Friday, July 17, 2009

Guangzhou, China

We are in Guangzhou, China meeting with collaborators at the South China Institute for Endangered Animals. Everyone here has been really kind to us and it looks like there are many areas where we can collaborate together to learn more about the evolution of the birds of East Asia.

Guangzhou is an enormous city of about 12 million people just north of the manufacturing center of Shenzen and the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong (see photo left of the view of Guangzhou from BaiYu Shan Park). We saw perfect habitat for birds along the way but few if any birds. In Taiwan around large cities like Taipei there would be thousands of egrets and other waders in the flooded fields, canals and rivers but here we saw none. The Cantonese apparently have a taste for egret nestlings and probably over centuries have been collecting them from egret rookeries. This continues to this day with legal harvesting at designated colonies. The rules are if a nest has 4 nestlings you can take 2, if it has 3 you can take 2 and if it has 2 you can take 1.

However a few birds remain, but not nearly as many as one would see around Taipei or even Hong Kong. We did manage to see some species including Chinese Bulbuls, Japanese White-eyes, Red-whiskered Bulbul, and Common Tailorbird. Also, we were lucky enough to catch this Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) roosting in the bamboo in a park on the campus of Sun Yat Sen University. We venture out into the more rural parts of Guangdong Province this weekend and hopefully add some more species to our trip list!

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Off to China

I'm sitting in the airport in Chicago waiting to catch a flight to Hong Kong. With generous funding from the Helen B Vogel Trust and the Mary Jane Helms Charitable Trust to Cincinnati Museum Center I'm able to join long-time collaborator Bailey McKay of the University of Minnesota in the field in Southwest China. Together with partners in Taiwan and Mainland China we are hoping to learn about the history of the bird communities of Taiwan. By comparing the birds of Taiwan with their closest cousins in Mainland China using the latest molecular genetic tools we can date the time from which the endemic species on the island of Taiwan split from their sister species in Mainland China. We can match these data to key geologic events in the formation of the island to tell us about the history of the terrestrial ecosystems on the Taiwan.

Bailey is already in China with funding from the National Science Foundation's East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute and has collected many samples from birds in Yunnan Province and I hope to join him to collect more samples, process some samples in the lab and build relationships with our Chinese colleagues. Fa-Sheng Zou of the South China Institute for Endangered Animals in Guangzhou is our key collaborator in Mainland China and an excellent host and intellectual partner in this project. Fa-Sheng's students are also proving to be fantastic collaborators as well.

The photo above is of the White-browed Robin (Luscinia indica) in Taiwan. This is just one of the many species of montane birds in Taiwan whose closest relatives are distributed around Southwestern China. Genetic data gathered from Taiwanese species and their sister species in Taiwan will likely elevate populations of birds on Taiwan to species status and tell us much about the evolutionary history of the terrestrial animals on the island of Taiwan.

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Monday, April 20, 2009

Science and Natural History in the beltway


I'm back at the museum from last week's trip to Arlington and Washington D.C. where I was able to visit the National Science Foundation and the National Museum of Natural History. The National Museum of Natural History had a nice exhibit called Orchids Through Darwin's Eyes. The exhibit had a fantastic array of cultivated orchids, mostly hybrids but some species as well (like this Brassia orchid from Central America in the photo from the left), and discussed the many adaptations and unique evolutionary history of the orchid family.

The Sant Ocean Hall (see bottom photo) was also fantastic and had some really interesting specimens including a giant squid, a fossil hemiscyllus shark, a Dunkleosteus skull, fossil cetaceans (whales) complete with hind limbs. It was a great exhibit with lots of changes from what I remember as a kid with my first visit to the National Museum of Natural History in the 1970's. The weather was great and the mall and the Smithsonian museums were packed. Museums seem to be as popular as ever and just maybe growing in their popularity.

