- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Dr. Summers, a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty since 1992, served 42 years as a research entomologist at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (KARE), Parlier, Fresno County, part of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). He joined the world-class research facility in 1970, the year he received his doctorate in entomology from Cornell University. He was stationed at KARE throughout his career, and served for a time as its director.
Dr. Summers was affiliated with the UC Berkeley faculty from 1970 to 1992, before joining the UC Davis faculty. Specializing in pest problems of field and vegetable crops, he developed economic thresholds and management strategies for more than a dozen pests, including the silverleaf whitefly. During his career, he authored more than 200 publications, including articles, book chapters and research papers, and delivered more than 800 presentations.
“Charlie was a true IPM entomologist and was one of the group of young faculty who contributed mightily to the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) when it was first getting off the ground and at its most vulnerable stage,” said Frank Zalom, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology who directed UC IPM for 16 years.
Developed Economic Thresholds for Important Pests
“He was quiet but contributed greatly in many ways,” Zalom said. “Charlie did indeed develop economic thresholds for several important pests. Economic thresholds are recognized as one of the foundations for IPM decision-making, but doing the field work to develop research-based thresholds is incredibly difficult and few researchers actually do this type of research anymore. It has become a lost art and, unfortunately, this type of work has also become under-appreciated except by IPM practitioners who are truly trying to reduce input costs for pest control.”
A Passion for IPM
“I remember first meeting Charlie Summers in Robert van den Bosch's lab when I was a graduate student,” recalled Mary Lou Flint, Extension entomologist emerita, Department of Entomology and Nematology and formerly UC IPM's associate director for urban and community IPM.
“He was already at Kearney, but I was working on a parasitoid of the spotted alfalfa aphid, so we had alfalfa aphids and parasites in common. And a passion for IPM. Charlie was really one of the original unsung promoters of IPM in California.”
“Charlie was a true dirt-kicking field entomologist of a stripe all too uncommon today,” said Flint who retired in 2014. “He was passionate about ecology-based integrated pest management and dedicated his career to forwarding the science of IPM.
“Charlie's research spanned many field and vegetable crops and he could always be called on to provide expertise about pest or beneficial arthropods on any of these crops, but I worked most closely with him on alfalfa,” she said.
“In the 1980s, in the early days of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management program, Charlie was a leader in developing, researching and promoting IPM programs for alfalfa," Flint related. "He played a critical role in coordinating and carrying out interdisciplinary research, training farm advisers, and promoting IPM programs to PCAs (pest control advisors) and farmers. He was one of the key players in the development of Integrated Pest Management for Alfalfa Hay released in 1982, which was the first of the UC Statewide IPM Program's IPM manual series of books that eventually covered 16 California crops. He was a fountain of information, and the book could not have been written without him."
Walter Bentley, now IPM entomologist emeritus, remembers meeting him at his job interview “at the old office on M street in Bakersfield on August 16, 1977. Like Pete Goodell, we ended up working together at Kearney. I would never have guessed that. Little did I know how he liked to play jokes." He remembers when Summers hung up a Big Mouth Billy Bass Singing Sensation plaque at Bentley's office entrance. "I will have to go out and play the tune, Take Me to the River, Drop Me in the Water."
“He helped me a lot and I am thankful for that,” said Bentley, who retired in 2012. Goodell retired in 2017.
Recipient of Charles W. Woodworth Award
In 2009, Summers received the prestigious Charles W. Woodworth Award from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America (PBESA), the highest honor awarded by the branch, which encompasses 11 U.S. states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming); several U.S. territories, and parts of Canada and Mexico.
At the awards ceremony, Summers drew praise for developing economic thresholds, determining at what point the cost of pest damage exceeds the cost of pest control. He "pioneered economic thresholds for seven pests in four crops, and developed management strategies for a combination of 28 crops, insect and disease pests," his nominators wrote. He also was praised for his research on the interactions among insects, diseases and weeds on alfalfa hay and how they individually and as a whole, influence yield and quality. His work led to improved best management decisions and decreased pesticide use.
