high. Spider Woman, who is said to way through Window Rock, Arizona, live on Spider Rock, is among the capital of the Navajo Nation. With a most important and honored deities landmass covering over 27,000 square

of the Dine (Navajo) people. It was miles, the Navajo Nation is the largest THE NAVAJO NATION is she who taught the Dine ancestors Native American tribe in the United home to wondrous sce- of long ago the art of weaving on a States. The Dine people, culture, tra- nic roads that weave a web loom. Through generations, weav- dition, history, recreation, scenery

through high desert, mountains, val- ing has evolved amongst the Dine to it's all woven together to experience leys, canyon country, lakes and one become a world-renowned art form. on the Navajo Nation. Visitors can of the longest continuously inhab- When driving Dinetah Scenic discover how to weave a tapestry of

ited landscapes of North America. Road, it soon becomes apparent memories along Dinetah Scenic Road The Dinetah "Among the People" how the beauty of nature influences at www.NavajoScenicRoads.com. Scenic BifWAijSi

Ak I LvntkSpecial Advetiisim ' GRAND CANYON STATBjL , ^^ Change your perspective. Feel the uniqueness of Sierra Vista, Arizona.

FIRST, bring your spyglass. Huachuca, carved and You'll need it. Direct it at drawn by skilled artists. the 9,500-foot peaks of the Take a picturesque bike Huachuca Mountains and imag- ride on the mountain ine Geronimo and his Chiricahua trails of the Coronado Apache standing atop. National Forest, along See the blazing colors in the the rural back roads or brilliant iridescence of humming- on the miles of the City's birds that migrate through our can- multi-use paths. yons from April through September. Amaze at the smoke- Envision hunters during the Ice and-mirrors exhibits in Age—tracking Mammoths—as you the U.S. Army Military Huachuca Mountains walk through the 11,000-year-old Intelligence Museum on Fort Hua- Murray Springs Clovis Site. chuca. With displays of a camera- For those whose childhood Or, be pulled by the history in-a-fake-tree-branch and an excitement was playing cowboys found in the hundreds-year-old original German Enigma encryption and Indians, the Fort Huachuca

petroglyphs and pictographs along machine, the museum is a spy- Museum chronicles the history of the San Pedro River or on Fort lovers dream. the U.S. Army in the Southwest.

Go to VisitSierraVista.com or call the Sierra Vista, Arizona Visitor's Center at 1-800-288-3861 for more information.

A place where cowboys and Indians thrived. Where mountain trails meet archaeological SlEBRlMTli sites, and a river lined with ghost towns, Mammoth bones and brilliant hummingbirds -

it's all here waiting for you.

Call ^ 1 -800-288-3861 f or VisitSierraVista.com ARIZONA Sierra Vista, Arizona - It's Cook'f Than You Think!" ARIZONA T 'NMESA f^'Je ' ''-'"''"nmowi^I LA/nA special Adverilsina Section D CANYON STATE ' ^

Scenic Discoveries in Mesa, Arizona

Off-road tours are a popular activity for guests wanting to see the sights along the historic Apache Trail, just

east of IVIesa.

ONE OF THE most popular species of birds. Big Horn sheep, deer day trips for anyone visit- and javelina roaming freely through

ing Mesa is up thie historic the landscape, while adventure lovers Apache Trail through the ghostly can hike, mountain bike, waterski,

and volcanic Superstition Moun- kayak or wind sail. The more than 28 tains which rise some 2,000 feet into miles of cactus-dotted shoreline leave the desert sky and into the foothills visitors in awe of Arizona's beauty. of the Tonto Natural Forest—the For those seeking a more guided fifth largest forest in the United path, plan an outing with one of the States. Hidden in the depths of this many skilled desert outfitters that

forbidding range is the Lost Dutch- specialize in the area. At the end of man, one of the most storied "lost the day, be sure to catch sunset on mines" of the West. To this day, the the wondrous rock formations that

area continues to pay homage to its line the Apache Trail offering up a Discover endless days of warmth, Western roots which took shape in photo op like no other with deep ample sunshine and unsurpassed the late 1800s. On this scenic drive hues of red, purple, orange and desert beauty in Mesa - your first guests will encounter an authentic crimson illuminating this storied choice for convenience and value. Old West stagecoach stop, a ghost desert landscape. VISITMESA.COM town, the famous Elvis Presley Chapel, and the majesty of a moun- For more on planning your visit to tain lake, all nestled in the beautiful Mesa, Arizona call 480-827-4700 or MESA Sonoran Desert landscape that cap- go online at www.VisitMesa.com and ^2: tures the true essence of Arizona. request a complimentary Mesa Visitors VISITMESA.COM Ai\lZ,UJN)A Nature lovers can view countless Guide. ^^ Scemh3^^^^s^j^j^2Q^I^ 'AKt L\J\ jPiS»ecM/ /4^yer//sfM Sedm RAND CANYON STATBH *'

Backtrack at the Explore Holbrook, Arizona Arizona's Frontier Museum of Natural History Gateway IMAGINE A DAY trip in Arizona Southwest Gallery explores prehistoric HOLBROOK, ARIZONA, has that can lead you all the way Hohokam culture, including replicas been a frontier town since it was back to the time of the dino- of Hohokam dwellings and artifacts founded in 1881. It's still the real saurs, then guide you through the from various stages of their history. West, where tumbleweed blows early world of the native peoples Visit the museum's Historic 5 C's into town from the desert. First on who inhabited the state, and bring Courtyard to learn about the im- the frontier were cowboys, cattle you back up to date through some portance of Arizona's 5 C's—citrus, ranchers and railroaders. The of the state's most vivid historical copper, cattle, cotton and climate. The majestic 1898 Old West Court- periods. You'll find all this and more exhibit includes vibrant murals as house, on the National Register of at the Arizona Museum of Natural well as living citrus trees and cotton Historic Places, is the centerpiece History in the city of Mesa. plants. And don't miss the Arizona of the town. You can still visit the The museum's Dinosaur Hall in the Movies collection of movie legendary Bucket of Blood Saloon, hosts full-scale replicas of well- memorabilia to learn Arizona's role where many a cowboy wet his known dinosaurs, and its award- in the shaping of Hollywood during whistle. winning Dinosaur Mountain, with the heyday of Western filmmaking. From the 1930s through the a three-story waterfall, thrills visitors And for a powerful view of the state's 1950s, the explorers were the trav- with roaring animatronics dinosaurs majesty and magic, visit the Arizona elers of fabled Route 66, known as and a simulated flash flood every 23 Highways' Photo Gallery. the Main Street of America. And minutes complete with thunder and Visit www.AzMNH.org or call today's explorers are likely headed lightning. The museum's permanent 1-480-644-2230 for more information. for the timeless mysteries and beauties of Indian Country.

Holbrook is a great home base for a tour of Navajo, Hopi and Apache country.

Come to Winslow, Holbrook & the Petrified Forest where you will find a large region rich in Western 6c Native American history. High desert plateaus, fantastic rock formations, historical sites 6c ruins, museums, shopping and more provide amazing recreation and exploration. Stop at any of our Visitor Centers so we can share the discovery that awaits you! Northern Arizona Travel & Visitor Info: <* 928 289-2434

"slfrVJ.lft www.GoTourAZ.com Ak liA/nA special Adveriisina SecHon GRAND CANNYON STATE ' ^ Nature, history—and the river that made them. That's what Yuma is all about.

UR GEOGRAPHY shaped the Southwest. Because the Yuma Crossing was the safest spot to ford the Colorado, Above: St. Thomas Indian Mission is just one of the sites O;all roads led here for travelers from the early Spanish where you can explore Yuma's rich history; right: Yuma is explorers to Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl. the gateway to the Imperial Sand Dunes National Recreation Area, a favorite with off-roaders and moviemalllow the meandering Colorado Cibola national wildlife refuges, and ,iver through the natural beauty of \mm .Jllie Desert. ..Rich in hi.slory, the gateway to the Imperial Sand Sonoran On the River's Edge culture and southwestern flavor. Dunes—a hot spot for off-roaders and movie makers alike. Yu'mct. We're more than sunshine. And with the Colorado River

running through it, Yuma offers lots

: AvvvVvivis'tlYuiiia.coni of wet fun all year round, from a APIZOHA quiet paddle to waterskiing. Take a jet boat tour into unspoiled terrain where wildlife abounds or stake out a fishing spot along miles of backwater channels.

Browse or download our Visitors Guide at www.visityuma.com or call 1-800-293-0071 for more information. Special Adveriishi

JWtinnTiiMiH I ti jmr-^mir¥tem^

Follow the River Road from BatOIl RoUgG into Plantation Country

BATON ROUGE is the gateway to Louisiana's fabled sugar cane country, which lies on either side of the Mississippi as it winds its way to New Orleans. Follow the Great Mississippi River Road to famous plantations that have been restored to their former grandeur. The very name River Road inspires a vision of white- columned mansions standing amid lush gardens and giant oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Houinas House Plantation and Oak Alley along the Great Mississippi River Road Oak Alley has been called the Grande Dame of the Great River Road, Houmas House Plantation and Be sure to stop at the River Road and its quarter-mile canopy of giant Gardens has reclaimed its position African American Museum, with live oaks forms a dramatic avenue as the River Road's crown jewel. The exhibits covering 300 years of his- leading to the classic Greek Revival- original French Provincial house from tory, detailing the legacy of Africans style antebellum home. At Laura, a the 1700s is adjoined by a carriageway in America. And don't forget to stop Creole plantation built in 1805, you'll to the main mansion, known during for a meal at the Cabin, which com- enter the indigenous Creole world of its heyday as the "Sugar Palace." Ma- bines southern Louisiana history and Louisiana. An award-winning guided jestic Nottoway, the largest remaining authentic Cajun cuisine in the River tour called the Creole Family Saga antebellum mansion in the South, has Road tradition. details 250 years of true-life stories of also been carefully restored to its days Go to www.visitbatonrouge.com or call Creole women, slaves and children. of glory. 1-800-LAROUGE for more information. Scenic Bi^kfi^^s Speeml Advertising Section

Follow in the Footsteps of Explorers, Pioneers and Native American Trailblazers in Nebraska NEBRASKA'S great novelist Willa Gather wrote of her state, "We

come and go, but the land is always here." And this quint- essential heartland of America

is just as compelling now as it was in her day. In Nebraska, you'll find yourself following in the footsteps and wagon tracks of fabled pioneers, gold miners, explorers, and adven- turers. Along the way, you'll encounter Native American cultures and geological wonders of prehistoric creatures. The state's nine historic and scenic byways reflect the Lunar-like formations at Toadstool Geologic Park In the Rhino Barn at Ashfali Fossil Beds State dramatic range of Nebraska's near Crawford present a relaxing lesson on erosion. Historical Park near Royal, visitors can view fossils just as they were found. history, culture and landscape. The Lincoln Highway Byway nation's first transcontinental highway, The Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway will traverses the state from east where you can view old Pony Express take you to Ashfali Fossil Beds State to west, along the route of the stations, sod houses, and even wagon Historical Park, where you can see ruts from the Oregon Trail. Stop at the Nebraska's ancient history unearthed, Hastings Museum of Natural and Cul- and to adventure on the Niobara tural History. For a quick immersion National Scenic River, one of the in pioneer history, follow the Heritage nation's top paddling destinations. Travel Highway through fertile farmland and Nebraska's heartland along the Loup along historic main streets. Museums Rivers Scenic Byway, named for the along the byway showcase the area's rivers that flow through rolling farmland Native American tribes and early and ranches, friendly small towns and the

settlers. You'll find still more history Sandhills. Follow the Sandhills Journey along the Western Trails Historic and Scenic Byway, considered one of the Scenic Byway, a main thoroughfare country's most scenic routes, to explore

of the great western migration in the this still remote and unique ecoregion. mid- 1800s that now attracts outdoor The Bridges to Buttes Byway will take enthusiasts to fish, view bald eagles, you further into untamed Nebraska. or ride in a covered wagon around Hike or bike into the vast prairie grasses Chimney Rock. The Gold Rush Byway, of Oglala National Grassland or marvel which runs from South Dakota to at the lunar-like landscape of Toadstool Colorado, traces the route of gold min- Geologic Park. Or go back to the land ers past the landmarks of Courthouse of trappers, traders, buffalo and Native

and Jail Rocks as well as the rugged Americans along the Lewis & Clark Pine Ridge. Scenic Byway.

Above left: Half a million sandliill cranes For additional information, log on to migrate along the central Platte River www.VisitNebraska.gov/byways or call valley every spring; left: Homestead National Monument of America showcases 877-NEBRASKA to request a free copy Sandhill cranes R NCLbel Nebraska DED; history. Homesti-ad Nalionai Monument J Nnbb, Nebraska DED pioneer of the Nebraska Travel Guide. A covered wagon would uncover so much fun. NEBRASK.\

possibilities. . .endless 'f^-;;>..'?--W,gi.^T5.

