For the City Times

Scientists and philosophers have grappled with the biological concepts of species through history.

Learn how this struggle plays out in field guide illustration at a free lecture offered by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

“The Art, Science and Philosophy of Field Guide Illustration” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, presented by Justin Sipiorski, associate professor of biology. Held in the Pinery Room of the Portage County Public Library, 1001 Main St., Stevens Point, this is the second talk in an eight-part College of Letters and Science 2017-2018 Community Lecture Series open to the public.

“Field guides rely almost exclusively on essentialist notions and ancient ideas to convey similarities and differences among natural kinds of organisms to their users,” Sipiorski said. “This lecture will be a discussion of the artistry, technical challenges and scientific and philosophical constraints pervading the process of rendering field guide illustrations.”

After earning his undergraduate degree in fisheries and biology from UW-Stevens Point, Sipiorski earned his master’s degree in biology from the University of South Dakota and Ph.D. in zoology from Southern Illinois University. He is curator of fishes for the Becker Memorial Ichthyological Collection and adviser to the Ichthyology and Aquarium Sciences Society of Stevens Point. Sipiorski teaches Introduction to Animal Biology, Ichthyology, Fish Biology Issues and Systematic Biology and Species Concepts.

For more information on the Community Lecture Series, visit www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries or email [email protected].