MCZ newsletter

Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Volume 8, Number 3
Spring, 1979

(yl
se

-

rewslet(er

M* ICW LIBRA OF SMAADADATIVICVN FOAM ACV

Philip J. Darlington, Jr.

MCZ LIBRARY UNDERGOES REJUVENATION

A three-year major reorganiza-
tion of the MCZ Library is under-
way. The goals of the reorganiza-
tion, as described in a proposal
prepared by Librarian Eva Jonas
and her staff, include pleasant,
well-lit, quiet reading areas for
study; improved bibliographic con-
trol over the collection (including
the establishment of a_ subject
catalog), and increased security
and accommodation for the special
collections.

Reconstruction of rooms will
take place this summer; the Library
will be closed to the public from

Cormuaa Amionis Striata
Strvs Diuifis.

rm

ne Semiptdals Augustana

= 2
» Strysrarioribus.

>

From Langius, C. N.: Historia lapi-
dum figuratorum Helvetae ejusque
viciniae; 1708.

June 4 until September 14. Internal
service will be provided through-
out the summer as construction al-
lows. The Romer Library will be
open to staff and students for cur-
rent journals, new books, and
the most heavily-used reference
books. Other projects, such as the
reorganization of the serials in al-
phabetical order, will be completed
by the end of 1981.

The new area will allow the Li-
brary to display, on a monthly
basis, volumes from the special col-
lections, from which the _ illus-
trations on this page are taken.

F
NY
i

\\ ‘\ Ne WSs eS

7 cup os

S

<

From Bewick, Thomas: A general history of quadrupeds; 1791.

STAFF NOTICES

Three Professors Receive
Guggenheim Awards

Drs. Bert Holldobler, Richard C.
Lewontin, and Karel F. Liem have
received support from the John
Simon Guggenheim Foundation
for their sabbatical year research
projects.

Dr. Holldobler plans to spend
the next academic year at the
Commonwealth Scientific and In-
dustrial Research Organization
(CSIRO) in Canberra, Australia
where he will collaborate with en-
tomologist Dr. R. W. Taylor on
comparative studies of the be-
havioral organization of ant
societies. According to Dr. Holldo-
bler: ‘‘The institute in Canberra is
excellently equipped for my ana-
lytical laboratory work and the ant
fauna of Australia is overwhelm-
ingly rich . . . Australia has a rich
diversity of species of the taxanom-
ically most primitive subfamilies
Ponerinae and Myrmectinae. In col-
laboration with Australian myr-
mecologists, I hope we can initiate
a long ranging research program in
order to learn more about the be-
havioral organization of these
primitive social insects.”

For the past two years, Dr.
Lewontin has been engaged, witha
small group of postdoctoral re-
search fellows, in a study of the
methodology of agricultural re-
search and the forces that deter-
mine the direction of that research.
The group, which, aside from
population geneticist Lewontin in-
cludes an economist, an economic
historian, a nutritionist, a de-
velopmental expert, an agricultural
botanist, a sociologist, and an an-
thropologist, has been examining
the nature of agricultural research
in the United States and certain
other countries in an attempt to
understand how agricultural re-
search influences the amount and
kind of food available to different
sectors of the population and the
general well-being of both produc-
ers and consumers. During his
sabbatical year, Dr. Lewontin plans
to concentrate on several field

studies in connection with this
comprehensive project and, in col-
laboration with his colleagues,
analyze the reports of the other
field teams and write a final analy-
sis.

Dr. Liem is spending this year
starting an ambitious project: he is
writing a synthesis of the evolution
of fishes by compiling, for the first
time, the new _ discoveries in
physiology, behavior, population
genetics, and evolutionary patterns
of fishes into a digestible account
for both the student and _ the
specialist. This work is being sup-
ported by Dr. Liem’s second award
from the Guggenheim Foundation,
having received the first in 1970.

Graduate students
receive honors and
awards

Several MCZ graduate students
have recently been recognized for
their past accomplishments and fu-
ture potential:

George Lauder has been elected
to the Society of Fellows as a Junior
Fellow. He has also been appointed
Assistant Professor of Anatomy at
the University of Chicago.

Gary Alpert, Joseph Levine,
James Traniello and Kathleen
Smith have received National Sci-
ence Foundation grants for improv-
ing predoctoral dissertation re-
search.