For a natural change ofpace Visit. , w Nebraska ande;ihlore * Historic Lincoln Byway QrandOsfand! * 385/ Gold Rush Byway * Sidney - Living History Historic Downtown Museum * Cabelas World Famous Wildlife Display * The Living Memorial Gardens -SandhiU Crane ^<^j^^ -^ " ^ * The Christmas Box Angel ofHope Migration ^ ^^^ ^.^^^^ To learn more: - Three Scenic Byways^ Cheyenne County Visitors Center 658 Glover Road, Sidney, NE 69162 866-545-4030 * 308-254-4030 www.VisitGrandIsland.com 800.658.3178 www.cheyennecountychaniber.com

There's no better site to learn SANDHILLS JOURNEY SCENIC BVWAV about all of Kearney's great sights QrandOpemti£ than visitkearney.org

Sandhills Journey Scenic Byways For your complimentary visitors guide VISIT visitkearney.org Visitor/Interpretive Center. or CALL 800-652-9435

East Hwy. 2, Broken Bow, NE April 25, 2009 •Railroads •Windmills Exhibits: 'Rancliing v/1 A oKil-i V H www.VisitNebraska.gdv www.sandhillsjourney.com Stop.Play.Stay: j\J^jJ£j^,?^, 877-NEBRASKA, Dept. 9NHC: NEBR/vSKA

877-NEBRASKA,Dept9NHC www.VisitNebrask^gjpif

Nebraska Department of Economic Development's Travel and Tourism Division Alabama's or a quiet sail on the back waters the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail. suits some, others may opt for more A variety of accommodations are Gulf Coast exciting recreational opportunities like available, making the shore accessible the offshore fishirig that is a popular to those looking for a campsite, pastime here. a family-fi-iendly beach house, a History buffs will find plenty to luxury hotel or anything in between. explore, as well. Historic Forts Gaines Special events offer a wide range of and Morgan stand united around experiences including music festivals,

the mouth of Mobile Bay and tell the historic re-enactments, sporting events stories of battles and soldiers of earlier and celebrations of seafood, just to times. Exceptional museums chronicle name a few. the history of heritage of several com- Whether families on the annual Burcowing owl rests along the Alabama Coastal BirdlngTraiK munities along the coast. vacation, couples seeking a secluded The Dauphin Island Audubon getaway, birders searching for that rare ALABAMA'S southern tip is Sanctuary, Bon Secour National Wild- sighting, or history buffs combing the one of those places where life Refuge and Gulf State Park provide forts, all can find a connection here. even first-time visitors find a more than 12,000 acres of protected Alabama's Coastal Connection has connection and Alabama's Coastal lands along the coast. Weeks Bay Na- much to share and it beckons travelers

Connection Scenic Byway is a trea- tional Estuarine Research Reserve is to learn more about The Waters, Ways sure to those who discover it. Gulf, one of only 29 such reserves national- and Wildlife of Alabama's Gulf Coast. bays, lagoons and bayous offer scenic ly and is literally where the soil meets views and recreational opportunities the sea. These vast natural assets are Call 866-324-7776 or visit for most every interest. While enjoy- complimented by smaller municipal AlabamasNaturalCoast.org for more ing a stroll along the shore at sunset parks and trails and by the sites along information.

•saii-^n

If leafing through the pages of tinitj ^|iUUUIU lU-yUUnilW»imilllVir Uown the B

Mobile BayClvil War Trail will prove to be unforgettable. With more than a dozen historL

sites, including Fort Morgan, you can relive this seminal battle of the Overland Campaign, w

And with the carefully preserved personal artifacts and handwritten accounts of ship

captains, fort commanders and common sojdiers, you'll hear their voices and ^'^'"

;------• their words comiAg back to speak to you. Over and over again.

No wonder history buffs keep coming back.

^ake plans to revjsitiiistory today. Click on GULFfSHORES '^"''''' lpasNaturalCDast.org or toll-free 1i866.324.77 'ISm Tkail orangeJbeach yfor Mobile Bay Special Aiiveriism^ SecHoii

From Beaches and Birds to Chateau Country in Delaware

COULD travel the the countryside known as Chateau Youlength of Delaware in a Country, replete with historic sites, mere two hours. But its magnificent estates, and glorious three counties are nearly as diverse gardens. Or take the Red Clay Valley as three different countries. You'd Scenic Byway to the Mt. Cuba Cen- barely scratch the surface if you ter dedicated to the conservation of spent a night in each. And you'll Appalachian Piedmont plants and

find that this little state with mod- the Ashland Nature Center, with its Rolling hills of the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway erate temperatures and pleasant Butterfly House and nature trails breezes has more than a country's winding through meadows and of unspoiled marshland include the worth of natural, historic and marshes. Thousand Acre Marsh, the largest cultural attractions to keep you Delaware's Coastal Heritage freshwater tidal wetland in northern

there. Linger on its beaches; stop at Scenic Byway (Route 9), from his- Delaware. You'll find easy access to roadside farm stands; explore wild- toric New Castle almost to Dover, the Bombay Hook National Wildlife

life refuges; have a night out under traverses 50 miles of the state's care- Refuge, with its handy observation city or casino lights; and tour the fully preserved shore, unparalleled towers, and to the adjacent Little famous du Pont estates. on the East Coast. You'll pass vil- Creek Wildlife Area. A journey through the genteel lages and working farms, and you'll Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway find some great birding along the Start the exploration at will take you into the rolling hills of way. The route's generous stretches www.visitdelaware.com. I

The swimming styles of sea slugs demonstrate how malleable neural circuitry can be.

BY PAUL S. KATZ AND JAMES M. NEWCOMB

tAr^i^

liii • d . —

Attack of the Killer Sea Star! The camera pans across an underwater setting, the Puget

Sound mud flats. Enter a sunflower sea star, menacingly

waving all twenty-four arms, studded with 15,000 suck- er-tipped tube feet. Our humble hero-heroine, the hermaphroditic sea slug Tritonia diomedea, seems to stand no

chance: it moves at one-fifth the speed of the sea star, glid- ing so slowly along the seafloor that we must use time-

lapse photography to catch it mid-creep. One tube foot

makes contact with the sea slug! Is the end near?! Sensing

a kill, the sea star lurches forward to get its mouth posi-

tioned over the slug so that it can evert its stomach, digest

the sea slug, and suck in its snack. Apparently doomed,

the sea slug starts to thrash. First, it flattens its body hori-

zontally. Then it jackknifes, making its mouth touch the

underside of its tail. Next, a backbend: the top of its head

touches the dorsal side of its tail. Death throes? No Tri-

tonia, it turns out, can swim! Sort of Although direction can't be controlled, the rhythmic flexions (seven or eight over a minute) somersault the sea slug up off the mud and into the safety of a passing ocean current. Finally, under the closing credits, the sea slug lets itself sink down

through the silty water and into the mud, where it goes

back to its usual slow, creeping ways. Jtp^ Of the thousands of species of sea slugs that grace the Earth's oceans, fewer than a hundred can swim in some

fashion. Some do it by flapping flipperlike appendages, stroking movements, and stiU oth- 1 others use whiplike '//^*5 ers make wavelike undulations of their bodies. We study

over an hour, with some control of its direction. Why do animals with similar brains behave so differently?

Sea slugs, by which we refer to the group of gastropod mollusks called opisthobranchs, glide and glom on surfaces and in climates as distinct as Carib- 'm.'^9r. bean coral reefs and the Arctic seafloor. Tritonia and Me- libe belong to the nudibranchs, a subset of opisthobranchs many of which notably possess "naked gills" that frill their shell-less bodies. These hermaphrodites thrive in waters shallow and deep. Many are brightly colored and beautiful, advertising to potential predators that they are toxic or bad-tasting. But brains, not beauty, attracted us to the wonderful, weird world of nudibranchs—more Melibe leonina, a hermaphroditic shell-less mollusk, precisely, the simplicity of their neural circuitry. is one of some 3,000 nudibranch species, and one Whereas human brains contain about 100 billion neu- of only 2 to 3 percent that can swim. The authors rons, interlinked by 10,000 or more synapses, result- explore the structure and evolution of the neural each circuits that enable the animal to do so. ing in more than 100 trillion connections, sea slugs have

May 2009 natural history 37 fewer than 10,000 neurons, with presumably far fewer diameter of as much as a millimeter, which makes connections. That manageable number of neurons makes it the largest nonreproductive cell body in the animal the nature of those connections much easier to decipher, kingdom. Although R2 is exceptionally large, even the which is why neuroscientists have been examining the average neuron body in many sea slug species is as wide brains of sea slugs for almost half a century. as a human hair is thick. Researchers have thus been able

Many sea slug neurons are unique in that each has its to impale the cells with microelectrodes, record electrical own anatomy and connectivity. In animals more com- activity, and produce "wiring" diagrams that indicate how plex than a roundworm, it is very unusual to have recog- groups of sea slug neurons are connected. nizably distinct individual cells; you can't tell one liver In the 1960s, neurobiologist A.O. Dennis Willows at cell from the next. In our massive multibillion-neuron the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratory brains, the best we can do is to recognize general classes discovered that individual neurons in Tritonia play distinct of neurons found in the same brain region. (The cortex, roles in particular behaviors, such as bending, withdraw- for instance, comprises 30 billion neurons of 200 differ- ing, or swimming. When an animal makes such a move- ent types.) But in sea slugs, we can identify and study the ment, he found, single neurons emit reproducible patterns same neuron in different individual animals. of electrical impulses. Furthermore, he showed that elec-

Better yet for scientists, those neurons are gigantic, rela- trically stimulating those neurons can reliably elicit those tively speaking. In the California sea hare, for instance, behaviors. Think about that: it is truly remarkable that in a one neuron—named R2—has a cell body visible to the brain of 10,000 neurons, a single neuron can play such an naked eye, with a important role in triggering a movement involving many different muscles acting together in a coordinated fashion.

Tritonia moves by crawling when it is heading toward

a mate or the orange sea pen on which it dines. Yet

saying that Tritonia "crawls" is not quite accurate, be-

cause it does not make any muscular contractions to move forward. Instead, the slug seems to magically

glide along. The secret to its movement is cilia, those microscopic hairlike organelles that fringe paramecia to help them wiggle through water. Like many kinds of small land snails, Tritonia secretes mucus onto a surface (the seafloor) and then moves for-

ward on waves of beating cilia on the bottom of its foot

(the so-called "foot" is the underside of its entire body

behind its head). The cilia are only about twenty mi- crons long (or 0.02 millimeters), whereas the animal can

grow to almost a foot in length. This is a strange and not particularly efficient way to get around, equivalent to driving a car on wheels with a diameter of less than half a millimeter. Not surprisingly, Tritonia's crawling speed

is slow, averaging about twenty feet per hour. Relative to body size, that translates to walking at about 170 feet per

hour. At that rate, it would take almost a day and a half to walk a single mile.

How fast the sea slug creeps is determined by the rate

at which the cilia beat, which is controlled by a pair of particularly large neurons. When they fire electrical impulses, the neurons release chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which excite the ciliated cells of the foot,

causing the cilia to beat faster. Willows's lab has identified unique peptide neurotransinitters that increase ciliary beating. (Peptides are short strings of amino acids that can be secreted by neurons and other cells.) The greater the frequency of impulse firing, the greater the quantity of peptides released, and the faster Tritonia moves.

Unlike its usual ciliary crawling, Tritonia's swimming convulsions Melibe leonina, like Tritonia, flexes its whole body when it swims, but it does are produced by so laterally rather than dorsoventrally, contraction of body- using different muscles. Unlike Tritonia, wall muscles. During a Melibe can shimmy for an hour or more, with some directional control. swim, muscle contractions of the dorsal and ventral body walls al- ternate to make the animal thrash up and down. Thanks to the work of several researchers we know much of the neural circuitry that controls that behavior, from the sensory neurons that register a threat to the motor neurons that relay the pattern of activity to was injected with serotonin, it swam without stimulus the muscles. In particular, the late neurobiologist Peter from a sea star or other predator. Serotonin also caused A. Getting at the University of Iowa identified a group an isolated brain—one resting alone in a Petri dish—to of three kinds of neurons as forming what is known as a produce the pattern of electrical activity that underlies Central Pattern Generator, or CPG. A CPG generates a swimming. Those results demonstrate the essential role rhythmic pattern of electrical impulses that drives repeti- of DSIs and their neurotransmitter serotonin in generat- tive movements—like the chip in an Energizer Bunny*. ing Tritonia's swimming motor pattern. A CPG in human brainstems controls breathing; a Next we wanted to see if serotonin neurons like the CPG in the spinal cord controls walking. Rather than DSIs also generated rhythmic movements in other sea a simple trio of cells, however, the CPGs in mammalian slugs. So we looked at other nudibranchs, such as Tocli- nervous systems consist of millions of neurons, and are uina tetraquetra, Dendronotus iris, and Triopha catalinae, to thus hard to decipher. Studying CPGs in invertebrates see if they contained the same set of swimming neu- has yielded insight into how rhythmic behaviors in many rons, even though many of the species we looked at species are produced. cannot swim, or if they can, do so in a manner different In our lab, we wanted to elucidate how the neurons from that of Tritonia. In the ten species that we exam- that make up Tritonia's "swim CPG" interact. Our interest ined, in all four major nudibranch lineages, we found arose in large part because the swim CPG involves the so- serotonin-containing neurons with similar anatomical called Dorsal Swim Interneuron (DSI), which releases the features. Those neurons are most likely homologous— neurotransmitter serotonin. In humans, serotonin plays an that is, their presence in diverse sea slug species strongly important part in a number of disorders such as clinical de- suggests that a common ancestor of the animals had the pression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and obesity. And same neurons. while no one knows exactly why various antidepressants What are swimming neurons doing in nonswimming work—or why they sometimes don't—many function by sea slugs? We knew that even in Tritonia the DSIs play blocking serotonin reuptake into neurons. Tritonia, with other roles: when the animal is not swimming, activating its large, serotonin-containing DSI neurons and known the DSIs speeds up the rate of crawling. Neurobiologist neural connections, offered a tremendous opportunity to William N. Frost and colleagues at the Chicago Medical study how serotonin functions. School have shown how that happens. The DSIs make connections with the very peptide-containing neurons We began by investigating the role that increase the rate of cilia beating on the foot. But did of DSIs in initiating and maintaining the swimming be- the nonswimming species have the neurons wired to in- havior. We and others found that stopping the neurons crease cilia speed? Yes, we discovered they do have those from sending signals prevented the animal from swim- connections, meaning that the neural setup has been

ming. Nor could it swim when administered a drug that conserved across species. But we did not know what blocks serotonin receptors. Conversely, when a Tritonia differences in DSI wiring allow Tritonia to swim while

