Banner Image: Copy of drawing showing coyote stalking jack rabbit, Photographer Joe Dixon, Feb.

18, 1922, MVZ Image #3808

The MVZ Bulletin

Inside this issue:

Letter From the Director

Welcome to the Fall 2011 issue of the MVZ Bulletin. As always, my thanks to the wonderful Anna Ippolito and all other contributors. Please let Anna know if youd like to contribute to further issues. Well, this has been a very busy and productive few months for us all. A major focus, and also a motivation for several well-attended social events, was the search for a new Director of the MVZ and Professor in Integrative Biology. The search, ably chaired by Jim McGuire, attracted a very strong field of candidates and we enjoyed a series of exceptional seminars and interactions with those short-listed Michael Nachman, Scott Edwards, Liz Hadly, David Reznick and Michael Ryan. To get a taste of the intellectual feast, check out the on-line MVZ seminars at: http:// mvz.berkeley.edu/mvzlunch.html. The Faculty have now made a formal recommendation to the campus for appointment of Michael Ryan - and we look forward to a return visit in early Spring by Mike and his family. Mike is an outstanding evolutionary biologist, with a list of awards and achievements longer than your arm, and has all the attributes of a very successful Director for the MVZ. We hope sincerely that the recruitment will be successful, and so ensure the ongoing health of our cherished institution. At the same time, the MVZs program of innovative research, education and outreach continues apace. Our international research, focused on discovery of vertebrate diversity and understanding of evolutionary and biogeographic processes that underpin it, spans several global biodiversity hotspots, including Indonesia, Brazil, Africa and Guatemala. The last, supported by a substantial NSF grant lead by Rauri Bowie (with D. Wake, Papenfuss, Patton and Rovito) is not only leading to new discoveries, including, regrettably, a substantial decline of Mesoamerican salamander species, but also driving important initiatives in preservation of key habitats. It also is building a wonderful collaboration with scientists and institutions in Guatemala. More on that in this issue. Closer to home, the MVZ is playing an important role in the recently launched Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology (BiGCB). This effort, centered on the Berkeley Natural History Museums but involving a wide range of faculty across the campus, aims to harness both historical records in our collections and long-term ecological studies at Berkeleys field stations (including Hastings) to improve understanding

Fall 2011
of effects on species and ecosystems of rapid environmental change. As one component, Eileen Lacey is leading a project that builds on the results and specimens from the Grinnell Resurvey Project. This project combines new ways of extracting genomic, isotopic, and phenotypic data from specimens with field studies of ecology to identify early-warning signals of stress induced by climate change. More exciting news comes from the bioinformatics front. For many years our biodiversity informatics group, led by John Wieczorek, has led development of informatics systems that enable more effective use of specimen-related data across museums, many of which are now adopted globally. Thus, with key roles from both John and our Curators, the MVZ has lead initiatives such as MaNIS, HerpNET and ORNIS. But the very success of these taxon-focused initiatives overwhelmed the initial design constraints, such that VertNET was born. Now, with a new NSF grant led by Carla Cicero (and John, Aaron Steele, Carol Spencer & Michelle Koo, and David Bloom as coordinator), these systems under the VertNET umbrella are going into the cloud. If this is not enough, weve just learnt that MVZ has been awarded a CLIR Hidden Collections award to develop a database of MVZs extensive archives and connect this to our Arctos database. Again, our exceptional staff banded together to generate the extramural support necessary to maintain our ongoing effort to digitize and expose our unique records for the benefit of all. Finally, and once again, I want to emphasize the MVZs program in education and training. We have a superb cadre of postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students the lifeblood of the institution. This semester the Lacey, Bowie and McGuire labs each took in new graduate students who Im sure will maintain the MVZ tradition of excellence and sense of community. And our undergrad program continues to inspire. A new initiative is to reward undergraduates with outstanding performance in curatorial activities via donor-supported MVZ Biodiversity Science Awards. We were pleased to reward six students this year and hope to have the resources for even more in 2012. Each of these topics, and more is expanded on in the following enjoy! Craig Moritz

The MVZ in Guatemala Page 2

MVZ Biodiversity Science Awards Page 3

Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology Page 5

Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 3101 Valley Life Sciences Bldg. University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-3160 P: 510-642-3567 F: 510-643-8238 http:.//mvz.berkeley.edu

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The MVZ in Guatemala:

