MCZ newsletter

Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Volume 2, Number 1

Fall 1972

Photo by Rick Stafford

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PROFESSOR STQ@RMER LECTURES AT MCZ

A most distinguished paleontologist, Professor Leif
Stérmer, has been appointed as Visiting Alexander Agassiz
Lecturer on Paleontology. Professor Stdrmer lectured in the
same capacity at Harvard from 1965-66. During his term at
the Museum, Dr. Stérmer will continue his research on
Ordovician fossil trilobites and eurypterids, often called sea
scorpions, using the extensive collections of the Inver-
tebrate Paleontology Department.

Professor Stérmer teaches historical geology at the

University of Oslo where he has also served as Curator of
the Paleontological Museum. Dr. St¢érmer was Dean of
Faculty from 1956-58. He is also a former President of the
International Commission on Stratigraphy.

newsletter

MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY

DR. LIEM NAMED HENRY BRYANT BIGELOW
PROFESSOR OF ICHTHYOLOGY

Karel F. Liem has been appointed as Henry Bryant
Bigelow Professor of Ichthyology and Curator of Ichthy-
ology in the Museum. Professor Liem’s chief research
interest is the functional anatomy of fishes. Although his
accomplishments are best known in this area, his work also
has had an important influence on conceptual thinking in
the systematics and evolutionary biology of fish. Further-
more, his scientific productivity has extended to other
groups of lower vertebrates, notably amphibians and
reptiles.

Professor Liem uses a variety of experimental, anatom-
ical and physiological techniques reflecting the multi-
disciplinary approach of his work. His work on fishes is
directed toward determining and integrating the functional
significance of anatomical arrangements on many levels,
ranging from the analysis of a single character complex to
broad scale studies of evolutionary adaptation and its
relevance to systematics.

Early in his career, Liem investigated cardiovascular and
respiratory mechanisms in various teleost fishes (Syn-
branchiformes) capable of respiration in both air and water.
This complex biological problem is related to the entire
question of water-to-land transition — an important phylo-
genetic as well as present-day ontogenetic phenomenon. He
made similar investigations on anabantoid fishes and
developed a comparative approach which emphasized the
changes correlated with air-breathing adaptation.

However, Professor Liem’s most significant contribu-
tions to ichthyology have been his comparative functional
anatomy studies. His monograph on the leaf fishes (percoid
family Nandidae) is a classic synthesis of diverse morpho-
logical and experimental techniques used to elucidate
adaptive mechanisms, evolutionary trends and phylogenetic
relationships. Leaf fishes are highly specialized fresh-water
predators with living representatives in Asia, Africa and
South America, but without a fossil record. Professor Liem
recognized that certain behavioral peculiarities, particularly
in regard to their voracious feeding habits, were central to
understanding their evolution. Typically, they approach
their prey without apparent swimming motion (the charac-

teristic floating leaf posture with little gill or fin movement
is expressed in their common name), and with an extremely
rapid cheek and pharyngeal movement swallow large prey
intact. Through a series of surgical experiments coupled
with cinematic analysis, Professor Liem was able to
demonstrate the performance and interactions of bone and
muscle units more precisely than had previously been done
for any fish group. This approach revealed that the
seemingly large number of morphological differences
between leaf species was in fact an expression of the
coadaptive dependency of adjacent structures.

Professor Liem has made a number of contributions to
ichthyology other than his functional anatomical studies.
His work on the reproductive cycle in the synbranchoid fish
Monopterus demonstrated by histological and other
methods a pattern of sex reversal related to age; individ-
uals begin the reproductive cycle as functional females and
switch to males at a later age, a mechanism which maintains
reproductive potential of populations subjected to severe
environmental conditions. Later, Professor Liem extended
this study to the entire order Synbranchiformes, giving
detailed consideration to geographical and taxonomic varia-
tion in natural sex reversal patterns. By demonstrating that
rudimentary hermaphroditism is probably a derived evolu-
tionary stage and that gonochorism in the Amphipnoidae is
primitive, Liem made a fundamental contribution to the
understanding of sex reversal among teleost fishes.

