david markwei
Dr. Newman Founding Director of Vancouver Aquarium Came for a Visit
Recently, Patrick Lewis, director of the UBC Biodiversity Collections, was pleased to host a visit with Dr. Murray Newman and wife Kathy on a visit of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Dr. Newman is an inspirational person who has been recognized for his contributions as a recipient of the Order of Canada as well as the […]
Spiders in Borneo – The guests of honor: Salticidae
It’s time that I introduce you to the guests of honor of my posts, the jumping spiders, known to biologists by the name “Salticidae”. Imagine a miniature cat, 5 millimeters long, spotting prey with keen eyesight, walking carefully toward the prey, then crouching down, inching forward stealthily, tensing its legs, then pouncing with deadly accuracy. […]
Chilling for First Multi-Collection Conservation Freezing Cycle with New Walk-In Freezer
Things were downright frigid in the museum as collections staff prepared for the first multi-collection conservation freezing cycle in the new walk-in freezer. By bringing carefully packaged specimens through a deep freeze-thaw cycle lasting several days, any possible insect pests are neutralized, protecting the collection from damage without harmful chemicals. Able to maintain a consistently […]
A Trip to Madrid for Global Plants Initiative Meeting
The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is part of the Global Plants Initiative, an international effort to digitize and share type specimens from Herbarium collections. Type specimens are the ones used to officially describe a species in scientific literature, and they retain a special status in natural history collections. This year, the meeting of the Global Plants […]
UBC Researcher Lindsay Aylesworth Takes Part in #SciFund Challenge
UBC researchers have signed on in the #SciFund challenge to crowdfund—raise funds through the internet—and to build public interaction and outreach for their research. One of the participants is Lindsay Aylesworth, a PhD student with Project Seahorse at UBC. Her research interests lie in community and population ecology, specifically to address seahorse conservation, threats and […]
Spiders in Borneo – Jumping Spiders in the Forest
We know that the familiar big animals like lions or polar bears specialize on large terrains of habitat like African savannahs or Arctic ice, but perhaps most people don’t realize that smaller creatures specialize at a much smaller scale. To a small spider, a tree trunk is a vast expanse of habitat. There are species […]
Anomaly 2012
It was a quiet Saturday morning, when suddenly, hundreds of eager computer graphic artists burst in and transformed the Beaty Biodiversity Museum into a portal of learning, sharing, inspiration, networking, community, and socializing. On Saturday, April 28, Anomaly 2012, organized by CG Movement, filled the Museum to the brim with creative energy, excited guests, established […]
Spiders in Borneo – Thank You Sarawak
In our last few days in Borneo, Edy and I gave a public lecture at the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, a research institute that specializes on bioprospecting potential pharmaceuticals from forest plants and other organisms, using both traditional knowledge and high-tech testing methods. It’s an impressive facility from a scientific perspective. I was so pleased to […]
Spiders in Borneo – Replaying the Tape of Life
Our lives at Lambir were more or less as at Mulu — breakfast by 8 and in the field by 9. Hike anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. Record latitude/longitude and other data. Sample intensely for 40 minutes, focusing on either tree trunks, foliage, or the ground. Record more data, and repeat for […]
Spiders in Borneo – More Hispo at Lambir
One big piece of news from Lambir is that we found more Hispo. I previously posted, with great excitement, the news that Edy had found a Hispo female in Mulu. I’m pretty certain it represents a species new to science, but even more exciting, it is the first adult hisponine anyone has found east of […]