Collections, Collaboration, and Conservation
Meet the MVZs spectacular research destination, the Mesoamerican Hotspot. Spanning most of Central America, it is the worlds third largest biodiversity hotspot (a region of significant biodiversity) with over 7% of the worlds plant and animal species living there! As part of the biodiversity hotspot, Guatemala has been a research destination for MVZ scientists for the past 30 years. Recently, thanks to generous support from the National Science Foundation, the Mesoamerican Hotspot has become a destination for innovative collaborations between students and researchers at the MVZ and the Universidad de San Carlos (USAC). In 2009 the MVZ received a NSF grant to continue fieldwork in Guatemala through 2013. The MVZs Origins in Guatemala The MVZs interest in Guatemala began when MVZ herpetologist David Wake studied salamander diversity and phylogenetics in San Marcos, Guatemala from 1969-1979. However, in the 1970s, the Guatemalan Civil War created tense, even hostile, conditions for zoologists, so much so that Wake was forced to abandon his study in 1979. (Still, over the years, Wake and his students have been able to describe over 80 species of Mesoamerican salamanders.) The year 2005 saw a renewed interest in Guatemalan salamanders, prompted by the research of Gabriela Parra-Olea, a professor at the Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico. A former MVZ doctoral student, Parra-Olea traveled to Guatemala along with the MVZs Ted Papenfuss, graduate student Sean Rovito, and herpetology curator Carlos Vsquez-Almazn from the USAC Museo de Historia Natural (MUSHNAT). They were shocked to find severe population decreases in many species, with some species having disappeared from the region entirely. A year later both David and his wife Marvalee Wake returned to Guatemala with a team of researchers. The results of these trips led to a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled Dramatic declines in neotropical salamander populations are an important part of the global amphibian crisis (2009) by lead author Sean Rovito. The paper garnered international attention for its evidence of the severity of the global amphibian crisis, and called for more studies throughout Mesoamerica to determine the causes of the amphibian population declines. Heeding the call, in 2007, Ted and Carlos Vsquez-Almazn approached the Rector (president) of the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala (USAC) Estuardo Glvez to create a cooperative research program between the two universities. Their primary interest was to create a collaborative program for researching and conserving the local environment. In April 2009 their dream became a reality with an agreement for a cooperative exchange between the two universities signed by the MVZ and Recor Glvez. A Spirit of Collaboration One of the most exciting and forward-thinking components of the program is the element of collaborative undergraduate exchange between the MVZ and USAC. In this program, UC Berkeley students travel to Guatemala to work in the field alongside USAC students in relatively unexplored areas. Conversely, Guatemalan students are brought to the MVZ to work alongside their UC Berkeley peers to learn DNA lab procedures in the MVZs Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory. With an MVZ faculty advisor, Guatemalan and UC Berkeley students are developing independent honors research projects based on their work in Guatemala and in the MVZ. The project aims to foster the next generation of Guatemalan and American scientists and to facilitate long-term collaborations between these two countries. Ted and Sean have advised three Guatemalan students on their theses. One of these students, Jacobo Conde, is now pursuing his masters at San Francisco State University under Dr. Vance Vredenberg. There have been several expeditions to Guatemala since the grant was awarded. One of these trips took place last August. A team of MVZ researchers, including undergraduates Olga Sanchez and Daniel Wait, were in Guatemala for three weeks. The trip included three study sites, one of which is the recently protected Sierra del Caral Mountain range in southeastern Guatemala, which has previously only been surveyed for salamanders. The team stayed at each site for one week and conducted extensive wildlife surveys in the hopes of discovering more about Guatemalas amazing biodiversity. Said Daniel,Going to Guatemala with the MVZ was hands down the coolest thing that I have ever done. I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to participate in a true scientific endeavor at such a young age. My experience in Guatemala has reaffirmed my desires to become a Biologist and future professor.

Rauri Bowie at Cerro San Gil after crossing a stream of water (hence the shoes in his hands).

Going to Guatemala with the MVZ was hands down the coolest thing that I have ever done. I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to participate in a true scientific endeavor at such a young age. Daniel Wait

MVZ Undergraduate, Daniel Wait, in Cerro San Gil holding a Ochrebellied Flycatcher (Mionectes oleaginus assimilis)

(Continued on page 7)

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Furthering Opportunities for MVZ Undergraduates

Congratulations to the recipients of the MVZ Biodiversity Sciences Awards! Made possible by generous donor support, these merit-based awards were established in Spring 2011 to create more opportunities for MVZ undergraduates and enhance their museum research experience. Award recipients receive a $2500 stipend for one semester. Below is a brief introduction to this years award recipients.

