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Research Training Program

Information about the Research Training Program:

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Research Training Program
Summary of Events
1997

Research Training Program
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1997

* * * ARRIVAL * * *

* Saturday, 24 May 1997 *

10:00 a.m. : Apartment check-in begins

- Oakwood Apartment Complex, Alexandria, Virginia

10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. : Apartment check-in continues

Note: Students, in your apartment you will find your copy of the RTP Reference Notebook. I DO NOT have extra copies! Please review the information, forms, and schedule of events provided in the notebook before the Monday orientation meeting - and, be sure to bring this notebook (and your questions) to the Monday meeting.

* Sunday, 25 May 1997 *

9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. : Apartment check-in continues

2:00 - 5:00 p.m. : PROGRAM SOCIAL

Location: Oakwood Complex (Alexandria, Virginia)

Topic: Welcome RTP students !

Potluck party for students, advisors and other staff. Advisors are encouraged to bring a food and drink to share. Although not required, students are also welcome to contribute food items. This will be a great opportunity for everyone to meet staff, advisors and their families and enjoy a fun afternoon.

9:45 p.m. - Bronwen Presswell arrives, National Airport

- - - Program Notes - - -

1) What does it mean to "Host" an event?

All RTP participants have been assigned at least one event to "host." As a host you are an active participant in the development and presentation of the RTP curriculum. Not only do you gain experience in organizing and hosting scientific events, this is also your chance to ensure that your expectations of RTP activities are met. Students not hosting the event should communicate to the host their special interests and questions about the topic.

- - - LECTURE / DISCUSSION: As the host of a lecture or discussion you are responsible for meeting with the speaker several days prior to the event to obtain background information about them and the topic they are presenting (including additional references & readings).

You will also need to determine the requirements for the presentation (equipment, supplies, etc.) and how to obtain them. The day of the event you are responsible for setting up the room (arranging chairs, tables, etc.), providing the necessary equipment (slide projector, overhead projector, et.), confirming that the supplies are available (chalk, etc.), and introducing the speaker. The room should be set up at least 15 minutes prior to the event.

Remember, YOU are the host of the event. It is up to you to ensure that the time schedule is followed. Be sure to allow time for questions and encourage interaction between the speaker and the audience. After the event you are responsible for cleaning up including returning the room to "standard" arrangement, returning equipment, and thanking the speaker for their time.

- - - DEMONSTRATION / WORKSHOP: As the host of a tour or demonstration / workshop you are responsible for meeting with the guides/instructors several days prior to the event to obtain background information about them and the topic they are presenting (including additional references & readings).

Be sure to poll the other RTP participants to determine their special interests in the topic. You will also need to determine the requirements for the event and the locations included (make sure you know the route if moving through different locations).

The day of the event you are responsible for assisting with the set up including "pulling" specimens for display. The event should be ready at least 15 minutes prior to the start time.

Remember, YOU are the host of the event. During the event make sure everyone can see and hear what's presented. Encourage interaction between the guides/instructors and the audience. And, it's up to you to ensure that the time schedule is followed. After the event you are responsible for assisting with the cleaning up and thanking the guides/instructors for their time.

2) Where do I get equipment for lectures?

The RTP office has a slide projector and slide trays available for check-out. The Department of Botany has an overhead projector available for check-out (warning! one-day notice required).

3) Where are the Readings and References?

Most of the readings and references listed in the RTP schedule are available in the "white notebooks" located outside the RTP office (W411). You are welcome to sit at the table in the office and review information (help yourself to the coffee and tea - but please clean up after you are done). If you want your own copy of a reference or reading, there is a photocopy machine located across the hall. Be sure to return the original to the notebook so others can share the information.

4) Where can I find funding to support my research?

Although I don't have all the answers, information about some possibilities has been compiled into a notebook - located outside the RTP office (W411). Good Luck!

5) What is "Poster Stuffing"?

Quickly becoming a tradition, it's your contribution to the 1998 RTP. The 1996 participants did it for you. This is you chance to "connect" with next years' group.

