World Congress of Malacology Antwerp ... - Unitas Malacologica

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (California, USA):
Upgrade of research and collection facilities for the 21 st Century
Chaney, Henry W.; Carpenter, Shannon; Geiger, Daniel L.; Hochberg, F. G.; Sadeghian,
Patricia; Valentich-Scott, Paul
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History-Invertebrate Zoology, 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, Santa
Barbara, CA 93105, USA,
Email: hchaney@sbnature2.org; scarpenter@sbnature2.org; geiger@vetigastropoda.com;
fghochberg@sbnature2.org; psadeghian@sbnature2.org; pvscott@sbnature2.org
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a private institution established in 1916, with public
exhibits focused on regional subjects. However, both research and collections are much more
extensive in their coverage, with responsibilities divided among five departments. Aggressively
developed during the past 25 years are ranked invertebrate collections in mollusks, bryozoans,
cnidarians and dicyemid parasites. Mollusk holdings currently exceed 300,000 dry and wet lots, with
over 2200 primary and secondary types. Since 1991, high priority has been given to housing
collections in an archival quality environment, including custom Delta Design cabinetry and acid free
containers and labels.
Approximately 50,000 lots have been catalogued in the Specify collection database (www.
specifysoftware.org). Updated daily and with some images available, these records are georeferenced
and accessible on line at www.sbcollections.org.
Significant mollusk collections have been compiled through staff expeditionary work, transfers from
other institutions and the accessions of large diverse private collections, including those of S.
Stillman Berry, Walter J. Eyerdam and Donald Shasky (each in excess of 30,000 lots); as well as
many smaller taxonomic or geographically specialized holdings. Well represented are cephalopods
that are worldwide in scope, eastern Pacific bivalves, trans-Pacific gastropods, and chitons. Holdings
from the oceanic islands of the tropical eastern Pacific are particularly noteworthy.
The research facilities have been significantly upgraded during the past five years by funds received
through private bequests and those awarded by a NSF MRI grant. These include a molecular lab
(DNA extraction through PCR), histology with regular paraffin microtome, an ultramicrotome, and a
variable pressure scanning electron microscope (Zeiss EVO40XVP). An all-digital imaging workflow
is implemented with several digital SLRs and Automontage image processing.
Current malacological research projects include taxonomic studies on cephalopods (Hochberg),
Scissurellidae (Geiger), and a monographic review of the Panamic Bivalvia (Valentich-Scott).
A bioassay to identify the active molecule in the dart gland mucus
Chase, Ronald 1 ; Darbyson, Emily 1 ; Nagle, Gregg 2
1. Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Quebec, H3A
1B1, Canada,
Email: Ronald.chase@mcgill.ca
2. Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 120 Basic
Science Bldg., Galveston, Texas 77555-0625, USA,
Email: gtnagle@utmb.edu
Earlier work showed that the "love" dart of Cantareus aspersus, when shot successfully during
courtship, increases paternity for the shooter relative to that of competing sperm donors. Other work
demonstrated that this effect is mediated by an unknown substance that is in the mucus clinging to
the dart when it is shot and that is injected into the recipient when hit by the dart. Further studies of
the mechanisms underlying the dart's function would be aided by isolating and identifying this
bioactive substance (or substances). Also, identification of the dart's molecular agent would facilitate
phylogenetic investigations, thus helping to unravel the evolution of the dart.
Because the molecule of interest is likely to be a peptide, we began by subjecting mucus from the
dart gland (digitiform gland) to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two samples
33