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Home / Exhibits
John B. Wise, Ph.D
Title: Curator of Malacology (since June of 1995).
Learn more about John Wise's:
Describe the collections for which you are responsible.
I oversee the extensive HMNS Malacology collection that contains over a million marine shells from around the world and smaller collections of both worldwide freshwater and land shells. HMNS has one of, if not the best, collection of marine shells from the Gulf of Mexico. The malacology collection also contains some of the rarest and most beautiful shells in the world. Moreover, thanks to a very talented and gifted Museum staff and Malacology volunteers, we have catalogued and in our database 50,000 of 52,000 lots comprising the collection. Last, but not least, Malacology has a superior collection of books (many of which are quite rare) in our library – the finest library of its kind in the south.
How did you become interested in mollusks and shells?
After a trip to the beaches of Florida at age nine, I was completely hooked.
I came home with a shoebox full of shells I had purchased from the different shell shops I visited. It was not until I got my first shell identification book (months later) that I realized not one of shells in my shoebox were from Florida – all of them were from the Pacific!
What do you do now?
Since 1995, my energies have focused on four main areas: 1) education,
2) exhibition, 3) malacology collection, and 4) research.
1) The conveyance of natural science information to the public is an important endeavor and a serious responsibility. I’m a strong advocate of stewardship. With this in mind, a portion of my time is utilized in the education of both adults and children/students (K-12). Through the various museum programs I provide lectures, guided tours, hands on field experiences, in-service teacher training, as well as outreach programs to the various district schools in and around the Houston area.
2) I have been intimately involved (i. e., responsible for all content and some design aspects) for both permanent and temporary exhibits. Permanent exhibits: In November 1997, we completely renovated our Strake Hall of Malacology. A hall (which until this time consisted of 2,500 shells, a few photographs of living mollusks, and two videos), now contains a 35 foot model of the giant squid Architeuthis sp. (with 20x25 foot mural depicting sperm whale and giant squid in combat), 10 other molluscan models, over 900 shells exemplifying the diversity existing within and between the 8 molluscan classes, 3 aquaria (featuring giant clams, Texas and Gulf of Mexico mollusks, and the cuttlefish Sepia), original Chenu shell prints, electron microphotographs of micro-shells and snails teeth, a pearl exhibit, with video describing the production of cultured pearls and a short animated film illustrating jet propulsion, color change, and the use of ink in squids.
In-house temporary exhibits: 1) The Fauna of the Flower Garden Banks – northern most North American coral reef (Nov. 1996- Feb. 1997), 2) Now you see it! The microworld and the power of the microscope (Sept. 1999 – Jan. 2000), and 3) Creatures of Seeps (Jan- May 2002).
3) My goals have been to completely and systematically reorganize the collection, maintain and add to our Malacology database and increase our Gulf of Mexico holdings and selectively add to our worldwide collection, mainly for exhibit purposes.
4) I am particularly interested in the systematics of the molluscan order Heterostropha and what this group can tell us about the evolutionary history of the Gastropoda.
Current research projects:
Morphology and molecular biology of the lower Heterobranchs.
Phylogeny of the ectoparasitic gastropod family Pyramidellidae.
Shallow and deep-water pyramidellids of New Caledonia.
The pyramidellid types named by J. Thiele and housed in the Natural History Museum of Berlin.
All four endeavors are closely related; research generates information, which is transferred to the public through education and exhibits, whereas the collection is driven by research and exhibition needs.
Education -
Ph.D. in Biology, June 1994, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
M.S. in Marine Biology, 1987, College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C.
B.S. in Biology, 1981, Francis Marion College, Florence, S.C.
Selected work experience -
Assistant Professor (1994-1995). University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana.
Exhibitor (1993). National Zoo, Washington, D.C .
Lecturer in Biology (1992), George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
Smithsonian Fellow (1991-1992), National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.
King Fellow (1990-1991), King Fellowship, George Washington Univ., Wash. D.C.
Research Assistant (1989), NMNH , Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.
Biologist I (1986-1988), South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Marine Resources Division, Charleston, South Carolina.
Selected awards/honors -
Maude M. Meyer Award for best student paper, 53rd American Malacological Union meeting, 1987.
Grants-in-Aid of Research Award, Sigma XI, 1989.
King Fellowship, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1990.
Smithsonian Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1991.
Collections Study Grant, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1998.
Visiting Curatorship, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, and Mar.- May 2000.
Sterling Research Grant, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas, 1998-2001.
Visiting Scientist Research Award, Smithsonian Marine Station Linkport, Florida, 1989-2004.
