Local Natural History Research Articles

Insights into the natural and cultural history of Typha orientalis (Raupō) in Aotearoa New Zealand

A new multi-proxy paleo database for lake ecosystem and catchment change in Aotearoa New Zealand points to the potential resource and ecosystem service roles of Typha orientalis (raupō). In the context of chronic wetland degradation in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past century, this iconic yet enigmatic wetland plant can be viewed, alternately, as an invasive threat; a valuable cultural and economic resource; and a natural, indigenous agent for bioremediation. Our investigation reconstructs the history of raupō over the past ~1000 years, based on 92 new pollen records generated from lake sites across Aotearoa New Zealand. At almost every site where raupō is present today, its expansion is promoted to varying extents during periods of human activity and at 87% of sites investigated, raupō shows its maximum palynological abundance post human arrival. Multiple patterns of response over time point to a range of hydrological, trophic, and cultural scenarios that are conducive for raupō expansion, raising prospects for its potential role in mitigating the ecological impacts of disturbance. Raupō expansion, promoted by anthropogenic forest clearances and associated sediment and nutrient flux, would in turn have provided new opportunities for its use as a valuable food and material resource, prompting further questions as to the extent it was deliberately managed by indigenous populations. As both a benefactor from, and provider for, expanding populations, raupō may be regarded as a human associate in Aotearoa New Zealand prehistory. As well as being indigenous to Aotearoa New Zealand, T. orientalis also occurs naturally in Australia and east Asia and shares the intrinsic ecological and morphological attributes of the ~40 species or hybrids of Typha that span most of the planet. This work therefore may encourage wider application of the genus as a biocultural asset informed from its local natural history.

Interactive Checklists to Increase Access to Urban Biodiversity Information in Guatemala

The Guatemala Biodiversity Portal (GBP) is a customized platform developed with Symbiota (Gries et al. 2014) for the digitization of local natural history collections and research projects (Orellana et al. 2023). Currently, the portal includes 42 virtual profiles for the live management of biodiversity data and already hosts more than 50,000 specimen and observation records. Additionally, over 400,000 records of Guatemalan specimens in international collections have been imported from other Symbiota portals and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), increasing accessibility to data from the country. A bilingual interface (English-Spanish), and integrated tools to generate interactive checklists (Pearson and Walker 2021) have also encouraged use of the portal to develop online resources to explore and share knowledge of Guatemalan biological diversity. In particular, urban green spaces in Guatemala City have been a recent focus of attention due to their significance in biodiversity conservation (Castillo-Cabrera et al. 2021). Efforts to study and preserve these natural spaces include biological surveys to compile an updated inventory of species and assess their conservation status. To increase access to the information obtained, observations and specimens (e.g., fauna, flora) are being digitized and managed in the GBP, granting instant availability of the records and images derived from the surveys. At the same time, data from protected or threatened species remains redacted from the general public. Complementary to the surveys in Guatemala City, a more extensive inventory of species is being generated with selected specimens and observations available in the GBP and GBIF. A series of interactive checklists in the GBP (Fig. 1) facilitate the management of the scientific names, digital vouchers, and annotations about known conservation status (CONAP 2022, IUCN 2024), establishment means, and references in the literature. Information gathered for each species is later added to the taxon pages in the GBP, to expand its accessibility. The integration of urban biodiversity data in the GBP allowed the generation of digital records that follow international standards (e.g., Darwin Core, Wieczorek et al. 2012) and FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles (Wilkinson et al. 2016), facilitating their mobilization to global aggregators (GBIF.org 2024). Data cleaning tools (e.g., geographic and taxonomic cleaning, Pearson 2021) in the GBP also improved the information management, increasing the accuracy of each observation and specimen record digitized. Furthermore, the resulting interactive checklists provide a way to synthesize and review the data for the different taxa, having the opportunity to remain constantly updated as sources of information become available. Therefore, curated species checklists for Guatemala City will become an important contribution and reference for related studies across the country. Similar to other regions (Yánez-Ayabaca et al. 2023), accessibility to edit online biodiversity resources has opened the door for collaboration among Guatemalan biologists, engaging a broad community of researchers and students from national institutions. The presentation will address more about the functionality and effectiveness of interactive checklists, and the impact of online biodiversity resources in Guatemala.

