Thursday Lectures, Summer 2011

(All lectures begin at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted.)

We hope to have presentations most Thursdays throughout the summer. Dates, titles, and descriptions will be posted as the season's schedule is finalized.

Thursday, May 26	Lichens and Ancient Monuments with Mark Seaward- University of Bradford	Lichen colonization of ancient monuments,is a topic which is interpreted variously by specialists in different disciplines, their attitudes inevitably colored by differing aesthetic and practical considerations. Ecologists, for example, regard the appearance of lichen mosaics as a natural aging process, finding the species diversity aesthetically pleasing. Conversely, those concerned with the conservation of cultural heritage view lichen encroachment very differently: inscriptions and fine detail may be obscured and, in some cases, damage may result from biodeterioration, its severity varying considerably according to the chemical properties of the stonework, microenvironmental conditions, and air pollution. Programs aimed at quantifying the actual role played by lichens must first determine which species are disfiguring but intrinsically harmless, and which cause actual physical damage; any treatment for their removal should be carefully selected, since although some methods may appear to be immediately effective, the effects are highly likely to be deleterious over a longer term. The speaker will consider the positive and negative aspects of lichen colonization as exemplified by his research based on worldwide studies.
Thursday, June 2	Travels With A Lichenologist with Irwin Brodo - Canadian Museum of Nature	Irwin Brodo has been traveling all over North America and sometimes abroad for almost 50 years, uncovering the stories that lichens have to tell us about themselves and the world we live in. On this journey of discovery, he has encountered many beautiful and intriguing lichens. In this talk, Dr. Brodo will share some of these stories illustrated by color photographs, many of them taken by Sylvia and Steve Sharnoff, the photographers for the prize-winning book, Lichens of North America. Although born in New York City and educated in the United States, Ernie Brodo spent almost his entire career (45 years) at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa where he served as a research lichenologist. He received his Master’s degree from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Ernie specializes in the taxonomy (naming and classifi cation) of lichens, but also has done research on lichen ecology and the effects of air pollution on lichens. Although still actively doing research on lichens at the Museum, he now spends much of his time teaching, lecturing and writing to the general public in an effort to popularize his favorite subject. He is the coauthor, together with photographers Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff, of the encyclopedic book, Lichens of North America.
Thursday, June 9	The Importance of Art in Natural History and Medicine: From Herbals to Audubon with Nancy Slack - Sage Colleges	This talk is about the interaction of art with science and medicine. The emphasis is on the fascinating history of illustrated herbals, and on the development of the natural history of birds in 19th Century America by artists from Catesby to Audubon.
Thursday, June 16	Lichens: Fungi that have learnt to farm with Alan Fryday - Michigan State University	This lecture will explain what lichens are, describe their various forms and structures, and outline the characters used to identify them. It will illustrate their importance to terrestrial ecosystems and biogeographical studies along with other uses. Dr. Alan Fryday is a professor at Michigan State University and has been studying lichens for over 25 years, initially in his native U.K., and since 1999 in North America. He has published over 60 research papers and has described over 40 new species, mostly in lecideoid genera.
Thursday, June 23	Film: Song of the Drum, the Petroglyphs of Maine with Ray Gerber - Saint Joseph's College	This documentary fi lm was made with the support and participation of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Maine. The fi lm shows details of the petroglyphs and explains why the shamans, or their initiates, created these wonderful images. The petroglyphs date back to about 3000 years ago and changed over time as the ideas of the people who made them changed. The fi lm shows Maine’s abundant wildlife (moose, deer, eagles, seals, etc.)which are depicted in the petroglyphs as well as panoramic scenes of Maines beautiful landscape and oceans. Authentic Native American (Passamaquoddy) singing, drumming and language are presented in the fi lm. Ray Gerber is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at Saint Joseph’s College, Standish, Maine where he taught and did research for almost 30 years. His teaching included courses in biological and physical oceanography, benthic marine ecology, ecology and introductory biology. Currently, he is an environmental consultant, fi lm producer, and continues his research on the biogeography and taxonomy of zooplankton from the Caribbean Islands.
