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MAY
2
00
1
NUMBER
VOLUME 110
4
FEATURES
MOTHERS AND OTHERS
Rearing human offspring
to
most labor-intensive reproductive
this
independence
tasks.
Early
is
one of nature's
human
anthropologist, weren't the only ones bringing
mothers, argues
up
baby.
BY SARAH BLAFFER HRDY
NEW ZEALAND
SWEET STAKES
Tiny drops
ot
honeydew exuded by
a
bark-dwelling insect are prized by
many animals in a beech
BY LAURA SESSIONS
forest.
THE
REWARDS
OF CHANCE
COVER
Thanks
to the
random
Female Barbary
macaques with
a
molecules, a beetle can
baby. Primate
mothering
is,
behavior of agitated
to
varying degrees, a
flex
its
wings and
can open up
its
a
chared venture.
STORY BEGINS
OH PAGE 50
PHOTOGRAPH BY
CYRIL RUOSO/BIOS;
PETER ARNOLD, INC.
BY
clam
shell.
MARK DENNY
DEPARTMENTS
8
UP FRONT
Others'
Day
10 LETTERS
12 CONTRIBUTORS
14 IN
SUM
16 FINDINGS
Tiny Conspiracies
BONNIE L. BASSLER
34 THIS LAND
The Two Centuries
of Caddo Lake
ROBERT H. MOHLENBROCK
38 CELESTIAL EVENTS
The Mysterious
Side of Mercury
RICHARD PANEK
39 THE SKY IN MAY
JOE RAO
40 IN THE FIELD
Riding the Witches'-Broom
marchand
peter'j.
42 THE EVOLUTIONARY FRONT
Alternative Life Styles
CARL ZIMMER
46 UNIVERSE
Cosmic Plasma
NEIL DE GRASSE TYSON
78 AT THE
MUSEUM
The Genome Writ Large
HENRY
S.
F.
COOPER
JR.
82 MUSEUM EVENTS
84 REVIEW
Most Excellent of Fishes
LES
KAUFMAN
86 nature.net
Tnlobitophilia
ROBERT ANDERSON
86 BOOKSHELF
88 THE NATURAL MOMENT
Circle of Lite
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN SERRAO
90 ENDPAPER
Celle Fantastyk
JENNIFER ACKERMAN
Visit our
Web
site at
u'wti'.iiaturalhistory.com
EVER WONDER WHAT ANCIENT
EGYPTIANS DID ON MONDAY NIGHTS?
t.
HistoryChannel,com/Egypt
;'-»(ii7j'
1
1;
-
.^
.
'
-!^riJ^'liOK^pK^s2^'«p>i^
CHANNEL
WHERE THE PAST COMES
ALIVE,.
—
—
8
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
UP FRONT
C ?. I
Day
Others'
The magazine of the
American Museum of Natural History
Ellen Goldensohn
Probably because
small and nuclear,
m a part of the world where most families were
grew up
I
I
—
Rebecca B.
Thomas Page
not the baby-sitting jobs, certainly not complaints from their
overworked mothers, not aU of Erma Bombeck's brilliant wisecracks
prepared them
had quite
caring for their
first
for the night-and-day relendessness
baby. (The only person
among
ahead of time was herself the oldest of eleven.
Kathy had already been
A human
nature.
And
infant
it
fathers are not
is,
It
us
of the task of
who knew
the score
Board of Editors
Michel DeMatteis, Avis Lang
could truly be said that
Thomas Rosinski
as helpless a
one fmds
creature as
in
skills
Carol Barnette Editorial Coordinator
required. (Basic issues of caretaking
Is
Merle Okada
crib death best prevented by putting
down on
its
Mark A. Furlong
stomach? The most
from pediatricians
that the
back
as
is
Judy Lee-BuUer General Manager
is
Edgar L. Harrison National Advertising Manager
an infant
can crawl,
Sonia W. Waites Senior Account Manager
its
Jessica
moment-to-moment
existence
is
threatened
as
one of Ufe s most challenging long-term commitments. (The
Agee once observed that "begetdng a child is at least as serious
murder." Yet for the most part,
Humans
and what we consider the proper and
child varies with cultural background,
up a
and individual experience. Yet we
to bring
financial circumstances,
We
cheerfully opt to reproduce.)
are flexible creatures,
most loving way
flexible.
we
our offspring
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American Museum
OF Natural History
bottom Hne.
Hrdy ("Mothers and Others,"
bottom hne. PuUmg together
at that
evidence from social anthropology, endocrinology, and studies of animal
fr-om nuclear.
bolsters her
hunch
that the original
human
As Mother's Day approaches, we can pause
just the traditional
honorees but
uncles, day-care workers,
labors of "others"
made
UNDERSTANDING AND PRESERVING
BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
page 50) takes an extended look
Hrdy
(212)
6: Assoc. (847)
—
In this issue, anthropologist Sarah Blaffer
behavior,
Publisher
Circulation Assistant
An INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO
biological
to the
Advertising Sales Representarives
are not infinitely
mammals, primates with a unique evolutionary history. If
are to survive and behave as social creatures, we must toe a
are
Manager
Advertising Coordinator
Suzanne Kato
vigilance,
its
Fulfillment
Gladys Pavera Assistant
Monique Berkley
social and emotional
Manager
Jcnmfer Stagnari Promotion Director
infancy requires
an act
Adrertising Production
E. Alvarez Circulation Manager
Michael Shectman
Getting a child past
and attending to
Mackin
Ramon
by physical dangers.
unending
Director of Manufacturing
Denise Clappi
safest.)
Publisher
Gale Page Consumer Marketing Director
recent official answer
As soon
Assistant to the Editor
Judith Jacobson, Kirsten L. Weir Interns
back, side, or
is
Managing Editors
Barbie Bischo£ Research Editor
needs support for an extremely long time. Mothers and
the baby
educadon
Associate
Assistant Designer
Flora Rodriguez Picture Coordinator
sometimes stymie even the experts.
writer James
Designer
Jenny Lawrence, Vittorio Maestro, Richard Milner,
Judy Rice, Kay Zakariasen (Pictures)
a parent.)
of course, about
born with the
Maire Crowe
Managing Editor
Executive Editor
often heard friends remark that nothing in their
experience
own
Editor in Chief
Finnell
and
it
family was far
to think about not
also fathers, siblings, grandparents, aunts,
foster parents.
possible for
It
humans
may
well be that the devoted
to evolve.
Elleii
Goldensolin
Lewis
W Bernard Clmimian. Board of
Tmstees
Ellen V. Futter President
{ISSN 0028-0712)
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10
NATURAL HISTORY
I
5/0
1
LETTERS
The note
itself fascinating.
about the author on page 13
A
Larva By
Other
Any
Name
On page
56 of
"A World
DNA but
only
mitochondria." If Brown
I
was reminded of an incident
that
happened
(3/01),
two photographs
'47.
I
was
1946 or
in
in the Scientific
and Technical Division
at
a
correct and
McVey
via e-mail
is
some
Russell
L.
replies:
from father to
preservation of
does
child,
shed doubt on the
Chances
MacArthur's headquarters,
"mitochondrial Eve" date
age.
occurs in a snail
where we had the
of 170,000 years?
less
metamorphosis.
responsibihty ot overseeing
Adam
and even
Unfortunately, the
Japanese research.
photographs are of two
project was
decidedly different types of
silkworm pupae
While the
snails.
nudibranch
is
adult
silk
correctly
identified, the veliger larva
IS
not a nudibranch.
past ten years
be discontinued
M.
cooked
of snail, one
Jolin
silk.
H. McClendon
of
The author
writes about
/*%
\
insects
Asia.
1
is
I
was
a child
Hong Kong, we were
none have been well
enough preserved to provide
is
had
was
any
DNA. No
fossils
"Peking man"
for
DNA testing,
as all
the originals have been
w
.Hiij^
Dislodged Beavers
In "In the Field" (3/01),
paternal contribution, and
Peter J.
of egg
fertilization
Marchand writes
"show little
that beavers
showed that significant
numbers of sperm
inclination to chisel
mitochondria did enter the
and emerge from
More
recent studies,
through" the
ice
of a pond
their
lodges during winter. Here
however, have indicated that
on the U.S. -Canadian
sperm mitochondria
border along the Saint
entering the egg are
Lawrence River,
subsequently destroyed, and
been observing
between
the
JKk
belligerent insects,
pendulum of opinion
swung back. I was
wliich were sold by
has
vendors
reflecting the current
sitting outside the
I
by
school gate.
scientific uncertainty
saying that the sperm might
Santa Barbara, California
Peter Parks, responds:
Eve and
Paula Mikkelsen
In
have
beaver
colonies this winter, and
beavers from five of them
harvest trees
and brush. The
other colony happens to be
deHver "only a few or no"
the deepest.
mitochondria.
beavers in shallower ponds,
Adam
less
I
suggest that
than three feet deep, are
make
Hominid Bones
After reading "The
more
writes that "a father cannot
Scavenging of 'Peking
running waters that
contribute irdtochondrial
Man,' " by Noel T. Boaz
turn, caused
"prosobranch" (not
genes to a child, because
and Russell
dam
"opistobranch").
mitochondria in sperm
(3/01),
might make.
The
is
quite
original sHde for
photo was mislabeled.
It
should have been captioned
"The Evolutionary
six
have been out frequently to
A. Zee
The photographer,
this
lost.
,
%iVJj^)
right.
of
then some work on mice
always staging fights
in
of
are available
indicated there was a
egg.
fairly universal in
When
It
that there
erectus
three to fifteen
no paternal inheritance, but
studies
Japan, but playing with
^
.;.
used to
DNA
inherited paternally.
only two have
so,
DNA. Homo
times older; in addition,
about whether
any mitochondrial
been assumed
via e-uiail
Natural History
&
the
essentially
in the water
loosen the
Mikkclscn, Ph.D.
Mnseum
all
rather
short at that time, and the
Division of Invertebrate Zoology
American
ate
Food was
pupae were
a
of the neogastropods.
Paula
women
responds:
debate over the
scientific
to
pupae.
four-
Guy Brown
fossils are all
than 100,000 years old,
yielded
There has been some
had
doing the work
different type
after the
Neanderthal
fossils are
Unfortunately, the research
sculptured, darkly colored
lobed velum, point to
Jackson, Newjerscy
had been unwound.
because the young
Its
Klein
on the use of
multispiral, heavily
shell, plus its large
One
for the
DNA
decrease with the specimen's
morphological change that
at
Ciochon
mitochondria can be passed
that
DNA.
with Neanderthal
Kathleen
few or no
("Contributors") mentions
by Gregory A. Wray
the drastic
delivers a fuU
it
the eating of insects, and
Apart,"
illustrate
conception,
load of nuclear
Front" (3/01), Carl
enter the egg
Insect Allure
Erik L. Laurent's
cell."
Zimmer
can't
Yet in
"Symbionts and Assassins"
article
on
the Japanese fascination with
insects ("Mushi," 3/01)
was
(7/00-8/00),
writes,
Guy Brown
"When
a
sperm
penetrates an egg cell during
I
likely to
holes in the ice created by
L. Ciochon
wondered if
that they or otters
Bob Arnebeck
in-process
Wellesley Island,
eflforts
erectus
to
are, in
by holes in the
there were any planned or
repHcate the
or find
New
York
DNA of Homo
Homo
and/or
as has recently
habilis,
been done
Natural History's e-niaU
address
is
[email protected].
^^
EVER WONDER
JlHHii
iT
;
IN
IF
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
ANCIENT EGYPT YELLED CATCALLS?
u
K
J^WAf' --3S\/
THE=
f%BEm BEYOND THE PlfRAMIDS
HistoryChannel.com/Egypt
,
HISWAY
CHANNEL.
WHERE THE PAST COMES
ALIVE.
12
NATURAL HISTORY
5/0
1
CONTRIBUTORS
was a picture showing the bacterium Vibrio harveyi glowing in the dark that drew
Bonnie L. Bassler ("Tiny Conspiracies," page 16) to study ceU-to-ceU communication in
bacteria. At the time, she was just finishing her doctorate in biochemistry and wanted to
It
do research in
genetics.
She thought
V harveyi would make
an ideal subject because she
could induce mutations that affected luminescence and then simply turn off the Hghts in
the
room
to identify the interesting mutants. "After eleven years of studying the
'languages'
of this
species," she says, "I realize the
compHcated than
I
first
associate professor in the
phenomenon
department of molecular biology
An
slightly
is
However, making the mutants
suspected.
is still
more
fian."
Bassler
is
an
Princeton University.
at
anthropologist with a long-standing interest in the natural relationships
and
females,
their offspring,
Hanuman
research in the 1970s with a nine-year study ot
as sacred.
Her evolutionary
perspective
on
Hrdy
males,
langurs, a species that Indians regard
farrulies has resulted in
Natural History: "Daughters or Sons" (April 1988) and
1995).
among
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy ("Mothers and Others," page 50) began her
(pictured with her son, Niko)
is
two previous major
essays for
"Namral-Born Mothers" (December
professor emerita of anthi'opology at the
University of California, Davis, and the author of four books, including, most recently. Mother
Nature:
Laura Sessions
"The
Little
A History ofMotiiers,
("New Zealand Sweet
Stakes,"
Run
as
Things That
the
World"
been looking
for
examples ever
New Zealand fiU
the
bill.
has
Sessions
since.
moved
page 64)
first
(Pantheon Books, 1999).
Selection
read E. O. Wilson's article
an undergraduate biology student and
Honeydew
to
and Natural
Infants,
insects in the
says she
southern beech
New Zealand from the
United
forests
—on
After finishing her master's degree at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch
effects
of Australian brush-tailed possums on
program there
in science
—
the
she enrolled in a doctoral
communication. Sessions leads natural history tours of New
Zealand for American students and recently
islands,
New Zealand plants
of
States in 1996.
where she had an opportunity
visited
South Georgia and other subantarctic
to "play with the penguins
and
After writing his doctoral dissertation
Chance," page 72) turned
shores. Currently the
Denny conducts
sea Uons."
on
slug slime,
his attention to the plants
DeNault
fieldwork
Mark Denny ("The Rewards of
and animals that Hve on wave-swept
Professor of Marine Sciences at Stanford University,
Hopkins Marine Station
at Stanford's
California. Together with Steven Gaines,
he wrote Chance
in
in Pacific Grove,
Biology: Using Probability
to
Explore Nature (Princeton University Press, 2000). Their interest in chance began while
attempting to predict the toughest conditions intertidal organisms could tolerate.
reports that for a biologist (not a
written
a
book about
mathematician or
—
probability theory
fellow biologists and then "observes
them
statistician),
especially,
get a
he
John Serrao ("The Natural Moment," page 88) grew up in the borough of Queens,
New York City, where he pursued his passion for Hving things by hunting black
widow spiders around Jamaica Bay and collecting cicada-kiUing wasps in his
backyard. Alter receiving an M.S. in Science and Environmental Education from
Cornell University, Serrao (pictured here with a two-month-old black bear) began
his career as a professional naturalist, leading nature
home
programs for schools and
Pocono Mountains. His wildUfe photography has
appeared in dozens of magazines and field guides and in nearly a hundred nature
books. Serrao's most recent book is a self-published photographic guide, Tlie Reptiles
communities near
his
in the
and Amphibians of the Poconos and Northeastern Pennsylvania
(J. S.
says,
wary look
Publications, 2000).
it
feels strange to
when he mentions
in their eye
Denny
have
it
to
and edge away."
Explore
miracles
and
mysteries
in the only
magazine
ofitskindforjust$25!
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All in our unique magazine, world ac-
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14
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
SUM
IN
CHICKS
SIS'S
Brood parasitism— tricking
another mother into incubating one's eggs
pariiicularly
common
in
simply lays her eggs in
—
is
a
good deal
the nest of another
for the
parasitic bird: she
avoids the energetically costly business of in-
cubating and raising her own chicks and also
avoids being a sitting
2000)— Kirsten L
Academy of
Weir
duck for predators.
Processions of foliage-
common
toting leaf-cutter ants are
forests of Central
ants return to their nests, they don't eat the
leaves they have collected but use
them
to
is
species of the genus
incapable of growing
its
fungi but has evolved to steal the fungus
ied this thievery-prone species both in the
and
field
Panama,
in
nests of Cyphomyrmex longis-
Brazilian National
that
routinely
per-
forms this seemingly
impossible feat.
The
researchers
observed the
water-
ofthe inch-and-a-half-
Matti Ahlund, of Sweden's Goteborg University,
them
species invade colonies
long fish in the swift
peacefully with
freshwater streams of
and
as parasites. But
live
members
Federal Uni-
ofthe South American
taking over the colony.
of fungus growers
Brazilian ichthy-
Museum and the
fall-climbing abilities
the group. Zoologists Malte Andersson and
climb a wet, slip-
headed by Paulo A. Buckup, of the
capus ants, driving out the fungus growers and
Some Megalomyrmex
fish
A team of
versity of Rio de Janeiro, has observed a species
the laboratory. Native to central
it raids
Salmon swim up
darter (Characidium)
and colleagues stud-
versity of Texas at Austin,
among
but can any
waterfalls,
underground chambers. Now scientists have
Biologist Rachelle M. M. Adams, of the Uni-
studied this kin-selection hypothesis
ROCK-CLIMBING FISH
ologists,
new ant
Weir
stream to spawn, sometimes leaping over low
pery, five-story cliff?
farmers' carefully tended harvests.
would be outweighed by the genetic benefit to
2000)— Kirsten L
wissenschaften 87,
feed the nutritious fungi that they cultivate in
own
the host and parasite are closely related,
new
Usurpation of Attine
in the rain-
and South America. When the
Megabmyrmex that
If
("Agro-Predation:
Fungus Gardens by Megalomyrmex Ants," Natur-
POACHED FUNGI
discovered a
the cost of caring for these extra offspring
predators" must seek out and take over a
nest.
ducks. A female duck
duck, leaving the host mother to care for them.
It's
Bird," Proceedings of the National
Sciences 97:24,
of the newly
discovered species invariably attack
all
the
female goldeneye ducks (Bucephala dangub)
original inhabitants by pulling at their legs
by exploring whether the birds parasitize only
and antennae and perhaps by excreting venom.
individuals to which they are closely related.
Espirito
Santo in east-
ern Brazil. Using their
two
large
of
pairs
long, flat, stiff-rayed
fins,
the darters cling to the base of the verti-
cal rock surface while still underwater,
Without harming the developing embryos,
then
the researchers drew small albumen samples
inch themselves upward with strong lateral
from goldeneye eggs and looked for genetic
movements. Their
flat,
scaleless bellies and
markers specific to each mother. Andersson
slender, elongated bodies facilitate the proc-
and Ahlund found that the hosts and parasites
ess. Resting for a
were, in fact, more closely related than one
effort,
would expect
if
foot
nests were selected by chance.
few minutes between each
they are able to gradually ascend a
cliff
fifty-
beneath a waterfall. The same adap-
Female goldeneyes return to their birthplace
tations that enable the darters to cling and
to lay their eggs, so are they simply more
climb also enable them to recolonize upstream
likely to
same
nest— and
area, or
parasitize
areas after being
nests— in the
do the ducks recognize and
floods.
tar-
flash
maintain populations in the isolated uplands,
get their relatives? The scientists discovered
that females most often parasitized the nests
washed downstream by
The scientists think this behavior helps
Unable to defend themselves, the surviving
C.
where,
it
seems, more species of darters have
evolved than in the lowlands.
of their mothers and sisters and that female
bngiscapus ants abandon their broods and flee
more time together than ran-
the nest. The predaceous invaders consume the
Other kinds of fishes, notably some tropical
more
fungus and, researchers suspect, feed the
gobies and Asian loaches, which also have the
relatives spent
dom female
pairs did. In addition, the
closely related the
greater the
sion.
the
stolen larvae to their
own
broods.
ability to climb tall waterfalls,
have indepen-
dently evolved fin and body shapes similar to
fungus growth for a
those of the darters. ("Wateri'all Climbing in
was more amenable to the inva-
while. But they don't add necessary nutrients
Characidium (Crenuchidae: Characidiinae) From
Shown by
to the high-maintenance gardens, so the fungi
Eastern Brazil," Ichthyological Exploration of
nest
extra eggs a parasite
— suggesting that a
("Host-Parasite Relatedness
Protein
pair,
The nest raiders may do some light garden-
number of
laid in a host's
relative host
host-parasite
Fingerprinting in a
near-
Brood Parasitic
ing, maintaining healthy
eventually
become depleted and the "agro-
Freshwaters 11:3,
2000)— Richard
Milner
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16
NATURAL HISTORY
5/01
FINDINGS
Tiny
Conspiracies
Cell-to-cell
communication allows bacteria
to
coordinate their activity.
By Bonnie L Bossier
Bacteria have adapted to a huge
range
of envhonments
earth, surviving
on
and multiply-
ing in and on plants and animals, in rock layers deep beneath the
surface, in searing desert soils,
under
releasing chemical molecules
autoinducers.
When
known
of
a cheirucal
type becomes sufficiently concentrated
in the
environment
organ such
tract),
as
(for
example, in an
the lungs or intestinal
bacteria that are sensitive to
it
polar ice, and under extremely high
spond by turning on genes
temperatures and pressures in thermal
the production of certain proteins.
on the ocean
vents
past decade,
we
that the success
floor.
During the
have begun to realize
of these
tiny,
celled
organisms may depend
singlein large
as
this
newly manufactured
re-
that regulate
The
proteins, in turn,
affect
the behavior of the bacteria,
which
take advantage of
one another's
presence in their efforts to survive and
on their abihty to converse with
one another using chemical signals.
Cell-to-cell communication allows
proliferate.
bacteria to coordinate their activity and
trait
thus enjoy benefits otherwise reserved
cellular organisms.
for multicellular organisms.
of only
By means of a process called quorum sensing, bacteria are able to detect
when they are assembled in large numbers as opposed to when they are essentially alone. They may then adjust
communication and considered
them the exception rather than the
rule. But now scientists are realizing
part
their behavior accordingly.
alert
one another
Artist's
Bacteria
to their presence
by
Until recently,
the
exchange of
chemical signals was assumed to be
a
few
a
of "higher," multi-
characteristic
cases
Researchers
knew
of bacterial ceU-to-
cell
that this capacity
but
is
not only
common
critical for bacterial survival
and in-
teraction in natural habitats.
The phenomenon of quorum
sens-
concept of a biofilm, a bacterial community that organizes itself in part
through cell-to-cell chemical signals. Attached to such surfaces as intestinal linings,
biofilms have channels that allow nutrients to reach the individual residents.
discovered in two species of
I
ing was
I
bioluminescent marine bacteria, Vibrio
i
fisclieri
first
V
and
Both of
harveyi.
these
glow-in-the-dark organisms produce
I
s
light
I
ability
only
when
notifies
their
quorum-sensing
them
that they have
manufacture
luciferase,
They then
an enzyme con-
coction that
facilitates a
Ught-producmg
reached a high
cell density.
biochemical reaction. Although the
two
species are quite closely related,
they inhabit very diiferent niches in the
ocean.
Vfisclieri Hves
ciation
with a number of marine ani-
in symbiotic asso-
mals, producing light that host animals
use for such purposes
as
luring prey,
scaring off predators, and attracting
Vfisclieri gets to reside
mates. In return,
in the hosts' speciaHzed light organs,
where
it
is
provided with amino acids
and other nutrients.
trast,
is
a free-living
By means
by con-
organism, and no
of a process
quorum
called
V harveyi,
sensing,
bacteria are able to detect
when
their population has
reached a high density.
one has yet figured out what advantage
it
derives fi-om emitting light.
One
of
associations
V fischerih
most
fascinating
with certain bobtail
is
squids of the genus Ettprymna, the best
studied being the
ters,
Hawaiian bobtail
knee-deep
squid. Living in
this small creature
coastal
comes out
the sand during the day and
to
hunt
wa-
buries itself in
makes the
after dark. Its Ufestyle
squid especially vulnerable to predation
on
clear,
bright nights,
when
ing on the animal from the
stars
tip
could cause
it
to cast a
Hght shin-
moon
and
shadow and
off predators patroUing beneath
But through an
alliance
with
it.
l{ fisclieri,
the squid has evolved a Ught organ that
%
¥.
serves as a camouflaging
The amount of light
organ, located
creature's body,
on
is
mechanism.
emitted from
this
the underside of the
controlled by an
iris-
—
18
NATURAL HISTORY
like structure.
tensity
5/01
The
of light from the sky and regu-
lates its light
organ accordingly, so that
from below, more or
the animal, seen
less
squid senses the in-
matches the background.
The
squids light
is
prepares to bury itself in the sand for a
many
day of sleep, so
Hving in
bacterial cells are
hght organ that the animal
its
cannot supply them
with adequate
all
The squid circumvents this
problem by pumping out about 95 pernutrients.
produced by the
V fischeri.
symbiotic bacteria inhabiting the Hght
cent of the
organ. After a baby squid hatches, Vfis-
the level of autoinducer in the light
the seawater
bacteria in
cheri
swim
through ducts leading into the immature hght organ,
where
the hospitable
organ below the
This also reduces
critical
threshold and
causes the bacteria remaining within to
The pumping
stop producing light.
is
may improve
pact.
Invading bacteria
their
odds of overcoming a
by releasing
fenses
when
simultaneously and only
tors
de-
host's
their virulence fac-
A
they are present in great numbers.
premature release might
immune
host's
off the
tip
system.
In natural environments, bacterial
compete with one another
species
under
survival
Many
hostile conditions.
produce
bacterial species
for
and for
nutrients, for entry into hosts,
antibiotics
chemical compounds to which they
themselves are
By
immune
but that
kill
releasing their toxins
simultaneously, invading
bacteria
may
improve
odds of overcoming
their
host defenses.
competitors
their
Quorum
growth.
or
impede
their
sensing enables the
bacteria to coordinate the release of
these antibiotics in high doses.
Quorum
A Hawaiian
bobtail squid owes its luminescence to Vibrio fischeri bacteria housed in
an internal light organ. The bacteria secrete a chemical that, when
in suffident concentration, stimulates
has accumulated
it
DNA
sensing also enhances the
of some bacteria to acquire
ability
fragments
that,
because of the
death of some of their fellows, are up
them to glow.
for grabs in the environment.
conditions enable
them
to multiply.
