Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Blogs from our Scientific Researchers

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is home to active research and vast scientific collections. Our scientific researchers regularly contribute to the blog at the museum.

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Collected on this Day in 1966: Santa Clauses

Christmas in July…”Santa Claus” floating in the air.

(Or I guess, technically Boxing Day in July, if that’s a thing.)

thistle seed fluff "Santa Claus" in hand

Make a wish!

Have you ever seen fluff floating by in the air, especially in late July, early August? Kids love chasing the fluff around, often referring to them as “Santas” or “Santa Clauses.”  You catch it, make a wish, and let them go again, floating away.

dried thistle specimen on herbarium sheet

These are seeds!  Most likely thistle seeds, like this specimen here.  Or other seeds that have similar “fluff”-like structures.  The botanical term for this “fluff” is pappus.  Pappus is a modified part of flowers in many species in the sunflower family, Asteraceae (think dandelion).  These structures help the seed disperse in the wind, floating away in the breeze, carrying the seed far away.  If you’ve tried to catch them, you know they float away in the air very easily. The seeds are small, and often times have already disconnected from the pappus when you catch them.

thistle

Check out the “Santa Claus” pappus on this specimen of bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), collected on July 26, 1966 by Leroy Henry near Woodbine (Butler county), Pennsylvania.  Leroy Henry was a botany curator at the Carnegie Museum.  All species in the genus Cirsium are known as “thistles.”  They have distinctive spiny leaves and stems, with even more distinctive purple flower heads. There are native thistles, but many are introduced. Thistles are common in disturbed areas, and in and around agricultural fields across the country.  Bull thistle is native in Europe and Western Asia, but widely introduced across the world, including North America.  It is the national flower of Scotland, but the species is considered invasive in many places.

Keep an eye out for thistles, and “Santa Clauses.”  Don’t forget to make a wish.

Find this bull thistle specimens here.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They are in the midst of a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VII: Eudibamus cursoris, the Original Two-legged Runner

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI. 
Holotype specimen of Eudibamus cursoris, the most complete bolosaurid reptile known. Photo by the author, 2013.

Stuart Sumida discovered some small bones in the Bromacker quarry in 1993, the same year that the holotype skeleton of Diadectes absitus was found. Dave Berman told me that when Stuart showed them to him, he couldn’t see anything because they were so small. Upon closer examination, Dave, Stuart, and Thomas Martens identified them as those of the captorhinomorph reptile Thuringothyris mahlendorffae. Thomas’ wife Stefani, whose maiden name is Mahlendorff, discovered the first specimen in the Bromacker in 1982, and Thomas and a colleague named it in her honor in a 1991 publication.

The fossil was exposed in several pieces of rock, which Thomas shipped to Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) along with the large block of rock containing Diadectes. I didn’t prepare the specimen until several years later, as other projects, including the Diadectes, overshadowed it. Once I began working on it, though, Dave and I realized that it was not Thuringothyris. Indeed, we had no idea what type of animal it was, and our puzzlement grew as I exposed more of it. The identity wasn’t revealed until I had uncovered some very unusual, tiny teeth, which under the high magnification of the preparation microscope appeared to have a bulbous cusp towering over a basin. They looked vaguely familiar to me, but because I couldn’t immediately put a name on them, I rushed to get Dave from his office. Once Dave saw the teeth, he realized that the specimen was a new genus and species in the rare, enigmatic reptile group Bolosauridae.

Tiny teeth of a bolosaurid reptile, Bolosaurus striatus, in lateral (side; left) and occlusal (chewing surface; right) views. The specimen is in the CMNH Vertebrate Paleontology collection. Photos by Spencer Lucas (Research Associate, CMNH).

Until the discovery of Eudibamus cursoris, bolosaurids were represented in the fossil record by two genera, Bolosaurus and Belebey, which were based mainly on poorly preserved skull and fragmentary jaw fossils from Texas and Russia, respectively. Even though bolosaurids had been known since 1878, their relationship to other reptiles was not well understood. The nearly complete anatomy of Eudibamus allowed our team to determine that bolosaurids are the oldest member of the ancient group of reptiles called Parareptilia. This group has no living relatives, except possibly for turtles, a hypothesis that is highly debated by scientists.

Eudibamus cursoris fossil
Closeup of front and hind legs of Eudibamus. The hind leg, folded upon itself, is considerably longer than the front leg. Photo by the author, 2013.

