RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

OCTOBER 2016
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EXTINCT-IN-THE-WILD ANTELOPE RETURNS TO THE GRASSLANDS OF CHAD

Thirty years after the scimitar-horned oyrx were driven to 

extinction, the desert antelope will return to the last-known 

place it existed: Chad’s Sahelian grasslands. The 

reintroduction—the culmination of decades of work—was 

led by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (“EAD”), the 

government of Chad and their implementing partner, the 

Sahara Conservation Fund. The Smithsonian Conservation 

Biology Institute (“SCBI”) and Zoological Society of London 

are leading post-release satellite-tracking efforts that will 

result in the collection of one of the most comprehensive 

datasets for any wildlife species returned to its native 

habitat. 

“This is an epic homecoming for this majestic species and a significant step forward for wildlife conservation,” 

said Steve Monfort, the John and Adrienne Mars director of SCBI. “Every conservationist aspires to ensure that 

wildlife thrive in their natural environment. This project was designed to ultimately give scimitar-horned oryx 

that chance, while also helping restore this grasslands ecosystem and to inspire and inform similar 

reintroduction efforts for other species.”

In July, SCBI postdoc Jared Stabach traveled to Chad where he helped fit 21 of 23 scimitar-horned oryx with GPS 

collars (two individuals were too young for collars but will return to the wild with the herd). Twice a day, Stabach 

and team will receive the position of every animal collared. Based on these coordinates, field staff will monitor 

the population. Overall, the data will tell scientists where the oryx go seasonally, how far they travel, whether 

they stay together or disperse into different social groups, and even if a poacher has taken an animal.

“This dataset is gold to any conservation researcher,” Stabach said. “We know so little about this species in the 

wild and the data we’re collecting will tell us where these animals are—and what’s going on with them—in near 

real-time over a number of years. We’re essentially opening up a window that will help us understand how and 

why individuals move across the landscape and allow us to monitor each individual in a way that was never 

before possible.” The project aims to build a self-sustaining population by releasing 500 wild oryx over the next 

five years. The released animals come from EAD’s “world herd” of oryx, including animals raised in human care 

from the United States, Europe, and United Arab Emirates. 

Climate change and human encroachment are among the primary threats to the antelope, which were also 

hunted to extinction and killed during times of civil unrest in Chad and neighboring regions. They were once 

widely distributed across the Sahel, from Senegal to Sudan. By releasing the oryx into their native habitat during 

the rainy season when better resources are available—giving them time to acclimate to the new climate in a 

large fenced area and hiring rangers to patrol the reserve—project partners are hopeful the animals will now 

have a better chance at survival.

 Photo Credit: John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
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FROM SEED BANKS TO SEDIMENT CORES, SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS 

ILLUSTRATE THE CHALLENGE OF FOOD SECURITY

In a world where our food needs are expected to increase drastically as the populations continue to grow, 

scientists and policymakers alike need new and creative tools to ensure food security. Scientific Collections 

International (“SciColl”) works to promote interdisciplinary relationships that stretch beyond institutional 

boundaries and illustrate how collections can respond to these challenges.

Sediment cores that chronicle past climate conditions may also contain pollen grains from ancient crops. Pest 

and pollinator collections in natural history museums are vital resources for ongoing research on plant 

protection and increased production. New technology has enabled us to apply novel molecular techniques to 

old specimens and expand the scope of research beyond the lab or the museum.

A symposium “Stressors and Drivers of Food Security: Evidence from Scientific Collections”, was held from 

September 19 - 21, 2016, at the United States Department of Agriculture’s (“USDA”) National Agriculture Library 

in Beltsville, Maryland, to engage researchers from anthropology, archaeology, earth sciences, biodiversity, 

agriculture, and other fields in discussions that examine food supplies throughout human history. Emphasis on 

new partnerships, networks, and organizational behavior illustrated how collections are uniquely suited to 

support ongoing and future research. SciColl is a global consortium devoted to promoting the use and impact 

of object-based scientific collections across disciplines, including archaeology, biology, biomedicine, earth and 

space sciences, technology and others. The SciColl Secretariat is housed at the Smithsonian.

RIBBON CUTTING FOR NEW RESEARCH LABORATORY IN GAMBOA, PANAMA

Smithsonian Tropical Research Center’s (“STRI”) new research Laboratory in 

Gamboa was inaugurated on September 21, 2016. Gamboa has long been a 

jumping off point for the Smithsonian’s research station on Barro Colorado 

Island and a center for STRI’s terrestrial research programs. Research in the 

new Gamboa Laboratory will directly complement and augment the science 

undertaken on Barro Colorado Island. The Gamboa Lab will enable 

experimental studies, while research on Barro Colorado Island is restricted to 

observational studies. The Gamboa Laboratory will play a prominent role in 

advancing tropical biology and as a training center for tropical biologists from 

around the world. In addition to STRI’s core staff scientists, more than 800 

visiting scholars annually conduct research in Gamboa.

The three-story Gamboa Laboratory will now provide 41,710 square feet of new space housing STRI’s 

burgeoning programs and will be the vibrant hub of the larger campus community. The new offices and research 

space will house signature programs in animal behavior, neurobiology, forest ecology and climate change, which 

are all mission-critical science frontiers for STRI. The growth of STRI’s presence here will contribute information 

about best practices in land management and about local flora and fauna. The unique juxtaposition of 

rainforest, open areas for outdoor experimental research and the new, state-of-the-art laboratory are ideally 

situated to enhance STRI’s ongoing studies of forests, animals and microbe.
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ORANGUTAN BORN AT THE NATIONAL ZOO

For the first time in 25 years, primate staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the birth of a male 

Bornean orangutan on September 12, 2016. Both 19 years old, female Batang and male Kyle bred in January 

following a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan 

(“SSP”). Primate staff have confirmed the newborn is a male. Staff have observed Batang nursing the infant 

who has been clinging closely to his mother, and they are cautiously optimistic that the newborn will thrive. 