May 2009 natural history 39 —

/ /' other nudibranchs cannot. To find out, we looked at a /.v' A sea slug that does swim, but in a manner different from Tritonia. The lion nudibranch,

Melibe leonina, also called the hooded nudibranch, is found in the Puget Sound region as well, but prefers shallower Perhaps not

water, where it clings to eelgrass rather than crawling on surprisingly, the under-

the bottom in the silt as Tritonia does. Melibe uses its large lying neural circuitry in the two species is also dis- oral hood, which resembles a Venus flytrap, to catch small similar. Neurobiologist Stuart H. Thompson at Stanford plankton such as crustacean larvae that float by. When dis- University's Hopkins Marine Station and neurobiologist

lodged from a blade of eelgrass, Melibe will swim until it Winsor H. Watson III at the University of New Hamp-

reaches another surface to cling to. shire have identified the neurons in the Melibe brain that As described earlier, Melibe's swimming style differs sig- form the CPG for lateral-flexion swimming: they are

nificantly from Tritonia'?, in degree of control, length oftime, located in different parts of the brain and possess ana- and reason for initiation {Melibe sometimes swims spontane- tomical features different from those that form the swim ously, not only during emergency maneuvers). The most CPG in Tritonia. Therefore, the neural swim circuits in

important difference, from our perspective, is that Tritonia Melibe and Tritonia probably are not homologous; that is,

flexes dorsally and ventrally, while Melibe flexes its body lat- they do not derive from the same neurons and circuits in

erally, from side to side \see illustrations on pages 38-39] . That a common ancestor. means that although both sea slugs flex their entire bodies to Yet the brains of those animals do contain homologous

swim, different sets of muscles power those movements. neurons: the Melibe brain has homologues of the Tritonia DSIs mentioned earlier as occurring in nonswimming rela- tives. Again the question arises: what are Dorsal Swim In- terneurons doing in an animal that does not swim with .iP dorsal-ventral body flexions? In contrast to Tritonia, for r which those neurons play a necessary role in swimming, we found that although the DSI homologues can trigger Melibe's swimming, they are not needed for the swimming behavior to occur. That suggests that something about the Dendronotids Aeolids Arminoids Dorids Pleurobranchs neuronal wiring or properties of these homologous neurons

is causing them to behave differently in the two species. Serotonin, the neurotransmitter of DSIs in Tritonia and of their homologues in Melibe, also functions differently in the two species. Drugs that block serotonin

Nudibranchs Notaspids Anaspids Gymnosomatids receptors do not prevent swimming in Melibe as they do in Tritonia, but serotonin does facilitate the swim- MODES OF LOCOMOTION ming behavior. Thus, serotonin seems to be an optional • Dorsal-ventral flexions (i\ mr^ XNudipleura in Melibe. means for eliciting the swimming behavior ?^^^>^ Non-swimmer jli^Z^i^ That finding implies an important lesson: the role ot a neurotransmitter varies depending on the role of the • Lateral flexions <;^^ Z©' neurons in their neural circuit; neurotransmitters don't

' Parapodial waves "^^ "*^^ Our work with Tritonia's CPG is also revealing more and more about the complex ways serotonin works. In Chart showing the presumed evolutionary relations the process of generating and modulating the slug's rhyth- among selected branches in the family tree of sea slugs: mic swimming behavior, it acts to make a weak synap- similar swimming behavior in the nudibranch Tritonia synaptic and the notaspid Pleurobranchaea both relying on tic connection stronger, but a strong connection dorsoVentral flexions—arose independently from com- weaker. This discovery has implications for understanding mon ancestral neural circuitry. Only some dendronotids, how serotonin—and other important, related neurotrans- dorids, and pleiirobranchs can swim in that way. Other mitters—might function in more complex brains such as sea slugs either flex laterally, rely on parapodial move- our own. It's for scientists and the public to re- ments, or don't swim at all. common fer to "serotonin levels." There are even self-help guides

~~40 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 ;~~

Microscope images of the brains of Tritonia diomedea (far left) and Melibe leonina (near left): the lighter green K^A' circular shapes in the center of each image are cell bodies of neurons involved in controlling the movements of swimming. Differences and similarities in these sea slugs' nervous systems reflect how evolution has arranged the ^^^:: same set of neurons, inherited from a common ancestor, into differently organized networks.

leg and right hind leg moving forward at the same time. But some mammals, such as camels, which advise "adjusting serotonin levels" on one's own to certain breeds of horses, and some dogs, move in a different

solve emotional problems. It's true that serotonin plays a way: they pace, with the two legs on the same side moving role in depression; that's why selective serotonin reuptake forward together. That means pacing is a heritable feature

inhibitors like Prozac can be effective. But it is a drastic that appeared independently in dogs, horses, and camels. oversimplification to conclude that changes in serotonin We don't know which changes in the spinal circuits caused levels equal changes in depression. Our work shows that these different types of movements to be produced, but serotonin does not act like a simple volume control knob, the point is that the same sets of neurons independently

turning up or down ongoing activity; rather, it can act like evolved more than once to produce similar locomotion. a component of a more sophisticated logic circuit. Extrapolating from our work to other taxa is unwieldy because there is no part of a molluscan brain homolo- The finding that the brains of Tritonia gous to any part of a vertebrate brain. Some claim that and Melibe were so different surprised us in the light of parts of arthropod brains are homologous to vertebrate work from the lab of neurobiologist Rhanor Gillette brains. If that's true, some complex properties may have at the University of Illinois on another sea slug, Pleii- re-evolved: there may be so-called "deep homology" in

~~robmnchaea californica. Both Tritonia and Melibe are in the the nervous system that has allowed certain features to~~

order Nudibranchia, but P. californica is in the sister tax- reappear over and over again, such as genes that form on Notaspidea [see diagram on opposite page]. Yet Pleiiro- eyes—in insects and humans. In any case, understand- branchaea swims in a manner similar to Tritonia. Further- ing the basic differences in circuitry layouts of sea slugs more, when Gillette's lab investigated the neural basis might help to unravel more complex wirings. for this swimming behavior, they found that neurons What we have found startling is the great flexibility in homologous to the Tritonia DSIs play a similar role in the rather simple circuitry of sea slug brains. Homologous Pleurobranchaea. Does that mean that their common an- neurons have evolved in some cases to serve the same

cestor swam like Tritonia? If so, it would mean that the function in different species; in other cases the functions lineage that led to Melibe lost the ability to swim with vary to produce different behaviors. While our work on dorsal-ventral flexions and evolved the ability to swim slug brains may not explain what it is in our brains that with side-to-side flexions. makes us scream, shiver, or laugh at a horror film, it's a We looked for more examples of the two types of "creepy" start. swimming behavior and found other examples of species that could swim with side-to-side flexions in two other nudibranch lineages (Aelidoidea and Doridoidea). But Paul S. Katz became interested in compara- only Doridoidea contained species that could swim with tive approaches to neural circuits as a graduate student at Cornel) University. He is co- dorsal-ventral flexions. Therefore, we hypothesize that director of the Neural Systems and Behavior the DSI-like neurons were present in an ancient ancestor Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory and became incorporated into swimming circuits more in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, a professor in than once (in Tritonia and Pleurobranchaea). We plan to the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State investigate the neural basis of swimming in other sea University in Atlanta, and president-elect of the International Society for Neuroethology. slug lineages to more clearly address how those behaviors James M. Newcomb is an assistant professor c may have arisen. biology and health science at New England How is this pertinent to animals with more complex College in New Hampshire. He earned his nervous systems? Consider the evolution of gaits in mam- PhD in biology at Georgia State University. mals. All mammals possess a spinal cord that consists of the Much of his research has explored the neural control of swimming nudibranchs. same types of neurons. But in different animals, these neu- E>C. found at rons produce very different gaits. Most four-legged mam- Web links related to this article can be www.naturalhist0ryma9.com mals trot when they walk at a brisk pace, with the left front

May 2009 natural history 41 here are parts of Africa where humans are is brief and the nights are always about twelve hours just another meal, where walking alone down long. On a cloudy night, the darkness is absolute. an unlit path can bring on an overwhelming In a bad year, lions attack as many as 140 Tanzani- sensation of helplessness, and where a fear ans; unreported cases may double that number. During of the dark or of monsters under one's bed quiet intervals, lions still attack ten to thirty people

is anything but superstitious. Bantu farmers a year, and the numbers often flare up again. The in southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique rank majority of lion attacks are fatal, and the victims are among the poorest in eastern Africa. They grow rice, eaten. Lions' patterns of predation on Homo sapiens are maize, and cassava in small plots, which they hoe by similar to those on wildebeest, zebra, or gazelle: they g hand, and live in nearby huts with thatched roofs and prefer to catch people who are away from others in i mud-caulked walls of interwoven sticks. Most are the dark. Some cases are particularly horrifying: lions I Muslim, and few are educated beyond primary school. dig through thatched roofs and drag elderly people out I Birthrates are high. Children are everywhere, walk- of bed; they pluck small children from the breasts of > ing to and from school, playing outside. Women fetch their nursing mothers or the arms of their grandmoth- E water from wells, streams, or ponds a few miles from ers; one woman lost her husband and parents in two s home. No one has indoor plumbing; outhouses are separate attacks several months apart.

~~I at least fifty feet from the back door. Every evening The threat of man-eating predators has molded our~~

J people dine outside in the hot, humid air. Some have evolution, and has provided fodder for folklore and i kerosene lamps, but no one owns a flashlight. Twilight travelers' tales. But there have been many more rumors

A pride bf lions, photographed without flash, waits and listens fc^r potential prey in Tanzania's Serengeti National ParB;{the:starry nightscap^ was also photo- 'fjf f< graphed on t^::Sere'ngetrplaih,,hut:separately). Top image: An infrared earnerapicksup the body heat of a pair of lions on the rnove at night.

~~May 2009- As human populations expand and lions' prey dwindles in eastern Africa, ^he poorest~~

~~BY CRAIG PACKER~~

~~W¥mf^~~

~~and mytlis iiboiit man-caters than hard facts. Two of •y/i my students, Dennis Ikanda and Hadas Kiishnir, and~~

I have conducted detailed studies of man-eating lions in the coastal scrublands of southern Tanzania for the past six years. Ikanda and Kushnir have visited the survivors and the victims' families to find out what happened in more than 300 lion attacks. Who was taken? What were they doing? Where and when did the attack take place? We hope these data will help authorities devise ways to protect local people from lion attacks and reduce the need for retaliation. Although the problem has intensified in recent years, lions have eaten people in these areas for as long as anyone can remember. In the past century, lion populations throughout Africa have plummeted to less than 50,000 individuals in total. The big cats have largely been eradicated outside the national parks and game reserves in alinost every other part of Africa, but the Bushpig, a nocturnal animal that frequents agricultural coastal scrublands stretching from Dar es Salaam down areasi is a favorite prey of lions. .

~~to the Mozanibican town of Pemba host the last great population of lions that live among people and outside — ^^ '[ :^(Al»» |li|ife any sort of protected area. * And here be .Man Eaters.~~

IN THE GROTTE CHAUVET OF SOUTHERN FRANCE, 32,000-year-old cave paintings detail the angle of lions' ears, their whisker spots, and their facial expressions while snarling. Since the artist(s) lacked spotting scopes, binoculars, and telephoto lenses, they must have observed lions at reasonably close range—and lived long enough to record their observations. Large, maneless cave lions

(Paiitliera atrox) once ranged throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and archaeological evidence suggests that early humans were scavengers for hundreds of thousands of years before they began hunting for themselves. Thus, early humans must have relied on lions and other large predators as a major source of animal protein—chasing the carnivores away from their kills and feasting on the remains. Similarly, modern Bushmen, such as the Hadza northern Mozambique have less direct experience ofwild of Tanzania, are rarely troubled by the sight of a lion; in animal behavior and fewer, if any, weapons to protect fact, some believe that they can make "medicine" ofsaliva themselves. And, ofcourse, agriculturalists transform land

and a chewed-up seed to keep lions at bay. from its native state to grow crops, reducing the carrying Modern pastoralists have a more complex relationship capacity for the lions' natural prey and replacing herbivore with lions. The Maasai, for example, retaliate against lions biomass with more and more people. The human popula- that kill their cattle, and they are also motivated to kill tion in southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique has lions in a ritual hunt known as ala-mayo, in which young nearly doubled in the past twenty years. warriors prove their courage by spearing a lion and taking But agriculturalists do not live in a vacuum—their its tail. Dennis Ikanda and another ofmy students, Bernard crops invite various unwanted species, such as monkeys Kissui, have studied the relationship between lions and and birds. Daytime pests require daytime vigilance and

Maasai in northern Tanzania, and they found that lions extra time in the fields. But it is a nocturnal species that almost never seek Maasai as prey. Rather, lions only at- provides the necessary link between lions and people to tack the warriors in self-defense or injure herders during create the optimal circumstances for an outbreak of man- cattle raids. Working in the Ngorongoro Conservation eating: bushpigs [Potaiuoclwenis larmtiis) [see photograph on Area, Ikanda found that while previous page]

~~lions are especially likely to Typical lion prey such as buffalo, Lake r^ENYA attack livestock herds tended A~~*) wildebeest, and zebra cannot sur- , Victoria~~

~~warrior traditions, rural farm- anything that falls in. In largely MOZAMBIQUE ers in southern Tanzania and Muslim southern Tanzania and~~