Advances in the Digitization and Mobilization of Natural History Collections in Guatemala

Since its development in 2020, the Guatemala Biodiversity Portal (Fig. 1), generated with Symbiota (Gries et al. 2014, Gilbert et al. 2020, Symbiota Support Hub 2021), has turned into an outstanding resource to facilitate the digitization, mobilization, and use of specimen data from local natural history collections (Orellana et al. 2023). More than 50,000 records and several thousands of images from Guatemalan zoological, botanical, mycological, and paleontological collections have been shared online for the first time in this portal. An integrated Symbiota installation allows further data mobilization to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF.org 2024a), amplifying its impact on biodiversity research at an international level. To date, more than 42,000 records have been shared from the Guatemala Biodiversity Portal (GBIF.org 2024b), promoting visibility and recognition for national collections and researchers as shown by more than 300 citations in scientific literature, and the presence of at least 50 local collectors and taxonomists in the platform, Bionomia (Shorthouse 2020). Personalized training, documentation, and technical support have been key to the growing success of the portal (Orellana et al. 2022a, Portal de Biodiversidad de Guatemala 2023). Continuous leadership provided by portal managers and the Symbiota team has additionally amplified the active participation of the Guatemalan collections community. Engagement with undergraduate students has also been crucial to increasing the volume of specimen digitization. Outreach and crowdsourcing activities, as well as guided assignments and temporary internships in research projects, have contributed to transcribing most of the available data. Careful supervision by collection and portal managers, integrated data cleaning tools (Pearson 2021), and a curated taxonomic thesaurus (Orellana et al. 2022b) help maintain the accuracy of the digital records in the portal. Furthermore, the improving accessibility to specimen data from Guatemalan collections and tailored resources in a bilingual Spanish-English interface (e.g., interactive checklists, Pearson and Walker 2021), have made the portal an important source of information, enabling local researchers to develop and share studies about the natural diversity of the country (Prado et al. 2023, Vásquez-Almazán 2023). Additional outcomes, strategies, and reflections about the dynamics of the community will be shared during the presentation.

Heterogeneity of plaque burden natural history within individual human coronary atherosclerotic plaques is based on local endothelial shear stress: insights for culprit areas and clinical events

Abstract Background Patterns of local endothelial shear stress (ESS) are heterogeneous along the course of individual coronary artery plaques. It is unknown how this heterogeneity affects the local natural history of plaque burden (PB) over time. Objectives To determine the effect of local ESS patterns along the course of coronary plaques at baseline on the heterogeneity of subsequent PB progression, regression, and quiescence in human coronary arteries and its link to clinical events. Methods 302 patients from the PREDICTION study were included in the study. The PREDICTION study was an anatomic natural history followup study of patients treated for an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) performed in 15 Japanese clinical sites, as previously published [1]. Invasive imaging was performed at baseline and, per protocol, at 6-10 months follow-up. Arterial geometry and ESS were derived from angiography/intravascular ultrasound-based vascular profiling. Plaques were identified as regions with plaque thickness > 0.5 mm in at least 3 consecutive 3-mm segments. Plaque progression was defined as change in PB (plaque area/total vessel area*100%) PB >+5% increase, regression as <-5% decrease, and quiescence as no change. The location of each sequential 3-mm segment along the plaque was related to the minimum lumen area (MLA). Performance of PCI in followup was assessed relative to the magnitude of PB change over time. Results 661 plaques (5,658 3-mm segments) from 591 coronary arteries were identified. 56% of 3-mm segments per plaque manifested PB progression, 60% PB regression, and 96% quiescence, and the presence and number of these PB changes were significantly related to plaque length (p<0.002). PB change >20% was associated with low ESS (0.75±0.31 Pa) and marked regression (PB change <-20%) with high ESS (3.94±0.04 Pa) (p<0.001, Figure 1 right panel). 3-mm segments exhibiting substantial PB progression were located along the full length of the plaque, and seldom at the MLA (p=0.874, (Figure 1 left panel), while substantial PB regression was significantly located at the MLA (p<0.001). With increasing ∆PB progression in individual 3-mm segments, a significant increase in performance of PCI was observed (p=0.012, Figure 2). Conclusions PB natural history of 3-mm segments within an individual plaque is heterogeneous, driven by local ESS, with substantial plaque progression/luminal encroachment developing along the entire course of the plaque, and typically not near the MLA. PCI was associated with the magnitude of PB progression/luminal encroachment, regardless of where the progression occurred.Figure 1Figure 2

