The Naturalist Notebook 

Spotlight On…

Tuesday, 05/15/12

Check out this week’s featured specimen!

(Pictured below, really close up!)

Photo: N. Sincero © California Academy of Sciences

Can you guess what it is?

Here are some hints:

• This animal has stretchy ligaments on its jaw that allow it to open wide enough to swallow prey whole.
• This animal is a powerful swimmer.

Leave us a comment with your answer! Then come see us in the Classroom on Sunday, May 20th at 2:30 pm for Science Story Adventures to see if you’re right and to learn more about this animal. Science Story Adventures is our program for children ages 4 - 8 and their caregivers. In the program, we explore the natural world through stories, specimens, games and crafts.

California Academy of Sciences - Project Lab 

International Migratory Bird Day

Thursday, 05/10/12

This week, May 7^th to May 13^th, the Academy of Sciences celebrates International Migratory Bird Day.  Although it was originally slated as the second Saturday in May, the birds don’t always recognize our time schedule, and in some places, migratory birds had already left the area so the single day celebration was extended to an entire week.

Here at the Academy, the Ornithology and Mammalogy department’s research collection aids researchers in studying bird migration. Often times migration can be shrouded in mystery-exact migration routes of species can be little known or unknown altogether! By analyzing stable isotopes, or chemical compounds, in feathers of our study skin collection, researchers can determine geographical locations visited by the migrating birds on their long flight. But why migrate at all?

Many birds use migration as a tactic to ensure secure food supplies all year round, especially around breeding time.  Generally, in the Northern Hemisphere, birds will fly north to more temperate spring/summer breeding grounds and then head back down south when winter approaches their northerly breeding habitat.  This allows them to take advantage of warm weather year round, effectively securing their food source consistently for their own stomach and the young they raise.  Some migration journeys take months and some take days depending upon the distance and flight of the bird.

Arctic Terns have one of the longest distances to travel of any birds; they travel 12,000 miles from Antartica in the southern hemisphere’s summer to their Arctic breeding grounds during the northern hemisphere’s summer.  This journey from pole to pole takes this 13-inch bird only a few months to complete!

Instead of migrating for a few months, Bar-tailed Godwits migrate in a little over a week.  This is despite the fact that Bar-tailed Godwit has one of the longest continuous migrations.  They often journey 11,000 miles from New Zealand to their breeding grounds in Alaska in one trip.  A trip to Hawaii from San Francisco is around 2300 miles.  Imagine flying to Hawaii and back four and a half times without stopping!

These long migrations are not limited to larger birds either.  Allen’s hummingbirds also migrate from parts of Southern Mexico up the coast to southern California, a trip of 1500-2400 miles!

For all birds, migration can be a dangerous, exhausting time.  Since one of the driving factors is food, some birds choose not to migrate if they are fed all year round by an outside source like bird feeders or if they land somewhere that has a temperate climate all year.  Some hummingbirds will choose to stick around if they have access to bird feeders and a subspecies of one of our San Francisco residents, the White-crowned Sparrow will not migrate and choose to breed along the coastline.

Bird migration is a truly awesome feat of stamina!  Come check out the Project Lab during Migratory Bird week for some specimens of migratory birds on display. We also will be having specimen preparation during Nightlife on May 10th as well as our collections manager, Maureen Flannery, discussing bird migration!

You can also visit the official International Bird Day website here: http://www.birdday.org/birdday.

Codie Otte
Curatorial Assistant and Specimen Preparator
Ornithology & Mammalogy Department

The Naturalist Notebook 

Spotlight On…

Tuesday, 05/08/12

Check out this week’s featured specimen!

(Pictured below, really close up!)

Photo: N. Sincero © California Academy of Sciences

Can you guess what it is?

Here are some hints:

• Breeding pairs of this species stay together all year round and migrate south with their offspring.
• They are found in wetlands and agricultural fields.

Leave us a comment with your answer! Then come see us in the Classroom on Sunday, May 13th at 2:30 pm for Science Story Adventures to see if you’re right and to learn more about this animal. Science Story Adventures is our program for children ages 4 - 8 and their caregivers. In the program, we explore the natural world through stories, specimens, games and crafts.

Teachers' Lounge 

Growing Up Asian: Our Oceans Contest 2012

Monday, 05/07/12

2012 Middle School Student Essay and Art Contest: Our Oceans
Presented by the Asian Pacific Fund and the California Academy of Sciences

Middle school students can share their wonder of and desire to protect one of our most precious resources by entering our essay and art contest!

Growing up Asian in America is an annual essay and art contest. The contest always has a theme, and prizes are awarded each year. This year there is an added program with prizes for a science contest about oceans.

