Dr. Bob came to talk about AXIOS Robert Murphy(Bob)博士、教授,是加拿大皇家安大略省博物馆馆员,多伦多大学教授,世界著名的两爬系统学家。2003年2月,我有幸得到国家留学基金委的资助,到他的实验室访学。从此开启了昆虫分子系统学研究的窗口。十多年来,Bob几乎每次在北京转机,都来动物研究所和包括我在内的老朋友交流科研进展和心得,并开展合作研究工作。 此次来京,Bob和我们分享了他长期投稿过程中经历的一些问题和对AXIOS系统的想法。AXIOS系统是Molecular Ecology和其它一些生态和进化生物学领域的编辑们,为提高作者投稿效率,提出的一套新思路:在作者投稿到专业期刊之前,评估最合适的候选刊物。这个思路,可以避免作者被拒稿后,不断修改论文格式,并占据编辑和审稿人宝贵的科研时间。在投稿量较低的情况下,这样的情况不算太严重;但在很大的投稿量情况下,每年投稿人、编辑、审稿人在质量不高、反复拒稿或修改稿件格式的过程中浪费了海量而宝贵的科研时间。 What’s is AXIOS? Axios Review is an independent peer review service for evolutionary biology and ecology. We aim to eliminate rejections on the basis of novelty or scope. http://axiosreview.org/about-axios/ 下面引用了2001年,Bob在科学杂志上的一段评述(www.sciencemag.org/careers/2001/06/curator-new-millenium)。在这段评述中,Bob和大家分享了他的职业生涯中一些重要的阶段、经验和对传统博物馆分类学馆员的见解。 A Curator in the New Millenium F or as long as I can recall, I have wanted to be a museum curator. Blessed or cursed, I have the “collecting gene.” After I completed my B.A., I interviewed with a potential graduate adviser, Alan Leviton, a renowned herpetology curator at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He asked when I expected to graduate with a planned Ph.D. “About 1980, sir,” I replied. Next, he asked me to name every major North American natural history museum. This was easy. He seemed to be impressed. Then he asked the names and approximate ages of all herpetology curators. The names were easy, but the ages presented some problems. He then noted, “So you see, young man, you don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a job in a museum, because no one will retire when you graduate!” To this I responded, “But wasn’t the same true for you?” I became his student and 10 years later a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum. Museum curatorial positions are very rare. In North America, there are only about 20 herpetological curator positions in what can be termed major museums, and yet there are far more than 600 herpetologists in academic positions. When a new position is offered, it’s news that everyone watches. Competition tends to be fierce. After all, what other academic position requires fieldwork and usually provides some or all of the funding to accomplish the task? Major museums with herpetological curatorial positions linked to faculty slots at leading universities are even more rare: the University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; University of Kansas, Lawrence; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; and the Royal Ontario Museum with the University of Toronto, Canada. In contrast, the other major natural history museums do not have direct faculty ties: the Field Museum in Chicago, California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles County Museum, although many curators have adjunct faculty appointments. For a curator, both direct academic ties and graduate student supervision are critical. As Al Leviton once aptly commented, “You won’t stay current if you don’t have students to teach you new tricks.”Getting a curatorial job is tough. It takes a combination of self-marketing, academic training, interview skills, politics, and a whole lot of pure luck. Applicants must market themselves by publishing in the appropriate, leading journals and in traditional museum publications. Publications need to have a systematics and evolution orientation and be novel or environmentally relevant or both. Visibility is almost as important as academic pedigree; the chosen topic must have intrinsic appeal and should have demonstrable innovation. Students with a background in museum-based research and collection management have a distinct advantage over those who do not, but essential experience also can be gained