Thursday, June 30	A Brief History of Botanical Art, A Personal Journey and What Drives a Botanical Artist with Dolores R. Santoliquido - Manhattanville College	This documentary fi lm was made with the support and participation of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Maine. The fi lm shows details of the petroglyphs and explains why the shamans, or their initiates, created these wonderful images. The petroglyphs date back to about 3000 years ago and changed over time as the ideas of the people who made them changed. The fi lm shows Maine’s abundant wildlife (moose, deer, eagles, seals, etc.)which are depicted in the petroglyphs as well as panoramic scenes of Maines beautiful landscape and oceans. Authentic Native American (Passamaquoddy) singing, drumming and language are presented in the fi lm. Ray Gerber is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at Saint Joseph’s College, Standish, Maine where he taught and did research for almost 30 years. His teaching included courses in biological and physical oceanography, benthic marine ecology, ecology and introductory biology. Currently, he is an environmental consultant, fi lm producer, and continues his research on the biogeography and taxonomy of zooplankton from the Caribbean Islands.
Thursday, July 14	The ants of Maine - a microcosm of the ants of New England with Aaron M. Ellison - Senior Research Fellow Harvard Forest	Maine, with its variable climate and diversity of land-cover types, has a very diverse ant fauna. In this talk, Aaron Ellison will review our current understanding of patterns of diversity and distribution of ants in Maine, and show how these patterns illuminate general principles about ant biogeography. He will also talk about what we don’t know, and highlight opportunities for citizen-scientists, amateur naturalist, and professional entomologists to increase our knowledge of the biodiversity of Maine’s ants.
Thursday, July 21	Subtle Beauty: The Natural History of Sedges with Tyler Smith - Eastern Kentucky University	Sedges are one of the most diverse groups of wildfl owers. However, they are also one of the least understood, as their simple leaves and small fl owers make the many different species diffi cult to identify. Tyler Smith will present an introduction to this fascinating group, explaining their biology and ecology, as well as sharing his own investigations into the evolution of sedges in the Ozarks and Appalachian mountains.
Thursday, August 4	Foraging for Mushrooms: Grand Adventures and Possible Pitfalls with Greg Marley	Most people who collect and identify mushrooms are driven by a hunger for their great edible potential, the unique fl avor and their nutritional and health benefi ts. Many who avoid wild mushrooms are caught up in the fear of mistaking a poisonous mushroom for an edible look alike. Both the hope and fear, the bounty and the gut-wrenching illness are among the possible outcomes of a mushrooming outing, though serious illness across America is pretty unusual. Come learn about the Maine’s wild mushrooms. This talk will cover the best tasting, easily identifi ed edibles that anyone can confi dently collect as well as the worst of the toxic mushrooms found in Maine’s forests and fi elds. Learn about the great opportunity to sustainably collect world-class gourmet edible mushrooms as well as medicinal mushrooms prized for health promotion as you enjoy a walk through the woods and fi elds. The only thing standing in the way is having the knowledge and confi dence to tell the good edible mushrooms from those toxic ones that can sicken you. Join Maine’s most prominent mushroom expert for a talk supported by fresh seasonal mushrooms and stunning photos of our local favorites as we walk the path of the locavore mushroomer. Marley will have copies of his books available for sale and signing after the talk.
Thursday, August 25	Linnaeus, the Second Adam with Robbin Moran	Linnaeus is one of the most fascinating fi gures in the history of biology. In his day (mid 1700s) he was famous for his sexual system of plant classifi cation. Some of his colleagues thought his classifi cation was lewd and licentious and had his books banned in certain European countries. He took revenge on his critics by naming ugly, smelly plants or animals after them. Linnaeus trained students, many of who lost their lives while on plant-collecting expeditions. One of his students, Peter Kalm, was the fi rst trained botanist in North America. Nowadays Linnaeus is most remembered for the introduction of binomial nomenclature, which is still used for naming living things. Ironically, Linnaeus never meant for binomial nomenclature to replace the previous system of naming. His big ego and wide interests make for many entertaining stories about him— stories that shed light about science and scientists in the 1700s.