Fossil of the Week

The Hyde Park Mastodon is one of the Museum of the Earth's "icons," that is, a unique exhibit that we will (likely) always have on the floor, and that people come specifically to see. The Hyde Park Mastodon was excavated by PRI staff in the year 2000. Hyde Park, New York, in Dutchess County, just west of the border with Connecticut, is best known as the birthplace of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The skeleton was discovered when Hyde Park residents Larry and Sheryl Lozier were having a pond on their property deepened. A complete humerus (long bone of the upper forelimb or "arm"), and pieces of skull, tusk, and pelvis indicated that more was probably still buried. So in October 2000, a complete excavation was undertaken, attracting much media attention, including The Discovery Channel, who funded part of the work and produced an hour-long documentary. The mounted skeleton, unveiled at Museum of the Earth in September 2003, is one of the most complete ever recovered - it is missing only 6 bones. It is a mature male, approximately 36 years old, dated at 11,480 years BP (before present). A blunt trauma lesion on the skull was interpreted as a skull injury associated with the death of the animal. A remarkable analysis of the specimen by Dr. Daniel Fisher (University of Michigan) appears in our publication, "Mastodon Paleobiology, Taphonomy, and Paleoenvironment in the Late Pleistocene of New York State" (Palaeontographica Americana no. 61, 2008). The bones shown here are the complete lower jaw (2 mandibles), with their spectacular molars.

A Sneak Peak...

It takes a lot to put together an exhibition here at the Museum of the Earth. Dr. Sarah Chicone our Director of Exhibits works on any given exhibition for a year or even longer before the public gets to enjoy the fruits of her labor. This weekend marks the soft opening of our newest temporary exhibition:

Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through

This exhibition features PRI's extraordinary collection of Amber, a photo booth, and even an ancient tree that visitors can explore.

Here's a couple photos of some of what you will see -- Enjoy:

Environmental Consequences of Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling

PRI has long established itself as a place for the public to get accurate scientific explanations of issues that concern them. For us, teaching about evolution and human-made climate change hasn't been too much of a problem. The science itself contains no controversy, and many theistic people find harmony between evolution and their chosen creation story; we give the facts, you assimilate that into your spiritual life as you choose. Human-made climate change proves to be only slightly more complicated. Again, the science overwhelmingly points to a correlation between rising carbon dioxide and rising temperature, and we're certainly chugging out the carbon dioxide. The exact timeline and gravity of consequences associated with this changing climate are debatable, so what an individual decides with respect to policy and personal choice must be made based on their values. PRI just handles the science.

We've also been involved, as of late, in educating the public on Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Here there are a number of factors at play, many of them value judgments, and few of them purely scientific. Strictly speaking, we've been drilling wells for years in this country. The same drilling muds are used everywhere, the same potential problems with natural faults causing leaks into aquifers, and the same boom/bust increase in people and machinery, can be expected of the Marcellus Shale drilling that we've seen for years. With respect to hydraulic fracturing of the well, certainly highly pressurized water that is intended to create breaks in the rock causes some seismic (ground shaking) action. Its just so far below the ground, we're not sure how much of it we'll feel, or if it could trigger some other small seismicity. The technology is so new, studies are still being undertaken to examine the geological consequences. And certainly the amount of water that is used in the fracking process, once spent, needs to be cleaned and treated before being returned to the environment. Huge concerns about the effectiveness of water treatment facilities, water quantities, and waste. But a 'well' dug and regulated well shouldn't create any new problems than we're familiar with in the long term.

The biggest problem with this, as with any advanced technology, is not the technology itself, but rather the human factor. Humans make mistakes. Humans accidentally spill things. Humans choose to cut corners to save costs. Human error is not 'scientific,' but it is a huge factor in deciding how you feel about drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

In an effort to present all facts to the public, I share this article. While not scientific, if you're making a decision about leasing your land, its important to know two things: 1) most sources agree that natural gas is a cleaner alternative energy than coal, and 2) human error in collecting that gas can lead to spills, pollution of environments, and the degradation of species within that environment. With this lens, we ask you to read an article about how human error caused an algal bloom on a creek, which killed off species of fish and benthos in that creek, at least temporarily devastating that ecosystem.

