Gulf of Guinea Expeditions 

The Race: Principe Island– Africa’s First World Biosphere Reserve!

Saturday, 05/25/13

During GG VII, just completed, a rather remarkable thing happened which readers should know about. I will write a wrap-up of Gulf of Guinea VII next month, but in the meantime I want to talk about Príncipe Island in general and what has just happened there.

Photo by Eddie Herbst.

Readers will already know that this blog is about our 13 years of biodiversity work in the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. The latter island is about twice as old as the former, at 31 million years. It is much, much smaller, but when it first arose volcanically from the ocean floor it was nearly four times the current combined area of both islands today.

RCD construct, Google Earth.

Príncipe’s great age is responsible for its remarkable appearance, a landscape punctuated by ancient steep volcanic plugs and a mesa, mostly made up of a rather rare rock known as phonolite.

 Andrew Stanbridge phot.  GG VI

Isolated for so many millions of years, it also harbors a large number of unique plants and animals we call endemics; organisms that have arrived on the islands by random dispersal, established colonizing populations that have accumulated genetic change over deep time, so that they are no longer the same as their ancestors on the mainland.  An endemic species is one that is found only in one place, nowhere else.

Principe endemics. D. Lin, Weckerphoto]

All of the species above are unique to Príncipe Island and nowhere else in the world.  There are many more not pictured, but fewer than on São Tomé because that island is much larger, thus more niches. Virtually every one of our expeditions has turned up new, undescribed species from both islands as they remain incompletely known. Our work on these islands has been ongoing for 13 years and has included over 40 scientists of different disciplines and their graduate students.
A year or so, I was contacted by scientists from Madeira to provide information in support of an application to have Príncipe Island established as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
UNESCO defines World Biosphere Reserves thus:
Biosphere reserves are sites established by countries and recognized under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme to promote sustainable development based on local community efforts and sound science. As places that seek to reconcile conservation of biological and cultural diversity and economic and social development through partnerships between people and nature, they are ideal to test and demonstrate innovative approaches to sustainable development from local to international scales.
Biosphere reserves are thus globally considered as:
•    sites of excellence where new and optimal practices to manage nature and human activities are tested and demonstrated;
•    tools to help countries implement the results of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and, in particular, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Ecosystem Approach;
•    learning sites for the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development.
I was delighted to supply supportive lists of floral and faunal species and photographs to illustrate the uniqueness of Príncipe, as this would be a wonderful opportunity  for this tiny island with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.  Although I never received a copy of the completed application, I learned some months ago that the application had been successful, and that Príncipe Island had become Africa’s first World Biosphere Reserve!!
What I did not anticipate was that I and my team would be on the island at the same time as the formal presentation. We were invited to the ceremony,  Saturday the 4th of May, by Regional President Jose Cardosa Cassandra himself during our annual meeting, and at the same time he asked if I would serve on his
Scientific Advisory Council, a great honor and responsibility.

President Cassandra receives the World Biosphere Reserve document from Prime Minister Gabriel Costa. V. Schnoll phot

Later, during his speech, President Cassandra acknowledged both me and the California Academy of Sciences by name, as having provided much of the biological ground work for the successful application.  He asked that I stand and be recognized… it was a unique moment, and even more so when the Prime Minister did the same in the next speech! V. Schnoll phot

After the formal presentation which included around 250 people, there was a series of panel discussions, in which we took part. The rather odd configuration of Velma Schnoll’s photo above is because President Cassandra insisted that Roberta Ayres (our senior educator on the CAS team) translate for me. Roberta is short, I am tall.

Finally Velma took a group picture. This includes the REDBIOS committee that originally submitted the Biosphere application; on the left is our old friend Arlindo Carvalho, Director General of the Environment He authorizes our research on the islands. Just to the left of the certificate is Regional President Jose Cassandra, and please note that he has put one of our CAS expedition patches on his shirt! To the right of the certificate is the UNESCO representative, and to my right is Dr. Antonio Abreu, whose people first contacted us for the biological information for the application.

