and evolution, and its component planets, asteroids, 

 meteonds, and comets. 



Department of Paleobiology 



This year, research scientists in the Department of Paleo- 

 biology published important papers, arising from several on- 

 going research programs. Most notable among these are three 

 publications based on Dr. Alan Cheetham's long-term study, 

 in conjunction with his colleagues Dr. Jeremy Jackson (STRI) 

 and Dr. Lee-Ann Hayek (NMNH), of the evolutionary dynam- 

 ics of bryozoans, a group of marine invertebrates. Their work 

 provides the most compelling evidence gathered to date in 

 support of the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution, 

 which argues that speciation takes place in short bursts, fol- 

 lowed by long intervals of stasis, rather than as a long series of 

 small changes. These papers were published in "Evolution" 

 (49:290-296); "Environmental and Biological Change in Tropi- 

 cal America" (University of Chicago Press, 1995); and "New 

 Approaches to Speciation in the Fossil Record" (Columbia 

 University Press, 1995). 



Dr. Richard Benson and his colleagues, published a paper that 

 extends the use of time tesolution into the past using sedimen- 

 tary patterns created by the Earth's natural rhythms. This paper is 

 part of an ongoing study of the geological history of the Mediter- 

 ranean region. ("Paleoceanography" 10:5-20). 



The illustrated "Fossils of the Burgess Shale," (Smithsonian 

 Press, 1995) was released. This book is the result of collabora- 

 tive work among Drs. D.E. Briggs, F. Collier, and Douglas 

 Erwin (NMNH). This volume brings the history and current 

 knowledge of the Burgess Shale to the scientific community 

 and the layman. The Burgess Shale remains among the most 

 important collections at the National Museum of Natural His- 

 tory It was collected by then Secretary Charles D. Walcott in 

 the early 1900s. The collection has been pivotal in out under- 

 standing of the diversification of animal life and the develop- 

 ment of evolutionary theory. 



The Department ot Paleobiology has made progress in the 

 conservation of the vertebrate paleontology collections. Many 

 specimens of Cenozoic mammals have been repaired and fitted 

 with special jackets that offer both incteased protection and 

 accessibility to scientists interested in their study Ma|or re- 

 organization of collections has also been initiated. Large num- 

 bers of specimens have been moved to new cases at the 

 Museum Support Center, and collections have been reorgan- 

 ized in virtually all areas of the Department's holdings. 



Department of Vertebrate Zoology 



The Department of Vertebrate Zoology's Dr. Lynne Parenti 

 was invited to attend the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Work- 

 shop on "Conservation, Sustainable Use and Management of 

 Wild Animals" and presented lectures on systematics relating 

 to biodiversity. Dr. Parenti helped to establish ties with Chi- 

 nese colleagues and to assure continued cooperation and ex- 

 change of scientists, books, and specimens. 



Twenty years of effort, including the detailed examination 

 of over 9,000 specimens and the recording and analysis ot an 

 enormous amount of data, resulted in the 1995 publication by 

 Drs. Victor G. Springer and Jeffrey T. Williams of "The Indo- 

 West Pacific Blennnd Fish Genus htiblennius Reappraised: A 

 Revision oi Istiblennius. Blenmella. and Paralticus. New Genus," 

 (Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, Volume 565). This 

 illustrated paper offers a systematic revision of three Indo- 

 Pacific genera of common marine fishes, and describes a new 

 genus and two new species. 



In 1995 the Department of Vertebrate Zoology entered the 

 "information highways" with the development of a World 

 Wide Web page on Internet (Fishes). Mammal collection data 

 were made available over Internet via the Natural History Go- 

 pher Server. This file encompasses information consolidated 

 from over 477,000 specimen records into over 17,000 taxo- 

 nomic-geographic records. 



The new Osteo-Prep/Manne Mammal Necropsy Labora- 

 tory is virtually complete. The Lab is situated in Suitland, 

 Maryland, adjacent to the Museum Support Center, and 

 takes the place of the old East Court Laboratory. Like its 

 predecessor, the new Marine Mammal Lab will allow mam- 

 malogists to examine the remains of dolphins, porpoises, 

 and whales that have beached themselves or drowned in 

 fishing nets. The Osteo-Prep facilities will make possible 

 the preparation of skeletal remains for addition to the 

 Museum's research collections. To inaugurate the site, 

 Museum researchers hosted a workshop for some 20 por- 

 poise researchers. 



Laboratory of Molecular Systematics 



Dr. Elizabeth A. Zimmer, Laboratory of Molecular System- 

 atics Botanist, continued her National Science Foundation 

 Visiting Professorship for Women at the California Insti- 

 tute for Technology. While there she gained training in 

 molecular developmental microscopy techniques applica- 

 ble to systematics. Dr. Zimmer was named a Research 

 Fellow at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in 

 Claremont, California, where she organized their annual 

 symposium on the topic of "The New Morphology: 

 Integrative Approaches to Plant Systematics." 



*Laboratory of Molecular Systematics investigators Dr. 

 Paul Lewis and Dr. David Swofford have recently discov- 

 ered a very general way to estimate genetic distances. This 

 year, they presented their newly devised method, which 

 vastly expands the number of possible models that can be 

 applied in arriving at estimates, at the joint meetings of 

 the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Society of 

 Systematic Biologists. 



The Laboratory of Molecular Systematics renovated 1,700 

 square feet of laboratory space at the Museum Support Centet 

 in Suitland, Maryland, to house frozen tissue collections. The 

 space will also be used as a facility for recovering ancient 

 DNA from Museum specimens. 



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