There the bacteria Hve suspended in
of their normal behav-
fluid and, as part
an autoinducer (the chemi-
ior, secrete
cal that signals their presence) into
The
it.
bacteria interpret a threshold con-
centration of this cheinical as their cue
to switch
and
one an-
bacteria alert
squid's circadian
activated only at sunrise.
is
rhythm
As the
day goes by, the bacteria begin to divide, their
numbers
increase,
autoinducer accumulates.
the Hght organ
do
its
is
"on"
By
and more
nightfall,
again, ready to
sensing
is
not restricted to
other that they are inside a suitable host.
the past decade, scientists have found
in
however, the bacteria and their autoin-
ducer chemicals never reach
concentrations.
ria
Then
critical
again, the bacte-
probably do not gain anything by
A
remarkable part of
symbiosis
is
the
way
this exquisite
the squid keeps
the bacterial culture fresh within
light organ.
At
sunrise,
when
many
its
the squid
it
other species, with variations
in the autoinducer molecules secreted,
the
means by which they
are detected,
the biochemical reactions they trigger,
and the behavior they
ample,
einitting light outside the squid.
for repairing
quorum
production of
regulate.
For ex-
sensing controls the
virulence factors (toxins
mutated or damaged chro-
mosomes. Only where there
is
a
con-
centrated population of bacteria
is
there
likely to
free
be any substantial amount of
DNA
available. In this case,
sensing turns
Bacterial mating,
more
which
diverse array of individuals
a
species,
sensing
donor
know
as
seems to employ quorum
weU. The process involves
cells
and recipient
cells.
We
that in Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a
species that causes
plants, the
tumors in susceptible
donors communicate with
one another through quorum
but exactly what function
im-
and
can spread advantageous genes through
numerous human and
that have a clinical or agricultural
DNA.
creates a
and other disease-causing agents) in
plant pathogens
quo-
on the machinery
that enables cells to take in this
glow-in-the-dark marine bacteria. In
When
dispersed in the ocean water,
DNA
rum
job.
Quorum
on the production of Hght. In
V fischeri
effect,
tuned to the
These
fragments are a useful resource
not yet understood.
sensing,
this serves
is
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20
NATURAL HISTORY
5/0
1
Catertoyour
Curiosity
Often bacteria
live in biofilms,
or
communities attached to a surface such
rock in a
as a
Meteorites
pond
A biofilm
or the lining of an
Their Impact on
intestine.
Science and History
polymer coating, or
Brigitte
Zanda and
is
surrounded by
shield, that
a
these channels has
though the
trolled
to be
how
of
details
this is
al-
con-
remain to be worked out.
Many
keeps
the bacteria from drying out and that
been shown
dependent on quorum sensing,
bacteria are
duce and detect
known
to pro-
several different autoin-
Monica Rotaru,
also resists antibiotics
Editors
An
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the latest information
The bacterial commade up of several
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The Thrill of
Within the biofilm
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some
another auto-
inducer. This second chemical signal
responsible for producing the
Our Universe
Exploration as Told by
luminous bac-
in addition to having
cases,
least
proper formation ot
poisoning), below, are
bacterial
among the
spedes known to produce
and recognize a type of interspedfic
chemical signal.
A bsfiiig impression
^for your futurea
Deposit Accounts from
,,.
.,
for
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Ybu-Support for the
^ /American Museum of Natural
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has been found in a variety of other
These and other find-
bacteria as well.
ings have led to speculation that this
widespread molecule
a
common
is
the basis ot
"language,"
bacterial
a
Esperanto providing communication
between
The
species.
capacity to distinguish signals
both from
more
its
own
—through
—from
kind and
code
universal
a
others
could provide a population of a particular bacterial
mation.
It
species
with valuable infor-
could learn not only the
consistently ranked
wide-and help ensure
may be
communicate mth
Different species
able to
Earn high yields, which have
cell
come.
Consider the
common
with rates that have consistently been
''language," a
est.
bacterial Esperanto.
of
its
own
whether or not
it
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in
an
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Whichever you choose,
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most of the prevailing conditions.
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22
NATURAL HISTORY
5/01
now been shown
have
to
produce the
interspecies signal molecule.
They
in-
clude Escherichia coh (food poisoning),
SahnoiieUa typhiiiiuriiun (food poisoning),
S.
typhi (typhoid fever), Haeiiio-
phihis influenzae
sepsis),
tis,
ulcers,
feri
(pneumonia, meningi-
Helicobacter pylori
stomach cancer),
(Lyme
(peptic
Borrelia burgdor-
disease), Neisseria meningitidis
(meningitis).
Yersinia pestis
(bubonic
tract infections). Streptococcus
Staphylococcus aureus
Vibrio clwlerac (cholera),
cobacterium tuberculosis (tuberculosis),
MyEn-
terococcus faecaUs (endocarditis, urinary
(pneumonia, endo-
shock syn-
septiceinia, toxic
carditis,
advantage. For example, Pseudomonas
bacterium present in
habitats, poses a threat
specific
function served by the autoinducer in
these bacteria
is
not yet known, there
mounting evidence
cases,
it
The
is
some
that, at least in
explosion of research in
quorum
sensing, especially in pathogenic bacte-
new
by
victim's
By
detecting and re-
body may be
the
signals,
able to hinder the
secretion of this bacterium's toxins. In
molecules that mimic, and in some way
to
quo-
sensing, such drugs
constitute a
antibiotics.
A
new broad-spectrum
an-
of
might
nals.
way can be
devised
underixdne
developed that manipulate
quorum sensing,
such drugs would constitute
or disrupt
of antibiotics.
novel research
While much applied research
is
di-
quorum
The
idea
is
to
molecule that
a
sensing, the process can also
ample, cell-to-cell communication
enhance the production of
detector of a particular
By
bacterial species, block-
sensing, scientists
abihty to sense
its
appropriate
signal
This would
prevent pathogenic bac-
be
exploited in a positive way. For ex-
binds to the autoinducer
molecule.
quorum
finding ways to promote
may
may
antibiotics.
discover
how
to
improve the commercial production of
natural antibiotics, enzymes,
and other
biochemicals useful in the prevention
and treatment of
disease, for the
pro-
teria
from recognizing
tection of food sources, and in indus-
when
they are assembled
trial
in
thus
process that
triggered.
proach
is
avert
is
the
normally
Another ap-
to design drugs
processes.
Whatever the
numbers and
great
would
signals, but the function this serves is not understood.
class
turally similar to autoin-
the
communicate with one another through chemical
new
rected toward finding ways to disrupt
ing
some spedes, donor
algae.
molecules that are struc-
ducers.
a donor
and
If therapies could be
focused on designing
make
E. coli,
This has been observed in some
plants
a
Some
is
sig-
result, for
instance, if a
to
quorum-sensing
interfere with, the
new
system.
cells
burns, cancer, or
fibrosis,
other cases, hosts appear to produce
way
the interspecies signaling
a tube. In
cystic
other conditions.
nological applications. If therapies could
pointing the
tibiotic
DNA through
of
biotech-
ria, is
class
transmits
soils
infection to people already debihtated
sponding to autoinducer
increases virulence.
would
cell
own
quorum-sensing systems to their
and wetland
rum
shown here for
al-
aeruginosa, a
most part the
for the
nipulate or disrupt
bacteria mate, as
host organisms
cases,
While
be developed that ma-
When
some
In
ready seem capable of manipulating
drome, meningitis, food poisoning).
plague), Campylobacter jejuni (tood poi-
soning).
pneumoniae
(pneumonia, ear inflammations), and
tions,
practical
applica-
of
quorum
investigation
the
sensing promises to provide biologists
with insights into
a
key step in the
evolution of multicellular organisms.
that specifically interfere
An
with the enzymes in-
mechanisms
volved in synthesizing
process will lay the foundation for a
autoinducers, thus pre-
better understanding of the develop-
venting
ment of organs and of
the
bacteria
from sending out
simal molecules.
their
appreciation
teractions
that
of the molecular
govern
this bacterial
cell-to-cell in-
and information processing
in higher organisms.
D
ft: ..V
.
L: R. J: J ...S.
IS
S-.
...
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3::X.
IA
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finbacks,
Watch
porpoises to plovers,
the Bay of Fundy.
York's scenic byways, the
the
mmm
of
Wonder!
Fundy welcomes them
all!
Hike, bike, or drive the
amazing Fundy
learn the secrets of Fundy's tidal
at
Fundy National
of
St.
Martins.
rocks
on earth
And
hundreds of thousands of shorebirds
at
explains the
in
of
and maybe even the
amazing phenomenon
Take a whale watching or sea kayaking tour
of
of Natural
and
New
Brunswick,
where else
world-renowned wonder of the Fundy ecosystem!
On the Cover: One
Wake
see more kinds of whales more often than any-
hours
that remain of the rocks are tiny
the Interpretive Centre that
New
The Bay
Bay of Fundy! Walk on the ocean
famous Hopewell Rocks. Just
all
In
is
"WOW!" Witness the highest
you'll say,
you can kayak
where
in -tke
Brunswick, Canada, where you can experience
marine wonders of the world. This
of the
welcome,
Adventure
feel
the
Park. Explore the sea caverns
View some of the oldest
in
thrill
Saint John, the
visible
Fundy
City.
of the Reversing Falls rapids,
where the Fundy tides meet the mighty
River! Plus,
you can explore
with natural sites, national
and amazing
Trail,
ecosystem
trails.
New
their great
and
St.
John
outdoors
provincial parks,
Brunswick has incredible
SPECIAL ADVERTISING
Bay of Fundy day adventures, multi-day
did you
adventures, and Learning Quest adventures
in
ready for you
New
know your
find
Fundy Has the Best
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make Fundy
New
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they've got first-rate accommodations. Plus,
is
much
ail in
as three Canadian dollars! You'll
New
Brunswick, Canada's Bay of
Visit
the
New
Brunswick website at
www.t0uri5mnewbrunswick.com,
1-800-561-0123
for
or
call
more information on
how you can get started on your New Brunswick
adventure,
Getting from here to there
New Brunswick
a lot further
Fundy—WOW!
Fresh seafood dining, a vibrant nightlife, and
spectacular shopping
it
goes
Brunswick? Two American dollars can
equal as
I
dollar
SECTION
easy,
exciting and unforgettable.
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John
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And
vibrant cities.
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the
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lobster dinners.
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sea
kayaking and shopping. Jet boat rides
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luxury
culture.
more kinds
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of the World...
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Vermon
us online for your
FREE Bay of Fundy
CANADA
One of the Marine Wonders of the World
Explorer's Kit
I
I
New
J,
Hampstif
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www.TourismNewBrunswick.ca
or
call toll-free:
1800 561-0123
X.
TTfc
New Ibm Nowveau t
Brunswick
C
A
N
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A
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIO
SCENIC
BYWAYS
New York
New York
is
AAaR€
Out of vietting
a VDreat Vacation
here
I
one of the most
popular vacation destinations for
visitors
from across the country.
New York
is
teeming with scenic byways, from
Hudson River
a 150-mile journey along the
to a leisurely 340-mile journey
and waterfalls
Valley,
through the wineries
of the Finger
Lake region. You
can truly make a vacation out of a single road
The tour
of the
Hudson River
homes
the natural beauty of the region with the
Thruway
of great Americans. Exit the
trip.
combines
Valley
(1-87) at
Tarrytown. Follow Route 9 north, visiting historic
Philipsburg Manor, to Peekskill and Route 6,
which takes you along
River.
cliffs
Hudson
high above the
Cross the Bear Mountain Bridge to Bear
Mountain State Park, where you can
or enjoy a picnic lunch.
swim,
hike,
9W
Then take Route
north to Route 218, which brings you into the
village of Highland Falls. Don't miss a tour of the
United States Military
Return to Route
9W
Storm King Highway,
to
Academy
at
West
Point.
north to Route 218, the
for a winding drive leading
Storm King Art Center. Rejoin Route
9W through
Newburgh, where General George Washington's
Headguarters are located, and past several
wineries,
tasting of
where you can stop
some
for a tour
and a
New York has hundreds
of the region's best wines.
of golf courses
and miles of beaches. The Adirondacks, the state's highest mountains,
are a favorite hiking and fishing area.
Continue north to the Mid-Hudson Bridge
(Route 44/55). Crossing the river again, head
north on Route 9 to the Franklin
D.
of waterfalls:
Roosevelt
Sites
and on
to the Village of Rhinebeck. Travel
north on Route 9G, and
visit
and Olana State Historic
Montgomery Place
city limits
miles.
hike at hidden areas, such as Buttermilk
While
in
and
Stop and
Falls.
Follow Route
89 north along
the shore of
Cayuga Lake and drive to Taughannock
where the
Falls
state's highest waterfall
drops
Park,
Route 82 to Route 44 to the scenic Taconic Parkway
215 feet into a rock amphitheater The Cayuga Wine
which leads to the Saw
Trail (for
Elmira,
River Parkway and,
back to Tarrytown and the Thruway
The tour
(1-87).
of the Finger Lakes region begins
home
of the
Mark Twain Study and
Woodlawn Cemetery, where Mark Twain
17
southeast to Corning, where you can
is
with eight wineries
buried;
is
call
1-800-732-1848)
located along Route 89.
Travel northwest to Geneva. Take Route 14
in
Exhibit;
more information
south along the shore of Seneca Lake— one of
the
11
Finger Lakes,
known
for their
deep clear
and the National Soaring Museum, an impressive
waters. Travel to Dresden and follow Route
exhibition of sail planes and historic gliders.
to
Travel northeast on Route 13 to Ithaca, the city
Penn Yan. You are
travel south
still in
54 west
wine country, so
on Route 54A along the shore
Corning Glass Center.
From Corning, take Route 414 and
State
Follow Route 199 through winemaking country to
finally
Museum and numerous
wineries. Next, drive to Bath on Route 54. Take
explore 3,500 years of glassmaking at the
to Route 23. Take Route 22 south to Millerton.
Mill
Keuka Lake to Hammondsport. Here are the
excellent Glenn H. Curtiss
Route
Ithaca, don't miss Cornell University
Site.
Next turn east into the Taconics, taking Route
23B
dozens are within the
hundreds more are within several
and the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic
of
Glen State Park, with
its
hiking paths
visit
Watkins
and natural
pools formed by the age-old waterfalls tumbling
into stone basins.
of
Montour
Falls
and
Falls,
visit
Take Route 14 south to the town
where you can see Cheguaqua
Havana Glen
scenic walk to Eagle
south on Route 414
For
Park, with a short
Cliff Falls.
will
Continuing
take you back to Elmira.
more information on these
travel ideas or
the other fabulous cities and great outdoors
call
1-800-CALL-NYS, or
visit
sites,
www.iloveny.com.
S
s^^-^^fS^
Discover
New
York's
many
treasures. You'll find sparkling beaches,
butterfly sanctuaries
ak)ng breathtaking waterfalls. Take a wild ride at an amusement park, or play through a
golf courses.
New
York's extraordinary people
T ^A ^^r^^
ilavenvcnm
STATK OF
NfwvoRK
are as diverse
honor and celebrate
relaxation,
1-800-1
you'll
many
find
it
as
LOVE NY ((ode 1212)
circuit
you seek adventure,
amid spectacular scenery
in
trails
of superb
our landscapes; attractions and
cultures. >X1iether
all
and nature
festivals
recreation or
New
York.
Gal|
for a free travel guide. Let the discoveries begin.
ficofgt K. I'alaki
Governor
EMPIRK VIAH: DEVEIXJPMENT
OuHcf A. Gargsno
Chairman
mill tNysrn-D),.;^ii iif}w
ie^im,
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIO
M
C E
S
C
I
BYWAYS
,x>
-4
us 212 Beartooth Scenic Byway
As YOU CAN
is
just one
way
to enter tlie Yellowstone National Park.
WYOMING HAS SOME OF
IMAGINE,
byways
in
the country. Because the state
so large, there
is
its
Scenic
vistas of distant
visitors to discover
in
travel routes reflect the
Wyoming people who
live in
the
communities and work the ranches along
of
these special places.
roadways, take
freedom that
in
first
When
TOURISM
1-800-225-5996
www.wyomingtourism.org
The Medicine Wheel Passage
rises sharply
Lovell,
Wyoming
and winds 25 miles through steep canyon
traveling these
terrain
and high alpine meadows to Burgess
attracted people to this
the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark.
why they
fully
deserve
Byway and Backway
14),
status.
16),
the Big Horn Scenic
and the Medicine Wheel Passage
All will
get you safely to the other
side of the mountains
Big
Meadow
This
byway
and
its
is
open only from May
10 percent grades
may
to
November,
not be the best
choice for those pulling trailers or driving a RV.
north-central Wyoming, the Cloud
Peak Skyway (US
(US 14A).
Pass,
enhancement
Three scenic byways cross the Big Horn
Byway (US
Powder
Junction. This route provides primary access to
to be recognized with
in
Hill,
Lark Lake and Tensleep Canyon.
the sense of adventure and
great state and discover
Mountains
in
about the same time.
Horn Scenic Byway connects Sheridan
Of COURSE ALL OF THESE ROADS AND MORE
lead you on an adventure through the real
Wyoming. To learn more about Wyoming's
scenic highways and byways, go to the
Wyoming web
site at
www.wyominqtourism.orq.
and surrounding communities with Greybull,
A new Wyoming Scenic Byways brochure
Wyoming and
be available
mountain
its
and Tensleep, Wyoming. Highlights
include Hospital
from the Big Horn Basin near
these routes, and are committed to the
preservation, protection, and
snowcapped peaks along
45-mile length. This route connects the towns
of Buffalo
outstanding state.
pride of the
&.
Horn Mountains and offers breathtaking
Backways Program allows
These designated
TRAVEL
The Cloud Peak Skyway traverses the southern
Big
this
forever.
Interesting stops include Shell Falls, Burgess
Byways. Wyoming's Scenic Byways and
the amazing array of wildlife and scenery
(A
of several roadside
Junction Visitor Center and Sand Turn.
no better way to explore
is
Wyoming's natural wonders than
from one
valley views
turnouts— on a clear day, you can see
the most beautiful and uncrowded scenic
includes
driving.
45 miles
of scenic
Look out over spectacular
in
Spring 2001. To order one,
1-800-225-5996. ^
will
call
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
West
Virginia
Wild and WDnderiul
The state of West Virginia has four national
scenic byways designated by the
FHWA
national
West Virginia has some beautiful byways from
which to enjoy
its
countryside and history.
Scenic Byway Program. These are the Highland
Scenic Highway, the Midland
the Coal Heritage
Trail,
and the Washington Heritage
Trail,
Trail. All
preserve
the rich culture, heritage and beauty of the state.
The Highland Scenic Highway,
a beautiful path
through the Monongahela National Forest, takes
mountainous terrain covered by
visitors past
hardwood
43
forests. This scenic
miles from Richwood to
miles north of Marlinton.
byway extends
US Route
seven
219,
The highway follows
State Route 39/55 for 21 miles from Richwood
Cranberry Mountain Visitor Center.
to the
The Coal Heritage
and
Trail
winds through mountains
valleys, taking visitors
Virginia's
through four of West
southern counties. As you travel along
this byway,
you can't help but notice West
industrial heritage. This
Virginia's
area of Appalachia was
America's most productive energy-producing
region,
and
physical,
its
abundant coal
fields affected its
economic, and social climate.
The Midland
the
Trail follows
same path
that
Native Americans and pioneers used to head
west.
The Midland
Trail
thus takes you on a
timeline through colonial America, the Civil War,
immigration, African-American history, and the
West Virginia boasts having
four national scenic byways.
industrial revolution. Before interstates, the
Midland
Trail
Full
was the main route through
the West Virginia mountains.
The Washington Heritage
Trail
Experience the wonder of West Virginia! Explore thousands of miles of pristine
loops through
wilderness... discover the world's
three counties of West Virginia's Eastern
botanical areas. West Virginia.
Panhandle, crossing mountains, farmland,
and
historic towns.
The Eastern Panhandle
significant to historians
his family
homes
area.
built
in this
Call
now
(or your free travel guide.
1-800-CALL
vacationed and
In fact,
seven
Washington family homes or estates can be
seen from the
For
trail.
more information on Weit
scenic byways,
call
state's website at
Virginia
1-800-CALL-WVA,
or
second oldest
..it's
rii'er
and
enjoy our unique
the place where you belong.
is
because George
Washington and
or Wonder. Plenty Of Will
and
visit
its
the
www.state.wv.us/tourism.
!
Visit
us on
tlie
web
at;
WVA
-H^^
*;
^
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIO
c E n
s
c
I
WAYS
jcenic jhort C^uts
Jome
beautiTul touring routes by land or by sea.
Pennsylvania Route 6
Route 6
is
But there are
a true scenic byway. Witti over
400
miles of ground to cover, you'll tiave time to stop
at
all
make
of the special places ttiat
such a gem.
authentic Pennsylvania crafts, take
Pennsylvania fare at one of the
on the side
ttiis
byw/ay
over at a country store to buy
Pull
in
and stop
of the road,
that wonderful
many
to
restaurants
photograph
a scenic view within the Allegheny National
Forest.
By the end
your
of
trip, you'll
added some wonderful additions
and
your "best
bed and breakfasts, Victorian
of" lists— diners,
villages,
to
have
from border to border.
festivals
Tafce
you
you'll drive
Forest.
are
11
If
of Americana
offers
If
you want
to stretch
your
hiking.
legs,
there
of trails for
And Crawford County includes the
Commonwealth's
and one
largest natural lake,
of the Nature Conservancy's "last great places
in
you'd rather cruise through America's inland
passages than ride along her scenic byways,
take a cruise through
Cruise Lines. The seven-night
naturalists
visit
events
call
calendar of upcoming
1-814-435-7706, or
visit
the state's
website at www.paroute6.com.
Life, liberty
and the pursuit
of happiness.
New England
Islands
the world. Throughout the cruise, historians and
For a free Pennsylvania visitors guide-including
map and
England's enchanting
Cruise takes you back to the maritime history of
the U.S."
a detailed road
New
towns aboard the American Eagle on American
will
whaling
Other
intrigue you with tales as you
museums and
New England
historic
homes.
trips include cruises
through Maine's coast and harbors, the Hudson
River Cruise, and an East Coast inland passage
IsiAND Getaway
FOR Discriminating
Travelers
available in paperback.)
over 400 miles
—
^Victorian villages, historic sites,
natural wonders, country stores
major attractions
For your
Route 6 brochure,
and
inns.
And
More
galore.
than a journey. Route 6
destination.
American Cruise Lines
by parts of the Allegheny National
(Now
6
attractions to lure
Warren County
campgrounds and 600 miles
me
Scenic Route.
Jtennsylvania's Route
many more
to this scenic byway. In
is
a
FREE
call
1-87-PAROUTE6
The Lodge on
For your
FREE
50-page Trip
1-888-GO-PHIIA
Planner
call
or
www.gophila.com
visit
Pennsylvania
Route 6 Tourist Association
Simons
Georgia
I
memories
last
a Ittetime
\vww.paroute6.coin
Bucks
•
Chester
Delaware
Montgomery
Pennsylvania
tiii-iiu'iit.\
35 Main
Street, Galeton,
PA.16922
Phtladclphia Counlies
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lifciiiiu'
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Enjoy harbor hopping through several of
New
England's enchanting towns.
7-night cruise
Departing Haddam, Connecticut
June,
cruise.
You
will
July,
August & September
cruise along rivers, bays, estuaries,
and canals— waterways once traveled by Native
Americans, explorers, and pirates.
For reservations
state's
call
1-800-814-6880 or
visit
the
website at www.amerlcancruiselines.com.
a
new model,
the
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Swift
Audubon, which
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No matter
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need to bring a good
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the optics
anyone who enjoys
field
since 1926.
and mountain climbing, and waterproof
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pair of binoculars
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Swift products are sold
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In fact, for
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This year Swift
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NATURAL HISTORY
5/01
THIS LAND
Park (estabHshed in 1934), whose
recreational
and camping
does die and
waters,
facilities
lodged in the decaying
border Big Cypress Bayou.
About
logjam formed
200
years ago, a
huge
in the
Red
River where
it
two centuries
In the
Lake's formation, plant
flows through
have adjusted to
its
and animal
—including
—
northwestern Louisiana. Because of the
and water snakes
venomous water moccasins
nearby Cypress
Valley, creating Caddo
body of freshwater that
common
which
straddles the
border between Texas and
Louisiana.
Caddo
is
in
a
life
presence. Alligators
buildup of logs, the river spiUed into
Lake, a large
Caddo
since
and around the
haven for several
often nurtures considerable vegetation,
especially species
Bottomland
is
stands only
lake,
fishes
and
wood and
A fallen log thus
sometimes germinate.
elevation
are
swampy
into the
fall
wUdflower seeds become
of beggar's-hce.
forest
grows where the
sHghtly higher and water
some of the
time.
A
still
higher zone, which remains free of
A legend recounted by the
Indians attributed the lake's
origins to an earthquake. In fact,
Caddo Lake did develop close in time
to the great New Madrid earthquakes
of 1811-12, which formed Reelfoot
Lake in Tennessee and altered the
course of the Mississippi River.
Archaeological evidence, however,
reveals that
Caddo Lake
arose earher,
about 1800, and was simply the
of dead
trees piling
result
up in what was
a
slow-
relatively
flowing, shallow
section of the river.
The logjam,
known locally as
the Great
Red
Texas and Louisiana.
Pdver Raft,
partway up the adjacent
upland forest occupies the upper slopes
expand untU the
white water
1870s,
when
federal
government
the
level,
it
sampled
gelatinous sHme.
now has
century, the
of oil
a stable water
fifty
a protective coat
of
slopes,
while
tops.
Caddo Lake
is
one of only
seventeen wetlands in the United
States that
have been designated
sites,
so
named
for the
Convention on Wetlands, which
resulted
in
from
Ramsar,
a
forum
that
Iran, in 1971.
took place
The
whose ridge
tops are less than a hundred feet above
the elevation of Caddo Lake. Next to
convention estabHshed guideUnes for
the lake, in low-lying areas that often
conservation.
contain standing water year-round, are
are
terrain consists
of low
hills
extensive bald cypress forests.