When our study of the fossil began, we realized that Eudibamus was very different than other reptiles from that time. Proportions of the limbs and positions of the articulation surfaces on the upper and lower hind leg bones indicated that, in terms of posture, Eudibamus resembled a bow-legged human with a bad back instead of a typical sprawling reptile on four legs. It could stand and locomote on its hind legs in an upright posture (bipedal) with its legs held close together and in the same plane (parasagittal).

Dave was in constant phone communication with team member Dr. Robert Reisz (Professor, University of Toronto at Mississauga). One day Robert called Dave to ask if all the tail had been exposed, because he learned that modern lizards that are able to run bipedally have a long tail to help maintain their balance. The specimen was in Dave’s office and he immediately uncovered more of the tail and then let me finish the task. The tail was indeed very long and extended close to the edge of the block, which I had previously reduced in size. Additionally, we determined that the third, fourth, and fifth toes of the hind foot also were greatly elongated through lengthening of some of the individual toe bones, and that the first and second toes were extremely shortened by the reduction in size of individual toe bones. We hypothesized that when Eudibamus ran bipedally, it would rise on its toes, so that only the tips of the third, fourth, and fifth toes would contact the ground.

Drawing of the hind leg of Eudibamus cursoris (left) and the roughly contemporaneous reptile Captorhinus (right). Leg drawings are scaled to the same torso length of the whole animal. Illustrations of the animals are not to scale. Hind leg drawings are modified from Berman et al., 2000 and animal illustrations are from Wikimedia Commons.

Eudibamus occurred at least 60 million years before other bipedal, parasagittally-running reptiles appeared in the fossil record. This is reflected in its scientific name, which is derived from the Greek “eu,” meaning original or primitive, and “dibamos,” meaning on two legs. “Cursoris” is Latin, meaning runner. Examples of other reptiles using this locomotion mode are the dinosaurs Allosaurus fragilis and Tyrannosaurus rex, which you can view in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition.

So, what was the advantage of being able to run bipedally instead of running on all four legs? Lengthening the hind leg and foot would greatly increase stride length, especially if only the tips of the toes contacted the ground, which is an efficient way to increase speed. Eliminating arm to ground contact while running removes forelimbs from the path of the long-striding hind legs. The bulbous teeth and jaw structure of Eudibamusindicate that it was herbivorous. It seems likely, then, that Eudibamus used its ability to sprint to avoid becoming a tasty meal for a pursuing predator.

Eudibamus cursoris illustration
Peter Mildner (exhibit preparator at the Museum der Natur, Gotha) made a surprise visit to the Bromacker one afternoon to show us a model of Eudibamus cursoris he’d made. This image shows the model in the present day Bromacker quarry, part of the region it inhabited 290 million years ago. Photo by the author, 2006.

One of our laments is that a fossil trackway preserving Eudibamus walking quadrupedally and then switching to a bipedal gait has yet to be found.

Next time you are at CMNH, make sure you see the cast of the fossil skeleton and a model of Eudibamus that are exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Stay tuned for my next post, which will feature the herbivorous mammal-like reptile Martensius bromackerensis.

For those of you who would like to learn more about Eudibamus, here is a link to the 2000 Science publication in which it was described: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/290/5493/969.

Amy Henrici is Collection Manager in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VIII: Martensius bromackerensis, Honoring a Colleague

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Meet Amanda Martin, New Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles

photo of woman holding a turtle

Hello everyone, my name is Amanda Martin and I’m a new post-doctoral researcher in the Amphibians and Reptiles section. I received both my Ph.D. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from Bowling Green State University, and my B.S. in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

My herpetological career all started after watching Anaconda, the movie, when I was about six years old. I did not like the depiction of this wonderful creature, and since then I have been passionate about conserving and reducing other’s fear of snakes. During graduate school, I discovered that I really enjoy other amphibians and reptiles, especially the abundant red-backed salamanders which I found under logs almost every day during my research surveys. Even though I love studying snakes, I spent most of my time working with eastern box turtles using radio telemetry. One of my favorite aspects of working with these turtles is that they are easy to catch! I did, however, have some ninja turtles that liked to hide from my volunteer research assistants. Finding amphibians and reptiles can be quite challenging. I love this kind of treasure hunt because it is incredibly rewarding when you do find them!