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Cincinnati Museum Center joins CBOL

Cincinnati Museum Center is the newest participating member in the Consortium for the Barcode of Life. DNA barcoding involves sequencing a gene common to most of life. These sequences can then be used alongside traditional characteristics as a mark of species identity. Large barcode databases allow for unknown specimens, perhaps from difficult to identify larval or egg stages, to be compared against known sequences permitting species-level identification. Also, DNA barcoding can provide preliminary data that hints at unrecognized evolutionary lineages and thus will prompt more detailed research projects on new species. Cincinnati Museum Center is working with Rockefeller University to identify DNA barcode sequences for Philippine Birds and with the Ohio Biological Survey to build a DNA barcode database for Ohio amphibians. These projects are among the first in the museum's new National Science Foundation funded Molecular Ecology and Systematics Laboratory and the beginning of what hopefully will be a long and productive track record in evolutionary biology.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

DNA lab in the news

Biostart, a regional life sciences start-up center, did a feature story on Cincinnati Museum Center's new National Science Foundation funded Molecular Ecology and Systematics Laboratory. A video interview on the lab and the role modern molecular genetics plays in modern museum research with yours truly can be found here. Projects on Ohio amphibians, Philippine birds, Great Horned Owls and other organisms are now ongoing. Hopes are that the lab will continue to grow as a regional resource and we'll uncover many exciting finds about life's diversity.

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

New blog site

The cincyevolution.blogspot.com site will still keep readers updated on goings on at Cincinnati Museum Center's zoology department but blogs on the latest research in evolutionary biology have moved to a new site. Monofilia.org is now the new site for my blogs on research in in the world of evolutionary biology. The new site is hosted by Squarespace which provides a powerful and easier to use platform for web/blog management. So, keep on coming back to cincyevolution.blogspot.com for updates on activity in the zoology department at Cincinnati Museum Center and visit monofilia.org for my thoughts on the latest research in evolution.

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Sunday, March 01, 2009

Pygmy origins

ResearchBlogging.orgHuman populations vary genetically, however, much of this variation is not divided into discrete groups but rather is distributed as a cline, or gradually, with one population smoothly transitioning into another. Genetic isolation in most human populations is therefore primarily dictated by distance. Also, the human propensity for roaming and spreading into new environments means that humans spread their genes widely and tend to genetically homogenize populations. However, there are some exceptions to these general patterns. Some human populations have experienced relatively long periods of genetic isolation.

Pygmies of West and Central Africa are known for their comparatively short stature. Pygmies do not comprise a single group but rather approximately two dozen groups with a diverse array of different languages. While on average adult male height is about 5 feet, comparatively small for most human populations, mean height can vary by as much as 8 inches among different pygmy groups. Pygmies are among the last groups in Sub-Saharan Africa to practice the hunter-gatherer lifestyle typical of our earliest human ancestors and as such understanding their evolutionary history can provide important clues to the history and diversification of our species.

Paul Verdu of Paris' Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and colleagues in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology examined the genetic history of 9 pygmy populations (Bezan, Central Baka, Eastern Baka, Southern Baka, Gabonese Baka, Kola, Koya, Eastern Bongo, and Southern Bongo) and 12 neighboring non-pygmy populations using 28 genetic markers across 604 individuals. As a group, pygmy populations in this study showed large amounts of genetic diversity and, with the exception of the Eastern and Southern Bongo pygmies, pygmy genetic variation clustered together, and separate from non-pygmy genetic variation. Eastern and Southern Bongos showed comparatively more evidence of gene flow with non-pygmy populations, hence their tendancy to cluster within non-pygmy genetic variation.

These genetic data support a common genetic heritage of all West African pygmy populations in the study and an evolutionary split from other West African peoples some 54,000-90,000 years ago. Within the pygmy lineage, divergent populations appear to have arisen more recently, as recent as 2,600-2,900 years ago, the same time agricultural peoples in the region were undergoing expansion. These conclusions are in line with previous results employing other types of genetic markers. Interestingly, Bongo pygmies not only genetically clustered closely to non-pygmy populations but they exhibit the tallest mean height, further evidence of gene flow from non-pygmy populations to Bongo pygmies. Much of this gene flow could be relatively recent and may eventually swamp out the pygmies unique genetic lineage.

The expansion of agricultural peoples in Sub-Saharan Africa likely drove ancestral pygmy populations into increased isolation from one another therefore driving their genetic divergence. Culture and language of indigenous peoples are not the only parts of their history under threat of extinction, but, as human history shows, their very genetic lineage too can be lost to population extinction or genetic exchange among populations. Modern molecular genetics are a powerful tool for uncovering evolutionary history. Being a widespread and adaptable species human populations vary in their genetic history with some being more characterized by isolation and others by mixing. Evolutionary theory provides the critical framework to make sense of rapidly growing genetic data from human populations and shows that humans are subject to the same evolutionary forces that shape the rest of nature.