With
enlarged, buttressed bases and cone-
its
shaped "knees" to anchor them in
their
square
and ridge
Ramsar
cypress
may be
Caddo Lake State
diverse habitats
shield,
In the surrounding region, the
river to
maze of bayous and
in Texas's
whose three-inch-
explosives. This
with an average depth of eight to
Its
water
enveloped in
for purposes
with
smaller aquatic plants
underwater
swamps, the lake covers
miles.
Among its
wide, nearly circular leaves are
ten feet. Altogether, including
associated
fruits.
is
exploration, flood control, and water
and
lotus,
cleared the
During the twentieth
supply,
and water
lily;
huge creamy flowers and woody
blockage with
stopped the overflow of water into the
dammed
(moist) forest. This habitat extends
aquatic plants include spatterdock,
and the
navigation farther upstream and
was
lake's large
with yellow, club-shaped flowers;
maneuver opened the
lake
The
standing water, supports a mesic
lake continued to
persisted
lake.
amphibians that are rare elsewhere in
may
The
watery habitat, bald cypresses
high
tower
as
knees
also store
as a
form of starch.
hundred
feet.
food reserves in the
When
a bald cypress
identifying "wetlands of international
importance" and ensuring their
now
More
than 120 nations
contracting parties to the
convention.
The United
States ratified
Ramsar agreement in 1986, and
Caddo Lake was listed in 1993, when
the
nearly twelve square miles' worth of
Texas-owned land
parcels in
and
around the lake were designated tor
protection.
35
36
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
it
For a wetland to be a Ramsar
must do one of the following;
(1)
site,
contain a representative, rare, or
unique example of a wetland type;
(2)
support endangered species or
threatened ecological communities;
(3)
support populations of plant
and/or animal species important for
maintaining the biological diversity ot
a particular region; (4) serve as a
refuge for plant and/or animal species
or support
them
at a critical stage in
their life cycle; (5) regularly support
20,000 or more waterfowl;
support
(6) regularly
the individuals in
species
a
1
of watei-fowl;
(7)
significant proportion
fish species;
or
percent ot
population of one
support a
of indigenous
provide
(8)
fish stocks
with an important spawning ground,
nursery, migration path and/or
Caddo Lake meets
Ramsar criteria. It is
source of food.
many of
the
lice (or stick-
a
plants
and animals
the region;
it is
yellowish flower
heads, and
that are rare for
home
200 species of birds,
members of the
more than
50 of mammals,
to
and 500 of native
attracts well
plants;
and
nettle family:
false nettle
is
Bottomland
the
of the Texas Parks and
Department and of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and its
forest trees
responsibility
Wildlife
offices in Texas. In
often
HABITATS
1999 the
protected area was increased to
Bald cypress forest contains the
thirty-three square miles.
trees
m the area.
cypress are
two other
species
of trees
that
of plant biology at Southern
but lack the cypress's "knees"
Illinois
University, Carbondale, explores the
and geological
national forests
and
highlights of U.S.
other parklands.
commonly have
gum
are
and pumpkin
buttressed trunks
ash.
—
Other
water hickory, planer
swamp
largest
Growing with the bald
Robert H. Mohlenhrock, professor emeritus
tree,
tupelo
visitor information, contact:
Caddo Lake State Park
PJ^ 2, Box 15
Karnack,
TX 75661
two
in the
species,
shrub
layer.
both bearing
fi-om nurseries
and garden
canopy
in
Common
tall,
forming
grow
a dense
summer and autumn.
species in the seventy-five-
foot range are sweet
gum, overcup
oak, cherrybark oak, and willow oak.
Often growing below these
is
a
secondary canopy of trees from twenty
Among them is box
to fifty feet
member of the maple family
with compound leaves, and green haw,
These
attractive
white flowers, are commonly
and
and
red maple.
bush grow
straight
species
Virginia sweetspire and snowbell
For
and
clearweed.
it
over 20,000 waterfowl.
Conservation of this ecosystem
biological
two
stingless
90 of reptiles and amphibians, 90 of
fishes,
with
tights)
good example of a bald cypress
swamp; it supports a number of
available
centers.
tall.
elder, a
which has two-inch-long curved
spines on some or all of its branches
and sometimes even on its trunk.
Vegetarion on the forest floor in this
shaded habitat
is
often sparse but
Among
(903) 679-3351
Plants that colonize fallen tree trunks
includes a diversity of species.
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/caddo
include two varieties of pink St.-
the grasses are the bamboolike giant
/caddo.htm
John's-wort, several kinds of beggar 's-
cane
as
well
as
lower-growing
wood
OiAer hM\k^
l\Ae
common species
hickory,
are
water oak, bitternut
and sugarberry
(a
type of
hackberry). Black walnut trees appear in
the
more elevated tracts. A midcanopy
is formed by hop hornbeam,
layer
musclewood, and pawpaw. Ferns
plentiful,
named
among them
are
ratdesnake fern,
for the tiny spherical spore cases
arranged on a special tufted frond.
and
Violets, wild geranium, mayapple,
After a bit
bloom in April and May.
of a summer luU, the blues of
woodland
asters
blue phlox
1
and the yellows of
woodland goldenrods render the
i
forest
vibrant in late August.
'J
m
Upland forest
Here,
trees include large,
It's
it's
sturdy black walnuts and southern red
before you
reed grass and white
grass.
Wildflowers
include water horehound, jack-in-thepulpit,
shorter black
Here and there
are
of shrubs such
as
possum haw,
type of hoUy that loses
its
leaves
thickets
sassafras trees.
a
during
the autumn. Greenbrier vines and a
vine
known
as
supplejack (or rattan
\ine) climb over
some of the
somewhat
gum, red mulberry,
redbud, flowering dogwood, and
green dragon, and a triangular-
leaved blue violet.
oaks, in addition to the
vegetation.
large-leaved,
Here and there is the
prickly stemmed
Hercules' club, also
known as the
The brilliant
Mesic forest
tree cover
bottomland
is
not
forest.
as
closed
The most
like
the beach.
beaches stretched
an open highway. One
realize that really
does make
all
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and you'll
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38
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
CELESTIAL EVENTS
The dark
there,
our
of the
side
done
Moon? Been
Another dark
that.
however,
solar system,
side in
is
beckoning to some astronomers
much
Moon's did
the
as
an
to
today,
earlier
generation. In this case the dark side
Mercury's, and
discussions,
on
its
is
always in such
as
very existence depends
the definition of "dark."
The dark
one,
isn't
of the Moon, tor
side
—dark
that
is,
at least in
any
day-and-night sense of the word.
Every crater on the Moon's surface
gets
some
sun. In fact, during Earth's
new Moon
phase,
"dark" side that
Still,
that side
in the sense that
with
that
it
its
can't see
it.
satellites in
Moon
rotation with
Moon's
the
indeed dark to
is
we
many major
system, the
it's
JWas there volcanism^n Mercury?t-ij
fully in sunlight.
is
is
us,
As
the solar
The Mysterious
in synchronous
host planet,
meaning
always shows the same face to
Earth, never the other. That unseen
frontier,
Side of Mercury
perhaps more appropriately
termed the
proved to be a
far side,
most tempting
dawn of
target at the
The
the space age.
Mercury's dark side
now
is
to arouse a similar curiosity
starting
MESSENGER launch in 2004
promises to lead us out of the dark.
among
astronomers. No, this dark side doesn't
By Richard Panek
actually dwell in darkness either,
although until the
1
960s most
astronomers believed that Mercury
cover sHghtly
was
Mercury's surface.
in
synchronous rotation with the
Sun and
that
one
side
of the planet
did indeed experience perpetual
we know
though technically
or from
satellite
The
useful, for
other half
visible
sizes
from Earth
about the planet, just about half its
surface remains, for
the planet's proximity to the
But
in terms
all
practical
1
flew past Mercury three
on March 29 and September
1974, and on March 16, 1975.
had
to
And
1999).
is
the
same obstacle observers have always
purposes, hidden.
Mariner
—
relative to the
overall scale
of the
(see "Celestial Events,"
the
Sun
example, in determining the
of the planets
and the
observatories such as
Hubble Space Telescope, is still
pretty much oft-limits. The problem
night.
of what
than half of
less
overcome when studying
planet's
a
November
seeming anomaly
substantiate Einstein's general theory
of relativity.
But Mercury
when
itself?
Consider:
logged on to Yahoo!
Mercury. Partly tor that reason,
Recently
21,
observing the planet has historically
and followed the Science topic
it.
The photographs
spacecraft sent
that the
back comprise just
served
more
as a
means of gathering
general astronomical information than
of Mercury
about the entire database of close or
as
even rehable observations of the
(when, from the point of view of an
surface features of the innermost
observer
—and they
planet of our solar system
an end in
on
itself Transits
Earth, the planet crosses
the surface of the Sun) have
been
in the
orbit around the Sun helped
times:
That's
Sun
system
solar
I
trail
from Astronomy to Solar System
Planets,
fewest
found
I
that
to
Mercury had the
number of entries among the
a mere 4. Even Pluto had
—
planets
double that number, while Mars
weighed
in
with
a
whopping
143.
—
THE SKY IN MAY
By Joe Rao
Now, however. Mercury's relative
anon^Tnity just may be nearing an end.
What most surprised astronomers
during the Mariner 1 flybys some
northwestern horizon
at
twenty-five years ago was the presence
climbing higher night
after night.
of a magnetic
field,
about 1/100 the
strength of Earth's, possibly indicating
an active interior.
re\'isiting that
Now researchers
Mariner
found evidence of volcanic
the surface of the planet.
activity
on
New radar
Sun
was already
in the
(an
works
acronym
—
it is
at
hill
all.
magnitude brighter. During the
evenings of May 13-17,
Geochemistry, and Ranging)
tracks past the brighter Jupiter.
2004 and
rendezvous with the planet in 2009
day-old crescent
due
spacecraft,
to launch in
has recently assumed
Unhke
Mariner 10,
new
to
of Saturn on the evening
Mercury: Surface, Space Environment,
significance.
MESSENGER
left
Moon
against the
brightening Mars
though
of May 6 and wiU appear nearly one
the
for
backdrop of stars.
is
a thrilling,
challenging, planetary
still
The Martian north
target.
toward us
tilted well
pole
spring
this
summer draws
to an end.
Look
as
well
increasingly prominent
as
rapidly
it
sits
A
two-
off to the
of Mercury on the evening of the
Jupiter
low
in the west-northwest
being
down
its
It is stiU
the brightest
dusk in early May, despite
"star" at
24th. Thereafter, the planet dives back
to the horizon, fading rapidly
is
during twihght.
dimmed by
its
low
running out of time to view
Technically
giant planet sets only about fifty
Mercury ventures far enough from
the Sun to provide us with a clear, if
fleeting, glimpse. This month.
Mercury makes its brightest
appearance of the year. Look for it at
twilight, trailing the Sun over the
horizon in the west-northwestern
—but look
quickly, because the
sky
hours
the
after the
first
light
week
Sun.
By
the end of
in June, the
from the Sun
opposite side of the solar system).
Jupiter has had a brUhant yearlong
Venus
a dazzling
is
diamond low
reaches
it
its
on May 4 (magnitude
but wiU look about the same all
month. Venus gains only a Uttle
altitude in
in
greatest
brilliance
May, continuing to
-4.5)
rise at
through
a telescope, the planet
dwindhng
in size.
At the same time,
is
thickening.
A waning crescent Moon sHps well
to the right
morning of the
of Venus on the
forgotten.
Believing:
Our
is
How
the author of Seeing
the Telescope
and
Opened
Eyes and Minds to the Heavens
(Penf^iiin,
1999).
By
on
with
sets
the 24th,
gone completely, hidden
glare
of the Sun.
Saturn might be gHmpsed very low
after sundown during
week of May. Use the brighter
Mercury to guide you to Saturn on
the
first
the month, Saturn Hes too close to the
about 11:30 P.M. local
Sun
to
be
visible. Saturn's solar
conjunction occurs on
May
25.
daylight time
becomes everyone's object of
Pichard Panek
is
it
the evening of the 6th. For the rest of
19th.
on the 1st but about
two hours earlier by month's end,
dominating the south-southeastern
sky the rest of the night. Mars
especially
the fading twihght.
later
near the west-northwestern horizon
crescent
more be
—
among astronomers— nowhere near
and two weeks
,
Jupiter
of twilight
about an hour
its
rises at
not dark, gone but
1
end
and the Sun,
unobservable, and Mercury will once
there but not there, dark but
May
after the
because of its position vis-a-vis Earth
Mars, in the constellation Sagittarius,
it
minutes
The
it.
is
wash of
will render
apparition, but sky watchers are
behind the
about the break of dawn. Seen
below and
planet will be setting one to two
and
altitude
from Earth (on the
great distance
the east at early dawn's hght.
when
for
surface features.
formation.
those infrequent occasions
as
the shrinking northern polar ice cap
into the sunset.
continue to content themselves with
is
the planet's northern-hemisphere
would map the entire surface of
Mercury and, in the process, possibly
resolve some questions about planet
In the meantime, observers can
of all
the
1 1
For observers with telescopes, the
at
It's
be positioned above and
will
to the right
will in
it
On May
stars) in brilliance.
motion
from the
The only trick
knowing when to look.
not so elusive
13 through August 2,
fact surpass Sirius (the brightest
planet begins retrograde (westward)
offers the year's
22nd, rendering the "elusive planet"
Mercury
NASA mission
For
on the evening of the
(22.5°)
seeing
MESSENGER
mid-May
latitudes,
even indicate the possible presence of
that
midtwUight,
observers at temperate northern
water in the form of ice.
a
May
just above the west-
greatest eastern elongation
observations of Mercury's north pole
For these reasons,
is
best chance to see Mercury.
data have
1
Mercury
fascination this
month
as its
golden-
The Moon
is
Last quarter
A.M.,
22
at
May
hiU
and the
new Moon
10:46 p.m.
29
at
on May 7
at
9:52 A.M.
comes on May 15
First
at
6:11
on May
quarter is on
falls
6:09 P.M.
orange glow brightens from
magnitude
-1.1
on
May
1
dazzling -2.0 by the 31st.
to a
From
Unless otherwise noted,
in Eastern
all
Daylight Time.
times are given
—
I
40
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
IN THE FIELD
was tagging along with friends
I
on
"hay ride" through
a
Colorado's Arapaho National
Forest
when
the old wrangler at
the reins suddenly
puUed
his
team
to a halt. Interrupting his nonstop
he gestured toward a
storytelling,
dark shape high in a lodgepole
pine and drawled, "Porcupine
nest," jerking his
head upward in
the general direction of the
My eyes followed his
object.
motion
of twigs
to a dense tangle
wedged between
the trunk and an
oddly twisted branch near the top
of the
Recognizing the
tree.
cluster as a large witches '-
—and having never heard
—
of porcupines
broom
nesting in trees
wondered
folklore.
if this
Or
was just
local
did the old
outdoorsman know something
about witches'-brooms that
I
had missed?
Witches'-brooms are odd
growths of stunted and closely
packed branches. They occur
many
sporadically in
different
kinds of trees and shrubs, both
broad-leaved and coniferous, and
come
in
all
sizes
and shapes,
from small spmdiy
clusters to
large globose masses.
like nests.
result
Many
look
Witches'-brooms
from
prolific, localized
growth, occasionally induced by
genetic mutation but most often
caused by parasitic organisms
ranging in
to large
size
from microscopic
and luxuriant
—
manipulate the plants'
that
own
growth hormones.
Among
the smallest agents ot
witches'-brooms are amoeba-shaped
phytoplasmas, often no larger than a
possess only one-fifth the
hundredth of a millimeter
genes found
that infect the
in diameter,
these simple pathogens can
phloem, or food-
transporting, cells of many broad-
leaved trees and shrubs.
Though
m
number of
the typical bacterium,
they
havoc within their
wreak
hosts, redirecting
hormones and causing broom
formation near branch
tips,
plant sugars and nutrients
where
become
concentrated.
The most conxmon
architects
witches'-brooms in coniferous
of
trees are
community by
certain rust tungi as well as the
and photosynthetic, dwarf
^^'idesp^ead,
Both these organisms cause
and convoluted
niisdetoes.
creating additional food
resources and habitat for
A
few months ago,
I
many
came
downed Engehnann
animals.
known
are
to utilize witches'-brooms
for nesting or protection. In addition,
across a
ten perching bird and eight raptor
spruce that
species, including
Mexican spotted
especially large
huge,
brooming (of the sort the old wrangler
held three large witches-brooms, two
owls and goshawks, sometimes nest
of which contained recently occupied
within these structures.
had pointed
immune
to),
and few conifers
to their attack.
The
are
rusts,
red-squirrel nests.
One broom,
spread by tiny spores, induce a dense
situated close to the trunk about sixty
packing of branches with characteristic
feet
vellow foliage that
contorted branches, some four to
though the
broom
is
itself keeps
year-round. Spruce
infect almost any
cast in the
broom
tall,
growing
rust can
of the native North
American spruces but
is
found only
\\here the understory shrub bearberry
is
available as
an alternate host (many
produce generations that
parasites
between two
alternate
one of which
species,
different host
it
may
not aflect
adversely). Fir rust produces similar
packed brooms in most of the
tightly
true
firs
but
chickweed,
By
grows.
species of
is
its
limited to areas
where
above the base, consisted of many
dense tangle of twigs, they created
contrast, the forty or so
New World dwarf
a
mass exceeding four feet in height.
this
broom was
—
nest system
a three-tiered
a
bed of coarse spruce
Incorporated into
considerable
hair,
this
dependent on witches'-brooms for
Honduras
Pacific
across
But the
nest
sites.
end
there.
The
list
dwarf mistletoes are fed upon by
dozen species of birds,
including
many
—such
hairstreak butterfly,
solely
on
the thicket
larvae feed
and mimic
almost perfectly their color and shape.
Add
to this twenty-nine or so
known
different fungi
mass was a
concentrated resources of witches'-
brooms (some
including a lone crimped
mistletoe
to tap the
parasitizing the
itself),
and the
hst
of species
benefiting from the tree-parasite
elk. Fecal
were buried within the floor to
interaction
is
impressive.
What, then, of the old wrangler's
"porcupine nest"?
to the
New
I
Porcupines feed
I
heavily
more found in the
Old World), need no
on
the
nutritious shoots
^.
England (with eight
alternate host,
as
whose
these mistletoes
Northwest and
to
at
grouse, and also by
insects
from
Canada
of users doesn't
shoots and fruits of
least a
mistletoes, collectively
distributed
raptor,
needles.
amount of grass and
guard hair of a deer or
pellets
One
in eastern
Oregon, may be particularly
numerous
a veritable squirrel
condominium. The floor of the
bottom chamber consisted ot partially
decomposed, densely packed organic
duft' about two inches thick, overlying
animal
alternate host, also
five
inches in diameter. Together with their
Within
owl
the long-eared
I
of dwarf
g
mistletoe,
U
researcher has
and one
observed
and
one or another of
porcupines in the
them
Pacific
attacks almost
during winter
species within their
range.
The
within some of
sticky
seeds of dwarf
A
tree to
another by exploding
fruits,
birds;
and grows,
is a treat for a
it
once the seed attaches
adds
its
own
cluster
of
branches promoted by the infection of
depth exceeding one inch, indicating
long usage of the
Red
parasites, the
to ride the witches '-broom,
share in the spoils of
—and
competition between these diminutive
parasites
nest.
creatures that take advantage of large
that
it
and their giant
hosts.
squirrels are not the only
witches'-brooms
host.
Unlike most plant
a
—
were
wagon
porcupine (inset).
as
shoots to the profusion of abnormal
its
organisms are
parasite that distorts tree growth, dwarf mistletoe
(above)
often aided by
wind or
brooms
seems that no end ot
ready to jump on the
the larger
mistletoe are spread
from one
Northwest
seeking shelter
every coniferous tree
—
or of the parasites
produce them. Abert's and
Marchand
is
aiireiitly a
broom-forming dwarf misdctocs may
considerably benefit a forest
martens and bushy-tailed
rats,
i'isitiii{<
Carnegie Museuin of
Natural History's Powderuiill
northern flying squirrels, as well as
wood
Peter J.
scientist at the
Bioloi>ical
Station iu the Allegltetiy Mountains oj
western Pennsylvania.
42
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
THE EVOLUTIONARY FRONT
Alternative
Life Styles
Computer
and biologists
are finding common ground
in the evolution of artificial and
scientists
natural organisms.
By
Carl
Zimmer
Do
universal laws of evolu-
no big-
tion exist? There's
ger question
m
biology,
we
systems,
have to look
tificial
will
at ar-
ones."
and none harder to answer.
In
the
nine
To discover a universal rule, you need
more than a single case, and when it
comes to life, we're stuck with a data
set of one. All Hfe on earth descends
years
since
May-
firom a
common
species storing
in
DNA
case
form of
moon
compare
own and
see
it
the
perhaps
life,
may be
histories have
followed the same playbook. But such
an opportunity
may be
a
long way
off.
In 1992 the eminent biologist John
Maynard Smith declared that the only
way out of this quandary was to build a
new form of hfe ourselves. "We badly
need
"So
a
comparative biology," he wrote.
far,
we
have been able to study
only one evolving sy.-tem, and
we
can-
not wait for interstellar flight to provide
us with a second. If
ate a
it.
They've tried to cre-
menagerie of
artificial
Hfe-forms,
ligent"
of Jupiter or in
two
their
best to answer
someday
evolution to our
its
done
have
call,
scientists
firom self-repUcating software to "intel-
distant solar system, they
able to
computer
of some
If scientists
discover another
some
the
in
(or,
lurking on a
genetic information
its
RNA).
viruses,
ancestor, with every
nard Smith's
we want
to dis-
cover generalizations about evolving
robots,
and they've
set
off
plenty of breathless hype in the process.
Some
claim, for example, that
fifty years,
robots
with superhuman inteUigence will be
walking
among
us.
Neuroscientists
have countered that brains are
years could pass before scientists
comprehend
human
much
more than just masses of neurons: they
consist of complex networks that communicate with one another using
dozens of chemical signals. Even the
fiilly
the workings of the 100
neurons
billion
com-
puter processing speeds are climbing so
quickly that within
research teams. At that rate, miUions of
that
make up
the
brain.
But not
all is
hype and skepticism.
humble
experts on artificial
open-minded biologists are starting to work together. One
promising collaboration is being led by
Chris Adami, a physicist at the CahforSuitably
Hfe and suitably
nia Institute of Technology; Charles
Ofria, a former student of Adami's
is
now
at
Michigan
and Richard Lenski,
who
State University;
a irdcrobiologist at
Building on pioneer-
simplest of these networks can take
Michigan
decades to decipher. Just figuring out
ing
the system of thirty neurons that lob-
University of Oklahoma), Adaini and
work by Tom Ray (now
use to push food through their
Ofria
stomachs has taken more than thirty
grams
sters
years
and the
collective labor of fifteen
State.
have
—
created
at
the
computer pro-
—
digital creatures
in remarkably HfeUke ways.
that
behave
And work-
—
shown that
which they call Digievolve much the way biological
ing with Lenski, they've
these creatures,
talia,
Adami and
have tound
his associates
that their digitalia consistently evolve in
ways
certain
—ways
them
into useful proteins, digitalia are re-
quired to read these numbers and transform them into meaningful outputs.
With the right combinations of com-
experiment, they created several
through the program, methodically
line
command
until
whereupon
it
each
executing
reaches the end,
back to the beginning and
it
loops
starts over.
A
program can reproduce by instructing
computer
the
program, and
running on
make
to
this
a
copy of the
duphcate then
starts
Adami and
his colleagues
of the digitaHa
conceive
organisms Uving on a
as
down to sleek, short
sequences of commands
as few as
eleven command Unes in some cases
that carried the minimum amount of
—
information necessary for repUcating.
copy
takes less time to
a short
Sam Spiegehnan and
In the 1960s
his colleagues at
the University ot
nois got
studied the evolution of
the adjoining
reproducing,
starts
Once
cells.
a digitalian
progeny can race
its
mold spreading
across the plane like
They put
can watch their progress by means of a
After
on
a
although the screen
—
computer
the
itself isn't actually
there's
evolve.
replicates,
copy
replicate again.
few rounds, the
Every time
there's a small
waited
scientists
T
more than a
switch one
sophisti-
cated data processors that can crunch
numbers
comphcated ways.
in
Human
you need
With life, we're
tasks,
may copy
command
in the real world,
part
for another.
most mutations
five.
By
viral
RNA had shrunk to
the end of the experiment, the
The
its initial size.
17 percent of
viruses evolved into
ceUs.
and
commandeer
host
These had become unnecessary
now
only slowed
down
the
RNA's
repHcation. As with digitalia, the most
successful viruses
under these condi-
sometimes the digitaha evolve versions
that are unlike anything ever conceived
by
a
human
designer.
Someday
produce
this sort ot
new
evolution
may
kinds of efficient, crash-
proof software. But Adami and Ofria
are not interested in the
possibiHties
commercial
of digitaHa; they're too busy
working with Richard Lenski, comparing their
artificial
Hfe to biological
lite.
needs
And some
help digi-
taken care of by a technician. Organ-
graph charting the creatures' repHca-
Those
so blessed
isms have to
Other mutations have
little
or no
building up like junk through
the generations.
used to invade and
but
The partnership began after Lenski
heard Adami give a talk about his digitalia. Adami showed the audience a
bugs that prevent them from repUcat-
replicate faster.
to
Instead, they evolve
creatures.
programs to carry out these
program twice instead of once or
come
down
from simple repHcators into
then only ten ininutes, and finaUy only
are harmful to digitalia, inserting fatal
talia
complex conditions,
these
the digitaHa don't turn into stripped-
chance the
Mutarandom changes in a
example, the computer
effect,
capable digitaHa.
also write
of random changes in a program. For
ing.
they multiply
numbers overwhelm
their
programmers, of course, can
cause they could shed genes they had
As
less
Under
single case.
such small versions of themselves be-
may
the
as a result,
discover a universal rule,
'o
mutations consist of certain kinds
a
The programs of
only fifteen minutes each time, and
sequence of DNA; in the case of digi-
of
tasks.
a digitalian
will contain a mutation.
tions in nature are
talia,
do these
stuck (so far) with a data set of one.
cells.)
