All posts by Siena Edwards

AMNH

A Day of Exploration in the Hall of Biodiversity

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The American Museum of Natural History has been one of my favorite places in the New York City since I was a little kid. Every time I go, I discover and learn something new–whether it’s something new about our solar system, about dinosaurs, or about the environment of the world we live in, there is always new information to absorb. What’s so great about the museum is also that it’s never boring; they really know how to engage children and adults alike in getting excited about learning, through their short films and interactive exhibits and well-thought-out displays. Some of them attract more people, and some attract less.

One of the exhibits in the Hall of Biodiversity that I was attracted to was a short wall of panels in which each panel was dedicated to a different type of environment on Earth, such as savannas, deserts, tropical forests, tundra, etc. I liked this because it gave very basic information, such as what percentage of the earth that particular environment took up, what the basic features were, and a good map that showed where exactly on earth one could find these spots. I enjoyed the simplicity of it and how it was rather hidden. I decided to observe how people interacted with it, and what I found didn’t surprise me. Of the handful of people that stopped to look at it, only about two or three of them actually read each panel and spent more than just a second looking over them. Most of the time people walked right past them, the panels going unnoticed. One little girl decided to start playing on top of them while I was reading them. However I think I can understand why these were overlooked in the great Hall of Biodiversity, as the rest of the hall is filled with interactive exhibits that are way more engaging and fun than this one. Maybe if it had some sort of touch screen people would be a little more attracted to it!

The second exhibit that I chose to observe was the series of little plastic binders of information and the short films that played in the rainforest section, in which viewers have the opportunity to kind of play “I spy” and find the animals from the books located throughout the forest. Growing up this was always one of my favorite things to do at the museum so I figured I would see lots of little kids having fun with this one. I was not surprised to find a sizable group of schoolchildren trying to beat each other at finding all kinds of lizards, birds, and other types of interesting animals. I was pleased to see the older kids and adults flipping casually through the binders, albeit not spending much time reading each page. Kids were watching the films and pushing buttons and having a good time learning about the diversity of the rainforest. I think the museum has always done an excellent job with that section, and observing other people’s reactions to it just proved it.

I really enjoyed visiting the museum again, as I haven’t been there in a couple of years. It’s always such a pleasure wandering through the halls and ending up somewhere that you had forgotten about. Of course, I had to go to the planetarium, because Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s “Dark Matter” film was playing. It was great, naturally. I certainly learned a thing or two during last week’s visit and I hope that all the little kids and adults alike who visited that day did too.

What is Science?

Darwin and Invasive Species

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Carl Zimmer’s New York Times article, “Turning to Darwin to Solve the Mystery of Invasive Species,” examines the evidence that we have of how certain invasive species thrive in new settings versus those that don’t. One of the things he points to for a proof as to why certain species that originate in places such as Asia thrive and take over in new places such as North America, is that Charles Darwin, in his book “The Origin of Species,” says that we should not be surprised by native species “being beaten and supplanted by the naturalised productions from another land.” Thus Darwin shows us that not only do animals fight for survival of the fittest, but so do plants as they travel across the world.

The main assumption in this article, although one that is backed up by years of research an immense amount of evidence, is that evolution is the best explanation for why certain species thrive over others in the first place. Of course, the author cannot go into a full in-depth analysis of the evidence behind evolution and the things we still have to figure out, because evolution is a fairly agreed-upon theory in general.

The article goes on to explain how scientists have seen that certain species of plants, such as emerald ash borer and Japanese barberry, have come over from foreign places such as Asia and have invaded and overpowered some of the species native to North America. Scientists have been trying to figure out why it is that these plants can invade so effectively, and many are considering Darwin’s prediction to be a good explanation–that these species are simply more aggressive and can survive more easily due to their origins in environments that are tougher than that of which they are invading. Scientists are also pointing to the levels of biodiversity in certain areas compared to others as an originator of the tougher species that are able to invade other environments than their own. The author brings up an example of the Suez Canal, which connects two very different environments — the Red Sea/Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Read Sea and Indian Ocean are two old, very diverse marine environments whereas the Mediterranean Sea is a newer environment with considerably less biodiversity. Scientists saw that the species coming from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean were easily invading and taking over species that were native to the Mediterranean.

The author does point out that this is not a perfect experiment nor is it backed by enough data to be considered the answer to invasive species, but the data that the author collects and explains seems adequate for seriously considering this theory.

Bioblitz

An ecosystem — On Campus

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Although I was unable to attend the BioBlitz, I did have an opportunity to wander around the Brooklyn College campus a bit and observe all the different types of plants that were growing. Although I always appreciated the great foliage of campus, I never was able to look closely and observe the subtle and beautiful differences in colors, shapes, blossoms, flowers, and textures of all the different types of plants. Even though much of these plants were placed there intentionally by humans and not by nature, it was still fascinating to see how these plants lived side by side and created a great landscape of variety. One of the plants I found most beautiful was this tree that had bark of a nice reddish brown color and these finger-like dark green leaves.

unnamedThis experience reinforced a lot of my ideas about nature in New York City. I was able to observe all of the different plants although I had to keep in mind that these plants were planned and not natural, so I could not fully appreciate the natural beauty, similar to other New York parks and natural landscapes. It also made me wonder if the natural landscape of that area would have the same plants as it does now, or if some of these plant species were not native to the area.

Here are some other plant species I saw. I noted the differences in texture and shape of the leaves for the most part.

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I’m not sure if my little version of the BioBlitz changed my idea about NYC. Having grown up in lower Manhattan, I always had a pretty even mixture of nature (parks) and city. However at a younger age I don’t think that I would really observe and note the differences in plant species as much. I think the next time I go on a hike upstate I will take note of plant diversity just a little more.