Royal Saskatchewan Museum

Amber is famous for preserving detailed records of terrestrial and soft-bodied organisms that have a low preservation potential elsewhere in the fossil record. Because preservation in amber is biased toward animals such as insects that live in close association with resin-producing trees, inclusions of marine fossils in Mesozoic amber are extremely rare. Here, we report unusual fossil assemblages consisting of ammonites preserved alongside terrestrial arthropods in Burmese amber. Under X-ray microcomputed tomography (CT), we made detailed observations of the preserved septa and sutures in the ammonite samples. On the basis of the suture structure, moderately involute shell, and smooth shell surface without ornamentation, we classified one of the new ammonites within the superfamily Desmoceratoidea. The partial filling of shell chambers with calcite suggests that the ammonites were buried for a short time in the sediment, which started the fossilization process prior to encapsulation in resin. Sand infills within the shell chambers indicate significant weathering and transport within a high-energy environment prior to encapsulation. The arthropod inclusions are represented by terrestrial and possibly aquatic associated forms belonging to Acari (mites); Hemiptera: Cimicomorpha: Vetanthocoridae; and Diptera: Muscomorpha. These insects are surrounded by powdered wood, insect frass, and plant fragments. The combined fossil assemblage seems to suggest that at least some amber-producing trees grew close to the coast, capturing a mixture of forest floor communities and partially fossilized shells redeposited from high-energy coastal waters.

ABSTRACT With climate change and other Anthropocene trends affecting millions every day, there is a clear need to help people find ways to live more sustainably at local, regional, and global scales. Humanity has known this for decades, and museums have a prominent role to play as trusted and accessible sources of information and inspiration, yet few have made addressing sustainability their main focus. Based on 25 years of gallery and research projects at a medium-sized museum of natural history and Indigenous cultures, this paper looks at museum-driven sustainability education (SE) from a curatorial perspective. Using an autoethnographic lens and cultural evolution as a frame of reference, I highlight the value of SE by reflecting on how it has informed past and current gallery and research projects. I also draw insights about SE from these projects and outline a general SE framework aimed at all members of the museum community.

The Stelidium group is readily distinguished from all other members of the subgenus Stelis Panzer, 1806 by the combination of small body size ( 6 mm), pale maculations on the head adjacent to the inner margins of the compound eyes and laterally on the vertex in both sexes, and females with sternum 6 extended beyond tergum 6, the former with the dorsal lip trowel-shaped with the apex broadly rounded or subtruncate to more narrowly pointed. This monophyletic clade, which is endemic to North America, currently consists of members previously placed into two species groups: the permaculata group containing S. anasazi Parker & Griswold, 2013, S. ashmeadiellae Timberlake, 1941, S. permaculata Cockerell, 1898, and S. robertsoni Timberlake, 1941, and the palmarum group containing S. broemelingi Parker & Griswold, 2013, S. elongativentris Parker, 1987, and S. palmarum Timberlake, 1941; two additional species, S. herberti (Cockerell, 1916) from Mexico, and S. nyssonoides (Brues, 1903) from Texas, United States, have not been definitively placed in either species group. Two new species are herein described, one from southcentral British Columbia, Canada, the other from New Mexico, United States. A preliminary molecular phylogeny places both new species in the permaculata species group. In addition, S. herberti is also placed within the permaculata species group based on morphological similarity, sharing the multi-spotted maculation pattern on the terga. Based on molecular affinity, S. broemelingi also belongs to the permaculata species group. Because no type specimen for S. nyssonoides is seemingly available for examination, it is hereby considered nomen dubium until the specimen is found and its taxonomic status clarified in relation to the more recently described species in the permaculata species group. A key to females and diagnoses are provided for all known taxa.

Our understanding of Inka expansion continues to develop with new research further cementing the idea that the Inka’s expansionary tactics were targeted and agile, specifically enacted to achieve coercive control over populations, resources, and specialist craft expertise. The nature of Inka influence at Caleta Vitor has not yet been established, however, the data now strongly suggest that the population was entangled in a complex negotiated process commonly undertaken by the Inka in new territories. This paper contributes to our understanding of Inka interaction at Caleta Vitor with new data from archaeological textiles that demonstrate Caleta Vitor’s Imperial connections. Nuestra comprensión de las estrategias de expansión inka continúa desarrollándose con nuevas investigaciones. Estas consolidan aún más la idea acerca que las tácticas de expansión fueron dirigidas y puestas en práctica específicamente para lograr un control coercitivo sobre las poblaciones, recursos y trabajo artesanal especializado. La naturaleza de la influencia inka en Caleta Vitor (norte de Chile) aún no ha sido establecida, sin embargo, los datos sugieren que la población estaba involucrada en un complejo proceso de negociación emprendido por los inkas en nuevos territorios. Este artículo contribuye a nuestra comprensión de la interacción inka en Caleta Vitor con nuevos datos obtenidos de textiles arqueológicos, para reconsiderar las conexiones del imperio en esa localidad y sus impactos en la región.

