Plants 2 Papers: The Sequel

I’ve written in a previous article on how science not communicated (i.e., not published) is science not finished; at the museum this often means telling both the public sphere and the academic world about our findings. While the former may take the form of museum exhibits, public presentations and blogs, the peer-reviewed journal article is still king of the latter.

Our trip to the Coppermine River, Nunavut, took us to the treeline, where white spruces (Picea glauca) dot the transitioning tundra. Image: Paul Sokoloff © Canadian Museum of Nature

Our research group’s latest open-access journal article is a complete, detailed checklist (with lots of colour photos) enumerating the vascular-plant flora of the lower Coppermine River, the focus of our 2014 collecting trip. By combining our over 1200 newly collected specimens with all previously collected specimens in herbaria across Canada, we now know that 300 vascular plant species can be found along this stretch of the river, making it one of the most species-rich areas known on mainland Nunavut.

Kugluk (Bloody Falls) Territorial Park, straddling the lower Coppermine River, was found to be floristically rich and diverse. Image: Paul Sokoloff © Canadian Museum of Nature

Many of these new vascular plant records (56) are range extensions, which expand upon previous work and establish new native ranges for these plants.

Seven species are newly recorded for mainland Nunavut, and 14 additional species are recorded for the first time ever in the territory itself.

New plant records documented in this paper include Carex gynocrates (top left, new to mainland Nunavut), Allium schoenoprasum (right, new to Nunavut), and Botrychium tunux (bottom left, new to Nunavut). Image: Paul Sokoloff © Canadian Museum of Nature

Notably, we found 207 vascular plant taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) in Kugluk (Bloody Falls) Territorial Park, just south of Kugluktuk. This park, set aside for recreation and preservation because of its long, and sometimes bloody, history, can also be considered an important protected area for native vascular plants in the low Arctic.

Other noteworthy records for Nunavut include Carex capitata (left, new to Nunavut), Cryptogramma stelleri (top right, new to mainland Nunavut), and Eremogone capillaris subsp. capillaris (bottom right, new to Nunavut). Image: Paul Sokoloff © Canadian Museum of Nature

Now that the paper has been published, the data and interpretation contained in this new contribution are out in the world for other scientists to read, reference, cite and (hopefully) use in the field.

The project may be over, but the specimens that we collected and the knowledge that we collated will be useful for decades to come. And as the Arctic field seasons go by, the museum’s botany team will continue to press plants, peer into microscopes, sequence DNA, publish results and widely share our findings for the benefit of everyone who wants to know.

After all, the museum’s collections and knowledge isn’t ours, it’s yours.

Jeff Saarela, Ph.D., our expedition leader and the lead author of the subsequent study, surveying the tundra for plant-rich helicopter landing sites. As the director of the museum’s Centre for Arctic Knowledge and Exploration, Jeff continues the museum’s tradition of excellence in Arctic research. Image: Paul Sokoloff © Canadian Museum of Nature

Pilgrim’s Progress: Sampling Diatoms in the Holy Land

In November 2016, my brother Russell and I had an excellent two-week journey to the Holy Land, visiting Israel, Palestine and Egypt. It was also an opportunity to sample Middle East (ME) freshwater diatoms for the Canadian Museum of Nature’s collection.

Diatoms are microscopic, one-celled algae with a silica shell. Found in sediments, they produce energy and oxygen for organisms in the food web. Scientists use them to study climate change and water quality. For sampling in Israel, I had a sediment-collection permit for various Nature Reserves.

Israel:
• Top left: Old City of Jerusalem
• Top right: Jesus’ birthplace in the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
• Bottom left: The author on Mount Carmel, Haifa
• Bottom right: Fortress of Masada.
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Trip Summary
Our tour saw Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea, and Tiberias on Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). Then we saw the Jordan River, Haifa, Tel Dan, Nazareth, Caesarea, Tel Aviv, the Negev and Eilat.

In Egypt, we proceeded to Mount Sinai, Sharm El-Sheikh, and flew to Cairo for the pyramids, Sphinx and Egyptian Museum. A great trip overall.

Egypt:
• Top left: Red Sea beach, Sharm El-Sheikh
• Top right: The author with the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza
• Bottom left: Burial jars in Egyptian Museum
• Bottom right: Nile cruise.
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Israeli Sample Locations
Note:

• Representative diatoms may be in multiple locations.
• Nahal means “stream” in Hebrew
• Size scale: 1 µm = 1 micron = 1 millionth of a metre.