44 I NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 Bantu farmer, left, oversees his field in the coastal scrublands of southern Tanzania. The makeshift hut, where he sleeps during harvest time, offers little protection -^tm^'i from the lions that hunt at night for bushpigs. Right: In Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maasai herders carry weaponry to defend against lions and ^ cluster their living quarters protectively around their livestock pens.

iiiiii J northern Mozambique, however, most people will not program on the border with Malawi and Zambia, intended to eat pork; some Muslims hesitate even to touch a pig. So prevent the spread ofrinderpest (a livestock disease) between the main strategy for pig control there is to build a simple eastern and southern Africa. George Rushby, a British game covered platform, or dungii, where the farmer can sleep in warden, was sent by the colonial authorities to eradicate the the field, listen for disturbances during the night, and chase man-eaters, and he expressed surprise that there could be away any pigs with loud noises, sticks, and stones. so many lions in the area, since there seemed to be so little Loud noises and sticks and stones are not much de- lion prey and so many bushpigs! fense against the lions, which specialize in bushpigs, the In a statistical analysis, my students and I found that greatest biomass of their prey in the coastal agricultural the districts of Tanzania with the highest number of lion region. Villagers say that the loud squeal of attacks on humans in the twenty-first century of "normal lion a dying pig is a sure sign of lions, and any GEWARE also had the lowest abundance Christians in the area will eagerly chase off MORE LION prey" and the greatest abundance of bushpigs. lions for a free meal of wild pork. So the Areas surrounding the famous national parks in the SEE YOU TI-U\N northern Tanzania (Serengeti, Tarangire, and pigs, being maintenance food for lions, act YOU THEM as magnets that draw predators all the way Manyara) have abundant wildebeest, zebra, into the fields and villages. We have and buffalo and very few bushpigs—so found that the most common context tourists have little to fear! of lion attack is when the victim Fear among locals, however, has sleeps in a dungu—and lions fol- been a significant impediment to lowing bushpigs into the fields have dealing with man-eaters. The belief stumbled across easier prey. is pervasive among local people that Regardless of their initial experience with human flesh, these are not animals at all, but malevolent magic spirits. once lions learn that people can be eaten, some become Sometimes the first victim's family won't even tell their repeat offenders. Some habitual man-eaters are males, some neighbors about the attack, fearing that the death was are females, some are old, and some are young. Sometimes retribution for some heinous crime committed by their whole prides partake. dead relative. People's perceptions of magic are deep and abiding. In some cases, villagers rely on the local medicine AN OUTBREAK OF MAN-EATING LIONS MAY LAST man to tell them if it is a spirit lion or a real lion. Local for two to three years, or until the repeat offenders and their villagers will tell you that they don't mind real lions—it offspring are killed. In the meantime, more than forty people is the spirit lions that terrify them. But over the course

may fall victim in a roughly forty-square-mile area. The worst of any persistent outbreak, the medicine man eventually outbreak of man-eating lions in history was in the Njombe changes his mind and declares the offending lions to be district ofsouthern Tanzania, where as many as 1,500 people real—and control strategies are finally implemented. were killed between 1932 and 1947 [see map on opposite page]. The belief m spirit lions can tear apart the fabric of local The outbreak was apparently precipitated by a game-control society. In northern Mozambique, outbreaks of man-eat-

May 2009 natural history 45 ing lions have led to public lynchings halfmiles overnight. And since many of villagers, who were accused of man-eaters survive mostly on bushpigs, unleashing evil spirits. Elsewhere they may only feed on human flesh

~~in Mozambique, the number of of- every fourth or fifth meal. So it is no ficial reports of man-eating lions surprise that people think they are~~

fell to zero during the tenure of a appearing out of nowhere. particularly powerful and famous medicine man. After his death, cases THE MYTH OF THE GREAT were no longer exclusively attributed White Hunter has resonated for well to spirits, and the number of reports over a century in Europe and North returned to normal. America. David Livingstone, the fa- Further reinforcing the belief that mous explorer and missionary, traveled the killers are supernatural, the move- through eastern and southern Africa ments of man-eating lions can be seeking to eradicate the slave trade highly erratic and unexpected. One and to spread Christianity throughout famous man-eater in southern Tanza- Africa. Livingstone largely supported nia was called Simba Karatasi, literally himself through his writings, and "paper lion," because he seemed to his books contained florid accounts move about as randomly as a piece of the man-eating lions he killed in

of paper blown by the wind. Lions what is now Zambia (then Northern rely on stealth and surprise when capturing their prey: they Rhodesia) and Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia). In cannot outrun their usual quarry of wildebeest or zebra, so the 1890s, about two decades after Livingstone's death.

they often stalk them to within several feet before a final Colonel J. H. Patterson was sent to Tsavo, Kenya, by the charge. Since lions are primarily nocturnal, most of their colonial authorities to deal with an outbreak of man-eat- long-range movements are under cover of darkness, and ers during the construction of a raiWay from Mombasa even in undisturbed areas like the Serengeti, lions may move to Kampala. The lions proved to be difficult quarry, and two miles in a single night looking for unsuspecting prey. his subsequent book. The Maii-Eaters of Tsavo, spawned no Where prey is scarce, they can move as much as twelve and a fewer than three Hollywood films: Bwaiia Devil (1952), Killers ofKilimanjaro (1959), and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) [see "Man-Eaters of Tsavo," November 1998]. Indeed, popular culture has been quite obsessed with the notion that white men are somehow the only reliable agents for protecting helpless villagers. Certainly The Man-Eaters of Tsavo had a dispropor- tionate impact on this perception, with Colonel Patterson being the only man who could rescue the railway crew. Yet at least twenty-eight of the Tsavo victims were laborers from India who had likely never owned a weapon in their lives and might have fared better if they had been as well armed as Patterson. In the 1932 outbreak, George Rushby relied on his Tanzanian assistants as well as his experience as a hunter to finally end the terror in Njombe. The falsehood at the heart of the Great

~~White Hunter myth is the notion that African villagers will forever remain help-~~

, Mother and two of her children relax outside their home in less and that only outside expertise can Nampunga, Tanzania—without any barrier against intrusive wildlife. protect them against the forces of nature. Arabic prayers cover their blackboard. It is certainly true that when you are very,

46 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 very poor and cannot afford anything more than the clothes OUR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOCUSES ON SOME- on your back, there is no way that you can buy your own how trying to mitigate this brutal conflict. Currently guns to shoot the marauding Hons or erect fences to keep a new Tanzanian wildlife student, Harunnah Lyimo, the pigs out ofyour fields or even provide adequate lighting is testing various strategies for keeping pigs out of the around your house at night. And certainly the scale ofrural villagers' fields. Bushpigs cannot be eradicated, but it poverty in southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique should be possible to exclude them from the fields with is heartbreaking. trenches or a string of chili peppers or even the sort of

But the fact is that very simple technology now animal repellant used in America to deter raccoons and makes man-eating deer from suburban lions almost trivi- gardens. And even if ally easy to kill. And those measures don't the word spreads fast. fully protect the vil- A few years ago, an lagers against lions, elderly couple were they could at least sleeping in their hut reduce crop losses. one night when the Education may wife had to go to the be useful, too; it is outhouse. She didn't simply not a good come back, and the idea to walk alone at husband went out to night. And certainly, look for her. At the friends should never outhouse, he found allow friends to walk the upper half of her home alone drunk in body lying on the the dark—lions seem ground. He quietly to have a particular went back to their fondness for drunks. hut, fetched a box of But then they also rat poison, and came catch the simple and back to lace the re- delusional outcasts: mains of his wife. It worked. schizophrenics and the slow-witted. Whether independently or in recollection of this first It is difficult to exaggerate the toll that even a few case, a man in another village found the lower half of his man-eating lions can exact on the psychology of a rural mother-in-law's body a year or so later. He, too, laced her community. Harvest season is man-eating season. Be- body with rat poison. It worked again. Now people know yond the direct costs of injury and loss of life, people can what to do, and rat poison is something anyone can afford. become almost paralyzed with fear, leaving their crops In some areas, people tolerate lions because they help con- to rot in the fields. trol the bushpigs, but most people would rather deal with There are fewer than 50,000 lions left in all of Africa; bushpigs than with man-eating lions, so they have even Tanzania is their final stronghold. There may only be a dozen started lacing bushpig carcasses with poison and setting out or a hundred lions in the coastal scrublands. But what can poisoned goats as bait. you do when one of those lions comes from nowhere? It's

This started about five years ago, and it seems likely hungry. It strikes in the dark. You have no weapons. that most of the lions have been eradicated from the rural That lion could be anywhere, even under your bed. areas of southern Tanzania, because we have only heard of a dozen or so fatal attacks each year since 2005. But there will always be lions emerging from Tanzania's vast Selous Craig Packer has studied the Hons of the Seren- 1978. spends several months a year ft _ ^'^^^^^^ Game Reserve (which, at 17,300 square miles, is larger than geti since He in Africa and the remainder in Minnesota, where Switzerland and held as many as 4,000 lions a decade ago) he is Distinguished McKnight University Pro- and Mozambique's vast Niassa Reserve (which is nearly as fessor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, large as the Selous and may be home to a thousand more and Behavior at the University of Minnesota in lions). And rural villagers quickly become complacent after St. Paul. Packer serves on the advisory board of the conserva- the last lion has been destroyed in a particular outbreak, Panthera, a foundation devoted to tion of wild cat species (www.panthera.org). thinking that it will never happen again—but, eventually, Web links related to this article can be found at it will. Thus it would be best to take precautionary steps to www.naturalhistorymag.com protect people from being eaten in the first place.

~~May 2009 n.atural history 47 GEOSCAPES A Shot in the Dark~~

~~Underground worlds see the light.~~

~~story and Photographs by Benjamin von Cramon~~

~~urn off the lights, close your lodged a watermelon-size chunk the business of foot placement. So~~

~~eyes, and try to imagine of granite that came to rest on my a caver's perspective is inherently "cave dark." Nope, the back, knocking loose my light cord, myopic: impressions built up from~~

~~real thing is unspeakably which connected to a hip-mounted one poorly-lit swatch of rock at a~~

~~darker. Certain commercial cave battery pack. Plunged into darkness time. Perversely, we like it that way.~~

tours provide a taste by momentarily and barely able to move, I had all Ultimately, however, curiosity about cutting the lights, but knowing the the time in the world to contem- what's beyond the dark means we

~~guide's hand is safely on the switch plate a book I had just read. Trapped, also value the big picture. doesn't compare to total immersion which details the demise of a famous~~

~~off the beaten path. Take my un- Kentucky caver, Floyd Collins. I light came on for me while I~~

~~expected encounter with cave dark realized that cave black has shades I was photographing Fantastic~~

~~when I got separated from my group of gray—and there I was peering Pit, the deepest known free drop in anxiously into the any cave in the continental United~~

~~blackest shade of States. A hike to its rim, on Pigeon~~

~~it. Fortunately, Mountain in northwest Georgia, CoUins's story requires stamina: the deep shaft contained niany lies a quarter-mile inside Ellison's~~

~~valuable lessons Cave, and getting to it involves, that helped save among other maneuvers, rappel- my life. ling down the so-called Warm-up As a cave pho- Pit (a mere 120-foot drop). Finally,~~

tographer, I have after a few mazy sections, you reach long had an inter- the lip of a smooth-walled well of est in how best blackness hardly dented by a caver's to penetrate the headlamp, or even a video light darkness. Cavers pointed downward. Only the dis- need their hands tant sound of crashing water hints free for climb- at the true danger. ing, crawling, The conventional approach to and passing packs, photographing Fantastic Pit has

so they rely on a been to illuminate it in stages: a helmet-mounted rappelling caver stops every hun- Glory Cave, Hole Georgia light. But pointing dred feet or so and sets off a pow- during a survey trip into Table a light on the same axis as your gaze erful flash. Inevitably, the multiple Rock Cave in South Carolina. throws a shadow directly beyond exposures appear patchy. How to

I had been working my vi^ay each object you look at, so that the see the entirety of the pit—a shaft through a steep, narrow passage- object masks its own shadow, rob- of skyscraper proportions—illumi- way on my belly. Trying to make bing the scene of visual cues. This nated in a single burst of light? En-

progress, I struggled too violently diminished depth perception pulls ter the 2,400-joule Super Strobe: and, instead of wriggling free, dis- focus away from the cave, down to a fancy chunk of lighting gear

~~48 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 Cavers climbing the 586-foot Fantastic Pit, in norttiwest Ceorgii can't see or begin to understand . or of its waterf, .~~

~~li^ V.|i^ J^~~

~~Snake petroglyph in Indian Cave, Tennessee~~

~~designed by William (Willie) A. displaced air confined by rock has by pre-Columbian peoples who Hunt, an electronics engineer. nowhere to go but up. The bursts made extensive ritual use of caves~~

Willie and I tested the equipment of air retard the flow of falling throughout the southeastern United in Fantastic Pit and then examined water, not only impeding an even States. For a seven-foot-long petro- the many exposures we had made rate of fall, but also pushing a sig- glyph in Indian Cave in eastern

with Super Strobe. We immediately nificant percentage of the moisture Tennessee, I used extremely oblique realized that the understanding of back up the pit. The revelation has lighting, one light per exposure, waterfalls in deep pits might change implications for better understand- and then layered those exposures in thanks to the new technology. In ing the sculpting of Fantastic Pit's a digital composite; the technique some of our exposures a heavy spray smooth, bell-shaped walls [see pho- afforded me ultimate control and

fdled the pit, yet in others the first tograph on previous page] flexibility with straight light beams 200 feet appeared relatively devoid of crossing the curved wall of the cave moisture. What explains so variable easing out a cave's dark se- [see photograph above].