Professional development -
Selected presented papers
South Carolina Fisheries Workers meeting, February 1987, Charleston, SC.
57th American Malacological Union meeting, July 1991, Berkeley, CA.
64th AMU/World Congress of Malacology meeting, July 1998, Washington, D.C.
Molluscs 2000 meeting, December 2000, Sydney, Australia.
World Congress of Malacology meeting, Vienna, Austria, August 2001.
Invited speaker:
58th American Malacological Union meeting. Symposium on Gastropod Evolution; August 1992, Sarasota, Florida.
12th International Malacological Congress meeting, Unitas Malacologica. Phylogeny Free Lecture; September 1995, Vigo, Spain.
63rd American Malacological Union meeting. Symposium on Molluscan Systematics; June 1997, Santa Barbara, CA.
Conchologist of America meeting. June 2000, Houston, TX.
68th American Malacological Society meeting, Co-chair; Symposium on Molluscan Phylogenetics: A Total Evidence Approach; August 2002. Chas., S.C.
SeaSpace Convention, Reliant Center, June 2004, Houston TX.
Selected publications -
Wise, J.B. 1987. Contributions to the biology of Boonea impressa Say (Pyramidellidae: Gastropoda) M.S. thesis. College of Charleston.
Wise, J.B. 1993. Anatomy and functional morphology of the feeding structures of the ectoparasitic gastropod Boonea impressa (Pyramidellidae). Malacologia, 35(1):119-134.
Wise, J.B. 1994. Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of certain members of the ectoparasitic family Pyramidellidae (Heterobranchia). Dissertation, George Washington University.
Wise, J.B. 1996. Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of certain pyramidellid taxa (Heterobranchia). Malacologia, 37(2): 443-511.
Wise, J.B. 1998. Morphology and systematic position of Rissoella caribaea. The Nautilus, 111(1): 13-21.
Wise, J.B. 1999. Reassignment of Henyra morrisoni Bartsch, 1947 from the Family Aclididae to the Ebalidae (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia). The Nautilus, 113(2): 64-70.
Wise, J.B. 2000. Anatomy and systematic placement of Sayella laevigata (Gastropoda: Pyramidellidae: Sayellinae. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 66:119-124.
Wise, J.B. 2001. Anatomy of Boonea jadisi (Olsson & McGinty, 1958), (Heterobranchia: Pyramidellidae) from the western Atlantic, including a comparison of other species assigned to the genus. The Nautilus, 115(2): 68-75.
Wise et al. 2004. Population divergence in the sinistral Busycon whelks of North America, with special reference to the east Florida ecotone. In Press - Marine Biology; SMSFP Contrib.538.
Community and educational involvement
Public Schools -
Business Partners 1987-1988, a cooperative venture between Sullivan's
Island Elementary School and South Carolina Marine Resources Division Charleston, SC, with the goal of providing students with a better understanding of marine, coastal environments.
Volunteer lecturer 1990-1994, Watkins Mill Elementary School, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Provide presentations to various grade levels over a range of biological topics (pollution, zoology, ecology, etc.,)
Volunteer lecturer 1995-, Katy and Houston School Districts, Texas. Provide hands-on presentations to K-12 concerning marine biology, ecology, conservation, etc.
Museum -
Lecturer/educator 1995-, provide tours of the Strake Hall of Malacology and Malacology department at the Houston Museum of Natural Science for docents, students and seniors. Work with both the Museum’s Education and Volunteer Departments to provide course work and specialized programs for K-12 teachers (=in service). Provide hands on programs wherein adults and children can learn of the marine environment. Participants explore the coastal and nearshore biomes, (e.g., pull a seine, and experience first hand species identification and information gathering) as well take groups out on trawlers operated by the University of Texas in Galveston and Port Aransas, Texas.
Suggested books-
The Kingdom of the Seashell – R.T. Abbott, 1972.
A Guide to Field Identification/Seashells of North America – R.T. Abbott
(originally published in 1968, but reprinted many times and still available).
Compendium of Seashells – R.T. Abbott and S.P. Dance, 1998.
Compendium of Landshells – R.T. Abbott, 1989.
A Field Guide/Texas Shells – Jean Andrews (originally published in 1971 as Shells and Shores of Texas, but reprinted many times and still available).
Beachcombers Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life – N. Fotheringham, 1980.
Pearls: A Natural History – Landman et al., 2001.
The Search for the Giant Squid – Richard Ellis, 1998.
Tide Tables 2004/East Coast of North and South America, including Greenland,
International Marine.
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