Nahal David, Ein Gedi Nature Reserve near the Dead Sea.
• First: Navicula radiosa (73 µm × 10 µm)
• Top: Cymatopleura elliptica (80 µm × 45 µm)
• Bottom: Biddulphia sp. (70 µm × 56 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Lake Kinneret south shore with Golan Heights.
• Top: Anomoeoneis sphaerophora (47 µm × 15 µm)
• Second: Navicula crytocephala (20 µm × 5 µm)
• Third: Nitzschia obtusa (57 µm × 4 µm)
• Bottom: Mastogloia smithii (30 µm × 10 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Jordan River, southwest of Lake Kinneret.
• Top: Placoneis clementis (17 µm × 7 µm)
• Middle: Staurosirella pinnata (10 µm × 5 µm)
• Bottom: Aulacoseira granulata (25 µm × 12 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Jordan River Yardenit Baptismal Site. Step drainage ditch diatoms.
• First: Navicula capitatoradiata (31 µm × 7 µm)
• Second: Pinnularia kneuckeri (23 µm × 4 µm)
• Third: Amphora coffeaeformis (27 µm × 4 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

The author sampling Mezuda Pool North, Ein Afek Nature Reserve near Acre.
• First: Nitzschia acicularis (80 µm × 7 µm)
• Top: Nitzschia compressa (21 µm × 11 µm)
• Middle: Rhoicosphenia curvata (22 µm × 7 µm)
• Bottom: Cocconeis placentula (50 µm × 30 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Banias Nahal Hermon Nature Reserve, Golan.
• First: Navicula tripunctata (45 µm × 8 µm)
• Top: Achnanthes lanceolata (11 µm × 5 µm)
• Bottom: Amphora pediculus (9 µm × 6 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

The author beside a fountain on Mount of the Beatitudes, Galilee. Drainage-trough diatoms.
• First: Navicula recens (25 µm × 6 µm)
• Second: Nitzschia amphibia (27 µm × 4 µm)
• Third: Cymbella silesiaca (32 µm × 9 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Egyptian Sample Location
I collected some non-sediment “slime” from the Cairo Egyptian Museum pond that yielded a few diatoms.

Pond and Egyptian Museum diatoms.
• First: Encyonopsis subminuta (14 µm × 4 µm)
• Second: Achnanthidium minutissimum (15 µm × 4 µm)
• Top: Fragilaria construens (5 µm × 3 µm)
• Bottom: Cyclotella kuetzingiana (11 µm × 11 µm).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Conclusion
In recent Canadian samples from Ottawa, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia, I saw diatom species that are similar to many above.

Some that I have not seen include

• Achnanthidium minutissimum
• Amphora coffeaeformis
• Cyclotella kuetzingiana
• Mastogloia smithii
• Nitzschia acicularis
• Nitzschia compressa
• Pinnularia kneucker
• Biddulphia sp.

It would be worthwhile and interesting to revisit these Middle East countries for more diatom sampling and analysis.

Other articles from Joe Holmes on diatom fieldwork:
“Royal Canadian” Diatoms from the Rideau Hall Pond in Ottawa
Hunting the Urban Diatom in Vancouver, B.C.: Part 1
Hunting the Urban Diatom in Vancouver, B.C.: Part 2
My Irish Diatom Adventure: Part 1
My Irish Diatom Adventure: Part 2

Co-Extinction and the Case of American Chestnut and the Greater Chestnut Weevil (Curculio caryatrypes)

As more and more people inhabit Earth, demanding more and more space and resources from a limited supply of both, the other creatures with which we share the world are going extinct.

People are generally familiar with the plights of the larger and better-known animals, such as mammals and birds, and the reasons that are most commonly at the root of the problem, such as habitat loss and introductions of exotics.

But generally, people are not aware of the large numbers of small, less-conspicuous creatures that are going extinct, if they are not already. In most cases, these smaller creatures are at risk of extinction because of similar threats to their larger distant cousins, but there is one situation where this is not so: co-extinction.

Foliage and immature burrs of American chestnut. Image: Daderot © Public domain

Co-extinction is the loss of a species because the species upon which it depends for survival has vanished.

Co-extinction is poorly understood and there are only a handful of well-documented cases.

Yet, despite this lack of knowledge, the tight associations between the huge numbers of parasites and their hosts, and plant-feeding insect species and the plant species they feed on, may render co-extinction one of the greatest threats to current biodiversity.

Not only does it affect these highly diverse plant-feeding insects and parasites, but the effects of co-extinction are thought likely to cascade down through food webs, resulting in species loss among many unrelated, but successively dependent, organisms.

This is a very serious situation deserving of far more attention than it currently receives.

Huge American chestnut trees in North Carolina, U.S.A., in 1910. These huge trees have been called the redwoods of the east. Image: Courtesy of the Forest History Society, Durham, NC.

Let’s look at the case of Castanea dentata, the American chestnut. At the turn of the 20th century, Castanea dentata was one of the most important trees in eastern North American forests. Mature trees reached 30 metres in height and over 3 m in diameter; they were colloquially referred to as the redwoods of the east.

However, in 1904 the fungal pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica, or chestnut blight, was introduced to the New York Zoological Park (now the Bronx Zoo) in New York City. The blight quickly spread across the eastern United States and in the course of a few decades, it effectively killed almost all of the chestnut trees in the east.

While new shoots often sprout from the roots remaining after the main trunk has died, blight will continue to infect these new shoots and kill them before they reach any significant size or a mature reproductive state.