Richardson’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii (Sabine, 1822)) is a widespread burrowing mammal on the northern Great Plains. This species is a prominent prey item for a variety of predators and its burrows provide important habitat for other wildlife; however, Richardson’s ground squirrel is also considered an economically damaging agricultural pest. Despite the ecological importance of Richardson’s ground squirrels and their status as pests, there are gaps in our knowledge about large-scale habitat associations for this species. In 2011 and 2012, we conducted 1840 roadside surveys in a 130 000 km2 area of southern Saskatchewan, Canada, to understand which habitat features are associated with Richardson’s ground squirrel occurrence. Ground squirrels were observed on 8% of the surveys. Probability of ground squirrel occurrence was highest in areas with moderate amounts of grassland (approximately 30%), areas that were developed by humans (>30%), and had a high proportion of clay loam soils, presumably for burrowing. Our study highlights the importance of heterogeneous landscapes and that areas disturbed by humans may provide suitable vegetation structure for ground squirrels. This information can help to identify important habitat for species that rely on Richardson’s ground squirrels and identify areas where Richardson’s ground squirrels could come into conflict with agriculture.

When I was asked to review a recent climate change book for this special issue of Museum Management and Curatorship, I happily agreed, but with a quiet sigh of exasperation. Like many researchers a...

Academic profile websites are online platforms where researchers create their professional profiles, and organize and showcase their research outputs. Examples of academic profiles websites include Google Scholar Citations, ResearchGate, Academia.edu, and ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). Recent years have seen an increasing adoption of these websites among researchers, mainly because of the perceived value for facilitating collaboration and boosting research impact. While librarians are providing assistance to researchers in developing profiles on these platforms, it is unknown how librarians themselves, as researchers, are using these tools. This project will investigate the presence on the academic profile websites amongst librarian researchers (i.e. librarians whose professional responsibilities include the requirement of conducting research) in the United States and Canada. The results from this project will provide a more complete understanding of academic profile websites, identify new directions for improving the functionalities of these sites, and discover opportunities for providing new library services to the research community.

The bumblebees of the subgenus Alpinobombus of the genus Bombus are unusual among bees for specialising in many of the most northerly vegetated arctic habitats on Earth. Most named taxa in this group (37 available names from a total of 67 names) were described originally from differences in the colour patterns of the hair. Previous revisions have shown unusually little agreement, recognising a range of 6‒9 species, in part because of pronounced intraspecific variation in both skeletal morphology and in the colour patterns of the hair. Here we examine variation among 4622 specimens from throughout the group's global range. Bayesian inference of the gene tree for the fast evolving mitochondrial COI gene combined with Poisson-tree-process analysis of this tree shows support for 10 gene lineages as candidates for being putative species lineages. Integrative assessment shows that the interpretation of these results is not straightforward. Evidence from the fast evolving mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene supports two of the COI gene alleles (from the samples B. kluanensis s. str. and 'unnamed2') as being associated with just one 16S allele. Double COI bands on the PCR gels for these individuals and double peaks on sequence traces (in one case with both COI alleles sequenced from one individual) identifies this as a likely case of COI paralogy that has resulted in mitochondrial heteroplasmy. Evidence from morphology also supports only the remaining nine lineages as separate. Evidence from extracts of cephalic labial gland secretions (CLGS, with components believed to function as sex pheromones) reported by others shows small diagnostic differences between all of the candidate species examined (although B. kluanensis s. l. was not examined) and shows larger differences between all of the species pairs that we find are likely to have co-occurred at least in the past, revealing a likely limitation to the CLGS approach in cases of recent and continuously allopatric species. Consequently we infer nine species in the subgenus Alpinobombus (so that B. kluanensis s. str. and 'unnamed2' are interpreted as conspecific, as B. kluanensis s. l.). We provide distribution maps and identification keys for the nine species. The morphology of the male of B. kluanensis is described for the first time, including a unique, unusually dense pad of short hair on the mandible that may have a function involving CLGS in mate-searching behaviour. In seeking to identify the valid names for these species, seven new lectotypes are designated and support is provided for synonymizing 10 names as proposed in a recent summary table of names. The prevailing usage of Bombus balteatus Dahlbom is maintained as valid by proposing Bombus nivalis Dahlbom and Bombus tricolor Dahlbom as nomina oblita and by proposing Bombus balteatus Dahlbom as a nomen protectum. The prevailing usage of Bombus hyperboreus Schönherr is maintained as valid by supporting Apis arctica Quensel as a nomen oblitum and by supporting Bombus hyperboreus Schönherr as a nomen protectum. We then use sequence data from COI and 16S together with nuclear PEPCK and opsin genes to estimate dated phylogenetic relationships among the nine species, allowing for incongruent gene trees with *BEAST. If crown-group divergence within the subgenus Alpinobombus coincided with the global climate cooling and with the growth of the northern ice sheets at the end of the Miocene at ca 7.2 Ma, then divergences between each of the three pairs of sister species are likely to have coincided with fluctuations in vegetated land connections across the Bering Strait after ca 2.5 Ma.

BackgroundIn Canada, the Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombusimpatiens Cresson) is native to southern Ontario and Quebec, but since being developed as a managed commercial pollinator, it has been exported to several other provinces for use in greenhouse and field crop settings. This has enabled this species to become established outside its natural range and it is now established in eastern Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) and British Columbia. To date, the species has not been detected via field capture in the prairie provinces.New informationHere we report on recent captures of B.impatiens workers and males from south-eastern Alberta and suggest that these specimens escaped from nearby commercial greenhouses. The risk that the presence and looming establishment of this species has on native bumble bees in the Canadian prairies is discussed.