Professor Liem’s current research efforts are directed to
the fish family Cichlidae of Lake Tanganyika which is a
remarkably diverse but closely related group. The feeding
and respiratory systems offer an ideal test of how func-
tional anatomy (including cineradiographic and electro-
myographic techniques) may contribute to understanding
an adaptive radiation.

Professor Liem comes to the MCZ from the University
of Illinois College of Medicine where he was Associate
Professor of Anatomy. Concurrently, he served as Associate
Curator of Vertebrate Anatomy at the Field Museum of
Natural History and as Lecturer on Evolutionary Biology at

the University of Chicago.

MCZ RECEIVES IMPORTANT COLLECTION

A major gift of 2500 reprints, separates and some books
on spiders and other arachnids has been given to the
Arachnology Department of the Museum. The collection
was given by Dr. Arthur Merton Chickering and represents
his entire reprint library.

Dr. Chickering was Professor of Biology at Albion
College from 1918-1957.

moved to Cambridge to continue his research. He was

Following his retirement, he

appointed as an Associate in Arachnology in the Museum
whe re he he Iped to Carry out highly specialized curatorial
work on the MCZ’s spider collections.

Dr. Chickering is now retired and lives in Gilsum, New

Hamp hire.

Professor Liem examines the air-breathing, land-dwelling
fish, Monopterus albus, from Southeast Asia.

DR. BORESKE CURATES
FOSSIL FISH COLLECTION

One of the MCZ?’s richest assets is its collection of fossil
fishes which represents a complete spectrum from the
earliest-known vertebrates to the late Tertiary teleosts. The
collection was begun by Louis Agassiz, who brought with
him considerable European material initially obtained for
the natural history collections of Harvard College. Much of
the European type material described by Agassiz in his
Poissons Fossiles, 1843, was also deposited here at Harvard.
Alexander Agassiz acquired a number of important addi-

tional fossil fish collections in the 1880’s. Among these are
the collection of exquisitely preserved fish and other
vertebrates from the lithographic limestone at Solenhofen,
Germany; the giant arthrodire collection from the Cleve-
land Shale; and the Stock collection of fish from the
Scottish Coal Measures. During the 1890’s and early 1900’s
Charles R. Eastman was the first well-known professional
paleontologist to work actively on fossil vertebrates at the
MCZ, and he added a quantity of important North
American Paleozoic fishes.

This major collection of fossil fishes was last attended
many years ago under the curatorship of Henry Stetson.
There is thus a great need for this material to be updated
and re-evaluated, and for this purpose Dr. John R. Boreske
(Ph.D. Boston University, 1972) has recently been ap-
pointed Curatorial Associate in charge of the fossil fish
collection. His first venture into field work was in the
Cleveland Natural History Museum’s fossil fish expedition,
which produced the largest known collection of Late
Devonian fishes. His current research has focused largely on
an evolutionary and morphological study of the Recent
Amia calva and its ancestral forms in North America and
Europe. In addition to his work with the MCZ fossil
collection, Dr. Boreske will be lecturing on fossil fishes in
the Evolution of the Vertebrates course (Biology 139).

ASSOCIATE APPOINTED

Ronald Munson, an Associate Professor in the Depart-
ment of Philosophy at the University of Missouri (St.
Louis), has been appointed as an Associate in Biology in the
Museum. Because Dr. Munson’s chief interest is the
philosophy of biology, he will study under Professor Ernst
Mayr in an effort to broaden his understanding of biology.

CONCORD FIELD STATION
TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE

Members of the Concord and Bedford communities,
Friends of the MCZ and the Museum staff will have the
opportunity to view the recent growth of the Concord
Field Station at an open house which has been scheduled
for Sunday, November 5th, at 3:00 P.M.

In addition to the vast improvements made within the
Countway Laboratory, construction is underway on a new
experimental facility for population, environmental, and
behavioral studies. The construction, funded by the Ford
Foundation, includes conversion of the underground Nike
Missile bunkers at the Station into large controlled environ-
mental study chambers (MCZ Newsletter, Vol. 1, no. 3).

