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California Marine Biodiversity: Knowing the Past and Planning for the Future
Saturday, March 19th
9:00 am
Forum, California Academy of Sciences
The California coast includes some of the most diverse marine habitats in the world, but the health of our coastal habitats is at
risk. Climate change, pollution, and overfishing threaten to diminish the vitality of the marine ecosystems which play an important
role in San Francisco Bay Area life. Join us to learn about the amazing diversity of life just off our coast and how local
researchers are working to understand the effects of global climate change on intricate species interactions. What are the
challenges we face as ocean conservators and educators, and what actions can we take? Join us to find out what is needed to allow
life on our shores to thrive.
This year’s BioForum will have a new format! The morning session will be similar to past years, with three renowned scientists
presenting their research to a general audience. In the afternoon, a smaller group of teachers will gather for lunch in the Classroom
and will engage in a more in-depth and interactive conversations with the speakers. Note that space in the afternoon session is
limited, and a separate admission fee is required.
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Utilizing Historical Biodiversity Data to Infer Climatic Shifts in California Coastal Environments
Terrance Gosliner
Senior Curator and Dean of Science and Research Collections, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, California Academy of Sciences
Dr. Terrence Gosliner is Senior Curator and Dean of Science and Research Collections at the California Academy of Sciences where he has worked since 1982. His research on the systematics, phylogenetics and comparative biology nudibranchs and other sea slugs, has focused on the implications of phylogenetic studies to understanding the evolution of shell-loss, mimicry and other comparative aspects of the evolution of this group of marine organisms. He has studied the diversity of these mollusks along the California coast for more than forty years. Most recently, this work employs evolutionary studies to develop new strategies for conservation of Philippine reefs in the center of the center of marine biodiversity. He has developed key collaborations with research institutions, conservation organizations and large public exhibits to bring these findings to diverse audiences.
Marine Biodiversity of California’s Seashore
Karina Nielsen
Associate Professor of Biology, Sonoma State University
Karina Nielsen received her Ph.D. from Oregon State University, was a National Science Foundation International Postdoctoral Fellow at the Universidad Católica’s Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas in Chile and then a postdoctoral researcher with Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans. She is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Sonoma State University. Her research focuses on the interplay between nearshore oceanography and ecological functioning of benthic communities, and management and conservation of coastal ecosystems. She has studied how nutrients influence intertidal communities, how low oxygen (or hypoxic) areas form off the coast of Oregon and sustainability of commercial seaweed harvesting in California. She is currently engaged in monitoring sandy beach ecosystems in California’s new marine protected areas and studying the effects of ocean acidification on the ecology of intertidal calcareous seaweeds (or coralline algae), kelps and surfgrasses. Karina is also actively engaged in public outreach and education and is working closely with the City of Fort Bragg (in northern California) and Sonoma State University to help establish the ‘Noyo Center for Science and Education’ on a now defunct lumber mill site that occupies the city’s entire waterfront. She served on the science advisory team for the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative and currently serves as a member of the science advisory team for California’s Ocean Protection Council.
Climate Change and Ecosystems: Securing our Future
Ellie M. Cohen
President and CEO, PRBO Conservation Science (www.prbo.org)
Ellie is a dynamic speaker, conveying complex science in easy-to-understand terms while also inspiring informed action. She speaks regularly to conservation practitioners, resource agency personnel, opinion leaders, students and the general public. Her talk includes a summary of the latest scientific findings on climate change globally and recent findings and projections about climate change impacts on bird and ecosystem impacts regionally with a focus on marine and coastal ecosystems. Ellie will share some novel approaches to managing natural resources in the face of accelerating change and will share recommendations about what we can each do to make a difference.
Ellie has served as Executive Director of PRBO since 1999. PRBO’s 120 scientists study birds and ecosystems to reduce negative impacts of changes in land-use, climate and the ocean, and to improve conservation outcomes.
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RESERVATION INFORMATION
Be sure to reserve your seat at BioForum. Space is limited and fills up quickly. Science educators and interested members of the public are invited to attend.
Call 1-800-794-7576 to reserve your seat, or purchase tickets online, for the following event:
California Marine Biodiversity: Knowing the Past and Planning for the Future
Saturday, March 19th
9:00 am
Forum, California Academy of Sciences
MORNING SESSION
Open to the general public.
Location: Forum, California Academy of Sciences
Admission: $30.00 ($25.00 for Academy Members)
Speakers will be announced soon.
8:30 Doors open. Complimentary coffee/ tea will be available.
9:00 Rebecca Johnson: Welcome and Introduction
9:20 1st speaker
10:10 Break
10:20 2nd speaker
11:10 3rd speaker
12:00 Conclusion
AFTERNOON SESSION
Open to teachers only. Space is limited!
You must call 1-800-794-7576 to reserve your seat for both the morning and afternoon session.