Coming in October at Museum of the Earth

Exhibits:

Opening October 3

Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through

Golden Gems from our prehistoric past shed light on a lost world. Come learn how these ancient jewels were formed and the secrets that they hold. See our extraordinary collection of amber on display. This exhibit is made possible with support from M&T Bank.

Also on Display:
Biomorphic
Recent Works by Gregory Brellochs



Events:



Teacher Resource Day
Saturday, October 3
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Calling all teachers! Join us for a special day devoted to you. We'll have free fossil and publications giveaways, as well as special presentations on what the Museum can offer for your classroom. Learn more here.


Amber Family Day
Friday, October 9
11 am to 3 pm
Bring the whole family to help us celebrate the opening of our newest exhibit, Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through. We'll have fun activities throughout the day. Included with Museum admission.


Amber Opening Reception
Friday, October 9
6 pm to 8 pm
Join us for an evening celebration of the opening of our newest exhibit, Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through. Mingle with friends, enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres, and explore the exhibit. Tickets $10. Purchase yours online by clicking here or call 607.273.6623 x11.


Museum in the Dark
Thursday, October 29
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Explore the Museum after hours Halloween-style. Flashlight tours, special activities, trick or treat stations, and more! Come dressed in your costume and we'll have a spooktacularly good time!
Members - $5 adults, $3 student/senior, $2 youth (4-17), children three and under are free
Non members - $10 adults, $7 student/senior, $5 youth (4-17), children three and under are free


Fall Girl Scout Workshops
Check out our offerings for Girl Scouts this October by clicking here and register your troop today. Information and registration available by calling 607.273.6623 x13 or by emailing batman@museumoftheearth.org.


Natural History at Noon
Saturday, October 17
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Alejandra Gandolfo from Cornell University

Fossil of the Week

You don't often find fossils in slates (a shale that's been metamorphosed by heat and pressure), but this specimen is one of those rare exceptions. It is a fossil brittlestar (or ophiuroid) named Budenbachia beneckei (Stürtz, 1886), alternatively known to some authors as Taeniaster beneckei. It is Early Devonian in age (480 million years old), from the Hunsrück region, near Budenbach, southwestern Germany, and it is part of the PRI collection (catalog number 43700). There is a slate mine in Budenbach - the "Herrenberg" quarry - that is famous for Devonian fossils. The slates were quarried for roofing from the 16th century until the 1960s, and there is now a museum at the quarry site. This specimen might have been buried in a current of flowing water, from the way its arms are swept back. The preservation is extraordinary, and you can clearly see the plates that made up its body. We're looking at the bottom (oral) side of the animal, with the five arms radiating out from the central disk and mouth. The groove that you see in each of the five arms is real, and can be seen in modern brittlestars. It is the "ambulacral groove," and is the location of the animal's tube feet, used by living ophiuroids and seastars (or starfish) for locomotion and manipulating food. Tube feet are very delicate, soft anatomical parts and as such, don't readily fossilize, however this particular region of Germany is famous for its exceptionally preserved, pyritized fossils. Preserved tube feet were first reported in the fossil record in this species in 2004 by a group of researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana. This discovery was made possible by a new air-abrasive preparation technique developed by German paleontologists. Living ophiuroids use their flexible, whiplike arms to wriggle across the sand, however in Budenbachia, the relatively large tube feet and poorly muscularized arms suggest to scientists that they used their tube feet for locomotion - like hundreds of tiny legs - as modern seastars do.

Text courtesy Paula Mikkelsen

We've Had Babies! Baby Cockroaches That Is...

Cockroaches that have called PRI’s Museum of the Earth home since last winter's Darwin exhibition have finally reproduced. The babies will be making an appearance at a public event in the near future and we are excited about the possibility to use them as teaching tools to show the diversity of life.

Unlike the scurrying, house-infesting insects that most people visualize, the Museum of the Earth’s cockroaches come from a leaf litter in Madagascar and are often used in classroom settings. These bugs are lethargic and, while not aggressive, they hiss loudly when annoyed. Due to their size (a mature cockroach can reach 2-3 inches in length), these hissing cockroaches are especially useful in teaching people about sexual dimorphism, the physical differences between the sexes. While all insects show sexual dimorphism, cockroaches are big enough to hold and get a close-up view. The male cockroach has more pronounced horns on the top of its head and thicker, hairier antennae than the female.