Phot. V Schnoll, GG VII
To say that this was a great and joyful day would be an understatement.  We know that our science is importance, and we can see that our Biodiversity Education project is making a difference tremendous with the kids.  But to have contributed to an event of global magnitude for this wonderful island country makes me and I am sure all who have joined me on these many Gulf of Guinea Expeditions very proud.
The next blog will be a summary of what we think we accomplished on GG VII.
The Parting Shot is a teaser:

The Parting shot:

Dr. Tom Daniel with what we think is Principe’s only endemic plant genus, hitherto known only from one specimen.
PARTNERS:
We are most grateful to Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, Director General, Victor Bomfim, and Salvador Sousa Pontes of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe for their continuing authorization to collect and export specimens for study, and to Ned Seligman, Roberta dos Santos and Quintino Quade of STePUP of Sao Tomehttp://www.stepup.st/, our “home away from home”. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the G. Lindsay Field Research Fund, Hagey Research Venture Fund of the California Academy of Sciences for largely funding our initial two expeditions (GG I, II). The Société de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and Africa’s Eden provided logistics, ground transportation and lodging (GG III-V), and special thanks for the generosity of private individuals who made the GG III-V expeditions possible: George G. Breed, Gerry F. Ohrstrom, Timothy M. Muller, Mrs. W. H. V. Brooke, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murakami, Hon. Richard C. Livermore, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Taylor, Velma and Michael Schnoll, and Sheila Farr Nielsen; GG VI supporters include Bom Bom Island and the Omali Lodge for logistics and lodging, The Herbst Foundation, The “Blackhawk Gang,” the Docent Council of the California Academy of Sciences in honor of Kathleen Lilienthal, Bernard S. Schulte, Corinne W. Abel, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. John Sears, John S. Livermore and Elton Welke. GG VII has been funded by a very generous grant from The William K. Bowes Jr. Foundation, and substantial donations from Mrs. W.H.V.“D.A.” Brooke, Thomas B. Livermore, Rod C. M. Hall, Timothy M. Muller, Prof. and Mrs. Evan C. Evans, Mr. and Mrs. John L. Sullivan Jr., Clarence G. Donahue, Mr. and Mrs. John Sears, and a heartening number of “Coolies”, “Blackhawk Gang” returnees and members of the Academy Docent Council. Once again we are deeply grateful for the continued support of the Omali Lodge (São Tomé) and Bom Bom Island (Príncipe) for both logistics and lodging and especially for sponsoring part our education efforts for GG VII.
Our expeditions can be supported by tax-deductable donations to “California Academy of Sciences Gulf of Guinea Fund”

From the Stacks 

Archives Unboxed: Episode #355 of Science in Action (1959)!

Saturday, 05/25/13

In 1949, the California Academy of Sciences furthered its longstanding mission to engage and educate the public in the sciences by expanding to the media of television. With generous underwriting from the American Trust Company (now Wells Fargo Bank) the California Academy of Sciences was able to produce Science in Action, a half hour science program which consisted of  twenty-two and a half minutes of programming on a specific scientific topic, presented by the Academy’s then curator of Aquatic Biology Earl Herald in tandem with a foremost expert on the show’s subject. Highlights of the show included interviews with several Nobel Laureates, including Harold Urey, Linus Pauling, Glenn T Seaborg, and Wendell M Stanley, all recipients of the Nobel Prize for chemistry who spoke on topics ranging from the Earth’s origins (Episode 107) to Cancer research (Episode 191). Science in Action also featured great innovators of American craft and design like Buckminster Fuller and Charles Eames.

Episode #355, “Earth’s Radiation Belts,” explored the methods used by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to determine the intensity and effects of Van Allen radiation belts surrounding the Earth.  This particular episode aired in 1959 – two years after Soviet dog Laika became the first animal in orbit, two years before Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed the first successful human spaceflight, and three years before astronaut John Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 around the Earth.  In 1959, the question voiced by host Earl Herald was one of the key scientific mysteries at the start of the Space Race: “what [are these radiation belts] going to mean for the first person to take off from the earth as a space traveller?”

Herald interviewed three researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (then known as the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley). Dr. R. Stephen White (Leader of the Nuclear Effects Group), Dr. Stanley Freden (Senior Staff Physicist), and Dr. Hal Oliver (Head of Processing Department), explained LLNL’s  method of radiation testing in the Van Allen belts: mounting an emulsion stack on a rocket, which was then launched into the region of the radiation belts using a rockoon (a rocket suspended from a high-altitude balloon), recovered upon returning to Earth, and processed to test for radiation intensity.

In Dr. Herald’s own words: “Compared to the excitement surrounding the man/satellite program, this little box [the emulsion stack] may not seem like much.  But when you stop and think of the fantastic amount of vital information that has been derived from it, and what this information will mean to the safety of future space travel, and a better understanding of the mysterious forces which surround the earth, then this little box takes on quite a different meaning.”

The subject interview was  followed by a three minute “animal of the week” segment featuring Academy Herpetologist Ted Papenfuss and a series of rattlesnakes he collected from Southern Arizona and New Mexico.

