Summer Symposium

Please join the staff at the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth for our Annual Summer Symposium. You are cordially invited to share recent research, conduct field work, visit PRI's collections, and interact with colleagues and students. The meeting is intentionally informal, low-stress, and low-cost (no abstracts required).

Schedule Highlights:

August 6 - Use of Collections and Museum

August 7 - Keynote: Gordon Baird (SUNY Fredonia): “Reconstructing an end-Devonian event chronology in northwest Pennsylvania: Assessing Kenneth Caster's stratigraphic and paleontological legacy in the ‘Oil Lands Region’.”

August 8 - Field Trip, Carl Brett (University of Cincinnati)

Registration fee:

Professionals (full weekend) $25
Students (full weekend) $15
Field trip only $10

Learn more and register online by clicking here. You can also contact us at 607.273.6623 x29.

Fossil of the Week

Here's another fossil leaf from the Green River Formation in the Eocene Epoch (48 million years ago) of the western U.S. Our July 9 Fossil of the Week posting described the uniqueness and formation of fossil leaves. This particular example is an Allophylus flexifolia leaf. It characteristically has an asymmetrical base, serrated or undulating margins, distinct veins, and a short, stout petiole. Allophyllus is a genus of plants in the family Sapindaceae, members of which still survive today. Many living members of Allophyllus are native, and some endemic, to tropical regions of the globe and are threatened today by habitat loss. Sapidaceae, also known as the soapberry family, also includes the maple, horse chestnut, and lychee.

Text by Paula Mikkelsen

Historians Misrepresented By Creationists?

Three historians of science are unhappy about their treatment in a creationist movie about Darwin, as they explain in a note in the July 2009 Newsletter of the History of Science Society. Peter Bowler, Janet Browne, and Sandra Herbert write, "We have recently been featured in a documentary film, 'The Voyage that Shook the World,' produced by Fathom Media of Australia and directed by Stephen Murray of Synergy Films, New Zealand. We were led to believe that the movie was being made to be shown as an educational film on Australian broadcast television and possibly elsewhere. Fathom Media was revealed to be a subsidiary of Creation Ministries International when publicity for the movie began to appear on the internet."

Previously, William Crawley, a blogger for the BBC, reported (June 21, 2009) that Bowler was "unhappy to be appearing in what he regards as an 'anti-Darwinian' film which offers an historically distorted portrait of Darwin" and that he along with Browne and Herbert "only discovered that they had inadvertently contributed to a Creationist film a month before the film's release." Phil Bell, the CEO of Creationist Ministries UK, acknowledged that Fathom Media was established as a front company, explaining, "At the end of the day ... [when] people see 'Creationist', instantly the shutters go up and that would have shut us off from talking to the sort of experts, such as Professor Bowler, that we wanted to get to."

Crawley added, "I asked Phil Bell if this method of securing an interview was 'deceptive'. He said: 'Well, it could be called deceptive. But I think, at the end of the day, I would say that more people are concerned about how we've made a documentary, that's a world-class documentary, clearly with wonderful footage, with excellent interviews, and balanced open discussion.'" A subsequent statement, posted on CMI's website on June 27, 2009, amplified: "We were and are under an obligation to speak the truth, but not to provide exhaustive information where it was not sought," adding, "Further, and perhaps most importantly, we were determined to deal fairly with the material that the interviewees provided."

The interviewees themselves, however, are not satisfied with the fairness of the movie, writing, "Janet Browne's remarks about his childhood delight in making up stories to impress people is used to imply that the same motive may have driven his scientific thinking. Peter Bowler's description of Darwin’s later views on racial inequality is used in the film, but not Bowler’s account of Adrian Desmond and James Moore’s thesis [in Darwin's Sacred Cause] that Darwin was inspired by his opposition to racism and slavery. Sandra Herbert's comment that Darwin’s theory required explanation of many aspects of life was edited down to imply that his theory required explanation of all aspects of life."

Bowler, Browne, and Herbert end their article by musing, "Academics perhaps do need to be more aware of the fact that the media organizations are not always open about their underlying agendas." (The similar case of Expelled springs to mind.) "Had we known the true origins of Fathom Media," they continue, "we probably would not have contributed, but the producers do have a point: if academic historians refuse to participate when movements they don't approve of seek historical information, these historians can hardly complain if less reputable sources are used instead." They accordingly recommend a few websites for information on the history of Darwin and evolution, including NCSE's.

