From the Field: Speciation in the Solomon Islands

Dr. Chris Filardi's recent entries on The New York Times’s “Scientist At Work: Notes from the Field” blog described his expedition to the rarely explored Kolombangara highlands of the Solomon Islands in search of the glossy black Kolombangara Island thrush, a bird that inhabits cloudy bamboo thickets and is known from only four specimens. 

CBC Director Eleanor Sterling’s Blogs from the Field in The New York Times

Find out about Dr. Eleanor Sterling's recent field work. In the New York Times Scientist at Work blog, she described her work with a team of Museum researchers at the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Central Pacific where they have been studying the ecology and behavior of Green and Hawksbill sea turtles. Eleanor previously posted stories about an expedition in Vietnam where she and colleagues were searching for a highly endangered primate, the grey-shanked douc (Pygathrix cinerea).

Award Winning Online Course "Water: Environmental Science"

On May 25, the American Museum of Natural History's Seminars on Science—an online professional development program for educators—was awarded Best Professional Development Solution for its course “Water: Environmental Science” at the 25th annual CODiE Awards. The CODiE acknowledges outstanding achievement and vision in the software and information industry, showcasing its finest products and services, as well as honoring excellence in corporate achievement and philanthropic efforts (http://www.siia.net/codies/2010/winners.asp).

The Water course was developed by the CBC’s Director, Dr. Eleanor J. Sterling, NCEP Director Dr. Nora Bynum, and Biodiversity Specialist Erin Vintinner, in collaboration with the Museum’s National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology, and is based in part on the Museum’s touring exhibition, Water: H2O = Life, curated by Dr. Sterling.

The Seminars on Science courses target educators seeking graduate credit and professional development opportunities in the sciences (http://www.amnh.org/learn).

Creating Conservation Legislation in the Solomon Islands

In March the first protected-areas legislation for the Solomon Islands  (in the southwestern Pacific) was passed, with the CBC, AMNH, and the Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership playing a central role, as technical advisors, in shaping the legislation. This act fills a void that has stalled protection of the Solomons’ exceptional biodiversity. CBC partnerships within communities on Kolombangara and Tetepare Islands have been identified at national and regional levels as models for community-driven protected areas, and for generating both high-impact science and meaningful conservation gains in partnership with customary landholding groups. Both of the areas—which make up AMNH’s core conservation initiatives in the Solomons—are poised to become the first areas listed under the new act. For more on the CBC’s work in the Solomons, go to http://cbc.amnh.org/center/programs/solomon.html.

Reestablishing a Threatened Frog Species

The CBC’s Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) in Southeastern Arizona is partnering with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to expand its head-start facility for the reestablishment of Chiricahua Leopard frogs (Lithobates chiricahuensis) in the eastern part of the Chiricahua Mountains. This species has not been found in the area for many years and is now considered threatened throughout its range. Tadpoles are currently being raised indoors, and two new open-air enclosures with a small, lined pool are being built to raise the juveniles to adulthood. The SWRS staff anticipate the first release of frogs into a spring-fed pond on station grounds in fall 2011.

Virtual Rainforest Initiative in British Columbia

The CBC has begun a new initiative in British Columbia, developing teaching materials for students in two First Nations communities in remote coastal areas. The Virtual Rainforest Initiative uses innovative technology as a means to strengthen the students’ connection with their local ecosystems and culture. The first module, geared toward the intermediate grades (5-7) and now being pilot-tested by teachers, is designed to build foundational skills in scientific inquiry. Remotely operated wildlife cameras and interactive whiteboards provide a 24-hour window into local wildlife ecology. Placed at key points along wolf trails and salmon rivers, the cameras capture and transmit live video to remote stations located at two schools. Students will be able to observe both live-feed and stored footage, download pre-developed lesson plans, and develop and share their own projects with other white-board users in the region and around the world. The Heiltsuk and Gitga’at Nations face numerous environmental, social, and economic challenges, and the lessons will help prepare students to take on opportunities as they continue on to high school and their professional lives.

Book Review

The CBC’s Director, Dr. Eleanor J. Sterling, reviews The Last Tortoise: A Tale of Extinction In Our Lifetime, by biological anthropologist Craig Stanford, Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California and Director of the USC Jane Goodall Research Center.