LIBRARY OF THE

&

XAN tow

FOR THE

^ PEOPLE ^

for

_ EDVCATION O

c4 for . J

O SCIENCE

•%lv^v

#r 1 . 11131! i

i ;v

HE JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

Science ’EsdncatidK in SH&bama

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: This painting titled Plato's Cave is by Sheri Lynn Schumacher,
Associate Professor in the School of Architecture, Auburn University. The work was
inspired by Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" found in Republic. Book VII.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 68 JANUARY 1997 NO. 1

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

T roy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 1, January, 1997.

CONTENTS

EDITOR’S PREFACE .

ARTICLES

The "Alabama Insert": A Study in Ignorance and Dishonesty

Richard Dawkins . 1

The Evolution-Creationism Controversy:

A Brief Social and Legal History

Dail W. Mullins, Jr . 17

Darwin and Darwinism: The Use and Misuse of Science

Guy V. Beckwith . 28

An Analysis of the 1995 Alabama Draft and Adopted
Course of Study: Science

John C. Frandsen and Scott Brande . 38

The Evolution/Creation Controversy During the 1995
Alabama Science Textbook Adoptions

Scott Brande and John C. Frandsen . 59

Just Where Do I Fit in the Universe?

Robert B. Greenleaf . 77

Outstanding Alabama Scientists:

Profiles of Recipients of the Wright A. Gardner Award

Ellen Buckner . 90

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Patricia Sigers . 103

MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

105

EDITOR’S PREFACE

The theme uniting the articles in this special issue of the Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science is science education in Alabama, and a particular focus of several articles
is the perennial controversy over teaching biological evolution in the state’s public schools.
The lead article by Richard Dawkins, the author of numerous popular books on evolution
including The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker and Climbing Mount Improbable, offers
an exquisitely concise and instructive line by line critique of the "insert" for biology textbooks
that was adopted by the Alabama State board of Education in 1995. This is followed by
contributions from Dail W. Mullins and Guy V. Beckwith that recount diverse reactions to
and social ramifications of Darwinism in the United States and Europe in this and the last
century. Next are two articles by Scott Brande and John C. Frandsen that provide revealing
histories and analyses of the hexennial process whereby the Alabama State Board of Education
adopts a science course of study and a list of science text books for use in the public school
system. It was the most recent (1995) adoption cycle of the Board that produced the "insert"
critiqued by Dawkins and whose origin and evolution are so diligently traced by Brande and
Frandsen in their article The Evolution/Creation Controversy During the 1995 Alabama
Science Textbook Adoptions. Robert B. Greenleaf’s Just Where Do / Fit in the Universe? is
a synthesis of the ideas and issues that comprise a trilogy of courses called The Human
Odyssey, a component of the core curriculum at Auburn University that examines connections
between science and the humanities. In these courses freshmen undergraduates grapple with
the great questions of science, art, philosophy and theology including: "What is Nature?" and
"Where do I fit and what are my responsibilities within Nature? As can be imagined, a
student’s experience in these courses reflects the quality of preparedness obtained during
her/his primary and secondary school education, particularly in science. This assembly of
articles is concluded with Ellen Buckner’s profiles of 1990-1996 recipients of the Wright A.
Gardner Award that honors achievement in science while in residence in Alabama. It is
hoped that reading these profiles of outstanding scientists who are also educators will give one
inspiration to work for a continually improving quality of science education in Alabama. It
is also hoped that this special issue will become a valuable handbook of information for public
school educators throughout the state who are devoting their time, creative energy and
intellect toward providing a high quality education for our children. Through Sheri
Schumacher’s painting on the front cover, Plato challenges us as students, teachers,
legislators, governor and citizens to leave the cave and its shadows in favor of the sunlight.

l

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No.l, January, 1997.

Franklin Lectures in Science & Humanities
Auburn University April 1, 1996

THE "ALABAMA INSERT": A STUDY IN IGNORANCE AND DISHONESTY

Richard Dawkins
Charles Simonyi Professor
In the Public Understanding of Science
Oxford University
Oxford, England

As a former prime minister of my country, Neville Chamberlain once said: “I have
here a piece of paper.” It says “A message from the Alabama State Board of Education.”
This is a flier that is designed to be - ordered to be - stuck into the front of every textbook
of Biology used in the public schools. What I thought I would do, with your permission, is
to depart from the prepared text I brought with me. Instead I should like to go through every
sentence of this document, one by one.

“THIS TEXTBOOK DISCUSSES EVOLUTION, A CONTROVERSIAL
THEORY THAT SOME SCIENTISTS PRESENT AS A SCIENTIFIC
EXPLANATION FOR THE ORIGIN OF LIVING THINGS SUCH AS PLANTS,
ANIMALS, AND HUMANS.”

This is dishonest. The use of "some scientists" suggests the existence of a substantial
number of respectable scientists who do not accept evolution. In fact, the proportion of
qualified scientists who do not accept evolution is tiny. A few so called “creation scientists”
are much touted as possessing PhDs, but it does not do to look too carefully where they got
their PhDs from nor the subjects they got them in. They are, I think, never in relevant
subjects. They are in subjects perfectly respectable in themselves, like marine engineering
or chemical engineering, which have nothing to do with the matter at hand.

“NO ONE WAS PRESENT WHEN LIFE FIRST APPEARED ON EARTH”

Well, that is true.

“THEREFORE, ANY STATEMENT ABOUT LIFE’S ORIGINS SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED AS THEORY, NOT FACT."

1

Dawkins

That’s also true but the word theory is being used in a misleading way. Philosophers
of science use the word theory for pieces of knowledge that anybody else would call fact, as
well as for ideas that are little more than a hunch. It is strictly only a theory that the earth
goes around the sun. It is a theory but it’s a theory supported by all the evidence. A fact
is a theory that is supported by all the evidence. What this is playing upon is the ordinary
language meaning of theory which implies something really pretty dubious or which at least
will need a lot more evidence one way or another.

For example, nobody knows why the dinosaurs went extinct and there are various
theories of it which are interesting and for which we hope to get evidence in the future.
There’s a theory that a meteorite or comet hit the earth and indirectly caused the death of the
dinosaurs. There’s a theory that the dinosaurs were killed by competition from mammals.
There’s a theory that they were killed by viruses. There are various other theories and it is
a genuinely open question which (at the time of speaking) we need more evidence to decide.
That is also true of the origin of life, but it is not the case with the theory of evolution itself.
Evolution is as true as the theory that the world goes around the sun.

While talking about the theories of the dinosaurs I want to make a little aside. You
will sometimes see maps of the world in which the places where people speak different
languages are shaded. So, you’ll say, “English is spoken here,” "Russian is spoken there,”
“French is spoken here, etc.” And that’s fine; that’s exactly what you would expect because
people speak the language of their parents.

But imagine how ridiculous it would be if you could construct a similar map for
theories of, say, how the dinosaurs went extinct. Over here they all believe in the meteorite
theory. Over on that continent they all believe the virus theory, down here they all believe
the dinosaurs were driven extinct by the mammals. But if you think about it that’s more or
less exactly the situation with the world’s religions.

We are all brought up with the religion of our parents, grandparents and great-
grandparents and by golly that just happens to be the one true religion. Isn’t that remarkable!
Creation myths themselves are numerous and varied. The creation myth that happens to be
being taught to the children of Alabama is the Jewish creation myth which in turn was taken
over from Babylonian creation myths and was first written down not very long ago when the
Jews were in captivity. There’s a tribe in West Africa that believes that the world was
created from the excrement of ants. The Hindus, I am told, believe that the world was
created in a cosmic butter churn. No doubt every tribe and every valley of New Guinea has
its own origin myth. There is absolutely nothing special about the Jewish origin myth, which
is the one we happen to have in the Christian world.

Moving on in the “Alabama Insert” as I shall call it.

“THE WORD ‘EVOLUTION’ MAY REFER TO MANY TYPES OF CHANGES.

EVOLUTION DESCRIBES CHANGES THAT OCCUR WITHIN A SPECIES

(WHITE MOTHS, FOR EXAMPLE, MAY “EVOLVE” INTO GRAY MOTHS).

THIS PROCESS IS CALLED MICROEVOLUTION WHICH CAN BE OBSERVED

2

Alabama Insert

AND DESCRIBED AS FACT. EVOLUTION MAY ALSO REFER TO CHANGES

OF ONE LIVING THING INTO ANOTHER SUCH AS REPTILES CHANGING

INTO BIRDS. THIS PROCESS CALLED MACROEVOLUTION HAS NEVER

BEEN OBSERVED AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A THEORY.”

i

The distinction between microevolution and macroevolution is becoming a favorite
one for creationists. Actually, it’s no big deal. Macroevolution is nothing more than
microevolution stretched out over a much greater time span.

The moth being referred to, I presume, is the famous peppered moth, Biston
betularia, studied in England by my late colleague Bernard Kettlewell. It is a famous story
about how, in the Industrial Revolution when the trees went black from pollution, the
peppered pale colored version of this moth was eaten by birds because it was conspicuous
against the black tree trunks. After the Industrial Revolution years, the black moths became
by far the majority in industrial areas of England. But if you go into country areas where
there is no pollution, the original peppered variety is still in a majority. I presume that’s
what the document is referring to.

The point about that story is that it’s one of the few examples we know of genuine
natural selection in action. We are not normally privileged to see natural selection in action
because we don’t live long enough. The Industrial Revolution, however unfortunate it may
have been in other respects, did have the fortunate by-product of changing the environment
in such a way that you could study natural selection.

To study other examples of natural selection I recommend the book The Beak of the
Finch by J. Weiner. He is describing the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant on the
Galapagos finches. Those finches, perhaps more than any other animal, inspired Charles
Darwin himself. What the Grants have done studying Galapagos Island finches is actually
to sample populations from year to year and show that climatic changes have immediate and
dramatic effects on the population ratios of various physical structures such as beak sizes.

Darwin was inspired by the example of the Galapagos finches; he was also inspired
by the examples of domestication.

These are all domestic dogs (Fig. 1) except the top one which is a wolf. The point
of it is, as observed by Darwin, how remarkable that we could go by human artificial
selection from a wolf ancestor to all these breeds - a Great Dane, a Bulldog, a Whippet, etc.
They were all produced by a process analogous to natural selection - artificial selection.
Humans did the choosing whereas in natural selection, as you know, it is nature that does the
choosing. Nature selects the ones that survive and are good at reproducing, to leave their
genes behind. With artificial selection, humans do the choosing of which dogs should breed
and with whom they should mate.

These plants (Fig. 2) are all members of the same species. They are all descended
quite recently from the wild cabbage Brassica olearacea and they are very different -
cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, etc. This great variety of vegetables, which look
completely different, has been shaped - they have been sculpted - by the process of artificial
selection from the same common ancestor.

3

Dawkins

Fig. 1 The power of artificial selection
to shape animals. All these domestic dogs
have been bred by humans from the same
wild ancestor, a wolf (top): Great Dane,
English bulldog, whippet, long-haired
dachshund and long-haired chihuahua.

4

Alabama Insert”

Fig. 2 All these vegetables have been bred from the same ancestor, the wild cabbage,
Brassica olearacea: (clockwise from top left) Brussels sprout, kohlrabi, Swedish turnip,
drumhead cabbage, cauliflower and golden savoy.

5

Dawkins

That’s an example of what can be achieved in a few centuries when the selection is
powerful enough. When the selection goes on for thousands of centuries the change is going
to be correspondingly greater - that’s macroevolution. It’s just microevolution going on for
a long time.

It’s difficult for the human mind to grasp how much time geology allows us, so
various picturesque metaphors have been developed. The one I like is as follows: I stand
with my arm outstretched and the distance from the center of my tie to my fingers represents
the total time available since life began. That’s about four thousand million years. Out to
about my shoulder we still get nothing but bacteria. At my elbow you might be starting to
get slightly more complicated cells - eukaryotric cells - but still single cells. About mid¬
forearm you start getting multicellular organisms, animals you can see without a microscope.
At my palm you would get the dinosaurs. Somewhere toward the end of my finger you
would get the mammals. At the beginning of my nail you would get early humans. And the
whole of history - all of documented written human history, all the Babylonians, Biblical
history, Egyptians, the Chinese, the whole of recorded history would fall as the dust from a
nail file across the tip of my furthest finger.

This is hard for the human brain to grasp, time spans of that order. Remember that
the time represented by the dust from the nail includes the time it took these cabbage varieties
to evolve by artificial selection (human selection) and dogs to evolve from wolves. Just think
how much change could be achieved by natural selection during the thousands of millions of
years before recorded history.

To reinforce that point there was a theoretical calculation made by the great American
botanical evolutionist, Ledyard Stebbins. He wanted to calculate theoretically how long it
would take to evolve from a tiny mouse sized animal (ancestor) to a descendant animal the
size of an elephant. So what we are talking about is a selection pressure for increased size.
Selection pressure means that in any generation slightly larger than average individuals have
a slight advantage. They are slightly more likely to survive for whatever reason, slightly
more likely to reproduce. Stebbins needed a number to represent that selection pressure, a
way to show how strong to assume it to be. He decided to assume it (the pressure) to be so
weak that you couldn’t actually detect it if you were doing a field study out there trapping
mice.

So Stebbins assumed his theoretical selection pressure to be so weak that it is
undetectable, it vanishes in the sampling error of an ordinary research study. Nevertheless
it’s there. How long would it take under this small but relentless pressure for these mouse¬
like animals to grow and grow over the generations until they became the size of an elephant?
He concluded that it would take about 20,000 generations. Well, mouse generations would
be several in a year, elephant generations would take several years. Let’s compromise and
assume one year per generation. Even at 5 years per generation, that’s not many years, say
100,000 years at the most. Well, 100,000 years is too short to be detected on the geological
time scale for most of geologic history.

For most characteristics a selection pressure as weak as that, so weak that you
couldn’t even measure it, is sufficiently strong as to propel evolution so fast that it appears

6

Alabama Insert

to be instantaneous on the geological time scale. In practice it probably isn’t even as fast as
that, but geological time is so vast that there is plenty of time for the evolution of all of life
to have happened.

Another theoretical calculation was made by the Swedish biologist, Dan Nilsson. He
took up the question which Darwin himself was interested in - the eye, the famous eye, the
darling of creationist literature. Darwin himself recognized the eye as a difficult case because
it is very complicated. Many people have thought, wrongly, that the eye is a difficult
problem for evolutionists because - "Doesn’t it have to be all there with all the bits working
for the thing to work?"

No. Of course they don’t all have to be there. An animal that has half an eye can
see half as well as an animal with a whole eye. An animal with a quarter eye has a quarter
vision. An animal with 1/100 eye has 1/100 quality vision. It’s not quite as simple as that.
The point I am making is that you can be aided in your survival by every little tiny increment
in quality of eyesight. If you have 1/100 quality eyesight, you can’t see an image but you
can see light and that might be useful. The animal might be able to tell which direction the
light is coming from or which direction a shadow is coming from which could portend a
predator. There are all sorts of things you could do that help you to survive if you have a
small fraction of an eye, to survive better than an animal which has no eye at all. With 1/100
of an eye you can just about survive. With 2/100 of an eye you can survive a little better.
There is a slow, gradual ramp of increasing probability of surviving as the eye gradually gets
better.

Going back to the question of the rate at which all this happens, Nilsson did a
computer modeling exercise of the evolution of the eye (Fig. 3). He starts from a computer
model which is not really eye shaped at all but is just a flat sheet of light sensitive cells.
You’ve got to start somewhere. You could start before that if you wanted to, but that’s
where he started. He made the computer gradually change the shapes of this model eye. The
only rule was that the changes had to be small and each change had to result in an
improvement in vision. The beautiful thing about the eye is that by using the actual rules of
physics, the ordinary rules of optics, you can calculate how good each of the hypothetical
intermediates would be at forming an image.

These intermediates all formed spontaneously in the computer as a result of gradual
improvement in what the computer could measure as the optical quality of the model eye, and
it goes all the way from a flat sheet of cells to a proper camera eye with a lens such as you
might see in a fish. It is even better than that. The exact focusing of the lens is precisely
as it should be. The details of this are written down in Nilsson’s paper. By feeding in
assumptions which are based upon field work in population genetics he was able to make
calculations as to how long it would plausibly take under realistic conditions of natural
selection. This is similar to the Stebbins calculation of how long it would take to go from
the start of the series to the end. Once again it was startlingly fast. Nilsson calculated that
it would take fewer than half a million generations. The sort of small animals we are talking
about, in which the eye originally evolved, would probably have had about 1 generation/year.
Half a million years is a very short time on the geologic time scale.

7

Dawkins

Fig. 3 Nilsson and Pelger’s theoretical
evolutionary series leading to a ’fish’eye.

The number of steps between stages assumes,
arbitrarily, that each step represents a
1 percent change in magnitude of something.
See text for translation from these arbitrary
units into numbers of generations of evolution.

1

2

176 steps (1%)

d= 1

d= 1.23

362 steps (1%)

270 steps (1%)

225 steps (1%)

5

6

308 steps (1%)

7

296 steps (1%)

8

d = 2.83

d = 4.56

^ = 4.56
f=3P

d = 4.73
f=2P

= 4.1

f=P

8

Alabama Insert

Therefore, it’s not surprising that when you look around the animal kingdom you find
all the intermediates you could wish for in the evolution of the eye, in various groups of
worms, etc. The eye has evolved no less than 40 times independently around the animal
kingdom, and possibly as many as 60 times. So, "the" eye is really some 40-60 different
eyes and it evolves very rapidly and exceedingly easily. There are 9 different optical
principles that have been used in the design of eyes and all 9 are represented more than once
in the animal kingdom.

“EVOLUTION ALSO REFERS TO THE UNPROVEN BELIEF THAT
RANDOM, UNDIRECTED FORCES PRODUCED A WORLD OF LIVING
THINGS.”

Where did this ridiculous idea come from that evolution has something to do with
randomness? The theory of evolution by natural selection has a random element — mutation -
- but by far the most important part of the theory of evolution is non-random: natural
selection. Mutation is random. Mutation is the process whereby parent genes are changed,
at random. Random in the sense of not directed toward improvement. Improvement comes
about through natural selection, through the survival of that minority of genes which are good
at helping bodies survive and reproduce. It is the non-random natural selection we are talking
about when we talk about the directing force which propels evolution in the direction of
increasing complexity, increasing elegance and increasing apparent design.

The statement that “evolution refers to the unproven belief that random undirected
forces. . .’’is not only unproven itself, it is stupid. No rational person could believe that
random forces could produce a world of living things.

Fred Hoyle, the eminent British astronomer who is less eminent in the field of
biology, has likened the theory of evolution to the following metaphor: “It’s like a tornado
blowing through a junk yard and having the luck to assemble a Boeing 747.” His statement
is a classic example of the erroneous belief that natural selection is nothing but a theory of
chance. A ’Boeing 747’ is the end product that any theory of life must explain. The riddle
for any theory to answer is, "how do you get complicated, statistically improbable apparent
design?" Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is the only known theory that can
answer this riddle. It is also supported by a great deal of evidence. With his explanation
Darwin, in effect, smears out the chance or "luck" factor. There is luck in the theory, but
the luck is found in small steps. Each generational step in the evolutionary process is only
a little bit different from the step before. These little bits of difference are not too great to
come about by chance, by mutation. However if, after the accumulation of a sufficient
number of these small steps (perhaps 100), one after the other, you’ve got something like an
eye at the end of this process, it could not have come all of a sudden by chance. Each
individual step could occur by chance, but all 100 steps together could not. All 100 steps are
pieced together cumulatively by natural selection.

Another metaphor along these lines is of a bank robber who went into a bank and
started fiddling with the combination lock on the safe. Theoretically the thief could fiddle

9

Dawkins

with the lock and have the luck to open the safe. Of course you know in practice he couldn’t
do that. That’s why your money is safe in the bank. But just suppose that every time you
twiddled that knob and got a little bit closer to the correct number, a one dollar bill fell out
of the safe. Then when you twiddled it another way and got a little closer still, another dollar
fell out. You would very rapidly open the safe. It’s like that with natural selection. Each
step has a little bit of luck but when the steps are put together you end up with something that
looks like a ’Boeing 747’.

“THERE ARE MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF

LIFE WHICH ARE NOT MENTIONED IN YOUR TEXTBOOK INCLUDING:

WHY DID THE MAJOR GROUPS OF ANIMALS SUDDENLY APPEAR IN THE

FOSSIL RECORD KNOWN AS THE “CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION.”

We are very lucky to have fossils at all. After an animal dies many conditions have
to be met if it is to become a fossil, and one or other of those conditions usually is not met.
Personally, I would consider it an honor to be fossilized but I don’t have much hope of it.
If all the creatures which had ever lived had in fact been fossilized we would be wading knee
deep in fossils. The world would be filled with fossils. Perhaps it is just as well that it
hasn’t happened that way.

Because it is particularly difficult for an animal without a hard skeleton to be
fossilized, most of the fossils we find are of animals with hard skeletons - vertebrates with
bones, mollusks with their shells, arthropods with their external skeleton. If the ancestors of
these were all soft and then some offspring evolved a hard skeleton, the only fossilized
animals would be those more recent varieties. Therefore, we expect fossils to appear
suddenly in the geologic record and that’s one reason groups of animals suddenly appear in
the Cambrian Explosion.

There are rare instances in which the soft parts of animals are preserved as fossils.
One case is the famous Burgess Shale which is one of the best beds from the Cambrian Era
(between 500 million and 600 million years ago) mentioned in this quotation. What must
have happened is that the ancestors of these creatures were evolving by the ordinary slow
processes of evolution, but they were evolving before the Cambrian when fossilizing
conditions were not very good and many of them did not have skeletons anyway. It is
probably genuinely true that in the Cambrian there was a very rapid flowering of multicellular
life and this may have been when a large number of the great animal phyla did evolve. If
they did, their essential divergence during a period of about 10 million years is very fast.
However, bearing in mind the Stebbins calculation and the Nilsson calculation, it is actually
not all that fast. There is some recent evidence from molecular comparisons among modern
animals which suggests that there may not have been a Cambrian explosion at all, anyway.
Modern phyla may well have their most recent common ancestors way back in the
Precambrian.

As I said, we’re actually lucky to have fossils at all. In any case, it is misleading to
think that fossils are the most important evidence for evolution. Even if there were not a

10

Alabama Insert

single fossil anywhere in the earth, the evidence for evolution would still be utterly
overwhelming. We would be in the position of a detective who comes upon a crime after the
fact. You can’t see the crime being committed because it has already happened. But there
is evidence lying all around. To pursue any case, most detectives and most courts of law are
happy with 2-3 clues that point in the right direction.

Even discounting fossils, the clues that are left for us to see that prove the truth of
evolution are numbered in the tens of millions. The number of clues, the sheer weight of
evidence, totally and utterly, sledgehammeringly, overwhelmingly strongly supports the
conclusion that evolution is true - unless you are prepared to believe the Almighty deliberately
faked the evidence in order to make it look as though evolution is true. (And there are people
who believe that.)

The evidence comes from comparative studies of modern animals. If you look at the
millions of modern species and compare them with each other - looking at the comparative
evidence of biochemistry, especially molecular evidence - you get a pattern, an exceedingly
significant pattern, whereby some pairs of animals like rats and mice are very similar to each
other. Other pairs of animals like rats and squirrels are a bit more different. Pairs like rats
and porcupines are a bit more different still in all their characteristics. Others like rats and
humans are a bit more different still, and so forth. The pattern that you see is a pattern of
cousinship; that is the only way to interpret it. Some are close cousins like rats and mice;
others are slightly more distant cousins (rats and porcupines) which means they have a
common ancestor that lived a bit longer ago. More distinctly different cousins like rats and
humans had a common ancestor who lived a bit longer ago still. Every single fact that you
can find about animals is compatible with that pattern.

Similarly you can look at the geographical distribution of an animal species. Why
do animals in the Galapagos Islands more closely resemble animals on neighboring islands
and resemble less the animals on the mainland? It’s all exactly what you would expect if
evolution goes on in isolation on islands with occasional island hopping. New foci for
evolution start with migration from mainland to island and then progress from there to other
islands.

If you look at the imperfections of nature you see evidence for evolution. Figure 4
shows animals that don’t necessarily fly but are at plausible intermediate stages on the way
to flight. These stages are relevant to the discussion of what’s the use of half an eye or
what’s the use of half a wing. These animals all glide and by gliding save themselves from
falling out of trees.

There are two different ways of being a flat fish. The top fish in Figure 5 is a skate;
the bottom one is a flounder. The skate is flat the way a designer might have designed -
flattened out on its belly as symmetrically as it can be. The flounder is not symmetrical
because when its ancestors went flat they lay on their side, their right side. That meant that
the right eye was looking down into the bottom of the sea (not good). Over many
generations, natural selection favored the migration of the right eye from the underside to the
top. The whole skull became distorted in an interesting way - no designer would ever have
built a fish like that. The flounder has its history written all over it. Its ancestors were once

Dawkins

Fig. 4 Vertebrates that glide down from trees but do not truly fly: (clockwise from
top right) colugo, Cynocephalus volans, flying lizard, Draco volans\ Wallace’s flying
frog, Rhacophorus nigropalmatus ; marsupial sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps\ and flying
snake, Chrysopelea paradisi.

12

“Alabama Insert

Fig. 5 Two ways of being a flat-fish: the skate, Raja batis (top), lies on its belly,
while the flounder, Bothus lunatus, lies on its side.

13

Dawkins

free swimming in the normal way, like a trout or a salmon, and then over many generations
changed into a flat fish.

“WHY HAVE NO NEW MAJOR GROUPS OF LIVING THINGS APPEARED IN

THE FOSSIL RECORD FOR A LONG TIME?”

We are moving well down the list of the Alabama State Board of Education. In
zoology, "major groups" would be called phyla - a phylum being a category such as
mollusks, which includes snails and shellfish; echinoderms, which are starfish, sea urchins
and so on; chordates, which are animals with spinal cords, including ourselves; arthropods
which include insects and crustaceans. The question is, “Why have no major ones appeared
in a long time?”

Well, major groups don’t and shouldn’t, according to the Darwinian Theory, just
appear. They evolve gradually. Major phyla are different from each other, though
ancestrally they were like brothers. They diverged and became separate species, then separate
families, then separate orders. It takes time to do that.

Think of this analogy. Suppose you have a great oak tree with huge limbs at the base
and smaller and smaller branches toward the outer layers where finally there are just lots and
lots of little twigs. Obviously the little tiny twigs appeared most recently. The larger boughs
appeared a long time ago and when they did appear, they were little twigs. What would you
think if a gardener said, “Isn’t it funny that no major boughs have appeared on this tree in
recent years, only small twigs?” You’d say he is stupid.

“WHY DO MAJOR NEW GROUPS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS HAVE NO

TRANSITIONAL FORMS IN THE FOSSIL RECORD.”

It’s amazing how often this is stated in the creationist literature. It’s amazing because
it simply isn’t true. There are plenty of transitional forms. There are gaps, of course, for
reasons I have stated - not all animals fossilize. But what is significant is that not a single
fossil has turned up in the wrong place. Fossils are all in the right order. Creationists know
that fossils all appear in the right order and it is quite an embarrassment for them. The best
explanation they have come up with so far is based on Noah’s flood. They say that when the
great flood came the animals all rushed for the hills. The clever ones all got to the top of the
hill while the stupid ones were stuck at the bottom and that’s why the fossils are all neatly
laid out in just the right order!

Part of the error about transitional forms may come from a misreading of a theory
by my colleagues Niles Eldredge and Stephen J. Gould. Their theory is called ’punctuated r,
equilibrium’. It is really about rapid gradualism or, to say it another way, gradual change
that occurs rapidly repeated by periods of stasis when nothing changes at all. Eldredge and
Gould are rightly annoyed about the misuse of their idea by creationists, who in my
terminology, think punctuated equilibrium is about huge Boeing 747 type mutations. I quote
Stephen Gould, "We proposed punctuated equilibrium to explain trends; it is infuriating to
be quoted again and again, whether through design or stupidity I do not know, as admitting

14

Alabama Insert

‘the fossil record includes no transition forms’. Transitional forms are generally lacking at
the species level but they are abundant between larger group forms.” Dr. Gould goes on, “I
am both angry at and amused by the creationists and mostly I am deeply sad.”

Finally, there is a semantic point about transitional forms. Zoologists, when they
classify, are forced by the rules of the game to put each specimen in one species or another.
In the classification business we are not allowed to say, "Well this is half-way between Homo
sapiens and Homo erectus". People who dig up human fossils will always be forced to
choose between one or the other. Is it Homo erectus or archaic Homo sapiensl It is forced
to be one or the other. Given this definition, it is almost a legalistic point that fossils have
got to be classified as one or the other. The analogy I’d offer is this. When you reach the
age of majority - legal age - of 18 in Alabama you can vote. So, at the stroke of midnight
on your eighteenth birthday you become an adult. Suppose somebody were to say, “Isn’t it
remarkable, there are no intermediates between children and adults?” That would be
1 ridiculous.

“HOW DID YOU AND ALL LIVING THINGS COME TO POSSESS SUCH A

COMPLETE AND COMPLEX SET OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR BUILDING A

LIVING BODY.”

The set of instructions is our DNA. We got it from our parents and they got it from
their parents. We can all look back through the generations, through 4000 million years to
a tiny bacterium who lived in the sea and was the ancestor of us all. We are all cousins.

We can all look back at our ancestors and claim (it’s a proud claim) we are all
descended from the elite. Not a single one of my ancestors died in infancy; they all reached
adulthood. Not one of my ancestors failed to achieve at least one heterosexual copulation.
All our ancestors were good at surviving and reproducing. We are descended from an elite.

Thousands of our ancestors’ contemporaries failed. None of our ancestors did. Our
DNA is DNA that has come down through thousands of millions of successful ancestors. We
have inherited DNA that is pretty good at the job of surviving and, when DNA survives, it
programs bodies to be good at surviving and reproducing. The world is bound to become
filled with DNA that is good at surviving and reproducing. The DNA that is alive today has
survived thousands of filters. Millions of generations of ancestors that survived as a
: consequence of the efficient programming of their DNA, have produced an unbroken lineage.
There is more to it than that. Evolution is progressive - not all the time, not uniformly - but
generally it is progressive. Lineages become progressively better at what they do. Predators
i get better at catching prey. They have to because prey become better at getting away from
j|i predators. Just as in the human arms race there must be advances on one side to
ef counterbalance advances on the other side.

Just a few examples of animals I would consider to be at the end of an arms race are:
v butterflies and leaf-insects (related to stick insects) that look exactly like leaves; and bugs that
ie | look like rose thorns and sit on rose stems. All of these are the result of generations of
io natural selection in which predators have been put off eating the ancestors of these insects,
ig j The ancestors that look most like leaves or rose thorns were the least likely to end up in

15

Dawkins

predators’ bellies.

The leafy sea dragon is a fish, related to sea horses. It has ’fronds’ that look exactly
like seaweed for camouflage. This constitutes the end of an arms race in which genes that
did not look like seaweed were eaten, whereas genes that did look like seaweed swam on to
reproduce another day.

It’s not all just survival, it’s also winning mates. Birds of paradise are brightly
colored because that’s what females like. Genes that make pretty males are more likely to
get mates and have children. This is an arms race between the salesmanship of males and the
sales resistance of females.

Finally, one of the most rapid and dramatic stories of evolution -- the evolution of the
human brain from the brain of ape-like ancestors. The human brain constitutes the major
difference between us and our close cousins, the great apes. Fossil evidence shows that our
brain has blown up like a balloon during the last 2 or 3 million years as our evolution passed
through the ancestral stage Australopithecus , Homo erectus and finally Homo sapiens. No
one knows why the human brain blew up in this way. I suspect again it was like some kind
of arms race - some kind of positive feedback.

“STUDY HARD AND KEEP AN OPEN MIND. SOMEDAY YOU MAY

CONTRIBUTE TO THE THEORIES OF HOW LIVING THINGS APPEARED ON

EARTH.”

Well, at last we have found something we can agree with. This seems to me to be
an admirable sentiment. I really have less trouble than some of my colleagues with so-called
creation science being taught in the public schools as long as evolution is taught as well. By
all means let creation science be taught in the schools. It should take all of about 10 minutes
to teach it and then children can be allowed to make up their own minds in the face of
evidence. For children who study hard and keep an open mind, it seems to me utterly
inconceivable that they could conclude anything other than that evolution is true.

i

i

16

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No. 1, 1997.

THE EVOLUTION - CREATIONISM CONTROVERSY:
A BRIEF SOCIAL AND LEGAL HISTORY

Dail W. Mullins, Jr.

Department of Curriculum and Instruction
and

Honors Program

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL USA 35294

It takes human beings a long time to adjust to an existential shock.

Marvin Minsky

On March 21, 1925, sixty-six years after the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the
Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, the Tennessee state legislature passed the
Butler Act, which stated in part (Section I):

That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the universities, normals
and all other public schools of the state... to teach any theory that denies the
story of the Divine Creator of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead
that man has descended from a low order of animal. (Milner, 1990)

It was to be the opening salvo of a rhetorical, political, and legal battle in this country
between proponents of what biologist E.O. Wilson (1978) has characterized as two competing
and ultimately irreconcilable "mythological narratives" to explain ourselves and our place in
the "grand scheme" of things — scientific materialism and religion — and this controversy has
continued virtually unabated until the present day.

The Scopes Trial

We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but
only in the sense and to the extent that we respect
his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.

H.L. Mencken

17

Mullins

Two months after the Butler Act was passed, a part-time substitute teacher from
Dayton, Tennessee, John T. Scopes, acting at the request of the American Civil Liberties
Union, agreed to provoke a test case to challenge the new law. Scopes notified school
administrators and state officials of his intentions and was subsequently charged with violating
the Butler Act. His trial, which the press (and most notably the Baltimore Sun correspondent,
H.L. Mencken) came to refer to as the "Tennessee Monkey Trial," began on July 10, 1925,
in a small and crowded courtroom in the town of Dayton, Tennessee. Almost one hundred
newspaper reporters and radio correspondents were in attendance, some from as far away as
Japan.

Scopes was represented by the liberal and flamboyant Chicago attorney Clarence
Darrow, who agreed to waive all legal expenses because of the constitutional importance of
the case. For its part, the prosecution acquired the services of William Jennings Bryan, a
charismatic Christian fundamentalist politician and three-time presidential nominee, to
represent its side and, presumably, lend credence to the supposed scriptural authority
underlying the intent of the Butler Act. The presiding judge, John Raulston, did not permit
any evidence or expert testimony from scientists about evolution, limiting the case solely to
the question of whether Scopes had violated the law — which, of course, he had admitted
doing.

Eleven days later, on July 21, John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, although
the conviction was subsequently overturned on a technicality by the Tennessee State Supreme
Court. Never enforced again, the Butler Act was eventually repealed by the Tennessee state
legislature in 1967.

It is perhaps worth recounting statements made by both Darrow and Bryan near the
close of the Scopes trial, since they seem still to be timely and representative voices which
underscore the opposing sides and passions of this continuing controversy.

In a summation response to Darrow’s intense and often hostile questioning of him
during the trial, Bryan stated:

There is no place for the miracle in this train of evolution... and [yet] the Old
Testament and the New are filled with miracles.. .[Evolutionists] eliminate the
virgin birth... the resurrection of the body... the doctrine of atonement.
[Scientists] believe man has been rising all the time, that man never fell; that
when the Savior came there was not any reason for His coming... [Outsiders]
force upon the children of this state a doctrine that refutes... their belief in a
Savior and... heaven, and takes from them every moral standard that the Bible
gives us. ..(Milner, 1990)

Bryan’s remarks appear to highlight two different, albeit overlapping, voices in contemporary
Christian fundamentalist criticisms of evolution: namely those who view Darwin’s ideas as
unacceptable because they challenge a literal interpretation of cosmological and historical
events as described in the Judeo-Christian Bible; and those who fear more the concomitant

18

Evolution-Creationism

loss of what they believe to be absolute and vital moral standards embedded within this same
text.

In 1975, for example, a group critical of evolutionary theory argued that "teaching
evolution may tend to rob life of meaning and purpose in view of the implanted concept that
the student is merely a chance product of a meaningless, random process". That same year,
in a Georgia court ruling, an Atlanta judge blamed Darwin’s "monkey mythology. . .for
permissiveness, promiscuity, pills, prophylactics, perversions, abortions, pornography,
pollution, poisoning, and proliferation of crimes of all types" (UAB Magazine, 1985). In
addition, Bryan’s reference to "outsiders" attempting to influence the education of Tennessee
children in 1925 seems especially relevant today in Alabama, where the governor has refused
to accept some federal monies for education because of perceived curricular demands in the
form of national (i.e. , non-local) educational standards of achievement for promotion and
graduation.

For his part, Darrow was equally passionate during closing argument:

Freedom cannot be preserved in written constitutions when the spirit of
freedom has fled from the hearts of the people. . .Bigotry and ignorance are
ever active... Always it is feeding. Today it is the public school teachers,
tomorrow the private. The next day the preachers... the magazines, the
books, the newspapers. After a while, your Honor, it is the setting of man
against man and creed against creed, until with flying banners and beating
drums we are marching backward to the glorious ages of the sixteenth
century, when bigots lighted fagots to burn the men who dared to bring any
intelligence and enlightenment and culture to the human mind. (Milner, 1990)

Although he was not a scientist, Darrow’s comments seem accurately to reflect the attitude
of many members of the scientific community today toward the creationist movement --
namely, that it is less a threat to the validity and vitality of science itself than it is to science
education.

Following what essayist John Milner (1990) has described as their "hollow victory”
in Tennessee, opponents of Darwinism shifted their attention to other states. In 1926 and
1927, respectively, they were successful in enacting new legislation in both Mississippi and
Arkansas which prohibited the teaching of evolutionary theory in the public schools. Like
the Butler Act in the wake of the Scopes trial, however, neither law was ever enforced, and
the Arkansas statute was eventually declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme
Court in 1968.

19

Mullins

Scopes II

If evolutionary theory is going to be taught in the
schools, then I would think that also the biblical theory
of creation, which is not a theory but the biblical story
of creation, should also be taught.

Ronald Reagan

Faced with the realization that laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public
schools were not going to be tolerated by the courts, Christian fundamentalists launched a
new tactic during the late 1970s and early 1980s -- the passage of so-called "Balanced
Treatment," or "Equal Time," Acts. Unable to have evolution excluded from the classroom,
these activists instead lobbied several state legislatures to have creationism included as part
of the science curriculum. During several heated court battles which resulted from this new
strategy (mainly in Louisiana and Arkansas), proponents of the creationist viewpoint began
employing the term "creation science," presumably as a way of trying to legitimize the
inclusion of this view into science classrooms (Morris, 1976; Gish, 1978; Gish, Bliss and
Bird, 1981).

Advocates of "creation science" argued that it was a legitimate area of scientific
inquiry and that it had "no reliance upon biblical revelation, utilizing only scientific data to
support and expound the creation model" (Morris, 1976). Henry Morris, Duane Gish and
their colleagues at the Institute for Creation Research in San Diego, California, referred often
to a growing body of published scientific research supporting creationist interpretations in
biology, geology, and even modern cosmology ( Physics Today , 1982; Milner, 1990). A
subsequent three-year survey of 1 ,000 scientific and technical journals conducted by biologists
Eugenie Scott and Henry Cole during the early 1980s, however, revealed "nothing resembling
empirical or experimental evidence for creationism," nor was any evidence found to suggest
that legitimate, peer-reviewed scientific journals had discriminated against creationist
submissions solely on philosophical grounds. Indeed, virtually the entire body of "creation
science" literature was found to consist of books and tracts published by the Institute for
Creation Research itself (Milner, 1990).

Arkansas is one of only a few states which allows the enactment of new laws by
means of popular public referenda, and on the last day of the 1981 Arkansas legislative
session, Christian fundamentalists succeeded in having a balanced treatment law, Act 590, so
added to the state’s legal code. This statute required equal time, or balanced treatment, in
biology and earth science classrooms for the teaching of the theories of "creation science."
Interestingly, Act 590 was not written in Arkansas, but rather by Paul Ellwanger, head of a
South Carolina organization called Citizens for Fairness in Education, with the help of Henry
Morris and Duane Gish of the Institute for Creation Research (Lyons, 1982).

In late 1981, a Little Rock minister, Bill McLean, and the American Civil Liberties

20

Evolution-Creationism

Union, filed suit against the Arkansas State Board of Education in an attempt to enjoin it from
enforcing what they believed to be an unconstitutional law because it violated the principle
of separation of church and state. Trial was set for Little Rock on December 7, 1981, in the
courtroom of Judge William Overton. Creationists described the upcoming proceedings as
"a test of fairness for two scientific models". Scientists called it "Scopes II" (Milner, 1990).

ACLU attorneys, again working pro bono, brought in several dozen expert witnesses
in the fields of science and religion, including paleontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Niles
Eldgredge; philosopher Michael Ruse; biochemist Harold Morowitz; and theologians Bruce
Vawter and Langdon Gilkey. Fully one-half of the witnesses for the plaintiffs were priests,
ministers, theologians, and historians of religion (Milner, 1990).

The state countered with testimony from several prominent "creation scientists",
including Duane Gish and Wendell Bird, a legal consultant for the Institute for Creation
Research; representatives from the Reverend Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority, including
Falwell himself; Norman Geisler of the Dallas Theological Seminary; and Chandra
Wickramsinghe, a cosmological theorist from Wales, England, who has argued that early
lifeforms may have been "transported" to earth in comets (Lyons, 1982).

According to Milner (1990), "...experts on evolution gave the court their own view
of science, revealing a complex tapestry of astronomy, geophysics, paleontology,
biochemistry, genetics, anthropology and more". Perhaps the most erudite and persuasive
witness in the defense of science, however, was University of Chicago theologian Langdon
Gilkey, who remarked near the close of the trial:

Without this thesis of a universe in process over eons of time... there simply
is no modern science. Creation science rejects the scientific content of
evolutionary biology — if triumphant, it would discard the entire fabric of
natural science. Science creationists deny the validity of science’s premises
and methods, and reject its tested and unified theoretical structure; [they]
would effectively end science altogether. (Gilkey, 1985)

Judge Overton agreed and, on January 5, 1982, found that "creation science" could
not qualify as an alternative scientific theory or explanation in an educational setting and that
Act 590 was therefore unconstitutional under the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In his written opinion, Judge Overton stated:

If creation science is, in fact, science and not religion, as the defendants
claim, it is difficult to see how the teaching of such a science could
"neutralize" the religious nature of evolution. Assuming for the purposes of
argument, however, that evolution is a religion or religious tenet, the remedy
is to stop the teaching of evolution, not establish another religion in
opposition to it. Yet, it is clearly established in the case law, and perhaps
also in common sense, that evolution is not a religion and that teaching

21

Mullins

evolution does not violate the establishment clause. (Lyons, 1982)

The state of Arkansas did not appeal the ruling.

Old Arguments, New Strategies

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial
theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation
for the origin of living things...

Alabama State board of Education
Textbook Insert Statement

Following "Scopes II," as well as the U.S. Supreme Court’s later ruling that a similar
law enacted in Louisiana was unconstitutional (Edwards v. Aguillard, 1987), proponents of
the teaching of Biblical creationism in public schools have had to adopt more subtle social,
political, and cultural mechanisms to achieve their goals. Included among such tactics is the
recent suggestion by some educational practitioners that "orthodox Christians" be aligned in
the classroom setting with other individuals and groups who perceive themselves subject to
personally debilitating "stereotypes and prejudices... [and] threats to person self-esteem"
(Jackson et al, 1995). Similarly, Phillip E. Johnson (1993), professor of law at the University
of California, Berkeley, and the author of Darwin on Trial, has argued that Christianity, "a
belief system that retains great vitality in the culture at large is. . .marginalized and [wrongly]
shut out of academic discourse."

In effect, the "battle" seems now to have shifted from the legal to the political arena;
from the courtroom to the school board meeting; and perhaps even the guidance counselor’s
office.

In California, for example, Christian fundamentalists succeeded in having the State
board of Education issue a written proposition which stated that:

. . .discussions of any scientific fact, hypothesis or theory related to the origins
of the universe, the earth and of life (the "how") are appropriate to the
science curriculum. Discussions of divine creation, ultimate purposes or
ultimate causes (the "why") are appropriate to the history, social science,

English and language arts curricula. {New York Times, 1993)

While not necessarily a "red flag" for members of the scientific community — many of whom
likely have no objection to the teaching of religious cosmology in the public schools so long
as it is not promoted as a bona fide "alternative" theory for such matters in the science
classroom — the California proposition would still seem to raise legal questions related to the
constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state. Then, too, there is always the

22

Evolution-Creationism

issue of which religious cosmologies are to be presented.

Similar pressures have been brought to bear on local school boards by creationists in
other southern states, most notably Georgia (Saladin, 1986), Tennessee, and Alabama,
although the issue has surfaced as a contentious topic at school board proceedings in places
"as far flung as Friendly, Nevada; Paradise, California; Moon, Pennsylvania; and Merrimack,
New Hampshire" (New York Times, 1996). A Tennessee bill, sent back to Senate committee
hearings in March, 1996, at the advice of the state attorney general, would urge "homes,
businesses, places of worship and schools to post and observe the Ten Commandments... and
permit local school boards to dismiss teachers who present evolution as a fact rather than a
theory of human origins" (New York Times, 1996).

In Alabama, creationists and Christian fundamentalists have recently succeeded in
having the State Board of Education publish a textbook insert, or "disclaimer," to be affixed
to the inside front cover of all newly adopted science textbooks which discuss evolution
(Figure 1). In addition, the Governor has used some of his discretionary funds to provide
all Alabama science teachers with a copy of Phillip E. Johnson’ book, Darwin on Trial,
which his office has described as emphasizing "perceived weaknesses in the Darwinian theory
of evolution... [such as] the failure of natural selection to explain how large-scale evolution
took place" (Birmingham News, 1996).

Without question, the most chilling effect of recent renewed political activism on the
part of creationists has been in individual middle school and high school science classrooms.
As UAB paleontologist Scott Brande has remarked:

Creationism has no scientific implication. It’s not going to change the nature
of funding from the National Science Foundation, nor will it change the
nature of agricultural research in the United States. But I know it’s had an
impact on the education of children in 9th grade biology classes across the
nation. (UAB Magazine, 1985)

Indeed, many educators fear that, at a time of widespread concern about the nation’s scientific
illiteracy, it would be disastrous to undermine the fundamentals of evolution in the classroom
(New York Times, 1996).

In school districts around the country, as reported by the New York Times science
correspondent Peter Applebome, teachers know that discussing evolution, whether as fact or
theory, is likely to result in complaints from fundamentalist parents and also "inquiries" from
school officials. "Many teachers won’t teach evolution at all because of the stigma and the
controversy," said Wesley Roberts, a high school biology teacher in Nashville, Tennessee.
"I do polls of kids in my class. In my last class of 30 kids, three had studied evolution. I
taught a course at a local college and maybe one or two [of the students] had had any
instruction in evolution. Teachers aren’t comfortable with it, so they don’t teach it at all."
(New York Times, 1996)

23

Mullins

Discussion

It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing
is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good,
as it is not to care how you got your money
as long as you have got it.

Edmund Way Teale

Marvin Minsky, professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and a pioneering influence in the field of artificial, or machine, intelligence, once
remarked that "It takes human beings a long time to adjust to an existential shock." (Minsky,
1989) Thus, it has been nearly 400 years since Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for
too-vociferously promoting the Copernican notion of a heliocentric universe (i.e. , solar
system) — time enough, it would seem for most individuals to have adjusted to this existential
shock.

Evolution, and especially the idea of non-directed and non-purposeful natural
selection, of course, is another matter altogether, and the nearly 140 years which have elapsed
since the publication of Darwin’s theory have clearly not been enough to quell the existential
unease and uncertainty prompted in us by his insightful ideas. This fact is perhaps best
underscored by recent Gallup polls which indicate that nearly half of all adult Americans
surveyed do not believe in evolution, and that forty percent of those who do accept evolution
by natural selection believe that " . . .God guided this process, including Man’s creation. Only
nine percent agreed that natural processes now operating have led to the advent of humans
over time, without benefit of some sort of conscious, active, ongoing, divine intervention."
(Jackson et al, 1995)

Given the fact that similar surveys also suggest an appalling and growing level of
basic scientific illiteracy among the adult American public, including a profound lack of
understanding of such fundamental concepts as "molecule," "DNA" and "radiation" (Miller,
1987), it is conceivable.that contemporary negative attitudes toward evolutionary theory might
be explained by such findings. Conceivable, perhaps, but not likely.

It is doubtful that any better clue as to what is at least partly responsible for this
decades-old controversy can be found beyond the words of William Jennings Bryan in his
passionate comments to the court near the close of the Scopes trial (see above). Put simply,
many people are afraid of, and deeply disturbed by, the idea of evolution because it seems
so radically to conflict with a different, more familiar, and more comforting narrative to help
explain the "greatest mysteries," including our deepest anxieties about such matters as the
nature of good and evil, the purpose of human existence, and the meaning of life and death.
As the classical historian Walter Burkert states in his most recent book, Creation of the
Sacred, religion provides direction and meaning for those who feel helpless in the face of the
infinite complexity of the world -- and particularly in the face of the inescapable fact of death.

24

Evolution-Creationism

"The idea of the supernatural emerges within the landscape of nature... If reality appears
dangerous or downright hostile to life, religion calls for something beyond experience to
restore the balance" (Burkert, 1996).

While it is true that evolutionary theory does not — and, in fact, cannot — explicitly
address any of these topics, most people (including, I suspect, many thoughtful scientists) are
certainly aware of the implicit assumptions attendant to Darwin’s ideas and to the full thesis
of scientific materialism in general:

Let me repeat its minimum claims: that the laws of the physical sciences are
consistent with those of the biological and social sciences and can be linked
in chains of causal explanation; that life and mind have a physical basis; that
the world as we know it has evolved from earlier worlds obedient to the same
laws; and that the visible universe today is everywhere subject to these
materialist explanations... [Scientific materialism] denies immortality to the
individual and divine privilege to the society, and it suggests only an
existential meaning for the human species. (Wilson, 1978)

Thus, it is likely that the so-called "evolution-creationism controversy" will be with us for
many decades, if not centuries, to come.

Literature Cited

Birmingham News. 1996. Teacher sees little effect from anti-evolution book. March 20.
Burkert, W. 1996. Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology in Early Religions. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge.

Edwards v. Aguillard. 1987. 107 S. Ct. 2573.

Gilkey, L. 1985. Creationism on Trial: Evolution and God at Little Rock. Winston,
Minneapolis.

Gish, D. T. 1978. Evolution: The Fossils Say No! Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego.
Gish, D. T., Bliss, B. and Bird, W. 1981. Summary of Scientific Evidence for Creation.

Institute for Creation Research ( Impact Series No. 95), San Diego.

Jackson, D. F., Doster, E. C., Meadows, L. and Wood, T. 1995. Hearts and minds in the
science classroom: the education of a confirmed evolutionist. J. Research in Science
Teaching 32(6).

Lyons, G. 1982. Repealing the enlightenment. Harper’s. April.

Miller, J. 1987. The scientifically illiterate. American Demographics 9, 26.

Milner, R. 1990. The Encyclopedia of Evolution. Facts on File, New York.

Minsky, M. 1989. Artificial intelligence comes of age. Discover. March.

25

Mullins

Morris, H. M. 1976. The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on The
Book of Beginnings . Baker Book House, Grand Rapids.

New York Times. 1992. In search of the average American. July 26.

New York Times. 1993. Battle over teaching of creation may rumble far from California.
July 27.

New York Times. 1996. 70 years after Scopes trial, creation debate lives. March 10
Physics Today. 1982. Mainstream scientists respond to creationists. February.

Saladin, K. 1986. Educational approaches to creationist politics in Georgia i«W. Hanson
(Ed) Science and Creation: Geological, Theological and Educational Perspectives .
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Macmillan, New York.
UAB Magazine. 1985. Fossil fishes and faith. 5(2), 2.

Wilson, E. O. 1978. On Human Nature. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

26

Evolution-Creationism

A MESSAGE FROM THE ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
[to be pasted in all biology textbooks]

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific
explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants, animals and humans.

No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about
life’s origins should be considered as theory, not fact.

The word "evolution" may refer to many types of change. Evolution describes
changes that occur within a species. (White moths, for example, may "evolve" into gray
moths.) This process is microevolution, which can be observed and described as fact.
Evolution may also refer to the change of one living thing to another, such as reptiles into
birds. This process, called macroevolution, has never been observed and should be
considered a theory. Evolution also refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected
forces produced a world of living things.

There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in
your textbooks, including:

Why did the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the
Cambrian Explosion)?

Why have no new major groups of living things appeared in the fossil record in a long time?

Why do major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record?

How did you and all living things come to possess such a complete and complex set of
"instructions" for building a living body?

Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday you may contribute to the theories of how
living things appeared on earth.

Figure 1. Text of the amendment to the Alabama Course of Study - Science, adopted by the
Alabama State Board of Education in 1995, and to be included in all state-approved biology
textbooks beginning fall, 1996.

27

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No.l, January, 1997.

DARWIN AND SOCIAL DARWINISM: THE USE AND MISUSE OF SCIENCE

Guy V. Beckwith
Department of History
Auburn University
Auburn, AL USA 36849-5207

Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, wrote that in the history of science there
had been three great shocks to human pride. The first was the Copernican revolution, which
destroyed the idea that the Earth was at the center of the cosmos, thereby displacing the
Earth’s inhabitants from the center as well. Copernicus’ discoveries deflated human
pretensions. The second historic shock we will turn to in a moment. The third was Freud’s
own work, which demonstrated that humans were not the completely rational, self-
determining creatures they thought they were; instead they were prey to all manner of
unconscious and irrational forces. In other words, humans were not even masters of their
own souls, let alone of the cosmos. I hope we can forgive Freud’s ranking himself as the
equal of Copernicus. Who knows, though he is out of favor at present, we may eventually
conclude that his pioneering work did occur on that high level.

But it is the second great shock to human pride that I want to discuss. Freud says that
was the Darwinian revolution, because Darwin demonstrated that humans were not the result
of a special creative act by a divine being, but were descended from the lower animals.
Humans were not the divinely appointed lords of creation, but were biological organisms
subject to the laws of evolutionary biology. This, Freud declared, was a shattering blow to
our pride— such a blow that many people rejected Darwinism without a real hearing in the
decades following the publication of the Origin of Species (1859); such a blow that some still
reject the theory today, not because they dismiss all science or because they have carefully
studied the theory as science, but merely because it strikes them where they live: it strikes
at a certain kind of human arrogance. There may be good reasons to reject or modify
Darwin, but those reasons are all too often lost in the rhetoric of wounded egotism.

I think Freud was right: Darwinism was a shock to the collective psyche of Western
civilization. James Burke puts it bluntly: "The Origin of Species hit the world like a
bombshell ..." (1) One of Darwin’s fellow scientists wrote to him shortly after the
publication of the book, and clearly understood the revolutionary impact Darwin’s theory
would have for science and scientists:

Your leading idea will assuredly become recognized as an established truth
in science, i.e., "Natural Selection." It has the characteristics of all great

28

Beckwith

natural truths, clarifying what was obscure, simplifying what was intricate,
adding greatly to previous knowledge. You are the greatest revolutionist in
natural history of this century, if not of all centuries. (2)

But the shock waves would not be limited to the world of "natural truths." As historian of
science Anthony Alioto tells us, "Darwin’s mechanism of evolution fostered one of the
greatest revolutions in Western thought, for he dispensed with the ancient and honored
doctrine of teleology, replacing it with continuous [accidental] variation. His was a
philosophical revolution as much as a biological one." (3)

It wasn’t the idea of evolution, in and of itself, that was so revolutionary. Evolutionary
theories were already on the scene, and were championed by eminent thinkers such as Jean
Lamarck in France and Darwin’s own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, in Britain. But these
theories were speculative. They were essentially works of natural philosophy rather than of
natural science. Darwin turned evolution into a scientific theory by basing it on careful
observations, finely crafted hypotheses, and sustained (though primarily indirect) testing of
those hypotheses. He gave the theory real force by working toward it inductively, and by
proposing a mechanism that both explained much of the raw data of biology and gave its
fundamental principles a dynamism and inner coherence reminiscent of Newton’s grand
synthesis of physics and astronomy.

That mechanism— the heart of Darwin’s theory and of its scientific success— was Natural
Selection. Darwin argued that variations, or mutations, arise by chance in every generation.
Some may be beneficial to the organism in its particular environment, as it competes with
other organisms for the necessities of life. These positive changes tend to be preserved and
passed on to later generations. Changes that are not beneficial, that do not improve an
organism’s ability to compete in the general struggle for survival, tend over time to drop out
because they cripple or hamper the organism. Gradually, from generation to generation,
descendants diverge from their parent stock, becoming new subspecies, new species, and
ultimately whole new families and orders of creatures. The process is a blind, mechanistic,
one: chance provides the variations, and a chance congruence between mutation and the local
environment provides the selection and the direction of development. With these mechanisms
Darwin could explain design in nature strictly by natural laws and natural randomness. He
could explain design without a Designer, whether that designer be conceived of as God or as
a spiritual principle in matter. Thus Darwin could be the Newton of biology— demonstrating
the laws and mechanisms of life— while at the same time he could be the David Hume of
biology, magisterially refuting the traditional Argument from Design. This was the
revolution, and it threw Western thought into confusion, because it was a frontal attack on
so many cherished ideas and values. The revolutionary force of his ideas made Darwin, on
top of everything else, the Copernicus of biology, taking away the old stability, the old sense
of a fixed and central place for humanity in the cosmos, and replacing it with a dizzying whirl
of movement and change; for even preserved adaptations were not perfect, and could be

29

Darwin and Social Darwinism

improved by new modifications and selections; and even a well-adapted organism or
population could become unfit if the environment itself changed. What’s more, species could
and did become extinct. This terrible kind of death— death not just for one individual or
another, but for a whole type— gave people a cold and frightening sense of the power of
chance and of change: "Blind chance, purposeless mechanism, tremendous biological waste—
this was surely not the universe imagined by Natural Theology all the way back to Newton."
(4) It was, instead, the darker world captured in Tennyson’s chilling phrase, "Nature red in
tooth and claw...." Since Darwin’s theory excluded design from "outside," it rejected special
creation. Hence it was a terrible blow to human pride. There was no higher or lower realm,
not in the old, strict, and reassuring sense; all adaptations were disconcertingly equal, and the
human brain was in the last analysis no better an adaptation than the shark’s teeth. Thus
humanity lost its exalted position in the cosmos. (5) The so-called "descent from the ape,"
destined to disturb and scandalize so many, was a side issue compared to the real, the larger,
implications of National Selection. Yet both themes had the same effect: they sparked a
furor of rejection and debate.

The religious reaction was, predictably, the strongest. Spokesmen for the churches,
including the Church of England, saw Darwin’s theory as an attack on scripture and on the
Church, an attack on the pivotal conceptions of spirit, soul, and human dignity, indeed, a
radical reduction of the human to the animal. They saw Darwinism as an attack on religious
authority, and an attempt to replace it with an alternate authority, namely a secularized
science. In Darwin, they saw science giving aid and comfort to the enemy, i.e. to atheism
and agnosticism, and in so doing threatening the very foundations of social order and
civilization. (6)

Perhaps Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford stands as the best example of this initial,
outraged reaction. He attacked Darwin’s Origin of Species in an important intellectual
journal, and at the Oxford meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1860. There the bishop engaged in a spirited debate of the issues, not with Darwin
himself, but with Darwin’s friend and champion, Thomas Henry Huxley. In this exchange,
Huxley clearly got the better of the bishop. This celebrated confrontation spurred the
acceptance of Darwinism among the scientific community and the scientifically educated, not
only in Britain, but throughout the industrialized world. (7) The surprisingly rapid acceptance
of the theory by scientists made its enemies initially all the more angry and vocal. Then even
some of them began to seriously consider Darwin’s "descent with modification."

Why was the theory of evolution by natural selection accepted so rapidly? If it was such
a shock to traditional beliefs, why wasn’t it ignored or marginalized? The Victorians were
certainly not without resources when it came to suppressing or containing new and disturbing
emotions and ideas. Why then did Darwinism, despite strong opposition, flourish?

First of all, it spread quickly because it was "good science." The Origin of Species sold
out the first day of its release. It became a tremendous best-seller, for a book of hard
science, as did the Descent of Man which followed in 1871 . Scientists and non-scientists alike

30

Beckwith

devoured these books for the science. Many laypersons became amateur naturalists as a result
of the experience. (8) Keep in mind that Darwin already had a solid reputation among
professional naturalists as a result of his voyage on the H.M.S Beagle. He returned from this
adventure of discovery with an extraordinary collection of specimens, with a Journal of his
observations and preliminary conclusions, and with a new theory of the formation of coral
islands. These won him fame among naturalists and election to important scientific societies
decades before he published his masterwork. He was a great scientist: a patient observer,
a meticulous recorder of observations and measurements, a rigorous thinker; and he had the
imagination to synthesize his observations in a daring theory. Scientists recognized these
qualities, adopted the theory, and, drawing on their scientific authority and status, helped
spread it among non-scientists.

The testimony of contemporaries helps illustrate Darwin’s extraordinary powers of
observation. Historian Timothy Ferris quotes Dr. Edward Lane, a friend of Darwin’s who
frequently accompanied him on his long walks. Lane tells us:

No object in nature, whether Flower, or Bird, or Insect of any kind, could
avoid his loving recognition. He knew about them all... could give you
endless information... in a manner so full of point and pith and living interest,
and so full of charm, that you could not but be supremely delighted, nor fail
to feel... that you were enjoying a vast intellectual treat to be never
forgotten. (9)

This kind of inspired empiricism— this love of precise observation, of painstaking care for
facts-is undoubtedly part of what it means to generate "good science." (10)

In addition, Darwin’s work led to good science on the part of his disciples and followers.
In other words, his was a fruitful theory, sparking new discoveries in biology, geology,
paleontology, comparative anatomy, embryology, biochemistry, genetics, selective breeding
in plants and animals, etc. Darwin himself stressed the importance of this continuation and
testing of his approach. In a letter to Huxley, Darwin says:

I have got fairly sick of hostile reviews. Nevertheless, they have been of use
in showing me when to expatiate a little and to introduce a few new
discussions. I entirely agree with you, that the difficulties in my notions are
terrific, yet having seen what all the Reviews have said against me, I have far
more confidence in the general truth of the doctrine than I formerly had.

Another thing gives me confidence, namely that some who went half an inch
with me now go farther, and some who were bitterly opposed are now less
bitterly opposed.... I can pretty plainly see that, if my view is ever to be
generally adopted, it will be by young Men growing up and replacing the old
workers, and those young ones finding that they can group facts and search

31

Darwin and Social Darwinism

out new lines of investigation better on the notion of descent than on that of
creation. (11)

This is the voice of the scientist: he is stung by hostility, but does not respond in kind.
He thinks in terms of the future, and does not fear the testing of his conceptions that the
future will bring. There is a mildness to his reaction that is the hallmark of the open,
humanistic brand of science Jacob Bronowski celebrates. And Darwin was right about the
future: new generations of scientists up to and including our own time have found continued
inspiration for further research in Darwin’s theory. With all of our accumulated knowledge
of genetics and of prehistoric and historic development, the basic Darwinian edifice survives.
Modern biology, with all its subdisciplines, and modern biomedicine, with all its complexities
and wonders, stand on the shoulders of Darwin. Thus Darwin is recognized today as a
scientific genius, and his theory as a triumph of human effort and discovery.

But— and this is a crucial point-Darwinism also spread for less noble reasons. As George
Bernard Shaw put it: "Darwin had the luck to please anybody with an axe to grind." (12)
That is, it was easy for those with a political or social agenda to adopt Darwinism as a way
of advancing that agenda. And there were a lot of agendas around: nationalism, militarism,
Marxism, laissez-faire capitalism, racism, imperialism, anti-semitism. The effort to apply
Darwinism to human society is called Social Darwinism. It was launched not by Darwin,
who was quite skeptical of it, but by Herbert Spencer, a British philosopher who extended
evolutionary theory to human life, arguing that "survival of the fittest" was more than the
mechanism of organic evolution: it was also the basic law of society. It was the way
humankind progressed. Thus Darwin was used to justify Spencer’s philosophical commitment
to laissez-faire capitalism: dog-eat-dog competition in the economic sphere was evolution in
action. (13)

William Graham Sumner championed Social Darwinism in the United States. He closely
followed Spencer, using Darwinism to justify American "rugged individualism" and laissez-
faire economics. To quote Sumner: "It may shock you to hear me say it, but when you get
over the shock, it will do you good to think of it: A drunkard in the gutter is just where he
ought to be. Nature is working away at him to get him out of the way, just as she sets up
her processes of dissolution to remove whatever is a failure in its line. " (14) Perhaps Sumner
was not vindictive, or at least not actively so; at other points in his writings he suggests a
somewhat more charitable line. But given the long history of human irrationality, given what
Hannah Arendt terms the "banality of evil," it is only a short step from his "shocking"
suggestion that the drunkard be left in the gutter to actively shooting the man in order to get
him "out of the way" all the faster. But for a time Sumner’s more passive form of Social
Darwinism held sway.

The movement had a major impact in the U.S., where such great industrialists as Andrew
Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller became enthusiastic advocates. Here’s what Andrew
Carnegie said about his first encounter with Social Darwinism:

32

Beckwith

That light came in as a flood and all was clear. Not only had I got rid of
theology and the supernatural, but I found the truth of evolution. ’All’s well
since all grows better’ became my motto... Man was not created with an
instinct for his own degradation, but from the lower he had risen to the
higher forms. Nor is there any conceivable end to his march to perfection. . .

We accept and welcome, therefore, as conditions to which we must
accommodate ourselves, great inequality of environment; the concentration
of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of a few; the law of
competition between these, as being not only beneficial but essential to the
future progress of the human race.

John D. Rockefeller, echoed these sentiments, though with a touch of traditional
piety:

The growth of a large business is merely the survival of the fittest. The
American Beauty Rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which
bring cheer to the beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up
round it. This is not an evil tendency in business. It is merely the working
out of a law of Nature and a law of God. (15)

It difficult to avoid a skeptical view of these grandiose pronouncements. They obviously
did not flow from dispassionate scientific analysis. Great industrialists and financiers were
enthusiastic about Social Darwinism because, in their eyes, the doctrine proved that they were
wealthy and powerful because they were the most fit, the most highly evolved, the most
deserving, and that the poor— even those made poor by the deliberate actions of a Rockefeller
or a Carnegie— were the unfit, who therefore deserved to be poor. This wasn’t exactly a new
position in America, or in Britain, because the works of Adam Smith on laissez-faire
capitalism had already been misread to serve this kind of conclusion. But it wrapped laissez-
faire up in the borrowed roles of hard science, and led to conclusions even more cruel than
the old economic theory.

But the most frightening example of Social Darwinism appeared in Germany. The young
scientist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at the
University of Jena, became the primary exponent of Darwinism in Germany. He gleefully
accepted the Social Darwinist principle that humans were part of nature and subject to natural
law, including the law of the "survival of the fittest." But he went much farther. He argued
for a direct, literal, and militant application of the laws of evolutionary biology to human life
and society. He believed that Darwinian science proved German racial superiority. The
German form of racism antedated Haeckel and Darwin, but Haeckel now gave it fake
scientific credentials. In doing so, he became one of the forefathers of Nazi ideology. His

33

Darwin and Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism influenced all levels of German society. He taught that some races were
more highly evolved than others and thus "worth more," and that some individuals were more
highly evolved and so their lives were "naturally" more valuable. He rejected free will as
unscientific; thus he rejected liberalism and democracy.

It is ironic: British and American Social Darwinism accepted individualism and liberal
democracy as consistent with Darwin, while German Social Darwinism rejected individualism
for immersion in society, and rejected democracy for obedience and command— again, all in
the name of Darwin. Haeckel and his followers declared that natural selection merely pointed
us in the right direction: the primary business of the state and of society was eugenics or
artificial selection, politics as "applied biology." They advocated infanticide for sickly or
deformed children, and euthanasia for the insane, for habitual criminals, and for people with
incurable diseases. They believed that we should breed human beings in order to improve
the race. A surprising number of people, including many scientists, saw these startling
proposals as reasonable and, indeed, as the fruit of the latest and best scientific thinking. (16)
Hitler took up the torch from Ernst Haeckel and his disciples. He became a fanatical
Social Darwinist, and put the most cold-blooded of the ideas of the eugenics movement into
effect in the Nazi State. During the short period of Nazi rule, women of pure— supposedly
pure— German stock were urged to mate with young, healthy German soldiers and
stormtroopers, outside of marriage, as a way of improving the German race (which was,
according to Nazi theory, already a super-race, biologically and in every other way). Those
judged "unfit" were routinely mocked, exploited, and eliminated.

Eugenics in the hands of the Nazis gave birth to a nightmare. The infamous death camps
were in part a way of keeping those groups and races the Nazi’s detested from propagating
themselves. Men like Goebbels and Himmler were enthusiastic about the idea that people
they deemed genetically inferior would not be allowed to propagate. Sterilization
experiments were carried out on a large scale at some of the camps. Dr. Pokorny, a
notorious, brutal S.S. doctor, wrote his superiors that he had discovered a plant-derivative
which induced lasting sterility in the prisoners: "The thought alone that the 3 million
Bolsheviks now in German captivity could be sterilized, so that they would be available for
work but precluded from propagation, opens up the most far-reaching perspectives." (17)
(This was Hitlerian bureaucratese for ecstatic approval.)

Let me reiterate: racism, rabid nationalism, and ethnocentrism were already well-
entrenched in Western civilization. Darwinism didn’t create them. But Darwinism was
appropriated by them, and used to give them a pseudo-scientific legitimacy. You can almost
see the fallacy involved if you look at the language of Haeckel:

Evolution and progress stand on the one side, marshaled under the bright
banner of science; on the other side, marshaled under the black flag of
hierarchy, stand spiritual servitude and falsehood, want of reason and
barbarism, superstition and retrogression... Evolution is the heavy artillery in

34

Beckwith

the struggle for truth; whole ranks of dualistic sophisms fall before [it].. as
before the chain shot of artillery. (18)

This is the language of propaganda, of ideology, of war— not the language of reason, of
criticism, of genuine concern for the truth. And this man was a trained scientist. Hitler’s
rhetoric was even worse— yet, questioned, he would have insisted that National Socialist
eugenics was firmly based in science— in Darwinian evolution. But Darwin himself was a
man of charity and benevolence, who felt the need to apologize in his Autobiography for not
devoting all of his time to philanthropy. (19) This is perhaps the most painful irony of all.

What, then, can we learn about science as a way of thinking, and about the uses of
science in human life and history, from this profoundly disturbing devolution of ideas? I am
reminded of Jacob Bronowski’s film "Knowledge or Certainty," one of the best works in his
groundbreaking Ascent of Man series. In that film, Bronowski argues that the horrors of the
Thirties and of World War Two were not the tragedy of science, but the tragedy of
humankind. By this, I take it he means that the death camps and atomic bombs were not a
tragedy of science as a method, as a system, and as an intention. In other words, this wasn’t
the tragedy of science at its best. But it was a tragedy of science in another sense, as a
human activity , subject to the manifold errors, confusions, and cruelties of human life. It
stands as a warning: even the best science can be diluted and misused. Often this dilution
and diversion is the work of non-scientists, of politicians and financiers and ordinary people
in the street. But sometimes it is the work of scientists themselves, in moments of ignorance,
twisted enthusiasm, and moral failure. The clear historical fact that science can be misused
even by scientists should remind us that what Shaw called "moral passion," the all-
consuming desire to discover and actually do what is right, requires a vigilant, continuous
interrogation of self and situation. Not only is the unexamined life not worth living; armed
with the physical and theoretical powers of the sciences, it is an invitation to catastrophe.

We can learn something else as well. In the sciences— human as well as natural-
context is everything. Principles and conclusions that are perfectly valid within their proper
context become invalid when ripped out of it. When Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, one of
the high watermarks of human intelligence, becomes the catch phrase "all is relative"— its real
meaning disappears, and a terrible closing of the mind results. When Heisenberg’s Principle
of Uncertainty becomes the sophomoric assertion that "all is uncertain"— knowledge becomes
impossible, including the knowledge that gave rise to the Principle in the first place. When
Evolution by Natural Selection, Darwin’s historic contribution to biology, is forced from its
context and artificially grafted to politics or economics, you have the same dismal result.

This is not to say that science cannot contribute to other areas of life, and to our daily
lives. But it must be real science, understood first within the limits and qualifications of its
origin. We must use science with wisdom and a healthy humility— or we destroy its capacity
to give us understanding and authentic progress.

Ironically, Social Darwinists managed to re-introduce the human, all-too-human

35

Darwin and Social Darwinism

arrogance that the shock of Darwinism had, in principle, exorcised. Yet the real lesson of
Darwinism is greater humility, grounded in a sense of kinship with all life and an acceptance
of the value, to life and to human life, of diversity. This lesson is all the more important
today, for Social Darwinism is not dead. It is still very much alive, though it does not
usually go under its old name. Any person who says that everyone who is poor deserves to
be poor— that other races are inherently inferior— that power and wealth are sure signs of
fitness, of value to society— is very much a part of this old and discredited movement. Such
phrases misuse scientific terms and discoveries, and make a mockery of the lives and labors
of genuine scientists.

Certainly we must have science, and use science, or we will cripple ourselves in the
art of living. But we must learn to use science with, as Bruno Bettleheim suggested, an
"informed heart." This is admittedly no easy task. We have had much more historical (and
personal) experience inflating false pride and pandering to it. But if we pay careful attention
to that history, painful as it has been, and to all the ways in which our egotism and
irrationality have perverted the most promising of our intellectual and technical achievements;
if, in other words, we foster a heightened historical awareness of our use and misuse of
science; then we stand a much better chance of transforming science, and all forms of
knowledge, into tools in service to life. (20)

Endnotes

1. James Burke, The Day the Universe Changed (Little, Brown, 1985), 260.

2. Loren C. Eiseley, "Charles Darwin," Scientific American (February 1956): 8.

3. Anthony M. Alioto, A History of Western Science (Prentice-Hall, 1987), 276.

4. ibid., 285.

5. "The Victorian Age," M.H. Abrams (ed.), Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol.

2, 3rd Ed. (Norton, 1974), 882.

6. Walter E. Houghton, The Victorian Frame of Mind (Yale UP, 1957), 58-9.

7. Timothy Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way (Morrow, 1988), 244-5; Stephen

Mason, A History of the Sciences (Collier Macmillan, 1962), 422; Eiseley, 7.

8. Burke, 261.

9. Quoted in Ferris, 232; see also Eiseley, 9.

10. A.N. Whitehead, Science in the Modern World (New American Library, 1925), 2-3.

1 1 . Quoted in John F. Henahan (ed.), The Ascent of Man: Sources & Interpretations (Little,

Brown, 1975), 207.

12. Quoted in Burke, 261.

13. Mason, 421.

14. William Graham Sumner, "The Forgotten Man," Social Darwinism: Selected Essays of

William Graham Sumner (Prentice-Hall, 1963), 122.

36

Beckwith

15. Quoted in Burke, 271.

16. George J. Stein, "Biological Science and the Roots of Nazism," American Scientist,

Vol. 76, No. 1 (January-February 1988): 53-7.

17. Quoted in William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (Fawcett, 1959,

1960), 1275.

18. Quoted in Stephen Jay Gould, Ever Since Darwin (Norton, 1977), 217.

19. Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, ed. Nora Barlow (Norton,

1958), 95.

20. Stephen Jay Gould, "The Most Unkindest Cut of All," Natural History (June 1992):

8-11; Gabriel Marcel, Man Against Mass Society (Henry Regnery, 1971), 55-6;
Hans Jonas, The Imperative of Responsibility : In Search of an Ethics for the
Technological Age (University of Chicago Press, 1984), ix-xi.

37

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 68, No.l, January 1997.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE 1995 ALABAMA DRAFT AND ADOPTED COURSE OF

STUDY: SCIENCE

John C. Frandsen, Ph.D.

Dept, of Biology
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL 36088

Scott Brande, Ph.D.

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
UAB

Birmingham, AL 35294

ABSTRACT

A number of recent national reform projects in science education (National Research
Council, 1996) have stimulated similar reform efforts at the state level. The adoption of the
1995 Alabama course of study was preceded by intense public debate. The state Board of
Education yielded to anti-evolution pressure in an unprecedented way: the board authored a
statement and added it to science texts, thus meddling in affairs of academic content previously
left to content specialists. The board also instructed the course of study committee to meet with
opponents to the committee's draft document for the purpose of altering parts opponents found
objectionable. These changes included 1) the removal of the term "evolution" from three of
four content standards, 2) the deletion of the term "evolution" from the Biology Core, 3) the
re-wording of five content standards, the effect of which is to cast doubt on evolution, and 4)
the removal of terms that promote discussion of science in relationship to society. However,
changes made in the adopted course of study will not necessarily alter the delivery of
instruction in the public school science classroom because of a number of intervening factors,
including local curriculum planning and supplementation, individual teacher knowledge and
determination, and textbook content. In our opinion, the adopted Course of Study: Science
represents a vast improvement over those of the past, and should benefit student preparation
for life in the 21st century.

Introduction

The science course of study in Alabama

In Alabama, the Course of Study: Science (COSS) is written by a committee of
citizens, the number and composition of which is determined by law (Alabama Code, 16-35-
1). The course of study committee (COSC) constructs a draft document (Draft), that it submits
to the state Board of Education, whose ex-officio president is the governor. The board holds
public hearings on the Draft, then votes to adopt or reject it. Once adopted, the COSS

38

Frandsen

becomes the "framework for the science education program in Alabama's public schools"
(Teague, 1995, p. v). A brief description in the 1995 COSS emphasizes its essential functions
in directing public school science education in Alabama:

"Content standards in this document are minimum and required...

They are fundamental and specific but not exhaustive. In developing local
curriculum plans, school systems may include additional content standards
to reflect local philosophies and add implementation guidelines, resources,
and/or activities, which, by design, are not contained in this document"
(Teague, 1995, p. v).

Two parts of this description are particularly noteworthy: 1) the “minimum and
required” clause, and 2) the “supplementation” clause. The significance of these clauses will
be discussed below.

The hexennial subject revision cycle in Alabama

As all academic disciplines are aggregated into six major subjects (of which one is
science), each subject is revised only once every six years. The next year for revision of the
COSS will be 2000. Once the subject course of study is revised by the COSC and adopted by
the state Board of Education, and a list of textbooks to support it is approved by the board, it is
implemented the following academic year. Consequently, the COSS adopted in 1995 was
implemented with the beginning of the 1996-97 academic year.

The Evolution/Creation Controversy

The evolution/creation controversy normally erupts with significant public comment
during the two-year period in which the COSS and its supporting list of approved science
textbooks are developed and adopted. During the 1994-95 COSS adoption, the degree of
public opposition to the Draft was, in our opinion, the most intense to date.

Since 1983, opponents of evolution have had varying degrees of success in influencing
content of science courses in the public schools, primarily by membership or influence on the
COSC. In previous years, such as 1983 and 1988, the science COSC worked in relative
obscurity. In 1994, the Alabama Department of Education opened the process of science
curriculum development to an unprecedented extent: it called public hearings at four locations
throughout the state, thus providing public input to the COSC, and it solicited comment on the
Draft from all deans of schools of education and from all 127 public school districts. The Draft
was available for public inspection at 23 locations throughout the state, and was available upon
request from the State Department of Education.

It was not until less than a month prior to the board's meeting on February 9, 1995, at
which the COSS was to be considered, that we became aware of strong public opposition to
adoption of the Draft. This opposition developed and coalesced around the Eagle Forum of
Alabama (EFA - the Alabama affiliate of the Eagle Forum, the national conservative
organization founded by Phyllis Schlafly). Because seven of the eight state board members
were newly elected the previous November, the board passed a motion to table consideration

39

Course of Study: Science

of the COSS until their March 9th, 1995 meeting. This additional month provided time during
which both opponents and supporters of the draft COSS prepared documents and recruited
speakers, and during which publicity about the upcoming public hearing intensified (Dean,
1995a).

When we write of "Opponents" below, we refer to representatives and supporters of
EFA and others (individuals, representatives of various citizen groups and churches) who
argued that the Draft should be rejected or modified by 1) the elimination, reduction, or
neutralization of evolution or evolutionary topics, or 2) the elimination or reduction of
discussion of the relationship of science and technology to society.

The Draft Course of Study - Science: Opponent Charges

Two major topics of concern voiced by Opponents of the Draft focused on 1)
evolution, and 2) social applications and implications of science. We cannot presume to know
the specific motivational origins for each objection. However, written documents distributed
by Opponents, and statements reported in various newspaper articles, reveal the reasons for a
number of their significant objections. In a statement prepared for a public hearing before the
state Board of Education (Brande, 1995), one of us (Brande) analyzed a large number of the
objections, from which a few selected examples are discussed below.

Christian Coalition of Alabama

In a brief letter to the board from the Christian Coalition of Alabama (Russell, 1995),
Mr. Bob Russell states in part that "The Christian Coalition of Alabama respectfully asks you
to reject the new science curriculum... Please vote no." Furthermore, Mr. Russell states that
"Our chapter leaders, representing 20,000 members...", as if to emphasize a significant
number of potential voters. No argument supporting the stated opinion of the Christian
coalition members is provided in the letter. Nothing specific in the Draft is stated as being
objectionable to Christian Coalition members. We can only surmise with uncertainty the parts
of the Draft to which Mr. Russell and coalition members objected.

Eagle Forum of Alabama charges political bias

Prior to the board's March 9th meeting, EFA distributed a number of letters and
documents critical of the Draft COSS. For example,

“Its [the Drafts] teaching of ‘scientific literacy’ is part of the
national agenda to use science for social change - instead of science being a
pure enterprise in which one is trying to investigate the universe” (Smith,

1995a).

On behalf of EFA, Mrs. Smith urged state board members to reject the Draft because it
departs from “traditional science education”

40

Frandsen

"...the proposed course of study advances politically correct
attitudes, radical social agendas, and treats debatable issues as
nondebatable" (Smith, 1995b).

EFA charged the Draft was biased with values drawn from national science education reform
programs, such as those described in Benchmarks for Science Literacy American Association
for the Advancement of Science, 1993), and Science for All Americans (Rutherford and
Ahlgren, 1990). “It can thus be assumed that the Alabama Course of Study is based on and
reflects the values inherent in these two documents” (Anonymous, nd). If true, one ought to
find the strongest evidence of such bias in the Draft. But in the analysis that followed, all
quotations were from the national program documents, not the Alabama Draft.

Prior to the board's public hearing, EFA issued an alert charging that the Draft
pursued a “social agenda” because it promoted “population control, redistribution of wealth,
environmentalism, negative view of the military”, and was therefore “unacceptable” (Eagle
Forum of Alabama, nd). We could not, however, find support for such critical charges, and
neither could The Birmingham Afews_(Editor, 1995). For example, the word "military" occurs
just once in a content standard identical for the sixth through eighth grades:

"Discuss the ethical issues of science." Examples: use of animals
and humans in research, use of military technology" (Teague, 1995, pp. 68,

76, 86).

We do not understand how EFA concluded this content standard promotes a negative view of
the military (presumably that of the United States), when in fact it promotes no particular
position at all. EFA invented a negative characterization where none existed, presumably to
influence opinion against the Draft.

Eagle Forum of Alabama fears national control of state education

A common theme of Opponent objections to the Draft was the COSC’s use of

references such as Benchmarks for Science Literacy _ (American Association for the

Advancement of Science, 1993), and Science for All Americans (Rutherford and Ahlgren,
1990). For example, EFA concludes that the use of Project 2061 materials by the COSC
somehow commits Alabama to all of the project's future materials as well.

"Continuing research has convinced us that this COS MUST be
rejected. Elements of it... [are] part of the national agenda to use science for
social change" (Smith, 1995a).

"The proposed course of study,... is merely the groundwork [for
future adoption of Project 2061 curricula, resources, teacher training and
evaluation]" (Smith, 1995a).

[The curriculum] "Links Alabama to a national program planned to
last until the year 2061" (Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd).

41

Course of Study: Science

The COSC did not in fact adopt Project 2061 curricula; instead they studied and
adapted Project 2061 reports, including Science for All Americans (Rutherford and Ahlgren,
1990) and Bench/mrks for Science Literacy _( American Association for the Advancement of
Science, 1993), and consulted 39 other references, including science courses of study for such
other states as Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and
West Virginia. Whether future COSS committees will choose to utilize any materials from
Project 2061 is unknown to all, including the EFA.

EFA documents criticize the Draft for promoting relative ethics and morality. The
Draft is “unacceptable because it... Assumes ethics and morality are relative (BSL, p. 153)”
(Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd). Again note that the referenced work is Benchmarks for
Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993) not the Draft
COSS. The only references to "ethics" are found in the three identical content standards
mentioned previously: “Discuss the ethical issues of science” (Teague, 1995, pp. 68, 76, 86).
How such a statement can be interpreted as promoting either relative ethics or morality is
beyond our comprehension.

Eagle Forum of Alabama objects to evolution

The teaching of evolution in the public schools has long been a prime target of
opposition by EFA, some church-related groups, and like-minded citizens. EFA charged that
the Draft was unacceptable in part because 1) it treated evolution as a non-debatable fact when
it is not (Dean, 1995b), 2) its inclusion of evolution implied man originated without purpose
and by chance (Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd), and 3) its inclusion of evolution is degrading
because mankind is “view[edj... as an animal” (Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd). These charges
are similar to those made during previous adoptions of COSSs and science textbooks (Harris,
1982; Lash, 1983; Brande, 1991).

Eagle Forum of Alabama decries omission of alternative theories

EFA and other opponents objected that the Draft COSS did not include any theories
other than evolution that might explain the origins of biological species:

“Eagle Forum of Alabama ... advocates teaching evolution and

‘facts ... at odds with it”’(Smith, 1995c).

Opponents rarely articulate the details of what alternative theories they would prefer as a
balance to evolution. A revealing insight is provided by the president of EFA who quoted Dr.
Werner Von Braun’s view that “It would be an error to overlook the possibility that the
universe was planned rather than happened by chance” (Smith, 1995c italics in original). A
“planned” universe is quite clearly a product of a creator. EFA and other opponents argued
previously (Anderson, 1989; Kendall, 1989) and subsequently (Dean, 1995d) for adoption of
Of Pandas and People (Davis et ah, 1993), a textbook characterized by its promoter (the

42

Frandsen

Foundation for Thought and Ethics) as “designed to give students a broader understanding
and reliable scientific rationale for creation” (Brande, 1991).

Norris Anderson objects to societal issues

Norris Anderson, a former science textbook consultant, objected to the Draft in part
because it discusses "societal issues": "This should not be the major thrust of science
education" (Anderson, nd). Anderson charged that the Draft was too heavily weighted in
mandatory coverage of science and society. Let us examine this charge.

In the Draft, application of science to societal issues was taken up largely in the strand
"Science, Technology, and Society" found in various content standards from grade 6 through
the high school core courses.

Grade 6, #48. "Place scientific discoveries in historical, social, economical,
and ethical perspective" (Teague, 1995, p. 73),

Grade 6, #53. "Serve the community through a science-related project"
(Teague, 1995, p. 73),

Grade 7, #59. "Discuss the limits of technology in fulfilling human needs"
(Teague, 1995, p. 84),

Biology Core, #46. "Identify trade-offs that individuals and society must
consider when making decisions concerning the use or conservation of resources" (Teague,
1995, p. 121).

In grades 6 through the core courses, there are 395 content standards. Of these, 34 are
listed under Science, Technology, and Society, thus constituting about 8.6% of the total.
Whether 8.6% is too much, too little, or just right is obviously a matter of opinion, and
Anderson is entitled to his own. However, for the 26 Alabama citizens who constructed the
Draft (members of the COSC), 8.6% obviously constituted a majority opinion.

Let us consider some consequences if Anderson's view had prevailed, that science and
society should not be discussed to the extent it is mandated in the COSS. Students would not
be challenged to think about and discuss significant individual and community issues in
everyday life they may often face after graduation from high school. For example, assume as
part of a project in a high school science class, a student team finds a local stream polluted by
run-off, and they discover a potential source of nitrate at the chicken farm over a nearby hill.
Anderson's restrictive view might be implemented in the following way. Students would
observe, measure and discuss issues of water quality in the stream, but the teacher should
restrict that discussion from areas where the economic interests of the farmer potentially
collide with those of the people living downstream who voted for clean water.

We believe Anderson’s position is wrong. It is becoming more important, not less, to
teach our children to face honestly and squarely those scientific and societal problems they will
later encounter, such as electing qualified representatives who campaign on environmental
issues, and choosing either "paper" or "plastic" at the grocery store. In our opinion, a course
of study that continually challenges students to inquire about the implications of science will
help to empower them to make more informed decisions by the time they graduate from high
school.

43

Course of Study: Science

Norris Anderson charges the Draft is religious

Norris Anderson also charged that "values and religious ideas" underlie the COSS
because it is based on Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the
Advancement of Science, 1993) and Science for All Americans (Rutherford and Ahlgren,
1990), publications that promote an evolutionary origin for life on earth, including mankind.

"One definition of 'religion' is 'a system of beliefs held with ardor,
devotion, conscientiousness, and faith'... According to this definition, the
Alabama Science Course of Study is religious" (Anderson, nd).

Although one might hold that scientists entertain a "system of beliefs" (belief = probable
knowledge, mental conviction, acceptance of something as true or actual), and that scientists
exhibit ardor (warmth or intensity of passion), devotion (strong attachment or affection), and
conscientiousness (scrupulousness), the enterprise, methods, and results of science are
logically distinguishable from religion.

"Science (knowledge as of facts, phenomena, laws, and proximate
causes, gained or verified by exact observation, organized experiment and
logical thinking) is thus basically distinguished from religion as follows:
scientific belief is based on evidence, religious belief is based on faith"

(Read, 1960).

Anderson is wrong to ascribe faith (belief without evidence) as a common attitude of
scientists toward their work, as a definitive characteristic of science, or as a characteristic of
the COSS. Anderson's proposition that the Draft COSS is religious is incompatible with an
accepted understanding of faith, religion and science.

Changes to the Draft COSS

Until the final draft of a COSS is approved by the state Board of Education, it is a
document subject to extensive review. The draft is initially formulated by the COSC. As a
product of the committee’s consensus approval, the draft represents a document of compromise
among the diverse interests of 28 committee members who represent teachers, school
administrators, the system of higher education, and citizens of Alabama, including interests of
the governor, who by law may appoint seven representatives. Public input to the COSC was
provided in four public hearings at the beginning of the committee’s work in May, 1994.
Throughout the rest of the year, the committee formulated the Draft, which was then subjected
to three reviews (for accuracy of scientific, educational and administrative content). The
superintendent of education then recommended the Draft to the state Board of Education for its
approval in January, 1995, at which time the board tabled the Draft for later consideration.

After the draft of a COSS is submitted to the state Board of Education for approval,
further public comment cannot be allowed to result in significant changes in the text. Such

44

Frandsen

changes would unacceptably delay approval of the draft and the subsequent process of
development of a list of approved textbooks to support the COSS.

Mandatory and optional components of the COSS

The COSS is built upon a fundamental unit: the science content standard. Each
standard is composed of a statement, termed the stem, which may stand alone or may be
accompanied by up to two types of supplemental statements: examples and blips. For example,
content standard #7 for eighth grade (Teague, 1995, p. 86) is as follows:

"Discuss ethical issues of science.

Examples, use of animals and humans in research, use of
military technology".

The stem "Discuss ethical issues of science" is a required part of the COSS, while the examples
are merely suggested topics; they are not mandatory by law. Blips, generally indicated by
hyphens, are a mandatory part of the required standard. For example, standard #30 of the
Biology Core (Teague, 1995, p. 118) is accompanied by three required additional elements.

"Analyze factors in the production of genetic mutations in an
organism and/or its off-spring.

-Radiation

-Chemicals

-Chance”.

Opponents campaign for changes in the COSS

The 1994 draft was written by the COSC during the course of its work in 1994,
reviewed for scientific, educational and administrative content, recommended by the
superintendent of education, and was to be considered by the state Board of Education for
approval on March 9, 1995. That Opponents had influenced the board became clear by the
date of the board’s work session (Wednesday, March 8) because it instructed the COSC to meet
with Opponents of the draft in order to hear objections and modify it as necessary. At the
scheduled public hearing on Thursday, March 9, the document presented to the board for its
approval was the version of the Draft that included some modifications demanded by Opponents
during the previous 24 hours.

An audience composed largely of Opponents, including EFA members and supporters,
church-affiliated groups, and individuals attended the public hearing in Montgomery on
Thursday, March 9. A much smaller number of individuals who spoke for the Draft included
representatives of the Alabama Academy of Sciences (Frandsen and Brande), teachers and
school administrators, and even an astronaut (Larry DeLucas, UAB). Governor Fob James
attended the first part of the hearing (morning session) and stated that he would not be able to
return for the afternoon discussion at which the board would vote.

45

Course of Study: Science

Under extreme pressure to placate Opponents, the board and COSC modified the Draft
in the following significant ways. The Board of Education 1) inserted statements addressing
evolution, and science and social agendas (Table 1, til), 2) deleted a statement defining science
literacy (Table 1, #2), and 3) removed the term evolution from a statement on DIVERSITY, one
of the 10 major strands of the entire Course of Study (Table 1, #3). As instructed by the state
Board of Education, the COSC met with Norris Anderson, a representative of the Opponent
groups, to consider objections. In response, the committee modified 15 science content
standards by insertions, deletions, and/or re-wordings (Table 1, # 4-#15). In some cases, the re¬
wording appeared to clarify or enhance original intent (e.g., Table 1, #10). In others, however,
Opponents achieved some considerable measure of success, for example, in eliminating or
neutralizing evolution in the new science curriculum (Table 1, #4, #6, #8, #11, #12).

An analysis of the modified content standards reveals that in a majority of cases,
substitute language devised in response to Opponent objections is clearly flawed (see Table 1
and discussion below).

Analysis and implications of Changes in the Adopted COSS

The state board’s intrusion into matters of science content

The importance of scientific literacy for students of the 21sl century is spelled out in the
“Vision for Alabama’s K-12 Science Education Program”, an introductory section of the
COSS. In adopting an unprecedented motion during the March 9th public hearing, the state
Board of Education added a final paragraph to the “Vision” section.

"Explanations of the origin of life and major groups of plants and
animals, including humans, shall be treated as theory and not as fact"

(Teague, 1995, p. 2).

In the Draff, evolution was taken as fact. In the adopted document, evolution is to be treated as
only a "theory". With this pejorative language, the board implies evolution is suspect in the
pantheon of scientific theories, and consequently teachers and students should approach it with
a great deal of skepticism, an approach forcefully advocated by Opponents.

Perhaps more significant are flaws present in the statement’s logical construction and
wording that seem to present a “back door” to the inclusion of creationism in the public school
classroom. Deliberately or not, the board failed to qualify “Explanations” with “scientific”.
The board’s transparent attempt to appease Opponents conflicts with other text in the adopted
COSS that specifically limits discussions of the origins of biological diversity to “scientific
explanations” (Teague, 1995, p. 4) which may not permit intrusion of creationist origins into
the science classroom.

The board was clearly uninformed as to the current classification of life on earth when
it addressed only those “major groups of plants and animals” in its statement inserted into the
COSS. We may infer that these “major groups” correspond to kingdoms, but in doing so, we
find it curious that the board omitted the additional known kingdoms of Protoctista (Protista),

46

Frandsen

Fungi, and Monera. In effect, the board now requires that teachers discuss plant and animal
origins by evolution as theory. However, because of the board’s omissions, it also permits
teachers to discuss the evolutionary origins of the rest of life on earth as fact! Furthermore, of
all the possible species of plants and animals, the board specifically identifies only one:
humans. It therefore seems abundantly clear that the primary motivation for this extraordinary
action of the board in the face of vociferous anti-evolution sentiment is appeasement of
fundamentalist religious factions that are primarily concerned with the religious status of
mankind.

Reduction of evolution by the COSC

The occurrence of the term “evolution” has been severely reduced in the adopted
COSS. "Evolution" or its derivatives occurred in only four content standards in the Draft
(eighth grade and the biology core); deletions by the COSC reduced that number to 1, a
reduction of 75%. It is particularly distressing to us that the COSC removed the term
"evolution" from the entire Biology Core (a high school course), even though evolution is
recognized as the cornerstone theory of modern biology.

When taken together with changes the committee made in various content standards
(see Table 1, #4, #6, #8, #11, ft 12, #15), the board’s statement inserted into the COSS sends a
strong signal of considerable uncertainty about the status of evolution as an accepted scientific
theory

Evolution remaining in the adopted COSS

Although explicit references to evolution have been reduced in the adopted COSS,
some of the altered content standards point clearly to evolution (e.g., Fourth Grade, content
standard #42: “Examine fossil evidence for change in organisms over time” (Teague, 1995, p.
52)). Other mandatory standards are intimately related to evolution: (e.g., "Discuss the
relationships among organisms as the basis for the biological system of classification", Biology
Core, content standard #15, (Teague, 1995, p. 129)). Finally, discussion of Darwin’s theory of
evolution is explicitly mandated (Teague, 1995, p. 91).

Science, Technology, and Society in the draft and the adopted COSS

Opponents charged that the Draft promoted “radical social agendas” (Smith, 1995b),
and pressured the board to neutralize any such content. The board formulated a statement as
part of their insert that addressed these concerns:

“When attempting to apply scientific knowledge to world problems,
no social agenda shall be promoted” (Teague, 1995, p. 2).

Notice that the board did not prohibit discussion of the relationships between science and
society, because to do so would require a radical restructuring of the COSS, for the Science,

47

Course of Study: Science

Technology and Society strand pervades the entire document. Such a restructuring would also
cause an unacceptable delay in the necessary implementation of the COSS.

The board instructed the committee to meet with Opponents to discuss their objections
to the Science, Technology and Society strand, and in response, the committee deleted both a
non-mandatory discussion of greenhouse gas emissions (Table 1, #9), and a redundant phrase
in four content standards that implied science may have practical as well as intrinsic value
(Table 1, #10). We do not understand why Opponents targeted only the greenhouse effect for
deletion, when the same global environmental issues could be discussed with reference to
deforestation or changes in atmospheric ozone.

The science COSC declined to modify or eliminate a content standard found in grades
six through eight: "Discuss the ethical issues of science. Examples: use of animals and humans
in research, use of military technology" (Teague, 1995, pp. 68, 76, 86). This standard was a
focal point of attacks by EFA, which falsely advertised that it promoted a negative view of the
military (Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd).

It appears to us that Opponents gained little of substantive value from their efforts to
reduce discussion of science, technology and society.

Do adopted changes necessarily modify the COSS in practice?

Changes made to the Draft include additions, re-wording, and deletions. Whether these
changes result in deliveries of science education different from that which would have occurred
without the changes made to the Draft is uncertain. Some factors that may affect science
classroom conduct and content might include the following:

1) course of study component in which the change was made,

2) local school system philosophies, standards, and degree of parental
involvement in curriculum planning,

3) school and classroom resources,

4) individual science teacher knowledge, determination, philosophy, and bias

5) textbook content.

Some changes were made to the required content standard, and result in a significant
shift in meaning or intention. For example, the Eighth grade content standard #42 (Table 1,
#6,) "Trace evolutionary change through fossil evidence", became "Evaluate fossil evidence for
change in organisms over time".

Modifications in stems or blips are also mandatory, and must be incorporated into the
curriculum implemented at the local level. How a teacher implements a content standard, such
as that above, is unspecified by the COSS. Although "evaluation" of fossil evidence denotes an
activity and outcome significantly different from “tracing” evolutionary change, the teacher’s
classroom conduct and leadership may result in student instruction quite different from that
envisioned by the board or Opponents of the Draft.

Other changes were made in non-mandatory examples: for example, opponents argued
for the addition of "horseshoe crabs" (Table 1, #4, Fourth grade content standard #42) to list of
organisms to be examined for change over time. Opponents promote discussion of the
horseshoe crab because it has been described as a “living fossil”, thus casting doubt on the

48

Frandsen

validity of evolutionary change. Such additions (or other modifications) to an example list are
not required inclusions in an implemented curriculum. Consequently, a teacher may conduct
classroom instruction on this topic as if the Draft had not been modified, and she may choose
not to use horseshoe crabs to “evaluate” the fossil evidence.

Although it appeared that Opponents made considerable progress in deleting the term
“evolution” from the Draft, it could be argued that such changes represent a hollow victory. By
law, the COSS contains content standards that are at best “minimum and required” (Teague,
1995, p. v). Furthermore, the supplementation clause permits local curriculum planners to
“include additional content standards”, “resources, and/or activities, which, by design, are not
contained in this document” (Teague, 1995, p. v).

Thus, it appears to us that a teacher could supplement his lesson plans with
instructional standards first included v and then deleted by, the COSC. Take, for example, the
contentious issues of evolution or the environment. The term "evolution" was deleted from
three mandatory content standards, and greenhouse gas emissions was deleted from a non¬
mandatory example list. Both evolution and the greenhouse effect could be added back into the
curriculum by any teacher wishing to supplement the COSS. In similar fashion, it seems to us,
the standards of science literacy (Table 1, #2) deleted by the board may be adopted by
individual teachers, or even local school system curriculum planners.

In our opinion, however, a more likely result of such deletions or reductions is that
controversial topics (such as evolution and the environment) will simply be bypassed by some
teachers, especially those lacking the academic background to discuss such issues with
confidence, or by those teachers, especially untenured ones, who fear displeasing parents or
administrators. The board’s deletion of science standards from the Draft signals that they reject
a 21st century vision of scientific literacy formulated by thousands of scientists, educators, and
^citizens nationwide (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993; National
Research Council, 1996). The “supplementation” clause appears, however, to permit local
curriculum planners to adopt the deleted goals for science literacy, thus extending the board’s
restricted vision statement to its original breadth.

Forward towards the 21st century, or backwards towards 1983?

Objections and compromises over language in the 1995 COSS reflect
striking similarities to public debate on previous COSSs, especially those
from 1977 to 1988 (Table 2). Evolution was a visible component of the 1977
COSS. Revision of the COSS in 1983 resulted in its removal and
replacement by the meaningless term "universal change". In 1988 the COSC
was challenged once again by many of the same anti-evolutionary groups and
individuals protesting the 1994 Draft Course of Study in Science.

Supporters of a strong COSS argued before the state Board of
Education that evolution should be reinserted in its rightful place. As
reported at the time, state Board of Education member Spencer Bachus
recognized that bending the COSS in response to political pressure was wron

49

Course of Study: Science

"If our science teachers present the theory of evolution and are sued, then I
can guarantee them that the Board of Education will be 100 percent behind
them" (Jennings and Sanford, 1988).

Faced with a Draft COSS that minimized the teaching of evolution and that failed to even
mention the dreaded E-word (Jennings, 1988), the state Board of Education refused to bow to
political pressure and instead sent the 1988 draft back to the Department of Education with
explicit instructions to strengthen the treatment of evolution (State Board of Education, 1988),
where it remained in the high school biology curriculum until removed once again from the
Biology Core of the 1995 Draft.

Politics of science education

That the decisions of the state Board of Education were based upon a complex
appraisal of political currency is supported by an assessment of the potential votes for and
against the Draft Course of Study conducted by Charles J. Dean, a reporter for The
Birmingham News prior to the March 9 public hearing: "Five of the nine members of the
school board said Wednesday March 8 they intended to vote to adopt the new curriculum"
(Dean, 1995c). By this reckoning, there was enough support to pass the COSS by a 5-4 vote.
However, at the end of the public hearing, after "compromise" language had been reached, the
board voted 7 for adoption (including Gov. James), with 2 abstentions. The board thus avoided
a more serious split. Because the COSS would have passed by the earlier vote, it appears the
board’s surgery performed on the Draft was designed to minimize the political cost of
alienation of Opponent voters.

Minor "clarifications"?

The editorial position of one newspaper published after the board adopted the COSS
suggested changes made to the Draft were relatively minor:

“...all the state Board of Education did was make a semantic clarification and explicitly
state what was the intention all along.” (Editor, 1996).

But as we’ve shown above, language stating that evolution ought to be taught only as
theory is in significant error in a number of ways. In our opinion, the board erred by injecting
into to the COSS its uninformed opinions on matters of instructional content. It’s “minor
clarifications” express sentiment at variance with scientific consensus opinion, contradict other
parts of the COSS, and appear as if changes were made because of the necessity for political
compromise in the face of intense anti-evolution pressure.

Linkages of COSS adoption with science textbook adoption

The textbook committee that evaluates textbooks examines the suitability of each title
for use in Alabama's public schools. Among the many criteria the committee uses is whether
the text is substantially concordant with the subject course of study. After the COSS adoption,
we believed that the Board of Education would find that its meddling with instructional content

50

Frandsen

might result in generating additional controversy with potentially unintended effects during the
succeeding science textbook adoptions. The board's specific language that "Explanations of the
origins of ... shall be treated as theory and not as fact" could be used for two different demands
by the same anti-evolution opponents who objected to the Draft: 1) elimination of texts that do
not explicitly treat evolution as theory only, and 2) adoption of texts that promote non-scientific
"alternative" theories, such as creationism.

For a report on the science textbook adoptions, see the accompanying article (Brande
and Frandsen, 1997).

Conclusions

In our opinion, the CO SS represents a substantive improvement over those of previous
years. The Alabama State Department of Education and COSC are to be commended for
constructing a COSS that in general should lead to significant improvements during the next six
years in the Alabama public school science classroom. We also laud Dr. Ed Richardson,
superintendent of education, for his steadfast resistance against the intense onslaught of special
interest opposition. Dr. Richardson demonstrated he would not compromise his professional
leadership for a more popular public sentiment. His dedication to Alabama’s public school
system deserves our respect and continuing support.

Against this positive backdrop, however, a shadow is cast on the COSS by the state
Board of Education because it altered the Draft in significant ways. The board inserted its own
erroneous concepts of evolution and biology that contradict those of the scientific community,
and conflict with other parts of the COSS. And the board instructed the COSC to meet with
Opponents in order to consider their objections. In response, the committee altered 16 content
standards by re-wording, insertion, or deletion, including the removal of the term “evolution”
from the high school Biology Core. Other modifications in wording change clear references of
evolutionary trends to static comparisons (deletion of “progressive”; “explain” replaced by
“evaluate”).

The proportion of the COSS affected by Opponent challenges is numerically minor
(15/628), and the major elements of science educational reform remain largely unaffected. To
this extent, the political campaign of EFA and other Opponents whose initial campaign was to
argue for the outright rejection of the draft (Smith, 1995a) may be considered a failure. Perhaps
faced with a nearly certain decision for adoption of a COSS, Opponents then argued for a long
list of alterations, only some of which the COSC implemented in various ways (Table 1).

The success with which Opponents were able to alter the Draft, especially during the
last 24 hours of a nearly nine month long process proves a significant degree of political
strength, thus reinforcing recent assessments (Dean, 1996).

Whether alterations to the Draft will affect the delivery of science instruction in
Alabama’s public school classroom cannot be predicted in advance because of a large number
of intervening factors between the COSS (the function of which is to guide local content
planners) and the classroom.

Although the state Board of Education may believe that with the adoption of the new
COSS the current controversies are largely over, we envisioned that Opponents would use the

51

Course of Study: Science

qualifying language of the board’s inserted statement (Teague, 1995, p. 2) to argue against
adoption of some mainstream biology texts, and for adoption of texts that present “alternative”
(creationist) theories.

It is particularly distressing that as we approach the 21st Century, science education
reforms continue to be held hostage because a significant percentage of the public do not
understand the scientific method of investigation, the nature of scientific evidence, the
differences between science and religion, or between scientific theory and fact, and believe that
creationism belongs in the public school science classroom (Holmes, 1995).

Many other states have undergone, or are in the process of reforming their science
instruction. It remains to be seen whether opponents (largely of evolution) exert similar political
pressures and gain similarly significant results.

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the assistance and critical review of Table 1 by Dr. Sheldon
Gottlieb, University of South Alabama, and by Dr. Eugenie Scott and Molleen Matsumura of
the National Center for Science Education.

References

Alabama. 1975. Code of Alabama, vol. 13. The Michie Co.: Charlottesville, Virginia.
American Association for the Advancement of Science. 1993. Benchmarks for Science
Literacy. Oxford University Press: New York. 418 p.

Anderson, N. nd. Major questions about the 1995 proposed Alabama Science Course of
Study. 5p.

Anderson, N. 1989. “New biology book will let our children think for themselves”. The
Birmingham News, Dec. 12, p. 11 A.

Anonymous, nd. “Religious and political biases underlying the Alabama Course of Study in
Science”.

Brande, S. 1991. Pandas attack science education. Free Inquiry ,11(3): 28-31.

Brande, S. 1995. Statement to the state Board of Education on adoption of the Draft Course of
Study - Science.

Brande, S. and J. Frandsen. 1997. The Evolution/Creation Controversy during the 1995
Alabama Science Textbook Adoption in Alabama. Journal of the Alabama Academy of
Science, 68:59-76.

Davis, Percival, Dean H. Kenyon, and Charles B. Thaxton. 1993. Of Pandas and People: The
central question of biological origins, 2nd Edition. Haughton Publishing Company:
Dallas, Texas.

Dean, C. J. 1995a. Science curriculum: In-depth teaching or a social agenda? The Birmingham
News, March 8, p. 1

Dean, Charles J. 1995b. Heated school debate rises over proposed science studies, The
Birmingham News, March 5, p. 24A.

52

Frandsen

Dean, Charles J. 1995c. School science program expected to win OK. The Birmingham News ,
March 9.

Dean, Charles J. 1995d. Science textbooks rekindle old debate. The Birmingham News,
October 13, p. 1A.

Dean, Charles J. 1996. Goals 2000 funds OK’d. The Birmingham News, August 23, p. 1A.

Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd. Science Course of Study Alert.

Editor. 1995. Science in Alabama. The Birmingham News, March 7, p. 6A.

Editor. 1996. A new science curriculum. Birmingham Post-Herald, March 11, p. C2.

Harris, Kate. 1982. Fight shaping up over the way state textbooks chosen. The Birmingham
News, January 21.

Holmes, Parker. 1995. Alabamians favor creationism. The Mobile Register, March 19, p. 1A.

Jennings, M. And P. Sanford. 1988. Message about teaching evolution gets garbled. The
Birmingham News, July 3.

Jennings, Michael. 1988. New science curriculum dodges the 'E' word. The Birmingham
News, June 12

Kendall, J. 1989. We don’t need textbooks that teach theory as fact. The Birmingham News,
Sept. 28.