Dano Ono has received the
Raney Award from the American
Society of Ichthyologists and Her-
petologists for his study of the
evolution of the fine structure of
muscles in fishes.

Professor Robert May,
1979 Prather Lecturer

Noted theoretical ecologist Pro-
fessor Robert May of Princeton
University delivered the Prather
Lectures this Spring. His subject:
“Living together: The dynamics of
natural and managed ecosystems.”

Dr. David P. Crews
Receives Sloan
Fellowship

The Sloan Fellowships provide
$10,000 to support basic research
for one year in physics, chemistry,
mathematics, or neuroscience. Dr.
David P. Crews, Assistant Profes-
sor of Biology, was one of this year’s
78 recipients throughout the
United States and Canada.

Professor E. O. Wilson
Receives National
Recognition

It has been an eventful Spring for
Dr. E. O. Wilson who not only re-
ceived the Leidy Medal (awarded
once every three years for out-
standing work in biology, espe-
cially evolutionary studies), the
Archie Carr Medal of the University
of Florida (for work in natural his-
tory), and two honorary degrees
(from Lawrence University and the
University of West Florida) but also
captured the Pulitzer Prize for his
book, On Human Nature, which in-
troduces the discipline of
sociobiology to a literate general
public. The resulting publicity has
brought an avalanche of requests
for speaking engagements, but Dr.
Wilson has decided to resist. As he
puts it: ‘For the first time in ten
years I’m out from under the yoke
of writing big books, and the pro-
motion period for On Human Nature
is mercifully over. I’m determined
to get back fully into laboratory and
theoretical work, and so I will be
avoiding most outside commit-
ments for the next year or two”.

The MCZ Newsletter is published three
times a year by the Museum of Compara-
tive Zoology, Harvard University, Ox-
ford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

02138; A. W. Crompton, Director.
Editor: Gabrielle Dundon
Photographers: A. H. Coleman

Paula Chandoha

JOHN KIRSCH TO
JOIN MAMMAL
DEPARTMENT

Dr. John A. W. Kirsch, presently
the staff of the Peabody
Museum of Natural History, Yale
University, has been appointed As-
sociate Professor of Biology/
Associate Curator of Mammalogy
in the MCZ. He will take up resi-
dence in September.

Dr. Kirsch received the Ph.D. de-
gree from the University of Western
Australia and pursued postdoc-
toral studies at the Universities of
Kansas and Adelaide (South Aus-
tralia). He has been an active mem-
ber of the Yale faculty since 1971.

Dr. Kirsch’s broad research inter-
ests include the theory of systema-
tics; zoogeography, systematics,
anatomy, behavior, and ecology of
mammals, especially marsupials.
His current work is on the systema-
tics of New World marsupials and
rodents and on numerical methods
of analysis of the data of biochemi-
cal systematics. As he explains:
“The continuing fascination of the
taxonomy of southern hemisphere
organisms lies in the possibilities it
presents for the intergration of
biological and geological informa-

tion in the reconstruction of Ter-
tiary events.’’ His field work takes
him to both South America and
Australia, where, this Spring, he is
conducting a project on wombats.

UNCOMMON
SHREW

tS inks SSR Wee i Se
This active African elephant shrew,
Elephantulus rufescens, is currently
living in the MCZ Labs and contribut-
ing to Dr. Urt Oron’s studies on the
energetic costs of locomotion.

BENJAMIN SHREVE BEGINS HIS FIFTIETH

YEAR AT THE MCZ

Mr. Benjamin Shreve, who has a
total of 60 new species of snakes,
frogs, and lizards, mainly from
South America, to his credit, did
not start out in the Herpetology
Department when he arrived at the
MCZ in September of 1930. An avid
amateur ornithologist, he was first
employed by the Mammal De-
partment. However, in the follow-
ing year he joined Curator Arthur
Loveridge and subsequently re-
ceived thorough personal training
in the science of reptile and amphi-
bian identification. He has been
there ever since and, according to
the current curator, Professor Er-
nest E. Williams, “has been indis-
pensable to the functioning of the
Department. Mr. Shreve is im-
mensely valuable in that he iden-
tifies so much of what comes in.”

Still loyal to the birds, Mr.
Shreve never neglects his daily bird
walk, weather permitting, and fre-
quently takes a bird census at
lunchtime.

