Fish, Mark Speaks and a bit of Immigration

Big day-- Mark gave his symposium talk this afternoon.  The other three members of the family trooped over to the Exhibition Center to listen.  Alan even took notes.  We think Mark did a good job.  We haven't seen him yet to tell him so, though.  We slipped out after he had finished answering questions and he is out for dinner with some of his colleagues. Mark spoke about why andromonoecy, the sexual system where plants have both hermaphrodite and male only flowers, is so common in the Apiales.  I may have lost you already.  The Apiales are the plant order that contains celery, carrots, Schefflera, and ginseng.  Mark's been studying it one way or another since graduate school.  Andromonoecy is extremely rare in plants generally, so it is interesting why it is more common in these plants.  Mark tries to solve this mystery through a look at ancestry, plant structure and, of course, reproductive success.

I have been getting teased in the family for predicting when we see a botanist.  Those from Europe and the States may be identified like this:  They usually are men, have beards, are lanky or generally look fit, and carry backpacks or some other gear made of outdoorsy fabric.  The usually do not wear neckties, although there are exceptions.  Leg wear is often khaki, cargo or zip-off.  The botanists from Asia are generally more formal in attire, even wearing suits.  Even though it is 2011, I am afraid that most of the over 2000 scientists here are men.  Overall, I think the South America is far too under represented.  I hope you saw my sense of humor at the start of the paragraph.  But, regarding South America I am pretty serious:  Since there's a huge rainforest facing extinctions every day on that continent, I hope that these meetings will eventually be able to draw colleagues from South America to them.

Lion Fish

Sea Kelp Dragon--the whole thing

Before the talk, the boys and I spent the morning at the Melbourne Aquarium.  Cool fish!  Alan says his favorite was the lion fish.  I liked the sea kelp dragon.   The aquarium was full of very small, loud children, as well as a large group from a seniors home.  John Roy's analysis:   "We have the opposite ends of the spectrum--the very young and the very old.   We also have the same end of the spectrum:  Has trouble walking, has trouble walking."  At any rate, it was a small and interesting aquarium with fish I hadn't seen before.  I always know that JR will like learning about nature, but I was pleasantly surprised that Alan too, had so much enthusiasm.

After Mark's talk the boys and I split up.  They swam at the hotel, while I visited Melbourne's Immigration Museum.  I walked in just an hour or so before closing and commented that I didn't have much time.  The clerk looked me over and asked if I had any concessions.  That translates to, did I belong to any discountable category.  "No, I am not a student, and I am not a pensioner,"  I answered.  "Are you a teacher? " he asked.  "Why yes, I am...but not in Australia; in the States."  "You can go in for free. I'll put you down as an 'overseas' student, since surely you'll learn something while you're in there."  I thought this was very nice.  I also wonder how he knew I was a teacher...

It was interesting to learn about the history of immigration in another country of immigrants.  Just like you might find at Ellis Island in New York, the story of immigration here has lots of successful moments, and also very sad ones, where prejudice has influenced policy.  Even without refugee status, the story of an immigrant is tied to some of a the darkest moments in history.  The museum had lots of artifacts that told the stories in an interesting way.   It is clear that most recent efforts have been directed toward pride in diversity, and also efforts to define Australia as having a place and identity in the Asia-Pacific and not just as a former colony of Britain.  I can sense that this new identity is emerging.

One clever part of the display about traveling here looked like the inside of a ship.  Outside of the display were some very cute portholes.  The portholes had none of the human immigrants depicted, but some of the other immigrants that might have been found in the hold.  I skipped photographing the cockroaches.  Here are two others:

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The rats are partying. Their porthole caption says "...We go where we want."

This porthole depicts Camellias being shipped from England to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne

The other achievement today was that JR taught us how to use Australian ketchup ('tomato sauce') packets without squirting the red stuff all over our clothing.  I have a great little how-to video from him, but it is taking  too long to load, so that may just have to be a sequel.

Our botany hero has returned to his family.  He has had a good day!