Check out my website for more information about my previous research at: https://amandkm.wixsite.com/martin

Conservation in Action: Exploration of Changes in Land Cover over Time

In northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan lies a dynamic and diverse landscape, the Oak Openings Region which has been the focus of large ongoing conservation by the Green Ribbon Initiative. Over ten years ago, a land cover map was created to facilitate the enhancement and restoration of critical natural areas. Since then, local conservation partners have been changing the landscape to increase the area of natural habitats, such as upland prairie and savanna. But to see whether these efforts worked or not, they needed a new map to see these changes on the landscape. We, Martin and Root 2020, worked together with our local partners to build an updated map for region and explored these changes in land cover over a 10-year period.

We used satellite imagery and trained our model with confirmed ground sites for 14 different land cover types, including five communities of concern (swamp forest, floodplain forest, deciduous forest, upland savanna/prairie, and wet prairie). We then examined change over time by comparing total area or number of patches per land cover between the 2016 map and the 2006 map. We found that natural land covered 33% and human-modified land covered 67% of the total region. Over 10 years, natural classes increased, and cultural classes decreased in total area by 5.8%, although not all types of natural habitat increased (e.g., forest habitat decreased) and much of the natural habitat was found in small isolated pieces rather than large blocks of similar habitat. Many of these changes are likely a result of natural recovery and disturbance, and conservation efforts by the Green Ribbon Initiative. This large-scale view for conservation is needed to create conservation initiatives for different species and their natural habitats and illustrates the challenges that land managers face in restoring natural lands as humans continue to modify their surroundings.

Scientists use these types of land cover maps to better understand the interaction between species and their habitats. One aspect of this interaction is the creation of habitat suitability models, where you identify potential new habitat locations for species using occurrence data (where you find an individual) and environmental layers (land cover, elevation, distance to streams or roads, etc.). We did this for 15 target species focused on the 5 major communities of concern for Oak Openings Region using this land cover map. As Dr. Martin starts her new work with Dr. Sheridan in the amphibian and reptile section, they will be exploring this type of research utilizing the museum’s vast collection!

Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01316-2

Journal: Environmental Management

Title: Examining Land Use Changes to Evaluate the Effects of Land Management in a Complex, Dynamic Landscape

Abstract: Anthropogenic alterations to landscapes have increased as the human population continues to rise, leading to detrimental changes in natural habitats. Ecological restoration assists in recovery by altering habitats to improve conditions and foster biodiversity. We examined land cover changes over time within a complex, dynamic region in the Midwest to assess the long-term effects of conservation. We used Landsat 8 bands for a 15-class land cover map of Oak Openings Region using supervised classification. We validated our map and achieved an overall accuracy of 71.2% from correctly classified points out of total visited points. Change over 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, was explored by comparing class statistics from FRAGSTATS between our map and original land cover map. We found that natural land, i.e., forest and early successional, covered 33%, with 10% permanently protected, while human-modified land, i.e., agricultural and developed, covered 67% of the region. Over 10 years, natural classes increased, and cultural classes decreased by 5.8%. There were decreases for the three forest communities and increases for the two early successional communities. These changes are likely the result of natural recovery and disturbance, and conservation efforts by the Green Ribbon Initiative. Changes in habitat also came with distribution changes, e.g., increased fragmentation for some classes, which was readily visible. Our useful method measured functionality by emphasizing changes in composition and configuration. Our approach provides a tool for assessing cumulative regional-scale effects from site-level management and conservation. This large-scale view for conservation is needed to effectively mitigate future changes.

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Meet Lisa Haney, new Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile

photo of woman's face with Egyptian statue face

Hello! I am Lisa Haney, the new Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile. I received my PhD in Egyptology from the University of Pennsylvania, my MA in Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies and a concentration in Museum Studies from New York University, and my BA in Antiquities from Missouri State University. I am so excited to be here for the re-installation of the Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt and to share my love of all things Egypt with the people of Pittsburgh!

As a scholar, my work has focused largely on the archaeology and material culture of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030 – 1650 BCE), a period that is well represented in the museum’s collection. My research utilizes archaeological evidence, ancient Egyptian texts and written records, astronomical sources, and material culture to examine the political landscape of Egypt’s 12th Dynasty and to assess how the kings of that period chose to have themselves represented and why. I have worked as an archaeologist and an epigrapher in Egypt and Oman, and I love traveling to new parts of the world to experience and learn about local cultures both ancient and modern.