A few large trees still survive within the native range, perhaps because of isolation or partial blight resistance, but the reproductive history of these trees is not well known.

Some foliage and chestnuts of the American chestnut. Image: Timothy Van Vliet © Timothy Van Vliet (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Like almost all tree species, American chestnut has a number of host-specific insects that feed on it and little, if anything, else. Among these insects are a number of species of moths and at least two species of weevils, the greater and lesser chestnut weevils, Curculio caryatrypes and Curculio sayi, respectively.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the reproductive extinction of the American chestnut resulted in the concurrent loss of at least two of these species of moths, Ectodemia castanea and Ectodemia phleophaga, and likely at least five others, some of which were last seen in 1936.

The case of the weevils has not been addressed until now. The lesser chestnut weevil, Curculio sayi, is known to still exist, reproducing in the nuts of other species of Castanea such as introduced Chinese chestnut Castanea mollissima and the native chinkapin Castanea pumila and its southern relatives.

Male (left) and female (right) Curculio caryatrypes. These weevils can be recognized by their large size for the genus Curculio, and by the second segment of the antennal funicle’s (the part beyond the elbow) being obviously longer than the first segment. Females use their much longer snout to excavate small, deep holes in chestnuts into which they lay their eggs. Images: François Génier © Canadian Museum of Nature

However, the most recent study of the taxonomy of the genus Curculio, which brought together thousands of museum specimens of the genus, could find no specimens of Curculio caryatrypes collected any later than 1956. Other efforts at sampling insects living on surviving American chestnut trees have similarly not collected this species.

Spurred by this knowledge (or lack thereof), I recently polled a variety of insect collections throughout the native range of American chestnut to see if they have since added any specimens of this large, distinctive weevil species to their collections.

Sadly, other than two specimens reared in spring 1987 by now-deceased lepidopterist Eugene Munroe and his wife Isobel of Ottawa, Canada (from nuts collected from a large, now-dead American chestnut tree in Prince George County, Maryland, U.S.A.), no other post-1950s specimens have been found.

There are still many reports of weevils in introduced chestnuts and native chinkapins, but where examined, these are all the lesser chestnut weevil, Curculio sayi. Despite some comments in the old agricultural literature to the contrary, it is likely that the greater chestnut weevil was associated only with Castanea dentata. With the demise of that plant, so went the weevil.

Male and female Curculio caryatrypes weevils on an American chestnut burr. You can see why the females need such a long rostrum to reach in among the spines to excavate the oviposition hole. Image: © Brooks and Cotton 1929, U.S. Department of Agriculture

It’s not a happy day when we can declare another species as extinct, but today, along with the two species of already red-listed, extinct chestnut moths, I believe that we can now add the greater chestnut weevil (Curculio caryatrypes) to the ever-growing list of extinct organisms.

Perhaps we should now turn our attention to the co-extinction threat being imposed on ash trees and their insect associates by the introduced emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) before that fauna is lost as well.

Cabinets, Cabinets Everywhere: The Sequel

By Kathlyn Stewart and Michelle Coyne

The story continues of the transfer of some of the National Collections of the Geological Survey of Canada from their home on Booth Street in Ottawa to the research and collection campus of the Canadian Museum of Nature!

Some of the fossil plant type specimens now housed at the museum’s facility. Image: Kathy Stewart © Canadian Museum of Nature

In the previous posting, the first 225 Lane cabinets had just been transported up from the United States to the museum’s Natural Heritage Campus, our research and collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec.

These cabinets will house some of the survey’s huge fossil invertebrate and plant collections. We allocated a space and renamed it the GSC Warehouse. Since that initial shipment, 225 more cabinets have been trucked up, making a total of 450 new cabinets now at our facility.

New name plate for Warehouse 2 at our research and collections facility, which will house the Geological Survey of Canada’s National Plant Type Fossil Collection. Image: Michelle Coyne © Geological Survey of Canada

But these cabinets could not be moved into the warehouse until upgrades there were completed—so, where to put them all? The photo below tells the story: cabinets lining our collection hallways into infinity!

Hundreds of cabinets stored along the main corridors in the museum’s research and collection facility in Gatineau, Quebec. Image: Kathy Stewart © Canadian Museum of Nature

Upgrades to the GSC Warehouse—under the able supervision of the museum’s Martin Leclerc and Pascale Sénéchal—included compactor shelving, security, environmental controls and a fresh coat of paint to ensure the best conservation conditions.

Compactor shelving to hold the collections being installed in the GSC Warehouse. Image: Michelle Coyne © Geological Survey of Canada

Meanwhile during the upgrades, the first of the GSC’s National Collections arrived from Booth Street. Two smaller but highly valued GSC collections, the National Meteorite and Tektite Collection, and the National Plant Type Fossil Collection, plus a Quaternary shell collection, were packed and trucked to our facility in late 2015 and early 2016.

Their moves were, in part, a pilot project to test packing methods, conservation needs and moving methods in preparation for future moves.

