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Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Newsletter |
Over a century of collections, research and education |
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Recent Publication by MVZ Researchers
Visiting Professor Juliana Vianna and MVZ Professor and Curator of Birds Rauri Bowie
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Despite the recognizable, well-known public image of penguins, their evolutionary history has not been resolved until now. MVZ Curator Rauri Bowie and Visiting Professor Juliana Vianna (Pontifical Catholic University, Santiago, Chile) led an international team, including MVZ graduate student Cynthia Wang-Claypool and former MVZ postdoc Ke Bi, to gather samples of 18 penguin species from museum specimens and live animals around the world to sequence their genomes. Their analysis reveals that the origins of the modern groups of penguins diversified about 22 million years ago on the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, not in Antarctica as previously thought (Vianna et al 2020). The study lays the foundation for future penguin work into their unique adaptations, identification of putative new species and improved understanding of their diversification for conservation. Want to learn more? Listen to an NPR story on the penguin study or check out the PNAS Podcast on Origin and Diversification of Penguins.
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Recent Publication by MVZ Faculty
MVZ Assistant Professor and Curator of Fishes Chris Martin
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MVZ’s Curator of Fishes Chris Martin recently published an article in Proceedings of the Royal Society on the feeding performance of herbivore fishes in reef ecosystems. The study used a three-dimensional high-speed video system to track the mouth and body kinematics during in situ feeding strikes of fishes in the genus Zebrasoma, while synchronously recording the forces exerted on the substrate. This new framework for measuring biting performance in situ demonstrates that coordinated movements of the body and fins play a crucial role in herbivore foraging performance and may explain major axes of body and fin shape diversification across reef herbivore guilds. |
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A. Underwater video system comprised of two high speed cameras and a synchronized force transducer. B. Study focused on two species of Acanthuridae, Zebrasoma xanthurum (left) and Zebrasoma desjardinii (right). |
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Recent Publication by MVZ Graduate Students, PostDocs, and Faculty
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Professor Jim McGuire, PostDoc Umilaela Arifin and Graduate Students Luke Bloch, Kristopher Harmon, Sarah Hykin, Ben Karin, Sean B. Reilly and Alexander Stubbs recently published a paper in Herpetological Review on herpetofaunal biodiversity surveys they conducted between 2010-2013 in the Lesser Sunda islands. The paper presents 26 new island records for 18 species of frogs, lizards and snakes.
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Map of the Lesser Sunda Islands and Bali. Bali becomes periodically land-bridged with Java and Southeast Asia while the Lesser Sundas are oceanic islands that remain isolated by deep water channels. With in the Lesser Sunda's notable island mergers during glacial maxima include Lombok + Sumbawa, and what is known as “Greater Flores” that includes Komodo + Flores + Adonara + Lembata. A number of smaller islands are not shown to simplify the figure. |
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MVZ Graduate Student News |
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MVZ Graduate Students Kwasi Wrensford and Lawrence Wang have been selected as part of the inaugural class of Berkeley SciComm Fellows. Individuals were selected for their passion for science communication, their commitment to help build a community of practitioners at UC Berkeley, and their desire to apply science communication skills to their future careers, spanning academia, policy, outreach, and more. As a Berkeley SciComm Fellow, they will learn facilitation skills, take a deep dive into science communication practice, and receive training to lead two different science communication workshops, Science Storytelling and Public Speaking. They will then have opportunities to run these workshops for the UC Berkeley community.
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In October 2020, as part of MVZ's ongoing DEI initiatives, a group of MVZ graduate students launched the "Meet the MVZ" a newsletter which features interviews and stories highlighting members of the MVZ community. In the second issue you can learn about second-year PhD student Valeria Ramírez-Castañeda's research and her efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the sciences.
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Message from the Director |
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Greetings from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology! I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy during this challenging time. As we approach the one year anniversary of our shelter-in-place order I wanted to reach out and give our community an update.
The MVZ has continued to function during the past year, albeit on a more limited basis. We have continued our weekly MVZ lunch seminar remotely by zoom, and attendance has been great. All of the seminars are recorded and available on our YouTube channel. We hope you will continue to join us.
Research has also continued throughout this time, and we have made important progress. For example, the MVZ faculty were recently awarded a large grant as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project to sequence the complete genomes of over 2000 individual birds, mammals, and reptiles from our collections. This will provide an unprecedented picture of genetic diversity for terrestrial vertebrates across the State of California and will help inform conservation and management decisions.
I am heartened by the resilience of our graduate students. They have adapted quickly to the new situation. Many have had to modify their research plans, and they have been impressively nimble at responding to the current state of affairs. Similarly, the staff have continued their work, often from home, and have a lot to show for it. For example, we launched a new MVZ website which enhances our ability to connect with researchers, faculty and prospective students. I encourage you to look at it: mvz.berkeley.edu.
I am also impressed by the kindness and resourcefulness of our students and staff in meeting the challenges of the pandemic. Many have become involved in campus groups donating homemade masks to underserved communities in the Bay Area. This spring our Evolutionary Genetics Lab was transformed into a factory, producing small batches of hand sanitizer for the university.
I hope that we will once again be able to host in person MVZ coffee and seminars in the fall of 2021. Until then, we remain dedicated to our core mission of addressing fundamental questions in vertebrate biology and training the next generation of museum scientists.
Michael Nachman
MVZ Director
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Support the MVZ
To sustain our leadership in discovery and understanding of vertebrate diversity, and to protect the collection for future generations, we depend on donations. Any gifts, large or small, make a difference.
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