In addition, Summers drew praise for his research on reflective mulches, used to delay and reduce aphid and whitefly infestations on squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and tomatoes and other crops. He teamed with plant pathologist Jim Stapleton and vegetable crop specialist Jeff Mitchell, both based at Kearney.
In a UC Davis news story published March 25, 2009, Summers recalled: “In the mid-1990s, Dr. Stapleton and I embarked on a series of studies to determine if aphids, aphid-transmitted viruses, and silverleaf whitefly could be managed using plastic reflective mulches. Dr. Jeff Mitchell later joined our team. We evaluated a wide variety of crops as well as different types of mulches. We were able to manage all three of these pests without the need to rely on the use of insecticides.”
“Our studies have clearly demonstrated that the use of these mulches are effective in delaying the onset of silverleaf whitefly colonization and the incidence of aphid-borne virus diseases,” Summers said. “The data shows that marketable yields with summer squash, cucumber, and pumpkins grown over reflective mulch are higher than those in plants grown over bare soil, both with and without insecticide. We also determined that the use of reflective mulch, without insecticides, leads to significantly increased yields of fall planted cantaloupes.”
Another highlight of his career: his work on the biology of corn leafhopper and corn stunt spiroplasma. He proved that the corn leafhopper can overwinter in the San Joaquin Valley and that the pathogen, Spiroplasma kunkelii overwinters in it. “Before this research, it was assumed that tropical insects such as corn leafhopper could not overwinter in our temperate climate, but were reintroduced each year from Mexico,” Summers noted. "The findings led to better strategies for managing the pest and the pathogen."
Born Dec. 24, 1941 in Ogden, Utah, and a graduate of Davis High School, Kaysville, Utah, Charlie grew up on the family farm and “always knew” he wanted an agricultural career. At age 12, he decided to go to college “when I was at the wrong end of a short-handled hoe,” he told communications specialist Jeannette Warnert in a June 12, 2012 news story announcing his retirement.
He continually described his work at Kearney as his “dream job.”
“The job at Kearney was an absolutely perfect fit for me,” Summers told Warnert. “It was a dream job. I look forward to coming to work every morning and would sometimes shake my fist at the sun going down at night. I've loved every minute I've been here.”
Summers said that the objective of his job--to help farmers develop successful pest management strategies --stayed the same, but technological advances dramatically changed the way he did his work.
“We've had the advent of computer technology, the use of mathematical models, work that can now be done at the DNA level,” he said. “It's put a whole new face on our ability to do research.”
Following his retirement and the death of his wife, Beverly, Summers moved back to Utah to be with family and to pursue his favorite pastime, fly fishing.
“I'll be living 15 minutes from the Wasatch Mountains,” he told Warnert. “There's a lot of good fishing there.”
Summers was an Eagle Boy Scout, a pilot, an avid fly fisherman and hunter, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A graveside service took place Aug. 21 in the Plain City Cemetery, Plain City, Utah.
Survivors include his sister, Marilyn (John) Diamond and three nephews, four great-nieces and five great-nephews.
More Information:
Legacy.com
Dr. Charles Geddes Summers, 1941-2021
UC ANR Profile Page
Charlie Summers
UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Pest Management Specialist Charles Summers Wins Prestigious Woodworth Award
UC ANR
UC Entomologist Charlie Summers Retires after 42-Year Career
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The fall quarter seminars begin Sept. 29 and conclude Dec. 1.
"The fall quarter series will be a mixture of in-person and virtual seminars and we have an exciting list of seminars that includes both national and international speakers," Siddique said. "Both in-person and virtual seminars will be held on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. (Pacific Time)."
The in-person seminars will take place in Room 122 of Briggs Hall. "We have already lined up seven speakers who will be giving in-person seminars," he said. Those will be recorded for later viewing.
Three of the seminars will be virtual. "Virtual seminars will be accomplished using the Zoom meeting software package," Siddique related. A Zoom link will be provided a week before the seminar.
First on tap will be the exit seminar of doctoral candidate Hanna Kahl of the lab of UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim. She will speak on "Herbivory of Citrus Fruit by European Earwigs in California" at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 29. This will be an in-person seminar.