through part-time employment or volunteering. Interview skills are no less important. Regarding pure luck, usually someone must retire just as you graduate, and your research organisms may need to be from a particular geographic region. Collections tend to have geographic orientations, and many positions are tied to the strengths in the museum’s holdings, whether in Canada, Latin America, Asia, Africa, or the Caribbean.Perhaps politics is most important of all, and from this no one ever escapes-ever. It can range from committee meetings, confidential telephone calls, and e-mails to pure, unadulterated, uncensored gossip and spiteful power struggles. The curators of the major museums know each other well, and they rely on each other for research, exchanges, loans, assistance, and information, even about one another. Politics can make you, break you, promote or fail you, fund you, or leave you selling used cars, regardless of your qualifications or the tenure of the incumbent. It’s just like poker if you’ve got the ante to play: You are rarely dealt a royal flush, but you don’t need one to win. Winning, and the amount you win, depends as much on the cards you hold as on how well you play them.Academically successful curators spend the most time on research-related endeavors, including acquiring research funding. The mere description of new species is no longer viewed as indicating original research. Today’s life science curators are expected to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of organisms and interpret the evolution of particular features based on their history, apply their phylogenies to conservation issues, and be involved in bioinformatics. The description of new species is secondary. Research is quickly shifting toward applied conservation issues–not only the documentation of species diversity, but also fine-grained DNA analyses of geographic variation for species management and status assessment. Research has become very molecular and, unfortunately, traditional anatomical studies have become rather passé. The most productive research programs invariably involve graduate student training, and for me, work with visiting colleagues from developing countries, such as Mexico and China. The traditional requirements of fieldwork and collection acquisition continue today, consuming 2 or more months per year. To this add a proverbial mountain of manuscripts and grant proposals to review. There is considerable variation among individual curators in terms of research, exhibits, and administration, and no two are alike. Some curators do not have academic appointments, and thus have neither a cohort of graduate students, external research funding, nor active research programs. The future of museums is uncertain, certainly far more so than equivalent university professorial positions. For example, the Smithsonian Institution just announced plans to reduce its research staff by 350 positions. We are in a biodiversity crisis, and highly qualified systematists and museums are desperately needed to study and evaluate environmental trends and to help document priorities for conservation. Yet, there has been no significant expansion of museum positions. Many museums are suffering from frozen or reduced budgets and vacant or terminated curatorial and support positions. The number of curatorial positions has dwindled recently in many countries, including in Canada and the United Kingdom, and yet globally the human population, potential resources, and environmental needs have all grown at an alarming rate. There is a paradox between granting agencies putting large amounts of additional financial resources into biodiversity and conservation research, and the trend for stagnation or cutbacks at museums. For the optimist, this presents a great challenge to excel in research relevant to all of society. Although I sometimes wonder about the future of museums, the positive aspects of being a museum curator far outweigh such concerns. Dr. Robert Murphy is a senior curator of herpetology at the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, and a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto.