SCIENTIFIC AND ARTISTIC KNOWLEDGE IN KAZAKH LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN

The article discusses the nature of the scientific and cognitive function of natural history fiction. The authors of the article emphasize that the theme of the relationship between man and nature is still popular in the literary genre. The scientific reasoning emphasizes the emphasis on the mythopoetic basis of Kazakh folklore, in which the scientific, artistic and heuristic beginnings of human exploration of the surrounding world are synthetically presented. The purpose of the study is to present an analytical review of the most representative critical assessment of the natural history of children's literature in Kazakhstan. The illustrative material of the artistic description of local history and natural history is given. In this article, the authors refer to the corpus of historical and modern scientific criticism of children's literature. The practical significance of the problem under study lies in revealing the peculiarities of the development of children's literature in its main genre and style concentra. The authors use a systematic approach that allows them to build the studied material according to a linear-concentric principle, applicable to genre forms of prose and poetry addressed to children. Key words: natural science, animal world, Kazakh children's literature, man and nature, scientific and artistic book.

Engaging with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing: recommendations for noncommercial biodiversity researchers

Abstract The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing provide an international legal framework that aims to prevent misappropriation of the genetic resources of a country and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use. The legislation was negotiated at the behest of lower-income, biodiverse countries to ensure that benefits derived from research and development of genetic resources from within their jurisdictions were equitably returned and could thereby incentivize conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Despite good intentions, however, rapid adoption of access and benefit-sharing measures at the national level, often without participatory strategic planning, has hampered noncommercial, international collaborative genetic research with counterproductive consequences for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. We outline how current implementation of the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol affect noncommercial research, such as that conducted in many disciplines in biology, including mammalogy. We use a case study from Brazil, an early adopter, to illustrate some current challenges and highlight downstream consequences for emerging pathogen research and public health. Most emerging pathogens colonize or jump to humans from nonhuman mammals, but noncommercial research in zoonotic diseases is complicated by potential commercial applications. Last, we identify proactive ways for the mammalogical community to engage with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, through sharing of nonmonetary benefits and working with local natural history collections. Leveraging international scientific societies to collectively communicate the needs of biodiversity science to policy makers will be critical to ensuring that appropriate accommodations are negotiated for noncommercial research.

An annotated checklist of Prioninae Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) of Lithuania

We present the first annotated checklist of the subfamily Prioninae Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera, Ceram-bycidae) in Lithuania. At least 140 published and unpublished records of Prioninae were analyzed and collected specimens were verified. As a result, one species, Aegosoma scabricorne (Scopoli, 1763), was found to be new for Lithuanian fauna and three species, Ergates faber (Linnaeus, 1761), Tragosoma depsarium (Linnaeus, 1767), and Prionus coriarius (Linnaeus, 1758), were confirmed in the country. The information on the local occurrence, natu-ral history, general distribution, and conservation status of these species is reviewed. 

Research on the Localization of Landscape Design in Cambodia

Landscape design styles usually different in different regions, this design style is also a real reflection of the local natural customs and human history. So far, the localization of Cambodian landscape design style has formed. This paper mainly discusses the localization of landscape design in Cambodia, confirms the theory of localized landscape design, and explores the development direction of Cambodian modern landscape design, hoping to provide corresponding references for researchers in the industry.