All participants in the 1997 session of the Research Training Program have been given (in your mailbox) a set of 240 mailing labels (part of our 7,500 advertisement mailing list database). Through the course of the program you are expected to contribute to the advertisement of the 1998 RTP by preparing your set of 240 mailings (yes, you may trade sets if you have a preference but please report what set you have to Mary so items can be tracked).

Labels and envelopes are available immediately. The 1998 posters are anticipated before 15 June 1997. The task is due to be completed before 1 July 1997. When posters arrive a "Poster Stuffing Pizza Party - the third annual" is planned. It's best if you have your mailing labels attached to the envelopes (and "AIR MAIL" stamped on the envelopes for foreign locations) before the posters arrive.

Week 1  |  Week 2  |  Week 3  |  Week 4  |  Week 5  |  Week 6  |  Week 7
Week 8  |  Week 9  |  Week 10

* * * WEEK 1 * * *

* Monday, 26 May 1997 (Memorial Day Holiday) *

9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. : PROGRAM ORIENTATION

* * * Bring your RTP Notebook! * * *

Location: Botany Library

Topic: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Research Training Program - here's your chance to ask.

8:45 a.m. Arrival.

Meet at Constitution Avenue entrance. Receive a behind-the-scenes identification badge from security - requires that you provide a photo ID to exchange for a one-day SI badge.

9:15 - 9:30 a.m. Security briefing.

Officer Greenwood will provide information about security in the Natural History Building. He will also answer questions about working evenings and weekends.

9:30 - 10:00 a.m. Tour of NHB.

There is much to see! Lots of walking and many stairs to climb. Limit your baggage. Bring a notepad and pencil to record security access codes for doors and elevators.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. Break. Continental breakfast.

10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Complete forms.

1) "Intern Registration Form"
2) "Copyright Agreement"
3) "Background Survey Questionnaire"
4) "ADP Card Reader Access Data Form"
5) "SI Libraries Borrowing Authorization Form"
6) "Orientation Registration Information Form"

- - - Everyone will need to bring to the meeting:

1) Oakwood Apartment phone number
2) Apartment street address

- - - Foreign students will need to submit:

1) travel receipt.

- We will also review the requirements for the "Project Proposal and budget" that will be due Tuesday, 3 June 1997.

11:30 - 12:30 p.m. Group Question/Answer session.

12:30 - 1:00 p.m. Break. Lunch.

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Individual Question/Answer session.

Host: Mary Sangrey

Readings & References:

* Abbreviations
* Acronyms
* Fitness Center information and application form
* Handbook for Smithsonian Interns
* Health Insurance Information
* NHB maps
* NMNH Media Resources Guide
* NMNH Organizational Chart
* Safety and Health: the new employee's guide to safety and health
* Sexual Harassment: It could cost you your job and a whole lot more
* Smithsonian Institution Office Memorandum 688 - Standards of Conduct
* Smithsonian Boards and Commissions
* Smithsonian shuttle service
* Telephone information
* The EEO complaints process at a glance

* Tuesday, 27 May 1997 *

9:00 a.m. : GROUP PHOTOGRAPH

Location: Meet on the "Mall side" of the NMNH at the front doors. PLEASE BE PROMPT!

Photographer: Chip Clark (phone: 357-2760).

9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. : PROJECT ORIENTATION

Advisors: Be sure to include in your tour:

1) the photocopier
2) the computer the student will be using
3) the Department administration office
4) the mailboxes where students can send and receive mail, etc.

Students: Be sure to get your advisor's signature on the "Intern Registration Form" and complete the "Project Description" section of this form.

12:00 - 12:45 p.m. : SOCIAL

Location: NMNH Office of the Director

Topic: Director's Office Coffee Hour.

Light refreshments will be available. All members from the NMNH community are welcome.

Host: Mr. Robert Fri, Director, National Museum of Natural History

Special Events Coordinator: Tina Butkovich (phone: 357-1650)

1:00 - 4:30 p.m. : REGISTRATION

1. Smithsonian Registration.

Meet with Elena Mayberry (phone: 357-3102), Center for Museum Studies, Arts and Industries Building, Room 1125.

