The Backbone

Emeritus Curator Storrs Olson Honored for Outstanding Research Publication

 

Emeritus Curator Storrs Olson with Edwards Prize

At the 125th Conference of the Wilson Ornithological Society, Williamsburg, VA, 7-9 March 2013, the Edwards Prize for best paper in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology for 2012 was awarded to:  Storrs L. Olson.  2012.  History, structure, evolution, behavior, distribution, and ecology of the extinct Hawaiian genus Ciridops (Fringillidae, Carduelini, Drepanidini), Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124: 651-674. 

 

Secretary of Commerce Awards Dr. Bruce Collette Gold Medal for Leadership

Dr. Bruce Collette with Gold Medal Award certificate. Photo by Ruth Gibbons.

Dr. Bruce B. Collette, Senior Research Scientist at NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Systematics Laboratory and longtime Smithsonian colleague, was awarded an individual Gold Medal for Leadership by the Secretary of Commerce for establishing the first use of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List Criteria on commercial marine species. Bruce’s exceptional efforts in this regard have led to better conservation and management measures for endangered and at risk tuna and marlin species. The award was presented on January 8th at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The Gold Medal is the highest honor awarded by the Secretary of Commerce. Congratulations to Bruce!

Smithsonian Zoologist Gary Graves Named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Gary Graves, a zoologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his distinguished contributions to avian ecology and evolution, particularly the use of null models and stable isotopes in ecology, avian natural history and conservation biology.

Election as an AAAS Fellow, a tradition first begun in 1874, is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. Gary will join 702 AAAS members honored this year because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. “To be recognized by AAAS in this way is wonderful not only for the individuals but for the Smithsonian as a whole,” said Eva Pell, Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian.

New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin Saturday, Feb. 16, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.

New Species Named in Honor of Fish Division Curator Emeritus

 

Top: Eviota springeri, USNM 222651, male. Bottom: Eviota springeri, paratype, USNM 222653, male. Photograph by S.L. Jewett, Smithsonian Institution, NMNH, Division of Fishes.

Vic  Springer, Curator Emeritus in the Division of Fishes, has a new namesake, an Indian Ocean goby, Eviota springeri.  Former Fishes Collections Manager, Susan Jewett, and David Greenfield, Professor Emeritus from the University of Hawaii and current Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, named the new fish species in honor of Vic who collected the holotype and several paratypes from the Mascarene Islands during a 1976 expedition.  The full article documenting and describing this new species can be found in Greenfield, D. W. & Jewett, S. L. (2012) Two new Gobiid fishes of the genus Eviota from the Indian Ocean (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Zootaxa 3515: 67-74.