Prizes
First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150
Honorable Mention: $100

Get Inspired!

• Visit the Academy for free with your family. The first 100 registered participants for the contest receive a free family pass to the Academy! You can also visit for free with the Check Out San Francisco Pass available at San Francisco Public Libraries or the Discover and Go Pass available at Oakland Public Libraries.
• Come face to face with the creatures in the Philippine Coral Reef and California Coast exhibits.
• Delve deeper into ocean ecosystems with the library resources and specimens in the Naturalist Center.
• Participate in the Dive into Coral Reefs program at public library branches. Dates, times and locations to be announced soon.

Growing Up Asian: Our Oceans Contest 2012 >>
Our Oceans Contest Rules and Entry Form >>

Contest made possible through the generosity of Loretta Huahn and the support of the Oakland and San Francisco Public Libraries.

The Naturalist Notebook 

Growing Up Asian in America: Science and the World Around You

Sunday, 05/06/12

2012 Student Essay and Art Contest: Our Oceans
Presented by the Asian Pacific Fund and the California Academy of Sciences

Middle school students can share their wonder of and desire to protect one of our most precious resources by entering our essay and art contest. Dive into hands-on activities related to oceans at the Academy and in public library branches.

Growing up Asian in America is an annual essay and art contest. The contest always has a theme, and prizes are awarded each year. This year there is an added program with prizes for a science contest about oceans.

Prizes
First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150
Honorable Mention: $100

Get Inspired!

• Visit the Academy. The first 100 registered participants for the contest receive a free family pass to the Academy. You can also visit for free with the Check Out San Francisco Pass available at San Francisco Public Libraries or the Discover and Go Pass available at Oakland Public Libraries.
• Come face to face with the creatures in the Philippine Coral Reef and California Coast exhibits.
• Delve deeper into ocean ecosystems with the library resources and specimens in the Naturalist Center.
• Participate in the Dive into Coral Reefs program at public library branches. Dates, times and locations to be announced soon.

Click here for more ideas for your contest entry and to register for the contest.Growing Up Asian: Our Oceans Contest 2012 >>

Download the Official Contest Guidelines and Entry Form here.Our Oceans Contest Rules and Entry Form >>

Contest made possible through the generosity of Loretta Huahn and the support of the Oakland and San Francisco Public Libraries.

California Academy of Sciences - Project Lab 

Roki and Jacqueline visit the Project Lab

Saturday, 05/05/12

The Project Lab was recently visited by two botanists from Madagascar: Rokiman (Roki) Letsara, the Botanical Coordinator at the Madagascar Biodiversity Center; and Jacqueline Razanatsoa, a botanist at the National Herbarium of the Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza. Roki and Jacqueline are currently here at the Academy working with curator Dr. Frank Almeda, who leads the Academy’s botany research at the Madagascar Biodiversity Center in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Madagascar, the fourth largest island on Earth, is among one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots where the California Academy of Sciences is actively doing research. Not only is Madagascar’s wildlife incredibly diverse, but over 80% of its species are endemic to the island (i.e. they are found nowhere else on Earth). This remarkable level of endemism is a result of the island’s 88 million years of isolation, which has led to the evolution of a unique diversity of plants and animals. However, today, Madagascar’s ecosystems are experiencing habitat destruction, which threatens undo these millions of years of evolution in, relatively speaking, the blink of an eye. Recognizing the urgent conservation needs in Madagascar, the Academy established the Madagascar Biodiversity Center in the nation’s capital, Antananarivo, in 2007. The MBC provides research and training facilities for Malagasy and international scientists to study the biodiversity of the island and to apply this information to conservation planning.

Roki and Jacqueline have come to CAS to share their knowledge of Malagasy flora as well as to progress in their research and training. They are helping to identify and describe some of the Malagasy specimens that are now in the Academy’s herbarium (plant specimen collection). These specimens include species belonging to the families Melastomataceae and Acanthaceae, and the genera Kalanchoe and Aloe.

To help better describe some of these plant species, Roki and Jacqueline are learning how to use their genetic information in order to compare them with other previously described species. In the Project Lab, Roki and Jacqueline are being trained in plant DNA extraction with the help from Dr. Gilberto Ocampo, a post-doctoral fellow in the Botany department. With their plant tissue samples, they go through a series of steps, which involve pipetting chemical buffers, spinning and vortexing tubes and transferring solutions – a much more complex process than the strawberry DNA extractions that you might have seen in the Project Lab’s “Sweet Side of DNA” demonstration. The plant DNA extracted by Roki and Jacqueline will then be analyzed using the lab and computing facilities in the Academy’s Center for Comparative Genomics.