Forms due: Intern Registration Form, Copyright Agreement Form, and Background Survey Questionnaire.

Note: Following registration students should divide into two groups with half going first to "Award Confirmation" and the other half to "Photo ID."

2. Award Confirmation.

Meet with Bruce Morrison (phone: 287-3271), Office of Fellowships and Grants, 955 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7000.

Form due: Stipend Information Form. Confirm payment schedule, receive tax information, etc.

3. Photo ID.

Smithsonian Castle room B3.

4. Visa Confirmation*.

Meet with Ray Seefeldt (phone: 357-2519), International Center Office, Quad 3123.

5. Notary Public*.

Meet with Judy Sansburry (phone: 357-4639), Notary Public, NHB room W314. Note: Judy leaves at 3:30 p.m. so if you miss her today, find her tomorrow.

* International students only

4:30 - 5:00 p.m. : PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

Students: Check and copy forms, test the e-mail system, begin preparing your Project Proposal and supply/travel budget.

* Wednesday, 28 May 1997 *

9:00 a.m. - noon : RESEARCH

Students: Confirm that you have a computer to use and that you can read GroupWise e-mail on it. If you have questions, have them ready before the ADP ORIENTATION this afternoon. Remember, the RTP has three laptop computers available for one-day check-out.

noon - 2:00 p.m. : LECTURE

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: The Lost World: Cerro de la Neblina

An RTP classic! You can't miss Roy's famous lecture about the adventures of field research, the search for (and discovery of?) living dinosaurs, and the answer to the important question "would you like blueberries with your oatmeal this morning?"

Speaker: Dr. Roy McDiarmid, Zoologist, National Biological Service. (phone: 357-2780).

Host: Anna Munoz

Readings & References:

* Conover, Adele. **** Expedition to a Lost World. International Wildlife Magazine p. 39-42.
* Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. **** The Lost World. A.L. Burt Company Publishers.
* McDiarmid, R.W. Unpublished List. Published accounts of the Cerro de la Neblina Expedition.

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. : LIBRARY ORIENTATION

Location: Room 51 Mezzanine

Topic: Smithsonian Libraries

The Smithsonian Institution Library (SIL) system totals over 1 million volumes including rare books, current journals and reprints from around the world. The Natural History Branch consists of a main location and subject-based sublocations including Anthropology, Botany, Entomology, Invertebrate Zoology, Mineral Sciences, Mollusks, Vertebrate Zoology, and Vertebrate Paleontology.

The Natural History main location includes a collection of reference materials covering topics such as general biology, geology, paleontology, ecology, and conservation. The Natural History Library is open from 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. Interlibrary loan services are available.

- - - * 2:00 p.m. : ITEM DUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1) SI Libraries Borrowing Authorization Form.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Moderator: Ann Juneau (phone: 357-4939)

Panelists:

Anthropology - Maggie Dittemore
Botany - Ruth Schallert
Entomology - Bob Skarr
Invertebrate Zoology - Bob Skarr
Mineral Sciences - David Steere
Paleobiology - David Steere
Vertebrate Zoology - Alvin Hutchinson
Circulation - Martha Rosen

Host: Mary Sangrey

References & Readings:

* National Museum of Hatural History Branch Library

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. : ADP ORIENTATION

Location: ADP Conference Room EG-15

Topic: ADP services and facilities


- - - * 3:00 p.m. : ITEM DUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1) Card Reader Access Data Data Form.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Speaker: Kurt Luginbyhl (phone: 357-1955)

Host: Mary Sangrey

4:00 - 5:00 p.m. : DATA COLLECTION ORIENTATION

Location: Cooper Room

Topic: Morphometrics and Data Analysis

Speaker: Ralph Chapman (phone: 786-2293)

Host: Gene Hunt (phone: 786-2293)

* Thursday, 29 May 1997 *

9:00 a.m. - noon. : RESEARCH

Mary will be coming around to check on "how things are going" and to take a picture of you and your advisor for the "photo board" and your "one-page summary."

noon - 2:00 p.m. : DISCUSSION

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: One hundred twenty one million and counting: using, managing and maintaining the NMNH collections.