Digitaha don't simply repHcate; they
also
new
can turn a string
opposite ("10101"
these lucky organisins start running
and
a
row
screen,
no one-to-one
correspondence between the pixels and
habitat
the
a
them
let
ity to
Soon
Twenty minutes
transferred some
its
in a
becoming "01010"). The scientists reward the digitaha for evolving the abil-
faster.
of the newly rephcated viruses to
beaker and
of numbers into
faster,
and sup-
numbers
three
are identical, or they
the enzymes they
to rephcate.
over a shce of bread. (The researchers
graphic display
all
mine whether
they
viruses into a beaker
the researchers
later,
when
Illi-
mands, for instance, they can deter-
RNA viruses.
similar result
a
pUed them with
needed
can multiply.
it
Each digitahan occupies a single cell, and when it reproduces, its offspring take up residence in
cells.
It
program
than a long one, so the shorter the pro-
two-dimensional plane divided up into
thousands of
one
consistently shrank
gram, the more quickly
own.
its
let
that these
Num-
programs
Each digitaUan consists of a short
program that can be run by a computer. The computer moves Une by
biologists see in real hfe. In
They found
to eat to survive.
differ-
what
evolve.
them
Each organism is supplied with a
random sequence of I's and O's. Just as
some bacteria eat sugar and transform it
that are similar to
life-forms do.
ent strains of digitalia and
require
bers are their food.
dominate
their artificial world,
tions
were the
Normally,
simplest.
however,
exist in a test tube,
eat,
somehow consume
the
matter around them. To
adapted biological
more
lifelike,
all
doesn't
its
or photosynthesize, or
just as natural selection favors welllife.
life
with
Adami and
energy and
make
digitalia
his colleagues
tion rate.
a
The
line
on
the graph rose for
while before reaching a plateau and
then rose to
ries
stiH
of sudden
higher plateaus in a se-
jerks. Lenski
was aston-
—
44 NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
He and his colleagues
how Eschericliia coli
ished.
served
which
had ob-
eight copies ot a single program,
bacteria
they used to seed eight separate digi-
evolved over thousands ot generations,
them
The organisms were
taha colonies.
warded
re-
making
it
possible to ask questions
about digitaHa that can't be addressed in
ordinary experiments.
of logical
For example, biological evolution
become
has produced structures and organisms
had
well adapted, the researchers changed
of awesome complexity, fi-om termite
charted their evolution, he had found
the reward system so that an entirely
colonies to the
acquiring mutations that helped
consume sugar more
produce
same
the
Adami
When
faster.
and
efficiently
Lenski
punctuated
pattern
that
and E.
identified. DigitaHa
some profound
common. The two teams of
re-
coli
apparently had
things
m
scien-
tists
Since then, they have found
between
more
and biolog-
digitalia
organisms. In 1995 Lenski and a stu-
ical
Mike
dent,
ment
to
Travisano, ran an experi-
gauge
importance
the
ot
chance, history, and adaptation to the
evolution of bacteria.
From
a single E.
they cloned twelve populations,
coli
which they
regularly supplied with the
simple sugar glucose.
2,000
generations,
becoming
evolved,
adapted
of
colonies
better and better
Then
diet.
team switched the bacteria
Lenski's
diet
the course of
the
glucose
the
to
Over
all
different
—
vored
of operations was fa-
set
of switching
a digital version
Adami and Wagenaar observed
a different sugar, maltose.
to a
Over
the course of another 1,000 generations,
in
new
They
—
a trait that
proved
kept track of the size of the microbes
as
relatively
unimportant to
their fitness, just as cell
was for the
size
Wagenaar found
bacteria.
Adami and
that the evolution
of
a
program's length was determined mainly
by
history
its
rather than
These
by the pressure to adapt.
parallel
again, that artificial
and biological
sci-
maltose, they had diverged into a range
of different
sizes.
Then,
as
the bacteria
new diet, their size
Some colonies changed
adapted to their
changed
again.
from big
to small, others
from
sinall to
big. Overall, the researchers found, the
bacteria's adaptation to their diet
nothing to do with their
Chance mutations could
with
little effect
on
Adami and
change.
alter cell size
—such
as
the
mechanisms
for find-
ing food or crunching numbers
may
—
much of a
the
their
computer
results
traits
tion
erase
that experience only
—such
as
weak
trait's
selec-
the size of a bacterium or
computer program
the length of a
chance mutations can send evolution
off in unpredictable
directions,
They
created
rise
and
fall
is
branches of the tree ot
Though
tle
on
random
reaUy the
of complexity in different
Hfe.
fascinating, this debate has
because
scientists
a definition
have yet to set-
of complexity in bi-
ology or on a way to measure
its
and
One
is
a picture
Galileo
it's
of Jupiter transmitted by the
probe or the sound of a
friend's
on the telephone. Since digitaUa
genomes are strings of commands in
voice
other words, information
—
—Adami and
have been able to adapt
his associates
mathematical methods to measure digitaHa
complexity
as well.
the organism's survival, the researchers
that they're so
work with than
much
easier to
And
command
in the
in every possible
of different
digitalia
whether the organism can
is
compHcom-
preserved on a
puter, instantly available for study
program
way and then
You can
every step of that
cated journey
mutate each
biological Hfe.
thousands of generations in a matter of
hours.
complexity of information, whether
of the great attractions of digi-
as historical vestiges.
taHa
not unique to
is
To gauge how much of the information in a digitaHa program is vital to
a
and watch them evolve for
creatures.
interpret as an overall trend
toward complexity
long time
Hnger for
their effects can
billions
iment into one they could run with
may
people
found precise ways to measure the
tion
create
Daniel Wage-
Human
that experience intense natural selec-
strains
a student,
Tlie Logic of
Stephen Jay Gould, on the
other hand, has argued that what some
Destiny.
change. Complexity
is,
converted Lenski's exper-
book Nonzero:
his
biology, however. Mathematicians have
comes
and rephcation.
their fitness, that
their success in survival
naar, recently
size
had
it does; one
Robert Wright, in
to traits
it
previous history. But in the case of
but by the time the
is
some of
When
the same rules.
were
switched them firom glucose to
recent example
stalled
experiments suggest,
end
identical,
of rising
long line of
thinkers have claimed that
and by chance mutations,
they adapted. Originally the colonies
entists
A
ofgenerations in a few hours.
was not
of adapting
a steady trend
Y
Hfe evolve according to at least
his colleagues also
dominated by
But does
brain.
evolution has been
can create billions of digital organisms
and watch them evolve for thousands
grow almost as well on their new food.
But the evolution of the colonies
and
human
that
'on
once
just a simple story
had.
coli
also monitored the length of the
the colonies adapted until they could
to food. Lenski
that
and thrive
conditions, just as E.
programs
mean
this
complexity over time?
fi-om glucose to maltose.
digitaKa could evolve quickly
joined forces in 1998.
similariries
for mastering a set
operations, but once they had
still
see
func-
A
program may be stuffed with
useless commands and turn out to be
quite simple; even if you tamper with a
tion.
lot
of its code,
it
will
still
tlinction.
But
another program of the same length
mav
Serious Sun Protection
turn out to be complex, using
most of
commands
its
that don't tolerate
Following
in precise
much
ways
Recommended by
tinkering.
method, Adami and
this
coworkers have measured the com-
his
of
plexit\-
digitalia colonies as they've
evolved through
10,000 generations.
Overall, the complexity consistently rises
tmril
levels off. Its ascent
it
is
jagged but
is
digitalia,
at
an ascent nevertheless. For
evolution does have an arrow
least,
As
SPF sun protection and blocks
over
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UVB
rays -
-'auVio"^^'
programs, which
ologists
measuring the complexity of
summer
typical
shirt.
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isit
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akin to bi-
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more than a
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information that was contained in the
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UVA and
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call
For one
measured the
thing, the scientists only
and comfortable,
our patented fabric offers 30+
interesting as these results are,
caveats.
the
is
meet published
medical guidelines for sun protection.
Soft, lightweigfit
any application to biological Ufe comes
with some important
line of clothing to
first
sunscreen or
pointing toward greater complexity.
dermatologists,
Solumbra® by Sun Precautions
information encoded in a genome.
no simple equation
There's
complexity to
calculate the complexity
of the things a
genome
creates.
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Another caveat
mind
to bear in
that the complexity
creases in a fixed
Solumbra'
that enables
a biologist to use genetic
of
is
digitalia in-
environment
—
that
ADVERTISEMENT
is,
the rewards for processing data don't
change. In the natural world, conditions are always changing,
with an end-
less
flow of droughts, floods, outbreaks
of
disease,
and
other
H-IIST
life-altering
events. Ever\' time conditions change,
Is
genes that were specialized to deal with
become
may mutate
The
the old conditions
useless.
obsolete genes
or even dis-
and in the process, the com-
appear,
as
ditions
genome
dwindles.
the species adapts to
new con-
of a
plexity'
Only
species'
may complexity
increase again.
arrow of
In the natural world, the
complexity
may
get turned back too
often to have any significant effect
on
long-term evolution. But just finding
that
Online!
arrow
an admirable
is
everything about digitalia
ment, a
—
start
start.
Indeed,
at the
is,
the start of a
new
of science and just maybe the
.start
mo-
Science writer Carl
Zimmcr
is
of a
the author of
Parasite
"Natural
Moment" and
check out what
has on the
Web
"Natural
From
the Past,"
NATURAL HISTORY
for you.
Let us know
Subscribe online.
how we
We want to
are doing.
hear from you.
kind
new kind of hfe.
At the Water's Edge and
From
Selections," to our editors' "Pick
Rex.
A place tofind out more about the world loe live in.
Check
us out at
www.naturalhistory.com
46
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
UNIVERSE
rarely does the medical
Only
doctor's
vocabulary
v/ith that
of the
The human skuU
round
cavities
has
two
your
bodies
"lenses"
midof
eyes,
— though
our
no quasars and no
contain
For orbits and
galaxies.
eyeballs
in the
sits
and your
chest;
have
course,
"orbits," the
where your two
go; your "solar" plexus
dle of
overlap
astrophysicist.
lenses,
the
medical and astrophysical usages resemble each other greatly;
on
hand, the term "plasma"
is
the other
common
to
both discipUnes, yet the two meanings
have nothing whatever to do with each
A
other.
transfusion of blood plasma
can save your
with
a
but a brief encounter
Hfe,
glowing blob of million-degree
plasma would leave
puff of smoke
a
where you had just been
standing.
Astrophysical plasmas are remarkable
ubiquity,
their
for
yet
they're
hardly ever discussed in introductory
textbooks or in the
press.
science books often
call
Writers of
plasmas the
fourth state of matter because of a
panoply of properties that
apart
and
from the
gases.
A
can conduct electricity
act strongly
it
them
plasma has freely moving
but a plasma
particles, just as a gas does,
ing near
sets
familiar soHds, Hquids,
as
well
with magnetic
or through
a plasma have
it.
fields pass-
Atoms within
had some or
electrons stripped
mechanism or
as inter-
all
Cosmic Plasma
There's a lot of it out there but, thankfiilly, not
too
much of it down here.
of their
from them by one
And
another.
the
com-
By
Neil de Grasse Tyson
bination of high temperature and low
density in a plasma only occasionally
allows electrons to recombine with
their host atoms.
plasma remains
Taken
whole, the
as a
electrically neutral,
cause the total
number of
be-
electrons
(which are negatively charged) equals
the total
number of protons (which
positively charged).
But
a
plasma can
seethe widi electric currents and
netic fields, so in
nothing
about
in
many
ways,
like the ideal gas
are
we
it
mag-
behaves
aU learned
high-school chemistry
class.
The
and magon matter almost al-
effects that electric
netic fields have
ways dwarf the
effects
forty
is
gravity.
between
electrical attraction
and an electron
of
a
The
proton
powers of ten
stronger than their gravitational attraction.
So strong
are
forces that a child's
paper
electromagnetic
magnet
easily
lifts
a
clip off a tabletop, despite Earth's
Want a
example? If you man-
a cubic millimeter
of atoms in the nose
of
and
a space shuttle
those
electrons
to
if
you attached
the base
of the
launch pad, then the attractive force
would
would
budge.
inhibit the launch. All engines
fire,
And
but the shuttle wouldn't
if
the Apollo astronauts
had brought back to Earth
trons firom a 100-inch
all
the elec-
cube of lunar
formidable gravitational tug.
dust (leaving behind the atoms from
more
which they came), the
interesting
aged to extricate
all
the electrons from
force of attrac-
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art,
and
most importantly, conservation.
Dr. Donald C. Johanson
Departure: Januar)! 15
-
February 3
A pioneer in the field of physical anthropology.
Dr.
Donald C. Johanson pro-
foundly influenced the understanding of
early
sunbird, the blue-barred parrotfish,
visit
hominid evolution with
his discov-
ery of the "Lucy" skeleton in Ethiopia in
1974- The author of numerous books,
most recently From Lu£y to Language,
Dr. Johanson narrated the popular PBS/
Nova series "In Search of Human
Origins" and served as curator of physical
anthropology at the Cleveland Museum
many
of Natural History for
years.
Joan Embery
Departure: January 29
Nationally
known
-
February
1
for her appearances
on late-night television with Johnny
Carson, renowned conservationist and
animal expert Joan Embery is dedicated
to the preservation and understanding of
the Earth's wildlife and habitats. Embery
serves as Conservation Ambassador for
the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego
Wild Animal Park and in that role, captivates and inspires the public with her
message of wildlife preservation. She is
also the
proud caretaker of a lemur.
Dr. Donald
F.
Bruning
1 2 - March 3
Donald
Bruning
is curator and chairDr.
F.
man of Ornithology at the Wildlife
Departure: February
A
Conservation Society in New York.
distinguished birder, he is actively involved
in conservation efforts worldwide.
Other departures
Please inquire
vt'ith
available.
Classical Cruises.
Madagascar
Day 14
Seychelles
CURIEUSE AND ARIDE ISLANDS
Visit Curieuse, home to giant land tortois-
Arlde Island
Coco
',
species.
Island
Reserve ^jyiaroantsetra
cream and
Gardenia and the
recently discovered Aride Peponium,
found nowhere else on earth.
life
Felicite
Antipanarivo
/'
/
j^^j^,^
Ocean
/'
_.
,'
^-~,.,,*—* Ft.
,
beautiful
Day 15
Berpnty PriYate
Reserve
the
Wright's
COUSIN ISLAND and
ANSE LAZIO, PRASLIN
Reunion
/
[
includes
magenta
La Digue
Ankofa
coco de met, and several bird
Afternoon at Aride, whose plant
the
es,
Nosy Mangabe
Morning
.
Dauphin
at
uninhabited Cousin,
home
to
Seychelles warblers, wedge-tailed shearwaters, fairy terns, lesser
Itinerary
Day
black-and-white, ruffed, and
1
DEPART USA
Day
lemurs;
Transfer to an airport hotel until the
evening
Madagascar.
flight to
arrival
in
This morning, cruise up the Antainambalana River by pirogue to Ankofa,
daily
life
of a
Day 17
PRASLIN ISLAND
Explore the Vallee de Mai, believed by
Antananarivo.
some
4&5
FT. DAUPHIN
BERENTY PRIVATE RESERVE
On
I
the morning of
Day
4,
fly
to
LA DIGUE
Noddy Tern; Cousin,
Call
Seychelles
Day 10
MAROANTSETRA ANTANANARIVO
Antananarivo. Transfer to the
BERENTY PRIVATE RESERVE
ANTANANARIVO
FT. DAUPHIN
Hotel Colbert.
Ry from Ft. Dauphin to Antananarivo.
Upon arrival, visit Ambohimanga, the old
ANTANANARIVO
Merina royal family.
Antananarivo and the Hotel
the
Colbert.
Day
n
I
Morning
aboard ship in
to
Maroantsetra. Travel
protect
the
Accommodations
region's
at Reiois
wildlife.
du Mosooia.
Day
Mahe, the main island in
Embark Callisto. Overnight
Mahe.
13
Silhouette Island reveals several species of
at
Nosy Mangabe Reserve,
hike through the pristine rain forest
endemic
orchids,
bwa
sandal,
bwa
kapisen, and other trees.
limited to only 34 guests
call classical cruises today at
each departure
MAHE DISEMBARKATION
I
Day 20
EUROPEAN CITY
USA
I
USA.
Departures
Return
December
A
to the endangered aye-aye lemur.
at
Day 19
Depart
SILHOUETTE ISLAND
AND CURIEUSE BAY
NOSY MANGABE RESERVE
Spend the day
In the evening,
to
Day 8
home
Anse Source d' Argent.
dock in Mahe.
the return flight to the
EMBARKATION
the Seychelles.
to
REUNION
Day 12
Morning flight
Andrifotra Private Reserve, created
tour of the
a
and a swim
Arrive in a European city to connect with
ANTANANARIVO MAROANTSETRA
I
I
Tour Antananarivo, then fly to Reunion.
Overnight at the Hotel Meridien.
MAHE
Day?
for
Disembark at Mahe for a tour of the
island. Relax at the Hotel Plantation
before the evening flight.
I
I
La Digue
at
forested nature reserve
I
Transfer to Maroantsetra's airport for the
flight to
flight
the
and
sunbirds;
Day 18
Ft.
Day 6
to
black parrot;
Seychelles flying foxes.
Found here are 115 plant species, 83
bird species, and several species of mamprominently
lemurs.
mals,
most
Accommodations are at the Gite d'Etape.
Continue to
Garden of Eden. Watch
Seychelles
I
River.
of
to be the
the
Seychelles blue pigeon;
Dauphin. Transfer to the Berenty Private
Reserve, on the banks of the Mandrare
capital
profu-
and other plants. Afternoon
swimming and snorkeling at tiny Coco isle.
sion of palms
for
ANTANANARIVO
Lazio for swim-
Day 16
FELICITE AND COCO ISLANDS
Morning at Felicite, covered with a
9
Trarisfer to the Hotel Colbert.
Days
noddies, and others.
Anse
to Praslin's
Day
ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR
Morning
sail
ming, snorkeling, and relaxing.
where we experience the
typical Malagasy village.
3
Then
and several species of chameleon.
ANKOFA
2
EUROPEAN CITY
Day
brown
is
800-252-7745 or 212-794-3200
to reserve your space
on
rouz,
20,
2001 January
2002
7,
*
January 15, 2002
Febmary
January 29, 2002
February 17, 2002
February 12, 2002
March
3,
3,
2002
2002
Other departures
available. Please
inquire with Classical Cruises.
*
The Madagascar
cruise
on
portion follows the
this departure.
The New
Program Inclusions
•
as described in the itinerary
Hotel stays
with American breakfast
• Flights in
•
34--Guest Callisto
places. All
daily.
Madagascar.
with accommodations in an
you can enjoy views of the sea and the
outside cabin with marble-appointed pri-
various ports of
vate bathroom.
•
•
•
Three meals
daily
thoughout the pro-
All cabins are
air-
telephone,
two-channel
TV/VCR, and
refrigerator.
Afternoon tea aboard ship
public areas include a spacious lounge
House wine and soft drinks with lunch
and dinner aboard ship.
Welcome and farewell receptions aboard
by the captain.
Educational program of lectures and
discussions provided by an
accompany-
ing study leader.
•
call.
conditioned and feature a private bath,
gram: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
ship, hosted
•
panoram-
window (staterooms on Daphne
Deck have three portholes each), so
ic
Seven-night Seychelles cruise aboard
Callisto,
17 of Caifcto's staterooms
are exterior, each with a large
all
The
room
extensive, recently completed renova-
and a gym. There
tion.
tours as described,
shore excursions.
for
most undiscovered and
as
in
which
all
guests are
accommo-
are
two broad decks
sunbathing and dining
alfiresco
and
swimming platfonn at the yacht's
stem. Calfcto flies the Greek flag and is
a
of 34 guests a rare
opportunity to experience some of the
world's
and presentations
dated at a single unassigned seating;
This lovely oceangoing yacht
maximum
yacht's
well as quiet conversation; a dining
means "most beautiful" in Greek, has
become still more beautiful thanks to an
offers a
Complete program of
including
ideal for lectures
yacht Callisto, whose name
radio,
The
served by a crew of 16.
pristine
• Professional Classical Cruises staff.
•
Complete pre-departure
ing reading
ment
wallet,
• Port dues
ities
list,
and name
tag.
and embarkation
to porters, guides,
• Transfers,
materials, includ-
travel portfolio, docu-
and
taxes; gratudrivers.
baggage handling abroad, and
airport departure taxes for passengers
traveling
on
flights
arranged through
on indemay have to
Classical Cruises. Participants
pendently booked
arrange their
own
flights
transportation or pur-
\jau.ng&
Dining alfresco
chase transfers from Classical Cruises.
Deck Plan
ro—Jlt-4—
I
Q LOUNGE
^Q
aoocBDaoDaoD
QQQQ ^
"
Qym
Cleo Deck
Typical Cabin
classical
m
132 East 70th Street
I
*
cruises
New York, NY
10021
For Reservations and Information Please Call
212-794-3200 or 800-252-7745
Cabin with
full
Daphne Deck
or queen-size bed
Rates
Marble-appointed
Per Person, Double Occupancy
cabin bathroom
Cabin
Category
D
C
B
A
Airfare
(Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Eastern Time),
or See Your Travel
Agent
Classical Cruises
Rate
$8,195 $8,595 $9,095 $9,495
'www.c[asSiicd!icTmses..com
Single Supplement: $2,500 (Categories
C and
B)
with your
would be pleased to
assist
air reservations. Please call us at
800-252-7745
for further information.
you
—
NATURAL HISTORY 47
5/01
going.
By
the gravitational at-
plows through the atmosphere. Along
Earth's
atmosphere near our magnetic
and the Moon.
the way, the temperature drops, the air
poles, the solar
The
(Continued from page 46)
would exceed
rion
traction bet\veen Earth
Earth's
most conspicuous plasmas
are lightnmg,
the
of
trail
and the ordinary
star,
get after shuffling around
you
living-room carpet in your
and then touching
a
gets denser,
shock
munication
electrons that
when
the air
doorknob. Electri-
of
abrupdy move through
many
too
place. Lightning, for instance,
it
can no
electrons go
and com-
to their atoms,
relatively rare
includes every glowing star
tally
Hubble
Telescope's beautiful photo-
and "gas" cloud. Nearly
Space
happens
the
all
coUiding with molecules in
also the direct
is
cause of the aurora borealis and aurora
northern and southern
(the
australis
not only on Earth but on
lights),
magnetic
most conspicuous plasma? Try
all
and strong
fields.
Depending on a plasma's temperature and its mix of atoms, some free
recombine with needy
electrons will
down
En
atoms and cascade
energy
levels within.
emit light
electrons
Earth's
wind
planets with atmospheres
quickly restored.
is
the visible matter in the cosmos.
all
This
one
collect in
The
state
as
on Earth, plasmore
than
99.99 percent
mas comprise
While
socks
discharges are jagged columns ot
cal
home
back
on your
vs/ool
and the plasma
longer be sustained.
shooting
a
electric
down
continues to slow
craft
The
wavelengths.
in
the myriad
route, the
prescribed
auroras
owe
their
beautiful colors to these electron hi-
lightning, or the
of a shooting
trail
star.
do neon tubes, fluorescent
and those glowing plasma
jinks,
as
lights,
to strike Earth's surface thousands of
The
rimes per hour.
centimeter-wide
column through which
air
lightning travels
is
of
a bolt
turned into glowing
graphs of nebulae in our galaxy depict
colorful
clouds in the form of
gas
monitor the Sun and report on the
pulsars.
The
solar
field into
day's
a tiny particle
is
of interplanetary debris moving so
that
burns up in the
it
to Earth as harmless
air
cosmic
dust. Al-
to
a
spacecraft that reenters our atmosphere.
near-Earth orbital speed of
the
at
occupants don't want to land
its
18,000 miles per hour (about five miles
per second), the craft must slow
and
down
must go some-
kinetic energy
its
where. Shock waves along the leading
during reentry.
The
edge heat the
craft
heat
whisked away by protec-
is
rapidly
tive shields.
This
unlike shooting
Earth
as dust.
is
why
stars,
For
the astronauts,
do not descend
several
ing a descent, the heat
is
minutes dur-
so intense that
becomes
ionized, cloaking the
astronauts in a temporary plasma barrier that
none of our communicarion
signals can penetrate.
mous blackout
is
a
magnetic
This
period,
is
the infa-
when
the craft
aglow and Mission Control knows
nothing of the astronauts' well-being.
its
whims.
This marriage of plasma and magnetic field
is
a
major feature of the
wind
as
sUghtly faster than the plasma near
pen
bad news for
the Sun's complexion.
With
magnetic
field
"frozen" into
the Sun's
its
plasma,
the field gets stretched and twisted.
Sunspots,
flares,
prominences,
come and go
other solar blemishes
gnarly
the
and
magnetic
field
as
punches
through the Sun's surface, carrying
plasma along with
solar
Because of aO
flings
charged
this
up
bad things would hap-
when
it hit.
Severe
plasma ejections can fry the circuits
at
on
and knock out transformers
satellites
power
But
stations.
mild and innocent.
I
one was
this
told the viewers
—
—and
not to worry
that Earth's
field protects us
to use the occasion to
I
magnetic
invited
them
go north and
enjoy the aurora that the solar wind
cause.
The
hubbub, the Sun
particles into space,
first-ever
(or at least the reporters)
that
to civiHzation
would
it.
My
miles per second, directly at Earth.
was scared
is
was part of the
news was triggered by the report of a
plasma pie hurled by the Sun, at 300
plasma near the Sun's equator rotates
poles. This differential
it
forecast.
televised interview tor the evening
Everybody
its
though
weather
The
Sun's eleven-year cycle of activity.
to
every molecule surrounding the space
capsule
the field to
fast
and descends
most the same thing happens
Since
plasma can lock
as
place and torque or otherwise shape
Even,' shooting star
observatories
give us an unprecedented capacity to
nearby sources such
ing electrons.
shops.
satellite
from
been
of the Sun's surface by these flow-
gift
days,
fields
by the presence of magnetic
that
These
of these clouds are strongly influenced
plasma in a fraction of a second, having
raised to a temperature ten times
lamps in tacky
density of some
The shape and
plasma.
spheres offered for sale next to the lava
during
Sun's rarefied corona, visible
total solar eclipses as a
glowing
including electrons, protons, and bare
halo around the silhouetted Moon,
forms a five-million-degree plasma
helium nuclei. The resultant
that
to a million tons
of them per second
stream, sometimes a gale and
times
a
zephyr,
is
particle
some-
more commonly
known as the solar
mous of plasmas ensures
wind. This most
tails
ter
that
fa-
comet
point away from the Sun, no mat-
whether the comet
is
coming or
is
the outermost part of the solar
atmosphere. With temperatures that
high, the corona
of the Sun's
fit
is
the principal source
X rays. Without the bene-
of an eclipse to block the Sun's
bright surface, the corona easily gets
lost in
the glare.