So far, The Voyage that Shook the World seems to have attracted little attention independently of the controversy over its misleading the historians: no reviews of it appear at Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic. The sole positive review cited at CMI's website is from Ted Baehr on Movieguide, which, despite its neutral name, describes itself as a ministry "dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles, by influencing entertainment industry executives and helping families make wise media choices"; Baehr also gave four stars to Expelled. There are no signs that the movie is going to have a theatrical release in the United States.

For Bowler, Browne, and Herbert's article, visit:
http://www.hssonline.org/publications/Newsletter2009/July_Perils_Publicity.html

For William Crawley's BBC blog post, visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2009/06/creationists_defend_darwin_fil.html

For CMI's statement defending its conduct, visit:
http://creation.com/the-voyage-darwin-film-defended

For NCSE's compilation of information about Expelled, visit:
http://www.expelledexposed.com/

(Above information from National Center for Science Education weekly email update.)

Bugs and Water Quality

This Saturday visit us for a special natural history at noon presentation with Dr. Thomas Vawter, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Wells College.

"Bugs and Water Quality"
Saturday, September 25, 2009
Noon to 1 p.m.

Live near a stream? How does the quality of the water look to you? Come learn why invertebrate animals that live on the bottom of streams are excellent indicators of water quality. This lecture and demonstration will illustrate how to listen to what bugs have to say about the health of their homes. You'll learn a commonly used method of water-quality assessment that looks at the structure of the invertebrate community, spend some time looking at samples with Dr. Vawter, and then try to figure out how good or poor some other water samples are on your own.

Fossil of the Week

Everyone knows what flies are -- those pesky insects that get in your house and buzz around or that interrupt your picnic and land on your food. But there is so much more to the group known as the true flies, or Diptera!

Adult flies have one pair of flight wings ("Di-ptera" or "two-winged") and mouthparts modified for sucking or piercing, rather than chewing. Beyond those similarities, the true flies are amazingly diverse. There are bloodsuckers (such as mosquitoes and horse flies), nectar-feeders, insect predators, and filth or carrion feeders. Most live free as adults, but some are wingless parasites that live like ticks on animals. In addition, because members of this group develop through "complete metamorphosis", the active immature stage (the larva) looks completely different from the adult and has a different lifestyle. For instance, larval black flies are anchored filter-feeders in fast-moving streams at the same time that the adults are flying around your head biting you! A number of species of flies are medically or economically important, carrying pathogens of human and animal disease (malaria, equine encephalitis) or attacking crops in large numbers (Mediterranean fruit fly or "medfly").

Diptera arose in the early to mid-Triassic period (245-240 mya). The fossil shown here is from the Middle Eocene epoch (ca. 45 mya) and was found in a section of the Green River Formation in Uintah County, Utah. The large flies are Pronophlebia rediviva Scudder, an extinct species that belongs to a primitive group of flies that includes the modern family Tipulidae, the crane flies. Crane flies are very common and resemble giant mosquitoes -- some have a wingspan of 7.5 cm (3 in) or more. Although they look like mosquitoes, in reality the adults have non-biting mouthparts and do not attack humans. The larvae, often called "leatherjackets", are worm-like and, depending on the species, may live in habitats ranging from aquatic to moderately dry soil. On rare occasions, soil-dwelling species may build up in large enough numbers to cause turf damage. The largest family of Diptera, crane flies are an example of scientific passion -- C. P. Alexander, a well-known entomologist, described over 10,000 species in his lifetime!

Text by Brian Gollands, Photograph courtesy J. Casciano

Changing the Way we Talk About Evolution

Check out this opinion piece by Eugenie Scott, a physical anthropologist and director of the National Center for Science Education (www.ncseweb.org), about how she thinks we need to change the way we talk about evolution.

Accept It: Talk About Evolution Needs to Evolve

A Forest Journey

Fossil of the Week

Brachiopods look a lot like bivalves (= clams and their relatives, members of phylum Mollusca, along with snails, octopusses, etc.) but the similarity ends there. Yes they have two shells joined on one edge by a hinge, just like clams do, but they have different symmetry. A clam has a shell on each side of its body, whereas a brachiopod has one shell in front and one in back of its body. Inside the shells, a brachiopod's body is also very different from that of a clam. Most noticeable in a brachiopod is the lophophore, a set of feeding tentacles surrounding the mouth in a horseshoe-shape or coil. The tentacles are on shelly supports called branchidia - these are sometimes visible in x-rays or CT scans of fossilized brachiopods. Lophophores are also present in other invertebrates (bryozoans and phoronids), which shows the close relationship of these three groups. Brachiopods are often called "lamp shells" in reference to their resemblance with ancient Roman oil lamps. Brachiopods today are mostly deep-water animals, and there are only about 300-500 living species. But there were once many more than that in Earth's oceans. Brachiopods first appear in the fossil record in the Cambrian Period (ca. 500 My), along with most other life forms on Earth. They were common and dominant throughout the Paleozoic Era, but suffered a huge reduction in numbers at the Permian Mass Extinction event. Paleontologists estimate that 99% of all brachiopods that ever lived are now extinct. The species shown here, Camarotoechia contracta, is found in the Devonian strata of North and South America.