Location: Classroom, California Academy of Sciences
Admission: $40.00 (includes both morning and afternoon sessions)
12:00 Lunch is served
12:00 - 12:30 Discussion of CA Coast Lesson
12:30 - 2:00 Round table discussions with the BioForum speakers
The afternoon session will allow teachers to seek answers to their complex questions related to California marine biodiversity and to plan out a way to address this subject in their classroom using resources from the BioForum event! We hope to see you there.
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For over 25 years, the Academy has hosted BioForum, a symposium series for science educators, which has connected educators with current research focused on science and sustainability. As of spring 2011, the series will no longer be offered at the Academy, though resources from past events, including videos from renowned scientists, will continue to be available online for teachers to access. Rest assured, the Academy’s efforts to connect educators to current research will continue, in the form of web-based resources and special events such as our new Teachers’ Lounge: Teachers Only Event, coming in fall 2011. Teachers are also encouraged to attend our lifelong learning lectures on topics ranging from astronomy to human evolution, which are offered throughout the year to educators and the general public. View a schedule of upcoming lectures.
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Video from Past Events
If you missed one of our past BioForums or if you want to share the experience with students or colleagues, spend some time exploring our media archive. On this web page you will find videos of the presentations given at our most recent BioForums and audio recordings from previous years.
California Marine Biodiversity: Knowing the Past and Planning for the Future
Saturday, March 19, 2011, California Academy of Sciences
Utilizing Historical Biodiversity Data to Infer Climatic Shifts in California Coastal Environments
Terrance Gosliner, Senior Curator and Dean of Science and Research Collections, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, California Academy of Sciences
Marine Biodiversity of California’s Seashore
Karina Nielsen, Associate Professor of Biology, Sonoma State University
Securing our Future: Climate Change and Marine Ecosystems
Ellie M. Cohen, President and CEO of PRBO Conservation Science
Human Evolution: Investigating Our Origins
Saturday, November 6, 2010, California Academy of Sciences
A Bite Through Time
Dr. Tanya M. Smith, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and Associated Scientist, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany)
The Evolution of Human Diet
Dr. Teresa E. Steele, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
From Bones to Bodies
Adrienne Zihlman, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Adapting to Climate Change: Challenges and Prospects
Saturday, April 17, 2010, Pacific Energy Center
Welcome:
Dr. Peter Roopnarine, Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology, California Academy of Sciences
Climate Change in California: State of the Science, and Impacts and Adaptation in the Wine Industry
Dr. Kimberley Cahill, McKeehan Fellow in Horticulture and Agronomy, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California at Davis
Climate Change in California Coastal Waters: Economic, Social and Intrinsic Impacts on Our Marine Ecosystem
Dr. Frank Schwing, Director, Environmental Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Service
Climate Change Education: Effective Use of Content and Style for Different Audiences
Dr. Carol Tang, Director of Public Programs, Research Associate, Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology, California Academy of Sciences
Genomics: Insights and Impacts
Saturday, October 3, 2009, California Academy of Sciences
Welcome: Dr. Brian Simison, Curator and Director, Center for Comparative Genomics, California Academy of Sciences
Genomics: Where Have We Come and Where are We Going?
Dr. Jeffrey Boore, Chief Executive Officer, Genome Project Solutions, Associate Adjunct Professor, University of California, Berkeley
What Makes Us Human?
Dr. Katherine Pollard, Associate Investigator, Gladstone Institute, Associate Professor, Division of Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
Evolution of Microbes and Their Genomes: A Phylogenomic Perspective
Dr. Jonathan Eisen, Professor, UC Davis Genome Center, Section of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences, Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
Future Genomics
Dr. Nadav Ahituv, Assistant Professor, Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Conservation Biology: The Principles and Practice of Conserving Life's Diversity
Saturday, April 4, 2009, California Academy of Sciences
Summary:
How can science best inform efforts to prevent the loss of biological diversity? From local land trusts to federal government agencies, humans are increasingly responsible for managing what remains of natural landscapes. The field of Conservation Biology applies evolutionary and ecological knowledge of species and ecosystems to understand how human actions both positively and negatively affect the natural world. Basic principles of conservation science and examples of their real world applications are presented.
Moderator: Dr. Healy Hamilton, Director of the Center for Biodiversity Research, California Academy of Sciences
Introduction to the Principles of Conservation Biology
Dr. Claire Kremen, Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley
Save an Ant, Save a Planet: The Race to Discover Madagascar's Biodiversity
Dr. Brian Fisher, Chairman and Curator, Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences
Saving the Redwoods: From Principle to Practice
Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director, Save the Redwoods League
Conservation Biology in your Big Backyard
Stuart B. Weiss, Chief Scientist, CEO, Creekside Center for Earth Observation
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Articles and Slideshow Presentations
Looking for more in-depth information on topics you heard about at BioForum? Check out these selected publications from scientists.