HAWAII TRIP REPORT by Gabrielle Dundon

Typical Hawaiian coastline.

Downtown Honolulu.

Photo by Catherine Nelson

i i

Photo by Austin Kibbee

A group of fourteen Friends of
the MCZ, accompanied by guides
Phillip Lobel (coral reef fishes),
James Moore (whales) and myself,
visited four Hawaiian Islands, in-
cluding Hawaii (“the big island’),
Maui, Kauai, and Oahu last Feb-
ruary 17-March 5.

Highlights of the trip included
hiking in Volcano National Park
(where spirits were only slightly
dampened by the worst rainstorm
in half a century); snorkelling in the
coral reefs off Kona (where the sun
made a welcome reappearance);
watching humback whales off
Lahaina on the island of Maui; wel-
coming the dawn at Haleakala cra-
ter and searching for a silversword
in bloom; hiking in the mud at
Kokee State Park on Kauai and
learning to identify the endemic
forest birds; and, finally, fighting
the traffic for a fascinating visit to
the Bishop Museum in Honolulu,
unfortunately the fastest growing
city in the United States, where the
most pervasive smell is of fresh-
poured concrete.

As we traveled from island to
island, often escorted by local

biologists, we were repeatedly
struck by the urgency of the need
for strict conservation measures to
preserve the great number of en-
dangered endemic species. We
learned early and often that the
State of Hawaii has the largest
number of endangered species of
all the United States and it was easy
to see why. The demands of immi-
gration and tourism are destroying
the natural habitats with frighten-
ing speed. Fortunately, the Nature
Conservancy is taking action to
preserve the most endangered
areas. At present, a fund drive to
expand the Kilauea Point Seabird
Refuge on Kauai, where the red-
footed boobies and waved albat-
ross nest, is being mounted. Dona-
tions are being sought to raise the
$300,000 needed to buy the land
ahead of the resort developers.
Tax-deductible contributions may
be sent to the Nature Conservancy
in care of Dr. Steven Montgomery,
University of Hawaii at Manoa,
College of Tropical Agriculture,
Department of Entomology, 2500
Dole Street, Honolulu, Hawaii
96822.

> “
ret |

Photo by Eudoxia Woodward

Fern. Kokee State Park.

Red-footed booby at Kilauea.

Photo by James Moore

AFRICA PREVIEW

The Friends of the MCZ Africa
adventure (February 9-March 4,
1980) promises to be an unusual
opportunity to see a variety of
habitats. The itinerary includes a
week in the Kenyan game parks,
timed to coincide with the total
eclipse of the sun on February 16, a
week in Madagascar to observe
lemurs and a variety of endemic
birds, and eight days in Tanzania,
climaxed by a final three days ina
tented camp in the Serengeti where
the annual migration of wil-
debeests and zebra should be in full
swing.

Dr. Don W. Fawcett, James
Stillman Professor of Compara-
tive Anatomy, Harvard Medical
School, will be the scientific guide
for this African safari. Emily Hubbs
Scott will also accompany the
group. Complete information is
now available (495-2463).

EARLY SKULL
FOUND

About 200 million years ago the
dominant terrestrial animals were a
group loosely referred to as the
mammal-like reptiles. Most of
these animals had become extinct
20 million years later except for two
interesting and important sur-
vivors of this earlier radiation.
These were the first mammals and
a bizarre group known as the
tritylodontids. The latter had a
worldwide distribution. The pho-
tograph, showing the palatal view
of the skull and inside view of the
lower jaw, is of perhaps the best
preserved tritylodont skull discov-
ered so far. It was one of the many
discoveries of tritylodonts found in
the Kayenta Formation by Profes-
sor Farish A. Jenkins and his team
during the expedition (supported
by the National Science Founda-
tion) last summer. The delicate task
of separating the fossilized bone
from the matrix was executed by
preparator William Amaral.

The tritylodonts were too spe-
cialized to give rise to mammals but

2 ae,

é ‘Sih bps avi oh < i Be
On the itinerary for the MCZ African adventure.

they did evolve many mammalian
characteristics in parallel with true
mammals (which lived alongside
them) such as double-rooted

molariform teeth.
In addition to providing impor-

a
LT Ee

Photo by Don W. Fawcett

tant information on the structure of
tritylodontids, the new collection
will help towards an understand-
ing of the biology of the mammal-
like reptiles and the earliest mam-
mals.

