Yesterday afternoon, about 30 students and faculty united by their interest in evolution gathered in G01 Biotechnology to hear a panel discussion on Biodiversity on Land led by Prof. Amy McCune, Prof. Richard Harrison and Prof. Kelly Zamudio, ecology and evolutionary biology; and Prof. Cole Gilbert, entomology.

The panel featured presentations on topics such as the Darwin finches, a group of 15 species of finches with varied beak size that contributed to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, and the evolution of pseydoeurycea leprosa, a species of salamander threatened by habitat loss. The discussion was part of Darwin Days, a week-long series of panel discussions, workshops, and film screenings. According to ithacadarwindays.org, Darwin Days is an international movement that has existed since 1995 when it was held in Palo Alto, Calif. Darwin Days first came to Ithaca in 2006 and was run as a collaboration between the Museum of the Earth and the University. The initial Darwin Days was such a success that it has been held every year since.

Prof. Warren Allmon, earth and atmospheric sciences, who moderated yesterday’s panel discussion and is a director at the Museum of the Earth, described the 2009 event as a “big blowout” with presentations and exhibits in Kroch Library and other places across the Cornell Campus. When planning this year’s Darwin Days, Allmon decided that this year’s celebration could hold the same significance as those of the previous years.

“Cornell has so much expertise in evolutionary bio,” Allmon said, “Usually these experts talk to themselves and students, but rarely to the public. Darwin Days is a way to get this expertise out to the public.”

In the panel discussion, Zamudio pointed out that modern use of DNA barcoding, a technique used to identify the species to which an organism belongs, was really no different than the taxonomic efforts that Darwin underwent during his research. On the other hand, Harrison wondered whether the use of the Darwinian evolution had contributed to some of the resistance it faces in certain areas.

Lauren Maistros ’10, a biology major with a concentration in systematics and biotic diversity, found the panelists and their presentations as a whole to be interesting.

“I had never heard the research on assortative mating between finches with similar beak sizes and found that new,” Lauren said, “Also, I am always interested in how little we know about the morphology of species, which the various uses of swim bladders in fishes highlighted.”

Allmon went on to point out that the majority of the audience was comprised mostly of faculty members, and he hoped that more of the public would attend future Darwin Days events. Kelly Cromin ’08, a staff member at The Museum of the Earth, echoed this feeling.

“[Darwin Days] is a place to come to hear about what’s at Cornell, “Cromin said.