As the first science television show on the west coast, Science in Action quickly made a name for itself as the finest in family programming with praise and support pouring in from both the media and viewers. The media regaled the show as one which “far exceeds anything else in the field of educational and science television.”[i]  Fan mail from children, parents, and educators indicated that the show was regarded with great affection. In 1951, Science in Action’s ratings indicated that the show tied for second place in children’s programming alongside Howdy Doody and trailing only slightly behind Hopalong Cassidy and hedging out the Lone Ranger! Additionally, Science in Action went on to win five Emmy Awards for Best Cultural and Educational Program (1951 and 1952), Best Live Show (1952), Special Achievement Award (1954), and the Excellence in Education Award (1955). The show also received a host of local and national awards for excellence.

Special thanks to Jim Oliver for generously providing the funding to transfer this classic from 16mm film to preservation-quality digital video.  We salute you!

- Heather Yager and Yolanda Bustos
Archives and Digital Collections

Teachers' Lounge 

PEAK Program for SFUSD Teachers

Thursday, 05/23/13

Exciting professional development opportunity and stipend!

• Get students excited about electricity and magnetism!
• Learn how to make the science of energy more engaging!
• Meet standards while teaching students how to save energy!

PEAK is an award-winning standards-based energy education program for 3rd-7th grade students. Through hands-on activities, students learn about the science of energy and are inspired to take action to create a more sustainable world.

Enroll to Receive the Following at NO COST:

• STEM – based teacher in-service training
• Curriculum correlated to 3rd-7th grade standards and Common Core
• A toolkit for hands-on science labs (Worth over $350!)
• Green Careers presentations
• Assemblies with our energy-saving superhero Bulbman
• Lesson planning and classroom assistance

SPACE IS LIMITED!

Click here to register on the PEAK website!

A $100 stipend is awarded to teachers completing the training.

Training from 9:00AM – 3:00PM, lunch provided.

Held at the SFPUC Headquarters Info:
2nd Floor, O’Shaughnessy Room C
525 Golden Gate Ave, SF, CA 94102

Please RSVP at least one week prior to the training date.

Questions? Email AKnox@energycoalition.org or Call (510) 444-5060 ext. 15

Birds and Mammals Research 

The Articulation of Orca O319: Working on the Backbone

Wednesday, 05/22/13

One of the first parts of the Orca that we’ve been working on is the backbone. In a previous post, I showed our volunteers putting all of the vertebrae in order and gluing the vertebral epiphyses on. Now, we’ve moved on to actually drilling holes in each vertebra so that they can fit over a rod that we bent to form the curve of the backbone.

All vertebrae have cartilage that forms between them to act as padding between the bones. To mimic this cartilage we will be using silicone, but first need to create spacers to place in between each vertebra. We are using blocks of polyethylene foam that our exhibits crew cut into specific thicknesses (thinner between the thoracic vertebrae and thicker between the lumbar). Once those were cut, we used a hole saw to drill a hole in the foam to match the size of hole in the vertebrae that the rod will go through.

The foam squares were then measured and cut to fit 2 centimeters away from the outer edge of each individual vertebra. This 2 centimeter buffer will allow us to layer the silicone “cartilage” over the foam out to the edge of the vertebra without the foam being visible.

When placed together, we now have custom-shaped spacers between each of the vertebrae.

The backbone is looking great! Come see it for yourself in the Piazza.

Laura Wilkinson
Curatorial Assistant and Specimen Preparator
Ornithology and Mammalogy

All marine mammal stranding activities were conducted under authorization by the National Marine Fisheries Service through a Stranding Agreement issued to the California Academy of Sciences and MMPA/ESA Permit No. 932-1905/MA-009526.

Project Lab 

Extinction is Forever (continued)- Are We Losing the Monarch Butterfly?

Wednesday, 05/22/13

In past blog posts I have talked about the extinction of several species of California butterflies, each of which had small, localized populations, which tend to be extremely vulnerable to even small changes in the quality or amount of available habitat.  Environmental scientists and conservation biologists generally agree that habitat destruction and degradation are at the top of the list when it comes to why we are losing so many species of animals and plants around the world today.  Unfortunately, it is the ever-expanding human population which is putting so much pressure on habitats, both directly, as we need to find places to create housing and work, and indirectly, as we need an ever-growing food supply to feed the burgeoning masses.  The use of modern technology has increased our output of food per acre, but at what cost?

For some time now, entomologists have noted a slow but steady decline in the populations of butterfly species overall, (as well as other insects), but in some cases they are seeing a rapid decline of certain species. The iconic Monarch butterfly, Daneus plexippus is one such example.  Perhaps the best known butterfly in the U.S., the Monarch has 2 large American populations famous for their long migration from as far north as Canada, down to their summer grounds in Mexico. Biologists estimate the populations by counting the overwintering butterflies, and this year’s count was the lowest ever recorded, leading to fears that the Monarch may be headed for extinction.

