By Dan Molloy

Dan Molloy is a biologist in the New York State Museum's Research and Collections division and is director of the Museum's Field Research Laboratory in Cambridge. His research focuses on aquatic invertebrates, with a particular emphasis on zebra mussels.

Building International Bridges of Understanding and Collaborative Science

When invited to write this contribution to Tales from the Field, I thought about the overseas trips that I have taken over the last decade as part of my grant funded research. Many of these were to the former Soviet Union where I made deep personal friendships with many scientists and established productive research projects that continue to this day. I decided, however, to write about my most recent visit to Eastern Europe that occurred last autumn-a trip that was fresh in my mind and had great personal significance. It started with my attending a very unusual conference in Istanbul and ended with my exploring the deepest lake in Europe, Lake Ohrid in Macedonia, a country I had never visited before.

The Istanbul conference was organized and funded by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC:) and its purpose was to build scientific ties between American and Middle Eastern scientists. Approximately 20 researchers from the United States were invited to attend, along with an equal number from Jordan, Palestine and Israel. I have always believed that building international scientific collaborations makes a contribution in a small, yet significant way to world peace. I felt very fortunate to have been invited to this conference and looked forward to getting to know some Middle Eastern scientists while in Istanbul.

The conference site was Koc University, a private institution just outside Istanbul. When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was that security was tight. The campus was surrounded by a barbed wire fence and was constantly patrolled by guards. Considering that there had recently been terrorist bombings in Istanbul, the NRC: obviously had carefully chosen a location that would be a secure site for the conference.

Over the four days that the conference was held, I had the chance to repeatedly interact with scientists from all three Middle Eastern countries. I learned a lot about their professional activities. their joys, their fears and their personal hopes for a better tomorrow. When mixing socially in small groups, there were sometimes tense moments when emotions came to the surface. More frequently. there were moments of laughter and genuine camaraderie among all nationalities. Hopefully, the good will that was displayed at that conference by all parries will he a harbinger of good things to come eventually in that part of the world.

When the conference ended, I packed my bags and headed for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with the goal of finding a tiny mussel in Lake Ohrid. My research at the State Museum centers on the biology, ecology and environmentally safe control of zebra mussels, Dreissena spp. These are small macrofouling bivalves that were introduced to North ,America from Europe about 20 years ago and have been clogging water pipes and causing environmental disruption ever since. For many years, I had dreamed of visiting Lake Ohrid because it contains a zebra mussel species. Dreissena stankovici, found nowhere else in the world. Now I would finally have the chance to collect this rare species and compare it to the two zebra mussel species that are present in New York State, Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena bugensis. By examining some specimens of D. stankovici. I would be able to recognize if it ever arrived in New York State.

Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian, and American scientists join together for group photo. Included in second row is a bronze sculpture of Mr. Vehbi Koc, Turkish industrialist and founder of the university that hosted the Istanbul conference. Dan Molloy (arrow).

When trying to collect field samples in a foreign country, it is very practical to have a local scientist as part of your research team. Such a scientist typically knows the best sampling places and can help smooth out other logistical problems involved in making the collections. Several months in advance of this trip, I made a concerted effort to find such a local Macedonian scientist. Unfortunately, I had no success.

When I finally arrived at Lake Ohrid, I was on my own. I knew, however, that there was a biological field station located on the lake and decided to visit it to see if anyone could help me. That proved to be a good decision. As I approached the front door of the station, there was a man exiting it carrying a vacuum cleaner. I thought he might be the janitor and asked him in English if he knew of a scientist at the station who could help me collect this rare species of zebra mussel. In excellent English. he replied that he would be pleased to help me. That was my first conversation with Dr. Sasho Trajanovski, the station's specialist on zebra mussels. Talk about being lucky! He immediately invited me to his office to plan the collection over a cup of good Macedonian coffee. It was there that I met his wife Sonja who is also a biologist at the station and who also enthusiastically expressed interest in helping me.

With the assistance of Sasho and Sonja, I was soon snorkeling in the lake collecting zebra mussels. No doubt about it, I was as happy as a clam (pardon the corny humor, but I couldn't resist). I had come thousands of miles hoping to get these samples and now I had them! Lake Ohrid is an exceptionally clear waterbody and was a special treat to explore. One of the reasons the underwater visibility is so exceptional is that an enormous freshwater spring constantly flushes out the lake. Besides being the deepest lake in Europe, Lake Ohrid is also the oldest European lake, formed 4-10 million years ago, and represents a refuge for numerous freshwater organisms from the tertiary period. Thus, it is not surprising that this lake contains endemic species found nowhere else in the world, including the particular zebra mussel species that I had come to study.

Following the collection, I spent time over the next few days with this Macedonian couple discussing our mutual research interests and the possibility of obtaining a grant to fund a joint U.S.-Macedonian research project. During my short stay, their generosity and hospitality were overwhelming. It reminded me again, just as it had with my colleagues from the former Soviet Union, that an individual's richness is not measured in financial terms. I left Macedonia with the pledge to maintain our personal and professional relationship. I am glad to tell you that we have.

All this occurred in just two weeks during the autumn of 2003: September 18 through October 2. If someone were to ask me years from now what I did during that period, I would have many rich memories to relate. My research efforts not only produce good science that directly serves the people of New York, but with just a little more effort to find extramural funding sources, they sometimes reach out to build bridges of understanding and good collaborative science with researchers in foreign lands. My journeys to Istanbul and Lake Ohrid were carried out with that goal in mind.