New ROM publication offers up-close glimpse into everyday ecology
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) announces its newest publication, Biological Notes on an Old Farm: Exploring Common Things in the Kingdoms of Life, by Glenn B. Wiggins, Curator Emeritus in the Department of Natural History. Written from the perspective of the “curious casual observer”, the book examines common living things found on an eastern Ontario farm. Available for purchase at the ROM Museum Store and at book stores March 17, 2009.
Wiggins engages readers – even the most squeamish – with pictures and fascinating descriptions of natural life. Organized according to biological classifications, Biological Notes on an Old Farm is unique among other books about popular natural history, allowing readers to understand rudimentary kingdoms of life. The author provides a window on parts of the living world close to us all but recognized by very few. Commonplace plants, invertebrate animals, fungi and algae, although ubiquitous, are worth recognizing as they have deeper connection in the ecology and evolution of the natural world.
A handbook of the seasons for anyone who owns a cottage, farm, or country property, Dr. Wiggins leads readers through the seasons on the farm and the record of nature through the year with authority and humour. “It is my hope, among others, teachers of natural science may find in these pages insights useful in opening small wonders of the world to larger audiences,” notes Wiggins in the book’s prologue.
About the Author:
Glenn Wiggins is Curator Emeritus in the Department of Natural History at the Royal Ontario Museum, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the University of Toronto. His principal research is on the biosystematics of the aquatic insect order Trichoptera (caddisflies); he has produced five books and more than one hundred articles in scientific books and journals. He was awarded the 1992 Gold Medal of the Entomological Society of Canada for outstanding achievement.
Schad Gallery of Biodiversity
Themes of species interconnectivity are further reflected in the ROM’s newest permanent gallery, the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity, opening May 16, 2009. The Schad Gallery of Biodiversity is
devoted to exploring our world’s biodiversity and the numerous factors affecting its conservation and survival. This innovative and interactive gallery combines approximately 2,500 specimens from the ROM’s collections, seven ecosystem experiences (two of which contain living displays) and the Earth Rangers Studio, featuring live wildlife presentations and latest ROM research to convey a poignant message about the stunning variety of life on Earth and the fragility of nature’s amazing web. Over 150 videos reveal fascinating views of nature in action. A diverse ROM curatorial team, made of experts specializing in areas spanning from sharks and insects to lichens, water lilies and herons, has been involved in the development of this 10,000 square-foot specimen-rich permanent gallery.