Matters of perspective; Local visual expertise and natural history drawings in Java, 1820-1850

This essay examines how local draughtsmen using their visual expertise shaped natural historical knowledge production in colonial Indonesia in the early nineteenth century. The persons at the core of this essay are Tsing Wang Ho and Pieter van Oort, both draughtsmen who worked for the Natuurkundige Commissie voor Nederlandsch-Indië (Committee of Natural History of the Netherlands Indies). By zooming in on the Committee’s fieldwork in Java in the 1830s, this essay highlights that producing scientific drawings of animals and plants was a challenging endeavour. Despite detailed instructions from Europe and the logistical support of the colonial government in Batavia, the success of the Committee’s fieldwork also depended on local visual and natural expertise. By shifting the analytical focus from European draughtsmen and naturalists to local visual and natural expertise, this essay offers readers glimpses on a cross-cultural learning process which, in the long run, reshaped the visual repertoire on which taxonomic and biodiversity research has since then built on.

Ecological Knowledge and Management of Fauna Among the Mexicatl of the Sierra Negra, México: An Interpretive Approach

Generally motivated by the relevance of animals in human subsistence, the management of fauna has taken different shapes throughout the world. This study aims to analyse a typology of management forms, exploring their relationship with the motivation to maintain coexistence and use of fauna and mitigate negative human-fauna interactions by the Mexicatl (Nahua) people in Central Mexico. We generally expected to find a broad spectrum of management types in a gradient of interactions intensity. This is because we hypothesised that the more meaningful these interactions due to the magnitude of benefit or damage, philias, or phobias among other positive or negative perceptions, and ecological aspects and management viability, the more actions and practices might be motivated to maintain or mitigate them. We conducted a qualitative research based on interpretivist approaches, mixing qualitative and quantitative analyses, to register the Mexicatl names of fauna present in the area and recognised by locals and to analyse the influence of local ecological knowledge (LEK) and natural history as perceived by people on the use, conflicts, and management practices regarding local fauna. In order to gather such information, in 2018 and 2019 we generated 356 free lists of fauna and 20 sessions of group interviews about the presence of animals in the area, the Mexicatl name, information on distribution, diet, use, management, and other facts. We used visual stimuli with children and young people from schools of basic and intermediate levels in five rural communities and the municipal head of Coyomeapan, Puebla. We also generated free lists and in-depth interviews with 18 persons older than 16 years. People recognised 114 animal items, the most salient being 11 domestic and 14 wild animals including deer, medium and small mammals, snakes, and birds. For both domestic and wild fauna, people reported 18 use categories and three types of damage (crop losses, predation of domestic animals, and damages to health). LEK interacted with traditional celebrations, religious beliefs, land tenure, and migration to define preferences and management types of fauna. Bushmeat demand, especially for Mazama temama and Cuniculus paca, was related to a perception of healthy nutrition properties. Management actions included husbandry of domestic animals, extraction of wild animals for supply, or to avoid damages, captivity, tolerance to damage, protection of seeds and domestic animals threatened by wild fauna, regulations for extraction of wild fauna, and agreements to prevent conflicts. Mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches allowed the interpretation of the human-fauna interactions related to subsistence, coexistence, and the high relevance of LEK, perceptions, religious beliefs, ecosystem, socio-demographic factors, and animal behaviour and habits, which are crucial factors that influence the shaping of management practices. Local management strategies of fauna were diverse and contribute to biocultural conservation and theoretical construction on domestication.