VISITORS
Dr. P. Humphry Greenwood

Dr. P. Humphry Greenwood,
Senior Principal Scientific Officer
at the British Museum (Natural
History) has been teaching in Biol-
ogy 130 (Biology of Fishes) this
Spring while Professor Karel F.
Liem is on sabbatical leave. Dr.
Greenwood is also working jointly
with Dr. Liem on an ongoing de-

Dr. Geoffrey M. Maloiy

scription of the phylogenetic re-
lationship of cichlid and other
perchlike fishes.

Dr. Greenwood, who is the Pres-
ident of the Linnaean Society of
London, is currently attempting to
organize the first meeting of this
society in the United States.

From the University of Nairobi,
where he is Professor of Animal
Physiology and Dean of the School
of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Geof-
frey M. Maloiy has been lecturing
jointly with Drs. C. Richard Taylor
and Vaughan A. Langman on com-
parative physiology of African ver-
tebrates this Spring.

Dr. Maloiy, who is a member of
the Masai tribe and a graduate of
the University of Aberdeen, is one
of three members of the governing
board of trustees which advises
Kenya’s Minister of Tourism and
Wildlife. Together with Professors
T. R. Odhiambo (Entomology) and
R. J. Olembo (Botany), Dr. Maloiy

provides the scientific expertise
necessary for the enlightened regu-
lation of tourism to protect Africa’s
wildlife.

Differing from some _ popularly-
held opinion, Dr. Maloiy does not
think it is true that Africa’s wild
animals are dying out. ‘On the con-
trary”, according to Dr. Maloiy,
“the elephants and rhinos are com-
ing back now that there is a total
ban on hunting and the anti-
poaching laws are being strictly en-
forced.”” Tourism, rather than con-
tributing to the destruction of
natural habitats, as is often asserted
by conservationists, is actually in-
creasing awareness of the necessity
to protect the natural environment
from encroaching civilization. The
economic factor is a strong incen-
tive since tourism is the second
most important source of foreign
currency (the first being the sale of
agricultural crops).

Dr. Maloiy points out that not
only are the animals in a reserve
like Masai Mara protected inside
the park, but the government is
now giving permission for the es-
tablishment of tented camps only
in areas which do not interfere with
the animals’ migratory routes.

When the Friends of the MCZ
visit Kenya next February, Dr.
Maloiy plans to meet the group at
the Nairobi Airport to extend a spe-
cial welcome on behalf of his coun-

try.

SUMMER
ILLUSTRATION
COURSE OFFERED

Karen Stoutsenberger will
again be teaching Drawing from
Nature with an Introduction to Sct-
entific Illustration from July 9 -
August 3 on Monday, Wednes-
day and Friday mornings.

Call 495-2463 to register.

MCZ PUBLIC PROGRAMS LAUNCHES
VIDEOTAPE PROJECT

The MCZ Public Programs De-
partment is now producing
videotapes, thanks to the generos-
ity of a loyal supporter. The do-
nated equipment includes a black-
and-white camera, monitor, and
editing facility to produce %4-inch
videotapes.

The first program, entitled Kaki
Aldrich: A Teacher and her Methods, z
has just been completed by Robert B | eas nn
Morris, who served as_ writer,
cameraman, editor, producer, and
director for the project. The sub-
ject, Kaki Aldrich, who also plans
educational exhibits for the Chil-
dren’s Museum, has been training
volunteer guides to conduct one-
hour sessions with school groups
visiting the Museum for the past
two years. Her approach to the
purpose and value of museum field
trips is refreshing and will
undoubtedly evoke discussion in
museum education circles. The
program will be used both as a a
training tool within the museum’s _ Robert Morris at the controls of the museum's new videotape equipment.

eee

guide program and to publicize the
program in the community. It will
be on view at the Open House next
fall.

Plans are underway to produce a
series of videotape programs
which would introduce the public
to the research conducted in the
MCZ’s various departments. These
programs, which would be on view
in the public exhibition area, would
add a lively dimension to the ani-
mal exhibits on display.

Kaki Aldrich, a teacher of teachers, in a new videotape program on her educational

ey le
pntilosopny