No seminar will be held Nov. 3, which conflicts with the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), set Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Denver, Colo. Many faculty attend the annual meeting.
Siddique joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology in July 2019 after serving as a research group leader for several years at the University of Bonn, Germany. Research in the Siddique lab focuses on basic as well as applied aspects of interaction between parasitic nematodes and their host plants. "The long-term object of our research is not only to enhance our understanding of molecular aspects of plant–nematode interaction but also to use this knowledge to provide new resources for reducing the impact of nematodes on crop plants in California."
For further information on the seminars, contact Siddique at ssiddique@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
“The National Science Foundation put together a new ‘emergency' type of program earlier this year to support students that might have fallen through the cracks in terms of getting research experience due to the pandemic,” said Professor Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Bond obtained supplemental funding from both his NSF grants to support Iris Bright and Megan Ma through the Research Experience for Post-Baccalaureate Students (REPS) in the Biological Sciences Supplementary Funding Opportunity.
“It's great to have Iris and Megan in the lab and potentially add a couple of really exceptional women to our entomology graduate programs, and future professoriate,” Bond said. “The REPS program provides full time employment for Iris and Megan to work in the lab for one year.”
Both Bright and Ma hope to enroll in graduate school, obtain their doctorates, and become professors.
Iris Bright
Iris Bright, a fine arts graduate who switched to science, is attending classes at night at Sacramento City College, where she is working toward her associate of science degree in biology and her field ecology certificate to obtain the necessary prerequisites for graduate school in entomology. She received her bachelor of fine arts degree (creative writing and literature) in the honors program from Emerson College, Boston, Mass., In 2015.
Bright, who volunteers at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, participated in the 2019 Bohart Belize BioBlitz collection trip, led by two Bohart Museum scientists, Professor Fran Keller of Folsom Lake College, a UC Davis doctoral alumnus, and David Wyatt, professor at . Sacramento City College.
“This trip was an incredible invertebrate learning experience and it's where I met Dr. Jason Bond,” Bright recalled. “I afterwards was able to become a volunteer at the Bohart working on the Belize Bugs project with the help of Dr. Fran Keller which further enriched the experiences and knowledge I gained in the field.”
Joining the Bond lab has “really opened doors for me to get hands-on research experience that I was lacking and did not know how to obtain due to being a full-time worker,” she said. She had previously worked full-time at a Sacramento florist business to fund her education.
Bright, who grew up in Paradise, Calif., in the Sierra Nevada foothills, said “I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in insects and everything creepy crawly!”
“I started my first official bug collection around the age of 7 or 8 and it actually grew to be quite large,” she recalled. “My favorite specimen in the collection was a Banded Alder Borer (long-horned beetle) that my mom and I collected off the parking lot wall of a pet store. We were actually able to create a pretty unique display of the local insect life specific to that region. We also had a few specimens from friends in other states and comparing them to what I grew up seeing was my first foray into biodiversity.”
What fascinates her about entomology? “I am fascinated by the complex inner and outer workings of insects,” Bright said. “They are all around us and contribute so many ecological services that we are still trying to discover. Delving into those mysteries is not only fun but incredibly important especially in our current species die-off. Also. they are beautiful, colorful, and strange looking! Seeing tiny green wasps or purple beetles under a microscope is endlessly exciting.”
Bright is not the first in her family committed to entomology. “When I first started expressing interest in insects, my mom walked into our basement and pulled out (entomological) supplies, forceps, pins, Schmidt boxes, etc. I was too young to realize that these were not essentials in every home. and later found out that my grandfather had been an ‘amateur' entomologist. My mom would watch him as he pinned (specimens) and started developing her own love for insects which she was happy to revisit when she saw the same curiosity in me. She definitely instilled an appreciation for all nature in me from a very early age. In a way. I feel that becoming an entomologist will be putting an official title on a family tradition.”
Bright started working in the Bond lab in early August. “So far, I've been observing/assisting the graduate students with DNA extractions, and learning how to do digital imaging of specimens,” she said. “In the future, maybe Tenebrionidae (darkling beetle) work.”
She hopes to obtain her doctorate in entomology and become a professor “so I can do further research and also share my passion and interests with the next generations!”
Megan Ma
Megan is a June 2021 graduate of UC Davis with a bachelor's degree in evolution, ecology and biodiversity and a minor in entomology. Megan is an accomplished scientific illustrator.
“I love observing and recreating the colors and textures I see in biology through art,” she said. “I want to use both imaging techniques and systematics to study the function, ecology, and evolution of morphology in terrestrial arthropods, specifically in myriapods and arachnids.”
As an undergraduate, she worked in the UC Davis laboratory of Jay Stachowicz, who specializes in marine community ecology. In the Bond lab, she is working on several projects involving wolf spiders, trap door spiders, and millipedes, as well as scientific illustrations.
A first-generational college student, Ma said that attending UC Davis as an undergraduate student and “getting a broad research and teaching experience has been extremely rewarding.”
“Getting involved in research early on (winter quarter of freshman year) really helped me hone in on what I enjoy about biology,” Ma said. “Some of the research projects I've worked on involve processing salt marsh plant matter for elemental analysis, studying the effects of warming and grazing on eelgrass, identifying marine invertebrates for biodiversity surveys, and using microCT imaging to visualize millipede genitalia development.
“I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to merge art and biology as an undergrad, as I've worked on the General Biology (BIS2C) laboratory manuals illustrations and taught scientific illustration at the Bodega Marine Laboratory to graduate students and professors. I've also begun to explore imaging techniques (like focus stacking and microCT) for studying spiders and millipedes in the Bond lab.
Born in Austin, Texas, but a resident of Alhambra, Calif., in the San Gabriel Valley, since age 3, Megan has long been intrigued by terrestrial arthropods (land-dwelling insects and their relatives, such as spiders, tarantulas, scorpions, praying mantids, and millipedes.)
Her interest in terrestrial arthropods piqued when she enrolled, as a freshman, in an “Introduction to Biology: Biodiversity and the Tree of Life” course, taught by Joel Ledford of the College of Biological Sciences faculty. “This was when I held Rosie The tarantula (at the Bohart Museum of Entomology) for the first time and learned about biology in the context of phylogeny. However, I didn't start rearing terrestrial arthropods until after joining the Bond lab around the end of my third year. Dr. Ledford introduced me to Dr. Bond and I started working as a scientific illustrator and research assistant for the lab with graduate student Xavier Zahnle.”
“During my first few weeks, Xavier handed me a female flat-backed millipede with black and orange coloring (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae: Apheloriini),” Ma recalled. “I remember holding her with my bare hands and letting her crawl on my arm. Instead of worrying about potential repugnatory fluid secreting from her ozopores, I was thinking about how harmless she was, how little I knew about her, and how great it would be for me to study her.”
Ma immediately traveled to the Sacramento Reptile Expo, held that month, “and came home with my first two Florida Ivory millipedes (Chicobolus spinigerus). I knew I was hooked: I started prioritizing entomology courses.” She ended up adding an insect biology minor over other major courses and, in her free time, delved into arthropod husbandry information. “In the past four years, I've kept a handful of millipedes, several colonies of isopods, tarantulas, scorpions, mantises, and leaf insects. I don't think I can imagine myself without them.”
What fascinates her about terrestrial arthropods? “Since there is an overwhelming amount of biodiversity yet to be explored, there's always a niche for researchers to fill,” Ma said. “I wasn't paying attention to the terrestrial arthropods around me before joining the lab and taking entomology courses--learning more about them has made me more in-tuned with my surroundings. It makes daily life a little more interesting whenever I come across an arthropod friend on the sidewalk. One of my favorite things to do is come home to see one of my arthropod pets molting. “
Her career plans? “Working in the Bond lab has made me realize I want to continue seeing science through an artistic lens. Eventually, I want to become a professor and researcher at an undergraduate institution. I'd like to use both imaging techniques and systematics to study the function, ecology, and evolution of morphology in terrestrial arthropods, with special interests in millipedes and arachnids. I'd also like to mentor students, especially future women in STEM. I'd like to give back in same way my mentors have--I would not be where I am had they not taken a chance on me.”
Professor Bond specializes in the evolutionary diversification of terrestrial arthropods (spiders, millipedes, and tenebrionid beetles). Prior to joining the UC Davis faculty in 2018, he directed the Auburn University Museum of Natural History and chaired Auburn University's Department of Biological Sciences.
NSF called attention to its REPS program by noting it recognizes “the importance of early-career research experiences, especially for individuals contemplating a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research, and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused on the career trajectories of undergraduate students who were denied such a research experience. Many undergraduates who had been planning to participate in research experiences this past year– whether through Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites, REU supplements, or individual arrangements with faculty mentors– found that their host labs or research settings were not able to accommodate them due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Students from underrepresented groups and those from schools with no access to research are particularly impacted...”
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Evolutionary biologist Jessica Gillung, who received her doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 2018 and is now on the faculty of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the newly announced recipient of the Entomological Society of America's International Branch Early Career and Leadership Award.
At UC Davis, Gillung studied with major professor Lynn Kimsey, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Gillung is now an assistant professor and director of the Lyman Entomological Museum at McGill, one of the largest insect collections in Canada.
The award recognizes her leadership in entomology at an early career level and includes a $2000 grant, which Gillung said she will use to fund a research project aimed at helping her female graduate students acquire training and experience in cutting-edge methods of phylogenetic and bioinformatics.
Gillung will be recognized at the International Branch meeting, to take place during ESA's annual meeting, “Entomology 2021,” set Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Denver, Colo. The conference is a hybrid meeting with both in-person and virtual presentations.
Before joining McGill's Natural Resources faculty in January 2020, Gillung served as a postdoctoral associate in the Bryan Danforth laboratory at Cornell University, where she researched evolution and diversification of aculeate Hymenoptera (stinging wasps, ants and bees).
In a letter of support, Kimsey described Gillung as an “absolute dynamo” who “excels in research, publications, teaching, leadership, public service and outreach programs. Her accomplishments, coupled with her trademark scientific enthusiasm, curiosity, commitment and passion, make one wonder: ‘Is this just one person?' Yes, and her name is Jessica Gillung, entomologist extraordinaire.”
Gillung, who received her UC Davis doctorate in December 2018, wrote a landmark dissertation on the evolution and taxonomy of parasitoid flies specialized in spiders. Her dissertation, “Systematics and Phylogenomics of Spider Flies (Diptera, Acroceridae),” encompassed genomics, phylogenetics, systematics, and comparative analyses. “Her work greatly increased our understanding of the biological patterns and processes that have shaped our planet's biodiversity,” Kimsey said.
“In her outreach programs with us at the Bohart Museum from 2013-2018, Jessica reached at least 20,000 people, no small feat!” Kimsey commented. The events included open houses, off-site programs, science presentations, summer camps, classroom activities, UC Davis Picnic Days, agriculture days, and fairs and festivals. Gillung also participated in the campus-wide UC Davis Picnic Days for five years, answering entomological questions from visitors ranging from toddlers to senior citizens and providing them with new insights and appreciation of insects.
A native of Brazil, Jessica is fluent in four languages: Portuguese, German, English and Spanish. Her global education, international teaching experience, and diverse background as a Latina woman in STEM “uniquely equip her to understand the barriers that underrepresented groups face,” Kimsey pointed out. At UC Davis, Gillung taught entomology classes and mentored students, nurturing their personal and professional aspirations. She was heavily involved in the UC Davis youth summer camps, and also taught two camps, in Spanish, at the Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School at Davis, Calif. for children of migratory workers.
Gillung earlier received four other ESA awards:
- Snodgrass Memorial Research Award. Entomological Society of America (2019)
- The Marsh Award for Early Career Entomologist. Royal Entomological Society (2019)
- Excellence in Early Career Award. Entomological Society of America, Pacific Branch (2019)
- Student Leadership Award. Entomological Society of America, Pacific Branch (2018)
“My current research includes unraveling the diversity, natural history and diversification of insects,” Gillung said, “and studying their evolutionary origins, patterns of phenotypic and biological diversity, using taxonomy, genomics, phylogenetic reconstuctions and comparative analyses.”
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Kimsey, now director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology, grew up as “Lynn Siri” of El Cerrito, the daughter of a biologist and a biophysicist.
“I always wanted to be a scientist but I really wanted to be a marine biologist then,” she recalled.
Influenced by Jacques Cousteau, and encouraged by her high school biology teacher, she set out on a project that's now being lauded for its legacy data documentation of the Bay's intertidal invertebrates, especially invasive species.
Over a 13-month period, from April 1970 to May 1971, Lynn collected, recorded and sketched 139 marine specimens in the San Francisco Bay, covering 34 locations in six counties, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Francisco and Solano.
She was a high school junior and her work was never published—until now.
Kimsey and marine biologist James Carlton co-authored the article, “The First Extensive Survey (1970–1971) of Intertidal Invertebrates of San Francisco Bay, California,“ published last December in the journal Bioinvasions Records.
The abstract:
“There have been few surveys of intertidal invertebrates in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Most prior intertidal surveys were limited spatially or taxonomically. This survey of the intertidal invertebrates of San Francisco Bay was conducted over 13 months between 1970 and 1971, generating what is now a legacy data set of invertebrate diversity. Specimens were hand collected at land access points at 34 sites around the Bay. In all 139 living species in 9 phyla were collected; 28.8% were introduced species, primarily from the Atlantic Ocean (62.5%) and the Northwest Pacific and Indo-West Pacific Oceans (30%)."
She is also an accomplished scientific illustrator. “I worked my way through college as a scientific illustrator,” Kimsey said. “In those days women weren't hired as lab or research assistants. I switched to entomology when I came to UC Davis from UC San Diego.”
“I guess I started doing detailed pen and ink drawings in junior high. Then in high school, I worked summers as a volunteer lab assistant and professional SCUBA diver at San Diego State.”
At each site, Lynn surveyed approximately 800 meters of shoreline at low tide, and typically spent between 60 and 120 minutes. She collected, by hand, samples of all common invertebrate species larger than 1 mm from the surface of mudflats, rocks, or pilings, and from under rocks, tires, and boards (with the underside of the object and substrate below examined for invertebrates). She observed but did not collect insects or arachnids. She preserved her collected specimens in 3 percent formalin (soft-bodied specimens) or 70 percent methanol. She deposited selected specimens in the California Academy of Sciences' Department of Invertebrate Zoology.
Recalling how her research came to be published, Kimsey said that during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she began looking through her half-century-old notes. She contacted Carlton, an emeritus marine sciences professor from Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) and director emeritus (1989-2015) of the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program (Mystic, Conn. Carlton is known for his research on the environmental history of coastal marine ecosystems, including invasions of non-native species and modern-day extinctions in the world's oceans. In 2013, he received the California Academy of Science's highest honor, the Fellows Medal.
They agreed the research contains important baseline information about intertidal macro-invertebrate biodiversity.
Kimsey located the largest number of native species in the Golden Gate region. “The shoreline has rocky shores, as well as sand/gravel beaches and piers,” they wrote. “This region has the strongest daily currents, influenced by the proximity of the Pacific Ocean. The largest number of native species were found here. Indeed, at the two most exposed stations at the Golden Gate, only one introduced species, the wood-boring isopod Limnoria tripunctata Menzies, 1951, was found.”
“Unpublished historical biodiversity data are frequently lost over time,” the scientists wrote. “Such data from earlier periods can serve as critical baseline information by which to assess long-term biodiversity shifts and environmental changes.”
Digital editor Eric Simons of the Bay Nature publication chronicled the research in an Aug. 18th piece titled “Scientists Resurface a One-of-a-Kind, 50-Year-Old Record of San Francisco Bay Life.”
Kimsey and Carlton told him that they hope the project will inspire other scientists to proceed with similar research in the San Francisco Bay. But they wonder if this will ever happen.
“It's not hot and sexy,” Kimsey told Simons. “Hot and sexy is going to Costa Rica and playing in coral reefs. And that's really what attracts people. Getting down and dirty in the suburbs, it takes a different attitude about a whole different subject area.”