The MVZ Biodiversity Science Awards:

A win:win:win!
These awards of $2500 stipends are given to selected undergraduates who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and sustained excellence in their work in the MVZ collections. MVZ Biodiversity Science Awards: Directly support training and education of our best MVZ undergraduates Foster the overall MVZ Undergraduate Program Support the protection, use and development of the MVZ's world-class collections These awards are funded exclusively from donations and are the prime target for our annual campaign. For the coming year, we aim to raise $50,000 from our donors and alumni, to allow 20 such awards. We rely on you, so please give generously. Recent alums (classes of 2007-11) your donations of any size will be doubled by the campus!

Pictured left to right: Sarah Tulga, Jesse DuttonKenney, Joshua Penalba, Andrew Reagan, Vicky Zhuang

Jesse Dutton-Kenney
Jesse works in the MVZ archives, entering data from cataloged historical images into Arctos. This award gives her an opportunity to continue working with the museums archives - a collection that traditionally has been under-supported compared to the other collections but is fundamental for much of MVZs research as well as for research about the MVZ.

Joshua Penalba
Josh first started volunteering in the Prep Lab with Senior Museum Scientist, Monica Albe, in the fall of 2008. He is involved in multiple research projects in the Evolutionary Genetics Lab. He has also been volunteering as a curatorial assistant in the bird collection since Fall 2010, and has helped supervise and train MVZ undergraduates and graduate students in curatorial and laboratory practices.

Andrew Reagan
Andrew is a GIS /Informatics Research Assistant, and has been instrumental since he started in keeping GIS work flowing for both curatorial tasks and MVZ research projects. Andrew would like to pursue a senior honors thesis applying environmental niche modeling techniques to archaeological questions in the Sierra Nevada. Sarah worked in the mammal collection inventorying hundreds of mammal tissue samples. Sarah spent many hours searching the MVZs collection database, as well as the online data network, MaNIS, to find tissue matches at other collections.

Sarah Tulga

Luanne Wilson

Luanne works in the bird collection, accessioning and cataloguing specimens and tissues as well as assisting with visitors and loans. She has also helped to prepare specimens and has done scientific illustration for the Specimen Preparation Lab Manual. Vicky works in the herpetology collection as a paid curatorial assistant. Since Vicky started, she has progressed from monitoring ethanol in specimen jars to being the lead curatorial assistant. She excelled at organizing and cataloging a large accession of over 4,000 salamanders. Vicky will use her fellowship to work on herpetology accessions, including some recent accessions from Indonesia.

Vicky Zhuang

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A Bequest to Advance MVZ Research

Jerry O. Wolff, MVZ Ph.D 1977, a professor at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota, who passed away in May 2008 left a substantial bequest to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology to create the Jerry O. Wolff Fund, which will be used to establish an endowed fellowship to support graduate students in the museum. An MVZ alum, Dr. Wolffs academic career was illustrious, and as a behavior ecologist he was renowned in his field. He earned a bachelors degree from the University of Alaska, and later went on to earn a masters degree from Northern Arizona University and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Wolff held faculty positions at the University of Alaska, University of Virginia, Villanova University, and Oregon State University. Over the course of his career, he published over 150 peer reviewed papers, presented papers at over 80 colleges, universities and institutions around the world, and left his final legacy in a widely recongnized book, Rodent Societies: An Ecological and Evolutionary Perspective. We note with great regret Dr. Wolffs passing. He is survived by his two sisters, Sandra M. Bolf and Pamela Edgley. These funds will have an enormous impact on our efforts to recruit and support the outstanding graduate students of the MVZ. says Craig Moritz, MVZ Director. That was Jerrys vision and it is part of his legacy.