Lash, Cindi. 1983. Reject books teaching evolution as fact, groups tell Alabama textbook
committee. The Birmingham News, September 28.

National Research Council. 1996. National Science Education Standards. National Academy
Press: Washington, DC. 262p.

Read, A. W. (editor). 1960. Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of the English Language,
International Edition. Funk & Wagnalls: New York.

Rutherford, F. James and Andrew Ahlgren. 1990. Science for all Americans. Oxford
University Press: New York.

Russell, B. 1995. Letter dated February 23 to the state Board of Education from the chair of
the Christian Coalition of Alabama.

Smith, E. 1995a. Letter dated February 13 to Alabama teachers, from Eagle Forum of
Alabama.

Smith, E. 1995b. Letter dated February 21 to state Board of Education members, from Eagle
Forum of Alabama.

Smith, E. 1995c. Proposed science course omits opposing theories. The Birmingham News,
March 9. p. 11 A.

State Board of Education. 1988. Minutes of the State Board of Education for July 12, adopted
August 1 1 .

Teague, W. 1995b. Alabama Course of Study: Science. Alabama State Department of
Education: Montgomery, Alabama, Bulletin 1995, No. 4.

53

o ;S

- o 2 ?

£ P 13 <u « .5 c/i

0< ^ \S £ £ x so c3

O • ^ S _, y— i >-> !— < to

^ - s g ^-5 a ^

^ -5 <u a 'cu

•S £ § g 2 H

■ §• s S ■§ I *3
§ S 3

■p O ■"' .a O O 03 ^

« T) - " C on >- d '+-

l*- ao 'o O p '3 c O

TD -—i zd X _y r; w- < <--

J2 w *73 T3 U <d .5
^ ,i x 5? .2 ”S •£?
'■Saia^ss

' O = ft « r- H

Q tfl .H > 6 . £

* c3 o S3 O -S

oo ^ .»-. G c/3

I t3 1 a) ^ >U w

o3

0-<

CJ

§ S £r^
S S § ^
0^2

cB o

r- <L>

CJ

1 s.

S -g o ps ■§

53 '5 s« g 2

U H i3 r ■»
dJ ra "P e

2 cx P 5 a

'I § s?| i

> & E 13 ^

dg S a.5a
r u g M-a t, K

« a « p y c u
oS&.2:«S-

2 O ^ X <2 OJD cd

£ ^ -*-* 5 S O

a .2 S s .

Cl. — "g

« p OO g U -P U
Q,'" a U •£ I; 5

s § s <« .ts y g

£ « 2 E " ;

£ 2 a ^ .a ■

° C § .5 2 •> -2

■ I* | § § j= a ■

R C a as > w ^

• — ^ Z3

■s -S s ^
S O <L>

a >« o p

O Ph d3 XI

O 6 (/i r; P

io p. . a d c

■— u C i2 £ t-<

X >- o -2 u oo

u a •= w — > c

•a 6 d 2 I 2 -5

3>.p a

oo

O oo

03 •— -i

O s

>-, o

o t*->
0^0
c

O bfi w
O « S

i3 Sp P

3 -° v

O •-< O'
13-S « 3 ^ '-3 "O
t-1 OJ 13 3 «J P
S “ nn2 U 3 “

O isi OO >— . p i_

« S a - ‘-a §" -a
u a ■s -2 u ^ ^

J « o -d - O ^

O —i ^ c/i <L> "r;

u 2 — j3 <u o a

•5 u cq cP p S

CE 2f ^ -'3 2 —

S2 g\S .S n- .

^ i2 3 • u o£

^ w 2 g S ^ 3

-S x3 ^2 S'

a . t- » i ct3 S

<U

ClQ 1

, r—<

CJ U-4 r-

w <U 5

C3 "O c 2

i_-*—*03-*—'

r ) O (U o

^ C c ,cd

03

<u

J T3
o ^

73

O

T3

a -

u

S

o

_2

C

a3

<D

r? r

73

s

a-

« -a
O o

V-<

O

o

*o

c/T

a>

*c

s'

2

S

t/D

<D c.

o

- ^

(U

o

■3

C

03 .

c

<D X-N

Sj

C/l

£ 3 O U _

o p > p u ■> .:

O 03 <3 w u- ?■ —

S O. 13
03 x -

03 ZrC

pOP

.S

E -

__-

CJ

o o

75

j=

OS

«*-

mZ h

J5 — «

Crt

J3

>> ^

1^2

-w

"a. 7Z

c

o

a, o

03

s

£

T3

2 °

3

j3

S

W)

c

C W)

*s ^

•5

O

«-> GJ

E 1

3

x:

Q,, "—5 — ^

s ,o

b>

b>

tO

b> w
XG

H

G %
•r* O

.2 >>

c x>

•e g

i. I

D- <D

c 3

5 c/i

g _
<d 2

T3

bX)

G

I -o

CX *-

ir o

o cj

(J

to 03
D- ~

03

-£ "§
<D >
CG 3
03

■X k“ *

.5 .o

03 rp
TC Cl

CD ^

CJ ^

c= b
O o

<D

oil 5
bX
G
03

X

CJ

03

t:

b>

CJ

C

D

"bi

bxfl

G

03

-C

CJ

5 o>

o >

£ 2
te -g

to G
03

7 j =tfc

o x£>

T3

G

03

k-.

C/5

CN

cj

G

cr o

<D

QJ -
W) rs
V. Tf

CX

g

5

a

'a

§

CD

T3

03

u*

o

-G

"O

1

G

2
c/5

G

b>

•- G
O O
00 u
c-

&
To
Ih
CD

.2? o —

tu cj Q

r-

G

O

£ •§

u -a

U G
03 G

= ^
G o

CJ 2

G

o CJ
? --
cj

tl g

O Q.

* 2
o
o

T3

G

03

u,

DO

ClO

O

O

%

G

03

b>

_G

CO t/5

E c

03

E

G

.G

• • CN
b) Cn
bO

T3 CX
^b> w

5

O

c

CJ

g
c

CL)

tn

G

V— •
03

-o

G

3

co

c

o

CJ

(DUG
*o co <l>

a 2
■s £ „

.£? o 73
W CJ U

00

e

<L)

XG

£

CJ

Q-

b>

CJ

G

O

o

CD

XG .

03

>

o

2

CD

„ • l-

*G ^

2 S'

G o

CJ W
bX) g
03 G3
, G
o3 2

G

b>

G

O

Cu

CX

o

5 c w

o

G

er .
& .a
o 2

c

o 2

CJ to

bi)
2 bo
G 3
bO to
Co <U
jg

b)

-o

<D

CX

o

>

03

CD

G
O
-C
G

(D
<D
L-
bjD

bO ^

CG

O

CD

s ;

X3 I

—

m §

. j=
u °
(2

ca 2

G c
13 £2
■2 u
o 5

e J

CX

O W

c c

<L> 2

> c

03 O

-G cj

1 G

2 c

C-O --

<D *5
b£) u
G G

I 2 w

(D

1 XG
CJ

CD

G

O

N

O

a

o

G G

Cij

CG

CD
bX) x-h
G O

2

bX)

O XG

2 $

(U X «

-a t:

. . o

c/D ? )

■ G °

T3

C

03

CD

CJ

03

■2 2
£ 2

03

bo

b)

Oh 3

£ c

si

w ^

CJ

b)

T3

C

03

CN

to

OO T3

"O

b> • •
k— I b>

•G bX)
CD

03

TD

C

03

G

b>

G

O

U

CD CJ
TD CO
G X-,

a

XG

CD
CJ
G
b)
T3

^ G

w CX
C b>
b> T3

W) § 2 —

Su£S

CN

=«:

V 03

b) 03
to •— i

CX -

CD b>
XG T3

« 2- « 2

to 23 .x; -4-

o

g

. . c . .

ro b) b)

G u 2

cC ^ 5

00 *3 *o
^ DO

b)

T3

03

k-H

a

O

b>

k—

U

o

T3

CJ

b)

u-

o

o

G

c

cr

b>

<d

o

cci

CO

g

73

G

CJ

2

to

2

GC

CG

s

S

G
g
*2

.2
rs • •
O os

i

d,

bi
CN TO

b)

O

O

k-<

CX

cj

UG

2

G

2

’2

§

•a u

c . .
<d b>

^ CJ

G
b)

° 3

c *7!

b) o

CJ

DO

CD

T3

03

CG o
O G

§ CJ
c . .

b) b>

’5 g

<D

2

G

2

'2

2

b>

CJ

o

k_

CG

o

DO

03

u.

a

-'Gb;

2 o 5

€0

2 o

cn tj

^ O

ex o

2 ^

o .2

U CQ

t3 21
b) ^

.hi

3 2
cr g
<d is

{2 co

13 2

CO tj

2 £

g o

c 2

o 2

X I

"S Z

.b T3

3 2
cr g
b) is
cX CO

<D

-a

03

k-l

a

G

_ o
a U

G . .
b) b)

.2

u !
CO NC ■

4-. ^

DO

CN O
T3 O
h3 to
ca o
T3 • —■

C £
2 XG
CO CG

G

b)

G

O

O

G

03

T3 ^ T
b) w

.h: g3

G G

O' G

i3 .

CJ CO D

c

T

C

c

O

•G

00 o

o

| 2

<l> a
oo c3

§ 'w'
JO <D
° «

£ £
rt <u

e C

O D
'Cl >
3 w

"o S

<5 I

O G

C cd
CD XS
C/5 XJ

cd C
cd .2

1 1

P "E.

5 s

^ C
ail *

*8

E

3

2

D-

CD

CD

g

o

o

CD

CD

o cP

cd .5
o a

cd o

£? «

o g

I *8

■5 is

c .S
o ^

00

c

5 ^

c
o

<U c/i

D- J3 «
£ U y
« k-
«> a y

£> u. •£

s-2 ~

ox T3 <

,CD

c

cd

x:

U

c

O \s

1 tl

H c i
0)1
ox
c
cd
x:

U

oo ^ w

5 * g

o

CD

oo

O cd
& w

D- >
O -

o

E

CD

^ oo
O CD

* 2

* o

J* &

D. C

E

o

O 0)

QD Z3
;►

cd

a> s

CO ^
O cd

cx

« s

•5 2

£ I

cd ^
Q- >-

E ’§>

o $2

O E

T3

G

cd

wT

TD

a

o

u

xz

5

cd

CD

-o

o

c

CD qd
CD -X

_ cd

05 £

a xd

G CD

O C
g CD
> >

CD

YX P

G o -o

cog

- Xr ^

C D-.

CD

s

G

CD

CD

C/D

G

2

CO

G

CD

c

C-, o

2 °

s £>

c '2

6 £

3 T3

=5 G

p r3

CO

Strand Interdependence: Content Standard — Disasters

39 (p. 120) — Climate changes

— Introduction or evolution of new
species

— Human activities

Table 2: Some changes in the treatment of evolution in Alabama draft and adopted science courses of study, 1977-1995

TD

O)

Q.

o

"D

<

LO

CD

CD

£

CO

or

LU

>

Q

3 8

co c
J2 ^

<d <d P ci

-o > > • 2

aj LU <D 05 .2
i- _ ra c

05 • cd 2 oi

00 % ^ o O ZI

03

>

o

to

E

03

^ C

o o
03 zs

©£ 8

115 s

° > g 2

g5^ I i co 0.53

1^1 =

CQ ft d) O •

! 3

=> CO

to Vt

P c

CD cd

o

cu o __

“ CO
u) QJ ^

c

CD : —
05 O

£

co

a:

LU

>

Q

g> o

. ^2 §

*- o

03

0)

CD 03

^ ’ "F CO _

05 ■ 1 c -

CO

3 o

™ w

•P o

CD

L_

o

o
> >
05 LU
O

CO

o .2

2 Tj
a)

w r ^ -E

3 ~ ® > =>

CO ?5 w CO —

£ P

03 O

c O

CZ 03
C fc-
O —

, O .p _ w ^ -

Jcnp-3rDc0>

O ° ^ M ad) 11 UJ

0^5 ac

~ OJ > 3 w

CD ft CD C/5 O • ••

’> •— .— CD —
C -C > CD O
— * — .

O

TD

05

Q-

O

"O

<

00

CO

05

>

or

< CO

S LU
O co
P w
5 LU
Zi o
o o
> cr

LU CL

C

O O
'co ‘tZ

W E

03

C

03

E

c

o

c f)

03

'C

o

I?

^ 03

2 5 B-5

_ o o -c ^

> o .2 O o

c co o *_ >

LU LL CO O LU

JX.

05

CD

5

2 I-

CD <

mg

85 S

TD

C

CO

o

03
O

c

0)

"O

>

03 rr

CO f/> .<£

>* ^ $ xi

5 2> 8 -

C ^ O (/)
03 W CO

P o a £

-2 CD

w .2
cd 2
o o

~o

05

Q_

O

TO

<

CO

oo

CD

<

CO LU

m e)

> <

2 X

3 a

2 "C

^ t/5 ~0

0x3

> m «

'S t/) x

_ 03

5 >

CO

E ®

CD <D

C <15 CD 2

O P E»f

O $ o o

"O

a;

Q.

o

“O

<

CD

2

O

o

>

LU

03

n

03

"O

CO

u

03

03

~a

c

03

to

03

JZ

£

03

C

>

co

-C

to

JU

CO

c

>

03

JZ

u_

o

c

p

03

JZ

c

—

Q

F

03

O

03

o

TD

w_

f D

03

03

>

03

U_

CL

03

>N

wj

c

iD

E

E

o

*5

C/3

0)

*4—

co

O)

03

>

2

o

o

o

>

03

03

03

13

0)

O

03

l _

>

o

-CZ

(0

_Q

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No.l, January 1997.

THE EVOLUTION/CREATION CONTROVERSY DURING THE 1995 ALABAMA

SCIENCE TEXTBOOK ADOPTIONS

Scott Brande, Ph.D.

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
UAB

Birmingham, AL 35294

John C. Frandsen, Ph.D.
Dept, of Biology
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL 36088

ABSTRACT

In Alabama, the state Board of Education revises the course of study for each public
school academic subject once every six years. Following the board’s revision of the science
course of study, the board adopted science texts and supplementary materials on November 9,
1995. A number of the same individuals and groups that opposed the presence of evolution in
the science course of study returned during the textbook adoption process to oppose the factual
treatment of evolution in the textbooks and the public school biology classrooms. These
opponents employed a number of strategies designed to minimize the impact of biology texts
containing evolutionary theory on the world views of students: 1) block some texts from the
list the state textbook committee recommended to the Board of Education; 2) add anti¬
evolution books to the textbook committee recommended list, and 3) pressure the board to
pass an anti-evolution statement for insertion into every biology textbook purchased with state
funds for use in public school science classrooms. Only the last strategy was successful.
Whether the presence of an anti-evolution textbook insert has any effect on students can only
be determined by a future survey. The history of opposition to evolution in Alabama’s public
schools is a long one, and the intensity of opposition is not likely to abate in future course of
study revisions and textbook adoptions during the coming century.

Introduction

The hexennial course of study revision cycle in Alabama

Science, like all other academic subjects in Alabama's K-12 public school system, is
revisited for updating once every six years by the state Board of Education. Some of the
previous years for revision of the Course of Study: Science (COSS) were 1988, 1983, and
1977. The next year for revision of the COSS will be in the year 2000. Once the subject

59

Brande

course of study is revised by the Course of Study Committee and adopted by the state Board
of Education, and a list of textbooks is approved by the board for purchase and use in
Alabama, the new course of study is then implemented in the following academic year.

The state textbook committee

Purpose and Composition of the state textbook committee

The function of the state textbook committee is to "consider the merit of textbooks
offered for use in the public elementary and high schools of the state and to make
recommendations to the state Board of Education" (Alabama Code, 16-36-1).

The composition of the state textbook committee is determined by law (Alabama
Code, 16-36-2). Presently, 16 of the 23 members are recommended to the governor for
appointment by the superintendent of education, and 7 members are appointed strictly by the
governor. The superintendent's recommended members represent teachers and administrators
at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. The Governor's appointees
represent the seven congressional districts, and they "shall have general knowledge of the
subject area and shall have a demonstrated ability to read and write at a post high school level
and shall not be employed in education” (Alabama Code, 16-36-2).

In the past, a smaller proportion of the state textbook committee was appointed by the
governor. It was during Governor James's previous administration that textbooks and the
selection process were targeted for change by, among others, the Alabama chapter of the
Moral Majority. Stuart Gaines, that organization's executive director, said the textbook
committee is "overloaded with educators" (Harris, 1982). Of the textbook selection process,
Governor James said "This whole textbook think stinks from here to New York" (Harris,
1982). At that time, the state legislature increased membership on the committee from 16 (of
whom 14 were educators) to 23, and increased the governor’s representation on the
committee.

The Evolution/Creation Controversy in previous textbook adoptions

In our opinion, the dominant issue in science textbook adoptions in Alabama since at
least 1983 has been evolution. One of us (Brande) was appointed a member of the 1983 state
textbook committee. During that committee's public hearing, numerous speakers repetitively
argued that textbooks submitted for evaluation 1) treated evolution dogmatically, 2) lacked
discussion of problems with evolutionary theory, and 3) lacked discussion of alternative
theories. Major speakers against the science textbooks included Eagle Forum of Alabama
(EFA) and Norris Anderson, a former Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS)
consultant who is now with Cornerstone Ministries.

During the 1989 science textbook adoptions, EFA's position was carefully crafted to
avoid the charge of promoting religion in the public school science classroom. What EFA
wanted was the ability to discuss scientific evidence against evolution, and scientific evidence
for creationism. In describing a “good education”, Joan Kendall, education chair of EFA, said
“this goal cannot be reached when students are taught theories as facts when students are not

60

Science Textbook Adoptions

allowed to wrestle with conflicting data, and when opposing theories are excluded from
textbooks” (Kendall, 1989). Because traditional biology textbooks did not discuss “opposing
theories”, EFA supported the adoption of Of Pandas and People (Davis et al., 1989)
(Pandas), a slim volume promoted as a supplementary biology book by the Foundation for
Thought and Ethics (FTE), a Christian “think-tank” (Larson, 1994; Thomas, 1990). Pandas'
alternative to evolution is an “intelligent designer”, harking back to the ideas of William Paley
(1831), who helped popularize the notion that, just as a watch implies a watchmaker, the
intricacies of living things imply a designer.

The FTE’s Alabama campaign for official adoption of Pandas was protracted, intense,
and full of surprises (Bereckis, 1990; Brande, 1991; Lindley, 1990a, b). A majority of the
state textbook committee originally voted to exclude Pandas from its list recommended to the
Board of Education. FTE then appealed directly to the Board of Education and requested that
it overrule the textbook committee majority vote and add Pandas to the recommended list.
Without clear legal authority to do so, the board refused FTE’s request, but did instruct the
textbook committee to conduct a second review of the book. In the face of imminent defeat by
a majority of the textbook committee, FTE withdrew its title, thus preventing Pandas’s
purchase with state funds and distribution in Alabama for a period of six years. Below we will
note that Pandas arose from its temporary extinction to surface once again during the 1995
science textbook adoptions in Alabama.

The Evolution/Creation Controversy in the 1995 textbook adoptions

Opponents of evolution in Alabama’s Course of Study: Science (Frandsen and
Brande, 1997) reappeared to argue against the adoption of science textbooks that contained
evolution. In a statement distributed to reporters (Kendall, 1995a), EFA charged the textbooks
submitted for adoption conflicted with board policy as stated in the COSS: “Explanations of
the origin and life and major groups of plants and animals, including humans, shall be treated
as theory and not as fact” (Teague, 1995, p. 2). EFA declared that “all the textbooks
submitted that deal with origins fail to comply with the reasonable directive” (Kendall, 1995a).

EFA stated that the current textbook controversy was not about the debate between
evolution and creation: “It is important that you understand Eagle Forum’s position. At
issue is how evolutionary theory is taught. Evolution, natural selection, the geologic column
should be taught as theory, which means: 1) using clearly defined terms; 2) showing the
distinction between data and its interpretation; 3) presenting problems that have not yet been
solved by the most widely held explanations” (emphasis included in the original) (Kendall,
1995a). These seemingly reasonable requests for better teaching belie fundamental views at
odds today with a vast majority of the scientific community. We can obtain insights into the
anti-evolution positions by examining the written report of a minority of the textbook
committee who strongly objected to a number of the biology texts.

61

Brande

State Textbook Committee Actions

Minority bloc: dissenting views

The large number of members on the textbook committee results in a diversity of
opinions about the suitability of texts for use in Alabama’s public schools. The committee
usually unanimously recommends a list of texts to the state Board of Education. At the end of
the 1995 textbook committee’s deliberations, however, both majority and minority reports
were filed with the board. The majority report recommended the vast majority of textbooks
that publishers submitted for consideration. The minority report dissented and argued that “all
secondary biology texts, all AP biology texts, and some elementary texts fail to meet the
directive of the Alabama state school board. ‘Explanations of the origin of life and major
groups of plants and animals, including humans, shall be treated as theory and not as fact.
When attempting to apply scientific knowledge to world problems, no social agenda shall be
promoted’” (Aderholt, et ah, 1995).

The members of the textbook committee who filed the minority report stated that the
texts they identified “fail to conform to the Course of Study” in three significant ways.

“1) The textbooks contain unqualified factual statements such as ‘You are an
animal, and share a common heritage with earthworms’”;

“2) Most of these textbooks fail to mention any problems left unsolved by
evolutionary theory. If there are no problems left unsolved by a theory, it
should then be called a law, and this is exactly how evolution is presented in
the textbooks. Furthermore, withholding such information indoctrinates the
student by leaving the impression there is no possible alternative view of
origins other than the evolutionary one”;

“3) Confusion is caused by the lack of precision in defining terms. For
example, ‘evolution’ is defined as simply change over time as well as descent
through common ancestry. The texts then extend ‘evolution’ to cover the
highly speculative idea that all major life forms developed from a common
ancestor. A big jump is made from microevolution (changes within a species)
which is an observable process to macroevolution (formation of major groups
of life forms) which is an unobservable process. This misuse of language is
intellectually dishonest and confuses rather than instructs students in the
proper methods of scientific inquiry” (Aderholt, et al., 1995).

One might conclude that the minority report authors are concerned simply with what
they see as muddled text: “Some may question our motives for criticizing how evolution is
taught. Let it be said at the outset that we have no desire to indoctrinate students in any view
of origins. Good science teaching demands that students learn to distinguish between facts and
theories, between data and ideas about that data” (emphasis in the original) (Aderholt, et ah,
1995).

62

Science Textbook Adoptions

However, good pedagogy is not the only concern of these minority members, as is
made clear in the following explanation:

“Macroevolution is the idea that mankind developed from lower animals by
purely natural means. If human beings are solely the product of chance
meaningless forces as these books teach, then one can rightly question the
value of man, the significance of life, and whether there is any basis for
morality. If children are taught to see themselves as animals, they may well
act like animals.

“When [evolution] is presented under the guise of ‘scientific knowledge’, a
constitutional line is crossed. What results is a state-sponsored religion that
clearly violates the view about human origins held by a majority of Alabama
students and parents. Many who hold to a Jewish, Muslim, or Christian view
of mankind are being driven out of Alabama public schools because they
cannot hold to their beliefs without being classified as superstitious or
irrational. Teaching as fact that life and all its forms result from ‘random and
undirected’ forces is offensive to their beliefs.”

“The taxpayers have reached the end of their tolerance for the pseudoscience
being promoted in our schools” (Aderholt, et al., 1995).

The minority report authors explain their objection to evolution as stemming from its serious
intellectual challenges to the religious beliefs of many people. Aderholt et al. (1995) thus ally
themselves with the many opponents to evolution who began the battle immediately following
the publication of Darwin’s big book (Darwin, 1964).

We would not challenge such opinions relating to personal choices in theology, but
believe that such challenges are entirely inappropriate in the public school science classroom.
Other inferences made by Aderholt, et al. (1995), however, appear unreasonable, illogical, or
unsupported by evidence. For example, we know of no information that students in Alabama’s
public school science classes are taught to “see themselves as animals”. We fully expect that
these students will learn about animals, and about man’s biological characteristics that mark
our interpreted position within the animal kingdom. Apparently Aderholt et al. (1995) believe
that such instruction may lead to behavioral changes that would not otherwise occur in the
absence of such instruction. We are unaware of any scientific studies that suggest the
unspecified “animal”-like behavior in children is caused solely by public school instruction in
evolution.

Aderholt et al. (1995) apparently believe that public school instruction in evolution
constitutes the teaching of “a state sponsored religion”, thus violating various unspecified
aspects of the Constitution. Legal challenges to the teaching of evolution in public schools that
are based upon religious issues have a long history in the United States (Edwords, 1983; Le
Clercq, 1978; Edwards v. Aguillard et al.). Although the various challenges differ in
character, from the proposed banning of evolution to required instruction (equal-time
balancing) of “scientific” creationism, none have survived judicial review. Aderholt’s et al.

63

Brande

(1995) understanding of the constitutional issues involving public school science instruction in
evolution is at variance with court opinions spanning more than three decades.

Conflict between evolution and theology is not the only problem the minority report
authors have with evolution. Aderholt et al. (1995) characterize evolution as “pseudoscience”,
thus implying that the subject should in fact not be included at all in the public school science
curriculum. Whatever Aderholt et al. (1995) may mean by pseudoscience, their understanding
is clearly at odds with science educators and curriculum planners nationwide responsible for
public school science instruction.

Minority report recommendations

The minority bloc of the textbook committee identified ten biology and science books
that “at a minimum must not be adopted [because they] contain excessive, dogmatic,
naturalistic macroevolution [and] also promote social agenda items in violations of the Course
of Study” (Aderholt, et al., 1995). In light of the “defective nature of all of the texts”, the
textbook committee members who signed the minority report recommended the Board of
Education take three actions: 1) attach a position statement to each text that “inform[s]
students, parents, and teachers of the board’s position on the teaching of origins [and] in
general terms the assumptions upon which macroevolution is based and some of the
unanswered questions that remain” (Aderholt et al., 1995), 2) adopt supplementary materials
for student use (presumably to counterbalance texts with evolution), and 3) approve additional
works for supplementary use by teachers (Aderholt et al., 1995).

Majority recommendations

At the end of the review process, the textbook committee votes on each and every title
submitted by publishers. If a title receives a majority of the 23 votes, it is placed on a list the
committee recommends to the Board of Education.

The minority bloc argued that at least ten biology and science texts should not be
included on the textbook committee’s recommended list. One of these titles was the green
version of BSCS’s Biological Science: An ecological approach (Milani, 1992). It is interesting
that Norris Anderson, a signatory to the minority report, argued for this text’s elimination
because he had consulted previously with BSCS on the second edition of the BSCS green
version as a member of its revision team. Anderson’s involvement with BSCS ended with that
edition, for BSCS chose not to retain him on the revision team for the third edition
(Mclnerney, pers. comm.).

Of the hundreds of titles submitted for committee approval, less than five were not
recommended by majority vote of the textbook committee, including the BSCS green version.
It is likely that internal dissension lead the majority to vote the elimination of a few titles in
order to placate the intense pressure of the minority bloc.

Below we review actions taken by the state Board of Education relative to the
recommendations of the state textbook committee.

64

Science Textbook Adoptions

State Board of Education Actions

Multiple textbook inserts

The textbook committee’s minority bloc recommended the board adopt an informative
position statement “on the teaching of origins” and other matters of evolution. In the month
prior to the board’s November 9, 1995 meeting, a statement was written that addressed the
points in the textbook committee’s minority report (Appendix 1). This statement was then
endorsed by Eagle Forum of Alabama, which said it was necessary “because all of the biology
textbooks recommended for adoption treat evolution as fact” (Dean, 1995a). (We do not know
the author(s) of the statement endorsed by EFA. What we do know is that Joan Kendall,
education chairman of EFA, wrote in a letter to the Birmingham News that the one EFA
endorsed was “developed by science teachers” (Kendall, 1995a)).

EFA had proved itself capable of reaching the board and the Governor during
previous debates on public science education. Given the intense public interest in education,
and the apparent political weight of EFA, we felt it more likely the board would choose to
adopt some statement rather than none at all. If the board were to adopt a particular statement,
the question then arose as to who would influence its final content.

In order to counterbalance the statement endorsed by EFA, we consulted with a
number of colleagues and wrote a rather bland, alternative statement that accurately reflected
the current state of scientific knowledge about the origin and life and evolution (Appendix 2).

By November 8, the day before the board was to vote on the textbook committee’s
recommendations, we learned there would be three additional different statements proposed
for insertion into the biology texts (see Appendices 3-5), including those of Ed Richardson,
state superintendent of education, Stephanie Bell, member of the state Board of Education,
and David Byers, also a member of the state Board of Education. These three statements seem
quite similar in many respects, including the retention of specific language and sequential
ordering of topics. The statements endorsed by Bell and Byers appear to be direct literary
descendants of the EFA statement, if we provisionally assume the latter was written before the
j others.

At the board’s public hearing on November 9, the number of statements to be
considered was reduced to four; board members Byers and Bell agreed to support a single
statement (Appendix 6), the language of which is most similar to that previously endorsed by
Bell.

Governor James acts like an ape

During the morning session of the board’s public hearing, Governor James (president
of the board) addressed the board with his thoughts on the issues of evolution because he
would not be present during the afternoon when the board was to hear from the public and act
on the textbook committee’s recommendations.

65

Brande

As eyewitnesses, we can confirm the account of the Governor’s actions and comments
as reported by the Birmingham News (Dean, 1995b). Standing between the board and the
audience, Governor James dropped his hands nearly to the floor of the auditorium, ambled a
few steps like a quadrupedal primate, and then slowly straightened up as if evolving to the
upright posture of humans, thus mocking the classical textbook illustration of the evolution of
man from ape. Governor James made his position on evolution perfectly clear to the majority
of supporters in the audience: “That’s the notion behind evolution. It’s no more than a
theory. If one wants to understand something about the origins of human life, you might ought
to look at Genesis to get the whole story” (Dean, 1995b).

The board hears from the public

During the afternoon session, the board heard from nearly 30 speakers who voiced
various opinions on various subjects, ranging from the textbook insert to evolution in the
texts. Speakers ranged from university professors to church leaders, and even members of the
state textbook committee. As representatives of the Alabama Academy of Science Committee
on Science & Public Policy, one of us (Frandsen) strongly supported the adoption of all the
textbooks, and opposed the textbook insert.

The board’s actions

After the board listened to all the speakers, it voted on and approved (by 6-1-1) the
motion to approve the Byers/Bell statement (Appendix 6). Mrs. Bell then moved to strike two
biology texts objected to by the textbook committee minority from the list the majority
recommended to the board. This motion failed (2-6), being supported only by Mrs. Bell and
Mr. Byers. The board then voted to accept the textbook committee’s recommended list (which
now remained intact), and the motion carried on a 5-3 vote (with Bell, Byers and Paul voting
against it). Finally, the board then considered Mr. Byers’ motion that the state Board of
Education supply all high school biology teachers in the state with a copy of Phillip Johnson’s
book, Darwin on Trial (Johnson, 1993). This motion failed on a 3-5 vote (supported only by
Bell, Byers, and Caylor).

Politics of Textbook Adoptions in Alabama

Opponents of evolution appeared to coordinate their efforts between the board’s
adoption of the science course of study and that of textbooks. In the accompanying article
(Brande and Frandsen, 1997), we noted that the board first adopts a course of study, and then
a list of textbooks approved for purchase and distribution. Before the board adopted the
science course of study in March, 1995, it inserted the “evolution as fact, not theory”
statement. It is now clear that those opposed to the acceptance of the theory of evolution (EFA
and its supporters) used this statement as a basis for their arguments against the adoption of
the science texts, none of which treat evolution as only a theory.

But this strategy ultimately failed. The board could not reject all the biology textbooks
as EFA initially requested, for then there would be no texts for use in the biology classes.
Furthermore, the board may have felt that since they inserted the “evolution as fact, not

66

Science Textbook Adoptions

theory” statement into the science course of study, they satisfied to some degree Opponent
objections.

The failure of the board to reject the biology textbooks did not stop Opponents from
supporting alternative strategies aimed at reducing the impact of evolution in the biology
classroom. Members of the textbook committee who signed the minority report also wanted
the textbook committee to recommend to the board some anti-evolution texts not included on
the recommended list. By majority vote, the minority bloc effort failed. Perhaps prompted by
those same members of the textbook committee minority, the board was asked to delete some
offensive texts, thus overriding the textbook committee majority vote. But this motion also
failed.

Finally, Mr. Byers then moved that the board approve the purchase of an anti¬
evolution text, Darwin on Trial (Johnson, 1993) for distribution to all biology teachers in the
state. The board was informed by the superintendent that no funds were available for such a
purpose. Mr. Byers then amended his motion to one of distribution by the board, if private
funds could be found for that book’s purchase. The board also declined that motion.

Success or failure of Opponents’ political pressure

The success of Opponents in accessing critical pressure points (the governor, the state
Board of Education) in the political structure of public education is not surprising to us, given
a history of similar access in previous years. But this successful access was not matched
equally by results where it counted, majority votes by the state textbook committee or the
Board of Education. A majority of the state textbook committee recommended all but a few of
the hundreds of texts and materials submitted by publishers, and did not include on its
recommended list any books designed to counterbalance evolution, such as Darwin on Trial
(Johnson, 1993) or Of Pandas and People (Davis et al., 1989). The Board of Education
declined to override the state textbook committee’s recommendations, leaving its majority
decisions intact. But the board apparently felt it could not totally ignore the intense political
pressure of opponents, and so passed a textbook insert that may have comforted to some
degree those opposed to evolution.

In our view, the concept and implementation of the textbook insert the board
adopted is repugnant because 1) the inserted text is misleading, 2) it represents interference
by the board in matters of science content which the board is not prepared to address, 3) the
motivation of the insert stems from special interest groups that promote the introduction of
religion-based concepts into the public school science classroom and 4) it singles-out
biology texts for special treatment, attaching to them— and to biology itself as a subject — a
stigma not conferred on other science texts or science subjects. On the other hand, we
believe the effects of this insert may well prove to be quite minimal, especially considering
the board’s adoption of a science course of study that survived the challenges of anti¬
evolution opponents largely intact, and a renewed emphasis on school accountability and
student performance as assessed by national examinations.

67

Brande

Conclusions

Over the objections of opponents of evolution, the state Board of Education finished
the revision of the science course of study with its adoption of the majority recommendations
of the state textbook committee. Over objections of many others, including the Alabama
Academy of Science Committee on Science & Public Policy, and the state superintendent of
education, the board adopted an anti-evolution statement for insertion into all biology texts.
These actions may have been meant to balance conflicting political pressures, but in our
opinion, they should not be seen as symmetrical. The vast majority of textbooks submitted by
publishers were adopted for use in Alabama, a majority of the state textbook committee
refused to add any anti-evolution texts to its recommended list, and the board refused to
overrule the state textbook committee and purchase or distribute the anti-evolution text,
Darwin on Trial (Johnson, 1993). We predict that during the first science course of study
revision of the 21st century (2001), we will see once again see largely the same anti-evolution
opponents before the state Board of Education. What we cannot predict is how their strategies
may have evolved in the interim or how much success they will have in achieving their
objectives. What we can predict is that the preservation of objectivity in science instruction in
the public schools of this state, and prevention of the introduction of pseudoscience into the
subject matter of science classes, will require continued vigilance and involvement in political
processes by members of the scientific and educational communities.

References

Aderholt, C., Anderson, N., Davis, C., Holland, J. W., McLain, and W. Garrett. 1995. 1995
Alabama science textbook committee minority report. Submitted to the state Board of
Education, October 12.

Alabama. 1975. Code of Alabama, vol. 13. The Michie Co.: Charlottesville, Virginia.

Bereckis, N. 1990. Publisher withdraws ‘Pandas” book. Birmingham Post-Herald, Jan. 9,

p. 1.

Brande, S. 1991. Pandas attack science education. Free Inquiry 11(3):28-31.

Darwin, C. 1964. On the Origin of Species - A Facsimile of the First Edition. Harvard
University Press: Cambridge, MA.

Davis, P. W., D. H. Kenyon and C. B. Thaxton. 1989. Of Pandas and People: The central
question of biological origins. Haughton Publishing Company: Dallas, Texas.

Dean, C. 1995a. State texts may carry creation statement. The Birmingham News, Oct. 27,

p. 1.

Dean, C. 1995b. Biology books get disclaimer about evolution. The Birmingham News,

Nov. 10, p. 1.

Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd. 1995 Science Textbooks Conflict with State School Board
Policy. Statement included in distributed packet; see Kendall, 1995a.

Edwin W. Edwards, etc., et al. v. Don Aguillard etal., 107S.Ct. 2573 (1987).

Edwords, F. 1983. Why Creationism Should Not Be Taught as Science: The Legal Issues, in
Zetterberg, J. P. (editor), Evolution versus Creationism: The Public Education
Controversy . Oryx Press: Phoenix, Arizona.

Frandsen, J. C. and S. Brande. 1997. An analysis of the 1995 Alabama draft and adopted
Course of Study:Science. Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, 68:38-58.

68

Science Textbook Adoptions

Harris, K. 1982. Fight shaping up over the way state textbooks are chosen. The Birmingham
News, Jan. 21 .

Johnson, P. E. 1993. Darwin on Trial. Regnery Gateway: Washington, DC

Kendall, J. 1989. We don’t need textbooks that teach theory as fact. The Birmingham News,
Sept. 28.

Kendall, J. 1995a. Letter on Eagle Forum of Alabama stationary and packet sent to education
reporters, October 6.

Kendall, J. 1995b. Eagle Forum textbook insert is one that addresses problem. The
Birmingham News, Nov. 4, p.llA.

Larson, Erik. 1994. Darwinian Struggle: Instead of Evolution, A Textbook Proposes
‘Intelligent Design’. The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 14, p. 1.

Le Clercq, F. S. 1978[1 974] . The Constitution and Creationism, in A compendium of
information on the theory of evolution and the evolution-creationism controversy . The
National Association of Biology Teachers: Reston, Virginia, pp. 1-11.

Lindley, T. 1990a. Politics upstage science in state textbook hearing - publisher withdraws
controversial offering. The Birmingham News, Jan. 9, p. 1.

Lindley, T. 1990b. Member of textbook panel quits over selection process. The Birmingham
News, Jan. 12, p. 1.

Milani, J. P. (revision coordinator) et al. 1992. Biological Science: An Ecological Approach.
Seventh Edition. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.: Dubuque, Iowa.

Paley, W. 1831. The works of William Paley... Containing his life, Moral and political
philosophy, Evidences of Christianity, Natural theology, Tracts, Horae Paulinae,
Clergyman's companion, and sermons, printed verbatim from the original editions. J.
J. Woodward: Philadelphia. 604p.

Teague, W. 1995b. Alabama Course of Study: Science. Alabama State Department of
Education: Montgomery, Alabama, Bulletin 1995, No. 4.

Thomas, J. A. 1990. The Foundation for Thought and Ethics. NCSE Reports 10(4): 18-19.
The National Center for Science Education: Berkeley, California.

69

Brande

Table 1: Eagle Forum of Alabama objections and comments to science literature and textbook content
(Eagle Forum of Alabama, nd., see also Kendall, 1995a)

Objection category

“A. Naturalistic theories of
origins taught as fact” (p. 1).

“B. The mearung of ‘theory’
redefined” (p. 2)

“C. Problems with evolutionary
theory not mentioned” (p. 2)

Cited example in textbook or Example comments
literature

“You are an animal, and share a
common heritage with
earthworms . . . (Biology,
Visualizing Life, Johnson, Holt
Rinehart Winston, 1994, p. 203)”
(P- 1).

“...nearly all biologists now see
evolution as an extensively
documented feature of life, much
as historians who did not
personally witness the U.S. Civil
Ware are convinced, based on
accumulation of evidence, that the
war really happened. (Biology,
Campbell, Benjamin/Cummings,
1993, p. 12)”, _

“Our results provide no support
for the theories proposing that
new species are very likely to
appear as by-products of founder
events. (Founder-effect Spcciation
Theory: Failure of Experimental
Corroboration, Proc Natl. Acad.
Sci. USA, Vol 92, pp. 3983-
3986, April 1995)” (p. 3).

1) Statement is “scientifically
repugnant” because “the
concept is presented... as
unquestioned scientific fact”
and “underlying beliefs are
not identified” (p. 1).

2) Authors “believe in the
underlying untestable,
philosophical, ‘religious’
view of nature that there is no
explanation for the origin of
all life forms, including man,
other than that of a
purposeless, random, and
materialistic process” (p. 1).

3) “Ideas have consequences. Is

it any wonder that, after
many years of communicating
to children that they are mere
animals, we now find so
many behaving like animals?”
(P- 2). _

“The descent of all life from a
common ancestor(s) is treated as
historical fact, like the Civil
War. . . The critical difference is
that no written documents exist
for evolutionary descent” (p. 2).

1) “No mention is made of any
problems with current
theories of origins ... If there
are no problems left unsolved
by a theory, it should be
called a law” (p. 2).

2) “This effect [the founder

effect] is vital to the
punctuated equilibrium
theory” (p. 3),

70

Brande

Appendix 1: Proposed statement endorsed by Eagle Forum of Alabama, for insertion into
biology texts upon adoption by the state Board of Education.

In this textbook you will encounter the interesting and controversial theory of evolution.
Your textbook presents what many scientists believe to be a scientific explanation of how
living things, such as plants, animals, and humans came about. As you study this material
please keep the following in mind.

No one was present when living things first appeared on the earth. Therefore, any statement
about how they appeared is a statement of theory, not a statement of fact.

Be sure you know the exact meaning of words used when discussing evolution. The word
“evolution” itself is often used to mean “change” of any sort, such as: “Our ideas about life
are constantly evolving.” “Evolution” also describes the changes which take place within a
species. For example, a population of white moths can “evolve” into a population of gray
moths. This process is called “microevolution.” It is a process that can be observed, and can
be described as fact. Finally, “evolution” is used for the change of one type of living thing
into another, such as reptiles into birds. Called “macroevolution” this type of evolution has
never been directly observed; it should be considered as theory, not fact. Whenever your
textbook mentions “evolution” you need to ask yourself which type of evolution is being
discussed.

71

Science Textbook Adoptions

Appendix 2: Proposed statement endorsed by the Alabama Academy of Sciences Committee
on Science & Public Policy, for insertion into biology texts upon adoption by the state
Board of Education.

In this textbook you may encounter evolutionary biology. Your textbook may present
scientific explanations of two different issues: 1) the origin of life on earth, and 2) life’s
subsequent evolution. While it is difficult at present to provide conclusive arguments about
how life originated on earth, scientists are more knowledgeable about the processes and
mechanisms of life’s subsequent evolution. Please recognize that advances in evolutionary
biology as in all science depend upon open inquiry, the free exchange of ideas an lively
discussion of controversial issues. And remember that all scientific explanations are subject to
revision.

We hope that you will study hard, keep your mind open, and perhaps someday you may
contribute to the scientific research that helps us all to better understand and enjoy the world
in which we live.

72

Brande

Appendix 3: Proposed statement endorsed by, state superintendent of education Ed
Richardson, for insertion into biology texts upon adoption by the state Board of
Education.

Message from the state Board of Education

We hope that will find this science textbook informative and challenging. There will be
many scientific theories introduced which should be thoughtfully considered. Among these is
the theory of evolution which is a scientific explanation of how our world, including plants
and animals, has changed over a long period of time. No person was present when the Earth
and its living organisms first appeared; therefore, no absolute facts are available and many
explanations are offered for your consideration.

There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life. We also hope that you take
advantage of the many resources available such as your teachers, parents, technology and the
library. We encourage you to study hard, keep an open mind, carefully consider all theories
and work to formulate a solid base of knowledge which will serve you well in the future.

Have a great school year.

73

Science Textbook Adoptions

Appendix 4: Proposed statement endorsed by Stephanie Bell, member of the state Board of

Education, for insertion into biology texts upon adoption by the state Board of Education.

A MESSAGE FROM THE ALABAMA BOARD OF EDUCATION

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a
scientific explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants, animals, and humans.

No one was present when life first appeared on the earth. Therefore, any statement about
life’s origins should be considered as theory, not fact.

The word evolution may refer to many types of change. Evolution describes changes that
occur within a species. (White moths, for example, can evolve into gray moths.) This process
is microevolution, which can be observed and described as fact. The change of one living
thing to another — such as reptiles into birds — is called macroevolution, which has never
been observed and should be considered a theory. Evolution also refers to the unproven belief
that random, undirected forces produced a world of living things.

In science, we must observe and experiment to understand facts. There are many
unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook,
including:

Why did the major groups of animal suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the
Cambrian Explosion)?

Why have no new major groups of living things appeared in the fossil record for a long
time?

Why do major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record?

How did you and all living things come to possess such a complete and complex set of
instructions for building a living body?

Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday, you may contribute to the theories of how
living things appeared on earth.

74

Brande

Appendix 5: Proposed statement endorsed by David Byers, member of the state Board of
Education, for insertion into biology texts upon adoption by the state Board of Education.

Dear Student,

In this textbook you will encounter the interesting and controversial theory of evolution.
Your textbook presents what many scientists believe to be a scientific explanation of how
living things, such as plants, animals, and humans came about. As you study this material
please keep the following in mind.

No one was present when living things first appeared on the earth. Therefore, any statement
about how they appeared is a statement of theory, not a statement of fact.

Be sure you know the exact meaning of words used when discussing evolution. The word
evolution itself is often used to mean change of any sort, such as: Our ideas about life are
constantly evolving. Evolution also describes the changes which take place within a species.
For example, a population of white moths can evolve into a population of gray moths. This
process is called microevolution. It is a process that can be observed, and can be described as
fact. Finally, evolution is used for the change of one type of living thing into another, such as
reptiles into birds. Called macroevolution this type of evolution has never been directly
observed; it should be considered as theory, not fact. Evolution also refers to the unproven
belief that only random and undirected forces have produced the complex world of living
things. Whenever your textbook mentions evolution you need to ask yourself which type of
evolution is being discussed.

Good science students should always ask questions. But remember, in science our answers
must be based, not on the opinions of others, but upon facts produced by observations and
experiments. There are many unanswered questions about the origin of living things which are
not discussed in your textbook such as:

• Why did the major groups of animal suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the
Cambrian Explosion)?

• Why have no new major groups of living things appeared in the fossil record for a long
time?

• Why do major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil
record?

• How did you and all living things come to possess such a complete and complex set of
instructions for building a living body?

We hope you will study hard, keep your mind open, and someday even contribute to the
theories of how we and living things appeared on this earth.

Alabama State Board of Education

75

Science Textbook Adoptions

Appendix 6: Statement approved by the state Board of Education for insertion into biology
texts.

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a
scientific explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants, animals, and humans.

No one was present when life first appeared on the earth. Therefore, any statement about
life’s origins should be considered as theory, not fact.

The word “evolution” may refer to many types of change. Evolution describes changes that
occur within a species. (White moths, for example, can evolve into gray moths.) This process
is microevolution, which can be observed and described as fact. Evolution may also refer to
the change of one living thing to another, such as reptiles into birds. This process, called
macroevolution, has never been observed and should be considered a theory. Evolution may
also refer to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced a world of living
things.

There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in
your textbook, including:

• Why did the major groups of animal suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the
“Cambrian Explosion”)?

• Why have no new major groups of living things appeared in the fossil record for a long
time?

• Why do major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil
record?

• How did you and all living things come to possess such a complete and complex set of
“Instructions” for building a living body?

Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday, you may contribute to the theories of how
living things appeared on earth.

76

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No.l, January, 1997.

JUST WHERE DO I FIT IN THE UNIVERSE?'

Robert B. Greenleaf
Human Odyssey Faculty
Auburn University
Auburn, AL USA 36849

Introduction

One of the continuing readings for this quarter is C. P. Snow’s The Two Cultures
(1952). It seems to me that these two cultures, the Arts and Humanities on one hand and the
Sciences on the other, reflect the fundamental ways our species has viewed ourselves and the
world— through emotion and reason. I am firmly convinced that the successful integration
of the two is what has made us what we are, a remarkably dominant species in the relatively
short time we have existed on this planet. I am equally convinced that there are biological
and evolutionary reasons for us to view ourselves and the world this way and that when these
bases for our views are understood, that we will have a framework on which to make
informed, practical decisions on what we should do with our lives and how we should shape
our futures.

I hope each of you has found the information presented in the Human Odyssey Series
of courses rewarding. After all, surely no subject is more interesting to us than ourselves.
I also hope that ideas and concepts presented in this course will serve as part of the
framework for your decision making in the future. At the very least I hope these ideas will
have stimulated you to ask questions rather than merely accept answers on their face value.
Let me, then, summarize this framework, and assess where we have been, where we are, and
where we might be going.

Myth

With Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (c. 375 B.C.) as our first frame of reference, we
began with myth as a way of knowing. Myth was presented as an emotionally gratifying
metaphor, and we read a number of creation myths, including the one from Genesis and
several from the Navaho tradition. In Bill Moyer’s The Message of the Myth (1988), we saw
and heard Joseph Campbell tell a myth of Hindu origin. These myths from widely different

'Human Odyssey, Final LEcture, Spring, 1996

77

Greenleaf

cultures endeavored to explain where we came from, who we are, and why we are here. On
reading or hearing these myths, a question which came to my mind was why we, as human
beings, felt, and continue to feel the need to ask such questions. Why do we need to search
for such answers?

Brain Function and Evolution

As though in response to my questions, what followed was Sagan’s chapter from the
Dragon’s of Eden (1977) which discussed the evolution of the brain, and presented
MacLean’s triune brain model. This includes the Reptilian complex, the Limbic system and
the Neocortex. A likely answer to my questions, then, was that the emotional needs which
the myths were trying to satisfy were created by the limbic system in our brains.

Next, we turned to the best known scientific explanation for answers to the same
questions that the myths themselves tried to answer. We studied the evolution of our species
from about five million years ago to a period of about 10,000 years ago. Of particular
interest to me were the articles on Carrying and Sharing (Lancaster, 1978) and the
development of the larynx (Laitman, 1984). That a major component of our cooperative
nature is likely to be genetic and highly evolved is an important concept as we shall see.
What was also most interesting to me was the process of scientific discovery at work. For
instance, Homo erectus is now considered to have appeared in Asia a full one million years
earlier than had been previously thought, and Neanderthal appears to have co-existed with
Homo sapiens.

The fact that information in this field changes so rapidly and has significantly changed
in the three years I have taught this course aptly demonstrates the flexibility and power of this
scientific way of knowing.

Cave Art

Also of particular interest to me were articles dealing with the creative explosion in
the activities of our species that apparently began about 30,000 years ago and which is
reflected in cave art. What possessed our species to draw such dramatic figures in the caves
in southern France and northern Spain? Did something new happen in the evolution of our
brain? Was this creative "playful" impulse lurking in the limbic system? After all, play in
mammalian young is an important part of the maturation process. What caused it to be
unleashed in this new form of adult expression? Had it been present for a much longer period
of time and evidence of it was simply not preserved?

To me, the Allegory of the Cave provides an interesting juxtaposition to the cave at
Lascaux. In Plato, to grow, one must leave the cave. At Lascaux, did one grow by
entering? Were these paintings in some way the beginnings of written language? Most
likely, they were part of a religious ceremony. Were the animals being worshipped? Since
the animals were central to survival, that would hardly be a surprise.

78

Universe

Agriculture and War

Next, we discussed the settling down of our species, the gradual move from
hunter/gathers to domesticators and gardeners. I think it is significant that without the cereal
grains suitable for cultivation and animals which could be domesticated, our species is unable
to develop any significant new technology, and we remain hunter/gathers. With settling
down, comes specialization and war. Remember the excerpt from Plato’s Republic, { c. 375
B.C.) how a simple life was unlikely to satisfy most people and so more and more territory
was required, along with professional soldiers to defend it? Is territoriality a basic part of
our nature? Is it only expressed when we have something to protect? It was also interesting
to me that the earliest of the settled down societies worshipped women goddess for production
and fertility and that it was only with war that male gods seem to appear. In these earliest
agrarian societies, fertility and successful growing of crops is essential to survival. Hence
women in the form of Goddesses are worshipped.

The Greeks

That brought us to certain of the Greeks, and to that particular moment in the history
of human thought when a new view, a new way of thinking emerges. From the mythopoeic,
the sensory/imaginative emotive creation of myths and the viewing of the inanimate as a
"thou" (which certainly continued in most of Greek society), we find as Bergamini put it a
"fresh spirit of skepticism and reason" (1963). This spirit is applied to mathematics through
the mental processes of abstraction and proof. Most importantly, one proof could be built
upon another so there was a continual building of a large block of useful mathematical
information. These concepts were applied to the concrete, physical world as well. From
Thales, to Pythagorus, to Eudoxus and to Euclid, we found this mathematical tradition built
upon and passed on to each new generation. Euclid’s Elements still exists today and provides
the basis for the geometry you and I were taught in high school. By about 200 B.C. ,
Eratosthenes had applied these principles to making a close estimate of the earth’s
circumference. He also suggested that the earth moves around the sun. The idea of being
able to understand an ordering of nature through numbers was so compelling that the
Pythagoreans made a religion of whole numbers.

We spent considerable time on the philosophers Plato and Aristotle, who stand as
giants in their influence on Western thought. The Platonic concepts of the ideal forms and
the form of the good exercised a profound influence on the Christian church and this abstract,
detached view of the material world held sway for a thousand years in Western Europe until
Aristotelian concepts of empiricism actually helped to begin the Scholastic Awakening.

79

Greenleaf

Moslem taqlid and itjihad

This Greek tradition of logical, reasoned thinking, of skepticism and reason applied
to mathematics and the natural world, then, is suppressed by the Christian church. But we
found that the Alexandrian library had been copied over a period of several hundred years
and stored in the desert near what is now Baghdad. So this Greek tradition and much of the
information gained by it was kept alive in the Moslem world, where is it was not only
preserved but added to by significant Moslem thinkers. In his article Can Science Come Back
to Islam? , Sardar (1980) pointed out that in the Moslem world the discovery of the lesser
pulmonary system and complicated eye surgery took place 600 years earlier than in Europe
and that spherical trigonometry was invented in the late 10th century. While the Greek
tradition reemerges in the West, beginning with the crusades and the Scholastic Awakening,
and culminates in the Renaissance and a bit later with Galileo, what was happening in the
Moslem countries? Why did it not continue there? We discovered the terms itjihad, the
striving to know and to learn, as an act of worship, and taqlid, or passive acceptance. By
the end of the 14th century the Asharites had gained ascendance over the Mutazilites in the
Islamic world and the attitude of taqlid effectively silenced Muslim scientists and thinkers.

The New Spirit in Architecture and Art

The reemergence in the West of this spirit of skepticism and reason is reflected by
the changes which occurred in architecture and art. We learned how the cathedrals were
based on the Roman basilicas and we noted how in a relatively short period of time in the late
middle ages, the art that had been merely symbolic became concrete and real. For instance
the leaves decorating a column which were simply generic might, on a column carved 75
years later, be identified as belonging to a specific species of tree. This represented the new
view which according to Lynn White, Jr., (1947) was a result of a number of factors,
including a larger European population whose relatively prosperous merchant class was
interested in technology, practical tangible goods, and making money. Remember Adelard
of Bath saying: "I am not the sort of fellow who can be fed with the picture of a beefsteak! "?
It is amazing how financial motivation can change one’s view, even that of an entire church
hierarchy.

The Age of Discovery, Printing, The Renaissance

We sailed through the age of discovery, perspective in architecture and art, the old
Ptolemaic grid lines helping to change old the Ptolemaic view of the universe, the invention
of printing, and the splintering of the Catholic church by the Reformation, each of which
leaves us a legacy to this day. The new perspective is really a new view of the world which
Bronowski (1978) symbolized with the change from Black magic to White magic, the concept
of working with nature instead of against it. What a remarkable period, a flowering of

80

Universe

humanity this Renaissance is. What a tremendously exciting and dangerous time to be alive.
The Copernican view of the universe (remember Eratosthenes) challenges the status quo, and
Galileo, one of first true scientists, confronts the Catholic Church with the Copernican view,
and with predictable results.

Brahe, Kepler, Newton, The Framers

But by then the genie was out of the bottle— the spirit of skepticism and reason was
alive, and using Brahe’s data Kepler derived the laws of planetary motion. Newton then gave
us a basis for a mechanistic understanding of the universe. These developments, coupled with
the philosophies of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau inspired the framers of our constitution to
create a "social contract" which they felt would take into account the vagaries of human
emotion and provide a mechanistic framework of government. Theirs’ is a remarkable
achievement, the longest lasting continuous form of government in recorded history, one that
peaceably transfers the reins of power to elected officials on a regular basis. It was truly the
age of the Enlightenment.

Industrial Revolution, The Dissenters, Medicine

Back in England, major changes were underway as well. Precipitated by 30 years
of good weather and subsequent good harvests, the population had grown and a group known
as the dissenters carved a niche for themselves in business and industry. Excluded from the
prevailing social order in England because of their religious views, they created their own
educational system, created the new roads and canals, brought steam power out of the hills
down to the factories in the lowlands and generally provided the impetus for the industrial
revolution. We read a bit of Goldsmith’s poem The Deserted Village, lamenting the results
of the Enclosure Acts which moved the yeoman farmers to this country or into the cities to
become laborers in the new factories. Of course, this revolution (remember the title of
Copernicus’ book?) required a healthy work force and we discussed a few of the significant
developments which occurred when rational thinking and the scientific method were applied
to medicine and disease. These including the development of anesthesia, Snow’s statistical
work in finding the Mode of Communication of Cholera, Lind dealing with Scurvy, Walter
Reed’s work on Yellow Fever, and Oliver Wendell Holmes on Puerperal Fever. We also
read about the shameful medical treatment of women in general and, in particular, during
childbirth. Who could forget the Chamberlens, who chose to let thousands of women die in
childbirth while they profited from their exclusive use of forceps?

Another outgrowth of the period was the treatment of agriculture as an industry and
we read about the subsequent consequences thereof. Our own genetics were changing as
well. Because of the new transportation systems people were marrying outside of their own
little communities, and the overall population grew in stature and possibly ability with this
heterosus, this new mixing of the gene pool.

81

Greenleaf

Darwin

This brought us to Darwin and a new revolution. Without question, one of the major
turning points in human history occurred with the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species.

Our view of our place in the cosmos was challenged and changed forever (not withstanding
continuing attacks on the concept of evolution by process of natural selection by those fearful
of new ideas). This opened up an entirely new approach to the biological sciences. The
evidence since the Origin of Species has continued to clearly support Darwin and refine his
concepts— Mendelian genetics, the fossil record, studies of other species, and, in particular,
the discovery of DNA. We discussed the misapplication of Darwin’s concepts to society in
the form of Social Darwinism and the disastrous results of this attempt to support racist,
political and/or social agendas with pseudo reason. Our emotions are ever involved in our
actions are they not?

Chemistry & Physics, DNA

The increase in new and powerful information produced by the scientific way of
knowing has continued unabated through the last part of the 19th century and into our own.
We learned of Mendeleev and his brilliant approach to ordering the elements. Just after the-
turn of the century, Einstein turned the world upside down with Special and then General
Relativity, whose implications not only changed our view of the world again but led to us
confronting our own annihilation through the bomb. Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg and Hubble
have given us a much better though curiously limited understanding of the very small and the
very large aspects of our cosmos. The concepts from chemistry coupled with the DNA
molecule point to the biochemical origins of life which might well be an inevitable occurrence
throughout the universe following the coalescing of stardust some billions of years after the
big bang.

In preparation for last week’s lecture, we read a bit about ourselves as a social species
and our social evolution. We also read about the mind, intelligence, and the differences
between the brains of men and women.

Where do we go from here?

So what sense is there in this remarkable set of human efforts and achievements?
Where is the continuity, the meaning in our existence? Where do we go from here?

If you think back on what I just summarized you might notice that I didn’t bring up
many of the dilemmas which we have faced or created for ourselves as a species. Being an
opera composer, a semi-detached observer of the ever changing human drama that is
continuously playing about me, I tend to want to know the motivation of the various
characters. What drove Galileo to pursue science and eventually challenge the church? Why
did the pope at the time feel threatened enough by Galileo’s Dialogue concerning the Two

82

Universe

Chief World Systems to have Galileo arrested? Why did Galileo provoke the Pope by calling
him Simplicio in his book? What was the motivation of Kepler to not gloss over the
discrepancy of eight minutes of arc in the position of mars? Why might anyone want to
misuse DNA to create a super race? Why are some people afraid of Darwin’s ideas? Why
would Calvin, who had been persecuted himself, have Michael Servetus burned at the stake
over simple biblical interpretation? Why do we face off with the Russians and threaten to
kill each other with nuclear weapons? Why did the Pythagoreans execute a follower who
pointed out that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its radius is not a whole number?
And the questions go on and on.

This brings us back to the two cultures and to emotion and reason. I believe that the
answers to these questions and to the others I have asked lie, literally, within ourselves, in
the internal structure and workings of our brains. To give you one example of why I think
this to be true I would like to relate to you part of the a case history from the book The Man
Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by neurologist Oliver Sacks (1985).

In this particular case, Dr. Sacks describes Dr. P., a professional singer and music
professor at a New York University who has come to Dr. Sacks because of apparent trouble
with the visual part of his brain. His condition, of which he is actually pretty much unaware,
has been gradually worsening for about three years. At first to Dr. Sacks, Dr. P. appears
to be perfectly healthy but he realizes that something is seriously wrong when Dr. P. fails to
be able to tell the difference between his foot and his shoe. After additional tests at the office
Dr. Sacks decides he needs to see Dr. P. at Dr. P’s home where the familiar surroundings
might show a difference in Dr. P’s condition. Dr. Sacks, who is also a pianist, brings with
him the Dichterliebe, a song cycle by Robert Schumann, and persuades Dr. P. to sing while
he accompanies him on the old Bosendorfer piano in Dr. P’s apartment. I quote:

On that wonderful old piano even my playing sounded right,
and Dr. P. was an aged but infinitely mellow Fischer-Dieskau,
combining a perfect ear and voice with the most incisive musical
intelligence. It was clear that the Music School was not keeping him
on out of charity. Dr. P’s temporal lobes were obviously intact: he
had a wonderful musical cortex. What, I wondered, was going on
in his parietal and occipital lobes, especially in those areas where
visual processing occurred? I carry the Platonic solids in my
neurological kit and decided to start with these. "What is this?" I
asked, drawing out the first one.

"A cube, of course."

"Now this?" I asked, brandishing another. He asked if he
might examine it, which he did swiftly and systematically.

"A dodecahedron, of course. And don’t bother with the
others — I’ll get the icosahedron, too."

83

Greenleaf

Abstract shapes clearly presented no problems. What about

faces?

Dr. Sacks showed Dr. P. the faces on playing cards all of which were correctly
identified. Dr. P. also did well with cartoon characters. However, on viewing a television
program, an old love scene from a Bette Davis movie, his comments were, to quote Dr.
Sacks, "positively Martian." He also had no recognition of the people in the various
photographs that were displayed on the walls of his apartment. Dr. Sacks continues:

What had been funny, or farcical, in relation to the movie was tragic in
relation to real life. By and large, he recognized nobody: neither his family,
nor his colleagues, nor his pupils, not himself. . .

Then Dr. Sacks tries another test and again 1 quote:

I had stopped at a florist on my way to his apartment and bought
myself an extravagant red rose for my buttonhole. Now 1 removed this and
handed it to him. He took it like a botanist or morphologist given a
specimen, not like a person given a flower.

"About six inches in length," he commented. "A convoluted red
form with a linear green attachment."

"Yes," I said encouragingly, "and what do you think it is, Dr. P.?"

"Not easy to say." He seemed perplexed. "It lacks the simple
symmetry of the Platonic solids, although it may have a higher symmetry of
its own ... I think this could be an inflorescence or flower."

"Could be?" I queried.

"Could be," he confirmed.

"Smell it," I suggested, and he again looked somewhat puzzled, as
if I had asked him to smell a higher symmetry. But he complied courteously,
and took it to his nose. Now, suddenly, he came to life.

"Beautiful! " he exclaimed. "An early rose. What a heavenly smell!"

He started to hum "Die Rose, die Lillie ..."

Reality, it seemed, might be conveyed by smell, not by sight. (Die Rose, die Lillie
is a song from Dichterliebe.)

Dr. Sacks comments that Dr. P. "construed the (visual) world as a computer construes
it, by means of key features and schematic relationships. The scheme might be identified — in
an ’identi-kit’ way— without the reality being grasped at all."

Therefore, it seems logical that for us as human beings to assign meaning to the input that
enters our neocortex there must also be a connection made in the limbic or emotional center of

84

Universe

our brain. It is likely then that in addition to an ’identi-kit’ of information stored for each and
all of the various types of input from our senses in the neo-cortex, there is also an ’identi-kit’ of
corresponding emotional responses in the limbic system as well. Thus, when we see a loved one
we not only recognize her or him as a "generic" person but as a whole set of varied (and for the
most part) pleasant and pleasurable emotional responses which gives that particular person deeper
meaning to us. And with each experience the ’ identi-kits ’ are subtly refined. (Of course, some
experiences might dramatically and radically change the ’identi-kits.’)

But since the brain is able to conjure up its own emotional responses without immediate
external input (I assume we all have dreamed) and some of these are undesired, and surely we
have all experienced emotional responses of which we were later not very proud, how might we
learn to recognize, codify, organize, evaluate and utilize these emotions in a useful, non¬
destructive way?

I believe that Dr. Edward 0. Wilson (1978) points out a number of meaningful ways of
doing this in his profound and wonderful book titled On Human Nature. He begins with two
dilemmas we face as individuals and as a species and then discusses our heredity and
development, our emergence (where he discusses free will), aggression, sex, altruism, and
religion. The last chapter is titled Hope. Using sociobiology, he discusses those of our emotions
which are particularly important in a social context in an effort to clarify how much of each is
genetically determined and how much is learned. While it is beyond the scope of this lecture to
give this book the detailed discussion it deserves, I would like to give you an example of the kind
of insight into our emotional selves that Wilson provides. It comes from his chapter on altruism.
Wilson divides altruism into two types. Of the first, he says (and I quote):

The altruistic impulse can be irrational and unilaterally directed at others;
the bestower expresses no desire for equal return and performs no unconscious
actions leading to the same end. I have called this form of behavior "hard-core"
altruism, a set of responses relatively unaffected by social reward or punishment
beyond childhood. Where such behavior exists, it is likely to have evolved
through kin selection or natural selection operating on entire, competing family
or tribal units. [I break the quote for a moment to point out that this refers to
the several million years of natural selection of emotional responses that
enhanced survival of our species while we were hunter/gatherers.] We would
expect hardcore altruism to serve the altruist’s closest relatives and to decline
steeply in frequency and intensity as relationship becomes more distant. ’Soft
core’ altruism, in contrast, is ultimately selfish. The ’altruist’ expects
reciprocation from society for himself or his closest relatives. His good behavior
is calculating, often in a wholly conscious way, and his maneuvers are
orchestrated by the excruciatingly intricate sanctions and demands of society.

The capacity for soft-core altruism can be expected to have evolved primarily by
selection of individuals and to be deeply influenced by the vagaries of cultural
evolution. Its psychological vehicles are lying, pretense, and deceit, including

85

Greenleaf

self-deceit, because the actor is most convincing who believes that his
performance is real.

Wilson believes that human beings are wired with a much larger amount of soft-core
altruism than hard-core altruism, and that this is a good thing. Otherwise we would have bloody
clan wars, we would never cooperate as a society, and life would consist of constant terrible
conflict. He says then:

In summary, soft-core altruism is characterized by strong emotion and
protean allegiance. Human beings are consistent in their codes of honor but
endlessly fickle with reference to who the codes apply. The genius of human
sociality is in fact the ease with which alliances are formed, broken, and
reconstituted, always with strong emotional appeals to rules believed to be
absolute. The important distinction is today, as it appears to have been since the
Ice Age, between the in-group and the out-group, but the precise location of the
dividing line is shifted back and forth with ease. Professional sports thrive on
the durability of this basic phenomenon. For an hour or so the spectator can
resolve his world into an elemental physical struggle between tribal surrogates.

The athletes come from everywhere and are sold and traded on an almost yearly
basis. The teams themselves are sold from city to city. But it does not matter;
the fan identifies with an aggressive in-group, admires teamwork, bravery, and
sacrifice, and shares the exultation of victory. . . .

It is exquisitely human to make spiritual commitments that are absolute to the very
moment they are broken. People invest great energies in arranging their alliances while keeping
other, equally cathectic options available. So long as the altruistic impulse is so powerful, it is
fortunate that it is also mostly soft. . . there is [in us] a flawed capacity for a social contract,
mammalian in its limitations, combined with a perpetually renewing, optimistic cynicism with
which rational people can accomplish a great deal.

Surely, each of us recognizes the ring of truth in Wilson’s observations as they apply to
our own experience. Each chapter of the book contains equally revealing insights into our
emotional selves but I must leave them to your own discovery.

However, I would like to discuss the two dilemmas which frame the beginning and end
of Wilson’s book. The first is, "If humankind evolved by Darwinian natural selection, genetic
chance and environmental necessity, not God, made the species. Deity can still be sought in the
origin of the ultimate units of matter, in quarks, and electron shells but not in the origin of
species. The species lacks any goal external to its own biological nature."

The second dilemma is how to make, "the conscious choices that must be made among
our innate mental propensities."

Essentially, then, what is the moral basis for our decision making if there is no external
purpose to our existence? Or, to put it another way, let us assume that we learn enough useful

86

Universe

information about the biological basis for our emotional makeup, so we can guide our emotions
ourselves or at least channel them in one way or another. Where does this leave us? We still
have to make the decision as to what is meaningful and that involves the very emotion or
emotions that we are manipulating.

Traditionally, we have turned to religion for this moral purpose and decision making
process. But, I ask you to recall the fact that as a species, our worship of whatever
deity — animals, goddesses, gods, God, Brahma, or Mohammed has changed conveniently,
depending on what was required for our survival in a given situation. Can we depend on a
religious impulse that condemned a Galileo and obdurately refuses to recognize the urgency of
birth control if our species is to survive on this planet? When Dr. Wilson was here several
months ago, he mentioned that a center for religious mental activity has been discovered in the
temporal lobes in the brain and that lesions in this brain area can lead to a condition called hyper¬
religiosity. This is connected to a kind of temporal lobe epilepsy as well. So it is likely that our
religious nature is innate and has proved to be a useful part of our evolution. But can we distill
from the religious impulse the various emotional responses which are profoundly important to
our survival as a species and discard or re-channel those, which while valuable 10,000 years ago,
might well prove disastrous in our day and age? I certainly hope we can. It seems to me that
the admonition Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You, has a powerful
biological basis in the cooperative nature of our species and is one impulse, though not regularly
practiced, that should be encouraged. In his chapter titled Hope, Wilson suggests that the
framework for such decisions must be one that includes the entire history and gene pool of our
species and that will give us a sense of the "nobility" of ourselves, rather than give in to those
imperatives of selfishness and tribalism which stem from blind natural selection. I am not quite
sure how this should be done, but I believe that to solve the problems before us we must try to
achieve it even now. I suggest that one extremely useful way of doing so is through the
arts— music, creative writing, visual arts, theatre, and dance— using them as a positive channel
for our very strong proclivities to think in a mythopoeic fashion and as a channel for the very
powerful emotional responses which are connected to that way of thinking. I think that this
makes biological sense because the center for music, and the centers verbal nuance and language
all of which overlap broadly, apparently reside in the temporal lobes along with religion. Thus,
our emotional quest for transcendence might well be met in a purely symbolic way, without the
concrete appendages and literalness which have created so many problems for us in the past.

I would like to briefly return to Dr. P. and Dr. Sacks to demonstrate one remarkable
example of how useful music can be. Dr. Sacks states that after his examination of Dr. P., Mrs.
P. had laid out a table full of cakes and poured fresh coffee. Dr. P. immediately began humming
to himself while he placed cakes on his plate and ate. Dr. Sacks called it "an edible song of
food." A sudden knock at the door, however, interrupted this song and Dr. P. sat frozen until
his wife wafted a cup of coffee under his nose, at which point "the melody of eating resumed."
When alone with Mrs. P., Dr. Sacks asked how Dr. P. managed the mundane acts of daily
living. She replied, "It’s just like the eating. . . I put his usual clothes out, in all the usual
places, and he dresses without difficulty, singing to himself. He does everything singing to

87

Greenleaf

himself. But if he is interrupted and loses the thread, he comes to a complete stop, doesn’t know
his clothes — or his own body. He sings all the time— eating songs, dressing songs, bathing
songs everything. He can’t do anything unless he makes it a song."

I find this a truly remarkable compensatory mechanism of the brain. Perhaps it is a kind
of reflection of the DNA molecule’s many mechanisms to correct errors in replication so that if
one doesn’t work, another is likely to. I think it also points out our own fagility, how some
seemingly small change in our brain wiring or function can be devastating and remove from us
an entire dimension of our humanity. Yet there is a certain charm and nobility in the singing of
one’s way through life.

And this brings me back to Wilson’s concept of nobility. I think that the following
musical excerpt is an excellent example of the nobility of the human spirit. It was written by the
composer Ludwig von Beethoven, who, by the time the piece was written had gone completely
deaf. I find it a certain irony that many of you will recognized the main melody as one which
is used as a hymn by a number of Protestant churches. The German text is Schiller’s Ode to Joy
and the piece is intended in the spirit of the Enlightenment to celebrate the brotherhood of
mankind. I ask you to listen to the music in that spirit, one that celebrates our ability to
cooperate with one another, to value one another and to respect one another. (The reader should
listen to the first five to seven minutes of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.)

Like Dr. P., Beethoven has overcome a devastating condition in a remarkable fashion.

I hope you will carry the spirit of this piece with you along with the ideas you have gained from
this course. Before I conclude, I would like to add several thoughts on how you might find this
course valuable in your future career whatever that may be. First, choose a field of endeavor
that you are passionate about. Each of the individuals who has made a contribution to this history
of human thought was passionately involved in what he or she did. I have had the pleasure of
teaching with a marvelous group of scientists, humanists, and artists as faculty colleagues.
Without question, each and everyone of them is passionate about his or her own field of study
and about teaching it to his or her students. All are equally passionate about teaching this course.
Without this passion there would be no success. Second, as in teaching, it is the emotional,
creative spark that when combined with reason makes for significant contributions to a field.
Third, don’t be afraid to try to tackle the really difficult problems. Remember Einstein’s
willingness to spend years thinking about a problem. Take a long range point of view. Most of
all believe in yourself. It is better to try and fail than to never try at all.

In conclusion, is it really a dilemma if the only reason for our existence is to pass our
genes down to future generations? I don’t think so. After all, we carry the capacity to be noble
to one another and to the other living creatures around us. We have the capacity to express this
nobility to each other as we have just heard. Indeed, most importantly, we have each other. As
Joseph Campbell said in the Message of the Myth — this is eternity. Use it well.

88

Universe

REFERENCES

Bergamini, David (1963) "The Shapely Thinking of the Ancient Greeks," Mathematics .
Bronowski, Jacob (1978) "Black Magic and White Magic," Magic, Science, and Civilization,
Columbia University Press.

Gingerich, Owen (1982) "The Galileo Affair," Scientific American, August, 1982,
pp. 132-143.

Goldsmith, Oliver (1770) The Deserted Village, a Poem, Printed for W. Griffin, London,
1770.

Clendening, Logan (1942) The Source Book of Medical History, Dover Publications, NY,
1942, 1960.

Lancaster, Jane B. (1978) "Carrying and Sharing in Human Evolution," Human Nature,
February, 1978.

Laitman, Jeffrey T. (1984) "The Anatomy of Human Speech," Natural History, August 1984.
Moyers, William (1988) "The Message of the Myth," Joseph Campbell and The Power of
Myth, Mystic Fire Video, Inc. NY.

Plato (c. 375 B.C.) "The Allegory of the Cave," from Republic, Bk. II, 373-374, Jowett
trans.. The Modern Library, NY.

Plato (c. 375 B.C.) Republic, Bk. VII, 514-521, Jowett trans., The Modem Library, NY.
Sacks, Oliver (1985) The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Harper & Row, NY,

pp.8-22.

Sagan, Carl (1977) Chapter 3, The Dragons of Eden, Random House, NY.

Sardar, Ziauddin (1980) "Can Science Come Back to Islam?" New Scientist, October 23,
1980.

Snow, C. P. (1959) The Two Cultures, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Great
Britain.

White, Lynn Jr. (1947) "Natural Science and Naturalistic Art in the Middle Ages," American
Historical Review.

Wilson, Edward O. (1978) On Human Nature, Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, pp. 1-13, 155-156, 163-164, 195-209.

89

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No.l, January, 1997.

OUTSTANDING ALABAMA SCIENTISTS:
PROFILES OF RECIPIENTS OF
THE WRIGHT A. GARDNER AWARD

Ellen Buckner
School of Nursing

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL USA 35294

In 1984 the Alabama Academy of Science established the Wright A. Gardner Award
to honor individuals for noteworthy achievement in science done while in residence in
Alabama. Profiles of the first five recipients have been described previously (Buckner, 1989).
This report reviews the contributions and ongoing work of those receiving the award since
1988. Individuals nominated for this award have included outstanding researchers, teachers
and clinicians. The award has been consistently made, however, to individuals with a
significant scientific contribution of their work. Although outstanding educators have been
nominated, the Gardner Award Committee, with new members annually and a length of
service of only three years, has designated the award be reserved for individuals with
outstanding individual science achievement. Thus, in some years no award was made. These
scientists have chosen to develop their skills and talents in various sections. Their work has
added to the body of knowledge of each discipline.

Scientists receiving the Gardner Award since 1988 are Dr. Max Cooper, Professor
of Medicine and Director of the Division of Developmental and Clinical Immunology,
University of Alabama at Birmingham (1990), Dr. Dan Urry, Professor of Biochemistry,
Physiology and Biophysics and Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics,
University of Alabama at Birmingham (1991), Dr. Gail Cassell, Professor of Microbiology
and Director of the Mycoplasma Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Alabama at
Birmingham (1992), Dr. Frank M. Rose, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director
of the Space Power Institute, Auburn University (1994) and Dr. Prakash Sharma, Professor
of Physics, Tuskegee University (1996).

90

Buckner

Max Dale Cooper - 1990

Max Dale Cooper was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi in 1933. He is married to
Rosalie Lazzara Cooper. Dr. Cooper attended Holmes Junior College and the University
of Mississippi and received his M.D. degree from Tulane University Medical School in 1957.
He is currently an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of
Alabama at Birmingham and holds the rank of Professor in the Departments of Medicine,
Pediatrics and Microbiology. He is director of the Division of Developmental/Clinical
Immunology, UAB and serves as a Senior Scientist in the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center,
Multipurpose Arthritis Center, and Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has served as a
Visiting Scientist at the Institute Pasteur in Paris, France and University College London in
England.

Dr. Cooper gained recognition for his work in Alabama on the ontogeny of the
immune system and understanding immune deficiency diseases. His contributions have
included identification of separate T and B lymphocyte lineages and the subclassification of
leukemias. Dr. Cooper’s scientific contributions are matched by recognized humanistic and
interpersonal skills in working with patients, families, students and colleagues.

Max Cooper has received numerous awards for excellence in science, medicine, and
teaching including the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer and the President’s Medal, University
of Alabama at Birmingham, the Samuel J. Meltzer Founder’s Award of The Society of
Experimental Biology and Medicine for definition of T and B cell pathways, the 3M Life
Sciences Award and Sandoz Prize in Immunology. He has served as the President of both
the American Association of Immunologists and the Clinical Immunology Society. He was
selected a Life “Member d’Honneur,” Societe Francais d’lmmunologie and has chaired the
Southern Society for Pediatric Research. In 1994 he received the American College of
Physicians Award.

Dr. Cooper has served as scientific advisor to numerous national organizations
including National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Hospital in
Memphis, the Immune Deficiency Foundation, National Cancer Institute, the Leukemia
Society of America, Medical Biology Institute in LaJolla, California, the Cancer Center,
University of California, San Diego, Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology,
University of California San Francisco, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and
Rockefeller University. Internationally, he has served on World Health Organization
committees on immunodeficiencies, reproduction and T and B cell recognition, a US-Japanese
Panel on Immunology, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan and
on the International Advisory Board for the Science University of Tokyo. International
advisory activities have been conducted also at the Basel Institute for Immunology,
Switzerland, the Institute Merieux, Lyon, France and the International Union of Immunology
Societies.

91

Alabama Scientists

Dr. Cooper’s current research and scholarly interests center on developmental
immunology, with emphasis on B and T cell differentiation, and clinical immunology, with
emphasis on immunodeficiency diseases and lymphoid malignancies. He is an Investigator
in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

92

Buckner

Dan VV. Urry - 1991

Dan W. Urry was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1935 and received both his B.A.
in Medical Biology and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Utah. He
is married to the former Kathleen Lake and they are the parents of four children— sons
Weston, Douglas (deceased) and David and daughter Kelley Danielle. He is currently
Director of Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Urry’s work has focused on the properties and preparation of bioelastic materials.
These materials are under development for medical applications in drug therapy, adhesion
prevention, tissue reconstruction, and strabismus surgery among others. He holds numerous
patents on bioelastomers, elastin, drug delivery systems, superabsorbant materials, photo
responsive polymers and other substances in interaction with biologic systems. Current
research is focusing on development of elastomeric polypeptide biomaterials, development of
unique fibers using renewable resources environmental-friendly technology, bioelastic
materials for prevention of pressure ulcers and elastic and plastic protein-based polymers as
advanced materials from renewable resources.

Dr Urry’s primary appointment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is
Professor of Biochemistry School of Medicine-wide, which position he has held since 1970.
He currently holds faculty positions in departments of Physiology and Biophysics, Chemistry
and Physics, is adjunct Professor of Materials Science at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville. He is a Senior Scientist in the Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB, and has
served as a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Alabama System Joint
Materials Science Program. He has served on editorial boards of Research/Development
Magazine, Biochemica Et Biophvsica Acta, Journal of Membrane Biology, and Journal of
Protein Chemistry.

Dr. Urry’s international activities have included presentations and visiting
professorships in Italy, France, Germany, England, Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Japan,
China, Poland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia and Kenya and he has served on the international
scientific committees of the International Center of Advanced Studies in Molecular Biophysics
and Biology. He is a founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological
Engineering. He has chaired numerous Southern region committees of the American Heart
Association.

Dr. Urry has been listed as Who’s Who Worldwide (1993), Men of Achievement,
International Biographical Center, Cambridge, England (1993), and received the Scientist of
the Year Award (1988) from Research and Development Magazine. He is listed on several
other national and international rosters of outstanding scientists and is a member of Phi Beta
Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Eta Sigma. He has received the Sigma Xi Award from the
University of the Utah (1963), the UAB Distinguished Faculty Lecturer (1987), and the
Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation Preis (1980). Dr. Urry’s work has been featured on
the covers of numerous national periodicals including Medical World News, Research
Development, Chemistry and Biology of Peptides, Spectroscopic Approaches to Bimolecular

93

Alabama Scientists

Conformation, Journal of Bimolecular Structure and Dynamics and Angewandte Chemie
International Edition (in English and German). He is identified as one the 1000 most-cited
contemporary scientists from 1965-78 and one of the 10 most-cited in the area of Biophysics.

Finally, Dr. Urry’s contributions on the UAB campus have also been notable. He
has participated in advisory capacities with regard to cardiovascular research and training,
diabetes research and training, dental research and institutional self study. He is a faculty
preceptor in Ph.D programs in Biophysical Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology,
Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, Surgical Scientist Training, MD/Ph.D Training and
Academic Internist Training. Dr Urry’s accomplishments in research enliven an active
academic role in teaching. His work while in residence in Alabama has distinguished him
among scientists.

94

Buckner

Dr. Gail Houston Cassell - 1992

Dr. Gail Houston Cassell was born in Alexander City, AL in 1946. Dr. Cassell ‘s
student experiences in science began early and she was a recipient of the Gorgas Scholarship
and attended the International Science Fair as a high school junior and senior, winning the
first place award in 1963 and the American Medical Association Award in 1964. She
attended the University of Alabama where she earned a B.S. in Bacteriology. In 1993 she
was selected as one of the 30 most outstanding female graduates of the University of Alabama
in the past century. Her graduate work was done at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
in Microbiology earning the Ph.D. in 1973. Dr. Cassell is married to Ralph H. Cassell and
they have one daughter, Cynthia.

Dr. Cassell is currently Chairman of the Department of Microbiology, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, having been appointed to that position in 1987. She holds
professorships in three departments; Microbiology, Pediatrics and Comparative Medicine.

Dr. Cassell’s work has focused on numerous aspects of microbiology and clinical and
comparative medicine. Her most outstanding contributions, however, have been in the study
of mycoplasma. Her early studies examined respiratory mycoplasma infection including
immunologic and treatment mechanisms. Further work examined the role these and related
mycoplasma played in etiology of respiratory and central nervous system illnesses in preterm
infants. Recent studies have examined the role of mycoplasma infection in the etiology of
arthritis.

Dr. Cassell has received numerous awards and honors including recent election into
the National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine (1995). She is a recipient of the
Holley Research Prize in Rheumatology (1995), the Brewer Award for Scientific Achievement
in Comparative Medicine (1995), and the Edward Award for outstanding contributions in
Mycoplasma Research (1980).

Dr. Cassell has been a Visiting Scientist internationally in France, England and Japan.
She has headed numerous international conferences including the 1987 and the 1 988-6th and
7th Congresses, International Organization for Mycoplasmology, held in Birmingham,
Alabama, and Vienna, Austria respectively, and three international symposia held in the U.S.
She has served as external advisor on doctoral dissertation committees of students from
Belgium, India and Australia and serves on international advisory committees for comparative
research and mycoplasma research.

Nationally, Dr. Cassell has applied her experience and skills in research advisory
capacities, policy making initiatives and programs for students of varied backgrounds. She
is currently a member of the Advisory Committee to Director of NIH, the Advisory Council
of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has served as a member of
national work groups on respiratory, infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, biological
warfare, vaccine research, mycology, and rheumatic disorders. She is a member of the
Advisory Committee to the Director, National Center for Disease Control (CDC) and has
served on numerous committees on infectious disease programs within the CDC. She chairs

95

Alabama Scientists

the Board of Scientific Counselors of the Center for Infectious Diseases at CDC. She has
served on other governmental advisory boards including White House conferences and
institutes.

As an educator she is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges
through which she has worked on strategy planning, accreditation, and the Committee for
Distinguished Teaching Award. She is a member of the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation
Board of Trustees. At UAB she has received the President’s Achievement Award (1995),
is a Sparkman Center Scholar for international public health, and serves on several advisory
committees.

Dr. Cassell is a fellow of the American Society of Microbiology and has served as
national President (1993-94). The ASM is the single largest (740,000 members) and oldest
life sciences organization in the world. She has also held the position of Chairman of the
International Organization for Mycoplasmology.

Dr. Cassell’s extensive work continues. Current funded projects include work in
control of respiratory mycoplasmosis, identification and characterization of U. ureal vticum
antigens, pre-and post-doctoral training programs, short-term training programs for students
in health professional schools, studies on the role of mycoplasma and chlamydia in
rheumatorial arthritis, and studies of the risk factors for chorioamnion infection among
women.

96

Alabama Scientists

Millard Franklin Rose - 1994

Millard Franklin Rose was born in Clintwood Virginia in 1938. He and his wife
Carolyn are parents of two daughters Laura and Lisa. Rose began his collegiate education
at The University of Virginia, earning a certificate in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in
Physics. He went on to develop his work in Solid State Physics completing the Ph.D. in
1966 at Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Rose is currently the Director of the Space Power Institute, Auburn University
and Professor of Electrical Engineering. Responsibilities as director include managing and
directing a multi-disciplinary research institute with goals to solve research and development
problems in advanced power technology for space and terrestrial applications. Also as part
of his role he conducts research into high power electrical and energy conversion systems and
is involved in teaching and curriculum development in space and advanced energy conversion
technology.

There are a number of achievements which have distinguished his work while in
Alabama. Dr. Rose was instrumental in establishing a unique research initiative advocating
the use of a “Systems Approach” to solving power related technical issues, many of which
were interdisciplinary in nature. He was instrumental in establishing the Auburn Center for
Commercial Development (CCD) of space related technologies, recognized as an outstanding
program by NASA. Through his leadership licensing arrangements were created with
industrial partners. One of the products designed and marketed through this partnership was
a capacitor charging power supply.

Second, he has been a key factor in advocating strong cooperative education
programs for undergraduate students. Over 70 students received part or all of their
educational funding through Institute Contracts from 1985-1997. He is active in space science
curriculum development funding visiting scientist visits, summer graduate student research,
and a Distinguished Lecturer Series on Space Science Issues. He initiated more than seven
national and international workshops in advanced power system technology.

In 1993, because of his commitment to improve the capabilities of Alabama
universities to conduct research and educate scientists and engineers he was named State of
Alabama Director for the Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
(DEPSCOR).

Dr. Rose is a technical writer, authoring or editing 4 books, over 150 technical
papers and other publications. He is a Fellow with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) and a Senior Member of the American Institute for Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA). He holds 16 patents on advanced technologies. Dr. Rose has served
as consultant to NASA on shock effects on lunar soils, space system technology and space
station science. He has participated on two governmental weapons advisory groups and has
been an industrial consultant. He held the highest rank for a research scientist within the
Naval Research and Development Community. ’He has accompanied congressional groups

98

Buckner

as scientific advisor to European and Russian laboratories and been an US Delegate to
numerous international institutes hosted by NATO and other countries.

Recent publications have included descriptions of “Novel Techniques for the
Management of Space-Based, High Power Microwave Tubes,” “A Comparative Analysis of
Energy Storage Media and Techniques,” “High Temperature Emitters for Thermophotovoltaic
Power Systems,” “Carbon-Metal Composite Electrodes from Fiber Precursors,” “Fabrication
of Polycrystalline Diamond Thin Film for Heat Sinking Applications” and “A Parametric
Study of Thermophoto-Voltaic Systems and the Importance of Thermal Management in
System Design and Optimization.” He recently co-authored an AIAA position paper on The
“Maintenance of the US Space Nuclear Power Program.” Dr. Rose is currently a member
of a National Research council panel to assess power technology for army applications.

Dr. Rose has fostered cooperation among universities, government laboratories, and
industry in compact power technology, ensuring that young scientists and engineers are taught
the basic science of power systems and the techniques needed to design future compact power
systems for diverse applications. His strong advocacy of sustained technological growth in
the State of Alabama are coupled with his achievements in providing a high quality
educational environment.

99

Alabama Scientists

Prakash C. Sharma - 1996

Prakash Sharma was born in 1949 in India. He received his M.S. degree in Solid
State Physics in 1969 and PH.D. in 1972 from one of the leading international centers of
theoretical physics, Banaras University. He received post-doctoral and collaborative training
in Switzerland and Sweden. In 1985 he joined the Tuskegee University faculty where he is
currently Professor of Physics. He is married to the former Renu Sinha and they have a son,
Jyotirmay, and a daughter Swati.

Dr. Sharma’s contributions to the field of Solid State Physics are extensive. Since
1985 he has served as principal investigator on one million dollars worth of research grants.
He has been consultant to the Space Power Institute, Auburn University, and Universal
Energy Systems, Dayton, Ohio. He has developed a new technique to calculate and predict
the temperature dependence of lattice conductivity of newly synthesized polymers and
composite semi conducting materials. This technique is cited in literature as the Sharma
Model.

In addition to the Gardner Award, Dr. Sharma has received numerous other
recognitions. Tuskegee University has awarded him Outstanding Faculty Performance Award
for Research (1993 and 1989) and Faculty Achievement Award (1990). He was the first
recipient of The Russell W. Brown Distinguished Scientist Award, Sigma Xi Society,
Tuskegee University (1987). He has studied as a NATO Advanced Institute Fellow (1991)
and International Consortium of University Researchers working in the area of Space Science
and Technology, (1988).

His publications include one text, Perspectives in Physics (1991), and numerous
articles including topics of conductivity of Germanium in temperature range of 2-1000K,
electron- phonon scattering in low temperature, conductivity of zinc and gallium, temperature
dependence and scattering events, lattice thermal conductivity, harmonic and anharmonic
field scattering, conductivity studies in nitrates of barium, strontium, lead, mercury,
cadmium, metals and organic compounds such as carbon tetrachloride. Recent studies have
included investigation into the properties of these substances in space, in conduction uses and
at extremes of temperature. He has authored over 60 research publications and technical
reports in journals of the USA, Germany, England, France, Holland and India.

Dr. Sharma is a past President of The Alabama Academy of Science (1993-4) and
past Chairman of The Physics and Mathematics Section. Students from his research group
have won the student award competition repeatedly. He is a distinguished life member of the
American Physical Society and the Indian Physics Association Chapter of USA. He has
participated in or coordinated workshops on Solid State and Laser Physics (Banaras, 1990)
Physics of Aerospace Vehicles (Washington, D. C., 1988) and Physics and Arms Control
(Center for International Studies, Harvard, 1987) He is an active speaker and lecturer within
and outside Alabama. He is currently a member of the editorial board of the Journal of The
Alabama Academy of Science, and a reviewer for the Journal of Solid State Chemistry.

100

Buckner

Dr. Sharma’s work is continuing with current research grants exploring (1) thermal
conductivity of non-crystalline materials, (2) electronic materials and semiconductors and
(3) lasers, organic solid State chemical conducting compounds and silicon devices. The
Academy is pleased to recognize his substantial contributions.

101

Alabama Scientists

Bibliography

Buckner, E.B. (1989). Outstanding Alabama Scientist: Profiles of five years recipients of the
Wright A. Gardner Award. Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science. Vol. 60,
No. 2, p.49-55.

Sources for these biographies include curriculum vitae of the recipients, personal
communications and prepared citations submitted to the Gardner Award Committee
of the AAS.

102

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 68, No.l, 1997.
MY TERM ON THE SCIENCE TEXTBOOK COMMITTEE

Patricia Sigers

New science textbooks will be placed in the hands of children throughout the state of
Alabama for the 1996-97 school year. As a member of the science textbook committee, I am
proud of the work that was completed by this committee. This committee ensured that
several different science textbooks for each subject and grade were recommended to the State
Board of Education. The Board then had the opportunity to select the specific textbooks that
would be adopted to implement the Alabama’s Science Course of Study.

The science textbook committee, as all other state textbook committees, is composed
of twenty-three (23) members and is required by law to be composed of educators and lay
persons from areas throughout the state.

Fourteen (14) educators are recommended by the State Superintendent of Education
and are appointed by the State Board of Education. Nine (9) lay members are appointed by
the Governor. I was one of the nine appointed by Governor Fob James.

Once the committee was appointed, we were charged with the responsibility of
reviewing science textbooks that correlated with the Alabama Course of Study for students
throughout the state. This was a big task and was not taken lightly by any member that
served on this committee.

In view of the fact that this committee had to recommend science textbooks for K-12
and the enormous volume of books and kits sent to each committee member by publishers,
we decided to divide into three sub-groups to more effectively review all the material. (Books
and kits enough to fill a 12’ x 12’ area were sent to each committee member.) The sub¬
groups were elementary, middle, and high school grades. Each member selected the sub¬
group where they wished to work. I decided to work with high school material. In the sub¬
committees the major areas of concern for recommending materials for adoption were:

1. Did the book correlate with the Alabama Course of Study?

2. Was the material accurate?

3. Did the book represent a diverse population free of racial,
religious, ethnic and sexual bias or stereotyping?

4. Did the book reflect the significant historical, cultural, and artistic
contributions of all people?

After the committee appointment in June, 1995, we began the review process. In
February of 1996 we began meeting from 9:00 AM - 4 PM two days per month. We

103

Sigers

normally met collectively in the early morning and split into sub-committees after lunch. The
sub-committees collectively reviewed the material provided by the publishers and reported at
different intervals to the entire committee. Upon the completion of the review process each
member had to vote on the selection of books and materials for grades K-12. The decision
of the majority was accepted as to which materials would be presented to the State Board of
Education for approval.

It should be noted again at this point that the committee function is to consider
textbooks/support materials offered for use in the public elementary, middle, and secondary
schools of the state and to make recommendations to the State Board for approval. By law,
the actual selection of textbooks for use in a particular school system is the duty of local
school boards of education.

I would also like to note that our committee was required to attend a public hearing
where written and oral comments were received on the textbooks for review. To enhance this
process state textbooks for adoption were displayed in twenty-three (23) libraries located at
institutions of higher education and/or junior colleges for public review at the onset of the
committee appointment. In consideration of the huge amount of material reviewed and the
time, energy, and thoughtfulness required, I cannot over emphasize the hard work and
dedication of the members that served on this committee.

At this time, I would like to acknowledge the fact that the Science State Textbook
Committee had no input in the message that is posted in all biology textbooks. This message
reads: "A Message From The Alabama State Board of Education. " It is my opinion that this
message on "Evolution" is one without merit. Opinions of organizations should not be a part
of our educational process. It is the biology/life science teachers’ responsibility to teach the
theory of evolution as accepted by the scientific community. It is not the responsibility of the
State Department of Education to place any information in a textbook. This message is the
only part of the textbook selection process where the entire committee had no input.

Finally, I shall conclude with emphasizing that the method used to select State
Textbook Committee members is sound in that representation is present throughout the state.
However, I believe that the State Board of Education should stay free of opinions being
placed in state textbooks from any organization/groups. The textbook selection process
allows for consideration of individual and group concerns in the public hearings setting where
committee members can hear comments and decide on the merit of what has been presented
for the good of all the children throughout the state.

104

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No.l, January, 1997

MINUTES

ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
FALL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
SOUTHERN RESEARCH INSTITUTE
BIRMINGHAM, AL
OCTOBER 25, 1996

A. Dr. Tom Jandebeur, President of the AAS, called the Fall meeting of the AAS to
order at 10:00 a.m. The minutes of the Spring meeting (March 6, 1996) were
discussed briefly and approved.

B. Officer’s Reports

1. Board of Trustees - no formal report was offered at this time.

2. President - Dr. Jandebeur submitted the following:

Report of the President

Represented Academy at ASTA conference held September 13-14, 1996 at The
University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Developed home page and several documents for distribution to Academy members
via Internet; Academy is now "on-line".

Based on member mailing addresses supplied by Larry Boots, AAS Secretary, created
Visual FoxPro database of Academy members; used database to develop rosters for trustees,
elected officers, committees, executive committee, and steering committee; also developed
mailing lists for each section of Academy for use by section officers.

Created Visual FoxPro database of junior/community college science and mathematics
(including nursing) faculty for use in membership recruitment.

Developed AAS Campus/Area Sectional Coordinators directory for distribution to
elected officers.

Developed handout re: National Association of Academies of Science (NAAS)
reflecting Alabama Academy of Science’s pages in the NAAS "Directory, Proceedings, and
Handbook", and size of AAS membership relative to other state academies of science.

Corresponded invitations to members of the Steering Committee and certain other
Academy members to attend Steering Committee meeting and dinner held at Birmingham-
Southern College, October 25, 1996.

Corresponded invitations to members of the Executive Committee to attend meeting
held at Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, October 26, 1996.

Internet address for AAS is:

http://www.athens.edu/AAS/aasindex.ntm

105

Minutes

3. President-Elect - Dr. Ellen Buckner presented the following report:

Report of 2nd Vice President

Thus far this year, I have assisted the President in completing officer and committee
appointments. I have submitted announcements to the Newsletter and conferred with its
editor regarding fall publication. I have assisted in appointment of Dr. Richard Holland,
University of West Alabama as a regional science fair coordinator. I have also initiated work
on a brochure describing the Academy’s history for distribution at the 75th annual meeting.
An announcement of a group AAS membership photo to be taken at the Spring meeting is
attached.

I would like to request suggestions for speakers at the 1998 annual meeting at the
University of South Alabama. Please indicate if the person suggested has an association with
science activities in Alabama and include your name if you would be willing to contact the
individual.

75th Anniversary Photo

The 75th Annual Meeting of the Alabama Academy of Science will take place in 1998
at The University of South Alabama. In anticipation of that milestone a brochure detailing
some of the Academy’s activities - past and present - is being developed from archives, news
accounts, and interviews. In the early years of the AAS, a photo of the membership was
taken at noon, Friday, of the Annual meeting. For the 1997 meeting at Auburn University
at Montgomery we are reviving that tradition. Please plan to come to the front steps of
University Center at 12:00 noon, Friday, March 21st, for an Academy photo. Please bring
graduate student members with you.

4. Second Vice-President - Dr. Moore Asouzu reported verbally that he has been
developing a list of science speakers to be used for science promotion.

5. Secretary - Dr. Larry Boots reported as follows:

SECRETARY’S REPORT - AAS

October 26, 1996

Membership as of October 26, 1996
Membership on March 5, 1996
New Members since January 1, 1996

642

571

99

106

Minutes

Trends in Membership:

MEMBERS

April, 1992

728

March, 1993

661

March, 1994

739

March, 1995

650

October, 1995

670

March, 1996

571

October, 1996

642

MEMBERSHIP BY SECTION

SECTION

MARCH

1 9

OCTOBER, 1996

I. Biological Science

136

160

II. Chemistry

65

68

III. Geology

21

26

IV. Geography, Forestry,

Conserv., Planning

15

18

V. Physics & Mathematics

60

65

VI. Industry & Economics

17

25

VII. Science Education

28

30

VIII. Social Science

30

33

IX. Health Science

83

96

X. Engineering &

Computer Science

30

33

XI. Anthropology

8

11

77. University Libraries

24

25

88. High School Libraries

51

50

Unknown

3

2

MEMBERS

Emeritus

35

High School Libraries

50

University Libraries

25

Honorary

8

Individual

415

Student

76

Life

32

Sustaining

1

107

Minutes

Please note that the following members were in attendance:

P.G. Sharma
B.J. Bateman
John Frandsen

John Young
Alan Sprague

David H. Nelson
Sam Barker
Tom Jandebeur

Glynn Wheeler

Dan Holliman
Walter Wilborn
Tom Vocino
Elsie S. Spencer
Dan O’Donnell
Helen Buford
Larry Krannich
Larry Boots
Moore U. Asouzu

Mike Moeller
Bill Barrett
Ken Marion
Gene Omasta
Roland Dute
Steven D. Carey
Ellen Buckner
L.S. Hazlegrove

6. Treasurer - Dr. Larry Krannich submitted the following report:

The Treasurer’s Report consists of copies of the following:

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of October 22, 1996

INCOME & EXPENSE STATEMENT as of October 22, 1996

ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1996 BUDGET for the period 1/1/96 through
10/22/96

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER (1/1/96 through 10/22/96)

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY ACCOUNT (1/1/96 through 10/22/96)

PROPOSED BUDGET 1997 vs 1996

Not reflected in the income for the Academy is the revenue ($3,385.35) generated by
this year’s Annual Meeting. The check in that amount has not arrived, but is expected any
day. If we consider this revenue, a comparison of the accounts for this year (1/1/96 -
10/22/96) with those last year (1/1/95 - 10/24/95) for the same time frame indicates that the
total income to the Academy for 1996 ($16,224.20 + $3,385.35 = $19,609.55) is slightly
more than that for 1995 ($18,577.75). Such a comparison is legitimate, because the revenue
for the 1994 meeting was received prior to our Pall meeting and counted in the 1995 budget.

On the expense side, we are expending at about the same rate as in 1995 ($23,093.22
in 1996 vs $22,769.12 in 1995).

In summary, we are on budget for income and expenses, and should again finish the
year on budget.

A copy of the Proposed Budget for 1997 is also attached. This budget is analogous
to that submitted in 1996, except for eliminating the item "Income for Jr. Academy". We
have had no entries for this item for the past few years. Thus, the 1997 budget is realistic
relative to our 1996 expenditures without including a projection for large annual meeting
revenue. Both last and this years’ balanced budgets are due largely to such meeting revenues.

Additional budget information is available upon request.

108

Minutes

7. Journal Editor - Dr. Bradley sent the following report:

So far in 1996, 4 research articles were published in the January issue, and 4 are in
press for the July issue. October’s volume will be a special issue containing invited articles
on the general subject of "Science Education and the Human Enterprise of Knowing".
Subjects addressed by the articles will include but not be limited to the creation/evolution
issue in Alabama.

The April, 1996, issue of the JAAS contained 157 abstracts of papers and posters
presented at the annual meeting. This compares to 221 abstracts published in the April, 1995,
issue of The Journal.

Please continue to solicit submissions from your graduate students and professional
colleagues.

8. Counselor to AJAS - Dr. Bateman submitted his report as follows:

1996 Annual Report of the Alabama Junior Academy of Science

and the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

State Officers/Counselors Meeting

The State Officers and the State Counselors met at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham on March 17, 1995 to discuss the State Officer’s roles for the upcoming year
(1995-96).

Fall Planning Meeting

The Executive Committee at the Alabama Jr. Academy of Science (AJAS) met at the
Kellog Center at Tuskegee University, for the purpose of planning the program of activities
for the forthcoming year. The letter sent to each counselor and the meeting agenda appears
as Appendix A.

The proposed budget of $14,323.60 for 1995-96, the actual budget expenditures of
$11,519.97 for 1995-96 and the proposed budget of $15,411.00 for 1996-97 are detailed on
pages 7-8 of this report.

The executive committee was unanimous again in its support of pre-registration which
placed greater responsibility on individual club sponsors for making all motel, banquet, and
tour reservations for their students. Details were to be worked out with the local program-
coordinator (B.J. Bateman, Troy State University, Troy, Alabama).

The paper competition again would be held on Friday morning, with the winners
announced at the Friday night banquet. The state-wide JSHS paper competition in Alabama
falls within the long-established program of AJAS and utilizes the organizational structure of
the latter. The AJAS consists of nine regions within the geographic boundaries of the state.
The activities of the nine regions are coordinated through nine Regional Counselors, two
Associate Counselors, and a State Counselor, utilizing a variety of forms and established
deadlines. The forms designed for this purpose were distributed during the fall meeting of
the Executive Committee and appear as Appendix C.

109

Minutes

Fall AAS Executive Meeting

The State Counselor (B.J. Bateman) attended the Fall Executive meeting of the Senior
Academy of Science held at the Southern Research Institute, October 28, 1995. A report was
given concerning the forthcoming annual meeting to be held at Tuskegee University.

Regional Meetings

Meetings were held in each of the nine regions of the state prior to December 1,
1995, for the purpose of organizing their regions and planning activities for the year. Major
emphasis was given to strengthening science clubs, discussing appropriate science project
work, and reviewing the several aspects of paper competitions.

Annual Meeting

The 1996 Annual Meeting, like all previous meetings of AJAS, was shared jointly
with the Alabama Academy of Science. The host institution was Tuskegee University.

Adriane Ludwick coordinator for the AAS/AJAS meeting, B.J. Bateman, Counselor
to the AJAS, and Donnie Hatcher, Southeast Region Counselor, planned registration
procedures, space needs, and arrangements for the AJAS-JSHS social and banquet. All mail-
out materials appear as Appendix D.

Registration was held at the Kellog Center at Tuskegee University. Students and their
teachers from the North Region, the South Region, the State Officers, and the State
Counselors assisted with registration. The AJAS Journal and the official program for the
Annual Meeting were given to each student.

Highlights of the program were:

1) Social on Thursday night.

2) Paper Competition - The paper competition was conducted on Friday and Saturday
mornings in Armstrong Hall on the Tuskegee University Campus. The names of the
participants and the respective papers appear as Appendix E.

Following the morning competition, the judges deliberated through lunch and into the
afternoon while the students participated in visual essay as previously described. The names
of the judges, including their institutions, and the materials sent to judges appear as Appendix
F.

David Goldenberg was chosen to be the overall winner and would therefore represent
Alabama in the National Competition held at San Diego, CA, April 25-28. The other four
state winners (Dorek Biglari, Allison Tanev, Jeremy Brown, Stephen Cooper), and the State
Counselor (B.J. Bateman), would accompany Mark to San Diego for this competition.

3) Banquet - More than two hundred fifty students, teachers, university professors, and
members of business, industry and government shared the Friday night banquet at Kellog
Center Banquet Hall. A major part of the after-dinner program was the recognition of the
first and second-place winners of the paper competition, and other competitions, including the
Westinghouse Talent Search, in which many of our students had participated.

On alternate years the Junior Academy is responsible for the banquet speaker. This
year the Alabama Academy of Science provided the banquet speaker, Dr. Lawrence DeLucas,
former astronaut, spoke on his experience as an astronaut.

110

Minutes

4) AJAS-JSHS Social Activities - A Thursday night hot dog and hamburger party at the
student center was the main social activity. Bad weather forced the cancellation of the after
banquet social. Support of these social activities came through donations from industry, the
Southeast Region and a payment of a $15.00 registration fee.

5) Business Meeting - The customary AJAS business meeting was held on Saturday
morning. This provided a time for awarding a plaque to the outstanding teacher(s), the Army
Award to the teacher of the overall first place winner, and other awards.

AWARDS

Most with the Least Award

BIOLOGY: Mary Butts, The Altamont School
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Alan Stephens, Handley High School
MATHEMATICS: Jon David McAnally, Brewer High School
ENGINEERING: Stephanie Brown, AP Brewer High School

Second Place Award

BIOLOGY : Kwabena (Bobo) Blankson, The Altamont School
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Petronella Lugemwa, The Altamont School
MATHEMATICS: Casey Tidwell, Brooks High School
ENGINEERING: Stephanie Brown, AP Brewer High School
HUMANITIES: Anna Marie Simpson, Alabama School of Fine Arts

First Place Award

BIOLOGY: David Goldenberg, The Altamont School
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Dorek Biglari, Covenant Christian Academy
MATHEMATICS: Jeremiah Brown, Covenant Christian Academy
ENGINEERING: Stephen Cooper, Bradshaw High School
HUMANITIES: Alison Tanev, AP Brewer High School

Grant for Research Projects
Allison Tanev
Jason R. Jones

AAAS Award

Allison Tanev
Heath Speegle

Outstanding Region
North

Outstanding Teacher and Audubon Workshop Scholarship

None

111

Minutes

Newly elected officers for

1996-97

Treasurer

Secretary

President

Vice-President

Jason Jones Brooks High School
Allison Tanev AP Brewer High School
BoBo Blankston Altamont
Bart Boothe Opp High School

JSHS Participants Attending the Annual Meeting

84 students, sponsors, counselors attended the annual meeting as JSHS participants
(expense paid). An additional 17 persons attended at their own expense for a total of 101.
The list of these attendees is found in Appendix G.