Meteorites! The Geological Survey’s collection of rock or iron fragments from outer space has attracted much public and scientific attention throughout its history. This collection had an auspicious beginning in 1855 when Sir W.E. Logan acquired the 167.8 kg Madoc Meteorite, the first recognized meteorite in Canada.

The main mass of the Madoc Meteorite, acquired by W.E. Logan. Image: Michelle Coyne © Geological Survey of Canada

Very soon after its discovery, the Madoc Meteorite became internationally known, going on display at the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris, France.

The meteorite will remain in Logan Hall at the survey’s offices on Booth Street during the celebrations of their 175th anniversary in 2017. It will then move to our facility in Gatineau.

Since its early days, the Geological Survey’s meteorite collection has grown enormously. It now includes more than 3000 samples from 1035 distinct meteorites found in 87 countries.

The collection includes 52 Canadian meteorites, with recent acquisitions from Buzzard Coulee, Saskatchewan, and Tagish Lake near Atlin, British Columbia, by former curator R. Herd, Ph.D.

Tektites—debris caused by meteorite impact—are also in the collection.

Carleton University student and survey volunteer Ian Beitz places a tray of meteorite samples in new cabinets. Image: Michelle Coyne © Geological Survey of Canada

The National Plant Type Fossil Collection also made the trip from Booth Street to Gatineau. These specimens were unpacked by staff and volunteers from the Geological Survey and stored in 22 cabinets in our Palaeobiology Collection until they can be moved to the GSC Warehouse. As with all the museum’s collections, they are accessible to scientists and the public.

The National Plant Type Fossil Collection represents fossil species that have been named, illustrated and published in the scientific literature. Walter A. Bell (1889–1969), was with the Geological Survey of Canada from his student days in 1920 to his retirement in 1954 as palaeobotanist and eventually director. In 1962, he published the first comprehensive catalogue of types and figured specimens of fossil mega- and micro-plants in the survey’s collections.

Michelle Coyne, a curator with the Geological Survey, and Alexandria Gaucher-Loksts, a survey volunteer, with the newly arrived National Plant Type Fossil Collection. Image: Kathy Stewart © Canadian Museum of Nature

The survey’s National Plant Type Fossil Collection will be a welcome addition to the museum’s fossil collection, in that many plant specimens were recovered from several of the same sites as vertebrate fossils in the museum’s collection. The plant fossils will provide information about the environment of the vertebrates.

Now, over a year since the last article, much has been accomplished, but much still needs to be done. The online databases and reference database for the Geological Survey’s collections need to be updated—an ongoing process. And much preparation is still needed for the “BIG” move to the museum’s campus of the rest of the survey’s mineral and fossil invertebrate collections. We expect to be filling those 450 cabinets later this year.

Going Hunting in Texas

In March of this year, I had the opportunity to visit retired colleague Charlie O’Brien at his house in Arizona, U.S.A., and work with him on his outstanding weevil collection.

While identifying members of a group of weevils that I had worked on in the 1980s for my Ph.D. thesis, I ran across a series of five specimens collected in October 2004 from McKenzie Lake in Gaines County, Texas, U.S.A. Because this was a group of weevils that I was very familiar with, I immediately recognized them as a new species, and perhaps, a new genus.

A new genus? An undescribed species (and likely also an undescribed genus) of weevil from Gaines County, Texas. Image: François Génier © Canadian Museum of Nature

So, armed with the knowledge of when and where the specimens were collected, I set out this past month to find more, and to find out something about their biology and maybe their host plants. I set aside the week of October 19 (this matched the collection dates from 2004) and flew off to Texas to start the hunt.

Sandy shores. Sandy salt flats along the north shore of McKenzie Lake, Texas. The white spots on the sand are deposits of salt left by higher water levels. Image: Robert Anderson © Canadian Museum of Nature

Arriving in Dallas, I rented a car and drove out to Gaines County in the high plains of west Texas. After miles of cotton fields, I came to the McKenzie Lake area, a rich natural oasis of some 1600 hectares of mesquite, sagebrush, snakeweed and myriad other arid land plants.

Because the weevils had been collected by an enthusiast of tiger beetles, Dave Brzoska, I spent the better part of my first day scouring the open sandy habitats favoured by these fast-flying, vividly coloured predators, hoping to run across the weevils.

A good place to hunt? The shoreline at McKenzie Lake. Insects (including beetles) and other debris wash up along the shores during windy periods. Image: Robert Anderson © Canadian Museum of Nature

About five hours and five litres of water later, I found my first specimen, lying dead in debris among other beetles washed up around the edge of the lake. Sadly, despite three more long days of checking various plants and walking the shores of the lake, it turned out to be the only specimen I found.

Cotton fields. A small portion of the many cotton fields surrounding the native habitat around the lake. One can drive for miles in west Texas through what seems like endless cotton fields. Image: Robert Anderson © Canadian Museum of Nature

However, I had planned a couple of days to examine the collection of an entomologist friend Darren Pollock over in Portales, New Mexico, and as luck would have it, he had a specimen of the same species that he had collected earlier this year in March, in Quay County, New Mexico.