The guests will be invited to tour the as yet uncompleted
laboratories, and meet and talk with the research staff.
Several members of the staff will demonstrate aspects of
their work.

DR. BURNS RECEIVES APPOINTMENT

John McLauren Burns (Ph.D. University of California,
Berkeley, 1961) has been appointed as Associate Professor
of Biology. Professor Burns, who joined the MCZ scientific
staff in July 1969 when he became Associate Curator of
‘evolutionary biologist.”

6

Lepidoptera, considers himself an
Although most of his research deals with Lepidoptera,
especially diurnal species, his work with them relates to
genetics and ecology, as well as to systematics. His primary
interest is in analyzing evolutionary processes, for which
butterflies are an especially favorable group because they
are already relatively well known taxonomically. Further-
more, butterflies differ so much from higher vertebrates
(which are also well known and therefore much used in
evolutionary studies) in their organization, development
and behavior that working with them may provide different
insights into evolutionary processes. For instance, Lepidop-
tera, being almost entirely phytophagous (feeding on
plants), have many fascinating reciprocal evolutionary
relations with plants.

In his research he is most concerned with problems of
population differentiation and speciation, especially in

Professor Burns in his laboratory.

Photo by Rick Stafford

foodplant specialists; in interspecific hybridization; in the
genetics and ecology of polymorphism, including mimetic
polymorphism and especially electrophoretically-detectable
protein polymorphism; and in mating biology. Most of his
systematic work is with the skipper butterflies (Hes-
periidae).

In recent years, he has used the technique of gel
electrophoresis to study hereditary variation in natural
populations. Electrophoresis is a fairly simple way of
accurately separating differently charged molecules by
placing them in an electric field under specified conditions
for a period of time. Changes in hereditary factors (genes)
lead to changes in details of a protein’s structure which
often alter the net surface charge of that protein molecule.
By using electrophoresis to discriminate among variants of a
single protein (some particular enzyme) in a sample of
individuals from a population, it is possible to examine the
result and estimate how much hereditary variation there is
for that enzyme in that population. In other words, various
alternative forms of one and the same gene — which are
known as alleles — can be counted and their frequency
compared in space and time. For this electrophoretic study,
Professor Burns has often used the live butterfly, Colias. His
comparison of North American species of Colias has now
been extended to 12 species.

During Professor Burns’ term as Associate Curator, more
than half of the Lepidoptera collection has been extensively
reorganized. The material is now systematized on a world-
wide basis rather than on a continental basis. Several
specialists in important moth groups have updated and
rectified determinations of large numbers of specimens.

Professor Burns has taught in several courses at Harvard
and this year will participate in the teaching of Principles of
Evolutionary Biology (Biology 248) and Biology of Inverte-
brates (Biology 10a). He also coordinates the Natural
History Seminars.

Recently Dr. Burns was a guest of the 17th International
Congress of Zoology in Monaco, at which he presented a
major paper, “Intra- and Interspecific Variation in Highly
Polymorphic Esterases of Butterflies.’ In November, he will
present another major paper at the joint annual meeting of
the Entomological Society of America, the Entomological
Society of Canada, and the Entomological Society of
Quebec. He will speak on “Electrophoresis in Evolutionary
and Systematic Biology.”

Professor Burns previously served as Assistant Professor
of Biology at Wesleyan University. He lives with his wife

and three children in Lexington.

DR. PETERSON NAMED
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Jane Audrey Peterson, a Research Associate in Her-
petology and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, is
interested in the comparative anatomy of limbs in various
groups of reptiles. She is collaborating with E. E. Williams,
Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, on studies of

locomotor diversity among Caribbean anoles.

Friends of the MCZ Notes

“THE ESSENCE OF BEING A DINOSAUR” IS
SUBJECT OF FRIENDS’ LECTURE

Bob Bakker, a graduate student in Vertebrate Paleontol-
ogy who calls himself leader of the Dinosaur Anti-Defama-
tion League, will speak to the Friends of the MCZ on
November 28th on “‘The Essence of Being a Dinosaur.”’ Bob
feels that ‘‘dinosaurs have a bad press image” and really are
“the great silent majority of the Mesozoic.” Contrary to the
impression that these immense animals were slow, thought-
ful, ‘“‘stuck in the mud’; is Bob’s conclusion that they were
highly energetic. At the Friends’ event Bob will show how
he calculates the speed that a dinosaur was able to run, the
amount the animal ate, and how much electricity would be
needed to operate a tyrannosaurus.