National Symposium and Paper Competition

David Goldenberg was chosen to be the overall winner and therefore represented
Alabama in national competition and symposium held at San Diego, CA. Four other state
winners (Allison Tanev, Stephen Cooper, Jeremy Brown, Dorek Biglari), Regional Counselor
Mary Thomaskutty and the State Counselor (B.J. Bateman) accompanied David.

9. Science Fair Coordinator - no report.

10. Science Olympiad Coordinator - Steven Carey made a brief verbal report summarizing
the Academy’s successes in this area for the past year.

11. Counselor to AAAS - no report.

12. Section Officers:

I. Biological Sciences - Dr. David Nelson reported that 58 papers were
presented at the last annual meeting and plans were under way for the next meeting.

II. Chemistry - no report.

III. Geology - Dr. Haywick sent the following report:

I regret that teaching commitments do not allow me attend the autumn executive
meeting. The following is my report.

At this year’s meeting of the Alabama Academy of Sciences, 13 presentations were
made. Eight of these were oral while 5 were in poster format. Seven presentations were by
undergraduate or graduate students. Student membership in the Geology Section of the AAS
has improved slightly over previous years, however, the total membership has remained more
or less stagnant. There are clearly many geologists in this state who are either not aware of
the Geology Section of the AAS or who are not interested in membership at this time. I feel
that membership in the Geology Section could be improved with some advertisement and will
attempt this before the 1997 meeting.

112

Minutes

The new vice chair of the Geology Section is Dan O’Donnell, a geologist with
Volkert Environmental Co. in Mobile. Dan is a valuable asset to the section as he provides
an industry link that will stimulate professional interest in the AAS. It is our goal to increase
industry-relevant presentations at up-coming conferences.

I share the sentiments of my immediate predecessor David Kopaska-Merkel who
stated in last year’s report that the most to benefit from membership in the AAS are students.
We should do our best to encourage student membership in all sections of the Academy. The
1996 AAS meeting in Tuskegee did not offer reduced registration fees for students. I have
only been a member of the AAS for a couple of years so I am not certain as to whether this
was typical or an unusual circumstance. Whatever, I recommend that in the future, student
registration fees be reduced to encourage their attendance and participation at our annual

meeting. If it is simply a matter of cost, registration fees for professionals (and Academies,
etc.), should be increased to cover the difference. It really it time to recruit as many students
into the Academy as possible.

IV. Geography, Forestry, Conservation and Planning - no report.

V. Physics and Mathematics - Dr. Young reported that efforts were being made
to improve the sections participation at the annual meeting.

VI. Industry and Economics - no report.

VII. Science Education - Someone (I apologize for missing their name) presented
a brief oral report in Dr. Johnson’s absence).

VIII. Social Sciences - no report.

IX. Health Sciences - no report.

report.

X. Engineering and Computer Sciences - Dr. Alan Sprague gave a brief oral

XI. Anthropology - no report.

13. Executive Officer - Dr. Leven Hazlegrove submitted the following:

Since the Spring Executive Meeting, 3/16/96, Tuskegee, we have been working on
the following projects during the last 7 months:

1) Set up and prepared the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation, Inc., Science Talent Search
in cooperation with the Westinghouse Scholarship Science Service, Inc. D.C. for the Auburn
University at Montgomery March 19-22, 1997 with the leadership of Glynn Wheeler,
Secretary Treasurer and Dr. Tom Vocino, Auburn University at Montgomery.

2) Prepared for bulk mail 850 "Call for Paper Titles" for Auburn University at

113

Minutes

Montgomery meeting for March 19-22, 1997 entitled by Dr. William J. Barrett.

3) Sent development letters to 4 industrial companies and foundations with positive reply
from one.

4) Sent hand written notes to 50 outstanding Scientist and Engineers, Mathematicians,
and potential members whose "write-up" appeared in local publications. (Twenty New
Members!!)

5) Met twice with Dr. Tom Vocino, Professor and Head, Political Science and Public
Administration and his local committee for the AAS dates: March 19-22, 1997.

6) Set up ASTA booth at UAB Arena, September 12-13, 1996 with the able supervision
of Dr. William J. Barrett, Dr. Dan Holliman, Dr. Tom Jandebeur, Dr. Ellen Buckner and
Dr. B.J. Bateman.

7) Prepared 250 abstract forms for the Auburn University at Montgomery meeting,
March 19-22, 1997 for eleven section chairs.

8) Moved the AAS Executive Director’s office to the New Chemistry Department (901
14th Street South - CHEM 266); new phone (205)975-9146, FAX (205)934-2543.

9) Your Director studied flora, fauna and pollution in USA, February 13-16, 1996 with
the Alabama Fisheries Association, Gulf State Park.

10) Set-up the 74th Annual Meeting with the able direction of Dr. Tom Vocino, Professor
of Political Science and Administration, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery,
AL, March 19-22. 1997.

11) Set-up with Dr. David Nelson’s able help the 1997 meeting at AUM with the kind
invitation of Chancellor Roy H. Saigo, (334)244-3696 and the USA meeting late March or
early April, 1998.

C. Committee Reports

1) Local Arrangements - Dr. Tom Vocino discussed his plans for the upcoming annual
meeting. Extensive plans have been made and everything appears to be under control.

2) Finance - Dr. Sam Barker reported that:

As before, our worthy Treasurer has submitted a colorful report, again illustrating his
ability to transform a deficit budget into a black ink financial report for our last complete
year, 1995. To be sure, the positive balance is only $225, but that is better than the same
amount in the red.

I accompany these remarks with my usual tabulated comparison of income and outgo
on both a 10-month and 12-month basis, for the years 1992-1995 to emphasize the
fluctuations within each year as Dr. Krannich has done in his white pages "Summary Report
by Quarter" for 1995. Anticipating that he will not want to make a life-time career out of
his role as treasurer, it will be necessary for future treasurers to brace themselves for a 600%
variation in quarterly income and expenses but only a 25% variation on an annual basis over
5 years.

3) Membership - Dr. Moore Asouzu presented several ideas relative to increasing the
AAS membership. Included was using Dr. Jandebeur’s data base of all the Jr. College

114

Minutes

faculty. He intends to send information to all of these people.

4) Research - Dr. Hudiburg presented his report which is reproduced below:

There was considerable interest expressed by students through 38 requests for
application materials related to the Student Research Award Competition, Student Research
Grants, and Student Travel Awards for the 1996 annual meeting. Attached you will find a
list of awards for the 1996 annual meeting of AAS. The later deadline for applications will
be continued for the 1997 meeting. Please communicate to interested students that the
application deadline for completed material will be February 3, 1997. Students need to be
informed that membership in AAS is required to receive these awards.

There is one problem related to the student research award competition. Four of the
student winners have failed to become members of the academy. The committee chair has
made numerous attempts to contact these individuals (e.g., letters, telephone, and e-mail) but
they have not completed the membership process. The committee recommends to the section
chairs and vice-chairs to remind the students in these competitions of the requirement of AAS
membership to receive these awards.

STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD COMPETITION - Winners

PAPERS

Section I. Biological Sciences: Co-Winners
Anglea C. Morrow AU $25

Seth Pritchard AU $25

Section III: Chemistry: Co-Winners

Sara Jane Sudmeier UAB $25

Chao-Cheng Wang UAB $25

Section IV: Geography, Conservation. & Environment: Co-winners
Brian W. Mimbs TSU $25

Patrick B. Murphy AU $25

Section VIII. Behavioral and Social Sciences: Winner
Jason Smith UAB $50

Section IX. Health Science: Winner

Evelyn L. Fitzwater UAB $50

Section X. Engineering and Computer Science: Co-winners
Mallikharjun V. Yalamanchili UAB $25
Prakash Muthukrishnan UAB $25

Section V. Physics and Mathematics(l): Joint winners

Kory T. Morrow & S.R. Roy TU $25 & $25

115

Minutes

TRAVEL

AWA

David Forester

UNA

$55

Jason Freund

UAB

$45

Hiryoung Kim

UAB

$45

Prakash Muthukrishnan

UAB

$45

Viswanathan Vaidyanathan

UAB

$45

Brian W. Mimbs

TSU

$40

NAME

Student Research Grants Awards - 1996

AFFILIATION SECTION ADVISOR AWARD

Jason Jennings

AU

Biology/Lishak

$250

Seth Greeley

AU

Biology/Peterson

$250

Marilyn Wyatt Harris

UAH

Biology/Campbell

$250

Charles D. Bishop

UAB

Biology /Watts

$250

Hugh S. Hammer

UAB

Biology/Watts

$250

Hollye McCulloch

UAB

Biology/Watts

$155

Tony McKenzie

UAB

Biology/Watts

$155

Mickie Lynn Powell

UAB

Biology /Watts

$250

Daniel P. Swenson

UAB

Biology/McClintock

$250

Mark Behrens

UA

Physics/Math/Baksay

$200

Jason Freund

UAB

Eng.& CS/Slean

$90

Wangpi Pan

UAB

Eng.& CS/Jones

$150

5) Long-Range Planning - no report.

6) Auditing - Sr. Academy - Dr. Denny Bearce sent a report, indicating that the AAS
records were in order.

7) Auditing - Jr. Academy - a favorable report concerning the records of the Jr.
Academy was presented at the annual meeting.

8) Editorial Board and Associate Journal Editors - This group will report at the annual
meeting.

9) Please and Date of Meeting - Dr. David Nelson submitted the following:

The following sites have been previously approved by the Executive Committee of
the AAS:

1997 Auburn University at Montgomery (19-22 March)

1998 University of South Alabama (18-21 March)

Following a 4-year cycle adopted by our committee a few years ago, we have
attempted to rotate meeting sites once in the north, once in the south and twice in the interior
of the state. Next we are due to meet in the northern part of the state. We have received a

116

Minutes

letter from Dr. Jerry F. Bartlett, President of Athens State College, inviting us to meet there
from 31 March to 3 April, 1999. The committee recommends that we meet at Athens State
College in 1999; otherwise we should consider UNA (met there in 1987) or Auburn (met
there in 1988). It was agreed that we should accept the invitation of Athens State College.

Committee on Place and Date of Meeting:

David H. Nelson, Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama,
Mobile, AL. 36688, (334)460-6331.

James E. Brown, Department of Horticulture, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.
36849, (334)944-4862.

Moore U. Asouzu, Physical Science Department, Troy State University, Troy, AL.
36082,(334)670-3571.

Richard Modlin*, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama in
Huntsville, Huntsville, AL. 35899, (205)895-6360.

Ken B. Waites, Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. 35233, (205)934-6421.

*no longer active; asked to be replaced

10. Newsletter - no report.

11. Public Relations - no report.

12. Archives - Dr. Troy Best reported the following:

This seems to be an appropriate time for us to review the archives of the AAS. I
contacted Dr. Dwayne Cox, the archivist in charge of AAS materials at the Auburn
University Ralph B. Draughton Library, and asked for his assistance in determining what is
present in the AAS archives and to solicit his suggestions as to what types of materials we
might want to add.

Dr. Cox provided a listing of holdings (see attached summary). We have a number
of items from the 1980’s, some financial information from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s,
and some items dating back to the 1920’s. Dr. Cox also indicated that it would be
appropriate to identify the types of records that routinely should be preserved in the archives.
These items might include minutes of meetings, annual Financial summaries, publications (to
be kept in "mint" condition), programs of meetings, policy correspondence, photographs of
officers and activities, etc. He is willing to attend at Executive Committee meeting to answer
questions, etc., if you would like.

Because the archives represent the history of the AAS, it is especially important that
we preserve items of significance. I was surprised to see that no items have been archived
since the late 1980s... we certainly have had meetings, activities, etc.

I encourage all officers and members of the AAS to donate significant documents,
photographs, etc. to the archives.

117

Minutes

Historical & Organizational Sketch

The Alabama Academy of Science was organized at Mobile in 1924 for the purpose
of promoting interest in science in the state, providing means for the publication of papers
and abstracts, providing cooperation and fellowship among scientists, and promoting the study
of science by the youth of Alabama. In 1930, the Academy divided into a Biology section
and a Chemistry and Mathematics section. In 1947, the Academy was incorporated as a non¬
profit organization under the laws of the State of Alabama. The Academy is affiliated with
the American Association of the Advancement of Science, having representatives on the
Council of the AAAS and also in the Academy Conference.

The elected officers of the Academy are the President, President-Elect, Vice-
President, Secretary, Treasurer, Counselor of the AAAS, Editor of the Journal, Counselor
of the AAAS, Editor of the Journal, Counselor to the Junior Academy, and a rotating Board
of Trustees. The standing committees include the Executive Comm., Membership Comm.,
Research Comm., Long Range Planning Comm., Finance Comm., Editorial Board, and the
Committee on Junior Academy. The present-day eight main sections are: 1) Biology and
Medical Sciences, 2) Chemistry, 3) Geology and Anthropology, 4) Geography and
Conservation, 5) Physics and Mathematics, 6) Industry and Economics, 7) Science Education,
and 8) the Social Sciences.

The activities of the Academy revolve around meetings, publications, research
awards, and youth activities. The Academy and Junior Academy have one annual meeting
in the Spring. Publications include the Journal (first published in 1930), the Newsletter, and
the Program of the Annual Meeting. Research consists of grants-in-aid and cooperation with
other groups in the establishment of the Southern Research Institute and Southern Association
of Science and Industry. Awards and recognition consists of the Academy Award and the
Founder’s Prizes. Important youth activities include the Alabama Junior Academy of Science,
the State Science Talent Searches, and the Science Fairs.

Scope & Content

Types of papers within this collection include directories (1961-1977), grants (1962-
1969), correspondence (1923-1980), minutes (1927-1976), financial records (1927-1969),
membership forms (1939-1953), programs (1928-1975), and publications (1935-1974).
Correspondence looms the largest and is arranged by year, there-under alphabetically by
correspondence. There is also a sizable mass of minutes, which include minutes of the
Executive Committee, financial reports, committee reports, programs, etc. Audits are found
mainly in the financial reports. Significant corporate bodies with material in the collection
include the Alabama Library Association (1961-1963; 2 folders, low quality); the American
Association for the Advance of Science (1936-1978; 10 folders, medium quality); and the
Junior Academy of Science (1933-1976; 21 folders, medium-high quality). In addition, the
High School Section in the Junior Academy is arranged alphabetically by school name. The
AAS is an organization that promotes interest in science in the state, provides means for the
publication of papers and abstracts, provides cooperation and fellowship among scientist and
promotes the study of science by the youth of Alabama.

118

Minutes

Addendum

Accession ft 88-42 includes lists of officers and committees (1977-87), minutes (1975-
87), officer and committee reports (1979-87), correspondence (1979-88), copies of the
Newsletter (1980-88), and financial records (1974-81).

Accession #89-51 includes programs (1924-37; 1940-41; 1982-89), copies of the
Newsletter (1972-89), administrative officer’s reports (1982-89), committee files (1979-88),
correspondence (1958-87), Alabama Junior Academy of Science contributions (1968-87), call
for papers (1972-89), files of AAS President Geraldine Emerson (1968-83), and Urban
Diener’s Resource Directory (1977).

13. Science and Public Policy - Dr. Frandsen submitted the following report:
Environmental Panel Formed & Functioning

The Expert Panel on Environmental Issues, functioning as a subcommittee of this
committee, has been appointed by the President of the Academy, and is organized and
functioning to identify environmental issues that may be of concern to the Academy and to
recommend relevant actions that the Academy may wish to take. The membership of this
panel is as follows:

John R. Christy, Steve Bearce, John C. Bliss, William G. Deutsch, Richard McNider,
Douglas Waites and Kevin White.

NAS/NRC Booklet on Creationism Mailed to All Public School Superintendents

The booklet Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, was
mailed to all public school superintendents last April, as a jointly-funded education project
with the Alabama Science Teachers Association. This project was authorized by the
Executive Committee of the Academy at its meeting last October.

Committee Organizes Response to Governor’s Mailing of Anti-Evolution Book

Last Spring, Governor James used his discretionary funds to purchase copies of
Phillip Johnson’s anti-evolution book Darwin on Trial and mail them to all biology teachers
in the public schools as a "resource" that he, in a covering letter, strongly recommend that
they use.

In response to this action, this committee organized the mailing of a packet produced
by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), the National Association of Biology
Teachers (NABT), and People for the American Way (PFAW), to these same teachers. The
mailing was funded by NABT. The packet included a letter from the NABT Executive
Director; a critical review of Johnson’s book, produced by NCSE; and a letter from PFAW
informing the recipients of the legal risks of teaching creation science in public classrooms.

Draft Course of Study: Health Education Neglects Sex Education Subjects

The draft of this course of study has been distributed to public schools of education
and libraries for public comment. Such comment must be sent in writing to Ms. Regina
Stringer, State Department of Education, Gordon Persons Bldg., 50 N. Ripley Street,
Montgomery, AL 36130-3901, to be received no later than November 6. Notable in this
draft is the absence of subjects that would logically be included in "sex education". Reliable

119

Minutes

sources have informed us that the committee that drafted this course of study was ever fearful
of offending the Eagle Forum of Alabama, a group that is on record as opposed to sex
education in the schools.

If you wish to inspect this draft Course of Study, copies of it may be found in the
libraries listed below. Copies are not available from the State Department of Education for
individual citizens.

Depositories of Alabama Courses of Study

Northeast Alabama State Community College

University Learning Resource Ctr., Alabama State University

Ralph Brown Draughton Library, Auburn University

Brewer State Junior College Library

Enterprise State Junior College Library

Wallace State Community College Library

Troy State University at Dothan Library

Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University

Leigh Library, Jefferson Davis Community College

Wallace Community College at Hanceville Library

Media Center, Livingston University

Northwest Shoals Community College Library

Hobson State Technical College Library

Curriculum Materials Center, Samford University

Minnie Slade Bishop Library, Bishop State Community College

Central Alabama Community College Library

McLure Library, University of Alabama

Troy State University Library

Sterne Library, UAB

University of Alabama at Huntsville Library
Oliver Cromwell Carmichael Library, University of Montevallo
Learning Resources Center, University of North Alabama
Reading Center, University of South Alabama

14. Gardner Award - Dr. Ellen Buckner submitted a resolution for the Executive
committee’s consideration in relation to the Gardner Award. This statement and its
amendment were passed.

"Be it resolved that the Gardner Award committee be directed to interpret the by¬
laws’ definition of "outstanding achievement in science" to include teaching of science and
service to the Academy and to the public. Furthermore, the committee is authorized to seek
out applications for the award".

Dr. Buckner also submitted the following:

This committee was reformulated by the President to more accurately reflex the By¬
laws designations for term of office. In that reformulation, Dr. Ellen Buckner was appointed
chair for one year. An announcement of the call for nominations is attached and has been

120

Minutes

sent to the newsletter for fall publication. Several individuals have indicated possible interest
in submitting nominations.

A manuscript with biographical sketches of the last five (5) Gardner Award recipients
has been prepared and is being submitted to the Journal for review. Of interest to the
Academy might be that Dr. Gail Cassell, a previous Gardner recipient, was the Distinguished
Faculty Lecturer at UAB this year.

Nominations are welcomed and must be submitted by December 1 .

GARDNER AWARD

The Alabama Academy of Science annually considers nominations for the Wright A.
Gardner Award to an individual for outstanding achievement in science while in residence in
Alabama. Although it is not always awarded, 10 men and women have been so honored since
its inauguration. Those recipients are:

1984 Robert P. Bauman, Physics

1985 Nolan E. Richards, Manufacturing Technology

1986 S.T. Wu, Mechanical Engineering

1987 Herbert H. Winkler, Microbiology

1988 Richard W. Compans, Microbiology

1990 Max Dale Cooper, Developmental and Clinical Immunology

1991 Dan W. Urry, Biochemistry

1992 Gail H. Cassell, Microbiology
1994 Millard Franklin Rose, Engineering
1996 Prakash C. Sharma, Physics

Deadline for nominations is December 1. Nominations package should include a
C.V., list of publications, or other documentation detailing the individual’s contribution to
science. Other letters of recommendation are desirable. The nomination should be
summarized in the form of a one page citation. Four copies should be submitted.

If you have further questions, contact Dr. Ellen Buckner, Chairman, Gardner Award
Committee (205)934-6799 or NURS 119@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu). Nominations may be sent
to:

Dr. Ellen Buckner

204 School of Nursing

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham AL 35294-1210

15. Carmichael Award - no report.

16. Resolutions - no report.

17. Nominating Committee - Dr. Asouzu reported that the committee was busy working
on the nominations which will be presented at the annual meeting.

18. Mason Scholarship - Dr. Moeller reported as follows:

121

Minutes

Last year we had two completed applications for the William H. Mason Scholarship.
After reviewing all application materials, the scholarship committee voted to offer the award
to Tina Anne Beams and Ms. Beams has accepted the fellowship.

The previous recipients of the William H. Mason Scholarship are:

1990-91

Amy Livengood Summer

1991-92

Leella Shook Holt

1992-93

Joni Justice Shankles

1993-94

Jeffrey Baumbach

1994-95

(not awarded)

1995-96

Laura W. Cochran

1996-97

Tina Anne Beams

Attached to this report is a copy of the announcement the committee plans to be
sending soon to deans in schools of science and education within Alabama.

$1000 FELLOWSHIPS IN SCIENCE TEACHING

Fifth-year Program

The non-traditional fifth-year program is designed to offer individuals possessing a
bachelor’s degree outside of education the opportunity to earn a master’s degree in education
with Class A certification. Further information, admission requirements and application
procedures can be obtained from education departmental offices at Alabama colleges and
universities offering the fifth-year program.

Awards

Recognizing the need for promoting superior science teaching at all levels, the
Alabama Academy of Science has established awards to encourage scientifically trained
students to enter the teaching profession. These William H. Mason Fellowships are in the
amount of $1000 for one year (non-renewable), and are tenable at any institution in the state
of Alabama offering a teacher certification program. Awardees may choose to specialize in
any area Kindergarten through the 12th grade. Selection will be based on the extent to which
the applicant shows promise for incorporating quality science instruction in his or her
classroom.

Eligibility

Students who will have earned a B.S. or B.A. degree by the summer of 1997 are
invited to apply for a William H. Mason Fellowship. Applicants must have the equivalent
of a minor or major in a natural science, and must be applicants for a program leading to
certification in teaching at any level K-12. Recipients will be required to teach in the state
of Alabama for at least one year following the completion of the degree program for with the
award is given.

Procedures

A fellowship application form can be obtained from or by writing to:

Dr. Michael B. Moeller

122

Minutes

Alabama Academy of Science
Box 5139, University of North Alabama
Florence, AL 35632
mmoeller@unanov . una . edu

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF ALL MATERIALS IS FEBRUARY 14, 1997.

D. Old Business

Dr. Bill Barrett and Glynn Wheeler reported on the discussions involving the future
of the Gorgas Program. The following memorandum summarizes the status of these
discussions:

In our report to the Executive Committee in March, it was indicated that some action
by the Academy might be needed before the next meeting of the Gorgas Board of Trustees,
then scheduled for October 7. The purpose of this memorandum is to let you know, before
our Executive Committee meets again next Saturday, that the issue is still very much alive,
though not as pressing as it may have seemed earlier.

You should have received last March a copy of Glynn Wheeler’s memo to Mr. Art
Beattie, Chairman of the Gorgas Board. It suggested that the next step should be taken by
the Gorgas Officers. They were not able to respond until October 9, when Dr. Wheeler, Dr.
Hazelgrove and Dr. Barrett met with Mr. Beattie and Mr. Bill Zales, an officer of the
Alabama Power Foundation. They outlined a proposal that they intend to submit to the
Gorgas board at its delayed meeting, now scheduled for Monday, October 28. The principal
elements of the proposal are the following:

1) The present assets of the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation would be used to
establish an account with the Alabama Power Foundation.

2) According to the APF’s Legacy Endowment Plan, the APF would add an
equal amount to the account, making an approximate total of $240,000 for the Gorgas
scholarship program.

3) The account would earn a minimum of 5% annually, the total being
determined by the return on APF’s investment. The scholarship program would then have
available at least $12,000 annually, almost double the presently available income of the GSF.

4) The Board of Trustees of the GSF would be dissolved.

5) The Academy would establish acceptable procedures for dealing with the APR
account; maintaining the Gorgas name; and continuing the scholarship competition and awards
essentially as at present, possibly increasing the amounts and/or number of the awards.

We expect that Mr. Beattie and Mr. Zales will provide additional details after the
GSF board meeting on October 28. We will attend that meeting and will let you know the
outcome.

If we have any further significant information, we will present it at the Executive
Committee meeting next Saturday. Your comments are expected and will be welcomed!

E. New Business - none.

F. The meeting was adjourned.

123

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is
restricted to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. Larry
R. Boots, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham,
AL 35294. Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline
sections of the Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology; Forestry,
Geography, Conservation, and Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and
Economics; Science Education; Social Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and
Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely review articles of exceptional quality and
general readership interest will also be considered. Invited articles dealing with Science
Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book reviews of Alabama authors are
also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the Journal implies that it has
not been published previously and that it is not currently being considered for publication
elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. Submit the original and two
copies to the Editor. Papers which are unreasonably long and verbose, such as uncut
theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the author’s name, affiliation, and
address, including zip code. An abstract not exceeding 200 words will be published if
the author so desires. Use headings and subdivisions where necessary for clarity.
Common headings are: Introduction (including a literature review), Procedures (or
Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other formats
may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all-caps
and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and placed
at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. Do not use the number 1 for footnotes;
begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have their
present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and
white glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed 20
cm. Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use
lettering that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as
figures, number consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on
a separate sheet of paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are
satisfactory for review purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each
table. Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table
footnotes. Cite all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature
Cited. Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers,
etc.). List in alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text by
number or by author-date.

The Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science
AM. MUS. NAT. HIST. LIBRARY
Received on: 08-14-97
5.06(76. 1)B

Q 1 1
. J68*
v. 68

April

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: The Library Tower on the campus of Auburn University at
Montgomery, site of the 74th annual meeting of the Alabama Academy of Science.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 68 APRIL 1997 NO. 2

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

T roy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 2, April 1997.

CONTENTS

ABSTRACTS

Biological Sciences . 124

Chemistry . 152

Geology . 159

Forestry, Geography, Conservation, and Planning . 165

Physics and Mathematics . 170

Industry and Economics . 180

Science Education . 201

Behavioral and Social Sciences . 205

Health Sciences . 209

Engineering and Computer Science . 221

Anthropology . 225

MINUTES OF ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING . 230

GORGAS SCHOLARSHIPS

244

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 2, April 1997.

ABSTRACTS

Papers presented at the 74th Annual Meeting
Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
March 19-22, 1997

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

A COMPARATIVE BIOTIC AND CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF TWO
TRIBUTARIES OF TERRAPIN CREEK, CLEBURNE COUNTY, ALABAMA.
Althea Thompson, Jason Adams, John Moser, Jackie Carter, Amanda Eddings, Dr.
Frank A. Romano, and Dr. R. David Whetstone, Dept, of Biology, Jacksonville Stah
Univ., Jacksonville A1 36265.

Two stream communities were studied using chemical analyses and
macroinvertebrate surveys. Data collected over a five month period were compiled
into a comparative summary so that overall stream quality could be determined.

Site A, located off FS 500, is characterized as a first order stream. Site B, located
in the vicinity of The Chief Ladiga Trail, is characterized as a third order stream .
Assessment of the two sites suggests that stream order plays an important role in the
abundance of invertebrates and the overall water chemistry. Invertebrate
communities at the two sites are similar in their distribution and abundance with
differences occurring in community diversity. Water chemistry analyses at the two
sites reveal similarities between dissolved oxygen and pH with differences occurring
in calcium carbonate concentrations.

Electrophoretic analysis of two geopgraphically isolated populations of
Elimia acutocarinata. Samantha _J. Bone and Dr. Roger Sauterer, Dept,
of Biology, Jacksonville St. Univ., Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Two populations of Elimia acutocarinata that have been geo¬
graphically isolated from one another for seventy-five years was dis¬
covered in Georgia. They exhibit two distinct breeding patterns and
do not appear to recognize one another reproductively . It is hypoth¬
esized that speciation has occurred between the two populations. This
hypothesis will be tested using iso-electric focusing in coordination
with enzyme assays to establish differences in protein pattern. Pre¬
liminary results indicate differences between the populations both in
over all IEF patterns and in acid phosphatase isoenzymes.

124

Abstracts

ICHTHYOFAUNAL ASSEMBLAGES IN THE UPPER CAHABA RIVER: POSSIBLE
ALTERATIONS IN THE HISTORICAL COMPOSITION OF ASSEMBLAGES RESULTING"
FROM THE EFFECTS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT. Dave Onorato, Robert A. Angus,
Melinda M. Lalor and Ken R. Marion, University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1170.

During the past 10 to 15 years, urban development has been
increasing very rapidly in the drainage basin of the upper Cahaba
River in central Alabama. To decipher the effects of this urbanization
on the icnthyof aunal assemblages of the upper Cahaba River, a fish
bioassessment was conducted during the fall of 1995 and the spring and
fall of 1996. Data collected .were compared with historical collections
and indicate that several species which were abundant in the past have
now become less common at several sampling stations. Among the
ichthyofauna which have become less abundant are several species of
percids and cyprinids which are often considered sensitive indicators
of pollution. Changes in the species which dominate at certain sites
have also been noted. These shifts and changes in the ichthyofaunal
assemblages of the upper Cahaba River can in all probability be
attributed to the rapid urban growth in the upper Cahaba River basin.

GUANIDINOBENZOATASE ACTIVITY OF MURINE SPERM. Karen Groves and
Gary R. Poirier, Department of Biology, University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

Guanidinobenzoatase (GB) is a serine proteinase found free in
epididymal fluids and bound to the sperm surface. Recently the
soluble form was isolated and characterized. Treating cumulus free,
zona intact oocytes with the purified enzyme will reduce, in a con¬
centration dependent manner, the number of sperm able to bind. In
addition, pure GB is as effective as bovine testicular hyaluronidase
in the dispersal of cumulus cells from freshly ovulated oocytes.
These observations suggest that GB may be involved in two important
facets of fertilization, cumulus matrix penetration and sperm-zona
binding. However for GB to function as proposed it must be sperm
bound for soluble seminal components are seldom present at the site
of fertilization. This presentation is an attempt to characterize
the sperm bound form and compare its features to the soluble form.
Sperm bound GB was purified to apparent homogeneity by molecular
sieving and affinity chromatography. It has a molecular weight of
71,000 and is heat labile. GB activity increases linearly with the
sperm concentration. Sperm bound activity also increases with
incubation under capacitating conditions. Purified sperm bound GB,
will like the soluble form, disperse follicle cells from freshly
ovulated oocytes. These preliminary data suggest that sperm bound
GB is similar to the soluble form and supports the suggestion that
it may function in in vivo fertilization.

125

Abstracts

VITELLIN PROTEOLYSIS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO ECDYSTEROID
LEVELS DURING INSECT EMBRYOGENESIS . Austin M. Hitt II and
James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology, Auburn University,
Auburn AL 36849)

During vitellogenesis insect oocytes acquire large
amounts of egg proteins and ecdysteroids . Ecdysteroids have
been demonstrated to be bound to egg proteins, vitellins
(VN) , and their hemolymphatic precursors vitellogenins (VG) ,
and are presumably transported into the egg with the latter.
Once the egg is oviposited and embryogenesis begins VNs
undergo stage-specific limited proteolysis. We hypothesized
that this results in the release of free ecdysteroids. In
Acheta domesticus the levels of ecdysteroids during
embryogenesis were estimated using a radioimmunoassay . Two
types of polyclonal antibodies, produced by Dr. W. E.
Bollenbacher (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and
provided by Dr. E. S. Chang (Bodega Marine Laboratory,

Bodega Bay, CA) , were used. Anti-ecdysone B, directed

against the carbon 20 side chain, revealed the presence of

free ecdysteroid peaks at days 6, 9, and 12 of
embryogenesis. VN-bound ecdysteroid levels remained
relatively constant throughout embryogenesis indicating that
VN proteolysis was not responsible for increases in free
ecdysteroids. RIAs using the anti-ecdysone A series of
antibody, directed against the tetra-ringed nucleus of
ecdysone, showed lower reactivity but supported the data
obtained from anti-ecdysone B assays. In Acheta domesticus
the source of free ecdysteroids during embryogenesis may
therefore be either de novo synthesis or stored pools of
ecdysone within the egg. (Supported by Alabama Agricultural
Experiment Station project 862 to JTB)

CUMULUS CELL DISPERSAL BY A EPIDIDYMAL GUAN ID INOBENZOATAS E .

Stelline Pedoto and Gary R. Poirier, Department of Biology, Univ. of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294.

Guanidinobenzoatase (GB) , a serine proteinase with a molecular
weight 71,000, is found both free in the epididymal fluids of the
mouse and bound to the sperm surface. Microgram quantities of the
enzyme purified from epididymal fluid disperses follicle cells from
freshly ovulated oocytes as effectively as bovine testicular
hyaluronidase. Purified GB exhibits no hyaluronidase activity as
determined by the acid albumin assay. The ability of GB to disperse
follicle cells is blocked by a proteinase inhibitor endogenous to the
male reproductive tract. The inhibitor has no effect on bovine
testicular hyaluronidase. Although the function of GB has not been
defined the observations presented here indicate that it may play a
role in cumulus matrix penetration during fertilization.

126

Abstracts

STRUCTURE AND BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF NUAGE BODIES IN CRICKET
OOCYTES. Marina Falanv and J.T. Bradley. Department of Zoology, Auburn
University, Auburn, AL 36849.

In developing oocytes including ones undergoing vitellogeneseis, nuage bodies
are congregations of organelles that develop adjacent to the nucleus. As the oocytes
develop they migrate to the poles of the cell and disintegrate. Nomarski optics
provide clear pictures of the presence of nuage bodies in developing oocytes in the
house cricket, Acheta Domesticus. Confocal laser scanning microscopy shows
concentrations of alpha-tubulin, mitochondria, and material reactive with the
antibody MAB 2D1 (against a vitellin polypeptide) in the nuage bodies. The presence
of mitochondria in sizeable amounts in the nuage bodies of last nymphal instar
crickets was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence and FITC-labeled
secondary antibody. Nuage bodies develop adjacent to the nucleus of each oocyte,
migrate to the poles of the cell, and disintegrate; the presence of tubulin suggests
that the bodies may play a role in the orientation of the developing oocytes.
Preliminary work done using SDS-PAGE and Western blotting to test the reactivity
of MAB 2D1 showed no reactive polypeptides in previtellogenic follicles. (Supported
by Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Project 862 to J.T. B. and Howard
Hughes Medical Institute Science Scholars Program).

BIOGEOGRAPHY OF ACRIS (ANURA. Hylidae) AT THE SAVANNAH
RIVER SITE. AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA. D. S. Moore. S. F. Michael, K. R.
Marion. University of Alabama at Birmingham. Birmingham. AL 35294. J.
W. Gibbons, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken SC 29802.

The herpetofauna of the Savannah River Site (SRS) is one ot the
most studied and well documented herpetofaunas known. It is unusual
then to find a new species that is not an isolated introduction. The
presence of the Northern Cricket Frog at SRS has been suspected since
1985 when advertisement calls were heard and identified as those of Acris
crepitans , but no specimens were obtained. The sister species Acris
gryllus has long been known to be found in the Carolina bays of SRS.
Morphologically, the two species are very similar. The advertisement call
ot the males differ, but it is a fine distinction not readily apparent. The
presence of A. crepitans has now been validated by mtDNA sequence
analyses ot frogs collected from various sites in SRS. Screening of large
numbers of specimens is performed using PAMSA (PCR Amplification of
Multiple Specific Alleles). Preliminary analyses indicate that the presence
of A. crepitans is restricted to the western border of SRS, with A. gryllus
present throughout the site.

127

Abstracts

DIATOM FLORA OF OPHRYDHJM COLONIES FROM SOUTH ALABAMA.
Roland EL Dute. Dept, of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL
36849. Michael J. Sullivan, Dept, of Biological Sciences, Miss. State Univ.,
Mississippi State, MS 39762.

Ophrydium colonies were collected from a cypress swamp near Florala, Alabama
and examined for diatoms. Observations of living colonies showed large numbers of
motile diatoms with the ability to traverse the mucilage of the gelatinous ball. SEM
observations indicated that diatoms were more concentrated on the surface of the
protozoan colony than within. Although numerous, the diatoms were not
taxonomically diverse. The most prevalent species was Stenopterobia delicatissima.
Other common species were curvula, Navicula mediocris, Pinnularia dactvlus.
Eunotia flexuosa. IL naegelii, EL curvata. and Frustulia rhomboides. Also present
was an unidentified species of Pinnularia morphologically similar to EL abaujensis.
This flora was taxonomically identical to that collected from leaf debris within the
swamp. However, relative to the other species, delicatissima was ten times more
common in Ophrydium colonies than in debris. This diatom flora is typical of an
acidic, softwater situation and reflects the water chemistry of the cypress swamp. It
is unlike the diatom floras collected so far from Ophrydium colonies elsewhere. It
seems as if the diatom flora of Ophrydium colonies is determined primarily not by the
colony itself but by external factors such as water chemistry and climate.

PIT MEMBRANE STRUCTURE IN SOME COMMON ALABAMA
HARDWOODS. Roland IL Dute. Dept, of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn Univ.,
Auburn, AL 36849.

Pit membranes in wood are sites of communication between cells and undergo
varying degrees of modification with time. Pit membranes between water-conducting
cells (tracheary elements) lose their matrix material with the death of their associated
cells leaving only a porous weave of cellulose microfibrils. The same is true of pit
membranes between supporting cells (fibers). However, in some species (such as
Carya tomentosa). many interfiber pit membranes are completely destroyed resulting
in perforated fibers. Such cells could, in theory, take part in water movement or
enhance the uptake of preservatives. In contrast, pit membranes between parenchyma
cells in all species so far investigated retain their matrix material and their original
structure. These pit membranes are traversed by numerous plasmodesmata which
enhance communication. Pit membranes between parenchyma cells and mature vessel
members in EL tomentosa have transfer wall ingrowths. This feature indicates an
efficient mechanism for nutrient exchange with the transpiration stream. (Supported
by Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Project 06-016).

128

Abstracts

A RARE MYGALOMORPH SPIDER FROM ALABAMA . W. Mike Howell and Ronald
Jenkins, Department of Biology, Samford Univ., Birmingham, AL 35229

In 1875, a large, morphologically strange, Mygalomorph spider was
discovered in north Alabama and sent to Dr. N.M. Hentz, who named it
Mygale truncata. Mygalomorph spiders are large, sedentary spiders
which include the trapdoor spiders, the sheet web tarantulas, and the
purse web spiders. In the original description Dr. Hentz assigned
this odd species to the trapdoor spider group. Dr. Hentz presented a
drawing of the species detailing the odd-looking, truncated and highly
sculptured abdomen, consisting of about 50 longitudinal ridges and
grooves and six circular depressions on. the rear. Later, Comstock
(1940) stated in regards to this spider, "This is a rare species which
has been redescribed by Gertsch and Wallace ('36)." Comstock also
said, "Specimens of this species have been taken so far only in Flori¬
da, Alabama and Louisiana. Since the time of Hentz scarcely more than
a dozen examples have been collected." Gertsch and Wallace (1936) in
their redescription of this spider, placed it into the genus
Cyclocosmia . Some authors have referred to this as one of the "rarest
spiders in the world. Interviews with numerous naturalists within
Alabama showed that only three of the interviewees had actually col¬
lected this species or even knew of its existence within the State, i.
e., Drs. Debbie and George Folkerts of Auburn University, and Dr. Cole
Benton of Jacksonville State University. The Folkerts had found it
common in certain portions of south and central Alabama, while Dr.
Benton had found many specimens in northeast Alabama. In our field
studies since 1994, we have located a number of sites near Birmingham,
AL, in Jefferson and Shelby counties, where this spider is apparently
abundant. The spider is perhaps not as rare as once believed.

COMPARATIVE TUBE FOOT MORPHOLOGY OF ANTARCTIC ASTEROIDS. Minako
Sugiyama and James B. McClintock, Dept, of Biology, Univ. of Ala. at
Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-1170.

Asteroids (Echinodermata) are known to have a body plan based on
a pentaradial symmetry. However, it is not only the body plan but
also the water vascular system including the tube feet that make them
unique among the marine invertebrates. Although the species belonging
to the order Paxillosida have pointed non-suckered tube feet, most
asteroids have suckered tube feet. The presence or absence of a tube
foot sucker has been considered an important character in asteroid
taxonomy. Komatsu has recently described a third type of tube foot
morphology in asteroids from Japan. In the present study, the
external tube foot morphologies of seven species of asteroids from
Antarctica are described using scanning electron microscopy. The
results suggest that the use of tube foot morphology may not be an
appropriate character in asteroid taxonomic classification.

129

Abstracts

THE COPPER LILY HABRANTHUS TUBISPATHUS (L’HER.) TRAUB,
NEW TO THE FLORA OF ALABAMA. Jim Brummett. Alvin R. Diamond,

Jr., Department of Biology, Troy State University, Troy, AL 36082.

The Copper Lily (Habranthus tubispathus (L’Her.) Traub) is reported as
new to the flora of Alabama. It has previously been known in North
America only from northwest Louisiana and southeast Texas near old
Spanish missions. The species main range is in southern South America
in Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It was first collected
in Troy, Pike County in July of 1988. It was later collected in China
Grove, Pike County and the High Ridge area of Bullock County. The
Copper Lily inhabits a wide range of disturbed sandy sites including
roadsides and lawns. Flowering is sporadic throughout the summer
months following heavy rains. Vegetative growth occurs in the late winter
and early spring months.

ANDROGEN AND CORTICOSTEROID PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTHERN
TOAD (BUFO TERRE STRIS) EXPOSED TO COAL COMBUSTION WASTE.
William A. Hopkins. Mary T. Mendonca, Dept, of Zoology & Wildlife, Auburn
University, A1 36849., Justin D. Congdon, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken,
SC 29802.

The current study demonstrates that an adult amphibian, Bufo terrestris, exhibits
an adrenal stress response after exposure to coal combustion waste from a coal burning
power plant. Free ranging male toads captured at the polluted site (ash basins)
exhibited significantly higher circulating levels of corticosterone (B) in both June and
August than conspecifics at uncontaminated (control) sites. In addition, both calling
and noncalling males from the ash basins had higher B levels than conspecifics engaged
in the same behaviors at control sites. Interestingly, testosterone (T) levels were
elevated in toads from the ash basins, regardless of capture month or behavioral state,
possibly suggesting impairment of androgen utilization and/or metabolic clearance
rates. In the second portion of this study, male toads (N=32) from uncontaminated sites
were transplanted to enclosures at the ash basin and to enclosures at another
uncontaminated control site. Toads at the ash basin exhibited substantial increases in B
after 5 days of exposure and significant increases after 10 days. B levels remained
significantly elevated in ash basin transplants after 7 and 12 weeks. T levels decreased
in toads transplanted to both the ash basins and control sites. It is likely that high
concentrations of numerous trace elements in the ash basin sediment are provoking
these hormonal responses. In fact, preliminary data indicate high whole body
concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ba, and Se in ash basin toads. Funding provided by
SREL.

130

Abstracts

INACTIVATION OF GIARDIA LAMBLIA CYSTS BY INSOLUBLE CHLORINATED
AND BROMINATED POLYMERS. Barbara H, Estridge, Christine A. Sundermann, S. D.
Worley,* and T. Y. Chen.* Dept. Zoology & Wildlife Science and *Dept. Chemistry,
Auburn University, AL 36849.

Giardia lamblia, a flagellated protozoan, is a significant cause of gastrointestinal disease in
humans. Infection occurs following ingestion of infective cysts, which are found in natural
and recreational waters as well as municipal water supplies. Because cysts survive in water
and are somewhat resistant to some conventional disinfectants, new, safe and efficient
alternative water treatments are being sought. Some novel insoluble cyclic organic N-
halamines that contain an N-Cl or N-Br moiety have been synthesized at Auburn University
and analyzed for activity against G. lamblia cysts using a filter apparatus such that low/no
residual disinfectant is present in the final effluent. In one study, cysts (1-20 million/L) were
passed through columns containing insoluble polystyrene with attached bromine (Poly I-B),
chlorine (Poly I-C), or without halogen (control) at a constant flow rate, and effluents were
collected. The numbers of cysts recovered from columns varied, ranging from <0.01-51%.
Recovered cysts were inoculated into gerbils at varying doses and fecal samples and
duodenal tissue were analyzed at 9 and 13 days post-inoculation (dpi), respectively, for the
presence of G. lamblia. Poly I-B was efficient in killing cysts in demand-free water; Poly I-
C was effective 60% of the time. Neither Poly I-B nor Poly I-C performed well when cysts
in pH 9, 4°C water with a heavy organic load was used. In another study, cysts (10000/ml)
were incubated in buffer containing 0-20 ppm soluble Br+ for varying times, collected,
washed and tested for viability by inoculation into gerbils (as above). Br+ at 5 and 10 ppm
was effective in inactivating cysts after 5 min exposure; 2 ppm Br+ inactivated cysts after
10 min exposure in 50% of trials. These findings suggest that bromine and compounds
containing its moieties have potential for disinfection of potable water that contains G.
lamblia cysts. Supported by DoD, USDA.

PIT TAG IMPLANTATION IN THE RED HILLS SALAMANDER
(PHAEOGNATHUS HUBR1CHTI). Mark A. Bailey, Alabama Natural Heritage
Program, Huntingdon College, Massey Hall, 1500 Fairview Ave, Montgomery, AL
36106. Emmett L. Blankenship and Craig Guyer, Auburn University Dept, of
Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University, AL 36849.

Twenty-five adult Phacognathus hubrichti, a federally listed threatened species,
were collected from a Monroe County, Alabama study site in October, 1995. In the
laboratory, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags were experimentally implanted
in the body cavities of 1 5 adults. There was no mortality or observable loss of vigor
in the 15 tagged and 10 control animals after several weeks in captivity, and all were
released at the point of capture in November 1996. More than six months after the
release, eight tagged animals were recaptured and positively identified at the study
site. This study demonstrates the feasibility of implanting PIT tags in Red Hills
salamanders, the utility of which will best be realized if used in conjuction with long¬
term studies spanning several years.

131

Abstracts

THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE SPECIES OF THE
REINDEER MOSSES, GENUS CLADINA IN COFFEE COUNTY,
ALABAMA. Nadine Scarborough , Alvin Diamond, and Charles
Chapman, Biology Department, Troy State University Troy, Alabama
36082.

Three species of Reindeer Mosses in the genus Cladina were
collected in Coffee County. These included Cladina evansii. Cladina
rangiferina. and Cladina subtenuis. Cladina subtenuis may be
distinguished due to the presence of usnic acid which imparts a
yellowish green color to the thallus. Cladina evansii and Cladina
rangiferina are ash white to grayish in color. Cladina evansii lacks a
distinct central stem and the thallus occurs in discrete small clumps 2 to 3
cm in diameter. Cladina rangiferina has a central stem and occurs in
large clumps up to 30 cm or more in diameter. All three species can
often be found growing in close proximity.

SYMPATRIC SPECIATION OF THE STARFISH, LUIDIA CLATHRATA (SAY)
ON THE MID-WESTERN CONTINENTAL SHELF OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
AND GULF OF MEXICO; FURTHER EVIDENCE Trade A, Tingle. Emily K.
Knott, and Thomas S. Hopkins, Dept of Biol. Sd., Univ. of Ala., Tuscaloosa, AL
35487-0344.

Luidia clathrata is commonly encountered on bottom areas of the shallow
water and bay environments of the inner continental shelf of the mid-western Atlantic
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The color forms are documented as “gray” and
“tricolor”; they are distributed at different depths; Gray forms live closer in shore and
on bay bottoms; Tricolor forms occur farther off shore. Isoenzyme biochemical
systematic analysis has established that the two forms are genetically distinct. This
study examines the measurable differences in the paxillar counts of the two color
morph populations. Standardized paxillar counts from a 1 cm. zone, located at the
same relative distance from the center of the disk, on two different randomly selected
arms of a sample size of N=30 starfish was established for each color type. We
conducted designed statistical tests on the standardized paxillar counts, and the
relation of arm length to paxillar counts for each color type. Our findings show: an all
pair-wise SNK and Tukey and Bonferroni t-test each indicate a significant difference
in paxillar counts at p<0.001; a student “t” test indicates a significant difference in
paxillar counts at p<0.001; a Pearson Product Moment Correlation Test p<0.01;
p<0.01 each case. We conclude that present data coupled with the data established by
genetic analysis is very favorable and supports the separation of the two forms into
separate species.

132

Abstracts

PRELIMINARY RADIOTELEMETRIC STUDY OF THE ALABAMA REDBELLY TURTLE
( Pseudemys alabainensis ) . David H. Nelson, Sean P. O'Hare, and
William M. Turner, Department of Biological Sciences, University
of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

The Alabama Redbelly turtle (Pseudemys alabamensis ) is an
endangered species of freshwater turtle endemic to the Mobile
River, Tensaw River delta area. Turtles were captured in hoop
traps with lead nets around Gravine Island in the Tensaw River
(Baldwin County), Alabama. Sixteen turtles ( 8 males, 8 females)
were fitted with radio transmitters (ca. lOOg, measuring approx.
6. 5x4. 5x3. 5 cm) constructed in the laboratory to emit a pulsed
signal on discreet channels in the 26.965 - 27.405 MHZ, 11 meter
Citizen’s band. The devices were attached to the rear of the
turtles’ carapaces with epoxy. Turtles were then released at the
capture site. As of 31 January 1997, three telemeters had failed
from battery exhaustion. These transmitters lasted 98 days, 99
days and 113 days. One transmitter was never detected after the
release date. The twelve other transmitters continue to operate.
Lack of movement of some turtles indicates either dormancy or
detachment of telemeters. Several turtles continue to move in
the study area. Two of the most active specimens have moved more
than 4 km and 6 km since release.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE ALABAMA REDBELLY TURTLE (PSEUDEMYS
ALABAMENSIS) ALONG COASTAL ALABAMA. David H. Nelson, William
M. Turner, Sean P. O'Hare, and Jolene M. Williams, Department
of Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile,
AL. 36688.

The Alabama Redbelly turtle (Pseudemys alabamensis) is
an endangered species endemic to freshwater habitats within
the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. To determine specific freshwater

locations where the turtles occur, hoop traps with lead nets
were placed systematically along coastal Alabama from June
to September, 1996. Traps were deployed among the major
freshwater tributaries east and west of the Mobile Delta. Alabama
Redbelly turtles were captured as far west as Bayou La Batre
(Mobile County) and as far east as the Fish River (Baldwin

County) . None were encountered in freshwater tributaries of Bayon
Heron or Wolf Bay (both saline embayments) . Bayon Heron traps did
not yield any turtles at all. During the entire study (1602
trap days), 663 turtles were captured: 135 Pseudemys alabamensis ,
301 Pseudemys concinna , 104 Pseudemys f loridana , 36 Trachemys

scr ipta elegans , 17 Graptemys nigr inoda delticola, 16 Apalone

spinif era , 50 Macroclemys temminckii and 4 Chelydra serpentina .

The Southern geographic distribution of the Alabama Redbelly

turtle appears to be immediately adjacent to the Mobile-Tensaw
Delta. The turtles occur in waterways that now enter or formerly

entered the Mobile Bay. Waterways beyond the bay that directly

enter the Gulf of Mexico apparently do not harbor the endangered

freshwater turtle.

133

Abstracts

ULTRASTRUCTURE OF IN SITU SYMBIODIN1UM MICROADRIATICUM. Timothy S.
Wakefield, Dept, of Zoology & Wildlife Science, Auburn Univ. , AL
36849. Mark A. Farmer, Ctr. for Advanced Ultrastructural Research,
Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA 30601. Stephen C. Kempf, Dept, of
Zoology & Wildlife Science, Auburn Univ. , AL 36849

The symbiotic marine dinof lagellate Symbiodinium microadriaticum
was first isolated from its host Cassiopeia sp. and described by
Freudenthal in 1962. This early description did not include any
ultrastructural data and was based only on light microscope
observations. In 1968 Taylor published the first ultrastructural
description of a dinof lagellate symbiont found in the anemone
Anemonia sulcata. This was quickly followed by another study of
S. microadriaticum by Kevin, et at. (1969) wherein an amended
description of the species based on ultrastructural features was
published. Subsequent authors have relied heavily on this description
to explain the ultrstructure of dinof lagellate symbionts. In 1987,
Trench and Blank published another amended description of the genus
Symbiodinium that established 3 new species. In both of these amended
descriptions the cell covering or periplast is described as being
composed of "a continuous cell wall of varying thickness ... underlain
by a series of membranes" (Trench & Blank 1987). Our investigations
have revealed that these "underlying" membranes do not exist in the
symbionts of Aiptasia pallida and Paradiscosoma sp. Using freeze
substitution as a fixation method has resulted in better resolution
of this area and has instead revealed the presence of thecal vesicles
with internal thecal plates underlain by an array of microtubules.
Cultured S. microadriaticum have been identified as having these
structures, but this is the first report of their in situ presence.

EASTERN BLUEBIRD (Sialia s ia 1 i s ) S TUP I E S DURING THE
CONSTRUCTION OF A GOLFING COMMUNITY IN NORTH SHELBY COUNTY,
ALABAMA Dan C. Holliman, Faculty of Biology, Birmingham-
Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254.

This eight year study traces the history of an Eastern
bluebird population on lands that were being developed for
a golfing community in north Shelby Co., AL . Usually
Eastern bluebird trails are installed after a development
has been completed, not while one is under construction.

The results of a nest box and banding program are dis¬
cussed. One thousand and three hundred and sixty birds
were fledged and 736 banded during the construction period
from 1991-1996. The effects of human disturbance associ¬
ated with PGA tournaments during five nesting seasons are
analyzed. A strategy for the establishment of an Eastern
bluebird population in a newly created planned urban
development is given.

134

Abstracts

56- ANDR0STANE-3a, 1 76-DIOL IS NOT AN EFFECTIVE SEX REVERSAL AGENT IN THE
TILAPIA OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS. Stephen A. Watts. Kristina Wasson and
Michele Patrick. Dept, of Biology, Univ. Ala. Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
35294.

Oreochromis niloticus, the Nile tilapia, is an important food-fish
worldwide. Producers prefer to culture all male populations of fish due to their
fast rates of growth and lack of reproductive activities which can diminish
energy reserves. To this end, genetically mixed-sex populations of tilapia fry
are often "sex reversed" using masculinizing agents that produce phenotypic
males (functional) from genetypic females. 17a-methyltestosterone (MT), a
synthetic androgen, is the most common agent used for sex reversal in tilapia,
although it is not approved at this time for use in the United States. 56-
androstane-3a,17B-diol (56-diol) is the predominant androgen produced
naturally in tilapia during the period of sexual differentation and is
synthesized significantly in adult testes. This androgen was fed to developing
mixed-sex populations of fry (starting at 11 days post fertilization) at a dose of
60 mg/kg feed; negative control populations received nontreated feed, positive
control populations received 60 mg MT/ kg feed for a 28 day period during
gonadal differentiation (n=300 fry per treatment). Sex was determined by
microscopic examination of gonadal tissues at three months following
differentiation. Final sex ratio in negative control populations was 38:62,
females: males. Those populations fed MT had a ratio of 4:96 females: males.
Those populations fed 56-diol had a ratio of 50:50 females: males, which was
significantly different from negative control populations (p<0.05, Chi Square).
These data suggest that 56-diol is weakly androgenic and is not involved in the
sex differentiation cascade of Nile tilapia during early development. Supported
by the Alabama Academy of Science and USDA.

PURIFICATION AND LOCALIZATION OF THE ENZYME CARBONIC
ANHYDRASE FROM THE SCYPHOZOAN CASSIOPEIA XAMACHANA. Scott L.
Parrish. Raymond P. Henry and Stephen C. Kempf, Dept, of Zoology and Wildlife
Science, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL 36849.

The enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA), which converts C02 to HC03‘ and vice
versa, was isolated from homogenates of intact Cassiopeia xamachana by gel filtration
followed by p-aminomethylbenzene-sulfonamide affinity chromatography. Purity was
determined using SDS-PAGE gels stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue. The purified
enzyme has an approximate molecular weight of 34 kD as determined by SDS-PAGE.
Following purification, the enzyme was used to produce two murine monoclonal
antibodies. The anti-carbonic anhydrase antibodies (4ECA95, 2GCA95) obtained were
used to localize the enzyme in the tissues of Cassiopeia. Using epifluorescense and
confocal microscopy CA was localized to the ectodermal tissues. Cassiopeia bears
zooxanthellae within the mesoglea near the ectoderm and not within the gastroderm, as
seen in other zooxanthellate cnidarians. We conclude that ectoderm is a likely candidate
tissue to aid in the supply of inorganic carbon to symbiotic zooxanthellae.

135

Abstracts

PROTECTION - A VITAL LINK! Susie H. Shepard (Retired), College of
Education, Department of Natural Science, University of South
Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688.

There are four (4) species of gopher tortoise in the United
States; only one of the species (Gopherus polyphemus) is found in
Alabama's coastal counties. This species is currently protected
(under the Endangered Species Act, 1973), west of the Tombigbee and
Mobile Rivers. In July 1992, proposed construction of an underground
pipeline in north Mobile County threatened a significant population of
G . polyphemus . Population density studies were begun as early as
1990. The proposed easement (75 - 100' wide and 3919.52 feet long)
involved 36 active, 29 inactive and 6 old burrows. Inactive and old
burrows are often "reopened" and/or used as "danger escape" burrows
by the G^ polyphemus . They are therefore, a vital link of tortoise
protection. Studies indicated the chambers of the active and inactive
burrows were deep as 8 feet and as long as 31 feet. These data
indicated substantial steps would have to be made to secure the
habitat of the population. This presentation documents two (2) years
of tenacious efforts by a landowner to preserve this G^ polyphemus
population .

FOODS OF THE ALABAMA BEACH MOUSE (PEROMYSCUS POLIONOTUS AMMOBATES) .

James E. Moyers and Nicholas R. Holler, Alabama Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit, 302 Funches Hall, Auburn University, Alabama
36849-5414.

Food habits of Alabama beach mice (Peromyscus polionotus
ammobates) were determined by microscopic analysis of fecal materials
collected from populations at two units of the Bon Secour National
Wildlife Refuge. Relative Occurrence and Species diversity of food
items were computed by season and year for both units. Comparisons of
seasonal food habits were made between years and units using parametric
and non-parametr ic tests. Primary foods (>10%) by season were: autumn;
bluestem (Schizachyr ium maritimum) , evening primrose (Oenothera
humifusa) , dune spurge (Chamaesyche ammannioides) , and jointweed
(Polygonella gracilis), winter; sea oats (Uniola paniculata) , bluestem,
and jointweed, spring; evening primrose, toad flax (Linaria floridana),
beach pea (Gallactia sp.), and penneyvort (Hvdrocotyle bonariensis) ,
summer; evening primrose and dune spurge. Insects were consumed year
round with highest consumption occurring in winter and spring. Diver¬
sity of diets was highest in winter for mice at both units. Differ¬
ences in consumption of individual diet items occurred between years
and units, presumably due to differences in availability of foods at
the time of sampling. Based on these data, beach mice are granivore/
omnivore rodents that primarily consume products of low-growing, pro¬
strate plants or plant products that have dropped to the dune surface.
Management practices that increase foods for beach mice and speed re¬
covery of dune habitat will be discussed.

136

Abstracts

NESTING BIOLOGY OF THE GRASS-CARRIER WASP, ISODONTIA MEXICANA
(SPHECIDAE) . T. Paige Carithers and Debbie R. Folkerts, Dept, of
Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University, AL 36849.

The effects of variable nest cavity parameters (pitcher plant
species, leaf height and diameter, and nest opening) and construction
parameters (number of cells per nest and nest length) on reproductive
success were investigated in populations of Isodontia mexicana
(Hymenoptera : Sphecidae) nesting in the tubular leaves of pitcher

plants (Sarracenia spp.). This species is one of a group of "grass
carrier" wasps, so called because they are often seen flying with
blades of grass with which they build their nests. In the Gulf
Coastal Plain, this wasp nests in 5 different species of pitcher
plants. Neither the species of pitcher plant, leaf height, or nest
opening had any significant effect on nest success. However, the
diameters of successful nests were significantly smaller than
unsuccessful nests. The average percent of success among 1, 2, 3, and
4-celled nests did not significantly differ. However, among 1-celled
nests, those with greater lenghts were more successful. The signifi¬
cantly smaller leaf diameters of successful nests may relate to an
increase in their total length. Longer nests may indicate that more
grass was used in their construction which may provide more protection
against outside elements and parasites. Future analysis will
investigate this possibility. This research was supported in part by
an Alabama Academy of Science grant.

PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE USE OF POEC1L1ID FISHES AS
SENSITIVE BIOINDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ANDROGENS
Connie L. Miller and Robert Angus, Dept, of Biology, Univ. of Ala. at Birmingham,
Birmingham, A1 35294

Chemicals which display hormone-like activity in animals or humans, and which
have the potential to interfere with the critical timing of events in growth and
development are known as endocrine disruptors. With the recognition of the
potentially serious effects of environmental endocrine disruptors on humans and
wildlife comes the realization that we badly need methods for identifying compounds
with effects on endocrine systems. Our research focuses on the use of mosquitofish
’ (Gambusia affmis ■ Poeciliidae) as a test system for the detection of endocrine
disruptors in the environment. We are using a morphological trait to test for
androgenic activity. Male mosquitofish have a modified anal fin (gonopodium) used
in mating. Although this structure is normally present only in males, it is readily
induced to develop in females exposed to androgens. Currently we are treating
female mosquitofish with testosterone in order to establish a dose-response curve.
Our goal is to document the suitability of these fish as sensitive bioindicators for use
in testing compounds with suspected androgenic activity.

137

Abstracts

THE EPIPHYTIC FRUTICOSE LICHEN SPECIES IN COFFEE COUNTY,
ALABAMA AND THEIR DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES. Nadine Scarborough.
Alvin Diamond, and Charles Chapman, Biology Department, Troy State
University Troy, Alabama 36082

Four species of epiphytic fruticose lichens were collected in a
study in Coffee County. These included Ramalina americana.
Teloschistes exilis, Usnea mutabilis, and Usnea striqosa. Ramalina
americana and Teloschistes exilis have flattened thalli in cross section.
Ramalina is greenish in color due to the presence of usnic acid whereas
Teloschistis is orange in color due to the presence of parietin. The
thallus of Usnea mutabilis and Usnea strigosa are round in cross
section. Usnea mutabilis possesses soredia and lacks apothecia
whereas Usnea striqosa lacks soredia but commonly has apothecia. All
four species can be found growing in the same tree but Teloschistes and
Usnea mutabilis were encountered much less frequently.

PLASMID DNA CURING: A SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT METHOD. Joy E. Bagley
and Richard E. Musso, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn University,
AL 36849.

Multi-copy plasmids are invaluable vectors for the cloning of DNA into bacterial
cells. Plasmid transformed cells are selectable on media containing antibiotics
because the plasmids carry genes for various drug resistances. However, the presence
of a large amount of multi-copy plasmid DNA often obscures some types of genetic or
biochemical analyses of the single-copy genomic DNA. This can cause serious
difficulties when Southern hybridization analyses are performed on DNA isolated from
transformed cells. Ideally, the plasmids should be eliminated before such analyses but
existing methods for plasmid curing have required construction of special strains or the
problematic treatment with chemical agents. We have discovered a much simpler and
widely applicable method for curing plasmids from their bacterial host. The method
involves prolonged incubation at elevated temperatures under non-selective growth
conditions: typically 3 days at 42° C. This simple procedure resulted in colonies
which generally contained a high percentage of cured cells. It has been successfully
used to cure derivatives of the widely used plasmid vectors pBS(+), pUCl8, pBR322,
and pACYC184 from bacterial host strains including XLl-Blue and derivatives of E,
coh K12, E. coli C, and E. coli B. Less efficient curing is observed after incubation at
lower temperatures or for shorter times.

This research has been supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.

138

Abstracts

STEROID METABOLISM IN HUMAN MONONUCLEOCYTES. Tonv McKenzie. Kristina
Wasson, Stephen Watts and John Kappes*. Dept, of Biology and Center for Aids
Research*, Univ. Ala. Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), produced commonly in the adrenals,
has little androgenic activity. It is reported to have immunostimulatory
functions in other tissues, and can inhibit in vitro HIV-1 replication in human
lymphocytes and macrophages. In fact, a high affinity receptor for DHEA is
found in CD4 helper T-cells. Other studies have reported that DHEA blood levels
fall during the progession of HIV. Since DHEA can be metabolized to other
androgens and estrogens, we investigated the metabolic fate of DHEA and
pregnenolone (a precursor steroid) in a white blood cell population. A "buffy"
from a non-infected donor containing neutrophiles, eosinophils, basophils,
lymphocytes and macrophages was incubated in ^H-DHEA, 3 H-pregnenolone
or ^H-testosterone for 3 hr. DHEA and testosterone were not metabolized; a
small percentage of the pregnenolone precursor was esterified, presumably
with a fatty acid. The lack of metabolic products in this cell preparation was
unusual since most cells contain various dehydrogenases, isomerases and
aromatases, ususally resulting in the converstion of these precursors to other
steroid metabolites. Because DHEA was not metabolized, we hypothesize that
DHEA is a direct biological activator. The previous discovery of the DHEA
receptor in T-cells supports this hypothesis. Future work includes an
examination of HIV infected cells and the effects of pre-exposure of non-
infected white blood cells to DHEA on the subsequent rates of HIV infectivity.
Supported by the Alabama Acadamy of Science.

A COMPARITIVE ASSESSMENT OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION AND
STREAM HYDROGEOMORPHOLOGY OF TWO STREAM
CHARACTERIZATIONS WITHIN THE TERRAPIN CREEK WATERSHED,
CLEBURNE COUNTY, AL.

Jason R. Adams, Althea Thompson, John Moser, Jackie Carter, Amanda Eddings,
Dr.Frank A. Romano, and Dr. R. David Whetstone, Dept. of Biology, Jacksonville
State Univ., Jacksonville, AL 36265.

From September 1996 to February 1997, a stream characterization was
performed on two locations of the Terrapin Creek watershed located in Cleburne
County, AL. Site I is located on an unnamed tributary west of Forestry Service 500,
Cleburne County, AL. Site II is located on South Fork Creek in Cleburne County
approximately 8km south of the Seaboard Coastline Railroad, now part of the “Rails
to Trails Program”. The purpose of this project was to assess stream hydrogeo¬
morphology, riparian vegetation, benthic invertebrate communities, and stream
chemistry of the two sites. Preliminary results indicate topoedaphic changes within
the stream from Site I and Site II influence differences in the stream’s
hydrogeomorphic, chemical, and biotic composition.

139

Abstracts

THE MOLECULAR CLONING OF A CDNA ENCODING PUTATIVE MOLT-INHIBITING
HORMONE OF THE DUNGENESS CRAB, CANCER MAGISTER. H.R. Umphrey, K.J.

Lee, R.D. Watson, Dept, of Biology, University of Alabama at Birming¬
ham, AL. 35294. E. Spaziani, Dept, of Biological Sciences, University
of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. 52242.

Secretion of ecdysteroid molting hormones by crustacean Y-organs
is negatively regulated by a neuropeptide, molt-inhibiting hormone
(MIH) , produced in eyestalk neurosecretory cells. We report here the
molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding putative MIH of the Dungeness
crab. Cancer magister . A unidirectional cDNA library was commercially
prepared in the Uni-Zap XR Vector (Stratagene Custom Library Service)
using poly(A+) RNA isolated from eyestalk neural ganglia of C. ma¬
gister . The library was screened using a 253 base pair fragment of a
previously cloned cDNA encoding putative MIH of the blue crab, Calli-
nectes sapidus . The DNA sequence of one positive clone contained a
339 base pair open reading frame encoding a 78 amino acid putative
MIH and a 35 amino acid signal peptide. The deduced amino acid
sequence of C. magister MIH is 79% identical with the deduced amino
acid sequence of C. sapidus MIH, 75% identical with MIH purified from
the shore crab (Carcinus maenas) , and 98% identical with that purified
from the edible crab. Cancer pagurus .

Supported by NSF ( IBN-94 19916) and NOAA/MS-AL Sea Grant (NA16RG0155) .

HERON COLONIES IN THE MONTGOMERY AREA 1961 - 1996. Jul ian L. Dusi ,
Dept, of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn Univ., Auburn Univ, AL
36849. Rosemary D. Dusi, 560 Sherwood Dr., Auburn AL 36830.

The Montgomery, Ala. area, 1961-1996, has always had at least one
heron colony. In 1961, we first knew about the Little Blue Heron
colony at Mountain Creek, north of Montgomery. It was active until
1967. Cattle Egrets dispersed into Alabama in 1963 and from 1964 -
1970, formed a colony in the Montgomery suburb of Pinedale. From
1970-1972, a mostly Cattle Egret colony was located near Pintlala,
just south of Montgomery. At the McLemore Plantation east of Mont¬
gomery a Cattle Egret/Little Blue Heron colony was present in 1972.

In Millbrook, to the north of Montgomery, a mixed colony was present
from 1973-1983. In 1984-1985, a mostly Cattle Egret colony formed on
an island in Cooter's Pond, in Alabama River north of Montgomery . In
1990, the colony moved just south of Millbrook to a gravel pit. In
the Normandale suburb, a Black-crowned Night-Heron colony was present
at least from 1983-1986 and may still be there. Near the Hooper
Academy, located near the 1-65 Pintlala Exit, a Great Blue Heron
colony has been present in a single osage-orange tree,, from at least
1985 to the present.

140

Abstracts

POLLINATION BIOLOGY OF CYRILLA RACEMIFLORA L. James E. Watkins. Jr1..
Roland R. Dute1, and Debbie R. Folkerts12, Department of Botany and Microbiology1 and
Department of Zoology2, Auburn University, AL 36830.

Understanding pollinator diversity and floral morphology helps explain pollination
syndromes and the speciation processes in plants. This study was conducted to better
understand stigmatic morphology, secretory characteristics, pollen morphology, and
pollinator diversity of Cyrilla racemiflora L. The effects of flower age and time of day
were examined using scanning electron microscopy to determine which variable, if either,
had an effect on stigmatic secretions. Pollinator diversity was examined and pollen load
diversity, from Bombus f rater nus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Dialictus sp. (Hymenoptera:
Halictidae) was obtained using by light microscopy to determine if either species acted as
probable primary pollinators. The stigma of C. racemiflora was discovered to be bilobed
with a glandular trichome tip correlated with a stigmatic exudate and a proximal zone of
unmodified epidermal cells. The stigmatic secretion was neither time of day nor floral age
dependent, and it was discovered that chemical processing of stigmas from scanning
electron microscopy dissolved the secreted material. Pollen from 10 different species was
discovered in the corbiculi of B.f 'rater nus with 54% originating from C. racemiflora.

Pollen from three different species was observed on Dialictus sp. with 90% from C.
racemiflora. It was therefore determined that Dialictus sp. act as probable primary
pollinators of C. racemiflora.

THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF EPIPHYTIC FRUTICOSE
LICHEN SPECIES IN PIKE COUNTY, ALABAMA. Jason Lowe. Alvin
Diamond, and Charles Chapman, Biology Department, Troy State
University Troy, Alabama 36082.

Seven species of epiphytic fruticose lichens were collected in a
study in Pike County. These included Ramalina americana.
Heterodermia echinata. Teloschites exilis, and four species of Usnea: U.
antillarum. LL mutabilis. LL striaosa. LL trichodea. Ramalina ,
Heterodermia. and Teloschistes have flattened thalli in cross section.
Ramalina and Teloschistes are upright in growth form with a single point
of attachment whereas Heterodermia exhibits a procumbent growth form
being upright only along the margins. Teloschistes is orange in color
due to the presence of parietin. Ramalina is green in color due to the
presence of usnic acid. The thalli of Usnea species are round in cross
section. Usnea antillarum has a hollow thallus whereas the other
species exhibit a dense central cord. Usnea striaosa commonly
possesses apothecia but lacks soredia. Usnea trichodea and Usnea
mutabilis possess soredia but generally lack apothecia. Usnea
mutabilis differs from Usnea trichodea in that its central cord is rose pink
in color versus white. Usnea mutabilis also differs from Usnea trichodea
in size and habitat.

141

Abstracts

PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE USE OF POECILIID FISHES AS
SENSITIVE BIOINDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ESTROGENS
Amy Mehollin and Robert Angus, Dept. Of Biology, Univ. of Ala. At Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL 35294

Test systems for the presence of chemicals which exhibit hormone-like activity in
animals and plants (endocrine disruptors) are badly needed. Our research centers
around the development of mosquitofish ( Gambusia affinis Poeciliidae) as sensitive
bioindicators for the identification of environmental endocrine disruptors. We intend
to use expression of the (normally female-limited) vitellogenin gene in males to test
chemicals for estrogenic activity. We are developing a quantitative enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for vitellogenin (VTG), a serum phospholipo-
glycoprotein precursor to egg yolk. The VTG gene requires estrogenic stimulation
for expression and is normally undetectable in the plasma of immature animals and
males. However, males can be induced to produce VTG if exposed to estrogenic
hormones. Thus, VTG is potentially an ideal biomarker for detecting compounds
with estrogenic activity. We will present data demonstrating that VTG expression is
induced in male mosquitofish which have been treated with estrogen. Currently we
are purifying VTG from female mosquitofish using polyacrylamide gel electro¬
phoresis. Our next step is to raise anti-VTG serum in rabbits for use in the ELISA.
Once developed, the ELISA will be used as a quantitative assay of VTG in the serum
of male mosquitofish known, or suspected, to have been exposed to estrogenic
chemicals.

COMPARISON OF SUBSTRATE PREFERENCE FOR ATTACHMENT
BETWEEN FRUTICOSE LICHENS RAMALINA AMERICANA AND
USNEA STRIGOSA IN PIKE COUNTY, ALABAMA. Jason Lowe. Alvin
Diamond, and Charles Chapman, Biology Department, Troy State
University Troy, Alabama 36082.

Two hundred and seven species of woody plants have been
documented or reported to occur as native or naturalized species in Pike
County. Of this number, 137 species or 66% of the total species of
woody plants did not support either of the species under study. Usnea
strigosa was found on 61 species or 29% of the total number of the
woody species. Of this number, 20 species were dead; 18 species were
living; and 23 species supported Usnea on both living and dead wood.
Ramalina americana was found on 48 species or 23% of the total
number of the woody species. Of this number, 14 species were dead; 14
were living; and 20 species supported Ramalina on both living and dead
wood. Thirty-five species supported both Ramalina and Usnea.

142

Abstracts

A simple and rapid extraction procedure for the analysis of proteinase
inhibitors from tomato plants. J. Pettus M. Newman and C. Olander.
Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL
36265.

Proteinase inhibitors, which are toxic to insects, are a crucial part of the
defense mechanism for tomato and various other related plants. In past
studies of proteinase inhibitor activity, cell extracts were prepared either by
homogenization or grinding by using a mortar and pestle with ice cold buffer.
This procedure unfortunately lysed the chloroplasts causing chlorophyll to be
released into the cell extract. We have developed a new one step extraction
procedure which is simpler, faster, and allows more samples to be harvested
simultaneously. This new procedure uses centrifugation alone without any
grinding or homogenization. Therefore, it produces no coloration of the cell
extract With centrifugation alone, there is the additional benefit of undiluted
cell extract. This undiluted cell extract makes it possible to assay proteinase
inhibitor activity in smaller volumes. Using this new procedure, we followed
the appearance of proteinase inhibitors in distant leaves from 0 to 168 hours
after injury.

Analysis of dynein polypeptides from Morone spp. Anthony G. Moss.

Susan Smith, John Watford, and Anne M. Estes. Department of Zoology and
Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5414.

Striped bass fMorone saxitalisl sperm dyneins comprise two distinct molecular
complexes, one of which migrates at greater than 20 S in a 5-20% rate-zonal sucrose
gradient, much like the outer arm dynein of Chlamydomonas (King, et al., Meth
Enzymol. 134:291, and rainbow trout, Onchorhvnchus mvkiss (Moss ei al., 1991, Meth
Enymol.. 196:201). A second dynein peaks occurs at — 1 IS and presumably represent
inner arm dyneins, again as is seen in Chlamydomonas. Tetrahvmena ( Johnson , Annu.
Rev. Biophys. Biophys. Chem 14:161 ) and sea urchin. SDS-PAGE analysis of the high
mass dynein polypeptides suggests that striped bass outer arm dynein may bear three
high molecular weight ATPase subunits. This unexpected result was preliminarily
confirmed by negative staining of sucrose gradient purified 20S+ dynein. A single major
intermediate chain of approximately 70 kDa comigrates at 20S+, with four light chains
of 10-25 kDa. The 11S heavy chains are substantially lower in apparent molecular
weight than the 20S species, and much more complex in composition, suggesting that
they may be elements of the inner arm complex. An intermediate chain of ~1 50 kDa is
associated with the 1 IS complex. The 1 IS dynein(s) comprise in addition, 20 and 50
kDa light chains. We confirm the presence of a 6S complex strongly conserved across
multiple phyla to be within the high salt extract that contains polypeptides of -100 kDa
and -60 kDa. (Supported by a grant from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
to AGM).

143

Abstracts

A PRELIMINARY MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF ALABAMA POPULATIONS OF CAMBARUS
(LACUNICAMBARUS) AND CAMBARUS (TUBERICAMBARUS) . Patrick R. Stephens,
Dept, of Biology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

The taxonomy of the subjenera of burrowing crayfish Cambarus ■
(Lacunicambarus ) and Cambarus (Tubericambarus) is difficult. The
latter, recently erected by Jezerinac, is represented by at least one
undescribed species and both subgenera are composed of species with
few characters that provide sharp delineation; a problem that extends
to the subgenera themselves. At least five species in the complex
occur in Alabama, however no detailed analysis of Alabama populations
of these subgenera has ever been undertaken. During the summer of
1996 a preliminary study was undertaken to determine whether a morpho¬
metric analysis would be useful in resolving questions about these
subgenera. Fifty seven adult specimens from the collection of J.F.
Fitzpatrick, Jr; including the species C). (L. ) diogenes , C. (L.)
miltus, C. (L. ) ludovicanus , C. (T. ) acanthura , and C. (T.) species A;
were used. Thirty nine observations were made of each specimen. Non-
parametric data were analyzed using two-way chi-square tests. From the
parametric data thirteen ratios were calculated (to correct for size
differences) and analyzed using two samples t-test and ANOVA
procedures. Analysis showed that the species examined can be distin¬
guished statistically using most of the measurements taken. It
therefore seems that a full morphometric analysis would resolve the
status of the several Alabama populations. The identity of the
subgenera, however, are not so easily determined.

THE EFFECTS OF LIGHTING CONDITIONS UPON DEVELOPMENT OF THE MALE RAT
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. MariJvn Wyatt Harris and P. Samuel Campbell, Dept, of Biological
Sciences, UAH, Huntsville, AL 35899.

Sprague-Dawky rats were raised in various lighting conditions for periods of 30 days, 48 days or
127 days Animals were reared under constant light, 20 hrs light/4 hrs dark (20L/4D) or 20 hrs dark/4 hrs
light (20L/4D) from day 1 of life. Reproductive tissues were excised and weighed on the day of necropsy.
Testes were fixed in neutral buffered formalin for histological observation. A blood sample was also taken
by cardiac puncture for testosterone analysis. Results indicated an interaction between length of light
exposure and reproductive organ development At 30 days of age, significant differences were noted
between animals in constant light and those in the 20D/4L light schedule (p=0.004). Also, significant
differences were noted between the 20D/4L and the 20IV4D groups (p=0.015). At 48 days of age, there was
a significant difference between the constant fight group and the 20D/4L group (p=0.037). By 127 days of
age these significant differences were no longer apparent. Constant fight exposure resulted in the male rat
coming into puberty earlier than those raised under prolonged dark conditions as evident by an accelerated
rate of sex accessory organ development. Additionally, the histological development of the seminiferous
tubules in the constant light group was more advanced at 30 days of age than those m the 20D/4L treatment
group All treatment groups exhibited the presence of spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules at 48 and
127 days of age. However, the density of spermatozoa in the lumen of the seminiferous tubules appeared
to be somewhat lower in the 20D/4L group. Body weights also were heavier in the constant fight treatment
group at all ages studied Thus, pbotopenod can affect gonadotropin secretion in the laboratory male rat to
differentially control rate of gonadal development. Perhaps these effects are mediated through altered
melatonin secretion under conditions of constant fight exposure and prolonged dark exposure.

144

Abstracts

GENOMIC VARIATION OF ARCOBACTER SKJRROWII DETERMINED BY
PULSED-FIELD-GEL ELECTROPHORESIS. Omar A. Ovarzabal. Jason Shireman.
and Donald. E. Conner, Dept, of Poultry Sci. and James M. Barbaree and Steffen
Beckert, Dept, of Botany and Microbiol., Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL 36849. Irene V.
Wesley, NADC, USDA, Ames, IA.

Arcobacter skirroM’ii has been isolated from different animal species. Currently,
its role is undetermined in both animal and human disease. We undertook a study to
determine the genomic variation and the genome size of 1 8 ATCC and field isolates of
Arcobacter skirrowii by DNA restriction with subsequent pulsed-field-gel
electrophoresis (PFGE). Restriction with Sac II and S ma I yielded bands suitable for
assessing the genome size. Restriction with Sac II yielded four to five DNA bands of
different sizes in all the strains, but only two strains presented identical patterns. When
DNA was restricted with S ma I, each strain showed a unique pattern with five to nine
bands of different sizes. Restriction enzymes that produced multiple cuts in the
A. skirrowii genome were Be/ 1, C la I, EcoR I, K pn I, Ns/ 1, Pvw II, S mn I, Vsp I and Xba
I. Other enzymes (A/a I, A pa I, Dra I, No/ I, Sfi I) did not restrict the genome. This
study shows that A. skirrowii exhibits remarkable genomic variation. Preliminary data
reveal that A.skirroM’ii has a genome size of approximately 1.7 Mb, similar to C.jejuni
and C.coli. Our results confirm that PFGE is a highly discriminatory technique that
could be used in epidemiological studies of A. skirrowii. Furthermore, the segments of
DNA generated by PFGE might be used for specific identification of this bacterium.

PRODUCTION OF POLYPHENOLS AND CONDENSED TANNINS IS
SENSITIVE TO ATMOSPHERIC C02 CONCENTRATION, NITROGEN
AVAILABILITY, AND WATER STATUS IN LONGLEAF PINE FOLIAGE. Seth
G. Pritchard and Curt M. Peterson, Dept, of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn
Univ. AL 36849. G. Brett Runion, School of Forestry , Auburn Univ. AL 36849.
Stephen A. Prior and Hugo H. Rogers, USDS-ARS National Soil Dynamics
Laboratory, Auburn, AL 36830.

Production of phenolic compounds is sensitive to environmental conditions.
Longleaf pine was grown in open top chambers at two levels of atmospheric C02 (720
and 365 //mol mol"1), two levels of soil N (4 g m'2y'' and 40 g m'2 y'1 ), and two soil
moisture levels (-0.5 and -1.5 MPa). After 20 months of exposure, needles were
collected and polyphenol content was determined using the Folin-Denis assay and
condensed tannins were estimated by precipitation with protein. Total leaf polyphenol
and condensed tannin content were increased by main effects of elevated C02 , low soil
N and well-watered conditions. Leaves from seedlings grown under limiting N had a
greater percentage of total phenolics removed from solution by precipitation with protein
than those plants grown under high N conditions. Results suggest that phenolic
production is dictated by carbon availability'.

145

Abstracts

RESPONSES OF GRAY SQUIRRELS (SCIURUS CARQLINENS I S ) TO INTERSPECIFIC
ALARM CALLS. Jason B. Jennings and Robert S. Lishak, Department of
Zoology, Auburn University, AL 36849

Alarm calls of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus ) and blue jays
t Cvanocitta cristata ) were recorded, digitally filtered to eliminate
background noise, and were played through speakers in an effort to
understand how gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis ) respond to
interspecific alarm calls. The calls used were a chipmunk "chuck" and
a blue jay "jay" call, and combined chuck and jay call. Data were
collected on adult males and females and on juvenile males and females
during summer and fall. All research was conducted in front of the
Ralph B. Draughon library at Auburn University, Alabama. Financial
support was through a grant from the Alabama Academy of Science. All
sexes and ages responded significantly higher in the summer than in
the fall except adult females for which there were no significant
differences. Adult males and juvenile males responded approximately
the same during the summer, however, adult males responded
significantly higher than juvenile males in the fall. Juvenile
females responded significantly higher than adult females during the
summer. The reverse is true for the fall. Adult males responded
significantly higher than adult females in the summer and fall.
Juvenile males responded more than juvenile females in the summer.
During the fall, juvenile females -responded significantly more than
juvenile males. The chuck call elicited more responses than either
the jay call or the combined chuck/jay call.

EXPRESSION AND PURIFICATION OF RECOMBINANT MOLT-INHIBITING
HORMONE FROM THE BLUE CRAB CALLINECTES SAPIDUS. K.J. Lee. R. D.
Watson, Dept, of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
35294. T. S. Elton, Dept, of Chem. and Biochem., Brigham Young University, Provo.
UT 84602.

In crustaceans, cycles of growth and molting are controlled by steroid hormones
(ecdysteroids) secreted by paired endocrine glands, the Y-organs. The synthesis of
ecdysteroids by Y-organs is negatively regulated by a neuropeptide, molt-inhibiting
hormone (MIH), produced by a cluster of neurosecretory cells (the X-organ) in
eyestalk neural ganglia. The availability of recombinant MIH would facilitate
investigation of its structure and function. In studies reported here, a baculovirus/Sf9
insect cell expression system was used for production of recombinant MIH. A portion
of a cDNA encoding MIH from the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Lee et al., Biochem.
Biophys. Res. Comm. 209: 1 126-1 131, 1995) was inserted into the baculovirus
transfer vector pBlueBacIII. Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells were cotransfected with
the recombinant pBlueBacIII vector and wild type Autographa califomica nuclear
polvhedrosis virus DNA. Several baculovirus recombinants were analyzed for their
ability to express recombinant MIH. Western blot results (using antiserum raised
against MIH of Carcinus maenas) indicated expression of two MIH-immunoreactive
proteins; the sizes correspond to those predicted for MIH with and without the signal
peptide. A preparation enriched for the expressed recombinant MIH was achieved by
heating (100°C, 2 min.) insect cell lysates; the MIH protein is heat stable and remains
in the soluble fraction. Further purification by ion exchange chromatography is in
progress. Supported by NSF (IBN-9419916) and NOAA/MS-AL SeaGrant
(NA16RG01 55-03).

146

Abstracts

EFFECTS OF VITAMIN E DEFICIENCY ON THE REPRODUCTIVE
PERFORMANCE IN THE FEMALE RAT. Miriosh A, Higgs and Ashton
F. E. Gibbons, Dept. Biological Sciences, Oakwood College, Huntsville,

AL 35896.

Pregnant rats were maintained on a diet deficient in Vitamin E
throughout the entire period of gestation. During and after pregnancy
observations on a variety of parameters relating to early development were
studied. Follicular development in the ovaries was studied, ovulation rate,
fertilization rate, egg transport and implantation rate were also observed.

We also noted the time of onset of the estrous cycle. The data show
clearly that follicular development was significantly depressed when
compared with controls. The ovulation rate was also lowered. Egg
passage through the oviduct was speeded up so that by the fourth day post
coitum all eggs had already reach the uterus. Perhaps as a result of this
swift passage of eggs through the oviduct several fertilized eggs were
unable to implant; thereby decreasing the overall implantation rate. These
findings extended earlier reports (Masm, 1972) that Vitamin E deficiency
did produce certain deleterious impact on fetal rat development

This work was supported by a Grant # T34GM08259-08 from the NIGMS
of the National Institutes of Health.

DISTRIBUTION OF OXYTOCIN RECEPTORS IN THE BRAIN: A
COMPARISON OF BATS AND VOLES. Michelle L. Davis and Mary T
Mendonca, Dept, of Zoology, Auburn Univ., AL 36849. Larry J. Young, Dept, of
Psychiatry, Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA 30322.

Previous research has shown that the neuropeptide oxytocin affects affiliative
behavior, such as sex behavior and parental care. Two voles of the genus Microtus
display different patterns of social affiliation, as the prairie vole (M. ochrogaster) is
monogamous and the montane vole (M. montanus) is polygamous. These two
species also differ in their regions of oxytocin receptor distribution in the brain Using
receptor autoradiography, M. ochrogaster showed high receptor densities in the bed
nucleus of the stria terminalis, midline nucleus of the thalamus, and the lateral aspects
of the amygdala. M. montanus had little binding in these areas, but showed binding in
the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and the cortical nucleus of the
amygdala Big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus. have varying degrees of affiliative
behavior, depending on the season. In fall, they are often found in large groups, while
they prefer isolation in spring. Bats from fall have high levels of oxytocin receptors in
the arcuate, amygdala, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. To determine if
oxytocin distribution varies seasonally, future studies will examine bats at different
times of the year

147

Abstracts

Effects of Cigarette Smoke On The Mammalian Tracheal Ciliated
EPITHELIUM. Darrell D Morgan and Anthony G.Moss. Dept, of Zoology and
Wildlife Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5414.

The mammalian trachea is lined with a pseudostratified columnar epithelium that
provides an important line of defense for the lungs against inhaled toxins and
particulate material. Primary defense is provided by cephalad mucociliary clearance
which is driven by the beating of cilia located on the apical surface of ciliated
epithelial cells lining the trachea. This work examines cytostructural consequences
of the inhalation of cigarette smoke that lead to the breakdown of mucociliary
clearance. An electronically controlled "smoking machine" was constructed to
deliver a controlled rate and volume of smoke from research grade type 4A1
(University of Kentucky) cigarettes to the tracheal lining. Neonatal pigs provided
healthy tracheal tissue which had not previously experienced air-borne irritants.
Digitally-enhanced immunofluorescence microscopy and laser scanning confocal
microscopy revealed that epithelia exposed to the smoke of five cigarettes
experienced profound apically-directed redistribution of the endoplasmic reticulum,
and the breakdown of cytoskeletal F-actin and cytoplasmic microtubules. Closer
examination via transmission electron microscopy reveals epithelial cell dissociation
from the basement membrane. Cell dissociation accompanies ciliary abscission and
severe apical membrane blebbing, suggesting profound disruption of membrane-
cytoskeletal linkages essential to normal cytoplasmic organization. (Supported by
AHA A-l-G-940012 to AGM)

APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN BIOREMEDIATION
OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS- Vanosia S. Faison and Shivendra
V. Sahi, Dept, of Biology, Alabama State University,
Montgomery, AL 36101-0271

The goal of this study is to use Sesbania drummondii
to remove heavy metals and other pollutants from
contaminated sites. In order to achieve this goal: 1.) we
are using cell culture of Sesbania to isolate cell lines
which have the ability to grow in high concentrations of
copper ( Cu ) and nickel (Ni). Experiments are underway to
regenerate these cell lines for further study of the metals
uptake. 2.) the hydroponic experiments with varying concen¬
trations of Cu have shown an increase in the Cu uptake by
Sesbania seedlings. Seedlings were healthy and growing in
500mg/l Cu , and were able to sequester up to 154.4 micro
mol Cu/g dry weight of Sesbania . There was an increase in
Cu uptake as the concentrations were increased beyond
500mg/l, but the seedlings were unable to survive. This
study suggests that Sesbania may have potential in
phytoremediation of toxic metal(s). this research was
supported, in part, by a research grant from EPA/HSRC
( S & SW Center ) .

148

Abstracts

NOVEL GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ABSCISSION IN COTTON. Liwei Chen, Narendra K. Singh
and Curt M. Peterson, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn University, AL 36849

Abscission is a process whereby plants shed their organs such as leaves, flowers and fruits. The process of
abscission involves a series of physiological and biochemical changes that lead to the breakdown of the
middle lamella and primary cell wall of target cells in the abscission zone, then separation of the target cells
and abscission. In cotton, flower and boll abscission limit yield potential and delayed abscission of later
formed leaves in the upper part of the canopy contributes to increased staining and trash in lint during
harvesting. Studying the genes associated with abscission in cotton may permit genetic manipulation of this
crop for increased yield and improved lint quality. The objectives of this study are: (1) to isolate and
characterize genes associated with abscission in cotton, and (2) determine the temporal and spatial expression
of abscission associated genes in abscission zone tissues. CA43, a cDNA clone, was isolated from a cotton
abscission cDNA library which was constructed using mRNA extracted from petiole abscission zones 48 h
after ethephon treatment. The CA43 cDNA hybridized to an mRNA of about l.lkb that exhibited its highest
level of expression in abscission zones 24 to 48 h after ethephon treatment. Southern blot analysis of CA43
suggests that it is encoded by a single gene in the cotton genome. Translation of the CA43 DNA sequence
revealed 140 amino acid residues which likely represents a partial length of gene, because the initiator
methionine condon was not found. The predicted amino acid sequence of CA43 cDNA exhibited maximum
homology with Tasselseed2 (Ts2), showing 47.14% identity and 18.57% similarity. The predicted CA43
product belongs to a family of short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase having a highly conserved YxxSK motif
which is thought to be involved in catalysis or subunit interaction. Clone CA73 was isolated from the
abscission cDNA library and was expressed significantly in abscission zone 24 h after ethephon treatment.
Comparison of the CA73 nucleotide and protein sequences has not revealed any significant sequence
similarity. The roles of these two genes remain to be elucidated

THE EFFECTS OF QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT DIETS OR STARVATION ON THE
ONTOGENY OF A FUNCTIONAL DIGESTIVE SYSTEM IN THE CICHLID OREOCHROMIS
NILOTICUS. Charles D. Bishop and Stephen A. Watts, Dept, of Biology, Univ. of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1170.

The early developmental trends in gut morphology and digestive
enzyme physiology are profoundly affected by the diet proffered and
accessible to the individual at first feed (8 days post-fertilization). Several
broods of fertilized eggs were removed from the mouths of female tilpaia and.
at first feed, were proffered either a good quality diet (Artemia sp. + Trout
Chow Starter, Purina), a poor quality diet (pulverized Catfish Chow, Purina) or
starved. Samples from each brood were prepared for histological analysis to
monitor the affect of diet or starvation on the development of the alimentary
canal and accessory digestive organs, a separate group of individuals were
preserved and analysed to deliniate significant trends in digestive enzyme
production (pepsin, trypsin, bile-salt dependant lipase and alpha-amylase).
The development of the gut epithelium (specifically the stomach mucosae)
coincided with shifts in key digestive enzyme production. Diet had the

greatest impact on the timing of the digestive enzyme production primarily
due to a delay in the normal develoment of the gastric mucosae. It was
evident that the absence of a live diet at first feed caused a delay in the proper
development of the digestive system and had a significant impact on the
overall growth of the individual during early development, and may adversely
affect the growth potenitial of the individual.

149

Abstracts

USE OF PCR TO DETECT ESCHERICHIA COLI 0157:H7 AND
ENTEROHEMORRHAGIC_E. COLI IN BOVINE FECES. Jared G. Kerr. James .M.
Barbaree, and Alex E. Smith, Botany and Microbiology Dept., and Stuart B. Price,
Pathobiology Dept., Auburn Univ., Auburn University, AL 36849.

Escherichia coli 0157:H7 is a member of the Enterohemorrhagic E. coli group
(EHEC) which causes diseases such as hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremia
syndrome. Several E. coli 0157:H7 infections are diagnosed each year in Alabama, and
research is needed to pinpoint the sources. Since the apparent main reservoir for E. coli
0157:H7 is the intestinal tract of a minor part of the bovine (cattle) population, sensitive
procedures are needed to detect this organism. Our studies employed a polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) procedure to detect this bacterium in bovine feces. Amplicon primers
targeting the uidA and eaeA primers specific for E. coli 0157:H7 were used to detect it
in experimental bovine feces seeded with varying concentrations of the bacterium.
Extraction of the DNA was accomplished best using a commercial kit, and the
thermalcycle was optimized. Consistent results were not attainable with high
concentrations of E. coli 0157:H7 (103/g), but 0.1 CFU per gram of feces was detected
in the low level range using the eaeA primer system. Further work is needed to improve
the reproducibility and make it faster than a 12 hour procedure.

CONNECTING THE HYOID TO THE DELPHJNID CRANIUM. Gerald T Regan, Dept of
Biology, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL 36608.

Few displays of head skeletons of dolphins include their hyoid system. Following Rommel (1990),
I investigated a way to do it. The hyoid system has ventrally a sturdy structure in the shape of a
shallow U, open end posteriad. It consists of a single, medial basihyal with a thyrohyal on each
side. From the anterior edge of the basihyal two cartilaginous rods rise dorsally. At its dorsal end
each rod joins a straight bone, the stylohyal, w'hich extends posteriad. The posterior end of the
stylohyal terminates in a fossa on the base of the cranium. The fossa is a feature of the exoccipital
bone and is found by looking at an occipital condyle and noting how the bone to the side of it has
a concave surface. The high region of the concavity' farthest from the occipital condyle is known
as the paroccipital process. It is the anterolateral surface of this process that has the fossa. The
shape of the fossa is roughly that of a half moon. It is useful to term it the hyoid fossa. The hyoid
system itself must be prepared as a two-lay ered structure with the basihy'al and thyrohyals
forming the bottom layer and the stylohyals forming the top layer. The cartilaginous rods
connecting the two layers may have to be simulated if they shrink, twist, or lose their strength
during preparation. Mechanically, the styJohyals must be supported at both their anterior and
posterior ends, as by doweling or wire. The bottom layer will hang from the stylohyals, supported
anteriorly by the simulated cartilaginous rods and posteriorly by wire or the like. I have found no
non-muscular connection from the thyrohyals to the thyroid cartilage of the larynx in the
specimens I have examined. From my observations of Tursiops truncatus, Stenella sp., and
Feresa attemiata , I conjecture that the articulation of the hyoid system is the same throughout the
family Dclphinidae and perhaps in other families of odontocete cetaceans.

150

Abstracts

Trichodina ctenophorii. a new symbiont from comb plates of ctenophores.

Anne M. Estes. Barbara S. Reynolds, and Anthony G. Moss, Department of Zoology
and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-55414.

Peritrich ciliates of the genus Trichodina are both internal and external symbionts
of a broad spectrum of hosts, ranging from invertebrates such as Hydra and Mva to the
teleost fishes. We describe here Trichodina ctenophorii. sp. nov., a symbiont of the
ctenophores Mnemiopsis mccravdii and Beroe ovata endemic to the northern Gulf of
Mexico, specifically the Dauphin Island region of Mobile Bay and Apalachicola Bay / St.
George Island area of northern Florida. The morphology of fixed and living specimens
is revealed by silver impregnation, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron
microscopy, and video- and digitally-enhanced differential interference microscopy.
Distinguishing features of Trichodina ctenophorii are a denticular morphology composed
of falcate, blunt-tipped blades, and long, straight thorns, with five pins per denticle. T\
ctenophorii preferentially inhabits the aboral side of the giant comb plates of both species
of ctenophores, where it shares space with a number of other protistan and prokaryotic
commensals. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a trichodinid from
the Gulf of Mexico and the first trichodinid associated with ctenophores. (Supported by
the Howard Hughes Future Life Sciences Program to BR, grants from the Office of the
Vice President for Research of Auburn University and the NIH, and funds from the Ala.
Agricult. Experiment Station to AGM)

NESTING OF THE LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE (CARETTA CARETTA) ON DAUPHIN
ISLAND, ALABAMA. David H. Nelson and Anna M. Cinkovich,
Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama,
Mobile, AL 36688.

Field surveys for sea turtle nests were conducted from
June to September 1996 along the beaches of Dauphin Island (Mobile

Co.), Alabama. Beaches were searched three times a week by

all-terrain vehicle to identify, locate, protect, and mark
individual nests. Only two clutches of eggs were found. On
7-8-96, a clutch of 82 eggs demonstrated 22% viability (18/82).

Later, this nest could not be relocated to confirm hatching
success. The second clutch of 112 eggs, found on 7-29-96, later
proved to be completely non-viable. Four false crawls were
observed from 22 June to 17 July 1996. There were five dead sea
turtles stranded on Dauphin Island beaches last summer from 21

June to 12 July 1996: two specimens of loggerheads and three

specimens of leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea) . Although we
were unable to document any nests in 1995, there were two
believable reports. Last year we also recorded two false crawls
of nesting sea turtles and 12 stranded (dead) sea turtles: 3

leatherbacks, 4 loggerheads and 5 Atlantic Ridleys (Lepidochelys
kempii) . One resident of Dauphin Island reported seeing 3

hatchlings on the beach in the fall of 1995.

151

Abstracts

CHEMISTRY

SYNTHESIS AND SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF TRICHLORO-
NITRIDO(IMIDOTETRAPHENYLDITHIOPHOSPHINO-S,S)OSMATE(VI),
Bu4N{OsNCl3[N(Ph2PS2)] }. Jerome Smith and Zewdu Gebeyebu*, Department of
Chemistry, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088.

Complexes prepared from sulfur containing ligands and transition metals are of
great importance because of their applications as catalysts and their relevance in many
biological systems such as iron-sulfur metalloenzymes. Trichloronitrido(imidotetra-
phenyldithiophosphino-S,S)osmate(VI) complex, {Bu4N}[OsNCl3[N(Ph2PS)2]}, was
synthesized in 35% yield by the reaction of [Bu4N][OsNCl4] with an equimolar amount
of K[N(Ph2PS)2] in CH2CI2. The complex was characterized by spectroscopic methods
and elemental analysis. The IR-spectrum displayed strong bands at 1107 cm-1 u(Os=N),
850-700 cm-1 phenyl group, 556 cm*1 u(Os-S), and 524 crrr1 D(p-S), 360 cm'1
\)(Os-Cl). 'H-NMR 7.80 - 7.38 ppm aromatic proton; 3.35, 1.61, 1.27 and 1.00 ppm,
N-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3 protons; 13C-NMR- 131-133 ppm phenyl carbons; 59.1, 24.2,
19.8, and 13.7 ppm, N-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3 carbons. The compound was found to be
stable in air and moisture, and soluble in CH2CI2 and CH3CN, but partially soluble in
CDCI3.

CHEMICAL METHODS FOR CLEANING AND REPAIRING OLD
MARBLE TOMBSTONES. Richard C. Sheridan, TVA (retired), 105
Terrace Street. Sheffield, AL 3566

I listoric stone structures throughout the world are deteriorating
due to pollution and other causes. This is also true of tombstones,
many of which have been vandalized. Improper attempts to preserve
old grave markers can result in serious damage. Fortunately, approved
methods for cleaning and repairing broken stones are available. Poly¬
ester and other adhesives developed for use by the stone industry can
be utilized to make very durable repairs.

152

Abstracts

ISOTOPE EFFECTS ON PHOSPHATE HYDROLYSIS. J. Rawlings.
Chemistry Dept, Auburn U at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
36117, and A.C. Hengge, Enzyme Institute, U. of
Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705.

Since phosphate transfer reactions play an important
role in biochemistry, determining the mechanism of such
reactions is important in understanding the behavior of
many enzymes. The mechanism may be dissociative,
associative or involve distinct phosphorane
intermediates. Heavy atom isotope effects can be used to
distinguish between these mechanisms. These effects were
determined for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate
by a variety of cobalt ( III ) -ammine compounds. These
reactions had a primarily associative mechanism. (This
project was supported by the AUM Grant -in- Aid Program)

PALLAJDIUM(II) METALLACROWN ETHERS AN INVESTIGATION OF
THERMODYNAMICS OF CIS-TRANS ISOMERIZATION AND
REVERSIBLE POLYMERIZATION. Dale C. Smith. Jr. and Gary M. Gray,
Department of Chemistry, The University of Alabama at Birmingham,

Birmingham, Alabama 35294.

Prior investigations into reactions of Ph2P(CH2CH20)nCH2CH2PPh2 (n = 3 - 5)
ligands with either Pd(PhCN)2Cl2 or K2PdCl4 indicated that numerous inseparable
species with the empirical formula [PdCl2{Ph2P(CH2CH20)nCH2CH2PPh2}] were
formed. Similar behavior is reported for related [PdX2{R2P(CH2)nR2P,P’ }] (n = 8
- 12) complexes, and remains poorly understood. The fact that numerous products
are formed when Pd(II) precursors react with long chain polyether a,co-
bis(phosphine) ligands and related long chain methylene a,co-bis(phosphine),
somewhat limits application of these complexes to homogenous catalysis. To
identify the numerous species present, we have performed an intensive
multinuclear NMR study on PdChlPf^PtCHE^O^C^CfLPPlu-P’Jn, and its
non-chelate analog PdCl2{Ph2P(CH2CH20)2CH2CH3}2. We have used the results
from this study to construct a model of the dynamic equilibria existing between the
various PdCl2{Ph2P-(CH2CH20)4CH2CH2PPh2-P’ }n complexes. Our model results
can predict the species present under different catalytic conditions as well as
describe equilibria associations of the /?-mer and stereochemical distributions

153

Abstracts

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TRANSITION METAL
COMPLEXES WITH HYBRID PHOSPHORUS-THIOPHENE LIGANDS FOR
NONLINEAR OPTICAL APPLICATIONS. Mike Dunn1, Clark Colbert’, Chris
Lawson* and Gary M Gray’, ’Department of Chemistry, ‘Department of Physics,
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

There is currently significant interest in developing materials with third-
order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. Applications for these materials include
power limiters for optical components, optical switching in telecommunications
and optical computing. Because of the great diversity of these applications, new
materials with large third-order NLO susceptibilities must also have greater variety
of physical properties and thermal stabilities. Two of the most promising classes
of third-order NLO materials are conjugated polymers and transition metal organic
complexes. We have begun efforts to combine these into a single material by
synthesizing new phosphorus ligands with polythiophene substituents. This paper
will present the synthesis and characterization of some of these ligands and their
transition metal complexes.

CONFORMATION ALLY RESTRICTED METALLACROWN ETHERS.
Maheswaran Hariharasarma. Charles H. Lake and Gary M Gray, Department of
Chemistry, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL-35294.

Metallacrown ethers are a unique class of transition metal complexes that
are formed when a,co-bis(phosphorus-donor)polyether ligands chelate transition
metals. Like crown ethers, metallacrown ethers undergo size selective binding of
hard-metal cations and form hard-soft bimetallic complexes. This property of
metallacrown ethers could be exploited for the activation of small molecules such
as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the field of catalysis. Unfortunately,
most of the metallacrown ethers that have been studied to date contain
conformationally flexible ethylene oxide groups in their backbone. This limits the
use of powerful solution state techniques such as NMR spectroscopy as probes
for cation binding because their methylene 'H and L,C resonances, which should be
most sensitive to hard-metal cation binding, are overlapped and cannot be
assigned. We have filled this void by synthesizing a variety of transition metal
complexes that are derived from a,co-bis(phosphorus-donor)polyether ligands that
contain groups such as 2,2’-biphenol and 2,2’-binapthol in place of one of the
conformationally flexible ethylene oxide groups. Such conformational restriction in
the metallacrown ethers causes the remaining methylene groups to be chemically
inequivalent, and well-resolved !H and 1?C resonances for each of the methylenes
are observed

154

Abstracts

DYNAMIC NMR INVESTIGATION OF ATROPISOMERISM IN THE
TRANSITION METAL COMPLEXES OF BIS(PHOSPHITE) LIGANDS THAT
ARE DERIVED FROM 2,2’-BlPHENOL AND 2,2’-BINAPTHOL. Maheswaran
Hariharasarma. Charles H Lake and Gary M Gray, Department of Chermstry, The
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL-35294.

We have synthesized and characterized several sterically congested
bis(phosphite) ligands that are derived from either 2,2'-biphenol or 2,2'-binapthol.
These are of interest because related transition metal complexes of these ligands
are catalysts in the enantioselective synthesis of organic compounds. The ligands
in these complexes exhibit a type of optical isomerism called atropisomerism due
to the restricted rotation about single bonds present in the biaryl moiety of the
ligand framework. To better understand such isomerism in the bis(phosphite)
ligands and in their transition metal complexes, we have designed and carried out
experiments using dynamic 31P NMR spectroscopy. Interestingly, our studies show
that the free bis(phosphite) ligands do not exhibit any fluxional behavior or ’’P
NMR line broadening down to 200 K. However, their complexes with Mo(0) and
Pt(II) exhibit such behavior, and sharp NMR resonance’s corresponding to various
atropomers are observed at low temperatures. In addition, the number and type of
atropisomers observed for these complexes at low temperatures, depend not only
on the nature of the transition metal but also on the nature of the bis(phosphite)
ligand. A careful line-shape analysis of ‘’'P NMR data yields new insight into the
factors that influence dynamic processes that occur in these complexes at the
molecular level.

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF (ClN)Cl3W(|i-Cl)2GaCl2. Zewdu
Gebevehu. Department of Chemistry, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088.

A reaction between a chloronitreno complex of tungsten, CGWfNCl), and
gallium chloride in a 1:1 molar ratio in dichloromethane gave (ClN)Cl3W(|i-Cl)2GaCl2
in low yield. The complex was characterized by elemental analysis and IR-spectroscopy.
The IR-spectrum showed strong bands at 1090 cm'1 t)(W=N), 420 cm-1 uas(Ga-Cl),
390 cm'1 us(Ga-Cl), 360 cm-1, 310 cm'1, 250 cm-1 u(W-Cl) and very weak band at
528 cm-1 d(N-C1). The compound was extremely sensitive to air and moisture and very
soluble in CH2CI2, but it reacted with THF and CH3CN giving products which could
not be well characterized.

155

Abstracts

SYNTHESES OF GUANINE SUBSTITUTED HEPADIENES Philip B. Shevlin,.

Dept, of Chemistry, Auburn Univ. , AL 36849. Colleen N. Gillies
and Tsai, Jui-Yi, Graduate Student at Auburn Univ. Auburn Univ., AL
36849.

Protected guanine was coupled with 1 , 6'-hepadiene-4-ol via
Mitsunobu copolymerization.

CATALYSIS OF THE DECAY OF PEROXYNITRJTE TO NITRATE BY
C02 Zhi Chen1, Tracy P. Hamilton*1, and Joseph S. Beckman2 1) Department
of Chemistry 2) Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

Peroxynitrite (0N00') is a potent oxidizing agent formed in pathological
disease states. Studying the oxidation mechanism caused by peroxynitrite in
physiological fluids is essential. One important reaction is the reaction of
peroxynitrite with carbon dioxide, which is present in the body in millimolar
quantities. In this study, the thermodynamics of reactions related to the formation
and decay of the peroxynitrite- carbon dioxide adduct in solution are predicted.
The energetic pathways in room temperature are described and the computed free
energies of the reactions in solution are emphasized. The results indicate that
carbon dioxide is a catalyst for the conversion of ONOO' to N03'. A scheme for
the catalytic role of C02 in nitration is proposed. The optimized energy minimum
geometries of 0N00C02" and 0N00C02H are also reported.

