RW Moriarty Science Seminars

R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Biodiversity collapse and the future of the Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome of North America”

Speaker: Walter Carson, University of Pittsburgh

This event will take place Monday, December 5 at Noon both online and at Earth Theater.

Abstract: Throughout the Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome of North America, a near century of over-browsing by white-tailed deer has greatly reduced the biodiversity and abundance of native plant species causing the formation of impoverished forest communities. The recovery of these communities, even if deer populations are reduced substantially, is unlikely for numerous reasons. Moreover, understory fires, that used to occur frequently, have been suppressed for decades, leading to forests where saplings of oaks often fail to regenerate. In this talk, Dr. Carson will take a long-term experimental approach to tease out the key processes that underlie patterns of forest regeneration in the eastern United States. He will also urge forest biologists to focus more attention on understory herbs and shrubs, which account for more than 90% of the flora in the eastern U.S.

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “How to Make a Coffin in Ancient Egypt”

Speaker: Kea Johnston, University of California, Berkeley

This event will take place Monday, November 7 at Noon both online and at Earth Theater.

Abstract: To wealthy ancient Egyptians of the First Millennium BCE, a coffin was the most important element of their burial. The coffin acted symbolically as a microcosm of the universe as the Egyptians understood it, and as a womb where the deceased would be protected until they could be reborn into the next world. We often think of coffins in terms of their original owners–those whose bodies they housed and whose social identity they communicated–but each coffin was also the product of a production process involving multiple specialists using rare materials and sophisticated techniques.

Focusing on the coffin of a man named Na-tjau-khonsu-rudj in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, this talk explores how an Egyptian coffin was produced: from intricate carpentry to vignettes and texts drawn by scribes on a deadline. We know little about Na-tjau-khonsu-rudj–his remains may never have been buried in this coffin. Nonetheless, this coffin tells an important story about the people who made it nearly 2500 years ago.

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “LOCUS TYPICUS: ASIA MINOR, Journeys in Turkey to Locate Type Localities of Land Snails”

Speaker: Aydin Örstan, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

This event will take place Monday, November 21 at Noon both online and at Earth Theater.

Abstract: Turkey (Türkiye) has a rich land snail fauna with many endemic species. A number of endemics, some dating from the late 18^th century and some from a few decades ago, were described from obscure places. The location from where a species was first described, its type locality, is a significant piece of information in the identity of the species. Ongoing discoveries of new species and taxonomic revisions make it necessary to determine the type localities of older species. This is especially urgent in the face of continuing habitat loss. Relocating of type localities is a challenging and rewarding activity often requiring input from geographical and historical sources and ultimately necessitating confirmation from field trips, sometimes to remote places. Some of the type localities we have searched for and located are those of Isaurica lycia, a large snail common in southwestern Turkey, and several Albinaria species. A noteworthy destination during our travels was the small village of Üçağız at the Mediterranean coast. Üçağız was the type locality of five species the German malacologist Johannes Roth described in 1839 and is also close to the type localities of three more recently described species.

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Stories from the dead: What museum specimens tell us about the living world”

Speaker: Mason Heberling, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Assistant Curator, Section of Botany

This event will take place Monday, October 24 at Noon both online and at Earth Theater.

Abstract: Why does Carnegie Museum of Natural History have 22 million specimens and objects? Though impressive, it is not always obvious what purposes these collections serve. Is the practice a thing of the past? In this talk, Heberling will share his journey from a plant ecologist with little experience with collections to his research today that deeply relies upon herbarium specimens. With over 390 million plant specimens collected by thousands of botanists over nearly five centuries in museums worldwide, herbaria (collections of preserved dead plants) comprise an enormous resource for understanding the world around us. Historically, these collections were used to understand, describe, and organize the tree of life (taxonomy and systematics). While these longstanding uses remain relevant in modern research, the use of museum collections has deepened and expanded in unanticipated ways. Heberling will highlight his research using collections to understand plant responses in a time of rapid environmental changes. As novel uses of specimens are increasing, new curatorial needs and perspectives need to be considered, including an open re-evaluation of the very collection event itself. As we enter the Anthropocene, herbaria have likewise entered a new era with enhanced scientific, educational, and societal relevance.

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: Finding Dippy: “The Science Behind an Icon”

Speaker: John Whitlock, Mount Aloysius College

This event will take place Monday, October 10 at Noon both online and at Earth Theater.

Abstract: Pittsburgh’s beloved “Dippy” the Diplodocus isn’t just a cultural touchstone for the people that live and work in the city, it’s also an invaluable window into life of the past, and has been the subject of intense scientific scrutiny for over 140 years. Follow the incredible scientific journey of Diplodocus from the earliest days of American paleontology to the modern era. Using everything from the basics of comparative anatomy all the way to cutting edge science, we’ll discover how Diplodocus lived, ate, and moved, and how we know what we know.

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: Natural history, ecology, and evolution in the invasive Japanese stiltgrass

Speaker: Craig Barrett, West Virginia University

This event will take place Monday, September 26 at Noon both online and at Earth Theater.

Abstract: Invasive species cause billions of US dollars in damage, degrade natural and agricultural lands, spread disease, and threaten biodiversity. One such species, Microstegium vimineum (stiltgrass), is native to eastern Asia, and has become highly invasive in the US over the past 100 years. First discovered in Tennessee in 1919, this species has spread to 30 US states from Texas to New York and is now in Canada. What factors drive invasiveness in this and other species? While the ecological impacts of invasive species are well studied, the rapid evolution of invasive traits has only begun to be explored. Barrett’s research integrates phenotypic (i.e. physical characteristics of the plants), environmental, and genomic data in order to identify the causes of invasiveness in plants. Eradication of this this well-established invader is highly unlikely at this point in time, and the sheer cost of doing so would be unimaginable. Instead, his ultimate goal is to use stiltgrass as a model to help predict and prevent future invasions.

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