So although I did not find out anything about biology or host plants, I did get a second specimen and now knew that the species has a wider distribution than just the McKenzie Lake area, and was active in spring as well as autumn. And, with the now-seven known specimens, I had a good series from which to put together a species description and decide on the generic placement.

Great for weevils. The native mesquite shrub habitat surrounding the lake. Lots of weevils were collected at night from the small yellow-flowered shrub when they came up onto the plants to feed in the cooler and more humid night air. Image: Robert Anderson © Canadian Museum of Nature

Although I collected only two specimens of the target species, while at McKenzie Lake I also collected hundreds of other interesting weevils of a number of different species. I caught the majority at night by sweeping plants with a heavy net (the weevils come up onto the plants then to feed in the cooler and more humid air).

Many of these weevils are restricted to the west-Texas high-plains area and are quite rare in collections.

You just have to be careful that your headlamp doesn’t go out on you, or that you get so distracted by the plentiful weevils or by the coyotes howling in the distance, that you step on a rattlesnake.

Natural oasis. A short panoramic video of McKenzie Lake in Gaines County, Texas, and surrounding habitat. A natural oasis in a sea of cotton fields:

McKenzie Lake, Texas, U.S.A.
Video: Robert Anderson © Canadian Museum of Nature.

Nature Heroes recognized at Nature Inspiration Awards

It is important to celebrate our heroes. They deserve recognition for good deeds done, and because they provide powerful inspiration. Some of our heroes have the talent to create art that raises our emotions through sheer beauty or incredible imagination. Other heroes have the physical ability to float across a hockey rink or rocket down a soccer field, which causes us to shout and cheer.

And then there are the heroes of nature who are often less well known, but because of what they do, why they do it, and the deep passion in their delivery, they are able to change the world around them.

Assembled for the Nature Inspiration Awards gala are this year’s 2016 finalists, winners and jury members. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature.

These nature heroes are individuals, groups and organizations; they are young and old. They see themselves as an integral part of the natural world and are so enthused by nature, and the prospect of the sustainability of it, that they create new ways of taking part in life. And they do it for their whole lives, or make sure it is part of the core value of their institution, usually involving many others.

The Museum has created a way to celebrate some of these heroes through its Nature Inspiration Awards. Each year, we see a long list of well-deserving applicants and face the tough choice of deciding who should be given recognition at a special gala. The revelation of the contenders’ accomplishments is nothing short of amazing. The experience of reading through such a wide range of activities and accomplishments gives a refreshing perspective on our capacity as humans, and is a humbling experience.

This year’s gala took place on November 9. The recipients of the 2016 Nature Inspiration Awards are:

• Individual, Youth: Ta’Kaiya Blaney, a dynamic teenager who is a First Nations Leader, Actor, Singer-songwriter and Youth Ambassador for Native Children’s Survival. She regularly speaks on the world stage in her roles and her latest music/visual project, Earth Revolution, is a powerful move to gather respect for Mother Earth.

• Individual, Adult: John Lounds, President and CEO of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, an organization that he has transformed into an important national force. The not-for-profit has safeguarded over 2.8 million acres of ecologically significant land in Canada.

John Lounds with museum President and CEO Meg Beckel at the 2016 Nature Inspiration Awards gala. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature.

• Lifetime Achievement: Neal Jotham has spent more than 50 years advocating for the humane treatment of animals, including as leader of the Federation of Canadian Humane Societies. Because of his efforts to develop humane trapping methods, the suffering of millions of wild fur-bearing animals in North America, Russia and the European Union has been eliminated, and the trapping of untargeted species has been greatly reduced.

• Not-for-Profit, Small to Medium: The Natural Step Canada is an organization that facilitates the path to sustainability. Its programs give instruction on how to best embed sustainability into the strategies, operations, products, services and plans of communities, businesses and groups. They have fostered commitment and competence in thousands of leaders and practitioners through its learning programs.

• Not-for-Profit, Large: Ocean Tracking Network is a global research and technology platform and development project based at Dalhousie University. This network of scientific experts enables national and international sustainable management of species such as marine mammals, sea turtles, squid, crustaceans, sharks, sturgeon, eels, tuna, salmon, and cod. It achieves this by providing knowledge of aquatic animal movements, migrations, habitat use and survival.

Dr. Sara Iverson and Dr. Fred Whoriskey (at podium) accept the 2016 Nature Inspiration Award at the gala held November 9, 2016 at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature.

• Business, Small to Medium: SK Films is an established multimedia company dedicated to creating and distributing high quality, natural history productions. It also links innovative educational materials and conservation activities to reinforce and enhance the entertainment experience. SK regularly collaborates with scientists and educators and in their emphasis on connecting to school groups, families and citizen scientists.