~~and uneven a distribution of water? I crets doesn't always call for the Applying this one-light-at-a- As any visitor to Niagara Falls sledgehammer approach of the Su- time approach to large chambers,~~

can attest, waterfalls above ground per Strobe. Cavers routinely over- I photographed a 50-foot calcite produce significant winds as falling look some amazing features that can mound at the base of a 220-foot water displaces air. Underground be highlighted by simple means. pit in Flowing Stone Cave in the waterfalls set up the same dynamic, Take, for example, the faint etch- northwest corner of Georgia [see but in a closed conduit. All that ings along passage walls inscribed photograph below]. The resultant im-

~~Flowing Stone Cave, Georgia~~

*4 \* Ttwi

~~^^>'Oi~~

~~kl v'S.'SrIr??'! Natural Wonders~~

age was unintentionally surreal, appearing highly manipulated, yet all The Illustrated Atlas I did was join tiny pieces of unma- of Wildlife nipulated exposures together. Iron- By CHANNA BAMBARADENIYA, ically, the increased visual detail CINTHYA FLORES, JOSHUA GINSBERG, robs the image of depth and scale. DWIGHT HOLING, SUSAN LUIVIPKIN, Just as clothing leaves something to GEORGE MCKAY, JOHN MUSICK, the imagination, the heart of a cave PATRICK QUILTY, BERNARD is its darkness, and I've learned that STONEHOUSE, ERIC JOHN WOEHLER, not all of it should be dispelled. and DAVID WOODRUFF

This is the essential wildlife reference, Benjamin von Cramon is an indepen- providing a spectacular visual survey of dent one a small handful filmmaker, of Elephant Reflections animals and their habitats across the worldwide to film professionally under- globe. Divided into eight geographic areas caver, Photographs by KARL AMMANN and ground. His wife, Dawn, also a as- it showcases the bizarre, beautiful, and

~~sists him on shoots. With a home in Mari- Text by DALE PETERSON highly specialized wildlife of each location. etta, Georgia, the two enjoy adventuring "A stunning book, combining Peterson's~~

~~to faraway places around the world, as well lucid, compelling writing with Ammann's~~

as in the many capes in the Southeast. You magnificent photographs. It is the best Oceans can learn more about von Cramon's work at ever bool< about that most majestic of Exploring the Hidden Depths www.bvcproductions.com. animals.... The ideal book for anyone who of the Underwater World and of loves animals, nature, the wonder By PAUL ROSE AND ANNE LAKfNfG" creation."—Jane Goodall Foreword by Philippe Cousteau

Oceans are the most important feature Animal Migration of our planet. They shape our climate, our culture, and our future. This book, Rennarkable Journeys in the Wild companion to the major television series, By BEN HOARE draws on the most exciting stories from

~~This spectacular guide explores the mys- the fields of subaquatic archaeology,~~

~~teries of animal migration over land, in geology, marine biology, and anthropology~~

~~the oceans, and through the air. Lavishly to reveal an astonishing underwater~~

~~illustrated, it highlights specific conserva- landscape.~~

tion issues while tracing the routes of some one hundred species with examples on every continent. Darwin's Universe Evolution from A to Z By RICHARD MILNER First Peoples New Foreword by Ian Tattersall, in a New World Preface by Stephen Jay Gould "The single best volume ever published Colonizing Ice Age America that covers all matters Darwinian from A By DAVID J. IVIELTZER to Z. I have never so enjoyed a scientific

~~"A vivid picture of both the colonizing book.... A magnificent product of~~

~~bands of humans who moved into the scholarship that is also a work of art."~~

~~Americas and the researchers who fol- —Michael Shermer, author of lowed their footsteps from Alaska to In Darwin's Sliadow and IVfiy Darwin Matters~~

~~Chile. This is an insider's account, told with a keen eye and sense of humor."~~

~~—Ann Gibbons, author of The First Human~~

~~At bookstores or www.ucpress.edu~~

~~UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS THIS LAND BY ROBERT H. MOHLENBROCK~~

~~the heart-shaped leaves of sponge- plant. The water's surface corkscrews where a cottonmouth just passed. This could be a Louisiana swamp,~~

~~except I am in the southern tip of Illinois. Known as Heron Pond (for~~

~~its heron rookery), this is one of three bald cypress swamps in the 1,939-acre Heron Pond-Little Black Slough Nature Preserve. Heron~~

Pond and its companions—^Watson Pond and Goose Pond—are the northernmost bald cypress swamps in the nation's heartland. The swamps lie about thirty miles northeast of the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, along an Ohio tributary, the meandering Cache River. During the last glacial peak, about 18,000 years ago, the ice reached almost this far south. When the glaciers melted and retreated some 11,000 years ago, the swollen Ohio River carved out a vast floodplain

~~before settling into its current bed. Extensive bald cypress swamps took root in huge, watery depressions. Just to the north, the upper reaches of the Cache River sculpted a smaller, more~~

r'Ba/d eyppSss-and duckweed in Heron Pond - intricate basin where limestone bluffs overlooked gemlike swamps. On Heron Pond European American settlers, mostly farmers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, began Illinois dips its toe in a southern swamp. to trickle into this part of Illinois in 1803, and to build permanent

t is a warm day in early May. Mist spire. Red-bronze blossoms of cop- settlements by about 1816. They hangs low over the swamp. Bald per iris stand above rings of small engaged in small-scale farming and cypresses and tupelo gums, their white flowers borne by featherfoil, logging. Because of annual flood- swollen bases disappearing beneath a jointed, fleshy-stemmed plant. In ing, however, the farming was poor, the black water, to'wer above the fog. places, dense colonies of duckweeds and beginning in 1870, when the

A prothonotary warbler in its irides- cover the nearly still water, punctu- railroad arrived, lumber companies cent yellow-green plumage perches ated here and there by the intricate bought up the deeper, less accessible on a wavine wand of Virginia sweet- purple leaves of mosquito fern and swamps. With their expertise and

Swamp The water depth and water elm. Shrubs are species of beggar-ticks. nut oak, and sweet gum are varies from a few inches to mostly buttonbush, swamp among the trees that grow about six feet. Bald cypress rose, and Virginia sweet- Swampy woods Surround- here. The forest floor sup- trees, some of them several spire. The partly submerged ing the swamp is low terrain ports ditch stonecrop, jack- feet in diameter, dominate, trunks of some trees that with poor drainage, where in-the-pulplt, swamp white CD though other typically south- have fallen into the swamp pools of standing water may milkweed, water horehound, ern swamp-tree species oc- support clearweed, false remain most of the year. and, in pools of water, cam- < lizard's-tail. cur, including Drummond's nettle (a real nettle, though American elm, green ash, phorweed and maple, pumpkin ash, swamp stingless), Walter's Saint- northern catalpa, pin oak, Crossvine and trumpet vine Cottonwood, tupelo gum. John's-wort, and several stiff dogwood, swamp chest- climb high into the trees. ILLINOISH:> Q Spnngfield. heavier equipment, Heron Pond—Little they cut much more Black Slough Nature virgin timber. In- Preserve had attained

~~dustrial-scale drain- its present form. Also~~

age for cropland and ^ designated a National Heron Pond- flood control began 3 Natural Landmark, Little Black Slough Nature Preserve in 1916 and contin- g it is managed by the ued through much 9 Department of Natu- Paducah^ of the twentieth cen- I ral Resources as part KENTUCKY ,£ (|j^^ tury, leaving only a ^ of the Cache River few pockets of bald © State Natural Area. cypress swamp intact. Along with John W. Voigt, a Having spent some time at Heron colleague at Southern Illinois Uni- Pond, I knew it was significant, VISITOR INFORMATION versity, Carbondale, I explored but I did not initially know the ex- Cache River State Natural Area Heron Pond during the 1960s. The tent of its floral diversity, particu- Henry N. Barkhausen Cache River two of us also paid a visit to the of- larly in the more remote parts of the Wetlands Center 8885 State Highw/ay 37 South fice of the Main Brothers Lumber swamp. In 1971 Jack White, a gradu- Cypress, IL 62923 Company, a local firm that held ate student of mine, completed an in- 618-657-2064 the swampland back then. We im- ventory of the plants of Heron Pond www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/ pressed upon the owners the impor- and adjacent swamps for his master's landmgt/parks/r5/cachervr.htnn it tance of this northernmost swamp, degree. He identified 773 species of with its southern plant and animal ferns and flowering plants, many of The Illinois Department of life, and they expressed willingness them at their northernmost limit in Natural Resources has since built a to sell it for purposes of preserva- the central Midwest. one-lane gravel road that leads to a tion. In the years that followed, the Since I had never ventured far parking lot just 300 yards from the state of Illinois, with the assistance enough into the swamp to see the swamp. From there a trail takes you of the Natural Land Institute of heron rookery, I accompanied down through sloping woods, across

Rockford and the Illinois chapter White one day to see it. After put- a bridge over the Cache River, of the Nature Conservancy, began ting on our waders, we started to through floodplain woods and even acquiring that and other property tread through the water, which wetter swampy woods, to the edge to create preserves, and by 1977 the sometimes came up almost to my of standing water. A floating board- armpits. As we neared the rookery, walk there extends some 75 yards

we could hear the squawking of the into the swamp. The rookery I once birds in the trees, and by the time visited used to be several hundred we arrived beneath them, the noise yards farther on, but because of the drowned out any conversation. The increased visitor traffic during the

herons reacted to our intrusion by 1970s, the herons abandoned it and regurgitating partially digested fish established a new rookery in a less down upon our heads. With the accessible area. intense noise, the rain offish, and that the threat a cottonmouth might Robert H. Mohlenbrock is a distin- swim by, I announced that I had guished professor emeritus ofplant biology at

~~seen what I had come to see! Southern Illinois University Carbondale.~~

Floodplain w/oods In low Blooming in abundance on swampy woods, and flood- mayapple, wild blue phlox, areas where drainage is bet- the forest floor in the spring plain woods occupy a basin wild geranium, and yellow ter, the dominant trees are are bulbous cress, Missouri with wooded slopes on the ladies'-slipper; the summer- American hornbeam, cher- violet, swamp buttercup, and east side. These slopes sup- blooming beaked groovebur,

rybark oak, shellbark hickory, white dog-tooth violet. Sum- port such typical southern Illi- foxglove beardtongue, Indian Shumard oak, sugarberry, mertime beauties include nois trees as American beech, pipe, starry campion, white swamp chestnut oak, and purple fringeless orchid, spi- shagbark hickory, sugar avens, and wild bergamot;

sweet gum. Deciduous holly, der lily, and white turtlehead. maple, tulip poplar, and white and the autumnal frostweed, pawpaw, and spicebush are ash. Among the wildflow- hairy pagoda plant, and vari- common in the understory. Slope woods The swamp, ers are the spring-blooming ous asters and goldenrods.

~~May 2009 natural history 53 BOOKSHELF BY LAURENCE A. MARSCHALL~~

Alan Boss, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, has been at the forefront of research in the origin of solar systems. As the number of known systems has The Crowded grown, he and his colleagues have An Orchard Universe: been able to get a clearer picture of Invisible: their origins and a fuller understand- 7776 Search for Living Planets A Natural History of Se ing of how our own solar system fits by Alan Boss by Jonathan Silvertown into the picture. In this short and Basic Books, 2009; University of Chicago Press, 2009; lucid review of his field, he traces the 227 pages, $26.00 224 pages, $25.00 developments of the last fifteen years in chronological, diarylike entries, How many solar systems are there in so that we can share with him the At the beginning of one chapter of the universe, and how typical is excitement of discovery. this entertaining and charmingly the one we hve in? Two decades ago In 1999, we read, astronomers illustrated book on seeds, there's a

it was impossible to say, since astron- first observed one of the newly dis- sketch of two beans engaged in what, omers knew of no other solar systems covered planets passing in front of if they were human, might be called

but our own. Since 1995, however, its star, causing the star's light to necking. Vegetables don't really cud- when the detection of the first planet dim. The observation enabled the dle and coo, of course, but according orbiting a star like our Sun was an- astronomers, by timing the eclipse, to Jonathan Silvertown, a professor nounced by Swiss astronomers, the to determine the size and density of ecology at the Open University in

~~number of known extrasolar planets of the object. A few years later, as- England, when it comes to reproduc-~~

has grown exponentially. As I write tronomers were routinely using such tion in the plant kingdom, practically this review, the official number (at eclipses (called transits) as a comple- anything else goes. http://exoplanet.eu) stands at more ment to searching for planet-induced Silvertown's short essays sample than 340, with new ones being added wobbles. By 2007, the roster of plan- the broad panorama of strategies almost weekly. The majority are de- ets included "super-Earths"—rocky plants employ to spread their spawn tected, not by direct photography, bodies ranging from several times to around. In one chapter he describes but by measuring the subtle wobble more than twenty times the mass of winged and gossamer seeds, deli- their gravitation induces in the mo- Earth—some of them in close, hot cately structured because they have tion of their parent stars. orbits, others far enough from their evolved to be spread by the wind. We can no"w say, with some con- stars to be frigid. Astronomers have Gliders produced by a tropical vine fidence, that planets are common, even been able to use space tele- named Alsomitra macrocarpa sport though many of the newly discov- scopes to measure the constituents wingspans of nearly five inches, and ered worlds are strangely different of some of the new planets' atmo- if there's a good breeze they can from our own. Many are what as- spheres, detecting both water and travel hundreds of yards in search of tronomers call "hot Jupiters," giant methane, two of the "biomarkers" a good spot for germination. The balls of gas several hundred times exobiologists look for in searching course of true love, though, doesn't more massive than the Earth, but or- for inhabited worlds. always run sniooth—seeds that biting only a few million miles from The tone of Boss's book, accord- travel too far run the risk of landing

their stars—so close that they take ingly, is excited and hopeful, but outside the hospitable environment only a few days to go around. Others there's also a note of wry irony in his of their parents and failing to thrive. move in elongated looping orbits. descriptions of the political trials as- Other plants employ deception to Until the discovery of these new tronomers have gone through trying get animals to provide a motive force worlds, astronomers had assumed to promote their research. And despite that they do not possess. The seeds of that most planetary systems would the successes of the past decade. Boss many Australian plants are equipped

be like our own, where Jupiter-size senses that it may be increasingly dif- with fatty warts called elaiosomes, giant planets are located hundreds of ficult for astronomers to attract the which are as attractive to ants as apples times farther out from their star, tak- sums needed to continue the search are to humans. The ants carry the ing tens of Earth years to orbit, and for habitable planets. Readers of this seeds to their nests, bite off the suc-

