UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Program: Learning About the Diversity of Life

It's science-based and it's family friendly. 

And it's where you can learn more about honey bees, orchid bees, Asian giant hornets, nematodes, yeast, plants, raptors and other topics that are part of the UC Davis museums and collections. 

The 10th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum program is going virtual this year through a variety of live webinars and recorded presentations scheduled throughout the month of February. The science-based event traditionally takes place only on one day--the Saturday of Presidents' Weekend, when campus visitors can meet scientists and see and discuss their work.

This year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans changed, noted spokesperson Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The biodiversity event will feature 12 museums or collections going virtual:

• Anthropology Museum
• Arboretum and Public Garden
• Bohart Museum of Entomology
• Botanical Conservatory
• California Raptor Center
• Center for Plant Diversity
• Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven
• Nematode Collection
• Marine Invertebrate Collection 
• Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
• Paleontology Collection
• Phaff Yeast Culture Collection

For the schedule, access the live talks and demonstrations and pre-recorded talks and activities on the UC Davis Biodiversity program website. 

Here's a handy list of the live talks and demonstrations, by dates:

Tuesday, Feb 9, 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. 
Live Talk: All About Bees and Gardens

Christine Casey, manager of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's half-acre bee garden, the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, located on Bee Biology Road, will discuss what's blooming the garden, and what bees are active. Participants can then ask questions about their own bee gardens. This event will repeat on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and Tuesday, Feb. 23. A summary of the talk and the answers provided will be posted on Feb. 26. Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2 to 3 p.m. 
Live Talk: All About Social Behavior in Bees (especially orchid bees!)

UC Davis postdoctoral researcher Nick Saleh will discuss and answer questions about social behavior in bees especially orchid bees. He is interested in the behavior of all bees, but focuses his work on orchid bees, a group of tropical bees which form social groups of just two or three individuals. He also will discuss other social behaviors of bees. He holds a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Cornell University, and a doctorate from UC Davis, where he works with associate professor Santiago Ramirez.
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Thursday, Feb 11,  1 to 2 p.m. 
Live Talk: All About Plants at the Botanical Conservatory 

Ernesto Sandoval, director of the Botanical Conservatory, will give a virtual tour through photos and talk about the living plants in their green houses, from the cacao tree to the stinky corpse flower that blooms for just 24-36 hours. 
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 a.m. to noon 
Live Demonstration, Museum Bird Preparation 

Irene Engilis, collections manager of the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and a team of students and staff will demonstrate how to prepare a dead bird as a scientifically valuable museum specimen. They will answer questions about the process and how they study birds both in the museum and in the wild. This includes a prerecorded presentation from 10 to 10:20, followed by a 20-minute pre-recorded presentation, and then a live question and answer session.
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html 

Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.  
Live Talk: Phaff Yeast Collection Presentation

A 20-minute pre-recorded presentation on the Phaff Yeast Collection is set from 10 to 10:20, followed by a live question-and-answer session. Emeritus Professor Marc-André Lachance, recently retired from Western University in Ontario, Canada and a UC Davis alumnus, will discuss his global yeast collecting expeditions.
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Saturday, Feb. 13, 11 a.m. to noon
Live Talk: All About Ants

Rising entomologists Jill Oberski and Ziv Lieberman, doctoral students of major professor Phil Ward, will host a question-and-answer session "all about the world of ants," followed by a 15-minute talk by doctoral candidate Zach Griebenow about his ant evolution research. Griebenow will answer questions following his presentation. There also will be an ant talk on Feb. 20 from 11 a.m. to noon with their major professor Phil Ward. Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Saturday, Feb. 13, noon to 2 p.m.
Live Demonstration: Museum Mammal Preparation

Irene Engilis, collections manager of the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and a team of students and staff will show how to prepare a dead mammal as a scientifically valuable museum specimen. They will answer questions about the process and how they study mammals, both in the museum and in the wild. 

Saturday, Feb. 13, 1 to 2 p.m
Live Talk: Raptor Diversity

Julie Cotton, education director of the California Raptor Center, located on Old Davis Road, will answer questions and discuss birds of prey, wildlife rehabilitation and the diversity of raptors. Her subjects include great-horned owls, red-tailed hawks, and golden eagles. The Raptor Center is an educational and research facility dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned birds of prey (raptors), according to their website. They take in 300-350 sick, injured, and orphaned raptors each year, successfully returning about 60 percent to the wild. They also provide hands-on training in the care and management of birds of prey to those interested in rehabilitation, and offer educational programs to schools, ecological and environmental organizations, and the university community. 
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Saturday, Feb. 13, 2 to 4 p.m. 
Live Talks: Anthropology and Ask an Anthropologist 

• Faculty and staff from the Department of Anthropology will present a series of talks. Questions are encouraged throughout the event, and there will also be a special time at the end to "Ask An Anthropologist."
• 2 to 2:15: "Animal Ecology in Precontact California"--Jelmer Eerkens 
  
• 2:15 to 2:30: "Gorillas, Poop, and Nematodes--Neetha Iyer 
  
• 2:30 to 2:45: "Reconstructing Human Evolution: A 3-D Jigsaw Puzzle--Mayowa Adegboyega, 
  
• 2:45 to 3 p.m: "Paleolithic Stone Tool Technology at Nihewan Basin, P.R. China"--Corey Johnson 
  
• 3 to 3:15 p.m. "Zoonotic Disease and Andean Camelid Domestication"--Kathy Morucci  https://www.youtube.com/watch/Q4076iRb9tk
• 3:15 to 3:30: Netting Dovekies in NW Greenland--Erika Ebel 
  
• 3:30 to 3:45, "Spirits of the Animals: Precontact and Contemporary Inuit Art"-- Christyann Darwent
  
• 3:45-4:00 p.m. Ask an Anthropologist 

Monday, Feb. 15, noon to 1 p.m.
Live Talk: All About Heliconius Butterflies

UC Davis postdoctoral fellow Kathy Darragh will deliver her second live talk, answering questions about the Heliconius tropical butterflies. She earlier presented a talk on Feb. 7. Click here for the presentation in Spanish. She holds a bachelor's degree in zoology and a doctorate from the University of Cambridge (England). During her Ph.D. she studied in the lab of Chris Jiggins, investigating the pheromones of Heliconius butterflies, focusing on chemical ecology, behavior and genetics.

Thursday, Feb. 18, 1 to 2 p.m.
Live Talk: 'Murder Hornets' with Lynn Kimsey

Professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, will discuss  Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia), recently discovered in Canada and Washington State. The news media has nicknamed them "murder hornets." 
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

Saturday, Feb. 20, 11 a.m. to noon
Live Talk, Questions and Answers: All About Ants, Part II

Entomology professor Phil Ward will host a fun and lively question-and-answer session, "All About Ants," based on his many years collecting and studying ants from around the world. 

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 12:15 to 12:45
Live Talk: All About Bees and Gardens 

This will be a live question-and-answer session with Christine Casey, manager of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. She will discuss what's blooming in the Davis garden and what bees are active.  
Access this link to obtain the Zoom link, http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/live-programs.html

For the pre-recorded presentations and activities, check this site. 

To help support the Biodiversity Museum Day, contributions are being accepted through a month-long crowdfunding campaign program at https://crowdfund.ucdavis.edu/project/24310