The Museum has been waiting for months for its 4 male and 2 female cockroaches to reproduce. After mating, the female hissing cockroach will carry an egg case internally for a period of time before eventually dropping it for hatching. While an egg case appeared in the cockroach tank a few weeks ago, it was not viable and the wait continued. Fortunately, entomologist Brian Gollands (the keeper of the Museum’s cockroaches) discovered about two dozen offspring clustered around the food trays on Monday morning. The babies are slightly bigger than expected for just born, so they may have hatched sometime late Sunday or early Monday.

Gollands is excited to display the young cockroaches and their parents. He hopes to revamp his web cam setup, which would allow people to watch the nocturnal insects online and get a better sense of their lives than is possible when viewing them during the day. The cockroaches will also make an appearance at the Museum’s annual Halloween event, Museum in the Dark, along with other insect species. “People love to see insects they don’t know much about, even if they are grossed out initially,” says Gollands, with an adult male cockroach crawling up his arm. “Any time you can get people to appreciate any insect, it’s a good thing.”

The cockroaches will also be used at the Museum in the Spring as part of a temporary exhibit on biodiversity.

-Kate R.

Evolution of Flowers...

Photo courtesy J. Casciano

Are flowers' evolution like human's bodies? Read this great article from SFGate (web-site for the San Francisco Chronicle). Interesting stuff, and lots of exciting things happening using the fossil record!

Flowers' Evolution Like Humans' Bodies

Fossil of the Week

Continuing our look at some holotype specimens from the PRI collection, here's a real odd-ball (I had to look this one up!): catalog number 28408, Stereoceras gibbosum named by Rousseau H. Flower (of the New York State Museum in Albany) in the June 1950 issue of Palaeontographica Americana. It is a cephalopod, related to the ammonites and Chambered Nautilus. It's also especially interesting to me (and hopefully to readers) because it is a local Devonian fossil - collected in Ithaca shale in the old University Quarry on Cornell University Campus. The quarry was "below McGraw Hall" and was already filled in by the time that this species was published. The specimen was originally part of the Cornell University collection, no. 5548, which PRI acquired in 1995. Unlike previous Fossils of the Week, the original published illustrations of this one offer nothing to help our understanding - by 1950, specimens were photographed rather than drawn, and the photos look almost exactly like the one shown here. All of the members of this genus as "rare," and at the time of description, this was the only specimen known of this species - Flower wrote "S. gibbosum is another of those irritatingly rare species which is known only from the holotype." There are no further specimens in the online Paleobiology Database, so this might still be true. It's 160 millimeters in length (almost 6-1/2 inches), so it's pretty large. The flattened shape is due to compression during the process of fossilization (scientists know this by comparing it to other specimens of the same or related species). The red sticky dot on the specimen (see here in dorsal and ventral views) means it is a type specimen - red markings on labels or on specimens is "shorthand" for type specimen used in many museum collections around the world. The author, Rousseau Hayner Flower (1913–1988) is at least as interesting as his specimen. He was a prolific paleontologist, known as much for his eccentric personality as for his science. In addition to Devonian cephalopods, he wrote on fossil corals and other invertebrates, describing several hundred new species. He was apparently infamous for bad behavior, for example, mocking an organization with low standards by attending a meeting dressed as an ape and having his dog inducted into the society. Later in life, he moved to New Mexico, took to wearing western-style clothes, carrying bullwhips and pistols, and reportedly shot a hole through his office ceiling. He was also a skilled cellist, pianist, organist, violinist, and composer - all without having taken any lessons. The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources published a memoir in honor of his paleontological contributions in 1988.

Text by Paula Mikkelsen

Some night time reading?

I stumbled upon a blog post by PZ Meyers, a biologist and an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris, where he discusses some books that you might find interesting on the subject of evolution.

He suggests starting with the below:

"Read Donald Prothero's Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Or Sean Carrol's The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Or Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body ^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Or Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution Is True^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}.

These are all eminently readable, and are aimed at an audience that knows next to nothing about biology — they will quickly pull you up to a level at which you can at least ask intelligent questions. We even use Carroll's book here at UMM in our freshman biology course, with the idea that it will introduce them to the concepts they should have gotten in high school, but most didn't."