Text by Paula Mikkelsen

Origin of Species: How a T. Rex Femur Sparked a Scientific Smackdown

"Everyone suspected dinosaurs were giant birds; then one researcher produced 68 million-year-old protein to prove it. Critics rejected those findings as statistical junk. How a femur sparked a new field of biology—and a scientific smackdown.
Photo: Christopher Griffith, T. rex photographed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County" -Wired Magazine

Origin of Species: How a T. Rex Femur Sparked a Scientific Smackdown



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A Very Cool Podcast...

This past Thursday, Melvyn Bragg and guests Martin Brasier, Richard Corfield and Rachel Wood discuss the Ediacara Biota, the Precambrian life forms which vanished 542 million years ago, and whose discovery proved Darwin right in a way he never imagined on the BBC Radio 4 Program In Our Time.

Here's the link to the podcast: In Our Time

Fossil of the Week

We usually think of fossils as hard objects - bones, shells, teeth - organisms (or parts of organisms) that are hard to begin with and naturally have excellent fossil records. So, when you consider the leaf on a tree - soft, thin, usually fairly flimsy - you don't really expect it to fossilize often or well. However, as the picture here attests, fossil leaves are actually fairly commonplace. These are almost always in the form of impressions. The leaf itself is actually gone, but it has left its impression in the mud (now rock). These are almost always in the form of "part/counterpart", which means that when the rock containing the impression splits along the plane of the leaf, one side of the leaf (the "part") is revealed on one side of the rock and the other side of the leaf (the "counterpart") is on the facing side of the rock. This particular fossil is a sycamore leaf from the Green River Formation in the western U.S. Today's American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is fast-growing and has been extensively planted as a shade tree. The second oldest tree in the city of Buffalo, New York, is a Sycamore dating to the year 1700. The Green River Formation, spread across Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, dates to the Eocene Epoch (48 million years ago). It is one of the most famous fossil formations in North America, known for exceptional preservation of soft-parts, including fish, crocodiles, insects, leaves, and even feathers. Insects have been found fossilized whole, preserving delicate wing membranes and spider spinnerets.The leaves of palms, ferns, and sycamores are common in Green River, some showing details of insect damage sustained during their growth.

Text by Paula Mikkelsen

Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region

ITHACA, NY (July 8, 2009) -- The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and the Cayuga Nature Center (CNC) present “Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region: Its Flora, Fauna, Geology, and History” by James Dake. The field guide is significant in focusing on specific information regarding the areas surrounding Cayuga Lake, and addresses a demand for the regional field guide spurred by CNC's recently increased programming. The field guide for the first time pulls together sections on local history and geology, as well as the expected descriptions of plantlife and wildlife found across the region.

The field guide’s value is endless in a region surrounded by natural gorges, state parks, and Cayuga Lake. Paula Mikkelsen, Associate Director for Science and Director of Publications at PRI, believes that the field guide will be popular with hikers, summer camps, and those who simply want to explore the area. Mikkelsen predicts that the field guide will become an essential in every backpack and reported, “I’ve already used it in my own back yard.”

In addition to the contents concerning the area’s natural formations and wildlife, the history of the region is outlined in the field guide. The historical content contributes to the appreciation of the local area. The region’s natural history has drawn visitors for years. The chapter also ties in the history of CNC and PRI, along with national events that occurred during the area’s early settlement.

Author James Dake acts as the liaison between PRI and CNC, fostering the collaboration between the two organizations. “The collaboration has taken the best of both organizations and improved them,” stated Mikkelsen. “Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region” is Dake’s first published book. The publication was made possible by a grant from the Triad Foundation.

James Dake -- In the field.

"Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region" can be purchased at our online bookstore, the Museum gift shop, Buffalo Street Books, and the Cornell College Bookstore.

