Boston Flora

Tag: Evolution

  • Tuesday, February 12, 6:00 pm – Looking for Signs of Evolution: Bees, Butterflies, and Bacteria

    Naomi Pierce, Hessel Professor of Biology and Curator of Lepidoptera at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, will speak Tuesday, February 12, beginning at 6 pm at the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge on the topic Looking for Signs of Evolution: Bees, Butterflies, and Bacteria. Naomi Pierce examines the behavioral ecology of species interactions, such as insect/host plant associations, and the life history, evolution, and systematics of butterflies and other insects. Part of the Evolution Matters Lecture Series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Free and open to the public.  Free event parking in the 52 Oxford Street garage.

  • Thursday, January 31, 6:00 pm – What Art Thou, Little Bird?

    We might think robins are simply a common backyard bird, but actually they represent one of the most unusual, successful, and abundant animals (the order Aves) in Earth’s history. The new science of evolutionary developmental biology (“evo-devo”) sheds fascinating light on the evolution of birds’ highly distinct skulls with toothless beaks, and on how modern birds can generate a seemingly endless array of beak shapes. Arkhat Abzhanov, Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, will speak on Thursday, January 31, beginning at 6 pm on Developmental Mechanisms for the Origin and Evolution of Birds. Part of the Evolution Matters Lecture Series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Free and open to the public. Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking for evening lectures in the 52 Oxford Street garage.

  • Tuesdays, September 20 – November 29, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Introduction to Botany

    Register now for the fall semester of Introduction to Botany with K.N. Gandhi, Botanist with the Harvard University Herbaria.  The ten session course will take place at the Herbaria in Cambridge on September 20, 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8, 15, and 29 from 6:30 – 8:30. Among the topics to be explored: plant cells and tissues, anatomy and morphology, reproduction, nutrition, growth and development, plant diversity, evolution, classification, and nomenclature.  Fee $280 Arboretum and NEWFS members, $372 nonmembers. Offered with the New England Wild Flower Society.  Register at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Monday, December 28 – Wednesday, December 30, 10:00 am – Strawbery Banke Holiday House Tours

    Monday, December 28 – Wednesday, December 30, the docents of Strawbery Banke will enlighten you on the darkest days of winter. These guided 90-minute tours, beginning each day at 10 am,  focus on the evolution of winter traditions over the centuries. Visitors tour five historic houses at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and experience the widely various decorations, sights, sounds, and smells of holidays and winter days past. Tickes are $12 for adults. Kids 5-12: $10. Kids 4 & under: FREE. Family rate: $30.  For tickets and information, log on to www.strawberybanke.org.

    http://www.antiquesjournal.com/Pages04/Monthly_pages/dec05/images/Front-Door-Wreath.jpg-(Cove.jpg

  • Tuesday, November 24, 1:00 – 2:30 pm – E.O. Wilson: Darwin and the Frontiers of Evolution

    On Tuesday, November 24, beginning at 1 pm (the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species) a panel of scientists led by E.O. Wilson and Everett Mendelsohn will discuss Darwin’s legacy and talk about the frontiers of evolutionary and molecular biology, hosted by the Reading Odyssey and the Darwin Facebook Project.  Sponsors include National Geographic, Citrix Online and their HiDef Conferencing Division, Campaign Monitor, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, National Center for Science Education, Squarespace, Creation the Movie, and the New York Academy of Sciences.  The live lecture is free, although only 84 tickets remain as of today, so you may reserve your tickets at http://darwinlecture4.eventbrite.com.

    Now here’s even better news:  you may watch it as a free webcast (1,870 spaces), a teleconference if you are so set up (171 spaces), or a Skype pass (161 spaces).  The deadline for signing up is November 17 for the live lecture, and November 21 for the teleconference free pass or Skype free pass.  You may sign up for the webcast right up to the end on November 24.

    You may know E.O. Wilson as perhaps the most famous ant researcher of modern times, and the mentor of gardening guru Roger Swain.  This event will be a truly special and stimulating celebration of Darwin.