156

Abstracts

THE SLIME BOND. M. B. Moeller and J. M. Burney/ Dept, of Chemistry and
Industrial Hygiene, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

The gelation of aqueous polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with borax has become a
popular chemical demonstration. The gel produced, frequently referred to
as "slime1', exhibits an interesting rheology which can fascinate an audience.
In spite of the common performance of this demonstration, the nature of
the crosslinking of PVA polymers by the borate ions is still in question.
Casassa and coworkers in their seminal article on this gelation argued for
hydrogen bonding in the borate-PVA crosslinks to explain the dilatant
rheology. The total lack of gelation activity from other agents such as
ethylenediamine which could form bridges by hydrogen bonding with PVA
casts doubt on this hypothesis. Our observations of the pH changes which
occur with the gelation reaction suggest the crosslinking is by the formation
of a covalently bonded borate ester complex. Quantitative treatment of the
pH data to evaluate stability constants of the 1:1 and 1:2 borate-gylcol
complexes shows anomalous behavior. This may be indicate that the 1:2
complex formation is a cooperative phenomenon.

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A PHOSPHOR ANIMINATO
COMPLEX OF TUNGSTEN, Cl5W(NPCl3). Zewdu Gebevehu. Department of
Chemistry, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088

Tungsten (VI) phosphoraniminato complex, Cl5\V(NPCl3), was synthesized in
quantitative yield by the reaction of a chloronitreno complex of tungsten, CUWfNCl)
with an equimolar amount of phosphorous trichloride in CCI4. ChWfNPCU) was
characterized by elemental analysis and IR-spectroscopy. The IR-spectrum of the
compound showed strong absorption bands at 1161 cm-1 u(WNP), 640 cm-1
Uas(P-Cl), 600 cm-1 us(P-Cl), 380 cm*1 \)as(W-Cl) and 335 cm’1 us(W-Cl). The
compound was found to be very sensitive to air and moisture, and soluble in polar
solvents. However, an attempt to dissolve it in CH3CN gave a reaction product
characterized to be [PCl4][WNCl4]*1.5CH3CN.

157

Abstracts

Third Order Nonlinear Optical Characterization of Metal
Organic Compounds using Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing.
Clare C. Byeon, Dr. Vladimir Fleurov, Dr. Christopher M.
Lawson, Dept, of Physics, Univ. of Al . at Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL 35294. Dr. Gary M. Gray, Dept. of
Chemistry, Univ. of Al . at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
35294 .

We are developing practical third-order nonlinear
optical materials related to metal-organic complexes
with high transparency and strong optical
nonlinearities. To develop NLO materials for optical
device applications, it is important to characterize
intensity induced changes in refractive index and
absorption, as described by the effective third order

susceptibility x<3), °f the materials. Degenerate four-
wave mixing is being performed to measure the third
order susceptibility. The microscopic second order
molecular hyperpolarizability is being found from the
concentration dependence of %(3) .

CIS-TRANS ISOMERIZATION AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURAL STUDIES
OF [Me2M(p-N(Me)SiMe3)]2 WHERE M = Al, Ga, and In. E. Stvron. S. Schauer,
C. Lake, C. Watkins, and L. Krannich, Dept, of Chemistry, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham , AL 35294-1240.

Equimolar mixtures of Me3M (M = Al, Ga , In) with HN(Me)SiMe3 in toluene
were thermolyzed to obtain [Me2AIN(Me)SiMe3]2, [Me2GaN(Me)SiMe3]2, and
[Me2lnN(Me)SiMe3]2. An X-ray diffraction study indicates that the molecular
geometry of the Indium analog consists of a centrosymmetric dimeric unit with
two bridging amino groups and two terminal methyl groups bound to each In
atom. The two N-SiMe3 groups are trans to each other with respect to the (In-
N)2 ring. ''H NMR solution spectra denote resonances for both trans and cis
conformations. The isomerization process is shown to obey reversible first
order kinetics. Thus, the trans to cis isomerization has been studied by 1H
NMR as a function of time and temperature. K^, kobs, k1t and k^ are tabulated
for several temperatures. The rate at which equilibrium is established is in the
order ln>Ga»AI. From these data the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters
for the isomerization processes have been determined.

158

Abstracts

GEOLOGY

THE ETHNOBOTANY OF SANGRE DE GRADO (CROTON LECHLERI).

Allan G. Phipps and L. J. Davenport, Dept, of Biology, Samford University,
Birmingham, AL 35229-2234.

Croton lechleri, a member of the Euphorbiaceae, is a tree which grows in the
Amazonian basin and is used extensively in the traditional medicines of the ribereno
people of Peru. The bark of Croton lechleri , when slashed, produces a blood-red sap,
commonly termed SangTe de Grado or dragon’s blood. This viscous latex has been
used by South Americans for the treatment of a number of illnesses including wounds,
inflammation, infection, intestinal and stomach ulcers, cancer, and rheumatism. It is
available commercially and may be taken orally or applied externally. So popular is
this traditional medicine that the trees from which it is obtained are in danger of
extinction owing to the excessive demand in countries such as Peru and Ecuador.
Scientists are currently investigating the chemical constituents responsible for C.
lechleri ’s biological activities and are particularly interested in the alkaloid taspine
and a mixture of proanthocyanidins.

LATERAL SYSTEM TRACT VARIATIONS WITHIN ON-LAND SEDIMENTARY
SUCCESSIONS IN NEW ZEALAND: WHEN IS A SEQUENCE BOUNDARY NOT A
SEQUENCE BOUNDARY? Douglas W. Haywick, Depart, of Geology & Geography,
IJniv. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Cyclothemic, Plio-Pleistocene coquina limestones and sandstones-mudstones
outcrop over a large, shallow-dipping area in the Tangoio block of Hawkes Bay,
New Zealand. They are the products of shelf sedimentation controlled by glacio-
eustatic sea-level fluctuation within a subsiding forearc basin. Each cyclothem is also
a depositional sequence, and the sedimentary facies can be grouped into
conventional transgressive (TST), highstand (HST), regressive (RST) and lowstand
(LST) systems tracts. Unlike most examples inferred from the stratigraphic record,
these systems tracts were deposited during phases of certainly-known sea-level
cycles, as indicated by their contemporary oxygen isotope ice-volume curve. The
forearc setting of Tangoio was associated with high rates of sedimentation and high
tectonic subsidence and uplift rates (up to 4 m/ky), which caused HST-RST-LST
cyclothems to build progressively seawards across narrow shelves during the fall of
sea-level from highstand to lowstand. The resulting sequences exhibit a generally
thin TST, a terrigenous-rich HST-RST, and a carbonate-rich LST (the Tangoio
cyclothem motif). The carbonate-rich nature of Tangoio LSTs probably results from
several factors associated with glacial climate, including starvation of terrigenous
sediment due to reduced precipitation and a distant source, efficient bypassing, and
prolific growth of cold-water molluscs.

159

Abstracts

THE ETHNOBOTANY OF UNA DE GATO ( UNCAR1A TOMENTOSA).

L. J. Davenport and Allan G. Phipps, Dept, of Biology, Samford University,
Birmingham, AL 35229-2234.

Uncaria tomentosa , a member of the Rubiaceae, is a liana used extensively in
the traditional medicines of the ribereno people of Amazonian Peru. The “cure-all”
usage of this plant— known locally as uha de gato or cat’s claw— has sparked growing
interest in its medicinal properties and potential marketability, both in the United States
and in Europe. The riberenos use una de gato for its anti-inflammatory and anti¬
rheumatic properties; women use it when recovering from childbirth, as a contraceptive,
and in the treatment of urinary tract problems; Other local uses include treatment of
gastritis, cirrhosis, gonorrhea, and dysentery. Many people drink cat’s claw tea as a
preventive measure. Such a wide variety of uses suggests that Uncaria might have
certain anti-cancer or immune boosting properties. It is currently popular in Europe for
cancer treatment, and has recently begun clinical trials in Peru as an anti-HIV agent.

STRATAL ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL OF PORE WATER EVOLUTION AND
GROUNDWATER FLOW IN CYCLOTHEMIC SEDIMENTARY SUCCESSIONS.
Douglas W. Haywick, Depart, of Geology & Geography, Univ. of South Alabama,
Mobile, AL 36688.

Groundwater flow in sedimentary successions is, in part, controlled by the
regional dip of the strata in which the pore waters are confined. Complex flow
patterns and subsequent localized diagenetic changes can occur in sedimentary
successions where there is an abrupt alternation between porous and non-porous
lavers. This situation occurs in Plio-Pleistocene cvclothemic sedimentary rocks of

J j j

central Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Here, the layering resulted from multiple glacio-
eustatic sea-level changes. Porous layers (sandstone and limestone) were deposited
during periods of sea-level lowstand, whereas non-porous layers (mudstone) were
deposited during periods of sea-level highstand. The strata are wholly contained
within a single uplifted block some 450 km2 in size that is tilted 2 to 10° eastward.
This structural inclination produced a series of 5 aquifer-aquiclude couplets which
ultimately controlled the flow of pore fluids and the diagenetic alteration of the strata.
Temperate shelf carbonate sediments comprise the upper three aquifers of the strata.
All three limestones are characterized by the same diagenetic history of shell alteration
and calcite cementation. Five phases of cement are recognized: 1) pore-lining, bladed
spar (rare; possibly marine phreatic), 2) isopachous, ferroan, equant spar (meteoric
phreatic), 3) moderately ferroan, equant spar (meteoric phreatic), 4) non-ferroan,
equant spar (meteoric phreatic) and 5) sinter-related cements (meteoric vadose).

That all three carbonate aquifers display consistent cement stratigraphies and
alteration pathways suggests that pervasive diagenesis did not occur until regional
deformation had uplifted the area into the meteoric regime. No evidence exists to
support eustacy-induced diagenesis anywhere in the study area .

160

Abstracts

MOLLUSCAN ALTERATION IN THE TERTIARY T AMI AMI FORMATION OF
SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA. Laura C. Quinn and Douglas W. Haywick, Depart, of
Geology & Geography, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Geologists have long recognized the importance of aragonite diagenesis in
the cementation of limestones. Aragonite is more soluble in meteoric water than is
calcite. Hence in polymineralic carbonate sediment, aragonite dissolves. In many
instances, it is re-precipitated again as a calcite cement which acts as the binding
agent in most limestones.

The specific geochemical changes that occur to aragonite during dissolution
are not well documented. Previous work has suggested that aragonite preferentially
loses Sr2+ and O18 during the dissolution stage. We are testing this hypothesis by
comparing and contrasting the geochemistry of pristine and altered bivalves
(Chione cancellata and Chione sp.) from southwest Florida. Pristine bivalves were
collected from beach environments near Fort Meyers. Variably altered (chalky and
re-crystallized) specimens were collected from the Tertiary Tamiami Formation near
Naples. Trace element geochemistry (Sr2+, Mn2+, Mg2+, Fe2*) is being established
through electron microprobe and ICPS analysis. Initial results have been mixed.
Some data do however, support the contention that Sr2+ content of shells decreases
with progressive dissolution of aragonite. Chalky aragonite generally does contain
less Sr2+ (and occasionally more Fe2*) than does pristine aragonite. Stable isotopic
geochemistry of the shells and their crystallography will be established through
isotopic analyses and x-ray diffractometry.

In addition to geochemical changes, we are also establishing what, if any,
petrographic and morphological changes occur as aragonite dissolves.

MEAN TEST SIZE OF NUTALLIDES UMBONIFERUS AND
GLOB OCA SSI D ULINA SUBGLOBOSA AS A FUNCTION OF ENVIRONMENT.
Murlene W Clark. Dept, of Geology and Geography, Univ. of South Alabama,
Mobile, AL 36688

Pliocene populations of Globocassidulina subglobosa and Nuttallides umboniferus
were examined with respect to mean test size from DSDP Site 541 located in the
Lesser Antilles Forearc region of the eastern Caribbean. Mean size values for each
species were compared from samples representing a range of oxygen isotope and
food supply values Food supply was estimated from the percent phytodetrital
species in each sample and oxygen isotope values were obtained from the analysis
of monospecific samples of Plcmulina wuellerstorfi The mean test size of G.
subglobosa was found to be smaller in high food environments, whereas the
smallest mean size of N. umboniferus correlated with more negative oxygen
isotope values. Smaller mean test size values may result from shortened
reproductive cycles in a species' optimal environment. G. subglobosa may,
therefore, respond to conditions of increased food supply, whereas N. umboniferus
may prefer colder water temperatures or the related parameter of increased
carbonate corrosivity.

161

Abstracts

STUDIES TO DETERMINE VARIOUS HYDRODYNAMIC AND
SEDIMENTPARAMETERS AT GAURIER, MISSISSIPPI. William F.
Geers, TAJ Environmental Sciences; Douglas W. Haywick, Dept, of
Geology, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama.

This Mississippi site is bordered on the east by the western bank of the Pascagoula River
and on the west by Bayou Pierre. These are two vastly different sedimentary systems, but
both are ultimately controlled by fluvial and tidal processes. The location of the study site
and its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico coastline also means that storm events (e g.
Hurricanes must be considered in any study examining sedimentary dynamics of the
western Pascagoula River and Bayou Pierre in the areas immediately adjacent to the study
site. The goals of the study were, 1) to produce maps illustrating typical bottom sediment
in the study areas, 2) to estimate the amount of sediment moved through the study site
during normal fair-weather (and if possible storm) processes, and 3) to determine the
degree of disturbance and turn over of bottom sediment by bioturbation and physical
processes in the waterways adjacent to the study site. In order to complete these
objectives, it was necessary to establish a series of monitoring stations in both the river
and the bayou. The river stations were organized along 7 profile lines, 4 north of the
railroad bridge and three south of the bridge. Three lines and 2 isolated sampling stations
were established in the bayou. The study ran from October 1995 to July 1996.

AN OVERVIEW OF CARBONATE DIAGENESIS AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN
SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY. Douglas W. Haywick, Depart, of Geology & Geography,
Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

System tract modeling of sedimentary successions in the field can be difficult because
many of the important stratal surfaces distinguishable in seismic profiles, are subtle in
outcrop, or are conceptual rather than physical in nature (e.g., the maximum flooding surface,
correlative conformity etc.). Carbonate petrography can prove useful for resolving some of
these surfaces, particularly those formed during periods of subaerial exposure. A transition
from sea-level highstand to sea-level lowstand generates a pulse of meteoric water directly
below the sequence boundary, and this will produce diagenetic changes even if a significant
proportion of the high-stand systems tract (HST) sediments are removed during exposure. In
instances where no overlying lowstand system tract (LST) deposits are deposited or
preserved, diagenetic alteration may be the only way to resolve the sequence boundary
between systems tracts. The most likely diagenetic changes include; I) partial dissolution of
metastable carbonate skeletal remains (especially aragonitic components such as bivalves), 2)
early generations of vadose meteoric cements, possibly predating later stages of marine
cement or geopetal marine sediment in-filling and 3) net changes in trace element and isotope
geochemistry of skeletal fragments and carbonate allochems. These diagenetic changes would
be most evident in limestone-rich or mixed limestone-siliciclastic sedimentary successions
where the faunas are dominated by aragonitic forms such as in the Plio-Pleistocene of eastern
North Island, New Zealand. Calcite-dominated successions are unlikely to display much if
any evidence of diagenetic alteration, particularly if subaerial exposure was short. In these
instances, it may be impossible to positively identify stratal surfaces or sequence boundaries.

162

Abstracts

WHAT GOES IN, MIGHT COME OUT: SEDIMENT ASSIMILATION AND EXPULSION
FROM THE TROPICAL ZOANTHTD Palythoa spp. Mary Grace, Stephanie Fisher and
Douglas W. Haywick, Dept, of Geology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

Organisms inhabiting reef substrates must deal with a constant rain of sediment
transported across the reef by waves and currents. Encrusting zoanthids (genus Palvthoa!
shed some sediment, but they are also capable of incorporating sediment less than
approximately 250 pm in size into their tissue.

In 1995, we began a laboratory experiment to quantify the rate of sediment intake
and to gain insight as to the mechanism(s) of assimilation. As part of the experiment, we
established three small satellite aquaria (10 gallon tanks) adjacent tn a main aquarium (200
gallons). Three to five colonies of Palythoa spp. were placed in each satellite tank. Ten
colonies were established in the main tank for control and to provide additional specimens in
the event of some of the colonies in the satellite tanks died.

Mineralogically pure carbonate sand, quartz sand or feldspar sand, each with a mean
grain size of 125 pm, was placed in one of the three satellite aquaria. Randomly engaged
power heads designed to mimic wave conditions were placed in each aquaria. In general,
enough sediment agitation occurred to sprinkle the top of the tissue at least once every day or
so. Of the three sediment types, only the feldspar sand seems to have any obvious
detrimental effects on the Palythoa spp. colonies. This sediment promoted rapid algal growth
in the aquaria which may have accelerated zoanthid demise due to nutrient poisoning. The
other sediment was assimilated into Palvthoa spp. tissue in much the same way as natural
carbonate sediment would be assimilated in a reef ecosystem.

Palvthoa spp. tissue mass loss is occurring in all of the aquaria, possiblv because
experimental conditions are not ideal. However, this does allow us to observe the fate of the
assimilated sediment during tissue loss. It is gradually returned to the environment through
which it was initially obtained and frequently infiltrates cracks and void spaces between
colonies. Similar areas of deposition probably also occur in reef environments.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE STRATIGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF ADULT
AND JUVENILE MOSASAURS ( CT.TDASTF.S. TYLOSAURUS AND
PLATECARPUS1 IN THE SMOKY HILL MEMBER OF THE NIOBRARA
FORMATION FROM COLLECTIONS MADE BETWEEN 1870 AND 1904.

M. Amy Sheldon Dept, of Geology and Geography, Univ. of S. Ala., Mobile, AL
36688 Rochester Inst, of Vert. Paleo., 928 Whalen Road, Penfield, NY 14526.

Since the late 1 800's, mosasaur specimens have been recovered from beds
deposited on the North American continent by an epicontinental seaway. These Late
Cretaceous beds are Smoky Hill Member of the Niobrara Formation. Williston
(1904) constructed theories about the geographic distribution and ecology of
mosasaurs. These concepts were formulated before concepts of ontogeny of
mosasaurs were developed and before the careful stratigraphic study of the Smokey
Hill Member. Recently developed size independent criteria is used for determining
ontogenetic stages of mosasaurs . Further, the arrival of Hattin’s (1982) analysis of
the internal structure of the Smokey Hill Member has given a tool for examining the
distribution of mosasurs in this portion of the epicontinental seaway. Intergration of
these two methodologies provides a measns for investi-gation of the demographic
distribution of mosasaurs. Juveniles of mosasaur have been recovered throughout
most of the section. No horizon or geographic locality can be identified as a birthing
or nursery area. Further, several growth stages were recovered from the same
localities and horizons. These data suggest that assorted growth stages of mosasaurs
may have occupied the same geographic area at the same time. The data from the
Niobrara do not support the view that mosasaurs migrated to other distant geographic
localities to have and rear their young.

163

Abstracts

AQUIFER IN A JUG GOES ON THE ROAD. David Kopaska-Merkel, Geological
Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL and Laura C. Quinn, Depart, of Geology and
Geography, Uni. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

More than half the world's drinking water is ground water. Ground water
tends to be cleaner than surface water, but once contaminated ground water is
difficult or impossible to clean economically. It is important for children to learn
about this life-sustaining resource because it is both valuable and vulnerable.

Two activities demonstrate a simple aquifer model. In the first activitv,
drawdown in an unconfined aquifer caused by overpumping and recharge by
precipitation illustrate aspects of water economics. In the second activity, aquifer
contamination caused by a surficial spill and the difficulty of aquifer clean-up are
simulated. The model also can be used to demonstrate differences between confined
and unconfined aquifers, artificial recharge, and dense and light nonaqueous
contaminants. A larger version could illustrate pump-and-treat decontamination
techniques.

The model consists of a 2-liter clear plastic jug containing marbles
(simulating soil or sediment) and water. The narrow neck of the jug is cut off to
facilitate access to the "land" surface for well installation and to permit model
disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly. A well is simulated by a straw attached to a
plastic pump (e.g., from a liquid-soap bottle). Some activities using this model
involve consumable substances. Food coloring simulates water-soluble
contamination; liquids such as vegetable oil and honey can be used to simulate
DNAPLs and LNAPLs. Clay provides the confining layer in versions of-the model
involving confined aquifers. The model can be constructed and operated by
teachers or students at low cost.

SIGNIFICANCE OF GEOLOGIC PLACE NAMES IN ALABAMA. Lewis S. Dean, Geological
Survey of Alabama, P. O. Box O, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486.

. A variety of geologic place names in Alabama reflect the economic interest and importance
given to minerals, rocks, mining operations, as well as the extreme geologic diversity of the state.
Limestone Creek in the Tennessee River valley was named in 1797 for bedrock exposures
(Mississippian Tuscumbia Limestone), and Limestone County (established 1818) has the oldest
geologic place name for a county in the United States.

Numerous historic and present-day communities derived a name from local rocks and minerals,
such as Bauxite (Cherokee Co.), Clay City (Baldwin Co.), Coal City (St. Clair Co.), Dolomite
(Jefferson Co.), Goethite (Tuscaloosa Co.), Golddust (Macon Co.), Goldville (Tallapoosa Co.),
Graphite (Clay Co.), Kaolin (DeKalb and Russell Cos.), Limestone (Madison and Monroe Cos.),
Marble Valley (Coosa Co.), Marl (Geneva Co.), Micaville (Randolph Co.), Pynton (Clay Co.), and
Slate (Sl Clair Co.). Other geologic place names include Strata (Montgomery Co.), Siluria (Shelby
Co.), and Salt Mountain (Clarke Co.).

Toponymic lapses regarding geologic place names include misspellings, misunderstandings,
and unresolved cases. Lim Rock in Jackson Co., resulted from a variant spelling related to a historic
lime operation in the area. Diamond (Marshall Co.) was named (unrelated to drilling for an oil well)
due to the occurrence of translucent quartz crystals contained in soils derived from cherty and siliceous
limestones. Chalkville (Jefferson Co.) was named due to the occurrence of white halloysite weathered
from argillaceous dolomites of the Knox Group. Chalk Bluff in Marion Co. was named for white
clay beds (kaolinite) in the basal Tuscaloosa Group overlying bluffs of the Pottsville Formation.
Circumstances in naming Gold Mine in Marion Co. (unrelated to coal, or black gold, mining) refer
to natural trenches (opened joints) along sandstone bluffs of the Potlsville Formation. As early as
1838, it was supposed that these were remains of ancient gold and silver diggings worked by the
Spaniards or Indians. However, in the 1870s trace amounts of gold were reported in the Gold Mine
area of Marion Co. This gold was panned from stream -sediment heavy-mineral concentrates from the
basal Tuscaloosa Group clastic sequence derived from crystalline rocks of the Piedmont. Silver Hill
in Tallapoosa Co. was named for the aboriginal soapstone quarries in the area thought to be precious
metal mining artifacts. Also, there is no authenticated description of limestone-hosted gypsum
minerals in the Alabaster area of Shelby County.

164

Abstracts

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTATION SIMULATING METEORIC DIAGENESIS OF
BIOGENIC ARAGONITE. Charles Stapleton and Douglas W. Haywick, Department of
Geology and Geography, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

Experimental modeling of mineral alteration provides useful information concerning
rates and processes involved in diagenesis. Our interest in aragonite alteration and calcite
cementation lead us to formulate an experiment whereby we could monitor the rate of
dissolution of biogenic aragonite in bivalves. Four commercially available water filter
canisters were erected in a laboratory. Three were connected to a purified water supply
(representing meteoric water); one was connected to a supply of sea water to act as a control.
Siliciclastic sand obtained from Orange Beach dunes was placed in 3 of the 4 canisters (2
freshwater, I saltwater). Polymineralic carbonate sand collected from the Florida Keys was
placed in the remaining canister connected to the freshwater supply.

Approximately 40 specimens of the bivalve Donax variabilis were collected from
nearshore and beach facies in the Gulf Shores area. They were treated with bleach and/or
hydrogen peroxide to remove organic tissue and then separated into paired valves. One
valve from each pair was dried for a minimum of 2 hours at 50°C and then weighed to 4
decimal places. The remaining valve from each pair was reserved for future geochemical and
isotopic analysis. Ten weighed valves were placed in each of the 4 canisters. In order to avoid
confusion, shells were placed into individually labeled pockets manufactured for each
canister. Freshwater and sea water was then allowed to percolate through the canisters at a
rate of approximately 2 1/ day/canister.

In the 15 weeks since the experiment began, we have observed that rapid dissolution of
biogenic aragonite leading to external chalkiness and mass loss occurred concurrently with
pigment loss in shells packed in silidclastic sand through which meteoric water passed. Less
rapid dissolution occurred in shells packed in carbonate sand, presumably because of the
buffering provided by the sediment Surprisingly, some dissolution to shells also occurred
during exposure to sea water. This may reflect carbonate undersaturation of the cool sea water
obtained from Orange Beach.

FORESTRY, GEOGRAPHY, CONSERVATION, AND PLANNING

A SURVEY OF TARDIGRADES ON JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY’S
CAMPUS. Chris Chandler and Dr. Frank A. Romano, Dept, of Biology, Jacksonville
State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Tardigrades are a group of rrticroin vertebrates which are relatively unknown. A
total of 750 species, in 3 classes have been found. Tardigrades are said to be
cosmopolitan in their distribution and are found in most habitats; terrestrial, aquatic,
and manne. Tardigrades are confined to an aqueous habitat (limno-terrestnai)
regardless of where they are found, since their body surfaces must be wet in order to
survive. Adaptations such as cryptobiosis enable them to colonize a wide variety of
habitats. They are primarily found either in the water trapped by nonvascular plants
(mosses, lichens, and liverworts) or in the interstices of aquatic and manne sands.
Moss samples were collected from trees widely distributed on the campus of
Jacksonville State University. Tardigrades were then extracted and identified from
each of these samples. Heterotardigrades and Eutardigrades (the two major classes of
the phylum Tardigrada) were found. This presentation provides an insight into limno-
terrestnai tardigrades indigenous to Alabama.

165

Abstracts

Collaborative Rural Diversification Cases. William K. McAllister. Phillip
West and Berneese Herbert, Department of Community Planning and Urban
Studies, Alabama A & M University, Huntsville, AL 35762.

As the largest land manager within the U.S. government, the US DA Forest
Service’s plans, policies and practices have considerable impacts on the many
communities that surround their 156 forests and grasslands. Reductions in
timber harvest levels have been particularly devastating to some local
economies, and after the initial shock period, many examples of economic and
community diversification have surfaced. A Forest Sen ice funded study
resulted in twelve cases being highlighted in 1994, and this research reports on
a follow-up to that work. Some communities had not quite bottomed-out and
continued to experience job losses. But most are well on the way to
diversifying their economies and their collective spirits. A key factor seems to
be the role played by the respective state departments of community affairs
and by forest rangers and their supervisors. External seed money helped, but
leadership development efforts were even more impressive. Those
communities showing the greatest recoveries relative to other factors, seem to
have developed key local leadership in the form of individuals who persevere
through a series of crises. These new leaders serv e as role models for others to
follow.

An Environmental Profile of Alabama: Is Equity An Issue? Terry Mercer. Berneece
Herbert, and Constance J Wilson, Department of Community Planning and Urban
Studies, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, AL 35762.

This session will provide a brief description of the environmental climate in the
state of Alabama The topic of environmental quality is important due to the
fact that there is approximately 55 Hazardous Waste and Substance sites and 10
Superfund sites in the State. The locations and demographics associated with
these sites will be presented. This presentation will also include a discussion of
the current-day debate surrounding the subject of environmental justice and the
question of equity in the location pattern of environmental hazards.

Environmental Justice is the term applied to the concept of the “fair treatment
of all people of all races, cultures and incomes with respect to the development,
implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, programs
and policies”. Robert Bullard and Charles Lee (noted scholars on the subject of
environmental justice), have both specifically cited the state of Alabama in
reference to the issue in their publications, “Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and
Environmental Quality” and “Toxic Race and Waste in the United States”,
respectively.

166

Abstracts

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND THE REUSE OF MILITARY BASES: SELECTED
CASE STUDIES OF CLOSED SITES BY BRAC '88 AND '91. Keith A. Va33eur,
Alabama A&M University, AL 35762. William K. McAllister, AICP, Dept, of
Community Planning and Urban Studies, AL A&M University.

Environmental damage caused by past Department of Defense
activities can lengthen the transition period between the announced
military base closure and its successful economic recovery. Research has
determined that environmentally contaminated sites on four closed military
bases had an impact on base reuse and redevelopment. The study of each
base includes a history of former activities, the identification of
contamination, and the degree to which contamination limits, restricts,
delays or prohibits redevelopment. Each site was evaluated to determine
the extent of environmental damage, the status of remediation, the site's
role in any redevelopment plans and the constraints the presence of
contamination places on redevelopment. The three of the four case studies
contamination has prevented conveyance and transfer of title to the
affected communities. Limited reuse is being conducted under a long-term
lease at two of the bases. In three of the four case study bases,
environmental contamination has had a major impact on reuse and
redevelopment, particularly in time and cost of remediation. In some
instances the condition of contaminated land has restricted or prohibited
future use of a site. In only one case study was environmental
contamination not considered a deterrent to reuse and redevelopment. As
military down-sizing continues and more federal land is made available,
communities can learn about planning for the redevelopment of former
military bases and the creative reuse of existing land from the
experiences of these case studies. This research has identified the need
for cohesive community action to develop a plan that can withstand the
presence of environmental contamination.

SAVING "GEORGIA BACON" AND "FLORIDA CHICKEN" IN SOUTH ALABAMA: A CASE
STUDY. Susie H. Shepard (Retired), College of Education, Department of
Natural Science, University cf South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688.

Previous studies document the rapidly declining populations of
gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) in the southeastern United States.
The deleterious activity of man has encroached upon the habitat of
these very docile tortoise (e.g. clear cutting of timberlands,
windrowing of timber debris, replanting large tracks in slash and
loblolly pine, deep trench construction of underground pipelines,
extensive real estate and roadway construction and human predation) .
Studies in 1969 predicted such prenicious activity. The future has
abruptly arrived. In recent years, the Federal Fish and Wildlife
Service (FFW) recognized the GL_ polyphemus as a threatened/endangered
species (Endangered Species Act, 1973). Due to the accelerating rate
of current timber harvest, the demands of pipeline constructing, and
population growth to more urban and rural settings, the "red flag"
warnings of impending demise of the tortoise abound. This case study
documents the systematic efforts in south Alabama, Mobile County, to
prevent the detrimental habitat modification of a significant
population of G_^ polyhemus .

167

Abstracts

The most common Mygalomorph spider from Alabama (Myrmeciophilia fluviatilis).
Ronald Jenkins and W.Mike Howell, Samford Univ., Birmingham, AL 35229.

Since 1994, we have collected and photographed trapdoor spiders predominately in
Jefferson and Shelby counties, however, specimens have been collected throughout the state.
As a Mygalomorph, the trapdoor spider bears paraxial chelicera and spinnerets typical of the
tarantulas. To date, we have collected representatives of three genera, including Cyclocosmia
truncata (Hentz) (Cteruzidae), Myrmeciophilia fluviatilis (Hentz) (Ctemzidae) and single
specimen of Antrodiaetus unicolor (Hentz) (Antrodiaetidae). Ail three species are burrowing
spiders which predominate hardwood forests.

The burrow opening of these three species was very similar, ranging in diameter from
0.8 cm to 1.5 cm and are frequently lined with damp webbing matted with subhumal soils.
The specimen of Antrodiaetus unicolor was found in an 8" deep burrow m the flood plain of
Turkey Creek of Blount County. Cyclocosmia and Myrmeciophila specimens have been
found above the flood plain of creeks and rivers.

Myrmeciophila fluviatilis was found with the greatest frequency and widest
distribution throughout the state, ranging from collections in Nashville, TN to Geneva, AL.
Males were collected in September and October wandering from their burrows. Females
have been collected year round from burrows in hardwood forests, as well as, older
residential areas. Micro habitats involved several inches of leaf litter overlaying soils as loose
as sandy looms to as dense as clays with an abundance of rock. The nature of the soil seemed
to be a determining factor in the architecture of the spider’s burrow. In loose soils the
burrows extended down about 45 from the surface of the ground to a depth of 12 or
more inches and with frequent branching. In denser soils with rock and clay the burrows
were straight and as shallow as three to four inches.

Alabama is fortunate to have such a rich population of trapdoor spiders.

GIS and Organizational Change: A Review of Public Agency Experiences. William K.
McAllister, Department of Community Planning and Urban Studies, Alabama A & M
University, Huntsville, AL 35762.

The acquisition of a different technology-based system by an organization affects that
organization in ways not completely understood, and sometimes differently than its
leaders intended. In planning offices, the adoption of Geographical Information
Systems (GIS) to enhance both internal and external decision-making is a common
trend. Other organizations with such diverse activities as forestry, utilities,
transportation, finance, and location analysis are buying GIS systems. Much is
written about its technical capabilities and possible application to various planning
related tasks, but only recently has attention turned to its impacts, both positive and
negative, on the organization itself. Does GIS really improve decision-making in
significant ways that can be documented, or is this just another expensive internal
analysis toy with pretty outputs? This phase of the research reports on what the
literature seems to say, while a follow-up study will investigate local government
planning agency experience in the field. On the positive side, GIS is helping
consolidate ways of storing, displaying and analyzing information and “one-stop
shopping” for multi-department services is a resulting structural response that public
customers can enjoy. A GIS also can be a friendly way of interacting with external
stakeholders such as neighborhood organizations. Conversely, organizational conflict
has been identified as a major cause of GIS failures. The more effective GISs require
information sharing between subunits and this sharing a raises issues concerning
effective cooperation and collaboration. If a GIS is tailored to organizational needs as
well as technical needs, conflict might be significantly reduced.

168

Abstracts

SMALL BUSINESS PLANNING - SOME DEMOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS. Wilbur
B. DeVall, Proxy Services, Ltd., Auburn, AL 36830.

Small businesses don't plan to fail, they fail to plan! This oft-
quoted statement remains true today. A small business is considered
one employing fewer than fifty persons in this paper. Planning a new
business, whether for home operation or at a wholesale or retail
location, requires that the potential manager engage in five steps: 1)
Pre-planning, 2) Feasibility, 3) Planning, 4) Marketing, and 5)
Demographics impinging on the proposed operation. Small businesses
are created to offer a product for sale, a service for a fee, or a
combination. The Pre-planning step consists of a self-ervaluation to
determine whether or not the manager is personally qualified to manage
money, time, personnel, inventory, etc. Step two is a feasibility
study to asertain that there is a public that would buy the product or
engage the service. Planning, the third step, is most essential and
takes time. It consists of developing a Business Plan with projected
costs and income by month for the first year, and the same estimates
by quarter for a second and third year or more. Marketing involves a
plan to reach the potential consumers or targeting one or more
segments of the consumer public and keeping records of income and
expenses, both fixed and variable, for purposes of evaluating the cash
flow of the business over time and for use at tax time. The final
step, acquisition and study of pertinent demographics, will help
select the market and ultimate success of the venture. Of concern to
most new businesses will be: 1) population in selected age classes, 2)
median family income by class of employment, 3) retail sales in the
area to be served, and 4) miscellaneous facts including education
levels, motor vehicle registrations, unemployment, and number of cases
receiving public assistance or welfare.

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PLANNING POLICY AND CROPLAND CONVERSION IN
TARCOG REGION, ALABAMA; Chukudi V. Izeogu, Ph.D., Department of
Community Planning & Urban Studies, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
35762

Agriculture and agriculture related industries have been the mainstay
of Alabama's economy during this century- While urban-based industri¬
alization has continued to grow and exert a strong influence on the
economy of the five counties of Top of Alabama Regional Council of
Governments (TARCOG) , agricultural based economic activities have con¬
tinued to play an important role in the region's economy. In spite of
it's significance, the most serious challenge faced by the region's
agriculture, as in the rest of the state, is the rapid rate of crop¬
land loss. In this study, the growing trend of cropland loss in TARCOG
and its correlation with changes in population, urbanization and eco¬
nomic growth, as well as its planning implications are examined. The
study shows that from 1982 to 1992 Madison county recorded the highest
loss in cropland (17.6%), followed by Limestone county (11.6%), Jack-
son county (8.7%), and DeKalb county (7.0%). Marshall county showed
the least loss in cropland. Analysis of the relationships between
cropland loss as a dependent variable and a set of independant vari¬
ables such as population growth, urbanization and economic growth
indicates a fairly strong association between cropland loss, and
population growth and increase in income - an indicator of economic
growth. This has implications for cropland protection and conserva¬
tion measures in urban and regional planning policy for the region.

169

Abstracts

PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS

SOLAR ACTIVITY AND FREQUENCIES FROM THE GLOBAL OSCILLATION
NETWORK GROUP. Kurt T. Bachmann and Brett Collins, Birmingham-Southern
College, Birmingham, AL 35254.

The six detectors of the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) have been
collecting Doppler images of the Sun on a one-minute cadence almost continuously for
well over a year, and the GONG Data Management and Analysis Center (DMAC) has
completed its preliminary analysis of thousands of monthly averaged frequencies of
solar acoustic oscillations through early 1996. For the six months May 1995 and
September 1995 through January 1996, we compare changes in monthly m-averaged
frequencies with changes in the average flux of 10.7 cm radio emission, a standard
indicator of global solar activity. Even though the Sun remained at the minimum of its
activity cycle during this time period, we present evidence that small changes in
frequencies of acoustic oscillations correlate positively with small changes in the
average 10.7 cm flux as measured by the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in
British Columbia, Canada. We also show that the changes in solar oscillation
frequencies increase dramatically with frequency over the range 1500 < f < 4000 pHz.
Both of these observations are well documented at times other than solar minimum.

The validity of our results depends on the validity of the frequency-fitting
procedures used by GONG/DMAC. Two competing procedures produce frequencies
that are different from the DMAC’s and from each other at levels of tens of microhertz,
comparable to the frequency changes that we see. We are joining the community effort
to decide which analysis method best reproduces the actual frequencies of solar
oscillations to the unprecedented levels of accuracy made possible by GONG.

MATHEMATICS OF THE PERFECT BASKETBALL FREE THROW. Dr.

Randy J. York, School of Math and Science, Athens State College, Athens, AL
35611

A mathematical model is developed for the flight of the basketball. The problem
posed is to find just the right combination of initial velocity and initial angle that will
send the basketball through the hoop — nothing but net.

This problem relating sports and mathematics illustrates quite nicely the necessity to
draw upon a wide variety of mathematical topics to solve the posed problem and
demonstrate the resulting successful free throw. Maple is used extensively to pose/
solve/display the mathematical results.

170

Abstracts

TRIMODAL PDF SIGNATURE MODEL FOR LANDS AT DATA. Dr. Randy J.
York, School of Math and Science, Athens State College, Athens, AL 3561 1

We seek a signature for spectral brightness data collected over three bandvvidths.
Our signature candidate is a tri-modal normal pdf. We use Maple to generate a non¬
linear system of eight equations with eight unknowns whose solution is the
necessary means, standard deviations, and weighting coefficients. An algorithm is
developed for the solution of the non-linear system. This initial work assumes a
region of uniform appearance.

Note: supported by NASA EPSCoR Grant No. SUB94-199: Remote Sensing
Cluster. This work automates and extends a paper appearing in the International
Journal of Remote Sensing, 1995, Vol. 16, No. 9, p. 1599.

COMPUTATIONAL AND CLINICAL STUDY OF THE HUMAN SCAPHOID
BONE. Kurt If Bachmann. Robert C. Baird, and Thomas D. Holley, Birmingham-
Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254, and Ekkehard Bonatz, Alan Eberhardt, and
Jack E. Lemons, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

The carpal scaphoid is the most frequently fractured of the eight bones in the
human wrist, most often by falls where the hand is bent back severely but also by
kickback of crank handles, by punching, and in traffic accidents. Often, the peanut¬
shaped scaphoid is broken into two pieces that must be united by surgical means, and
much care must be exercised in treatment to ensure that the complicated mechanical
operation of the wrist returns to a normal state.

We describe the status of our project to determine the shape and structure of a
human scaphoid bone and to analyze its response to external forces using standard
finite-element computational techniques. Our goals are to examine differences in
mechanism among the various causes of fracture and to investigate relative merits of
treatments and surgical technologies. Progress to date includes acquisition of a
cadaver forearm and surgical removal of the scaphoid, production of a Computed
Tomography (CT) scan of this scaphoid bone, and input of the scaphoid shape and
structure data from the CT scan into a powerful engineering-design software package,
the I-DEAS Master Series*. We are starting to perform computational experiments
using this software in order to realize our above-mentioned goals.

*KTB thanks the Structural Dynamics Research Corporation for granting a one-year
license of the I-DEAS Master Series software to Birmingham-Southern College.

171

Abstracts

AN UNDERGRADUATE SIMULATION OF THE SPINNING GOLF BALL.
John T. Tarvin, Department of Physics, Samford University, Birmingham, AL
35229.

The trajectory of a point mass, ignoring air resistance, is a standard example
of Newtonian motion at the introductory undergraduate level. Since this problem
can be solved algebraically, it is appropriate for the non-calculus course. In the
calculus-based course, air resistance is often included in the analysis. Usually,
however, a lift force proportional to the spin of the object is not covered. This
problem is especially appropriate for numerical simulation, in that it is familiar to
most students and is capable of attracting and maintaining their attention. This
problem has been used by the author in an advanced problem-solving course for
scientists and engineers. The goal is to write, usually in BASIC, a computer
program that will numerically integrate the equations of motion and plot, on the
screen, the resulting trajectory of the ball. A theoretical basis for the problem is
provided from the literature (Am. J. Phys. 59, 213-218 (1991); Am. J. Phys. 51,
357-362 (1983) ). Appropriate values of drag and lift coefficients are determined
from these papers, and the student’s code is run under control conditions (no drag
or lift) to validate that it is working correctly. One can then investigate the
trajectory effects of varying spin and drag. In particular, one can show the
characteristic low start, rapid rise, and sharp fall of the golf ball. By increasing the
spin to unrealistic levels, the distinction between a numerically correct solution and
a physically correct solution can be shown. The above points will be demonstrated
with a computer program developed for this problem.

ANALYSIS OF THE GEOMETRIC STABILITY OF THE SILICON
MICROVERTEX DETECTOR IN L3 AT LEP . Laszlo Baksay,

Mark Behrens , Hans Tuchscherer, Univ. of Ala.,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

The use of the Silicon Microvertex Detector (SMD)
in precision measurements of fundamental processes is
contingent on the accuracy to which its position can be
determined. Knowledge of SMD stability is vital in this'
respect. An analysis technique has been developed for
the Laser Displacement Monitoring System (LDMS) to
allow for the monitoring of SMD stability. The algo¬
rithms and statistical methods are discussed, as well
as the results obtained from the 1995 data taking
period .

172

Abstracts

A POSSIBLE CASE OF A REPULSIVE FEATURE OF GRAVITY SUG¬
GESTING RADIAL OSCILLATIONS OF A TEST PARTICLE. JL H.
Young and G. K. Menon, Dept, of Physics, Univ. of Al .
at Birmingham.

One of the fundamental differences between New¬
tonian and Einsteinian gravity is that sources of the
latter include energies in addition to mass. Gravity
produced by a charged mass, therefore, will differ in
Einsteinian gravity from from that due to a uncharged
mass. An examination of the motion of a neutral test
particle gravitationally effected by a charged mass
having spherical symmetry reveals some distinctly non-
Newtonian features. In particular, the case of a very
compact mass carrying a large charge indicates that a
neutral test particle might experience a repulsion. A
discussion of that repulsion will be presented, along
with the further possiblity of radial oscillations of
the test particle resulting.

MOSSBAUER ANALYSIS OF K-T BOUNDARY CLAYS. L. P. Armendarez. D. G. Agresti,
T. J. Wdowiak, E. L. Wills, M. L. Wade, Astro and Solar System Physics Program,
Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1700.

Luis Alvarez and coworkers (Science, 208 (1980) 1095) theorized that the extinction of the
dinosaurs was due to a bolide impact occurring 65 million years ago at the boundary of the
Cretaceous and Tertiary geologic time periods. The primary evidence for such an impact was
the large abundance of iridium found in the sedimentary layer between these two time periods,
which was as much as 30 times greater than that found in surrounding layers. This could most
easily be explained by "a sudden influx of extraterrestrial material", such as an asteroid or
comet, where iridium and other heavier elements are more prevalent than on earth. "One of the
remaining mysteries is the nature of the carrier of the iridium. Measurements show that it is
present but not in what form or what it is associated with." (W. Alvarez, personal
communication to T. Wdowiak). Having acquired several K-T boundary clays from around the
world, we plan to use Mossbauer spectroscopy as one of several techniques to examine these
clays, which were collected from El Mimbral and Bochil, Mexico, Petriccio and Contessa,
Italy, Stevns Klint, Denmark, and Moscow Landing, Alabama. Mossbauer spectra have been
accumulated at temperatures ranging from 300K to 12K. The samples collected in Mexico both
show strong magnetic splitting with the El Mimbral sample being superparamagnetic indicating
nanophase material. The samples taken from Italy and Denmark are dominated by a strong
ferric component, at all temperatures, along with some weak magnetic ordering and a much
smaller ferrous doublet. One goal is to measure the Fe3* /Fe2* ratio in these samples, a task for
which the Mossbauer technique is ideally suited. This measurement can be useful in identifying
the conditions in which the material was formed. Preliminary results from such measurements
will be displayed along with a general discussion on how this might relate to the impact theory.

173

Abstracts

DIAMOND FILM GROWTH ON TITANIUM ALLOY. Andrea Nelson and John T.
Tarvin, Department of Physics, Samford University, Birmingham, AL
35229. Yogesh K. Vohra, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
35294.

Diamond film coatings have applications in a wide variety of
fields, including medical implants and the aerospace industry. The
present study examined diamond film growth on titanium (Ti) alloy, an
alloy that is important in the aerospace industry. These films were
grown using a microwave-plasma-chemical-vapor-deposition (MPCVD)
technique. In this technique, diamond film quality is a function of
several parameters, including substrate temperature, gas pressure and
composition, and sample geometry. A wide difference in the thermal
expansion coefficient of the film and the substrate can result in
detachment of the film from the substrate during the cooling process.
In an effort to minimize this effect, films were grown on Ti-alloy
disks at low substrate temperatures. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was
used to determine the quality of the diamond film; the structural
integrity of the film (i.e., the degree of attachment) was determined
by visual examination of the film under low magnifications. It was
found that there was still spontaneous detachment of the film from
the substrate during sample cooling. Film coverage of the alloy
appeared to be uniform, except for voids that were formed when the
film detached from the substrate. The quality of the film was high,
as indicated by the narrow linewidth and high relative amplitude of
the 1332 cm-^ diamond line. Details of this study, including film
growth rates, will be presented.

GENERALIZATION OF A THEOREM OF SZEGO ON ORTHOGONAL POLYNOMIALS.
Carl A. Libis, Mathematics Department, University of West Alabama,
Livingston, AL 35470

Orthogonal polynomials satisfy a constrained minimization
problem. This property was proved by Szego. When the constraints
of the minimization problem are changed, the properties of the
solution are changed. We generalize Szego' s theorem by changing
the constraints. We analyze properties that the new polynomial
solutions satisfy.

174

Abstracts

GAS CLOUD VERSUS STAR ORBITS IN BARRED SPIRAL GALAXIES.

D. Ousley and G. Byrd, Dept, of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0324.

Some barred disk galaxies show interesting ring features both around and
interior to the bar. The rings are made of gas clouds plus recently formed stars.
These rings axe thought to result from resonances between the gravitational field
of the turning bar, the original circular orbital motion of the disk objects and
their resulting oscillation about the circular orbits. An analytical formulation
of this interaction has been developed which includes gas cloud collisions. We
plot the orbits of gas clouds and staxs for different parameters of the analytical
formulation: the circular rotation speed versus distance, the angular rate at which
the bar turns, the strength of the bar, and the degree of collisional dissipation.
These plots along with other computer simulations and observations should help
in better understanding of how the rings form, the dynamics of barred galaxies,
and the amount of missing mass (daxk matter) in these galaxies.

MODELING OF RF ENERGY DEPOSITION IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE
IMAGING AT 4.1 T. Joseph G. Harrison. Dept, of Physics, U. Alabama Bir¬
mingham, Birmingham, AL 35294. J. Thomas Vaughan, Magnetic Resonance
Center, Mass. Gen. Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129

Very high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging which exceeds current
state-of-the-art capabilities in other imaging modalities (PET, CAT, etc) is now
possible with magnets operating at 4.1 teslas. One part of our research effort
has been to use computational modeling to address issues of coil design.
Using finite element software we model high-frequency (175 MHz) surface and
head coils used in magnetic resonance imaging. The principal efforts are
directed at 1) accurate modeling of the magnetic flux density (B-|) of the loaded
and unloaded coils for design purposes and 2) study of the power deposition in
models of loads incorporating gross features of bulk tissue and the human
head. We find good agreement especially in terms of reproducing some arti-
factual features that are well known in imaging (bright spots, asymmetric fea¬
tures, etc). We use the calculated power-density to couple to the problem of
steady-state heating using the bioheat equation. With this we are then able to
further address the safety issues associated with operation at these frequen¬
cies. Our head model incorporates only major features (gray-matter, skull/fat
layer, and eyes) thus far. Results for these will be presented as well as pros¬
pects for future work using more detailed and accurate digital models for the
head.

175

Abstracts

VISUALIZATION OF WORMHOLE SOLUTIONS TO EINSTEIN’S FIELD
EQUATIONS IN GENERAL RELATIVITY. William C Niedbala and Kurt T.
Bachmann, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254.

A wormhole is a hypothetical shortcut for travel between distant points in the
Universe that is often invoked in science fiction literature. However, relativists
generally interpret several classes of simple, exact solutions to the Einstein field
equations to be descriptions of wormholes. Many of these solutions were discovered
less than ten years ago.*

We present our rigorous embedding diagrams representing wormhole
solutions to Einstein’s field equations, and we discuss the mathematical and
computational details for producing these visualizations. We discuss the important
features of each solution such as stability, traversability, existence and positions of
horizons, and the stress-energy that generates the wormhole’s curvature.

* M. S. Morris and K. S. Thorne, Am. J. Phys. 56(5), May 1988.

SOLID-LIQUID INTERFACE STUDIES RELATING TO ORGANIC
NONLINEAR OPTICAL MATERIALS *

J. Choi. M.D. Aggarwal. Sonya McCall, K.J. Chang, and W.S. Wang
Dept, of Physics, Alabama A&M Univ. Normal, AL 35762

The solid-liquid interface shape and location are the most important factors
during the growth process in the Bridgman-Stockbarger(BS) system to get good
quality single crystals. The interface shape strongly influences the dislocation, grain
size, and dopant concentration in this directional solidification process. Interface shape
and position can be controlled by changing growth parameters such as the temperature
gradient and lowering rate. Real-time observation is needed to grow novel good
quality bulk single crystals of organic materials in order to control the growth
parameters during the growth process. A flat solid- liquid interface is most desirable to
grow high quality single crystals. A transparent furnace and observation system are
required for real-time measurement. Two transparent BS systems have been designed
and fabricated in the workshop at the Department of Physics. Alabama A&M
University. The interface shape, location and growth rate have been observed under
different growth conditions to understand their influence on growth factors and
eventually on the quality of the crystals. Faceted growth is observed at higher lowering
rate for binary organic materials.

* Work performed under NASA-Alliance for nonlinear optics project NAGW-4078.

176

Abstracts

Analysis of a nonspherical , axially symmetric

geometry of the Einstein-Maxwell system

G.K. Menon and J.H. Young, Univ. Al. at Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL 35294

The Erez-Rosen extension of the vacuum Schwarzchild
solution to the nonspherical case gave one of the first
physically significant solutions of the Einstein field
equations. Nonvacuum extensions of the Erez-Rosen
solution representing a nonspherical mass containing
a net charge will be discussed. The special case of
spherical symmetry, as would be expected, results in
the Reissner-Nords trom solution. In addition, the
causal and geodesic properties for the resulting space-
time are examined.

OPTICAL LOW COHERENCE INTERFEROMETRY FOR SUBSURFACE NONINVASIVE
IMAGING. Neil W. Jenkins, Dr. Chris Lawson, Dr. V.Fleurov, D. Brown,

D . Forrestall , Dept, of Physics, Univ. of Ala. Birmingham, AL, 35294

Optical sensors are necessary tools in modern applied sciences
and engineering. These sensors vary in type and performance based on
the applications they monitor. Optical interferometry has proven
itself as an invaluable method for optical sensing; interferometers
themselves vary in type ranging from the Mach-Zender interferometer to
the Michelson interferometer, that we use in our research. The
Michelson interferometer easily lends itself to a fiber optic geometry
consisting of two legs of single mode fibers joined by an evanescent
wave coupler. Fundamentals of fiber optic low coherence interferom¬
etry (OLCI) are discussed, using the Michelson configuration, as a
method of noninvasive subsurface imaging. We have previously used
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for this research and are now beginning
the use of a Titanium: Sapphire laser. The Ti: Sapphire laser is cap¬
able of producing mode-locked pulses on the order of a few hundred
femtoseconds which makes for an excellent low temporal coherence
source in our studies. Finally, direct applications of this non¬
invasive subsurface imaging are discussed for monitoring the growth of
protein crystals. Growing large protein crystals is important for
determining the structure of important proteins, e.g., vaccines, by
x-ray diffraction.

177

Abstracts

SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF 2-AMINOPURINE IN OLIGONUCLEOTIDES. Kervin (A
Evans , Anatoly Kudryavtsev, Da-Guang Xu, Thomas Nordlund, Dept. of
Physics, Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

2-Aminopurine (2ap) , a sister molecule of the DNA base adenine,
has been identified as a highly fluorescent (lOOOx that of adenine)
molecular probe of DNA local conformational changes. Once incorporated
into the decamer d [ CTG(2ap) TTCAG] 2 , 2ap exhibits a multi-exponential
fluorescence decay, suggesting multiple states of 2ap (1). NMR mea¬
surements confirm multiple conformations in solution for 2-aminopurine-
2 '-deoxyriboside free base; however, time-resolved and steady-state
fluorescence analysis (2,3,4) showed no such clear evidence. Thus, the
mere presence of the syn- and anti- conformations of 2ap is not enough
to cause a multi-exponential decay. But, the addition of at least on
other nucleotide appears to be. The effect of nearest neighbor on the
time-resolved fluorescence and Raman spectroscopies will be presented.

1 P. Wu, H. Li, T.M. Nordlund, R. Rigler (1990). Proc. SPIE 1204, 262-69

2 K.O. Evans, D. Xu, Y. Kim, T.M. Nordlund (1992) J. Fluorescence 2,
209-16.

3 D. Xu, K.O. Evans, T.M. Nordlund (1994) Biochemistry 33, 9592-99.

4 K.O. Evans MS Thesis, University of Alabama-Birmingham (1996)
Supported in part by NSF grant MCB-9118185 and ONR N00014-94-1023

ELECTRON PARAMAGNETIC RESONANCE (EPR) AS A MONITOR OF CRYS¬
TAL GROWTH OF CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITED DIAMOND. C.S. Yan,
H.T. Tohver, Y. Vohra, Physics Department of UAB , Birming¬
ham, A . L . 35294-1170.

A homoepitaxial diamond film was grown on a polished,
single crystal {l00} orineted natural type Ila diamond cir¬
cular plate using high density microwave plasma chemical v-
apor deposition (MPCVD) . Two grown-diamond films were prep¬
ared under different temperature Ta=850°c , Tb=1200°c. EPR
exhibits the PI substitutional nitrogen impurity with conc¬
entrations Na=20 PPM , Nb=4 PPM. EPR is also used to inves¬
tigated the property of twin formation which strongly aff¬
ects the structure and morphology of grown diamond.

178

Abstracts

SEMI-ANNUAL VARIATION OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE FROM THE
ORBITAL DECAY OF THE ODERACS SPHERES. A. Tan and J. C. Wang,
Department of Physics, Alabama A&M Uniwersity, Normal, AL 35762.

The orbital decay curve of a satellite having constant cross-sectional area can furnish
valuable information regarding the dynamical state of the atmosphere. Tan and Badhwar
recently demonstrated how the expansion, contraction and stability of the atmosphere can
be extracted from the slope and curvature of the decay curve of a satellite in near
circular orbits. Further information on the atmosphere, such as the rate of expansion or
contraction and the scale height can be obtained from the orbital decay of two satellites
descending at different levels in the atmosphere. Such techniques when applied to the
orbital decay of the ODERACS I and II spheres clearly betray the semi-annual variation
of the atmosphere in 1994 and 1995. The dynamical states of the atmosphere in 1994
and 1995 showed strikingly similar patterns with primary maxima in February-March
and secondary maxima in October, which are indicative of the semi-annual variation in
the descending phase of the sunspot cycle. Overall, the solar F10.7 fluxes, which are
responsible for the atmospheric dynamics, were three standard deviations below the
predicted values in 1994 and 1995, thus marking these years with an unusually quiet
Sun.

LOW COHERENCE IMAGING WITH NONLINEAR OPTICAL MATERIALS. Vladimir
Fleurov, Denise Brown, and Chris Lawson, Dept, of Physics,
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1170.

There are a number of important applications that
require non-invasive imaging of the internal structure of diffusive
or scattering media, including subsurface imaging of biological
tissue for medical diagnostics. Optical low-coherence
ref lectometry (OLCR) utilizes an optical Michelson interferometer
with a low temporal coherence light source in conjunction with
some type of coherence filter to yield profiles of backscatter
versus depth. Three-dimensional images are typically obtained by
transversely scanning the sensor head. We will present some of our
recent investigations wThere we have used nonlinear degenerate
four-wave mixing (DFWM) based techniques to provide two-
dimensional (2-D) imaging through turbid media without the need
for transversely scanning the sensor head. These techniques
require nonlinear optical films which yield very high phase
conjugate reflectivities. Thus, we will also describe our recent
imaging attempts using liquid crystal films that we have
fabricated in our lab.

179

Abstracts

INDUSTRY AND ECONOMICS

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT HOUSING PROGRAMS. Terry Carter and Eric Rahimian.
Department of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762.

The Federal Government has been involved in the housing industry since the establishment of
the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934. The current system which subsidizes public
housing, reflects the federal government’s dependence on local housing authorities to administer the
program. The local authority must cover a substantial amount of the costs through rents. Rents in
public housing are supposed to be based on ability to pay. Nevertheless, based on their financial needs,
the local authorities establish a level of minimum rent which also covers the costs not covered by other
sources. Due to this requirement, the Dept, of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and local
authorities have in effect been encouraging admission of tenants in the upper range of income limits.

According to an article by Jason DeParle (Journal of Housing and Community Development,
Feb. 97), about 15 million American households qualify for federal housing assistance. Nevertheless,
only 4.5 million are actually getting federal assistance. From this numbeer, about 1.5 million people
live in government-run developments. The other 3 million rent from private landlords with government
help. From 10.5 million other qualified people, about 5 million people spend at least half of their
income for shelter. These people include the disabled, the elderly, welfare recipients, and also some
working families whose wage simply can not catch up with the rising housing costs. About 5 million of
these people are working, where 1.2 million of them are working full-time. Certainly, inadequate
housing means more hungry and undernourished children. Over all, as compared with 1970, there are
now 12% fewer cheap apartments and 72% more demand for low-cost housing. The new welfare
reform law will also add to the demand for the public housing. Obviously, these figures indicate that
the government assistance has become more critical for the survival of our social economic balance.
We conclude that though, in the 1980’s and 1990’s there has been a slight improvement in the quality
of construction of public housing units, the current public housing program is not sufficient, and
indeed may be unavailable to the very poor. As several economic analyses have indicated, we believe
the federal government can improve the housing of many people by improving its planning process and
lowering the housing costs for the true needy.

STATE LEVEL DEBT: THE INTERGENE RATIONAL CONSEQUENCES. Jim F. Couch and
Neil Thorne, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630

In this paper, the notion of Ricardian Equivalence is subjected to
empirical scrutiny. It was Ricardo (1821) who first claimed that public
debt issues and taxation exert identical effects upon aggregate savings
and consumption. The result, however, rests upon an assumption that many
find unrealistic — human beings with infinite time horizons. Barro (1974,
1979) extended the argument by asserting that individuals wish to make
significant quests to their heirs. The analysis, however, ignores a
rather strong incentive older generations have to finance current public
goods through future taxes, thereby shifting the burden to future
generations. Using net long-term state debt as the dependent variable,
and a number of other variables thought to influence debt finance, we
find no relationship between state level debt and senior citizen
population .

180

Abstracts

GNP AND WELFARE DEPENDENCY: DOES A RISING TIDE LIFE ALL BOATS? Lori
Allen, Jim F. Couch, and Kristy Van Rensselaer, University of North
Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

Attempts to alleviate poverty--a long-term problem in this
country — have, for the most part, proved unsuccessful. After spending
billions of dollars through means-tested income transfer programs,
Americans have seen the number of individuals below the official poverty
rate climb, not fall. In this paper, we estimate an equation in which
the percentage of the population below the poverty line serves as the
dependent variable. We find that poverty is significantly and positively
related to public aid. It seems we have been paying people to be poor.
Our results also suggest that a healthy economy results in fewer people
below the poverty rate. In spite of recent criticism of trickle down
economics, an improving economy does lead to a higher standard of living
for everyone.

LIV OR LET LIVE: THE LINE ITEM VETO VIEWED PARAD IGMATICALLY . James
G. Alexander and Marsha D. Griffin, AL A&M Univ., Daniel C. Morgan,
Univ. of TX, and Paulette S. Alexander, Univ. of North AL .

Public policy is a major outcome of political processes --
processes which are generally and properly analyzed in terms of power
relationships among groups and coalitions. Needless to say, some
groups may promote interests extending beyond the bounds of self-
interest, and at times there is sufficient overlap of extended interest
among the power contestants to justify application of the old-fashioned
concept of "the public interest.” Public policy shifts — even
revolutions occasionally — in large part reflect altered power
relationships resulting from technological and demographic
reconstructions. But public policy revolutions, like scientific ones,
also find origin in paradigm shifts. Indeed, the 1996 passage of a
presidential line item veto (LIV) constitutes a particularly striking
example of policy following paradigm rather than power: modified power
relationships can be expected to be more an effect than they were a
cause in this case. The notion of the LIV is far from new: pre-
Clinton presidential proponents include Grant (1870s), Roosevelt
(1930s), Eisenhower (1950s), and Reagan (1980s), at least two of whom
easily eclipsed Clinton in political power. The ascendent paradigm now
presenting the President with an enormous grant of power from a
contrarian Congress is the budget balancing paradigm. The hope of many
is that the veto pen will instill budget discipline which Congress
lacks, though this is distinctly founded in hope more than in analysis.
(Indeed, budgetary increases could conceivably result.) Other
paradigms of relevance -- analytical frameworks which have prevailed
in past presidential attempts to get the LIV — include:
legal/constitutional; democratized economic policy; economic progress
and advancing civilization; and balance of power. The last has
historically been central to denial of the LIV, the concern being that
such power would dramatically alter the American political system
toward the "imperial presidency." LIV having passed, the central
question now revolves around the life and power of Congress.

181

Abstracts

WELFARE AND WORK. James G. Alexander, Department of Economics and
Finance, and Marsha D. Griffin, Department of Management and Marketing,
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762.

The catchword in welfare reform today is "workfare," and almost
no one disagrees that welfare reform is needed. However, as the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
is being implemented, many questions remain. While this legislation
is a distinct breakpoint in historical terms, notably with the ending
of federal entitlement status of AFDC, it is clear that this is not the
end of either the need for or existence of "welfare." Rather, the path
has been modified, with the intent that the route to work and economic
independence be enhanced in comparison with the route to economic
dependence and socio-political marginalization. All recognize that
workfare cannot end all welfare because age, disability, and
circumstance inevitably render some persons unavailable for (and
incapable of) work. Operationalization of the workfare concept has a
number of dimensions yet to be fully specified -- and this is to some
extent intentional within the concept of multi-level state-by-state
experimentation. Obvious elements here are how "work" is to be defined
and what to do with innocents if requirements are not met (i.e., how
to handle cases of poor children when their parents are not compliant
with society's rules). But there is another issue yet to be seriously
and fully addressed: the federalism question of responsibility
assignment and linkage . In one sense, the welfare reform underway is
a step in the devolution movement in progress for well over a decade:
both power and burden being increasingly shifted from the federal to
lower levels of government. But such a transfer of welfare assignment
does not absolve the federal government of its responsibilities,
including those imposed by the Employment Act of 1946. For over half
a century, the federal government has faced the legal mandate — and
incumbent administrations have faced the political necessity — of
promoting economic prosperity. In this regard, "workfare" ups the
ante: workfare without work availability is not only derelict in legal
terms, it is also an ethical breach of America's social contract.

TELEVISION EXPOSURE AND ALUMNI GIVING: DOES FOOTBALL PRODUCE TANGIBLE
RESULTS? Neil Thorne and Jim F. Couch, University of North Alabama,
Florence, Alabama 35630.

One of the most frequently debated subjects on college campuses
across the nation is the value of athletics to sponsoring institutions
of higher education. To some, athletics takes resources away from more
important areas of the university. On the other hand, proponents of
college sports contend that these activities enhance the “university
experience” and, furthermore, pay indirect dividends to sponsoring
institutions in the form of increased applications and more active
alumni. This paper investigates the relationship between television
exposure and alumni giving to the university. We find that a greater
percentage of alumni make contributions to the school when the football
team was viewed by a larger audience the year before.

182

Abstracts

RETIREMENT PLANNING: OPTIMIZING FOR GENERATION X. Tommie Singleton and
Paul Holley, College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 3 5632.

The political, economic, and social environment of today is increasing the pressures
on working people to make more plans for retirement than their parents, and to start at a
much earlier age. Generation Xers (20-something) need to identify simple but effective
strategies that wall empower them to enjoy their years of retirement with reasonable financial
resources. The strategies that a generation Xer should employ involve various insurance's,
deferred compensation plans, managing assets, and financial emergencies. Each strategy
involves some thorough research and conscientious consideration. A retirement specialist
might be worth the fee to assist in creating the most effective retirement plan (e.g., stock
broker, insurance agent). The strategies used early in life will likely need adjusting as one
gets older, i.e., the plan must be dynamic.

WELFARE: CULTURAL. VS. ECONOMIC ASPECTS. James G. Alexander and Marsha
D. Griffin, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762.

It is said that success has many fathers but failure is an
orphan. The 1996 welfare reform legislation constitutes by its passage
a political success. Despite widespread agreement for many years that
major modification was needed, disagreements about the desirable form
of reform blocked programmatic reconstruction. The 1996 welfare act
was cited by The World Almanac 1997 (and others) as one of the top ten
news stories of 1996 (the only legislation so designated,
notwithstanding contemporaneous passage of momentous legislation
affecting telecommunications, separation and balance of power among
governmental branches, etc. Even in the early stages of implementation,
however, the new welfare framework confronts a fading of fathers —
though not yet orphandom. "Reopening" of the welfare act is not only
a matter of Presidential interest, but was also a contentious issue at
the latest meeting of the National Governors Association. States,
long-time advocates of an autonomy shift in their direction, are now
in a multi-dimensional scramble to devise implementation mechanisms
which will allow them to meet their own needs. This scramble includes
application for waivers from certain of the law's provisions and
circumvention of certain of the law's directives; e.g., about 40 states
seek waivers of the restrictive food stamp time limits on able-bodied
working agers lacking child dependents and "work" definitions are being
stretched hither and yon to comport with state conditions and concerns.
The political basis necessary for passage of welfare reform was formed
by an eclectic and partially erroneous conceptualization wherein
society's ills were attributed to the "welfare system:" by the
political imagery it corroded character, fed on freedom, expanded
expenditures, busted budgets, and eroded the economy. The quandary now
for would be "fathers" is whether the objective is essentially economic
or cultural and whether the instrumental mechanism is essentially
economic or cultural. While the two are intimately linked, their
linkage is also intricate: sorting of cultural and economic aspects
is essential to policy rationalization.

183

Abstracts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE
APPALACHIAN REGION. Paulette S. Alexander and Jason Wilcoxson, University of
North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35632-0001.

The development of advanced telecommunications infrastructure is important to the
Appalachian Region for two primary reasons: 1) general economic development of the area
(including the generation of good jobs that are attendant to information- and technology-
intensive businesses and the opportunities that arc opened in the telecommunications industry'
itself), and 2) the quality of life that accrues due to improvements in education, health care
and other vital services. This paper includes the following concepts related to the development
of advanced telecommunications infrastructure:

• definition of telecommunications infrastructure,

• analysis of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,

• comparison of the regulatory responses in the states and municipalities within the
Appalachian Region and outside the region,

• consideration of corporate restmeturmg that has occurred or could occur within the
telecommunications industry, and

• identification of factors that are associated with higher levels of telecommunications
infrastructure development within some states and regions.

The Appalachian Regional Commission has recognized the role of telecommunications and the
region's needs for a well-developed infrastructure. If the infrastructure necessary' to transport
information is not well developed, Appalachia will not be able to keep up with the rest of the
country in terms of good jobs, incomes, education and other quality of life factors. This
pattern would parallel the stagnation that existed in the first half of the twentieth century due
to deficiencies in physical transportation infrastructure — road and rail — necessary for the
efficient movement of goods and services.

THE BASE-CLOSURE COMMISSION: A PARADIGM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN ALABAMA?
Jim F. Couch and Neil Thorne, University of North Alabama, Florence,
Alabama 35630.

Higher education has come under pressure in Alabama to trim costs.
Some observers feel that the State simply has too many universities and
2-year colleges. Because of the political ramifications and especially
in light of the fact that numerous legislators are employed by such
institution, a commission to close selected schools based on the base-
closure commission has been proposed. In this paper, we empirically test
to see if the base-closure commission was insulated from political
influence .

184

Abstracts

WELFARE REFORM: POLICY AND PROSPECTS. Sophia Ellis. Eric Rahimian and Alexious
Roller, Dept, of Economics and Finance, Ala. A&M Univ., Normal, AL 35762.

The welfare reform bill was signed into law on Aug. 22, 1996. After 60 years, control of welfare is
being passed from the federal government to the state governments. In this paper, we review the
implications of the new law. It is true that the old system was condemned due to abuse and
ineffectiveness. The question is, if the new system will be effective and sufficient. To answer this
question, we review the summary data of poverty rate and welfare assistance. Finally, we make some
projections and policy recommendations.

According to the new law, each state government puts its new welfare program in place by July 1,
1997. The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program will be replaced by the new
program which is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The Government
perceives the TANF block grant as a step in the right direction which transforms the welfare program
into a work-base system. Under TANF, the states have the right to determine who will receive
assistance and under what conditions. Currently, the poverty rate, particularly for blacks, is high.
During 1994, about 30.6% of blacks were below the poverty level, as compared to 1 1.7% for whites.
For the 1994 fiscal year the Bureau of the Census reported about 29.2 million persons or 1 1% of the
population received food stamps. This amount shows an increase as compared with 22.8 million people
or 9% of the population in 1990. Considering the increase in poverty rate, America now is trying to
move people from welfare to work. This transition, however, is not easy. Everyone must work
together, support improvements in the workforce, and help low income, single parents and
at-risk-citizens. This new system must be carefully monitored to carry out its intent and purpose.
Welfare recipients should get the opportunity and education to gain the ability to become independent
from government assistance. Under the new legislation, able-bodied adults without children and jobs
can receive foodstamps only for 3 months in a three-year period. For some foodstamp recipients, this
period ends by March 31, 1997. Some States currently have a high unemployment rate and they cannot
easily create jobs for the people removed from Foodstamp and Welfare Programs. Hence, it seems an
amendment to the Welfare Reform Act is necessary to make this transition smoother.

WORK HOURS AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE. Lori Allen and Jim F. Couch,
University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of work, on student
achievement. Controlling for other factors that influence performance,
we find some evidence that work results in lower scores on microeconomics
exams. However, on campus, work drove test scores up. Also,
interestingly, having had high school economics resulted in lower test
scores .

POLLING HOURS AND VOTER TURNOUT. Misti Campbell and Jim F. Couch,
University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

In this paper, we test to see if increased polling hours result in
greater voter turnout. Some have suggested that by increasing the amount
of time that is available for voting--making voting more convenient-
greater numbers of voters will cast ballots. We find some evidence,
albeit limited, for this assertion.

185

Abstracts

SOCIAL “IN”SECURITY SYSTEM: EXPLORING ALTERNATIVES FOR THE FUTURE. Eric
Rahimian, Dept, of Economics, Alabama A&M Univ.,. Normal, AL. 35762. Nancy Walker Willuhn,
Alabama A&M Univ. Normal, AL. 35762.

For the last sixty years the United States has provided a guarantee against elder poverty via an
old age retirement system, Social Security. The system has evolved and grown over the past decades
and now encompasses Disability Insurance (1957), Medicare(1965), and other significant (although
smaller in magnitude) social programs. The system is based on a pay as you go concept that places
the burden of funding the program on those who are currently active in the workplace. Although the
program has survived for over half of a century and encountered many difficult problems, it is
commonly accepted that the program, with its current method of operation, can not meet the
challenge that lies ahead as the “baby boom” generation retires.

Fiscal year 1996 left the fund with a surplus of 66 billion dollars bringing total assets of the funds
to 500 billion dollars. Total assets are expected to reach 2.87 trillion in nominal dollars by the year
2018. The first of the baby boomers begins retiring in 2010 and by 2012 it is expected that
expenditures will exceed contributions and the trust’s assets will be exhausted by the year 2029.
There are several sensitive variables used in the estimation of the Social Security' Programs future
viability. Despite controversy concerning the exact year of appearing deficit or when the assets will
be exhausted; it is undeniable that the number of workers to retirees is declining and that the more
immediate the resolve to correct the system the more alternatives exist. Although the specifics and
intensity vary among the recommendations being put forth, the general resolutions' center around a
common core. The core recommendations concern the modification of benefits offered by the
program, opening investment opportunities outside of government securities, adjustment of the
indexing method applied to benefits, an increase in contributions from taxation (payroll or benefit
taxation), and diversion of funds from other sources.

INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION: A FUNCTION OF MINORITY POPULATION. Tywana FU
Pride and Jim F. Couch, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL
35637-0001.

Much anecdotal evidence exists suggesting that heavy polluting
industry frequently locates in areas heavily populated by minorities.
Such low income individuals, with little or no political clout, are
unable to defend themselves from industry. We subject this notion to
empirical scrutiny. Total emissions in each of Mississippi's 82
counties serve as the dependent variable. Minority population, the
percentage of persons below the poverty level, the percentage of
residents with a high school education, and the amount of existing
manufacturing make up the independent variables. Unlike the
conventional wisdom, we find no evidence that heavy polluting firms
are targeting areas with large minority populations. Instead, our
results suggest that labor market considerations are primarily
driving the location decision.

186

Abstracts

THE BENEFITS OF PRIVATIZATION. Misti Campbell and Jim F. Couch,
University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

Numerous studies exist which suggest that the private sector is
more efficient than the public sector at producing goods and services.
We review some of this literature and extend it to Social Security.

DISABILITY BENEFITS AND LOST WORKDAYS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. Neil
Thorne and Jim F. Couch, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
35630.

In this paper, we examine the impact of disability benefits on lost
workdays. Controlling for cost of living differentials and using the
states as observations, we find some evidence that higher benefits result
in more days away from work in the construction industry.

THE QUALITY OF OUR ENVIRONMENT: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CONCERNS.

Eric Rahimian, Dept, of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University, Normal AL 37762

The Quality of our environment depends on the quality of several economic and public
resources which are shared by current and future generations. Although, the deterioration of quality of
an environmental resource may easily lead to damage to other environmental resources, our discussion
will be simplified if we divide public resources into three groups: water resources, air and space
resources, and land-based public resources. First, the important national and global concerns about the
quality of these resources are reviewed. Then, considering the implications of the current trends in
data, basic economic analysis is used to make some policy recommendations for improvement of the
quality of our environment.

Briefly, there are some indications that the increased utilization of environmental resources due
to the increase in population as well as the short-sighted, profit-seeking production activities which
have externalized the cost of environmental damage, are the main culprits for degradation of earth’s
ecosystems. In some occasions, the ill-effects on the ecosystems are globalized with negative impact
on the life expectancy and welfare of this and future generations in some regions of the world. A
meaningful environmental policy is based on preservation of healthy ecosystems and sustainable
economic development. It is recommended that the government and concerned constituent groups
should strengthen their educational programs to inform the public about the risks of deterioration of
our environment. The activities of businesses, corporations, and the Government agencies should be
monitored. Despite a need for cooperation between the Government agencies and the private sector, the
monitoring policies should have some teeth, i.e. prohibitive taxes and penalties should be imposed, as
necessary, for preventing irresponsible behavior toward careless utilization of environmental resources.
Citizen groups are encouraged to participate in monitoring the quality of their environment.
Consumers should pay for any damage to the environment which is caused by them and can be
rectified by the Government agencies through cleanup. Finally, since the ill effects of application of
some chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides will appear several years after their use, the
application of chemicals which have not been sufficiently tested should be stopped.

187

Abstracts

THE INTERNET: A POWERFUL NEW TEACHING AND RESEARCH TOOL
FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FACULTY. Gerald Crawford and
Robert B. Sweeney. College of Business, University of
North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632

The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB) has recognized the importance of two
trends which are causing dramatic changes in modern
business practices. These trends include the
globalization of business and the rapid advances occurring
in information and communication technology. One
technological advancement which holds particular value as
a teaching mechanism is the Internet. The pedagogical
power of the Internet has not been adequately harnessed to
date in part due to a lack of technical expertise on the
part of business school professors and administrators.

This research focuses on remedying this problem by
illustrating how the Internet can be used to build an
international learning environment and to conduct
international research. In addition, the Internet can be
used to meet and recruit foreign students and faculty or
to set-up travel arrangements for international trips or
conferences. Furthermore, the Internet has the potential
to facilitate classroom administration, make international
documents available to students which are unavailable
elsewhere, or provide a University or College with an
international presence through the use of a World Wide Web
home page .

Case Analysis of a Northwest Alabama Mall. Donna Yancey, Beverly
Dyer, and Keith Absher, Dept, of Marketing, University of North
Ala., Florence, AL 35632.

The mall studied is a regional mall consisting of five anchor
stores and sixty smaller stores. The surrounding trade area has
a population base of 390,000 including 150,000 households.
Information for this research was collected randomly over a period
of one week. The survey, which involved 403 respondents, was
profiled by examining the following areas: demographic data,
reasons for shopping, average amount spent during the surveyed
shopping trip, number of times the shopper frequented this mall
in one month, the most common shopping day and time period of the
week to shop, and the primary trading area of respondents. Other
data was collected that may provide the basis for further analysis.

188

Abstracts

WHAT DETERMINED THE ALLOCATION OF PUBLIC WORK ADMINISTRATION
EXPENDITURES? Misti Campbell and Jim F. Couch, University of North
Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

Harold Ickes, the administrator of the New Deal Program, the Public
Works Administration, was long held by historians to be above political
influence. In this paper, we subject this view to empirical scrutiny.
We find evidence that a political motivation was present when PWA funds
were allocated across the states.

GETTING SET (SECURE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSIONS) TO DO BUSINESS
ON THE INTERNET. Robert, B. Sweenev and Tommie Singleton,
Department of Computer Information Systems, University of
North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632

In order for the Internet to reach its full potential
as a medium for transacting business, a method for ensuring
the privacy and security of electronic commerce must be
introduced. The SET (Secure Electronic Transmission)
standard expands the use a popular device for completing
transactions in the non-Internet world, the credit card, to
the Internet. SET was developed by a coalition which
included many of the major players in the credit card and
Internet commerce markets, including VISA, MasterCard,
Microsoft, IBM, and Netscape. Although several methods for
making secure transactions over the Internet already exist,
the SET standard is unique in that it is endorsed by these
influential organizations and because it models the credit
card--a familiar and widely-used transaction device. SET
also provides for transmitting valuable financial
information across the Internet in a secure and confidential
manner. The SET standard is currently being- tested in
Europe and its introduction in the U.S. is planned for early
1997 .

WHO REALLY BENEFITS FROM REGULATION? Jim F. Couch, University of North
Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

Since “The Capture Theory of Regulation” has become widely
accepted, most economists agree that much government regulation exists
to benefit the regulated. A recent proposal to mandate training,
licensing and inspection for those performing electrical wiring was put
forward in Alabama in order to protect the lives and property of home
owners. In this paper, I find no connection between electrical licensing
requirements and fewer house fires.

189

Abstracts

CEO ENDORSEMENTS AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. Bruce Gordon and Jim F.
Couch, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

The 1992 presidential election was marked by a number of prominent
CEOs endorsing either George Bush or Bill Clinton. In this paper, we
seek to discover if certain character istics of firms resulted in the
endorsement. We also look to see how each portfolio of stocks performed.

THE LAW OF THE FEW: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION. Bruce Gordon and Jim
F. Couch, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630.

In this paper, we investigate the law of the few — the idea that
small groups are more effective when engaging in vent-seeking. We find
that environmental pressure groups effectively influence state
environment expenditures up to a point. As the size of the group
increases, however, spending eventually declines. Thus, our results
support the law of the few.

Distance Learning Delivery Systems in Higher Education: Quality and
Accountability Issues Paulette S. Alexander. Dept, of Management, Marketing and
Computer Information Systems, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632-0001.

Distance learning is any educational service delivery system which permits separation
by time and/or space of the learner from the teacher. New technologies enable many
modes of distance learning, as educational services are delivered when and where they
are needed from the most appropriate source (in terms of location and time). Several
delivery modes are being used by education systems around the world. Two of the
fastest growing areas of distance learning course delivery are the Internet and two-
way interactive video. Other modes of delivery range from open broadcast video to
videotape correspondence-type courses. Using technologies to facilitate the delivery
of educational sen/ices has significant appeal in a time of increased competition for
students, increased costs associated with the delivery of educational services in
classroom settings and the needs of increasingly diverse, busy and cost/benefit
conscious learner populations. There are many opportunities and pitfalls associated
with these delivery systems. The opportunities involve being able to address
educational needs at the time and at the place that the learners are able and willing to
take advantage of the services. Pitfalls include the possibilities that students fail to get
needed personal attention and that institutions create courses that are available to be
used repeatedly and then do so without timely updating. Evaluation of the quality of
educational program has been a subject of much controversy in traditional
classrooms, in distance learning situations, evaluation is more difficult and perhaps
more important.

190

Abstracts

STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD INFORMATION PRIVACY. Paulette S. Alexander. T. Morris
Jones, Department of Management, Marketing and Computer Information Systems, and
Sarah R. Brown, Department of Accounting, University of North Alabama, Florence AL
35632.

Information privacy recently has come to the forefront as one of the most challenging
ethical issues of the information age. Mason, Mason & Culnan chronicled in detail the
research they have termed “the ascent of information.” Mason, Mason and Culnan also
provided a model professional covenant dealing with the ethical issues surrounding
information systems professionals and their practical responsibilities. This concern has
become more apparent as communications and computer technologies have become more
pervasive. Because of the unique role of information systems faculty in teaching and
shaping future information systems professionals and because of the exposure that
students in general have to the use of these new technologies, study of student attitudes
toward information privacy can be instructive. This research helps to provide the
framework for understanding an undergraduate student population’s attitudes toward
information privacy. Information privacy research has been enhanced by the recent
publication of a validated instrument to measure individuals' concerns about information
privacy. H. Jeff Smith and others have “developed and validated an instrument that
identifies and measures the primary dimensions of individuals’ concerns about
organization information privacy practices.” The instrument provides a high degree of
validity, reliability and generalizability since it was rigorously tested and validated. A
random sample of the graduate and undergraduate student population was taken at a
small regional university. Respondents were asked to complete the instrument created
by Smith and others along with an additional set of demographic questions. Comparisons
will be made with the student responses in the Smith study and will be presented at the
74th annual meeting of the AAS.

THE NEW DEAL AND THE SOUTH: THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS WRONG. Jim F.
Couch, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630

The conventional wisdom has been that Roosevelt lavishly spent New
Deal dollars in the Southeastern United States during the Great
Depression. While the region was definitely poorer, in this paper, I
present evidence suggesting that this view is incorrect. In fact, the
region received the smallest appropriations from Roosevelt.

STATE EXPENDITURES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES: WHAT ARE WE PURCHASING? Misti
Campbell and Jim F. Couch, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama
35630

Ranking states according to state expenditures for libraries
reveals some interesting results; southern states are some of the most
generous when funding their public libraries. Most observers, we feel,
would be surprised by this finding. In this paper, we ask the question
just what does such spending do to benefit the community.

191

Abstracts

Telecommunications Advances and Copyright Laws: The State of the Art

Paulette S. Alexander. Department of Management, Marketing and Computer
Information Systems, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632-0001.

Origins of the copyright law are found in the Constitution of the United States, where
Article 1, section 8, assign to Congress the power “to promote Science and the useful
arts, by securing for limited times to authors... the exxlusive right to their... writings.”
In 1976, Congress enacted the copyright law which is still current law, applicable to
“original works of authorship fixed in any medium of expression, now known or later
developed.” As of 1988, copyright protection comes into being when a work is
created whether there is a copyright notice attached or not. Issues for higher
education emerge from the application of current copyright law in many complex new
ways because of the capability to create images that are stored on computers and can
be transmitted almost without limitation across computer networks. Copyrighted
works have come to be clearly and increasingly recognized as intellectual property
owned by their creators. Simultaneously, the capability to create electronic copies of
works without identification of the creator has become easier and more widespread.
The current “fair use” provisions to allow use of materials by educators involved in
distance learning as well as traditional classroom settings provide standards that are
difficult to interpret and difficult to enforce. Efforts are underway by several interest
groups to provide guidelines for use of materials owned by others in today’s world of
education facilitated by computer and communications technologies. These efforts
attempt to balance the needs of educators against the rights of owners.

POLITICS AND THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND FIREARMS. Tommie
Singleton and Jim Couch, College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL
35632.

The law enforcement activities of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
(BATF) are shown to be influenced by both public-interest and private-interest motives
While the BATF makes more referrals for criminal prosecution to U.S. Attorneys in states
where there is more violent crime and where state and local law enforcement agencies have
fewer resources to combat it, we also find evidence that the BATF harasses law-abiding gun
owners. In particular, more criminal referrals are made in states where the National Rifle
Association enrolls relatively large numbers of members, even though violent crime rates are
significantly lower in those states. Evidence that the BATF engages in harassment is given
by the fact that, other things being equal, U.S. Attorneys tend to decline to prosecute more
of the cases referred to them in states having more NRA members. Finally, our analysis
provides no support for notions that gun control laws deter violent crime or that the licensing
of private citizens to carry concealed weapons encourages it.

192

Abstracts

THE MISSING ELEMENT IN THE TEACHING OF ECONOMICS. Uchenna El ike .

Dept, of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762.

Many students who take courses in economics usually complain that the abstract nature of
economics is a turn-off. At the same time, in teaching economics, many teachers may ignore
the fact that in addition to the overall ability of the student, his personality traits and the test
type will impact the student’s performance in the course.

Using regression analysis, this study measures the student’s performance in economics as a
factor of his personality traits, grade point average(GPA), and the type of test given(multiple
choice vs. essay). Personality traits are broken down into four groups and represented by four
dummy variables: DPI is 0 for sensing and 1 for intuition; DP2 is 0 for extroversion and 1 for
introversion; DP3 is 0 for perception and 1 for judgment; and DP4 is 0 for feeling and 1 for
thinking. Also sex is represented by a dummy variable: 0 for males and 1 for females. The
subject group for this study consists of 101 students of non-business majors who take a course
in economics as part of their general education requirements.

The results show that all the coefficients of the variables have the right sign. Also, it is found
that all coefficients are significant at a=.05 except for two personality traits,
extroversion/introversion and thinking/feeling. The implication of the result is that in addition
to the student’s GPA which affects his performance in economics, personality traits and type
of test also affect a student’s performance. These results suggest tile missing element which, to
me, is the linkage between personality traits and the student’s ability to learn and comprehend
materials in economics which eventually affect the student’s performance. A highly qualified
teacher may try to consider the personality traits of a student at the begining of the course and
will work with the student to become more receptive to learning economics.

THE OPIUM TRADE AND SINO-WESTERN RELATIONS IN THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY. Catherine Pagani, Dept, of Art, Univ. of Ala., Box
870270, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0270

The Opium War of 1839 to 1842 was the most dramatic conflict between China
and tbe West. Although disastrous diplomatic encounters contributed to the decades-
long tensions, at the centre was the imbalance of trade which flowed in favour of the
Chinese. The British redressed this imbalance with opium grown in the British-
controlled regions of India, and opium quickly became the single most important trade
good passing between these empires. The British handily won the ensuing war, and
the shift in economic power resulted in a decline in the esteem Britain felt for China
and the Chinese. This paper explores the connection between attitudes the British had
for the Chinese and and how they regarded Chinese goods both during and
immediately following the Opium War. Initial observations suggest that two opposing
attitudes prevailed: China as the land of the uncivilized savage, and China as the
producer of the wonderful and the exotic. However, an examination of the flow of
Chinese commodities into Britain and discourses regarding their consumption reveals
that these attitudes are not so contradictor)'. Both were connected to the level of trade
with China and the availability of Chinese goods in England. Ultimately, China was
regarded as a marketable commodity just as were her goods, and these attitudes were
linked to feelings of cultural and economic superiority, reflecting the jingoistic attitudes
of a society which triumphed over the Chinese in the Opium War.

193

Abstracts

RECRUITMENT EFFORTS OF ALABAMA INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION:
RESPONSIVENESS TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION. Marsha D. Griffin,
Department of Management and Marketing, and James G. Alexander,
Department of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University, Normal,
AL 35762.

On February 20, 1997, a letter expressing interest and requesting
certain types of information was sent to the undergraduate admissions
office of each Alabama institution of higher education. The letter
mentioned the following specific topics (in bullet format): 1)
application, 2) undergraduate catalog, information on 3) campus
activities 4) housing, 5) financial aid, 6) scholarships, and 7) their
marketing program. The letter also asked for any other details which
described the attractiveness of their program. It was the judgment of
the authors that schools without marketing programs should send
information about their schools of business/at least acknowledge the
request, as appropriate. Also, schools without campus housing were
expected to send a list of names and addresses of nearby apartments
As of March 20, 1997, 86% had sent at least some of the desired
documents. Sadly, two of the seven institutions which did not respond
are in the same city as the person requesting information. Regarding
turnaround time, two days was the record, with over 25% achieving that
mark. The slowest time was 16 days. Almost 14% of the respondents
took more than 10 days to mail their packages. Nearly 54% mailed more
than half of the items sought, with three schools sending over 80% of
the articles. No institution mailed everything. The return rate of
mentioned items was: application (86%); catalog (74%); financial aid
(74%); other (62%); scholarships (58%); campus activities (53%);
housing (37%); and school of business/marketing brochure (16%). It is
notable and disappointing that 14% of the respondents did not send an
application. Three schools sent follow-up notes/cards.

PRIOR MILITARY SERVICE AND CORPORATE ETHICAL CONDUCT: AN
EXAMINATION OF RELATIONSHIPS. Neil B. Thorne, Robert J. Williams,
and Gerald Crawford, Dept, of Marketing and Management, University
of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

The top management teams of most firms include some executives
who have prior military experience. The strong culture associated
with the military demands discipline, sacrifice, and a sense of duty
and honor. Military service instills an allegiance to a greater
cause than the individual, and encourages fraternity and a sense of
community among fellow military veterans. Considering these
viewpoints, some have argued that prior military service sharpens an
individual's code of conduct and ethical behavior. Therefore,
military experience among members of a firm's management team may
serve to reduce the firm's involvement in illegal activity. A
recent study involving 184 Fortune 500 firms examined the link
between military service among managers and their firms' involvement
in illegal activities. Contrary to the arguments presented, no
evidence was found to support the relationship between the prior
military service of managers and corporate criminal activity.

194

Abstracts

THE VALUE OF ARTS RELATED ACTIVITY IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
OF A COMMUNITY. Keith Absher. Barry Morris and Marlon Rico, The University of
North Alabama, Florence, AL 35630.

In May of 1995, the Shoals Chamber of Commerce Arts and Cultural Activities
Committee requested the University of North Alabama’s Marketing Department to
conduct research on the economic impact of arts and cultural activities on the Shoals
Area. The highlights of the study include: (1) Arts and cultural organizations provide
597 performances, programs, or events in the Shoals annually. (2) There are 17
museums and attractions that are open year round. (3)Performances, museums,
and events attract an audience of 799,839 (duplicated audience included). (4) The
arts provide direct employment for 96 full-time employees, 101 part-time employees
and 304 outside personnel. (5) Arts and cultural organizations pay $2,817,260 in
wages and salaries. (6) Arts and cultural organizations have an annual budget of
$5,902,752. (7) Arts and cultural organizations purchase local goods and services of
$1,072,122 annually. (8) Total direct expenditures of arts organizations and
audiences (total salaries and wages + total local purchases of the 72 arts and
culturally related organizations + audience expenditures) = $5,597,252. (9) Arts
related occupants account for 6% of all room rentals in the Shoals in one year. (10)
Dollar expenditures of audiences attending events in the Shoals are $1 ,707,870.

(11) Total economic impact of arts-related activities is $12,313,954.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
Sharon N, Campbell. Dept, of Accounting and Bus. Law, Univ. of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632.

Environmental protection is a critical issue for publicly-held manufacturing
companies. The manuscript examines attributes of the organizational structures
developed by industry to address this issue. Written environmental policy
statements, corporate-level environmental management functions, and board-level
responsibility for environmental affairs provide evidence of upper-level commitment
to environmental protection in the responding organizations. Environmental goals
for management and environmental awareness programs for employees are used to
disseminate environmental protection values throughout the organizations. At a
minimum, the responding manufacturing companies use environmental auditing as a
tool to assess compliance with environmental regulations. The respondents often
take a more comprehensive approach to environmental auditing that includes audits
of environmental management systems and audits of pollution prevention and waste
minimization programs.

195

Abstracts

MBA GRADUATES AND THEIR PROPENSITIES TOWARD CORPORATE CRIMINAL
ACTIVITY. Gerald Crawford, Robert J. Williams, and Neil B. Thorne,
Dept, of Marketing and Management, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632.

It has been argued by some researchers that managers who
possess graduate business education, i. e., an MBA degree, may have
a greater propensity to engage in corporate criminal activity than
managers with academic training from other areas. The rationale for
this view lies in the nature of graduate business education. In
general, the standard business curriculum teaches a language devoid
of ethical symbols, and in many cases provides a set of simplified
assumptions about how the world works by emphasizing the acceptance
of a rational/economic world view. In a recent study involving
184 Fortune 500 companies, the link between firm size, MBA
education. among top management team members, and corporate criminal
activity was examined. The results suggest that after controlling
for a firm's prior performance, managerial tenure, and management
team cohesion, graduate business education strengthens the
relationship between firm size and corporate criminal activity. The
results suggest that while corporate wrongdoing is more prevalent
in larger firms, the incidence of illegal activity will be even
more pronounced in larger firms headed by managers possessing
MBA degrees.

A LOOK AT MANAGERS' ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES BY FUNCTIONAL DISCIPLINE.
Robert J. Williams , Gerald Crawford, and Neil B. Thorne, Dept, of
Marketing and Management, University of North Alabama, Florence,

AL 35632.

Some researchers propose that the functional backgrounds of
managers may influence their willingness to engage in illegal
behaviors on behalf of their firms. Some propose that managers
having backgrounds in the "throughput functions" (e.g., production,
engineering, and accounting) of the firm are primarily concerned
with efficiency issues. In contrast, managers with backgrounds
in the "output functions" (marketing, sales, advertising, and
product R & D) tend to concentrate on sales growth and the search
for new market opportunities. Thus, it has been proposed that
output oriented managers should be more likely to commit illegal
activity in their firms' names than throughput oriented managers.

In a recent study, 184 Fortune 500 firms having top management
teams dominated by managers from four functional areas, namely
accounting, production, management and administration, and marketing
and sales, were compared as to their firm's record of criminal
activity. Contrary to theory, the results suggest that firms
headed by mangers with backgrounds in marketing and sales had the
lowest incidence of criminal activity, while firms headed by
mangers with accounting and general management backgrounds
recorded the highest number of criminal violations.

196

Abstracts

SAVE A CORNER FOR DTP. Margie S. Crocker. Morris T. Jones, College of
Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632-0001.

Desktop publishing is to a business what the tractor is to the farmer. The business who
still objects to in-house desktop publishing does so generally because they have not yet
mastered its usefulness. As computers are discovered it's like going from a Volkswagen
to a Cadillac. Computer technology can transform the way to plan, organize, and
conduct a business. The creation of attractive certificates, advertisements, brochures,
flyers, programs, reports, etc., can now be designed and produced with in house desktop
publishing programs. The skills are becoming more and more a requirement of all
business students, especially those who plan to own and/or manage their own business.
Research indicate companies utilizing desktop publishing technology feel they have
better quality control, cost savings, and allows for last-minute changes and/or future
changes without much effort limited additional expense. The cost-saving feature can
not only enhance the business, but play a big part in originality and confidentiality of
business advertisements and public relations. Whether a business teacher, a student, an
entrepreneur or a business owner including DPT in your daily schedule should be a
serious consideration.

THE 'YEAR 2000' PROBLEM WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT THE U.S. ECONOMY.
Tommie Singleton and Margie Crocker, College of Business, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632.

Computers have been using the familiar MM/DD/YY format for dates for decades.
On the horizon, the use of this format by various organizations, including the Federal
government, is likely to adversely affect the U.S. economy at the end of this millennium.
The problem is not limited to simply changing a few software programs. First, the problem
is worldwide. Second, the cost to "fix” the programs and data is probably much higher than
one would first surmise. One consultant suggests that the Fortune 500 companies will spend
approximately $100 million each to correct the problem. Third, the Federal government is
facing some significant costs in order to be Year 2000 compliant. The scope of the effect of
the year 2000 problem is much broader than the cost of the programming. Unquestionably,
the cost of fixing the problem will be high. But, in the process, it may even affect the U.S.
economy. Programming is already being outsourced to foreign entities. Another
consideration is potential business risks in the form of liability or loss of ability to function.
For example, one consultant warned a public utility that the lights would go out on January
1, 2000, due to the date problem. The problem needs to be approached on two fronts: the
computer date itself and the reluctance to address the problem.

197

Abstracts

THE IMPERATIVE FOR MELDING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTO ANY
CURRICULA. Margie S. Crocker. Tommie Singleton, Robert Sweeney, College of
Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

Numerous articles have been written illustrating the benefits of using emerging
technologies in the classroom. If business students are to be adequately prepared upon
graduation, they need to be adequately exposed to emerging technologies. Many
university professors are unable to keep up with all of the Information Technology (IT)
changes that would better enable the institutions to educate its students. There are many
reasons for this dilemma, the greatest being a lack of expertise. Yet the MIS/CIS or
ASM Faculty generally have relevant skills to diminish these problems. This paper
proposes that regardless of the discipline, every curriculum should incorporate some
form of IT into the classroom, even if only for instructional purposes. IT can be used
either as a topic to be taught (e g., word processing) or as a tool for instruction (e g.,
Powerpoint). It is especially important in business education classes to empower
existing or new secondary education teachers with IT, who will in turn use that
knowledge in teaching of their students at the high school level. Most technologies are
amenable to a variety of business disciplines, but the emerging Internet, and associated
World-Wide Web, are unquestionably applicable to every single discipline. The use of
faculty members who are expert in an emerging technology can potentially mitigate most
of the obstacles in business schools to implementing emerging technologies in the
classrooms. The experience at the University of North Alabama reveals the potential
of melding IT into curricula.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND EFFECTIVENESS. Robert Wheatley, Dept, of
Marketing, Management, and Economics, Troy State University, Troy,

AL 36082.

Characteristics of learning organizations are identified and a
framework is presented for analyzing organizational behavior in terms
of learning opportunities and strategies. An examination of the
performance appraisal and reward systems of selected institutions
revealed that while individual learning is generally promoted,
cultural and structural factors may be operating to limit organi¬
zational learning capacity and effectiveness.

198

Abstracts

GRANT WRITING: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PROCESS. Marlon Rico,
Natasha Stockton, and Keith Absher, University of North Alabama.

Large sums of money are constantly being made available by federal agencies,
state agencies, private foundations, and business firms to organizations and
individuals with a worthy cause. These grants provide and additional source of funds
to schools, government entities, and other not-for-profit organizations as well as
business firms and in some cases individuals.

Two important factors are involved in obtaining grant funds. The first job is
locating a funding source that is about to make funds available for a grant. The
second factor is concerned with how to write a successful grant proposal.

Last year private foundations made available 28,919 grants totaling almost 2.9
billion dollars. The unique thing about this source of grant money is that foundations
are required to donate a certain percent of their accumulated assets by the end of each
year. This pool of money usually gets larger year by year and will be donated based
on which proposal is most persuasive.

The amount of money made available from the federal, state, and local
governments for grants is enormous compared to private foundations. There are also
grants available from private companies and private individuals.

An organization known as the Grantsmanship Center based in Los Angeles,
California has developed a program to tram people to research and write grant
proposals. This organization sponsors dozens of week long seminars in various cities
throughout this country. The fee to attend is expensive but they invite you to bring a
worthwhile cause to work into a proposal as you learn their approach to grant writing.

ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND PUBLIC EDUCATION. Neil Thorne, Jim F. Couch, and
Twana Pride, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama 35630

In this paper, we examine the relationship between the number of
school districts in a state and student performance on standardized
exams. We find that the number of districts exerts a significant
influence on test scores and, in particular, greater performance is
associated with small, numerous school districts.

199

Abstracts

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FAIRNESS INFLUENCE ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND
BEHAVIOR. Henry M. Findley, Management Dept., Troy State University,
Troy, AL 36082

In general, performance fairness perceptions did predict
citizenship behavior, supervisor satisfaction, pay satisfaction,
intention to turnover, effective commitment, and to a lesser
degree, continuance commitment. However, the individual components
of the performance appraisal predicted employee attitudes and
behavior differently.

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: RESOURCE PROVIDER. Gerraid Murray, Dana
Ross, and Dr. Keith Absher, University of North Alabama.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the largest volunteer business federation in the
United States. The U.S. Chamber and the many city and county chambers throughout
this country are resource providers to the business communities. A high priority goal
of these organizations is to improve the economic well-being of the business
community and thereby the quality of life for local citizens.

Chamber leaders like to refer to themselves as the voice of business. The attitude is
that the work they do to promote good citizenship and good government is just part of
good business.

Many people including some interviewed chamber members were not aware of
benefits this organization has to offer to members and to the community at large. To
whom does the chamber president report and where does it get operating funds is also
an avenue of misconceptions.

This paper is intended to provide an overview into the operating methods of various
chambers as they strive to foster a more favorable business climate in their
community. Areas discussed in this report include funding sources, work projects,
organization structure, promotional efforts, and some reoccurring problems in
chamber operations.

Although each chapter throughout this country is independent of each other,
organizational efforts have provided a forum for chambers to share information. In
addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has in place an accrediting program
designed to enhance professionalism by recognizing superior performance.

200

Abstracts

SCIENCE EDUCATION

MODIFYING INTRODUCTORY MOLECULAR BIOLOGY KITS TO PROMOTE
CRITICAL THINKING. Helen H. Benford, Department of Biology, Tuskegee
University, Tuskegee, AL 36088.

Commercial kits that apply concepts and techniques of molecular biology
are readily available for classroom use. At a recent workshop, college science
teachers tested a number of these kits. A summary to be presented includes
cost, instructional level, advantages/disadvantages, and technical tips. Like
many traditional laboratory exercises, kits tend to detail not only experimental
procedure, but also expected results and "correct" conclusions, leaving little
room for student input. The challenge is to use these kits in ways that retain
their clear benefits and also provide opportunity for critical thinking,
creativity, and application of scientific method. A kit using the luciferase gene
to transform E. coli produces glow-in-the dark bacteria and provides dramatic
focus to a laboratory module planned for introductory biology. The module
begins with manipulation of the firefly luciferase reaction and moves to the
gene-protein connection. During a discussion that introduces plasmids and
antibiotic resistance, student teams outline the rationale for an experiment
that will produce bioluminescent bacteria, including controls and selection for
transformants. When introduced to the kit materials, students make
predictions, carry out the transformation, and analyze results. To connect this
laboratory exercise to the real world and provide practice in interpreting
graphical information, students analyze data demonstrating that luciferase
from genes engineered into mycobacteria can be used to assay antibiotic
susceptibility of strains from tuberculosis patients.

A RAPID, NON-TOXIC METHOD OF DNA EXTRACTION FROM WHOLE BLOOD.

Rick A. Bright , Sue Thomson, and Jeff Barksdale, Dept, of Biology,
Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36116.

Previously published protocols for DNA extraction from whole
blood are time-consuming, costly, and utilize toxic chemicals such
as phenol, chloroform, and isoamyl alcohol. We present a modifi¬
cation that avoids these factors, making it adaptable to a teaching
laboratory environment. The modified procedure utilizes a "salting
out" technique with a saturated sodium chloride solution. The
resulting product has an A260/A280 ratio of 1.833 ±0.04 and an
average yield of 112 ug of DNA from 5 mL of whole blood. These
results are obtained 'in under two Lours, from fresh or frozen blood,
without any additional purification methods.

201

Abstracts

THE DETERMINATION OF AMINO ACID pKa's BY FTIR SPECTROSCOPY.
Dawn Arant and Massimo D. Bezoari, Huntingdon College, Montgomery, AL
36106.

Undergraduate projects provide students with research experience in
carrying out a literature search, planning and carrying out experiments, analyzing
and interpreting data, and communicating project results in weekly meetings,
papers, and presentations. In addition, the student augments his/her expertise in
various areas of study. The acquisition of an FTIR spectrometer with NSF
funding (1993 ILI-IG program, grant no. DUE 9450945) has stimulated student
interest in undergraduate research, and increased the quality of such projects.

This presentation relates to the acid-base chemistry of amino acids and the
student's experiences in pursuing the investigation of these properties by
quantitative FTIR spectroscopy. The project poses many challenges, such as (i)
selection of appropriate IR cell materials for analyzing aqueous solutions, (ii)
selection of analysis method (HATR, or solution cells), (iii) the measurement of
absorbances in multicomponent solutions, and (iv) determination of Beer's law
adherence/non-adherence. In addressing these issues, the student has learned
about the zwitterion nature of amino acids, used IR sampling methods and other
F.TIR instrumental capabilities not normally encountered by undergraduates, and
studied the scope and limitations of Beer's law. The project has also provided a
valuable experience in making a formal presentation of this work-in-progress.

TEE NEED TO VERIFY SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION GLEANED FROM
ELECTRONIC SOURCES. Ernest D. Riggsby, Dutchie Riggsby,
and Joseph George, School of Education, Columbus State
University, Columbus, GA 31907-5645.

There always has existed a critical need to carefully
verify scientific information and data taken from all
sources. The advent of electronic gateways, including the
Internet, has perpetuated some inaccurate information and
data acquisition. These resources avoid the careful
screening by editors of hardcopy journals and peer review,
which reduce the chances of using unscientific, untested,
and often uncritical information. The establishing of
webpages and placing easily accessible and retrievable
information in the hand and works of our students may
generate a ripple effect that turns into a flood of mis¬
information. This paper was aimed at alerting middle
school students who use on-line searches to this possible
source of error.

202

Abstracts

THREE YEAR EVALUATION OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY RETENTION STRATEGIES.
Barbara G. Rackley , Aaron I. Baba, Adriane G. Ludwick and Melissa S.
Reeves, Dept, of Chemistry. Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088

Decreasing the attrition rate in General Chemistry is a major
concern for the faculty at Tuskegee University. A perceived cause
of the high attrition rate was the poor backgrounds of some of the
students. The Toledo Placement Examination was administered to
incoming freshman, and the scores used to place students into
introductory chemistry. Toledo Placement scores and final grades
were collected for chemistry students for the year 93-94, 94-95, and
95-96. Preliminary statistical analysis shows that students with low
placement scores who took the two nontraditional classes performed
as well in college chemistry as students who were placed directly
into college chemistry. Partial support of this project was
provided by a USDA Capacity Building Grant.

LEARNING BY ROLE-PLAYING: THE CPX MODEL FOR BIOLOGY LABS. John
C. Frandsen, Dept, of Biology, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088

An extended role-playing exercise for parasitology laboratory classes has been de¬
veloped based on the military “command post exercise” (CPX). In a CPX, the participants
play roles in a simulated, rapidly-moving, highly-plausible situation which develops in a
manner sufficiently unpredictable to thoroughly test the coping abilities of the players.
Since it is impossible to predict precisely the reactions of each player in a given set of cir¬
cumstances, or to predict the relevant inter-personal interactions in each group of players,
the exercise tends to develop its own scenarios and take on a life of its own, though the
instructional personnel— acting as umpires — impose changes to channel its development
and test the knowledge and reactions of the players. The umpires continually assess and
rate the performance of the players individually and as groups.

The parasitology class is divided into 3-4-person teams, each team becoming an en¬
tity located at a real geographic location. Each team member is given a specific role within
the entity, which may change. Initially, each team must find its site on a map and prepare
a site analysis. Then each team is briefed on its duties and functions and given an urgent
situation — a patient with certain symptoms, a specimen, an autopsy report — demanding
prompt action. As soon as this action is completed, or sometimes before it can be com¬
pleted, the situation is altered to present new challenges. “Rounds” are held periodically,
wherein the students sit in a circle, and the teacher asks each team to report on its activities
and actions. These are critiqued by all. The exercise continues for several weeks. It has
been used for four years, and student response and participation have been uniformly en¬
thusiastic, each class expressing the wish that it could have been longer. Assessment indi¬
cates that it is a much more efficient method of teaching such subject matter than the clas¬
sic ones of memorization and “practical” laboratory examinations. Perhaps the CPX can be
used as a model for other science laboratory instruction.