树倒猢狲散与古植物学灾难 ---- 博物馆(标本馆)之研究平台对古植物学的重要性 孙启高 2012 年7月12日 “ 树倒猢狲散 ” 是一个非常有趣的中文成语,字面意思是:“ 树倒了,树上的猴子会散去”。 英文里似乎也有类似的习语 ---- “ rats abandoning a sinking ship ”(船要沉了,老鼠会夺命而逃)。树倒猢狲散是常见的生活现象,也是有趣的生活哲学。本期《古植物学的故事》将简述古植物学研究的必要条件,树倒猢狲散给古植物学带来的学术灾难,进而阐述博物馆(标本馆)之研究平台对古植物学的重要性。 一、古植物学研究的必要条件 古植物学好像是自然历史研究中的“冷美人”,似乎有些神秘色彩。其实,古植物学并不神秘,而是 实实在在的学问,且是“看得见、摸得着”的学问,因为古植物学的研究者、研究对象、 地层剖面、研究文献以及实验平台(如博物馆或标本馆)等等都是 “看得见、摸得着”的。 ∮ 1 需要合适的人:要有发自内心喜欢古植物学的研究者和技术支撑人员; ∮ 2 需要研究材料:开展野外工作,在埋藏植物化石的地层剖面上采集植物大化标本和孢粉学样品; ∮ 3 需要 研究文献:围绕科学问题及研究主题收集文献资料; ∮ 4 需要研究平台:要有 博物馆(标本馆)存放标本及有关资料,要有 相关实验室; ∮ 5 需要经费支持:维系研究平台的正常运行,维系研究者及技术人员的正常工作,促进古植物学的稳定而持续发展。 二、树倒猢狲散与古植物学灾难 对于古植物学而言,树倒猢狲散的层面与形式是多样的,原因也是多方面的,但是直接后果主要表现在两大方面:一是研究队伍的败落,而是研究标本及相关资料的混乱和散失。在当前中国学术生态环境里,古植物学领域的树倒猢狲散似乎呈现常态化与普遍化之特征。中国的古植物学不仅面临基础薄弱之问题,而且面临体制脆弱之顽疾。 ∮ 1 有些古植物学研究生还没有毕业,其研究标本管理就已经不清楚。 ∮ 2 有些古植物学研究人员视研究标本为自己的私有物,随意存放标本,让同行很难查看。 ∮ 3 有些古植物学研究人员因学习、工作变更(如改行)造成标本丢失等混乱。 ∮ 4 有些古植物学研究人员还没有退休,其研究标本管理就已经很混乱。 ∮ 5 某所大学曾有一个很强大的古植物学团队,有多名专职研究古植物学的老师,有很多研究生,有很多标本。其中,有位老师一度担任学术领导职务,该教师从领导岗位上退下来后,其古植物学团队很快败落,标本也很快散落丢失。 ∮ 6 某研究所曾有几位古植物学研究人员,他们一生采集很多标本。研究人员陆续退休后,无人接班,植物化石及相关学术资料因长期无人管理而蒙受损失。 ∮ 7 某单位开展孢粉学研究(现代和化石),可是大量的孢粉载玻片( slides )无人专门管理,许多 slides 被无情地扔掉。 在 20 世纪 20 年代之前,中国的植物化石基本上由外国人研究,产自中国的大量植物化石被运到国外,如瑞典。后来,中国人陆续研究中国的植物化石。 20 世纪上半叶的中国总体形势是政局动荡、战事频繁、经济落后。所以,中国古植物学发展很缓慢是有客观原因的。 新中国成立后,经济恢复与建设要求地质先行。中国地质勘探事业的蓬勃发展 大大促进了中国古植物学(包括古孢粉学)的发展。自 20 世纪 50 年代初至 70 年代末,中国科学院、高等院校、地质部门和博物馆系统都相继开展古植物学研究(包括古孢粉学)。 1978 年中国实行改革开放,中国古植物学迎来一个较快的发展时期。虽然中国古植物学在本土化和国际化的历史进程中取得了一些进步,但是,总的说来,中国在古植物学领域的科学积累是很有限的、是很不容易的,中国的古植物学事业 一直在混沌中挣扎,一直在昏暗中摸索。低水平的、粗放的、很不严肃的、很不严谨的学术管理甚为普遍,为中国古植物学事业带来极大浪费和损失,直接危害科学积累和学术声誉。 令人欣慰的是:在中国古植物学界,富有职业操守的古植物学前辈还是有的。他们退休后,供职单位没有空间存在 植物化石标本。老先生将标本运送到千里之外有收藏条件的学术机构。不过 ,完全依赖个人的道德力量或人格力量保护植物化石标本的安全、维护学术的尊严进而维系古植物学的生存与发展是很难持久的。 三、博物馆(标本馆)之研究平台的重要性 针对古植物学的跨学科特点,欧美诸国在漫长的古植物学发展过程中逐步建立了符合古植物学自身发展规律的研究体制和维系模式。 欧美古植物学拥有相对稳固的研究平台和相对稳定的学术体制,为维系古植物学之学科生存与发展提供了现实性的可能。 博物馆(或标本馆)是古植物学研究的重要平台,如:英国自然历史博物馆(伦敦)、德国柏林和法兰克福自然历史博物馆以及瑞典斯德哥尔摩自然历史博物馆等。美国古植物学的研究力量主要分布在高水平的、研究型博物馆,如:位于美国 首都 华盛顿的史密松国立自然历史博物馆。美国一些大学的古植物学研究也“博物馆化”,即在大学所属博物馆进行,如:耶鲁大学 Peabody 自然历史博物馆等,从而构成了美国古植物学研究的国家体系或研究平台。 ∮ 1 举一个典型例子 --- 推动古植物学稳定而持续发展的博物馆 。 瑞典斯德哥尔摩自然历史博物馆 是代表欧美古植物学研究的一个基本模式。 该馆在 1884--1885 年间成立 苔藓蕨类与化石植物部( Department of Archegoniates and Fossil Plants ),后来改称 古植物部( Department of Palaeobotany ) 。这个古植物部从成立到现在已有 128 年的连续发展之历史了。 该 古植物部收藏有一大批 1920 年前后采自中国的石炭纪和二叠纪植物化石,总计 22,399 块标本已统计入数据库。这可能是在中国境外有关中国植物化石标本的最大收藏 ! 1987 年丹麦籍古植物学家 Else Marie Friis(1947--) 担任 斯德哥尔摩自然历史博物馆 古植物部主任,至今有 25 年。 ∮ 2 树倒猢狲散之现象在欧美古植物学界并不少见,但如何减少损失呢? 美国 普林斯顿大学的古植物学研究非常悠久,开始于 19 世纪 70 年代。许多植物化石标本 具有很重要的历史意义。 普林斯顿大学 地质学家和古植物学家 Erling Dorf ( 1905--1984 ) 1974 年退休,该大学古植物学研究很快停顿,其植物化石标本“孤儿化”。普林斯顿大学没有扔掉其丰富的植物化石标本及文献资料。 1985 年,普林斯顿大学的植物化石标本及文献资料被送至耶鲁大学 Peabody 自然历史博物馆古植物部收藏。 ∮ 3 古植物学研究者所在学术机构没有博物馆怎么办? 在欧美,有些大学或研究所没有长期保持植物化石标本及相关学术资料的条件。有些年轻人完成古植物学博士学位论文后,将他们的标本(包括孢粉载玻片)及相关资料送到有收藏条件的自然历史博物馆,以便各国同行查阅。这种做法已形成基本的职业操守。 为了准确鉴定被子植物叶化石,美国古植物学家 Jack A. Wolfe (1936--2005) 从 1958 年到 1969 年利用透明叶( cleared leaves )对现生双子叶植物的叶结构进行了系统的调查研究。他一共调查了 15,000 种植物,这些工作主要是在他供职的美国联邦地质调查局 (USGS) 进行的。后来,如此大量的 透明叶永久保存在 史密松国立自然历史博物馆,构成全美国 透明叶库 (National Cleared Leaf Collection ,载玻片编码为 NCLC-W) 。 