A rare type of hybrid manta ray has been discovered in the Red Sea thanks to the work of a trio of University of Windsor scientists and their research partners in Sudan.

The ray, a cross between a Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi) and a Giant Manta Ray (Manta birostris), is only the second documented case of hybridization in elasmobranchs, the subclass of fish that includes sharks and rays, according to the group.

Ryan Walter.

“Hybrid individuals are evidence of connectivity beyond a geographic or population context, ultimately blurring the definition of what we call a species,” said Ryan Walter, the post-doctoral fellow in the university’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research who conducted the genetic analysis on DNA samples taken from the animal when it was caught, tagged and released in the marine protected area of Dungonab Bay, Sudan last fall.

While tagging, the scientists also collected small tissue samples from the animals, which were sent back to Windsor for analysis by Walter, who found similar genetic characteristics from both species in one sample.

Nigel Hussey and Steve Kessel, both post-doctoral fellows at GLIER, led a group of scientists on an expedition last year which involved attaching acoustic and satellite tags to manta rays in order to track their migratory patterns. The group included scientists from The Cousteau Society, The Deep – an aquarium and research facility in the U.K. – King Abdullah University of Science Technology, and partner institutions from Saudi Arabia and Sudan. They worked in collaboration with Wildlife Conservation General Administration, Red Sea University and Red Sea State Government of Sudan.

“There are known genetic differences between the two species, but it now appears that the genetic criteria that we have to date is no longer sufficient to define these species,” said Dr. Walter, who was the lead author on a paper describing the findings that was published in the academic journal Marine Biodiversity.

Until recently scientists only recognized one global manta species, but the genus was re-evaluated several years ago and two species, Manta alfredi and Manta birostris were identified. In a few locations, the two share the same habitat, but they typically follow different movement patterns and were thought to be reproductively isolated.

The overall aim of the research in the area is to address issues critical to conserving Sudan’s unique Manta Ray population. Both species are considered vulnerable, and the occurrence of hybridization stresses the importance for monitoring, conservation and management of threatened species, said Dr. Hussey.

“The marine protected area of Dungonab Bay is one of the few unique sites on our planet where an extraordinarily large number of these animals can be found,” he said. “The potential for hybrids to act as dispersal agents of genetic diversity may be a promising sign for these threatened species, but also raises questions about individual species management.”

Beat generation writer Jack Kerouac often told the story about how after several years of mad travels across the United States, he wrote his classic novel On The Road in three weeks, typing continuously onto a 120-foot scroll of teletype paper that he cut to size and taped together.

More than 50 years later, a visual arts instructor has replicated that effort, typing out the entire book on a similar scroll and creating a photographic document of it, the result of which is currently on display at a gallery in London, ON.

“Tapping Jack” is Julie Sando’s effort to gain a better understanding of one of her favourite writers while encouraging renewed discussion around his work.

“People are very polarized about Kerouac,” said Sando, an artist, a sessional instructor in the School for Arts and Creative Innovation, and the department’s information officer. “He was a man of his time, but many of my contemporaries continually dismiss his work based on what they perceive to be some very racist, homophobic, or sexist content.”

Sando said she started the project, which she refers to as both a “second generation surrogate scroll” and a “textual sculpture” in 2010. Typing it out in her kitchen when time permitted on a circa 1955-60 Westfield 200 portable, she said it took about two years to complete.

“When I tell people that I retyped it, they are usually surprised, confused, and even skeptical,” she said. “Eventually, I think they come to respect the performance aspect of it.”

After typing out the novel, she scanned it into Photoshop, aged it and deliberately blurred out passages where Kerouac apparently objectified people, leaving only the sections that emphasized the travel portions of the book as legible.

“My goal was to make it look similar to Kerouac’s scroll manuscript,” she said, “but also for it to be an obvious editorial statement on the original.”

The original scroll of the book, which was published in 1957, still exists. It was bought in 2001 by the owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and since then has been displayed in museums and libraries in the U.S. and the U.K. It’s an artifact that Sando has yet to see.

“I don’t think I wanted to see it before I created mine,” she said.

Working with exhibit curator Cassandra Getty, Sando had to select sections of the scroll to be placed in the wood and glass case that houses the piece.

“I never really expected it to be shown in galleries,” she said, adding that she has also created companion pieces for other Kerouac classics like Dharma Bums and The Subterraneans. She hopes that at some point all three pieces can be displayed in libraries.

Sando’s work will be shown at Museum London, 421 Ridout Street North, from October 5 to January 19. It’s part of an exhibit called Storytelling, which features five other Canadian artists whose work considers the various forms that tales take and the way they might be expressed, examined, and pulled apart in order to engage traditional conventions of storytelling.

The University celebrated its 100th Convocation in style Saturday, welcoming back to the stage members of the Class of 1963 who graduated at its first Convocation.

About 800 graduands received their degrees, in marked contrast to fewer than 200 in the original 1963 graduating group—22 of whom returned to be honoured Saturday. Those alumni were the first cohort of a worldwide family now numbering 110,000.

Susan Lester, director of alumni affairs, called the Class of 1963 crucial to celebrations of the University’s 50th anniversary.

“We are celebrating 50 years of history, 50 years of education and accomplishment,” she said. “These first graduates symbolize everything the University is about. They are the originals.”

Excited members of the Class of 2013 prepare for their star turn on stage during Convocation, Saturday at the St. Denis Centre.

Beadle Lionel Walsh bears the mace, symbol of the authority of the academy, into Convocation.

See an album of images from Fall Convocation 2013.

Watch video recordings of the two sessions, produced by the Centre for Teaching and Learning.