I worked for two seasons as a part of the combined University of Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Expedition to Abydos under the direction of Dr. Josef Wegner, at the funerary complex of the 12th Dynasty pharaoh Senwosret III at South Abydos. Senwosret III is a pretty exciting guy and he also happens to be the owner of the Carnegie Boat – the large funerary boat from the site of Dahshur on view in the Walton Hall.  Unlike most other kings, Senwosret III had two funerary complexes – one at Dahshur and one at Abydos. His reign is a particularly interesting period of time in terms of modern Egyptology as well, because both of his funerary complexes are actively under investigation and every year we learn more and more about him and his reign.

My family and I just moved from Kansas City in May and I’m excited to get to know Pittsburgh and find out where the good BBQ is at!

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How to catch 311 amphibians in 10 days

Step 1: Deploy pitfall traps across Powdermill Nature Reserve

Step 2: Get out of the way and let nature do the rest

Over the course of 10 days in June of this year, I captured 311 amphibians of 12 different species. Every day, rain or shine, I spent over four hours checking 132 pitfall traps and several more hours identifying, measuring, and weighing the day’s amphibian haul. I did a rinse and repeat of this cycle for 10 days straight. Why would anyone do all of this for what Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, once described as “vile animals” with “a foul odor” (Wahlgren, 2011)? Although this sentiment might still ring true for some people today, I did this because amphibians are in serious trouble—more than 30% of species are facing extinction. The threats to amphibians range from habitat losses to disease epidemics, but these are merely symptoms of the underlying cause: unnatural changes brought about by the Anthropocene. Human-induced alterations to nature are irrevocably modifying biodiversity so rapidly that species we learned about in grade school are now extinct and, if we view amphibians as sentinel organisms, then the worst is yet to come.

The Powdermill Nature Reserve is a protected site in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains where, since 1956—the year it was established by a forward-thinking herpetologist— the property has functioned in a similar way as forests did before human settlement swept across the region. In the early 1980s, scientists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History studied the amphibian community at the Powdermill Nature Reserve and, serendipitously, established the empirical baseline necessary to study how environmental changes have affected amphibian biodiversity in the Alleghenies (Meshaka, 2009).

close up photo fo orange salamander with black stripes

Examining the results of amphibian trapping during two long ago Junes offers insight into the reserve’s value. In June 1982, 78 traps captured 262 amphibians of 11 species. In June 1983, 54 traps captured 174 amphibians of 11 species. While the species richness has not changed much since the 1980s, there has been species turnover and shifts in abundance, with some species becoming more common in the community. The Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata), for example, went from 0 captures in June of 1982 and 1983 to 7 captures this June. In terms of standardized trap nights in June (i.e., the number of traps multiplied the number of days opened), a combined rate of 0.11 amphibians per trap was detected across the two years in the 1980s, compared to a rate of 0.24 amphibians per trap this year. What could the ecological scenario be that has led to such an apparent increase in the amphibian capture rate over this 40-year period? Could trophic cascades be involved? Perhaps the protection of habitats in 1956 helped forest regeneration, and this change led to improved stream health and greater water retention later into the season via increased canopy cover. By providing better habitat and more resources for the streamside invertebrates that makeup the main prey base of forest-dwelling amphibians, such a transformed system might benefit amphibian communities indirectly. It’s also possible that some entirely different mechanism produced this result.

photo of Allegheny Dusky Salamander

The species that dominated captures historically and today was the Allegheny Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus), which went from 0.048 individuals per trap in June from the 1980s to a slightly increased rate this June of 0.052 individuals per trap. Interestingly, the average body size of female Allegheny Dusky Salamanders has not changed over the 40-year study period, suggesting stability in morphology despite other studies reporting salamander species either shrinking (Caruso et al., 2014) or growing (McCarthy et al., 2017) in response to warmer temperatures brought about by recent climate change. Without the founding of the Powdermill Nature Reserve and the herculean efforts of historical and modern scientists from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we would not be able to understand the extent that humans have impacted biodiversity, let alone the data needed to solve mysteries of the modern world.

photo of spring salamander
photo of black salamander with white spots
photo of four-toed salamander

So, when I look at a Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) or a Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosis) or a Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylus scutatum) from the Powdermill Nature Reserve, I don’t see Linnaeus’s “terrible animal” with a “ghastly color”, rather, I see profound resiliency in the face of tremendous pressure, and the power that natural history collections and protected areas hold for improving our relationship with biodiversity.

