The Glass (Invertebrate) Menagerie

If any of you reading this are at Cornell, or close enough to go to Ithaca for a day, go here and report back to me about this stunning collection of glass invertebrates, recently featured in the New York Times.

Nearly a decade ago, when I was a fledgling marine biologist, I spent two summers at a marine lab off the Maine coast. This was one of those experiences that really solidified and changed what I wanted to do. It was not my first experience with either marine life or scientific research, but it was my first field station experience, and my first exposure to scientists doing field research. Those two summers spent taking classes, going out on boats, playing in the intertidal, and being attacked by gulls were easily some of the best months of my professional life...even though I spent many many hours washing dishes, painting dorms, mopping floors, mowing lawns, etc. to earn my keep.

My second summer there I took Invertebrate Biology with Dr. C. Drew Harvell of Cornell University. This was the course that really convinced me that I was on the right track in becoming an invertebrate zoologist. These were the animals I really loved, and here was a woman who had made studying them her (very successful) scientific career. She was also my first introduction to the world of the research university. Since that summer, our paths have crossed a couple more times, at meetings, other marine labs, and my own university.

One of the coolest things about Dr. Harvell is how successful she has been at outreach for conservation of marine environments, especially the coral habitats she studies. This included a January stint in the Scientists at Work blog in the New York Times. Lately she's been in the Times again about the glass collection that she curates at Cornell.

So all that to say go read the article, and check out the slide show of beautiful animals that really are incredibly lifelike and true to their invertebrate forms. And I mean it, if anyone is close enough to stop and see them in person, please report back.