“Biology major not required”

Posted on May 8, 2013 by mvzarchguest

At first glance, an undergraduate program at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology doesn’t seem like the best fit for a political science and geography double major. Upon closer examination, the MVZ’s focus on evolutionary biology and museum science appears even less suitable for the non-scientifically inclined.  Still, when I stumbled upon the MVZ
website purely by accident and saw the words, “biology major not required,” it seemed like it couldn’t hurt to apply. At the group interview, I began to suspect I’d made a terrible mistake when I realized that every other applicant was either an MCB or IB major; realizing I was the sole humanities major and hopelessly out of place, I nearly fled right there, but decided to stick out the interview just to see what would happen. Surprisingly, they found a place for me in the museum; unsurprisingly it was in the MVZ Archives.

Darren Lu working through Alden H. Miller's papers.

Darren Lu working through Alden H. Miller’s papers.

Working in the Archives is like turning over a stone and discovering a whole new world. The Archives contain field notes and other historical material from over a hundred years of fieldwork. Reading through the journals of bygone researchers and recording geographic locations in the Archive Database seems like a straightforward responsibility at first, but can prove simultaneously perplexing and absorbing. One of my first tasks involved reading James Hepburn’s field notes from the 1850’s. Deciphering his handwriting was hard enough, but  Hepburn explored California before there were even counties—determining specific localities based on rivers, mountain ranges, and other landmarks was a unique geographic challenge. As a geographer, I appreciate the opportunity to gain access to firsthand accounts of early California and other regions. Personally, working at the MVZ Archives has exposed to me to the entire discipline of archival research. While I don’t yet have any definitive plans for the future, I appreciate the skills and experiences I gained this semester and have no doubt that working in the Archives is a fully worthwhile experience for students of any background.

Posted in Field notes, The Hidden Collections Project, URAPs | 3 Comments

A Student Perspective: Robert Cyril Stebbins

Posted on May 1, 2013 by mvzarchguest

Wrriten by undergraduate research apprentice, Amy Moulthrop, Integrative Biology Major.

For the past semester, I’ve been working on the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology archival project, part of an on-going effort to make field notes, research materials, and other miscellaneous archives more available to the general public. Specifically, I’ve been going through the field notes of researchers that are held in the MVZ library, updating the online database with the locations where specimens were collected. As the result, I’ve paged through hundreds of hand-written observations, drawings, species accounts, and journals of scientists who devoted their lives to herpetology and ornithology. The bulk of my time was devoted to Robert Cyril Stebbins’ field notes, as he has over thirty volumes spanning over fifty years. I would like to use this blog post to write about my appreciation of his dedication and passion for biology research.

Robert C. Stebbins is a widely influential herpetologist who published the Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. He is currently an Professor Emeritus of Zoology and Curator Emeritus of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. His biography is fascinating, starting on a ranch in Chico, California in 1915, living in Los Angeles from the age of nine, then attending UCLA for a degree in Civil Engineering. However, he ended up leaving school for a year and half, returning to obtain a degree in Zoology. Biology became his motivating passion in life, evident through his obtaining teaching credentials to share his knowledge, receiving a PhD on fringe-toed lizards, and beginning a life-long research career. A complete biography can be found in the journal Copeia, published by the American Society of Icthyologists and Herpetologists.

As a biology student still finding my way, I find his journey remarkable. He went from someone who merely enjoyed spending time outdoors, to an engineering student, to one of the most respected herpetologists of our time. He is celebrated for his breakthrough research investigations concerning the pineal gland and the “ring-species” complex, both concepts I learned about in introductory biology courses without ever knowing of Stebbins and his work. In addition to his scientific work, Stebbins is a talented artist. His oil paintings are on the walls of the museum and his sketches in his field notes are intricately detailed. Art has been as crucial to his life as biology and he has been able to integrate his hobby into his career readily. Additionally, he traveled extensively, going from state to state in a few short months, using his sabbatical to do a nation-wide tour, and even keeping journals with hand-written species observations while on vacation with his family. Stebbins never lacked energy or missed an opportunity to conduct field work.

I often ask upper division, graduate students, or working professionals about how they ended up doing the work that they do. You hear much advice about following your heart and devoting yourself to study something you are passionate about. It’s hard to find someone who’s life embodies this ideal as much as Robert Cyril Stebbins. I’m lucky that my field of passion coincides with his, that his drawings, notes, and journals ignite my interest and make me excited for the future. Every person has a different dream, but I know this much. I will graduate from UC Berkeley having obtained experience in field work.

Robert C. Stebbins, in his earlier days

Citations:

Mahoney, Meredith J. Mulcahy, D. G. “Robert Cyril Stebbins.” Copeia, Volume 3 (September 15, 2006): pp. 563-572. April 24, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4098723.

Posted in Field notes, MVZ collections, The Hidden Collections Project | 2 Comments

Cal Day 2013: Archives on Display

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Michelle Koo

The MVZ opened its doors to the public for yet another successful Cal Day event this past Saturday, and the day presented an excellent opportunity to share some of the history found within the MVZ’s archival collections.

