EDITORIAL : A research priority for biodiversity conservation

Conservation biology emerged as a scientific discipline in the mid-1980s with the explicit practical goal of conserving species and habitats. The term ‘biodiversity’ was coined soon after, apparently at some time during the organization of the September 1986 National Forum on Biodiversity held by the US National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution. The science of conservation biology was quickly taken up. Journals proliferated and textbooks soon followed. Laboratories within university biology and ecology departments specialized in conservation biology. Along with a great many other young biologists and ecologists, I climbed the moral high ground and set about research to help change the future by discovering how to protect biodiversity.

Reevaluating the antiquity of the Palmrose site: Collections-based research of an early plank house on the northern Oregon Coast

Large-scale excavations conducted by Smithsonian Institution archaeologists and avocational archaeologists during the 1960s and 1970s at three sites in Seaside, Oregon, resulted in the recovery of a diverse range of material culture curated by multiple institutions. One site, known as Palmrose (35CLT47), provides compelling evidence for the presence of one of the earliest examples of a rectangular plank house along the Oregon Coast. Previous research suggests habitation of the Palmrose site occurred between 2340 cal BC to cal AD 640. However, recent research highlights significant chronometric hygiene concerns of previously reported radiocarbon dates for the Seaside area, calling into question broader regional chronologies. This paper presents a revised chronology for the Palmrose site based on 12 new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of ancient cervid bones. I evaluate these new dates and previously reported radiocarbon dates from the site, applying chronometric hygiene assessments and Bayesian statistics to build a refined chronology for the Palmrose site. Calibration of the 12 AMS radiocarbon dates suggests an initial occupation range from 345−55 cal BC and a terminal occupation range from cal AD 225−340−. Bayesian modeling of the Palmrose sequence suggests initial occupation may have spanned from 195−50 cal BC and the terminal occupation from cal AD 210−255. Modeling suggests the maximum range of occupation may span from 580−55 cal BC to cal AD 210−300 based on the start and end boundary calculations. Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates directly associated with the plank house deposits suggests the plank house’s occupation may have spanned from 160−1 cal BC to cal AD 170−320. The new radiocarbon dates significantly constrain the Palmrose habitation and alter regional chronologies.

Belminus santosmalletae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae): New Species from Panama, with an Updated Key for Belminus Stål, 1859 Species

Belminus santosmalletae, a new triatomine species, is described based on a specimen from Panama, deposited in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. Attempts failed to identify this specimen using the keys by Lent and Wygodzinsky (1979) and Sandoval et al. (2007). A comparison was made with specimens of Belminus Stål, 1859 specimens deposited at the Triatominae collection at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (CTIOC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and with previous descriptions of Belminus species. These comparisons showed the specimen represents a new species, described in the present paper. It differs from other species of the genus mainly by the grainy tegument, scarce pilosity along the body, and the number of tubercles observed on the pronotum.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MUSEUM IN ANTEBELLUM U.S. WESTERN TERRITORIAL EXPLORATION: PART 2. THE ROLES OF HAYDEN AND MEEK IN A PARADIGM SHIFT IN GEOLOGIC AND PALEONTOLOGIC STUDIES

Established under the antebellum leadership of Joseph Henry and Spencer Baird, the respect given the Smithsonian Institution had far-reaching effects on budding geological careers and the conservation and curation of fossils at national and state levels. Specifically, F. V. Hayden received sufficient perceived encouragement in his geological and natural history endeavors to prevail under no less than hardship conditions. Consequently, Hayden triumphed on his return from the field in 1856, with specimens that would quickly alter his immediate destiny and that of F. B. Meek. The five documents accepted for publication in 1856 by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia produced not only a large number of new species, but Hayden’s northern Great Plains stratigraphy and a biostratigraphic/biochronologic catalog of species original to western studies. Others were now also repeatedly citing Hayden with Meek for non-molluscan specimens based on his collections, with new species named in his honor. The nature of western geological exploration changed because of Hayden’s successful employment as geologist and naturalist to the G. K. Warren and W. F. Raynolds Missouri and Yellowstone expeditions. Onsite, ‘fact-based’ mapping with fossils in stratigraphic sections were arguably now required. No more qualified or experienced individual left the western territories as the Civil War commenced. Meek’s deathbed monograph provided a redescription and the first figures of Meek and Hayden 1856 taxa. Although there are reasons suggested herein, a conundrum exists as to why Meek replaced many 1856 ‘types’ with different specimens, sometimes from different localities. The specimens used in the 1856 Meek and Hayden papers were first unpacked for study by Meek and Hayden in Albany. Shipment of fossils from field to museum, however, was not without peril. The presumption is that the specimens accompanied Meek when he moved to Washington in 1858. A National Museum sponsored and implemented program fostered an ever-expanding ‘duplicate’ distribution of specimens to national and international institutions. Henry and Baird were dedicated to this program. Starting in 1861, surplus fossil invertebrates were removed from National Museum holdings. Many thousands of specimens were transferred, with nearly one thousand specimens documented in a single shipment to one institution. How much of the Hayden collection was affected and how many types were redistributed is as of yet unknown. The remaining Hayden collection in the National Museum is pared-down to type and figured specimens. Hayden’s ‘buckets’ of specimens are being, in some cases, slowly virtually repatriated.