From the MVZ Archives

We asked two of our archival specialists to select their favorite images from the MVZ Archives. Below are their selections and some words on what makes these photos special. Carl B. Koford captured this image of a California Condor chick between the ages of nine and twelve days old using Kodachrome color reversal film on May 7, 1941 in a nest cave at Hopper Canyon in Ventura County, California. A Research Associate and Associate Research Ecologist at the MVZ during his career, Koford became widely known as an authority on the California Condor, publishing his findings from several years of direct observation in his 1953 book entitled The California Condor. - Kira Dodd, MVZ Archival Assistant

In May of 1910, the MVZ sent Walter Penn Taylor, curator of mammals under Grinnell, and Charles H. Richardson, Jr. to the Pine Forest Mountains in northern Nevada for 3 months. After working the canyons and ridges for almost 2 months, 21-year-old Taylor writes: Our intention is to make a biological cross-section of the mountains, camping at three points 1000 ft. apart on each slope of the mountains. Their plan was published in UCPZ Volume 7, Numbers 7 and 10. On July 18 they had packed up their two burros with their camp outfit and specimens and about 3 pm we started from our 5000 ft. camp [on Alder Creek] to return to our hed [WPT followed Grinnells spelling innovations such as packt, hornd, thoroly] of Big Creek base camp. This expeditions archive of 1505 specimens, 57 photographs and 533 pages of field notes comprise the oldest documented scientific data on Great Basin ecosystems. Based on this MVZ archive, resurvey work has begun at the University of Nevada at Reno. Another trip is planned for the summer of 2012. - Karen Klitz, Retired MVZ Archivist

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A New Model for Biodiversity Data Networks

hundreds of institutions which together contribute over 85 million records to this online data portal. When fully functional, VertNet will join the four vertebrate database networks into a single integrated portal. VertNet will use a cloud-based computing solution to create a fast, scalable and sustainable data platform that goes beyond the abilities of current networks to provide capabilities and applications for data quality improvement, discovery and visualization -- capabilities that are in high demand by the research and policy-making communities. The project also links to AmphibiaWeb to demonstrate application for outreach. Put simply, the VertNet Team strives to make the work of people who use biodiversity data more productive by providing tools to make data easy to find, easy to publish, and easy to use. Follow the VertNet Project by visiting: VertNet Blog http://blog.vertnet.org VertNet Website http://vertnet.org

The MVZ has led in the development of networks and technologies that mobilize and enhance museum biodiversity data. The recent funding of the VertNet Project by the National Science Foundation will keep the MVZ in the vanguard. The VertNet Project is a collaboration with the Universities of Kansas, Colorado, Tulane, and Berkeley, to build upon the successes of four existing vertebrate database networks (MaNIS for mammals, ORNIS for birds, FishNet for fish, HerpNET for reptiles and amphibians). Led by members of the MVZ Community, including Principal Investigator Carla Cicero (Staff Curator of Birds), Co-PI Carol Spencer (Staff Curator of Herpetology), Principle Architect John Wieczorek, Lead Programmer Aaron Steele, and David Bloom VertNet Coordinator, the VertNet Project will change how biodiversity science is conducted globally. VertNet is an online tool designed to help people discover, capture, and publish biodiversity data on museum specimens or observations of vertebrates. It is also a collaboration among

Cutting-Edge Research in Global Change Biology

The Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology (BiGCB) was recently awarded $2,499,234 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in support of catalyzing the startup of the BiGCB. This grant, which includes faculty in eight campus departments and four of the Berkeley Natural History Museums, will support seven integrated research projects focused on global change forecasting for California ecosystems. The overarching goal is to achieve an integrated analysis of fossil, historic and current data to uncover new knowledge of California ecosystems and how they respond to environmental change, which will enable predictions of future ecosystem changes. As part of this integrated research, the MVZ and its collaborators are developing novel genomic, phenotypic and isotopic technologies to compare early 20th century and modern museum skins from species shown through the Grinnell Research Project to differ in response to 20th century climate change. The goal is to develop novel methods to detect early response to rapid environmental change for application to central Californian coast species of small mammals, particularly those key to disease transmission and ecosystem processes. For more information please visit: http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/globalchange/projects.html

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2011 Honor Roll of Donors

It each of the appreciation that we acknowledge each of have supported below. It is with much appreciation that we acknowledgeis with muchdonors listed below. Thank you to those whothe donors listedthe MuThank you to those who have supporting the Museum of Vertebrate will make a seum of Vertebrate Zoology during the calendar year of 2010-11. Your commitment to the advancement of the MVZ Zoology during difference for generations to come. the year 2011. Your commitment to the advancement of the MVZ will make a difference for generations to come.