John Geiger, CEO of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, presents the 2016 Nature Inspiration Award for Business (small to medium) to Wendy MacKeigan and Jonathan Barker with SK Films. Image: Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature.

• Business, Large: Teck Resources Limited is a diversified resource company committed to responsible mining and mineral development. It has expertise related to exploration, development, mining and minerals processing, including environmental protection, materials stewardship, recycling and research. Teck is committed to minimizing the footprint and mitigating impacts of its operations, eventually leaving behind productive ecosystems for future generations.

The Canadian Museum of Nature extends a well-deserved congratulations to all the recipients of the 2016 awards. Read more about these heroes and see videos recognizing their achievements at nature.ca. And may their accomplishments and the powers of nature inspire you!

If you know a deserving person or organisation for the 2017 awards, look for the Call for Nominations in February 2017.

“Skeletons Out of the Closet” at the Museum’s Research and Collections Facility

Every year, the Canadian Museum of Nature hosts a popular open house for the general public at its research and collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec (Aylmer sector).

The building is several times bigger than the familiar downtown Ottawa museum building, and contains many research laboratories and nature collections.

The entrance to the research and collections facility with welcoming Mastodon skeleton. Image: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

At the open house, curators, scientific staff and volunteers are on hand to answer questions and share their knowledge. There are a number of activities for families with kids. The open house is very popular and typically gets about 3700 attendees.

Major exhibitions include dinosaurs, mammals, insects, minerals, aquatic creatures, botany, DNA and the Arctic. Many amazing and ancient things are revealed to the public.

The following photos document some of the highlights of the latest open house, held in October 2016.

Skeletons out of the closet:
Top left: Some specimens of the museum’s vertebrate zoology collection, with moose, bison and seal skeletons.
Top right: Model of the “fishapod” (Tiktaalik roseae), a 375 million-year-old fossil fish discovered in the Arctic in 2004. It was the first fish species to venture onto land. Kieran Shepard, Curator of the palaeobiology collection, answered questions from attendees.
Bottom left: Two taxidermied muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus). Muskoxen originated in Eurasia, and probably reached North America across the Bering Strait. They are superbly adapted to Arctic conditions by their compact build and thick pelt as well as other adaptations.
Bottom right: Horned-dinosaur skulls and other dinosaur parts.
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

An exhibition of aquatic specimens preserved in jars of ethanol. The museum’s fish lab lends out specimens to institutions around the world. As explained by Noel Alfonso, Senior Research Assistant in Zoology, a specimen is removed from its jar, wrapped in cheese cloth, put in a bag and flown to its destination (i.e., “flying fish”). Image: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Do you love the beetle? The museum has hundreds of drawers with thousands of beetles and other varieties of insects collected from around the world. Bob Anderson, Ph.D. and Research Scientist in Zoology, was on hand to answer questions. Enlarged photos of scarab beetles are on display at the museum in downtown Ottawa. Image: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Experts answering questions about fossils:
Top left: Palaeontologist Xiao-chun Wu, Ph.D., talks about early dinosaur skulls to some young attendees. Shelves behind hold hundreds of plaster-protected fossils from the field that have yet to be unwrapped.
Top right: Volunteer William McDonald, whose father Alan is a Collection Technician at the museum, describes the procedures involved in preparing fossils. In the foreground is an assembled ancient turtle shell.
Bottom left: Collection Technician Margaret Currie discusses origins of the ice ages and compares woolly mammoths to mastodons and modern elephants.
Bottom right: Research Scientist in Palaeobiology Jordan Mallon, Ph.D., explains a dinosaur skull and claw (and a T. rex skull, not in the photo).
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Left: Attendee Ed Gregory handles a 70 million-year-old fossil from a herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur, with the assistance of two museum volunteers. Image: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature
Right: Joe Holmes, a museum volunteer in the diatom lab, stands beside a large snail model in the corridor of the collection and preservation area. In this section, food and drink are banned to avoid attracting insects, which would also eat the collection specimens. Image: Ed Gregory © Canadian Museum of Nature

Tools, meteorites and a moon rock:
Left: Scott Rufolo, Ph.D. and Research Assistant in Palaeobiology, discusses archaeological sites in the Arctic, including those of the Franklin Expedition. His table displays prehistoric tools found in the Arctic.
Middle: Museum volunteer Christian Rochford shows off meteorites and a moon rock to curious onlookers.
Right: Plaque with moon rock collected on the Apollo 17 mission to the Taurus-Littrow Valley, plus a Canadian flag that was carried on the same mission. Inscriptions express hope for world peace from the people of America, and a dedication of the plaque to the Canadian people by President Richard Nixon in 1973.
Images: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Inside the popular DNA lab: “A fox in a box”. The sign above it shows some DNA sequences that distinguish the red fox from other mammals. Left is Roger Bull, a Senior Research Assistant in Botany, and Coordinator of the Laboratory of Molecular Biodiversity. The museum does DNA research on plants, animals, algae and diatoms. Image: Joe Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

Arachnophilia: Spiders of the Museum Research Campus

Spiders are a diverse and amazing group of arthropods comprising the order Araneae. They are not insects. They often elicit strong reactions in people, but injurious spider bites are very rare.