48
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
There's an entire layer ot Earth's at-
mosphere where
been
electrons have
kicked out of their host atoms by ultra-
Hght from the Sun, creating
violet
a
plasma blanket called the ionosphere.
This layer
of
reflects certain frequencies
AM
including those of the
radio
vi'aves,
dial
(which can reach hundreds ot
and of shortwave (which can
miles)
reach thousands of miles beyond the
horizon).
FM
broadcast
television,
and those of
signals
however,
pass
right through the ionosphere, traveling
out to space
at
eavesdroppmg
know
all
alien civilization will
TV
about our
(probably
good
a
will
know
AM
talk-show hosts like
all
our
thing),
and
nothing of the poHtics of
baugh (probably
Most plasmas
ganic matter.
the one
wore
always
he
Star Trek
who
planets they
must
a red shirt.)
gets vaporized.
visit.
that this person
crew member meets
this
the
glowing blobs of plasma
me
Born
a
to a
thousand degrees. Before then,
all
few
Hght
not melt, vaporize, or decompose. To
both of them translucent instead of
design
it,
we'd use the relationship be-
tween plasma and magnetic
fields to
advantage, creating a container
our
whose
walls are intense magnetic fields that the
nomenon
by the
fro
—
plasma
free electrons in the
phewhat
a
that greatly resembles
happens to Hght
as
through
passes
it
frosted glass or through the Sun's inte-
Light can travel through neither
rior.
without scattering, and
As the universe cooled
transparent.
below
renders
this
to
few thousand degrees, each
a
electron in the
cosmos combined with
an atomic nucleus, creating complete
You'd think those Star Trek people would
have learned to
plasma cannot
tells
history,
its
down
was getting scattered to and
problems with the
is
all
half-million years into
the universe had cooled
been stripped from their hydrogen
atoms and roam free. How might you
hold a glowing blob of hydrogen
plasma at milhons of degrees? In what
container would you place it? Even microwave-safe Tupperware will not do.
What you need is a botde that will
are not friendly to or-
on the uncharted
(My memory
At these temperatures they've
here.
A
routine
a
is
for attached electrons
treat
plasma with respect.
Rush Lim-
most hazardous job on the
investigate the
hope
a safe thing).
The person with
television series
No
thing.
programs
(probably a bad thing), will hear
FM music
Any
the speed of Hght.
thermonuclear fusion
Every time
plasma blob,
in the
twenty-
plasma
place,
It's
is
it
cross.
that if
tends to
One
you squeeze it in one
pop out someplace else.
Hke trying to squeeze
make
from
it
of the pesky
confinement of
smaller.
a balloon to
The economic
return
a successflil frision reactor will rest
on
in part
the design of this magnetic
on our understanding of
"bottle" and
how
the plasma interacts with
Among
atoms of hydrogen and helium and
amounts of lithium.
trace
as every electron had
home, the pervasive plasma
As soon
found
no longer
state
way
a
would
it
the most exotic forms of
that's
the
hundreds of mil-
of years, at least until quasars
were born, with their central black
lions
holes that dine
on swirhng
before the gas faUs
it.
And
existed.
stay for
gases. Just
ioniz-
in, it releases
ing ultraviolet Hght that travels across
third century, these space-faring, star-
matter ever concocted
the quark-
the universe, kicking electrons back
trekking people would, you'd think,
gluon plasma, newly created by physi-
out of their atoms with abandon. Until
have long ago learned to
cists at
with respect (or not to wear
the
in
twenty-first
enough
to treat
plasma
treat
We
red).
know
century
plasma with respect,
and we haven't been anywhere.
reactors,
monitored
at
a
where plasmas
safe
distance,
we
are
at-
tempt to slam together hydrogen nuclei at
high speeds and turn them into
heavier helium nuclei.
By doing
so,
we
hberate energy that could supply society's
we
need
for electricity.
Problem
is,
haven't yet succeeded in getting
more energy out than we put
in.
To
achieve such high coUision speeds,
a
blob of hydrogen atoms must be raised
to tens
as
hot
of millions of degrees
as
—
the center of the Sun,
Brookhaven National Labo-
ratory, a particle-accelerator taciHty
New
at least
where
Long
York's
Island.
on
Rather than
being fdled with atoms stripped of their
electrons, a
In the center of our thermonuclear
fusion
the
is
prises a
quark-gluon plasma com-
mixture of some of the most
basic constituents
of matter: fractionally
charged quarks along with the gluons
that
normaUy hold them together
to
form protons and neutrons. This unusual form of plasma greatly resembles
the state of our trillion-degree cosmos
a few microseconds after the big
bang about the time the observable
—
universe was not
solar system.
much
larger than our
Indeed, in one form or
another, every cubic inch of the uni-
the
emergence of quasars, the universe
enjoyed the only interval of time (before
or
since)
nowhere
to
when
be found.
the dark ages and look
time
when
upon
it
assembling matter into
visibly
was
call this era
as a
gravity was silently and in-
plasma baUs that became the
first
the
gen-
eration of stars.
Neil de Grasse Tyson, an astrophysicist,
is
the Frederick P.
York City's
Rose Director of New
Hayden Planetarium. He
(along with Steven Soter) coeditor
well as a contribtttor
zons:
Astronomy
Edge, a
collection
to,
at
of,
is
as
Cosmic Horithe
Cutting
of essays written by as-
verse was in a plasma state until a half-
trophysicists
miUion years had
cosuiological research.
elapsed.
plasma
We
working on the frontiers of
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Central Park West at 79th Street
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*:4-i
a
50
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
By Sarah Btaffer Hrdy
Mothers
and Others
bees to elephant matriarchs, many animal
mothers are assisted by others in rearing offspring.
Anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy maintains that our
human ancestors, too, were "cooperative breeders"
From queen
—
THAT ENABLED THEM TO THRIVE IN MANY NEW
ENVIRONMENTS. TODAY, ARGUES HrDY, OUR CONTINUED ABILITY
TO RAISE EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY CHILDREN MAY WELL DEPEND
ON HOW WELL WE UNDERSTAND THE COOPERATIVE ASPECT OF
MODE OF
LIFE
OUR EVOLUTIONARY
HERITAGE.
Mother
cases, suckle
it
apes
—chimpanzees,
humans— dote
goril-
orangutans,
las,
on their babies. And why not?
They give birth to an infant after
a long gestation and, in most
for years. With humans, however,
all
may
late.
A
mother
in a forag-
give birth every four years or
so,
few children remain dependent long
back, a mother
after
fishes with a
foragers,
basket in the
for eighteen or
Okavango River
10-13 million calories that anthropologists such
Botswana.
as
get those calories?
would
And under what
manage
to
conditions
natural selection allow a female ape to pro-
beyond her means to rear on her own?
The old answer was that fathers helped out by
hunting. And so they do. But hunting is a risky
and her
in
million until roughly 10,000 years ago)
other ape babies, ours mature slowly
on and
Her child on her
first
each
hving in the Pleistocene Epoch (from 1.6
duce babies so large and slow to develop that they
and reach independence
ing society
cestresses
on.
the job of providing for a juvenile goes
Unlike
young human to independence, a mother needs help.
So how did our prehuman and early human an-
new baby
arrives;
among nomadic
grown-ups may provide food
more
years.
to children
To come up with the
Hillard Kaplan calculate are
needed
to rear a
are
occupation, and fathers
may
die or defect or take
up with other females. And when they do, what
then? New evidence from surviving traditional
cultures suggests that
may have had
men who
mothers in the Pleistocene
a significant degree
of help
—from
thought they just might have been the
mm
.m»Ki\
"^^J
m^-
—
52
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
from grandmothers and great-aunts, from
fathers,
to
These helpers other than the mother, called
aUomothers by sociobiologists, do not just protect
Hewlett,
as
the Efe
and Aka Pygmies of central Africa, aUomothers actu-
them
ally hold children and carry
tight-knit
about. In these
communities of communal loragers
within which men,
much
women, and
humans
with
nets,
tens
of thousands of years ago
cles, fathers,
as
are
children
hunt
stiU
thought to have done
—
siblings, aunts,
day of Hfe.
When
University of
New Mex-
the
breeding allows
ico anthropologist Paula Ivey asked an Efe
many members
"Who
of the dog family
"We
to rear large
contact with aUomothers 40 percent ot the time.
Below: An
arctic wolf
and
her puppies.
first
cares for babies?" the
all
do!"
un-
and grandmothers hold newborns on
Cooperative
litters.
Washington
older children.
and provision youngsters. In groups such
By
three
woman,
immediate answer was,
weeks of age, the babies
are in
By
more time
gestational moth-
most of whom
caretakers,
According
are close kin.
State University anthropologist
naturalness
as
weU
as
of mother-centered models of child
which
the nuclear family in
nurtures while the father provides,
the
we
Westerners
tend to regard the practices of the Efe and the
exotic.
is
But
to sociobiologists,
comparisons across species,
faiTdhar ring.
It's
sociobiologists started to
spectacular surprises has
this
helping has a
all
as
but
among
notes,
how much
one of the
aUomater-
human
on cooperative
with aUomothers than with their
breeding for the best of evolutionaiy reasons.
average, Efe babies have fourteen different
A
broad look
so-
animals generaUy. Evidently, di-
verse organisms have converged
On
Dur-
anthropologists and
compare
been
as
stock in trade
nal care goes on, not just within various
cieties
Aka
whose
called cooperative breeding.
ing the past quarter century,
care,
mother
eighteen weeks, infants actually spend
ers.
Barry
Aka babies are within arm's reach of their
fathers for more than haU" of every day.
Accustomed to celebrating the antiquity and
at
the most recent evidence has
cominced me
duce
costly,
that cooperative breeding
was the
ancestors to pro-
slow-maturing infants
at shorter inter-
take advantage of new kinds of resources in
vals, to
mixed savanna-woodland of
habitats other than the
tropical Africa,
and
more widely and
to spread
any primate had before.
swiftly than
know
own
permitted our
strateg)- that
that animal
who
mothers
We
delegate
already
some of
monkeys
ican
that are, besides us, the only tuU-
—
among primates
fledged cooperative breeders
male has to be ready to be a helper
this
a fe-
year and a
mother the next. She may have one mate or
several.
In canids such as wolves or wild dogs, usually only
the dominant, or alpha, male and female in a pack
reproduce, but younger group
mother and return
the
members hunt with
den
to the
to regurgitate
the costs of infant care to others are thereby freed to
predigested meat into the mouths of her pups. In a
produce more or larger young or to breed more
fascmating instance of physiological
quendy. Consider the case of sUver-backed
Patricia
Moehlman, of
Union, has shown
fre-
jackals.
World Conservation
the
that for every extra helper bring-
ing back food, jackal parents rear one extra pup per
Htter.
cies
Cooperative breeding
expand into
also helps various spe-
which they would norany young at all. Florida
habitats in
mally not be able to rear
scrub-jays, for example, breed in an
exposed land-
subordinate female
may
swells,
and she begins to manufacture milk
and may help nurse the pups of the alpha
tiges
of cooperative breeding crop up
undergoing
a
Russell terrier chased away the
young of another
siblings help
erative
guard and feed the young. Such coop-
arrangements permit animals
naked mole
world) and wolves to
move
sometimes to spread over
as diflierent as
of the maimnal
rats (the social insects
new
into
habitats
and
call
an adaptive
ment
species
When
mothers
animal
delegate some infant-care
costs to others, they can
produce more or larger
own
in
does
it
take to
breeder? Obviously, this
for creatures capable
tated
as
lifestyle
of living
is
young
Florida scrub-jays)
is
it
does not contribute
But
in the environ-
family evolved, a female's
when
—combined with her
nancy—^would have
need
born
an option only
is
to the
According to the
infants signaled their
capacity for pseudopreg-
late
dominant female.
W D.
Hamilton, evolu-
tionary logic predicts that an animal with pooi
prospects of reproducing
be predisposed to
that at least
petuated.
assist
on
his
or her
some of their shared genes
Among
faciU-
individuals (such
do not or cannot im-
number of
own
should
kin with better prospects so
be per-
will
wolves, for example, both niak
in the
pack are
netically related to the alpha htter
a
a cooperative
in groups. It
when young but folly mature
fainily's
likely to
and
reasons for not trying to reproduce
less-than-ideal habitats.
What
neighbors' Jack
cat and
To suckle the
hardly what Darwinians
survival).
which the dog
in
tendency to respond
and female helpers
them
become
Ves-
increased the survival chances
vast areas.
pjvise
pair.
well in do-
kittens.
(because
trait
to the surrogate's
for large Htters
young and
my
pseudopregnancy,
snakes usually precludes the fledging of young; surpossible only because older
as
mestic dogs, the distant descendants of wolves. After
adopted and suckled her
is
a
transformations similar to those of a real pregnancy:
her belly
scape where unrelenting predation from hawks and
vival in this habitat
flexibility,
undergo hormonal
actually
on
be ge-
good
to have
their
own:
in
cooperatively breeding species (wild
dogs, wolves, hyenas, dingoes,
dwarf mongooses,
marmosets), the helpers do
but the dominant
female
threat
is
try,
The
likely to bite their babies to death.
of coercion makes postponing ovulation the
better part of valor, the least-bad option for females
who must
wait to breed until their circumstances
mediately leave their natal group to breed on their
improve, either through the death of a higher-rank-
own and
ing female or by finding a mate with an unoccupied
cation.
sal
instead remain
among
As with delayed maturation, delayed
disper-
of young means that teenagers, "spinster" aunts,
real
and honorary uncles
their kin rear
shift to
will
be on hand to help
young. Flexibility
for cooperative breeders.
In
kin in their natal lo-
breeding
mode
is
another criterion
Helpers must be ready to
should the opportunity
marmosets and tamarins
—
the
little
arise.
South Amer-
territory.
One primate strategy is to Une up extra fathers.
Among common marmosets and several species of
tamarins, females mate with several males,
which help
Charles
T
rear
her young.
Snowdon
all
of
As primatologist
points out, in three of the four
genera of Callitrichidae
{Callithrix,
Saj^uinus,
and
The meerkats
of southwestern
Africa's Kalahari
Desert are
cooperative
breeders par
excellence.
Here, a
subordinate
"baby-sits" for
another female's
litter.
—
54
NATURAL HISTORY
5/0
1
more adult males the group has
the more young survive. Among
"primary" father
available to help,
married to their mother) and
species, females ovulate just after giv-
sui-vival for
around
surprisingly, as
until after babies are born. (In cotton-top
hormonal changes
a
a
(the
man
"secondary" father
survived to age fifteen, compared with 64 percent
ing birth, perhaps encouraging males to stick
tamarins, males also undergo
Not
those with a primary father alone.
soon
as a
Bari
woman
suspects she
is
mothers, by contrast, don't ovulate
more
successful fishermen or hunters in her group. BeUef
that fatherhood can be shared draws more men into
the web of possible paternity, which effectively
translates into more food and more protection.
But for human mothers, extra mates aren't the
again right after birth, nor do they produce off-
only source of effective help. Older children, too.
that prepare
them
Among
birth.)
in the
same
Human
of
to care for infants at the time
cooperative breeders of certain
other species, such
wolves and jackals, pups born
as
Utter can
be
by
sired
more than one
different fathers.
Two African
spring with
elephant females
Ever inventive, though, humans solve the problem
tend a newborn
of enlisting help from several adult males by other
The larger
had both
those
many of these
calf.
who
Leoiitopitheais), the
ineans. In
some
genetic father
mothers
cultures,
rely
on
time.
at a
pecuUar
a
social group
belief that anthropologists call partible paternity
fadlitates the
the notion that a fetus
is
up by contributions
built
men
whom women
mother's task of
of semen from
rearing a single,
have had sex in the ten months or so prior to giving
Among
all
the
with
the Canela, a matrilineal tribe in
large, slow-
birth.
maturing
Brazil studied for
offspring.
of the Smithsonian Institution, pubhcly sanctioned
many
years
by WiUiam Crocker
and
men
other
HER YOUNG.
play a significant role in family survival. University
have just shown that
is
among
in the Kalahari
a significant correlation
between
where works among the
men
Older matrilineal kin may be the most valuable
lead
disaster
to
else-
helpers of
all.
University of
Utah anthropologists
a
broad
Kristen
Hawkes and James O'ConneU and
their
swath of South
Amer-
UCLA
colleague Nicholas Blurton Jones,
who
ica
Across
—from Paraguay
up
have demonstrated the important food-gathering
women among Hazda
into Brazil, westward to
role
Peru, and northward to
ers in
Tanzania, delight in explaining that since
human
life
Venezuela
—mothers
rely
wisdom to hne up multiple
help them provision both
children. Over hundreds of
of older
spans
menopause, older
to
for
—and
to
younger
of the world where food sources are unpreand where husbands are
as
Hkely
as
not to
return from the hunt empty-handed.
Bari people of Venezuela are
believe in shared paternity,
to provide vital food for
kin.
hunter-gather-
may extend for a few decades after
women become available to care
folk
generations, this behef has helped children thrive in
The
RAISE
HER
how many children a parent successfully raises and
how many older sibHngs were on hand to help during that person's own childhood.
nity.
who
MALES, ALL OF WHICH HELP
Desert, there
ceremonies.
beheve in partible pater-
dictable
FEMALES MATE WITH SEVERAL
lagewide
Canela because the
themselves and their
to
MARMOSETS,
!Kung hunters and gatherers Uving
marital
a part
SPECIES OF
takes place during vil-
What might
on this convenient
honorary fathers
SOME
is
extra "fathers." In
LINE UP
Raymond Hames
men
sometimes many
~'.
primate strategy
of Nebraska anthropologists Patricia Draper and
than their husbands
~^"
One
between
intercourse
women
pregnant, she accepts sexual advances from the
—
children born
Hawkes, O'ConneU, and Blurton
Jones further beUeve that dating from the earUest
days o{Hoino
crectiis,
the survival of weaned children
during food shortages
may have depended on
among
those
and according
to
anthropologist Stephen Beckerman, Bari children
with more than one father do especially
well. In
Beckerman's study of 822 children, 80 percent of
tu-
dug up by older kin.
At various times in human history, people have
also relied on a range of customs, as weU as on coerfor excion, to line up aUomaternal assistance
ample, by using slaves or hiring poor women as wet
nurses. But all the helpers in the world are of no use
bers
—
carry, or provision
not motivated to protect,
if they're
For both humans and nonhumans,
babies.
main ways: through
vation arises in three
this
the
moti-
manip-
ulation of information about kinship; through ap-
coming from
pealing signals
and, at the heart of it
to infants' signals. Indeed,
spond
many
from the endocrinological
that induce individuals to re-
and neural processes
in a
all,
the babies themselves;
other
mammals
nurmring way
primates and
all
eventually respond to infants
nonbreeding female, primates can respond
although quite different
fants' signals,
levels
to in-
of ex-
posure and stimulation are required to get them
Twenty
going.
levels
were
years ago,
when
reported in
first
elevated prolactin
common marmoset
many
when the
males (by Alan Dixson, for Callithrixjacdius),
scientists refused to believe
it.
Later,
finding was confirmed, scientists assumed this effect
would be found only
in fathers.
But based on
ex-
it
posed long enough to
their signals. Trouble
"long enough" can
is,
mean
vers' different things in
males and females, with
their ver\- different re-
sponse thresholds.
For decades, animal
behaviorists have
been
aware ot the phenome-
non known
A mouse or
priming.
Adult
encoun-
are adapted to
pup
recognize and
tering a strange
is
respond by
likely to
mammals
as
rat
respond to infant
ei-
ther ignoring the
pup or
But presented
signals,
earing
sometimes even
after pup, ro-
across species.
it.
wth pup
Left:
dents of either sex eventually
to
become
sensitized
baby and
the
caring for
it.
with twin
start
Even
daughters.
a
Below: A house
male may gather pups
into a nest
A male
pygmy marmoset
cat nurses an
and Hck or
huddle over them. Al-
orphaned eastern
though nurturing
gray squirrel.
a routine part
repertoire,
is
not
of a male's
when
sufficiently
primed he behaves
mother would. Hormonal change
is
as a
an obvious
Con-
candidate for explaining this transformation.
sider the case of the cooperatively breeding Florida
scrub-jays studied by Stephan Schoech, of the
of Memphis. Prolactin,
versity'
that initiates the secretion
mals,
is
also present in
of both
lactin
sexes.
go up
their nest
a protein
of milk in female
male mammals and
Schoech showed
that levels
when
helpers and are also at their highest
it
happens, male,
don,
Lucille
Snow-
Roberts,
and many others
that deals
with
—work
a variety
of species of marmosets
and tamarins
of pro-
know
that
—we
all
now
sorts
hormonal changes
of
are
associated with increased
More-
nurturing in males. For
nonbreeding
example, in the tufted-
when
they
assist
eared marmosets studied by French and colleagues,
testosterone levels in males
feeding nesdings.
As
Jeffrey
French, Charles
that these levels
they feed their young.
over, prolactin levels rise in the jays'
in
mam-
Scott Nunes,
Fite,
in birds
in a male and female jay as they build
and incubate eggs and
reach a peak
Uni-
hormone
work by
Jeffrey
as well as
immature and
gaged
went down
in caretaking after the birth
as
they en-
of an
infant.
56
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
Testosterone levels tended to be lowest in those
proposed that
with the most paternal experience.
sleep deprivation, but this
The
Yoruba
girls in
Benin: In
human
many
biggest surprise, however, has
something
cies.
Anne
similar goes
on
in males
of our
this
drop in testosterone
that
the parallel testosterone drop in
own
spe-
housed with parturient
levels in men who were
women went up toward the end
females.)
during pregnancy and lactation
more pronounced
are,
mothers than in the
ported that prolactin
Hving
putably
with pregnant
ot the
men
consorting with them, and no one
play a key role
pregnancy. But the most significant finding was a 30
that
male consorts
as mothers'
percent drop in testosterone in
helpers.
birth.
men
(Some endocrinologicaUy
right after the
Hterate
wags have
due to
of course, indis-
older siblings
societies,
is
marmoset males
Hormonal changes
been
Storey and colleagues in Canada have re-
levels
would probably not explain
in
is
suggesting
are equivalent to mothers.
both sexes are surprisingly susceptible to infant
—
nals
explaining
why
fathers, adoptive parents,
But
sig-
wet
Genetic relatedness alone
is a surprisingly unreliable
predictor of love.
matters are cues
what
from
nurses,
volved with the infants they care
and how we process
Genetic relatedness alone, in
cues from infants and
emotionally.
hooked
The
—
how
fact, is a surpris-
who
is
—
What
becoming emotion-
also explains
well-being than a detached mother
creep
From
motivated to
—
a
fuUy
to the infant's
will.
can't forget the real protagonist
story: the baby.
fully
how
in frequent contact with his
become more committed
But we
matters are
these cues are processed
capacity for
or primed
engaged father
infant can
these cues emotionally.
for.
ingly unreUable predictor of love.
ally
infants
and day-care workers can become deeply in-
newborns
birth,
stay close,
are
to root
of
this
power-
—even
to
in quest of nipples, which they instinctively
suck on. These are the
first
innate behaviors that
But maintaining contact is A !Kung-San
harder for Uttle humans to do than it is for other mother with her
primates. One problem is that human mothers are children: Among
not very hairy, so a human mother not only has to traditional
any of us engage
in.
on her
position the baby
breast but also has to
keep
foragers, having
him there. She must be motivated to pick up her extra helpers
baby even before her milk comes in, bringing with it may be what
enables human
a host of hormonal transformations.
Within minutes of birth, human babies can cry
and vocalize just
as
other primates do, but
human
and make
newborns can also read facial expressions
a few of their own. Even with blurry vision, they
engage in eye-to-eye contact with the people
around them.
Newborn
babies,
about eighteen inches away.
faces within range, babies
when
may reward
child from
infancy to
this attention
attached to and interested in their mothers' faces.
But unlike humans, other ape mothers and infants
in gazing deeply into each
other's eyes.
To the extent
cians have
us
that psychiatrists
thought about
and the other
human mental
and pediatri-
this difference
between
apes, they tend to attribute
it
to
agihty and our ability to use lan-
guage. Interactions between mother and baby, in-
cluding vocal play and babbling, have been interpreted
as
protoconversations: revving up the baby
to learn to talk. Yet
face stimulation
talk.
even babies
—
who
lack face-to-
babies born blind, say
—
learn to
Furthermore, humans are not the only pricontinuous rhythmic streams
mates to engage
in the
of vocalization
known
as
babbling. Interestingly,
marmoset and tamarin babies
that the infants
calories required
to bring each
can see
by looking back or even imitating facial expressions. Orang and chimp babies, too, are strongly
do not get absorbed
supply enough of
the millions of
put their
alert,
When people
mothers to
also babble. It
may be
of cooperative breeders are specially
equipped to communicate with caretakers. This
is
independence.
58
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
not an important part of
Mother and child
not to say that babbling
in a day care
learning to talk, only to question
center:
A major
—babbling
first
predisposition to
no
among
ill
which came
so as to develop into a talker, or a
study showed
effects
is
evolve into
a
talker
because
cooperative breeders, babies that babble are
very rarely observed
fact,
the only primate species in
anywhere near
as
among primates
as
mothers in our
ative breeders.
in the wild. In
which mothers
Hkely to abandon infants
own
A
at
are
birth
species are the other cooper-
study of cotton-top tamarins at
New
of high quality
degree of a
and infants
fant should
social support
England Regional Primate Research
Center showed a 12 percent chance of abandonment if mothers had older sibhngs on hand to help
them rear twins, but a 57 percent chance when no
had a secure
she herself can expect. Mothers in cooperatively
help was available. Overburdened mothers aban-
relationship with
breeding primate species can afford to bear and rear
doned
from day care
if
the care was
better tended
If
and more
humans evolved
human
as
cooperative breeders, the
mother's
be Hnked to
parents to
such costly offspring
begin with.
help
as
the
likely to survive.
commitment
how much
they do only
if
to her in-
they have
on hand. Maternal abandonment and abuse
are
infants within seventy-two hours
This
history,
new way
with
its
of birth.
of thinking about our species'
implications for children, has
made
me
concerned about the
future.