Anonymous Donors David Berke II Kevin Burns and Kevin ONeill Stephen Busack John and Jenny Carothers Carla Cicero Richard Cimino Kevin de Quieroz Raul E. Diaz, Jr. (Allen Press Inc.) Paul Elias Paul Hamilton Alice Q. Howard Anna Ippolito and Nathan Matsubara Rebecca Jabbour and Gary Richards Scott Johnston Bob Jones and Lise Thomsen Michelle Koo Michael Levine and Lily Mirels Nancy Lusk and Michael Smith Mara MacDonald Craig Moritz

Stephen Morris Theodore J. Papenfuss James and Carol Patton Ellen M. Prager Tyson Read David O. Ribble and Helen Ballew Javier Rodriguez Kristen Ruegg Margaret and Gary R. Smith Henry and Sonia Sohn Patrick Tam Ann Trpaga David and Marvalee Wake Richard Wassersug Marshall White, Jennifer Meux White, Robert A. Aramayo (Shasta Wildlife Conservation Fund) Kellie Whittaker and William W. Fisher John Wieczorek and Eileen Lacey Michael and Jeanne Williams Christopher Witt

A Changing of the Guard at Hastings

In January 2012, Mark Stromberg will retire from his position as Resident Director of our Hastings Natural History Reserve. For once, superlatives fail. Over his long tenure, Mark, with continuing support from his wife, Barbara, has built Hastings to be the crown jewel of the UC Natural Reserve System facilitating long-term research by a wide range of academic users and both maintaining and extending the infrastructure. Over recent years, in addition to publishing significant research on native grasslands, Mark has shown great initiative in generating resources to repair historical buildings, build new facilities and, with Eileen Lacey, establish cutting-edge monitoring systems. He also built excellent relations with the Carmel-Monterey community that we are determined to maintain. Mark succeeded where many would fail through determination coupled with a dry sense of humor well miss his stories. Although all is not lost Marks reputation and capabilities are such that he was immediately recruited by system-wide NRS to develop proposals for research initiatives spanning the network. We will celebrate Marks achievements with an event in the Spring. So, these are big shoes to fill. Happily, we have found just the person. Vince Voegeli and his family will be joining the our community as Resident Director in January. Vince for several years served as Executive Director of the Gerace Research Center, a major field station in the Bahamas and has also managed research projects at the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center. He comes highly recommended and has all the attributes necessary to maintain Hastings program of innovative research and outreach into the future.

Mark Stromberg

Vince Voegeli

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(Continued from page 2)

Conservation in Action The Mesoamerican Biodiversity Hotspot has one of the highest deforestation rates, losing approximately 1% of its remaining forest each year. Scientific data from the MVZs fieldwork in Guatemala describing critical habitats and threatened species is being used by Guatemalas government to guide land decisions and conservation policies. Additionally, in 2007, the MVZ and the USAC MUSHNAT began collaborating with four NGOs in Guatemala that work with local communities to promote habitat conservation and sustainability. In 2010, the MVZ collaborated with several Guatemalan NGOs in order to promote the purchase of the last swatch of undeveloped forest in a small mountain range called the Sierra de Caral in eastern Guatemala. The MVZ fieldwork in the area had revealed that the land provides critical habitat for at least nine species of endangered salamanders, including Cryptotriton wakei, known only from a single specimen. On July 29, 2011 the land was officially transferred to FUNDAECO in a public ceremony. The MVZ returned to Sierra del Caral as part of its August 2011 expedition to survey the area for amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals and thus provide data to the government on the biodiversity of this region.

The Guatemala student crew, including MVZ undergrads Olga Sanchez and Daniel Wait (far left) at Sierra del Caral take a short break for a group photo.

Publications Highlight Mesoamerican salamanders:

Discoveries & Declines
Over some decades David Wake and his colleagues have discovered and described a major radiation of plethodontid salamanders from the forests of meso-America. Analysis of recent collections across meso-America by the MVZ (especially Rovito, Papenfuss and in-country collaborators) continue to uncover new species; as examples see recent papers by Parra-Olea et al. (2009), Sunyer et al. (2010, 2011) and Vasquez-Almazan et al. (2009). Following a series of surprisingly frustrating field trips during his PhD in the MVZ, Sean Rovito realized that the global declines of amphibian diversity previously focused on frogs were also evident for mesoAmerican salamanders (Rovito et al. 2009). Yet, the cause of these dramatic declines in salamander diversity remained obscure. Now we have a clue. Applying a new PCR-assay that can detect chitrid fungus on formalin preserved specimens to the MVZ and other collections, Tina Cheng, David, Sean and Vance Vrendenburg have documented the spread of this devastating pathogen from southern Mexico in the early 1970s, through Guatemala and down to Costa Rica by 1987. This spread coincides with the observed, often catastrophic, declines of amphibian diversity across the region (Cheng et al. 2011, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108: 9502). Aside from helping us to understand these declines, this fine paper also, once again, demonstrates the often unanticipated value of the MVZs collections. ** To access details of all the papers mentioned above, search MVZ reprints at http://docubase.berkeley.edu/reprints.html. And, please, remember to submit reprints of your publications that use the MVZ address (as all supported by MVZ should have) to mvzpubs@berkeley.edu

Fall 2011 Newsletter Contributors

Anna Ippolito, Editor Craig Moritz, Editor Monica Albe, MVZ Alumni: Where are they now? David Bloom, Vertnet: A New Model for Biodiversity Data Networks Verna Bowie, Cutting-Edge Research in Global Change Biology Kira Dodd, From the MVZ Archives Elyse Frietas, The MVZ in Guatemala Karen Klitz, From the MVZ Archives
And many others...

Thank you!

On the lighter side...

The first edition of the MVZ Coloring Book, "Fun in the Field," came out this year. Download the PDF from our website and look for new editions at future CalDays.

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Catching up with the MVZ Centennial Campaign

The Centennial Campaign celebrates the Museum of Vertebrate Zoologys first 100 years and prepares us for its second century. The largest fundraising campaign in our history, the campaign officially began in 2008 and will continue until 2018. The success of the Centennial Campaign will ensure that the MVZ remains a leader in research and education, and will protect our collections for future generations. There are countless ways your gifts, both small and large, are making an impact on every facet of the museums operations. Highlighted below are our core campaign objectives: Enhance the academic experience of MVZ Undergraduates. Each semester more than 100 undergraduates work alongside faculty, curators, and graduate students in the MVZ. It is invaluable, hands-on work that few classes offer, enabling our students to contribute to science as they learn and advance their careers. The Need: Our goal to raise 50K annually for the undergraduate program will give more undergraduates an opportunity to participate in the program. Infusing the Museums undergraduate program with private support will help us better serve our current and future students. Develop our capacity to generate and share knowledge about amphibian biology and conservation through museum informatics, specifically the online database, AmphibiaWeb. AmphbiaWeb provides access to information on amphibian decline, conservation, natural history, and taxonomy. The Need: We aim to build a $500K endowment to support an AmphibiaWeb coordinator who will oversee the activities of the database and advance its mission. Increase fellowships for graduate students. Graduate fellowships play a vital role in research collaborations and numerous field studies. In order to continue their important work, we must increase our endowed funds for graduate fellowships. The Need: It is our goal to double the recently established Alden H. Miller Graduate Support Fund. With donor support, we can continue to cultivate tomorrows scientific leaders and remain at the forefront of international research. If you wish to support the Centennial Campaign, please make a donation online at the secure website: http://givetocal.berkeley.edu Or mail the form at the end of this newsletter to: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3160 When making a donation, please indicate which of the initiatives you wish to support. We thank you in advance for your generosity!

(plus all current students who will graduate in spring 2012)

Attention all alums undergraduate and graduate from the Classes of 2007 to 2011!

Now is your chance to double your gift to Cal through the New Alumni Challenge. The Challenge annually matches all single gift and pledge payments up to $1,000 to any campus program or fund, including gifts to the MVZ. Times are tough for everyone, so this is a great way to make even a small gift go a long way. Please consider a gift to the MVZ and help us remain at the forefront of international research on evolutionary biology! To make your gift to the Museum, please visit http://campaign.berkeley.edu/new-alumni-challenge/ and search on Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

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MVZ Alumni: Where are they now?