In a recent paper (Nature, 238: 81-86) Bob cites
endothermy as the reason for their successful radiation
extinction. Bone

and eventual histology, locomotor

anatomy, pneumatopores, secondary palate and low
predator/prey ratios are evidence that dinosaurs resembled
advanced mammals or birds, not living reptiles. Because of
their “mobility and capacity to unload high endogenous
heat production” from vigorous activity in a warm climate
dinosaurs had an advantage over mammal-like reptiles. The
most primitive living mammals such as the tenrecs which
are being studied in the Museum probably resemble

advanced mammal-like reptiles. These mammals regulate

Bob Bakker

Photo by Rick Stafford

their body temperature at relatively low levels and have
poor mechanisms for coping with either endogenous or
environmentally induced heat stress. Mesozoic mammals
were restricted to small size because it was necessary for
them to seek shelter in burrows and trees in order to escape
dinosaurs. Unlike dinosaurs, the mammals also lacked
effective evaporative cooling systems (Evolution, 25: 4,
636-658). Dinosaurs were actually adapted for high levels
of sustained activity in fairly warm even temperatures
where drastic diurnal or seasonal temperature changes were
not present. Bob feels that they were annihilated when
a sudden drop in world-wide temperature occurred at the
Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Because of their large size
and naked skin they could find no proper shelter and were
subject to exposure. Unlike many ectotherms such as
turtles and lizards, dinosaurs were unable to withstand
prolonged drops in body temperature.

Before he came to the MCZ, Bob was Docent in Charge
of Special Programs at Yale University. He originated the
three dimensional approach to science teaching. Latex
molds were made of important parts of fossil reptiles
housed in the Peabody Museum. Children then made plaster
casts of the fossils which they were able to keep for
themselves or their schools. With this method the resources
of the Peabody Museum were tapped in a unique way. He
also developed projects and field trips for inner city
children. He has served as consulting paleontologist at the
National Museum of Canada (Ottawa) and the Rocky Hill
Museum, Dinosaur Park, Connecticut. Bob is a student of

Professor A. W. Crompton.

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PROGRAMS INSTITUTED FOR CONCORD
FRIENDS

Special programs concerning the natural history of the
Concord area have been scheduled for the Concord and
Bedford Friends of the MCZ. The lectures and field trips
will be oriented to family groups. Tim Moermond, a
graduate student in herpetology, will speak on “The
Ecology of Frogs.” In the winter, John J. Littlejohn of the
Invertebrate Paleontology Department will discuss “‘Geo-
logic Evolution and Physiographic Development of New
England and the Concord area.’ A graduate student in
biology, Roger Swain, will acquaint the Friends with
“Edible Plants of New England” in the spring.

All of the programs will be held at the Concord Field
Station.

GIFTS AID MUSEUM PROJECTS

Since the time of Louis Agassiz, the MCZ has depended
upon gifts of interested persons to support its research. The
good will of so many people is represented by the
tremendous number and diversity of scientific work
projects as well as the continuing expansion of the Museum
facilities. Once again, the MCZ has received very kind
donations.

A Friend of the MCZ has most generously contributed
funds which are being used to invite three outstanding

biologists to speak to the Friends and the scientific staff.

TAIL-CLUB IN ACTION. The armored dinosaur, Euoplocephalus, repulses a tyrannosaur, Albertosaurus, on the Old Man

Delta, 80 million year bp.

Illustration by Bob Bakker.

The Distinguished Speakers Series will form the basis of
events for the year. The gift will also cover the costs of
refurbishing the Museum lecture hall which is used exten-
sively for teaching and will now also provide a good
meeting place for the Friends.