So
most West-
tar,
ern researchers studying infant development have
presumed
that li\dng in a nuclear family
fixed division of labor
\-iding)
is
the normal
a
nurturing, dad pro-
human adaptation. Most con-
temporary research on
velopment
(mom
with
children's psychosocial de-
derived irom John Bowlby's theories
is
of attachment and has focused on such variables
as
how available and responsive the mother is,
whether the father is present or absent, and
whether the child is in the mother's care or in day
care. Sure enough, studies done with this model in
mind
always
mothers are
show
how
available
But
know
I
with
less
responsive
and
first
who
and foremost,
how committed
its
senses
mother
is.
of no studies that take into account the
humans evolved
possibiUty that
and economic backgrounds) and was con-
ducted in ten different U.S. locations. This extraordinarily ambitious study
statistics
as
cooperative
showed
home and
the
was launched because
62 percent of U.S. mothers
that
with children under age
six
were working outside
of them (willingly
work within three to
that the majority
or unwiOingly) were back at
months of giving
five
Because
birth.
this
new
was an entirely
so-
phenomenon, no
one really knew what
cial
NICHD's
the
at greater risk.
the baby,
It is
that children
1,364 children and then- families (from diverse ethnic
would
research
reveal.
The
main
study's
finding was that both
maternal and hired caretakers' sensitivity to in-
cooperative breeders,
the degree of a mother's
In
commitment to her infant
should correlate with
how much
she pierself
social support
can
predictor of a child's sub-
development
sequent
and behavior (such
traits as social
"compliance," re-
and self-control were measured)
spect for others,
a
good
indicator of her social sup-
In terms of developmental outcomes, the
ports.
most relevant factor might not be
insecurely attached to the
variable
that
baby
is
—but
in relation to
all
securely or
mother the baby
developmental
trained to measure
how
is
—
psychologists
rather
how
the
are
secure the
the people caring for
him
way might help
explain why even children whose relations with
their mother suggest they are at extreme risk manor her. Measuring attachment this
fme because of the interventions of a
committed father, an older sibling, or a therewhen-you-need-her grandmother.
The most comprehensive study ever done on
age to do
how nonmaternal
care affects kids
is
compatible
with both the hypothesis that humans evolved
as
cooperative breeders and the conventional hypothesis that
clusively
Institute
human
of Child Health and
(NICHD)
Human Development
in 1991, the seven-year study included
spans,
be uniquely able
continuous presence of the mother herself but to supplement
how
felt when cared for by
who had been convinced that
secure infants
else.
People
normally were stunned by these
cates
of day care
felt
Not
at
to
We
all.
results,
vindicated.
mean
other, similar findings
something we need
while advo-
But do these and
that day care
is
than mother care
abusive.
the
the study
showed no
care only
when
detectable
infants
had
a
wanted) and only
quality.
And
scenarios,
effects
ill
from day
secure relationship
with parents to begin with (which
that babies felt
I
take to
when
of caretakers to babies, that
caretakers
all
the day care
staff
needs
—
in
acted like committed kin.
possible to find.
Waiting
equate care.
high
other words, that the
Bluntly put, this kind of day care
sive.
a
had the same
it
the time, and that the caretakers were
sensitive to infants'
day care
mean
in this study's context,
"high quahty" meant that the facihty had
ratio
better
mother was neglectful or
But excluding such worst-case
was of high
The
should keep worrying.
if
not
worry about anymore?
NICHD study showed only that day care was
babies are adapted to be reared ex-
by mothers. Undertaken by the National
life
we humans may
babies need fuU-time care from mothers to develop
happens to be
long
In other words, the critical variable was not the
someone
breeders and that a mother's responsiveness also
Because of our
than was actual time spent apart from the mother.
rather
expect.
was a better
fant needs
lists
The
Where
it
are long,
exists at
is
all,
almost imit's
expen-
even for cheap or inad-
average rate of staff turnover in
the child-rearing
efforts of
younger
kin.
—
60
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
day care centers
30 percent per
is
For
year, primarily
developing
a
because these workers are paid barely the mini-
baby and
child, the
mum
practical
way
wage
(usually less, in fact, than parking-lot
attendants).
Furthermore, day care tends to be
age-graded, so even
move
bers stay put, kids
This kind of day care
where
centers
at
is
staff
new
annually to
mem-
teachers.
unlikely to foster trusting
relationships.
most
to behave
might vary drastically,
depending on whether
the
is
who
mother has kin
whether the father
help,
around, whether fos-
ter
parents
meaning or
These
well-
are
exploitative.
however
factors,
unconsciously perceived
by the
im-
child, affect
portant developmental
Being
decisions.
ex-
tremely self-centered or
being oblivious
selfish,
to others or lacking in
conscience
—
psychologists and
development
may view
cal
—
that
traits
child-
theorists
pathologi-
as
are probably quite
adaptive
traits
dividual
who
for an in-
short
is
from
support
on
other
group members.
If I
Children at a
garment-industry
day care center
in
New
York City:
For a developing
child, the
practical
most
way to
What
conclusion can
we need
care,"
I
make day
to
this?
hi-
And
care better.
this
is
think todays evolution-minded researchers
have something to
say.
how
human
Impressed by just
able child-rearing conditions can
eties,
all
"mother care" versus "other
stead of arguing over
where
we draw from
several anthropologists
be
in
(in-
Henry
Harpending, and James Chisholm) have suggested
depending upon
that babies are
and sensitivity
to
more than just maintaining
propose that babies actually
the
These researchers
monitor mothers to gain
of its earliest
information about the world they have been born
caretakers.
into.
Babies ask, in
people
who
survive?
are
Can
I
effect, Is this
world fdled with
going to provide for
count on them
the answer to those questions
me
to care
is
me
and help
about me?
If
they begin to
yes,
sense that developing a conscience and a capacity for
compassion would be
no, they
may
a great idea.
then be asking.
count on others? Would
what
I
need, however
I
I
Can
It
I
the answer
hindrance than a help.
is
not afford to
be better off just grabbing
can? In this case, empathy, or
thinking about others' needs, v/ould be
more
tocene
whose
babies
mothers lacked
social
than fuUy committed to
cluding Michael Lamb, Patricia Draper,
up
erative breeders. Pleis-
soci-
and psychologists
relationship with their mothers.
hu-
coop-
support and were
behave might
commitment
that
as
vari-
vary drastically,
the
am right
mans evolved
ot a
infant care
less
would have
been unlikely to survive. But once people
started to settle
10,000
or
down
20,000
or
perhaps 30,000 years ago
—
the picture changed.
Ironically, survival chances for neglected children
increased.
As people hngered longer
ehminated predators,
—not
food
to
in
one
place,
built walled houses, stored
mention inventing things such
ber nipples and pasteurized milk
—
as
rub-
infant survival
became decoupled from continuous contact with
a
caregiver.
Since the end of the Pleistocene, whether in
preindustrial or industrialized environments,
some
children have been surviving levels of social neglect that previously
death.
Some
would have meant
certain
children get very httle attention,
In effect, babies ask:
world
Is
this
with people
who are going to provide
for me and help me survive?
Can COUNT on them to
CARE ABOUT ME?
I
filled
even in the most benign of contemporary homes.
A boy and
In the industriahzed world, children routinely sur-
younger sister
vive caretaking practices that an Efe or a
mother would
tional societies,
alone
at
no decent mother
leaves her
baby
any time, and traditional mothers are
shocked to learn
fants
!Kung
find appallingly negligent. In tradi-
unattended
that
Western mothers leave in-
in a crib
all
night.
Without passing judgment, one may point out
that only in the recent history of humankind could
infants deprived
of supportive human contact sur-
vive to reproduce themselves. Certainly there are a
lot
of humanitarian reasons to worry about
this sit-
his
—
62
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
one wants each baby, each
uation:
be lov-
child, to
From my evolutionary perspective,
though, even more is at stake.
Even if we manage to survive what most people
ingly cared for.
are
mothers and other committed
else's
this
is
why
we still be human thousands of years down the
Hoe? By that I mean human in the way we currently
define ourselves. The reason our species has man-
our
icle
get so worried. Just because
I
humans have evolved
will
be smart enough to chron-
to
species' histories, to speculate
and to figure out
gins,
someone
perspective.
And
global warming, emergent dis-
rogue viruses, meteorites crashing into earth
caretakers, each indi-
vidual learns to look at the world from
—
worrying about
eases,
within the context of early relationships with
Hfe,
genes in our
genome
we
that
is
about
ori-
its
have about 30,000
no reason
assume that
to
aged to survive and proliferate to the extent that 6
billion
with
people currently occupy the planet has to do
how
we want
readily
And
to.
the things that
At
a
we
our capacity for empathy
made
us
rudmientary
good
tures are
at
when
can learn to cooperate
good
at
doing
of course,
level,
one of
that.
sorts
all
of crea-
movements
reading intentions and
and anticipating what other animals
is
going to do.
are
Predators from gopher snakes to Uons have to be able
Below:
Woman
and grandchild
in
Himachal
to anticipate
and
gorillas
where
know
likely to
Pradesh, India.
of humans,
Opposite:
cal perspective
The
Pregnant mother
oped
United States.
(including
is
capacity to entertain the psychologi-
this
our
in
Chimps
takers, individuals learn
of other individuals
empathy
species, so
me)
is
much
is
crude.
look at the world from
SOMEONE else's PERSPECTIVE.
evolution has
many people
believe that along with language and
the expression of those genes.
instance, that fish benefit
their visual capacity.
traits
and
griefs
AIDS orphans
Psychologists know that
than 12 miUion
We
puts
spend time and
we
have never
of more
there
is
and
a
heritable
that this af-
development of compassion among indifourteen months of age, identical twins
more
who
alike in
how
even
if
reared in sunlight.
ular rearing conditions,
and
if
an increasing propor-
tion of the species survives to breeding age without
developing compassion,
how
useful this trait
become
No
from
it
won't make any difierence
was among our
like sight in
cave-dwelling
now
wiU stUl be
Most Ukely they
at
stiU
using sophisticated technologies.
be
human
in the
way we, shaped
long heritage of cooperative breeding, cur-
D
rently define ourselves?
are fraternal
Tliis article
and
the
was adapted from "Cooperation, Empathy,
Needs of tinman
Infants," a
Tatmer Lecture de-
It is
more
mission of the Tanner Lectures on
Human
thy also has a learned component,
analytical
skills.
which
During the
has
first
wiU
(should our species survive)
But wiU they
a
It
doubt our descendants thousands of years
wiU be adept
by
ancestors.
fish.
hvercd at the University of Utah.
do with
If
compassion develops only under partic-
twins (who share only half their genes). But empa-
to
time,
they
pretends to painfully
chpboard than
all,
If human
bipedal, symbol-generating apes.
in Africa.
to emotional capacity
a
Through evolutionary
that are unexpressed are eventually lost.
sight at
and
novelist
as
bies left in dumpsters, about the existence
pinch her finger on
to develop
enough, youngsters descended from those original
even met, about ba-
genes) are
the small,
fail
populations will no longer be able to develop eye-
people
all
as are
and
"fears
energy worrying about
share
able to see. Yet
—
of Mexico —
species reared in total darkness
populations of these fish are isolated in caves long
it.
(who
one doubts, for
ot understanding other
Edmund White
react to an experimenter
No
from being
pable of compassion,
vanities,"
By
As gene frequen-
cave-dwelling characin
ings
viduals.
to a standstill.
symboHc thought, it
is
what makes us
human. We are ca-
motives, their long-
fects the
come
change, natural selection acts on the outcome,
cies
uniquely well develso that
people's
component
to
or not know. But compared with that
capacity tor
with child.
their quarry will dart.
can figure out what another individual
During early childhood,
through relationships with
mothers and other care-
years of
poration, University of Utah,
used with the per-
Sah Like
Vahies, a
City.
Cor-
^•^r^
'''v-yi^^,i:
's^*
%*.*!
i\^i
:f
.
V
* \'*j
i»
64 NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
New Zealand
Sweet Stakes
Sugar was a shared resource in a forest
community until a greedy newcomer
moved
in.
By Laura Sessions
•i^iologist E. O. Wilson has called invertebrates
^^# "little things that run the world," because of
r^% their numbers, variety, and influence on
m^^
New
larger organisms
home
and even
entire ecosystems.
Most of the
world's 33,000 species produce
dew, but few can match the beech
scale's
honey-
enormous
and constant output of the substance. In the Northern Hemisphere,
honeydew producers such
as
to "httle things" that, while
aphids are active only seasonally, but beech scale in-
each only a few miUimeters long, have benignly
draw off and convert energy from beech trees
year-round, and they do so copiously during the
Zealand
is
modified about 250 million acres of the country's
beech
forests.
Known
as
sects
sooty beech scale insects,
these agents turn the resources of the beech trees
own
into a substance crucial to their
A
tiny sap-
that
of other
The
association of the insects
survival
from fungi
forest dwellers,
and the
trees
and
to
to birds.
is
an an-
and the expansive food web in which
cient one,
they are actors was, until recently, intact.
sucking
Sooty beech
invertebrate, the
sooty beech
and
scale insect
grow
scale insects {Ultriu-oelostoina assimilc
U. hrittini) are sap suckers, or
in the
homopterans, that
furrowed bark ot four species of south-
New
Zealand. Dur-
(in early
ern beech trees (Nothofagus) in
developmental
ing
stage, right) has
goes through several developmental stages called in-
a big
impact on
millions of acres
of
New
Zealand's
complex Ufe
its
beech
cycle, the
scale insect
stars.
The
females pass through four stages, the
males
five.
Second- and
their
third-instar females insert
long mouthparts into the
—
—and suck up
cells
of
a beech's
beech trees,
phloem
the tissues that carry nutrients through
opposite.
the tree
sugars. After satisfying their
appetites, they excrete the excess sap
through
a
waxy
anal tube.
A
and wastes
sweet Hquid, called
honeydew, accumulates one drop
at a
time
at
the tip
of this tube, which looks Uke a thin white thread.
Homopterans
are
common
and widespread.
austral
summer. From January
to April, the tree
trunks in a southern beech forest often
with
a thick coat
heady, sweet smell
In
some
forests,
shimmer
of honeydew, and the droplets'
fills
the
air.
ten and a half square feet of tree
c^^
a
66
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
recorded feeding on honeydew. In European
forests,
consume about two-thirds of the
honeydew produced by aphids and other sap-suck-
for example, ants
New
ing insects.
species; here
on
avidly feed
Zealand
dew
it is
Zealand has only
birds, rather
from
a
The fungus
few native ant
While some New
rely on honey-
the honeydew.
and beetles do
caterpillars
tor food, invertebrates
rectly
a
than invertebrates, that
more
often benefit indi-
fungus that grows on the sticky drops.
provides invertebrates with food and
with lodging in
its
spongy interior and
fissured sur-
Often solitary during the day as
they forage for insect larvae, kaka
tend to gather at dusk at
and the forest
with squawks and
honeydew-rich
then rings
sites,
whistles as they socialize.
face.
Aptly
named
the sooty
mold
fungus, this or-
ganism coats any surface where honeydew lands
after
A drop of
Right:
honeydew
—
trunk (think ot the top of an average card
support
as
many
as
2,000 scale
insects.
may
table)
More
than 40
sugary liquid
percent of the food the trees have produced through
excreted through
photosynthesis
a threadlike
tube
to
—
fall.
is
sooty beech scale in-
lost to
These beeches do not appear to be harmed,
although for most plants, losses of much
by a scale
insect
sects.
may be
poised
Drops are
less
than 40
percent of their energy reserves would be insupportable.
Currently, scientists can only guess
how
the
withstand such a drain, but various
avidly eaten by
trees are able to
forest dwellers
theories are being explored. Possibly only the
such as the
vigorous and faster-growing beech trees are tapped
introduced
by beech
honeybee, above,
ars to
and the kaka, a
promote
scale insects. Fallen drops
soil
and thence to
trees,
may
recycle sug-
or the insects
may
extra photosynthesis in host trees.
Researchers have
native parrot,
opposite page.
the
more
a better
understanding of hon-
eydew's huge importance to other organisms that
Hve in southern beech
are less diverse than
forests.
many
Because these
forests
other forest types and be-
cause few of the resident plants provide fleshy
or abundant nectar,
sects,
a
many
fruits
native birds, lizards, in-
and other invertebrates
rely
on honeydew
for
high-energy food, sipping drops directly from the
threadhke tubes. (The beech scale
from honeydew
eydew
feeders;
itself benefits
removal of the sticky hon-
stimulates the flow of sap through the in-
sect's digestive
system, preventing "constipation.")
In the Northern Hemisphere,
vertebrate species
—
more than 250
—have
ants in particular
in-
been
falling
from the
insects'
trunks, roots, shrubs, sapUngs,
floor. It
may
anal
tubes
—
and even the
tree
forest
cover beech trees so thoroughly that
their pale gray bark turns as black as charcoal,
new honeydew
drops shining on top.
with
and other inverte-
Caterpillars, beetle larvae,
brates find a
home
in sooty
mold and become
a
source of protein for foraging birds, but the honeyprovides the birds with essential energy. Bell-
de\\'
and
birds
tuis
—
forest birds in the nectar-feeding
family called honeyeaters
them to lap
They hop up the beech
that enable
—have
brushlike tongues
up honeydew drops
easily.
trunks, Ucking as they go
and occasionally pausing to clean the sticky sugars
irom
Most
their feathers.
on
more
frequently they feed
the branches in the canopy, possibly because
honeydew
is
found in the higher Hmbs of the
than near ground
time in
out
The
it.
level.
forests \vith
the vwnter,
honeydew than
birds will flock to
when
fruit
tree
Honeyeaters spend more
in forests with-
beech
and nectar
forests
during
are scarce; tuis
may spend more
than 80 percent of their feeding
time harvesting
honeydew when
plentiful.
is
it
Without the scale msect and its sugary excretions,
these birds would be much less common in beech
forests, to the detriment of some resident plants.
Honeyeaters are the primary pollinators for native
mistletoes
plants.
If
and certain other nectar-producing
these birds decline, the plants will no
new seeds.
longer be able to produce
(See
"A
Floral
Twist of Fate," September 2000.)
Also reUant on
New
honeydew
known
Zealand parrots
are the threatened
kaka. These large
as
and spend
forest birds nest in holes in old trees
hon-
about a third of their feeding time collecting
eydew when
it
enough energy
abundant. Kaka can obtain
is
whole day
for a
of honeydew foraging. This
in just three hours
then allows the
fiael
birds to exert themselves digging out beetle larvae,
of protein, from under beech
a vital source
bark. Larvae of
kanuka longhorn beedes
tree
are har-
vested only by the males, while females collect
other kinds, usually from rotting
during the
tary
when
at
day,
they forage on honeydew.
dusk
at
Often
trees.
kaka can become quite
honeydew-rich
sites,
They
soli-
social
often gather
and the
forest
then
rings
with squawks and whistles
Now
surviving only in remnant populations, kaka
congregate
also
at the
as
beginning of the breeding
season, but today these gatherings
weak
reflection
when
flocks of more than a
In the late
1
of their
970s
a
tally
introduced into
(Vespula vulgaris)
may be only
sociability a
new
—an
southern beech forest
to ruin the intricate
they interact.
a
century ago,
hundred could be
seen.
"litde thing" entered the
interloper that threatens
honeydew food web. Acciden-
New
Zealand,
common
found the conditions
perfect.
wasps
With
68
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
the
warm
climate,
abundant honeydew, and lack of
such
as
honeybees, bumblebees, and
German wasps
aircraft parts at
rogues' gallery
ished
of introduced
wasps have proved to be ruthlessly
(
honeydew suppHes
of their
creatures
erage, thirty
be found per
on native
honeybees reach
clump of
Vespula germanica,
acre.
to a degree, but
hives,
And
common
efficient.
On
av-
most on the ground, can
whereas
densities
which entered via
II), had dimin-
War
the end of World
wreaking havoc
are in a
forest,
where, thanks to
wasps. In these forests, the biomass of
their arrival, other exotic
among the
juveniles below
honeydew beech
numbers exploded. Before
Stoats are
The
m
their voracity, they have largely displaced
social insects,
wildlife.
trated
natural enemies, the wasps flourished and their
of 22
insects
such
as feral
insects per ten
and
a
mind the card
table with 2,000 honeydew insects), more than 300
common wasps can occupy the same space. The yel-
half square feet of tree trunk (bear in
speargrass on
low-and-black, bee-sized
the South Island.
found
in other types
common
wasps are
also
of forests but are most concen-
wasps exceeds that of
together; if
many
one were
all
common
other creatures added
to collect
wasps and put them on a
German
scale,
all
they
common
the
would outweigh
the resident birds, rodents, and stoats combined.
Experunents using devices
from landing on beech
large
numbers
of
trees
that prevented
have
shown
conunoii wasps in beech
wasps
that the
forests are
responsible for a reduction of up to 70 percent of annual,
dew
and
fully
99 percent of
austral
summer, honey-
By removing such vast quantities of
honeydew, wasps may alter nutrient cycles and perproduction.
haps decrease the
thermore, because
soil
quaHty for beech
common
trees.
wasps constantly
Furrevisit
—
the
same
of beech trunk, they do not allow the
areas
honeydew drops time
duce the drops'
to
fiilly
re-form and thus re-
and sugar content. To
size
must
energ\' requirements, bii'ds
eat
£Ii11l11
their
many more of
and spend more time
become too small and
may abandon honeydew altogether and
these smaller, less sweet drops
in search
of them.
scarce, birds
tn,-
to search out
sugar sources
A
New
If the drops
whatever
may be
fitiit,
and other
nectar,
available.
Landcare Research in Nelson,
scientist at
Zealand, Jacqueline Beggs has spent the past
effects
of wasps in honeydew
that the
wasp-induced shortage
decade studying the
She believes
forests.
of honeydew could contribute to a decline of naover the long term. Beggs has
tive birds
when
wasps reduce the number and
below a
certain level
shown
that
size ot
drops
a threshold reached
when
—
the insects revdsit drops eveiy six and a half hours
kaka give up even trying to feed on honeydew.
SiniUarlv,
Henrik Moller, now
Otago
Dunedin,
in
New
at the
Zealand, and other col-
leagues at Landcare Research have
eyeaters are even
more
University of
sensitive. It
If one were to collect
all
shown
wasps
that
hondrops
visit
the
introduced
common wasps and put
them on a
scale,
I
The common
-fi wasp,
outweigh
they would
I
appeared
in
first
New
§ Zealand in the
of a honeydew beech
alt
above,
1 late 1970s. Its
and
forests resident birds, rodents,
stoats combined.
I
numbers have
since exploded.
Left:
at a rate
of once every three hours, honeydew
be depleted to the point that bellbirds and
will
tuis will
switch to other food sources or be forced to conserve energ)'
such
as
by spending
less
time on
vital activities
mating and nesting. Furthermore,
bellbirds. tuis, kaka,
when
and native insectivorous
the
birds
attempt to feed on native invertebrates, they again
face competition
caterpillars,
from wasps, which devour
ants, bees,
these invertebrates have
eradicated in areas
and
flies.
been decimated or even
where wasps
are
Unfortunately, scientists do not
how wasps may
partly because
common.
know precisely
affect native species in the
no one
spiders,
Populations of
fully
long run,
understands the organ-
isms involved, especially the invertebrates, and
partly because their interactions are so varied
complex. Land mammals are
New
Zealand has no native
but a
raft
also a
and
major problem.
terrestrial
mammals,
of mammals has been introduced
in the
A beech
tree infested
with honeydew-
hungry wasps.
70
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
harm than
serious
many of
sums, for example, eat
(such
as
group would alone. Pos-
either
the same things
mistletoe) that honeyeaters do, so the birds
often cannot switch to other food types
honeydew
deplete the
Other
stores.
when
effects
wasps
of immi-
grant species have proved difficult to tease apart.
During
a
Island of
long-term research project on the South
New
Zealand, Beggs and Peter Wilson,
wasps
Scientists estimate that if
visit
honeydew drops at a
rate of
With nectar in
short supply in
once every three hours, the
the southern
honeydew
beech forest, two
bellbirds
native species of
will
and
be so depleted that
tuis will
to other sources
honeyeaters (the
have to switch
of energy.
bellbird, right,
also
of Landcare Research, noted that kaka changed
get their energy
how
they foraged and fed in response to competi-
from honeydew.
tion with wasps for
and
tui,
below)
tists
on
could not
test
honeydew. However, the scien-
the overall effect of food shortage
the kaka's ability to raise young, because stoats
had raided most of the
more than 70
more dire, four
nests, killing
percent of the kaka chicks and, even
of the seven nesting females. Female kaka incubate
their clutches
of one to
five eggs for
about twenty-
four days; fledging takes a further seventy days.
Dur-
ing these three months, both mother and chicks are
at
high risk of
on
females
a stoat attack.
Moreover, the death of
their nests leads to a serious
the population;
many breeding-aged
able to find a mate.
imbalance in
males are un-
Beggs and Wilson estimated that
the kaka population they studied for ten years suffered 7 percent mortaUty, a rate that could cause this
South Island population to become extinct in
less
than thirty years.
For native residents of southern beech
recover.
No
forests to
New Zealanders have to play an active role.
pest-control measures currently available can
turn the situation around, but various tools are
being developed, such
nests
last
100 to 150
ferrets
years. Cats, rats, stoats,
have had drastic
effects
on
bird species,
many of which
few defenses
against the invaders.
ficult to separate
possums, and
native plants
are flightless
It is
and have
therefore dif-
the "bottom-up" effects of Httle
things Hke beech scale insects and wasps
"top-down"
and
effects
from the
Wasps and marm-nals may
interact to cause
more
the poisoning of wasp
controls. This year,
one operation succeeded
in eradicating
of the wasp nests within
740-acre area, enough to
restore the
honeydew
this little
a
to natural levels
tect other invertebrates
last,
parts are restrained, the
beech
forests
90 percent
and
to pro-
from wasp predation.
invader and
its
mammaUan
If,
at
counter-
reward wiU be southern
once again ahve with the songs of
honeydew-coUecting
of larger predators.
as
and the use of biological
invading wasps.
birds rather than the
drone of
D
72
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
The Rewards
of Chance
By Mark Denny
Sometimes
most profound messages
the
in bi-
ology reside in the most pedestrian creatures.
