The Naturalist Notebook 

Bookworms (A Bookclub for Adults): Living Green in the City

Friday, 07/30/10

Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen

Tuesday, November 16th at 6:30 pm

Join in a lively discussion of Owen’s premise that cities, especially densely packed and compact cities like New York, are the way to live a more sustainable life. This is a book discussion group and participants are strongly encouraged to read the book before attending. Please meet at the Business Reception Desk off Middle Drive.

Reservations: Free. To reserve a place, do it online or call 800-794-7576. Meet at the Business Reception Desk off the Middle Drive entrance.

The Naturalist Notebook 

Bookworms (A Bookclub for Adults): Skinned, Stuffed and Stretched

Friday, 07/30/10

Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom

Tuesday, October 19th at 6:30 pm

The word “taxidermy” often conjures up images of hunting lodges, dusty dioramas or a beloved Fido, immortalized forever. Milgrom, however, delves into the unusual and sometimes obsessive world of taxidermy, from its Victorian roots with connections to natural history museums, to bizarre art-forms and the World Taxidermy Championship. Join us for a lively discussion of a book that just might change your thinking about stuffed animals. This is a book discussion group and participants are strongly encouraged to read the book before attending. Please meet at the Business Reception Desk off Middle Drive.

Reservations: Free. To reserve a place, do it online or call 800-794-7576. Meet at the Business Reception Desk off the Middle Drive entrance.

The Naturalist Notebook 

Bookworms (A Bookclub for Adults): Geology in the Making

Friday, 07/30/10

Assembling California by John McPhee

Tuesday, September 21st, 6:30 pm

Join us to examine McPhee’s take on California’s complex geology from its mountains and verdant wine country to the San Andreas Fault system. This is a book discussion group and participants are strongly encouraged to read the book before attending. Please meet at the Business Reception Desk off Middle Drive.

Reservations: Free. To reserve a place, do it online or call 800-794-7576. Meet at the Business Reception Desk off the Middle Drive entrance.

California Academy of Sciences - Rainforests of the World 

Tambaqui: Flagship Fish of the Amazon

Thursday, 07/29/10

Look at our 110,000 gallon Amazon Flooded Forest display and one of the first fish you are likely to notice are the tambaqui–we have about fifty of ‘em! They are commonly, yet erroneously, called pacu in English and are in the same family as the infamous piranha. Tambaqui can reach over 3 feet in length, over 60 pounds in weight and are widely distributed throughout the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

These fish display distinct countershading; they’re black ventrally and yellow to olive-green dorsally. However, the most characteristic feature of these gentle giants is the amazing dentition they have evolved. Their teeth are cuspid, resemble human molars and, along with their powerful jaws, allow them to crush the fruit, nuts and seeds on which they heavily feed.

Look head-on at one of our tambaqui and you’ll notice that it appears to have two protrusions on the upper part of its snout kind of like the headlights on a sports car. These are actually nasal flaps that raise, allowing more water to flow past the olfactory cells of the nose and helping the fish locate fruit that has fallen into the water from overlying trees.

Here at the Academy we feed our tambaqui daily “fiestas” consisting of assorted fruits and a small amount of greenery. Organic only, of course! The photograph below depicts an average daily meal consisting of apples, pears, bananas, figs, honeydew, cantaloupe and grapes:

They are voracious feeders!

In the wild, tambaqui are key seed dispersal agents and are critical to the regeneration biology of Amazonian floodplain forests. They are also prized for their uniquely mild, sweet flavor and are one of the most heavily exploited food species in the Amazon. Considerable economic importance for commercial fishing and for breeding in captivity (aquaculture) has placed a lot of attention on this species; it is exemplary of a tropical rainforest resource that can be managed in the wild.

CAS:Penguins 

African penguin Conservation: Competition for Breeding Space

Thursday, 07/29/10

There have been several breeding colonies that are no longer sustaining breeding penguins. There are many others that are not capable of sustaining the same size of nesting spaces. These are mostly due to increase of Cape Fur Seal herds and displacement of prime breeding habitat by other seabirds. While these fluctuations can balance out over many generations, by number, the African penguin population is declining. Artificial shelters and island management are assisting the African penguins in regaining space.-Pamela Schaller

CAS:Penguins 

African penguin Conservation: Food Availability Fluctuation

Wednesday, 07/21/10

Anchovies and Sardines are important food items for African penguins. In recent years these resources have become more scarce. The prevailing reasons are shifting in location of fish populations, reduction of fish biomass in certain areas, increasing competition with other predators for more limited foods and competition with commercial fishing. Without the availability of food, many African penguins have not been able to successfully bring enough food home for their chicks to survive. In addition, juveniles that are recently sent to sea by their parents are not successful at catching enough fish. The study of their food availability is vital in assisting survival of African penguins.-Pamela Schaller

California Academy of Sciences - Climate Change Blog 

Oysters and the Ecosystem | Radio Times | WHYY

Wednesday, 07/21/10

While some people may see oysters as only a delicious delicacy, researchers are using them to understand the long term environmental impact of the Gulf oil spill. Oyster shells turn out to hold important clues about past ecological disasters. This hour, the importance of oysters – more than just good eating, these mollusks play a key role in the ecosystem. Guests PETER ROOPNARINE, a curator at the California Academy of Natural Science and PAUL CALLOMON, a collections manager at the Academy of Natural Science, tell us about reading oyster shells and the threats oysters face from pollution, climate change, acidification, overharvesting, and invasive species.