Coney Island, 1 September 2007

I think unitedstatians have a weird sense of humor. How can you explain celebrating Labor Day on the last day of Summer?

In this household we are not typical americanos by any stretch of the imagination. Especially my kids. As good slash-puertoricans, they would rather be boogie boarding in Isla Verde than fighting the crowds at Sandy Beach.

So we are going to high-tail it to the park and the museum for our last day together, to have some fun.

How are you spending your 'labor' day?

What Is Local? Genetics and Plant Selection In the Urban Context
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
American Museum of Natural History
Linder Theater
8:15 am - 4:00 pm
Registration: $25

What is native? What is local?
Ask five people and you will likely get five different answers. Yet the health and long-term survival of native plant populations depends on the preservation of the gene-based adaptations plants have made to their local environment. Urban ecosystems with increased fragmentation, altered environmental parameters, and introduced plant material further complicate their genetics and their survival.

This symposium will address the genetic basis for protecting local plant populations--with a focus on making informed choices in selecting source material for urban restoration.

This event is directed toward public officials, agency managers, and project planners in both the private and public sector--all those with responsibilities for restoration, management, and creation of natural areas. Interested and concerned non-practitioners are also welcome.

Speakers:
Gerry Moore, Director, Department of Science, Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Susan Mazer, University of California, Santa Barbara
Arlee Montalvo, University of California, Riverside
Julie Etterson, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Steven Handel, Center for Urban Restoration Ecology, Rutgers University
Edward Toth, Greenbelt Native Plant Center, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation

Sponsors:
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Cook College
American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
Metro Forest Council
Greenbelt Conservancy

For details, go HERE

VIETNAM: A NATURAL HISTORY
An Authors Lecture
May 23, 2006 at 7 p.m.
American Museum of Natural History
Kaufmann Theater (77th Street Entrance)

A country uncommonly rich in plants, animals, and natural habitats, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shelters a significant portion of the world's biological diversity, including rare and unique organisms and an unusual mixture of tropical and temperate species. "Vietnam: A Natural History" is the first comprehensive account of Vietnam's natural history written in English. Illustrated with maps, photographs, and thirty-five original watercolor paintings, the book offers a complete tour of the country's plants and animals, along with a full discussion of the factors shaping their evolution and distribution.

Please join the authors of "Vietnam: A Natural History"--Eleanor J. Sterling, Director of the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, and Biodiversity Scientists Martha M. Hurley and Le Duc Minh--for a discuss of their new book. They will explore Vietnam's evolutionary past and relationships between humans and the environment, and review the most recent scientific research and species discovered, touching on current threats to and attempts at conserving Vietnam's complex and fragile natural history.

Tickets $15 ($12 for Museum members).

Please call 212-769-5200 or click here http://cbc.amnh.org/center/features/events/index.html to purchase tickets.

You are all invited to attend the BRIDGES Symposium on evolutionary
biology being held this Saturday March 4th, in the King Juan Carlos
Center (53 Washington Square South), beginning at 9:15 AM.

We have a nice line-up of student speakers (from AMNH, Columbia, NYBG,
NYU and Princeton) and D. Futuyma from Stony Brook (writer of an
evolution textbook) gives a keynote titled:

"Niche Shifts, Speciation, and Macroevolution".

if you are interested in Evolution (and remember: "Nothing in Biology
makes sense except in the light of Evolution." (by T. Dobzhansky)) this
event is not to be missed!

African-American Heritage Month
Ebony Stages: Black Theater—Past, Present, and Future

* February 11, 2006
* 12:00 noon–5:00 p.m.
* Kaufmann and Linder Theaters, first floor
* Free with Museum admission

Explore the past, present, and future of black theater in the United States. From the African Grove Company, the nation’s first professional black theater (1821–1823), to the black presence on Broadway with a tribute to Pulitzer Prize—winning playwright August Wilson, to narratives from new black immigrant communities and hip-hop visionaries, Ebony Stages will celebrate 185 years of black people moving their stories from the page to the stage with performances, panels, and workshops for the entire family.
For details, click here or call 212-769-5315.

Our local news station, NY1, has regular "The World Outside New York," segments. Well, every now and then, with your permission, I will post issues having to do with the world outside NY. This particular one deals with an issue that I consider particularly critical: the impending extinction of our closest relatives, the Great Apes. No the fate of the Great Apes is not something that will win us an election or save our jobs or get us out of Iraq. But there are moral and practical reasons for being concerned about our closest cousins. The reason I am highlighting this issue right now is that two species of Great Apes are literally on the verge of extinction (see below). So timing is CRITICAL. Two species of our closest relatives could be extinct within 5-10 years.

As a molecular biologist, I am very familiar with the field of genetics. It is in this context that I first became interested in the plight of the Great Apes when I learned that humans differ from Chimps and Bonobos by only 1.6% of our DNA. That means we are more than 98% identical to these animals in our DNA. This is an extraordinary similarity and it means that in an evolutionary sense, Chimps and Bonobos are in a very real sense our brothers. When I learned this I felt as if some of our distant ancestors such as the Neanderthals still lived with us today. Gorillas are like us in more than 97% of our DNA, making them, if not our brothers, at least our cousins.