Daniel F. Hughes is the Rea Post-doctoral Fellow in the Herpetology Section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References:

Caruso, N.M., Sears, M.W., Adams, D.C. and Lips, K.R., 2014. Widespread rapid reductions in body size of adult salamanders in response to climate change. Global Change Biology, 20: 1751–1759.

Meshaka, Jr., W.E., 2009. The terrestrial ecology of an Allegheny amphibian community: Implications for land management. The Maryland Naturalist, 50: 30–56.

McCarthy, T., Masson, P., Thieme, A., Leimgruber, P. and Gratwicke, B., 2017. The relationship between climate and adult body size in redback salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). Geo: Geography and Environment, 4: e00031.

Wahlgren, R., 2011. Carl Linnaeus and the Amphibia. Bibliotheca Herpetologica, 9: 5–37.

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Relevance and the Spirit of Research at Powdermill

three people collecting specimens from a stream

When people think of scientists doing research, they tend to think of a laboratory with microscopes, technical machinery, exotic chemicals, and a person in a white coat doing “experiments” to invent a miraculous new compound, or maybe cure a disease. We have a technical laboratory with microscopes, machines, and chemicals at Powdermill, and we enjoy that kind of work. In reality, most of our research is done outside, with living plants and animals in the field. Usually we are in muddy boots, and we are more likely to be wearing rain gear and backpacks than white coats.

Our research comes in several flavors. Because we own the land, we can invest in long-term studies that require strong continuity. Examples of this would be our studies of birds that migrate in spring and autumn along the Appalachian ridges, traversing routes from the Caribbean and South America to Pennsylvania, Canada, and the Arctic. Since these studies were initiated in 1961, we have compiled the longest continuous data set of this type for any American research institute.  Another example would be our forest succession research, initiated in 2012, and intended to last several decades. These long-term studies are not likely to be undertaken by the college professor who must show results promptly for promotion and tenure, so it is important that places like Powdermill commit to them.

two people doing field research in the woods

On the flip side, we support student researchers to use Powdermill for their projects that have to be completed in a short time, between one summer and three years, depending on whether the research is for a senior thesis or a PhD. Together, the students embrace many topics across the entire diversity of biological systems: What do trout eat? How effective are birds at dispersing seeds? The work of the long-term studies can be thought of as composing a careful symphony, where student projects represent the catchy tunes coming from a dance club: each centered on a good riff, immediate and focused; then another tune, and another. Both the symphony and the dance band are important to our scientific culture, and together they demonstrate the relevance of the nature reserve.

Field stations necessarily focus on topics that occur on their landscape. Most of our work has a strong relevance to Pennsylvania in particular, but also to Appalachia and eastern North America in general. Sometimes our work in Pennsylvania connects us to a much broader audience, as the migrating birds that spend the winter in South America do. We often host researchers from other countries who view Powdermill as an exotic locale. Every year we host a series of workshops to train the next generation of scientists, and every year we have far more applicants than spaces. In the last decade, an award-winning program that sponsors Latin American guests (so that the actual cost of the program is not a barrier to applicants) has trained about 120 scientists from 10 nations who came to Powdermill to learn our research techniques. When they return to their home countries to resume their scientific careers, some of our Powdermill culture goes with them.

The visitor traffic through Powdermill presents a learning opportunity for us. Getting to know our visitors sometimes introduces us to new methods or entirely new fields of research.  We expand our research interests and capacity, too.

A pleasing and unique aspect of a research career at a field station is being in tune with the pulse of the natural world. You care about when it rained last, how cold it was the previous night, and why you have seen so many porcupines this year. The late freeze hurt the beeches and spice bush, but the maples and oaks are okay. Observing a small wildflower where you did not see it last year is like finding a gemstone. Training your eye to notice when certain plants bloom or when certain animals appear becomes rewarding, like playing a favorite game. We expect hummingbirds to arrive from Mexico on April 30. On May 1, they appear at our feeders. All of these observations make each day an experience with its own reward and mystery. And being connected to the natural world makes you feel very much alive.

John Wenzel is the Director at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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