Virtual revisions and the vernacular image: the photographs of Elizabeth Howe Bliss

In the waning years of the Progressive Era, an American social worker named Elizabeth Howe Bliss (1886-1974) traveled to Oklahoma and Kentucky on behalf of the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) to report on child labourers and their education needs. During her investigations, Bliss photographed her subjects and surroundings, and these images, among others made in New York City and war-torn France, were recently acquired by the Smithsonian Institution despite their vernacular status. This thesis establishes a biographical trajectory for the previously unresearched life of Bliss and considers the bulk of, and impetus behind, her photographs, with an additional focus on those printed in The Child Labor Bulletin in 1917 and 1919, respectively. Further, this thesis argues for the virtual exhibition of vernacular images as a means for increasing their visibility amongst a diverse online audience, while simultaneously challenging norms that have persisted in downplaying their photo-historical value.

Virtual revisions and the vernacular image: the photographs of Elizabeth Howe Bliss

In the waning years of the Progressive Era, an American social worker named Elizabeth Howe Bliss (1886-1974) traveled to Oklahoma and Kentucky on behalf of the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) to report on child labourers and their education needs. During her investigations, Bliss photographed her subjects and surroundings, and these images, among others made in New York City and war-torn France, were recently acquired by the Smithsonian Institution despite their vernacular status. This thesis establishes a biographical trajectory for the previously unresearched life of Bliss and considers the bulk of, and impetus behind, her photographs, with an additional focus on those printed in The Child Labor Bulletin in 1917 and 1919, respectively. Further, this thesis argues for the virtual exhibition of vernacular images as a means for increasing their visibility amongst a diverse online audience, while simultaneously challenging norms that have persisted in downplaying their photo-historical value.

Taxonomy of family Benthopectinidae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) in the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico

Introduction: The family Benthopectinidae is composed of deep-sea sea stars distributed in eight genera and approximately 70 valid species. So far, only five species of this family have been reported for the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Objective: To provide an updated local taxonomy of this family. Methods: A total of 566 specimens deposited in the Echinoderm National Collection, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, collected from 1952 to 2015, were taxonomically examined. Results: We present descriptions, photographs, and an illustrated dichotomous key for Benthopecten simplex simplex, Cheiraster (Barbadosaster) echinulatus, Cheiraster (Cheiraster) planus, Cheiraster (Christopheraster) blakei, and Cheiraster (Christopheraster) mirabilis in the region. Conclusions: The five studied species represent 6 % of the world biodiversity of the family and can now be identified with the illustrated key.

Primer registro del género Leptopentacta (Cucumariidae: Colochirinae) en el Caribe nicaragüense

Introducción: El género Leptopentacta solo ha sido reportado previamente en Florida, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica y Surinam. Objetivo: Presentar el primer registro del género para Nicaragua. Métodos: Los caracteres morfológicos del material nicaragüense del Smithsonian Institution (USNM 1014529), fueron corroborados con la descripción original. Resultados: Los cinco especímenes recolectados en el Caribe nicaragüense coinciden con el género. Conclusiones: Leptopentacta se reporta por primera vez en el Mar Caribe de Nicaragua. Esto aumenta el número de equinodermos nicaragüenses a 194 especies.