Online Exhibits

Field notes

Accounts from UCMP faculty curators, staff, and students of their adventures and findings in the field.

For our most recent Field Notes, visit our blog.

Kaitlin Maguire at the John Day Fossil Beds Kaitlin Maguire at the John Day Fossil Beds
In this video, UCMP grad student Kaitlin Maguire finds that the John Day Fossil Beds is where she wants to do her dissertation research during a 2009 field trip there.
Monogamy in mantis shrimp: Field notes from Molly Wright Molly Wright: Monogamy in mantis shrimp
While working as a teaching assistant on the island of Moorea, Molly pursues her research on the evolution and reproductive behaviors of mantis shrimp (stomatopods).
Researching whelks in Japan: Field notes from Jann Vendetti Jann Vendetti: Researching whelks in Japan
Jann is in Japan gathering data to help her answer questions concerning the evolution and dispersal of whelks through time and their different modes of developmental growth.
Remipedes and cave diving: Field notes from Joey Pakes Joey Pakes: Remipedes and cave diving
Joey Pakes heads to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in search of remipedes, mysterious animals first described in 1981. Dive with Joey as she seeks to answer some basic questions about how remipedes survive in their harsh cave environments.
Hunting for Mesozoic vertebrates in Ethiopia: Field notes from Mark Goodwin Mark Goodwin: Hunting for Mesozoic vertebrates in Ethiopia
Mark Goodwin heads to Ethiopia to continue his search for vertebrate fossils in the Mesozoic deposits of the Blue Nile Gorge.
Lorraine Casazza: Pyramids, forams, and Red Sea reefs Lorraine Casazza: Pyramids, forams, and Red Sea reefs
Graduate student Lorraine Casazza studies the largest foraminiferans that have ever lived … and finds them in the pyramids of Egypt. She also seeks a method of monitoring reef health in the Red Sea and wonders how the Red Sea's living reefs compare to its fossil reefs that formed when it was cut off from the world's oceans during the Pleistocene.
Stephanie Bush: Squid science Stephanie Bush: Squid science
Graduate student Stephanie Bush explores the waters of Monterey Bay and the Gulf of California hoping to find out why squids that live where light doesn't penetrate still emit ink.
Randy Irmis: Investigating the rise of dinsaurs Randy Irmis: Investigating the rise of dinosaurs
Graduate student Randy Irmis and colleagues continue their excavations at the Hayden Quarry, an important Triassic site near Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. The quarry preserves the remains of the earliest dinosaurs as well as those of dinosaur precursors.
Nick Pyenson and Dave Haasl: Investigating a fossil whalefall locality on Año Nuevo Island Nick Pyenson and Dave Haasl: Investigating a fossil whalefall locality on Año Nuevo Island
Graduate student Nick Pyenson and Museum Scientist Dave Haasl describe the first fossil whalefall community from California and find that it has implications for the evolution of these communities in the Tertiary.
Diane Erwin: Paleobotany field trip to the Sierra Nevada Diane Erwin: Paleobotany field trip to the Sierra Nevada
Museum Scientist Diane Erwin and Museum Associate Howard Schorn ran a three-day excursion to several Tertiary fossil plant localities throughout the western slope of the northern Sierra. This profile includes a detailed written account of the expedition and over 100 photographs.