How are collections arranged? What are the best specimen storage methods? What dangers do specimens (and entire collections) face? How many of each species do you need? What is a type? What are the procedures for using and borrowing specimens? How does the "repatriation act" and the "endangered species act" effect Museum collections? NMNH collections management staff will discuss their views and comment on their experiences.

Moderator: Mary Sangrey

Panelists:

Anthropology . . . . . . . .
- Deb Hull Walski * (phone: 357-2483)
- Joanna Humphrey (phone: 357-2300)
- Dave Rosenthal * (phone: 238-3529)
- Dave Hunt * (phone: 786-2501)

Botany . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- Rusty Russell * (phone: 357-4362)
- Debbie Bell * (phone: 357-2795)

Entomology . . . . . . . .
- David Furth * (phone: 357-3146)
- Gary Hevel * (phone: 357-2317)

Invertebrate Zoology . . . . . . . . .
- Cheryl Bright * (phone: 357-4687)
- Raye Germon (phone: 786-2470)
- Jan Walker * (phone: 357-4677)

Mineral Sciences . . . . .
- Leslie Hale * (phone: 357-2134)

Paleobiology . . . . . . . . .
- Jann Thompson * (phone: 357-2405)
- Bob Purdy * (phone: 357-1525)
- Mark Florence (phone: 786-2710)

VZ-Birds . . . . . . . . . . . .
- Phil Angle * (phone: 357-2031)
- Jim Dean (phone: 357-2334)

VZ-Fishes . . . . . . . . . . .
- Lisa Palmer * (phone: 786-2426)
- Susan Jewett * (phone: 357-3300)
- Jeff Williams * (phone: 357-3059)

VZ-Herps . . . . . . . . . . . .
- Steve Gotte * (phone: 357-4805)

VZ-Mammals . . . . . . . .
- Linda Gordon * (phone: 786-2491)

NOTE: * means the panelist will attend the session * means the panelist is unable to attend

Host: Nathan Muchhala

Readings & References:

* Collections Management Policy
* Collections Management Policies
* A code of ethics for curators
* A code of ethics for Registrars
* Code of Professional Ethics
* Smithsonian Collection Statistics
* Collections - the challenge of caring for the nation's treasures
* Cleaning out the attic
* Preserving pieces of the puzzle
* A primer to endangered species law

2:00 - 5:00 p.m. : RESEARCH

Mary will continue coming around to check on "how things are going" and to take a picture of you and your advisor for the "photo board" and your "one-page summary."

* Friday, 30 May 1997 *

- - - BOTANY - - - -

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. : LECTURE

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: Recent discoveries in marine botany.

Drs. Mark and Diane Littler are marine scientists who have developed a unique husband and wife working relationship. Their mutual interests and aspirations in the field of marine botany provided the foundation from which two jointly productive research careers have been based. Their research has taken them around the globe, including field research in the Belize Barrier Reef Islands, French Polynesia and Galapagos Islands. They have collectively published more than 100 research papers.

As a team, the Littlers' research interests are directed toward the stability of marine ecosystems, the productivity and evolution of marine plants and the analysis of plant morphology as a method of predicting its ecological role in the reef community. In 1983 they generated excitement in the scientific community with their discovery of the deepest plant life ever collected from the ocean. The crustose red alga was found in the Bahamas at a depth of 880 feet. This discovery extended the depth distribution limits of marine plants and challenged established theories concerning the minimum light levels necessary to maintain plant growth. In 1994 they discovered a new pathogen of reef building algae - "CLOD" - that threatens Pacific coral reefs.

Speakers: Drs. Mark and Diane Littler. B.A. (1961), M.S. Ohio University; Ph.D. (1971) University of Hawaii. (phone: 357-3012).