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BioForum – Human Evolution: Investigating Our Origins (November 2010)
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Zeray Alemseged
Director and Curator, Department of Anthropology, California Academy of Sciences
Human Evolutionary Time Line: The Big Questions [PPT 24MB] 
http://www.calacademy.org/sciencetoday/human-tool-use/
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Adrienne Zihlman
Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Were “Ardi” and “Lucy” Female? [PPT 55MB]
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Tanya M. Smith
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and Associated Scientist, Department of Human Evolution,
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany)
A Bite Through Time [PPT 41MB]
New Visions of Dental Tissue Research: Tooth Development, Chemistry, and Structure [PDF 884KB]
Who is Who in Human Evolution [JPG 139KB]
http://www.becominghuman.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/episodes/program-one/introduction/21/
http://www.exploratorium.edu/evidence/
http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/
http://humanorigins.si.edu/
http://www.heb.fas.harvard.edu/Press/
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Teresa Steele
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
The Evolution of Hominin Diets: Integrative Approaches to the Study of Palaeolithic Subsistence [PDF 174KB]
Preface by Michael P. Richards and Jean-Jacques Hublin
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BioForum – Climate Change (April 2010)
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Dr. Peter Roopnarine
Curator, Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology, California Academy of Sciences
BioForum: Climate Change [PDF 1.6MB]
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Dr. Kimberley Cahill
McKeehan Fellow in Horticulture and Agronomy, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California at Davis
Climate Change in California: State of the Science, and Impacts and Adaptation in the Wine Industry
[PPT 22.5MB]
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Dr. Frank Schwing
Director, Environmental Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Service
Climate Change and its Implications for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems [PPT 13.8MB]
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Robert Marcial
Director of the PG&E Pacific Energy Center (PEC)
Reducing Our Carbon Footprint: California’s Energy Plan [PPT 8.4MB]
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Carol Tang
Director of Public Programs, Research Associate, Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology, California Academy of Sciences
Climate Change Education: Effective Use of Content and Style for Different Audiences [PPT 35.7MB]
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BioForum – Genomics (October 2009)
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Dr. Brian Simison
Curator and Director, Center for Comparative Genomics, California Academy of Sciences
BioForum – Genomics: Insights and Impacts [PPTX 1.4MB]
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Dr. Katherine Pollard
Associate Investigator, Gladstone Institute, Associate Professor, Division of Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco
What Makes Us Human? [PPT 4.1MB]
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Dr. Jeffrey Boore
Chief Executive Officer, Genome Project Solutions, Associate Adjunct Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Genomics: Where Have We Come and Where are We Going? [PPT 48.2MB]
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Dr. Nadav Ahituv
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Future Genomics [PPT 26.4MB]
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Dr. Jonathan Eisen
Professor, UC Davis Genome Center, Section of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences, Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
The Evolution of Microbes and Their Genomes: A Phylogenomic Perspective [PPT 14.2MB]
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BioForum – Conservation Biology (April 2009)
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Dr. Healy Hamilton, Moderator
Director of the Center for Biodiversity Research, California Academy of Sciences
Conservation Biology: The Principles and Practice of Conserving Life’s Diversity [PPT 2.5MB]
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Dr. Claire Kremen
Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley
Principles of Conservation Biology: an Overview [PPT 5.7MB]
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Dr. Brian Fisher
Chairman and Curator, Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences
Save an Ant, Save a Planet: The Race to Discover Madagascar’s Biodiversity [PPT 61.4MB]
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Ruskin Hartley
Executive Director, Save the Redwoods League
Saving the Redwoods: From Principle to Practice [PPT 37.5MB]
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Stuart B. Weiss
Chief Scientist, CEO, Creekside Center for Earth Observation
Conservation Biology in your Big Backyard [PPT 30.3MB]
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We hope that your experience at BioForum left you feeling well-informed about this topic and ready to share what you have learned with your students. Here are lessons developed by Academy educators to help get you started on incorporating the subject into your classroom.
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Human Evolution: Investigating Our Origins
Human Evolution
In this activity, students will learn how human evolution research starts with a question, that many questions about human evolution remained unanswered, and that science is an ongoing process of making observations, asking questions, collecting evidence, and making inferences and predictions based on that evidence, which then often leads to additional questions.
View lesson plan
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Conservation Biology
Conservation Island
How do you teach the complexity involved in constructing and implementing a conservation plan? Introduce Conservation Island to your students using an imaginary location that simulates common human impacts and other issues of island ecosystems. Students will collect data and analyze information to devise the best conservation solution.
View lesson plan
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Energy in a Changing World
Energy – A Day in My Life
How much energy do we really use in our daily lives? Ask students to do their own personal audit to calculate their energy use. They will be surprised about the level of their dependence on fossil fuels and other energy sources.
View lesson plan
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