In Darwin’s footsteps

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A palaeontologist and geologist, Teresa Manera is making progress in her efforts to preserve the 12,000 year-old footprints on Argentina’s Atlantic coast though activism and the dissemination of her discoveries in 2005. She convinced the provincial legislature to declare the area at Pehuen Co a protected geological reserve. The first official guard, appointed by the provincial government, was assigned to the site in early 2007 and was given a vehicle in 2008. In 2009, the government fenced off 5km of beach around the prints and assigned a second salaried guard to the site.

Last year was a major anniversary for the study of evolution – the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, The Origin of Species. Manera was among many scientists who noted that Darwin spent several months along the Argentine coast area during 1832 and 1833 while on board HMS Beagle, and his discovery of fossils at Monte Hermoso and Punta Alta – sites close to Manera’s footprint-covered beach – was seminal in developing his theory of evolution.

“Darwin found fossils of mammals that he compared to some smaller living animals he observed, and he thus began making the connection between ancestor and descendant,” she explains. “He connected animals alive at his time with extinct animals found in the same place, and began to ask questions about how this is all related to geography. All of this begins to lead him toward his theory of evolution.”

Niles Eldredge, curator in the department of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, believes Darwin’s investigations in Argentina were as important to the development of his thinking as his work in the Galapagos Islands three years later: “We can show that Darwin was actively thinking about evolution starting in October 1832 when he first visited Bahía Blanca and saw that the fossil mammals were related to the living ones there.”

Eldredge and other Darwin scholars travelled to Bahía Blanca for a conference last October organized by Manera and Argentinean colleagues. Besides examining Darwin’s work in the area, they also considered the cultural implications of his thought for today – especially in countries where significant opposition still exists to teaching evolutionary theory.

According to Valeria Román, science journalist for the Buenos Aires newspaper, Clarin, “Darwin’s life and work are a doorway for Argentineans to begin to think scientifically and to make political decisions that encourage equity among citizens and care for the environment.” She adds: “Teresa Manera is a scientist who combines passion for scientific understanding with sharing what is discovered. She doesn’t just do field work and write papers, but struggles to awaken the conscience of the citizens to preserve those footprints of the past. Teresa Manera’s own work is leaving a giant footprint in Argentine history.”

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Teresa Manera is a scientist who combines passion for scientific understanding with sharing what is discovered.”

In Darwin’s footsteps

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