Consider the lowly clam. Slow afoot and very
tasty,
predators.
clams are attractive to a wide variety ot
When
threatened, a clam uses
adductor muscles to clamp
no
gether, leaving
senting a daunting
gain entry.
shells to-
exposed and pre-
living material
task for
strong
its
armorlike
its
any predator trying to
A serious difficulty arises, however, when
the animal needs to
open
its
shell again to breathe
or
that caused the shell to
"clam up"
can't help, since they're effective at pulling
but useless
feed.
The muscles
when
comes to pushing the
it
up, the
clam instead employs a pecuHar material in-
corporated into the
this
material
forms
on
open. To open
shell
—
As the
hinge.
shell's
shell closes,
protein rubber called abductm) de-
(a
either stretching or compressing,
of clam. In the process,
the species
much as
when this
chanical energy,
energy. Later,
a
garage-door
energy
is
found
materials are
besides clams.
The wing
depending
stores
in
me-
spring stores
released,
vides the force needed to reopen the
Rubbery
it
it
pro-
shell.
many
animals
supports of beetles, the
neck Hgaments of buffaloes, and the knees ot fleas
all contain structural elements made from materials
akin to the
man-made rubber
in automobile tires
GIANT CLAM
and rubber bands. The walls of mammalian
A rubber protein
provide a pertinent example.
in the hinges of
its shell
enables
a clam to open
up; muscles help
it
shut tight
again.
a
pulsatile
pump:
blood into the
during contractions,
arteries,
but
arteries
A mammahan heart
it
is
squirts
it
must then wait
to re-
Pumping in this intermittent fashion requires much more
power than would be needed to move the same
fill
before dehvering the next pulse of fluid.
amount of blood
in a steady stream. Fortunately, as
the heart contracts,
stretch a protein
walls
of the large
cal energy.
some of
its
rubber called
arteries,
As the heart
power
elastin,
is
used to
found
in the
thereby storing mechani-
refills,
these arteries relax,
releasing the energy. In essence, the arteries act as a
Thanks to the random movements of agitated molecules, biological
rubber allows clams to open wide and insects to fly efficiently.
74
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
secondary pump, smoothing out the uneven flow
of blood and allowing our hearts to beat more
dictions about the behavior of the gas as a whole.
we
For example,
effi-
The circulatory systems of other verteas weU as those of squids and octopuses, em-
speak of a gas in a container
The
as
ciently.
being under pressure.
brates,
impact of individual gas molecules on the con-
ploy similar rubbery materials.
What
mechanical energy? Surprisingly, perhaps, the an-
swer
randomness.
is
Biologists
just a bit
easier
more
orderly, they
time understanding
however, randomness can
how plants
how
tell
bemoan
often
chance events in nature, lamenting that
were
if
the world
would have an
Ufe works. In fact,
us a great deal about
randomized by
pressure
ual gas
is
domness. At
room
temperature, molecules of gas
know
how gases
exactly
molecule will roam, but
we
random,
long
as
shifts
mechanical energy they can
store. In
amount of energy
The stiffness and
extensibility of rubber
tissue in animals comes
from random movements
very
of proteins.
spectrum, mucus (such
of force
(it
is
The
storing energy.
is
but
bone
is
relatively
At the other end of the
underlying the foot
as that
very extensible
500 percent) but not
it)
can deform only 2 to 3 per-
storing energy.
snail)
stiffness
required to deform
is
cent before breaking). As a result,
of a
of material
that a bit
Bone, for example,
extensibility.
its
lot
not very extensible
at
how much
mathematical
proportional to the material's
is
multiplied by
poor
the aver-
through time.
same token, the random behavior of
the
stifli'(a
individ-
aU motion
as
how
rubbery proteins allows us to predict
terms, the
Again,
difiiase.
where any
can accurately predict
age location of molecules
can store
is
can predict that the
the same in aU directions. Similar consid-
is
impossible to
it is
By
ago recognized the value of ran-
we
collisions,
erations allow us to predict
and animals function.
Physicists long
Because the motion of molecules
tainer's walls.
gives rubbers this special abihty to store
comes from the
pressure
at all
(it
can
stiff".
So
by
easily stretch
it,
too,
is
poor
at
biological rubbers in animals,
however, epitomize the happy medium. They are
both reasonably
stiff
and highly extensible and,
weight for weight, can store nearly a hundred times
as
much
energy
as
Their secret?
high-tensUe-strength
A
network of protein
tein
steel.
complex, three-dimensional
chains. In
chain (and what works
the material as a whole)
many
for
respects, a pro-
one chain holds
for
analogous to the kind of
is
bead-link chain that one finds attached to oldfashioned bathtub stoppers.
such
a
chain
is
set
The
overall length
by the number of beads, and
though the beads cannot be stretched
can rotate
chain
is
relative to their neighbors.
move
BEETLE
ond), changing the direction of their flight
In
many
flying
at
high speeds
quently and
at
(a
random
thousand
as
other.
materials
vigor of
provide the
us,
elasticity that
known
helps the wing
makes it
where any individual molecule
flap
and
fold.
motion being,
fl-e-
gas molecules (the
as physicists
would
teU
proportional to the temperature of the gas)
as
is
thermal agitation. This wild game of mol-
ecular billiards
impossible to predict exactly
time or exactly what speed
cists
per sec-
they bounce oS^ one an-
The random motion of
insects, rubbery
this
feet or so
it
will
be
at a
given
will have, but physi-
can use thermal agitation to make precise pre-
is
a
they
a result, the
each amino acid in a pro-
flexible. Similarly,
tein chain
HARLEQUIN
As
apart,
of
al-
"bead" that can rotate around the
peptide bonds that link the amino acids into the
chain. Like the bead-link chain, the protein chain
combines
a frxed
flexibility
and
a fixed length (in this case,
number of amino
acids).
Imagine holding the ends of
one
in each hand,
the chain
ffilly
extended, each Hnk
neighbors, and the chain
one arrangement of links
its
is
in
taut.
With
Hne with
its
as a
whole
has a very or-
is,
in fact,
one and only
derly arrangement. There
stretched to
bead-Unk chain,
a
and pulling the chain
that allows the chain to
fuU length.
Now,
be
allow your hands
to
move
together a
gether, the chain
and
tions,
if
With
bit.
is firee
you shake
its
ends closer to-
on new configurarandom, it will ratde
to take
it
at
the chain
is
random, we can never
shape will be
this
cause the
motion
at
is
say for sure
what
any moment. But precisely be-
we
random,
can use
statistics
to
around among these configurations. The closer to-
describe the probability that the chain
more arrangements the
more freedom it has to ratde around. The concept works the other way as
ular configuration.
we somehow knew how many arrangements the chain could take, we could infer how
erage end-to-end distance of a friUy disordered chain
gether your hands
the
are,
chain can adopt and the
\\'eU:
if
close together
It
its
you were
length,
to extend a protein chain to
its frdl
amino acid "beads" would be in a
and the chain would be entirely or-
straight line,
reality,
however,
this
kind of order
is
At the temperatures
earth,
thermal agitation, including the agitation of
amino-acid molecules,
is
sequently, as individual
chain
And
just as
more disordered
amino
life
occurs
on
Con-
acids in a protein
becomes
the chain
dis-
with the bead-link chain, the
the molecular chain becomes, the
closer together (on average)
Put another way,
assume
which
constantly occurring.
move about randomly,
ordered.
to
at
a
its
ends
are.
rubbery protein chain tends
a disordered shape.
cule. In
Because the motion of
these probabihties,
we
mathematical terms, that
is
because the av-
turns out to be proportional to the square root of
cal
number of its
Links.
For example,
rubber has 100 amino-acid
ural,
links,
if a
hypotheti-
then in
its
nat-
disordered state the ends of the chain will be
only about 10 amino-acid lengths apart.
What
un-
Hkely.
in a partic-
can then calculate the average shape of the mole-
the
the
all
dered. In
ends must be.
Knowing
is
does
all this
jump? Everything,
cal
as
it
fly,
and
a
fleas
it
is
pulled
For similar reasons, most actual rubbers have
no trouble extending three
ing length.
The
comes from the
stiffness
to four times their rest-
of biological rubbers
natural tendency of rubber protein
chains to coil, requiring force to extend them. This
stifihess,
in part of
of huge ligament
to
100-hnk amino-acid
chain can be extended tenfold before
taut.
ability
turns out. In the hypotheti-
example cited above,
Made
rubber protein, a
have to do with the
clams to open wide, beetles to
AMERICAN BISON
coupled with the chains' great extensibil-
in
the neck of a
bison (or a cow,
horse, or
wildebeest)
provides most of
the force
necessary to
hold up the
animal's massive
head.
76
NATURAL HISTORY
5/0
ity,
1
accounts for the special ability of rubbei.7 pro-
teins to store
is a
powerful force in
rubbers
the physical, as
tion
well as the
gins to lose
biological, world.
that
is
is
of rubber
easy. If a bit
of its molecules
cooled, the
For example,
its elasticity.
resilient at
is
mo-
reduced and the material be-
is
a
rubber band
room temperature becomes
leath-
As waves
ery and relatively inextensible
when
converge at sea,
kitchen freezer. This effect
in large part,
their crests and
doomed
troughs combine
launched on an unusually cold
randomly,
rubber
determining the
function properly. Taken to an extreme, rubber
height and force
cooled by Uquid nitrogen behaves very
of the waves that
glass; it is
reach the shore.
energy.
is,
cooled in a
what
the space shutde Challenger. Challenger was
seals in its solid-fiiel
day,
and one of the
boosters was too
stiff
to
much Hke
britde and has very litde capacity to store
Without random motion
—rubber
sence of heat
—
that
is,
in the ab-
And
nor human
simply not rubbery.
is
without rubbery materials, neither clams
would operate as effectively as they do.
Only a few proteins are rubbery, however. In
most of them, at least some of the amino acids are
held rigidly together by bonds between sulfur
beings
—
atoms in cystine molecules and by the hydrogen
^ bonds
and hydrophobic interactions among the so-
5 called side chains of other
amino
acids. In addition,
these side chains are often too bulky to permit them
I
I to move relative to their neighbors. Only when a
i protein
is
^connected
i
constructed from the right amino acids
in the right order does the resulting chain
have the flexibihty necessaiy for rubbery behavior.
randomness
Paradoxically,
FLEA
Fleas are great
jumpers, some
leaping 200
times the length
of their
enables scientists to
predict much about how
nature works.
own
As important
bodies. This
impressive
ability is
due to
as
rubbers are for animals, they are
only one example of the
in nature.
The same
of random behavior
statistics that
to
that
can be used to predict
—from
wide range of phenomof waves breaking on a beach
a
compressed
ena
when the
to the reason people are not deafened
cocks
insect
its
allows us
determine the average shape of protein chains
rubbery material
is
utility
type of
the force
at a cocktail party.
In these cases, the
by the noise
ampHtude of
"knees" (the
ocean and sound waves, rather than the
joints between
of protein chains,
its
hind legs and
the same.
its
body).
far
The
from being
ture
is
is
flexibility
involved, but the principle
message of the gaping clam
a frustrating obstacle,
cause for celebration.
^
\
Demonstrating that random molecular motion
plays a necessary role in the mechanical properties of
BREAKING WAVE
Chance
mechanical energy.
is
is
clear:
chance in na-
D
;
>?>;
**^:'
•^
'
^.••^••y^^-.^t;,,^^^^^ ,
^at'A.;rf.*>-fc»>» -./I
.
78
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
MUSEUM
AT THE
The Genome
Writ Large
A new exhibition unravels the wonder, the promise,
and the
By Henry
S. F.
Cooper Jr.
This past February 12, Charles Darwin's
birthday,
two
human
versions of the
genome were announced
duced by
—one
pro-
a public organization, the In-
Human Genome
ternational
DNA research.
of human
potential dangers
Sequenc-
pear to float overhead like
hologram. Three and
billion nucleotides
tural units
of
—
a
a quarter
the struc-
DNA—on twenty-
three pairs of
chromosomes
are
ing Consortium, based in Cambridge,
contained in the nucleus of each
England, and the other by
human
a private
company, Celera Genomics in RockMaryland. Now, on
viUe,
Museum
May
26, the
opens the exhibition "The
Genomic Revolution." DeaHng
vwth
invisible matter, the exhibition re-
on models
lies
largely
under
spotlights
that
gleam
like jewels
and on glowing images
cell.
end
laid
mol-
to end, the
would form an
ecules
invisible thread nearly six
feet long.
The informa-
tion in such a thread, if
printed out, would fiU
140 Manhattan phone
—and
projected across computer monitors
books
and high-defmition plasma
three stacks, are exactly
while
LED
displays spell
genome
the
direct
screens,
out news ot
Just past the entrance
is
devoted to James D. Watson
and Francis H. C. Crick's revolution-
stallation
ary
1953 double-helix model of the
structure of the
straight
ahead
is
DNA
a
And
molecule.
brand-new, floor-to-
cerhng rendering of the double helix
an organic, undulating,
slightly
He serpent of the night.
It's
a
as
metal-
long way
in
In a small theater close to the big
DNA
a small in-
nearby,
number of them.
that
from the laboratory
in bright, ever-flowing letters.
and
If teased apart
model
a five-minute
is
anima-
tion loop that explains the uses of gein medicine,
both to
treat dis-
and to prolong
human
Hte.
nomics
ease
hope
that in decades to
is
identified
and
fected,
many
ways of removing
as
them or spHcing
in
new
ones are per-
illnesses will
be treated
genetically or even prevented alto-
from Watson and Crick's mechanical,
tinker-toy
diseases,
Also near the entrance, in an encased glass
tiling:
vial, is a
sample of the
a single strand of
DNA
real
repli-
cated thousands of times and forming a
white mush.
A
parabolic mirror inside
the case makes the
DNA
material ap-
as
genes that cause various diseases are
gether. Already the genes for
affair.
The
come,
from
sickle-cell
many
anemia
to
heart disease, have been pinpointed,
though genetic means ot
are
still
issues,
plays reflect
and
how
a
itself,
—not
unlike the
according to
DeSalle, the exhibition's curator
as
lar
codirector of the
as
Rob
well
Museum's Molecu-
Systematics Laboratory and a cura-
tor in the Division
of Invertebrates.
"Most people would agree that curing
disease is a good use ot genetics. But
sorts
what about changing the color of eyes
from brown to blue what we call genetic enhancement? Harmless, per-
in their infancy.
of ethical
double helix
them
treating
Genoinic research has raised
ethics are intertwined
all
number of
closely science
dis-
and
—
—
a
But then the next
haps?
is,
my
'Well, I'd like
step after that
child to be a Uttle
Or 'Gosh,
smarter than normal.'
I'd like
her to be able to slam-dunk a basket-
know
Before you
ball.'
you're into
it,
designer babies. These are ethical questions we'll
you carry the genes
It
able disease,
for an incur-
would you want
mation made
available to
that infor-
you? To insur-
enthusiastic
less
about
mounting an exhibition on genomics, as
traditional mandate has been natural
its
history
—
the study of organisms at a
higher level of complexity than that of
"We
the gene.
and sponsor
face sooner or later."
all
been
have
thousand through
says.
a decade,"
"We wanted
ot us
Salmon? At three computer polling
sta-
tions in the exhibition, visitors can register their
how
opinions.
They can then
their answers tally
people sampled in a Harris
Genome
see
with those of
Poll.
on
the concepts of continuity and variation,
another pair of intertwining
displays.
Seven percent of our genes are the
same
as
those of Escherichia coh bacte-
and we share 90 percent with mice
ria,
and more than 98 percent with chimpanzees. "This
is
Salle.
"The
continuity; the other
variation," says
De-
difference between,
say,
of the coin
side
you and me,
is
small but
is
it
variation
groups.
alike
—
99.9
truly a single entity
is
a
more
percent
—and
that
is
an important point of the exhibition."
Another point concerns the num-
human genome.
ber of genes in the
This
number
turns out to be only
about one-fourth the
initial
projection;
between 30,000 and 40,000, compared
with an
earlier estimate
140,000. Fruit
flies,
uni-
the tips ot
we needed
knowledge
26
in Gallery 3
of more than
by comparison,
branches,
that extra depth
of
biology
ecular
Novacek
Museum,
the
though Novacek points out that he
was supported by several visionary cu-
among them
rators,
Niles Eldredge,
was already beginning to recruit
seum opened
its
1990 the
Mu-
Molecular Systematics
Laboratory, codirected by DeSalle and
A second molecular
Ward C. Wheeler.
partment. This year, under the
man-
agement of molecular biologist Bob
Hanner, the Ambrose Monell Collection for Molecular
search
—
and Microbial Re-
a repository that
wiU eventu-
ally hold 750,000 frozen samples of
organic tissue and
species
—
DNA from a host of
begins operations.
Now, drawing on
Ten
years ago, the
ries,
Museum might
and
its
the breadth of
its
collections, the
molecular biology.
It
its
laborato-
Museum
ative
is
has, in fact,
been catapulted into the forefront of
new
provost of science.
Another goal of comparative geto plot evolutionary relation-
is
Evolution can be tracked back
ships.
by comparing genomes
across the eons
and using
as yardsticks
and mutations
the similarities
—whether
in different species
traits
are a
legs.
Using molecular biology
as
backbone, two
traditional
scientists
same
ot genes for the
traits
the
eyes, or four
morphology.
well
as
Museum
can compare and contrast the
evidence.
The two approaches do not
mammalogy de-
always agree. In the
partment, tor example, molecular re-
a
molecular specialty called compar-
genomics:
the
primitive
comparison of
fly.
mammalian order Mono-
which includes the platypus,
branched oft during the Cretaceous
tremata,
Period (between 140 and 70 million
years ago). This
supial
and
would make
placental
now
the
mar-
the
mammals
thought to have branched off
closely related.
field ot
Michael J. Novacek, the Museum's
I
Morphologists long thought that the
nectedness with
says
where
is
in."
search projects are causing fur to
in a strong position to contribute to the
other organisms,"
going to happen in
Museum comes
think the
diffi-
is
where the
it's
Joel Cracraft, of the ornithology de-
notion of evolution and of our conall
is
says.
laboratory opened in 1995, headed by
research in natural history,
genes, and
work
process
but
the near future, and this
nomics
DeSalle,
into
really neat
the evo-
between 13,000 and 14,000
roundworms have 19,000.
"The lower number fortifies the whole
have
"The
2002.
1,
the
is
DeSaUe
same,"
cult,
"led the charge" toward bringing mol-
who
and runs
through January
map of Hfe and
to
chances are
that the function in the
lutionary process of Hfe."
According
it
its
human genome
for a very similar mission: to
understand the
locate
identify
The exhibition opens May
many
its
we
The Genomic Revolution
brate department. In
There
are
all
felt
all
some of them and we
in
and evolution ot
and
—
function,
to understand the di-
we
nematode, and yeast
that
at a
worm, a
of whose
a fruit fly a
so. If
DNA we
than between racial
within
Humans
when
mouse,
in a
it
sequenced or nearly
a
molecular researchers for the inverte-
one change, meaning
0.1 percent difference.
so
DNA se-
wondered why we
exists: for
every thousand base pairs of
share, there's
is
versity
are associated
take a
either completely
But our mission
versity.
"We
genomes have been
work might
ot
readUy be done
life
research also focuses
themes incorporated into the
kind
traits.
all
museum,
And would you
a
No-
to protect
What
modified corn? Bananas?
with which
for
should bring molecular biology to
about cloning?
which sequences of genes
human genome
in the
hundred expeditions
a
ance companies? To the govermnent?
eat genetically
goal of comparative genomics
to identify
quence from our genome and search
vacek
Some
One
is
care for vast collections
year, a
that.
DNA throughout the animal kingdom.
later
But molecular evidence
and
suggests that the marsupials
monotremes branched
off
much
earUer than the placentals did and that
they are therefore the closer relatives.
Following the demise of the dinosaurs at the
end of the Cretaceous,
—
—of
there occurred a great radiation
"star burst," as
Novacek
calls
it
'
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82
NATURAL HISTORY
mammals,
5/01
particularly of placentals,
and molecular biology
proving a
is
valuable and controversial tool in find-
have
hands-on experience
a
to learn
forensics or
morphology, most mammalogists of
lyze a sample of their
the
century agreed that rabbits, for
last
Today molecular
dents.
Museum
For any
who
studies at the
suggest they are.
know more
wants to
nitty-gritty
of
about the
DNA—and maybe even
even to produce and ana-
on the way
small
own
genes.
And
you walk through
where your image
out,
gallery
a
A, C, G, and T, representing the four
basic nucleotides in the
The
cule.
idea
pervasiveness and relevance.
Henry
S. F.
for the
New
—ex-
cept that instead of the image being
formed of pixels,
it's
made of the
mole-
is
by computer software, and
projected onto the galleiy walls
DNA
produce one's
to
is
image out of the elements of the
genome, a graphic expression of its
picked up on a video camera, processed
digitally
visitor to the exhibition
a small
about genetic appUcations in
ing out what happened. Based on
instance, are not closely related to ro-
—
laboratory near the exit permits people
letters
Museum
CooperJr., a former staff writer
Yorker, has been
since he
him
sat
his fatlier
visiting the
was four years
a
in
old,
cavity
when
of the
Willamette meteorite.
MUSEUM EVENTS
MAY
1, 8,
Four
MAY 14
AND 22
15,
and
"Genetics
lectures:
Richard
neuropsychiatrist
Brain,"
Mayeux,
May
1;
"Learning and
ory," neurobiologist Eric
May
(Nobelist, 2000),
8;
the
Mem-
R. Kandel
"Develop-
Lecture:
Astronomy
"The Multiwavelength Uni-
verse" (Frontiers in Astrophysics se-
15;
tionizing
Medicine
May
MAY 29
Planetarium.
Lecture:
turns
'^sm^^Z
May
"Wild Nights: Nature Rethe
to
7:00
Two
lectures:
"Indigenous Peoples: Perspectives and
including
"Making of Precious
weekend programs,
instructor.
May
Caught
and
a Prayer:
the
Monarch
3;
5:00 P.M., Leonhardt People Center
and the Linder and Kaufmann The-
p
Mystery of
at the
For information and a complete
aters.
schedule,
Butterfly," entomologist
and author Sue Halpern,
May 10
Museum
to the
tory
American
Ecological History of
and
Its
Frontier:
An
North America
Bronze African termite
Steve Tobin, on the
mound by
sculptor
Museum grounds
Tim
Flannery, director of
the South Australian
Museum. 7:00
MAY 10
Young
"Uncovering the Origins of
"An Evening with Mary
vocalist.
7:30
7:00
at
the
Museum
Paleontologist Oscar Alcober.
P.M.,
Kaufoiann Theater.
newsletter for science ed-
being launched. Published
three times a year
by the Museum's
Naturalist
The American Museum of Natural
Histoiy
is
and 79th
Awards ceremony
and luncheon. Noon, Astor Turret.
listings
hours,
Dinosaurs in Ai-gentina's Ischigualasto
Valley" (Earthwatch
is
National Center for Science Literacy,
P.M., Kaufiiiann Theater.
Lecture:
of Natural His-
MAY 18
Concert:
Redhouse." Navajo jazz
RM., Kaufhiann Theater.
Museum
Education, and Technology.
Peoples." Manunalogist and pa-
leontologist
series).
Web
ucators,
"The Eternal
(212) 769-5315.
(www.amnh.org/learn/musings/),
a free
MAYS
Lecture:
call
Musings: The Educators' Connection
3:00 P.M., Linder Theater.
series).
1:00—
workshops.
Mu-
in the
(Thursday Afternoons
and
mances,
perfor-
lectures,
films,
"Four Wings
Stones," Peter Vreeland, senior
seum
Kaufcnann
DURING MAY
Cen-
IMAX Theater.
AND 10
3
p.m.,
Theater.
Perceptions." Free
MAY
Science writer
City."
Anne Matthews.
22 (Revolu-
in the 21st
tui7 series). 7:00 p.m.,
J.
Space The-
Hayden Planetarium.
ater,
Astronomer Alyssa Goodman.
7:30 P.M., Space Theater, Hayden
"Brain Imagery," neuropsychiatrist
David Silbersweig,
p.m.,
ries).
ment and Cognition," developmental
psychobiologist Michael Posner,
Astronomer
series).
Bachard Gott. 7:30
located
Street in
(212)
MAY 21
"Time
Travel in Einstein's
Universe" (Distinguished Authors
in
Central Park West
New York
of events,
call
City.
exhibitions,
769-5100 or
visit
For
and
the
Web site at www.amnh.org.
Space Show tickets, retail products,
and Museum memberships are also
Museuni's
Lecture:
at
available online.
With so much more to see,
you'll want to come more often.
Especially when you have
UNLIMITED FREE ADMISSION.
With
your subscription
to
Natural History, you're
already exposed to the American
Museum
of Natural History. Because each issue of the
magazine vividly
the
reflects the
excitement and scope of
top of that, membership allows you to be genuinely
involved in the work of the
Museum: because your
dues help finance our scientific research, expeditions,
educational initiatives and exhibitions.
Museum.
Yet visiting
you'll
want
AMNH
is
to repeat
coming months with
ot Planet Earth
a whole other experience.
many
the
times
statc-of-thc-art
a
And one
particularly in the
and premiere of the Rose Center for Earth
its Cullman Hall of
Hayden Planetarium.
Member, you can
whenever you
—
newly opened Gottesman Hall
and Space with
As
On
like,
visit as
the Universe and
frequently as you like,
without ever paying an admission
And you can extend
the
same
fee.
privilege to a spouse or
These are remarkable times
new exhibitions, displays and
at
AMNH,
with a mass of
attractions. There's so
admission.
As a
special gift to
free
IMAX
starts at
new Members, we
tickets (an
$45 for a
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will
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friend or child.
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much
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Call: 212-769-5606
to
become a Member today!
—
84
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
Most Excellent of Fishes
ing, cichlids
may
turn out to be the
most diverse of all vertebrate families
or just
about.
among them
In the annals of piscine diversity,
a
But the differences
can be subtle, and
it
takes
master to bring them to Hfe on the
printed page.
cichlids break
all
records.