203

Abstracts

MATTER AND ENERGY: A MOST BASIC CONCEPT IN BIOLOGY.

William R. Bowen, Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University,
Jacksonville, AL 36265

Biologists have long defined life as that which exhibits certain characteristics or
properties associated with being alive. But, there are exceptions, for each property is
not necessarily associated with every kind of living thing. Hence, this approach has
always been a difficult one at best. However, there is no exception when one
chooses to “define” life as a unique system of matter and energy. The expression,
unique, serves to distinguish living systems of matter and energy from non-living
systems. Such an approach enables biologists to consider 3 models of systems of
matter and energy— namely, living, once-living, and non-living systems— each of
which is governed by the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. The
progressively greater degrees of interaction— from atoms, molecules, cells, organisms,
ecosystems, and the biosphere— that occur between the “less organized” non-living
systems of matter and energy and the “more organized” living systems yield the
unique properties of all life. Moreover, one can then address evolution as an
inevitable phenomenon which applies equally well to both non-living and living
systems.

NEW COMPUTER APPROACHES TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN GENERAL CHEMISTRY.
Larry M. Ludwick. Department of Chemistry; Mbakop Ivan, Department of Electrical
Engineering; and Kolongo Mulumba, Department of Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee
University, Tuskegee, AL 36088.

The difficulties that students have with college chemistry are legendary. Most
chemistry instructors attribute these problems to inadequate preparation in mathematics
and difficulties in reading comprehension skills. While many approaches are being
taken to surmount these difficulties, we are experimenting with two tools that may be
successful with the increasingly computer-literate students in general chemistry. The
first approach is to use HyperCard™ as a simple programming approach that instructors
may find useful in many situations. The techniques can produce usable products with
minimal effort by the teacher/author. An example of this programming will be shown
using calculations based on the simple gas laws. Similar programs can be constructed for
other specific difficult areas of chemistry. The second approach has been to, construct an
outline of the textbook chapters using HTML. This procedure creates an attractive
product that is easy to read and provides an alternate approach to the printed textbook.
Both of these tools are being designed for supplemental use in the general chemistry
curriculum and will be evaluated for their effectiveness. Partial support for this effort
was provided from USARO (Infrastructure Development in Engineering) and USDA
(Capacity Building Grant) and is gratefully acknowledged.

204

Abstracts

LABORATORY ADAPTIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

John E. Teggins, Christopher A.L. Mahaffy and Randall E. Richardson,
Department of Chemistry, and Nancy B. McDaniel, Gerri L. Wolfe and Reed
L. Bigelow, Center for Special Services, Auburn University at Montgomery,
Montgomery, AL 36117-3596, U.S.A.

The authors will report on 'Project L.A.B.S.S.’ (Laboratory
Adaptations for the Betterment of Special Students); a program to allow
students with disabilities to participate fully in first year college chemistry
courses. Twenty-four experiments have been devised that involve no
temperatures above 50 degrees C. or corrosive materials at concentrations
greater than 1% in aqueous solution. Almost all materials were obtained
from retail outlets. These safe inexpensive experiments covered the same
chemical principles that were previously included in our General Chemistry
sequence without requiring special equipment or laboratory furniture for
students with physical disabilities.

Attendees at the presentation, which will include a demonstration of
one of the modified experiments, will be given an opportunity to obtain a
complimentary copy of the manual containing all experimental details.

BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

A QUALITY CONTROL PLAN APPROACH TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION: A
QUEST FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. Jerald C. Burns, Dept. of
Criminology and Criminal Justice, Alabama State University,
Montgomery, AL 36101.

This paper charts the history of Alabama State University's
Quality Control Plan and its implementation by the Department of
Criminology and Criminal Justice. The paper explores the use of
Bloom's taxonomy of learning and its implications for the
preparation of syllabi and tests for the department, as well as
the development of degree competency statements. The paper
concludes that to achieve academic excellence in criminal
justice, instructors must have measurable objectives and be a
part of the university's efforts to be accountable for its
product .

205

Abstracts

TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS: APPLYING THE CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY
PREFERENCES. Bryan Kennedy, and Dahlia B. Newton, School of
Business, Athens State College, Athens, AL 35611

Trainers are more successful when they can identify factors
that enable individuals to learn effectively. An understanding of
personality traits such as locus of control, self esteem, and
emotional stability, is helpful to trainers. The concept of
personality preferences, based on Jung and Myers-Br iggs , also
helps trainers take into account individual differences that
affect learning. Guidelines for providing positive and corrective
feedback, based primarily on the work of Hirsch and Kummerow,
enable trainers to fulfill their roles.

CORRECTIONAL REFORM: POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE PRISON LITIGATION REFORM
ACT. William E. Osterhoff, Dept, of Justice & Public Safety, Auburn
Univ. at Montgomery, and Maureen C. Trussell, Psychology Dept., Auburn
Univ. at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36117.

Prison litigation was uncommon in the United States until the
1960s. Based on the separation of powers doctrine, management of
prisons and jails was the responsibility of the executive levels of
government. For most of the nation's history the courts exercised a
"hands-off" policy toward corrections and reflected the view that in¬
mates did not have the same rights as other citizens.

The "hands-off" policy changed during the 1960s. The number of law¬
suits filed by inmates has increased dramatically. Courts became in¬
volved in almost every aspect of correctional management. As a result,
prison and jail conditions improved dramatically throughout the nation.
During recent years, however, the courts have shown more deference to
correctional administrators, particularly as the number and cost of
inmate suits became more burdensome. The increase in inmate litigation
also was of concern to the legislative and executive branches of
government .

On April 26, 1996, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was
signed into law. The bill limits the scope of the federal courts in
prison and jail reform and limits access by inmates to the federal
courts. PLRA's short term impact will result in a reduction in the
number of inmate lawsuits filed, fewer consent orders, and less intru¬
sion by the courts in correctional management. The long range impact,
however, may be less optimistic. Many of the gains that have been
achieved for inmates and for corrections in general may erode as fede¬
ral court involvement is reduced. Constitutionality of some provisions
of PLRA also may be questionable.

206

Abstracts

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Computer Hassles Scale. Richard A.
Hudiburg. Dept, of Psychology, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence, AL.

The Computer Hassles Scale, a measure of computer stress, was developed by
Hudiburg (1992) as a shortened version of the Computer Technology Hassles Scale
(Hudiburg, 1989). The Computer Hassles Scale (CHS) was defined from the first two
factors derived from a factor analysis of the Computer Technology Hassles Scale.

These two factors were composed of "hassles" that related more specifically to the use
of computers rather than computer technology in general. The two factors were
identified as Computer Runtime Problems and Computer Information Problems. The
specific objective of this research was to determine whether the latent structure of the
Computer Hassles Scale fit the two factor structure defined as a result of the data
reduction from its parent scale or whether another structure better fit the scale.

This study employed a normative database of 1 199 student computer users.
Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analyses were performed using
SPSS 6.1 for Windows (SPSS, 1994) and the LISREL 7.2 structural equation
modeling computer program (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1991). Three models were tested
using LISREL: Model 1 — the two factors based on the .parent scale; Model 2 — a two
factor structure identified from an exploratory factor analysis of the CHS; and Model 3
— other factor structures with 3 or more factors identified in the exploratory factor
analyses of the CHS. Using various goodness-of-fit indices, it was found that a three
factor solution Model 3 was the best fitted structure for the scale. The current study
suggests that future research explore possible latent structure differences of the CHS as
a function of demographic variables such as gender and computer experience.

UNREPORTED DECISIONS OF THE U.S. CIRCUIT COURTS OF APPEALS. Robert J.
Van Der Velde, Justice & Public Safety Dept., Auburn Univ. at Montg.,
Montgomery, AL 36117.

As the number of appeals continues to grow, the U.S. Circuit Courts
of Appeals are increasingly choosing not to publish large numbers of
decisions. This article explores how unreported appellate decisions
differ from reported decisions and whether court policies and practices
regarding non-publication of decisions should be changed. Part I
reviews the literature regarding unreported decisions. Part II presents
an empirical analysis of appellate decisions. Focusing on 1992-1994,
data are compiled for every case to answer the previously unexplored
issue of whether cases with unpublished decisions are resolved
significantly faster than those where the court publishes its
decisions. Part III describes the local rules of each of the circuits
regarding publication, and examines whether litigants or the courts
rely on unpublished decisions despite rules which discourage such
reliance. Finally, Part IV sets forth proposed revisions to court
policies regarding publication, and assesses the possible consequences
of the suggested changes.

207

Abstracts

Orientation: a key step in the personnel selection process.

Louis M. Harris, Jr., Criminal Justice Department, Faulkner
University, Montgomery, Alabama 36109.

Police officer turnover has been recognized as a problem
since the earliest writings in police administration. To explain
turnover researchers have focused on predictor variables such as
attitudinal factors, biological factors, work-related factors and
test-score factors. While not discounting these factors, recent
attention has been paid to the selection process and specifically
the orientation step as a predictor variable for turnover within
a police agency. Orientation may consist of a brief explanation
of the department's benefits to an extensive disclosure of the
department's goals and objectives.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE WIDOWED PERSONS' SERVICE IN
CENTRAL ALABAMA. Larry C. Mullins, Department of Sociology, and
Nelya J. McKenzie, Department of Communication and Dramatic Arts,
Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama 36117.

This study examines the loneliness and depressed mood of older
persons who are members of the Widowed Persons' Service (WPS) in a
medium-sized southern city. Of particular interest is: A) The
association between loneliness and depressed mood, and B) the set of
factors that may influence these two socioemotional states. The ante
cedent variables of interest include age, sex, living arrangements,
self-rated health and self-rated economic condition, existence (or
not) of children and friends, and several support variables with re¬
gard to both children and friends. Of the 230 members of the WPS
in -the Winter, 1996, 134 (58%) responded to a mailed survey. These
persons are neither especially lonely, nor especially depressed.

The sample is predominately female and white with an average age of
74.45 years. Most live alone. The average number of children is
2.30. The average number of "best" friends is 4.02. These persons
view their health condition and their economic condition as quite
good. Results indicate a moderate association, r=.4l (p<.001), be¬
tween the Loneliness Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Sep¬
arate multiple regression analyses for loneliness and depression in¬
dicate: A) lesser loneliness is associated only with having more
friends, and B) lesser depressed mood is associated with a more posi
tive health assessment, a better economic situation, and having fe¬
male friends. These and other findings are discussed along with
their implications.

208

Abstracts

BAIL ISSUES: ASSESSING VARIOUS STATE PROCEDURES.

Gerald P. Fisher, Dept, of Criminal Justice, Alabama
State University, Montgomery, AL . 36101.

The public and the media attack bail systems when an
individual released on bail commits additional crimes.

It particularly becomes- a major public concern when pre¬
adjudicated individuals are released merely to relieve
jail crowding. This paper will provide a discussion and
evaluation of current bail programs in varied jurisdictions
The author will also present recent technological
developments which impact on the success of pre¬
adjudication community release programs.

MEDICAL MARIHUANA LEGISLATION. Nicholas A. Astone,
Dept-. Criminal Justice, Alabama State Universi
Montgomery, AL . 36101.

Medical marijuana is one of the most controver
issues facing American policy makers in the 19
California and Arizona have initiated a moveme
prescribe marijuama as medicine in specific ca
Government response has been repressive. This
presents a view of the trend medical marijuana
in the beginning of 1996, including state init
legislative statutes and governmental responce
national level.

HEALTH SCIENCES

ATHEROEMBOLISM: A MULTIFACETED DISORDER. Sara Kim and Robert E.
Pieroni, Dept, of Internal Medicine, Univ. of Ala. School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa,
AL 35487.

Atheroembolism develops when thrombotic and atherosclerotic material,
originating in a more proximal arterial system, lodge distally resulting in vessel
occlusion. This may occur spontaneously or following invasive procedures, such as
angiography. The condition is often undiagnosed because of lack of clinical
recognition, and frequent difficulty in its diagnosis, especially since it can mimic a
variety of other disorders. Because atheroembolism may involve numerous organs,
its sequelae are serious and may be fatal. We shall discuss risk factors, clinical and
laboratory manifestations, differential diagnoses and possible treatment modalities
for atheroembolism. The importance of early recognition of this ominous entity will
be underscored as will the use of appropriate preventive measures, as well as the
possible avoidance of exhaustive diagnostic studies.

ty,

sial
90s .
nt to
ses .
paper
has taken
iati ves ,
s at the

209

Abstracts

SURVEY OF STATE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION ON CHILD ABUSE
PREVENTION EDUCATION. Elaine Marshall, Samford University, Birmingham, AJL and
Ellen B. Buckner, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1210.

Child Abuse prevention initiatives have been attempted in many areas due to the alarming
rise of reported cases of child abuse. Health and education reform have both emphasized the
need for comprehensive school health education, however, child abuse prevention education
is not routinely listed as a component. This study surveyed state school officers to determine
current offerings in health with particular emphasis on child abuse prevention. Thirty-seven
(37) state departments returned surveys with respondents averaging 19.2 years experience in
education. Thirty (81 %) required a health course for graduation, however, only eight (21 %)
required a child abuse prevention unit. Several other respondents indicated health or child
abuse prevention education was recommended and several states sent well-developed K-12
curricular materials in response to the survey. Several state officers indicated that decisions
were made locally, not at the state level. Regarding future offerings respondents indicated that
specific content was best presented within a comprehensive framework not as a crisis-oriented
topic. Barriers to implementation included concern for family responsibility in this area and
difficulties in discussing some aspects of the topic. Respondents recommended inclusion of
positive parenting, stress management and conflict resolution. A broad range of state initiatives
in this area was noted.

ANTIPROLIFERATIVE EFFECT QF GEMCITABINE AND 5-FLUQROURACIL IN

COMBINATION ON TISSUE CULTURE MODELS.

J. G. Elev & E. Felts, Samfond University McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Birmingham,
Alabama. S. Schmid, Experimental Therapeutics Department, Southern Research Institute
Birmingham, Alabama.

Gemcitabine is a relatively new anticancer nucleoside being an analog of deoxycytidine.
It’s activity against DNA is gained by replacing the two hydrogen atoms of the 2-carbon
with two fluorine atoms. Therapeutic activity against a number of murine solid tumors and
leukemias led to clinical trials(l). Chemotherapeutic regimens for pancreatic cancer
usually include 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). As a single agent 5-FU has about a 7-30% response
rate . Among new agents currently being tested is gemcitabine which has produced overall
clinical benefits in 25% of cases as a single agent. HT29-C1.19A, a clone of HT29 cells
which form tight junctions in a continuous monolayer culture, were maintained, under
standard conditions. Cytotoxicity was analyzed by a colourometric assay. Samples from
the CoS tar 96- well plates were read with an Anthos colourometric reader 2001, used
specifically to measure light absorbance. Results of the combination compared with single
agents shows ID*, values that indicated a three and two log increase in inhibition for the
combination compared to Gemcitabine and 5-FU respectively. The curve is shifted to the
left showing an exponential increase over a 5-FU and a faster onset of activity over
Gemcitabine itself. By varying the proportions of drug it may be possible to further
increase the potency of the combination.

1). Hotel LW., Boder BG Jr. et aL Evaluation of the antitumor activity of gemcitabine.
Cancer Res. 5Q. 4417-4422(1990)

210

Abstracts

THE INFLUENCE OF BEHAVIORAL CUES ON THE IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES OF ELDERS.

Dr. Lynn A. Chilton, Div. of Nursing, Mississippi University for Women, Columbus, MS

A quasi-experimental intervention study was designed to compare the influence of
behavioral cues on immunization practices of elders, to determine immunization practices
related to influenza and pneumonia, and to ascertain reasons for underimmunization among
this age group. Data were collected utilizing, a Demographic Survey (DS) and the Chilton
Immunization Survey (CIS). The sample consisted of 393 elders who were patients in rural
health clinics where nurse practitioners (NPs) were the primary C3re providers. Subjects were
divided into four groups which included on control group (Group 1) and three treatment
groups. Subjects in Group 2 received a postcard reminder as a cue to obtain inoculations.
Elders in Group 3 did not receive a postcard reminder but did obtain care from NPs who
received immunization fact sheets as a cue to increase awareness about underimmunization
consequences for elders. Subjects in Group 4 received both a postcard reminder and care
from NPs who were exposed to the fact sheets. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze
the DS and CIS. Also, for each group of elders, it was determined how many subjects
received influenza and/or pneumonia immunizations during the three months of data
collection and a score was given to each group. A comparison of groups mean scores was
made among the four groups utilizing an ANOVA and post hoc analysis. Analysis revealed
that while the majority of the subjects (n=289, 73.5%) had received an influenza inoculation
last year, only 38.3% had ever received an immunization to prevent pneumonia. Analysis also
indicated that the group of elders who received both a postcard reminder and care from a NP
exposed to immunization fact sheets, had significantly higher immunization rates than all other
groups. Conclusions from this study were that primary care providers develop fact sheets on
immunizations as a cue to discuss immunizations with elders and that postcard reminders
should be sent by as effectve strategies to improve immunization rates among elders.

ADDISON’S DISEASE: DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES. Robert F„ Pieroni. Univ. of
Ala. School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa, AT 35487.

Primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison's Disease), although uncommon,
should be promptly considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting
with a variety of signs and symptoms that have been noted in this disorder. Left
untreated, adrenal crisis and death may ensue. Clinical features have been
categorized as: 1) asthenic, e.g. decreased strength, and lethargy; 2) cardiovascular,
e.g. orthostatic hypotension, small heart; 3) gastrointestinal, e.g. anorexia, nausea,
diarrhea, abdominal pain; 4) salt wasting, with possible hyperkalemia, hyponatremia,
azotemia and metabolic acidosis; 5) hypoglycemia and 6) alterations in
pigmentation. These and other clinical manifestations may vary in occurrence
among patients. Although autoimmune adrenal destruction is the most common
cause of Addison’s Disease in this country, there are a variety of other disorders, for
example, bleeding and fulminant infection, which can result in adrenal insufficiency.

Case reports, as well as an approach to the diagnosis of Addison’s Disease will be
presented, as will discussions of pathophysiology, physical and laboratory'
abnormalities, as well as appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

211

Abstracts

PERINATAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE: NURSING STRATEGIES AND OUTCOMES.
Wan-Ting Wu, James Andrew Atkins and Ellen Buckner,

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1210 and Marian Hoge
and Sabrina Boswell, Aletheia House Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention
Program, Birmingham, Alabama

Participants in a perinatal substance abuse treatment program were visited by
nursing students during a clinical rotation. Students visited clients approximately 6 times
at a day treatment facility to assist clients to adapt to their pregnancy and to enhance
adherence to the program promoting drug-free lifestyle and self-care. Student activities
consisted of assessment and intervention in areas of educational needs, psychosocial
support, and anticipation of developmental maturation. Students encouraged clients to
participate fully in prenatal care and to consult with their primary physician or nurse
practitioner as needed. Students identified nursing diagnoses including (1) Alteration in
nutrition, (2) Lack of knowledge of several pregnancy related topics (anatomy, physiology,
drug and nicotine effects, growth of ferns, processes of labor and birth, hygiene, safety,
birth control, newborn care, postpartum self-care, etc.), and (3) Alteration or delay in
achieving developmental tasks of pregnancy (acceptance of the pregnancy, seeking safe
passage, self-care). Students established a therapeutic relationship with emphasis on
educational modalities and support for healthy behaviors. Clients who were visited by
nursing students averaged 63 days in the program and 54% graduated from the program.
Students and clients reported beneficial effects from the relationships which were
established. Future plans include strengthening communication and procedures to facilitate
student visits and determination of other beneficial outcomes of the intervention.

EFFECT OF AGED GARLIC EXTRACT (AGE) ON BENZOYL PEROXIDE
(BPO) CYTOTOXICITY. Noma Gwebu. Joanne Williams, Lakeisha Perkins, Arley
Brutus, Woodley Benoit, Stephanie Richardson, Ephraim Gwebu, Department of
Chemistry, Oakwood College, Hunstville, AL 35896.

Garlic is a common food item with both anti-atherosclerotic and hypotensive
properties. According to Wakunaga of America Co., Ltd (Mission Viejo, CA), Aged
Garlic Extract™ is a product of organically grown garlic cloves that have undergone a
unique natural aging process. Their claim is that aged garlic extract is an antioxidant
form of garlic, according to in vitro tests. Studies from our laboratory have shown that
BPO, a progenitor of free radicals, is cytotoxic. The purpose of this study was to
determine whether AGE protects human aortic smooth muscle cells against BPO
cytotoxicity. Proliferating human aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were purchased
from Clonetics Co., trypsinized and maintained in Clonetics SMGM3 BulletKit cell
growth medium. At passage 3 in our laboratory, SMCs were split and transferred to
24-well petri dishes at a density of 105 per mL. The cells were preincubated with AGE
at 70% confluency for 40-48 hours. BPO (33 micromolar) was added to each well and
incubation followed by cell viability assay. The results show that AGE may provide
some protection. Funded in part by NIGMS/NIH MARC Grant #T34GMO8259-09.

212

Abstracts

EFFECT OF PROPYL GALLATE ON BENZOYL PEROXIDE
CYTOTOXICITY IN HUMAN AORTIC SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS. Sharon
Ngwenva. Tamara Young, Stephanie Richardson and E.T. Gwebu. Department of
Chemistry, Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama 35896.

Certain antioxidants have been found to protect living cells from oxygen free
radicals that are implicated to be among the causes of chronic diseases such as cancer,
Alzheimer disease, and atherosclerosis. Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) is known to be a
generator of oxygen free radicals. Benzoyl peroxide can be found to be an active
ingredient in treatments for various conditions such as inflammatory acne and
decibitus ulcers. We have also shown that BPO is indeed toxic to vascular smooth
muscle cells with an LD50 of 30 micromolar. Since propyl gallate is an antioxidant, it
may be capable of protecting living cells from the cytotoxicity of BPO. The purpose
of this experiment is to determine if propyl gallate protects human aortic smooth
muscle cells from the cytotoxicity of BPO. Proliferating human aortic cells were
purchased from Clonetics Inc., trypsinized and cultured and cultured at 37 degrees
Celcius, 5% carbon dioxide, and 95% humidity. At passage 3, the cells were
transfered to wells and allowed to grow to 70% confluency before exposure to propyl
gallate and BPO. Cell viability was determined using the methylthioltetrazolium
(MTT) test kit purchased from Sigma Chemical Company.- The results will be
discussed.

NDGA AND BENZOYL PEROXIDE CYTOTOXITY ON VASCULAR
SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS. Ariel I. Warden. Stanton Dulan, Stephanie
Richardson, Tamara Young, Kelly Darby, Michael Selassie, Ephraim T. Gwebu.

Dept, of Chemistry, Oakwood College, Huntsville, AL 35896.

Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) has been shown to generate oxygen free radicals that
are implicated to be among the causes of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer disease,
atherosclerosis, and cancer. Lab results show that BPO is toxic to human vascular
smooth muscle cells by the generation of free radicals at 0.33uM concentrations.
Certain antioxidants have been found to protect cells that have generated free
radicals. Since nordihydroguiaretic acid (NDGA) is a known antioxidant, the
purpose of our experiment is to determine if NDGA protects cell viability against
BPO. Proliferating human vascular smooth muscle cells were purchased from
Clonetics, Inc., trypsinized and cultured at 37 degrees Celsius, 5% carbon dioxide,
and 95% humidity. The cells were allowed to grow to 70% confluency before being
exposed to BPO and NDGA. Cell viability was determined using the methyl thiazol
tetrazolium (MTT) test kit purchased from Sigma Chemical Company. The results
will be discussed. This research was supported in part by NIGMS-MBRS #GS 14-
GM 48439-03, and NIGMS-MARC #T34-GM08259-09.

213

Abstracts

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INTENTION, HABIT, AND BREAST
SELF-EXAMINATION BEHAVIOR. Youngshook Han. School of Nursing,

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

This study examined the role of confidence and perception of vulnerability to
breast cancer in predicting intention to perform Breast Self-Exammation (BSE) and
BSE behavior 2 years later using the Triandis model of choice (Triandis, 1977).

The subjects (N = 2212) consisted of women between the ages of 52 and 64 years
who were divided into four groups based on their responses to confidence (have
confidence versus no confidence) and perception of vulnerability (high versus low).
Structural equation analyses were performed to test the components of the' Triandis
model (i.e., consequence, affect, social factors, intention, habit, and behavior)
along with the effects of confidence and vulnerability for each group. Results
showed only limited support for the Triandis model in predicting the relationships
between BSE intention, habit, and BSE behavior. Intention influenced BSE
behavior depending on the interactive effect of confidence and vulnerability, while
habit influenced BSE behavior regardless of the interactive effect. A significant
relationship between intention and BSE behavior was found only in women who had
no confidence and low vulnerability. This study was supported by Grant PBR-51a
from the American Cancer Society.

TREATMENT OF ACUTE ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO FOODS BY A TRADITIONAL BY A
TRADITIONAL HEALER IN ZIMBABWE. Ephraim T. Gwebu and Nkenge Jackson, Oakwood
College, Huntsville AL. 35896, Dumezweni Sidambe, Barbara Sibanda, Zimbabwe Traditional and
Medical Clinic, 19 Fifth Avenue, Jason Moyo Street, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Sam. Sibanda, Chemistry
Department, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. box MP 167 Mt. Pleasant, Harare.

Nkenge Jackson went to Zimbabwe with the Minority International Research Training scholars during
the 1996 summer. From infancy Nkenge had severe allergic reactions to most types of food including
cow’s milk. As she grew up, she discovered that she could not even ingest anything that had tomato, citrus
products, fruit juices, sodas and fruits of any kind without suffering the symptoms of allergy. In June 1996,
when she was leaving for Zimbabwe, her father (a physician) and mother (Ph.D. in pharmacology) gave her
a mobile pharmacy composed of every conceivable anti allergy prescription. Upon arrival in Zimbabwe
she drank bottled water only and scrupulously examined everything before putting it in her mouth. A few
weeks later, she was introduced to a traditional healer, Dr. Sidambe. A nationally known herbal medicinal
practitioner. After examining her. he told her that he was going to prepare a prescription that would contain
most of her sources of allergies. She returned the next day and was given a liquid prescription. Nkenge was
on the treatment program for about a week. During that period she did not change her eating habits.
However, one day she ran out of her bottled water and decided to take just a sip of soda belonging to her
roommate. To her surprise, there was complete absence of allergic reactions. She tried a few more foods,
with the same results. A few days later, Nkenge discovered the joy of eating anything she wanted. Presently,
Nkenge is a first year medical student at Morehouse College of Medicine eating to her heart’s delight.

Funded by Mirt Grant #5T37 TW00070-02

214

Abstracts

THE CYTOTOXICITY OF DDT AND DDE ON HUMAN VASCULAR SMOOTH
MUSCLE CELLS. Stephanie M. Richardson. Michael Selassie, Joanne Williams,
Rashaye Freeman, Marisssa Cummings, Marc-Yriane-Borieux, and Ephraim T. Gwebu.
Chemistry Department, Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama 35896.

The compound DDT (1,1,1-trichloro 2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane) and DDE
(2,2-Bis(4-chlorophenyl)-l,l-dichloroethylene) were used in insecticides to destroy
mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria. Unfortunately, scientist did not understand
that these compounds would alter wildlife that it came in contact. Scientist have found
evidence that some chemicals block or imitate biological signals in the body.

The health effect of DDT are a concern to the people of North Alabama because
of a history of water contamination by the xenobiotic (DDT). The objective of this study
is to determine the cytotoxic effect of DDT and DDE on human vascular smooth muscle
cells. Proliferating human vascular smooth muscle cells were purchased by Clonetics
Co., and maintained in Clonetics SMGM-3 Bulletkit cell growth medium. At the third
passage the cells where transferred into 24-well petri dishes and allowed to grow to
confluency before experimentation. The method of Mosmann ( Mosmann, T. Rapid
colorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival: application to proliferation and
cytotoxicity assays. J. Immunol. Methods 65: 55-63; 1983) was used with some
modifications. The method involves use of MTT (methylthiazol tetrazolium) assay kit
purchased from Sigma Chemical Company was used to estimate the cell viability. Our
results show that DDT and DDE are toxic to vascular smooth muscle cells.

Funded by NIGMS/NIH MARC Grant #2 T34 GM08259-06A1

EVALUATION OF THE MAJOR GENE DELETION FOUND IN JUVENILE
NEURONAL CEROID LIPOFUSCINOSIS (BATTENS DISEASE) IN A FAMILY
WITH THE ADULT FORM, KUFS DISEASE. Tim Wood and Maria Descartes,
Laboratory of Medical Genetics, University of Mabama at Birmingham, Birmingham,
Mabama 35294. Ruben Kuzniecky and Edward Faught, Epilepsy Center, University
of Mabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294.

Kufs disease is a rare adult onset neurological disorder, the adult form of the
neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL). NCL clinical diagnosis includes seizures,
dementia, premature death and the accumulation of autofluorescent lipopigments in
neuronal cells. Adult neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) differs from classical forms
of NCL by lacking ocular symptoms and having onset in adulthood. Recently, a
candidate gene (CLN3) for the juvenile form of NCL (JNCL, Battens disease) has been
isolated and between 70-80% of affected JNCL individuals carry a 1 kb deletion. We
used a recently published PCR-based test for the major JNCL deletion to examine the
locus of a known JNCL patient. The patient revealed the 1 kb deletion in both alleles.
Aso, examination of the JNCL locus in one affected ANCL patient and three family
members did not show the CLN3 deletion. Our data suggest ANCL is not caused by the
common Battens disease deletion.

215

Abstracts

ATTEMPTS TO AUTHENTICATE ZIMBABWEAN TRADITIONAL

REMEDIES. Donald Peghee. Jr.. Mueni Mutinga. Gadia Peabody, Melvin Poole, Jr.,
Ephraim Gwebu, Department of Chemistry, Oakwood College Huntsville, A1 35896. Sam Sibanda,
Department of Chemistry, University of Zimbabwe P.O. Box MP 167 Mount Pleasant Harare,
Zimbabwe. William Setzer, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama in Huntsville,
Huntsville, A1 35899.

The plant, commonly known as Isagogwana in Sindebele, the local Zimbabwean language,
Pappea capensis is from the area of Mbizingwe in Zimbabwe, Africa. The root bark is used for the
treatment of coughs. Therefore the root bark was collected and taken to the University of
Zimbabwe. Exhaustive extraction with cold methanol was carried out , followed by evaporation of
the solvent by the rotovapor. A high vacuum air pump was used to dry the substance into a glass.
The material was then packaged and brought to the United States. In the laboratory at the
University of Alabama in Huntsville, a chromatography column was prepared and fractions gathered
of the material. One fraction showed biological activity (brine shrimp lethality) and was sub-
fractioned using a preparative TLC method. The results from this are now being subjected to further
analysis by NMR.spectroscopy. The prediction is that the plant exhibits some cytotoxicity activity.
Cytotoxicity studies have been initiated in the laboratory at Oakwood College. This study was
supported in part by NIH/Fogarty International Center-Minority International Research Training
Program (MIRT) Grant # 5 T37 TW00070-01.

PARENTING A HOSPITALIZED PRETERM INFANT: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL
STUDY. Margaret Findlay, R.N., Ph.D., School of Nursing,
Univ. of Ala. at B'hai. , Birmingham, AL 35294.

This phenomenological study was designed to explicate the
meaning of the lived experience of parenting a hospitalized
preterm infant. Seven females and two males whose preterm
Infants were at least four weeks old were interviewed to
obtain complete descriptions of their experiences. Data
were analyzed using a seven-stage process process.
Triangulating analysts validated the findings. The meaning
of the experience of parenting a hospitalized preterm
infant was multidimensional and best represented through
three interrelated themes: adaptation, autonomy, and

future. Subthemes which supported the theme, adaptation,
were fear of death, attachment, support systems, personal
strength, faith in God, and decisions regarding life
situation. Subthemes which supported the theme, autonomy,
were communication, assuming parenting role, seeking
information, and gaining confidence. Subthemes which
supported the theme, future, were going home, growth and
development of the child, parenting style, and future
childbearing. Multidisciplinary implications for practice
and education were identified. Recommendations for -
research included additional phenomenological studies with
parents of preterm infants and care providers.
Recommendations were also provided related to intervention
and efficacy studies within the neonatal Intensive care
unit ,

216

Abstracts

PAX 2 GENE EXON 3 SILENT MUTATION IDENTIFIED. Lewis 0. Maddox and
Maria Descartes, Laboratory of Medical Genetics, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294. Martin S. Cogen, Alabama Eye
Foundation Hospital, Birmingham, AL 35294.

The .Paired Box (PAX) gene family encodes transcription factors
involved in the development of several tissues. The PAX gene family
currently consists of nine genes, PAX 1 to PAX 9. Developmental
abnormalities have been described for mutations of the PAX 2, PAX 3,
and PAX 6 genes. PAX 2 gene expression during embryogenesis has been
detected in the developing central nervous system, ear, eye, kidney,
and ureter. The PAX 2 gene, containing 12 exons and spanning 70 kb,
has been localized to chromosome 10q25. Mutations with the PAX 2 gene
have been associated with renal-coloboma syndrome resulting in optic
nerve coloboma and renal anomalies. We have identified a silent
mutation (A120A) in exon 3 of the PAX 2 gene that results from a C to
T transition in the third position of the codon. The variant sequence
wad detected by SSCP analysis. Cycle- sequencing has shown that the
forward and reverse strand sequences were not complementary to each
other. The sequence discrepancy occurred around the C to T
transition which was confirmed by digestion of the patient's PAX 2
exon 3 PCR product with the restriction enzyme Ddel. Computer
analysis of the DNA sequence suggested that the C to T silent
mutation alters the DNA secondary structure, thus hindering the
fidelity of the polymerase during cyclesequencing. Results of
Cleavase fragment length polymorphism (CFLP) analysis in which the
enzyme cleaves at the 5 ' end of secondary structure may be useful to
further support this hypothesis.

THE EFFECT OF BUTYLATED HYDROXYLTOLUENE (BHT) ON BENZOYL
PEROXIDE CYTOTOXICITY. Khalid Parris. Joseph Cheatham, Stephanie
Richardson, and Ephraim T. Gwebu. Chemistry Department, Oakwood College,
Huntsville, Alabama 35896.

In an effort to alleviate the occurrences of certain diseases which are caused by
free radicals, experiments must be implemented to mock physiological conditions. Certain
antioxidants have been found to protect living cells from oxygen free radicals. Benzoyl
peroxide (BPO) is known to solicit the occurrences of oxygen free radicals in tissues and
is toxic to the cells. However, butylated hydroxyltoluene (BHT), a widely used phenolic
antioxidant in processed foods , cosmetics, and petroleum products, has been shown to
completely protect the endoplasmic reticulum membrane from free radical induced
changes ( Peter Kaplan et. Al. And Y. Nakagawa et. al.). In this experiment, BHT was
evaluated as a possible protector against the cytotoxic effects of BPO on proliferating
human aortic smooth muscle cells. Our results show that BHT protects human aortic
smooth muscle cells against BPO. This research was supported in part by NIGMS-
MARC #2 T34-GM08259.

217

Abstracts

EFFECT OF VITAMIN E AND RADICAL SCAVENGERS ON VASCULAR
SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS AGAINST BENZOYL PEROXIDE
CYTOTOXICITY. Joanne Williams. Luke Carthen, Noma Gwebu, Nalo Hamilton
and Ephraim T. Gwebu. Department of Chemistry, Oakwood College, Huntsville,
Alabama 35896.

Generation of oxygen free radicals and concomitant cytotoxicity is implicated in such
chronic diseases as cancer, Alzheimer disease (AD), and atherosclerosis. Oxygen free
radical neurotoxicity can be attenuated by vitamin E and other free radical scavengers.
Because there are different types of oxygen radicals, the protective potential of these
scavengers may vary accordingly. Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) is an oxygen free radical
generator used in the treatment of such conditions as decubitus ulcers and inflammatory
acne. Studies from our laboratory have shown that BPO induces platelet aggregation
and the platelet release reaction. We have also shown that BPO is toxic to vascular
smooth muscle cells.

The purpose of this study was to compare the protective potential of vitamin E (an
antioxidant) and hydroxyl radical scavengers against BPO cytotoxicity. Human aortic
smooth muscle cells in culture were used. The methylthioltetrazolium (MTT) assay was
used to estimate cell viability. In this report, we show that vitamin E, mannitol, and
dimethyl sulfoxide, protect cells against BPO cytotoxicity, differentially.

Funded in part by NIGMS/NIH MBRS Grant # S14-GM 48439-03.

THROMBOTIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA (TTP). Lisa Sward and
Robert E. Pieroni, Depts. of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, Univ.of Ala.
School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

A fifty-seven year old female presented to the emergency department because
of acute onset of slurred speech and behavioral changes. She had a past medical
history of hypertension and depression, and had recently experienced mild
respiratory symptoms. There was no history of sputum production, nausea or
vomiting. Physical examination revealed a stuperous female with a temperature of
100.2° and tachycardia. The examination was otherwise unrevealing. Laboratory
evaluation revealed anemia and severe thrombocytopenia. Schistocytes were present
on the peripheral smear. CT scan revealed no significant intracranial abnormality.
Elevations of hematological, hepatic and muscle enzymes, as well as serum globulin
were noted. Urinalysis revealed proteinuria and hematuria, but renal function was
otherwise preserved. A clinical diagnosis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
was made and the patient was promptly transferred to a tertiary care center for
plasmaphoresis. TTP is a rare hematologic disorder that presents with many
systemic signs and symptoms. Prompt diagnosis and treatment can lead to a
response rate approaching 80%, whereas without treatment, the disease is almost
universally fatal. Clinical features of this intriguing entity will be discussed,
including proposed etiological factors as well as diagnostic and therapeutic
considerations.

218

Abstracts

HAMARTOMA: THE PULMONARY MIMIC. Robert E. Pieroni. Dept, of Internal
Medicine, Univ. of Ala. School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

Pulmonary hamartomas are benign lung neoplasms occurring most frequently
in asymptomatic older males. Although originally felt to represent developmental'
anomalies, recent cytogenic studies indicate that hamartomas represent clonal
mesenchymal neoplasms. Recently we encountered an elderly male with symptoms
of mild congestive heart failure. A chest x-ray revealed a pulmonary nodule, which
was felt to be suspicious for bronchogenic carcinoma. At surgery, his lesion was
found to be a pulmonary hamartoma. Subsequently, his coughing and mild dyspnea
improved considerably. Since pulmonary hamartoma can masquerade as other lung
disorders, including carcinoma, knowledge of this entity and its characteristics are
essential. We shall discuss various aspects of this anomaly, including its etiology,
presenting features, diagnostic work-up, methods of possible resection as well as
controversial issues, such as its possible contribution to pulmonary symptoms and
exceptions to its usually favorable prognosis.

Mutational Analysis and Carrier Detection of Hunter Syndrome. Amy
Bennett, Pe in in g Li, and Jerry Thompson, Laboratory of Medical Genetics,
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294.

Hunter Syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis II) is a X-linked
lysosomal storage disorder resulting from a deficiency of iduronate-2-
sulfatase (IDS) activity. The IDS gene, which is mapped to Xq28 ,
spans 24 kb and is comprised of 9 exons and 8 introns. An IDS-2
locus, located 20 kb distal to the IDS gene, contains sequences
homologous to exons 2 and 3 as well as introns 2, 3, and 7 of the IDS
gene. The clinical variability observed in Hunter patients is
believed to result from extensive genetic heterogeneity at the IDS
locus. Recently, recombinations between the IDS and IDS-2 loci have
been discovered which further complicate the molecular analysis of
Hunter syndrome. Our laboratory has developed a molecular strategy
involving reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
and sequencing for mutational analysis of patients with enzymatically
diagnosed Hunter syndrome. The detected mutations were confirmed and
carrier detection was performed by restriction enzyme digestion,
cycle sequencing, and/or haplotype analysis of genomic DNA. In the
present investigation, ten probands and their families were studied.
The mutations detected include 4 missense mutations (D334G, A82E,
P120H, Y348H) , 3 small deletions and insertions (596delAACA, 729delC ,
1269insCC), 1 insertion which disrupts a splice site (879+2insC), and
2 large deletions. Identification of these novel mutations provides
further evidence for the mutational heterogeneity of the IDS gene.

219

Abstracts

Amyloid Beta Peptide 25-35 Is Toxic To Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells:
Attenuation By Vitamin E. Michael M. Selassie. Joanne M. Williams, Stephanie
Richardson , Dwayne Mathis, Noma T. Gwebu, Jeanine A. Warden, Ephraim T.
Gwebu. Dept. Of Chemistry, Oakwood College., Huntsville, AL 35896.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of progressive intellectual
failure and memory impairment in the elderly. A crucial pathological process in AD
•is deposition of Beta-amyloid on arterial blood vessels. Arterial smooth muscle cells
(SMCs) produce and deposit vascular amyloid peptides in AD and Down’s syndrome.
SMCs accumulate Beta-Amyloid in their intracytoplasmic granules. The effect of
this accumulated beta-amyloid peptide on SMC viability is not clearly understood.
However, beta-amyloid peptide deposition on blood vessels is associated with
degeneration of SMCs. Degeneration of SMCs, whether a cause of amyloid
deposition or a response to it, may predispose the blood vessel to rupture and cerebral
hemorrhage. The purpose of our study was to determine whether beta-amyloid
peptide 25-35 (A ) is cytotoxic to SMCs which may account for the vascular
degeneration in AD. In this study, we show that A-beta is cytotoxic to human SMCs.
We further demonstrate that this cytotoxicity is attenuated by vitamin E. This
research was supported in part by NIGMS-MBRS #GS14-GM 48439-03, and
NIGMS-MARC #T34-GM08259-09.

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING PROGRAM FOR FAMILY PRACTICE
RESIDENTS: A ROLE FOR THE LIBRARIAN. Helvi McCall MLS and James
R. Philp, MD, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa Program. Eileen
Burg, graduate student. University of Alabama , SLIS.

Many U.S. and Canadian medical schools have adapted Problem-Based Learning
methods to improve the medical curriculum to prepare physicians and students for
effective patient management. The Univ. of Alabama Sch. of Medicine in Tuscaloosa,
established in 1972, provides medical education and FP residency training to prepare
primary care physicians to practice in rural Alabama. In January 1995 Dr. Philp, Associate
Dean of Academic Affairs and Chairman of the Depart, of Internal Medicine implemented
the PBL program for the FP residents on the Internal Medicine rotation. Participants in the
small weekly tutorial sessions are: 2 physician facilitators, 4-5 FP residents, the Medical
Information Services Librarian, and from time to time a pharmacotherapist. The tutorial
process begins with a current patient problem, presented by a resident . With the guidance
of the facilitators, residents generate a series of differential hypotheses or diagnoses. The
discussion helps to teach the process of clinical reasoning and disease mechanisms. The
residents choose their own learning issues to research and present to the group at the
following weekly session. The role of the librarian is to ensure that access to information
or instruction is available to the residents for their learning issues. The librarian may advise
on core texts, Medline search strategies, databases, and Internet sources. Most of the
instruction takes place one-on-one in the library following the PBL session. Usually,
students are found to be reluctant to learn about library resources. The presence of the
librarian in the tutorials helps to integrate the teaching of information seeking skills at
‘teachable moments' or 'at the point of need' when the resident is highly motivated to learn
how to find information. We will Dresent our evaluative strategies and some results.

220

Abstracts

ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

GASOLINE PRODUCTION FROM WASTE PLASTICS BY PYROLYSIS AND
CATALYTIC UPGRADING. H. S. Joo and James A. Guin. Chemical Engineering
Department, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849.

Landfill disposal of waste plastics is becoming increasingly costly while
plastics volumes are increasing. Most plastics are not readily biodegradable and will
remain in the landfill for long periods. Increasing public resistance to the creation of
new landfills and higher costs have led to efforts toward finding economically feasible
and environmentally acceptable means of plastics recycling. Several methods
including pyrolysis, gasification, and catalytic liquefaction might deal more effectively
with waste plastics than simple mechanical recycling or incineration, since mechanical
recycling often yields lower quality products, while incineration produces greenhouse
gases. In a pyrolysis type process, shredded mixed plastics are heated in the absence
of oxygen and depolymerized into liquids and gases. The gases are burned to
provide heat needed for the process. Pyrolysis produces both light naphtha range and
significant quantities of heavier gas-oil range liquids. The objective of our research
is to investigate the upgrading potential of the heavier gas oil fraction of a typical
plastics pyrolysis liquid to gasoline using a combination of catalytic hydrotreatment
and hydrocracking. The kinetics of the upgrading process were investigated in batch
reactions and a simple consecutive reaction model was applied to the experimental
data. Continuous reactions using fixed bed catalysts at around 400° C and 60 atm
were performed to examine the feasibility of gasoline production. Reasonable yields
of good quality gasoline were produced by a sequential process consisting of catalytic
hydrotreatment to remove N, hydrocracking to reduce boiling range, and distillation.

C++ TO JAVA VIRTUAL MACHINE CODE TRANSLATION.
Rajesh Ganesan. Dept, of CIS, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham,
AL 35294.

A prominent stumbling block in the spread of C++ as an internet
programming language is the lack of security enforcing schemes.
This maybe overcome by removing pointers and references from
C++ and providing an interpreter for the object code. The java
interpreter maybe used for this purpose. This model parses the
input C++ program, abstracts it into an Object-Oriented
representation of the abstract syntax tree and emits equivalent
“java assembly language” code, as it “walks” the tree. A java
assembler is then used to convert this intermediate code to the java
virtual machine code. The final output is a java class file which can
be run using the java interpreter.

221

Abstracts

Sporadic demand forecasting - problems and models. Ramesh Yerramsetti,
Dept.of Management Science and Statistics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa,
AL 35486.

The demand arrival process of certain classes of demand is found to be
highly varying over time and can be classified as sporadic. When this pattern is
compounded by “lumpy”arrivals(followed by several periods of zero or
negligible demand), the conventional time series analysis yields high Mean
Absolute Percentage Errors(MAPE). The problems associated with analyzing
the time series and application of statistical models have given rise to several
heuristics. A service level criterion approach has been used as a common
technique to solve this problem of sporadic series. However this approach
combines the inventory and customer service level decisions with forecasting.
While such combined methods may compensate for the forecasting deficiencies,
a clear understanding of the demand arrival mechanism is lost. The idea behind
the proposed scheme is to reformulate the problem such that some techniques
from machine learning and statistics can be beneficially employed. Embedding
the sporadic series into a standard series of a predictable product of the same
group provides us with a series that can be predicted with smaller errors. Two
techniques, Bootstrap and Neural Networks, are discussed as approaches to
solving the reformulated problem.

THE CORRESPONDENCE PROBLEM IN CONTOUR RECONSTRUCTION.
Lara A. Francis. Dept, of Computer and Information Sciences, Univ. of Alabama
at Birmingham, AL - 35294.

In this talk we present some approaches to solving the correspondence problem
in reconstructing a surface from parallel contours. The goal here is to find corre¬
spondences (connections) between polygonal contours on parallel, adjacent sections,
and related information for the purpose of three-dimensional display. A contour is
a set of points describing a planar polygon perpendicular to the z axis. A section
consists of a set of contours that lie on the same plane. Some contours produce sim¬
ple surfaces, ie. no branching and only one contour per section. The problem arises
when "there are multiple contours in different sections. In that case a branching
surface will result, and to triangulate that the location of branches , bridge points
and aliases need to be computed. The proposed algorithm is an adaptation of
Meyer’s algorithm which uses a minimum spanning tree heuristic to compute the
above information. We have modified the cost function to handle some of the cases
not addressed in the original algorithm.

222

Abstracts

DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FOR GPSS AND ANIMATOR PROVIDER. Dongni Chen,
Department of Computer and Information Sciences, The University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-1170

GPSS is a simulation application that we run under a UNIX
environment. A GPSS model is developed with statements which
allow generation of an animation trace file (abbreviated as *.atf)
By running GPSS with the simulation data file, it will generate
*.atf file. This data file is used by the animation package, Proof
Animation, which as of now runs on a PC under DOS. This data file
is used in animator Provider. But this software right now can only
run well under a DOS environment. The usual method is that:
first run the GPSS model under UNIX, sending the *.atf file
followed by transferring the file, e.g., by ftp and then running
animator simulation on the PC. This method has some shortcomings.
People should be able to work at either the PC or the SUN WS . If
the PC and the Workstation have long distance, the user will have
great difficulty in running this whole system under the "usual"
method. The purpose of this project is to create a distributed
system for GPSS and the animator provider, so that the user can
control the running of either system from long distance from
either a PC or a WS . We use Java to implement the communication of
this -system, so that we don't need to worry about the environment
in which it is running. By using this distributed system, the
interface is enhanced so that a program may be run on any computer
in the distributed system and access data on any other machine. We
can control the running of different software in different
environment from long distance, we can even distribute the models
themselves across the network and also drive multiple animators,
though such work is not a part of this paper.

THREE DIMENSIONAL OBJECT RECOGNITION USING ALPHA SHAPES.
Marietta E. Cameron, Department of Computer Information Sciences, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

The automatic recognition of three-dimensional objects within a scene has been
the goal of many computer vision systems. One definition of the problem can be stated
as follows: Given a set of points in three-dimensional space, identify the objects and
their poses. A new system that strives to solve this problem using alpha shapes is
proposed. This system currently identifies a single object from a cloud of points through
the curve matching of alpha shape signatures. In this paper a review of issues in object
recognition, a brief tutorial of alpha shapes, and a description of the system’s current
state are presented.

223

Abstracts

A Decision Support System for forecasting machine load based on historical
demand and market analysis. Ramesh Yerramsetti, Dept, of Computer and
Information Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, A1
35294.

The implementation of a decision support system(DSS) for predicting
loads and utilization on machines in a shop is discussed. Forecasting and
delivery schedules are the important inputs for effectively designing this DSS.
Accurate forecasting can help in properly scheduling the machines to produce a
range of products without backorders. Traditional statistical forecasting
techniques vary in their philosophy and methodology yielding different results
for the same datasets. Since the bias in each statistical model is different, a
weighted model is being proposed to reduce the overall errors. Forecast obtained
through market analysis by the sales personnel results in a forecast different from
that of statistical techniques since the salesmen use information on the economic
activity in their region. An approach is outlined to weight the different forecasts
from several statistical models and the sales force generated numbers. Weighting
methodologies, both human and machine based, are discussed. Application of
Artificial Intelligence(AI) techniques to dynamically compute the weight given
to different models is explored.

COMPUTER SUPPORTED COOPERATIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR KNOWLEDGE
DISCOVERY. Daisy Y. Wong. Dept, of Computer and Information Sciences, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

Knowledge discovery is concerned with the development of novel methods and techniques
for extracting previously unknown but potentially useful patterns from large volumes of data.. An
example would be the detection of trends of an infectious disease in a hospital which may signal a
potential epidemic. Human interpretation is necessary in order to determine whether the newly
discovered patterns are indeed useful knowledge, or are just another form of the data which simply
adds to information overload. Since the patterns are novel, a priori expertise may not be available
to correctly interpret the new data. Indeed, expertise in multiple fields might be necessary in order
to perform the interpretation in a timely manner so as to affect outcomes and decision making. In
addition, the needed expertise might be distributed in multiple individuals who in turn are located
separately. A Computer Supported Cooperative Environment uses computer technology to provide
the tools to support collaboration among multiple people with diverse expertise, varied knowledge
level, and different geographical locations, to interpret the newly discovered patterns in a timely
manner and to determine whether they are useful knowledge. Such an environment would facilitate
the communication among group members, allow members to reveal views from different
expertise areas, and foster the growth of a group memory based on the knowledge discovered,
which would in turn be used to interpret new patterns, The group memory provides a basis for
continuity of knowledge even when the composition of the group changes over time. This paper
reviews the requirements of such environment.

224

Abstracts

MICRO-BRAIN: MULTI-MODAL MEMORY VIA NEURAL NETWORKING,

Steve Donaldson. Dept of Computer Science, Univ of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294.

Human brains are the apparent embodiment of multiple types of memory systems
which work together to produce intelligent behavior. The holy grail of artificial intelligence
research is the production of an autonomous system which demonstrates significant aspects
of such behavior. This research is an attempt to extend current efforts in this direction by
combining multiple neurally inspired memory paradigms into a functional architecture
capable of exhibiting autonomous performance and unmistakable signs of intelligence. Such
signs are to be interpreted as foundational elements whose composite function is both
independently significant and capable of playing an eventual role in more extensive
cognitive processing. Specifically, this investigation is intended to produce a system which
can: 1) Solve multiple tasks within the framework of a composite, synergistic architecture;
2) Act autonomously under the sole internal control of neural network type processes; 3)
Learn without external supervision; 4) Operate at a scale significantly larger than normally
found in single purpose networks; 5) Acquire knowledge in a manner reminiscent of
biological constraints (eg. fixed input spaces for external stimuli, temporal processing, etc.);
6) Transfer information across tasks, thus dealing with new situations using previously
acquired knowledge; 7) Exhibit multiple memory modalities, typical of human information
processing (eg. short and long term memory, episodic storage, and explicit/implicit memory
distinctions); 8) Perform lifetime plastic learning without catastrophic loss of previously
acquired knowledge; 9) Learn from internal as well as external stimuli. The initial phases of
this effort involve an investigation of the temporal, multi-modal acquisition of memories,
particularly auto-association (recognition) and predictive learning (in context), within a
composite architecture. It explores unsupervised, Hebbian learning approaches and
implementation of continuous processing in recursive auto-associative (RAAM) and Elman-
like sparse memory networks.

ANTHROPOLOGY

DEEPLY BURIED PRECERAMIC SITES ALONG THE GULF COAST. Bill B.
Baxter, Panamerican Consultants, Inc., P.O. Box 16287, Pensacola, FL 32507.

Many preceramic sites in the Gulf Coastal Lowlands are covered by layers of sand
deposited by natural processes. Four sites in northwest Florida illustrate the sometimes
deeply buried proveniences of Paleoindian and Archaic cultural resources. In order to
adequately document the archaeological record, it is necessary to test at deeper levels
than is often the case in other physiographic regions.

225

Abstracts

CAN IS FAMILIARIS (DOMESTIC DOG) SKELETAL REMAINS FROM
WEYANOKE OLD TOWN, (44PG51) , VIRGINIA. Jeffrey P. Blick.
1515 19th Avenue East #701, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404.

Weyanoke Old Town (44PG51) , Prince George County, Virginia,
has yielded approximately 130 Canis f amiliaris (domestic
dog) remains from numerous features on a Late Woodland
Virginia Algonquian (Weyanoke) village; features include
trash pits, human burials, and two apparent ritual deposits
in which dogs accompany severed human forearms. Pathologies
have been identified in about 34 percent of the dogs and
dental abnormalities (subnumerary and supernumerary teeth,
hypodontia, dental crowding, dental attrition) have been
recorded in about 53 percent of the dogs analyzed to date.
Skeletal abnormalities include healed fractures (perhaps
indicative of mistreatment), disease (periostitis,
arthritis) , fused limb, ankle, and toe bones, and possible
congenital limb malformation. Cranial measurements indicate
that these dogs fall into the mesat icephalic skull type;
generally these canids would be classified as medium-sized
dogs standing 42 cm high and weighing 10.1 kg (22.3 lbs) .
The role of the canine in Virginia Algonquian culture is
also explored.

THE SKELETAL BIOLOGY OF THE HARRINGTON SITE
Sharon Kestle-Cobb, Auburn University at Montgomery,
Montgomery, Alabama 36117.

The Harrington site (lMt231), located in Montgomery
County, Alabama, is dated from A.D. 175-550.

Excavations unearthed ten human burials which have
not been fully analyzed until now. Reichs (1986) has
emphasized that even small skeletal populations are
worthy of investigation. Infectious and mycotic
diseases were researched using differential diagnosis
and lesion patterning, which play a crucial role in
determining skeletal pathological conditions of
prehistoric populations. This skeletal sample exhibits
both idiosyncratic and common pathologies such as:
osteoarthritis, abscesses due to extreme attrition,
vertebral • osteophytosis , trauma, and malocclusion.

The contribution of this research and other small
skeletal samples of the poorly known Middle Woodland
Period in Central Alabama may enhance current and future
reconstructions of prehistoric lifeways.

226

Abstracts

Late Postclassic Mayan Architecture of Quintana Roo, Mexico: Some
Architectural Observations. Thomas Mark Shelby, Department of
Latin American Studies, The University of Alabama, Box 870254,
Tuscaloosa, A1 35487-0254.

Late Postclassic architecture of Quintana Roo represents the
close of prehispanic Mayan civilization. However, it also
represents new and innovative ideas concerning Mayan architecture.
The basic characteristics of the style are reviewed and an
approximate architectural chronology is proposed based on
comparisons of building sequences at selected structures. This
chronology is then discussed in relation to structures at other
sites with a range of occupational periods. A geographical area
is also outlined based on current data. Enhancement of this
chronology through various avenues of research may provide us
with a better understanding of Postclassic Quintana Roo.

A HISTORIC CREEK HOUSE AT FUS IHATCHEE , ALABAMA 1 Eel 91.

Jason A. Mann, Dept, of Sociology , Auburn Univ.at

Montgomery, Mont., Ala 36117.

A brief discussion will be presented on the types
of features, artifacts, and cultural remnants associated
with a Creek Indian house from the time period of 1750-
1800. Discussion will be limited to the architectural
elements, burials and associated aboriginal and Euro¬
pean items, and storage pits of one selected house
structure (Structure K) from the Creek town of
Fusihatchee, Elmore County, Alabama.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FROM THE TENNESSEE VALLEY IN
RELATION TO LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE SEA-LEVEL OSCILLA¬
TIONS. Keith J. Little. Panamerican Consultants, Inc., P.O. Box 16287, Pensacola, FL
32507. Russell Holloway, Panamerican Consultants, Inc., P.O. Box 16287, Pensacola,
FL 32507.

Investigations from multiple scientific disciplines are refining our understanding of
Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental and cultural events. Studies of sea-level
increase along the Florida Gulf coast during this period have documented at least two
events dating from approximately 10,000 to 8,000 B.C. and A.D. 100 to 600. These
climate-related events have correlations in the Tennessee Valley archaeological record,
which in turn provide important implications for those investigating global climate
change and human adaptations.

227

Abstracts

RURAL CULTURE AND HANIDCRAFT IN SOUTHWESTERN SICHUAN.
Catherine Pagani, Dept, of Art, Univ. of Ala., Box 870270, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-
0270

The distinctive blue-and-white cotton embroideries of rural Sichuan have received
little attention from scholars and collectors. These pieces, cross-stitched in- indigo-
dyed thread on a plain-weave cotton ground, date from the mid-nineteenth to mid¬
twentieth centuries. Few pieces survive today as most were used until they were worn
out or cut up for patches. This lack of a large body of both extant material and written
sources has posed problems in conducting research in this area and has necessitated the
use of other related art forms to gain insight into the embroideries. This study
examines the production of these textiles by rural women, their consumption by their
makers and their families, their use primarily as household furnishings, and the
symbolism of the designs to reveal aspects of rural culture. Central to this study is an
analysis of the motifs whose subject matter, composition, and symbolic meaning
reveal connections between rural and elite Chinese populations. These embroideries
provide an important link to a little-studied segment of society and yield insight into
rural south-western Chinese culture which has left little in terms of a written legacy.
The study of their manufacture, use, and design reveal much not only on the level of
craft in Sichuan, but also on aspects of culture such as women's roles, rural Chinese
beliefs, and the artistic influences of a population removed from the educated elite.

JANNEY IRON FURNACE (lCa407), RESTORATION AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL
INVESTIGATIONS. Curtis E. Hill . Dept, of Physical and Earth Sciences,
Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Janney Iron Furnace (lCa407), located in Calhoun County in
northeastern Alabama, is one of the few surviving Civil War Era blast
furnaces still standing in the state. Having survived attack by Union
forces led by General Lovell H. Rousseau in 1864, this historical
structure has recently fallen victim to the elements, age and
vandalism. Currently, the furnace has been purchased by the Calhoun
County Commission with contributions by Jacksonville State University
and Alabama Power Company. Plans are presently underway to restore
the furnace to its original glory and to conduct an archaeological
investigation. Professional archaeological investigations should
provide an answer to one of the major controversies about Janney
furnace; the question of whether or not the furnace was ever blown
in. The end result will be the creation of a county historical park,
which will serve as an educational tool for the general public, as
well as area school systems. Janney Iron Furnace, properly restored
and investigated, can only help educate those who visit it about
the rich history of Alabama's iron industry.

228

Abstracts

WRIGHT'S FARM, 1CA18, MULTICOMPONENT PREHISTORIC INDIAN VILLAGE IN
CALHOUN COUNTY REVISITED IN 1996. Harry 0. Holstein, Dept, of
Physical and Earth Sciences, Jacksonville State University, Jackson¬
ville, AL 36265.

1996 excavations at Wright's Farm, lCal8, resulted in the
location of an additional 50 Aboriginal features. The majority of
these features were storage pits containing nut shells, periwinkle
shells, and deer bone. Additional maize kernels were recovered from
several of the features. One goal of the 1996 excavations was to
locate the trench features originally uncovered on the southeast edge
of the site in 1994 and southern portion of the site in 1995. An
east/west 7 meter long trench, Fea. 105, was encountered on the
southwest portion of the site. Maize kernels again were found in
association with this feature. No indication yet has been discovered
as to the purpose of this Late Woodland /Mississippian feature. Two
radiocarbon dates were obtained from Feature 15 and Feature 54.
Feature 15 yielded Early Woodland Kellog Phase pottery and an
associated radiocarbon date of 490 B.C.+-70., Feature 54 yielded
maize kernels and Late Woodland/Emergent Mississipian Cane Creek
Phase ceramic and a radiocarbon date of 1100 A.D.+-50.

229

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 2, April 1997

MINUTES

Alabama Academy of Science
Spring Executive Committee Meeting
Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, AL
March 19, 1997

A. Dr. Tom Jandebeur, President of the AAS, called the Spring meeting of the AAS
Executive Committee to order. The minutes of the Fall Meeting were discussed and
approved.

B. Officer’s Reports

1. Board of Trustees - No formal report was tendered at this time. However, Dr.
Barker pointed out that seven Trustees were present, a very good turn-out. They were Ken
Marion, Prakesh Sharma, Walter Wilborn, Sam Barker, Michael Moeller, Elsie Spencer and
James Wilkes.

Dr. Barker also noted that this was probably the first meeting Dr. Bill Barrett has
ever missed and asked that a resolution expressing our appreciation to him be sent.

2. President - Dr. Tom Jandebeur submitted the following report:

Updated AAS home page for distribution to Academy members via Internet; Academy
is now "on-line" at the following address - http://www.athens.edu/sos/aas.htm

Based on database of addresses for junior/community college science and mathematics
(including nursing) faculty, developed and mailed invitations for membership to approximately
450 junior/community college faculty.

Using databases for trustees, elected officers, and committees, corresponded
invitations to members of the Executive Committee to attend Spring 1997 Executive
Committee Meeting.

Extended invitation to Dwayne Cox, Archivist at Auburn University’s Ralph Brown
Draughon Library, to attend Spring Executive Committee meeting to address Committee
regarding importance of systematic contributions to the Academy’s archive.

By telephone and correspondence to Tom Vocino, Local Arrangements Chairman,
assisted to develop program for 1997 Joint Banquet.

Appointed William Boardman as Chairman of Carmichael Award Committee;
participated as temporary member of this committee.

230

Minutes

Corresponded letters of congratulations and invitations to attend 1997 Joint Banquet
to Gardner and Carmichael Award recipients.

For display at the 1997 Annual Meeting, developed "showboard" advertising 1998
Annual Meeting and Mobile area attractions of potential interest to Academy members.

3. President-Elect - Dr. Ellen Buckner reported as follows:

The Visiting Scientist Program Directory was mailed to members of the Alabama
Science Teacher Association. Postage for this mailing was paid by the ASTA. To date, only
2 completed summaries of visits have been received, both complementary of the scientists’
presentation. As requested in that mail-out, several schools sent e-mail or internet addresses
(see attached list). It is hoped that electronic visits at out annual meeting or linkages between
schools and scientists’ institutions can be arranged. I would like to propose a change in the
name of this program to Visiting Scientist Network to include both the directory and potential
for electronic "visits". Also I would like to propose addition of responsibility for this
program to those duties of the 2nd vice president.

At this meeting a group photo is scheduled to be made (see attached and posted
fliers). Please encourage your colleagues and graduate students to attend. In particular,
posters should be set up after the photo. This photo will be included in a brochure detailing
some of the history of the Academy for the 75th Annual Meeting. Thank you for your
assistance in encouraging participation.

4. Second Vice-President - Dr. Moore Asouzu did not submit a formal report.

5. Secretary - Dr. Larry Boots reported as follows:

SECRETARY’S REPORT - AAS

March 19, 1997

Membership as of March 19, 1997 598

Membership on October 26, 1996 642

Members Deleted to Non-payment 3/10/97 124

New Members since January 1, 1997 71

231

Minutes

Trends in Membership: MEMBERS

March, 1993

661

March, 1994

739

March, 1995

650

October, 1995

670

March, 1996

571

October, 1996

642

March, 1997

598

MEMBERSHIP BY SECTION

SECTION

OCTOBER. 1996

MARCH. 1997

I.

Biological Science

160

152

II.

Chemistry

68

57

III.

Geology

26

22

IV.

Forestry, Geography,

Conserv., Planning

18

20

V.

Physics & Mathematics

65

65

VI.

Industry & Economics

25

24

VII.

Science Education

30

25

VIII.

Social Science

33

33

IX.

Health Science

96

77

X.

Engineering &

Computer Science

33

30

XI.

Anthropology

11

13

77.

University Libraries

25

26

88.

High School Libraries

50

51

Unknown

2

1

Honorary

2

MEMBERS

Emeritus

35

High School Libraries

51

University Libraries

26

Honorary

10

Individual

379

Student

63

Life

33

Sustaining

1

232

Minutes

Members Present

Larry Boots
David H. Nelson
Dan Holliman
Richard A. Hudiburg
Michael Moeller
Jim Bradley
William Boardman
Gerald T. Regan
Elsie S. Spencer
B.J. Bateman
Ellen Buckner
Ken Marion
Thomas Vocino
Adriel D. Johnson
Larry Krannich

6. Treasurer - Dr. Larry Krannich submitted the following report:

The Treasurer’s Report consists of copies of the following:

Information for Calendar Year 1997

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of 3/7/97

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER as of 3/7/97 for he
period 1/1/97 through 3/7/97.

ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1996 BUDGET for the period 1/1/97 tngr

3/7/97.

Information for Calendar Year 1996

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of 12/31/96

ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1995 BUDGET for the period 1/1/96 hagi

12/31/96.

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER for the period 1/196
through 12/31/96.

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY ACCOUNT for the period 1195
through 12/31/96.

The Academy operated with a deficit greater than that projected for the 1996 Budget
and ended the year with expenditures exceeding income by $4,485.15. Actual income was
$4,285.92 less than projected. This shortfall was due to a decrease of $950 in Journal
support and a decrease of $850 in dues. Because the $2,500 projected income for the support
of the Junior Academy has never been realized and has been removed from the 1997 budget,
the real loss of income is in dues and journal support. In addition, we did not receive the

Doug Haywick
L.S. Hazlegrove
John Frandsen
Jerry Burns
Dwayne Cox
P.C.Sharma
S.B. Barker
James C. Wilkes
Betty Bigham
Moore U. Asouzu
Jian Han
Walter Wilborn

Roland Dute
Thomas Jandebeur

233

Minutes

proceeds from the annual meeting during the 1996 fiscal year (see discussion for 1997 fiscal
year). This is the third year during which we have experienced declines in dues receipts and
Journal certificate of deposits were almost twice our projections. Expenses were $3,690.77
less than budgeted, because of the decrease in expenses for the annual meeting and by the
Executive Director. As usual, the officer’s expenses were less than allocated in the budget.

For the first quarter of 1997, our dues income is at the level expected while the
contributions for support for the Journal are less than projected. The income from last year’s
annual meeting was not received until late January and approximately $400 in additional
income is still anticipated. Thus, the seemingly high income level for the first quarter of
1997 relative to that seen in 1996 is anomalous. Our expenses are as expected for the first
two months of a fiscal year. Thus, we appear to be keeping within the budget for 1997 and
do not anticipate any budgetary problems.

Additional budget information is available upon request.

7. Journal Editor - Dr. Bradley sent the following report:

This report covers the calendar year 1996 and the four issues of Vol. 67 of the
Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, 1996. The October issue (No. 4) is with the
printer, expected mailing to be within a month.

During this period, 22 manuscripts were submitted for publication. Sixteen of these
were accepted for publication after minor revisions, 12 were published in Volume 67, 2 were
accepted pending major revision, and 4 were rejected.

In 1996, 156 abstracts from the annual meeting were published in the April issue of
the Journal. This is up from 124 abstracts published in 1995.

Inquiries about cost of publication for the Journal are being made to out-of-state
publishing companies at the request of Dr. Hazlegrove and others. Unless significant savings
can be obtained elsewhere, I recommend staying with Auburn University Printing because of
the high quality work they have done for us and the advantages of local interactions with
those who work on the publication of the Journal.

The Instructions to Authors have been revised so that authors no longer suggest
reviewers for their manuscripts. The editor will send manuscripts to members of the Editorial
Board or to Section Chairs, asking that they identify appropriate reviewers.

The Vol. 68, No. 1 issue of the Journal is planned to be a special issue devoted to the
general topic of science and education. It will contain invited and contributed essays on the
subject.

I encourage the members of the Academy to submit more manuscripts to me,
including book reviews and full length review articles.

8. Counselor to AJAS - Dr. Bateman reported that:

The Alabama Junior Academy of Science has a full schedule of activities planned for
the annual meeting, including: the paper competition among 30 regional winners, local tours,
the caucus and the election of state officers, presentation of awards, and the joint banquet.

234

Minutes

At the time, about 95 students and sponsors have pre-registered for the meeting and
about 95 plan to attend the joint banquet.

9. Science Fair Coordinator - no report.

10. Science Olympiad Coordinator - Steven Carey submitted the following report:

The Alabama Science Olympiad currently consists of six Division C (grades 9-12)

Regional Science Olympiad tournaments (although the University of Mobile did not conduct
a regional Science Olympiad this year, it is planning to do so next year) and four Division
B (grades 6-9) Regional Science Olympiad dates for 1997 is attached. The Division C State
Science Olympiad will be held at the University of Mobile on 26 April 1997; the State
Division B Science Olympiad will be held at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science
on 19 April 1997. State winners in both divisions advance to the National Science Olympiad
to be hosted by North Carolina State University, May 16-17, 1997.

Because not all Science Olympiad regional tournaments have been conducted as of this
date, I do not have final numbers concerning student participation; however, from the
information provided me by the regional coordinators that have conducted their tournaments,
I am confident that the totals statewide will be similar to years past.

For those of you interested in learning more about the Science Olympiad program,
you can access the Science Olympiad Web Page at:
http : //www . macomb,k 1 2 .mi. us/science/sciolym 1 .htm

The Science Olympiad is a volunteer effort and everyone who gives of their time and
expertise to make this program a success deserves the support and thanks of the Academy.

1 1 . Counselor to AAAS - no report.

12. Section Officers:

I. Biological Sciences - Dr. David Nelson reported that the section had increased to 63

presentations, 9 of which were competing for research awards.

II. Chemistry - no report.

III. Geology - Dr. Haywick reported that their section will have 11 presentations.

IV. Geography, Forestry, Conservation and Planning - Priscilla Holland reported that:
The Geography, Forestry, Conservation and Planning Section has 7 paper

presentations for the 1997 Seventy-Fourth Annual Meeting. A business meeting to elect a
Vice Chair for section IV will be held after the paper presentations. The 1996 Annual
Meeting had 13 papers presented with 6 of those being student papers.

Again as has been done in the past, to increase participation, letters will be mailed

235

Minutes

to department(s) of geography, forestry, etc. at Colleges and Universities and to agencies
(i.e., Alabama Forestry Commission) with information about the Alabama Academy of
Science and a call for papers for the 1998 Seventy-Fifth Annual Meeting.

The Vice Chair would like to thank the Executive Committee on its vote to change
the name of Section IV from Forestry, Geography, Conservation and Planning to Geography,
Forestry, Conservation and Planning. The name change has been well received by
geographer and others.

V. Physics and Mathematics - Dr. Young reported that their presentations are up this
year to 21 .

VI. Industry and Economics - no report.

VII. Science Education - Adriel Johnson reported that the section will have nine
presentations.

VIII. Behavioral and Social Sciences - Gerald Burns reported that they will have 11
presentations.

IX. Health Sciences - Jian Han reported that this section will have 24 presentations.

X. Engineering and Computer Science - no report.

XI. Anthropology - no report.

13. Executive Director - Dr. Leven Hazlegrove submitted the following:

Since the Fall Executive Meeting, 10-6-96, SRI, we have been working on the
following projects during the last 5 months:

1. Set up the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation, Inc., Science Talent Search in cooperation
with the Westinghouse Scholarship Ranking Science Service, Inc., D.C., for the Auburn
University meeting, March 21, 1997 with the leadership of Dr. Glynn Wheeler,
Secretary /Treasurer and Dr. Thomas Vocino.

2. Mailed by bulk mail over 700 AUM meeting programs for March 19-22, 1997 edited
by Dr. William J. Barrett, February 18, 1997 and prepared by Mrs. Karen Waits and Ms.
Sharon Cordell.

3. Sent development letters to 4 industrial companies and foundations with positive reply
from one.

4. Assembled, edited and prepared for bulk mail, 900 AUM "Call for Papers" for the
meeting March 19-22, 1997, with the able assistance of Mrs. Karen Waits and Ms. Tammie
Wyatt, Chemistry, UAB, 975-7821.

5. Sent hand written notes to 50 outstanding Scientist and Engineers, Mathematicians,

236

Minutes

and potential members whose "write-up" appeared in local publications. (Ten new
members!!)

6. Met with Dr. Thomas Vocino, Professor and Chair, Political Science and Public
Administration and his local committee for the 1997 AAS dates: March 19-22, 1997.

7. Set up ASTA booth at UAB Arena, September 12-13, 1996 with the able supervision
of Dr. William J. Barrett, Dr. Dan Holliman, Dr. Tom Jandebeur and Dr. Ellen Buckner.

8. Prepared 350 abstract forms for the AUM meeting, March 19-22, 1997 for eleven
section chairs.

9. Moved the AAS Executive Director’s office to the Chemistry Department (901 14th
Street South - CHEM 266); new phone (205) 975-9146, FAX: (205)934-2543.

10. Your Director studied flora, fauna and pollution in USA, February 13-16, 1996 with
the Alabama Fisheries Association, Gulf State Park.

1 1 . Set-up the 74th Annual Meeting with the able direction of Dr. Tom Vocino, Professor
of Political Science, Auburn University in Montgomery, Montgomery, AL, March 19-22,
1997.

12. Helped set-up with Dr. David Nelson’s leadership the 1997

meeting at AUM with the kind invitation of Chancellor Roy H. Saigo, (334)244-3696 and the
1998 meeting at USA, March 18-21, 1998.

C. Committee Reports

1. Local arrangements - Dr. Tom Vocino gave an oral report. All arrangements were
under control.

2. Finance - Dr. Barker submitted the following report:

Finally, after 5 years of deficit budget proposals, our Treasurer has made good! For
1996, the projected $3,890 deficit of Expenses over Income has been slightly exceeded by the
actual figure of $4,485. As pointed out by Dr. Krannich, almost three thousand of the forty-
five hundred dollar deficit was wiped out by the late arrival of income from the 1996 Annual
Meeting. Since that payment came in during the first quarter of 1997, it artificially raises
income this early in the year.

With financial reserves approximately twice our annual turnover, it does not seem
reasonable to quarrel with our treasurer’s conclusion that "we appear to be keeping within the
budget for 1997 and do not anticipate any budgetary problems".

It will be most interesting to see if the sixth consecutive projected budget deficit (that
for 1997) will revert to an actual positive balance.

3. Membership - no report.

4. Research - Dr. Hudiburg presented the following report:

The Chairperson of the Committee on Research received 51 requests for application

237

Minutes

materials (an increase of 13 over last year) related to the Student Research Award
Competition, Student Research Grants, and Student Travel Awards. There was little difficulty
in processing these requests. There was some confusion by some of the requesters to where
they should direct the request. It is requested that members advise their students to the
correct procedures for apply for these competitions. E-mail has facilitated some of the
requests and cuts down on response time.

Six travel grants were awarded. A total of 22 papers and 6 posters, covering 7 of
the AAS sections, are in the Student Research Award Competition. There are 8 applications
for Student Research Grants. The section Vice-Chairpersons will need to provide the names
of his/her competition winners to the Chairperson of the Committee on Research before the
annual co-winners according to the decision of the judges.

A small problem has occurred with four co-winners of the Student Research Award
competition of 1996. These four students have failed to join AAS. Numerous attempts at
contacting these individuals have failed a response. How long should these awards be held
before they are rescinded? What is the status of a rescinded award? Should it be given to
another competitor if possible?

5. Long-Range Planning - no report.

6. Auditing - Sr. Academy - no report.

7. Auditing - Jr. Academy - Frederick Viohl and Danice Costes submitted this report:
This is a report of the Alabama Junior Academy of Science Auditing Committee for

the July 1995-July 1996 financial year. We have examined the books provided by the
Alabama Junior Academy of Science Treasurer, Dr. B.J. Bateman. We are satisfied
ourselves that the receipts and expenditures, as presented to us, are correct and that all
expenditures are legitimate expenses.

The net worth as of June 27, 1996 is $19,209.23.

8. Editorial Board and Associate Journal Editors - The following report was submitted:
I am pleased to announce that the following institutions have supported the Journal

of the Alabama Academy of Science as benefactors:

Samford University

$500.00

Univ. of South Alabama

$500.00

Auburn Univ. at Montg.

$400.00

University of Mobile

$100.00

Tuskegee University

$100.00

University of Alabama

$500.00

University of No. Alabama

$100.00

Jacksonville State Univ.

$250.00

Birmingham Southern

$100.00

238

Minutes

Univ. of Alabama at B’ham. $500.00

The Univ. of Montevallo $250.00

Troy State University $250.00

Total $3,550.00

Please note that Auburn University is also listed as a benefactor of the Journal
because of its significant annual contribution to our publishing costs.

9. Place and Date of Meeting - Dr. Nelson reported that:

The following sites have been previously approved by the Executive Committee of
the AAS:

1998 University of South Alabama (18-21 March)

1999 Athens State College

Following a 4-year cycle adopted by our committee a few years ago, we have
attempted to rotate meeting sites once in the north, once in the south and twice in the interior
of the state. The committee recommends that we approach Alabama State University about
meeting there in 2000; we have never met there. Otherwise we should consider Auburn
University (met there last in 1988) or Birmingham Southern College (met there last in 1989).

Committee on Place and Date of Meeting

David H. Nelson, Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile,
AL 36688, (334)460-6331.

James E. Brown, Department of Horticulture, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849,
(334)844-3034.

Moore U. Asouzu, Physical Science Department, Troy State University, Troy, AL 36082,
(334)670-3571.

Richard Modlin*, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama in Huntsville,
Huntsville, AL 36599, (205)895-6360.

Ken B. Waites, Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, (205)934-6421.

*no longer active; asked to be replaced

10. Newsletter - no report.

239

Minutes

11. Public Relations - no report.

12. Archives - Dr. Troy Best submitted the following:

Archival materials were solicited from the AAS Executive Committee and
membership in the report provided for the October meeting.

No materials have been submitted for deposition in the archives. . .not even one
document... not even one photograph... not even the minutes of the most recent meeting of the
AAS Executive Committee.

Dr. Dwayne Cox, the archivist in charge of AAS materials at the Auburn University
Ralph B. Draughon Library, has agreed to come the AAS Executive Committee meeting to
answer questions and to provide suggestions as to what types of materials should be archived.

Again, I encourage all officers and members of the AAS to donate significant
documents, photographs, etc. to the archives.

13. Science and Public Policy - Dr. Frandsen submitted the following report:

Members of the Committee: Scott Brande (UAB), John Frandsen-Chair (Tuskegee), Michael
Friedman (Auburn), Barbara Hilyer (CLEAR, UAB), Robert Rowsey (Auburn), Shiva Singh
(ASU)

This has been a period of relative calm for this committee, after the several years of
turbulence that accompanied the periodic revision/review of the Course of Study: Science for
the public schools of the state. Consequently, this report will be devoted to a description of
some of the environmental issues brought to our attention by our Environmental
Subcommittee (formerly the Environmental Panel), which has been chaired by John Christy
(UAEl).

Global Warming. The issue of global warming due to the enhanced greenhouse
effect (driven mainly by the combustion of fossil fuels) has extremely serious consequences
for the residents of Alabama. The Business Council of Alabama has taken this up as a major
theme of study this year. The possibility of carbon taxes could impact Alabama’s
employment and economy to a dramatic extent. Since C02 is not a pollutant, legislating a
reduction in the use of carbon burning must rely on the possibility of climate change and/or
the lingering environmental effects created during extraction and production of the fuels.

Eutrophication of Waters. Excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are degrading
the rivers and reservoirs of the state, as is runoff from disturbed watersheds. Alabama does
not have nutrient standards for regulating point discharges. It has not established a
mechanism for estimating the importance of nonpoint sources for these pollutants. Today,
only about 15% of the surface water is monitored. This concern is widespread as the
Alabama Fisheries Association (which has a Eutrophication Committee) has submitted a draft
to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management which documents the problem.
With recent publicity, this may be an issue with which the Academy will want to deal.

Pollution of Groundwaters. Groundwater pollution is related to surface water and
air via the new trend of risk-based corrective action which is a policy of proving that the

240

Minutes

pollution is not harmful or does something that needs to be done. Many cities are entirely
reliant on groundwater as a source of water. Mismanagement can lead to diminished and
chemically degraded supplies. Currently, there are no policies in the State to avoid the
depletion and degradation of these aquifers. It seems policy should be set to establish
pollution and management guidelines, based on sound scientific research.

Degradation of the Coastal Zone Environment. There appears to be a lack of
attention to the development of Alabama’s limited coastline. Future disasters are certain from
only moderately intense hurricanes. In addition, degradation of the coastal zone environment
appears to be the future course unless management of the development is addressed.
Protection of Mobile Bay’s water quality and wildlife, as it relates to the National Estuary
Program designation, will be on the agenda.

It is obvious that this environmental subcommittee will in the future bring to the
attention of the Academy issues on which we will wish to take a position and influence public
policy . We do not have a strong record of such influence. Our press releases concerning
positions taken by the Academy, or public statements issued, are carried by few, or no,
newspapers, and are rarely, if ever, quoted. It is doubtful that a legislator, or member of a
state administration, has ever sought-out the Academy to learn its position, or seek its advice,
during the preparation of legislation.

We presently lack the mechanism to influence the development of public policy
concerning matters in which we believe we have a vital interest. It is time for the Executive
Committee to consider retaining the services of a lobbyist. Surely, strong arguments will be
presented both pro and con. A major concern will be the cost. Yet, it is urgent that the
debate begin.

14. Gardner Award - The following report was submitted:

Two outstanding nominations were received for the 1997 award. The recipient will
be present at the banquet. This individual truly has numerous scientific contributions
statewide and has been an active participant in the Academy.

I would like to commend those members who nominated or considered nominating
a candidate. Deadline for nomination is 1 December. Dr. George Cline, Department of
Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265 (205)782-5798 has agreed
to serve as chair next year and nominations should be sent to him.

15. Carmichael Award - Dr. Boardman reported that:

Dr. S.V. Sahi resigned as chair of the committee. At the request of Dr. Tom
Jandebeur, Dr. William Boardman at Birmingham Southern College accepted the appointment
to fill the vacancy.

The committee selected the outstanding paper published in Volume 67 (1996) of the
Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science to receive the Emmett B. Carmichael Award.
The announcement of the recipient(s) of the award and the title of the paper will be made at
the banquet. Voting members of the committee included Dr. Jandebeur who exercised

241

Minutes

presidential prerogative to remedy the decrease in membership. Dr. James T. Bradley, ex
offico member as editor of the Journal, was co-author of an eligible paper and did not vote.

16. Resolutions - Gerald Regan submitted the following:

- Be it resolved by the Executive Committee that the following script be employed at the
appropriate time:

(PRESENTATIONS AT THE ANNUAL BANQUET)

Each year the Academy recognizes individuals who have served it in an exceptional

manner.

1. First and foremost we recognize Roy Saigo, Chancellor of Auburn University at
Montgomery for graciously hosting the 74th Annual Meeting of the Alabama Academy of
Science.

2. The Academy would also like to recognize Thomas Vocino, chairperson of the local
arrangements committee for the many weeks of planning and hard work that enabled us to
have this very successful annual meeting.

3. Lastly, the Academy thanks Tom Jandebeur for his able leadership of the Academy
as its President during the past year.

Deaths:

The Academy would like to take a moment to recognize the following members of
the Academy whom it has lost through death over the past year:

John M. McKibbin
Helmut Hoelzer
George O. Twellmeyer

Our loss of them and of others whom we have not yet learned is a loss to science and
to education, and we mourn their passing.

- Be it resolved by the Executive Committee that it approve of the use of letter-sized stock
for the printing of resolutions.

The case for the affirmative: The supply of 11 X-14 stock became warped over the
years so that it would no longer feed through machines nor bond with the ink or toner.
Although that size was impressive, it was also difficult to print on, to store, to transport, and
to frame or file. For 1997, the chair of the committee on resolutions unilaterally changed to
letter-sized stock in desperation and now seeks the authorization of the Executive Committee
to continue to use it.

17. Nominating Committee - Dr. Moore announced that the committee’s full report would
be presented at the business meeting.

18. Mason Scholarship - Dr. Moeller submitted the following:

We had ten applicants for the William H. Mason Fellowship this year. After
considering all the application material, the committee has selected Carole Collins Clegg for

242

Minutes

the $1,000 fellowship. Miss Clegg has been notified of this award.

D. Old Business - Glynn Wheeler reported on the Gorgas Foundation situation again.
It still appears to be in a discussion stage.

E. New Business - none.

F. The meeting was adjourned.

243

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 2, April 1997.

REPORT ON THE GORGAS SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION, 1997

Today the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation, Inc. announced the ranking of the finalists in the
1997 Alabama Science Talent Search. The Search was held at the meeting of the Alabama
Academy of Science at Auburn University at Montgomery in Montgomery, Alabama.

The winner of the first-place tuition grant of $2500 was

Vishakha Subodchandra Modi, 4927 Altadena South Drive, Birmingham, AL
35244. Jefferson County IB School. Dr. Trudy Anderson - Teacher.

First alternate and winner of a $1500 tuition grant was

(S) Wei Zhou, 3304 Shallowford Road, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Vestavia Hills
High School. Jim Shoemaker - Teacher.

Second alternate and winner of a $1000 tuition grant was

Lindsay Janet Bach, 2316 Finley Drive, Florence, AL 35630. Bradshaw High
School. Cynthia Tillery - Teacher.

Third alternate was

Holly Da Lyn Hartsell, 308 Crossmore Drive, Florence, AL 35633. Bradshaw
High School. Cynthia Tillery - Teacher.

Fourth alternate was

Casey Nicole Tidwell, Route 2, Box 327-1, Killen, AL 35645. Brooks High
School. Wanda Phillips - Teacher.

Fifth alternate was

Matthew Rogers Jarrell, 217 Oakview Street, Florence, AL 35633. Bradshaw High
School. Cynthia Tillery - Teacher.

244

Gorgas Scholarship

Sixth alternate was

Oliver Pharr Matthews, 450 Bradford Street, Florence, AL 35633. Bradshaw High
School. Cynthia Tillery - Teacher.

Unable to exhibit:

Richard Ryan Williams 4007 E. Upper River Road, Somerville, AL 45670. Alabama
School of Mathematics and Science. Henry Albert Lilly - Teacher.

(S) Kwabena Lartey Blankson, 544 Iroquis Drive, Birmingham, AL 35215. The
Altamont School. Mrs. Sophia Clifford - Teacher.

(S) David Andrew Goldenberg, 807 Essex Road, Birmingham, AL 35222. The Altamont
School. Mrs. Sophia Clifford - Teacher.

The rankings were established by a panel of judges consisting of department heads,
deans, and professors from many of the leading universities and industries in Alabama.

Winners and finalists in the Gorgas Contests receive offers of tuition scholarships to
colleges and universities in Alabama for the study of science. The Gorgas Foundation is
named for General William Crawford Gorgas, the Alabama physician who conquered yellow
fever in the Panama Canal Zone and later became the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army.
The purposes of the Foundation are to promote interest in science and to aid in the education
of promising students.

(S) = Semifinalist for the 56th Westinghouse Science Talent Search
From:

The Chairman of the Judges:

L.L. Hazlegrove

208 Rockaway Road

Birmingham, AL 35209

GORGAS SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

1-205-879-0004, FAX 1-205-934-2543

UAB 1-205-975-9146

245

Notes

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is
restricted to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. Larry
R. Boots, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham,
AL 35294. Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline
sections of the Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology; Forestry,
Geography, Conservation, and Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and
Economics; Science Education; Social Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and
Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely review articles of exceptional quality and
general readership interest will also be considered. Invited articles dealing with Science
Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book reviews of Alabama authors are
also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the Journal implies that it has
not been published previously and that it is not currently being considered for publication
elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. Submit the original and two
copies to the Editor. Papers which are unreasonably long and verbose, such as uncut
theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the author s name, affiliation, and
address, including zip code. An abstract not exceeding 200 words will be published if
the author so desires. Use headings and subdivisions where necessary for clarity.
Common headings are: Introduction (including a literature review), Procedures (or
Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other formats
may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all-caps
and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and placed
at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. Do not use the number 1 for footnotes;
begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have their
present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and
white glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed 20
cm. Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use
lettering that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as
figures, number consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on
a separate sheet of paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are
satisfactory for review purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each
table. Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table
footnotes. Cite all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature
Cited. Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers,
etc.). List in alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text by
number or by author-date.

BThe Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science
AM. MUS. NAT. HIST. LIBRARY
Received on: 09-24-97
5.06(76. 1 ) B

HE JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

J68*

July 1^97

'OLUME 68 JULY 1997 NO. 3

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Gobbler and wild hen, Meleagris gallopavo, a game species that
is prevalent in Alabama. INSET: Confocal micrograph of a Toxoplasma gondii tissue cyst
filled with bradyzoites that have been labeled with a fluorescently-tagged monoclonal
antibody. T. gondii is found in a number of species of wildlife in the state and, fortunately,
causes little mortality. Humans can be infected by ingesting undercooked meat that contains
tissue cysts. PHOTO CREDIT: Dr. Dan Speake, Barbara Estridge, Christine Sundermann,
Department of Zoology & Wildlife Science, Auburn University.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 68 JULY 1997 NO. 3

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

Troy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No. 3, July 1997.

CONTENTS

ARTICLES

Update on Toxoplasma gondii Infections in Wildlife and Exotic Animals
from Alabama

David S. Lindsay, Christine A. Sundermann,

J.P. Dubey, Byron L. Blagburn . 246

The Genus Pseudodendromonas Bourrelly in North America

Daniel E. Wujek and Francis J. Menapace . 255

DNA Solutions of Weighted Cycle Searching Problems

Shaw-Jye Wu, Yuan-Jye J. Wu, Joe J. Shaw . 259

Reaction of a Chloronitreno Complex of Tungsten with Phosphorous Trichloride:
Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of C15W(NPC13)

Zewdu Gebeyehu . 272

'

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No. 3, July 1997.

UPDATE ON TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTIONS
IN WILDLIFE AND EXOTIC ANIMALS FROM ALABAMA

David S. Lindsay1,4
Christine A. Sundermann2
J. P. Dubey3
Byron L. Blagburn1

ABSTRACT

Toxoplasma gondii is an important protozoal parasite of man, and domestic and wild animals.
The parasite is transmitted by consumption of infected tissue, by ingestion of the resistant
oocyst stage excreted in the feces of cats, or transplacentally. Infection with this parasite can
cause severe disease in congenitally infected children and in immunocompromised individuals.
It is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients. We examined the
prevalence of this parasite in wildlife and exotic species from Alabama from 1989 to 1996.
Infection with this parasite was common in white-tailed deer and wild turkeys. These species
are hunted for food and may be a source of human infections. Infection was also common in
raptors and the wild carnivores/omnivores examined. Llamas and emus were also commonly
infected with T. gondii.

INTRODUCTION

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoal parasite that is an important pathogen of man, and
domestic, and wild animals. Most warm-blooded animals are susceptible to infection. The life
cycle of T. gondii is complex. Cats serve as both definitive and intermediate hosts for the
parasite. Domestic cats and other felids excrete resistant oocysts in their feces. These oocysts
will develop infectivity in the environment and will contain infective sporozoites. Humans and
other animals can become infected by ingesting oocysts in contaminated food or water. In the
intestinal tissue of the intermediate host, the parasite invades the mucosa and transforms into

‘Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, 166 Greene Hall, Auburn
University, Alabama 36849-5519

department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University, Alabama 36849-5414
3USDA, ARS, Parasite Biology and Epidemiology Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland 20705
“Corresponding Author and Present address: Dr. David S. Lindsay, Center for Molecular
Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology,
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg,
Virginia 24061-0342.

246

Lindsay et al.

a tachyzoite. Tachyzoites are rapidly dividing stages that cause tissue damage and disseminate
the infection throughout the host’s tissues. Tachyzoites are also the stages that are maternally
transmitted. After a period of multiplication (about 3 days) some tachyzoites will begin to
produce the latent tissue cyst stages that contain bradyzoites. Bradyzoites are slowly dividing
stages that are found in tissue cysts. Tissue cysts are present for many years and probably
the life of the host. Humans and other animals can become infected by ingesting tissue cysts
in raw or rare meat or organs. In this case, the bradyzoites will penetrate the intestinal
mucosa and transform into tachyzoites which will disseminate the infection.

Most T. gondii infections in humans are asymptomatic. However, pregnant women
and immunocompromised individuals are two groups that can suffer serious effects from
infection. Pregnant women can transmit the infection to their fetuses resulting in fetal death,
neonatal death, mental retardation, vision problems, blindness and other neurological
dysfunctions (Remmington et al., 1995). Immunosuppressed individuals are at risk of
developing life threatening toxoplasmosis (Dubey and Beattie, 1988). Persons that have
existing T. gondii infection prior to becoming immunosuppressed may develop encephalitis
due to the reactivation of tissue cysts in their brain. Toxoplasmic encephalitis is common in
AIDS patients. The bradyzoites transform into tachyzoites and the tachyzoites destroy large
areas of the brain if the patient is not treated. Persons that acquire T. gondii infection while
immunosuppressed may develop disseminated infection. These patients may die of pneumonia,
liver disease or systemic disease if not treated. This is particularly common in organ
transplantation when the donor organ contains tissue cysts (Lindsay et al., 1995).

Most T. gondii infections in animals are asymptomatic. Clinical infections are more
common in young animals and abortions are common in several species. Adult Australian
marsupials, lemurs, and several species of aboral monkeys are also highly susceptible to
developing fatal toxoplasmosis (Dubey and Beattie, 1988).

The present study was done to summarize and extend our previous studies of T.
gondii infections in Alabama wildlife (Lindsay et al., 1991b; 1993; 1994) and to present new
data on several wildlife and exotic animal species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Detection of T. gondii infection

Two methods were used alone or in combination to detect T. gondii infection.
Serum from animals was examined for IgG antibodies to T. gondii in the modified direct
agglutination test (MAT) using formalin-fixed tachyzoites as antigen (Dubey and Desmonts,
1987). The MAT has been validated in several wildlife species (Dubey et al., 1993; Dubey
et al., 1995) and will detect antibodies in avian species (Lindsay et al., 1991a; Dubey et al.,
1992c), which other serological tests may not (Frenkel, 1981).

Mouse bioassay using acid pepsin-digestion (Jacobs et al., 1960) of host tissue was
used to detect viable T. gondii tissue cysts in animals. Host tissue (1.8 to 25 g), usually heart
or heart and breast muscle, was homogenized in a blender in Hanks’ balanced salt solution
(HBSS) and mixed with an equal volume of acid-pepsin solution (0.52 g pepsin, 0.5 g NaCl,
1.4 ml concentrated HC1, 98.6 ml distilled water) and incubated for 30 minutes at 37 C in
a water bath. The mixture was washed free of acid in HBSS by centrifugation and 0.5 to 1.0
ml was subcutaneously inoculated into groups of 2 to 5 mice. Surviving mice were bled and

247

Toxoplasma gondii

killed 4 to 6 weeks later. The sera were examined for IgG antibodies to T. gondii in an
indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) using tachyzoites as antigen. A portion of cerebrum
(about 4 by 4 mm) was removed from both sides of the brain, squashed under a coverslip and
examined for tissue cysts.

White-tailed deer

The hearts (20 g) from 21 white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) were examined
by bioassay, and serum samples from 50 white-tailed deer were examined in the MAT.
Results from 19 of these white-tailed deer have previously been reported (Lindsay et al.,
1991b). The samples were collected from hunter killed males and females from Chambers
(N = 26) , Henry (N = 6), Lee (N=4), Macon (N= 10), Monroe (N=2), Montgomery (N = 1 ) ,
Russell (N = l) and Wilcox (N=5) Counties.

Wild turkeys

Heart tissue (19 to 25 g) from 16 hunter killed male wild turkeys ( Meleagris
gallopavo) collected in Lee, Macon, and Russell Counties were each examined by bioassay
and the serum from these 16 birds and an additional wild turkey were examined in the MAT
(Lindsay et al., 1994).

Raccoons

The tongues and hearts (18 to 20 g total) from 3 hunter killed female raccoons
( Procyon lotor) were examined by bioassay. Two were from Macon County and 1 was from
Chambers County.

Bobcats

Tongue, heart, and skeletal muscle (25 g total) were examined by bioassay from 3
adult male bobcats (Felis rufus). One was from Lee County and it had been struck and killed
by a motor vehicle. The other 2 were from Covington County and had been killed by dogs.

Coyote

Heart and skeletal muscle (28 g total) from an adult male coyote (Canis latrans ) from
Lee County were examined by bioassay. The coyote had been struck and killed by a motor
vehicle.

Raptors

Heart and breast muscle (1.8 to 20 g) from 101 raptors were examined by bioassay
(Lindsay et al., 1993). The source of raptor tissue was from animals examined at necropsy
by the C. S. Roberts State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Auburn, Alabama. Ninety-seven
had been patients at the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center, College of Veterinary
Medicine, Auburn University, Alabama.

Llamas

Serum samples from 24 llamas ( Lama glama ) housed at the College of Veterinary
Medicine, Auburn University, Alabama in Lee County were examined by the MAT. No data
were available on sex or age. Six of the llamas were examined at about 12 month intervals
in 1992 and 1993. The other 18 were examined in 1992 (8 llamas) or 1993 (10 llamas).

248

Lindsay et al.

Emus

Serum samples from 9 emus ( Dromiceius novaehollandiae ) from various locations in
Alabama were examined by the MAT. Six were males, 2 were females and the sex of 1 was
not recorded. One emu was 6 weeks-old, 3 were 11 months old, 3 were 1 year old and the
age of 2 was not determined.

RESULTS

White-tailed deer

Four of the 21 heart samples (19%) examined from white-tailed deer were positive.
One of the T. gondii isolates caused fatal infections in 3 of 4 mice on primary isolation.
Seventeen of the 50 serum samples (34%) were positive in the MAT. Table 1 lists the
counties of origin and sexes of white-tailed deer examined for T. gondii.

Table 1. Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in white-tailed deer from Alabama.
County Total ft examined/# positive (%) Sex of Positive*

Chambers

Lee

Henry

Macon

Montgomery

Monroe

Russell

Wilcox

26/9 (35%)
4/2 (50%)
6/1 (17%)
10/4 (40%)
1/1 (100%)
2/0 (0%)
1/0 (0%)
5/2 (40%)

* M = male, F = female, NR = sex not recorded.

3M, IF, 5NR

2M

1M

3M, IF
1M

No positives
No positives

2F

Wild turkeys

Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from the hearts of 8 (50%) of 16 wild turkeys. Six
of the 8 isolates caused fatal infection in mice on primary isolation. Antibodies to T. gondii
were present in 12 (71%) of 17 samples.

Raccoons

One raccoon (33%) from Macon County was positive by bioassay. The other 2
raccoons were negative.

Bobcats

All 3 bobcats (100%) were positive by bioassay.

Coyote

The coyote was positive by bioassay. The isolate caused fatal infection in 1 of the
inoculated mice.

249

Toxoplasma gondii

Raptors

Toxoplasma gondii was isolated by bioassay from 27 of the 101 raptors (27%).
Specifically, it was found in 8 of 12 (67%) red-shouldered hawks ( Buteo lineatus), 13 of 27
(41%) red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), 1 of 4 (25%) Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter
cooperi), 1 of 5 (20%) great horned owls ( Bubo virginianus), 4 of 15 (27%) barred owls
(Strix varia), and 1 of 3 (33%) kestrels (Falco sparverius). Toxoplasma gondii was not
detected by bioassay of tissues from 3 broad-winged hawks (Buteo platypterus) , 3 sharp-
shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus), 6 barn owls (Tyto alba), 9 screech owls (Asio otus), a
Mississippi kite (Ictinia misisippienis), 2 golden eagles, (Aquila chrysaetos), a bald eagle
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus ), 4 ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), 4 turkey vultures (Cathartes aura),
or 2 black vultures (Coragyps atratus). Three of the T. gondii isolates caused fatal infection
in mice on primary isolation: 1 from a red-tailed hawk, 1 from a red-shouldered hawk, and
1 from a kestrel.

Llamas

Fifteen (63%) of the 24 llamas were positive in the MAT. The serological results
from the 6 llamas examined both in 1992 and in 1993 were the same. Four were positive on
both occasions and 2 were negative on both occasions.

Emus

Three (33%) of the 9 emus were positive. Two were males and the sex of 1 was not
recorded. The 2 positive males were 11 months and 1 year old.

DISCUSSION

Results of our studies indicate that T. gondii is prevalent in wild and exotic animals
from Alabama. The serological test we chose was the MAT because it has been validated in
many of the host species we examined and it has been found to be generally superior to the
indirect hemagglutination test (IHT) and latex agglutination test while being similar or
somewhat superior to the dye test and IFAT (Dubey and Beattie, 1988). We used the mouse
bioassay test because positive results are unquestionable. We selected heart and muscle tissue
because it has been our experience with domestic animals that these tissues are often infected
with T. gondii (Dubey and Beattie, 1988).

Consumption of white-tailed deer meat has been implicated in 3 cases of human
toxoplasmosis (Sacks et al., 1983) and results of our study and others (Humphreys et al.,
1995; Vanek et al., 1996) indicate that infection is common in white-tailed deer. We observed
that 34% of 50 white-tailed deer from Alabama were positive using the MAT while Brillhart
et al. (1994), Humphreys et al. (1995), and Vanek et al. (1996) observed that 44% of 106
white-tailed deer from Kansas, 60% of 593 white-tailed deer from Pennsylvania, and 30%
of 1,367 white-tailed deer from Minnesota, respectively, were positive using the MAT.

We observed a high rate of T. gondii infection in wild turkeys by both bioassay (50%
of 16) and by MAT (71 % of 17). Quist et al. (1995) found 10% of 130 wild turkeys collected
from Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina positive by the MAT.

Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from heart and tongue tissue of 1 (33%) of 3
raccoons in our study, while Walton and Walls (1964) isolated T. gondii by bioassay of brain

250

Lindsay et al.

tissue from 4 (8%) of 50 raccoons from Georgia. The reported serological prevalence of T.
gondii in raccoons is variable. Using the MAT, 48% of 93 raccoons from Pennsylvania,
73% of 45 raccoons from New Jersey, 35% of 72 raccoons from South Carolina, 56% of 119
raccoons from Ohio, 37% of 68 raccoons from Virginia, and 67% of 30 raccoons from Iowa
were positive for antibodies (Dubey et al., 1992a). Brillhart et al. (1994) found 70% of 20
raccoons from Kansas were positive by the MAT. The MAT test has been validated in
raccoons (Dubey et al., 1993). Burridge et al. (1979) found that only 17% of 530 raccoons
examined from Florida were positive using the IHT and Forrester (1992) indicated that
antibodies to T. gondii were not detected in 56 raccoons from Florida using the IFAT. Using
the dye test, 23% of 77 raccoons from Maryland (Jacobs and Stanley, 1962) and 33% of 67
raccoons from Georgia (Walton and Walls, 1964) were positive for T. gondii.

All the bobcats examined in this study were positive by bioassay. Walton and Walls
(1964) found that 100% of 15 bobcats from Georgia were positive by the dye test and isolated
T. gondii from 6% of 16 animals examined by bioassay. They used brain tissue only which
may explain the high seroprevalence but low isolation prevalence. Burridge et al. (1979)
found that 66% of 3 bobcats from Florida were positive using the IHT. Marchiondo et al.
(1976) found that 44% of 27 bobcats from New Mexico were positive by the dye test while
a single bobcat from Arizona was negative. Smith and Frenkel (1995) found that 50% of 2
bobcats from Missouri and Kansas were positive by the dye test.

The single coyote we examined was positive. Other studies have indicated that T.
gondii infection in coyotes is common. Lindsay et al. (1996) found that 62% of 52 coyotes
from Texas had antibodies to T. gondii in the MAT. This is identical to the 62% (8 of 13)
prevalence reported by Smith and Frenkel (1995) for coyotes in Missouri and east central
Kansas using the dye test. Marchiondo et al. (1976) observed T. gondii antibodies in 26% of
87 coyotes from New Mexico and 20% of 5 coyotes from Arizona using the dye test. Franti
et al. (1975, 1976) found T. gondii antibodies in 40% of 10 (1975) and 28% of 58 (1976)
in coyotes from California using an IHT.

Our study on the prevalence of T. gondii in raptors is the largest reported to date.
Kirkpatrick et al. (1990) found that 17% of 66 adult and 15% of 124 nestling barn owls had
antibodies to T. gondii in the MAT however we did not isolate T. gondii from barn owls we
examined.

We found a high (63%) prevalence of T. gondii antibodies in the llamas we examined.
Llamas from Oregon and Washington were found to have a 34% prevalence using the same
MAT test as used in our study (Dubey et al., 1992b).

Little is known about T. gondii in ratites. Oroaz et al. (1992) found high T. gondii
MAT titers in a cassowary ( Casuarius casuarius) with respiratory disease and a rhea {Rhea
americana) with bloody diarrhea and anorexia.

We isolated T. gondii from the tissues of 44 (30%) of 145 wild animals that were
examined in the bioassay. Fatal infections were observed in mice inoculated with 11 (25%)
of the 44 isolates. Toxoplasma gondii isolates can be classified in to 3 intraspecies subgroups
based on genotype (Parmley et al., 1994) which correlates with mouse pathogenicity. Group
I isolates are pathogenic for mice while groups II and III are not pathogenic for mice.
Animals are different in their susceptibility to T. gondii infection and it is not possible to
correlate pathogenicity for mice with pathogenicity for humans or other animals.

Little is known about the impact of T. gondii infection on wildlife species. Fatal cases

251

Toxoplasma gondii

of toxoplasmosis have been reported in the literature from a red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) (Dubey
et al., 1990), a gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus) (Dubey and Lin, 1994), and wild
turkeys (Howerth and Rodenroth, 1985; Quist etal., 1995). The impact of T. gondii infection
on reproduction of wildlife species is unknown.

Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Paul Smith and David Pugh for providing serum samples and John
Powers, Edward Wester, Ron Van Houton for providing samples. We also thank Natasha S.
Rippey and Jamie M. Butler for technical assistance.

LITERATURE CITED

Brillhart, D. B., L. B. Fox, J. P. Dubey, and S. J. Upton. 1994. Prevalence of Toxoplasma
gondii in wild mammals in Kansas. Journal of the Helminthological Society of
Washington 61: 117-121,

Burridge, M. J., W. J. Bigler, D. J. Forrester, and J. M. Hennemann. 1979. Serologic
survey of Toxoplasma gondii in wild animals in Florida. Journal of the American
Veterinary Medical Association 175: 964-967.

Dubey, J. P., and C. P. Beattie. 1988. Toxoplasmosis of Animals and Man. CRC Press.
Boca Raton, Florida. 220 p.

Dubey, J. P., and G. Desmonts. 1987. Serological responses of equines fed Toxoplasma
gondii oocysts. Equine Veterinary Journal 9: 337-339.

Dubey, J. P., and T. L. Lin. 1994. Acute toxoplasmosis in a gray fox ( Urocyon
cinereoargenteus). Veterinary Parasitology 51: 321-325.

Dubey, J. P., A. N. Hamir, and C. E. Rupprecht. 1990. Acute disseminated toxoplasmosis
in a red fox ( Vulpes vulpes). Journal of the Wildlife Diseases Association 26:
286-290.

Dubey, J. P., A. N. Hamir, C. A. Hanlon, and C. E. Rupprecht. 1992a. Prevalence of
Toxoplasma gondii infection in raccoons. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical
Association 200: 534-536.

Dubey, J. P., L. G. Rickard, G. L. Zimmerman, and D. M. Mulroony. 1992b.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in llamas ( Lama glama) in the northwest USA.
Veterinary Parasitology 44: 295-298.

Dubey, J. P., S. I. Porter, F. Tseng, S. K. Shen, and P. Thulliez. 1992c. Induced
toxoplasmosis in owls. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 23: 98-102.

Dubey, J. P., A. N. Hamir, S. K. Shen, P. Thulliez, and C. E. Rupprecht. 1993.
Experimental Toxoplasma gondii infection in raccoons ( Procyon lotor). Journal of
Parasitology 79: 548-552.

Dubey, J. P., J. G. Humphreys, and P. Thulliez. 1995. Prevalence of viable Toxoplasma
gondii tissue cysts and antibodies to T. gondii by various serologic tests in black bears
( Ursus americanus) from Pennsylvania. Journal of Parasitology 81: 109-112.
Forrester, D. J. 1992. Parasites and Diseases of Wild Mammals in Florida. University Press
of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, p 459.

252

Lindsay et al.

Franti, C. E., G. E. Connolly, H. P. Riemann, D. E. Behymer, R. Ruppanner, C. M.
Willadesn, and W. Longhurst. 1975. A survey for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in
deer and other wildlife on a sheep range. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical
Association 167: 565-568.

Franti, C. E., H. P. Riemann, D. E. Behymer, D. Suther, J. A. Howarth, and R.
Ruppanner. 1976. Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in wild and domestic
animals in northern California. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical
Association 169: 901-906.