本期编目 古植物学的故事 168 期 树倒猢狲散与古植物学灾难 ---- 博物馆(标本馆)之研究平台对古植物学的重要性 Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.168): How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part XVI) Palaeobotanical catastrophes like rats abandoning a sinking ship -----Museum or herbarium as important facility for palaeobotanical studies. ===================== 相关资料: 古植物学的故事 166 期 The Story of Palaeobotany Series (No. 166) 【如何推动中国古植物学全面崛起?(之十五)】 How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part XV) 古植物学的未来在中国 ------ 发展中国古植物学的欧美标准 China is embracing the future of palaeobotany -----About some European –American standards for the development of Chinese palaeobotany http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=585485 2012-6-24 22:23 古植物学的故事 159 期 Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.159): How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part XIV) The Statutes of the People’s Republic of China on Fossil Conservation and the future of Chinese palaeobotany 《 古生物化石保护条例 》与古植物学 http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=570962 2012-5-14 22:00 古植物学的故事 158 期 Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.158): Birbal Sahni 古植物学研究所及其博物馆 ( 标本馆 ) ------ 古植物学研究的“印度模式” How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part XIII) An Indian model: An autonomous institute of palaeobotany (Lucknow, India) http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=568666 2012-5-8 22:09 古植物学的故事 157 期 Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.157): 耶鲁大学 Peabody 自然历史博物馆与古植物学 ------ 古植物学研究的“美国模式” How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part XII) An American model: Palaeobotanical studies of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=567922 2012-5-6 22:57 古植物学的故事 156 期 Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.156): 瑞典斯德哥尔摩自然历史博物馆与古植物学 ------ 古植物学研究的“瑞典模式” How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part XI) A Swedish model: Palaeobotanical studies of the Swedish Museum of Natural History (Stockholm) http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=567568 2012-5-5 22:30 古植物学的故事 155 期 Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.155): 如何推动中国古植物学全面崛起?(之十) 主题:中国国家自然历史博物馆有什么用? How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part X) The roles of the National Museum of Natural History of China http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=567169 2012-5-4 23:25 古植物学的故事 152 期 如何推动中国古植物学全面崛起?(之九) 主题:中国国家自然历史博物馆在哪里? Story of Palaeobotany Series (152): How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part IX) Where is the National Museum of Natural History of China? http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=563627 2012-4-25 22:05 【博物馆与古植物学 (Museum and Palaeobotany) 3 】 古植物学的故事 147 期 如何推动中国古植物学全面崛起?(之五) 中国国家自然历史博物馆势在必建 ---- 科研是办好博物馆的生命线 Story of Palaeobotany Series (147): How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part V) The National Museum of Natural History of China should be established---The world-class original research is a life line for the development of the museum. http://bbs.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=500218 2011-10-23 22:30 【博物馆与古植物学 (Museum and Palaeobotany) 2 】 古植物学的故事 (133 期 ) 美国古植物学是如何崛起的? ( 之十六 ) 美国的自然历史博物馆与古植物学崛起 Story of Palaeobotany Series (133): How did American palaeobotany rise? (Part XVI) American museums of natural history and the rapid rise of American palaeobotany http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=485370 2011-9-11 23:17 【博物馆与古植物学 (Museum and Palaeobotany) 1 】 古植物学的故事( 132 期) 如何推动中国古植物学全面崛起?(之一) 中国的自然历史博物馆与古植物学未来 Story of Palaeobotany Series (132): How to promote the rapid rise of Chinese palaeobotany in the round? (Part I) China’s museums of natural history and the future of Chinese palaeobotany http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=225931do=blogquickforward=1id=481614 2011-8-31 21:41