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Paul Verdu, Frederic Austerlitz, Arnaud Estoup, Renaud Vitalis, Myriam Georges, Sylvain Théry, Alain Froment, Sylvie Le Bomin, Antoine Gessain, Jean-Marie Hombert (2009). Origins and Genetic Diversity of Pygmy Hunter-Gatherers from Western Central Africa Current Biology, 19 (4), 312-318 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.12.049
Roberta Kwok (2009). Pygmies share a recent common ancestor Nature DOI: 10.1038/news.2009.82


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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Please stimulate my research!

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the Economic Stimulus bill, includes 2.5 billion in additional funds for the National Science Foundation (NSF) specifically for "research and related activities". To help build scientific infrastructure 300 million of these funds are reserved for the NSF's Major Research Instrumentation program. An additional 502 million, of which 400 million will go to research equipment and facilities and 100 million to education and human resources, will go to other NSF activities. Incidentally NSF's Major Research Instrumentation program provided funds for Cincinnati Museum Center's (CMC) new Molecular Ecology and Systematics Laboratory. Hopes are this will push the US towards increased innovation in basic science. New proposals to the NSF, if funded, will help CMC grow as a research institution, spread scientific literacy and train students at every level in the high tech skills required for a modern economy. Wish me luck!

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Happy Birthday Chuck!

Today is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. The notion that life changes over time and the idea that species share a common ancestry both predate Darwin, but, Darwin was the first to provide a viable mechanism by which biological evolution occurs, namely evolution by natural selection. Darwin solidified the idea of evolution and this idea rapidly spread in acceptance among scientists after the publication of Origin of Species.

Evolution's importance can not be overstated. Today evolution is the central organizing principle in the life sciences. To date, it is our only viable explanation for the diversity of life on earth. Data from paleontology, ecology, anatomy and most recently, modern molecular genetics and comparative genomics continue to support the conclusion that life shares a common genetic heritage.

Darwin is a model of how science should work and how scientists should conduct themselves. He was careful, thorough, curious, and dedicated to the details and all the while humble and considerate of his colleagues. Darwin did not have the computational mind of a Newton nor was he capable of the abstraction of an Einstein. Darwin's genius was simply as a clear thinker, ever mindful of the evidence and ready to follow that evidence where it leads. At the center of Darwin's ideas was a broad knowledge of natural history all to be brought to bear on big questions in science.

Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on exactly the same day. Both played key roles in building the world we live in today. The bicentenial of their births should be a time to reflect on their accomplishments and follow their example to move society forward.

Happy birthday Chuck!

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Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Origins blog at Science website

With 2009 as the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary the publication of the Origin of Species evolution is spreading across the web faster than a large bill in a drought-ridden finch population. The American Association for the Advancement of Science's Science Magazine has a new blog all about origins. Inspired by Darwin, AAAS will spread news on all things evolution from anthropology to genomics to the origin of life. So check in regularly as part of Darwin year 2009!

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Inauguration day at Cincinnati Museum Center


Cincinnati Museum Center's Union Terminal opened the rotunda to the community to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Hundreds of people from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area were in attendance to watch this milestone in American history. Thanks to the outgoing Bush administration and good luck to the new Obama administration!

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Sunday, January 04, 2009

TAIPEI 101 Firework, 2009, Happy New Year

Happy New Years! I found this great photo by Eric Wang on Flickr of the 2009 New Years celebration in Taipei with fireworks blasting off of Taipei 101. Best of New Years wishes to all my readers from Ohio to Taiwan!


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Friday, January 02, 2009

Economy hits natural hisory museums

Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History will cut it's budget by 15%. The Field is not only among the top museums in the country but a center of research excellence in the biological sciences. In an article in Nature News Field Museum associate curator and ornithologist Shannon Hackett worries that severe cuts could jeopardize the museum's stature as a leading research center. Hackett comments, "Once you lose your academic stature, it is very difficult to regain". A major problem lies in loses in the museum's endowment dropping from $320 million in the spring to $215 million in November. Museums around the country are experiencing similar problems. Especially hard hit are those institutions that receive state funding in those states with falling tax revenues. The University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has cut 18 research positions and the Virginia Museum of Natural History announced in October that the state has ordered a 10% budget cut resulting in job losses and a reduction in hours the museum is available to the public.

Clearly it is as important now as ever to support your local natural history museum. Visit your museum regularly, consider a membership and if you have the means, donate, so that these vital centers of scientific research and education can continue to grow and thrive. The long term economic health of the US is critically linked to a scientifically literate society where discovery and innovation spawns economic opportunity. Natural history museums are key players in building the scientific literacy required in any successful modern economy.

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