This year, the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP for short) of the Canadian Museum of Nature began to survey spiders on the 76 hectare property that comprises the museum’s research and collection campus in Gatineau, Quebec. Spiders have very diverse life styles: some dig tunnels, many use webs to catch prey, and some use their silk as a sail to get around. Some species even live under water!

Orb-weaver spider (Araneidae family) found on the museum’s research and collection campus in Gatineau, Quebec. Image: Carly Casey, Geoff Carter © Canadian Museum of Nature

The EMP students began collecting spiders in addition to continuing to collect beetles. The spiders were collected using the same pitfall traps that we use to collect ground beetles.

Geoff Carter examining his sheet after beating the trees (left) and setting a pitfall trap (right) on the museum’s research campus. The pitfall trap, also used to trap beetles, guides the animals along a clear plastic barrier and into cups filled with propylene glycol, which kills and preserves them. Images: Carly Casey © Canadian Museum of Nature

“Beating” is a second method of spider collecting that we tried out this season. This technique involves holding a sheet beneath a tree and shaking the tree vigorously. Any spiders that fall onto the sheet need to be sucked up quickly using an aspirator. This requires a lot more time and energy than the passive pitfall traps.

There is evidence that spider assemblages change as the environment around them changes. A change in the spider species that are present is reflective of an environmental change in our forest.

Once collected, we preserved our specimens in ethanol and brought them back to the lab for sorting. When trying to identify spider families, there are a few key features that are used. Often, eye arrangement indicates the appropriate family, such as the wolf spider family (Lycosidae), which has four large posterior eyes that form a rectangle if you look from the top, and four much smaller anterior eyes that form a row in front.

Male wolf spider (Lycosidae family) from a frontal view collected by EMP students in the 2016 field season. Image: François Génier © Canadian Museum of Nature

The crab spider family is easy to recognize by body shape with its longer first and second that resemble those of a crab. Other families can be much trickier to identify, requiring us to count the number of large hairs (macrosetae) on a segment of a specific leg.

Male crab spider (Thomisidae family) from dorsal view collected by EMP students in the 2016 field season. Image: François Génier © Canadian Museum of Nature

To identify spiders to species, we would need to look more closely at their genitalia because these structures are very species-specific.

Before mating, males create a web where they deposit their sperm. They then collect the sperm in their secondary genitalia and store it near their head in specialized structures. Called pedipalps, they resemble ornate glasswork or sugar-work and are inserted into the female’s epigynum during mating. The spiders’ genital structures function like a lock-and-key mechanism.

After mating, some males leave in a hurry, leaving a palp behind. This effectively blocks any other males from mating with the female.

Male fishing spider (Pisauridae family) pedipalp from ventral view collected by EMP students in the 2016 field season. Image: François Génier © Canadian Museum of Nature

There are over 100 families and 35 000 species of spiders in the world. When you take a closer look under a microscope, you can see how different these species really are.

Spiders may never win everyone’s approval, but now EMP students react with excitement, curiosity and appreciation when they see spiders.

The Forever Business

One of the oldest and most respected international, non-government organizations that looks out for nature is the IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Every four years, the IUCN calls its members together to a World Conservation Congress, and the invitation is extended to anyone else who wishes to contribute to the many activities on the topic of species and habitat conservation.

The Congress Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii. Image: Mark Graham © Canadian Museum of Nature

At the meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, this September, the “anyone else” part of the equation took on significant proportions: 10 000 registered delegates from 184 countries, representing 1300 non-government organizations.

Many of the member organizations and others have information booths at the meeting. There are also larger spaces, pavilions that were used for thematic presentations. The Nature for All Pavilion was co-sponsored by the Canadian Museum of Nature and featured activities aimed at engaging youth and others. Image: Mark Graham © Canadian Museum of Nature

Meg Beckel, Robert Anderson and Mark Graham of the Canadian Museum of Nature were at the meeting representing some of our programmes (such as Nature Nocturne) through the Nature for All pavilion and through an electronic poster presentation about the importance of taxonomic research.

The museum organized three successful Nature Nocturne events in the Nature for All Pavilion during the meeting. Image: Mark Graham © Canadian Museum of Nature

We attended meetings of the Commission on Environmental Management as a member of the Arctic Theme, Chaired the Governance Committee of the Assembly and participated in the Member’s Assembly as part of the Canadian Delegation.

Hundreds of members assemble to make decisions about the operations and governance of the IUCN. Image: Mark Graham © Canadian Museum of Nature

It is a big, dynamic meeting, and there is a lot to talk about, but one thing said in a session really resonated about the contributions of natural-history museums. Such a large and important meeting attracts high-placed decision makers. One of those was Sally Jewell, the Secretary for the Interior in the United States (in charge of their Geological Survey, National Parks and Land Management). She proclaimed that the US government is now including environmental sustainability as part of its decision-making process, because healthy ecosystem services will ensure our best chance for survival. “We are in the forever business”, was her comment—a very positive step forward and, I dare say, a sign of hope for the future.