Meyers also suggests reading Richard Dawkins' The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}.

He says, "READ IT.Maybe you already know everything Dawkins writes about in this book, if you've got a degree in biology and have done a fair amount of reading in the field; there really aren't any radical surprises here, just a lovely review of familiar facts. You should read it anyway. Realize that this is the level that you have to operate on if you want to discuss the science of evolution with the public. What this (and the other books I mentioned above) is is a primer on how to communicate the ideas of science to a wider audience. It's an overview and a synthesis, and it takes each piece of evidence and makes them part of a narrative. This is science plus storytelling — it's what you have to do."

Mr. Gurche Goes to Washington...

The Museum of the Earth’s Artist-in-Residence John Gurche

readies his sculptures for their new home at the Smithsonian Institution.

ITHACA, NEW YORK – September 9, 2009 –The Museum of the Earth's artist-in-residence, John Gurche, is preparing three early hominin sculptures, to be delivered to their new home at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. His sculptures will be molded here in Ithaca and then casted in bronze in Maryland before they make it to their final destination. Gurche transformed the lobby of the Museum of the Earth into a temporary art studio in October 2008 where he created his three life-sized sculptures of Homo erectus, Homo neandertalensis, and Homo heidelbergensis.

In his Sculpting Human History exhibit, Gurche used casts of actual specimens to replicate the build of our ancient relatives with both scientific accuracy and stunning realism. From the creation of wire frames in unique evolutionary poses to detailed muscle moldings and intricate painting, Gurche’s process transported viewers back to a time when these early hominins roamed the Earth.

"We're very excited to finally be able to let people know that the work that John has been doing will become part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution," stated Dr. Sarah Chicone, director of exhibits at the Museum of the Earth. "What a great opportunity to see firsthand the relationship between art and science, and to see John bring life to these early hominins over this past year. We've all fostered a personal connection with our distant past because of this endeavor."

John Gurche’s award-winning paleoart has appeared on the covers of National Geographic, Discover, and Natural History magazines. His work can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution, the Field Museum of Chicago, the American Museum of Natural History, and many other venues. His artistic reconstruction of early hominins has been featured in documentaries by National Geographic, the Smithsonian, and the BBC. Gurche is well known for his work with Steven Spielberg on the film Jurassic Park and for his paintings for the 1989 dinosaur stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service.


The artist working on one of his sculptures in his studio at the Museum.
Photo courtesy: Rachel Philipson Photography & Design


The same sculpture from above being molded by a team of artisans.

Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America'

A British film about Charles Darwin, starring Paul Bettany and (his wife in real-life) Jennifer Connelly, has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Read the full story here: Creation

This Weekend at Museum of the Earth

Saturday, September 12, 2009
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
"Invasive Insects and our Forests" with Mark Whitmore, Cornell Department of Natural Resources
Invasive insect species threaten the native species of trees that they feed on and can often kill the trees which may have no defense against these species. Come learn how insects like the Emerald Ash Borer, the Asian Longhorn Beetle, and the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid - all invasive to our area - are changing the makeup of our forests.



Tomorrow, Saturday, September 12th is your last chance to join us for fossil collecting this year! Explore the ancient seas of central New York with the help of our expert staff. Search for trilobites, brachiopods, and a myriad of other ocean creatures up to 400 million years old! Whether you are an amateur collector or are looking to expand your personal collection, we’ve got the right trip for you! Visit our website for details on collecting sites and booking your trip. Book early as trips tend to fill up fast!

____________________________________________________________________

Coming Up at Museum of the Earth



From the beginning of bacterial life to modern animals, come learn how life emerged and adapted to life on Earth.
Thursdays from 5:30pm - 6:30pm
September 10, 17, 24 and October 1, 8, 15
Free and open to the public.


Fall Girl Scout Workshops
Check out our offerings for Girl Scouts this October by clicking here and register your troop today. Information and registration available by calling 607.273.6623 x13 or by emailing batman@museumoftheearth.org.

---

Save the Dates!