~~where all the planets travel on nearly book, I am certain, will hope his fears culent elaiosome, and toss the seed on circular paths. are unsubstantiated. their underground trash heap—and so~~

54 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 New from the seed finds a safe place to sprout. of birdsong around the globe, and Thames & Hudson Seed stories like these are enlivened his sound clips have been featured by a potpourri of facts and figures. on National Public Radio. He's be- The oldest seed ever germinated? A come distressed by what he hears of 2,000-year-old date seed found in late. "Natural quiet," he writes, "has the ruins of Masada, near the shores become an endangered species." of the Dead Sea. The smallest seeds? Except, perhaps, along the Hoh Those of some orchids, which weigh River Valley of Olympic National only a ten-millionth of a gram. Park in Washington State. "One TUVK For all its erudition, however, this Square Inch of Silence" is a spot deep HIS1X>UY is botanical in the woods there, a site Hempton not an encyclopedia of I'KA lore, nor a definitive text, but rather has chosen as the focus of a personal OF a little gem of science writing that campaign to preserve the soundscape deserves a spot on any natural his- of the wilderness. He's marked it with tory lover's bedside bookstand. To a stone, and written a proposal for the

Thames a. Hudton be sure, it may help you make small Department of the Interior to estab- talk at a convention of palynologists lish a prototype sound-management $26.95 / 28 or Burpee seed salesmen, but, at its area surrounding it, so that it will re- root, it is simply a delight to read. main "a sanctuary of silence for present and future generations to enjoy unimpaired by noise pollution." To promote his project, Hempton recently embarked on a 10,000-mile P^-^ "pinball route" from the Olympic One Square Inch Peninsula to Washington, D.C., for a of Silence: lobbying session with lawmakers and One Man's Search for Natural federal officials. Along the way, he Silence in a Noisy World documents sound pollution from the backcountry to Chicago's backed- by Gordon Hempton and up highways. At the Indianapolis John Grossmann Speedway, for instance, the decibel Free Press, 2009; levels approach the threshold of pain. 368 pages, $26.00 Hempton starts his cross-country search accompanied by his self- write this review at a remote obser- absorbed, iPod-addicted daughter

vatory in the Southwest, a place I Abby. Although she abandons her considered exceptionally quiet until I father early in the trip, she returns read One Square Inch oj Silence. Now, to the narrative in the end, some- standing outside the shuttered tele- what older and somewhat wiser. CHRONICLE OFTHE scope dome, I hear the drone of a In this deeply personal call to ac- distant plane above the whistle of the tion, Hempton seems to be sending I CHINESE wind, and, from time to time, the a message to the next generation: EMPERORS gravelly crunch of a passing car on Turn down the volume, shut off the the county road at the foot of the me- engines, and simply listen, simply the reign-by-reign record of thc rulers of ii^perial china sa. Holding my breath, I even notice listen. "Silence is not the absence the rumble of traffic on the interstate, of something," he writes, "but the fifteen miles away as the crow flies. presence of everything." The noise of civilization intrudes, even deep in a national forest. Laurence A. Marschall is W.K.T. Gordon Hempton, the principal Salim Professor oJ Pliysics at Gettysburg author of this ear-opening book, College in Pennsylvania, and coauthor, $26.95 paper / 224 pages / 368 illtis. documents nature with an audio with Stephen P. Maran, of Galileo's New recorder rather than a camera. He Universe: The Revolution in Our won an Emmy for a PBS documen- Understanding of the Cosmos, published <^ Thames & Hudson^ tary that followed the dawn chorus by BenBella Books. tharaesandhudsoniUsaj^''^^*'' Available wherever bp May 2009 natural history 55 3

~~Hf-TO Market CkssifieZ '00 442-6441 /[email protected]~~

~~Math SolUtil~~

TsMathTutdrDVD.cdm NEW! X_^ Press Play Rr Success Pages from the Rare Book Collection Having Math Problems? HELP! of the San Diego Natural History Museum SUBJECTS: WE CAN •BASIC MATH •BASIC MATH WORD t^

'% ' •ALGEBRA 1 &2 ^n ; •ALGEBRA WORD PROBLEMS » J ' •ADVANCED ALGEBRA "»"•»»«. i^rocTui. •GEOMETRY | ;* A ^'^"M* •TRIG/PRECALCULUS ^) ;::# •CALCULUS 1,2, •PHYSICS > .1^ |- ^^JP* •MATRIX ALGEBRA "n IHHIHIB •UNIT CONVERSIONS!

~~• PROBABILITY/ STATISTICS Gift Box of 20 note cards, four each of five designs, $19.95.~~

Available on line at www.sdnhm.org/store or in the Alex and I VISIT OUR WEBSITE EUzabeth Wise Museum Store. Wholesale also available. P TO VIEW SAMPLE 1 VIDEO CLIPS OE #1 Rated Math /avEHnqintsE & Physics Tutorial DVDs (San Diego Natural History Museum All topics taught entirely through 619.255.0239 worked example problems. Raise grades or your money back 877-MATH-DVD Vacation Visit: MathTutorDVD.com

IWITHIN KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK, KAYAK. HIKE. EXPLORE. HELP! I want to buy your SEEK OUT GUCIERS, WHALES, SEA LIONS MORE. JUST OLD ELECTRIC TRAINS AND OR (made before 1970) RELAX AND ENJOY THE VIEW. o lay-outs or the set you Collections, o had around the Christmas Tree. Will travel anywhere! 'Glgciei- Lo4qe i Doug & Diane Nash /iLDiAND ADVENTUBE! 800.334.8730 www.kenaigiacier.com/nhm 866-743-8770 (toll free)

~~The next issue for Market Classified is JUNE.~~

~~To advertise in Market Classi^ieiC cor\\Qc\: Media Options at 800 442-6441 or email at [email protected] Charge your ad to American Express/Mastercard/Visa .~~

~~advertisement~~

~~r?=^ READER/SERVICE^ r?s^~~

~~For free information from tine advertisers listed below, circle the corresponding numbers on the attached postage-paid card. Mail card, fax it to~~

~~856-380-4101, or visit us at www.naturalhistorymag.com. If the card is missing, mail your request to; P.O. Box 9000, Maple Shade, NJ 08052.~~

ADVENTURE TRAVEL/TOURS 15. CAROLINE COUNTY 30. ARIZONA. THE GRAND CANYON STATE. 1. ADVENTURESMITH EXPLORATIONS Small town charm, rich heritage and nature's ad- A wonder of the world and some of the most Explore nature up close and in style aboard ventures among majestic Chesapeake landscapes. exhilarating signature scenery on the planet, luxury yachts, small ships and wilderness lodges Come spend this weekend with Caroline! 31. BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA with adventure travel experts. 16. CECIL COUNTY Need a good reason to stick around? We don't 2. AMAZONIA EXPEDITIONS Beautiful countryside right on 1-95! Rolling have one, we've got 225. Dive into the colorful Award-winning Jungle Lodge in the Tamshiyacu- hillsides meet harbors and historic villages. political history of Louisiana's capital city, Tahuayo Reserve, shown to have the greatest Experience Chesapeake Bay cuisine; horseback Baton Rouge. diversity of mammals in all of the Amazon. hding, antiques, hiking and more! 32. DELAWARE 3. GALAPAGOS TRAVEL 17. DORCHESTER COUNTY Discover natural history from life-sized Comprehensive, educational, professionally-led Home to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge; dinosaurs to tiny fossils. Explore cultural natural history tours of the Galapagos Islands. explore the heart of Chesapeake Country. treasures, wildlife areas and birding hot-spots

1 1 - or 1 tours of all the significant outer in Delaware! 5-day 18. FREDERICK COUNTY islands. Maryland's Crossroads of History. Antiques, 33. HELENA, MONTANA 4. THE LODGE AT PICO BONITO, HONDURAS battlefields, covered bridges, parks, Helena offers so many amazing experiences for Luxury-Eco/Birding Lodge on Honduras' Carib- wineries and more, close to Gettysburg and history buffs; you'll have a hard time choosing planner bean North Coast. Rainforests, wildlife, hiking, Washington, DC. how to "punch your ticket." Free snorkeling, rafting, relaxation and adventure. 34. HOLBROOK, ARIZONA 19. KENT COUNTY Come explore Northeastern Arizona, Petrified 5. MAYA RESEARCH PROGRAM A scenic peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay, Forest National Park, Old West History, Route MRP offers opportunities to participate in archae- offering fishing, boating, kayaking, small 66, Native American Culture. ological excavations and study tours in Belize. beaches, great shopping, and museums. 35. MESA, ARIZONA 6. TARA TOURS 20. MARYLAND VACATIONS Outdoor adventure is just minutes away. Go hiking, Tara Tours specialize in travel to Central and South Beaches, mountains, big cities, small towns. golfing, horseback riding or tubing down the Salt America since 1980. Free brochures and quotes. Maryland has so many things to do, so close River, or just enjoy the best in Southwest Cuisine. 7. WILDSIDE NATURE TOURS together. 36. MONTANA'S MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY Small group photo workshops, birding tours 21. MONTGOMERY COUNTY Explore unspoiled land offering fishing, hunting, and family adventures! Alaska and Galapagos Experience transportation history along the C&O wildlife, birding trails, history and dinosaur cruises, African Safaris and much more! Canal and the National Capital Trolley Museum. museums. Free travel planner. So many things to do. CRUISES 37. NAVAJO NATION TOURISM 22. U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY 8. AMERICAN CANADIAN CARIBBEAN LINE Plan your unforgettable memories within the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. Learn Cruise historic American waterways and four sacred mountains on the Navajo Nation. about life and traditions of midshipmen on a tour Caribbean to places usually only accessible 38. NEBRASKA of the four-year college of the U.S. Navy. by private yacht. Spectacular itineraries, 1 00 Experience frontier adventures, natural 23. WORCESTER COUNTY guests. wonders, arts and culture and more. Order a Maryland's only seaside. Discover Assateague free travel guide today. 9. CANODROS Island National Seashore. Kayak, birdwatch, Canodros offers up-scale services in Ecuador 39. RUSSELL COUNTRY cycle, golf and explore our historic towns. with the Galapagos Explorer II. Enriching Discover majestic beauty while enjoying Montana's experience of the culture and natural history. MISCELLANEOUS legendary recreation and historic landmarks. Each season holds a unique adventure. Free planner 10. VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 24. ATHENA REVIEW Voyages of Discovery takes you to Asia, India, Athena Review, journal of archeology, history 40. SIERRA VISTA VISITORS CENTER Africa, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean and exploration, invites you to send for more "It's cooler than you think!" You can enjoy attractions for nature lovers, history buffs, and on mv Discovery. information on a free issue. certainly the bird watching aficionados. 25. GORILLA GLUE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL 41 THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS Gorilla Glue is the ideal solution for projects 11. BELIZE Create your perfect vacation with your FREE indoors and out. Bonds wood, stone, metal, Catch the Adventure! From rainforest resort Texas State Travel Guide. ceramic, foam, glass and more! to Barrier Reef. Belize is only 2 hours from the 42. TUCSON, ARIZONA 26. HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES USA. Belize. Mother Nature's best kept secret. Entertainment options are as wide open as the Heritage Auction Galleries' auctions feature 12. INDIA landscape—first-rate golf, esteemed spas and comprehensive private collections of mineral India offers incredible experiences for travelers fine outdoor dining. specimens and rare, historical items. on journeys of self-discovery! Come visit India 43. YUMA, ARIZONA 27. ROSETTA STONE for an experience that is truly incredible! Historic Colorado River location amid desert Rosetta Stone® teaches languages quickly and and mountains. Watchable wildlife, birding, easily. Order risk-free with our 6-month money- INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT hiking, boating, golfing, casinos, museums. Visit our website to save 10%! 13. CALVERT—INVESTMENTS THAT MAKE A back guarantee. DIFFERENCE' MARKET CLASSIFIED Nation's largest family of mutual funds U.S. TRAVEL ALASKA WILDLAND ADVENTURES integrating rigorous financial analysis with 28. ALABAMA'S GULF COAST 907-783-2928 Necessities: to the corporate integrity, environmental impact. Time together enjoy simple www.kenaifjordsglacierlodge.com pleasure and beautiful treasures of Alabama's MATH TUTOR DVD. COM Gulf Coast. MARYLAND 877-MATH-DVD • www.mathtutordvd.com 14. ALLEGANY COUNTY 29. ARIZONA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OLD ELECTRIC TRAINS 300 Years of American history is alive in Allegany Plan your visit to AzMNH, it is the great place for 866-743-8770 County. Discover the original Gateway to the West. dinosaurs and much more! SKYLOG BY JOE RAO

Beginning this month, two planetary "couples" will be dancing in the sky, thanks to two factors: the relative motions of the partners in each planetary pair, as they move along their own orbits; and Earth's motion