Ms. Jewell’s comment reminded me that museums are also in the forever business. If you ask our curators and conservators how long they feel their collections will last once prepared, they will likely say “hundreds of years”. That is as close to forever as you get in most businesses.

And the really interesting part is that those collections, and the data attached to them, are often integral in helping Sally Jewell’s forever business and the many others like it. Natural history collections and the data shared about them are a relevant, dynamic part of the scientific community and the conservation efforts of non-government and government decision-makers.

Jane Goodall addresses the attendees about the importance of engaging young people in nature conservation efforts. Image: Mark Graham © Canadian Museum of Nature

All that aside, the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress also attracted some enviro-heroes. For example, E. O. Wilson, Ph.D., who coined the term biological diversity, was here to speak to the assembly and demonstrated powerfully that at 87 years old, he is still one of our guiding lights on how to think about these complex issues. We also heard from Jane Goodall, Ph.D., who at the age of 82 is still inspiring young people to care about conservation through the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots and Shoots programme.

Where in the World Is Snow Grass? Part 2

Be sure to read part one of Where in the World Is Snow Grass?

We continued the search for my little Arctic grasses in Naujaat (previously known as Repulse Bay), a small hamlet in Nunavut that is located directly on the Arctic Circle.

We discovered our first population of ice grass within hours of landing in the community. The plants were considerably larger than those of Arviat and showed more diversity in the habitats in which they were found.

Habitats around Nujaat where we located ice grass:
• top left: a sandy coastal area within the community
• top right: along a gravel road
• bottom left: completely submerged in a little pool on a rock outcrops (an unusual situation likely caused by excessive rain that occurred just prior to our arrival)
• bottom right: at the base of a late-melting snowbed.
Images: Lynn Gillespie, Samantha Godfrey © Canadian Museum of Nature

But where was snow grass? Candidate specimens of snow grass from Canada are superficially similar to ice grass, and without a microscope, we were stuck relying on our hand lenses and general observations of plant form and habitat.

We found several plants with stems that grew semi-erect rather than sprawling out along the ground—a trait indicative of snow grass. However, the hand lens revealed what seemed to be typical ice-grass florets.

Ice grass plants of Naujaat:
• top left: the smallest plant we collected
• top middle: the largest plant we observed
• right: showing off the incredible root length of one little plant
• bottom left: a mixed population of bright green plants and purplish plants
• bottom middle: close-up of an inflorescence (the flowering part of the plant).
Images: Samantha Godfrey © Canadian Museum of Nature

We also searched frost boils (upwellings of mud) out on the tundra, a habitat more suited to snow grass, but came away empty-handed. With growing doubts about the presence of snow grass in Canada, we left Naujaat for our final destination: the capital of Nunavut.

With only three collecting days in Iqaluit, we had to carefully plan which habitats we wanted to target. On the first day, we found several populations of ice grass in disturbed, wet sandy habitats in and around town. Plants were quite large with dense inflorescences (the flowering part of the plant), with nothing standing out as possible snow grass.

The last collection of ice grass we made in Iqaluit:
• left: photographing the population
• middle: a typical plant from that population
• right: close-up of an inflorescence.
Images: Lynn Gillespie, Samantha Godfrey © Canadian Museum of Nature

The next day, I (reluctantly) wrapped my arms around a researcher I had just met, as we hitched a ride down the Road to Nowhere on the backs of a couple of ATVs. We hiked across hilly tundra, scouring every snowbed and generally wet sandy habitat, but there was neither an ice grass nor snow grass to be found. How could this be?

With time running out, we spent our last day combing the shoreline of the bay just east of Apex, a village near Iqaluit. I was confident we would find more ice grass, at the very least. But as we hiked further and further into the bay, my confidence withered away. Alas, the time had come to head home to Ottawa.

Taken after arriving back in Apex, sweaty and with nothing to show for it—this self-portrait is entitled The Saddest Botanist Ever. Image: Samantha Godfrey © Canadian Museum of Nature

What now? Probably a few long nights crying into a microscope trying to tell a grass from a grass. Luckily, I also have several loans from herbaria around the globe that have already begun to arrive. The loan from Svalbard, Norway, where ice grass and snow grass are morphologically distinct, should be especially invaluable.

I’ll be sequencing several DNA regions of these specimens to screen for genetic markers that can be used to separate the two species without a doubt. I’ll then be able to check for those markers in the specimens that I collected on my trip, as well as other North American and Greenlandic material.

Then, just maybe, we’ll finally be able to answer the question “Where in the world is snow grass?”

Ice-grass collections from our Nunavut trip, pressed and ready to be studied under the microscope. Left to right, the rows of specimens are from Iqaluit, Naujaat and Arviat. Image: Samantha Godfrey © Canadian Museum of Nature