This close collaboration between CAS and Malagasy scientists, like Roki and Jacqueline, is crucial for the exchange of knowledge and experience, and together, we will be able to better understand the unique diversity of Madagascar and advance conservation efforts to protect the island’s critical habitats.

Family Science 

Adventures in May/Aventuras en Mayo

Friday, 05/04/12

Real Life Indiana Joneses

At the Academy
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Scientist? Wonder what sorts of adventures they’ve been on? Imagine all the stories they can tell? Well wait no longer because you can meet some of our very ownIndiana Jonesesevery Friday at the Academy. Come meet a real life Indiana Jones! I’m sure they’d love to share some of their exciting explorations with you. They’d be thrilled to meet you all. Come find them every Friday until May 22nd.

Outdoors in the Bay
Do you think volcanoes are cool? Want to learn more about them? Or maybe you enjoy looking at rocks! Well, many USGS scientists grew up loving these things as well and love to share their life as a scientist. Gather the family and visit the U.S. Geological Survey 10th Triennial Open House later this month. Experience the life of a USGS scientist during hands-on exhibits and interact with them too!

En la Academia
¿Se han preguntado alguna vez lo que es ser un científico? Se han preguntado qué tipo de aventuras han tomado? ¿Imagina todas las historias que pueden decir? Bueno no esperen más porque pueden conocer algunos de nuestros propios Indiana Joneses todos los viernes en la Academia. Ven a conocer un verdadero Indiana Jones! Estoy seguro que les encantaría compartir algunas de sus exploraciones emocionantes con ustedes. Estarían encantados de conocer a todos ustedes. Vengan y encuentrelos todos los viernes hasta el 22 de mayo. Este programa sólo es ofrecido en inglés.

Al Aire Libre en la Bahia
¿Cree que los volcanes son padre? ¿Desea aprender más acerca de ellos? O tal vez disfruta mirando rocas! Así, muchos científicos de USGS crecieron queriendo estas cosas así como ústedes y les gusta compartir su vida como científico. Junte la familia y visite el U.S. Geological Survey Open House. Experiencia de la vida de un científico de la USGS durante exhibiciones prácticos e interactuar con ellos también!

SF Neighborhood Free Days

Yes, they’re back! It’s time for our Neighborhood Free Days! Feel like a VIP at the Academy this srping. Bring your whole family and join us for our spring programming. We can’t wait to see you all!

Días Gratis Para Vecindades de SF

Sí, están de vuelta! Es hora para nuestro Días Gratis Para Vecindades de San Francisco! Sientese como un VIP en la Academia esta primavera. Traiga a toda su familia y únase con nosotros para nuestra programación de primavera. Los esperaremos!

International Migratory Bird Day

Calling all bird enthusiasts?! Did you know May 7th is International Migratory Bird Day?! Let’s take this time to learn a little about our feathered friends and celebrate their fascinating journeys, or migrations. Here at the Academy, we’ll be celebrating these beautiful creatures all week long ( May 7th-13th)! All week at the Naturalist Center,you can earn your 2012 IMBD certificate(International Migratory Bird Pass), by playing some neat bird games and using a bird field guide like a true birder. Would you like to test your bird watching skills? On Saturday, May 12th, bring your binoculars, and join the Naturalist Center for a walk thru Stow Lake. You can join them either for the morning stroll at 10am or the afternoon stroll at 2pm.

Día Internacional de Aves Migratorias

¿Llamando a todos los entusiastas de aves? ¿Sabían que el 7 de mayo es el día internacional de aves migratorias? Vamos a tomar este tiempo para aprender un poco acerca de nuestros amigos emplumados y celebrar sus viajes fascinantes, o migraciones. Aquí en la Academia, nos va celebrar estas hermosas criaturas mucho toda la semana (7-13 de mayo)! Toda la semana en el centro naturalista, usted puede ganar su certificado IMBD 2012 (pase de aves migratorias internacional), participando en algunos juegos de aves y utilizando a una guía de campo de aves como un verdadero pajarerp. ¿Le gustaría probar sus habilidades de observación de aves? El sábado 12 de mayo, traigan sus binoculares y vayan a centro naturalista para un paseo hasta el lago de Stow. Puede unirse con ellos por la mañana a la 10 de la mañana o por la tarde a las 2 pm.

What to Expect

We’re all very excited for our upcoming Earthquake Exhibit and Planetarium Show opening May 26th! Get a sneak peek of what’s to come. Join us later this month to explore the science of earthquakes and more.

Lo Que Se Puede Esperar

Todos estamos entusiasmados por nuestro próximo exposición y planetario de terremotos con su gran apertura el 26 de mayo! Obtenga un vistazo de lo que está por venir. Únase a nosotros más tarde este mes para estudiar la ciencia de los terremotos y más.

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