Collaborative field research using drones for whale photo-identification studies in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut

In conducting Arctic field research, hiring local field guides has long been a necessity for providing field teams with local knowledge and fundamental needs of boat operation and navigation, general field logistics/safety, and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of local animal distribution and natural history. As new threats to Arctic wildlife emerge and as field research methods evolve, including local Inuit as long-standing members of research teams has provided additional collaborative benefits through expanded local knowledge, greater efficiency of data collection, and longer temporal sampling which provides the opportunity to study uncommon events. We describe the collaboration between southern-based scientists and local Inuit from the community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, to conduct field research on marine mammals in Cumberland Sound from 1997 to 2021. Through a keen interest in marine mammal field research, Inuit partners in Pangnirtung have become highly proficient in all aspects of sample and data collection and have received advanced technical training to allow for an expanded role in achieving research objectives. This expanded role includes running field research operations independently, as well as the extensive use of drones to capture photographs of whales for the purposes of photographic-identification and to record behavior. Collaboration with local Inuit also provides benefits through employment opportunities, development of technical skills, and opportunities to actively participate in research that aims to conserve culturally important local wildlife populations.

DESCRIBING THE EDUCATIONAL ROLE OF NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS: AN ANALYSIS TOOL FOR PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS

This study presents a tool for description and potential analysis of the educational role of the Science and Technology museum. This tool has been constructed from the point of view of formal education and it is proposed as a framework for the approach of the science/technology museum from the teachers and education administrators. More specifically, the tool is, at first, described in terms of structure, content and functionality and, afterwards, examples are provided for cases of international, national and local natural history museums (Natural History Museum in Paris, Goulandris Natural History Museum in Athens and University of Patras Zoology Museum accordingly). Finally, there is a discussion regarding the suitability of this tool to inform, instruct and train future and in-service teachers in aspects of museum education.
 
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The Intertwined Past, Present, and Future of Local Natural History Museum and Amateur Naturalism in Tampere, Finland

AbstractThe history of natural history museums (NHMs) is closely tied with amateur naturalism, now often discussed as citizen science. This paper discusses the relations between a local NHM and amateur naturalists in Tampere, Finland, in three temporalities: the past, the present, and the future. The analysis highlights the contingencies and materialities of the relations between the museum and naturalists, showing them to be at times close, at other times distant. Local NHMs are facing the same expectations and challenges as larger museums, such as the tension between their research and education functions, and making their collections digitally available. NHMs are expected to participate in creating sustainable futures, looking far ahead. The case proposes the strength of local NHMs may be their embeddedness in local networks and their agility to react to ecosocial changes.

(2789) Proposal to conserve the name Pomaderris kumarahou (Rhamnaceae) with that spelling

(2789) Proposal to conserve the name <i>Pomaderris kumarahou</i> (<i>Rhamnaceae</i>) with that spelling

Геоботанические исследования на Кавказе: обзор материалов Международной конференции «Флора и заповедное дело на Кавказе: история и современное состояние изученности» (Пятигорск, 22–25 мая 2019 г.)

The International conference “Flora and conservation in the Caucasus: history and current state of knowledge” dedicated to the 130-year anniversary of the Perkalsky Arboretum took place at 22–25 of May 2019 in Pyatigorsk (Stavropol Territory) on the base of the Pyatigorsk Museum of local lore and natural history. The participants were from 11 cities of Russia and 7 Republics of the Caucasus and represented 14 institutions. Proceedings of the conference were published by the beginning of the meeting the book of abstracts includes 49 papers on the study of vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and fungi, plant communities, as well as the protection of rare and endangered species, unique plant communities, and ecological problems in the Caucasus. The following geobotanical topics were highlighted in 13 papers: forest communities (3 reports), meadow and steppe vegetation (2), xeric open forests (2), communities of ecotone areas (1), structure of populations of rare plant species (3), as well as the history and current status of nature protected areas (2). The great emphasis has been focused on the study of floristic composition and plant populations. Thus, the conference showed that very few studies от vegetation are currently carried out in the Caucasus, and a lot of districts are not affected by the research. The greatest attention is paid to forest vegetation while meadow, steppe, alpine heath and xerophytic communities are studied rather poorly. Besides, there are “white spots” — mire, floodplain and aquatic vegetation. In nowadays, when the anthropogenic impact on the plant cover of the Caucasus is intensively increasing, it is especially important to study natural undisturbed communities preserved in protected natural areas. Another important issue is the conservation of the unique vegetation cover of the whole Caucasus. Thus, the study of vegetation of this region opens a wide field for researchers using various methods of modern plant science.