Gifts from the Anne S. Richardson Fund and Mrs. Harry
Drinker, a Friend of the MCZ, have made possible the
preparation and future publication of a natural history
survey of the Estabrook Woods and Pickman Area. The
subsequent handbook will represent a culmination of
research of many members of the Harvard community who
have donated their time (MCZ Newsletter, Vol. 1, no. 2). It
will serve as an excellent model for environmental and
ecological study in this region of the country.

The Museum is most grateful for these particular
contributions and all others which it receives.

DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS SERIES
ANNOUNCED

A Distinguished Speakers Series has been instituted for
the Friends of the MCZ. The Series represents a major
effort of the Museum to better inform an interested lay
public in current research efforts in the field of natural
history. The first event will feature Bob Bakker (see article:
“The Essence of Being a Dinosaur”). At the January event
the distinguished entomologist, Professor Carroll M. Wil-
liams of Harvard’s Biological Laboratories, will discuss
“Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Insect
Hormones ... But Were Afraid to Ask.” Professor Williams’
work will be featured in the winter MCZ Newsletter. The
name of the third speaker will be announced shortly. The
Series has been made possible by the generous donation of
a Friend of the MCZ.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS SCHEDULED

Programs for children have once again been scheduled as
a facet of the activities of the Friends of the MCZ. Last
year’s programs received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic
response by the many families that participated in the
events. The first program for this season will be a field trip
to certain locations on the South Shore. Jack Sepkowski, a
graduate student of Professor Bernhard Kummel, will
conduct the tour. The children will have the opportunity to
observe the biological life in the various littoral environ-
ments. They will also investigate the muddy intertidal region
and the marshlands.

Another Ph.D. candidate, Carol Jones, will teach chil-
dren how to decipher life styles of extinct animals. The
younger children will work with microscopes while the
older group will learn how to examine rocks to determine
environmental conditions under which they were formed.

Stanley Awramik, an Invertebrate Paleontology graduate

student, will explore with the children life as it was one
million years ago when blue-green algae “ruled the earth”
and then will discuss the gradual development of organisms.
The dates for these first three programs will be sched-
uled immediately before the event so that they will not
coincide with school functions. The mid-winter and spring
events will be announced in the winter MCZ Newsletter.

OFFICERS OF FRIENDS NAMED

As the programs of the Friends of the MCZ take on new
dimensions, there is an ever-increasing need for assistance
from members in order to carry out the many areas of
responsibility. The following persons have kindly consented
to give additional time and help to the organization by
serving as officers:

Paul Brooks — President

Herbert Pratt — Vice President

Mrs. Hedy Mattson — Secretary

Edward S. Gruson — Treasurer

Mrs. Barbara M. Marshall — Membership

Mrs. George Dick — Entertainment

Mrs. Alexandra O. Eliot — Children’s Programs

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In the photograph, Barbara E. Bee is holding a Tenrec
ecaudatus. Barbara has assisted with preparation and
animal care in the MCZ for several years. This fall, she
entered Radcliffe’s Class of 1976.

Photo by Rick Stafford

HENRY RUSSELL APPOINTED

Dr. Henry Russell (Ph.D. Boston University, 1940) will
serve as Associate in Malacology in the Museum. For many
years Dr. Russell has carried out extensive work projects in
the MCZ. He has also been affiliated through teaching and
research with many neighboring New England Institutions
including the New England Museum of Natural History, the
Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology, and the William F. Clapp
Laboratories in Duxbury. He has worked for the states of
Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the application of
biological principles for improvement of the economic
status of natural organisms such as pond and stream fish
and coastal soft shell clams. Though Dr. Russell conducted
research in many areas of biology, the major emphasis of
his work is the study of the Nudibranchia. His research
culminated in 1964 in the publication of Index Nudi-
branchia..

Dr. Russell is affiliated with many scientific societies
including the Boston Malacological Club. He is also an
active member of the Friends of the MCZ.

Presently he is collaborating with his daughter, Louise,
an artist, on a nature guide of the Robert S. Hale
Camping Reservation in Dover and Westwood.

Dr. Russell and his wife reside in Dover, Massachusetts.