• October 3 - Teacher Resource Day
• October 3 - Ancient Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through Exhibition opens
• October 9 - Amber Family Fun Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• October 9 - An evening reception to celebrate the opening of the Amber exhibition
• October 29 - Museum in the Dark

Fossil of the Week

Continuing our look at specimens from the PRI collection, here's a different kind of type specimen. This one is a paratype. That's similar to a holotype (which we've discussed in the past few Fossil of the Week installments), except that this is sort of "secondary" to the holotype. Whereas the holotype is the most important, paratypes (and there can be several to many) are additional specimens looked at by the original author at the time that he or she described the species. So if anything ever happens to the holotype, one of these can "step in" so to speak. This one is a lovely snail, catalog number PRI 24311, Astraea petrothauma, named and described by S. Stillman Berry in the September 1940 issue of Bulletins of American Paleontology. It is a relatively young fossil, from the Lower Pleistocene of San Pedro, California, so less than 2 million years old. It's also a pretty large fossil snail, almost 2 inches in diameter. Visible on the shell is Stillman Berry's private collection number "7702" - we leave these markings on the shells (and also any old labels that might have accompanied the specimens) for historical reasons - in this case, the original description reads "Paratypes.-Cat. No. 7702, Berry Collection; others to be deposited in the collections of Stanford University and the United States National Museum." Because we see "7702" on this specimen, we know that this was once part of the Berry collection, and came to us by donation after publication. Accompanying the snail shell is its operculum. This is a shelly "trap door" borne on the foot of the snail that seals the shell shut when the snail withdraws. In this family of snails (Turbinidae, or Top Shells), the operculum is calcified and nicely sculptured. In most other snails, it is made of conchiolin (similar to your fingernails) and does not easily fossilize. The name "petrothauma" means "marvelous rock."

Text by Paula Mikkelsen

The Evolution of Intelligent Design

Cornell University Library invites you to a film screening presented by film archivist Skip Elsheimer.

The Evolution of Intelligent Design

A series of 16mm school films made by the Moody Institute of Science that planted the seeds of intelligent design in the minds of young impressionable kids back in the 1950s.
Titles include – Electric Eel, Fish Out of Water!, Food Getting Among Animals and more!

September 15, 2009
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Kroch Library Lecture Room (2B48)

Skip Elsheimer, founder of the A/V Geeks Educational Film Archive, an archive of over 24,000 educational and industrial films curates film programs and has presented them at such venues at the American Museum of the Moving Image, Coolidge Corner Cinema, Anthology Film Archives, Aurora Picture Show and Chicago Filmmakers. Recently, Skip co-wrote an article with film professor Marsha Orgeron entitled "Something Different In Science Films - The Moody Institute of Science and the Canned Missionary Movement" which was published in The Moving Image - Journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists. http://www.avgeeks.com/

This event is in conjunction with the exhibition "Charles Darwin: After the Origin," in the Carl A. Kroch Library. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/darwin/

Free and open to the public! Please pass on to interested colleagues and students.

Labor Day...

Labor Day means a couple things for us here at the Museum of the Earth.

1.) Summer is officially over and soon enough Ithaca will be welcoming the white puffy stuff back for several months.

2.) There will be lots of school buses filling our parking lot from now until mid-June.

3.) The Museum hours change! Don't forget that we are closed on Tuesday's and Wednesday's from now until Memorial Day!

We would like to thank all our visitors who helped make this one of the best summers on record here at MOTE! Be sure to remember that the Museum will be opening a new exhibition in October -- Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through. It's going to be really amazing, and we hope to see you there!

This Weekend at Museum of the Earth...

Natural History @ Noon
Saturday, September 5
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Fungi: Forging a Future From the Past? with George Hudler

Dr. Hudler will talk about the role of the fungi in the Circle of Life with emphasis on how they decay organic matter and, in the process, recycle vital nutrients for future generations of life.

____________________________________________________________________

Coming Up at Museum of the Earth



Saturday, September 12, 2009
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
"Invasive Insects and our Forests" with Mark Whitmore, Cornell Department of Natural Resources
Invasive insect species threaten the native species of trees that they feed on and can often kill the trees which may have no defense against these species. Come learn how insects like the Emerald Ash Borer, the Asian Longhorn Beetle, and the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid - all invasive to our area - are changing the makeup of our forests.