DiSSCo as a New Regional Model for Scientific Collections in Europe

European Natural Science Collections (NSC) are part of the global natural and cultural capital and represent 80% of the world bio-and geo-diversity. Data derived from these collections underpin thousands of scholarly publications and official reports (used to support legislative and regulatory processes relating to health, food, security, sustainability and environmental change) and let to inventions and products that today play an important role in our bio-economy. In the last decades, the research practice in natural sciences changed dramatically. Advances in digital, genomic and information technologies enable natural science collections to provide new insights but also ask for changing the current operational and business models of individual collections held at local natural history museums and universities. A new business model that provides unified access to collection objects and all scientific data derived from them. Although aggregating infrastructures like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, GenBank and Catalogue of Life now successfully aggregate data on specific data classes, the landscape remains fragmented with limited capacity to bring together this information in a systematic and robust manner and with scattered access to the physical objects. The Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) represents a pan-European initiative, and the largest ever agreement of natural science museums, to jointly address the fragmentation of European collections. DiSSCo is unifying European natural science collections into a coherent new research infrastructure, able to provide bio- and geo-diversity data at the scale, form and precision required by a multi-disciplinary user base in science. DiSSCo is harmonising digitisation, curation and publication processes and workflows across the scientific collections in Europe and enables linking of occurrence, genomic, chemical and morphological data classes as well as publications and experts to the physical object. In this paper we will present the socio-cultural and governance aspects of this research infrastructure. DiSSCo is receiving political support from 11 countries in Europe and will gradually change its funding model from institutional to national funding, with temporary funding from the EC to support the preparation and development. Solutions to achieve large scale digitisation are currently designed in the EC funded ICEDIG project to underpin the future large scale digitisation carried out by the countries. Unified virtual (digitisation on demand) and transnational physical access to the collections is over the next four years being developed in the EC funded SYNTHESYS+ project. The governance of DiSSCo is designed to gradually change from a steering committee composed of a few large natural history museums contributing in cash to initiate the development into a legal entity in which national consortia are represented, with a central coordination office for daily management. Each country individually decides how its entities (scientific collection facilities, research councils, governmental bodies) are organised in their national consortium. A stakeholder and user forum, Scientific Advisory Board and International Advisory Board will ensure that DiSSCo will be functional in enabling science across disciplines and within the international landscape of infrastructures. Training and short scientific missions are being developed in the MOBILISE COST Action to build capacity in FAIR data production, publication and usage of scientific collection-derived data in Europe and to initiate the socio-cultural changes needed in the collection-holding institutes. A Helpdesk is being constructed in the SYNTHESYS+ and DiSSCo Prepare projects to further facilitate the use and scientific use cases have been collected in ICEDIG to develop and facilitate e-services tailored to scientific needs.

Holocene Population Decline and Conservation Implication for the Western Hercules Beetle, Dynastes grantii (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae).

The Western Hercules beetle (Dynastes grantii) is endemic to the highland forest habitats of southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The habitats harbor many endemic species, but are being threatened by rapid climate change and urban development. In this study, the genetic structure of D. grantii populations from southwestern United States was investigated. Specifically, genomic data from double-digest restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing libraries were utilized to test whether geographically distant populations from the Mogollon Rim (Arizona [N = 12 individuals] and New Mexico [N = 10 individuals]) are genetically structured. The study also estimated the effective population size of the Mogollon Rim populations based on genetic diversity. The results indicated that the 2 geographic populations from the Mogollon Rim were not genetically structured. A population size reduction was detected since the end of the last glacial period, which coincided with a reduction of forest habitat in the study area. The results implied that the connectivity and the size of highland forest habitats in the Mogollon Rim could have been the major factors shaping the population genetic structure and demographic history of D. grantii. The Western Hercules beetle could be a useful flagship species for local natural history education and to promote the conservation of highland forest habitats.

