Drew Harvell’s discussion was very interesting, but not in the way I expected. I thought that I was attending a talk about the fragility of the ocean ecosystem and watching a movie that would show the negative effects of pollution and overfishing, which was definitely true, in a way. However, the movie and talk also focused on the Blaschka glass collection, a hidden gem at Cornell. The Blaschka figures are beautiful, hand made, glass models of marine creatures. I was awed by the detail on the creatures, and impressed by their resemblance to the living organisms. I especially liked that the Blaschka’s included small organisms that are typically thought of as less important.

Another interesting part of the discussion that I was surprised by was that sea stars are such an important part of the ocean. I had no idea that stars really did anything at all useful, but during the talk I learned that they are considered a keystone species, because they keep the urchin populations under control. So it is very worrying that the stars are being hit so hard by a disease that, though humans may not have caused it, our actions are exacerbating it (rising ocean temperates makes the stars die quicker).

Professor Harvell said that the glass models will be on display at the Johnson at the end of the year, which is an exhibit that, I at least, look forward to seeing.