To order online please click here: Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region

The Paleontological Research Institution is an active research institution located in Ithaca, New York and was founded in 1932 by Gilbert Harris, professor of geology at Cornell University, to house his collection and library. PRI has outstanding programs in research, collections, publications, and public outreach. The Institution cares for a collection of 2-3 million specimens (one of the 10 largest in the U.S.), and publishes the oldest paleontological journal in the Americas (Bulletins of American Paleontology, begun in 1895). In 2003 PRI opened the Museum of the Earth on its campus on Ithaca's West Hill, overlooking Cayuga Lake. This education and exhibits facility contains 8000 square feet of permanent exhibits, telling the history of the Earth and its life through the geologic record of the Northeastern U.S. Unique elements include the skeletons of the Hyde Park Mastodon and Right Whale #2030 and the 544 square foot mural, Rock of Ages Sands of Time. The Museum builds upon PRI’s wide variety of programs and activities for people of all ages.

What We're Reading

Greetings Readers! Wondering what to read this summer? Here are some books that our staff members are currently making their way through.

Billy Kepner, our Director of Marketing and frequent blog contributor, just finished Watership Down. It is is a heroic fantasy novel about a small group of rabbits, written by British author Richard Adams. Billy is now gearing up to read The Falconer by Rachel Dickinson. Rachel is a local writer whose husband, Tim Gallagher, recently joined our board of trustees.

Trisha Smrecak, our Evolution and Global Change Projects Manager, has two books going at present. They are A Sea Without Fish: Life in the Ordovician Sea of the Cincinnati Region by Meyer and Davis and The Testament by John Grisham.

Scott Callan, our Associate Director for Institutional Advancement, has three books to report on. He is reading Wild Thoughts From Wild Places by David Quammen - a collection of essays by a great modern naturalist. Also, War and Peace and War by Peter Turchin which Scott says is "an intriguing attempt at using the historical record to demonstrate that war is an almost inevitable outcome of cycles of growth, prosperity, and decline. Occasionally over-reaching, but fascinating nonetheless." And finally Europe Central by William Vollmann which he is starting for at least the third time with no promises of getting any further that he has previously.

Carlyn Buckler, Education Associate, has taken her reading out of this world with An Archaeologist on Mars (1995) by Oliver Sachs. She's also working on The Best American Science Writing - 2008 and, as always "The New Yorker."

Sam Moody, our volunteer coordinator who recently headed back to school for her masters in anthropology, is spending part of her summer catching up on school books. Right now she is reading Museum Frictions: Public Cultures/Global Transformation, which is her new favorite book because it is a collection of articles concerning contemporary topics regarding the museum industry. She's also having a bit of fun this summer with Best American Fantasy 2008, specifically a short story by her brother, Christian Moody titled "In the Middle of the Woods".

Don Duggan-Haas, a member of our education department, wrote in that "I recently finished Norman Doidge's The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. It's a fascinating look at neuroplasticity and how new approaches can help people recover from massive strokes and other sorts of brain damage. It also addresses issues of interest to teachers of all sorts. There are discussions of new treatments for dyslexia informed by neuroplasticity, and how blind people take over the visual cortex to effectively beef up other senses. The book effectively dismisses the general idea of our brains being hardwired and unchangeable. The brain may indeed be very resistant to change, but resistance doesn't equate to impossibility. It is quite possible to build new neural pathways throughout the lifespan.

"I'm now reading Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs. It lays out a plan for solving economic and environmental crises (which are inseparable) at manageable cost. I'm unsure if we can muster the political will Sachs suggests we need, but there is some hope in what he sees in our future. The booking is loaded with striking facts like China is currently building new power plants each year that equal the UK's entire capacity!"

Mike Lucas, our Associate Director for Administration, is reading Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark Levin and Sarah Chicone, our Director of Exhibits, is reading Museums and Identity by John Falk which was just published in May (2009).

Whew, what a list! As for me, I'm in between books and am trying to decide what I'll read next from my pile of recent acquisitions. One thing is for sure, I can't wait to check out our newest publication here at the Museum by my friend James Dake. We just published his field guide to the finger lakes region and I'm told that the proofs looked great!

Happy reading and feel free to make some book recommendations of your own for our readers.

Cheers,

Sarah Degen - Development Operations Manager & Membership Coordinator

Opinions on Evolution...

From 10 Different Countries...

A survey of opinions on evolution from ten countries was released. And
paleontologists took a trip to the Creation "Museum" and were dismayed
by what they saw.

