HQ News

We've had a lot going on these past several months.  At the end of 2011 we did some more Gulf of Mexico survey dives.  Check out the size of this sponge as compared to the size of that diver (me), keeping in mind that I was making myself as small as possible to conserve body warmth.

In addition to my role as sponge-scale-provider, I have also functioned as a pack mule.  John and I spent some time moving a donated collection from the nearby Bartram Hall over to our space in Dickinson.

The collection includes Bryozoan specimens as well as reference material.  We tackled the reference material first.  Finding a space to store it seemed a daunting task, but John undertook it with confidence.  Remind me never to challenge John to a game of Tetris.

We've also had a fair share of visitors these past months, although not up to the flood levels we have experienced in the past.  A group of art students came in for a couple of days to sketch some of the more comely and/or dramatic specimens in our collection.

Also back to visit us is Rob Lasley, now a grad student in Singapore.  As this touching photo of Rob and François can attest, Rob has integrated right back into the group.  He'll be here for a few months to look at our collection and get some additional data for his research on Chlorodiellinae, a group of marine crabs. We'll hate to see him leave us again.  The reason this picture is a little grainy-looking is because I took it surreptitiously through my dusty window.

We also spent some time tending to the giant squid that I mentioned in a previous post.  He had to spend some time soaking in formalin, but once he was sufficiently saturated we had to then soak him in water (to rinse him out) and then preserve him in ethanol.  Here are John and I pumping out the formalin (which is toxic, hence the respirators).

The other significant cephalopod in our lives also underwent some housing changes.  The Octopus was recently moved to a new mansion that we procured for her.

Unfortunately, she has since adopted some brooding behaviors and stopped eating; we are afraid that she might have laid eggs in her rock cave.  If that is indeed the case, she probably won't be with us for much longer.

And just so we don't close on that note...here is a picture of Julie competing in the arm wrestling tournament this past fall.

:) Mandy

Group Activities

It's been way too long since my last posting, but I have so many good-bye posts piling up ( Hsiu, Art, Jenna...did I do one for Machel!?) that I've been putting it off.  Well, I decided to forgo the good-bye posts for the time being  and focus on togetherness.  Although this blog is really all about the awesomeness of the Invertebrate Division, the truth is that the whole FLMNH is pretty awesome; here are some of the projects that we've shared with other divisions (or they've shared with us).

Several months ago a strange creature wandered into the range, and I was brave enough to tackle it, as seen in the photo below.

A quick call upstairs to some of the other ranges confirmed what we suspected, not only was this animal a vertebrate, it turns out it was a bird, more specifically a Muscovy Duck.  It's not known to be especially dangerous (lacking claws, spines, venom, spicules, cuvierian tubules, nematocysts, or any other invertebrate armament), and it was wearing a diaper, so we welcomed him into our range, backbone and all.

Because my tackling-expertise had been demonstrated during the duck event I just mentioned, it's strange that I wasn't invited to participate in the project illustrated in the next photo.

The fish range moved several large sharks from their old tanks to shiny new ones.  Jenna and John were there to help out and photodocument.  Some specimens, like the shark above, are just so large that there isn't room to properly or safely house them in Dickinson Hall.  Some of the larger museum specimens, like complete and mounted skeletons, are on display at Powell Hall (the public face of the FLMNH), and some are kept in the large specimen storage facility in another building on campus.  This is a specimen that we have in off-site storage.

Thanks Jeff Gage/Florida Museum for this photo!

This Giant Squid was caught floating on the surface off the coast of Florida.  He is definitely a giant squid, but in this case he is also a Giant Squid, a member of the genus Architeuthis.  It is the first specimen of this genus that we have at the museum.  Because they are a deep water species, and...well...giant, Architeuthis are not often collected.  Once we figure out the logistics of safely preserving and housing such a specimen in a public place, we hope that this squid can one day educate visitors while on exhibit at Powell Hall.

So with all these large specimens coming in and moving around, I'm sure you're wondering how our ethanol supply is holding up.  Well, we had to place an order.

We tag-teamed this order with the fish range, so when we got the call from the delivery guy a group of us all rushed out to unload some ethanol.  This picture, featuring four 55 gallon drums and a bevy of intrepid ethanol-moving-specialists, represents a quarter of that order (and 3/5 of those working on unloading it).

Some ranges have giant specimens that don't require ethanol.  This giant totem pole was moved to a display location on the stairwell.  Because it's very tall, solid wood, and moving to a somewhat awkward location, a Dickinson-wide call went out to recruit assistance.

A whole herd of us wheeled the totem pole outside on a series of carts, then controlled it down a steep hill and around to the back of the museum where we all lifted it and maneuvered it down the hall and into an upright position.  Because I was actually helping, this picture is of the final tweaking of the totem pole into place.  Nothing like risking life, limb, and artifacts to bring a group closer together.

I'll try to get back on a regular posting schedule.  With Gustav on sabbatical you'd think that I'd have a lot more time on my hands, but it turns out that he still has email.

:) Mandy