Host: Luisa Falcon

Readings & References:

* Littler, M.M., D.S. Littler, S.M. Blaire, and J.N. Norris. 1985. Deepest known plant life discovered on an uncharted seamount. Science 227: 57-59.
* Littler, M.M., D.S. Littler, S.M. Blaire, and J.N. Norris. 1986. Deep-water plant communities from an uncharted seamount off San Salvador Island, Bahamas: distribution, abundance, and primary productivity. Deep-Sea Research 33(7): 881-892.
* Littler, M.M. and D.S. Littler. In press. Disease-induced mass mortality of crustose coralline algae on coral roofs provides rationale for the conservation of herbivorous fish stocks. Proc. 8th Coral Reef Symposiom.
* Littler, M.M., D.S. Littler, B.L. Brooks, and J.F. Koven. 1997. A unique coral reef formation discovery on the Great Astrolabe Reef, Fiji. COral Reefs 16: 51-54.
* Littler, M.M. and D.S. Littler. 1995. Impact of CLOD pathogen on Pacific coral reefs. Science 267: 1356 - 1360.

10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. : COLLECTION TOUR

Location: Legume Counter (Fourth Floor West Wing)

Topic: The U.S. National Herbarium and Algae Collection

Notes: The group will divide into two sets of 15 each. Tour includes two 45 minute presentations (10:30 - 11:15 a.m. and 11:15 - 12:30 p.m.).

Rusty will present "The U.S. National Herbarium" featuring the "Botany Best" collection and the Botany types. You will see special specimens from the Herbarium collections and learn why museum collections are important. Bob will present "The Algae Greenhouse" and the algae collections.

The United States National Herbarium includes approximately 4.5 million collections from worldwide locations including 85,000 type specimens.

Guides:

Rusty Russell (phone: 357-4362)
Bob Sims (phone: 357-2562)

Host: Mac Alford

Readings & References:

* The Department of Botany
* The National Herbarium Department of Botany
* The world's twenty-one largest herbaria
* Marine Algae Collecting Techniques
* Phycological Methods
* Plant Conservation Unit
* Preparing Herbarium Specimens of Vascular Plants
* National Herbarium Mounting Procedures
* National Herbarium Guide for Filing Phanerogams
* Morton, C.V. and W. L. Stern. 1966. The United States National Herbarium. Plant Sciences Bulletin 12( 2): 1-4.
* Soderstrom, T.R. and S.M. Young. 1983. A guide to collecting bamboo. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 70: 128-136.

1:00 - 5:00 p.m. : STUDENT OPTION

a) Research
b) Demonstrations & Workshops

1:00 - 2:15 p.m.

Location: Room W529

Topic: Plant Histology

On display are examples from the wood collection and the botanical anatomical reference slide collection. Plant histology techniques including whole mount clearings, paraffin embedding and sectioning, freezing microtome sectioning, critical point drying, and photo micrography will be demonstrated.

Instructor: Stan Yankowski (phone: 357-2338)

2:15 - 3:30 p.m.

Location: Room W525A

Topic: Plant Mounting

On display are examples of different mounting techniques. Plant mounting will be demonstrated and interested participants will be given the opportunity to mount a specimen for inclusion in the US National Herbarium (note: this may require a return visit to complete the activity).

Instructor: Katherine Rankin (phone: 357-4369)

3:30 - 4:45 p.m.

Location: Room W519

Topic: Botanical Scientific Illustration

On display are examples of different methods of botanical illustration and the steps required to progress from concept to published illustration. Illustration tools, including camera lucida use, will be demonstrated and interested participants will be given the opportunity to experiment with the various illustration techniques.

Instructor: Alice Tangerini (phone: 357-1517)

Note: Mary available to answer questions until 8:00 p.m. today.

* Saturday, 31 May 1997 *

OPEN

Note: Mary available in her office today to answer questions from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m..

* Sunday, 1 June 1997 *

OPEN

- - - Week 1 Notes - - -

1) Kevin deQueiroz away 17 May - 21 June 1997.

2) Doug Erwin away until 28 June 1997.

3) Students: About the three-page Project Proposal....

- - - Most advisors have already prepared a summary of the proposed project. Building on this summary your assignment is to revise the information based on discussions (and agreement) with your advisor about what your ten-week project will be.