OPINIONS ON EVOLUTION FROM TEN COUNTRIES

A recent international survey conducted by the British Council
investigated awareness of Darwin, acceptance of evolution, and
attitudes toward evolution and faith. In a June 30, 2009, press
release, Fern Elsdon-Baker, the head of the British Council's Darwin
Now program, commented, "The international Darwin survey has thrown up
some very interesting results, especially as it includes data from
countries not previously covered before. The most encouraging aspect
of the survey shows that whilst there are diverse views on Darwin’s
theory of evolution, there appears to a broad acceptance that science
and faith do not have to be in conflict. Whilst the results show that
there is some way to go in communicating the evidence of evolutionary
theory to wider audiences, it is evident that there is clear space for
dialogue on this sometimes complex area of debate."

The survey was conducted in April and May 2009 in ten countries:
Argentina, China, Egypt, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Russia, South
Africa, Spain, and the United States. For the question "Have you heard
of Charles Darwin?" Russia led the list with 93% of respondents saying
yes, with Great Britain and Mexico tied for second at 90%, and China a
close third at 90%; the United States was fifth at 84%. For the
question "To what extent do you agree or disagree that it is possible
to believe in a God and still hold the view that life on earth,
including human life, evolved over time as a result of natural
selection?" India led the list with 85% of respondents agreeing, with
Mexico second at 65% and Argentina third at 62%; the United States was
fifth at 53%, just behind Great Britain, Russia, and South Africa,
which tied for fourth at 54%.

For the question "To what extent do you agree or disagree that enough
scientific evidence exists to support Charles Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution [sic]?" -- posed to respondents who had heard of Charles
Darwin and knew something about the theory of evolution -- India led
the list with 77% of respondents agreeing, with China second at 72%
and Mexico second at 65%. The United States was ninth at 41%, just
behind South Africa at 42% and well ahead of Egypt at 25%. In keeping
with reports on previous international surveys on public attitudes
toward evolution, such as Miller, Scott, and Okamoto's article in
Science in 2006, the United States was also conspicuous for the level
of disagreement with the theory of evolution: 30%, second only to
Egypt's 63%. Only 29% of respondents in the United States indicated
that they neither agreed nor disagreed or didn't know.

Respondents were also asked which of the following was closest to
their own view: "life on earth, including human life, evolved over
time as a result of natural selection, in which no God played a part";
"life on earth, including human life, evolved over time in a process
guided by a God"; and "life on earth, including human life, was
created by a God and has always existed in its current form."
(Respondents were also offered the response, "I have another view on
the origins of species and development of life on earth, which is not
included in this list.") The first view was preferred in China by 67%
of the respondents, in Mexico, Great Britain, and Spain by 38%, in
Argentina by 37%, and in Russia by 32%; the third was preferred in
Egypt by 50% of the respondents, and in India, South Africa, and the
United States by 43%. In no country was the second view held by a
plurality of respondents.

Source: National Center for Science Education

Let us know what you think by posting a message in the comments section!

Red, White & Green

Come celebrate the opening of our newest summer exhibit, A Forest Journey, with a day of fun for the whole family!

We will have fun forest crafts, woodsy activities and you can even learn about plants through interactive activities before you head off to your Fourth of July picnic!

Saturday, July 4
11 am - 3 pm
Included with admission to MOTE!

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Fossil of the Week

A cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, which feed by piercing plants with their mouthparts and sucking out the liquid sap. Cicadas are large insects with large eyes set far apart on the head and transparent, well-veined wings. Cicadas do not bite or sting, but are pests to some cultivated crops. People in many areas around the world, including China, Malaysia, Burma, Latin America, and the Congo, regularly eat cicadas, and the molted shells of cicadas are used in the traditional medicines of China. The word cicada means "buzzer" in Latin, and refers to the cicada's familiar summer song, which is among the loudest of the insect world. The sound is actually caused by vibrating membranes on the sides of the abdomen. There are about 2,500 named species of living cicada worldwide and each species has its own distinctive song. Most cicadas have a life cycle lasting 2-5 years, but some have much longer cycles, most notably the famous 17-year and 13-year cicadas of North America. It was recently reported that in New York City, the 13-year cicadas due to show up again in 2013 are hatching now - four years early! Must be another symptom of Global Warming! The oldest cicada fossils we've found lived with the dinosaurs in the Cretaceous Period (ca. 100 Ma) and modern cicada genera (like the one shown here) are known from the Miocene Epoch (ca. 5 Ma).

Text by Paula Mikkelsen, Photo courtesy J. Casciano