The MVZ Archives exhibit, entitled In the Field: 105 Years of MVZ Fieldwork, compared the equipment, tools, and methods employed by MVZ researchers in the field today to those utilized throughout the Museum’s history. Select highlights from the exhibit included Annie Alexander’s hiking boots, a bear trap from the 1920s, a bird skinning kit from the 1950s, and a wealth of images depicting MVZ researchers working in the field over the last century.

Continue reading →

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In the “Early Days”

Posted on February 27, 2013 by cfidler
Accipiter striatus velox collected by Ameila S. Allen

Accipiter striatus velox collected by Ameila S. Allen

I came across three unnamed field notebooks from the same author. I tried searching our database for individuals collecting in the places and years described in the notebooks but that was a dead end. Most of the journal entries took place in and around the UC Berkeley campus. Finally I found my clue. The author entered one line for January 20th, 1916, “Elected Secretary of Cooper Club.”

It just so happens that MVZ’s Staff Curator of Birds, Carla Cicero, had kindly lent me her copy of Harry Swarth’s, The C.O.C. 1893-1928. The volume details the history, personalities, and activities of the Cooper Ornithological Club. My mystery author was found: Amelia S. Allen. The one line entry in her notebook suddenly looked a bit more pronounced and with a certain amount of pride. Swarth’s candid description of Mrs. Allen is worth quoting in full:

Early in the history of the Northern Division one or two women were elected to membership at different times. On rare occasions they attended meetings, but the atmosphere was evidently not congenial and feminine membership at that period did not last long. But times have changed! Mrs. Ameila S. Allen was elected to membership in 1913, and was elected secretary of the Northern Division in 1916. For eight years she remained in this arduous and thankless position, giving such secretarial service as the Northern Division had never had before. No wonder that the termination of this period called for a year of rest abroad! Upon her return in 1925, Mrs. Allen was elected vice-president, and in 1926, president, in recognition of her notable contribution to the Club’s welfare, the first woman to hold such office in either Division. Lady secretaries have since functioned in both Divisions, Mrs. Grinnell in the North, Mrs. Ellis in the South, and the feminine contingent at the meetings has grown to such proportions that the ladies could easily carry all before them if they were organized, and if the far-sighted male members had not created a carefully arranged Board of Governors to transact most of the Club’s business. This ruling body has all the appearance of being a desperate last stand of retreating masculinity.

Ameila S. Allen collecting tag

Ameila S. Allen collecting tag

And so Mrs. Allen had a long and fruitful membership at the Club. She was also a prolific and detailed note taker. The museum holds 12 notebooks written by her. The volume from 1930 contains field notes and a memoir of her remarkable life. An interesting tidbit from her narration is a description of Berkeley in the “early days.”

Shattuck Ave. was the only business street and the steam trains that ran to the mole to connect with the ferries to San Francisco, carried passengers free from Vine St., and the northern trains to Dwight Way – the southern boundary of the city. There were three miles of meadowbanks between Berkeley and Oakland along College Avenue – Piedmont Avenue was the eastern boundary…

She goes on to describe in detail the locations of buildings and other landmarks in Berkeley which are now gone. It paints a landscape that we can only imagine but that we can easily reconstruct through detailed first person accounts such as Mrs. Allen’s. We hope to have her collection processed by the summer.

Posted in Field notes, MVZ collections, Women in Science | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cal Day History Displays, Part 2: Horse Down

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Michelle Koo

Decades before GPS units, cell phones and SUVs with 4-wheel drive, collectors valiantly journeyed into difficult terrain and remote, never-before-collected locations to bring valuable specimens back to the MVZ. With roads and settlements in these localities not yet constructed, such expeditions were lucky if they found a trail to follow. Combined with a lack of easy communication methods, such treacherous traveling conditions had the potential to create unforeseen complications for the collectors.

 The story described in “Horse Down”, presented as a display at Cal Day on April 21, 2012, is just one example of the challenges that collectors willingly faced and boldly overcame for the sake of the MVZ’s research and collections.

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Horse Down: The “Thrills and Spills” of a Pack Train’s Journey through Sweetwater Canyon

The three collectors in camp at dinner: Ward C. Russell, Dr. Seth Benson, and Joye H. Severaid, 6:30 pm. July 10, 1946.

In July of 1946, guided by two men named Francis Brown and Jack Kelly, MVZ collectors Seth B. Benson, Ward C. Russell, and Joye H. Severaid ventured on horseback into Sweetwater Canyon in Mono County, California. Unfortunately, the journey became increasingly difficult as two of their pack horses, Chappo and Brownie, refused to behave. The horses bucked and reared, flinging the scientist’s equipment, camping supplies, and food all over the trail. The collectors tried to regain the upper hand, roping the packs down on the horses and even tying Chappo’s feet together. Unfortunately, despite the many attempts by the “forlorn collectors” to control these very “wild horses,” the expedition turned deadly for one of the animals. Continue reading →

Posted in Stories from the Archives | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment