Last June, more than 400 of the world’s leading experts in all things amphibians and reptiles gathered at the University of Michigan to share their cutting-edge research in biodiversity science and to visit the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology’s museums’ venerable collections, which include the world’s largest collection of snakes.

As the flagship event of the conference, the collections tour was one of the many events included during the four day meeting. Together with the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) and the International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology (ISHBH), the conference offered a diverse series of presentations and workshops, including “Functional Morphology in the 21st Century,” and “Global Perspectives on the Future of Herpetology."

Collections workshop attendees, courtesy of John David Curlis

 

“This was a huge first for us, putting on a conference of this scale,” said Dr. Alison Davis Rabosky, Associate Curator, Museum of Zoology. “We thought a lot about how to execute a meaningful experience, and how to best engage attendees with our world class collections and researchers.” Thanks to Covid delays, the event was six years in the making, and delivered on expectations.

The Museums Extravaganza Dinner and Tours was held on Friday, June 28, at the Research Museums Center (RMC). After a motivating speech by the former LSA Dean Anne Curzan, who encouraged participants to “get on that bus” to tour the collections, participants were indeed bused over the facility for dinner and tours. Tents were arranged in the parking lot of RMC, another first, offering participants the unique opportunity to dine outdoors. Even the table centerpieces highlighted the museums’ collections. Created by undergrad EEB majors Tony DiMeglio and Anna Zhao, custom jars with specimens and labels were lit from within and placed on each table.

Opening ceremony with U-M’s Greg Schneider, Alison Davis Rabosky, Dan Rabosky and SSAR president Lee Fitzgerald, courtesy of Natasha Stepanova

 

After dining, participants entered the museums for expert-led tours of each collection. These include the Herbarium and the Museum of Zoology's (UMMZ) wet and dry collections including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects and mollusks. In
addition, attendees visited collections of cultural and prehistoric significance through interdepartmental collaboration with the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology and the Museum of Paleontology. The evening ended with the Inaugural Herp Annual Film Festival, a showcase of videos submitted for review and prizes.

“Our intention is to not only share our collections and our active research activities with our peers and colleagues, but to also highlight the ways in which we serve the global community,” said Davis Rabosky. “In providing access to specimens and information around the world, we see how our collection here serves a larger purpose. We can provide answers to questions we haven’t even asked yet.”

Ultimately, the conference achieved its key goal of increasing the international profile of the U-M's EEB Museums and engagement within the herpetology community and beyond. “We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of Ph.D. applicants who want to come to the University of Michigan,” said Davis Rabosky. “We are delighted to have hosted SSAR this year.” More than 40 museum staff and students - including all other biodiversity units, from fungi to fishes - contributed to the effort, making the conference a comprehensive group effort and shared success.

“SSAR was the first professional society that I ever joined so it was a really special experience to take part in the planning and hosting of the 2024 stand-alone meeting,” said Hayley Crowell, Ph.D. Candidate, UMMZ. “I especially enjoyed being able to show my friends and colleagues from across the world the impressive herp collection we have here. While it was definitely a lot of work, the collective effort among the herp labs, museum staff, and EEB to bring this meeting together was, in the end, inspiring and I am proud of what we accomplished.”