“Each and every birth of a critically endangered species is significant, but it is all the more exciting, and this is a 

historic moment for our Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” said Meredith Bastian, curator of primates and member 

of the Orangutan SSP Steering Committee. “I look forward to watching the infant experience everything for the 

first time—especially meeting the other orangutans and going outside for the first time with Batang.”

For the past three years, keepers have been acclimating Batang to the experiences of motherhood and training 

her to care for an infant. Building upon behaviors Batang has learned through routine training sessions, keepers 

have trained Batang to hold a baby upright, present it to keepers for bottle feedings and place the baby in a 

specially designed box when asked. This training enables staff to retrieve the infant if medically necessary and 

evaluate its health in a way that is safe and not stressful for the animals.

 

 Photo credit: Alex Reddy
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VENUS-LIKE EXOPLANET MIGHT HAVE OXYGEN, BUT NO LIFE

The distant planet GJ 1132b intrigued astronomers when it was discovered last year. Located just 39 light-years 

from Earth, it might have an atmosphere despite being baked to a temperature of around 450 degrees 

Fahrenheit. But would that atmosphere be thick and soupy or thin and wispy? New research suggests the latter 

is much more likely.

Harvard astronomer Laura Schaefer (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, or CfA) and her colleagues 

examined the question of what would happen to GJ 1132b over time if it began with a steamy, water-rich 

atmosphere. Orbiting so close to its star, at a distance of just 1.4 million miles, the planet is flooded with 

ultraviolet or UV light. UV light breaks apart water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, both of which then 

can be lost into space. However, since hydrogen is lighter it escapes more readily, while oxygen lingers behind.

“On cooler planets, oxygen could be a sign of alien life and habitability. But on a hot planet like GJ 1132b, it’s a 

sign of the exact opposite—a planet that’s being baked and sterilized,” said Schaefer. Since water vapor is a 

greenhouse gas, the planet would have a strong greenhouse effect, amplifying the star’s already intense heat.

As a result, its surface could stay molten for millions of years.

A “magma ocean” would interact with the atmosphere, absorbing some of the oxygen, but how much? Only 

about one-tenth, according to the model created by Schaefer and her colleagues. Most of the remaining 90 

percent of leftover oxygen streams off into space, however some might linger. “This planet might be the first 

time we detect oxygen on a rocky planet outside the solar system,” said co-author Robin Wordsworth (Harvard 

Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences). If any oxygen does still cling to GJ 1132b, next-generation 

telescopes like the Giant Magellan Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect and 

analyze it. The magma ocean-atmosphere model could help scientists solve the puzzle of how Venus evolved 

over time. Venus probably began with Earthlike amounts of water, which would have been broken apart by 

sunlight. Yet it shows few signs of lingering oxygen. The missing oxygen problem continues to baffle 

astronomers.

Schaefer predicts that their model also will provide insights into other, similar exoplanets. For example, the 

system TRAPPIST-1 contains three planets that may lie in the habitable zone. Since they are cooler than GJ 

1132b, they have a better chance of retaining an atmosphere.

This work has been accepted for publication in the

Astrophysical Journal. Artist’s conception: Dana

Berry / Skyworks Digital / CfA
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THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

In the early 2000s, Washington, D.C. and other large cities across the United States began experiencing steady 

population growth for the first time in fifty years. Meanwhile, for the first time ever, the surrounding suburbs 

began facing growing rates of poverty. This reversal in longstanding trends that defined the twentieth century’s 

“urban crisis” has raised important questions about the causes and consequences of the rapid transformation 

of urban neighborhoods in the twenty-first century. 

Exploring both the historical and contemporary transformation of neighborhoods in all four quadrants of the 

nation’s capital—including Shaw, Chinatown, Anacostia, Adams Morgan, Southwest, Brookland, and more—

“There Goes the Neighborhood”, a research effort of the Anacostia Community Museum, highlights the role 

that residents, business owners, tenants’ associations, developers, activists, and government officials have 

played in reshaping Washington, D.C. over the past half-century. Revealing how and why metropolitan 

Washington neighborhoods developed the way they have, the exhibition offers historical insights about urban 

change while also uncovering the possibilities for an equitable urban future. 

“There Goes the Neighborhood” will run from September 18, 2017 through September 16, 2018. The exhibition

will serve to mark and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Anacostia Community Museum which opened its 

doors on September 15, 1967. 

BEGIN WITH THE PAST: BUILDING THE NATIONAL 

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Rising on the National Mall next to the Washington Monument, the National 

Museum of African American History and Culture is a tiered bronze beacon 

inviting everyone to learn about the richness and diversity of the African 

American experience and how it helped shape this nation. Begin with the 

Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture 

is the story of how this unparalleled museum found its place in the nation’s 

collective memory and on its public commons. Begin with the Past presents 

the long history of efforts to build a permanent place to collect, study, and 

present African American history and culture.

In 2003, the museum was officially established at long last, yet the work of 

the museum was only just beginning. The book traces the appointment of 

the director, the selection of the site, and the process of conceiving, 

designing, and constructing a public monument to the achievements and 

contributions of African Americans. The careful selection of architects, designers, and engineers culminated in 

a museum that embodies African American sensibilities about space, form, and material and incorporates rich 

cultural symbols into the design of the building and its surrounding landscape.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a place for all Americans to understand our 

past and embrace our future, and this book is a testament to the inspiration and determination that went into 

creating this unique place.