Former Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Researchers William F. Laurance (1989) spent 14 years with the Smithsonian Institution. He was recently appointed Distinguished Research Professor at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia. Hes also won the Prince Bernhard Chair in International Nature Conservation, which is sponsored by WWF-Netherlands and the University of Utrecht, Netherlands. Vance Vredenburg (2002) is a professor of biology at San Francisco State University. He specializes in ecology of emerging infectious disease, amphibian ecology and biogeography, and aquatic food webs. Tami Mott (2006) is teaching at the Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso. Lauryn Benedict (2009) is a professor of biology at the University of Northern Colorado. She specializes in animal communication and social behavior. Juan Parra (2009) has completed a postdoc with Catherine Graham (former MVZ Postdoc) at SUNY-Stonybrook and is now an Assistant Professor at Institute of Biology, University of Antioquia, Medelln, Colombia. Matt Fujita (2010) will be starting a position as Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington in July 2012. Sean Rovito (2010) recently received a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and was a UC MEXUS-CONACYT postdoctoral fellow at the Instituto de Biologa, UNAM, Mxico, under the supervision of Dr. Gabriela Parra-Olea. He is currently a postdoc in the MVZs Bowie lab. Former Undergraduates Kristina Yamamoto (2003) is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Denver. She is also working at the USGS doing remote sensing research, where she just got a STAR award for excellence in her latest research project. Kim Tsao (2005) is attending Yale University for a PhD in Lyme Disease Ecology. In 2011 she received a NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant. Rayna Bell (2007) is a PhD student at Cornell University in the lab of Kelly Zamudio (an MVZ alum). She recently received a National Geographic Grant for her work on Hyperolius. Teresa Feo (2007) is a third-year PhD student at Yale University studying bird evolution. Allison Shultz (2007) graduated with a masters from San Diego State (under MVZ alum Kevin Burns) and has now began PhD work at Harvard under the supervision of Scott Edwards (an MVZ alum). Rebecca Chong (2008) is a PhD student in the lab of Rachel Mueller (an MVZ alum) at Colorado State University. Zach Hanna (2008) is returning to the MVZ and UCB as a PhD candidate, supervised by Rauri Bowie to study evolutionary biology in birds and help with the Guatemala Project. Matt McElroy (2008) is a first-year PhD student at the University of Washington studying evolutionary ecology of reptiles and amphibians in the lab of Adam Leach (an MVZ alum). Anand Varma (2008) has a budding career in photography and received a National Geographic Young Explorers Grant in 2010 for work in Argentina. Maressa Takahashi (2008) is in her first year as a PhD student at Columbia University, Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Environmental Biology. Sara Weinstein (2008) is in her first year of a PhD program in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is working on parasite ecology and evolution. Sarah Hykin (2010) is returning to the MVZ and UCB as a PhD candidate, jointly supervised by Marvalee Wake and Jim McGuire to study evolutionary biology in amphibians and reptiles. The following former MVZ undergraduates were all awarded National Science Foundation Fellowships for graduate work: Allison Shultz (awarded 2008), Jessica Castillo (awarded 2010), Teresa Feo (awarded 2010), and Sara Weinstein (awarded 2010), Matt McElroy (awarded 2011) and Maressa Takahashi (awarded 2011) . Let us know what youre up to by sending an email to asophia@berkeley.edu.

Sarah Weinstein at Bryce Canyon National Park

Favorite MVZ memory? Presenting my senior thesis work at Herp Group. Also Cal Day, MVZ Coffee, herpetology class field trips, and receiving a cardboard box with 6,000 salamanders in it. Was I supposed to pick just one? - Sara Weinstein

Stay Connected!
Got news for The MVZ Bulletin? Give us the scoop and update your contact information by sending an email to asophia@berkeley.edu. To make a donation online, simply mail the form below to: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160 Or visit the online gift form: http://givetocal.berkeley.edu -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Enclosed please find my gift of $ ___________ to the Friends of the MVZ Fund. (Please make checks payable to UC Regents.) I would like my gift to benefit: _______________________________________________ I have made a planned gift to The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. I would like more information on planned giving opportunities.

HONOR SOMEONE SPECIAL Did you have a favorite professor while at the MVZ? Was there someone special at the MVZ who helped you achieve your research goals? Consider honoring that special person by making a gift in honor / memory of: _______________________________________________ We will notify the honoree of your gift but will not disclose the gift amount.

Donor Information: Donor Information: _________________________________________________________________________ Name Class Year _________________________________________________________________________ Street Address City/State/Zip _________________________________________________________________________ Email Phone _________________________________________________________________________ Please list my name in the MVZ donor roll as follows: _______________________________ Please keep my gift anonymous. All gifts are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

Thank you for supporting the MVZ!