In his introduction.
clear that cichlid
By Les Kaufman
hype.
Up
to
1
Barlow makes
hyperbole
is
not mere
,000 species of this one
family live in a single African lake,
Almost
all
living things, even the
scure
and
their
human
distinctly
have
and
their briOiant, protean garb
makes them come
Fleas
their Barlow.
colorful,
and
endearingly nasty creatures, fanuliar to
fishermen, aquarium hobbyists, and
Never mind
that
most people seem constitutionally unable to
pronounce
hds") in any other
their
name
way than
of chewing gum. Anyone
this
book
large part
("sick-
as a
brand
who
reads
will not forget these fishes, in
due
to the narrative skills
of
most other
to anybody watching
more than a few seconds),
occupy a place among fish
Laurentian Great Lakes.
ter
for
or
among
how
cichlids' biggest
to
fame
ually
is
and
But
claim
that, individ-
collectively,
they exhibit legendary
diversity
fit
in
The
Cichlid
ture's
first
chap-
Fishes: Na-
Grand Experiment
cichlids are
into the broad
fish
and
scheme of
evolution.
In the
next
chapter,
"Jaws
Two,"
Barlow
tackles
in Evolution, by Geoige IV
with
gusto
Barhiw
palate
of cichlid feeding
(Perseus
Publishing,
2001; §28)
habits,
They
evolutionary biologists, the maddest of
are,
for
eruptions out of Santa's workshop.
Depending on who's doing the count-
the
which
mined by
both be-
George W. Barlow, of the University of
all
they
cephalopods
mollusks.
The
begins with the best popular ac-
count yet given of what
comparable to that of parrots among
birds
Eu-
and 235 in the immensity of the
rope,
them
havior and appearance.
Because of their behavior (which
the freshwater lakes and rivers of
(which
across as sensitive
and emotive
cichlids
215 in
families live in the world's seas,
fishes)
the famously cichhd-smitten ethologist
CaUfornia, Berkeley.
while only 2,800 species of fishes of all
inquisitive
Dar-
tasty,
diners worldwide.
more
intelligent than
cichlids,
large,
far
and
enthusiasts.
now
Cichhds are
makes them seem
unromantic, have
their Rothschild; barnacles, their
win; and
ob-
rich
are deter-
the
varied
shapes and deployments of their jaws
and
teeth.
leaves
Chapter
3,
"Plastic
behind morphological
sions to
Sex,"
oral obses-
examine the realms of sex deter-
!
—
of the parsimonious
ponents of the sympatric model (speci-
warm
not dependent on geo-
is
South Africa, according to Barlow
a
into the process of speciation,"
because
its
population of 250 to 400
color morphs. In
outline"
—
might not have spent
thirty years
last
ing about
it)
to the
lid species flocks
anybody
as
The
cichlids
life
is
devoted to
history that transpire be-
tween parental pairing and the young
setting off
ing, isosexuality (bet
term
Monog-
with bag and pole.
mouth brood-
amy, sexual subterfuge,
you haven't heard
will
a
wine than
become
nibbled off by their
many
intriguing, however,
treatment
among
and discussed. Even
plained, illustrated,
more
fry) are
topics that are carefully ex-
Barlow's
is
of long-standing
about cichlid reproduction.
myths
Do
cles
about nature with
maudHn
as
genre unto
all
line art
—
throughout
is
its
that
clear,
appeahng
nonpareil.
context.
Bar-
off the
I
how
Barlow
discusses
species
might have come
all
these cichlid
to be.
His
overview of speciation hypotheses and
cichlid radiations
I've seen.
Barlow
is
is
as
good
as
anything
clearly an adherent
two
to as
has
stories
we
ele-
difierent species, but
Hum-
P.
phrey Greenwood's groundbreaking
work
and 1970s changed
in the 1960s
But
that nomenclature.
taxonomy can
chlid
biologist.
lid
this
how
other illustration of
derful
just an-
confusing
and has
ci-
even to a cich-
be,
The
is
book
itself
is
old-fashioned
a nice,
won-
and very useful bibhography, and
(thank goodness, for
glossary.
And
the
many of
book
and pretty rugged,
as
is
us)
a
bound
well
indicated by
my
copy's capacity to absorb several cups of
coffee with only a sUght stain
on
its
at-
tractive off-white pages.
In sum, TJk Cichhd Fishes
is
mar-
a
velous narrative about an extraordinary
family of creatures. Barlow's
thesis
of the behaviors
fertile
syn-
belongs in the pantheon of nat-
that
make
cichlid parents so remarkable.
end of his book with panache.
wish there had been more men-
temperate-zone
Most of us
Westerners,
living
cichlids are notably scarce (ex-
cept in pet stores and supermarkets),
means to hop
month or two to
about them, so
ture
shows
we
—and
find out
more
setde instead for na-
indeed. Barlow does
mention the spectacular
Geographic film about
1
996 National
cichlids in
Lake
Tanganyika. Also oddly missing from
his
account
is
ural history classics: G. E.
Hutchinson's
"The Cream in the
Gooseberry Fool," Konrad Lorenz's
King Solomon's Ring, Niko Tinbergen's
Curious Natiimhsts, and Howard Ensign
famous
essay
Evans's Life on a Little-Known Planet.
to the Tropics
lack the
for a
In chapter 12, "Cichlid Factories,"
in the text. Haplochromis
gans and Astatotilapia elegans are referred
low has pulled
the
amazing
and there
few minor gHtches here
Mouth broodlng is just one
it-
In
self.
are a
well
where
in
At
arti-
of anthropogenic destruction that
may
There
end books,
females hot? Barlow's vivid accounts of
life
it
and newspaper
tion of cichlids in the wild.
variants—illustrated by
of cich-
complete
chapter, but
egg-shaped spots on the anal fm of
some male mouth brooders really make
cichlid family
as
chapter, "Fish
so formulaic to
in closing" as a
the
issue
about
may sound more Uke
television shows,
and secretocyte ingestion (parental skin
cells
last
book
a
folks'
heft. It also has a great index, a
is
parting shot. That
from
whole
—
got diversity, balance, and a good
It's
be observed
far
attractive
Risk," deals with cichhd conservation.
judge "words
for
now
of their Hves obsess-
be getting for a while.
book's
homosexuality before),
that
don't
wonderful introduction
a
who
those
(for
the
we
the basis of cichlid diver-
very well. But his "pretty good
sity
the events in a
my
window
comprehend
—
introduction, but
front doors in Florida.
—"may own
be
one of
refers to
the end, however. Barlow says
The bulk of the book
human
doing cool things not
endeirdc species in a tiny sinkhole
cichlids in
southern waters only in terms of
the evils of
An
exists in five distinct
Barlow's real forte
mentions the
these aUen fishes can
favorites, Tilapia giiinasana
sexual domination,
He
graphic isolation) will be disappointed.
and here he
ratios,
the only native cichlid in U.S.
tuiii),
waters.
in
and other trappings of sexual conquest.
the Texas cichlid (Cichlasoma cyanogutta-
because of geographic isolation); pro-
ation that
minarion, sex
model
allopatric
into separate species
(differentiation
any detailed treatment of
Ill
his
Aquatic Conseivatioii and Ecology
Laboratory at Boston University, Les Kauf-
man
studies aquatic biological diversity.
favorite workhorses are the labroids,
include cichlids,
and for
the past
His
which
dozen years
he has analyzed the evolution offish species
flocks in Africa's Great Lakes.
—
86
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
Sam M. Gon
tained by
nature.net
with
Trilobitophilia
have been found,
fossils
By Robert Anderson
where,
state
(a
bites).
An
a biologist
Conservancy
Nature
the
Hawaii
III,
in
alone trilo-
deep-sea, thermal-vent symbionts
Gon
"enthusiastic amateur,"
For nearly 300
flourished in the world's oceans.
It
took
was drawn
to trilobites
by
their
with more than 15,000
bers:
and
num-
they are the most diverse group in the
the Permian Period, to stop their long
fossil
mammals
record.
Gon's
are
icons for the following eras, these hard-
on
ings
very well done. Offer-
main menu range from
shelled, crustacean-like animals have
formation on the eight orders of
coiTie to represent the Paleozoic.
bites to sections
on what the
animals were
Animations
Recently
I
renewed
my
childhood
fascination with these fossil critters by a
Web
the
visit to
A
site
Guide
to the
how
like.
term used
illustrate
posture). Perhaps the
section
is
most
interesting
"Evolutionary Trends" (click
Evolution's Workshop:
God and
Sci-
ence on the Galapagos Islands,
The Biodiversity
Counts,
edited
Crisis:
by
Losing What
Michael
$19.95; Earth: Inside
J.
Not'acek.
and Out,
edited by
Edward J. Larson
Museum
Press /American
of Natural History 2001)
Museum's
halls
essays related to the
cover such topics
mass global extinctions and
how
as
all
time
to
hope of either
come," wrote
visit
sity),
the evolution oi continents and
mountain ranges
ot Planet Earth),
(the
in
Herman
Gottesman Hall
and cosmological
dis-
Here you find
.html).
a great recipe for
edible trilobites. Hart, neither a gas-
tronome nor
a paleontologist, says
So do
just Hkes the cookies.
Robert Anderson
he
I.
is
a freelance science imter
Los Angeles.
living in
This biography of the
real-life inspiration
for the fictional Indiana Jones
how
a "passionate
shows
single-minded rnan
mad dream
of unlocking
phant
scientific quest,"
says
Museum
paleontologist Michael J. Novacek.
to the Galapagos in
The Energy of Nature,
histoiy, the islands are seen instead as a
(University of Chicago Press.
of evolu-
A
by E. c. Pielou
2001; $25)
mathematical ecologist takes
a sys-
tion in action, their harsh environment
tematic look at the myriad ways in
an opportunity rather than
which energy and
a curse."
earth and
Kids: How Biology and Culture
Shape the Way We Raise Our Chil-
dren,
by Meredith
E
Small (Doublcday,
its
its
transfer affect the
inhabitants.
The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered
the Dinosaurs and Paved the
2001; $24.95)
Anthropologist Small follows the vari-
Darwin,
ous strands of nature and nurture that
Publishing,
Cullman Hall of the Universe).
determine the
(the
(www.
Hart
georgehart.com/trilobites/trilobite
Rose
and hypotheses
you might want to
one maintained by
W.
George
sculptor
Center for Earth and Space and the
coveries
site, this
1841. In Larson's intriguing scientific
to pre-
serve wildlands (the Hall of Biodiver-
another
the secrets of central Asia into a trium-
archipelago of aridities, without
"field laboratory for the study
Three books of
If you find yourself converted into a
trilobite enthusiast,
"An
Melville after a
Soter and Neil de
from one form
to another.
converted his
Edge,
$24.95 (New
by
Books /Perseus, 2001;
(Basic
inhabitant, history, or
edited by Stei'eii
remarkably detailed record of
$27.50)
Edmond A. Mathez, $19.95; and Cosmic
Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting
Grasse Tyson,
(a
to
to describe their defensive
/~smgon/ordersoftrilobites.htm) main-
BOOKSHELF
trilo-
living
they molted and "enrolled"
Orders of Trilobites (www.aloha.net
,
in-
left a
their transformation
try
site is
the
and
species,
the worst mass extinction, at the end of
run. Just as dinosaurs and
wide range of ecological niches
from free-swimming pelagic feeders
studies current biodiversity issues
million years, trilobites
a
"Classification"). Trilobites filled
no
ironically,
let
under
fate
of our children.
by Christopher
Way
McGowan
for
(Perseus
2001; $26)
The word
"dinosaur" was coined by
Owen in
Treating us to wide-ranging and infor-
anatomist Richard
Racing the Antelope: What Animals
mative research about kids in the larger
and other paleontological
"firsts"
are
Can Teach Us About Running and
context of
chronicled in an engaging
book by
the
by
Band
Heuiricli {HarperCollins,
"For millions of
years,
Life,
2001; $23)
our ultimate
form of locomotion was running,"
writes zoologist Heinrich, who examines animal physiology
and
evolution and cul-
servations of her
own
and
lively
ob-
daughter.
senior curator of paleobiology at the
Royal Ontario Museum.
Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expe-
The books mentioned
and behavior
own
ditions, by Charles Gallenkamp (Viking,
5150, or via the Museum's
2001; $29.95)
www.amnh.org.
applies these insights to his
long-distance running.
human
ture, she also offers astute
1842. This
able
m
the
Museum
are usually avail-
Shop, (212) 769-
Web
site,
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THE N AJURA L^fM
M
E N T
—
1
of
Circle
Photograph by John Serrao
Last July, while strolling through mixed
hemlock-hardwood forest
in Pennsylvania's
Pocono Mountains, photographer John Serrao
gently turned over a rotting log. To his
was treated to
delight, he
a rare glimpse of
arthropod maternal behavior: a centipede
coiled around her eggs.
This brooding female belongs to the
scolopendrid family— most
common
in
the
Tropics but also found in parts of the United
States. Scolopendrids
have more than
twenty pairs of legs and are usually two to
what appears to be
four inches long. Here,
the centipede's head
is really
her hind end:
she has tucked her head beneath the clutch
make
to
it less
vulnerable to enemies.
Centipedes' modified front legs are
poison claws, which they use to inject a
highly toxic venom. While the small U.S.
species prey on worms, insects, and slugs,
their foot-long tropical cousins feed on
small lizards or mice and can deliver a
gainful sting to humans.
1
Scolopendrids reproduce without
copulating. The male weaves a silken
the ground, and in
it
he deposits a
web on
tiny,
lemon-shaped spermatophore, or sealed
packet of sperm. The female picks up the
packet and places
weeks
later,
curls herself
it
inside her body. Several
she lays twenty or so eggs and
around them. Fasting for two
months, she cares for them intensively and
_(
_
r
_
.
_i
.
.
I
r*
I
<-
r
.
i
i
i
the eggs to keep them moist and even coats
them with
a fungicidal
chemical that she
secretes from a gland in her head. Without
these ministrations, the eggs would become
infected with fungi and die.
Richard Milner
90
NATURAL HISTORY 5/01
ENDPAPER
squeezed into seconds
photography
tendrils
of a
—
the same kind of compressed-time
makes clouds boU across the sky and the
growing vine snake around the treUis. Accelerthat
ated or not, the
movement of the
little
beast looked wOlfijl,
no mere amoebic sHthering or crawHng about, but a deHcate, precise, silvery motion invested with intelligence.
The star of the film made by Diane Hof&nan-Kim, a
cell biologist then at Harvard
was no mollusk but the
amoeba-Hke growth cone at the tip of an axon, a slender
fiber that extends from a nerve cell
this one isolated from
—
—
—
The
the spinal cord of a chick embryo.
dia,
Hofirnan-Kim
cell
membrane
me, dynamic
told
"feet"
were filopoof the
Httle extensions
from the growth cone, the
growing axon, which the cell uses to sniff
thrusting out
leading edge of a
out connections with other nerve
cells.
Hofrinan-Kim was studying the way
find one an-
cells
other to create the netted wiring of the brain, not just during embryonic development but
learns
the
cell that steer
where
nee, finding himself bleeding profusely after a bad
die naturalist Loren Eiseley apologized to his
fall,
doomed blood
"Oh,
cells:
sony" The
don't go. I'm
words were spoken to no one, he wrote, but addressed to all
the "crawHng, hving, independent" entities that had been
and now, through
part of him,
were dying
beached
like
I'm not sure
individual
with
a
cells,
wit and
cule of
HjO
I
when
my
as creatures
wisdom ot their own. Just as a single molemake water, a single cell from the brain
doesn't
its
the cell Hnks
petri dish contains
up with
no thought;
irdUions of others in an
electrochemical network does thought emerge.
on the
Still,
Eiseley was
One
afternoon not long ago,
looked for
all
I
little
Then
watched
a film
twitching
new Umb poked
searcliing
Hke
But
nor
all
scale
the small
a
one
as it
real. It
made
out in
large
new
foot.
This thin,
a different direction, again
appeared in the
a
body
the tentative axon to
quarry, telling
its
it
hook up
finds exactly the right cell to
Somehow
itself altered
by
again and again, the
its
Hnk
with, a
the cell initiates the connection
accomplishment.
If a skiU
is
used
hardens; if it's used only once, the
filopodia soon shrink back, triggering a change in the brain
cell, a
thinning of the grip that
may
explain forgetting.
was fascinated by the disembodied
I
seemed
to act as
its
own
complexity, a single
and the
teins
creature.
cell
On the
said to
is
occupy
of biological
a spot
roughly
the microcosmic world of genes and pro-
visible v/orld
of the organism.
My
cells
have subsumed their individual identity by joining
community, but each
contains a similar,
which
cell itself
scale
stiU
has
if simpler,
may
a larger
independent existence and
its
version of the mystery hidden
my head. Each is an immensely competent being, holding
my whole genome, capable of subtle movement, rhythm,
in
talk,
adept
sufficiently fuU
at
sucking energy out of
of zip
—doubHng and
bhng to make the world a fecund place.
Who's to say that each does not enjoy
its
own
life,
redou-
Hfe?
Jennifer Ackermau's
Chance
History of Heredity
flin.
ii'ill
Her prei'ious book
is
in the
House of Fate:
be published in June by
A
Natural
Houghton Mif-
Notes From the Shore (Viking Pen-
guin, 1995).
film.
Neither time
was time-lapse video microscopy, with
beneath
is
the
as
di-
tongue or antenna.
was not
was
of what
the Uttle creature slowly pulled back the foot,
a
and
it
formed.
—when
slender toot, as if to test the possibility of moving in
rection.
is
and
squid thrusting forward a
paused for a moment, and sprouted
link
through Hfe
all
interested in the molecules outside
tunnels through tissues, in this direction or
as it
and sophisticated
right track.
the world like a
go
midway between
such compassion for
could think of them
I
care,
on the hot pavement."
summon
could
not sure
of a mouse shding over
only
fish
"foUy and lack of
his
to
Once
that.
I
new skills. She was
high-power
lens,
and hours
Cliaiice in the House of Fate by Jennifer Ackerman. Copyright ©
2001 by Jennifer Ackerman. Reprinted by permission of Houghton
Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
From
Museum Friends Support Science Education
AND Increase Their Retirement Income
coking back on his career as
an executive
Simon and
at
Schuster, Jason Berger says,
"One of my proudest achievements
was the
distribution of Little
Golden
Books to supermarkets and pharmacies across the country, w/here
they found their
way
into the
of millions of young children
otherwise might have had
exposure to children's
hands
who
little
literature."
Several years ago, their wish to
support science education prompted
Jason and his wife Susanna to
include the American
Natural History
last year,
Museum
in their wills.
of
Then,
they discovered charitable
annuities.
gift
A gift annuity is a way to
the Museum and provide a
support
lifetime
annuity to one or two people aged
When
55 or older.
is
Here are sample rates and benefits for one person with a $io,ooo
appreciated stock
Ace
Rate
Income Tax
Deduction
Annuity
Payment
7.0%
$3-721
$700
Annuity
used to fund the plan, there can be
gift:
substantial capital gains tax savings.
65
According to Susanna, "Because
70
7-5%
$4,080
$750
75
8.2%
$4,460
$820
80
9.2%
$4,884
$920
85
10.5%
i—P$5.334
$1,050
90
12.0%
$5,807
$1,200
we can
this
is
now
give
an
and
ideal
part of the
seum
have
to
like gift
receive
way for
in
gift
Income for
life,
us to provide
we want the Mu-
the future. In fact,
annuities so much,
we plan
we
to
imm^
do one every year!"
Please send information on:
For more information, please call
(800) 453-5734
or reply by mail
O Gifts that provide lifetime income.
to:
Office of Planned Giving, American
QAbequesttothe Museum
Museum of Natural
O
History,
York,
New York
mywill.
have already included a provision
for THE
Central Park West at 79TH Street,
New
I
in
Museum
in
American
Museums
Natural
History
my estate plans.
10024-5192
Name:
Address;
Home:
Telephone
My
Office:
(our) birth date(s):
Your reply
is
confidential and implies no obligation.
05/01
American Museum
Explore THE WORLD
\\
2001
PROGRAMS
m JUNE
ON A
2001
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..-j;
JUNE
8
-"'Jt^^'
iMK.'
the Total Solar Eclipse
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KK
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BH
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^
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JUNE 18-30,2001
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North America's Great Lakes:
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Labrador Sea
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A Family Adventure
1
JULY7-
Voyage to the
North Pole: Aboard
Islands:
200
Arctic Expedition: Exploring the
Odyssey
Wildlife of the Galapagos
AUGUST
Family Dinosaur Discovery:
In the Grand Valley of the
Colorado River
the Yanial
AUGUST
1,2001
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Voyage to the Lands of Gods
and Heroes: A Family Journey
to the Ancient Mediterranean
Aboard the CUlia II
JULY 23 - AUGUST 4. 2001
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Tuscany:
A Summer Family
Adventure
AUGUST
10-18,2001
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Family Alaska Expedition:
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Adventurer
14-21,2001
AUGUST
$2,790 - $4,890
Undiscovered Greece: Hidden
Islands, Villages, and Ancient
Sites
Aboard the
AUGUST
Callisto
16-25,2001
$4,295 - $5,595
Family Dinosaur Discovery:
In the Grand Valley of the
Colorado River
AUGUST 18-24,2001
$1,745 -$2,650
1
si
ATURAL History
%J
L%',"
Expeditions
throughout
THE World WITH
Distinguished Scientists
AND Educators
Sailing the Tyrrhenian
Sea:
Rome,
Lipari, and Catania
Aboard the Sea Cloud
OCTOBER
r
Elba,
Corsica, Capri, Salerno,
Coastal Treasures
of the Arabian GiUf:
Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
18-30,2001
$6,270 -$10,620
/
The History of Food
Portugal,
Italy,
& Wine by
Turkey, Russia
OCTOBER 22 - NOVEMBER 4,
The Outer
Islands of Britain
|g
and Ireland: Aboard the
Song ofFlower
AUGUST 21
2001
$5,995 -$11,495
China
2001
OCTOBER
1-21,2001
$7,880
& The Yangtze River:
and Shanghai
'.GUST 2' - SEPTEMBER
Guilin,
OCTOBER 2 -18,
2001
13,
& Jordan
2001
$5,990
Ethiopia:
A Journey from
River:
Aboard the
Katharina Von Bora
Prague to Berlin
i
'
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER
1
1,
j
i
j
B SEPTEMBER
200
1
From London
to Zanzibar,
Tanzania, Uganda, and
Khartoum
SEPTEMBER
17,2001
-
OCTOBER
3,
2001
NOVEMBER
OCTOBER 22 - NOVEMBER 10, 2001
$6,450
Fairs
of India:
Camel
Festival
15
-30, 2001
Jewels of the Adriatic Sea: Sicily
to Venice Aboard the Sea Cloud
OCTOBER 22 - NOVEMBER
10,
Lost Cities by Private
Jet: Petra,
Muscat, Lhasa, Kathmandu,
Vientiane, Luang Prabang,
$32,950
6
-20, 2001
$6,880 - $7,480
Bhutan & Northern India:
Aboard the Royal Orient
8
-26, 2001
2001
•
OCTOBER
Iran: Persian Treasures
$4,095 - $4,995
the Clipper Odyssey
Samarkand
$12,980
SEPTL.MBI-.P 2)
Featuring the Pushkar
Papua New Guinea:
Journey to the Last Unknown
$7,950
AJong the Ancient Coast of
Turkey: Aboard the Panorama
Country
Cambodia,
Malaysia, and Indonesia Aboard
Angkor, Ulaanbaatar, and
OCTOBER
-23, 2001
4
Great Treasures of Southeast
$5,420
2001
In Search of the Source of the
Nile:
The Heart of African
Civilization
OCTOBER 3-
$5.790 -$6,390
2001
$6,495 -$10,995
$8,400 -$l 1,360
$6,790 -$7,390'
The Elbe
NOVEMBER 7 -20,
$25,950
$8,400-$! 1,360"
Exploring Egypt
by Private Plane
Beijing, Xi'an, Yangtze River,
Flower
2001
Asia: Thailand,
Himalayan Kingdoms:
Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan
SEPTEMBER 2,
-
OCTOBER
Khasab, and Muscat
Aboard the Song of
Morocco,
Private Jet: France,
OCTOBER 31
-
DECEMBER
NOVEMBER 20, 2001
B NOVEMBER
Nepal: A Himalayan Family
Adventure
DECEMBER 20,
2001
2001 -
JANUARY 3, 2002
$4,490 - $4,690
& Tikal: Rainforest,
Belize
2001
and Ruins
NOVEMBER 2- 11,2001
$3,450"
Reefs,
gl
Expedition to the South Pole
JANUARY
Patagonia: Torres Del Paine
fJCrOBER 12-26,2001
and Tierra Del Fuego Aboard
$5,495
the Terra Australis
NOVEMBERS-
16,
JANUARY 2002
8 - 23, 2002
$38,950
2001
$4,975 - $6,975
The Ancient Silk Road:
A Journey Through China
and Central Asia
SEKl
KM Bl.R
2
<
1
JCTOBER
1
3,
200
$8,990 -$13,950
Iran: Persian
SEKI
EMBER
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
DISCOVERY TOURS
Treasures
28 -
OCTOBER
12,
2001
$5,495
Visit
our web,sitc
f-ax:
2 2-769-5755
1
Di^ovcry
liiiirj, [lie
Natural IliMory,
ImUidet oveneas airfare from selected chiet.
at
www.discoverytours.org
To request our 2001 catalog
is
I'Iimsc
call:
mcmion
800-462-8687
.id colli- NHOOOO
cducalional travel dt-pinnicru of
a rcgiMcred service
mark of this
llic
212-769-5700
or
American Museum of
institution.
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Irish castles aren't just for looking.
You can
and
For a
CALL YOUR TRAVEL AGENT OR
1-800-SHAMROCK
w^v w. s h amrock.org
Many are
also stay in world-class hotels,
traditional Irish cottages.
of our
rigkt wow.
visitors, it
And
for lodging.
welcoming
B&Bs
the food? Unlike
some
often travels an extremely short distance.
free Ireland vacation kit
and
travel planner, call us.
O Ireland
A^aksn to a different ^orld