Frenkel, J. K. 1981. False-negative serologic tests for Toxoplasma in birds. Journal of
Parasitology 76: 952-953.

Howerth, E. W., and N. Rodenroth. 1985. Fatal systemic toxoplasmosis in a wild turkey.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases 21: 446-449.

Humphreys, J. G., R. L. Stewart, and J. P. Dubey. 1995. Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii
antibodies in sera of hunter-killed white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. American Journal
of Veterinary Research 56: 172-173.

Jacobs, L. J. S. Remington, and M. L. Melton. 1960. The resistance of the encysted form
of Toxoplasma gondii. Journal of Parasitology 46: 11-21.

Jacobs, L. And A. M. Stanley. 1962. Prevalence of Toxoplasma antibodies in rabbits,
squirrels, and raccoons collected in and near the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.
Journal of Parasitology 48: 550.

Kirkpatrick, C. E., B. A. Colvin, and J. P. Dubey. 1990. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in
common barn-owls (Tyto alba) and pigeons ( Columba livia) in New Jersey.
Veterinary Parasitology 36: 177-180.

Lindsay, D.S., J.P. Dubey, and B.L. Blagburn. 1991a. Toxoplasma gondii infections in red¬
tailed hawks orally inoculated with tissue cysts. Journal of Parasitology 77: 322-325.

Lindsay, D.S., B.L. Blagburn, J.P. Dubey, and W.H. Mason. 1991b. Prevalence and
isolation of Toxoplasma gondii from white-tailed deer in Alabama. Journal of
Parasitology 77 : 62-64.

Lindsay, D. S., P. C. Smith, J. F. Hoerr, and B. L. Blagburn. 1993. Prevalence of encysted
Toxoplasma gondii in Alabama raptors. Journal of Parasitology 79: 870-873.

Lindsay, D.S., P.C. Smith, and B.L. Blagburn. 1994. Prevalence and isolation of
Toxoplasma gondii from wild turkeys from Alabama. Journal of the Helmintholgical
Society of Washington 61: 111-113.

Lindsay, D. S., B. L. Blagburn, and K. G. Braund. 1995. A review of Toxoplasma gondii
and muscular toxoplasmosis. Basic and Applied Myology 3: 255-260.

Lindsay, D. S., J. E. Kelly, R. McKown, F. J. Stein, J. Herman, J. P. Dubey, and B. L.
Blagburn. 1996. Prevalence of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies
in coyotes ( Canis latrans) and experimental infections of coyotes with Neospora
caninum. Journal of Parasitology 82: 657-659.

Marchiondo, A. A., D. W. Duszynski, and G. O. Maupin. 1976. Prevalence of antibodies
to Toxoplasma gondii in wild and domestic animals of New Mexico, Arizona and
Colorado. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 12: 226-232.

Oroaz, S. E., J. D. Mullins, and S. Patton. 1992. Evidence of toxoplasmosis in two ratites.
Journal of the Association of Avian Veterinarians 6: 219-222.

253

Toxoplasma gondii

Parmley, S. F., U. Gross, A. Suchaarczuk, T. Windeck, G. D. Sgarlato, and J.S.
Remington. 1994. Two alleles of the gene encoding surface antigen p22 in 25 strains
of Toxoplasma gondii. Journal of Parasitology 80: 293-301.

Quist, C. F., J. P. Dubey, M. P. Luttrell, and W. R. Davidson. 1995. Toxoplasmosis in wild
turkeys: A case report and serologic survey. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 31:
255-258.

Remington, J. S., R. McLeod, and G. Desmonts. 1995. Toxoplasmosis. In: Infectious
diseases of the fetus and newborn infant, 4th Edition, J. S. Remington and J. O.
Klein, (eds). W. B. Saunders, Philidadelphia, Pennsylvania, p. 140-267.

Sacks, J. J., D. G. Delgado, H. O. Lobel, and R. L. Parker. 1983. Toxoplasmosis infection
associated with eating undercooked venison. American Journal of Epidemiology 118:
832-837.

Smith, D. D., and J. K. Frenkel. 1995. Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in
wild mammals in Missouri and east central Kansas: Biological and ecological
considerations of transmission. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 31: 15-21.

Vanek, J. A., J. P. Dubey, P. Thulliez, M. R. Riggs, and B. E. Stromberg. 1996.
Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in hunter-killed white-tailed deer
( Odocoileus virginianus) in four regions of Minnesota. Journal of Parasitology
82: 41-44.

Walton, B. C., and K. W. Walls. 1964. Prevalence of toxoplasmosis in wild animals from
Fort Stewart, Georgia, as indicated by serologic tests and mouse inoculation.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 13: 530-533.

254

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No. 3, July 1997.

THE GENUS PSEUDODENDROMONAS BOURRELLY IN NORTH AMERICA

Daniel E. Wujek
Department of Biology
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859

Francis J. Menapace
Department of Biology
University of North Alabama
Florence, AL 35632

ABSTRACT

During a TEM survey of pigmented silica-scaled protists present in Alabama fresh
waters during the late winter in 1996, scales identified as belonging to Pseudodendromonas
vlkii Bourrelly, a genus not previously reported from North America, were observed from
the plankton of two ponds in Lauderdale County. Species of Pseudodendromonas are free-
swimming or more usually stalked scale-bearing colorless flagellates of uncertain phylogenetic
affinity. They are found only in freshwater, mostly at the meniscus of samples which have
been allowed to stand for some time.

INTRODUCTION

Heterotrophic protists, particularly flagellates, play a substantial role in the flow of
energy in aquatic ecosystems and soils (Vers 1992). Taxonomically, the heterotrophic
flagellates form a heterogeneous assemblage of species that belong to a number of groups,
including the Choanoflagellida, Cryptophyceae, Dinophyceae, Euglenophyceae and the
"Stramenopiles." The stramenopiles have recently become a rival nomenclatural candidate
for the Kingdom Chromista (Corliss et al. 1994). Perhaps more correctly spelled
"straminopiles" (Vors 1993), this is an important non-protozoa, non-plant kingdom of algal
protists.

Taxa of Pseudodendromonas are free-swimming biflagellate cells or, more usually,
stalked scale-bearing colorless flagellates of uncertain affinity. The appearance of the scales
has been described by Mignot (1974), but their exact structure and variability are best seen
with the transmission electron microscope (TEM).

Species of the genus Pseudodendromonas have been reported, frequently in large
numbers, from a broad range of acidic freshwater habitats (as plankton in ponds, including
squeezings from Sphagnum-, Hibberd 1976).

255

Pseudodendromonas

The present paper documents with TEM, the first report of Pseudodendromonas vlkii
Bourrelly in North America.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Plankton samples (10 fim mesh) were taken on 29 February 1996 from two small
eutrophic freshwater ponds located in Lauderdale County, Alabama (Size More Pond, T45,
R9W, Sect. 18 and an unnamed farm pond, T35N, R10W, Sect. 3). Physico-chemical data-
Size More Pond: surface water temperature 8.5 °C, pH 8.5 and conductance 83 /iS at 25°C;
farm pond: surface water temperature 8.9 °C, pH 8.1 and conductance 41.2 fiS. Samples
were fixed and stored in acidic Lugol’s iodine. Material for examination by TEM was air-
dried on formvar-coated, carbon-stabilized mesh grids. The grids were examined without
staining or shadowing in a Philips 300 TEM.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Only isolated scales were observed in the TEM preparations (Fig. 1), but the structure of
these scales clearly identified them as belonging to Pseudodendromonas vlkii Bourrelly.

Figure 1. Electron micrograph of a surface scale of Pseudodendromonas vlkii.
Scale bar = 1 jun.

256

Wujek and Menapace

The scales are oval, with length varying from 1.0-1.75 pm (mean 1.5 pm, N=15) and the
ratio of length to width 1.5-2 (average 1.8, N = 15). Each scale consists of a thin plate on
which there are usually 20-25 angled transverse bars and a rim. The rim collapses in the type
of preparations we used. However, from sectioned material, Mignot (1974) has shown that
the rim does not stand vertically, but that it is curved inwardly, and also that the whole scale
is bent with the rim on the concave side. Cells were not observed with light microscopy.

Pseudodendromonas was described by Bourrelly (1953) to accommodate the species
P. vlkii. Three species are now recognized (Hibberd 1985). Electron microscopy of the
scales is now required for species identification (Hibberd 1985).

The taxonomic position of the genus has been the subject of dispute. It has been
variously described as a colorless member of the algal classes Chrysophyceae (Bourrelly
1953) or Prymnesiophyceae (Mignot 1974). Recent zoological treatments place the genus in
the protozoan class Zoomastigophorea (as characterized by Levine et al. 1980) and in a new
order Pseudodendromonadida (Hibberd 1985), family Pseudodenromonidae (Patterson and
Zolffel 1991) or the Phylum Opalozoa, Class Proterozoea, Order Cyathobodonida (Corliss
1994).

This report is the first EM observation of this taxon for North America. Other
locations for P. vlkii are France (Bourrelly 1953, Mignot 1974) and England (Hibberd 1975).
Our observations are also the first report of P. vlkii from a nonacidic environment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was undertaken during a sabbatical visit by the first author to the
University of North Alabama. The authors thank P.R. Eisner for grid coating and CMU
Graphics Production for assistance in preparation of the micrographs. The first author also
thanks the FRCE Committee of Central Michigan University for financial support.

LITERATURE CITED

Bourrelly, P. 1953. Flagelle incolores rares ou nouveaux. Osterreichische Botanische
Zeitschrift 100: 533-539.

Corliss, J.O. 1994. An interim utilitarian ("user-friendly”) hierarchial classification and
characterization of the protists. Acta Protozoologica 33:1-51.

Hibberd, D.J. 1976. Observations on the ultrastructure of three new species of
Cyathobodo Petersen and Hansen (C. salpinx, C. intricatus and C. simplex) and on
the external morphology of Pseudodendromonas vlkii Bourrelly. Protistologica 12:
249-261.

_ 1985. Observations on the ultrastructure of new species of Pseudodendromonas

Bourrelly ( P . operculifera and P. insignis ) and Cyathobodo Petersen and Hansen (C.
peltatus and C. gemmatus), Pseudodendromonadida ord. nov. Archive fur
Protistenkunde 129: 3-11.

257

Pseudodendromonas

Levine, N.D., J.O. Corliss, F.E.G. Cox, G. Deroux, J. Grain, B.M. Honigberg, G.F.
Leedale, A.R. Loeblich, III, J. Lorn, D. Lynn, E.G. Merinfeld, F.C. Page, G.
Poljansky, V. Sprague, J. Vavra and F.G. Wallace. 1980. A newly revised
classification of the Protozoa. Journal of Protozoology 27: 37-58.

Mignot, J.P. 1974. Etude ultrastructurale d’un protiste flagelle incolore: Pseudodendromonas
vlkii Bourrelly. Protistologica 10: 397-412.

Patterson, D.J. and M. Zolffel 1991. Heterotrophic flagellates of uncertain taxonomic
position. In: The Biology of Free-living Heterotrophic Flagellates, D.J. Patterson and
J. Larsen (eds). Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 453-476.

Vors, N. 1992. Heterotrophic amoebae, flagellates and heliozoa from the Tvarminne Area,
Gulf of Finland, in 1988-1990. Ophelia 36: 1-109.

_ 1993. Marine heterotrophic amoebae, flagellates and heliozoa from Belize

(Central America) and Tenerife (Canary Islands), with descriptions of a new species,
Luffisphaera bulbochaete n. sp., L. logihastis n. sp., L. turriformis n. sp. and
Paulinella intermedia n. sp. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 40: 272-287.

Direct all correspondence to: D.E. Wujek
Phone: 517-774-3626
FAX: 517-774-3462

e-mail : 34rckmn@cmuvm.csv . cmich . edu

258

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol.68, No. 3, July 1997.

DNA SOLUTIONS OF WEIGHTED CYCLE SEARCHING PROBLEMS

Shaw-Jye Wu

Department of Botany and Microbiology
Auburn University
Auburn University, AL 36849

Yuan-Jye J. Wu

Mathematics and Computer Science Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL 60439

Joe J. Shaw

Department of Botany and Microbiology
Auburn University
Auburn University, AL 36849

ABSTRACT

Computational problems for which an algorithm can not be determined by polynomial
time are classified as NP complete problems. Taking advantage of their great capacity to
conduct parallel reactions, DNA molecules and their experimental protocols have been
proposed to solve such problems which otherwise are time-consuming for electronic
computers. Based on a working archetype, models are presented here to compute two NP-
complete problems: searching for the Hamiltonian cycle and the traveling-salesman cycle.

INTRODUCTION

Solving a problem, not only correctly but also efficiently, is one of the main goals
of algorithm design and analysis in computer science. An algorithm is a collection of
computational procedures that can be programmed on computers to solve a specific problem.
A problem may have more than one algorithm for its solution, but the performance might
vary according to different computer architectures or data layouts.

For example, assume the summation problem, S(«), defined as

S(n ) — a, +a2 + . + an,

where a, is a real number for / = 1, ..., n. The number n is defined as the problem size.
A natural way to solve this problem is to add those n numbers one by one. The operations
required for such a solution are n- 1 additions. However, if a parallel computer with two
processors is used, half of those numbers can be assigned to one processor and the rest of the
numbers to the other processor. The final answer can be obtained by adding the two local
sums resulting from applying the above method individually to each processor. This two-
processor algorithm still requires n- 1 additions, but the elapsed time can be theoretically cut
to half of the time required by the primary solution (the actual elapsed time for the two-

259

DNA solves weighted cycle searching problems

processor algorithm will be slightly longer than half of the first method’s required time
because there is a communication cost for sending the local sums between processors for the
final addition).

Two conclusions can be derived from this example. First, using a parallel computer
may be advantageous for some problems. Second, both algorithms are classified as
polynomial time since the leading term, which dominates the total count, has the form art,
where k is an integer and both a and k are nonnegative and independent of the problem size
n. A problem that can be solved by a polynomial-time algorithm is tractable for extant
electronic-based computers.

However, not all problems are so readily addressed, including the class of problems
known as NP-complete problems (the term “NP” is short for “nondeterministic polynomial
time” [3, p. 927]). No polynomial-time algorithm has been discovered for an NP-complete
problem. In our example, a parallel computer with a large number of processors may be a
solution to get a polynomial elapsed time with respect to n even though there is no
polynomial-time algorithm. Unfortunately, for current electronic-based parallel computers,
more processors cause a greater cost in communication channels and synchronization.

Nevertheless, a totally different system that employs biomolecules may revolutionize
computational procedures. In 1994, Adleman [1] first introduced an algorithm and a practical
DNA computer to solve one type of NP-complete problem, the Hamiltonian path problem.
Later, Lipton [8] described the DNA-based solution of another type of NP-complete problem,
the SAT problem. These solutions demonstrated both the feasibility of solving computational
problems by manipulating biological molecules and the potential usefulness of the massively
parallel processing power derived from such an approach. In this paper, we propose new
algorithms to solve two other NP-complete problems: the Hamiltonian cycle problem and the
traveling-salesman problem.

PROBLEMS AND ALGORITHMS

Graphs

Before we describe the problems and the algorithms, we like to introduce some
required background of graphs. A graph consists of two sets: vertex and edge. The vertex
set contains a finite number of points, called vertices, and the elements of edge set, called
edges, defining relations on some pairs of vertices. There are two kinds of edges: directed
and undirected. A directed edge permits only one direction of transit between a pair of
vertices, whereas an undirected edge allows two-way transit between two vertices.
Consequently, we have both directed and undirected graphs. Figure 1A shows a directed
graph and Figure IB gives an example of an undirected graph. Both graphs have the same
vertex set {1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6}.

A path is a sequence of vertices such that every pair of consecutive vertices has an
edge. In Figure 1A, those edges with shadow show a path <5,1,4,2> . A path is said to
be simple if all the vertices in the sequence are distinct. Furthermore, a path is called a cycle
if the first and the last vertices in the sequence are identical and the path contains at least one
edge. Finally, a cycle is said to be simple if all the vertices in the sequence are distinct
except the first and the last vertices. Now we can describe the Hamiltonian cycle and
traveling-salesman problem formally.

260

Wu and Shaw

Figure 1. (A) A directed graph with a path <5, 1,4,2 > shown by shaded edges. (B) An
undirected graph containing two Hamiltonian cycles, < 5, 1 ,4, 6, 2, 3, 5 > and
< 5, 1,6, 4, 2, 3, 5 > . The former one is shown by shaded edges. (C) To execute the first step
of the algorithm, one of the vertice (vertex 5) is chosen and divided to form two fictitious
vertices as starting (vertex 5s) and ending (vertex 5e) points.

261

DNA solves weighted cycle searching problems
The Hamiltonian Cycle

A Hamiltonian cycle is a simple cycle of an undirected graph that contains all vertices
of the graph [3, pp. 953-959]. In Figure IB, the shadowed edges depict a Hamiltonian cycle
of a graph. A graph that defines a Hamiltonian cycle is said to be Hamiltonian, not all
graphs have a Hamiltonian cycle. The problem will be to decide if a given graph is
Hamiltonian. If the answer is yes, we present a cycle. Note that if every undirected edge
in an undirected graph is replaced by two directed edges with opposite directions, then
solution for the Hamiltonian cycle problem is similar to find a Hamiltonian path that starts
from and ends at the same vertex of a directed graph. Therefore, the following algorithm
based on Adleman’s algorithm [1] is proposed for DNA-based computation to search for a
Hamiltonian cycle:

Given an undirected graph with n vertices.

1. Pick one vertex, say v, as the starting and ending vertex.

2. Form all possible paths.

3. Collect paths that start from and end at the vertex v, and discard the rest.
The resulting paths are cycles.

4. Collect cycles that contain n edges and discard the rest.

5. Collect cycles that visit all vertices and discard the rest.

6. Examine the result from step 5. If the result is empty, the graph does not
have Hamiltonian cycles, and the process stops here.

7. If the result is not empty, reveal the Hamiltonian cycles.

The graph shown in Figure IB provides an example of the experimental design for
implementing such an algorithm. The vertex 5 is chosen as the starting and ending vertex
at step 1. Because of the cyclic nature, the choice of starting/ending vertex can be random.
This vertex will be virtually treated as two vertices, the starting one and the ending one
(Figure 1C).

At the step 2, for i — 1, ...,4, and 6, oligonucleotide O, of 20 bases is assigned to
represent vertex i and its complementary strand is denoted as 6,. As for vertex 5, two
additional distinct oligonucleotides, 05j and 05f , as well as their complementary strands, are
assigned to represent the practical starting and ending vertices respectively. For each edge
connecting vertices i and j, oligonucleotides OhJ and O H are designed to represent the two-way
traffic, wherein the traffic direction is denoted by the polarity of DNA molecule (Figure 2A).
For transit from vertex i to vertex j, the 5’ end of O,- • is identical to either all 20 bases of
05s for i = 5 or the 10 bases at the 3’ end of O, for all other values of i. Similarly, the 3’
end of O, is identical to either all 20 bases of 05f for j = 5, or the 10 bases at the 5’ end
of Oy for all other values of j. Oy., is prepared by the same principle as the counterpart of Ohj .
When the essential DNA molecules are ready, 6, and 0,.y / 0;., are mixed in solution and
allowed to anneal. 6, serve as bridges to bring the various edge oligonucleotides together.
A subsequent ligation reaction then generates longer DNA fragments from all the possible
combinations of the edge oligonucleotides (Figure 2B).

To implement step 3, the products from the ligation reaction are amplified by PCR
with the primer pair 05j and 05f. The signals encoded by DNA fragments starting from 05s
and ending at 05f are boosted and can be detected visually after agarose gel electrophoresis.
Since the graph has only six vertices, seven 20 bp oligonucleotides (corresponding to five
original vertices and the two virtual start and stop vertices) are expected to be included in the

262

Wu and Shaw

0,

20-mer

5’

GGAACCTTGACTGGAACCTT

I M 1 l 1 1 1 11 l l 1 11 1 l l l 1

0 5

J

6,

20-mer

3’

1 l l l 1 l 1 1 1 1 ll l 11 11 l 1 1

CCTTGGAACTGACCTTGGAA

5’

O3

20-mer

5’

GATCGATCGATCGATCGATC

3’

o6

20-mer

5’

AGCTTAAGGCCGGAATTCGA

3’

06.2

20-mer

5’

CGGAATTCGAGGAACCTTGA

3’

20-mer

5’

CTGGAACCTTGATCGATCGA

3’

B

0„ I 0,J

CGGAATTCGAGGAACCTTGACTGGAACCTTGATCGATCGA

CCTTGGAACTGACCTTGGAA

O,

Figure 2. Vertices and edges are encoded in oligonucleotides for searching the Hamiltonian
cycle. (A) 20-mer oligonucleotides O, are assigned to each vertex (02, 03 and 06 are
shown). Their complementary strands are O, (shown is 02). For oligonucleotides OhJ which
encode the edges, the direction of transit from vertex i to vertex j is determined by using 10
bases from the 3’end of O, (except when i = 5, in which case all 20 bases of 05j are
contained within) and 10 bases from the 5’end of O- (unless j = 5, in which case it is the
same as 05?). Bases presented here are for descriptive purpose only. (B) Ligation event
(arrow) between O,- can occur when oligonucleotides anneal properly.

263

DNA solves weighted cycle searching problems

desired DNA fragments. Thus, at step 4, those amplified products of 140 base pairs in length
will be excised and electrocuted.

The DNA fragments thus collected meet the requirements at steps 3 and 4:
specifically, they all begin with and end at vertex 5 and contain six edges. Any of the
fragments that contain all O, for i = 1, ...,4, and 6 will represent one Hamiltonian cycle.
Such DNA fragments are extracted by affinity purification. Single stranded DNA fragments
generated from the electroeluted fragments are annealed to biotinylated 6,. Those fragments
that hybridize to biotinylated 6, will reveal the presence of O, and are recovered by
streptavidin paramagnetic particles. The extraction procedure is re-employed by using the
newly isolated 0,-containing DNA with the next biotinylated 0;. Purification steps with 05i
and 05e are not required because the prior PCR amplification included them, by definition.
The final extract can be amplified again by using the primer pair 05j and 05e to create enough
molecules for further analysis.

At step 6, final amplified products are electrophoresed on an agarose gel. If no DNA
band is detected, the graph is not Hamiltonian. If a 140 bp DNA band is found, at least one
Hamiltonian cycle exists, and the following procedure is implemented.

Multiple graduated PCRs are employed at step 7 to reveal the cycle. For the first
graduated PCR, 05j serves as forward primer and 6, for i — 1, ...,4, and 6, are used as
reverse primers. Note that the amplified DNA fragments with a length of 40 bp denote those
vertices that are adjacent to vertex 5. Furthermore, for each Hamiltonian cycle, there will
be a pair of affinity purified DNA fragments with opposite orders (e.g., < 55, 1,4, 6,2,3, 5e
> and <55,3,2,6,4,1,5^ > in Figure IB). Therefore, at least two distinct fragments with
a length of 40 bp will be formed after the first graduated PCR (e.g. vertices 1 and 3 in our
example). Users can select either order through choice of the next adjacent vertex.

Suppose that vertex 1 is selected, <95s., will serve as the forward primer in the second
round of graduated PCR, with reverse primers 02, 03, 04. and 06. Amplified DNA
fragments with a length of 60 bp will denote those vertices that are adjacent to vertex 1 (e.g.
vertices 4 and 6 in our example, see Figure IB). Again, we can pick either 0M or 0,.6 as
the forward primer for the third round of graduated PCR. If there is only one fragment type
with a length of 50 bp, it implies that the adjacent vertex is unique. The search then
progresses to those amplified DNA fragments with a length of 70 bp. Eventually, the sizes
will reveal the order of a Hamiltonian cycle starting from vertex 5.

The traveling-salesman problem

Now let us move to the traveling-salesman problem. This problem is a variant of the
Hamiltonian cycle problem with more sophisticated conditions. Start with an undirected
complete graph in which each pair of vertices are connected each other. Furthermore, the
edges of this graph are weighed; that is, an integer is assigned to each edge to represent the
cost of travel between the vertices connected by the edge. A total cost of a cycle is the sum
of those individual weights of the edges in the cycle. The problem is to find a Hamiltonian
cycle of a given graph with the minimum cost [3, pp. 959-960], An algorithm similar to the
one above but with several modifications is proposed to solve the traveling-salesman problem.

Imagine a complete, weighted, and undirected graph with n vertices.

1. Pick one vertex, v, as the starting and ending vertex.

2. Form all possible paths.

264

Wu and Shaw

3. Collect those paths that start from and end at the vertex v, and discard
all other paths. The resultant paths are cycles.

4. Collect cycles that visit all vertices, and discard all others.

5. Collect those cycles with the minimum cost to reveal a traveling-salesman
cycle.

The graph shown in Figure 3A is used as an example. At the first step, vertex W is
randomly chosen and practically treated as two vertices, Ws and We, to accommodate the
dual roles as a starting and ending point (see Figure 3B).

At step 2, distinct oligonucleotides (O,) of 18 bases are assigned to represent each
vertex, and their complementary strands are denoted as 6,. However, a more complicated
design of the oligonucleotides 0,.y / O is required to represent the weighted edges. Basically,
they are all composed of three segments. The 5’ end of O ■ consists of 9 bases which are
identical to the 3’ end 9 bases of O, (except when i = W, all 18 bases of 0Wj are contained
within) while the 3’ end contains another 9 bases exactly as same as the 5’ end 9 bases of
Oj (unless j = W, in which case it is all of 0*,,). The third segment of DNA is of variable
length, and is positioned in the middle of the oligonucleotide. Consider the cost or length
ratio depicted in Figure 3A, if the minimum length of the edge is 18 bases ( the cost is 3),
the other two costs can be represented by oligonucleotides of 24 (cost = 4) and 30 (cost =
5) bases. Hence, for the shortest edges like O*.,,, the third DNA segment contains no extra
nucleotides. But, 6 or 12 bases are included for longer edges. Since this additional DNA
segment merely represents part of the weighted cost of each individual edge, thus the
sequences can be random (Figure 4A). As described above, OhJ designates one-way traffic
from vertex i to vertex j. Both 0,.; and Oy_,- are prepared for each undirected edge.

Once again, all essential DNA molecules (0,.y / Oy_, and 6, ) are mixed and allowed
to anneal. A ligation reaction generates longer DNA fragments from all possible

combinations of edges oligonucleotides, though not all 6, are ligated together due to the gaps
created by the additional DNA segments in some Ohj (Figure 4B). Those DNA fragments that
start from and end at vertex W are then amplified by PCR with primer pair and 0We
(step 3).

In the Hamiltonian cycle problem, amplified DNA fragments resulting from step 3
are screened on an agarose gel to isolate those sizes corresponding to the sum of vertices.
However, because of the variant lengths of O,- •, the size of desired DNA fragment here is not
predictable, and therefore affinity purification is conducted directly at step 4. DNA fragments
purified in this step are amplified again by using primer pair and 6*,,, to produce a large
enough quantity for further analysis.

In the case presented here, six DNA fragments encoding three Hamiltonian cycles are
contained in the affinity purified DNA pool (Figure 5). The sizes are 102 bp, 114 bp and
126 bp. At step 5, agarose gel electrophoresis will separate them, and the 102 bp DNA
fragments that carry the desired information (the least cost) can be isolated. Of course, many
DNA fragments encoding paths other than these six will also exist in the affinity purified
DNA pool. However, these fragments are not a concern. They encode multiple visits to some
vertices so that they have larger sizes, and thus can be eliminated by the electrophoresis step.

To consummate the final step, multiple graduated PCRs are again employed. In the
first round of graduated PCR, the smallest DNA fragment whose size is 36 bp is amplified
with primers and 07. This result provides the information that one of the two vertices
adjacent to vertex VT in the traveling-salesman cycle is vertex Z. This information is

265

DNA solves weighted cycle searching problems

Figure 3. (A) An undirected graph showing the traveling-salesman problem. The digits
indicate the relative costs of individual edges between vertices. (B) To facilitate the
computation, vertex W is denoted twice, Wj and We, for starting and ending point
respectively.

266

Wu and Shaw

Eh

H

O

U

3 =

0

0

0

5

0

0

H

Eh

U

U

0

rfj 0
0 Eh
0 0
Eh 0
< <
0 0

0

Eh

<C

<

Eh

0

ro

Eh

Eh

Eh

0

0

0

Eh

Eh

5

0

0

<

0

0

Eh

Eh -

—

0

0

Eh

EH

0

Eh -

— (if

0

<

Eh

0

<

H -

—

Eh

<

0

0

0

0 -

- 0

<

Eh

0

<

0

0 -

- 0

0

Eh

<

Eh

Eh

< ~

- Eh

0

0

0

0

3 -

- Eh

Eh

0

0

0

Eh

0 -

- 0

C

<

0

<

<

0 -

- 0

0

Eh

0

Eh

0

IO

CO

m

in

in

in

oo

<u

00

<D <U

E E

i i

OO OO

<D <U <D

E E E

i i i

GO O

^ M fO

X

o

><

IO

N

IO IO

X N x
X ^ N

o o o

CO

Figure 4. Vertices and edges are encoded in oligonucleotides for searching the traveling-
salesman cycle. (A) 18-mer oligonucleotides O, are assigned to each vertex (Ox is shown).
Their complementary strands are 6, (shown are Ox, 0K and Oz). For oligonucleotides 0,.;
which encode the edges, the direction of transit from vertex i to vertex j is determined by
using 9 bases from the 3’end of O, (except when i = W, in which case all 18 bases of 0Ws
are contained within) and 9 bases from the 5’end of 0] (unless j = W, in which case it is the
same as CV). The cost of edges is adjusted by additional bases wedged between both ends
(shown are 0X.K, 0Y_Z and Oz.x). Bases presented here are for descriptive purpose only. (B)
Ligation events (arrows) between 0,.; or 6, can occur when oligonucleotides anneal properly.
A gap between Oj. and Oz caused by additional bases remains open.

267

DNA solves weighted cycle searching problems

sufficient for conducting the second round of graduated PCR, and the other vertex next to W
(vertex X in this case) is irrelevant. In the second round of graduated PCR, DNA fragments
with sizes of 60 and 78 bp are amplified using 0^ as the forward primer and 0K, Ox as the
reverse primers, respectively. Amplified DNA fragments are then run on an agarose gel and
the traveling-salesman cycle is revealed.

DISCUSSION

Advantages of molecular computation include energy efficiency and high information
storage density [1], The true power of the DNA computation, however, resides in its massive
parallel capabilities and unique screening strategies. One Weiss unit of T4 DNA ligase yields
approximately 4.8 x 1013 concatenating events in 30 minutes, or 2.7 x 1010 events per second,
thus an immense amount of combination results can be generated in parallel within a short
time when scaled up properly. In addition, PCR amplification and affinity purification allow
identification of the answer to be straightforward. A conventional electronic-based single
processor computer must employ trial-and-error tactics for these nonpolynomial-time
algorithms, attempting first one path and then another in a labyrinth of possibilities, finally
deciding the answer. In contrast, a DNA-based computer constructs all path combinations
simultaneously, and picks out the answer directly.

There are several aspects of this current study that bear reiterating because of the
complexity of some of the arguments and because some of the arguments rely heavily upon
principles demonstrated experimentally by Aldeman [1], First, the procedures employed will
identify a legitimate path that contains no redundancies because the sample size is small and
because of the selective criteria [1], Secondly, selection of the correct answer(s) is carried
out by the use of graduated PCR procedures. This step provides a convenient alternative to
direct sequencing, and it also harnesses the real parallel computing power of DNA molecules
by searching among thousands of molecules at the same time. Thirdly, the techniques here
are suitable only for use with pure DNA molecules, such as would be available by
oligunucleotide synthesis and such as were used by Aldeman [1],

The schematic design of algorithms introduced in this article is based directly on
Adleman’s model [1], all techniques involved have been proven and are considered feasible.
However, two major differences occur in the problems presented here and the specific
propositions are made. First of all, the starting and the ending vertices are the same in the
cycle-searching problem. Dividing one of the vertices in the graph into two fictitious vertices
( vslan and veJ) converts every cycle searching problem into a path searching problem, although
this approach requires the use of extra oligonucleotides during data input. Moreover, the
edges are undirected, and this distinction causes the desired answer to be encoded by two
diverse DNA fragments concurrently. To unveil the answer, we introduced multiple
graduated PCRs to decipher the cycle order. This procedure should also prove useful for
solving other path searching problems, such as two Hamiltonian paths within a single graph.

The second innovation in our model is that the edges are weighted in the traveling-
salesman problem. This makes the length of desired DNA fragment unpredictable, and
affinity purification must be executed prior to size-dependent gel isolation. Although the
tripartite design of the oligonucleotides allows the encoding of weight information, the
coupling efficiency during oligonucleotide synthesis may cause a potential problem during the
synthesis of the longer oligonucleotides. Assuming an average coupling efficiency of 99.5 % ,

268

Wu and Shaw

CL

-Q

CN

O

CL

■Q

T

Q.

_Q

CD

CN

Figure 5. Three Hamiltonian cycles and their encoding DNA fragments. (A) Two DNA
fragments with 102 bp encode the cycle W-X-Y-Z-W. (B) Two DNA fragments with 114 bp
encode the cycle W-Y-X-Z-W. (C) Two DNA fragments with 126 bp encode the cycle W-Y-Z-
X-W. Those two encoding the traveling-salesman cycle (the shortest in length) can be
separated from others by size-dependent gel electrophoresis and the answer is revealed by
multiple graduated PCR.

269

DNA solves weighted cycle searching problems

the overall yield would be 90.92% (0.99519 = 0.9092) for a 20-mer, but only 60.88% for
a 100-mer, and 36.88% for a 200-mer. Without proper post synthesis purification, the
truncated products will certainly interfere with computational reactions. One possible effect
is that shorter oligonucleotides will compete with full length oligonucleotides during the
annealing step, decreasing the parallel operation power. A possible solution for this concern
may lie in the use of PCR procedures to generate the necessary oligonucleotides, rather than
the use of a DNA synthesizer. Thus, a large molecule need be synthesized only once;
thereafter, DNA fragments of the desired lengths can be obtained by amplification of various
portions of large DNA molecules. Single stranded DNA isolation may be required for this
alternative method.

The feasibility of using biological molecules for computation has been the subject of
controversy and argument since its inception [6, 9, 10, 11]. Even though models have been
proposed and DNA computers have been constructed, several fundamental issues remain to
be resolved. First, biological reactions usually take minutes or hours to complete. Thus,
although the ligation reaction and the polymerase chain reaction provide strong combination
and screening power, the overall time consumed may ultimately be impractical (especially if
an affinity purification step must be performed sequentially in these cases). Second, the
feasibility and accuracy of DNA-based computation when the problem size is very large
remains untested. Moreover, the DNA computation models addressed to date solve only very
specific types of problems and do not address universal applications. However, Guarnieri et
al. [7] reported the use of DNA molecules to achieve addition, and more recently Wu et al.
[12] proposed a model for DNA arithmetic calculator, very welcome broadening of this new
field of molecular computation.

The applications of biocomputation remain to be explored. The prospect of
biocomputation should not be restricted in DNA molecules only. Other biological properties
and biochemical reactions, such as the signal perception and transduction by a neural network,
could perhaps be the bases for a more versatile and intelligent biocomputer. More studies are
definitely required to reveal the full capacity of biocomputation, and such studies should
include both computer and biological sciences. Knowledge of how to use biomolecules to
achieve computation may also provide insight into the sophisticated machinery of life.
Moreover, because the genomes of several organisms have been fully sequenced [2, 4, 5],
computation using cellular processes in an entire life form may be a possibility in the future.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study is supported by funds provided by Mr. Charles Holman. We thank Po-
Ting Wu and Gail Pieper for helpful discussion.

REFERENCES

[1] Adleman, L.M. (1994) Molecular Computation of Solutions to Combinatorial Problems.

Science 266: 1021-1024.

[2] Bult, C.J., White, O., Olsen, C.J., Zhou, L., Fleischmann, R.D., Sutton, G.G., Blake,

J.A., FitzGerald, L.M., Clayton, R.A., Gocayne, J.D., Kerlavage, A.R.,
Dougherty, B.A., Tomb, J.F., Adams, M.D., Reich, C.I., Overbeek, R., Kirkness,

270

Wu and Shaw

E.F., Weinstock, K.G., Merrick, J.M., Glodek, A., Scott, J.L., Geoghagen, N.S.M.,
Weidman, J.F., Fuhrmann, J.L., Nguyen, D., Utterback, T.R., Kelley, J.M.,
Peterson, J.D., Sadow, P.W., Hanna, M.C., Cotton, M.D., Roberts, K.M., Hurst,
M.A., Kaine, B.P., Borodovsky, M., Klenk, H.P., Fraser, C.M., Smith, H.O.,
Woese, C.R. & Venter, J.C. (1996) Complete Genome Sequence of the Methanogenic
Archaeon, Methanococcus jannaschii. Science 273: 1058-1073.

[3] Cormen, T.H., Leiserson, C.E. & Rivest, R.L. (1990) Introduction to Algorithms . MIT

Press, Cambridge, Mass.

[4] Fleischmann, R.D., Adams, M.D., White, R., Clayton, R.A., Kirkness, E.F.,

Kerlavage, A.R., Bult, C.J., Tomb, J.F., Dougherty, B.A., Merrick, J.M.,
McKenney, K., Sutton, G., FitzHugh, W., Fields, C., Gocayne, J.D., Scott, J.,
Shirley, R., Liu, L.I., Glodek, A., Kelley, J.M., Weidman, J.F., Phillips, C.A.,
Spriggs, T., Hedblom, E., Cotton, M.D., Utterback, T.R., Hanna, M.C., Nguyen,
D.T., Saudek, D.M., Brandon, R.C., Fine, L.D., Fritchman, J.L., Fuhrmann, J.L.,
Groghagen, N.S.M., Gnehm, C.L., McDonald, L.A., Small, K.V., Fraser, C.M.,
Smith, H.O. & Venter, J.C. (1995). Whole-Genome Random Sequencing and
Assembly of Haemophilus influenzae Rd. Science 269: 496-512.

[5] Fraser, C.M., Gocayne, J.D., White, O., Adams, M.D., Clayton, R.A., Fleischmann,

R.D., Bult, C.J., Kerlavage, A.R., Sutton, G., Kelley, J.M., Fritchman, J.L.,
Weidman, J.F., Small, K.V., Sandusky, M., Fuhrmann, J., Nguyen, D., Utterback,
T.R., Saudek, D.M., Phillips, C.A., Merrick, J.M., Tomb, J.F., Dougherty, B.A.,
Bott, K.F., Hu, P.C., Lucier, T.S., Peterson, S.N., Smith, H.O., Hutchison III,
C.A., and Venter, J.C. (1995) The Minimal Gene Complement of Mycoplasma
genitalium. Science 270: 397-403.

[6] Gifford, D.K. (1994) On the Path to Computation with DNA. Science 266: 993-994.

[7] Guarnieri, F., Fliss, M. and Bancroft, C. (1996) Making DNA Add. Science 273:

220-223.

[8] Lipton, R.J. (1995) DNA Solution of Hard Computational Problems. Science 268:

542-545.

[9] Lo,Y.M.D., Yiu, K.F.C. and Wong, S.L. (1995) On the potential of molecular

computing. Science 268: 481-482.

[10] Pool, R. (1995). A Boom in Plans for DNA Computing. Science 268: 498-499.

[1 1] Stemmer, W.P.C. (1995) The evolution of molecular computation. Science 270: 1510.

[12] Wu, S.J., Wu, Y.J.J. and Shaw, J.J. (1996) A comprehensive DNA arithmetic

calculator. Mathematics and Computer Science Division Preprint ANL/MCS p630-
1296, Argonne National Laboratory, IL.

Corresponding Author: Shaw-Jye Wu
Department of Botany and Microbiology
Auburn University
Auburn University, Alabama 36849
Tel.334-844-1663Fax. 334-844-1645
E-mail: wushawj@mail.auburn.edu

271

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 3, July 1997.

REACTION OF A CHLORONITRENO COMPLEX OF TUNGSTEN WITH
PHOSPHOROUS TRICHLORIDE: SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND

REACTIVITY OF C15W(NPC13)

Zewdu Gebeyehu
Department of Chemistry
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL 36088

ABSTRACT

Tungsten (VI) phosphoraniininato complex, C15W(NPC13), was prepared in
quantitative yield by the reaction of chloronitreno complex of tungsten, C14W(NC1), and
phosphorous trichloride in CC14. C15W(NPC13) was characterized by elemental analysis and
IR-spectroscopy. This compound was found to be very sensitive to air and moisture, and
soluble in polar solvents. However, an attempt to dissolve it in CH3CN gave a reaction
product characterized to be [PC14][WNC14]*1 .5CH3CN.

INTRODUCTION

Chloronitreno complexes of transition metals with a linear MsN-Cl group resemble
asymmetric nitrido complexes, MsN-M’ in their mode of bonding and structure. However,
the two differ in the stability of the a-bond of the bridging nitrogen atom. In a chloronitreno
complex, the a-bond between nitrogen and chlorine is formed as a result of the overlap of an
sp hybrid orbital of nitrogen and sp3 hybrid orbitals of chlorine. In contrast to this, in the
asymmetric nitrido complexes of type M = N-M’, a donor-acceptor bond formation between
N and M’ is observed.

Nitreno complexes of vanadium, rhenium and osmium have been known for a long
time.' However, nitreno complexes of molybdenum and tungsten are relatively new and have
been prepared by the reaction of M(CO)6 (M= Mo, W) with excess of NC13 according to
equation l.1,2

2M(CO)6 + 4NC13 - > [MC14(NC1)]2 + 12CO + N2 + Cl2 (1)

The resulting complex is dimeric, where two chlorides bridge two metal centers. The MNC1
fragment of this complex can be represented by two resonance forms shown below.

A

B

272

In both forms the nitrogen is electron deficient and therefore can be easily attacked by a
Lewis base. On the other hand, the chlorine atom acts as a nucleophile in A and as an
electrophile in B. In A, the chloride can be substituted by ligands which have a higher
tendency of binding to the nitrogen, whereas, in B the chloride can be dissociated as Cl+ by
species with high electron densities.3,4 Therefore, several reactions of chloronitreno complexes
are conceivable. Some of these reactions are addition of ligands to the metal, substitution of
the chloride ligand, and nucleophilic addition on the nitrogen.

In this paper the reaction of a chloronitreno complex of tungsten with phosphorous
trichloride is reported, and the characterization, properties and reactivity of the resulting
product are discussed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Synthesis and properties

The reaction of PC13 with C14W(NC1) in equivalent molar ratios in CC14 (-45°C, inert
atmosphere) initially gave an orange-red solution. Stirring the solution for two more hours
while warming to room temperature resulted in an orange-red powder and a colorless
solution. The reaction product was extremely air and moisture sensitive. In air, it changed
its color first to yellow and then to colorless. The product was insoluble in CC14 and hexane;
sparingly soluble in CH2C12, and soluble in THF. The product was found to be very soluble
in CHjCN at first but produced a yellow powder on further stirring, indicating a reaction had
taken place. The orange-red powder was characterized by elemental analysis and IR-
spectroscopy. The elemental analysis showed good agreements between the calculated and
experimental results for most elements. However, a difference of 1.06% was found for
tungsten. This difference may be due to mutual interference of the ions analyzed. Poor
agreement for the analysis of tungsten has been found for other compounds as well.5 The
results of the elemental analysis and IR-spectrum suggest that the reaction proceeded as shown
in equation 2. In this reaction, the Lewis base PC13 attacks the electron deficient nitrogen of
C14W(NC1) to generate the (NPC13)' ligand.

C14W(NC1)(s) + PC13(]) - > C15W(NPC13)(s) (2)

Complexes of transition metals containing the (NPX3)' ligand (X= organic group or
halogen), which does not exist as a free ion, are known as phosphoraniminato complexes and
have been thoroughly reviewed.6 The MNP group in these complexes is often nearly linear
with a bond angle of 157-177°. X-ray data of some phosphoraniminato complexes show that
the M-N and N-P bonds are fairly short with bond lengths of 170-185 pm and 160-165 pm
respectively.7'10 These bond distances indicate a double bond between M-N as well as N-P.

Most phosphoraniminato complexes known have an organic group attached to the
phosphorous atom. Complexes where a halide is attached to the phosphorous atom are very
few in number, however, [Ph4P][MoCl5(NPCl3)n and C15W(NPC12NPC13)7 are very well
known.

IR-Spectrum

The IR-spectra of all phosphoraniminato complexes show a strong absorption band
in the region of 1100-1170 cm ' due to an asymmetric stretching vibration of the MNP

273

Reaction

group.6 The symmetric stretching vibration sometimes appear a little below 600 cm 1 as a
weak band and is observed only for a few complexes. The shift to lower wavelength is due
to a strong coupling of the asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations, caused by the
linearity of the MNP group.8,6 The IR-spectrum of C15W(NPC13) is shown in Fig. 1, the
assignment of bands is listed in Table 1, and a proposed structure for the compound is shown
in Fig. 2. The strong band at 1161 cm'1 corresponds to asymmetric vibration of the WNP-
group. The symmetric vibration is not observed, and the absence is common in these type of
complexes. The bands at 640 cm'1 and 600 cm'1 are due to asymmetric and symmetric
vibrations of the PC13 group respectively.11 In the region of W-Cl vibrations, three bands are
observed. The asymmetric W-Cl vibration appear at 380 cm'1 as a strong band and the
symmetric at 335 cm'1 as very strong band. The band at 281 cm'1 is also assigned to W-Cl
vibration, for the chloride at trans position to NPC13' ligand. The medium bands at 193 and
145 cm'1 could be due to W-Cl deformational vibrations.1 Table 2 lists characteristic
vibrational frequencies of some phosphoraniminato complexes for comparison with the result
obtained for C15W(NPC13).

Table 1. IR-spectrum of C15W(NPC13) vs = very strong, s = strong, m = medium

cm-1

Intensity

Assignment

1161

vs

Uas(WNP)

640

vs

Uas(PCl3)

600

s

us(PCl3)

380

s

tOW-ci)

335

vs

Vs(W-Cl)

281

s

v(W-Cl)

193

m

5(W-C1)

145

m

<5(W-C1)

Reaction of CfW(NPCl3) with CH3CN

Stirring a suspension of C15W(NPC13) in an excess amount of CH3CN at 0°C, initially
gave a red-orange solution, which on further stirring for two more hours while warming it
to room temperature gave yellow powder and a faint yellow solution. The product was
characterized by elemental analysis and IR-spectroscopy. The results obtained confirmed that
the reaction proceeded as shown by equation 3.

C15W(NPC13) + CH3CN - - > [PC14][WNC14]*1.5CH3CN (3)

274

Gebeyehu

Fig. 1. IR- spectrum of C15W(NPC13)

Fig. 2. Proposed structure for C15W(NPC13)

275

Reaction

Table 2. Characterstic vibrational frequencies of phosphoraniminato complexes.

Complexes

^as(MNP) (cm ')

^s(MNP) (cm ')

Ref.

[NbCl4(NPPh3)]2

1177

-

13

[MoCl4(NPPh3)]2*2CH2Cl2

1132

573

10

[C15WNP(C12)NPC13]

1168

-

7

[WF4(NPMe3)2]

1110

575

14

[Re(SPh)4(NPPh3))

1120

-

15

[RuCl3(NPPhEt2)(PPhEt2)2]

1090

-

16

[C15W(NPC13)

1161

-

This work

The results of elemental analysis indicated the presence of 1.5 mole of CH3CN bound to the
crystal lattice. Solvent molecule coordination of this type has also been observed in similar
molecules.17 The IR-spectrum of the product showed strong bands at 2320 and 2995 cm'1 due
to CHjCN and a very strong band at 1100 cm'1 corresponding to u(W = N). Similar
vibrational frequencies have been observed for related complexes such as Ph4As[WNCl4]
(1036 cm'1)18, Ph4As[MoNCl4] (1054 cm'1)18, and Ph4As[OsNCl4] (1123 cm'1).19 The shift to
a higher wavenumber in this product may be due to the effect of the counter cation and
presence of the solvent molecule bound to the crystal. Bands at 650 and 590 cm'1 are
characteristic to the cation PC14+ and these bands are also observed for [PCl4] + [PCl6] .n In
the region of W-Cl vibration, two bands at 370 and 340 cm'1 are observed.

EXPERIMENTAL

Methods and Materials

All of the experiments were carried out under an argon atmosphere using the Schlenk
technique. The Schlenk tubes were thoroughly heated under vacuum to remove traces of
moisture. All solvents were carefully dried and degassed. Acetonitrile, dichloromethane and
carbon tetrachloride were refluxed over P205 for three to four days and distilled under argon.
Diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran and hexane were distilled from a Na/benzophenone mixture
under argon. WC14(NC1) was synthesized by a literature method.3 PC13 was purchased from
Aldrich (99.99%) and refluxed for several hours and distilled. The IR spectrum was measured
as a Nujol mull between cesium iodide plates on a Bruker FTIR Spectrometer model IFS 88
(4000 - 100 cm'1). Elemental analysis was performed in the Analytical Unit of Philipps
University, Marburg, Germany.

276

Gebeyehu

Synthesis of CfWfNPClf

5.23 g (13.95 mmol) C14W(NC1) were suspended in 50 mL of CC14 under an argon
atmosphere and cooled to -45°C. While stirring, 1.92 g (13.95 mmol; 1.22 mL) of PC13 were
added drop wise. The initially formed orange-red solution was stirred for two more hours
while raising its temperature to 20°C. An orange-red crystalline powder and a colorless
solution resulted. The product was filtered and washed three times with 5 mL portions of
CC14 and dried under high vacuum. Yield: 7.01 g (98. 1 1 % based on WC14(NC1)). Elemental
analysis: Calculated for C15W(NPC13); N, 2.73; Cl, 55.35; P, 6.04; W, 35.88; Found: N,
2.98; Cl, 55.52; P, 6.31; W, 36.94

Reaction of CfWfNPClf with CH3CN

2.41 g (4.70 mmol) of C15W(NPC13) were added to 50 mL CH3CN at 0"C while
stirring. A red-orange solution formed immediately. Stirring this solution for thirty minutes
while warming to room temperature gave a yellow powder and light yellow solution. The
yellow product was filtered and washed three times with a 5 mL portion of CH3CN and dried
under high vacuum. Yield: 2.22 g (90.98% based on C15W(NPC13)). Elemental analysis:
Calculated for [PC14][WNC14]*1.5CH3CN N, 6.09; C, 6.27; H, 0.78; Cl, 49.41; P, 5.39;
Found: N, 5.99; C, 6.03; H, 0.58; Cl, 48.95, P, 5.31.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to the Analytical Unit of Philipps University, Marburg, Germany for
elemental analysis and Professor Dehnicke for his support. I sincerely acknowledge the
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for financial aid.

REFERENCES

1. Gorge, A; Dehnicke, K. Z. Naturforsch. 1988, 43b, 677.

Gorge, A. Ph.D. Dissertation, Philipps-Universitat, Marburg, Germany (1989)

2. Frankenau, A; Dehnicke, K. Z. Naturforsch. 1989, 44b, 493.

3. Gorge, A.; Patt-Siebel, U.; Muller, U.; Dehnicke, K. Z. Naturforsch. 1988, 43b, 1633.

4. Gorge, A.; Patt-Siebel, U.; Muller, U.; Dehnicke, K. Z. Naturforsch. 1989, 44b, 903.

5. Gebeyehu, Z. The Journal of the Alabalma Academy of Science, 1997, 67, 243.

6. Dehnicke, K.; Strahle, J. Polyhedron, 1989, 8, 707.

7. Muller, U; Patt-Siebel, U.; Khabou,K.; Dehnicke, K. Chem. Ztg. 1987, 111, 371.

8. Mronga, N.; Weller, F.; Dehnicke, K. Z. anorg. allg. chem. 1983, 502, 35.

9. Sellmann, D.; Keller, J.; Moll, M.; Beck, H.; Milius, W. Z. Naturforsch. 1986, 41b.
1551.

10. Hosier, K.; Weller, F.; Dehnicke, K. Z. Naturforsch. 1987, 42b. 1563.

11. Schmidt, I.; Kynast, U.; Hanich, J.; Dehnicke, K. Z. Naturforsch. 1984, 39b. 1248.

12. Weidlein, J.; Muller, U.; Dehnicke, K. Schwingungsspektroskopie, 2. Aufl. G. Thieme-
Verlag: Stuttgart, New York, 1988.

13. Betzler, H.; Strahle, J. Z. Naturforsch. 1979, 34b. 1199.

277

Reaction

14. Roesky, H.W.; Katti, K.V.; Seseke, U.; Scholz, U.; Herbst, R.; Egert, E.; Sheldrick,
G.M. Z. Naturforsch. 1986, 41b. 1509.

15. Dilworth, J.R.; Neaves, B.D.; Hutchinson, J.P.; Zubieta, J.A. lnorg. Chim. Acta. 1982
65, L 223.

16. Phillips, F.L.; Skapski, A.C. J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans. 1976, 1448.

17. Close, M.R.; McCarley, R.E. lnorg. Chem. 1994, 33, 4198

18. Dehnicke, K.; Kolitsch, W. Z. Naturforsch. 1977, 32b. 1485

19. Griffith, W. P.; Pawson, D. J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans. 1973, 1315.

278

Notes

Notes

Notes

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is
restricted to members. Membership application forms can be obtaaned from Dr. Larry
R. Boots, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham,
AL 35294. Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline
sections of the Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology; Forestry,
Geography, Conservation, and Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and
Economics; Science Education; Social Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and
Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely review articles of exceptional quality and
general readership interest will also be considered. Invited articles dealing with Science
Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book reviews of Alabama authors are
also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the Journal implies that it has
not been published previously and that it is not currently being considered for publication
elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. Submit the original and two
copies to the Editor. Papers which are unreasonably long and verbose, such as uncut
theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the author’s name, affiliation, and
address, including zip code. An abstract not exceeding 200 words will be published if
the author so desires. Use headings and subdivisions where necessary for clarity.
Common headings are: Introduction (including a literature review), Procedures (or
Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other formats
may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all-caps
and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and placed
at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. Do not use the number 1 for footnotes;
begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have their
present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and
white glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed 20
cm. Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use
lettering that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as
figures, number consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on
a separate sheet of paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are
satisfactory for review purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each
table. Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table
footnotes. Cite all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature
Cited. Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers,
etc.). List in alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text by
number or by author-date.

The Journal of the Alabama

Academy of Scie!^ trraRY
AM. MUS. NAT. HIST. LIBRARY

Received on: 02-02-98

5.06(76. 1)B

HE JOURNAL OF THE
LABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

no. 4

October

1997

T‘<; Wi

, i-F;' »'

< IP

, ■;» !>:»

3

OLUME 68

OCTOBER 1997

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Aerial view of a recently cut hardwood stand in the Bankhead
National Forest, provided by Geoffrey Hill. When cut areas are replanted in loblolly pine
( Pinus taeda) this type of forest disturbance and conversion has a major impact on breeding
birds. Photo by Charles Seifried.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 68 OCTOBER 1 997 NO. 4

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

T roy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.

CONTENTS

ARTICLES

Physiological Responses of Azolla caroliniana Willd. to Polylactic Acid

Tomas Ayala-Silva and Safaa Al-Hamdani . 279

The Effects on Bird Communities of Converting Southern Hardwood Forests to
Pine Plantations

Geoffrey E. Hill . 285

Prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in White-tailed Deer from Alabama

David S. Lindsay and Byron L. Blagbum . 296

OTHER

Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting . 301

Index . 314

Membership Roll . 329

I.

The Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF AZOLLA CAROLINIANA WILLD. TO

POLYLACTIC ACID

Tomas Ayala-Silva and Safaa Al-Hamdani1
Department of Biology
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville, AL 36265-9982

ABSTRACT

Azolla caroliniana Willd. growth, chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin concentrations and
carbohydrate accumulation were evaluated at different concentrations of the polymer L-lactic
acid (0.0, 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 /ig/1). Plants were grown for ten days in a growth chamber at
25 ± 1 °C (day/night), day length of 14 h and photosynthetic photon fluxdensity of 220 /imol
m'2 s'1. Growth was greatest in the presence of polylactic acid, with the highest significant
dry weight increase (41.4%) at 1 jug/L, followed by a 34.5% increase of 0.1 /xg/1. Polylactic
acid also increased chlorophyll a and b concentrations. Similar results were obtained for
carotenoids. On the other hand, anthocyanin concentration was unaffected by the different
concentrations of polylactic acid. Starch, soluble sugar and total nonstructural carbohydrates
(TNC) also were not influenced by polylactic acid presence in the growth media.

INTRODUCTION

The earliest recorded use of lactic acid as a plant growth regulator was in 1924 when
callus formation from carrot slices exposed to lactic acid was observed (Blumenthal and
Meyer, 1924). Polymers of lactic acid were reported to promote growth in a variety of plants
and unicellular algae (Kinnersley, 1993). In earlier studies Kinnersley and coworkers (1990)
found that 1000 /xg/1 of the polymer L-lactic acid significantly increased plant biomass in
duckweed ( Lemna minor ) and corn (Zea mays) along with an accompanying increase in
chlorophyll accumulation and root growth. In an other study, it was reported that adding 100
/xg/1 of polylactic acid to the medium containing reduced amounts of nutrients produced
significant growth increase in duckweed (Kinnersley et al., 1989). This study showed that
such polymers not only enhance growth, but also reduced the amount of nutrients required
for growth.

Lactic acid was described by Lipinsky and Sinclair (1986) as a "sleeping giant"
waiting to be awakened. The above statement is supported by the fact that lactic acid has been
shown to have a significant positive influence on growth and development of those plant
species examined (Kinnersley et al., 1989; Young, 1989; Kinnersley et al., 1990; Kinnersley,
1993). However, more information is needed to evaluate the role of lactic acid as a plant
growth regulator.

279

Ayala-Silva and Al-Hamdani

In this investigation, the influence of the polymer L-lactic acid within a concentration
range of 0.01 to 1.0 ^g/1 on Azolla growth, chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin content
and carbohydrate accumulation was evaluated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cultures of Azolla caroliniana were grown in a modified Hoagland solution
(Hoagland and Arnon, 1938), diluted 1:40 (Sela et al., 1989) at pH 6.0. The plants were
placed in a growth chamber with a 14 h photoperiod and 220 /unol m 2 s'1 photosynthetic
photon flux density and constant day/night temperatures of 25 +. 1°C. Twenty randomly
selected plants from the stock culture were placed in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks (ten flasks per
treatment) containing 125 ml of diluted Hoagland’s solution with dissolved polymer L-lactic
acid concentrations of 0, 0.01, 0.10, and 1.0 /xg/1. Plants were grown for 10 days under
these conditions. On the last day of treatment application, the plants from five randomly
selected flasks of each treatment were used for dry weight and nonstructural carbohydrates
measurements. The plants in the reaming five flasks of each treatment were used for
chlorophyll a and b, carotenoid and anthocyanin determinations.

Dry weight

Samples were oven dried for 48 h at 70°C and then the dry weight was recorded. The
plant samples were then stored at-20°C for subsequent carbohydrate determinations.

Chlorophyll/carotenoid content

A plant sample of 0.10 g fresh weight was placed in separate 10 ml vial (5 per
treatment) containing 5 ml of N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF). The samples were stored in
the dark at 4°C for 36 hours. Chlorophyll a and b content was determined
spectrophotometrically by the method of Inskeep and Bloom (1985). Extractable carotenoid
was determined spectrophotometrically from the N,N-DMF extraction and the total carotenoid
concentration was calculated using the formula of Doong and coworkers (1993).

Anthocyanin content

Samples of 0. 10 g fresh weight were homogenized in 5 ml of methanol containing 1 %
HC1 (v/v). Homogenates were then filtered and anthocyanin content was determined
spectrophotometrically by the method of Mancinelli (1990).

Carbohydrate Determination

Carbohydrate analysis of the plant samples yvas conducted following procedure
slightly modified of Chatterton and coworkers (1987). The samples were ground into a fine
powder and a 100-500 mg portion was placed in a sealed vial and used for the determination
of soluble sugars, starch, and total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) sis reported in detail
by Gardner and Al-Hamdani (1997) and Wilson and Al-Hamdani (1997).

280

Azolla caroliniana Willd.

Statistical analysis

This experiment was replicated twice and statistically analyzed as a randomized
complete block design (Steel and Torrie, 1980). This design ensured that observed differences
in plant performances were largely due to treatments rather than variation among blocks
(replicate series conducted at different times). Differences between treatment means were
computed on the basis of the least significant difference (LSD) test (Steel and Torrie, 1980).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

After Azolla was grown for ten days in media containing different polylactic acid
concentrations, the greatest significant growth increase of 41.4% was obtained on a
concentration of 1 /xg/1 followed by a 34.5% dry weight increase at 0.1 /xg/1 (Table 1). Young
(1989) reported that application of 0.001 /xM/1 polylactic acid to tomato ( Lycopersicon
esculentum ) plants resulted in an increase in fruit and vegetative growth. Kinnersley (1993)
found that a significant increase in duckweed ( Lemna minor) growth was obtained when 1
mg/1 of polylactic acid was added to the growth medium. In the present study, we examined
in several experiments the influence of additional polylactic acid concentrations (10, 25, 50,
100, 250, 500, and 1000 /xg/1) on Azolla growth (data not shown). The results of these
experiments indicated that concentrations of 10-100 /xg/1 had no significant effect on Azolla
growth whereas concentration of 250 /xg/1 and above exhibited toxicity and caused the plants
to senesce.

Chlorophyll a and b concentrations increased in the presence of polylactic acid in the
growth media (Table 2). However, significant increases were only obtained for plants grown
in 1.0 /xg/1. Similar results were obtained for carotenoids concentration (Table 2). It was
reported that polylactic acid caused a significant increase in chlorophyll concentration
of duckweed and corn (Kinnersley et al., 1990). Anthocyanin concentrations were not
significantly affected by the different concentrations of polylactic acid concentration
(Table 2).

The mechanism of action of polylactic acid is not unknown. However, significant
increases in plant growth and chlorophyll concentration could be due to the possibility that
polylactic acid enhances plant nutrient assimilation or utilization. Kinnersley and coworkers
(1990) observed that polylactic acid increased duckweed growth in a reduced nutrient media.

The different concentrations of polylactic acid had no significant effect on soluble
sugars, starch, and total nonstructural carbohydrate concentration (Table 3). However,
because plant growth was increased in the presence of polylactic acid (Table 1), more
carbohydrates may have been utilized by these plants to support this additional growth
observed in comparison to control plants.

The Azolla-Anabaena association has been used as an important source of green
manure for rice (Sativa oriza L.) in China and other Far East countries (Moor, 1969;
Lumpkin and Plucknett, 1980). Polylactic acid application in concentrations of 0.1 and 1.0
/xg/1 may be useful to enhance Azolla growth and possibly increase nitrogen availability for
rice crops. On the other hand, Azolla is frequently considered a weed in many areas. Thus
application of 250 /xg/1 of polylactic acid can possibly provide a biodegradable and

281

Ayala-Silva and Al-Hamdani

environmentally safe way of limiting its growth. Lipinski and Sinclair (1986) reported that
polylactic acid is biodegradable and bioenvironmentally compatible and degrades back to safe
natural harmless products.

Table 1 Effects of different polylactic acid (PLA) concentrations (/xg/ 1) on Azolla
caroliniana growth

PLA cone.

Plant-Dry wt. (mg)

0.00

29.0a

0.01

31.0ab

0.10

39.0bc

1.00

41.0c

NOTE: Means followed by the same letter in each column are not significantly
different based on the LSD test (P=0.05).

The numbers represent the means of two replicates with a total of ten observations
for each treatment.

Table 2 Effects of different polylactic acid (PLA) concentrations (/xg/ 1) on chlorophyll,
carotenoid and anthocyanin concentrations in Azolla caroliniana

PLA cone.

Chi a*

Chi b

Carotenoid

Anthocyanin

- — (/tg/g

(fresh weight)

0.00

8630.0a

5060.0a

79.5a

3.4a

0.01

9080. Oab

5330. Oab

88.5ab

3.2a

0.10

9200. Oab

5430. Oab

89. Oab

3.4a

1.00

9920.0b

6190.0b

115.5b

4.8a

* Chi a, Chi b represents chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b respectively.

NOTE: Means followed by the same letter in each column are not signigicantly different based on the LSD test
(P=0.05).

The numbers represent the means of two replicates with a total of ten observations for each treatment.

282

Azolla caroliniana Willd.

Table 3 Effects of different polylactic acid (PLA) concentrations (/zg/1) on carbohydrate
concentration in Azolla caroliniana

PLA cone.

Soluble sugar

Starch

TNC

- (ftg/g

dry wt.) -

0.00

25.8

170.7

247.4

0.01

28.1

140.1

232.4

0.10

28.1

145.0

232.4

1.00

31.4

149.1

238.2

TNC = Total nonstructural carbohydrates.

NOTE: Means in each column are not signigicantly different based on the LSD test
(P=0.05).

The numbers represent the means of two replicates with a total of ten observations for each treatment.

LITERATURE CITED

Blumenthal, F. and Meyer, P. 1924. Uber durch acidum lacticum erzeugte tumoren auf
mohrrubenscheiben. Z. F. Kregsg. 21:250-252.

Chatterton, N. J., Harrison, P. A., Bennett, J. H. and Thornley, W. R. 1987. Fructan, starch
and sucrose concentrations in crested wheatgrass and redtop as affected by
temperature. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 25:617-623.

Doong, R. L., MacDonald, G. E. and Shilling, D. G. 1993. Effect of fluridone on
chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin content of Hydrilla. J. Aquat. Plant
Manage. 31:55-59.

Gardner, J. L. and S. H. Al-Hamdani. 1997. Interactive effects of aluminum and humic
substances on salvinia. J. Aquat. Plant Manage. 35:30-34.

Hoagland, D. R., and Arnon, D. I. 1938. The water-culture method for growing plants
without soil. Univ. Calif., Agri. Exp. Stn. Cir. No. 347, PP. 1-32.

Inskeep, W. P., and Bloom, P. R. 1985. Extinction coefficients of chlorophyll and b in N,
N dimethylformamide and 80% acetone. Plant Physiol. 77:483-485.

Kinnersley, A. M., Scott, T. C. Ill, Yopp, J. H., and Whitten, G. H. 1989. Method for
regulating plant growth. U.S. Patent 4813997. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
Washington, D.C.

Kinnersley, A.M., Scott, T.C. Ill, Yopp, J.H., and Whitten, G.H. 1990. Promotion of plant
growth by polymers of lactic acid. Plant Growth Regul. 9:137-146.

283

Ayala-Silva and Al-Hamdani

Kinnersley, A. M. 1993. The role of phytochelates in plant growth and productivity. Plant
Growth Regul. 12:207-218.

Lipinsky, E. S. and Sinclair, R.G. 1986. Is lactic acid a commodity chemical? Chem. Eng.
Prog. 82:26-32.

Lumpkin, T. A. and Plucknett, D. L. 1980. Azolla: botany, physiology and use a green
manure. Econ. Bot. 34:111-153.

Mancinelli, A. L. 1990. Interaction between light quality and light quantity in the
photoregulation of anthocyanin production. Plant Physiol. 92:1191-1195.

Moor, A. W. 1969. Azolla: biology and agronomic significance. Bot. Rev. 35: 17-35.

Sela, M. Garty, J. and Tel-Or, E. 1989. The accumulation and the effect of heavy metals on
the water fern Azolla folliculitis. New Phytol. 112:7-12.

Steel, R.G.D. and Torrie, J.D. 1980. Principles and procedures of statistics: a biometrical
approach. 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, pp.196.

Wilson, J. G., and S. H. Al-Hamdani. 1997. Effects of Cr (VI) and humic substances on
selected physiological responses of Azolla caroliniana. Am. Fern J. 87(1): 17-27

Young, Donald C. 1989. Methods for regulating the growth of plants and growth regulant
compositions. U.S. Patent 4,863,506. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
Washington, D.C.

‘Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

(205) 782-5801 Office
(205) 782-5215 Fax

284

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.

THE EFFECTS ON BIRD COMMUNITIES OF CONVERTING SOUTHERN
HARDWOOD FORESTS TO PINE PLANTATIONS

Geoffrey E. Hill

Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
331 Funchess Hall

Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849

ABSTRACT

Large areas of hardwood forest in the southeastern U.S. are being converted to even- aged
stands of loblolly pine. The effect of this habitat alteration on communities of breeding birds
in the southern Appalachian region has not been adequately studied. I compared birds present
in three ridge top forest types in Bankhead National Forest, Alabama: (1) second-growth
hardwood forest, (2) established loblolly pine stands with trees 20 - 30 years old, and (3)
plots recently cut and replanted in loblolly pine (regeneration plots). Censuses were
conducted in June when only breeding birds were present. I found more individual birds and
a greater number of bird species in hardwood sites compared to either regeneration sites or
established loblolly sites. There was little overlap in species between the three forest types,
and virtually none of the species typical of southern hardwood forests were found in stands
of loblolly pine. The impacts on forest bird communities of converting hardwood forests to
pine plantations need to be considered when formulating management plans for southern
forests.

INTRODUCTION

Over large areas of the southeastern U. S., native forests have been and are being
replaced with monocultures of loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda) planted in stands of uniform age
(Alig et al. 1990, McWilliams 1992). Over the next fifty years, the area in pine plantation
in the south is projected to increase by over 20 million acres (Alig et al. 1990). Much of this
gain in pine plantation will come at the expense of native pine forests and reclaimed
agricultural and grazing land, but hardwood forest acreage in the south is projected to
decrease by ten percent over then next fifty years (Alig et al. 1990). Much of the conversion
of hardwood forest to pine plantation in the south will occur in the southern Appalachian
Region.

Conversion of hardwood to pine has many obvious effects on the gross structure and
appearance of a forest (Felix et al. 1983). The effects on breeding birds of conversion from

285

Forest Management and Bird Communities

hardwood to pine and of the maturation of pine plantations have been documented in several
studies in the Piedmont, Central Appalachian, and Coastal Plain (Noble and Hamilton 1975,
Meyers and Johnson 1978, Conner et al. 1979, Crawford et al. 1981, Childers et al. 1986).
Despite the large areas of the Southern Appalachian Region that have been and will be
affected by conversion from hardwood forest to pine plantation, no studies have quantified
the effects on breeding birds of converting hardwood forest to loblolly pine forest in this
region.

The Bankhead National Forest lies primarily in the Black Warrior Mountains at the
southwestern edge of the Appalachian Plateau in north-central Alabama. The native
vegetation of the region is characterized by southern hardwood forests dominated by
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and white oak ( Quercus alba ) in the valleys and by
southern red oak ( Q . falcata), white oak, and hickory {Cary a spp.) on slopes and ridgetops
(Harper 1943, Wills 1995). American chestnut ( Castanea dentata) once was the dominant
tree from stream valleys to ridge tops throughout the region but was eliminated almost
entirely by chestnut blight in the early part of this century (Harper 1943, Wills 1995). Before
European settlement, pine (Pinus spp.) comprised from 4% to 18% of trees in the region,
with the highest proportion on dry upper slopes and lowest proportion in stream valleys (Wills
1995).

Although deciduous trees dominated the native forests of the Bankhead National
Forest (Wills 1995), the USDA Forest Service has adopted a policy under which some
hardwood forests are being cut and replanted with loblolly pine (USDA Forest Service 1986).
Approximately 55% of the forested area of Bankhead National Forest (excluding the Sipsey
Wilderness) is currently classified as pine and more acreage is slated for conversion (USDA
Forest Service 1986). Conversion of native forests to pine plantations has been most
extensive on ridge tops; of the 128,155 acres in Bankhead National Forest on which timber
may be managed (primarily upland sites), 69% is planted pine (U. S. Forest Service 1986).
In this study, I compared the presence of both breeding and transient birds among three ridge
top forest types in Bankhead National Forest: (1) second-growth hardwood forest
approximately 50 years old, (2) stands of planted pines 3-5 years old, and (3) pine
plantation with trees > 20 years old.

METHODS

This study focused on upland sites (upper slope, bluffline, and ridge top; Wills 1995)
in the Bankhead National Forest, Alabama north of Highway 278 (north of 340 10’)- No
counts were conducted in stream valleys (i. e. in drain bottoms, lower slopes, or middle
slopes; Wills 1995). I surveyed three predominant forest habitat types of this region: (1)
second-growth oak-hickory woodland, hereafter referred to as "hardwood sites". To be
selected, these sites had to have been largely undisturbed for 50 years (as determined from
U. S. Forest Service compartment maps) and have less than 10% pine /as estimated from
visual assessment). (2) Plots of planted loblolly pine at least 20 years old (as determined
from U. S. Forest Service compartment maps), hereafter referred to a "pine sites". To be
included as a pine site, a stand had to have no large hardwood trees although most had a

286

Hill

dense hardwood midstory to about 3 m. No pine sites had trees older than 26 years (as
determined by USDA compartmental maps). (3) Areas recently cut and replanted with either
Virginia (P. virginiana) or loblolly pine, hereafter referred to as "regeneration sites". Only
plots with young pines 1 - 3 m tall (3 - 5 years post-cut) were included.

The purpose of this study was to characterize bird use of the predominant forest
habitats in the region. It was not possible to compare same-age hardwood and loblolly pine
forests and thus avoid the confounding effect of stand age. Loblolly pine sites have been
maintained on a 25-year harvest rotation (USDA Forest Service 1986), and there are few
hardwood stands less than fifty years old. Thus, young hardwood stands and old pine stands
simply do not occur in the area covered by the study.

Thirty plots in each habitat type were selected by systematically searching Forest
Service roads from a car with the windows rolled up and a radio playing so no bird sounds
could be heard. In this way, site selection was not biased by preconceptions of bird activity.
To be suitable, a habitat patch had to be at least 200m in diameter and at least 1 km from any
other sampling point of the same habitat type. When a suitable patch of habitat was located,
I stopped the car at least 100 m from the nearest edge of the patch and walked 70 m into the
patch perpendicular to the road. When I reached the 70-m point, the count began and it
lasted for 10 minutes. During a point-count period, all birds heard or seen within 50 m were
recorded.

I conducted point counts between 8 and 17 June 1995, at least two weeks after the
last passerine migrants had passed through the area (Imhof 1976). All birds counted during
this period were assumed to be potential breeders. All counts were conducted during the first
five hours of daylight, and counts in all habitat types were uniformly distributed through the
morning hours (ANOVA comparing sampling time among habitat types: F = 1.37, df = 2,
87, P - 0.26).

I compared habitat types by mean number of individual birds recorded and by mean
number of bird species recorded using a one-way ANOVA. (Parametric statistics were used
because both number of total individuals and number of species were approximately normally
distributed across points and the variances of total individuals and species were similar among
sites). When a significant difference among habitats was indicated by the ANOVA, I
determined which particular habitat types differed significantly using a Scheffe’s Test. For
each species observed during fifteen or more point counts during the June 1995 sampling, I
also compared whether the distribution of observations across habitats differed from that
expected by chance using a chi square contingency table. By using only species observed
fifteen or more times, the expected value of all cells in the chi squared test was five or
greater, as is required for the analysis to be valid (Abacus Concepts 1992). In this way, I
looked at the effects of timber management on community-level processes such as mean
number of species, as well as on specific species.

287

Forest Management and Bird Communities

RESULTS

The mean number of individuals and the mean number of species differed markedly
among habitat types (individuals: F = 6.93, df = 2, 87, P = 0 002; species: F = 10.89, df
= 2, 87, P = 0.0001; Table 1). Although regeneration sites had the highest cumulative
species total for the thirty sampling sites, when means were compared across sites, hardwood
sites had significantly higher mean individuals and significantly higher mean number of
species than either regeneration or pine sites (P < 0.05). Regeneration and pine sites did not
differ significantly in either mean number of individuals or mean number of species (P >
0.05).

Many species differed significantly in occurrence among habitat types. Pileated
woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Red-eyed Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, Worm-eating
Warblers, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos occurred at significantly higher frequency in hardwood
sites than in either regeneration or pine sites (Table 2; Fig. 1; Scientific names of all bird
species recorded in this study are given in Table 2). Acadian Flycatchers, Black-and-white
Warblers, Hooded Warblers, Northern Parulas, Ovenbirds, and Yellow-throated Vireos were
observed exclusively in hardwood sites (Table 2), but they were recorded too few times
during June counts for statistical comparison of frequency of occurrence.

Most species that occurred in pine sites also occurred in regeneration sites with the
exception of the Pine Warbler, which occurred exclusively in pine sites (Table 2, Fig. 1).
Kentucky Warblers and Carolina Wrens also were found more frequently in pine sites than
in other habitats, and Northern Cardinals occurred in regeneration and pine sites at about
equal frequency. Common Yellowthroats, Indigo Buntings, Prairie Warblers, Rufous-sided
Towhees, Yellow-breated Chats, and White-eyed Vireos occurred at higher frequency in
regeneration than pine sites and were completely absent from hardwood sites (Table 2, Fig.
1). American Crows, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Chickadees, Eastern Wood-pewees,
and Summer Tanagers were generalists relative to the three habitat types sampled and did not
differ in frequency of occurrence among habitat types (Table 2).

Table 1. Mean (± standard deviation) total individual and number of species for 30 point counts
conducted in each of three forest types in the Bankhead National Forest in June 1995.

Forest Types

Total Individuals

Number of Species

Hardwood

10.46 ± 3.38

7.97 ± 2.40

Pine

7.50 ± 3.56

2.01 ± 5.53

Rcgneration

8.83 ± 2.13

6.30 ± 1.73

288

Hill

Table 2. Number of point counts out of 30 at which species were encountered in three forest types in Bankhead
National Forest, Alabama in June 1995.

CommonName3

Scientific Name3

Hardwood

Pine

Regener¬

ation

X2

Pb

Acadian Flycatcher

Empidonax virescens

13

0

0

30.39

0.0001

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

7

2

5

3.21

0.20

American Goldfinch

Carduelis tristis

0

3

0

....

—

American Robin

Turdus migratorius

0

0

3

....

....

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

3

0

0

....

....

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

4

3

9

4.71

0.09

Brown-headed Cowbird

Molothrus ater

0

1

9

20.00

0.0001

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

5

1

1

....

....

Brown Thrasher

Toxostoma rufum

0

0

1

....

....

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

3

1

0

....

....

Blue-winged Warbler

Vermivora pinus

0

1

0

....

....

Carolina Chickadee

Parus carolinensis

7

9

4

2.44

0.29

Carolina Wren

Thryothorus ludovicianus

9

12

3

7.16

0.03

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

0

4

7

7.66

0.02

Downy Woodpecker

Picoides pubescens

5

0

2

....

....

Eastern Phoebe

Sayornis phoebe

1

0

0

....

....

Eastern Wood-pewee

Contopus virens

3

6

1

4.28

0.12

Field Sparrow

Spizella pusilla

0

1

10

18.85

0.0001

Great Crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus Crinitus

6

3

0

....

....

Hairy Woodpecker

Picoides villosus

2

2

0

....

....

Hooded Warbler

Wilsonia citrina

3

0

0

....

....

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

0

17

28

53.07

0.0001

289

Forest Management and Bird Communities

Kentucky Warbler

Oporomis formosus

3

6

0

—

—

Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

0

1

3

— -

....

Northern Bobwhite

Coltnus virginianus

0

2

4

....

....

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

2

11

14

12.38

0.002

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

0

1

0

....

....

Northern Parula

Parula americana

3

0

0

....

....

Ovenbird

Seiurus aurocapillus

5

0

0

....

....

Pine Warbler

Dendroica pinus

0

25

0

69.23

0.0001

Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

16

0

1

34.96

0.0001

Prairie Warbler

Dendroica discolor

0

11

28

54.03

0.0001

Red-beliied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinus

16

0

0

39.92

0.0001

Red-eyed Vireo

Vireo olivaceus

29

3

0

74.00

0.0001

Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

0

1

0

....

....

Rufous-sided Towhee

Pipilo erythrophthalmus

0

4

10

12.86

0.002

Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

23

0

0

61.79

0.0001

Summer T anager

Piranga rubra

3

6

3

1.73

0.42

Tufted Titmouse

Parus bicolor

10

2

0

16.51

0.0003

White-eyed Vireo

Vireo griseus

0

3

16

28.95

0.0001

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

0

1

0

....

....

Worm-eating Warbler

Helmitheros vermivorus

17

0

0

41.92

0.0001

Wood Thrush

Hylocichla mustelina

1

0

0

....

....

Yellow-breasted Chat

Icteria Virens

0

20

30

63.00

0.0001

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

26

2

0

65.12

0.0001

Yellow-throated Vireo

Vireo flavifrons

3

0

0

—

....

a Common and scientific names follow American Ornithologists' Union (1983).

^Probability that distribution among habitat types differed from random; species detected ten or more times only.

290

Hill

Frequency

Figure 1. Frequency of occurance of bird species during 30 point counts in each of three
habitat types in the Bankhead National Forest, June 1995. Only species recorded during 50%
or more of counts in at least one habitat type are included. Short bars (ending at zero)
indicate that the species was not recorded in that habitat type.

291

Forest Management and Bird Communities
DISCUSSION

Hardwood sites, which were areas covered in relatively mature, second-growth
hardwood forest, had on average more individuals and more species of birds than either
recently planted or established pine sites. Reduced abundance and diversity of breeding birds
when forests are converted from hardwood to pine plantation also has been observed in other
parts of the southeastern U. S. (Noble and Hamilton 1975, Meyers and Johnson 1978, Conner
et al. 1979, Crawford et al. 1981, Childers et al. 1986). Moreover, the bird species
composition of hardwood sites was very different than that of both regeneration and pine
sites. Of the 24 species recorded three or more times in hardwood sites, nine were not
recorded in either regeneration or pine sites. Of the 17 species recorded three or more times
in regeneration sites, 11 were not recorded in hardwood sites. These observations suggest
that as stands of loblolly pine mature they are not re-colonized by species typical of native
hardwood forests. Rather, as pine stands grow older, breeding species that prefer recently
disturbed habitats decline and only a few species such as Pine Warblers and Northern
Cardinals move into the areas.

The Bankhead National Forest lies in the Cumberland Plateau Ecological Unit, as
defined by the USFWS (Hunter et al. 1993a). Under the Partners in Flight Species
Prioritization Scheme, species are grouped according to their concern scores as "extremely
high concern", "very high concern", "high concern", "moderate concern", and "low concern"
(Hunter et al. 1993b). Ten Neotropical migrants with very high concern scores were recorded
in point counts (based on unpublished concern scores for the Cumberland Plateau Ecological
Unit supplied by W. C. Hunter). Wood Thrushes were observed only once, so no meaningful
assessment of habitat requirements of this species could be made. Two of the species on the
list, Prairie Warbler and Field Sparrows, benefit from conversion of forest stands to
regeneration plots. Field sparrows were recorded significantly more frequently in
regeneration sites than in pine sites or hardwood sites. Prairie Warblers were recorded in
93% of regeneration sites and 37% of pine sites but were not recorded in hardwood sites.
Two species on the list of very high concern, Summer Tanager and Eastern Wood-pewees,
occurred at about the same frequency in all three habitat types and are not obviously affected
by the conversion of hardwoods to pines. Five species listed as being of very high concern,
Acadian Flycatcher, Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler, and Yellow-throated
Vireo, were found almost exclusively in hardwood sites and were detrimentally affected by
the conversion of hardwood forest to pine forest. It is interesting to note that no birds of
management concern benefited from conversion of hardwood stands to pine stands.
(Regeneration plots could be produced without planting pine).

Throughout the Southeast Region, industrial forestry practices annually generate large
blocks of clearcut areas (Aglin et al. 1990) that provide suitable breeding habitat for Prairie
Warblers and Field Sparrows (pers. obs.). If these species continue to decline within the
region, the declines will have to be attributed to factors other than insufficient breeding
habitat. At the same time, most of the large blocks of old secondary growth hardwood forest
remaining in southeast are on public land. Therefore, in considering the costs and benefits
of various forest management plans relative to impacts on breeding bird communities, priority

292

Hill

should be given to species that are dependent on unique features of the land area in question.

Because the remaining ridge-top hardwood habitats in the Bankhead National Forest
are under greatest threat of being cut and replanted in pines (U. S. Forest Service 1986), this
study focused on ridge-top forest habitat and purposely excluded riparian habitats. Riparian
habitats are more generally protected under streamside management plans (U. S. Forest
Service 1986). In the central Appalachian Mountains, Murray & Stauffer (1995) found no
difference in mean number of bird species or total bird abundance between riparian and
upland habitats but did find shifts in the species compositions of bird communities. In
particular, Acadian Flycatchers and Louisiana Waterthrushes (Seiurus motacilla) were found
primarily in riparian corridors and Worm-eating Warblers and Scarlet Tanagers were most
abundant in upland forest. Thus, the conversion of upland hardwood forest to pine
plantations can be expected to have a particularly severe impact on species like Worm-eating
Warblers and Scarlet Tanagers, and the future of these species, which require large blocks
of mature upland hardwood forest (Robbins et al. 1989, Wenny et al. 1993), will likely be
determined by how public forest lands are managed.

One unexpected finding in this study was that Kentucky Warblers were found in the
established loblolly pine stands. Kentucky Warblers are generally thought to birds of lush
hardwood bottoms with dense herbaceous growth (Hamil 1992, Ehrlich 1988). However,
loblolly stands in which Kentucky Warblers were recorded had dense herbaceous ground
cover that was structurally similar to the sort of dense herbaceous ground cover of hardwood
bottoms.

In conclusion, converting hardwood forest to loblolly or Virginia pine forests in the
southern Appalachian Region causes dramatic changes in bird communities. Both the number
of individual birds and the mean number of bird species decline when a hardwood forest is
cut. Even after 20 to 30 years of recovery, areas that are planted in pines do not regain the
numbers of individuals or bird species that were present in hardwood forests before cutting.
Many of the birds that are adversely effected by the cutting of hardwood forest are of
management concern because of shrinking populations. The impacts on forest bird
communities need to be considered when formulating forest management plans for southern
hardwood forests.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by the Bankhead Monitor and the Sierra Club. Special
thanks to Lamar Marshall for logistical support throughout the study. James Tucker, George
Folkerts, Nick Holler, and Keith Causey read an earlier version of this manuscript and
provided many useful comments.

293

Forest Management and Bird Communities
LITERATURE CITED

Abacus Concepts. 1992. Statview. Abacus Concepts, Inc., Berkeley, CA.

Alig, R. , W. G. Hohenstein, B. C, B. C. Murray, and R. G. Haight. 1990. Changes in Area
of Timberland in the United States, 1952-2040 by Ownership, Forest Type, Region,
and State. General Report SE-64.1. USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Forest
Experimental Station, Ashville, NC.

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Checklist of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen
Press, Lawrence, Kansas.

Childers, E. L., T. L. Sharik, and C. S. Adkisson. 1986. Effects of loblolly pine plantations
on songbird dynamics in the Virginia Piedmont. J. Wildl. Manage. 50:406-413.

Conner, R. N., J. W. Via, and I. D. Prather. 1979. Effects of pine-oak clearcutting on winter
and breeding birds in southwestern Virginia. Wilson Bull. 91:301-316.

Crawford, H. S., R. G. Hooper, and R. W. Titterington. 1981. Songbird population response
to silviculture practices in central Appalachian hardwoods. J. Wildl. Manage.
45:680-692.

Ehrlich, P. R. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North
American birds. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY.

Felix, A. C., T. L. Sharik, B. S. McGinnes, and W. C. Johnson. 1983. Succession in
loblolly pine plantations converted from second-growth forest in the Central
Piedmont of Virginia. Am. Midi. Nat. 110:

Hamel, P. B. 1992. The land manager’s guide to the birds of the south. The Nature
Conservancy, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Harper, R. M. 1943. Forests of Alabama. Monogr. 10. Geological Survey of Alabama,
University, Alabama.

Hunter, W. C., M. F. Carter, D. N. Pashley, and K. Barker. 1993a. The partners in flight
species prioritization scheme. Pages 109-119 in D. M. Finch and P. W. Stangel,
editors. Status and management of Neotropical migratory birds. USDA Forest
Service, General Technical Report RM-229.

Hunter, W. C., D. N. Pashley, and R. E. F. Escano. 1993b. Neotropical migratory
landbird species and their habitats of special concern within the southeast region.
Pages 159-171 in D. M. Finch and P. W. Stangel, editors. Status and management
of Neotropical migratory birds. USDA Forest Service, General Technical
Report RM-229.

Imhof, T. A. 1976. Alabama birds. University of Alabama Press, Tuscalusa, Alabama.

McWilliams, W. H. 1992. Forest Resources of Alabama. Resource Bulletin SO-170. U. S.
Dept. Agriculture, Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Meyers, J. M. and A. S. Johnnson. 1978. Bird communities associated with succession and
management of loblolly-shortleaf pine forests. In Proceedings of the Workshop:
Management of Southern Forests for Nongame Birds. U. S. Forest Service Gen.
Tech. Rep. SE-14, pp. 50 - 65.

Murray, N. L. and D. F. Stauffer. 1995. Nongame bird use of habitat in central Appalachian
riparian forests. J. Wildl. Manage. 59:78-88.

294

Hill

Noble, R. E. and R. B. Hamilton. 1975. bird populations in even-aged loblolly pine forests
of southeastern Louisiana. Proc. Annu. Conf. southeast. Assoc. Game Fish Agencies
29:441-450.

Robbins, C. S., D. K. Dawson, and B. A. Dowell. 1989. Habitat area requirements of
breeding forest birds of the Middle Atlantic States. J. Wildl. Manage.

53 supp. 103:1-34.

U. S. Forest Service. 1986. Land and resource management plan: National Forests in
Alabama. U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Atlanta, Georgia.

Wenny, D. G., R. L. Clawson, J. Faaborg, and S. L. Sheriff. 1993. Population density,
habitat selection and minimum area requirements of three forest interior warblers in
central Missouri. Condor 95:968-979.

Wills, K. 1995. Presettlement forest communities of the Warrior Mountains, Alabama. The
Alabama Conservancy, Montgomery, Alabama.

295

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.

PREVALENCE OF SARCOCYSTIS SPP. IN WHITE-TAILED DEER

FROM ALABAMA

David S. Lindsay1 and Byron L. Blagburn
Department of Pathobiology
College of Veterinary Medicine
Auburn University, Alabama 36849-5519

ABSTRACT

Sarcocystis spp. are apicomplexan parasites that have an obligatory two host life cycle. We
examined the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. infection in 102 white-tailed deer collected in
Alabama from 1989 to 1995. Acid-pepsin digestion of muscle tissue (tongue, heart) and direct
histological examination of muscle tissue (tongue, heart, skeletal) were used to detect
infection. Seventy-two (71%) of 102 white-deer examined were positive. The muscle tissue
selected for examination and method of examination influenced the results. The tongues from
white-tailed deer was more likely to contain sarcocysts than were the hearts and acid-pepsin
digestion of tissues was superior to histological examination for detecting infections.

INTRODUCTION

Sarcocystis spp. are apicomplexan parasites that have a 2-host life cycle (Dubey et
al. , 1988; Lindsay et al., 1995). The intermediate host is usually a herbivore or an omnivore,
while the definitive host is usually a carnivore or omnivore. The intermediate host becomes
infected by ingesting sporocysts in food or water that has been contaminated by the feces of
the definitive host which produces the sporocysts. Sporozoites excyst from the sporocyst in
the intermediate host’s digestive tract, penetrate the intestinal mucosa, and enter the vascular
system. The sporozoites penetrate endothelial cells in capillaries in various organs in the
body. The sporozoites undergo transformation into schizonts which produce numerous
merozoites. These are first-generation merozoites, and they will enter additional endothelial
cells and become second-generation schizonts. The second-generation merozoites will enter
muscle cells and produce the sarcocyst stage (muscle cyst). The sarcocyst contains metrocytes
which are cells that divide by endodyogeny (a specialized form of binary fission) and produce
bradyzoites. Some species of Sarcocystis spp. produce sarcocysts that become large and
grossly visible, while others remain microscopic. The bradyzoites are the stages that are
infectious for the definitive host. When infected muscle tissue is ingested by an appropriate
definitive host, the bradyzoites will penetrate into the lamina propria and develop in host
cells. No asexual division occurs and the bradyzoites transform directly into microgamonts
(male stages) that produce biflagellated microgametes (sperm-like stage) and macrogamonts
(egg-like stage). The microgametes fertilize a macrogamont and an oocyst is produced. The

296

Lindsay and Blagburn

oocyst sporulates and contains 2 sporocysts each that contain 4 sporozoites. The oocyst wall
is usually ruptured as the oocyst is being excreted into the lumen of the intestine. Therefore,
sporocysts are usually the stage present in the feces.

Host specificity is usually more strict for the intermediate host than for the definitive
host. The structure of the sarcocyst stage is used for diagnosis and for speciation. The
structure of the sporocyst in the feces of the definitive host is of little value in determining
which species of Sacrocystis is present. Sarcocystis spp. infections are usually asymptomatic
in the intermediate host but if large numbers of sporocysts are ingested by pregnant or young
animals clinical disease and death can occur (Dubey et al., 1988; Lindsay et al., 1995).
Abortion, wasting, and hemorrhaging of mucosal surfaces are the main signs observed in
acute sarcocystosis in the intermediate host. No clinical signs are associated with infection of
the definitive host.

White-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) are the intermediate hosts for 2 named
species of Sarcocystis. Sarcocystis odocoileocanis produces microscopic sarcocysts that have
a 2-3 n m thick sarcocyst wall (Crum et al., 1981). The definitive hosts for S. odocoileocanis
include dogs ( Canis familiaris ), wolves ( Canis lupus), coyotes ( Canis latrans) and gray foxes
( Urocyon cinereoargenteus) (Crum et al., 1981; Emnett and Hugghins, 1982; Emnett, 1986;
Lindsay et al., 1988). Sarcocysts odoi produces sarcocysts that have a 5-10 /xm thick
sarcocyst wall (Dubey and Lozier, 1983). The definitive host for S. odoi are cats ( Felis catus)
(Dubey and Lozier, 1983).

The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Sarcocystis infection
in hunter-killed white-tailed deer in Alabama.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Hearts, tongues, and/or skeletal muscle (type unspecified) were collected from 102
hunter killed white-tailed deer in Alabama from 1989 to 1995. Samples came from Chambers
(n = 58), Dale (n = 1), Henry (n = 7), Lee (n = 16),

Macon (n =10), Montgomery (n = 1), Monroe (n = 2), Russell (n = 1), Talapoosa (n =
1), and Wilcox (n = 5) counties as part of our on going studies on parasites in Alabama
wildlife (Lindsay et al., 1997). Adult and yearling, male and female white-tailed deer were
collected by hunters and brought to the Parasitology Section, Department of Pathobiology,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Alabama for processing.

Portions of heart, tongue, or skeletal muscle were fixed in 10% (v/v) neutral buffered
formalin solution and processed for histological examination after staining with hematoxylin
and eosin. Selected hearts and tongues were also examined by acid-pepsin digestion. A 20 g
portion of heart or tongue was homogenized in a blender in 100 ml of 0.85% (w/v) NaCl
solution (saline) and mixed with 100 ml of acid-pepsin solution (0.5 g NaCl, 0.52 g pepsin,
1.4 ml concentrated HC1, and 98.6 ml of deionized water). This mixture was incubated for
1 hour at 37 C in a water bath. The solution was manually mixed by shaking every 5-10
minutes during the incubation process. After 1 hour, the mixture was filtered through cheese
cloth and concentrated by centrifugation. The pellet was resuspended in 5 to 10 ml of saline
and a drop (about 30 ^1) was examined for bradyzoites using light microscopy.

297

Sarcocystis spp. in White-tailed Deer
RESULTS

No grossly visible sarcocysts were observed. Seventy-two (71%) of 102 white-tailed
deer were positive by either histologic examination of tissues or by acid-pepsin digestion of
tissues. The numbers of sarcocysts in tissues ranged from 1 to > 100. Table 1 contains the
results of white-tailed deer from individual counties.

Sex was determined for 50 of white-tailed deer examined. Sixty-one percent of males
(20 of 33) and 53% of females (9 of 17) were positive. Eighty-three percent (43 of 52) of the
white-tailed deer examined with undetermined sex were positive.

The tissue examined and method of examination influenced the demonstration of
infection. Histologic examination of 82 hearts indicated that 27 (33%) were infected, while
histologic examination of 55 tongues indicated that 44 (80%) were infected. Acid-pepsin
digestion indicated that 20 (44%) of 45 hearts were positive and that 17 (85%) of 20 tongues
were positive.

DISCUSSION

The overall prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. infection in our study was 71%. This is
less that the 88% prevalence we have previously observed in white-tailed deer from Alabama
(Lindsay et al., 1988). However, in that study we examined histologically both the heart and
tongues from 34 white-tailed deer. Thirty (88%) of the tongues were positive, while 13
(38%) of the hearts were positive (Lindsay et al., 1988). In the present study, histologic
examination detected infection in 80% of the tongues and 33% of the hearts which is similar
to our earlier study. Emnett and Hugghins (1982) observed Sarcocystis spp. infection
histologically in 56 (44%) of 125 white-tailed deer tongues collected in South Dakota. Emnett
(1986) found Sarcocystis spp. infection histologically in 79 (79%) of 100 white-tailed deer
tongues collected from Minnesota. Pond and Speer (1979) found Sarcocystis spp. infection
histologically in 12 (50%) of 24 muscle samples (heart, esophagus, diaphragm, skeletal
muscle) from white-tailed deer collected in Montana. Mahrt and Colwell (1980) found
Sarcocystis spp. infection histologically in 137 (49%) of 277 muscle samples (thigh, tongue)
from white-tailed deer collected in Alberta, Canada. Crum and Prestwood found Sarcocystis
spp. infection histologically in 199 (51%) of 390 muscle samples (tongue, heart, skeletal
muscle, diaphragm, esophagus) collected from white-tailed deer in the southeastern United
States.

We did not observe grossly visible sarcocysts in any white-tailed deer. Pond and
Speer (1979) and Mahrt and Colwell (1980) have reported grossly visible sarcocysts in white¬
tailed deer muscles. The structure of these macroscopic sarcocysts has not been determined
by light or electron microscopy. Although not described as being grossly visible, the largest
S. odoi sarcocyst reported by Dubey and Lozier (1983) was 1 mm. This suggests that the
macroscopic sarcocysts may be sarcocysts of S. odoi. Additionally, cat-transmitted Sarcocystis
spp. are more likely to become macroscopic than are dog transmitted Sarcocystis spp. (Dubey
et al., 1988).

In the present study, acid-pepsin digestion of tissue produced a higher number of

298

Lindsay and Blagburn

positive samples than did histological examination. This is because a larger amount of tissue
is examined in the acid-pepsin digestion procedure than by histologic examination of tissues.

Table 1. Prevalence

of Sarcocvstis

sdd. infection

in white-tailed

deer from Alabama

County

# Ex/# Pos1

Males 2

Females3

Unknown4

Chambers

58/50

10/9

7/6

41/35

Dale

1/0

1/0

NA5

NA

Henry

7/4

5/2

2/2

NA

Lee

16/10

7/4

NA

9/6

Macon

10/4

6/2

3/1

1/1

Monroe

2/1

NA

1/0

1/1

Montgomery

1/1

1/1

NA

NA

Russell

1/1

1/1

NA

NA

Talapoosa

1/0

1/0

NA

NA

Wilcox

5/1

1/1

4/0

NA

Total

102/72

33/20

17/9

52/43

1 Number of white-tailed deer examined/number positive.

2 Number of males examined/number positive.

3 Number of females examined/number positive.

4 Number of animals examined for which the sex was not known/number of these animal that

were positive.

5 NA = not applicable.

LITERATURE CITED

Crum, J. M., and A. K. Prestwood. 1982. Prevalence and distribution of Sarcocystis spp.
among white-tailed deer of the southeastern United States. Journal of Wildlife
Diseases 18: 195-203.

Crum, J. M., R. Fayer, and A. K. Prestwood. 1981. Sarcocystis spp. in white-tailed deer I.
Definitive and intermediate host spectrum with a description of Sarcocystis
odocoileocanis n. sp. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 17: 567-579.

Dubey, J. P., and S. M. Lozier. 1983. Sarcocystis infections in white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus
virginianus ) in Montana: Intensity and description of Sarcocystis odoi sp. n. American
Journal of Veterinary Research 44:1738-1743.

Dubey, J. P., C. A. Speer, and R. Fayer. 1989. Sarcocystosis of Man and Animals. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 215.

Emnett, C. W. 1986. Prevalence of Sarcocystis in wolves and white-tailed deer in
northeastern Minnesota. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 22: 193-195.

Emnett, C. W., and E. J. Hugghins. 1982. Sarcocystis of deer in South Dakota. Journal of
Wildlife Diseases 18: 187-193.

299

Sarcocystis spp. in White-tailed Deer

Lindsay, D. S., B. L. Blagburn, W. H. Mason, and J. C. Frandsen. 1988. Prevalence of
Sarcocystis odocoileocanis from white-tailed deer in Alabama and its attempted
transmission to goats. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 24: 154-156.

Lindsay, D. S., B. L. Blagburn, and K. G. Braund. 1995. Sarcocystis spp. and sarcocystosis.
Basic and Applied Myology 5: 249-254.

Lindsay, D.S., C.A. Sundermann, J. P. Dubey, and B.L. Blagburn. 1997. Update on
Toxoplasma gondii infections in wildlife and exotic animals from Alabama. Journal
of the Alabama Academy of Science 68: 246-254.

Mahrt, J. L., and D. D. Colwell. 1980. Sarcocystis in wild ungulates in Alberta. Journal of
Wildlife Diseases 16: 571-576.

Pond, D. B., and C. A. Speer. 1979. Sarcocystis in free-ranging herbivores on the national
bison range. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 15: 51-53.

1 Present address and correspondence: Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases,
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College
of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, 1410 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-
0342

300

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.

MINUTES

Alabama Academy of Science
Fall Executive Committee Meeting
Reynolds Historical Library
University of Alabama Birmingham
Birmingham, AL

October 4, 1997

A. Dr. Ellen Buckner, President of the A AS, called the Fall meeting of the AAS
Executive Committee to order at 10:00 a.m. The minutes of the Spring Meeting
were discussed and approved.

B. Officers’ Reports

1. Board of Trustees - No formal report was tendered at this time. Dr. Sam Barker
reminded everyone that the Alabama Academy of Science will host its 75th Annual
meeting in 1998. Five Trustees were present: Sam Barker, Bill Barrett, Ken
Marion, Prakesh Harman, and James Wilkes.

2. President - Dr. Ellen Buckner. Presented the following report:

At the request of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a signed Contract for
Professional Services for Mrs. Mary Thomaskutty to serve as Chaperone for the
four winners of the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair to attend the
International Fair (ISEF). Expenses for the winners were paid by the AAS, then
reimbursed by UAH. It is anticipated that this contractual relationship will be
required each year.

Sent letters to 1997 meeting participants in which there were identified deficits of
author/member or registration requirement. Several removed those deficits;
however, all abstracts were published as planned. Letters were then sent asking
for reinstatement of membership by payment of 1998 dues. Discussion of this
issue was held with Drs. Johnson (Membership Committee Chair) and Boots to
encourage Section Chairmen to inform authors and screen titles at time of program
preparation.

Appointed committee chairs and committee members. This included discussion
with University of Alabama, Dr. Stan Jones, who continues to support publication
of the Newsletter. Mrs. Helvi McCall has agreed to edit the Newsletter and Dr.

301

Tom Jandebeur has agreed to serve as Associate Editor for Electronic Media to
update the AAS Home Page and plan other uses of electronic networking. Thank
you all who agreed to serve and especially to those who made a special effort to
attend this meeting.

Developed, revised, and received estimate of printing costs for a brochure
detailing history and current activities of AAS for the 75th Annual Meeting.
Distribution after the meeting will be to all members. The cost of printing is
estimated at $1700 for 750 copies with printing to be done by AU printing.

Letters requesting sponsorship of this and other special activities of the Annual
Meeting were sent to nine potential/past sponsors in the Mobile area.

Corresponded with Dr. Jim Bradley regarding announcement of the Special Issue
of the AAS to the ASTA Newsletter (available upon request).

Sent Visiting Scientist Directories to Dr. Asouzu and Dr. Bob Davis, State
Department of Education.

Corresponded with Secretary, Dr. Priscilla Holland, to send letters of welcome to
new members and letters of invitation to former members and 1997 meeting non¬
member participants.

Planned Fall Executive Committee meeting with assistance of Dr. Charlotte Borst,
Director, Reynolds Historical Library.

Consulted with nationally known scientists as possible speakers for banquet and
AJAS rap session. Travel expenses are estimated to be approximately $500.

Other correspondence activities included forwarding information on the
Environmental Panel, planning AAS contributions to AAAS 150th anniversary,
compiling correspondence for archives, and planning for Executive Committee
meeting.

Met with Dr. Nelson and others for the Annual Meeting/Site Visit to t he
University of South Alabama, July 18, 1997, Mobile, AL.

Reviewed minutes and reports of Gorgas Board of Trustees, AAS Ad Hoc
Committee on Gorgas Scholarship Foundation and draft documents on dissolution
and transfer of Gorgas funds. Met with Drs. Hazlegrove and Barrett and Dr.
Glynn Wheeler (by phone) to discuss Academy involvement. Drafted description
of Constitution and By-laws changes which could be used to create a standing
committee of the Academy for the Gorgas Scholarship Program. Sent this
description to several officers for review.

3. President-Elect -Dr. Moore Asouzu - No report

302

Minutes

4. Second Vice-President - Dr. Larry Boots - No report

5. Secretary - Dr. Priscilla Holland

Membership

Membership as of October 4, 1997

633

New members since June 30, 1997

11

Membership as of October 16, 1996

642

Trends in Membership:

April 1992

728

March 1993

661

March 1994

739

March 1995

650

October 1995

670

March 1996

571

October 1996

642

October 1997

633

Membership by Section

Section

October 1996

October 1997

I.

Biological Science

160

168

II.

Chemistry

68

60

III.

Geology

26

23

IV.

Geography, Forestry, Conservation,

18

20

Planning

V.

Physics & Mathematics

65

67

VI.

Industry & Economics

25

27

VII.

Science Education

30

29

VIII.

Social Science

33

34

IX.

Health Science

96

80

X.

Engineering & Computer Science

33

31

XI.

Anthropology

11

13

77.

University Libraries

25

27

88.

High School Libraries

50

51

Unknown

2

3

6. Treasurer - Dr. Larry Krannich submitted the following report:
Copies of the following (available upon request) were presented:

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of September 23, 1997
INCOME AND EXPENSE STATEMENT as of September 23, 1997

303

Minutes

ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1996 BUDGET for the period 1/1/97-9/23/97
TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER (1/1/97-9/23/97)
TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY ACCOUNT (1/1/97-9/23/97)
PROPOSED BUDGET 1998 vs 1997

Although the time period for this Fall 1997 report is one month shorter than that for
the Fall 1996 report, valid comparisons can be made if we utilize the Summary
Report by Quarter. Two areas are noticeably different from last year. Our meeting
revenue received from the 1997 annual meeting is roughly $1,100 greater than that
from the 1996 meeting and the 1996 meeting revenue was received in January, 1997.
Thus, the total meeting revenue received in 1997 ($7,046.51) is somewhat deceptive.
Most alarming is the significant decrease in dues received. For the first three quarters
in 1997 we received only $4,490 compared with $5,995 in 1996. If this dues income
trend continues, we will experience another year with significant decreased dues
income. The fourth quarter is the quarter of greatest dues income, but at best we
should collect $5,500. Although our total income for the first three quarters is
significantly greater than for that timeframe in 1996, the big increase is in meeting
income because of the late receipt of 1996 income.

On the expense side, we are expending at a slightly greater rate in the first three
quarters than in 1996 ($25,109.69 in 1997 vs $23,093.22 in 1996). The largest
increase is in journal expenses — $11, 145.90 in 1997 and $6,695.22 in 1996. The
bill for the next JAAS printing should arrive within the next quarter.

In summary, we will probably finish the year over budget, but the deficit amount will
be greatly moderated by the large meeting revenues.

A copy of the Proposed Budget is also provided. This budget is markedly different
from that of prior years. It takes into account the realistic situation for higher
meeting revenues, decreasing dues revenues, and increasing journal costs we have
experienced these past few years. Also, there are additional secretarial expenses and a
decrease in program printing costs for the annual meeting. The new Secretary’s
department will not be able to absorb the costs associated with mailings.

7. Journal Editor - Dr. James T. Bradley - Printing cost has escalated. Ideas on
how to cut cost were discussed.

8. Counselor to AJAS - Dr. B. J. Bateman - Report by Dr. Gene O’Moska - AJAS is in
excellent shape financially. There is a need for regional counselors in the Mobile,
Tuscaloosa, and Jacksonville regions. Received a $5,000 grant from the National
JSHA to conduct workshops to increase participation. Need your help: Judge at
regional or state level and sign up with the Visiting Scientist Program to be a mentor.

304

Minutes

9. Science Fair Coordinator - Dr. May Thomaskuttv - No report

10. Science Olympiad Coordinator - Steven Carey - All information on the Science
Olympiad Program can be accessed at the Science Olympiad Web page:

http : //www . macomb . k 1 2 . mi . us/science/sciolym 1 . htm .

A copy of material distributed is available upon request.

1 1 . Counselor to AAAS - Dr. Katharine Mavne - The 150th Annual Meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science is February 11-15, 1998,
in Philadelphia; information can be accessed at:

http://www.aaas.org/meetings/meetings.htm. Information on the satellite
American Junior Academy of Science - National Association of Academies of
Science meeting can be obtained by e-mailing kmayne@bsc.edu.

12. Section Officers:

I. Biological Sciences - Roland Dute - Last year’s sectional meeting at Auburn
University at Montgomery saw the presentation of 45 talks and 16 posters.
This year’s program at the University of South Alabama will feature a
symposium entitled “Coastal Resources Development” produced by Dr. David
Nelson of USA. Dr. Frank A. Romano of the Dept, of Biology at
Jacksonville State University has been named vice chair of the section.

II. Chemistry - Stephen Beale - No report

III. Geology - Douglas Haywick - Report as follows:

Eleven presentations were made in the Geology section at this year’s meeting
of the Alabama Academy of Sciences in Montgomery (7 oral, 4 poster). This
was down slightly from last year. Four presentations were by undergraduate
students; the rest were by industrial and/or academic geologists. Laura Quinn
received the student research award for the best paper presentation

and Mary Grace received the award for best poster.