A systematic review of the epidemiology, disease characteristics and management of systemic sclerosis in Australian adults.

Australia has one of the highest prevalence rates of systemic sclerosis (SSc) worldwide. In order to highlight management deficiencies and key areas for further research, it is essential to understand its local epidemiological patterns, natural history, prognosis and mortality trends over time. To identify Australian SSc-specific information through a systematic review focusing on areas of epidemiology, disease characteristics, treatment, functional ability, disease burden and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library were searched on 14 September, 2016. All original full text articles on SSc in Australia were included. Of the 54 articles included in this review, the majority of studies recruited from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. The prevalence of SSc in Australia is increasing and is similar among the general population and the Aboriginal population. Despite improvements in care over the last three decades, morbidity and mortality remain high, with an overall standardized mortality ratio of 3.4 and a 10-year survival of 84% in a newly diagnosed patient. Cardiorespiratory manifestations are the leading cause of SSc-related death. Malignancy is the leading cause of non-SSc-related death. The role of autoantibodies in predicting disease subtype, visceral involvement and their use as a prognostic marker is becoming increasingly recognized. Information on SSc in Australia, particularly unmet healthcare needs, HRQoL and economic burden, is limited. As a heterogenous condition, SSc requires a multi-disciplinary approach to care. Research aimed at quantifying HRQoL and burden of disease in Australia is essential for advocacy and resource allocation.

Life in the Zooniverse: Working with Citizen Science

It has become accepted orthodoxy in Literature and Science studies that relations between the two domains are a “two way street,” and that literature and culture do not meekly reflect the new findings of their dominant partner, science, but are actively engaged in a dynamic, reciprocal set of relations with scientific practice and the development of scientific ideas. It is an attractive position (and one to which I have always subscribed), but such reciprocity is decidedly easier to track in historical context, before the consolidation of structures of institutional and professional science, than in the current period. The call for the AHRC “Science in Culture” large grants scheme was thus challenging: applicants were asked not merely to analyse reciprocal relations between science and culture, but to work directly with scientists, and to develop new insights and new methodologies for both sides. A tall order! Over the years I have participated in numerous workshops and conferences with scientists, trying to discover common ground, but never engaged directly in collaborative research. Originally Gowan Dawson and I had been envisaging a strictly historical project, addressing all those thousands of scientific and medical journals which lie mouldering in library basements (and are still largely untouched by digitisation). As historians we are familiar with the “big names”, those journals like the Lancet, the BMJ or Nature which have survived into the present day, and whose dominance in the historical record is now reaffirmed by the digitisation of back numbers, making it easier for scholars to work with them. But what about all those local natural history journals, or medical or public health journals which have faded from historical memory? Our aim, in working with these journals, was to uncover the networks which operated within Victorian science and medicine, and to rewrite in the process the metropolitan and professional focus of much historiography. Yet, such work would not involve any interaction with contemporary science. I had become aware, however, of the emerging phenomenon of “citizen science,” particularly as supported by Zooniverse, the online citizen science platform run by Chris Lintott in the Dept of Astro-Physics at the University of Oxford. It was clear that there were interesting parallels between, for example, the armies of people who participated in the development of natural history in the nineteenth century, and the “citizens” who now go online to help analyse scientific data, whether of astronomical phenomena, cancer cells, or the behaviour of wildlife. In the resulting AHRC project, “Constructing Scientific Communities: Citizen Science in the 19th and 21st Centuries,” based at the Universities of Oxford and Leicester, and run in conjunction with our partners the Natural History Museum, London, the Royal Society, and the Royal College of Surgeons, England, we uncover forgotten histories of large-scale participation in science, and the role of journals in helping to create and consolidate these communities. We also bring such historical knowledge to bear on current practice, exploring ways in which earlier models of scientific communication and community building can help to inform the rapidly changing world of science in the digital age. In addition, the project has also created its own citizen science projects: Science Gossip and Orchid Observers.

In Memoriam

In Memoriam