The host plants for the Monarch are all species of milkweed, which give both the larvae and adult butterflies protection from predators, because milkweed contains a poisonous cardiac glycoside that is distasteful and toxic. The adults also nectar mostly on milkweeds, along with several other species of flowers.

There appears to be 2 main reasons for the Monarch’s decline.  The first has to do with modern agricultural methods involving genetically modified corn and soybean crops designed to make them immune to the effects of the herbicide glyphosate, also known as Roundup.  These modifications allow farmers to plant their crops and then spray the entire field with herbicide, killing all the weeds including milkweed, leaving only the soy or corn.  Because of the vast areas planted in these crops, millions of acres of milkweed have been eliminated from Midwest farmland, leaving no host plants for the larvae to eat.

The second reason appears to be warming temperatures caused by climate change, brought about by our consumption of fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Temperatures above 95 degrees and hot, arid conditions can be lethal to larvae and eggs.

Will people care enough to bring about the changes needed to save these and other species, or will they be allowed to slide into extinction?

Until next time,

Vic Smith

Curatorial Assistant and Imaging Specialist

Department of Entomology

Careers in Science 

My New Little Friends

Saturday, 05/18/13

My new little friends are crawling all over me. In Careers in Science, Level Three interns have the opportunity to work in a mentorship with Academy scientists. Cyrah and I have begun a mentorship with Kristen and Nicole of the Osher Rainforest. Kristen and Nicole are biologists who work to take care of the many exhibits in the rainforest. One of our duties includes caring for leafcutter ants by replacing their browse (plants). These leafcutter ants are naturally attracted to discovery. They want to find new habitat with new plants to bring back to their colony for cultivation. For a short while, the ants are not enclosed, leaving no barrier between them and the fresh world that intrigues their curious little minds. We become bridges and dozens of ants begin to explore the complexity of our arms. Kristen instructs us to pinch them off. Our hardy little friends are returned to their home and new browse as we move on to tend to other inhabitants of the Rainforest. Next up, the Madagascar day geckos…

By Timmy

Birds and Mammals Research 

The Articulation of Orca O319: Questions from our Visitors

Friday, 05/17/13

We’ve been getting some great questions from our visitors about Orca O319 and Orcas in general. Here is a sampling of the questions we’ve gotten, along with our answers:

What does “Orca” mean?

The scientific name of Orcas is Orcinus orca: “Orcinus” means “kingdom of the dead” or “belonging to Orcus” (a Roman god of the underworld), and “orca” was the name that ancient Romans gave these animals, possibly borrowing it from a similar greek word which referred to a whale species.

How big is the Orca’s brain?

Roughly four times larger than a human’s brain.

How much did the Orca weigh?

The skull alone (bones only, no flesh) weighs 72 lbs, closer to 85 lbs with the mandibles (lower jaws). We don’t have an exact weight for our Orca before we began the necropsy, but adult Orcas can weigh between 5,700 and 16,000 lbs. At birth, Orcas weigh 350-500 lbs. O319 was not a fully grown adult, so he probably weighed on the low end of average adult weights.

Have there been any bleaching agents applied to the bones?

The bones all soaked in dilute sodium perborate, which is a powder that release hydrogen peroxide when mixed with water. The skull was placed on the roof of the Academy for one month to allow the sun to naturally bleach it. Being in the Piazza will likely bleach the bones further, as they’re exposed to ultraviolet light. We don’t use actual bleach, as it degrades the bones.

How long will it take to put the skeleton together?

We will be articulating the skeleton from May 8^th through June 9^th (1 month). After that, staff members from Ornithology and Mammalogy will work on finishing touches. The entire skeleton should be done by the end of June.

Does the Orca have a name? Will we name it?

Our Orca is referenced as O319, its scientific identification number. We will not give it a personal name because it is a research specimen. It will always be O319.

Are Orcas seen specifically in this area?

There is currently a pod of transient Orcas in Monterey Bay, seen hunting different species of marine mammals (sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals, dolphins, porpoises, and gray whale calves). A pod of Orcas has also been seen in the Gulf of the Farallones in the past.

What will we be using as “cartilage” on the skeleton?

We will be using silicone.

How do we attach the bones together?

We will be using a variety of metal rods, glues, and wires to articulate the skeleton.

If you have a question about the articulation process or about Orca O319, leave a comment or come visit us at the Orca Lab Tuesdays through Sundays!

Laura Wilkinson
Curatorial Assistant and Specimen Preparator
Ornithology and Mammalogy

All marine mammal stranding activities were conducted under authorization by the National Marine Fisheries Service through a Stranding Agreement issued to the California Academy of Sciences and MMPA/ESA Permit No. 932-1905/MA-009526.

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