- The format must include:

1) project title

2) project hypothesis

3) materials and methods - be sure to include the labs you will be working in and who you will be working with

4) the protocol including a schedule of events - timetable - for completing all phases of the research ... make sure your completion dates correspond with RTP deadlines (e.g. paper done on due date and presentation ready on presentation date)

5) budget based on maximum of $300

6) budget justification - be sure to include expenditure for travel (e.g. if you are planning to attend a scientific meeting or participate in field research with your advisor, this must be included).

- A sample is provided in your notebook - follow it.

* Monday, 2 June 1997 *

- - - VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY - - -

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. : LECTURE

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: Exotic snake eats Guam

They are ill-tempered, mildly poisonous, and up to ten feet long. They have multiplied into millions, decimated wildlife, crawled into homes, and even attacked infants. They have reeked economic havoc by crawling on electrical lines causing repeated power outages and electrical line damage. They have eaten most of the native wildlife including herps, mammals, and birds sending many to near extinction. They have virtually no natural enemies and control efforts have met with little success.

There is no question that the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) has become a major problem on Guam! Sometime in the 1950's the snake arrived on Guam - a snakeless island - probably hidden in a ships cargo from the Papua New Guinea area, about 800 miles to the south. In the presence of a large, defenseless, food base and the absence of natural predators and other population controls the snakes flourished on Guam. By 1968 the snakes had dispersed throughout the island and become a pest causing major ecological and economic problems on the island.

In the early 1980's Tom Fritts conducted an assessment of the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of the snake on Guam and has documented the problems and headed the research efforts ever since.

Speaker: Dr. Thomas Fritts, Station Chief, National Biological Service. M.S. (1968) University of Illinois; Ph.D. (1972) University of Kansas. (phone: 357- 1930)

Host: Pablo Jarrin

Readings & References:

* Snakes / Guam has plenty, and wishes it didn't
* The Brown Tree Snake
* Snakes have worn out the welcome mat
* An Island a-slither: alien snake overruns Guam
* Brown tree snake update
* Brown tree snake readers guide
* The brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, a threat to Pacific Islands
* The brown tree snake: a harmful pest species
* Origin and population growth of the brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, on Guam
* Symptoms and circumstances associated with bites by the brown tree snake on Guam

10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. : COLLECTION TOUR

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: The Liquid Collections

Notes: The group will meet in the Waldo Schmitt Room and then divide into two sets of 15 each. Tour includes two 45 minute presentations (10:30 - 11:15 a.m. and 11:15 - 12:30 p.m.).

In herps, among others, you will meet "George" the 16' python from Viet Nam who, for 25 years, served as the mascot for the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Science. See a "Tuatara" (Sphenodon punctatus) a very primitive herp possessing a third eye over the brain that is light sensitive - it has only one species in the genus, family and order.

In fishes Jeff will introduce you to many different specimens from the Division of Fishes collections including cleared and stained specimens, interesting species from the ocean depths, and the NMNH Coelacanth - a rare and ancient fish known only from the fossil record until a living specimen was collected off the coast of Madagascar in 1938.

The herpetology division is the smallest and one of the fastest growing of the four divisions in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. The first specimen was added to the collection in 1855, the collection has more than double in size since 1975. The collection has grown to include about 550,000 catalogued alcoholic specimens, including over 220,000 salamanders, 150,000 frogs, 85,000 lizards and 40,000 snakes. The collection also includes well over 10,000 types; 65,000 histological microscope slides; 15,000 dry or skeletal specimens; 7,000 "lots" of larval specimens; and 3,500 cleared and stained specimens. The division also maintains probably the largest collection of herpetological reprints in the world.

The fish division includes approximately 500,000 "lots" or 8 million specimens including 17,000 lots of types. Most of the collection is comprised of liquid preserved specimens stored in 75% ethanol. The division logs about 800 transactions per year involving approximately 45,000 specimens.