~~along its orbital path, which changes our viewpoint over time.~~

The easier pair to spot is Venus A Voyager 2 image features clouds and and Mars. They rise roughly one storms in Neptune's atmosphere. The and a half hours before the Sun planet's blue color has been intensified by filters. on May 1, with the Red Planet Athena Review about 5 degrees to the lower left every twelve or thirteen years. Their Journal ofArchaeology', History, and Kxploration of Venus, which shines some 160 last "triple conjunction" was in

Ancient Greek times brighter. Mars is lumbering 1971; the next will be in 2047-2048. Towns along on the far side of the Sun, The two planets, which we see Plataia Revisited, and while is zipping lined in their respective orbits, A Mycenean Provincial Center Venus by on our up on ttie Saronic GliIF side. The two appear to drift slowly do not travel quickly from our point weapons Also: Ancient Iranian apart until mid-month, reaching as of view. The changes in their rela- Subscriptions: 4 issues: $20 (US) $30 (Can) $40 (overseas) much as 6.6 degrees separation by tive positions are mainly due to our Fffl" a Iree trial issue on Homo avctits May 16. Then Venus starts to swing ovi^n planet's motion. The closest of

v**^- i ^ , V or Reports from Pern to Tlbel, contact j<^v.:. ,.'.„.—oi._i_^« Athena Publications back around the Sun, and from our this year's three conjunctions falls 49 Richmondville Avenue, Suite 308, Westpoit CT 06880 shifting point of view they remain on May 27, with Jupiter passing Fax: (203)221-032], athencB'[email protected]: w'w'w.athaiapiib.com within 5 degrees of each other from just 0.38 degrees south of Neptune. June 2 through July 4. Their closest If you've never observed the most encounter comes on the morning of distant planet from the Sun—sorry, June 21, when Mars is just 2 degrees Pluto, it's Neptune—you'll have above and to Venus's left. an excellent opportunity. The next conjunctions between these planets

~~"The Other couple to watch is Jupiter will be on July 9 and December 21.~~

I and Neptune. This month the Joe Rao is a broadcast meteorologist and duo engage in the first of three con- an associate and lecturer at the Hayden junctions in 2009. Typically, those Plafictariiini in New York City

~~two gas giants pair off once about fwww. hayden planetarium. orgj.~~

~~MAY NIGHTS OUT largely spoiled by a bright Moon.~~

~~1 The Moon waxes to first quarter at 9 The Moon is full at 12:01 a.m. EDT.~~

~~4:44 P.M. eastern daylight time (EOT). 17 The Moon wanes to last quarter at 2 Rising about one and a half hours 3:26 A.M. EDT. Jupiter sits only a couple of~~

~~before the Sun, Venus is at its most degrees below and to the Moon's right.~~

~~brilliant as morning "star" for 2009. That 21 About an hour and a half before~~

is lit part of disk because the Venus's sunrise, look low in the east-northeast covers the greatest area of sky for this for a triangle formed by a crescent morning apparition (even though the Moon, Venus, and Mars. Each side of the crescent we see is only about one-fourth triangle measures about 6 degrees.

of the planet's lit side). Mars sits about 5 24 The Moon is new at 8:11 a.m. EDT. degrees to Venus's lower left (see story above). 27 Jupiter and Neptune are in conjunction (see story above). Jupiter 3 The bright yellowish "star" well above rises about 1 :20 a.m. local daylight and to the left of the Moon is Saturn. time. V\/ith good binoculars or a small

~~5 The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, telescope, focus first on Jupiter, which~~

~~usually the year's best for the Southern is about 13,000 times brighter than~~

~~Hemisphere, peaks this morning, but is Neptune, the tiny bluish "star" above it.~~

~~58 NATURAL HISTORY May 2009 Ciiaisi'; i [[^\['oiiic Explore Nrture Waterways~~

~~on Rivers~~

~~i New England Islands Coast of Maine Great Lakes ' Erie Canal Canada ^ & more~~

~~Casual~~

~~"S!.! 5 Nights Jtoric Ports Small Groups to: ,^,>^,,., ^00 Guests --^' ' ?j»!s--' - iGreat Camaraderie ALASKA --- ,215*^ Expedition-style US Flag fflOUGH II Cannot Go Wtiere Ttie Big Ships AFRICA~~

~~American Canadian Caribbean Line • GALAPAGOS 1~~

~~800-556-7450 » i^ 1 and MANY MORE www.accl-smallships.com~~

Nature Tours DESTINATIONS WORLDWIDE! iiontaira^ BIRDING • PHOTOGRAPHY Missour^^r Coimi FAMILY ADVENTURES 1-800-653-131^ www.WildsideNatureTours.com www.missouririver.visitmt.com/dino.html [email protected] 888-875-9453

Want to help excavate , V > , > ^ J a genuine Maya ruinP * f z*^. Ac/vci3^ur^mith ^^^^^01' EXPLORATIONS Call 81 1-831 -9|11 or visit www.mayaresearchprogram.org Expedition Cruises with Offset Emissions Small Ships and Yachts with Expert Guides Alaska, Baja, Costa Rica, Caribbean 1/y Galapagos. Antarctica & More

AdventureSmithExplorations.com 866-270-2875 AMAZON RESEARCH PRDGRflm Award winning lodge in Peru's Tamshiyacu- Tahuayo Reserve, shown to have the greatest mammal diversity in the Amazon. Customized itinerary, from soft family to wilderness GALAPAGOS ...The Trip of a Lifetime camping. Featuring the Amazon's longest Spociallzing in comprehensive, professionally-led, Amazon. Galapagos. natural history and photo tours of the Galapagos Islands. zipline canopy access. In business since 1981. Monthly departures on 14-16 passenger yachts. References available. Customized economical I MachuPicchu tours to Cusco and other sites in Peru as well. p For brochures & custom made tours AMAZONIA EXPEDITIONS ^ Tara Tours 1-800-327-0080 800-262-9669 www.perujungle.com 969-9014 • www.galapagostravel.com f800) Since 1980 www.taratours.com www.peruancles.com 783 Rio Del Mar Boulevard. Suite #49, Aptos, CA 95003 At the Museum www.amnh.org American Museum o Natural History ^ Bird by Bird: A Comprehensive New Guide

hey are the hving legacy had to be concentrated in short, usable, and pithy para- J- of dinosaurs, essential graphs that were fun to read and understandable to anybody collaborators in the food interested in birds generally, as well as scientifically accu- chain, and the delight of rate and up-to-date," Dr. Vuilleumier explained.

~~watchers the world over. The result is a generous-~~

They are birds, and for ly illustrated, comprehen- scientists and amateur aficio- sive source of useful facts nados alike. Birds of North America: and details, with each of The Complete Photographic Guide to the regularly breeding spe-

Every Species is a treasure, a book that cies given its own full page. begs to be stowed on a stand—preferably Vivid photography and sup- near a window and a pair of binoculars—to porting visuals show im- be consulted again and again. portant plumage variations A male Published this year in association with the (subspecies, adult/juvenile, White-eared American Museum of Natural History by male/female, and breed- Hummingbird Dorling Kindersley, an international firm ing/non breeding); flight renowned for its graphic excellence and comprehensive patterns; similar species; approach to subjects, the 744-page book covers all species and occurrence, includ- THE COMPLETE PHOTOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO EVEftV SPFCIF-I of birds that occur in North America, from the Mexican ing very precise distribu- Get your copy of Birds of North border to Alaska and the high Canadian Arctic a vast tion maps. Information is — America in the Museum Shop at and extremely diverse area spanning Florida's subtropical included throughout the AMNH or amnhshop.com. mangroves to the tundra. In addition to over 650 regularly book on behavior, voice, breeding species, the book also includes close to 60 rare nesting, and habitat, topics often omitted from or difficult to species and an additional 160 occasional species, the so- find in many field guides. called "vagrants". The classification of birds used in the book is based largely The editor-in-chief, Francois Vuilleumier, Curator on the work of AMNH ornithologists. Those same scientists Emeritus and past Chairman of the AMNH Department are currently involved in a project to reconstruct the avian of Ornithology, described the "sheer magnitude of the Tree of Life using DNA technology, with a focus on the phylo- task" of turning the expertise of more than twenty birders genetic history of songbirds, which comprise about 60 percent and ornithologists, each an expert on certain species or of all living birds. family groups, into an easy-to-use, reader- And Birds ofNorth America couldn't be more timely. Bird- friendly guide. watching is said to be the fastest growing outdoor activity in "The huge volume of in- '^;' the United States, and based on a recent survey by the U.S. formation available on Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 50 million Americans each of these report that they watch birds. Dr. Vuilleumier himself has nearly 900 seen around 4,000 of the 10,000 bird species that exist to- species day. Through his research, he is familiar in the field with all but a handful of the species in the book.

~~"I am very proud to be associated with such an extraor- dinary accomplishment," said Dr. Vuilleumier. "All the different components, including the interactions among the~~

~~A male Painted many people involved in its production and, of course, the Bunting photographs, figure captions, distribution maps, texts, and much more, eventually came together beautifully in a work~~

that is spectacularly gorgeous, scientifically accurate, and Photographs reproduced by permission of DK, a division of Penguin Croup (USA) Inc., from Birds of North America, ©2009 by DK Publishing. All rights reserved. unique among the rich literature on North American birds." opening This Month: Extreme Mammals Everything in moderation, the saying goes, but not in with an estimated Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amaz- body weight of just ing Mammals ofAll Time, which opens at the American Mu- 1.3 grams, is also rep- seum of Natural History on Saturday, May 23. In this thrilling resented in the exhi- new exhibition, curated by John J. Flynn, Frick Curator of Fos- bition; the smallest sil Mammals and Dean of the Richard Gilder Graduate School, mammal alive today is you'll meet animals as light as a dollar bill or as heavy as 20 the 2.3-gram bumble- Cynognathus, an early relative of tons, with antlers as wide as small cars or teeth taller than bee bat {Craseonycteris mammals, lived during the early to beings. oversized human Some have claws, fangs, snouts, and thonglongyai), which middle Triassic period, roughly 230- horns; some are speedy, others excruciatingly slow. Together, flaps its wings like a 245 million years ago. they make up a veritable catalog of astounding adaptations. hummingbird.

"Extreme Mammals will surprise and captivate visitors Among other highlights are one of the oldest fossil- of all ages while also vividly illuminating the spectacular ized bats ever found, the skeleton of the giant six-horned diversity of life," said Ellen V. Futter, President of the Uintatherium, and an engaging new diorama of a scene American Museum of Natural History. on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada about 50 million Featuring spectacular displays from the Museum's fos- years ago, when this Arctic locale was a humid swamp. sil mammal collection—the largest of its type in the world, There are also curious creatures straddling land and sea, estimated at 400,000 specimens—as well as the Museum's like the extinct Amhulocetus, or "walking whale". vast modern mammal collections, Extreme Mammals follows Promising fun and fascination for the whole family, the evolution of numerous species and examines how some Extreme Mammals runs through January 3, 2010. lineages died out while others diversified to form groups of Extreme Mammals is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, well-known mammals living today. Lifelike models, dynamic New York (www.amnh.org), in collaboration with the California Academy of media displays, animated computer interactives, hands-on ac- Sciences, San Francisco; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada; and tivities, and touchable specimens all bring the science to life. Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Upon entering, visitors will encounter Indricotherium, Major funding for Extreme Mammah has been provided by the Lila Wallace- the largest land ever, extinct rhinoceros-like mammal an Reader's Digest Endowment Fund. herbivore three to four times the size of adult African an Additional support for Extreme Mammals and its educational programming has elephant, the largest land mammal alive today. The small- been provided by the Eileen P. Bernard Exhibition Fund and by Harlan B. Levine, est known mammal, the extinct Batodonoides vanhouteni. MD and Marshall P. Levine. Frogs: A Chorus of Colors Did you know that frogs have ex- how the waxy monkey frog, which tral and South America, so-named isted on Earth for more than 200 originates from the dry Gran Chaco because the Embera Choco people of million years—at least since the time region of Argentina, Paraguay, and northwestern Colombia poison their of the dinosaurs.' While they may be Bolivia, protects itself from dehydra- blow darts by coating them with se- small in size, frogs play a big role in tion by rubbing a waxy secretion all cretions from the backs of three local many ecosystems and display truly over its body. Get up close to the very and highly toxic species of frogs. A amazing adaptations that have helped deadly dart-poison frogs, found in Cen- single golden poison frog contains them survive for millions of years. This enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or spring, discover the diverse and color- 10 humans! (Don't worry—the frogs ful world of these complex amphibians in the exhibition have been fed a diet when Frogs: A Chorus of Colors returns that lacks poisonous compounds, to the Museum on May 30th. rendering them harmless.) And meet More than 200 live frogs, repre- many more amphibians while you ex- senting over 25 species from around plore their evolution and biology, their the world, give children and adults a importance to ecosystems, and the captivating peek at frogs' traits and threats they face in the world's chang- behaviors. See if you can spot the ing environments. Vietnamese mossy frogs (Theloderma This exhibition is presented with appreciation to corticale), whose spotty skin, bumps, Clyde Peeling's Reptiland. spines, and tubercles camouflage them Frogs: A Chorus of Colors is made possible, in part, as clumps of moss or lichen. Learn Bumblebee Dart Poison Frog by the Eileen P. Bernard Exhibition Fund.