LONDON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER IS
VISITING LECTURER

Dr. Pamela L. Robinson, Reader of Vertebrate Pale-
ontology at London University (University College, Gower
Street) has been appointed as a Visiting Lecturer during the
Fall term of 1972. During her stay at the Museum, Dr.
Robinson will present three lectures in Biology 139
(Evolution of the Vertebrates) and two or three seminars.
She will spend much of her time working with the MCZ
collections.

Dr. Robinson is a recognized authority on Mesozoic
reptiles (especially lizards) and the paleoecology of this
period. Her contributions are detailed studies on the earliest
lizards, including a spectacular flying form, and nurturing
vertebrate paleontology in India. In this latter connection
she has played an important role in training Indians in this
field both in India and at her laboratory in London.

DR. ROBERTS NAMED ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR

Tyson Royal Roberts (Ph.D. Stanford, 1968), Assistant
Curator of Fishes in the MCZ since June, 1969, has just
been appointed as Assistant Professor of Biology. He is
teaching the Biology of Fishes (Biology 130) this fall. The
National Geographic Society recently awarded Professor
Roberts a grant to survey the fish fauna of the rapids in the
lower Congo River. This will be his fourth trip to the
Congo; he has also done extensive fieldwork in tropical
Asia (Ceylon and Thailand) and Latin America (Mexico,
Brazil and Ecuador).

This summer Professor Roberts reviewed the higher
classification of Ostariophysi for a Linnaean Society sym-
posium on the higher classification of fishes. In addition, he
is preparing a major contribution on the osteology and
relationships of the characins, a predominant group of
fresh-water fishes in Africa and South America.

Professor T. R. Roberts

Photo by John Lupo

DR. HILEMAE CONDUCTS RESEARCH WITH
PROFESSOR CROMPTON

Karen M. Hiiem&e, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy with
Special Relation to Dentistry at Guy’s Hospital Medical
School, University of London, has been named as Research
Fellow in Paleontology for the coming academic year. Dr.
Hiiem&e is collaborating with Professor A. W. (‘Fuzz’)
Crompton on electromyographic (EMG) and cineradio-
graphic (X-ray motion picture) studies of mastication in
such primitive mammals as the American opossum. EMG
recordings yield a record of muscle activity, and, conse-
quently, of the functions of individual muscles in moving
the jaw, tongue and throat. The researchers will also use
cineradiography to study the oral behavior and mandibular
movements in feeding in a wide variety of mammals but
particularly in the primates and typical examples of
carnivores, ungulates and insectivores. These studies will be
undertaken in parallel with further studies on the mor-
phology of the masticatory apparatus in critical fossil
mammals. By combining experimental results with anatom-
ical observations on living and extinct mammals as well as
man, the researchers intend to understand more fully the
structure and function of the masticatory system.

Dr. Hiiem&e and Professor Crompton previously worked
together at Yale University where Professor Crompton was
Director of the Peabody Museum. Dr. Hiiem@e holds both a
Ph.D. and B.D.S. from the Royal Dental Hospital School of
Dental Surgery, University of London.

Dr. Hiiemde with cineradiographic equipment.

COMMUNITY COLLOQUIA ANNOUNCED

Once again this year the Concord community will have
the opportunity to become better acquainted with current
research efforts at the Concord Field Station through the
Community Colloquia which are presented by members of
the staff. Professor C. Richard Taylor, Director of the Field
Station, will discuss “‘Animal Locomotion” on Thursday,
February 8th. In the past several years he has carried out
extensive study on energy use of animals in running.

On Thursday, April 26th, David S. Woodruff will discuss
the “Ecology of the Estabrook Woods.’’ Woodruff is
heading a major study of the area which will be presented
in a handbook to be published next year.

All talks will be held in the Middlesex School Assembly
Hall, Main School Building, Concord, at 8:00 P.M.

Many thanks to Rick Stafford of the Harvard University
Gazette who once again contributed nearly all of the
photographs to the Newsletter and who has recently
directed much attention to the MCZ in other University
publications. Also, I wish to express appreciation to
Professor Farish Jenkins for his help with the production of
this issue.

(Ms) Hedy Mattson

Photo by Rick Stafford