Membership in the Geology Section of the Alabama Academy of Sciences is,
in my opinion, still too low given the number of geologists in this state. Both
I and Dan O’Donnell, the vice-chair of the Geology Section, believe that
membership in our section can be improved with increased advertising,
especially before the next AAS meeting in Mobile next year. Dan, a geologist
in Mobile, will contact industrial and environmental geologists in various parts
of the state to inform them about the Academy. I will do the same for
geologists in academic and State agencies. It is our goal to increase the
number of members in our section and the number of quality geological
presentations at annual meetings two-fold within the next couple of years.

305

Minutes

IV. Geography, Forestry, Conservation and Planning - Victoria Rivizzigno
Report by Priscilla Holland

The Geography, Forestry, Conservation, and Planning Section elected a
chair for section IV at the Spring meeting. Dr. Victoria Rivizzigno has
agreed to serve as chair. At the Spring Annual Conference a vice chair
will be elected.

Again as has been done in the past, to increase participation, letters will be
mailed to department(s) of geography, forestry, etc., at colleges and
universities and to agencies (i.e., Alabama Forestry Commission) with
information about the AAS and a call for papers for the 1998 75th Annual
Meeting. These letters will be mailed in early November with a note to the
Department Chairs encouraging them to get their students working on a paper
for the Spring Conference.

V. Physics and Mathematics - John Young - Report as follows:

Immediately prior to the 1997 annual meeting I was notified by the Section
Vice-Chair, Dr. Wayne Yeh, that he was about to relocate from Alabama and
would, therefore, have to resign his Academy position. During the Section
business meeting, held on March 20, Dr. John (Tom) Tarvin of Samford
University was nominated to fill the Vice-Chair position; he was elected to
that position by a unanimous vote of attending members.

The Section hosted a total of 21 presentations during the annual
meeting, 18 oral and 3 by way of posters.

The Section Chair anticipates initiating a vigorous campaign in the near future
in an effort to solicit presentations during the 1998 meeting.

VI. Industry and Economics - T. Morris Jones - No report

VII. Science Education - Adriel Johnson - No report

VIII. Social Science - Jerald Burns - No report

IX. Health Science - Jerald Burns - No report

X. Engineering and Computer Science - Alan Sprague - No report

XI. Anthropology - Curtis Hill - No report
13. Executive Officer - Dr. Leven Hazlegrove

Since the Spring Executive Meeting, 3/18/97, AUM, we have been working on the

306

Minutes

following projects during the last seven months:

1. Set up and prepared the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation, Inc., Science Talent
Search in cooperation with the Westinghouse Scholarship Science Service, Inc.
D.C. for USA March 19-22, 1998, with the leadership of Dr. Glynn Wheeler,
Secretary Treasurer, and Dr. David Nelson, USA.

2. Prepared for bulk mail 850 “Call for Paper Titles” for USA meeting for March
19-22, 1998, edited by Dr. William J. Barrett.

3. Sent development letters to five industrial companies and foundations with positive
reply from one.

4. Sent handwritten notes to 40 outstanding Scientists and Engineers,

Mathematicians, and potential members whose “writeup” appeared in local
publications. (Ten New Members!!)

5. Met twice with Dr. David Nelson, Professor of Biology, and his site committee
for the AAS meeting dates: March 19-22, 1998.

6. Set up ASTA booth at Hoover High School, Friday, October 24, and Saturday,
October 25, 1997, with the able supervision of Dr. William J. Barrett, Dr. Dan
Holliman, Dr. Tom Jandebeur, Dr. Ellen Buckner, and Dr. B. J. Bateman.

7. Prepared 250 abstract forms for the USA meeting, March 19-22, 1998, for eleven
section chairs.

1.2. Your Director studied flora, fauna, and pollution in the USA, February 13-16,

1997, with the Alabama Fisheries Association, Gulf State Park.

8. Set-up with Dr. David Nelson’s, (334)460-6331, able help the 1998 meeting at
USA with the kind invitation of the President and the USA Faculty March 19-22,

1998.

9. Set up the 76th Annual Meeting at Athens College with the able direction of Dr.
Tom Jandebeur, Professor of Biology, March 1999.

C. Committee Reports

1. Local Arrangements - Dr. David Nelson submitted an oral report.
Arrangements for the 75th Annual AAS meeting are progressing.

2. Finance - Dr. Sam Barker

When Dr. Krannich became Treasurer (6 years ago), I believe he was the first
Treasurer to show in hard copy the extreme quarterly fluctuations in Academy
finances. With our major activity, the Annual Meeting, taking place in the
second quarter, a great deal of our money flow occurs then. With the Annual
Fall Meeting of the Executive Committee requiring presentation of a budget
proposal for the next calendar (and fiscal) year, a truly reliable estimate of the
next year’s income and outgo is largely a matter of faith - not just in the
Treasurer, but in our fellow Academy members.

307

Minutes

Over the last 6 years, I have issued semiannual displays of data from Dr.
Krannich’s financial reports through 1995, showing that, despite deficit budget
proposals, we had come through with positive balances (from $225 to $6,589)
at the end of each full year. In 1996, two unfavorable trends started: (1) dues
payments were considerably less than expected and (2) Journal publication
expenses were unexpectedly high. When the income from the 1996 Annual
Meeting was not sent to the Academy until well into 1997, the 1996 projected
deficit of $3,980 increased to the actual figure of $4,485. This was the first
true full-year deficit in Larry’s 2 terms as Treasurer.

In spite of the January 1997 receipt of 1996 meeting income, the 1997 deficit,
anticipated one year ago as $6,390, will clearly be even worse, with dues far
less than budgeted, and Journal publication already running 69% above
budgeted, with one of four issues yet to go.

Since the proposed 1997 budget, set forth one year ago, is now obviously
inadequate, I have encouraged Dr. Krannich to submit a more realistic budget
for 1998, increasing Annual Meeting income to $4,500, dropping to $9,000
for dues with total income of $24,200. Total Journal expenses are shown at
$16,600, raising total expenses to $38,765. Overall deficit ($24,200 income
minus $38,765 outgo) would then be projected as $14,565. Our Academy
assets, total $58,710, would be depleted by 25%.

This obviously is not a pleasant prospect, and deserves a hard look. I do not
recommend an increase in dues, but clearly our sagging membership roster
needs a boost. Since our members are obviously willing to pay a meeting
registration fee high enough over meeting expenses to yield significant income
to the Academy, this trend is necessary. The Journal is a problem.

3. Membership - Dr. Larry Boots reported that ideas to increase membership are
being addressed in the Membership Committee.

4. Research - Dr. Hudiburg submitted a written report and a request that the
research forms be placed at his URL address. This was approved. His report
is as follows:

There was considerable interest expressed by students through 51 requests for
application materials related to the Student Research Award Competition,
Student Research Grants, and Student Travel Awards for the 1997 annual
meeting (list of winners available upon request). The later deadline for
applications will be continued at the 1998 meeting. Please communicate to
interested students that the application deadline for completed materials will be
February 2, 1998. Students need to be informed that membership in AAS is
required to receive the cash portion of these awards.

308

Minutes

To facilitate the application process, I propose that my web page on the
internet be listed in the call for papers flyer. Additionally, it should be
stated in the application instructions that I can be contacted by mail,
phone, fax or the application information and forms can be printed from
the web page.

My URL for my web page is:
http://www2.unaedu/psychology/hudiburg.htm

If this is made possible, it should make the application forms more accessible
to the students.

5. Long-Range Planning - Ken Marion - No report

6. Auditing - Sr. Academy - Denny Bearce - No report

7. Auditing - Jr. Academy - Danice Costes - Report as follows:

Report for July 1996-July 1997 fiscal year:

We have examined the books provided by the Alabama Junior Academy of
Science Treasurer, Dr. B. J. Bateman. We are satisfied ourselves that the
receipts and expenditures, as presented to us, are correct and that all
expenditures are legitimate expenses.

The net worth as of June 30, 1997, is $9,246.98.

8. Editorial Board and Associate Journal Editors - Douglas Watson/Larry
Witt/Bill Osterhoff - No report

9. Place and Date of Meeting - Steven Carey

10. Newsletter - New Editors: Helvi McCall. Editor and Tom Jandebeur,
Associate Editor for Electronic Media. A call for news items was
issued. The Newsletter will be mailed by the end of the year.

1 1 . Public Relations - Myra Smith - No report

12. Archives - Troy Best - Written report as follows:

Archival materials were solicited from the AAS Executive Committee and
membership at each of our recent meetings.

Several items have been submitted for deposition in the archives, but we still
need to obtain photographs (especially of members of the Executive

309

Minutes

Committee), committee reports, minutes of the AAS Executive Committee
meetings, etc.

If you have items that you believe may be worthy of inclusion in the AAES
Archives, please send them to me or to Dr. Dwayne Cox, the archivist in
charge of AAS materials at the Auburn University Ralph B. Draughon
Library,

Again, I encourage all officers and members of the AAS to donate significant
documents, photographs, etc. to the archives.

13. Science and Public Policy - John Frandsen - Report as follows:

Science Education. All is presently quiet on the science education front.

The “insert” is in all of the biology texts, and, though it has been examined
by several groups to identify possible grounds for challenging it in the courts,
none of these groups has decided to mount such a challenge to it as of this
date. It is now simply one of a number of such inserts, or statements to be
presented orally in biology courses, adopted by several states, and
organizations such as the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) must
decide which one is most vulnerable to challenge on constitutional grounds,
and which judicial district would be the best site for a suit.

The members of the State Board of Education will all be up for election next
year (1998). Certainly it would be desirable to have some members who have
a background in the sciences or science education, and appreciate the need for
science to be taught as science. Has a member of this Academy ever served
on this board? Is there, perhaps, a way that we might encourage such a
person to seek election?

The ongoing process of consolidating and eliminating programs in state-
supported 4-year colleges and universities with the goal of conserving
resources and preventing duplication raises some insufficiently-addressed
questions: When departments that presently provide science courses to meet
general education requirements are abolished, what of the future quality of
these courses when the surviving faculty members who teach them are
incorporated into other departments? When departments, such as philosophy,
that presently provide “service” courses in logic and ethics, for example,
required for science majors, are abolished, what of the future quality of these
courses? Can colleges and universities continue to attract instructors of the
quality needed to teach these important courses when the present buyer’s
market in higher education becomes a seller’s market, and these instructors
have no opportunity to conduct research or teach advanced courses? Should

310

Minutes

society allow the “invisible hand” of the marketplace to guide higher
education unfettered?

This committee doesn’t know the answers to these questions, but believes they
are worthy of thoughtful consideration by lawmakers and the Alabama
Commission on Higher Education.

Environmental Issues. A number of issues concerning the environment are
likely to become subjects of intense interest and political debate in the next
few years. The first of these is likely to be non-point pollution of the state’s
freshwater streams. There is strong evidence that many of these are becoming
over-enriched by non-point-source nutrients, leading to eutrophication, with
attendant disruptions of aquatic ecosystems and accompanying multiplication
of “water weed” vegetation. On the one side of this issue will be those
alarmed over the “loss of quality” of these waters. On the other side will be
those individuals who feel their rights will be curtailed, and their profits
reduced, by the measures necessary to address the pollution problem.

The Academy must be prepared to adopt a public position on these
environmental issues. Our Environmental Panel-operating as a subcommittee
of this committee— was created to provide us with the expertise necessary to
develop such positions and to provide advice to those preparing relevant
legislation. Though this panel is composed of well-qualified individuals with
the requisite expertise, its efficient operation has been impeded since its
appointment by the unwillingness or inability of any of its members to provide
the time and energy required to function effectively as its Chair. The original
Chair resigned more than a year ago, pleading lack of time to continue, and
none of the other members has been willing to take his place. This
Committee solicits suggestions of the names of qualified individuals who
might be willing to accept appointment to the Environmental Panel and serve
as its Chair.

14. Gardner Award - George Cline - Report as follows:

The Alabama Academy of Science established the Wright A. Gardner Award
to honor outstanding contributions to science while in residence in Alabama.
Recent recipients have included individuals from academia, industry, and the
health professions. The Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for
the Wright A. Gardner Award. Individuals may nominate others by
providing:

•a 1-page summary of the nominee’s accomplishments, and
•a Curriculum Vitae of the nominee.

311

Minutes

Additional letters of support are optional. Please submit nominations to:

Dr. George Cline

Wright A. Gardner Award Committee Chair
Biology Department
Jacksonville State University
700 Pelham Road North
Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602

Deadline for receipt of applications is 1 December 1997. Questions can be
addressed to Dr. Cline at the above address or at (205)782-5798 or via e-mail
(gcline@jsucc.jsu.edu).

15. Carmichael Award - William Boardman - Report as follows:

The committee presented its annual award for the outstanding paper published
in the JAAS during the previous year to B. H. Estridge and J. T. Bradley,
Department of Zoology and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University. The title
of their paper is “Brefeldin A Alters Fat Body Vitellogenin Secretion in the
Stick Insect Carausius Morosus Br.”

Two newly appointed members of the committee are: Dr. Ephriam Gwebu,
Department of Chemistry at Oakwood College in Huntsville, and Dr. Robert
E. Pitts, Department of Engineering at UAB. Continuing members are: Dr.
William Boardman, Division of Science and Math at Birmingham-Southern;
Dr. Velma Richardson,. Department of Biology at Tuskegee; Dr. Linda Reed,
UAB School; of Nursing; and ex officio as JAAS editor, Dr. James T.
Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife at Auburn University.

16. Resolutions - Gerald Regan - Report as follows (line numbers supplied with
draft to ease any amendment process that may develop):

1. WHEREAS, the Alabama Academy of Science is a professional

2. organization that represents

3. all scientific disciplines

4. from around the State of Alabama; and

5. WHEREAS, Jeffrey P. Richetto brought his training

6. and experience to the service of the Academy

7. in a special way as editor of the NEWSLETTER

8. from 1990 to 1996;

9. LET IT THEREFORE BE RESOLVED

10. that the Alabama Academy of Science express

11. its sincere gratitude to Jeffrey P. Richetto

12. for the labor and dedication he demonstrated

312

Minutes

13. as the editor.

17. Nominating Committee - Larry Boots - No report

18. Mason Scholarship - Mike Moeller - Report as follows:

Last year we had seven completed applications for the William H. Mason
Scholarship. After reviewing all application materials, the scholarship
committee voted to offer the $1000 award to Carole Collins Crabbe Clegg and
Ms. Clegg accepted the fellowship. The previous recipients of the William H.
Mason Scholarship are:

1990- 91 Amy Livengood Sumner

1991- 92 Leella Shook Holt

1992- 93 Joni Justice Shankles

1993- 94 Jeffrey Baumbach

1994- 95 (Not awarded)

1995- 96 Tina Anne Beams

1996- 97 Carole Collins Clegg

The Mason Scholarship Committee plans soon to send a fellowship
announcement to deans in schools of science and education within Alabama.
Members of the AAS Executive Committee are encouraged to copy and
disseminate this information.

D. Old Business

Proposals regarding Gorgas Program were discussed.

E. New Business - None

F. The meeting was adjourned - Dr. Charlotte Borst, Curator, Reynolds Library, gave a
brief to our of the Library and its holdings.

313

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.

INDEX

"Alabama Insert": A Study in Ignorance and Dishonesty . 1

Abscission in Cotton, Novel Genes Associated With . 149

Absher, Keith . 188,195,199,200

Acris, Biogeography at the Savannah River Site . 127

Adams, Jason R . 124,139

Addison’s Disease: Diagnostic Features . 211

Aggarwal, M.D . 176

Agresti, D.G . 173

Al-Hamdani, Safaa . 279

Alexander, Paulette S . 181,184,190,191,192

Alexander, James G . 181,182,183,194

Allen, Lori . 181,185

Amino Acid pKa’s by FTIR Spectroscopy . 202

Amyloid Beta Peptide 25-35 Is Toxic to Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells:

Attenuation by Vitamin E . 220

Androgen and Corticosteroid Production in the Southern Toad

Exposed to Coal Combustion Waste . 130

Angus, Robert A . 125,137,142

Antiproliferative Effect of Gemcitabine and 5-Fluorouracil in

Combination on Tissue Culture Models . 210

Aquifer in a Jug Goes on the Road . 164

Arant, Dawn . 202

Archaeological Perspectives from the Tennessee Valley in Relation to

Late Pleistocene and Holocene Sea-Level Oscillations . 227

Arcobacter skirrowii. Genomic Variation Determined by

Pulsed-field-gel Electrophoresis . 145

Armendarez, L.P . 173

Arts Related Activity, Value of in the Economic Development of a Community .... 195

Asteroids, Tube Foot Morphology of Antarctic . 129

Astone, Nicholas A . 209

Atheroembolism: A Multifacedted Disorder . 209

Atkins, James Andrew . 212

Atropisomerism in the Transition Metal Complexes of Bis(phosphite) Ligands,

NMR Investigation Of . 155

Ayala-Silva, Tomas . 279

Baba, Aaron 1 . 203

Bachmann, Kurt T . 170,175

Bagley, Joy E . 138

Bail Issues: Assessing Various State Procedures . 209

Bailey, Mark A . 131

Baksay, Laszlo . 172

314

Index

Barbaree, James M . 145,150

Barksdale, Jeff . 201

Barred Spiral Galaxies, Gas Cloud Versus Star Orbits In . 175

Base-Closure Commission: A Paradigm of Higher Education in Alabama . 184

Baxter, Bill B . 225

Beckert, Steffen . 145

Beckman, Joseph S . 156

Beckwith, Guy V . 28

Behrens, Mark . 172

Benford, Helen H . 201

Bennett, Amy . 219

Benoit, Woodley . 212

Benzoyl Peroxide Cytotoxicity, Effect of Aged Garlic Extract On . 212

Benzoyl Peroxide Cytotoxicity, Effect of Butylated Hydroxyltoluene (BHT) On .... 217

Benzoyl Peroxide Cytotoxicity, Effect of Vitamin E and Radical

Scavengers Against ....• . 218

Benzoyl Peroxide Cytotoxicity in Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells,

Effect of Propyl Gallate On . 213

Benzoyl Peroxide Cytotoxicity on Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, NDGA And .... 213

Bezoari, Massimo D . 202

Bigelow, Reed L . 205

Biogenic Aragonite, Laboratory Experimentation Simulating Meteoric

Diagenesis Of . 165

Bioremediation of Contaminated Sediments, Application of

Biotechnology In . 148

Biotic and Chemical Assessment of Two Tributaries of Terrapin Creek . 124

Bishop, Charles D . 149

Blagburn, Byron L . 246,296

Blankenship, Emmett L . 131

Blick, Jeffrey P . 226

Bone, Samantha J. . . . . 124

Borieux, Marc Yriane . 215

Bowen, William R . 204

Bradley, James T . 126,127

Brande, Scott . 38,59

Breast Self-Examination Behavior . 214

Bright, Rick A . 201

Brown, Sarah R . 191

Brown, Denise . 177,179

Brummett, Jim . 130

Brutus, Arley . 212

Buckner, Ellen B . 90,210,212

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Politics and the . 192

Burg, Eileen . 220

Burney, J.M . 157

Burns, Jerald C . 205

315

Index

Byeon, Clare C . 158

Byrd, G . 175

C+ + to Java Virtual Machine Code Translation . 221

Cambarus (lacunicambarius) and Cambarus (tubericambarus),

Morphometric Study Of . 144

Cameron, Marietta E . 223

Campbell, Misti . . . 185,187,189,191

Campbell, P. Samuel . 144

Campbell, Sharon N . 195

Carbonate Diagenesis and Its Significance in Sequence Stratigraphy . 162

Carbonic Anhydrase from the Scyphozoan Cassiopeia xamachana . 135

Carithers, T. Paige . 137

Carter, Jackie . 124,139

Carter, Terry . 180

Carthen, Luke . 218

Catalysis of the Decay of Peroxynitrite to Nitrate by C02 . 156

CEO Endorsement and Presidential Candidates . 190

Chambers of Commerce: Resource Provider . 200

Chandler, Chris . 165

Chang, K.J . 176

Chapman, Charles . 132,138,141,142

Cheatham, Joseph . 217

Chen, T.Y . 131

Chen, Dongni . 223

Chen, Zhi . 156

Chen, Liwei . 149

Child Abuse Prevention Education . 210

Chilton, Lynn A . 211

Choi, J . 176

(CIN)Cl3W(/i-Cl)2GaCl2, Synthesis and Characterization Of . 155

Cinkovich, Anna M . 151

Clark, Murlene W . 161

Colbert, Clark . 154

Collins, Brett . 170

Computer Supported Cooperative Environment for Knowledge Discovery . 224

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Computer Hassles Scale . 207

Congdon, Justin D . 130

Conner, Donald E . 145

Converting Southern Hardwood Forests to Pine Plantations, The effects on bird

communities . 285

Corporate Ethical Conduct, Prior Military Service and . 194

Correctional Reform: Potential Impact of the Prison Litigation Reform Act . 206

Correspondence Problem in Contour Reconstruction . 222

Couch, Jim F . 180,181,182,184,185,186,187,189,190,191,192,199

Crawford, Gerald . 188,194,196

Creek House at Fusihatchee, Alabama . 227

316

Index

Criminal Justice Education: A Quest for Academic Excellence . 205

Critical Thinking, Modifying Introductory Molecular Biology Kits to Promote . 201

Crocker, Margie S . 197,198

Cummings, Marissa . 215

Cumulus Cell Dispersal by a Epididymal Guanidinobenzoatase . 126

Curricula, Imperative for Melding Information Technology Into . 198

Cyrilla racemiflora, Pollination Biology . 141

Darby, Kelly . 213

Darwin and Darwinism: The Use and Misuse of Science . 28

Davenport, L.J . 159,160

Davis, Michelle L . 147

Dawkins, Richard . 1

DDT and DDE on Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Cytotoxicity Of . 215

Dean, Lewis S . 164

Decision Support System for Forecasting Machine Load . 224

Delphinid Cranium, Connecting the Hyoid To . 150

Descartes, Maria . 215,217

DeVall, Wilbur B . 169

Diamond, Alvin R., Jr . 130,132,138,141,142

Diamond Film Growth on Titanium Alloy . 174

Diatom Flora of Ophrydium Colonies from South Alabama . 128

Disability Benefits and Lost Workdays in the Construction Industry . 187

Distance Learning Delivery Systems in Higher Education: Quality and

Accountability Issues . 190

Distributed System for GPSS and Animator Provider . 223

DNA Solutions of Weighted Cycle Searching Problems . 259

DNA Extraction from Whole Blood, A Rapid, Non-Toxic Method Of . 201

Donaldson, Steve . 225

DTP, Save a Corner For . 197

Dubey, J.P . 246

Dulan, Stanton . 213

Dunn, Mike . 154

Dusi, Julian L . 140

Dusi, Rosemary D . 140

Dute, Roland R . 128,141

Dyer, Beverly . 188

Dynein Polypeptides from Morone SPP . 143

Eastern Bluebird Studies During the Construction of a

Golfing Community . 134

Economic Development, Planning Policy and Cropland Conversion

In TARCOG Region, Alabama . 169

Economies of Scale and Public Education . 199

Eddings, Amanda . 124,139

Einstein-Maxwell System, Analysis of a Nonspherical, Axially

Symmetric Geometry of the . 177

317

Index

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance as a Monitor of Crystal Growth of Chemical

Vapor Deposited Diamond . 178

Eley, J.G . 210

Elike, Uchenna . 193

Elimia acutocarinata, Electrophoretic Analysis of Isolated

Populations . 124

Ellis, Sophia . . 185

Elton, T.S . 146

Environmental Contamination and the Reuse of Military Bases . 167

Environmental Profile of Alabama: Is Equity and Issue . 166

Environmental Protection, Organizational Structure For . 195

Environmental Estrogens, Poeciliid Fishes as Bioindicators Of . 142

Environmental Androgens, Poeciliid Fishes as Bioindicators Of . 137

Epiphytic Fruticose Lichen Species in Coffee County . 138

Estes, Anne M . 143,151

Estridge, Barbara H . 131

Ethnobotany of Sangre de Grado ( Croton lechleri) . 159

Ethnobotany of UNA de Gato ( Uncaria tomentosa) . 160

Evolution/Creation Controversy During the 1995 Alabama Science

Textbook Adoptions . 59

Evolution-Creationism Controversy . 17

Faison, Vanosia S . 148

Falany, Marina . 127

Farmer, Mark A . 134

Faught, Edward . 215

Felts, E . 210

Findlay, Margaret . 216

Findley, Henry M . 200

Fisher, Gerald P . 209

Fisher, Stephanie . 163

Fleurov, Vladimir . 158,177,179

Folkerts, Debbie R . 137,141

Foods of the Alabama Beach Mouse . 136

Forrestall, D . 177

Francis, Lara A . 222

Frandsen, John C . 38,59,203

Freeman, Rashaye . 215

Ganesan, Rajesh . 221

Gasoline Production from Waste Plastics by Pyrolysis and Catalytic Upgrading .... 221

Gebeyehu, Zewdu . 152,155,157,272

Geers, William F . 162

General Chemistry Retention Strategies . 203

Geologic Place Names in Alabama . 164

George, Joseph . 202

Giardia lamblia Cysts, Inactivation by Insoluble

Chlorinated and Brominated Polymers . 131

318

Index

Gibbons, J. W . 127

Gibbons, Ashton F.E . 147

Gillies, Colleen N . 156

GIS and Organizational Change: A Review of Public Agency Experiences . 168

GNP and Welfare Dependence: Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats . 181

Golf Ball, Undergraduate Simulation of the Spinning . 172

Gordon, Bruce . 190

Government Housing Program, Importance Of . 180

Grace, Mary . 163

Grant Writing: An Introduction to the Process . 199

Gravity, Possible Case of a Repulsive Feature Of . 173

Gray, Gary M . 153,154,155,158

Greenleaf, Robert B . 77

Griffin, Marsha D . 181,182,183,194

Groves, Karen . 125

Guanidinobenzoatase Activity of Murine Sperm . 125

Guin, James A . 221

Guyer, Craig . 131

Gwebu, Noma . 212,218,220

Gwebu, Ephraim T . 212,213,214,215,216,217,218,220

Habranthus tubispathus New to the Flora of Alabama . 130

Hamartoma: The Pulmonary Mimic . 219

Hamilton, Nalo . 218

Hamilton, Tracy P . 156

Han, Youngshook . 214

Hariharasarma, Maheswaran . 154,155

Harris, Marilyn Wyatt . 144

Harris, Louis M . 208

Harrison, Joseph G . 175

Haywick, Douglas W . 159,160,161,162,163,165

Hengge, A.C . 153

Henry, Raymond P . 135

Hepadienes, Syntheses of Guanine Substituted . 156

Herbert, Berneese . 166

Heron Colonies in the Montgomery Area 1961-1996 . 140

Higgs, Miriosh A . 147

Hill, Curtis E . 228

Hill, Geoffrey E . 285

Hitt, Austin M . 126

Holler, Nicholas R . 136

Holley, Paul . 183

Holliman, Dan C . 134

Holloway, Russell . 227

Holstein, Harry 0 . 229

Hopkins, Thomas S . 132

Hopkins, William A . 130

319

Index

Howell, W. Mike . 129,168

Hudiburg, Richard A . 207

Human Scaphoid Bone, Computational and Clinical Study Of . 171

Hunter Syndrome, Mutational Analysis and Carrier Detection . 219

Hydrodynamic and Sedimentparameters at Gaurier, Mississippi . 162

Ichthyofaunal Assemblages in the Upper Cahaba River . 125

Immunization Practices of Elders, Influence of Behavioral Cues On . 211

Industrial Pollution: A Function of Minority Population . 186

Internet, Getting SET(Secure Electronic Transmissions) to Do Business On . 189

Internet: A Powerful New Teaching and Research Tool for International

Business Faculty . 188

Interspecific Alarm Calls, Responses of Gray Squirrels To . 146

Ivan, Mbakop . 204

Izeogu, Chukudi V . 169

Jackson, Nkenge . 214

Janney Iron Furnace (lCa407), Restoration and Archaeological Investigations . 228

Jenkins, Neil W . 177

Jenkins, Ronald . 129,168

Jennings, Jason B . 146

Jones, T. Morris . 191,197

Joo, H.S . 221

Jui-Yi, Tsai . 156

Just Where Do I Fit in the Universe? . 77

Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (Battens Disease) in a Family

with the Adult Form Kufs Disease, Evaluation of Major Gene Deletion .... 215

Kappes, John . 139

Kempf, Stephen C . 134,135

Kennedy, Bryan . 206

Kerr, Jared G . 150

Kestle-Cobb, Sharon . 226

Kim, Sara . 209

Knott, Emily K . 132

Kopaska-Merkel, David . 164

Krannich, L . 158

Kudryavtsev, Anatoly . 178

Kuzniecky, Ruben . 215

Laboratory Adaptions for Students with Disabilities . 205

Lake, Charles H . 154,155,158

Lalor, Melinda M . 125

LANDSAT Data, Trimodal PDF Signature Model For . 171

Lateral System Tract Variations Within On-land Sedimentary Successions

In New Zealand . 159

Law of the Few: An Empirical Investigation . 190

Lawson, Christopher M . •. 154,158,177,179

Learning by Role-Playing: The CPX Model for Biology Labs . 203

Lee, K.J . 140,146

320

Index

Li, Peining . 219

Libis, Carl A . 174

Lichen Species in Pike County, Distinguishing Features Of

Epiphytic Fruticose . 141

Lichens Ramalina americana and Usnea strigosa in Pike County,

Substrate Preference for Attachment Between . 142

Lindsay, David S . 246,296

Line Item Veto Viewed Paradigmatically . 181

Lishak, Robert S . 146

Little, Keith H . 227

Low Coherence Imaging with Nonlinear Optical Materials . 179

Lowe, Jason . 141,142

Ludwick, Larry M . 204

Ludwick, Adrianne G . 203

Luidia clathrata (say), Sympatric Speciatioin Of . 132

Maddox, Lewis 0 . 217

Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 4.1 T, Modeling of RF Energy Deposition In . 175

Mahaffy, Christopher A.L . 205

Managers’ Illegal Activities by Functional Discipline . 196

Mann, Jason A . 227

Marion, Ken R . 125,127

Marshall, Elaine . 210

Mathematics of the Perfect Basketball Free Throw . 170

Mathis, Dwayne . 220

Matter and Energy: A Most Basic Concept in Biology . 204

Mayan Architecture of Quintana Roo, Mexico . 227

MBA Graduates and Their Propensities Toward Corporate Criminal Activity . 196

McAllister, William K . 166,167,168

McCall, Helvi . 220

McCall, Sonya . 176

McDaniel, Nancy B . 205

McKenzie, Tony . 139

McKenzie, Nelya J . 208

McLintock, James B . 129

[Me2M(/a-N(Me)SiMe3)]2 Where M = Al, Ga, and In, Cis-trans Isomerization

and Molecular Structural Studies Of . 158

Medical Marijuana Legislation . 209

Mehollin, Amy . 142

Menapace, Francis J . 255

Mendonca, Mary T . 130,147

Menon, G. K . 173,177

Mercer, Terry . 166

Metal Organic Compounds, Third Order Nonlinear Optical Characterization Of

Using Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing . 158

Metallacrown Ethers, Conformationally Restricted . 154

Michael, S.F . 127

321

Index

Micro-Brain: Multi-Modal Memory Via Neural Networking . 225

Miller, Connie L . 137

Moeller, M.B . 157

Molluscan Alteration in the Tertiary Tamiami Formation of Southwestern

Florida . 161

Molt-inhibiting Hormone from the Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus,

Expression and Purification of Recombinant . 146

Molt-inhibiting Hormone of the Dungeness Crab, Molecular

Cloning of a CDNA Encoding . 140

Moore, D.S . 127

Morgan, Darrell D . 148

Morgan, Daniel C . 181

Morris, Barry . 195

Mosasaurs in the Smoky Hill Member of the Niobrara Formation,

Stratigraphic Distribution of Adult and Juvenile . 163

Moser, John . 124,139

Moss, Anthony G . 143,148,151

Mossbauer Analysis of K-T Boundary Clays . 173

Moyers, James E . 136

Mullins, Dail W., Jr . 17

Mullins, Larry C . 208

Mulumba, Kolongo . 204

Murray, Gerald . 200

Musso, Richard E . 138

Mutinga, Mueni . 216

Mygalomorph Spider from Alabama ( Myrmeciophilia fluviatilis),

The Most Common . 168

Mygalomorph Spider from Alabama {My gale truncata ), A Rare . 129

Nelson, David H . 133,151

Nelson, Andrea . 174

Nesting Biology of the Grass-Carrier Wasp, Isodontia mexicana . 137

Nesting of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) on

Dauphin Island, Alabama . 151

New Deal and the South: The Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong . 191

Newman, M . 143

Newton, Dahlia B . 206

Ngwenya, Sharon . 213

Niedbala, William C . 176

Nordlund, Thomas . 178

Northwest Alabama Mall, Case Analysis of a . 188

Nuage Bodies in Cricket Oocytes 127

Nutallides umboniferus and Globocassidulina subglobosa, Mean Test Size as a

Function of Environment . 161

O’Hare, Sean P . 133

Olander, C . 143

Onorato, Dave . 125

322

Index

Ontogeny of a Functional Digestive System in the Cichlid

Oreochromis niloticus . 149

Optical Low Coherence Interferometry for Subsurface Noninvasive Imaging . 177

Organizational Learning and Effectiveness . 198

Osterhoff, William E . 206

Ousley, D . 175

Outstanding Alabama Scientists: Profiles of Recipients of the

Wright A. Gardner Award . 90

Oxytocin Receptors in the Brain of Bats and Voles . 147

Oyarzabal, Omar A . 145

Pagani, Catherine . 193,228

Palladium(II) Metallacrown Ethers, CIS-trans Isomerization

and Reversible Polymerization . 153

Parenting a Hospitalized Preterm Infant . 216

Parris, Khalid . 217

Parrish, Scott L . 135

Patrick, Michele . 135

PAX 2 Gene Exon 3 Silent Mutation Identified . 217

PCR to Detect Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and Enterohemorrhagic

E. coli in Bovine Feces . 150

Peabody, Gadia . 216

Pedoto, Stelline . 126

Peghee, Donald, Jr . 216

Performance Appraisal Fairness Influence on Employee Attitudes and Behavior .... 200

Perinatal Substance Abuse: Nursing Strategies and Outcomes . 212

Perkins, Lakeisha . 212

Peterson, Curt M . 145,149

Pettus, J . 143

Philip, James R . 220

Phipps, Allan G . 159,160

Phosphate Hydrolysis, Isotope Effects On . 153

Phosphoraniminato Complex of Tungsten, C15W(NPC13) 157

Physiological Responses of Azolla caroliniana Willd. to Polylactic Acid . 279

Pieroni, Robert E . 209,211,218,219

Pit Membrane Structure in Alabama Hardwoods . 128

Plasmid DNA Curing . 138

Poirier, Gary R . 125,126

Polling Hours and Voter Turnout . 185

Polyphenols and Condensed Tannins in Longleaf Pine Foliage . 145

Poole, Melvin, Jr . 216

Pore Water Evolution and Groundwater Flow in Cyclothemic

Sedimentary Successions . 160

Preceramic Sites Along the Gulf Coast . 225

Price, Stuart G . 150

Pride, Tywana M . 186,199

Prior, Stephen A . 145

323

Index

Pritchard, Seth G . 145

Privatization, Benefits Of . 187

Problem-Based Learning Program for Family Practice Residents:

A Role for the Librarian . 220

Protection - A Vital Link! . 136

Proteinase Inhibitors from Tomato Plants . 143

Pseudemys alabamensis , Geographic Distribution Of . 133

Pseudemys alabamensis. Preliminary Radiotelemetric Study Of . 133

Pseudodendromonas bourrelly in North America . 255

Public Work Administration Expenditures, What Determined the Allocation Of ... . 189

Quality of Our Environment: National and Global Concerns . 187

Quinn, Laura C . 161,164

Rackley, Barbara G . 203

Rahimian, Eric . 180,185,186,187

Rawlings, J . 153

Reaction of a Chloronitreno Complex of Tungsten with

Phosphorous Trichloride . 272

Recruitment Efforts of Alabama Institutions of Higher Education:

Responsiveness to Requests for Information . 194

Red Hills Salamander, Pit Tag Implantation In . 131

Reeves, Melissa S . 203

Regan, Gerald T . 150

Regulation, Who Really Benefits From . 189

Reindeer Mosses, Genus Cladina in Coffee County . 132

Reproductive System, Effects of Lighting Conditions Upon

Development of the Male Rat . 144

Reproductive Performance in the Female Rat, Vitamin E

Deficiency On . 147

Retirement Planning Optimizing for Generation X . 183

Reynolds, Barbara S . 151

Richardson, Randall E . 205

Richardson, Stephanie . 212,213,215,217,220

Rico, Marlon . 195,199

Riggsby, Ernest D . 202

Riggsby, Dutchie . 202

Rogers, Hugo H . 145

Roller, Alexious . 185

Romano, Dr. Frank A . 124,139,165

Ross, Dana . 200

Runion, G. Brett . 145

Rural Culture and Handicraft in Southwestern Sichuan . 228

Rural Diversification Cases . 166

Sahi, Shivendra V . 148

Sarcocystis spp. in White-tailed Deer from Alabama, Prevalence of . 296

Sauterer, Dr. Roger . ; . 124

Saving "Georgia Bacon" and "Florida Chicken" in South Alabama . 167

324

Index

Scarborough, Nadine . 132,138

Schauer, S . 158

Schmid, S . 210

Scientific Information Gleaned from Electronic Sources, Need to Verify . 202

Sediment Assimilation and Expulsion from the Tropical Zoanthid . 163

Selassie, Michael M . 213,215,220

Semi-annual Variation of the Earth’s Atmosphere from Orbital Decay of the

Oderacs Spheres . 179

Setzer, William . 216

Shaw, Joe J . 259

Shelby, Thomas Mark . 227

Sheldon, M. Amy . 163

Shepard, Susie H. . . 136,167

Sheridan, Richard C . 152

Shevlin, Philip B . 156

Shireman, Jason . 145

Sibanda, Sam . 214,216

Sibanda, Barbara . 214

Sidambe, Dumezweni . 214

Silicon Microvertex Detector in L3 at LEP, Geometric Stability . 172

Singh, Narendra K . 149

Singleton, Tommie . 183,189,192,197,198

Sino-Western Relations in the Nineteenth Century, Opium Trade and . 193

Skeletal Biology of the Harrington Site . 226

Slime Bond . 157

Small Business Planning - Some Demographic Considerations . 169

Smith, Jerome . 152

Smith, ALex E . 150

Smith, Susan . 143

Smith, Dale C., Jr . 153

Social "In" Security System: Exploring Alternatives for the Future . 186

Solar Activity and Frequencies from the Global Oscillation Network Group . 170

Solid-Liquid Interface Studies Relating to Organic Nonlinear Optical Materials .... 176

Spaziani, E . 140

Sporadic Demand Forecasting - Problems and Models . 222

Stapleton, Charles . 165

State Level Debt: The Intergenerational Consequences . 180

State Expenditures for Public Libraries . 191

Stephens, Patrick R . 144

Steroid Metabolism in Human Mononucleocytes . 139

Stockton, Natasha . 199

Student Attitudes Toward Information Privacy . 191

Students in General Chemistry, New Computer Approaches to Assist . 204

Sugiyama, Minako . ' . 129

Sullivan, Michael J . 128

Sundermann, Christine A . 131,246

325

Index

Sward, Lisa . 218

Sweeney, Robert B . 188,189,198

Symbiodinium microadriaticum. Ultrastructure of in situ . 134

Tan, A . 179

Tardigrades on Jacksonville State University’s Campus . 165

Tarvin, John T . 172,174

Teaching of Economics, Missing Element In . 193

Teggins, John E . 205

Telecommunications Infrastructure Development in the Appalachian Region . 184

Telecommunications Advances and Copyright Laws . 192

Television Exposure and Alumni Giving: Does Football Produce Tangible Results? . 182
Terrapin Creek Watershed, Riparian Vegetation and Stream Hydro¬
geomorphology of Two Stream Characterizations Within . 139

Theorem of Szego on Orthogonal Polynomials . 174

Thompson, Althea . 124,139

Thompson, Jerry . 219

Thomson, Sue . 201

Thorne, Neil . 180,182,184,187,194,196,199

Three Dimensional Object Recognition Using Alpha Shapes . 223

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) . 218

Tingle, Trade A . 132

Tohver, H.T . 178

Tombstones, Chemical Methods for Cleaning and Repairing Old Marble . 152

Toxoplasma gondii Infections in Wildlife and Exotic Animals from Alabama . 246

Tracheal Ciliated Epithelium, Effects of Cigarette Smoke

On the Mammalian . 148

Traditional Healer in Zimbabwe, Treatment of Acute Allergic Reations

to Foods By . 214

Training Effectiveness: Applying the Concept of Personality Preferences . 206

Transition Metal Complexes with Hybrid Phosphorus-Thiophene Ligands for

Nonlinear Optical Applications . 154

T richloronitrido(imidotetrapheny Idithiophosphino-S ,S)osmate(VI) ,

Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization Of . 152

Trichodina ctenophorii, A New Symbiont from Comb Plates of

Ctenophores . 151

Trussed, Maureen C . 206

Tuchscherer, Hans . 172

Turner, William M . 133

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, Unreported Decisions Of . 207

Umphrey, H.R . 140

Van Rensselaer, Kristy . 181

Van Der Velde, Robert J . 207

Vasseur, Keith A . 167

Vaughan, J. Thomas . ' . 175

Vitellin Proteolysis and Ecdysteroid Levels During

Insect Embryogenesis . 126

326

Index

Vohra, Yogesh K . 174,178

Wade, M.L . 173

Wakefield, Timothy S . 134

Wang, W.S . 176

Wang, J.C . 179

Warden, Ariel J . 213

Warden, Jeanine A . 220

Wasson, Kristina . 135,139

Watford, John . 143

Watkins, James E . 141

Watkins, C . 158

Watson, R.D . 140,146

Watts, Stephen A . 135,139,149

Wdowiak, T.J . 173

Welfare Reform: Policy and Prospects . 185

Welfare and Work . 182

Welfare: Cultural vs Economic Aspects . 183

Wesley, Irene V . 145

West, Phillip . 166

Weyanoke Old Town, (44PG51), Virginia, Canis familiaris Skeletal Remains From . 226

Wheatley, Robert . 198

Whetstone, Dr. R. David . 124,139

Widowed Persons’ Service in Central Alabama, Characteristics of the Members .... 208

Wilcoxson, Jason . 184

Williams, Robert J . 194,196

Williams, Jolene M . 133

Williams, Joanne M . 212,215,218,220

Wills, E.L . 173

Willuhn, Nancy Walker . 186

Wilson, Constance J . 166

Wolfe, Gerri L . 205

Wong, Daisy Y . 224

Wood, Tim . 215

Work Hours and Student Performance . 185

Worley, S.D . 131

Wormhole Solutions to Einstein’s Field Equations in General Relativity,

Visualization Of . 176

Wright’s Farm, 1CA18, Multicomponent Prehistoric Indian

Village in Calhoun County . 229

Wu, Shaw-Jye . 259

Wu, Yuan-Jye . 259

Wu, Wan-Ting . 212

Wujek, Daniel E . 255

Xu, Da-Guang . 178

Yan, C.S . 178

Yancey, Donna . 188

327

Index

’Year 2000’ Problem Will Adversely Affect the U.S. Economy . 197

Yerramsetti, Ramesh . 222,224

York, Randy J . 170,171

Young, J.H . 173,177

Young, Larry J . 147

Young, Tamara . 213

Zimbabwean Traditional Remedies, Attempts to Authenticate . 216

1995 Alabama Draft and Adopted Course of Study: Science, An Analysis Of . 38

2-Aminopurine in Oligonucleotides, Spectroscopic Studies Of . 178

58-Androstane-3a,17/3-Diol is Not an Effective Sex

Reversal Agent in the Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus . 135

328

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 1997.
1997 Membership Roll by Section

SECTION I
BIOLOGICAL
SCIENCES
Al-Hamdani, Safaa
Allan, Mary Ann
Angus, Robert
Bagga, Davinderjit
Bailey, Mark
Baker, Dan
Barbaree, James M.
Bearid, Janis
Beasley, Phil
Best, Tory L.

Beyers, Robert J.
Blackwell, Eric A.
Blanchard, Paul D.
Boetiger, Stefanie A.
Boggild, Andrea
Bowen, William R.
Boyd, Robert
Bradley, James T.

Braid, Malcom
Birght, Rick A.
Brumlow, William B.
Buchner, Richard L.
Campbell, P. Samuel
Carey, Steven D.
Carithers, Paige
Carter, Gregory A.
Cassell, Gail H.
Chapman, Charles P.
Clements, Ben A.

Cline, George
Conway, Rebecca
Conway-Myers, Barbara
Cranford, Carol
Culr, Elroy A.

Dapper, J. William
Davenport, Lawrence J.

Davis, Michelle
Davison, Paul G.
Denton, Tom E.
Diamond, Alvin R.
Diener, Urban L.
Dindo, John
Dixon, Carl
Doeller, Jeannette
Dusi, Julian L.

Dusi, Rosemary
Dute, Roland R.
Estridge, Barbara H.
Faison, Vanosia S.
Folkerts, Debbie
Frandsen, John C.
French, Elizabeth
Gannon, Andrew T.
Garstka, William
German Nina S.

Grizzle, John M.
Gudauska, Robert T.
Guffey, M. Brad
Haggerty, Thomas M.
Hall, Rosine W.

Harris, Marilyn W.
Henderson, James H.
Higgingbotham, Jeri W.
Hileman, Douglas R.
Hill, Curtis E.

Hill, Geoffrey
Holland, Richard, D.
Holler, Nicholas R.
Holliman, Dan C.
Hopkins, Thomas S.
Hopkins, II William A.
Hunter, Eric
Ivey, William D.
Jandebeur, Thomas S.
Jenkins, Ronald L.

Jennings, Jason
Johnson, Adriel D.
Khatri, MD Gajendra
Killough, Gayle H.
Kittle, Paul
Koopman, William J.
Kraus, David W.
Landers, Stephen C.
Lee, Kara J.

Leitner, M. Carol
Lindsay, David S.
Lishak, Robert S.
Lucas, Louis William
Marion, Ken Roy
Mathew, Saramma
Mayne, Jeffrey
Mayne, Katharine
McClintoc, James B.
McGregor, Stuart W.
McKenzie, Gail O.
McLaughlin, Ellen W.
Meacham, Connie A.
Meade, Mark E.
Measels, Michael
Menapace, Francis, J.
Miller, Donna H.
Miller-Way, Tina
Mirarchi, Ralph E.
Moore, Debra
Moore, Jack H.
Moore, Teresa Kel
Morgan, Darrell
Moriarity, Debra M.
Moss, Anthony G.
Nancarro, D. Virginia
Nance, Marione E.
Nelson, David H.
Neidermei, William
O’Hare, Sean Patrick

329

Roll

O’Keefe, Matthew P.
Olander, Charles
Onorato, Dave
Orban, Joseph I.

Otto, Chris
Parrish, Scott C.
Patton, Keith
Peterson, Curt M.
Pettus, Jennifer
Pierson, J. Malcom
Poirier, Gary R.
Powell, Mickie L.
Powell, Stephen
Pritchett, John F.
Quindlen, Eugene A.
Ramsey, John S.
Regan, Gerald T.
Richardson, Velma
Riley, Thomas N.
Ritchie, Angela H.
Roberts, Pamela H.
Robinson, George H.
Rohrer, Shirley
Romano, Frank A.
Sahi, Shivendra
Salter, Donald W.
Sauterer, Roger
Scarborough, Nadine
Shardo, Judith D.
Shew, H. Wayne
Singh, Shiva P.
Spencer, Elsie
Stephens, Patrick
Stokes, Cathy
Strada, Samuel J.
Strickland, Richard C.
Thompson, Althea
Thompson, Larry E.
Thomson, Sue
Tingle, Tracie A.
Trimper, Holly
Vawter, Nancy V.
Wakefield, Timothy S.

Walker, J.H.
Wasson, Tina M.
Watson, R. Douglas
Watts, Stephen A.
Whitehead, Alan
Wilkes, James C.
Williamson, Stacy L.
Wilson, Thomas H.
Wit, Lawrence
Wujek, Daniel E.
Zehren, Steven J.

SECTION II
CHEMISTRY
Arendale, William F.
Asouzu, Moore U.
Barrett, William J.
Beale, Stephen
Bezoari, Massimo
Brouillette, Wayne J.
Brown, Mary Ann
Bugg, Charles E.
Cappas, Constantine
Chang, Ki Joon
Chastain, Ben B.
Coble, Dwain
Crouse, Brian
Dillon, H. Kennet
Finkel, Joe M.

Finley, Wayne H.
Fisk, James D.
Friedman, Michael E.
Gebeyehu, Zewdu
Gray, Gary M.
Griffith, Edward
Haggard, James H.
Hamilton, Tracy
Hazlegrove, Leven S.
Hemmer, Laura
Ihejeto, Godwin
Isbell, Raymond
Jotani, Kishor P.

Kiely, Donald E.
Koons, L.F.

Krannich, Larry K.
Ludwich, Adriane
Mahaffy, C.A.L.
McDOnald Nancy C.
Moeller, Michael
Moore, McDonald
Mountcastle, William
Muccio, Donald
Muller, John H.
Nichols, Alfred
Ponder, Morgan C.
Rawlings, Jill
Riordan, James M.
Schedler, David J.A.
Shakhashiri, Bassam Z.
Sheridan, Richard C.
Stanton, Clyde T.
Thomas, Charlotte
Thomas, Joseph C.
Thomasku, Mary G.
Thompson, Davis Hunt
Thompson, Wynelle D.
Tieken, V. June
Vallanino, Lidia M.
Vincent, John B.
Watkins, Charles L.
Webb, Thomas R.
Wells, David
Wheeler, G.P.
Wierengo, C. John

SECTION III
GEOLOGY
Brande, Scott
Clark, Murlene
Cranford, Norman B.
Dean, Lewis S.

Geers, William F.
Grace, Mary
Haywick, Douglas
Irvin, Marcie

330

Roll

Klein, Andre C.
Lamoreau, P.E.

Lowery, James R.
McMillan, Richard C.
Neilson, Michael J.
O’Donnell, Daniel J.
Quinn, Laura
Raymond, Dorothy E.
Rindsberg, Andrew K.
Selby, James K.

Sheldon, M.Amy
Sitz, Willard L.
Skotnicki, Michael C.
Stock, Carl W.

Thurn, Richard L.

SECTION IV
FORESTRY,
GEOGRAPHY,
CONSERVATION , AND
PLANNING
Baucom, Thomas F.
Boyer, William
Devall, Wilbur B.

Gibbs, George S.
Henderson, H.A.
Herbert, Berneece
Himmier, Frank N.
Holland, A. Priscilla
Izeougu, Chukudi V.
Jordan-Wilson, Constance
Martinson, TomL.
McAllister, William K.
Mercer, Terry
Mimbs, Brian W.

Mullen, Michael W.
Rivizzigno, Victoria
Strong, William R.

Tang, R.C.

Vickery, Minako
West, PhilliP

SECTION V

PHYSICS AND
MATHEMATICS
Aggarwal, Manmohan D.
Alford, William L.
Bachmann, Kurt T.
Baksay, Laszio
Barry, Hubert G.
Bateman, G.J.

Bauman, Robert P.
Bearden, T.E.

Behrens, Mark
Beiersdorf, Peter
Boardman, William J.
Byrd, Gene G.

Carnevali, Antonino
Colvett, Robert Dee
Comfort, Richard
Curott, David R.

Datta, Anjali
Dimmock, John O.
Dubard, James 1.
Easterday, Kenneth
Essenwan, Oskar M.
Evans, Kervin O.

Forte, Aldo
Furman, W.L.

Glotfelty, Henry W.
Graham, S. Ronald J.
Harrison, Joseph G.
Hawk, James F.
Helminger, Paul
Holliday, Gregory S.
Horsfield, Christophe
Howell, Kenneth B.
Jones, Stanley 1.

Knight, Martha V.
Kornman, Paul T.
Lawson, Chris
Legge, Jennie
Lester, William L.

Libis, Carl
Lindquist, Charles A.
Massey, Julia E.

Mixon, Stacy Tyro
Miyagawa, Ichiro
Moore, Carey
Munroe, Ray
Omasta, Eugene
Ousley, Derrick W.
Reid, William J.
Reisig, Gerhard
Roberts, Thomas G.
Robinson, Edward L.
Ruffin, Paul B.
Russell, Randy D.
Sanders, Justin M.
Sharma, P.C.

Shealy, David L.
Smith, Furman
Smith, Micky
Stewart, Dorathy A.
Swinney, Kenneth R.
Tan, Arjun
Tarvin, John T.
Varghese, S.L.
Wheeler, R.E.

Willis, Edward L.
York, Randy Jay
Young, John H.

SECTION VI
INDUSTRY AND
ECONOMICS
Absher, Keith
Alexander, Paulette
Campbell, Sharon N.
Carr, Linda
Couch, Jim F.
Crawford, Gerald
Crocker, Margie S.
Elike, Uchenna
Ferry, Jerry
Findley, Henry M.
Free, Veronica
Griffin, Marsha D.
Jones, T. Morris

331

Roll

Koehler, William F.
Mathew, Tom
McCain, J. Wayne
Murray, Gerald D.

Pride, Tywana M.
Rahimian, Eric
Singleton, Tommie
Suwanaku, Sontachai
Trivoli, George W.
Viohl, Frederick
Wheatley, Robert
Williams, Robert J.
Yancey, Donna

SECTION VII
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Anderson, Trudy S.
Baird, Bill
Benford, Helen H.
Biddle, Laurie R.
Bigham, Betty
Bilbo, Thomas
Caudle, Sandra I.
Donons, Dwight A.
Falgout, James R.

Fish, Frederick
Froning, Michael
George, Joseph D.
Greenleaf, Robert B.
Kastenma, Ruth W.
Landers, John I.
Ludwick, Larry M.
MacKay, John L.
Morgan, Eugenia L.

Nall, Jane
O’Brien, James M.
Riggsby, Dutchie S.
Riggsby, Ernest D.
Rowsey, Robert E.
Shepard, Susie H.
Shumaker, Anne W.
Smith, Kari Dee
Warren, Bertie Mae

Wilson, Karl M.

SECTION VIII
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Bailey, C. Suzanne
Barty, Peter F.

Beckwith, Guy V.
Brown, David C.
Buckalew, L.W.

Burke, Jr. Garfield
Burns, Jerald C.

Cantrell, Clyde H.

Carr, Walter
Easterday, Norman E.
Fisher, Gerald P.

Harris, Jr. Louis m.
Haynes, Mike
Holliman, Diane Carol
Hudiburg, Richard A.
Jackson, Warren T.
Johnson, James A.
Kennedy, R. Bryan
Lima, James T.

Loop, Mike
Luskin, Joseph
McKenzie Nelya J.
Mullins, Larry C.
Newton, Dahlia B.
Norton, Emily C.
Osterhoff, William F.
Palmatier, Andrew D.
Raymaker, Henry
Trussed, Maureen
Van Der Velde, Robert J.
Vocino, Thomas
Weber, B.C.

Wheelock, Gerald C.
Yeager, J.H.

SECTION IX
Alnagshabandi, Elham
Atkins, james A.

Baggett, Emily Beth

Ball, Natalie S.

Barker, Samuel B.
Beaton, John M.

Beck, Lee R.

Bennett, Amy L.

Bennett MD, J. Claude
Boots, Larry R.

Briles, David E.

Buckner, Ellen
Chilton, Lynn
Conary, Jon T.

Cusic, Anne
Dansak, Daniel A.

Davis, Lloyd L.

Davis, Richard
Davis, W.R.

Deruiter, Jack
Drummon, Lawrence
Eley, John G.

Emerson, Geraldine
Findlay, Lillian Jeannettte
Findlay, Margaret
Foster, Portia
Freeman, Jane H.

French, James H.

Gilbert MD, Fred
Gwebu, Ephriam T.

Han MD, Jian
Han RN, Youngsho
Hart, Patricia C.

Hays, Mary M.
Henderson, Mary C.
Herbert, Donald
Hicks, Julius
Iddins, Brenda W.
Jackson, Charles
Jordan, Toni
Katz, Judd A.

Keith, Robert E.

Knopke, Harry
Lambing, Matthew K.
Lammerts, Koop
Marques, Luzenia H.

332

Roll

McCall, Helvi
McCallum, Charles A.
Mullins Jr., Dail W.
Navia, Juan M.

Parsons, Daniel L.
Phillips, Joseph B.

Piero ni, Robert E.
Pirkle, James A.

Pittman Jr., James A.
Pitts, Marshall
Reed, Linda
Rodning, Charles B.
Roush, Donald
Rudd MD, Steven
Schnaper, Harold W.
Selassie, Michael M.
Shoemake, R.L.

Skalka, Harold W.

Sneed DO, Guy W.
Stover RNC, Lynn M.
Sullivan, Linda
Thompson, Jerry N.
Thompson, Maurice
Turrens, Julio F.

Vacik, James P.
Waddell, Stewart D.
Waites, Ken B.

Whitt, Carlton
Wilborn, W.H.

Wilder, Barbara F.
Winters, Alvin L.

Wood, Sunny G.

Wynn, Theresa A.

SECTION X
ENGINEERING AND
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Barrett, John
Bindal, Payal
Bryant, Barrett
Cameron, Marietta E.
Chen, Dongni
Craig, Thomas F.

I

Dean, Susan T.
Donaldson, Steve
Feinstein, David L.
Francis, Lara
Ganesan, Rajesh
Garza, Gene G.

Heran, William H.
Hilyer PE, William A.
Hollis Jr., Daniel L.
Jacobs, Paul L.

Kim, Hiryoung
Kurzius, Shelby C.
Parker, Donald L.

Pitt, Robert E.

Pun, Oceana
Raju, P.K.

Roy, Sanjeev R.

Shaffer, Harry B.

Sloan, Kenneth R.
Sprague, Alan P.
Thomas, Robert E.
Walters, J.V.
Wisniewski, Raymond B.
Wong, Daisy
Yerramsetti, Ramesh

SECTION XI
ANTHROPOLOGY
Blick, Jeffrey P.

Cobb, Sharon Kestle
Driskell, Boyce N.
Henson, B.Bart
Holstein, Harry O.

Mann, Jason A.
McClung, Terry L.
Msitovich, Tim
Nance, C. Roger
Pagani, Catherine
Rowe, Bobby
Shelby, Thomas M.

333

Notes

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy : Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is
restricted to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. Larry
R. Boots, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham,
AL 35294. Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline
sections of the Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology; Forestry,
Geography, Conservation, and Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and
Economics; Science Education; Social Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and
Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely review articles of exceptional quality and
general readership interest will also be considered. Invited articles dealing with Science
Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book reviews of Alabama authors are
also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the Journal implies that it has
not been published previously and that it is not currently being considered for publication
elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. Submit the original and two
copies to the Editor. Papers which are unreasonably long and verbose, such as uncut
theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the author’s name, affiliation, and
address, including zip code. An abstract not exceeding 200 words will be published if
the author so desires. Use headings and subdivisions where necessary for clarity.
Common headings are: Introduction (including a literature review), Procedures (or
Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other formats
may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all-caps
and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and placed
at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. Do not use the number 1 for footnotes;
begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have their
present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and
white glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed 20
cm. Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use
lettering that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as
figures, number consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on
a separate sheet of paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are
satisfactory for review purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each
table. Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table
footnotes. Cite all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature
Cited. Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers,
etc.). List in alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text by
number or by author-date.

The Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science tddaDV
Ah. MUS. HAT. HIST. LIBRARY
Received on: 06-19-96
5.06(76. l)B

HE JOURNAL OF THE
LABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

OLUME 69

JANUARY 1998

NO. 1

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: At the center is a colonial scaled-chrysophyte of the genus
Chrysosphaerella, each cell bearing siliceous bristles and scales used in species identification
at the ultrastructural level; in the corner is a single-celled chrysophyte of the genus
Mallomonas . Species from both genera are reported for the first time from Alabama in a
report by Daniel E. Wujek in this issue. Micrograph by Daniel E. Wujek.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 69 JANUARY 1998 NO. 1

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

T roy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OFTHE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 1, January, 1998.

CONTENTS

ARTICLES

Probing the Genome of Tetrahymena pyriformis for an Insulin Receptor
Tyrosine Kinase Homologous Sequence

Gayle Christopher and C.A. Sundermann . 1

Prevalence of Physical Activity
Patterns in Alabama, 1994-1996

Kennon Francis and Jack Hataway . 14

An Examination of Alabama’s Use of the Death Penalty:

Do We Live in An Insane Society? . 23

Karen V. Taylor

Silica-scaled Chrysophytes from Alabama

Daniel E. Wujek and Francis J. Menapace . 33

A New Record of the Freshwater Green Alga
Pseudulvella Americana from Alabama

Daniel E. Wujek and Francis J. Menapace . 44

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Volume 69, No.l, January 1998.

PROBING THE GENOME OF TETRAHYMENA PYR1FORM1S FOR AN INSULIN
RECEPTOR TYROSINE KINASE HOMOLOGOUS SEQUENCE

Gayle Christopher and C. A. Sundermann
Department of Zoology & Wildlife Sciences
Auburn University, AL 36849

ABSTRACT

Tetrahymena pyriformis binds insulin and responds with metabolic changes and amplification
of hormone binding that is maintained over succesive generations. Insulin binding occurs both
on the cell surface and intracellularly, but information about the nature of the binding sites
is far from complete. Some data suggest that tyrosine kinase activity may be involved in the
signal transduction mechanism in Tetrahymena pyriformis just as in other systems that have
been studied. The Drosophila insulin receptor (DIR) has been studied extensively and has a
structure very similar to the human insulin receptor. In a recent study, we probed the genome
of T. pyriformis for a sequence homologous to the DIR tyrosine kinase domain using a probe
made by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results indicate that T. pyriformis mRNA
hybridizes with the probe under low stringency conditions, but a genomic homologous
sequence could not be detected by Southern analysis.

Key Words: Tetrahymena pyriformis, insulin binding structure, PCR, tyrosine kinase

INTRODUCTION

Insulin binding in Tetrahymena pyriformis has been shown to occur, both on the cell
membrane and intracellularly. (Csaba, 1980, 1984, Christopher & Sundermann, 1992, Kovacs
& Csaba, 1990)) Increases in insulin binding capacity have been observed in cultures having
prior exposure to the hormone and this amplification, also known as imprinting, is seen in
as many as 500 subsequent generations. (Csaba et al, 1982) Insulin and portions of the insulin
molecule can substitute for as yet undefined autocrine factors to rescue low initial cell density
T. pyriformis cultures from dying. (Christensen, 1993) Alterations in cellular metabolism and
growth result from insulin binding to undefined membrane structures. (Csaba & Lantos, 1975,
Fulop & Csaba, 1990, Kovacs, 1986) Insulin-like substances have been found in both cells and
cell conditioned media. (LeRoith et al, 1980) Experimental evidence suggests that insulin may
bind to an insulin-like precursor protein in the cell membrane as has been suggested for EGF,
TGFa and Euplotes mating pheromones. (Christopher & Sundermann, 1995a) It is unlikely
that the cell membrane insulin binding structure has homology to the insulin binding portion
of the human insulin receptor since no reactivity to an a-subunit specific antibody was found
in cell membrane extracts or by immunoelectron microscopy. (Christopher & Sundermann,
1995a, b)

1

Christopher and Sundermann

Regardless of the nature of the membrane structure insulin binding domain, some
mechanism for signal transduction must exist to effect the insulin stimulated changes in
cellular metabolism that result from insulin binding. Alterations in second messenger
concentrations have been reported following insulin treatment in T. pyriformis (Kovacs, 1986)
and the effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and activators on insulin imprinting have been
studied. (Kovacs & Csaba, 1992, Kovacs et al, 1992) The human insulin receptor (hIR) is a
member of the tyrosine kinase family of receptors and is a heterotetramer comprised of two
a. subunits containing the insulin binding region and two /3 subunits having signal transduction
capabilities. (Olefsky, 1990) The genomic sequence encoding tyrosine kinase activity is highly
conserved within receptor family and across species. (Cadena & Gill, 1992, Petruzzelli et al,
1986) The Drosophila insulin receptor (DIR) is remarkably homologous to the hIR in both
deduced amino acid sequence, subunit structure, and functions. (Petruzzelli et al, 1986,
Fernandez- Almonacid & Rosen, 1987) The tyrosine kinase domain of the DIR has an overall
amino acid sequence identity to the hIR of 53% with a region of approximately 70 amino
acids having greater than 90% identity. (Petruzzelli et al, 1986)

Here we report the use of a PCR probe corresponding to the DIR tyrosine kinase
sequence to probe the genome of Tetrahymena pyriformis. We also examined total cellular
RNA for homology to this sequence. Results indicate that T. pyriformis mRNA hybridizes
with the probe under low stringency conditions but a homologous genomic sequence was not
detected by Southern blotting. Insulin receptor characteristics across species are briefly
discussed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cultures. Original cultures of Tetrahymena pyriformis were obtained from the
American Type Culture Collection (#30327, Simon strain, Phenoset A, amicronucleate) and
maintained axenically in Medium 357 (5.0 g proteose peptone, 5.0 g tryptone, 0.2 g K2HP04,
1 L distilled water, adjust pH to 7.2 before autoclaving) at 28° C.

Insulin Treatment. Insulin treatment (IT) was accomplished by the method of Kovacs
and Csaba (1990). Briefly, cells from logarithmic cultures (48 h from transfer) in centrifuge
tubes were exposed to 0 or 6 /rg/ml porcine insulin (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO)
in Medium 357 for 1 h at 28° C, washed in plain media, and used to inoculate batch cultures
(500 ml) of Medium 357. The batch cultures were incubated at 28 °C for 2 days prior to
harvesting the cells for nucleic acid extraction by standard procedures. (Current Protocols in
Molecular Biology, 1989)

Total RNA Preparation. Batch cultures were chilled on ice and the cells harvested
by centrifugation (1000 x g) in 50 ml conical centrifuge tubes until concentrated to a volume
of approximately 2.5 ml. Guanidinium solution (7.5 ml, 4 M guanidinium isothiocyanate,
20 mM sodium acetate, 0.1 mM dithiothreitol, 0.5% N-lauroylsarcosine, pH 5.5) was added
prior to homogenation by 12-15 strokes of an autoclaved tissue grinder. The homogenate was
layered on top of a 5.7 M CsCl cushion in clear centrifuge tubes (Beckman #344057) and
spun 12 hrs in SW55 rotor (32,000 rpm, 20 °C).

The resultant supernatant and CsCl layers were removed and the RNA pellet washed
with 95% ethanol, drained, and resuspended in TE (1.0 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH

2

Tetrahymena, tyrosine kinase

7.6). A phenol extraction (PCI, 25:24: 1 phenol/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol) was performed
and the RNA precipitated by the addition of 100% ethanol and 4 M NaCl. The RNA was
pelleted by centrifugation and washed with 80% ethanol, resuspended in DEPC treated H20
before the RNA concentration (approx. 2 /xg/ml) was determined. Pelleted RNA was stored
at -70 °C. Precautions were taken to inhibit RNase activity such as treating solutions with
DEPC (diethylpyrocarbonate) and the use of autoclaved glassware and plastics.

Genomic DNA Extraction. Pelleted cells were incubated overnight at 55 °C in the
presence of digest buffer (50 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 100 mM EDTA, 0.5% SDS, 0.5 mg/ml
proteinase K) followed by phenol extraction. Phenol:chlorophorm:isoamyl alcohol extraction
of the supernatant, followed by ethanol precipitation of the aqueous phase produced a pellet
that was rinsed with 80% ethanol, resuspended in 1 ml of double distilled H20 plus 2 /xl of
0.5 mM EDTA, pH 8.0 before the DNA concentration (approx. 1 /xg/ml) was determined.
DNA was stored at 4°C.

Probe Synthesis and Labeling. Probe DNA was synthesized by the polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) using standard procedures. Oligonucleotide primers were generated (15 mers)
based on the published sequence of the Drosophila insulin receptor /3-subunit. (Petruzzelli et
al 1986) Drosophila genomic DNA ( 1 /xg, #6940-1, Clontech Laboratories, Inc., Palo Alto,
CA) was mixed with primers, Taq DNA polymerase, deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates and
buffer (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI). (Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, 1989)
The mixture was cycled through denaturation (92°C), annealing (55°C), and synthesis (72°C)
using an automated thermocycler. Products were electrophoresed on 1 % agarose gel and
stained with ethidium bromide and photographed. The band of interest (by size) was excised
and the DNA electroeluted from the gel, followed by PCI extraction, ethanol precipitation and
resuspension. DNA concentration was estimated at 24 ng//xl prior to storage at 4°C.

Probe DNA was labeled with [a-32P] CTP by random primer extension using standard
procedures (Promega Protocols, 1991) (Prime-a-Gene®, Promega Corporation, Madison, WI)
and purified by column chromatography according to manufacturer’s directions. (Nensorb 20,
DuPont NEN Products, Boston, MA) The resultant labeled probe was added directly to the
hybridization solution during Northern and Southern blotting.

Northern Analysis. T. pyriformis total RNA samples (15 /xg/lane), from both
untreated and insulin treated cells, human thymic RNA (10 /xg/lane) and Drosophila larval
poly A+ RNA (3 /xg/lane, #6946-1, Clontech Laboratories, Inc., Palo Alto, CA) were loaded
onto 1% agarose gel containing 1.1 M formaldehyde. Gels were run at approximately 80V
for 1 h using MOPS running buffer (0.02 M 3-(V-morpholino)-propanesulfonic acid, 0.005
M sodium acetate, 0.001 M EDTA) followed by a rinse in DEPC H20 for 20 min and
staining with ethidium bromide. Gels were again rinsed in DEPC H20 and photographed
followed by equilibration in 20X SSC (3 M NaCl, 0.3 M sodium citrate, pH 7.0) prior to
blotting onto nylon membrane (MagnaGraph, 0.45/x, Micron Separations, Inc. , Westborough,
MA), overnight. Resultant blots were rinsed briefly with 2X SSC and allowed to air dry prior
to UV crosslinking.

Prehybridization was performed at 37°C (50% formamide, 10% dextran sulfate, 5X
Denharts solution, 6X SSC, 0.5% SDS, 100 /xg/ml salmon sperm DNA) for 3-4 h prior to
the addition of labeled probe. After an overnight hybridization, blots were washed twice (15
min each, 37°C or 42°C) with 2X SSC, 0.1% SDS, then once each with 0.5X SSC, 0.1%

3

Christopher and Sundermann

SDS and 0.1X SSC, 0.1%SDS. Blots were allowed to air dry before exposing to X-ray film
at -70 °C.

Southern Analysis. T. pyriformis , D. melanogaster, and human genomic DNA ( = 20
pg each) were digested with various restriction enzymes (Pstl, £c<9RI, Hae III, Hpal, Kpn\,
Xho\, BamHl, Hindlll, Promega Corp., Madison, WI) at 37°C for 3 h before being mixed
with loading buffer and loaded (20 p 1/lane) onto a 1% agarose gel made with TAE (0.04 M
Tris-acetate, 0.002 M EDTA)and run at 75V for l‘/2 h. (Promega Protocols, 1991) Gels were
then stained with ethidium bromide, photographed, rinsed in distilled EEO, and soaked in 0.2
N HCL for 15 min, rinsed in distilled H20, equilibrated in 20X SSC and blotted onto nylon
membrane (MagnaGraph, 0.45 p, Micron Separations, Inc., Westborough, MA) overnight.
Blots were then rinsed with 2X SSC and air dried prior to prehybridization. Prehybridization
and hybridization were performed as with Northern analysis except for differences in
hybridization and wash temperatures. Prehybridizations and hybridizations were performed
at 32°C and 37°C and washes were performed at 42°C and room temperature.

RESULTS

Primers (15mers) were synthesized having the sequence given in Fig. 1 at the 5’ and
3’ ends of the published sequence for the DIR /3-subunit tyrosine kinase domain with
approximately 850 base pairs in between. (Petruzzelli et al, 1986) PCR utilizing Drosophila
genomic DNA as the template resulted in a single band of probe DNA consistent with the
published sequence as seen in Fig. 2, Lane 2. Southern blotting revealed one reactive band
(1.7 kb) in Drosophila genomic DNA cut with the restriction enzyme Pst I under both low
and high stringency conditions (Fig. 3, Lane D, A & B, respectively), while no specific
binding was seen with Tetrahymena or human DNA (Fig. 3A & B, Lanes T & H). Indeed,
specific and nonspecific binding was lacking in the Tetrahymena lanes after digestion with all
of enzymes and stringencies used. (data not shown) Of all the restriction enzymes used, only
Pst I yielded a Drosophila DNA fragment that hybridized with the probe DNA. Two to three
lighter bands of greater size were detected in Drosophila Pst I digests (Fig. 3B, Lane D)
under high stringency conditions that were obscured under low stringency conditions (Fig.
3A, Lane D).

Northern analysis revealed some hybridization of the probe to Tetrahymena RNA
from both control (Tc) and imprinted (Ti) cultures under low stringency conditions (Fig. 4).
As total RNA was used, some of the weak activity on Northern blots could reflect
unprocessed nuclear transcripts. Higher stringencies produced no reaction with Tetrahymena
RNA and a much reduced hybridization in human (H) and Drosophila (D) RNA than shown
in Fig 4. At low stringency the DIR probe hybridized to Tetrahymena RNA beginning at
about 3.5kb. The probe hybridized to human RNA slightly at 4.5kb and at 3.5kb and lower.
Three or four bands within Drosophila RNA could be seen when the negative was viewed
over a light box and became more obvious with more stringent analysis conditions at
approximately 1.6, 4, 6, and 8.5 kb. (data not shown)

4

Tetrahymena, tyrosine kinase

1 TT AATTC AAC AGCCTCCGCCG AGCTATGCT AAGGTCTTTTTCTGGCT ACTGGG AATCGGC

5' PRIMER CGATACGATTCCAGA

61 CTAGCGTTCCTGATCGTTTCCCTGTTCGGCTATGTCTGTTACCTGCACAAGAGGAAGGTT

121 CCCTCTAATGACCTCCATATGAACACAGAGGTGAATCCGTTCTATGCGAGCATGCAATAC

1 8 1 TCCCAG ACG ATTGGG AGGTGCTGCG AG AG AACATCATTC AGTTGGCTCC ACTAGGCCAG

24 1 GGATCCTTTGGC ATGGTGTATGAGGGTATCCTGAAGTCCTTTCC ACCC AATGGCGTGG AT

30 1 CGCG AGTGTGCCATTAAG ACTGTC A ACG AAAATGCTACGGATCGCG AGCG AACC A ATTTC

361 CTGAGCGAGGCGAGCGTCATGAAGGAGTTCGATACGTATCATGTCGTAAGATTGCTCGGT

42 1 GTTTGTTCCAGGGGTCAGCCGGCTCTGGTGGTCATGGAGCTAATGAAG AAGGGTGATCTT

48 1 AAGTCCTATTTGCGTGCCCATCGTCCCGAGGAGCGGGATG ACGGCCATGATGACGTATCT

54 1 AATCGCATCGGAGTGACTGGTAATGTGCAGCCTCCTACTTATGG AAGAATCTACCAGATG

60 1 GCCATTG AG ATTGCGGATGGCATGGC ATATTTGGCCGCC AAG AAGTTCGTCC ATCGTCCC

66 1 TTTGCAGCTCGAAATTGCATGGTTGCTG ATGATTTG ACGGTGAAAATTGGTGACTTTGGA

72 1 ATG ACCCGTG AC ATCTATG AG ACGGATTACTATCGG AAGGGC ACTA AAGGGCTGCTGCCA

78 1 GTTCGCTGG ATGCCACCGGAGAGCTTGCAGGCATGGTGTCTACTCCTAGTGCCAGTGACT

84 1 TATTCAGCTTTGG AGTGGTTCTCTGGG AAATGGCCATTCTTTCTCTGTGGAGGAGTCCA
3’ PRIMER ACCTCACCAAGAGAC

Fig. 1. Nucleotide sequence of the Drosophila insulin receptor kinase domain (Petruzzelli,
1986) and primers used to synthesize probe DNA by PCR.

5

Christopher and Sundermann

Fig. 2. Ethidium bromide stained electrophoretic gel of 0X174 Hae II size standards (lanel)
and PCR product (Lane 2) resultant from the use of Drosophila genomic DNA template and
primers shown in Fig. 1. A single band ( = 900 bp) in Lane 2 was excised and the DNA
extracted by electroelution for use as probe.

6

Tetrahymena, tyrosine kinase

Pst I EcoRI
T H D HTd

Fig. 3. Southern hybridization of Tetrahymena pyriformis (T), human (H) and Drosophila
(D) genomic DNA with PCR probe to DIR tyrosine kinase sequence. DNA (5/*g per lane)
was digested with Pst I or ZTcoRI. Hybridizations and washing were done at A) 37° C or
B) 42° C. X DNA digested with BstE II was used as size standard.

7

Christopher and Sundermann

Fig. 4. Northern Blot of control (Tc) and insulin treated (Ti) T. pyriformis total RNA
(15ptg/lane), human thymus total RNA (H, 10/xg/lane) and Drosophila Poly (A)+ RNA (D,
3^g/lane) performed under low stringency conditions (37° C).

8

Tetrahymena, tyrosine kinase
DISCUSSION

PCR was used in this study to produce a probe for the highly conserved sequence of
the Drosophila insulin receptor tyrosine kinase domain. The size of the resultant probe was
of the appropriate estimated size and hybridized with a 1.7 kb fragment of Pstl digests of
Drosophila genomic DNA as was published previously. (Petruzzelli et al, 1986) None of the
restriction enzymes used (Pstl, EcoRl , Hael II, Hpal, Kpnl, Xhol, BamHl Hindlll ) produced
a similar band in Tetrahymena or human genomic DNA digests. This was as expected since
the probe was synthesized based on the published sequence for the 1.7 kb fragment of Pstl
digests of Drosophila genomic DNA which was found to hybridize with human cDNA. In
contrast to cDNA, the coding sequence of genomic DNA may be interrupted by numerous
non-coding regions. Though some diffuse hybridization was seen in human DNA FcoRI and
Pstl digests, none was detected in Tetrahymena DNA digests regardless of the stringency or
restriction enzyme. Even at the lowest of stringencies, where sequence homology could be
as little as 85% (Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, 1989), no hybridization occurred,
such that confirmation of nucleic acid transfer was required. This lack of hybridization could
be due to the comparatively low G-C content of the Tetrahymenine genome (Sleigh, 1981),
numerous non-coding regions within the coding sequence and/or absence of a tyrosine kinase
domain of sufficient homology. Both the DIR and hIR are single copy genes and belonging
to the src family of tyrosine-specific protein kinases. (Olefsky, 1990, Cadena & Gill, 1992,
Petruzzelli et al, 1986) The overall sequence similarity of the DIR kinase domain to the
deduced amino acid sequence of the hIR kinase domain is 53% and in one 70 amino acid
segment within the domain the similarity is 90% .(Petruzzelli et al, 1986) Of those studied
thus far, tyrosine kinase domains are very well conserved across receptors and
species. (Cadena & Gill, 1992, Petruzzelli et al, 1986) In this study, we were unable to detect
a tyrosine kinase homologous sequence within the genome of T. pyriformis.

Both the DIR and hIR are well studied receptors. Insulin binding proteins or receptors
have been reported in several other organisms including T. pyriformis (Fawell & Leonard,

1988, Foty & Liversage, 1993, Jeanmart et al, 1976, Kerschbaum et al, 1993, Kole & lenard,
1991, Legros et al, 1975, Lin et al, 1993, Nowak and Mackowiak, 1993, Saavedra et al,

1989, Sonetti & Bianchi, 1993, Stuart, 1988); some of them containing tyrosine kinase
activity. An insulin receptor composed of two identical 210 kDa proteins having insulin
binding and insulin stimulated tyrosine kinase activities has been isolated from stingray
liver. (Stuart, 1988) A heterodimeric receptor having subunits of 70 and 58 kDa has been
purified from the shrimp hepatopancreas.(Lin et al, 1993) Neurospora crassa cells have a
specific, high affinity putative insulin receptor that is 66 kDa and has no protein kinase
activity. (Fawell & Leonard, 1988, Kole & Lenard, 1991) The newt insulin receptor is
composed of an a subunit of 130 kDa and a (3 subunit of 95 kDa that undergoes insulin
stimulated phosphorylation. (Foty & Liversage, 1993) Other published reports of insulin
binding proteins of unknown character include alga (Legros et al, 1975), sea urchin eggs
(Jeanmart et al, 1976), snail (Kerschbaum et al, 1993, Saavedra et al, 1989), and molluscs
(Sonetti & Bianchi, 1993).

Because tyrosine kinase activity is necessary for signal transduction in the hIR and
DIR, studies have utilized activators and inhibitors of tyrosine kinase activity to investigate

9

Christopher and Sundermann

mechanisms of insulin imprinting in T. pyriformis. Both metavanadate and orthovanadate
increased insulin binding in T. pyriformis progeny generations. (Kovacs & Csaba, 1992,
Kovacs et al, 1992) Vanadate, a documented insulin-mimetic, (Fantus et al, 1990) is a potent
and selective inhibitor of phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase and therefore potentiates the
activity of tyrosine kinases. (Swarup et al, 1982) Insulin and vanadate together produced a
further increase in insulin binding. (Kovacs & Csaba, 1992) The tyrosine kinase inhibitor,
genistein,(Akiyama et al, 1987) in combination with insulin reduced insulin binding in T.
pyriformis offspring. (Kovacs & Csaba, 1992) Taken together these Findings suggest a role for
tyrosine kinase activity in the mechanism of imprinting.

T. pyriformis mRNA hybridizes with a probe for the tyrosine kinase domain of the
DIR generated by PCR under low stringency conditions but not under higher stringencies.
Hybridization was not confined to one specific band. Northern analysis has revealed two
principal transcripts of 1 1 and 8.6 kb with expression varying with the lifecycle in Drosophila
(Garofalo & Rosen, 1988) and two major transcripts of 6.5 and 8.2 kb and minor transcripts
of 7.3, 5.5, 4.6 and 2.9 kb synthesized from one human insulin receptor gene. (Ullrich et al,
1985) The present study found major transcripts at 4, 6, and 8.5 kb in Drosophila, transcripts
4.5 kb and less in human and transcripts of 3.5 kb and less in Tetrahymena mRNA. The
predominance of the 8.5 kb transcript was consistent with previously reported stage specific
expression in Drosophila. (Garofalo & Rosen, 1988)

Although the evidence for insulin imprinting in T. pyriformis is becoming convincing,
further investigations are necessary to elucidate the proteins, second messengers, mechanisms,
and gene level events involved in the phenomenon known as insulin imprinting. The results
reported herein represent preliminary investigations into the gene level events involved in
imprinting in Tetrahymena pyriformis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Dr. Rick Hockett of the University of Alabama-
Birmingham for guidance and materials donated in the production of the PCR probe, Dr.
Tuzun and Dr. Shaw of the Auburn University Departments of Plant Pathology and
Botany/Microbiology, respectively, for use of their facilities and assistance of their students,
and Dean and Stephanie Ledbetter for their assistance during the performance of this study.
This work was supported by a National Science Foundation grant (DCB-9018047).

10

Tetrahymena, tyrosine kinase
REFERENCES

Akiyama, T., Ishida, J., Nakagawa, S., Ogawara, H., Watanabe, S., Itoh, N., Shibuya, M.,
and Fukami, Y. (1987) Genistein, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine-specific protein
kinases. J. Biol. Chem. 262(12), 5592-5.

Cadena, D.L. and Gill, G.N. (1992) Receptor tyrosine kinases. FASEB J. 6, 2332-7.

Christensen, S.T. (1993) Insulin rescues the unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena from dying
in a complete synthetic nutrient media. Cell Biol. Internat. 16(9), 833-7.

Christopher, G.K. and Sundermann, C.A. (1992) Conventional and confocal microscopic
studies of insulin receptor induction in Tetrahymena pyriformis. Exp. Cell Res 201
477-84.

Christopher, G.K. and Sundermann, C.A. (1995a) Isolation and partial characterization of
the insulin binding sites of Tetrahymena pyriformis. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm
212(2), 515-23.

Christopher, G.K. and Sundermann, C.A. (1995b) Intracellular insulin binding in
Tetrahymena. Tissue & Cell. 28(4), 427-37.

Csaba, G. (1980) Phylogeny and ontogeny of hormone receptors: the selection theory of
receptor formation and hormonal imprinting. Biol. Rev. 55, 47-63.

Csaba, G. (1984) The present state in the phylogeny and ontogeny of hormone receptors.
Horm. metabol. Res. 16, 329-335.

Csaba, G., Nemeth, G. and Vargha, P. (1982) Influence of hormone concentration and time
factor in development of receptor memory in a unicellular ( Tetrahymena ) model
system. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 73B(2), 357-60.

Csaba, G. and Lantos, T. (1975) Effect of insulin on glucose uptake in protozoa. Experientia
31, 1097-98.

Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (1989) Ed.s. Ausubel, I. and Fredrick, M. Vol.l.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY.

Fantus, I.G., Ahmad, F., and Deragon, G. (1990) Vanadate augments insulin binding and
prolongs insulin action in rat adipocytes. Endocrinology 127, 2716-25.

Fawell, S.E. and Leonard, J. (1988) A specific insulin receptor and tyrosine kinase activity
in the membranes of Neurospora crassa. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 155
59-65.

Fernandez- Almonacid, R. and Rosen, O.M. (1987) Structure and ligand specificity of the
Drosophila melanogaster insulin receptor. Molec. Cell. Biol. 7(8), 2718-27.

Foty, R.A. and Liversage, R.A. (1993) Detection of insulin receptors in newt liver and
forelimb regenerates and the effects of local insulin deprivation on epimorphic
regeneration. J. Exp. Zool. 266(4), 299-311.

Fulop, A.K., and Csaba, G. (1990) Effect of insulin imprinting on the 3H-amino acid uptake
of the Tetrahymena. Acta Physiol. Hung. 75(4), 261-5.

Garofalo, R.S. and Rosen, O.M. (1988) Tissue localization of Drosophila melanogaster
insulin receptor transcripts during development. Mol. Cell. Biol. 8(4), 1638-47.

Jeanmart, J., Uytdenhoef, P., DeSutter, G. and Legros, F. (1976) Insulin receptor sites as
membrane markers during embryonic development. I. Data obtained with unfertilized
and fertilized sea urchin eggs. Differentiation 7, 23-30.

11

Christopher and Sundermann

Kerschbaum, H.H., Holzinger, K. and Herman, A. (1993) Endocrine-like cells and insulin¬
binding sites in the epineurium of Helix pomatia. Tissue & Cell 25(2), 237-43.

Kole, H.K. and Lenard, J. (1991) Insulin-induced stimulation of protein phosphorylation in
Neurospora crassa cells. FASEB J. 5, 2728-2734.

Kovacs, P. (1986) The mechanism of receptor development as implied from hormone
imprinting studies on unicellular organisms. Horm. Metab. Res. 42, 770-5.

Kovacs, P. and Csaba, G. (1990) Evidence if the receptor nature of the binding sites induced
in Tetrahymena by insulin treatment. A quantitative cytofluorimetric technique for the
study of binding kinetics. Cell Biochem. Funct. 8, 49-56.

Kovacs, P. and Csaba, G. (1992) Effect of inhibitors and activators of tyrosine kinase on
insulin imprinting in Tetrahymena. Cell Biochem. Funct. 10, 267-71.

Kovacs, P., Hegyesi, H. and Csaba, G. (1992) Effect of vanadate and oubain on insulin
binding and insulin imprinting in Tetrahymena. Cell Biochem. Funct. 10, 31-4.

Legros, F., Uytdenhoef, P., Dumont, I., Hanson, B. Jeanmart, J., Massant, B. and Conard,
V. (1975) Specific binding of insulin to the unicellular alga Acetabularia
mediterranea. Protoplasma 86, 119-22.

FeRoith, D., Shiloach, J., Roth, J. and Fesniak, M.A. (1980) Evolutionary origins of
vertebrate hormones: Substances similar to mammalian insulins are native to
unicellular organisms. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6184-88.

Lin, C.L., Wang, P.C. and Chuang, N.N. (1993) Specific phosphorylation of membrane
proteins of Mr 44,000 and Mr 32,000 by autophosphorylated insulin receptor from
the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Panaeus monodon (Crustacea: Decapoda). J. Exp.
Zool. 267(2), 113-9.

Nowak, K.W. and Mackowiak, P. (1993) Preliminary investigations of bony fish— tench
{Tinea tinea L.)— erythrocyte insulin receptors. Horm. Metabol. Res. 25(10), 518-20.

Olefsky, J.M. (1990) The insulin receptor. A multifunctional protein. Diabetes 39, 1009-16.

Petruzzelli, L., Herrera, R., Arenas-Garcia, R., Fernandez, R., Birnbaum, M.J. and Rosen,
O.M. (1986) Isolation of a Drosophila genomic sequence homologous to the kinase
domain of the human insulin receptor and detection of the phosphorylated Drosophila
receptor with an anti-peptide antibody. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83, 4710-14.

Promega Protocols and Applications Guide. (1991) 2cnd Edition. Ed. D.E. Titus, Promega
Corporation, Madison, WI. pp 141-142.

Sleigh, M. (1981) The Biology of Protozoa, Edward Arnold, London.

Saavedra, J.M., Juorio, A.V., Shigematsu, K. and Pinto, J.E. (1989) Specific insulin binding
sites in snail ( Helix apersa) ganglia. Cell Molec. Neurobiol. 9(2), 273-9.

Sonetti, D. and Bianchi, F. (1993) Occurrence and distribution of insulin receptor-like
immunoreactivity in molluscan brains. Acta Biol. Hung. 44(1), 77-82.

Stuart, C.A. (1988) Characterization of a novel insulin receptor from stingray liver. J. Biol.
Chem. 263(16), 7881-6.

Swarup, G., Cohen, S., and Garbers, L. (1982) Inhibition of membrane phosphotyrosyl-
protein phosphatase activity by vanadate. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 107(3),
1104-6.

12

Tetrahymena, tyrosine kinase

Ullrich, A., Bell, J.R., Chen, E.Y., Herrera, R., Petruzelli, L.M., Dull, T.J., Gray, A.,
Coussens, L., Liao, Y.-C., Tsubokawa, M., Mason, A., Seeburg, P.H., Grunfeld,
C., Rosen, O.M. and Ramachandran, J. (1985) Human insulin receptor and its
relation to the tyrosine kinase family of oncogenes. Nature (London) 313:756-71.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:

C. A. Sundermann
101 Cary Hall

Auburn University, AL 36849

(334) 844-3929

fax: (334) 844-9234

email : sundeca@mail. auburn.edu

13

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No.l, January 1998.

PREVALENCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
PATTERNS IN ALABAMA, 1994-1996

Kennon Francis, Ph.D.*
Jack Hataway, M.D.,M.P.H.**

ABSTRACT

As a part of the Healthy People 2000 national initiative, Alabama established a state goal for
the year 2000 which targeted the reduction in physical inactivity and an increase in the
proportion of Alabamians who engage regularly in light to moderate activity on a regular
basis. In order to assist in the determination of progress in meeting this goal, Alabama
participates in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The results of the
two most recent BRFSS surveys indicate that despite some improvement in the number of
Alabamians reporting no leisure-time physical activity, Alabama has remained a
predominantly sedentary populace. In 1996, more than 1/3 of Alabamian’s reported they
performed “no leisure-time” physical activity. The prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle was
inversely related to income and education and directly related to age. The four most popular
activities among the respondents who indicated they performed leisure-time physical activities
were walking, yard work, running and aerobics. However, of those who indicated they were
active, more than 3/4 reported performing only one leisure-time physical activity in the past
month. Implications of these trends are discussed and suggestions are offered for
improvement.

INTRODUCTION

Regular physical activity has long been regarded as an important component of a
healthy lifestyle. Regular physical activity can play an important role in both prevention and
treatment of cardiovascular disease (2,7). Despite the research and widespread recognition
of a positive association between regular physical activity and a reduction in cardiovascular
disease, the American adult population has remained a predominately inactive society
(3,5,9,13).

In response to the accumulated research and the widespread recognition that physical
inactivity is a major public health issue, the U.S. Public Health Service in 1990 released
Healthy People 2000 (18), the national objectives for health promotion and disease
prevention for the year 2000. As a part of the national initiative, Alabama established a state

*Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama
35294

** State of Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and Information,
Montgomery, Alabama

14

Physical Activity Patterns

goal for the year 2000 which targeted the reduction in physical inactivity and an increase in
the proportion of Alabamians who engage regularly in light to moderate activity on a regular
basis. Specifically the physical activity goal as stated in Healthy Alabama 2000 is: "to
increase the proportion of Alabamians aged 13 - 18 to 50% and adults aged 18 and over to
30% who engage regularly, preferably daily, in light to moderate activity for at least 30
minutes a day" (1).

Since 1986, an increasing number of states including Alabama have participated in
the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in order to track the progress in
attaining the goals outlined in Flealthy People 2000. The BRFSS is a population-based,
random-digit-dialed telephone survey of the non-institutionalized U.S. population aged > 18
years. Currently all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participate in the BRFSS. In
addition, Alabama is one of 19 states that have established specific priority areas covering the
improvement of physical activity of the populace (11). The initial progress towards meeting
the year 2000 physical activity goals by the State of Alabama was reviewed in 1994 (8).
This report included applicable data up through 1992. Since that accounting, two additional
Alabama BRFSS surveys (1994 and 1996) have been completed. The purpose of this paper
is to present the most pertinent data from these recent surveys in an attempt to assess current
status toward meeting Alabama’s Year 2000 physical activity goal.

METHODS

The BRFSS, developed jointly by state health departments and the Centers for Disease
Control, is a state-based telephone monitoring system for estimating health behaviors related
to the ten principle causes of premature death in the United States (10). Non-institutionalized
residents with telephones were randomly selected from non-commercial telephone numbers
using a multi-stage cluster design based on the Waksburg method of random digit dialing
(19). A successful household contact was followed by the random selection of one adult,
aged 18 or older, who was interviewed immediately or during a convenient follow-up call.
Three interviews were completed per cluster of 100 numbers. Data was collected from 2,069
persons in 1994 and 1,436 persons in 1996.

Since 1986 there has been a steady evolution of the types and wording of the Alabama
BRFSS survey questions in an attempt to conform to and standardize the questions as found
in the national BRFSS surveys. Because of these revisions standardization and categorization
of the questions across the years is somewhat limited. Because of these limitations, the
results presented in this paper represent the most applicable and comparable physical activity
data available from these two surveys.

RESULTS

The number of Alabamians 18 and over who reported the performance of no leisure¬
time physical activity has steadily improved since the 1992 BRFSS (Figure 1). In 1992,
49.4 % of Alabamians reported no leisure-time activity which declined to 32.5% in 1996
toward the goal of 30% for the year 2000. The four most popular activities among those
reporting the performance of some leisure-time physical activity were walking, yard work,
running and aerobics. Among these activities, walking was by far the most popular activity
with a reported frequency of over 50% (Figure 2).

15

Prevalence of Alabama Respondents Aged
18+ Who are Completely Sedentary

Francis and Hataway

16

Fig 1. Prevalence of Alabamians Ages 18+ Reporting a Sedentary Lifestyle. Data obtained from
Centers for Disease Control Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 1992, 1994 and 1996 as
conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and Information.
Montgomery, Ala.

1994

Physical Activity Patterns

lU8OJ0d

17

Fig 2. Type of physical activity respondents spend most of their time doing during leisure time. Data
obtained from Centers for Disease Control 1994 and 1996 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
as conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and
Information. Montgomery, Ala.

64.4

Francis and Hataway

CM

<N

<0

1^

m

CD

CD

I

m

in

m

■

m

in

co

co

■

in

CM

CM

I

CO

c n

0

■ ■■■

o

D)

0

0

O

0

D)

<

o

CD

O

in

o

o

CO

o

CM

JU0OJ0d

18

Fig 3. Prevalence of Alabamians Ages 18+ in 1994 Reporting a Sedentary Lifestyle by Age. Data
obtained from Centers for Disease Control 1994 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System as
conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and Information.
Montgomery, Ala.

Prevalence of 1994 Respondents Who
are Completely Sedentary by Income

Physical Activity Patterns

»"■

co

<o

o

o>

o>

o>

o>

O)

o

o

o

a>

a>

o>

a>

O)

o

o

o

ay

ay

ay

ay

ay

o

o

o~

of

aT

io"

IO

▼“

CM

co

■O’

r*.

N.

v>

40

40

40

40

V

■

o

i

IO

■

O

CM

1

IO

CM

I

IO

CO

i

©

IO

A

40

40

40

40

40

40

19

Percent

Fig 4. Prevalence of Alabamians Ages 18+ in 1994 Reporting a Sedentary Lifestyle by Income. Data
obtained from Centers for Disease Control 1994 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System as
conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and Information.
Montgomery, Ala.

Francis and Hataway

o

4)

o

4)

•*->

(0

o

n

o

(0

4-»

JZ

3

JZ

3

c

o

E

o

■o

o

T3

CO

(4

■_

CO

(0

k.

o

£

e>

.c

e>

LU

O)

X

o

o

o

4)

4)

O)

4)

4)

E

.c

o

4)

O)

o

o

CO

4»

O

CO

£

"o

O)

O

X

4)

0)

E

o

CO

20

Fig 5. Prevalence of Alabamians Ages 18+ in 1994 Reporting a Sedentary Lifestyle by Educational
Level. Data obtained from Centers for Disease Control 1994 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System as conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and
Information. Montgomery, Ala.

Physical Activity Patterns

The prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle in 1994 increased steadily with age (Figure
3). For younger respondents (aged 18-64 years) the prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle was
41.8 % in comparison to older respondents (aged >65 years) whose prevalence rate increased
to 64.4%. The prevalence of sedentary lifestyle in 1994 was inversely related to income
(Figure 4) (i.e., prevalence was highest [63.7%] for the lowest income category [$<10,000]
and lowest [23 %] for persons in the highest income category [$ > 75,000], Prevalence was
also inversely related to education. The prevalence rate was 100% among individuals that
never attended school compared with 32.6% among persons with a college education (Figure
5). Comparable data for these three activity categories were not available for the 1996 survey.

DISCUSSION

Despite this mounting evidence of the health benefits of physical activity, Alabama
like the rest of the United States (4,5,8) has remained a predominantly sedentary populace.
In 1996, more than 1/3 of Alabamian’s report they perform “no leisure-time” physical
activity and of those who are active, more than 3/4 report performing only one leisure-time
physical activity in the past month. The gap between the present status and the health
promotion goals established by the state of Alabama in Healthy Alabama 2000 illustrate the
scope of the task ahead.

One of the most important public health challenges is moving our state from a
sedentary one to a more physically active one. In the past few years, a number of studies
have reported that moderate physical activity levels which are lower than the
recommendations of the ACSM may reduce the risk for death from cardiovascular disease
even though they may not be of sufficient quantity or quality to improve V02max
(6,12,15,16). Moderate physical activity below the level recommended for cardiorespiratory
fitness can have significant benefits in reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease (14,17).

The effort to understand how to promote more active lifestyles is of great importance
to the health of this state and nation. Although the study of physical activity determinants and
interventions is at an early stage, determining the most effective and cost-effective
intervention approaches is a challenge for the future. Even though the latest trends in the
exercise habits of Alabamians indicate that it has been difficult to effect a change in the
exercise behavior of those who are currently inactive, it is important to realize that a
transformation to a more active lifestyle could pay large dividends both to the individual and
to society. Motivating people to make a substantial investment of personal time in increased
physical activity may be Alabama’s "best investment" which could mean a significant
reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease, a decrease in demand for medical services and
reduction of health care cost.

REFERENCES

Alabama Department of Public Health. Healthy Alabama 2000: Health Promotion & Disease
Prevention Objectives for the Year 2000 , Bureau of Health Promotion and
Information, Montgomery, Ala, October 1991.

Bernadet P. Benefits of physical activity in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

J Cardiovas Pharmocol. 1995; 25(Suppl 1): S3-S8.

21

Francis and Hataway

Caspersen C, Merritt R. Physical activity trends among 26 states, 1986-1990. Med Sci
Sports Exerc. 1995; 27:713-720.

Centers for Disease Control. Monthly estimates of leisure-time physical inactivity- United
States, 1994. MOIRE 1997; 46:393-397.

Centers for Disease Control. Prevalence of sedentary lifestyle - Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System, United States 1991. MOIRE 1993; 42:576 - 579.

DeBusk R, Stenestradn U, Sheehan M, Haskell W. Training effects of long versus short bouts
of exercise in healthy subjects. Am J Cardiol. 1990; 65:1010 - 1013.

Francis KT. Benefits of physical activity and cardiovascular health and disease. Phys Ther.
1996; 76:456-480.

Francis KT, Hataway J. Prevalence of physical activity patterns: Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance Systems, Alabama. J Ala Acad Sci 1994; 65:214-224.

Francis KT. Progress toward Healthy People 2000. Phys Ther Magazine. 1994; 2:59-64.

Gentry E, Kalsbeck W, Hogelin G, Jones J, Gaines K. The Behavioral Risk Factors Surveys
II. Design, methods and estimates from the combined state data. Am J Prev Med 1:9-
14, 1985.

Healthy People 2000: State Action 1992. Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office ,
Washington, DC 20402-9328.

Leon A, Connett J, Jacobs D, Rauramaa R. Leisure-time physical activity levels and risk of
coronary heart disease and death: the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. JAMA
1987; 258:2388-2395.

McGinnis J. Healthy People 2000 at mid decade. JAMA. 1995;273:1123-1129. NIH
Consensus Development Panel on Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health.
Physical activity and cardiovascular health. JAMA. 1996; 276: 241-245.

Paffenbarger R, Hyde R, Hsieh C. Physical activity, other lifestyle patterns, cardiovascular
disease and longevity. Acta Med Scand 1986; 711 (suppl): 85-9 1 .

Paffenbarger R, Kampert J, Lee I, Hyde R, Leung R, Wing A. Changes in physical activity
and other lifeway patterns influencing longevity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1994; 26:857-
865.

Pate R, Pratt M, Blair S, Haskell W, Macer C, Bouchard C, Buchner D, Ettinger W, Heath
G, King A, Kriska A, Leon A, Marcus B, Morris J, Paffenbarger R, Patrick K,
Pollock M, Rippe J, Sallis J. Physical activity and public health: A recommendation
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of
Sports Medicine. JAMA. 1995; 273:402- 407.

Public Health Service. Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention Objectives. Washington, DC; U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 1990; DHHS pub. no. (PHS) 91-50212.

Waksburg J. Sampling methods for random digit dialing. J Am Statistical Assoc 73:40-46,
1978.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Kennon Francis, Ph.D.

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences
Box VH503

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama 35294
Fax (205) 975-7787

Telephone (205) 934-5966
E-mail: kfrancis@uab.edu

22

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No.l, January 1998.

AN EXAMINATION OF ALABAMA’S USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY:
DO WE LIVE IN AN INSANE SOCIETY?

Karen V. Taylor

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
Alabama State University
915 South Jackson Street
Montgomery, AL 36101-0271

INTRODUCTION

The criminal justice system, like the human brain, is comprised of many intricate
components, and subsystems. As we observe the behavior of the system of crime and the
system of the brain we can recognize several similarities: (1) each component and subsystem
is discrete (Kolb & Whishaw, 1980; Bullock, 1993; Pursley, 1994; Hugdahl, 1995; Samaha,
1997); (2) though discrete, each component and subsystem is connected (Milner, 1967; Ader,
Felten & Cohen, 1991; Pursley, 1994; Kelso, 1995; Samaha, 1997); (3) though connected,
each component and or subsystem may become slightly or seriously dysfunctional (Milner,
1967; Ader, Felten & Cohen, 1991; Bullock, 1993; Kelso, 1995; U.S. News & World Report,
1995).

When a part of the brain becomes dysfunctional through environmental or certain
social stimuli, the mind operates abnormally, producing aberrant or abnormal behavior. The
person may suffer grave psychological distress where the rational thinking process becomes
disordered. He or she may display severe maladjustive behavior and may even lose contact
with reality. The study of this type of degeneration is referred to as psychopathology
(Dobson & Kendall, 1993). Frequently, treatment or therapy is needed to correct the diseased
conduct.

A dysfunctional brain metaphor may be useful to examine the criminal justice system
and its dysfunctional parts. Because it would be untenable to thoroughly test each component
of the system in one short article, the intent herein is to look generally at judicial, legislative,
and executive treatments of capital punishment as they affect its imposition in Alabama. This
article, then, is an exercise designed to examine the practice of death penalty administration
in Alabama within the context of "disordered behavior" as this term is used in
psychopathology and is being used here to frame a socio-psychopathological theory. In the
last few years, as abolitionists of the death penalty continue to actively oppose its imposition,
the government has not halted the use of the punishment. A concerned public should wonder
whether the government seriously believes that the continued implementation of capital
punishment serves a useful purpose, such as deterrence, cost effectiveness, or a reduction in
homicide. The behavior of state government in this regard would be extremely irrational
and would indeed be psychopathological if it were not able to articulate a rational purpose.

The generic term "pathology" is customarily accepted to mean the study of
disease, and the conditions which lead to and foster disease (Lundin, 1965; Dobson &
Kendall, 1993; Berzoff, Flanagan, & Hertz, 1996; Fewtrell & O’Connor, 1995). To complete
a description of pathology it is also necessary to characterize the consequences of the disease.

23

Death Penalty

The concept of pathology as used in medicine, psychology, sociology, biology, theology, and
many other fields, seeks to describe disordered or abnormal behaviors of individuals. It is
no novelty for behaviorists and other scientists to offer explanations on the aberrant or deviant
behavior of a crime violator. It is rare, however, to find literature devoted to assigning and
examining whether total societies or governments are diseased. Nonetheless, it is necessary
to continually test whether our society is in an evolving or devolving state of decency and
civilization. To explore whether pathology exists in society’s operational activities, then, is
an essential factor in the assessment. Most people would probably agree that when disease
is discovered it should be eliminated. In this light, this article seeks to examine whether the
behavior of Alabama, in its use of capital punishment, indicates and sustains a pathology of
disorder, hysteria, and chaos; and, if so, whether it should be abolished. In psychological
terms, the word used to describe the type of phenomenon which causes disorder, hysteria and
chaos is "psychotic" (Lundin, 1965). In the legal sense, insanity.

Some general principles of psychopathology are used herein as a basic framework in
this examination more so than any other science because it is more closely connected to
studying disordered ways of behavior which could be classified as "maladjustments to the
environment" (Lundin, 1965). While some may question the unseasoned "borrowing" of
psychopathological principles for this discussion, few are likely to argue about the need to
identify a rational basis for the use of such an irrevocable punishment. The very finality of
the death penalty should necessitate some logical reasoning in its imposition.

ALABAMA’S DEATH PENALTY LAW AND PRACTICE

Alabama’s capital punishment statute is governed by a sequence of provisions
contained in the state’s criminal code at Section 13A-5-39 through 13A-5-59 entitled "Death
Penalty and Life Imprisonment Without Parole" (Alabama Criminal Code Annotated, 1997).
This law has existed in its present form since 1981 when Alabama, along with several other
jurisdictions, decided to reimpose death as a punishment in response to the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision of 1976, Gregg v. Georgia , which reintroduced capital punishment as a legal
sentence after a four year hiatus.

The four year moratorium was created in 1972 with the High Court’s decision,
Furman v. Georgia, wherein the Court determined that state’s use of capital sentencing
amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The Court was able to make this judgment based
upon a finding of wide and overwhelming discretionary authority with which sentencing
bodies were empowered. This discretionary power allowed sentencers to make arbitrary and
capricious decisions based on their own subjective emotions and beliefs. In the South, this
opportunity for selective enforcement of the punishment produced frightening results for black
people and the poor. In fact, between 1930 (the year the federal government began to
compile nationwide data on capital punishment) and 1967, Florida executed 196 persons,
66.83% black; Alabama executed 153, 82.35% black; Virginia 237, 86.08% black; and
Louisiana 11, 90.90% black (Radelet & Vandiver, 1985). Nearly 100% of those executed
in these jurisdictions (and others nationwide) were poor. As noted in Furman by Justice
William O. Douglas, "One searches our chronicles in vain for the execution of any member
of the affluent strata in this society. " Because of these disparities and "freakish" applications,
the Furman Court struck down capital punishment statutes in virtually all state jurisdictions.

24

Taylor

State legislatures, post-Gregg, revised their statutes, seeking to approach at least
minimal provisions suggested by the Furman decision. As all capital punishment statutes
contemporarily reveal, the circumstances upon which the death penalty can be imposed are
certainly less vague than they were prior to this landmark case. Alabama lists 18 offenses,
murder plus some other aggravating factor, which qualify as capital murder (Alabama
Criminal Code, Section 13A-5-40). The laws also require a process of bifurcation where
sentencing juries are required to first find the accused guilty of the offense charged. If the
jury finds him guilty, it must almost immediately move into the second phase of the trial to
weigh special criteria in their determinations, so-called aggravating and mitigating
circumstances, to determine whether the "proper" sentence should be execution or the
alternative life in prison without the possibility of parole (Alabama Criminal Code, Sections
13A-5-45 through 13A-5-52). It is questionable, however, that the language of these laws
in the abstract produces fair and rational treatment in practice. Is it possible that the public
is being deluded into believing that the purported objective legislative prose of capital
sentencing laws yields sensible results? Is it possible that the public is being deceived, that
it is in the dark about the real facts? Is it also possible, that if the public were well-informed
about the effects of imposing capital punishment in Alabama and the nation, that there would
be little support for its continued use?

Historically, the easiest way to gauge the public’s beliefs is by public opinion polls.
There is some indication that even though the public may appear to support the death penalty,
most people, when given all the facts will only support it under certain
circumstances (Durham, Elrod, & Kinkade, 1996) or not at all. For instance, if asked the
general question, "Are you in favor of the death penalty?" the response might be "yes." The
affirmative reply might indicate that the responder believes in the propriety of the punishment
based on an "eye for an eye" concept, "just deserts," or a similar type of reason. If asked
"Are you in favor of the death penalty if the accused is mentally defective, mentally retarded
or is a juvenile?" the answer might understandably be "no." The negative reply might be
given based on citizens’ inability to tolerate government execution of "troubled" individuals.
Clearly the former question is more abstract than the latter. Polled responses do change when
the questions asked are not oversimplified (Durham, et. al. , 1996). Alabama uses the death
penalty not only for the sane, but also for the mentally defective, mentally ill, juveniles of
a certain age, and sometimes for those that the state system has not definitively established
as sane or insane. I will address this subject in greater detail later in this article. It should
be noted here, however, that on the issue of insanity and the death penalty the U.S. Supreme
Court, in Ford v. Wainwright (1986), has prohibited the execution of an insane offender.