~~Thf: coNrENTs or these paces are provided to Naturai History by the. American Museum of Natural History. At the Museum www.amnh.org American Museum o Natural History ^~~

EXHIBITIONS and its related educational programming Museum of Natural History is made premiere of Self Comes to has been provided by Mary and David possible by the generosity of the Arthur Extreme Mammals: The Mind, a musical composition Solomon, the Betsy and Jesse Fink Ross Foundation. Biggest, Smallest, and Most Foundation, the Linden Trust for by Bruce Adolphe, composer Public programs are made possible, in Conservation, and the Red Crane Amazing Mammals ofAll Time part, by the Rita and Frits Markus Fund in residence at the Brain Foundation. for Public Understanding of Science. Opens May 2^, 20og and Creativity Institute and Explore the surprising and Frogs: A Chorus of Colors resident lecturer of The sometimes bizarre world of Opens May ]o, 2oog GLOBAL WEEKENDS chamber Music Society of extinct and living mammals Back by popular demand, In Celebration of Indigenous Lincoln Center. with fascinating specimens and this delightful exhibition Peoples Co-produced by The Learning Maestros models, media displays, and introduces visitors to the Saturday, ^/i}, 1-4:^0 pm and the University of Southern hands-on activities. colorful and richly diverse In recognition of the United California's Brain and Creativity Institute.

Extreme Mammafs is organized by world of frogs. Nations Permanent Forum the American Museum of Natural on Indigenous Issues, this Global Kitchen History, New York (www.amnh.org), This exhibition is presented with in collaboration with the California appreciation to Clyde Peeling's afternoon of performances, Michael Pollan: In Defense Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; Reptiland. films, and panel discussions of Food Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, will offer interactive programs Thursday, ^/i^., 6:jopm Canada; and Cleveland Museum of Frogs: A Chorus of Colors is made

Natural History. possible, in part, by the Eileen P. Bernard for the entire family. Author Michael Pollan has Exhibition Fund. Support for Global Weekends is made uncovered hidden aspects of Major funding for Extreme Mammals possible, in part, by the May and Samuel has been provided by the Lila Wallace- the industrialized American Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., the Reader's Digest Endowment Fund. The Butterfly Conservatory Tolan Family, and the family of diet. In his newest book, he Additional support for Extreme Frederick Leonhardt. Mammals Through May 25, 200c) H. encourages us to take control and its educational programming has Mingle with up to 500 live, of our eating habits with a been provided by the Eileen P. Bernard Exhibition Fund and by Harlan B. Levine, free-flying tropical butterflies MILSTEIN SCIENCE simple resolution: "Eat food.

MDand Marshall P. Levine. in an enclosed habitat. SERIES Not too much. Mostly plants." Sundays Under the Whale A book signing follows. Climate Change: The Threat to Saturn: Imagesfrom the Fabien and Celine Cousteau Life and A New Energy Future Cassini-Huygens Mission with Ensemble ACJW FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S

Through August 16, 2008 Through July 26, 2oog Sunday, 5/17, 1 pm PROGRAMS This timely exhibition explores This stunning exhibition amnh.org/programs/miistein Robots in Space III the science, history, and reveals details of Saturn's Milstein Science Sundays (Advanced) impact of climate change rings, moons, and explores the amazing Tuesday-Thursday, ^/zG-iS, on a global scale, providing atmosphere with images sent underwater world of the orca 4-5:30 pm a context for today's most over half a billion miles by the whale, or killer whale, with If you are experienced with urgent headlines. Cassini spacecraft. Fabien and Celine Cousteau, the Lego Mindstorms kit,

Climate Change is organized by The support of the National Aeronautics third-generation ocean this class will help you hone the American Museum of Natural and Space Administration is appreciated, explorers. Featuring "Voice your skills as an expert robot History, New York {www.amnh.org), special thanks to the Cassini imaging designer. 8-io) In collaboration with the Abu Dhabi team, especially those scientists at of the Whale," a special (Ages Authority for Culture &. Heritage, United Cornell University's Department of multimedia performance by Arab Emirates; The Cleveland Museum Astronomy, along with the staff of Ensemble ACJW with George Astrofavorites: The NASA of Natural History; Cornell University photography. The The Field Museum, Chicago; Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, Crumb's landmark chamber Mission Collection Institute Sangari, Sao Paulo, Brazil; NY, printed the images. piece Vox Balaenae. Three Thursdays, ^/y, 5/14, and junta de Castilla y Leon, Spain; Korea Green Foundation, Seoul; Proudly sponsored by the Paul and Irma 5/21, 4-5:30 pm Natural History Museum of Denmark, On Feathered Wings Milstein family Sign up for our three most Copenhagen; Papalote Museo del Nino, Through August ^0, 2oog popular children's workshops Mexico City, Mexico; and Saint Louis Science Center. This exhibition brings together LECTURES & EVENTS in one discounted series the work of renowned wildlife Self Comes To Mind that includes Giants of the Climate Change is proudly presented by Bank of America. photographers whose artistry Music, Art, & Science Come Outer Solar System; Moons, showcases the majesty of Together in a World Premiere Meteorites, and Mars; and Major support has also been provided by birds in flight. about the Evolution of Mind Fly Me to the Moon, on three The Rockefeller Foundation. Sunday, consecutive Thursdays. (Ages The presentation of both On Feathered j/j, ypm Additional support for Climate Change Wings and Saturn at the American Yo-Yo Ma performs the world 4-6, each child with one adult) A Night at the Museum dolphins, shore birds, and walking tour from West 116th Cosmic Collisions was developed in collaboration with the Denver Museum Sleepovers maybe even a whale or two. Street to Grant's Tomb and of Nature &. Science; GOTO, Inc., Tokyo, Saturday, ^/g beyond. japan; and the Shanghai Science and Friday, ^/iz Cruise New York Harbor on Technology Museum. Made possible through the generous Friday, 6/ig Tug Boat Pegasus HAYDEN PLANETARIUM support of CIT. Friday, 6/26 Saturday, ^/g, 1-5 pm PROGRAMS Cosmic Collisions was created by the American Museum of Natural History amnh.org/sleepovers Join geologist Sidney TUESDAYS IN THE DOME with the major support and partnership for this Horenstein unique Virtual Universe of the National Aeronautics and Space MEMBERS' PROGRAMS four-hour cruise aboard Tug Behind the Scenes of the Next Administration's Science Mission Directorate, Heliophysics Division. Mineral Collecting by Boat Pegasus to explore the Space Show

Moonlight nooks and crannies of New Tuesday, ^/^, 6:^0 pm Saturday, ^/z, yjo-io pm York Harbor. IMAX MOVIES Join geologist Joe Boesenberg Celestial Highlights Wild Ocean on this unique nighttime WALKING TOURS Celestial Pairs Experience the massive collecting expedition to Wild Plants of Central Park Tuesday, ^/z6, 6:^0 pm feeding frenzy that takes place the Sterling Hill Mine in Sunday, ^/lo, g:^o-ii:]o am These programs are supported, in part, each year in the oceans of by Val and Min-Myn Schaffner. Ogdensburg, New Jersey. With "Wildman" Steve South Africa as billions offish

~~Brill, naturalist, author, migrate up the KwaZulu-Natal Cape May Weekend environmental educator, you'l LECTURES Wild Coast.~~

Friday-Sunday, s/1^-17 learn how to identify plants, Michael Lemonick on The Paul Sweet, Collection and use them as renewable Georgian Star: WiUiam Dinosaurs Alive! Manager, Ornithology, leads resources. Herschel and the Birth of This stunning film tracks a tour to the Cape May Point Modern Astronomy AMNH scientists past and State Park, South Cape May Geology of Riverside Park Monday, ^/ii, y:jopm present on expeditions to

Meadows, and Higbee Beach and Drive These programs are supported, in part, New Mexico and Mongolia in by a grant from the for bird-watching. On Saturday Thursday, ^/zS, 6:}o-8 pm search of dinosaurs. Newman's Own Foundation. afternoon, take a boat cruise Join geologist Sidney around Cape May to view Horenstein on this evening Cosmic Collisions LATE NIGHT DANCE Journey into deep space PARTY INFORMATION to explore the hypersonic One Step Beyond impacts that drive the Friday, May 8 Call 212-769-5100 or visit www.amnh.org. formation of our universe. Visit www.amnh.org/ TICKETS AND REGISTRATION Narrated by Robert Redford. onestepbeyond for details. Call 212-769-5200, Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm, or visit

~~ww/w.amnh.org. A service charge may apply. All programs are subject to change. COOL SCIENCE~~

~~AMNH eNotes delivers the latest information on Museum programs and events monthly via email. Visit www.amnh.org to sign up today! Encourage d^~~

~~interest in space or the'~~

~~"invisible" world on~~

Become a Member of the Earth with a 1 9-inch, i 20-x-35mm-lens American Museum of Natural History ) telescope or a starter ' You'll enjoy many valuable benefits, including unlimited free microscope offering general admission, discounts on programs and in shops, 1 50x, 300x, and 600; subscriptions to Natural History magazine and Rotunda, magnification. Both our Members' newsletter, and much more! come in red and blue.

~~For further information, call 212-769-5606 Retail $45,00 Members $4~~

~~or visit w/Aw.amnh.org/join. w.amnhshop.com or 1-800-671-.~~

~~The contents of these paces are provided to Natural Hhiory by the American Museum of Natural History. .M_m ^^r^^^!^~~

~~ENDPAPER Frozen Treasures Abihktuk, the first Inuit to see John Ross's By Dorothy Harley Eber Victory, ran home in a fright according to local lore.~~

~~There's a stretch of the Boothia that had proved "a very heavy griev- the great river could turn cruel in the~~

I Peninsula in the heart of the ance" from the start. In spring Ross winter, bringing starvation and death. Canadian Arctic that Inuit still call found his vessel locked in the ice, and When that happened in 1958, Inuit Kablunaaqhiuvik, "the place for over the next two years he managed left the land, with government as- meeting white people." And a few to sail less than twenty miles back sistance, and moved into settlements.

~~miles away is Killanaaqtuuk, "hav- up the coast. After the third winter Simon Tookoome, also an artist, told~~

~~ing desirable things." In 1999 I in- he abandoned his ship in Victoria me of his life in that dreadful year.~~

terviewed Bibian Neeveeovak, one Harbour. Fortunately for Ross and "The time I was most afraid was of the oldest of all Inuit elders at the his men, the Netsilik Inuit, who had when my father said he didn't want to time, who told me, "I'm grateful never seen Europeans before, fre- walk further distances just to starve that qallunaat—the white man—ven- quently helped them. "They were not to death. He wanted to camp and not

~~tured up here, because their wreck only kind . . . they were the cause of move again, even if we starved. But~~

made the Netsilik people survive." kindness in those around them, in- we didn't do that . . . we survived." The wreck she referred to was the cluding ourselves," Ross wrote later. Echoes of old stories about explor- Victory, a British vessel under com- Another bonus for local inhabit- ers traveling down the Back River

~~mand ofJohn Ross, a Royal Navy ants, in addition to the Victory's still endure. Silas Kulluk, who isn't~~

captain on a private venture in search treasure troves, resulted indirectly sure if he is ninety-one or ninety- of the Northwest Passage. The search from Ross's misfortune. In 1832, nine, tells me, "I heard about early

for the Passage—a waterway from as Ross was preparing to abandon white men. . . . One of them visited the Atlantic to the Pacific—was his vessel, fears were growing in an Inuit tent and gave a woman a pa- Britain's motivation for its great nine- England that he and his crew were per. After he left, the woman threw teenth-century push into the Arctic dead. Commander George Back the paper in the fire. Later she be- Archipelago. The Victory was only of the Royal Navy volunteered to gan to think, 'Maybe that paper was one of many vessels that came to grief lead a rescue expedition. Back left needles.'" Others recall that "some of

in that quest. But Inuit supposedly tell England in 1833 and was already en those white men spat a lot . . . maybe more stories about the Victory than route when he learned that Ross and the beginnings of roads?" any other wreck or expedition; the his men were safe: they had returned And up to today at a special spot on wood and metal she provided sup- to the Fury, wintered over, and then the shore of Chantrey Inlet, you can plied them for generations. rowed out to Lancaster Sound where dig up the beads that spilled out of the

whalers rescued them all. Back con- cache left by George Back in 1834. ROSS left England m 1829, sailed tinued on his journey in hopes of Generations of Inuit women have dug north between Baffin Island mapping more Arctic coastline. He them up to turn their parkas, as illus-

~~and Greenland, turned west into traveled to the mouth of what is now trated below, into works of art.~~

Lancaster Sound, and then explored the Back River (Inuit called it the Prince Regent Inlet to the south. On Great Fish River) and discovered Dorothy Harley Eber has his way he visited the Fury, wrecked Chantrey Inlet. There he left a cache written a number of articles on the Inuit Natural on Somerset Island five years earlier. of items for the Inuit: "seed beads." for History. Her most re- He continued some 200 miles and cent book Encounters anchored in what he named Felix In 1983 Jessie Oonark, a well-known on the Passage: Harbour on the Boothia Peninsula. I Inuit artist, told a Canadian gov- Inuit Meet (Ross named many points on his ernment researcher: "There's no the Explorers

journey after his expedition sponsor, place like Inlet . . . Chantrey there was published in the gin manufacturer Felix Booth.) were so many fish there that even October 2008 by There he promptly jettisoned his en- the fish themselves would climb on the University of gine, an experimental steam model top of the rocks and dry out." But Toronto Press.

~~64 ! NATURAL HISTORY l\1ay 2009 ]^atural History .useum ol l.os Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007 • 213-763-DINO '%~'~~

~~yknyUxi^CL^.4/1^. .^ yrioyu.^ ^~~

~~.-^-r^^ :>kM^ ^ %.~~

:'!'i:< va.v*'*

*'1 " .^.

As one of the last unspoiled places'oh earth,you'll feel an intimate and authentic connection to a treasury of life-changing experiences in Belize. Be one with the Hemisphere's largest barrier reef, enchanting rainforests and the warm people of this Caribbean gateway to the fascinating

~~Maya world. And just a fw'o-hpurfligh'tfrom the U.S., Belize is the only English-speaking country~~

~~%»Central America. Begin your journey by calling 800-624-0686 or visit TravelBelize.org.~~