RW Moriarty Science Seminars

R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “A Time-Machine to Africa: Revisiting the Collections of the Pulitzer Expedition to Angola at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History”

Speaker: Luis Ceríaco, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

In 1930, the newspaper mogul Ralph Pulitzer funded an expedition to Angola, southwestern Africa, for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Aimed at getting specimens of the iconic Giant Sable, the expedition was comprised of naturalists who assembled impressive zoological, paleontological and ethnographic collections. These collections are still extant in CMNH and are scientifically relevant to the present day. They served as the basis of the description of new species and are unparalleled testimonies of the Angolan landscape a century ago. While reviewing part of the collections assembled in this expedition, I started to pull a thread that eventually led me to (re)discover a treasure trove of documentation and specimens. In the last 10 years I’ve been doing research in Angola and collecting in the exact same areas covered by the Pulitzer Expedition. This allows us to compare the landscape evolution, the loss of biodiversity and the logistics of an early twentieth century expedition with those of today. This story intertwines history and biodiversity and reinforces the value and scientific importance of CMNH collections. Using the CMNH collections as a time-machine, we will travel back and forth in time and discuss history, science and conservation in one of Africa’s most biodiverse countries.

This event will take place Monday, December 11, 2023 at Noon in person at Earth Theater.

Seminar 163

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Impacts of Extreme Warming Events on Early Eocene Mammals and Ecosystems”

Speaker: Abigail Carroll, University of Pittsburgh.

How might animals and ecosystems respond to today’s warming planet? Looking to Earth’s past may help us answer this question. A series of extreme warming events during the early Eocene (beginning 56 million years ago) are analogous in many ways to present-day global warming. Paleontological investigations conducted over the past decade have also uncovered a curious response to these warming events: a brief, but significant, decrease in body size for some mammal groups, including the earliest horses. Furthermore, the extent of body size decrease appears to be related to the magnitude of the warming event. In this talk, we will look at a fossil record of these events from the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, and consider the mechanism(s) which may have led to the observed body size changes.

This event will take place Monday, November 13, 2023 at Noon in person at Earth Theater and is free to attend.

Click here to download the program.

Seminar 162

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Let’s Talk About Climate Change! Outcomes of Climate in Rural Systems Partnership (CRSP)”

Speaker: Nicole Heller and Laurie Giarratani, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The Climate and Rural Systems Partnership (CRSP) operates at the intersection of three ideas: 1) museum resources are valuable for understanding environmental change, 2) museums are underserving rural audiences, and 3) complex socio-scientific environmental change topics are deeply connected to social decision making in rural communities. Over the last four years, educators and researchers from Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) and the University of Pittsburgh have collaborated with community partners in a research practice partnership (RPP) that supports professional networking, reflection and learning. The project is centered at two community hubs – one at Powdermill Nature Reserve and the other at Mercer County Conservation District. Our collective work supports socially safe, science-based discussions about human-caused climate change and is building regional capacity for information exchange across organizations. Through this partnership we seek to improve methodologies and practices for practitioners to effectively address climate change issues with their audiences, including the museum’s work with its audiences. In this talk, we will share background theory and practice that motivated this learning science project, describe how the RPP works, and discuss some of our findings. We will also talk about how this research is informing our vision for the long-term role of the museum in regional climate empowerment.

This event will take place Monday, October 23,2023 at Noon in person in the CMP Board Room and online via Zoom.

Talks are free to attend in person. Registration is required for online access.

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Click here to download the program.

Seminar 160

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Our Changing Ohio River: Climate, Water Quality, and Harmful Algal Blooms”

Speaker: Emily Elliott, University of Pittsburgh.

The Ohio River basin is not only vast, but its waterways are a vital economic, ecological, and recreational resource for the 15 states within basin boundaries. Yet, a half-century after the Clean Water Act, major challenges remain to make the Ohio River fishable, swimmable, and drinkable. For example, in 2015 and 2019 unprecedented blooms of the toxin-producing harmful algal bloom, Microcystis aeruginosa, extended along 600 and 300 miles of the mainstem Ohio River, respectively. Given the unusual nature of these extensive blooms and the potential impacts to human and ecological health, it is imperative to understand factors contributing to bloom formation. I will highlight ecological, hydrological, and climatic changes in the Ohio River over the past 40 years and explore how these factors may be interacting to fundamentally change the ecology and biogeochemistry of the Ohio River. Long-term trends in flow and two key nutrients that contribute to algal bloom proliferation (nitrogen, phosphorous) are evaluated using a U.S. Geological Survey model called Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS). Our model results are placed in the context of current river management strategies, efforts to curb nutrient pollution, and a basin-wide push for federal designation as a restoration target.

This event will take place Monday, September 25,2023 at Noon in person at Earth Theater and online via Zoom.

Seminar 158

Click here to join the webinar live on September 25 at 12:00 p.m.

Click here to download the program.
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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Academia and Indigenous Communities: Opening the Doors to Collaborative Research and Community-Driven Projects”

Speaker: Jessie Ryker-Crawford, Institute of American Indian Arts.

An honest assessment of research practices and methodologies often leads to new and innovative strategies that address inclusion and accessibility between researchers and host communities. Collaborative research projects, in particular, allow for a point of entry for ongoing foundational building and networking between institutions and host community organizations—resulting in the long-lasting relationships that are so key to deep research.

This presentation will explore how initial contacts can be made, facilitating co-advisory groups that can formulate effective and meaningful research projects for all involved, soliciting community engagement, and the dissemination of research knowledge and material to a wider community audience.

Stories of events – also known as case studies – will play heavily in the sharing of insights, pitfalls, time-to-stand-up-brush-it-off-and-continue instances, and glorious successes.

This event will take place on Indigenous People’s Day, Monday, October 9,2023 at Noon in person at Earth Theater.

Click here to download the program.

Seminar 159

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Awareness of the Natural World Through the Lens of Amphibian and Reptile Ecology at Powdermill Nature Reserve”
Speaker: Dr. Walter E. Meshaka, State Museum of Pennsylvania.