September is your last chance to join us for fossil collecting this year! Explore the ancient seas of central New York with the help of our expert staff. Search for trilobites, brachiopods, and a myriad of other ocean creatures up to 400 million years old! Whether you are an amateur collector or are looking to expand your personal collection, we’ve got the right trip for you! Visit our website for details on collecting sites and booking your trip. Book early as trips tend to fill up fast!


From the beginning of bacterial life to modern animals, come learn how life emerged and adapted to life on Earth.
Thursdays from 5:30pm - 6:30pm
September 10, 17, 24 and October 1, 8, 15
Free and open to the public.


Fall Girl Scout Workshops
Check out our offerings for Girl Scouts this October by clicking here and register your troop today. Information and registration available by calling 607.273.6623 x13 or by emailing batman@museumoftheearth.org.

---

Don't forget to head out to the Great New York State Fair this summer! The Fair runs from August 27 to September 7 and we'll be onsite at the 4-H building with tons of fun activities to participate in. We hope to see you there!

---

Save the Dates!

• October 3 - Teacher Resource Day
• October 3 - Ancient Amber: Letting the Past Shine Through Exhibition opens
• October 9 - Amber Family Fun Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• October 9 - An evening reception to celebrate the opening of the Amber exhibition
• October 29 - Museum in the Dark

---

Off the Page

On Tuesday, September 1, James Dake, author of "Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region: Its Flora, Fauna, Geology and History" was a guest on WSKG Radio's Off the Page with Bill Jaker today.

If you missed the broadcast you can listen to it here: Off the Page

James Dake -- In the field.

Fossil of the Week

Continuing our look at some holotype specimens from the PRI collection, here's a tiny treasure: catalog number 5058, Ecculiomphalus fredericus, named by Percy Raymond in the April 1902 issue of Bulletins of American Paleontology. This is a flat-coiled gastropod (snail) from the Ordovician Period (approximately 460 million years ago) of Crown Point, New York, upstate in Essex County near the Vermont border, now part of the Adirondack Park Preserve. According to the publication, it was part of a collection of fossils made by the "Cornell Summer School of Field Geology" in 1901. The Crown Point peninsula (locally called Long Point) juts out into Lake Champlain about 5 miles north of Crown Point village. The underlying rock was at that time exposed along the lake's shoreline. Ecculiomphalus was uncommonly collected from shaly "Chazy" limestone, 97-115 feet below the surface. The snail has only one loosely coiled whorl, meaning that it makes only one complete coil, and the the last whorl does not actually touch the earlier part, as they do in more typical snails, modern and extinct. (The original drawing of the shell shows this a little more clearly than the photograph of the real specimen.) This species is very small, with the largest available specimen at the time of description reaching only 3.5 centimeters in diameter - that's only about an inch and a half. It is a member of the family Ophiletidae, which has no living relatives today. What the snail looked like when alive, what it ate, and how it behaved are all but unknown - we only know what we can see in the fossil.

Text by Paula Mikkelsen

Off The Page

James Dake, author of "Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region: Its Flora, Fauna, Geology and History" will be a guest on WSKG Radio's Off the Page with Bill Jaker today, at 1 pm and then again at 7 pm.

The field guide’s value is endless in a region surrounded by natural gorges, state parks, and Cayuga Lake. Paula Mikkelsen, Associate Director for Science and Director of Publications at PRI, believes that the field guide will be popular with hikers, summer camps, and those who simply want to explore the area. Mikkelsen predicts that the field guide will become an essential in every backpack and reported, “I’ve already used it in my own back yard.”

In addition to the contents concerning the area’s natural formations and wildlife, the history of the region is outlined in the field guide. The historical content contributes to the appreciation of the local area. The region’s natural history has drawn visitors for years. The chapter also ties in the history of Cayuga Nature Center and the Paleontolgical Research Institution, along with national events that occurred during the area’s early settlement.

Author James Dake acts as the liaison between PRI and CNC, fostering the collaboration between the two organizations. “The collaboration has taken the best of both organizations and improved them,” stated Mikkelsen. “Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region” is Dake’s first published book. The publication was made possible by a grant from the Triad Foundation.

James Dake -- In the field.

"Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region" can be purchased at our online bookstore, the Museum gift shop, Buffalo Street Books, and the Cornell College Bookstore.

To order online please click here: Field Guide to the Cayuga Lake Region