Guides:

Fishes . . . . . . Jeff Clayton (phone: 357-4851)
Herps . . . . . . . James Poindexter (phone: 357-2205) and
Steve Gotte (phone: 357-4805)

Host: Bronwen Presswell

Readings & References:

* Collection and preservation of fishes
* Overview of the division of fishes
* Careers in Ichthyology
* Clearing and staining techniques
* References for the preparation of ichthyological specimens
* The division of amphibians and reptiles
* Careers in herpetology
* Nondestructive technique for field collection and study of amphibians and reptiles
* Snakes
* The Coelacanth - information sheet

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. : COLLECTION TOUR

Location: Constitution Avenue Lobby

Topic: The Dry Collections

Notes: The group will meet in the Constitution Avenue Lobby and then divide into two sets of 15 each. Tour includes two 45 minute presentations (1:30 - 2:15 p.m. and 2:15 - 3:00 p.m.).

Guides:

Mammals & Fur Vault . . . . Jeremy Jacobs (phone: 786-2550)
Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phil Angle (phone: 357-2031) and
Chris Milensky (phone: 357-2031)

Host: Tatiana Mikhailova

Readings & References:

* Directions for preserving mammals for museum study
* Preparing specimens of big mammals
* Marine mammal program
* Some facts about the division of birds
* Bird collection information
* Preparation of birdstrike remains for identification

3:00 - 5:00 p.m. : RESEARCH

* Tuesday, 3 June 1997 *

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. : RESEARCH

- - - * 4:00 p.m. : ITEM DUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1) Three-page Project Proposal

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

* Wednesday, 4 June 1997 *

9:00 a.m. - noon : RESEARCH

noon - 1:00 p.m. : LECTURE

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: Cladistics

Speaker: Dr. Vicki Funk, Director, Biological Diversity of the Guianas program and Curator of Botany. B.S. (1969), M.S. (1975), Ph. D. (1980) Ohio State University. (phone: 357-2560).

Host: Jeannie Skalsky

Readings & References:

* Cladistic Methods by V.A. Funk.
* Funk, V.A. 1985. Cladistics and generic concepts in the Compositae. Taxon 34(1): 72-80.
* Funk, V.A. 1986. Cladistics - a reply. Taxon 35(2): 311-314.


1:00 - 5:00 p.m. : RESEARCH

* Thursday, 5 June 1997 *

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. : RESEARCH

* Friday, 6 June 1997 *

- - - ENTOMOLOGY - - -

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. : LECTURE

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: Measuring Species Diversity

Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Coddington, Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods. B.A. (1975) Yale; M.A. (1978), Ph.D. (1984) Harvard University. (phone: 357-4148).

Host: Katherine Bash

Readings & References:

* Coddington, J.A., S.F. Larcher, and J.C. Cokendolpher. 1990. The systematic status of Arachnida, exclusive of Acari, in North America north of Mexico. , p. 5 - 20. In Systematics of the North American Insects and Arachnids.

* Colwell, R. K. and J. A. Coddington. 1994. Estimating the extent of terrestrial biodiversity through extrapolation. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. (B), 345: 101-118.

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. : COLLECTION TOUR

Location: Room W411

Topic: The U.S. National Bug Collection

Notes: The group will divide into two sets of 15 each. Tour includes two 45 minute presentations (10:30 - 11:15 a.m. and 11:15 - 12:00 p.m.).

On display will be a wide variety of colorful and large insects from around the world. The group will also visit the butterfly collection and Insect Zoo.

Guides:

Gary Hevel (phone: 357-2317)
David Furth (phone: 357-3146)
Mary Jo Molineaux (phone: 357-2865)
Nate Erwin (phone: 357-1386).

Host: Linda Boose

Readings & References:

* Department of Entomology
* Entomology fact sheet
* Picture key to the orders of insects
* The killing and preservation of insects in the field
* Entomology reprints

1:00 - 5:00 p.m. : STUDENT OPTION

a) Research
b) Demonstrations & Workshops

1:00 - 2:15 p.m.

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: Insect Collecting, Labeling & Sorting

Instructor: Warren Steiner (phone: 357-2865)

Host: Sarah Hood

2:15 - 3:30 p.m.

Location: Waldo Schmitt Room

Topic: Insect Pinning

Instructor: Gary Hevel (phone: 357- 2317)

Host: Sarah Hood

3:30 - 4:45 p.m.

Location: Room W600