April 13, 2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
or Jocelyn Collado
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
BISHOP MUSEUM CONTINUES MONTHLY RESEARCH SEMINAR SERIES ** Upcoming Topics Showcase Polynesian Plants and Animals **
HONOLULU – Bishop Museum continues to introduce people of all ages to some of the exciting research and studies that Bishop Museum scientists and colleagues are conducting throughout the world through its monthly Research Seminar Series. Upcoming seminars include:
Thursday, May 11, 2006 ~ “Reproductive Ecology of Polynesian Plants: The Potential Role of Changes in the Fauna”
Dr. Don Drake, associate professor of botany at the University of Hawai’i, will discuss how Polynesian fauna have been drastically altered through extinction of native species and introduction of alien species. These changes may affect the regeneration of plant that rely on animals for pollination or seed dispersal. Drake will present examples from Hawai’i, Tonga, and New Zealand to demonstrate how changes in these interactions have the potential to affect reproduction of native plant species in Polynesia.
Thursday, June 8, 2006 ~ “R.C.L Perkins: Fauna Hawaiiensis and Beyond”
Never heard of R.C.L Perkins? Most people haven’t, but Robert Cyril Layton Perkins was an intrepid birdwatcher and insect collector who, while working in Hawai’i between 1892 and 1901 for London’s Royal Society, single-handedly gathered more information on Hawaii’s fauna than anyone before him. He was the last person to see many of the now extinct Hawaiian honeycreepers and made valuable observations on their feeding and behavior. Bishop Museum entomologist Neal Evanhuis will discuss the results of Perkins’ work presented in the three volume work, Fauna Hawaiiensis.
Seminars are scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. in Bishop Museum’s Pākī Conference Room I. The seminars are free and open to the public. Bishop Museum is located at 1525 Bernice Street. For information, call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