Currently Alabama has 163 people on death row, and is the seventh most prolific user
of capital punishment in the country (NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.,
1998). The Alabama legislature continues to revise its capital offenses statute. At this
writing, the legislature is seriously considering applying the punishment to those convicted
of sex offenses against children, even in the absence of a killing despite the fact that in 1977
the U.S. Supreme Court in Coker v. Georgia struck down a death sentence for the crime of
rape as grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment in violation of the Eighth
Amendment. If the legislature extends capital sentencing in this way, this would make
Alabama one of just a few jurisdictions to allow the imposition of capital punishment for a
sex crime when murder is not also a factor; the other states are Mississippi, and Louisiana
(Snell, 1997). Does the state really believe, and expect the public to believe, that imposing

25

Death Penalty

death against sex offenders is going to rid society of child rapists? The Alabama legislature
is also presently considering offering an alternative to the electric chair for those convicted
of a capital offense. Because the Governor and certain members of the legislature believe that
lethal injection is a more "humane" form of capital punishment, the move now is toward a
kinder and gentler execution. It could be argued that implicit in this rhetoric is the tacit
acknowledgment that there is something inhumane, abnormal, unusual about the government’s
inflicting death by electrocution as punishment. In this regard, at least one study indicates
that, although lethal injections are the most common form of government imposed death, they
are also the most frequently bungled means of execution, often leaving inmates to die in
excruciating and unnecessary pain, making it questionable whether it is indeed more humane
(Borg & Radelet, 1998).

COSTS OF GOVERNMENT SPONSORED KILLING

How is the state’s use of capital punishment disordered or disorganized? It can be
argued that the use of the penalty represents group type schizophrenia. One characteristic of
this disorder, according to early psychopathologist Emil Bleuler (1911), is a denial of reality.
Fantasy replaces normal logical thinking. The creation of fantasy can be extremely
debilitating for both the manufacturer as well as the consumer of it. Robert Firestone (1985)
convincingly maintains that a fantasy bond where an individual is dependent upon another
"out of a desire for security is one of the most prevalent forms of human addiction and plays
a prominent role in the deterioration... of relationships" and leads to anxiety and the
alienation of people in a society one from another. The schizophrenic process is both an
attempt to withdraw as well as an attempt to preserve some integrity (Firestone, 1985).
Alienation, withdrawal, fear, and anxiety are but a few costs we pay to keep the death
penalty. There is another, perhaps more tangible, price. One fantasy which has been created
by the state, upon which the public relies, is the semblance that the use of the death penalty
is cost effective. It is not.

Forty jurisdictions in the U.S. have death penalty statutes. Though several of them
have conducted studies on the cost of imposing the punishment, Alabama has not published
any data on this expenditure. Other states, however, offer some elucidation, and Alabama’s
cost, no doubt, is analogous. A 1992 study conducted by the Death Penalty Information
Center (Washington, DC) indicates that Texas spends about $200 million per year; Florida,
approximately $120 million per year; New Jersey, $16 million per year; and New York an
estimated total yearly cost of $118 million. In light of these figures, a logical estimate for
Alabama’s cost could range somewhere between $ 1 5-$90 million per year, or roughly $1.5-
$3.5 million per case. This approximation is partly based on the number of death row inmates
held in the aforementioned jurisdictions. New Jersey being the least likely to prosecute and
convict, and Texas being the most likely. The alternative, life in prison without the possibility
of parole, is much more cost effective for Alabama. The state spends approximately $15,000
per year to incarcerate. An extremely liberal estimate of longevity in prison per capital
offender is 50 years. This amounts to a total cost of about $750,000. Admittedly, this figure
might deviate depending on other variables. The life time incarceration cost might be more
if one calculates medical expenditures for elderly prisoners. The same cost, however, might
be less if the state decided to nullify the death penalty and its concomitant death row. Death
row is treated differently in terms of its mega-expensive super-maximum security, and

26

Taylor

inmates are not allowed to work within the prison to pay any restitution costs back to the
system or their victims.

Why does capital punishment cost so much? As noted earlier, almost all offenders
chosen to be charged by the government with capital murder are indigent. The state is
required to provide counsel to those who cannot afford to do so. This means that the state
pays for the entire prosecution, defense and appeals of all capitally charged persons. This
includes, among other items, the hiring of expert witnesses, investigators, analysts, and
defense support teams. No serious argument can be made to justify eliminating these costs
if the state insists on keeping the punishment, because the stakes are too high. Moreover,
constitutional due process, and protection from grievous miscarriages of justice are stalwart
ideals within the criminal justice system. Accused people and the system are likely to suffer
tremendously if the state decided to reduce the cost.

The state has to know the national figures but it continues to disregard capital
punishment s high financial cost. Such disregard of this economic reality is schizophrenic in
nature, delusional and regressive. It may even produce a degenerating government
personality, causing rapid deterioration, the final outcome of which may result in great defects
or impoverishment (Lundin, 1965). It could even be asserted that such gross misuse of funds
has the pathological personality of the traumatic, where there occurs organic destruction of
an essential member of the body, the destruction of society itself, strategic organ by strategic
organ (Lundin, 1965.) Obviously, if government uses financial resources continuously in this
manner, other programs targeted for long-term crime reduction, drug-rehabilitation, teen
intervention and diagnostic programs, domestic violence initiatives, and integration strategies
for coping with stress will suffer for lack of funding. As noted by Massachusetts Attorney
General, Scott Harshbarger: "Virtually every major program designed to address the
underlying causes of violence and to support their, vulnerable, powerless victims of crime is
being cut even further to the bone.... In this context, the proposition that the death penalty is
a needed addition to our arsenal of weapons lacks credibility" (Death Penalty Information
Center, 1992).

ONE OR TWO FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
AND OTHER STRANGE PHENOMENA

Deterrence

One of the results of the psychopathological nature of the use of government
sponsored death as punishment is that society is drawn into a fantasy. The fantasy is created
to produce an illusion of crime reduction and safety from violence. The concept and reality
of heinous murder become too terrible to tolerate, thus the public becomes willing to accept
the fantasy of deterrence in order to eliminate the pain and fear. These illusions are created
for the purpose of vicariously gratifying the public’s need to rid itself of fear of violent crime.
Fear becomes dissociated from the normal rational thinking process; however, the fantasy
producer, the government, is not able to do in reality that which it has purported to have done
(Carlisle, 1993). In other words, there is no reduction in murder in Alabama (or any other
capital punishment jurisdiction) by the use of the death penalty. In fact, some studies indicate
that criminal homicide is higher in death penalty states than in abolition states, and may even
rise slightly in years of execution (Bedau, 1996). Capital punishment simply does not

27

Death Penalty

generally deter murder. This fact is not even a part of any capital punishment debate
anymore, as even proponents of the punishment acknowledge that murder rates continue to
be higher in death penalty states than in non-executing states (Bedau,1996; Richard Dieter,
1995). One of the major reasons the death penalty does not deter is because capital offenses
in Alabama most often involve murder plus another felony. Often the murder, attendant with
the other felony, is an unanticipated consequence of the underlying felony.

Innocence and the Possibility of Error

In 1992 Alabama released Walter McMillian from prison after he served six years
of his life on death row for a crime he did not commit. The lawyer working for his release
uncovered a governmental conspiracy of law enforcement and corrections working complicitly
to place him on death row even though the evidence, as known by governmental officials,
clearly placed McMillian in a different location at the time the murder occurred (A Panel
Discussion, 21 Fordham Urban Law Journal, 1994). Notwithstanding McMillian’s release,
research indicates that Alabama has made other such errors, has executed several innocent
people, and is one of the states most likely to do so (Bedau & Radelet, 1987; Radelet, Bedau,
& Putnam, 1992).

The question of innocence and the horrifying reality that we have executed innocent
people obviously are two of the most difficult problems with the state’s imposition of death.
I would argue for the demise of the punishment based on these factors alone.

Mental Illness and Death Row

Most accused capital offenders suffer from some form of mental incapacity, either
mental retardation, brain disease, or psychosis. Such incapacity does not reverse itself once
the convicted person is placed on death row. Alabama has executed several mentally disabled
inmates. They include: (1) Herbert Richardson, a Vietnam War veteran suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), was discharged from the military after he suffered a
mental breakdown while on combat duty. This condition is often referred to as "shell-shock,”
related to the legal insanity term, irresistible impulse. He was convicted of capital murder
and subsequently executed in 1989; (2) Cornelius Singleton was mentally retarded and unable
to read. Part of the evidence which convicted him of capital murder was a signed confession.
There were significant questions, never investigated, about his guilt largely due to his
incapacity to read or sign a confession statement. He was executed in 1992; (3) Often while
on death row Varnell Weeks expressed a desire to be married on the back of a hippo. He
also believed that he would return as a giant tortoise to rule the universe after his execution.
He was determined psychotic by both state and defense doctors. Nevertheless, a judge ruled
four days before his execution that he was competent to understand the procedure against him
because he was able to nod affirmatively to all the questions posed to him while in his death
row cell. The judge also noted that there was significant evidence of mental incapacity in
Weeks, but that the state law was not clear on insanity; (4) In 1981 George Daniel was
capitally tried and sentenced to death even though his mental illness was clear. He could not
recognize any of his family members, did not have the ability to speak coherently with his
lawyers, ate his own excrement while confined in jail, and had organic brain damage brought
on by a head injury he suffered in a car accident six weeks before he committed murder

28

Taylor

(Friedman & Stevenson, 1992).

This is a list of just a few cases where the inmate was noticeably mentally deficient;
nevertheless, the system allowed them to be tried, convicted, and many have already been
executed. There are many more cases like these (Penland, 1998). What these situations
indicate is that homicide may often be caused by a non-deterrable circumstance. Additionally,
and perhaps more important, should the state execute the mentally infirm? According to one
juror in the case of Horace Dunkins, a severely mentally retarded man with an IQ of 56, the
answer should be no. The juror wrote the governor in 1989 just prior to Dunkins’
electrocution and said that if they (the jury) had known he was mentally retarded they never
would have sentenced him to death (Applebone, 1989).

Politics

The political practice of advancing the death penalty as an answer to the problem of
violent crime is another way the state creates an illusion. The whole political process gets
corrupted by the desire of campaigning politicians to present the biggest "get tough on crime"
platform they can muster. Government politics and public support for the death penalty are
almost inextricably interwoven, one seemingly affecting the other, in a tango of alternating
leads. The perception that the death penalty is largely supported by the public has
tremendous impact on government policy because policymakers believe that in order to
survive re-election campaigns and ensure another term in office the public’s beliefs cannot
be disregarded. Whether the perceptions are real or imagined, the effects are quite tangible.
Capital punishment is more politicized now than ever in our history, and affects legislators,
prosecutors, courts, clemency proceedings, judges, other politicians, and the entire criminal
justice system (21 Fordham Urban Law Journal, 1994).

A graphic illustration of how this mania is projected is told by Bryan Stevenson,
Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, who recalls an
incident in a judge s chambers during a post-conviction appeal. He recounts listening to a
judge impassionedly criticize a gubernatorial candidate who had run on the slogan, "Fry them
’til their eyes pop out," and proceeded to speak as if he would never support such a platform.
Ironically, this same judge in the same meeting proceeded to discuss how he wanted the
execution of Stevenson’s client to be carried out quickly and that it had already taken too long
to do so. This desire, however, was expressed only after the court reporter had entered
(prompting the judge to quickly put on his black robe of justice and impartiality) to record
the chamber proceedings (21 Fordham Urban Law Journal, 1994). The donning of such
attire in this fashion metaphorically represents the masking which may be necessary to
disguise some truths about the death penalty that some government officials may not be
willing to share with the general public. It is not clear from this particular incident, but it
may very well be the case that this judge does not even favor capital punishment but finds it
politically prudent to appear to support it.

29

Death Penalty

CONCLUSION

Capital charging and sentencing are presently being used extensively in Alabama
despite substantial evidence that indicates it is being imposed irrationally, unfairly, and at a
high cost. The decision to charge, prosecute, and sentence an offender appears largely to be
based on political motivation, being able to gather enough votes through a "tough on crime"
scheme rather than seeking to rid society of the ills that support violence, such as drug abuse
and alcoholism, domestic violence, mental illness, and physio-psychological problems that run
rampant in the bodies and minds of those on death row both before and after their
incarceration. Even if there were a rational basis for capital punishment, is violence really
the appropriate response to violence? It has been argued herein that the behavior of Alabama
state government regarding capital punishment is psychopathological, seeming to feed on
certain acute sociological conditions largely ignored by government officials, and
paradoxically helping to maintain a perpetually disorganized society.

The public needs to know the relevant facts about this important issue. It is possible
that society, once properly informed, would refuse to support this punishment. Other topics
affecting capital punishment in Alabama not addressed in this article but which also deserve
serious examination, include the following: (1) racial bias as an historical practice within the
state; (2) jury override as abnormally implemented in the state vis-a-vis other death penalty
jurisdictions; (3) the unused power of executive clemency and the state’s refusal to
acknowledge its potential utility.

Finally, Bryan Stevenson offers a compelling statement for capital punishment’s
destruction. He talks about his spending some time with a condemned man down in Atmore:

I went down there and spent the last thirty minutes with this man,
and we were standing there and we were trying to deal with all the
horrible things that were going on and he started asking questions,
and he said: "You know, it’s been a very strange day". I said,

"What do you mean?” He said, "When I woke up this morning,
the guards, they said, ’What can I get you for breakfast?’, and then
they said, ’What can we get you for lunch?’, and then they said,

’Do you need to use the phone?’ He said, "Every fifteen minutes
somebody came and said, ’What can we do to help you? Can we
get you some cigarettes? Can we get you some coffee? Do you
need to call somebody? Do you need some stamps?’" And he said
something that still resonates in my mind. He said, "You know,
it’s interesting. More people have asked me what they can do to
help me in the last fourteen hours of my life than they ever did in
the first nineteen years of my life".

( 21 Fordham Urban Law Journal, 1994: 258)

30

Taylor

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful for the assistance of two of my students at Alabama State University,
Arni Chambers, a psychology major, and Tennill Stroy, from criminal justice.

REFERENCES CITED

Ader, Robert, David L. Felten, and Nicholas Cohen, editors (1991).
Psychoneuroimmunology . pp. 194-196.

Alabama Criminal Code Annotated (1997). Sections 13A-5-39 through 13A-5-59.

Applebone, Peter (1989). "Two Electric Jolts in Alabama Execution," NY Times July 15
1989. p. A6.

Bedau, Hugo Adam (1996). "The Case Against the Death Penalty," Criminal Injustice:
Confronting the Prison Crisis, edited by Elihu Rosenblatt, pp.21 1 , 212, 213.

Bedau, Hugo Adam, and Michael Radelet (1987). "Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially
Capital Cases," 40 Stanford Law Review 21, pp. 22-90.

Berzoff, Joan, Laura Flanagan, and Patricia Hertz (1996). Inside Out and Outside In.
pp. 191-194.

Bleuler, Emil (1911). Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias, translated by
Zinkin, J. (1950). pp. 62-74.

Borg, Marian J., and Michael L Radelet (1998). "Botched Lethal Injections," Capital Report
#53, National Legal Aid and Defender Association, pp. 4, 5.

Bullock, Theodore Holmes (1993). How Do Brains Work? Papers of a Comparative
Neurophysiologist, pp. 1-7, 491-493, 613-614.

Carlisle, A. L. (1993). "The Divided Self: Toward and Understanding of the Dark Side of
the Serial Killer," American Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. XVII, No. 2, p. 26.

Death Penalty Information Center (1992). Millions Misspent: What Politicians Don’t Say
About the High Costs of the Death Penalty. Washington, D.C., pp. 3-5, 8.

Dieter, Richard, and Death Penalty Information Center, Washington, D.C. (1995). "On the
Front Line: Law Enforcement Views on the Death Penalty," pp. 4-9.

Dobson, Keith S. and Phillip C. Kendall. (1993). Psychopathology and Cognition, pp. 3-4.

Durham, Alexis, H. Preston Elrod, and Patricia Kinkade (1996). "Public Support for the
Death Penalty: Beyond Gallup," Justice Quarterly 13, 705-730.

Fewtrell, David, and Kieron O’Connor (1995). Clinical Phenomenology and Cognitive
Psychology, p. 169-172.

Firestone, Robert (1985). The Fantasy Bond. pp. 168, 192.

Friedman, Ruth E., and Bryan A. Stevenson (1992). "Solving Alabama’s Capital Defense
Problems: It’s a Dollars and Sense Thing," 44 Alabama Law Review 1-60, p. 1.

Hugdahl, Kenneth (1995). Psychophysiology: The Mind-Body Perspective, pp. 63-83.

Kelso, J. A. Scott (1995). Dynamic Patterns: The Self-Organization of Brain and Behavior
pp. 279-289.

Kolb, Bryan, and Ian Q. Whishaw (1980). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology .
pp. 11-30.

Lundin, Robert W. (1965). Principles of Psychopathology . pp. 2, 3, 372, 478.

31

Death Penalty

Milner, Esther (1967). Human Neural and Behavioral Development: A Relational Inquiry
With Implications for Personality, pp. 293-358.

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (1998), Death Row, USA. NY, NY,
pp. 1, 10, 14.

Penland, Lucia (Executive Director of the Alabama Prison Project). Personal telephone
conference, Montgomery, Alabama, March, 1998.

"Politics and the Death Penalty: Can Rational Discourse and Due Process Survive the
Perceived Political Pressure?" A Panel Discussion, 21 Fordham Urban Law Journal,
239-298, Winter, 1994, pp. 240, 258-260.

Pursley, Robert D. (1994). Introduction to Criminal Justice Sixth Edition, pp.4-31.

Radelet, Michael L., Hugo Adam Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam (1992). In Spite of
Innocence, p. 359.

Radelet, Michael L., and Margaret Vandiver (1985). "Race and Capital Punishment: An
Overview of the Issues," Crime and Social Justice, Vol. 25.

Samaha, Joel (1997). Criminal Justice Fourth Edition, pp.6-38.

Snell, Tracy (1997). "Capital Punishment 1996." Bureau of Justice Statistics
Bulletin. U.S. Department of Justice, NCJ-167031, December, pp. 1-3.

U.S. News & World Report, "The Real Problems in American Justice," October 9, 1995.
pp.52, 54-55.

CASES CITED

Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977).

Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986).

Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).

Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976).

32

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 1, January, 1998.

SILICA-SCALED CHRYSOPHYTES FROM ALABAMA

Daniel E. Wujek
Department of Biology
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48859

Francis J. Menapace
Department of Biology
University of North Alabama
Florence, Alabama 35632

ABSTRACT

A total of 45 scale-bearing chrysophytes and synurophytes, herein referred to as
scaled chrysophytes (25 Mallomonas spp, 10 Synura spp, 4 Paraphysomonas spp, 4
Spiniferomonas spp, and 2 Chrvsosphaerella spp) in 33 water bodies from eight northern
Alabama counties was recorded using TEM. The number of taxa per location varied from
0 to 18. Forty-four taxa are new records from Alabama.

INTRODUCTION

The first published electron micrographs of silica-scaled chrysophytes from Alabama
are those describing a new species of Mallomonas (Wujek and Asmund, 1979). All other
reports are based on light microscopy. The chrysophyte flora of neighboring Florida (see
Wujek and Siver, 1997 and references therein) and Louisiana (Wee et al., 1993) have been
previously studied using electron microscopy. Adjacent states, such as Tennessee and
Mississippi remain to be investigated.

Silica-scaled chrysophytes are taxonomically placed in the division Chrysophyta,
classes Chrysophyceae and the recently described Synurophyceae based on ultrastructural and
biochemical characteristics (Andersen, 1987). The majority of chrysophyte genera lack the
siliceous covering of the type reported in this study and exhibit "a great plasticity in regard
to both morphology and nutrition" (Bold and Wynne, 1985). Most of the common
chrysophytes are flagellated single cells or colonial. Evolutionary, the relationships between
photosynthetic and heterotrophic members "illustrates very aptly the taxonomic artificiality
of the traditional categories ’algae’, ’protozoa’ and ’fungi’" (Van den Hoek et al., 1995).

33

Wujek and Menapace

In this study, the silica-scaled algal flora from 33 Alabama locations is examined using
transmission electron microscopy TEM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Phytoplankton samples were collected with a plankton net (lO^im mesh size) in late
February and early March 1996 from 33 different ponds and lakes (Table 1). Samples were
fixed in acid Lugol’s (lOg KI and 5g I in 200 ml distilled water containing 10% acetic acid).
For TEM, subsamples were placed on Formvar coated, carbon stabilized grids, air dried, and
examined with a Philips 300 transmission electron microscope. All identifications were based
on TEM. Physio-chemical parameters taken in the field were surface water temperature, pH
(Markson model 85), and conductivity (Oakton WD-60).

OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSION

The taxa identified, and the collection sites (Table 1) from which each taxon was
found, are listed in Table 2. A total of 45 silica-scaled chrysophyte taxa from the genera
Mallomonas (25 taxa), Synura (10 taxa), Paraphysomonas (4 taxa), Spiniferomonas (4 taxa),
and Chrysosphaerella (2 taxa) were observed from the 33 samples. Included in this number
are five taxa (Figs. 1-5) reported three times or less from North America. With additional
warm water sampling, given that the collections were taken during late February and early
March, it is suspected that additional warm water species known to Florida and Louisiana will
be found to occur in northern Alabama.

The number of scale-bearing chrysophyte taxa observed per sample varied from 0 to
18 (Table 1). Species diversity was greatest with a decreased water temperature (Table 2).
The most frequent Mallomonas species in the study were M. crassisquama (27 % ; percentages
are based on the number of samples in which a taxon was observed divided by the total
number of samples), M. akrokomos (24%), and M. annulata. M. cristata. M. hamata. M.
heterospina and M. papillosa var. papillosa (15% each). The latter species was also one of
three most common species noted in Wee et al.’s (1993) Louisiana survey. Common species
from other genera were Synura petersenii f. petersenii (39%) the most common species, S.
uvella (36%), S. echinulata (24%), Spiniferomonas trioralis (30%) and Paraphysomonas
vestita (27%). Species observed from only one collecting site included Mallomonas
cyathellata var. cyathellata. M. doignonii. M. flora, M. guttata, M. lelymene. M. mangofera.
M. parvula, M. pillula f. valdiviana, M. pumilio var. pumilio. M. rasilis. M. tonsurata, M.
transsylvanica, M. sp 1, Synura curtispina, S. mollispina. S. petersenii f. glabra,
Paraphysomonas butcher!, E- gladiata, Chrysosphaerella coronacircumspina. and
Spiniferomonas bilacunosa.

Scales of an unknown Mallomonas taxon (Fig. 4) resembling species in Section
Tortquatae, Series Eoae Asmund & Kristiansen (1986) was observed in the Wheller National
Wildlife Refuge sample. The shield in our taxon possesses regularly spaced pores that are
not circular as they are in M. eoa. But, until a complete cell is observed it is best left
unidentified.

34

Silica-scaled Chrysophytes

Three samples lacked scaled chrysophytes (samples 2, 16 and 26). The reason(s) for
this is unknown, although all three sites had high pH values, >8.8 (Table 1).

The range in water temperatures (8.5 to 17.5 °C) and the time of year may indicate
that the collections contained elements of both late spring and summer floras. Species
observed, such as Mallomonas akrokomos and M. transsvlvanica. have often been observed
under the ice in more northern regions (Siver 1991; Cronberg and Kristiansen, 1980). On
the other hand, taxa such as M. crassisquama. M. tonsurata and Synura curtispina. are more
commonly observed during the summer (Siver, 1991), supporting the idea that our collections
do contain elements of both the summer and winter floras.

The pH ranged from 5.9 to 10.0. Many of the species observed in localities with low
pH values, including Mallomonas hamata. M. transsvlvanica. and Synura echinulata, have
been previously reported as common in acidic habitats (Siver, 1988, 1989, 1991). Our
observations clearly support these earlier findings.

The pH-range of the 13 most frequently observed species (in five or more collections)
is depicted in Fig. 6. Synura petersenii f. petersenii showed the largest range from 5.8 to
10.0, followed by S. Spinosa. 5.9 to 8.6 and then Paraphysomonas vestita with 7.2 to 10.0.
Both Mallomonas hamata and M. heterospina had the narrowest ranges, 7.9 to 8.6. The data
for all 13 species are within the values reported in the literature.

Conductivity ranged from 20.6 to 348 /xS/ M (the conductivity range for the 13 most
frequently observed species is depicted in Fig. 7). Mallomonas cristata and Synura echinulata
had the narrowest ranges, 21.7 to 63.6 and 20.6 to 120 fiS/M respectively. The largest
ranges were observed in Paraphysomonas vestita (24.1-348), Synura uvella (24.1-341) and
Spiniferomonas trioralis (29.9-348). As Siver (1993) reported, until more work such as this
account, and studies incorporating culture studies, it is unknown "at this time whether
individual taxa are responding” to specific anions and cations or “some combination thereof".

In conclusion, as has been demonstrated in other regions of the southeastern U.S.,
Alabama contains a diverse flora of scaled chrysophytes. This investigation is by no means
exhaustive, and we believe further collections and observations from other Alabama sites will
yield additional species. Including this paper, the silica-scaled chrysophytes known from
Alabama based on electron microscopy now comprise 45 taxa.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank M.G. Wujek and P. G. Davison for assistance in the field, P.R. Eisner for
preparing the carbon-coated grids, CMU Graphics Production for preparation of the
photographic plates, and T. Deason for literature relating to Alabama algae. We thank Dr.
J. Kristiansen, University of Copenhagen, for his comments regarding identifications for
several of our taxa. This study was supported in part by a grant from the CMU Faculty
Research and Creative Endeavors Committee to DEW.

35

Wujek and Menapace
LITERATURE CITED

Andersen, R.A. 1987. Synurophyceae Classis Nov., a new class of algae. Amer. J. Bot.
74:337-353.

Asmund, B. and J. Kristiansen. 1986. The genus Mallomonas (Chrysophyceae). Opera
Botanica 85:1-128.

Bold, H.C. and M.J. Wynne. 1985. Introduction to the Algae. Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Englewood, N.J. 720pp.

Cronberg, G. 1996. Scaled chrysophytes from the Okavango Delta, Botswana, Africa.
Beih. Nova Hedwigia 114:91-108.

Cronberg, G. and J. Kristiansen. 1980. Synuraceae and other Chrysophyceae from central
Smaland, Sweden. Bot. Notiser 133:595-618.

Hansen, P. 1996. Silica-scaled Chrysophyceae and Synurophyceae from Madagascar. Arch.
Protistenkd. 147:145-172.

Siver, P.A. 1988. Distribution of scaled chrysophytes in 17 Adirondack (New York) lakes
with special reference to pH. Can. J. Bot. 66:1391-1403.

_ . 1989. The distribution of scaled chrysophytes along a pH gradient. Can. J. Bot.

67:2120-2130.

_ . 1991. The biology of Mallomonas: Morphology, taxonomy and ecology. Kluwer,

The Netherlands, 230pp.

_ . 1993. Inferring the specific conductivity of lake water with scaled

chrysophytes. Limnol. Oceangr. 38:1480-1492.

Van den Hoek, C., D.G. Mann and H.M. Jahns. 1995. Algae, An introduction to
phycology. Cambridge University Press, 623pp.

Wee, J.L., Booth, D.J. and Bossier, M.A. 1993. Synurophyceae from the Southern Atlantic
Coastal Plain of North America: A preliminary survey in Louisiana, U.S.A. Nord.
J. Bot. 13:95-106.

Wujek, D.E. and B.C. Asmund. 1979. Mallomonas cyathellata sp. nov. and Mallomonas
cyathellata var. kenyana var. nov. (Chrysophyceae) studied by means of scanning and
transmission electron microscopy. Phycologia 18:1 15-1 19.

Wujek, D.E. and P.A. Siver. 1997. Studies on Florida Chrysophyceae

(Paraphysomonadaceae) and Synurophyceae (Mallomonadaceae). V. The flora of
north-central Florida. Florida Scient. 60:21-27.

36

Table 1. Collection sites for silica-scaled chrysophytes from Alabama, 1996.

Scilica-scaled Chrysophytes

O rt
. X

o 3

Z

o

a

■o

c

o

U

U

Cl

E

H

X

CL

I on

a.

c

o

o3

O

o

JU

Cu

E

cd

00

ro o

r-

o

<d

00

CN

CN

O

<u

00

O

00 00

53 c «

SfUCfl

X) ■ — i

U 4) L_

PU O ^
oo

o

<u

oo

W

oo

H

CN U0

00 ON

on on on ST!

(N Tj- r- p]

- « w
ti- Tf m 6

^ NO o — '
2 ON ON ON

Os '■O 0O

in ^ ui

in in

CN

(N rp
O "P

NO

NO Tf
oo oo

o

<u

oo

oo

(N

Pi

00 ^

o

-g
,-J

>>

o

<u

oo

53 2

2 pi

CO

H

<u

<U

O

0)

00

U ro

oo <V

c

^ n on (N Ti cn oo o vo vo ^

CN

oo^oo^o^
— < CN <N ~

OO D

^ O Tt

ON

ON

00

NO Tt
00 OO

Tf q — <
r-’ oo oo

CO

o

OJ

oo

Tf CN
CN CN

O O
<D <U

oo oo

£ £

CO CN

O

<D

00

£

o

Pi ^

00

£ 5 a:

„ ~ -a c
<n U c 3
' -to £ U
>,.E —

a

o

o

U

PP

ON

<N

- ■- . - 3 a;

on

m _

H S3

T3

c

OQ

U

00 —

e 3

° ^

on

c

o

on

— O

a Ph

3 i_

r9 u
3 u —

o3 <n o3

S 3 £

TD

m on
S 00
cn H

“>T3

U. r— •

o o

C3 0-
Cu 4>

£ s

aj c
cn ^

an on

<u on

Pc h

ON

CN ^
' o3

>p> >— )

C G
G £
° *
u p_,

on on

3- Tt
f— | M

o

<u

on

£

ON

oo

Tt

H

o
<u
oo

™ £

o

r-H

Pi

«a

— 1 on in

t3 oo io in tv’ ,p

^ S ^

«N ^ rt 3 un
2! ^ <n r: ri

00 Tf 00 CN OO ON
h OO OO OO OO 6

OO Tl-
CN -H

^ ts

*—4 aj

(N on N

NO

(N

o

1)

on (N

O ? K (l

o

u

on

g

Pi

Pi

NO

u

LO «3 Lm

•a

o

Pi on

s'gp

■g T3

5 c
°(S o

^ ^ Dh

^ <u _,

po E

I_

C3

00 hJ Uh

<D

N

TD

cd

CN CO rf

<u

X3

G

03

oo vo r-

<D

£

O

U

on ^

NO

x H 5

y <u .

m on

—i x
' £ £
>% ui cd

c y -J

G c 00

O G co

u ^ 3
c Z cn

cd

O

1) 00

00 VO

- H

P* o

xj- <u

— H 00

H

CN

O
>

a3

oo"

oo

H

o
>
u<
^ aj

00

VO

H

<u

o3

a>

<D

<D

t—

u

O eg
LG ^

g: <u

W U

<u

<L>

<U

u*

u

J-.

o3

OJ

CQ

a>

O

>

u.

<u

c^)

<u
i X

M

<u

<u

u_

u

tj 03
•G <D
J CQ

OO ON

cNen^Ttoovor^oooN

37

Wujek and Menapace

^

VO

O cn

cn (N

r- cn

r-

VO

CTv

VO

VO

VO

o

OV

CO

VO

r-

On

CN

CN

co

VO

VO

CO

CN

OO

oo

CN

On

OO 00
— < cn
»— • cn

,_h o ' — 1 ^

Tf -g- <N <N
cn • *— •

o ^
o ON

VO

o

On

cn

On m

cn cn

CN

Tt

r- in

cn in in
oo h

cn On
oo r-

no oo Tt
OO ON oo

in cn
r- oo

00 CN r- On
no h vo m

CN

X3

<U

C

c

o

o

£*

03

H

y-i O ’ — 1 CN
^ CN CN CN

<L>

-o

On ^ O CN cn
cn >— I cn cn cn cn

38

Table 2. Survey of the occurrence of silica-scaled chrysophytes from Alabama.
See Table 1 for descriptions of localities. Bolding indicates samples in which
both isolated scales and complete cells were observed.

Scilica-scaled Chrysophytes

in

oo

c

”5-

E

cd

cn

a

o

x

Cd

H

ON

CN

00

<N

n

co

CN

ON

NO

tO

CN

CN

On

00

1— f

CO

to

CO

CN

CN

*o

CO

r-

CN

o

’ 1

o

Tf

CO

to

CO

o

(N

CN

co

CN

<N

to

CN

o

to

r.

ON

CN

CN

CO

CN

r>

*— <

O

CO

CN

*

y~~t

o

CN

CO

r— '

CO

CO

to

_ _ ^

CN

'■ 1

1

1—i

ON

CN

CN

00

i

CO

*

r— 1

o

ON O

CN

r- ^ ■ <

to

Tj*

_ _ 7

T- <

CN

NO

NO

T— <

CO

^ CO CO

CN

CN

CN

-H

O

CO

O O r- rf ON
co CO CN CN ■ — «

■ — 1 t"' on to
<N — < — < <N

T3

fc a

cd

QJ

2
V

C

-S °

CL c
O C
U o
3 =
3 «

^ S

C/3

O

to

ctl

CU

<u

c

3

C2

CO

O

E

o

o

l_

X3

ct)

00

Ih

<U

X)

c

o

u<

U

T3 '
C

1 1
co

<

<U ~

oo o
0,

* u. ^ v

* -g

E § O
u | E

< JO
O

T3

C

D

<

dj 00

3* o
^ o

* z

<D

cd

O

a

OJ
*>
cd ca

O

c

cd

cd

>

E

<u

<u

o

c

03

£

«s 3
> o

03 CQ
-*— •
cd

a
o
a

"o

"O

>>

o

TD

cd

Uh

CQ

<D

<D

XI

cd

>H

CJ

CO p

T3
T3 C
C 03

E *

*2 c

SI SI si si si s

sis

*

cd

5

C

cd

cd

*s

C/5

o

u.

o

c

<u

E

5

E

aj

oxj

.

cd

20

aj

-C

dj

*

si si si

>*

JU

•a

03

u.

cn

=3

c

U
. CO

E c
> .2

>>.2
<u Uh

t3 iZ

2 c^j
CQ

=3 §

.2 S

»-i c/5

13 <
K o

cd
O

cd

>

>v

jD

cd

i-i

m

e

<u

-03

CL- -
•v ."2

^ E
3 -g
E 2

O t-i

s ?

-a

c

E

co

<

a

X3

ox •
c

cd

E

•r o

H co
*—<

CT3 C

« a

cd
P

ci &

cd cd

Dl Ci

co cd

‘2 e

C 03
►2 >

03
>

C*j «

1- 73
C— o3

U- l_

2 CQ 43
><u ^ rs

0- p
u

cd
<u

<v

,0J

SI SI SI £1 si si si si sis

E

co x:
'2 <3

22 t

o a

CO

£

3

O i— i

D

dj

*- E

<u =
OO O

.2 s

£ c*j

C3 UQ

C

OJ OJ

W) $

E ^

cd

‘S .E
H c

cd
>

39

Wujek and Menapace

T3

QJ

G

a

•

c

o

o

CN

0)

3

G

H

cn

m

On

CN

oo

<N

r-

CN

Os

m

CN

m

CN

«iO

CO

CN

G

CN

Tf

CN

G*

r.

CN

CN

CO

04

rs

CN

CO

04

Os

(N

CN

Os

CO

CN

CN

»— •

CO

CO

CN

„

Os

00

oo

rH

CN

CN

CN

*

r-

»-H

cn

r.

rH

o'

T— 1

CN

o

00

UO

UO

CN

oo

T— H

uo

m

04

CN

o

CN

G"

rv

CN

rH

Os

CN

Os

OS

o

„

r-

r.

G

G

CO

oo

CO

G"

r— 1

rH

CN

CN

so

1—1

OS

oo

CN

*,

, _ T

T— H

Os

y—K

*

G"

uo m

r.

G

00

r-

i— •

rH

g- r-

Os

OO

so

CN

OO -H

CN

i— < »— H

CN

rH

T3

G

G

£

c/3

<

3s

QJ

CO

G

oj

a

c^{

c

qj

OJ

QJ

>

w O

3

CO

G
C

G

OJ

£

o

s

=>s

c

u*

QJ

3

Oh

3

<u

CO

G

G

a

c

qj

oo

N

N

O

CO

QJ

Oh

i g

OJ G

•§ I

e «a

o e

o 0
O oo

3

00

QJ

o *
i2 ic

<u X3

1 2
X
G

0X>

c

(D

oo

G

o3

a

C^j

G

QJ

^ >

cl -S
g

G

5i

ox

G7

G
v— <
G
C
>
OO

o

G

o

a3

i—

G

C

>

oo

o

6

qj

3

3

00

oo I ool ool ool oo I oo I oo I oo I ool

03

00

Mh

X

uG

(iO

i—

O

03

3

O

o3

3

3

3

3

u-i

• ’~2,

3

OJ

QJ

QJ

o3

o3

G

H

oo

00

oo

00

C<0

C/D

3

H

• —

i-

i—

l—

O

O

C

G-

<u

QJ

QJ

3

3

3

o

o3

fH

O

r-*

QJ

QJ

3

3

3

QJ

E

G

oJ

a

d

co

CO

o3

S3 'S

G w-.
04 QJ
CJ 03
>> X
X Q
o . oo

o °

® a

5

u

c

QJ

co

G

G

X

QJ

G*

> ^

O ^

X G
2 .£
s s*

E

3
O

i— .

'o

03

c
o

u.

o

o

U

o

*

03

C

Si

<u

L<3

I—

03

u

o

'S

c

<u

Oh

T3 Jii

<u

o>

-O

old

X

c4

G

QJ
TO
QJ
03
00

co QJ
03 -a

.2? 2 ^

co h-J a>

uo

CN

ON

uo

co

<0 03

V— <

CL, 03

<U
-C
> o

<u

c

BO. I

o

55

£ ^

cci p-I o-|

•S -5 —

.c 2 ^

jS I -S

H 3 ^

^ h ^

> Gf ^

3

G

O

X

QJ -r-

ish

o

5

O

cnl ool ool oo

ON

r-

On

rH

3

G

— v.

G

SO

(—•

OS

G

CO

Os

<

"O

G

G

QJ

o3

00

G

M

G

o

X

'S'

• f.

NO

ON

ON

o3

rr

G

03

oo

•S s

< ”c
^ o

U

03
^3 CJ

S 5h

O 2

a. ~

a S3

— < u

CO (JJ

s ^

O i-
■r* 03

£ g?
£ *

*

*

40

Silica-scaled Chrysophytes

Figures 1-5. 1. Mallomonas cyathellata var. cyathellata. 2. M. pillula f. valdiviana. 3. M.
sp. 1. 4. Paraphysomonas gjadiata. 5. Spiniferomonas crucigera. Scale bars = 1 /im.

41

Wujek and Menapace

Species 2* *> «*

I - 1 - T“

Synura echinulata ...............

S. pe terse nii f . petersenii • ••• . •

5. spinosa •

S. uvella • • ••• • ••■

Mallomonas annulata »

M.akrokomos

M. crassisquama • . • • ■ ■

M. cristata ..............

A/, hamata

M. heterospina • . •■ ■■»■

M. papillosa var. papillosa •••••••■•■■

Paraphysomonas vestita >» ■ • ••
Spinifero monos trioraiis • . '

Conductivity (pS)

100 120 140 160 ISO 200 220 240 240 210 300 320 340 340

"l — i — i — tt — i — i — i - 1 — i — i — i — i - r

Fig. 6. pH-range for the 13 most frequently observed species. Enlarged circles indicate two
sites with identical pH.

42

Scilica-scaled Chrysophytes

Specie* (.0

I — I — I — T

Synura tchimilata .

S. ptUrsenii f. ptUrstnii • .

S.spinosa •

S. uvella

Mallomonas annulata
M. akrokomos
M. crassisquama
M. cristata
M. hamata
M. htUrospma
M. papillosa vtt papillosa
Parapkysomonas vtstita
Spiniftromonas trior alts

PH

7.0 8.0 9.0

t — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — r

• . ♦ ■■■•

10.0

“I

Fig. 7. Conductivity range for the 13 most frequently observed species.

43

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No.l, 1998.

A NEW RECORD OF THE FRESHWATER GREEN ALGA PSEUDULVELLA

AMERICANA FROM ALABAMA

Daniel E. Wujek
Department of Biology
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859

Paul G. Davison and Francis J. Menapace
Department of Biology
University of North Alabama
Florence, AL 35632

ABSTRACT

This is the first report of the green alga Pseudulvella americana (Snow) Wille from
Alabama and is the fourth report for North America.

INTRODUCTION

There are only a few genera of the green algal family Chaetophoraceae
(Chaetophorales) that are widely reported in North America. They include the freshwater
genera Chaetophora Schrank, Stigeoclonium Kutzing, Draparnaldia Bory, and to a lesser
extent, Aphanochaete A. Braun (Whitford and Schumacher, 1973). Knowledge of their
distribution has been limited until recently. One genus of the family, Pseudulvella Wille
(= Pseudoulvella of some authors) has not been investigated extensively. O’Kelly (personnel
communication) is of the opinion that the only freshwater species of the genus, Pseudulvella
americana (Snow) Wille, belongs to the order Chaetopeltidales, Chaetopeltidaceae.

This paper reports the first occurrence of the green alga P. americana for Alabama.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Samples were collected from scrapings made from a 270 L aquarium originally
prepared by placing rocks (Fort Payne Chert [Mississippian]) and surrounding regolith and
soil from the property of Dr. Robert Daly, Lauderdale County, Alabama. It was filled with
tap water in December 1995. Scrapings were made from the green algae coating the sides
of the aquarium, 2 March 1996.

44

Pseudulvella americana from Alabama
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

An alga agreeing in all respects with Pseudulvella americana (Snow) Wille was found
growing on the sides of an aquarium in the botany laboratory at University of North
Alabama. Originally described from Michigan by Snow (1907), it has since been reported
from Iowa (Prescott, 1931), Wisconsin (Prescott, 1951) and several locations from North
Carolina (Whitford, 1982; Dillard, 1969, 1989). Only one record outside of North America
exists, India (Philipose, 1946).

In appearance this freshwater species resembled greatly Coleochaete scutata de
Brebisson or C. orbicularis Pringsheim, but the appearance of all differentiated sexual organs,
and the presence of many chromatophores instead of one, indicated that the nature and
development are quite different from that genus.

The disk-shaped thallus varied from 140 ^.m to 2.5 mm in diameter. The cells were
arranged more regularly toward the periphery than at the center. Radiating rows of cells
originated from periclinal divisions of one or more projections of the exterior side of the
mother cell. The occurrence of long gelatinous hairs observed by Snow (1899) were not
present in our material; they were not depicted in his plate of illustrations. Indeed, they have
not been observed by others reporting on the genus.

The collection of P. americana from Alabama demonstrates the need for more critical
study of epilithic and epiphytic algae along rocky littoral zones of both lentic and lotic
systems [or even on glass slides which have been left immersed for 10 months (Dillard,
1969)]. Knowledge of P. americana biogeography is believed incomplete, although it is
possible that the species may have a disjunct distribution. This is the fourth report of this
organism for North America.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study was undertaken during a sabbatical visit by the first author to the
University of North Alabama. The first author thanks the FRCE Committee of Central
Michigan University for financial support.

REFERENCES

Dillard, G.E. 1969. The benthic algal communities of a North Carolina Piedmont stream.
Nova Hedwigia 19:9-29.

Dillard, G.E. 1989. Freshwater algae of the Southeastern United States. Biblio.
Phycologica 83:1-163 + plates.

Philipose, M.T. 1946. A note on Pseudulvella americana (Snow) Wille growing in Madras.

M.O.P. Iyengar Comm. Vol., Bangalore Press, Bangalore, pp 321-325.

Prescott, G.W. 1931. Iowa algae. Univ. Iowa Studies 13:1-235.

45

Wujek, Davison, and Menapace

Prescott, G.W. 1951. Algae of the Western Great Lakes Area. Cranbrook Institute of
Science, Bulletin 31, Bloomfield Hills, MI.

Smith, G.M. 1950. The Freshwater Algae of the United States. McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
New York. 719 p.

Snow, J.W. 1899. Ulvella americana. Bot. Gaz. 27:309-314.

Whitford, L.A. 1982. Additions to the freshwater algae in North Carolina, X. J. Elisha
Mitchell Sci. Soc. 98:32-36.

Whitford, L.A. and G.J. Schumacher. 1973. A Manual of Fresh-Water Algae. Sparks Press,
Raleigh, N.C. 324 p.

46

Notes

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is restricted
to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. Larry R. Boots,
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294.
Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline sections of the
Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology; Forestry, Geography, Conservation, and
Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and Economics; Science Education; Social
Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely
review articles of exceptional quality and general readership interest will also be considered.
Invited articles dealing with Science Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book
reviews of Alabama authors are also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the
implies that it has not been published previously and that it not currently being considered for
publication elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Submission: Submit an original and two copies to the editor. Papers which are unreasonably
long and verbose, such as uncut theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the
author’s name, affiliation, and address, including zip code. The editor may request that
manuscripts be submitted on a diskette upon their revision or acceptance.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. An abstract not exceeding 200
words will be published if the author so desires. Use heading and subdivisions where
necessary for clarity. Common headings are: Introduction (including a literature review),
Procedures (or Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other
formats may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all¬
caps and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and placed
at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. Do not use the number 1 for footnotes;
begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have their
present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and white
glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed 20 cm.
Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use lettering
that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as figures, number
consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on a separate sheet of
paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are satisfactory for review
purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each table.
Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table footnotes. Cite
all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature Cited.
Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers, etc.). List in
alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text parenthetically by
author-date.

The Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science
AM. MUS. NAT. HIST. LIBRARY
Received on: 07-28-98
5. 06(76. 1 ) B

THE JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

Qll
. J68*
v. 69
no. 2

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: School of Medicine with swamp habitat preserve in foreground
at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, site of the 75th annual meeting of The Alabama
Academy of Science. Photograph by J.L. "Woody" Wooden.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 69 APRIL 1998 NO. 2

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

Troy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University
AL 36849 y'

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskeqee
AL 36088 y ’

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 2, April 1998

CONTENTS

ABSTRACTS

Biological Sciences .

Chemistry .

Earth Science .

Geography, Forestry, Conservation, and Planning

Physics and Mathematics .

Industry and Economics .

Science Education .

Behavioral and Social Sciences .

Health Sciences .

Engineering and Computer Sciences .

Anthropology .

MINUTES OF SPECIAL TELECONFERENCE MEETING

MINUTES OF SPRING EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

AGENDA OF JOINT AAS/AJAS BUSINESS MEETING

. 47
. 77
. 83
. 92
. 98
102
114
116
120
127
132

136

138

153

STATE AND REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS FOR 1998

154

■

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 2, April 1998.

ABSTRACTS

Papers presented at the 75th Annual Meeting
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
March 18-21, 1998

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

THE HAIR OF THE BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN REVISITED. Amanda Eberle and
Gerald T. Regan, Department of Biology, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL 36608.

Volunteers in Alabama participating in the Southeastern U.S. Marine Mammal Stranding Net¬
work since 1987 encountered 10 bottlenose dolphins that had from one to 11 hairs on their snouts.
Three of them were fetuses (body lengths 5 1 .5 - 101 cm). None was longer than 110 cm, about
their length at birth. As part of the protocol used by the volunteers, the hairs were routinely plucked,
dried, and stored in plastic bags without being cleaned, or they were temporarily left on the dolphin
while it was stored in a freezer for further study. Almost no force was needed to pluck a hair from
a follicle. A collection of 48 hairs was available at the time of this study, the oldest of which had
been collected in 1990. Shampoo and dishwashing detergents failed to clean the unknown foreign
matter from the hair, as did an industrial degreasing solvent. An enzyme-containing laundry stain
remover succeeded, indicating that the foreign matter was not purely a fatty substance. The number
of follicles on the snout usually exceeded the number of hairs, with six follicles on the left side and
six on the right. A hair typically curled backward and toward the dolphin’s centerline after emer¬
ging from its follicle pit. In cross section a hair was not round, but flattened as is expected when
hair is curly rather than straight. The medulla of the shaft was solid, not hollow. The lengths of
the hairs ranged from 3 mm on the 51.5 cm fetus to 18 mm on the 106 cm neonate. Hairs were not
found on dolphins longer than 110 cm. The hairs were only lightly pigmented, looking blonde to
the unaided eye but golden-tan at 100X magnification. They tapered gently from a bulbous root to
the tip of the shaft. The maximum diameter of the shaft of the longest hair was 0.27 mm, compared
to 0.16 mm for a pelage hair of a manatee, to 0.13 mm for a hair from the baleen of a Sei whale,
and 0.29 mm for a cat's whisker. The maximum diameter of the shortest hair was 0.14, indicating
that a hair grows in both length and diameter during fetal development.

47

Abstracts

Distribution and ecology of Elassoma alabamae (spring pygmy sunfish). Tom Jandebeur, Athens
State College, Department of Biology, Athens, AL 3561 1 . e-mail: jandets@athens.edu

Objectives for this study were to gather distributional and ecological information on Elassoma
alabamae (spring pygmy sunfish), and to locate potential habitat within its former range for
translocation. Significantly, a new population for the species was discovered. The species
appears to be semelparous, but not strictly an annual, and an "opportunistic" spawner: males
were observed to be reproductive at approximately 11.5 mm SL, and females to be gravid at
approximately 14.5 mm SL. Apparently restricted to Beaverdam Creek and Pryor Branch
watersheds in Limestone County, Alabama, spring pygmy sunfish inhabitat springs and spring-
influenced areas characterized primarily by fine-leaved submersed plants (e.g., Myriophyllum,
Callitriche, Ceratophyllum) as well as areas characterized primarily by emergent plants (e.g.,
Polygonum, Nuphar, Lythrum). Considering the widespread distribution and local abundance of
the species in Beaverdam Creek watershed, the apparent success of two translocations to Pryor
Branch watershed, and the fact that it has survived and continues to coexist with agricultural and
animal husbandry landuse practices, including substantial modification especially of its spring
habitats, the species does not appear to me to be a candidate for listing by the U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service as a threatened species, much less an endangered species. Emphasizing the
importance of minimal mechanical disturbance, conservation of aquatic vegetation, and
maintenance of a minimum pool level for all springs within these watersheds, especially those
springs populated by E. alabamae, a conservation agreement between the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and landowners should assure continued healthy populations for the species.

WADING BIRDS IN THE MOBILE AREA: 1956 - 1997.
Julian L . Dus i , Dept, of Zoology & Wildlife Scien¬
ces, Auburn Univ. , Auburn University, AL 36849.
Rosemary D. Dusi, P '. 0. Box 742 , Auburn, AL 36831 .

The Mobile area has always been excellent
for wading birds and their colonies. In 1956,
James E. Keeler located the first White Ibis nest¬
ing colony for Alabama. Other colonies frequently
were found in Mobile Delta near Spanish Fort. Cat
Island has had a colony of mixed species since
1965. Gaillard Island, the dredge island in Mob¬
ile Bay near Theodore, has had Brown Pelican and
heron colonies on it since 1987.

48

Abstracts

SURVEY RESULTS FORM THE FORT MCCLELLAN HERPETOFAUNAL
INVENTORY AND MONITORING PROJECT (AUG 1996-MAR 1998). Jason R, Adams
and George R. Cline, Dept. Of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville AL
36265

The goal of the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) is to
create a nationwide protocol for amphibian inventory and biological monitoring to
accurately assess amphibian population dynamics. Establishing local inventories and
monitoring amphibians is crucial to assess the status of these populations (Heyer, et. ah.
1994). Fort McClellan, Alabama, has been documented (Whetstone et. ah 1996) to contain
many diverse plant communities. Three areas on the Main Post which are being routinely
monitored include Reilly Lake, Yahoo Lake, and Three Mile Pond on Range 19D. Several
NAAMP protocols were utilized to monitor herp abundance including: 1) Time visual
encounter surveys, 2) Extended road cruises, 3) Drift fencing, 4) Call chorus indexing and
5) Standard sweeps with a dip net. Results from an 18 month survey indicate that Fort
McClellan contains -90% of all herp species expected to occur in northeast Alabama
including: 16 anurans, 11 caudatans, 5 lacerti 1 ians, 17 ophidians, and 7 chelonians.

POPULATION TREND ANALYSIS USING CALLING INDICES IN
NORTHEASTERN ALABAMA WETLANDS. Jason R, Adams and George R. Cline,
Dept. Of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Studies of reporductive habits of anurans in the United States have shown that some
general patterns exist in the timing of breeding at specific sites (Wiest, 1981). Typical sites
include temporal pools, ponds, lakes, streams, and other types of wetlands. Phenological
studies of various durations have been reported (i.e. Goin and Goin 1953; Blair 1961;
Murphy 1963) but little quantitative work has been conducted in the southeastern United
States. Recent concerns about amphibian population declines have prompted the
development of standardized methods for analyzing population size using call chorus
indices. We used the Wisconsin Calling Index (0, 1,2,3) for monitoring chorus intensity at
3 wetlands on Fort McClellan in Northeast Alabama. Calling induces are discussed for
anuran species. Breeding phenologies varied in starting dates, but the patterns observed
were similar at all sites.

49

Abstracts

PLANT COMMUNITIES OF LITTLE RIVER CANYON,
DEKALB COUNTY, ALABAMA. Althea I. Thompson. K. R. Brodeur,

S. J. Threlkeld, T. L. Hofmann, and R. D. Whetstone, Herbarium , Jacksonville
State University, Jacksonville, Alabama 36265.

Little River Canyon is located within the Cumberland Plateau section of the
Appalachian Highland physiographic region of Alabama. Studies performed over
the last seventeen years show that Little River Canyon is an area rich in plant
biodiversity. Little River Canyon contains many distinct plant communities,
including: Oak-Hickory, Pine, and Riparian communities. Each of these
communities contain many species that are of special concern. Species of special
concern include disjuncts (populations that occur outside of the known range),
taxa known only from coastal, or montane areas, and endemics (native species
that have a very restricted range). These communities occupy a range of habitats
from managed to natural environments.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF A FLORA OF LIMESTONE
COUNTY, ALABAMA. Timothy L. Hofmann and R. David Whetstone,
Herbarium, Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville,
Alabama 36265.

Limestone County is located in north central Alabama and lies within the
Interior Low Plateau physiographic province. A vascular plant survey was begun
in Limestone County, Alabama, in 1997. To this point, over five hundred species
have been documented. Numerous county records and range extensions are
included among these data. State listed species include: Claytonia caroliniana,
Erythronium albidum, Lesquerella densipila, Lilium canadense, and Minuartia
muriculala. Continued plant collecting is planned for 1998 to document a
representative flora of the county.

A VASCULAR FLORA OF MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA.

Steven J, Threlkeld, Herbarium, Department of Biology, Jacksonville State
University, Jacksonville Alabama 36265

A vascular flora is documented for Madison County located in North Alabama.
The study area lies within the Interior Low Plateau and the Appalachian Plateau.
Ten major plant communities are defined within the County. A total of 862
specific and infraspecific taxa representing 458 genera and 132 families are
documented for the County. Fifty-seven species are listed by state or federal
agencies as rare, threatened or endangered in Alabama One hundred and thirty
species in the County are non-native and growing outside of cultivation
comprising 15.0% of flora.

50

Abstracts

BRASSICA RAPA GROWTH UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF EXOGENOUS
GIBBERELLIC ACID Emily B. Baggett and Jeanette Runquist, Department of Biology.
Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham. AL 35254.

Brassica rapa appears in two forms, wild-type and rosette, a mutant form. The
mutant form of this plant has an inhibition of the hormone gibberellic acid resulting in a
decreased shoot elongation. The exogenous application of gibberellic acid has been known
to promote bolting or rapid shoot elongation and. in some cases, compensate for the lack of
gibberellic acid. This causes the phenotype of the rosette plants to appear the same as the
phenotype of the normal plants. In this experiment, the wild-ty pe and the rosette plants wrere
grown with a control group, by applying water, and a group with even- other dav application
of gibberellic acid. The heights of each plant were recorded and analyzed. The findings
were that the wild type plants with gibberellic acid did not have a significant increase in
growth when compared to the wild t\pe plants with water (p=0.9 1 ). The rosette plants with
gibberellic acid did have a significant increase in growth when compared to the rosette plants
with water (p=0.00). When the gibberellic acid was tested to find the dav of first effect, it
appeared that the time interval between day 9 and day 1 1 was most significant (p=0.015).
In fact, it was concluded that the exogenous applications of gibberellic acid actually
compensated for the inhibited gibberellic acid in rosette plants (p=0.57).

ADDITIONAL NOTEWORTHY VASCULAR PLANTS OF THE
MOBILE REGION. Michel G Lelong, Department of Biological Sciences,
University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL. 36688.

The following vascular plants collected in Mobile and/or Baldwin Counties
represent new or noteworthy records: Anemone berlandieri. Anthoxanthum
aristatum, Botrychium jenmanni. Diplazium iaponicum. Drymaria cordata.
Eragrostis atrovirens. Hydrilla verticillata. Lilaeopsis carolinensis. Medicago
minima, Paspalum minus. Paspalum pubiflorum. Pennisetum glaucum. Phvllanthus
tenellus, Portulaca amilis. Pteris multifida. Pteris vittata. Ouercus austrina
Richardia humistrata. Salvinia minima. Setaria sphacelata. Scleranthus annuus.
Spermolepis inermis. Thelvpteris hispidula var. versicolor and Trifolium
lappaceum

51

Abstracts

INSECTICIDAL PROTEIN PRODUCTION VIA CHLOROPLAST
TRANSFORMATION. Nelson Moseley. William Moar, and Henry Daniell, Dept, of Botany
and Microbiology, Auburn Univ., Auburn, Al. 36830.

The problems associated with the use of conventional insecticides has necessitated the
discovery of more efficient and environmentally-friendly means of combating insects.

Insecticidal proteins produced by the soil bacterium, Bacillus thunngiensis (B.t.), have been used
for years as an alternative to synthetic chemical insecticides. In the effort of achieving optimal
economic control in the field with B_T, transgenic plants were designed to continuously express
B.t, in all plant tissues, even though the amount of protein expression was less than desired.
Increased concern has been raised regarding the buildup of insect resistance to these proteins
expressed in plants. One solution could be the use of a protein with a different spectrum of
activity, such as CryllA, which has been shown to overcome typical BT resistance in some
insects. Additionally, an increase in the level of CryllA protein expression can be achieved via
chloroplast transformation, because there are about 10,000 copies of the chloroplast genome per
cell versus only two copies of the nuclear genome. This would result in an increased host range,
thereby significantly reducing the amount of chemical insecticides necessary to combat insects.

Traditionally, transgenic plants have been genetically engineered in the nucleus. Chloroplast
plasmid constructs are more complex, because they require unique chloroplast DNA borders for
CryllA integration. Construction of a plasmid vector containing the CryllA gene is complete.
Experiments are now underway to transform the tobacco chloroplast via microprojectile
bombardment with the gene gun. The bombarded plant tissues will be regenerated, yielding the
transgenic tobacco plants.

VEGETATION AT OAK MOUNTAIN STATE PARK. D. Keener Morrow.

J S.U. Herbarium, Dept, of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 35125.

Oak Mountain State Park is the largest State Park m Alabama at approximately 4,000
hectares. Located in Shelby County, the park is at the southern end of the Cahaba Valley district of
the Tennessee section of the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Highlands division.
This park was created in the late 1960’s as a day use park for multiple activities and is a wildlife
preserve. One of the major visions of the park was its ability to act as an educational tool due to
its location, size, and physical features. This area is an important green way that acts as a buffer
for vegetation and wildlife that has been relatively undisturbed for nearly a century. Throughout
the park, the physical nature of the land dictates a definite distinction in the variation among plant
communities. To study the woody plant community structure, the releve method was chosen and
implemented on the western slope of Double Oak Mountain including ridgeline vegetation. Species
were assigned importance values and species diversity was determined using the Shannon-Weiner
index of diversity. This sample analysis relates the species composition and importance found
upon Double Oak Mountain. The microhabitats at O.M.S.P. vary greatly in community structure
and physical features, hence the need for defining the micro-habitats as well as the parks’
macro-habitat. Defining the vegetation promotes a greater understanding of the park and its
boundaries.

52

Abstracts

EFFECTS OF RECOMBINANT MOLT-INHIBITING HORMONE ON ECDYSTEROID
SECRETION BY CRUSTACEAN Y-ORGANS IN VITRO. Kara J. Lee and R. Douglas
Watson. Dept, of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL 35294.

Molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) regulates the secretion of ecdysteroids by crustacean
Y-organs. The availability of recombinant MIH would facilitate investigation of its structure
and function. In studies reported here, a baculovirus expression system was used to produce
recombinant MIH. A portion of a cDNA encoding MIH of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus,
was inserted into a baculovirus transfer vector (pBluBacIII) designed to yield a fully processed
MIH. Western blot results (using antiserum raised against MIH of Carcinus maenas ) indicated
abundant expression of an MIH-immunoreactive protein (~9 kD). Cell lysates containing the
recombinant protein were tested for their ability to suppress ecdysteroid secretion by Y-organs
in vitro. Lysates containing the recombinant protein inhibited ecdysteroid secretion in a dose-
dependent manner; maximal inhibition was 44%. Lysates from non-infected cells did not inhibit
ecdysteroid secretion.

Supported by NSF IBN-9419916, NOAA/MS-AL Sea Grant NA56RG0129, and the Alabama
Academy of Science.

PENETRATION RATES, GENERATION TIMES AND CONCURRENT GROWTH
OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII AND NEOSPORA CANINUM IN VITRO. B.H. Estridae and
C. A. Sundermann. Dept. Zoology-Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, AL.

This study compares in vitro host cell penetration rates, generation times and
concurrent growth of isolates of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum, two closely
related coccidians that parasitize nucleated cells of birds and mammals. Monolayers of
human foreskin fibroblast (FSF) cells propagated in tissue culture flasks or on culture slides
were used as host cells for the parasites. For penetration rate, 20,000 tachyzoites were
inoculated to triplicate wells of culture slides, wells were rinsed at 1 and 3 h, slides were
stained, and intracellular tachyzoites counted. For generation time, culture slides were
inoculated as for penetration rate, wells were rinsed at 3 h, and slides were incubated for
various times up to 30 h. At timed intervals, slides were stained and intracellular
tachyzoites were counted. Results of regression analyses showed that N. caninum
penetrated host cells up to three times faster than T. gondii, but generation time of T. gondii
was 6 h compared to 15 h for N. caninum. For concurrent growth, flasks of FSF cells
inoculated with equal numbers of W caninum and T. gondii tachyzoites were incubated until
monolayer was 90% lysed (3-4 da). Tachyzoites were harvested, filtered, counted, sampled
and passed to new flasks; this procedure was repeated for up to 30 days post inoculation
(DPI). At each passage (and at initial inoculation) aliquots of tachyzoites were stained using
species-specific monoclonal antibodies/peroxidase label and tachyzoites of each species
were counted. Although N. caninum penetrated cells at a higher rate, T. gondii was the
predominate species by 20 DPI. Supported by the Ala. Agricultural Experiment Station.

53

Abstracts

ESCHERICHIA C.OLI HOST GENES ARE NOT INVOLVED IN IS2
EXCISION. Joy E. Bagiev and Richard E. Musso, Department of Botany and
Microbiology, Auburn University, AL 36849.

Transposable elements (TE) encode genes for proteins necessary for their transposition
process. The bacterial TE IS2 codes two proteins involved in the transposition and excision
processes. Some TE also require host proteins encoded outside the TE which are involved in
transposition. So far, no host proteins are known to be involved in the IS2 transposition or excision
processes. We have developed a quantitative but indirect assay for excision based on reversion of
agn/-IS2 mutant to a Gal+ phenotype. Using this convenient assay, we have tested mutations in ten
genes for proteins thought to be involved in transposition of other elements; none of these affected
the IS2 excision frequency. To search for other possible host genes, we used transposon
mutagenesis. Among 20,000 mutants, none showed elevated but several showed reduced apparent
excision rates. The latter were mapped to fourteen different loci. Sequencing of two of these
indicated that the mutated genes were required for the assay phenotype rather than directly for IS2
excision. Wc therefore developed a direct assay for IS2 excision and tested the fourteen host
mutants. None produced significant changes in IS2 excision. Thus it appears that there are no host
genes involved in the IS2 excision process.

This research has been supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Alabama
Agricultural Experiment Station.

PHOTOTACTIC RESPONSES OF RHIZOCEPHALAN LARVAE AS A
FUNCTION OF WAVELENGTH. Adnane C. Cej and Jack.J. O’Brien Dept. Biol.
Sci. , Univ. South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Loxothylacus lexanus is a parasitic barnacle that castrates blue crabs m the Gulf of Mexico.
Larvae of the parasite are released as nauplii and within two to three days metamorphose into cypns
larvae that either infect new hosts or inseminate female parasites Both nauplu and cyprids were
exposed independently for 10 minutes to a unidirectional beam of light of a specific wavelength (400-
700nm, 50 nm increments) in a 40 ml chamber. Following exposure, a divider isolated larvae into
either of two subchambers that were either proximal or distal to the light source. Positive phototaxis
was defined as a significantly greater percentage of exposed larvae in the proximal subchamber than
larvae maintained in the dark (49-50%) Nauplii exhibited pronounced positive phototaxis (72-87%)
at wavelengths between 400-600 nm. Cypns larval response was more ambivalent; they exhibited only
a slight (62-65%) positive phototaxis over a narrow range of wavelengths (550-650 nm) These data
suggest that nauplii probably concentrate in surface waters (at least during the day), a behavior that
would increase dispersion of the parasite. Cypnds (even on sunny days) would be more likely to found
m deeper regions of estuaries where they would encounter hosts vulnerable to infection.

54

Abstracts

THE USE OF PCR TO DETECT RHIZOCEPHALAN PARASITES IN CRAB
HOSTS. Andrew M, Woodard. Tim D. Sherman and Jack J. O’Brien. Dept. Biol.
Sci., Univ. South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Within the Gulf of Mexico the rhizocephalan, Loxothylacus texanus, is an important economic
pest of the blue crab fishery, parasitized blue crabs are castrated and do not grow to harvestable size
Seasonal and annual variation of parasite prevalences suggest that the success rate of parasitization
is affected by either host defense mechanisms and/or environmental conditions. In order to understand
the mechanisms causing variations in parasite prevalence, to predict the annual loss to the fishery
caused by the parasite, and to develop management policies that would increase harvest yields by
reducing parasitism, it will be necessary to pinpoint where and when crabs are infected in local
estuaries. To address this need we have developed an assay using the polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) This sensitive technique can detect as little as a few strands of parasite DNA in either the
hepatopancreas or claw muscle tissue of a host crab We have be able to identify parasitized crabs as
parasitized within days following infection m the laboratory

Effects of Cigarette Smoke On The Beat Frequency of Mammalian Airway Epithelium
As DETERMINED BY FFT Analysis. Darrell D, Morgan and Anthony G. Moss. Dept, of Zoology
and Wildlife Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5414.

Herein we describe a simple approach to analyze biological systems that undergo rapid periodic
movement, such as ciliary motion, usmg a laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) and an analog-
to-digital computer converter/analyzer. Our system is able to analyze high frequency activity and as
a result our data are very accurate and reliable. This system is attractive because it requires only
minor macro-programming by the investigator and can be readily assembled from currently available
commercial hardware and software. Furthermore, the LSCM and attendant imaging devices
(photomultipliers and photodiode arrays) allows us to analyze ciliary and flagellar movement from
a \ anetx of preparations in se\eral different imaging modes, taking advantage of the unique spacial
control over imaging available only in a confocal microscope. Our arrangement allows transmitted
imaging in two modes (illumination by laser or tungsten lamp), by fluorescence, and by reflectance.
The Kr-Ar laser allows us to select laser lines that are most suitable to the preparation. Analysis of
bi\ alve cilia treated with the neurociliary agonist 5 -hydroxy tryptamine (5-HT) reveals an increase in
ciliary beat frequency (CBF). Chlcimydomonas reinhardtii analysis supports the hypothesis that the
outer dynein arm is differentially regulated between the cis and tram flagella, and reveals the
ciliomodulatory effects of photokinesis. Analysis of normal ciliated epithelia demonstrates CBF at 6,
12, 18 and 29s , whereas cilia exposed to a single cigarette display similar, lower power frequencies
and multiple frequencies at values up to 65s1. Cilia exposed to the smoke of five cigarettes
demonstrate a rapid and continual decrease in CBF with ciliostasis occurring 30 min post-exposure.

55

Abstracts

PATTERNS OF VITELLIN PROCESSING AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS DURING
EMBRYOGENESIS IN ACHETA DOMESTICUS. B. H. Estridqe, H. Handley and J. T.
Bradley. Dept. Zoology, Auburn University, AL 36849 USA.

During embryogenesis, insect embryos utilize phospholipoglycoproteins called
vitellins (VN) that are sequestered from the hemolymph during vitellogenesis and stored
within the eggs. To examine the time course of VN proteolytic processing during
embryogenesis in Acheta domesticus, oviposited eggs incubated at 28°C were sampled
over the 14-day period. The eggs were subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
(PAGE), peptide mapping, immunoblotting, radiolabeling, and gelatin lysis assays (GLA).
Yolk polypeptides (YP) l-IV were present throughout the period of embryogenesis, with the
levels decreasing as development progressed. A previously unreported 107 kD VN
polypeptide, designated YPIIb, was observed in vitellogenic and oviposited eggs and was
found to be a subunit of native vitellogenin/vitellin (VG/VN) I. More than 30 embryo
polypeptides (EP) (polypeptides appearing after embryogenesis begins but absent from
ovulated, unoviposited eggs) were observed via PAGE. Radiolabeling, peptide mapping,
and immunoblotting experiments showed that EPs 1-3, 6 and 7 appeared during the first
24 h of embryogenesis (blastoderm formation) and derived from single, different YPs; EPs
4 and 5 appeared and increased between days 4 and 6 of embryogenesis and were
synthesized de novo. GLAs performed using homogenates of eggs 0-4 da post-oviposition
indicated that protease activity (opt. pH 7.0) was absent 0-3 h after oviposition but was
present 14 h-4 da following oviposition. The mechanisms regulating VN processing and the
relationship of protease activity in developing eggs to the formation of EPs from VN is
currently under study. Supported by the Ala. Agricultural Experiment Station.

BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF NUAGE-LIKE BODIES IN CRICKET
OOCYTES. ((M.L. Falany and J.T. Bradley)) Department of Zoology, Auburn
University, Auburn, AL 36849.

In developing oocytes of many animals there are congregations of organelles called
nuage bodies that form adjacent to the nucleus. Nomarski optics provide clear images
of the development of nuage bodies in oocytes of the cricket, Acheta domesticus. Two
nuage bodies develop adjacent to the germinal vesicle inside previtellogenic oocytes.
One faces each pole of the oblong shaped oocyte, and as oocyte growth continues, the
nuage bodies migrate to the poles and then disintegrate. Confocal laser scanning
microscopy shows concentrations of alpha-tubulin, mitochondria, and material
reactive with the antibody MAB 2D1 (against a vitellin polypeptide) in the nuage
bodies. The presence of mitochondria in sizeable amounts in the nuage bodies of last
nymphal instar crickets was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence and
FITC-labeled secondary antibody. The reactivity of cricket nuage bodies with anti-
clathrin and anti-calmodulin has also been examined. Nuage bodies develop adjacent
to the nucleus of each oocyte, migrate to the poles of the cell, and disintegrate; the
presence of tubulin suggests that the bodies may play a role in the organization of the
cytoplasm in developing oocytes. (Supported by Alabama Agricultural Experiment
Station Project 862 to J.T. B. and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Scholars
Program).

56

Abstracts

PHOTOTACTIC RESPONSES OF RHIZOCEPHALAN NAUPLIAR
LARVAE AT A HALOCLINE. Ed I. Hed and Jack J. O’Brien. Dept. Biol. Sci . , Univ.
South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

The naupliar larval stage of the parasite barnacle, Loxothylacus texanus, exhibits positive
phototaxis suggesting that on sunny days nauplu concentrate in surface waters Although larval
presence in surface waters could result in greater larval dispersion by wind-driven currents, there are
situations where it could also be maladaptive Nauplii do not survive at salinities less than 15%o and
Gulf Coast estuaries are often stratified, light, fresh water can sit for days above dense, saline, bottom
water In this environment, positive phototaxis would increase the likelihood that larvae would
encounter salinities exceeding their osmoregulatory capabilities. We examined the phototactic behavior
of L. texanus nauplu at haloclines or interfaces between water masses of different salinities Solutions
of saltwater at 10, 14, 17, 20, & 24%owere dyed with food coloring Haloclines were created in either
a SDS slab gel apparatus or a 100 ml graduated cylinder. Nauplii were introduced into the bottom
solution and their responses to a light from above were observed Nauplu moved upward toward the
light (positive phototaxis) until they entered a water mass with a salinity 1 4%o or less. At this time, the
larvae ceased moving their appendages Since they were immobile rather than actively swimming away
from light, this response was not deemed true negative phototaxis. Immobilized nauplii sank below the
halocline and continued passively drifting deeper into the saltier water. When larvae did resume
moving, they quickly swam upward through the halocline whereupon they became immobile and the
cycle was repeated. The overall effect of these differential responses was that at any one time most
larvae were passively drifting in a narrow region immediately below the halocline

GIS DELINEATION OF MICROHABITAT IN AN AQUATIC SYSTEM Michael A.
Mease Is, (Dr. Paul Blanchard), Biology Department, Samford University, 800
Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229 "

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a useful tool in the area of aquatic
system modeling due to its capability for database analysis associated with a spatial
display. The system provides the user with the ability to examine and visualize data
so that the decision making process can be facilitated. This study focuses on using
GIS technology and global positioning systems (GPS) technology as tools in
analyzing and studying different effects and parameters of water quality and stream
characteristics related to the habitat and sustainability of Etheostotnu chennocki , the
vermillion darter, a potentially threatened species that occurs in a unique habitat in
Jefferson County, Alabama.

57

Abstracts

THE FIRST RECORDED DISTRIBUTION OF THE PURSEWEB SPIDER,
SPHODROS RUFIPES (FAMILY ATYPIDAE, FROM ALABAMA. Rose M.
Parrino, W. Mike Howell, and Ronald L. Jenkins, Department of Biology, Samford
Univ., Birmingham, AL 35229.

The spider family Atypidae is an ancient branch of the infraordcr Mygalomorphae. This family has
been recorded for most of the southeastern U. S., but no records have been documented for Alabama.
The purpose of this report is to officially record the purseweb spider, Sphodros rufipes Latreille from
Alabama. The name "Purseweb Spider" refers to the tough, tubular, camouflaged web constructed in
the ground at the base of a tree, prolonged aerially up the side, and attached to the bark. When an insect
disturbs the surface of the web, the spider reacts by biting its prey through the tube, cutting a slit,
pulling the prey inside and consuming it. S. rufipes has been previously found at 4 sites in TN, 2 in NC,
0 in SC, 1 in GA, 6 in northern FL, 2 in MS, 4 in LA, 1 in TX and 0 in AL (Gertsch and Platnick, 1 980,
Amer. Mus. Novitates No. 2704: 1-39, figs. 1-60). A population of S. rufipes was discovered at Ruffner
Mountain Nature Center, Jefferson Co, AL (T17S, R2W S13), on 16 Oct. 1997. The aerial portion of
the web was 140 mm in length and uniformly 20 mm in width. Excavation and opening of the 1 60 mm
underground portion of tire web found that it contained a large female 25 mm in total body length. The
web also contained approximately 228 spiderlings, each 2.5 mm in total body length. The adult and 10
spiderlings were preserved and deposited in the American Museum of Natural History where Dr.
Norman Platnick verified them as S. rufipes. The remaining young were returned to the site.

SELENIUM ACCUMULATION IN PLANTS: AN HERB IVORY DEFENSE
MECHANISM? Jessica R, Ward and Dr. Robert Boyd, Dept, of Botany and
Microbiolog}', Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL 36849-5407.

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for all animals, including humans. Due to a
low threshold for toxicity, high levels of selenium cause severe problems and death in
animals. Certain plants accumulate high amounts of selenium in their tissues. This fact
is interesting because selenium is not a required nutrient for plants. It is believed that the
selenium accumulation may then be an herbivory defense mechanism. Herbivores would
consume plant tissue, including the selenium, thus poisoning them and causing decreased
fecundity and increased mortality. Research has provided some clues to the mechanism
of selenium uptake and storage within the plant, but has yet to focus on the ecological
function of selenium accumulation. Thus, in this study we examine what we believe to
be the ecological function of selenium accumulation. This work is supported by a grant
from Auburn University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Auburn
University Future Life Science Scholars Program.

58

Abstracts

FUMARATE REDUCTASE INHIBITORS AS POTENTIAL DRUGS AGAINST CHAGAS
DISEASE. Jylio F, Turning and Benjamin P. Watts, Jr., Department of Biomedical Sciences,
University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688. Li Zhong and Roberto Docampo, Department of
Pathobiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801.

The enzyme NADH-fumarate reductase is present in several parasitic protoza of the genus
Trypanosoma including T. cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas’ disease. This enzyme is not found
in mammalian cells. The product of fumarate reductase, succinate, serves two major roles in these
parasites: it provides one of the main respiratory substrates for energy production, and it also
constitutes a route for the elimination of excessive reduction equivalents (similar to lactate
dehydrogenase in mammals, an enzyme missing in trypanosomatids). The lack of fumarate reductase
in mammalian cells provides a unique target against Chagas’ disease. Several nitro-imidazoles and
benzimidazoles, some of which are currently used for the treatment of either Chagas’ disease or
helminthiases, are powerful fumarate reductase inhibitors. Other non-imidazolic antihelminths such
as the drug L-092,201 (developed by Merck, Sharp and Dohme against the form of fumarate reductase
found in Haemonchus contortus) have also been found to inhibit the enzvme fumarate reductase from
T. brucei and the growth of procyclic trypomastigotes in culture. One of the precursors of the drug
L-092,201, 2-mercapto-pyridine-N-oxide (MPNO) not only inhibits fumarate reductase of T. cruzi,
but also inhibits epimastigote (culture form) and amastigote (intracellular parasite) growth in either
cultures or infected mammalian myoblasts. MPNO did not affect mammalian cells. In summary, a
variety of compounds which only have in common their inhibitory effect on the enzyme fumarate
reductase inhibit T. cruzi growth, suggesting that inhibition of this enzyme is a suitable target against
Chagas’ disease. (Supported by PSH grants #R15AI39692-01 to JFT).

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF NEW TYPES OF ANTIFREEZE
PROTEINS. Travis J. Rutland and Andre Wierzbicki. Dept, of Chemistry, Univ. of
South Ala.. Mobile, AL 36688. Mark Hamman, Dept. Pharmacognosy, Univ. of
Mississippi, University, MS 38677

Several species of fish, plants, and insects that live in cold environments are able to
prevent tissue damage from freezing by producing antifreeze proteins or antifreeze glycoproteins.
These proteins inhibit ice growth below the equilibrium freezing point of water. The main focus of
investigation of these macromolecules has been placed on the polar fishes. Taking into account
structural differences, the fish antifreezes have been classified into four main categories. Type I, II,
III, and IV. These proteins are very interesting in that, although they have significant structural
differences, they all have similar functionality. The ability to noncolligatively depress the freezing
point of a solution is believed to be attributed to tire unique stereospecificity of interactions
between these proteins and ice. The protein actually become incorporated into the crystallme
lattice of water via several key ammo acid residues (i.e. dir, val, ala, lys, arg) In recent efforts, we
have found a protein from die Antarctic Sponge Homctxonella balfouremis which exhibits thermal
hysterisis It is also noted diat ice crystals grown in solutions of diis protein exhibit the
bipyramidal morphology characteristic of other antifreeze proteins. Purification attempts, along
with primary, secondary, and tertiary structure determinations are currently underway.

59

Abstracts

STUDIES EVALUATING AMYLASE AND ACID PHOSPHATASE IN RABBIT
SECRETIONS. Kaggia K. Scott, LaShaundra Perry, Ovuke Emonina, LaShanda McCants,
Lvdell Collier, Dewight Cowley, Debbie Carswell, Adriel D. Johnson, Dept, of Biological
Sciences, Univ. of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899. Jacqueline U. Johnson, Dept of
Plant, Soil, and Animal Science, Alabama A&M Univ., Normal, AL 35762. Aimee Hulede, Dept,
of Biology, Tuskegee Univ., Tuskegee, AL 36088

Little is known about the changes in enzymatic activity in secretions associated with
reproductive function in rabbits. It was demonstrated in parous and infertile women during the
phases of the menstrual cycle that low amylase activity in uterine fluid may cause high acid
phosphatase activity which may be indicative of infertility (Singh, 1995, Horm. Metab Res.). In
our preliminary studies, New Zealand White rabbits were used to determine enzymatic changes in
estrus and non-estrus animals. Techniques were developed to collect uterine, vaginal, and salivary
secretions. Collected secretions were assayed for amylase and acid phosphatase activities using
spectrophotometnc quantitative kinetic procedures. Vagiiidl smears were compared histologically
for estrus and non-estrus rabbits. Tests were conducted on antibacterial activity of the secretions
using 4 opportunistic bacteria S. aureus , S. typhimurium, P. aeruginosa, and S. pneumoniae.
Results from these preliminary studies revealed low enzymatic activities and no antibacterial
characteristics in the secretions. It was concluded that all fluids should be concentrated to facilitate
measurement of significant levels of enzymatic activity, which could then determine whether a
correlation exist between amylase and acid phosphatase activities during the phases of the estrous
cycle in rabbits.

ENZYMES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ION CHANNELS; PHOSPHORYLATION IN THE
OLFACTORY BULB. Debra A. Fadool and Kristal Tucker. Department of Zoology and
Wildlife, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830.

We are studying the regulation of ion channels by protein tyrosine kinases (TKs) using olfactory
bulb neurons (OBNs) and a cloned voltage-dependent potassium channel, Kvl.3, as models. Rat
OBNs, which express Kvl.3 channels, had whole-cell outward currents that were suppressed by
picomolar quantities of margatoxin and showed a slow inactivation that increased over a 10
minute period. The insulin receptor TK was detected in the OB by Western analysis. Exogenoui
application of insulin was found to suppress whole-cell outward current in all OBNs tested in a
time dependent manner. Perfusion of the non-receptor Src kinase likewise suppressed outward
current. Current was not suppressed with heat-inactivated Src or when ATP was excluded from
the pipette solution. The membrane permeant tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, pervanadate, was
found to suppress current in a subset of neurons, implying the presence of an endogenous
tyrosine kinase in these neurons. Using site-directed mutagenesis of six tyrosine residues
contained within good recognition motifs for tyrosine phosphorylation, we constructed
conservative Y to F mutations in the Kvl.3 cDNA and expressed the Kvl.3 channels in HEK 29-
cells. We found that Tyr449 is a target for both the pervanadate- and Src-induced suppression of
Kvl .3 current; Tyr111,112,113 are also important for modulation by pervanadate; and Tyr137 is a
target for modulation by Src. In summary, tyrosine phosphorylation of Kvl.3 and related
channels may be involved in the modulation of OBN excitability.

Supported byNIH grant R29DC03387-01

60

Abstracts

A STUDY OF ANURAN COMMUNICATION AND SPECIES DIVERSITY IN
THE HOLLIS LAKE AREA, POSSUM TROT ROAD, CALHOUN COUNTY, AL.

Jacqueline Carter, Jon Gilbert, Stacy Dunn, Scott Clifton, and George R. Cline, Dept, of Biology,
Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Amphibian populations have been declining since the early 1 990’s. This particular site
studied is located off Possum Trot Road near a beaver pond adjoining Hollis Lake. The site is
located approximately fifteen miles north of Jacksonville, Alabama. This study will establish
baseline data for future comparisons to discover if these particular populations in Alabama are in
decline. NAAMP protocols were followed and a four-month period, February 1997 — May 1997
was investigated. Breeding phenology is classified on the basis of the calling indices developed
within the NAAMP protocols (4 levels) and whether a species is an explosive breeder or a
prolonged breeder. By recording calling indices over time a species breeding type may be
discerned, i.e., whether its an expiosive breeder or a prolonged breeder. At this location, twelve
anuran species were identified. Bufo americanus usually considered an explosive breeder, called at
level 2 sporadically for March through May, with a few spikes to level 3 calling. Pseudacris
crucifer, a species with a more prolonged breeding season, generally maintained level 3 choruses
from February through April, before becoming sporadic and less intense through May. Thus,
recorded calling indices, in general for these 12 species, confirmed the reported breeding
phenology.

LOCALIZATION OF THE INSULIN RECEPTOR IN THE OLFACTORY BULB OF THE
RAT. Joseph J. Phillips, Felicia A. Murphy, Kristal Tucker, and Debra A. Fadool, Department
of Zoology and Wildlife, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830.

Insulin activates a number of signaling pathways that regulate cellular metabolism and
growth. Because we have previously shown that acute insulin application to olfactory bulb
neurons causes current suppression of potassium channels (Kvl.3), the IR may play a secondary
role in ion channel modulation via tyrosine phosphorylation in this area of the brain. We have
now demonstrated by SDS-PAGE followed by Western analysis that the beta subunit of the
insulin receptor (IR) is developmentally expressed in the rat olfactory bulb (OB) across postnatal
(P) stages ranging from PI to P60. Rat OBs were fixed, cryoprotected, sectioned at 12 urn
thickness, and then immunostained with polyclonal antibodies (Ab) directed against
neurofilament 160, the IR, the Kvl.3 channel, or a combination. Positive immunolabeled cells
were compared with lmmunolabelmg observed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells
transiently transfected with cDNA for either human IR, Kvl.3 ion channels, or both constructs.
Cells or sections were viewed with an Olympus CH-2 microscope equipped with fluorescence
and by a BioRad MRC-1000 laser scanning confocal microscope. Observation of the rat OB
sections suggests that IR may be located within the glomerular layer during early postnatal
stages, although it appears that IR probably migrates as development proceeds to PI 7. The
evidence also demonstrates that IR is located in the same neurons as the Kvl.3 channel.

This research was supported by an undergraduate Research Grant-In-Aid from the Department
of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn University and NIH grant R29DC033S7-01 .

61

Abstracts

THE MODERATING INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY ON THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND
CORPORATE REPUTATION. Robert J. Williams. Gerald Crawford, and Robert
Sweeney, College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632

This study examined the influence of corporate giving programs on the link between selected
categories of corporate come and corporate reputation. A sample of 168 corporations was
drawn from a population comprised of Fortune 500 firms. Specifically, firms that violate EPA
and OSHA regulations should, to some extent, experience a decline in their reputations.
Conversely, firms that contribute to charitable activities, such as education, the arts, and
various social programs, should see their reputations enhanced.

The results of the study support both of these contentions. Further, the results also suggest
that corporate giving significantly moderates the link between rhe number of EPA and OSHA
violations committed by a firm and its reputation. Thus, while a firm’s reputation can be
diminished by its violation of various government regulations, the extent of the decline m
reputation can be significantly reduced by means of its level of charitable giving. Simply stated,
the decline in a firm’s reputation can be lessened through its giving activities. While a firm may
not be able to buy its way out of trouble, a significant giving program may help a firm to
preserve its reputation.

A CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF PIKE COUNTY, ALABAMA. Alvin
R, Diamond. Jr. and Charles P. Chapman, Department of Biology, Troy State University,
Troy AL 36082.

Based on field studies and research of herbarium collections and literature
records, the vascular flora of Pike County contains 1078 species in 552 genera and 148
families. The county lies in southeast Alabama in the Eastern Red Hills subdivision of the
Coastal Plain Province. Thirty-nine of the species reported appear on the Inventory List of
Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants, Animals and Natural Communities of Alabama
as compiled by the Alabama Natural Heritage Program. Two hundred seventeen of the
species, or 20.13 percent of the flora are considered non-indigenous. Forty five of the
species previously reported for the county were not re-collected in this study. Families
with the largest number of species were Asteraceae (120), Poaceae (1 14), Fabaceae (79),
Cyperaceae (61), Rosaceae (38), and Liliaceae (35).

62

Abstracts

CLUTCH SIZES IN THE ALABAMA REDBELLY TURTLE
(PSEUDEMYS ALABAMENSIS) AS DETERMINED BY X-RAY
RADIOGRAPHY. William M Turner and David H. Nelson, Department of
Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

To determine the maximum clutch size for the Alabama Redbelly turtle
(Pseudemys alabamensis), 19 gravid females were collected from Gravine Island
on the Tensaw River (Baldwin Co.) from 10 June 1997 to 1 July 1997. Another
gravid specimen was collected from the Alabama River (Baldwin Co.) on 23 June
1997. All turtles were captured in aquatic hoop traps Turtles were x-rayed to
determine the clutch sizes. Clutch sizes ranged from 2 to 17 eggs ( mean =13.95,
mode=14). These numbers are considerably higher than earlier estimates that
place clutch sizes between 3 and 9 eggs Egg size was determined by measuring
six intact eggs from a dead female turtle collected in the Blakeley River (Baldwin
Co.) in 1996. Egg length ranged from 3.4 mm to 3.8 mm ( x = 3.6 mm). Egg
diameter was found to range from 2.3 mm to 2.4 mm ( x =2.35 mm).

COMMUNITY. HABITAT INTERACTIONS, AND THE FEEDING PREFERENCES
OF THE STRIPED HERMIT CRAB CLIBANAR1US V1TTATUS (BOSC) AT DAUPHIN
ISLAND, AL Jennifer J, Harrison and Thomas S Hopkins. Department of Biological Sciences,
Univ. of Ala., Tuscaloosa, AL. 35487.

The feeding preference of the hermit crab Chbanarius vittatus was determined from four
food souices, Bryopsis sp. (green algae), Ectocarpus sp. (brown algae), Leiostomus xanthurus
(fish), and Palaemonetes sp. (grass shrimp). Observations were made to compare the behavior
of sub-populations of this species between those found on Dauphin Island, Al. and those groups
after being housed in the laboratory. Animal matter was found to be preferred to algal matter.
The most preferred choice was the grass shrimp Palaemonetes sp (p < 0.001). Palaemonetes
sp. was also found to have the highest electivity index. However, the food source Ectocarpus sp.
was the highest total biomass consumed and had the highest profitability ratio at 0.0787 g/min.
The profitability ratio of Ectocarpus sp. was found to be significantly different from the other
three sources (p < 0.0001). From these findings, the preferred food choice did not correlate with
the highest profitability ratio. The preferred source, Palaemonetes sp., may provide higher
caloric values and it may be easier for the crabs to assimilate. No recordable differences were
found between the behaviors and interactions of the crabs in the field compared to the laboratory.

63

Abstracts

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF A STUDY ON SAGITTARIA SECUNDIFOLIA
(ALISMATACEAE). Elizabeth A. McCartney and Jeri W. Higginbotham,
Department of Biology, Jacksonville State Univ., Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Sagittaria secundifolia, Krai's Water-Plantain, is a perennial aquatic herb
currently known to exist only in the Little River Canyon drainage. On May 14, 1990,
S. secundifolia was given threatened status by the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service. A pedestrian survey of Little River within Little River Canyon National
Preserve funded by the National Park Service was conducted in order to revisit known
populations and document new populations. The West and East Forks of Little River
provide the most ideal habitat for S. secundifolia with an abundance of shallow riffles,
flat sandstone, and sandstone rubble. It is rarely found in areas with high velocity
water flow, deep pools, or huge boulders. S. secundifolia was found emergent to
submerged in water up to 1.3 meters deep. Canopy cover over populations varied
considerably. Although reproduction is thought to be mainly clonal, it is possible
that sexual reproduction occurs. Reproductive shoots were observed, although not in
great numbers.

SEROTONIN PRODUCES CHANGES IN NOCICEPTION, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND
NEURAL ACTIVITY IN THE ROSTRAL VENTRAL MEDULLA C.L. Thurston, G.D.
Santim, R. Vallabhaparu, R. Ang, and M. Fayard, Dept, of Biomedical Sciences, University of
South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Intravenous (i.v.) administration of serotonin produces antinociception through activation of
vagal afferents. The present study analyzed the dose-dependent effects of i.v. serotonin on arterial
blood pressure, nociception and on the activity of neurons in the rostral ventral medulla
hypothesized to modulate nociception and/or blood pressure.

As expected, serotonin produced biphasic effects on blood pressure consisting of the Bezold-
Jarisch reflex, a pressor response, and a delayed depressor response. Serotonin also produced
triphasic effects on neural activity in the rostral ventral medulla, consisting of an excitation,
inhibition (or less excitation), followed by another period of excitation. At the greater doses,
serotonin inhibited the nociceptive tail flick reflex. The inhibition of the tail flick and the Bezold-
Jarisch reflex are mediated through activation of serotonin 3 receptors. The pressor response is
mediated through activation of serotonin 2 receptors. The changes in neural activity are complex,
and do not clearly involve any one type of receptor tested. The changes in neural activity also tend
to follow changes in blood pressure. Based on these findings, the changes in neural activity are
most likely not responsible for the changes in nociception produced by serotonin However, the
changes in neural activity may be related to changes in blood pressure.

This research was support by NIH grant NS3 1495 to C.L Thurston.

64

Abstracts

SALINITY TOLERANCE IN MOSQUITOFISH (GAMBUSIA AF FINIS)
INHABI I ING AN INLAND SALINE ECOSYSTEM IN CLARKE COUNTY
ALABAMA. Randy Sterling. Donald Salter, and John McCall, Department of
Biological Sciences, University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL 35470

We investigated salinity tolerance of a population of mosquitofish, Gambusia
u-ulS' ,mhabltmg an iniand saline habitat in Clarke County, Alabama. In this area,
high salinity water emerges form the ground and mixes with freshwater from nearbv
springs. Fish living in the area may be subjected to wide variations in salinity as the
area is alternately inundated by flooding from the nearby Tombigbee river Salinity
tolerance of fish from this area was compared with fish from a fresh water sprin°
Mentical tanks with filtration systems were used to study the survival of three croups
ot iish: (Da control group from the salt springs; (2) an experimental group" from
the salt springs; and (3) an experimental group from a fresh water sprin° The
salinity was increased in the experimental tanks in increments of 5 ppt over a period
of 15 weeks. Water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and survivability were
recorded for each tank. The results indicated that G. affinis from salt and fresh water
springs have an extremely high tolerance for salinity with some surviving at 70 ppt
hsh from the salt springs were slightly (5 ppt) more tolerant to increased salinity
than the ones from the fresh water spring. 7

MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF THE ALABAMA REDBELLY TURTLE
(PSUEDEMYS ALABAMENSIS) AS DETERMINED BY
RADIOTELEMETRY. Sean R O’Hare, David H. Nelson, and William M.

Turner, Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama Mobile
AL 36688.

The Alabama Redbelly turtle (Pseudemvs alabamensis )is an endangered
species endemic to the Mobile-Tensaw River delta. Fifty-six turtles (24 males, 32
females) were fitted with radio transmitters (ca. lOOg , measuring approx. 6.5 x 4.5
x 3.5 cm) constructed in the laboratory to emit a pulsed signal on 26.760 - 28.200
MHz. The turtles were captured, tagged, and released near Gravine Island
(Baldwin County), Alabama in three rounds. The first sixteen (8 males, 8 females)
were deployed from 25 August 1996 to 25 October 1996. Turtles from this group
were tracked until the last telemeter failed from battery exhaustion after 15 April
1997. Twenty more ( 16 females, 4 males) were deployed from 11 June 1997 to 07
July 1997, and some were tracked until 30 December 1997. Twenty additional
turtles (12 males, 8 females) , deployed from 31 October 1997 through 05
December 1997, are currently being tracked. Most study subjects exhibited signs of
dormancy during autumn and winter months, although some specimens moved
>6km despite water temperatures near 11 degrees C. Turtles were most active in
July. Some subjects travelled to areas more than 9km, 11km, 12km, and 15km
from their capture sites.

65

Abstracts

CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS OF IND0-PAC1FIC CORALS(Tmchyp/ivHia
yeofroyi. Xenia sp., Zoanthus , and Litophxton arboreum). Bryce L. Roberts
and Carol A. Leitner. M.D.. Dept, of Surgery, Univ. of Ala. Birmingham 35233

Circadian rhythms directed by an internal biological clock are thought to exist in
many, if not all, liv ing organisms. This project studied the circadian rhythms of four
species of coral native to the Indo-Pacific and raised in a home aquarium. From
September 1997 through January 1998, weekly observation and hourly recording of
the fleshy configuration of the four species ( Trachyphyllia yeofroxi, Xenia sp..
Zoanthus. and Litophxton arboreum) was recorded. The configurations were
represented as a clock utilizing a computer drawing program. Comparison of the
species' clocks revealed differences that can be explained on the dietary and
environmental requirements of the organism. Hard corals such as Trachyphyllia live
symbiotically with zooanthellae, photosynthetic algae that create food tor the host coral.
Trachyphyllia were found to open gradually during the day, allowing the algae to
capture sunlight for photosynthesis. Soft corals such as Xenia, Zoanthus, and
Litophyton, contain zooanthellae but are primarily filter feeders. Whenever light is
present, these corals open and extend tentacles to filter zooplankton found in shallower
waters during daylight. Other characteristics of biological clocks such as accuracy,
predictability, and adaptability were documented to exist in corals as well.

BIOASSESSMENT OF THE UPPER CAHABA RIVER USING BENTHIC
MACROINVERTEBRATES. Ken R. Marion, Robert A. Angus and Kristen Lindsey,
Dept, of Biology, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

Bioassessment studies were conducted at thirteen sites along the upper Cahaba River
in north central Alabama using benthic macroinvertebrate collections. This section of
river is undergoing steady urbanization. Samples were taken during fall 1995, spring
1996, fall 1996, and spring 1997. Samples were collected in riffle areas with a kick net
and preserved in ethanol. One hundred specimens were randomly selected from each site
per collection and identified to genus by microscopic examination. General trends were
seen in indices such as species diversity, similarity, and percent of dominant taxon that
indicated a gradual decline in the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates as
the Cahaba passed through urbanized areas. Similarly, the Ephemeroptera + Plecoptera
+ Trichoptera (EPT) index indicated that these pollution-sensitive orders declined in the
same fashion. Although the Cahaba clearly showed a decline in the condition of the
macroinvertebrate community as it passed through the suburbs of Birmingham, indicative
of deteriorating water/habitat quality, none of the sites sampled were assessed to be
severely impacted.

66

Abstracts

A CHARACTERIZATION OF THREE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES FROM THE RED SWAMP
CRAYFISH PROCAMBARUS CLARK.il. Hugh S. Hammer, Stephen A. Watts, and
Charles D. Bishop. University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The crayfish Procambarus clarkii is the most extensively cultured crustacean in the United
States. Crayfish are omnivorous and potentially use a diverse array of enzymes to digest foods,
however, little is known about the physiology of crayfish digestion. Adult crayfish were held in
large static water tanks with aeration at 23°C and fed a formulated diet. Three crayfsh were
removed from the tank, the hepatopancreas was homogenized in an enzyme buffer and crudely
purifed to be used as a source of the digestive enzymes a-amylase, lipase/esterase and trypsin.
The reactions of these enzymes were described in relation to changes in substrate concentration, pH
and temperature using appropriate spectrophotometric and fluorometric assays. The activity of a-
amylase increased with increasing temperature from 8-44° C and had Q!0 values ranging from
1.57-4.06. Activity also increased with increasing substrate concentration and reached maximum
maltose production at 15mg/ml starch solution. The optimal pH for a-amylase was between pH
5.5 and 7.5 . Lipase/esterase activity increased with increasing temperatures (8-44°C) and had Q|0
values ranging from 1.33-3.03. Lipase/esterase activity also increased with increasing substrate
concentration to reach a maximum activity at 1 mM of 4-NPC solution. The pH optima for the
lipase/esterase reaction was 8.5. The assay used to quantify trypsin activity, using the artificial
substrate CBZ-L-Arg-MCA, shows a peculiar inhibition of trypsin activity with increasing
substrate concentration when crayfsh homogenates are used as the enzyme source. This inhibitory
activity was not observed when purified bovine trypsin was the enzyme source.

GENE FREQUENCIES IN THE DOMESTIC CAT POPULATION OF
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA. Christopher McCoy & H. Wayne Shew, Dept, of Biology,
Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254.

We conducted a survey to determine the allele frequencies of the cat population in the
greater Birmingham area. The gene frequency profile of this population was then compared to
published studies of populations in North America and other parts of the world. Phenotypic data
were collected over a period of several months on cats observed in animal shelters, veterinary
clinics, and in neighborhood surveys. The genetic traits studied were sex-linked orange (O) and
autosomal brown ( bw ), nonagouti (a), blotched tabby (/*), long-hair (/), piebald spotting ( S ),
dominant white (JV), polydactyly (Pd), and Manx (M). Allele frequencies for the above traits
were 0.233 (Orange), 0.283 (brown), 0.822 (nonagouti), 0.657 (blotched tabby), 0.404 (long hair),
0.298 (Piebald), 0.017 (Dominant white), 0.01 1 (Polydactyly), and 0.01 1 (Manx). These data are
most similar to those reported for populations of cats in Vancouver, British Columbia and
Southern England. They differ from those reported for most of the populations in the United
States particularly with reference to the blotched tabby trait. These data do not indicate a
particular pattern of immigration of people into the Birmingham area from other regions of the
United States but additional research is needed to determine if the profile is explainable in terms
of the historical/immigration hypothesis.

67

Abstracts

DEVELOPMENT OF A QUANTITATIVE ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNO¬
SORBENT ASSAY FOR VITELLOGENIN OF MOSQUITOFISH
fGAMBUSIA AFFINISL Joseph F. Tolar. R. Douglas Watson, Robert A. Angus,
Univ. of Ala. at Birmingham, AL 35294.

We are currently doing studies to establish the usefulness of mosquitoFish
( Gambusia affims) as a model organism for assaying chemicals for hormonal
activity. We will use the stimulation of vitellogenin (VTG) production in males
as an indicator of estrogenic activity. This protein is normally only produced in
females, but production is readily induced in males exposed to estradiol.
However, male mosquitofish are small (approx. 20 mm in length) and an assay is
needed that does not require large amounts of sample. We are developing an
enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for this reason. VTG was isolated
from estrogen treated females and purified by using gel filtration
chromatography and nondissociating polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Anti-
VTG immune sera are currently being produced in rabbits. We anticipate the
ELISA system will be used for both lab and field studies of estrogenic activity of
pure compounds and mixtures.

GENETIC ENGINEERING: ECOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL
CONTAINMENT OF A PDERBICIDE RESISTANT GENE VIA CHLOROPLAST
TRANSFORMATION. Steven J. Gray and Dr. Henry Daniell, Program of Molecular
Genetics. Dept, of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL 36849-5407.

Genetic engineering of herbicide resistant crops is possibly the most powerful
tool yet developed for controlling weed growth among crop plants. For the past several
years, scientists have been trying to develop safe and effective ways to enhance crop
yields using herbicides and genetically engineered plants. The goal is to make the crops
resistant to herbicides so that one could spray a field and kill weeds but not crops.
Herbicide resistant crops have already been produced, but only with transformation of the
nuclear genome. Problems with this approach are: 1) the gene conferring resistance
escapes through pollen and outcrosses with w'eedy relatives creating super weeds; 2) low
level expression of the resistance due to the presence of a single gene or a few copies. In
our lab the new concept of chloroplast transformation has been developed and
demonstrated. Advantages of chloroplast expression of the herbicide resistance gene
include 1) an increased level of expression due to multiple copies (5,000-10,000) of
chloroplast genome per cell; 2) the foreign gene is maternally inherited in most crops,
resulting in no outcross through pollen. This work was supported by USDA-NRICGP
grants to HD.

68

Abstracts

OAMBUSIA AS A MODEL FOR TESTING ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS:
EFFECTS OF ANDROSTERONE ON ANAL FIN RAYS OF FEMALES. Ginshanthv
Krishnaraiah. Robert A. Angus, Univ. of Ala. at Birmingham, AL 35294.

We are currently doing studies to establish the usefulness of mosquitofish
( Gambusia affinis ) as a model organism for assaying chemicals for hormonal activity.
Mature male mosquitofish are much smaller than the females and have an anal fin that is
modified into a complex intromittent device, the gonopodium. The development of a
gonopodium is under control of androgens and normally only takes place in males during
the process of sexual maturation. However, if females are exposed to chemicals with
androgenic activity, their anal fin rays can be induced to develop into gonopodium-like
structures. The purpose of this project is to describe the changes in gonopodial
morphogenesis and the structure of the 3-4-5 and 6 terminal complex in female
mosquitofish as they are masculinized by continuous exposure to the androgen
androsterone. Mature females are being treated with various concentrations of
androsterone. Once a week the fish are anesthetized and anal fin measurements are made
using an ocular micrometer in a dissecting microscope. Measurements are taken on fin
ray characters that change dramatically as rays 3 and 4 thicken and elongate to form a
gonopodium. Fin rays 3 and 4 are also inspected for the presence of terminal hooks,
ventral spines, serrae, and elbow that are normally only present in a mature gonopodium.

COMPARISON OF EARLY MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN TWO SPECIES
OF ANADROMOUS FISHES, AMERICAN SHAD (ALPS A SAPIDISSIMA) AND
ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO SALAR). Judith D. Shardo. Dept, of Biological Sciences,
Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Early development of the head and gills follows a general pattern in teleost fishes but the
sequence of specific developmental events may vary. To identify the more plesiomorphic
teleost patterns, I compare the embryological and larval development of a salmonoid, Atlantic
salmon, with that of a clupeomorph, American shad. A staging system (Shardo, 1995), defined
by fundamental morphological changes independent of age, provides the basis for comparison.
Several developmental sequences differed between the two species. 1. Gill arches form slightly
earlier in salmon and an opercular llap covers the arches before secondary gill lamellae form; in
shad the opercular llap expands prior to formation of the opercular bone, long after secondary
lamellae form. 2. Formation of cartilaginous skeletal structures begins later in salmon than in
shad. 3. Unlike salmon, shad forms hypurals before notochordal flexion. 4. The level of
morphological development at hatching differs. Using Ami a calva as an outgroup, the pattern
in salmon appears plesiomorphic for the first two differences; data is insufficient for the
remaining two.

69

Abstracts

EXAMINATION OF THE REGENERATIVE CAPACITY OF SEA STAR
LARVAE. Minako S. Vickery and James B McClintock, Dept, of Biology, Univ. of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1 170.

Adult sea stars are well known to display strong regenerative abilities to compensate
for tissue losses. Almost a decade ago, asexual reproduction in bipinnaria larvae
collected from plankton was reported However, to date no studies have examined the
capacity of larvae to regenerate following damage. In this study, the regenerative
capacities of sea star planktotrophic bipinnaria and brachiolaria larvae were examined in
two species ( Pisaster ochrciceus and Luidia foliolcita). Both larval types were surgically
manipulated such that the larvae were separated into anterior and posterior pieces, or
small portions of extremities from larval bodies were removed. Surgically treated and
untreated control larvae were observed daily and regenerative processes were
documented using light microscopy. Within a week most larvae began to regenerate their
lost body components. Two weeks after surgical treatment most larvae were
morphologically similar to control larvae. The results indicate that both adult sea stars
and their larvae have the capacity to regenerate and compensate for the loss of body
components. Furthermore, the results of this study have implications in larval ecology,
specifically with respect to estimates of larval recruitment and mortality.

DEVELOPING INTERNET WEB SITES FOR COLLEGE CLASSES.

Gerald Crawford. Robert J. Williams, and Robert Sweeney, College of Business,
University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632

At the present rate of growth, computers and the Internet wall dominate the delivery of
education materials at the college level in a few short years. These trends mandate that
educational institutions fully utilize these powerful tools and teach students to use them as well.
In a large research study done recendy at the University of North Alabama, students were asked
what information items should be made available on class-specific Internet Web sites. Further,
students were asked about their patterns of computer use, and experience m using the Internet.
Many useful and constructive suggestions were made by respondents.

Surprisingly, a very high percent of UNA students in the study use computers and the
Internet. About half of the respondents use a computer daily. Only 10 percent of respondents
use computers less that once per week, and every single respondent reported using a computer
on some basis. The most important group of items that students want delivered on Internet class
Web pages was “class learning aids.” This was followed by “student advisement tools,” “UNA
registration information,” “communications and resources,” and “basic class information.” It
was not expected that advising and registration information would be of major interest to
students. The findings can assist faculty in meeting curriculum needs and help the
administration fulfill computer support expectations.

70

Abstracts

STARVATION-INDUCIBLE RESISTANCE TO POLYMYXIN IN SALMONELLA
TYPHIMURLUM. Ross Tekulve, Robin Edwards, Patrick Smith, and MichaeLSpector, Department
of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

The enteropathogen Salmonella typhimurium is a facultative intracellular pathogen capable of
survival and growth within macrophages, the intestines, and various external natural microcosms.
For this, they must withstand an onslaught of numerous environmental challenges, i.e. numerous
types of cationic antimicrobial peptides/proteins. Antimicrobial peptides such as polymyxin (Pm)
and defensins are proposed to kill bacterial cells by disrupting membrane integrity leading to
osmotic lysis. Resistance to Pm is differentially dependent upon, at least, two separate two-
component sensor-regulator systems, PhoP/Q and PmrAB, and other loci referred to as sap loci in
growing cells. We have determined that starved S. typhimurium cells, compared to growing cells,
are resistant to a 60 min Pm challenge. Both the PmrAB and PhoPQ regulons are needed for Pm
resistance generated during the first few hrs of starvation but not resistance developed in 24 hr
starved cells. To determine which pag,pbg,pcg and sap genes are needed for starvation-induced
Pm resistance, an assortment of pag, pbg, and peg mutants, both growing and starved, were
challenged with PmB. Several, but not all , pag, pbg, peg and sap loci were required for Pm
resistance generated in 3 h starved cells as might be expected. Surprisingly, a number of pag, pbg
and sap loci were also needed for Pm resistance in 24 hr starved cells, suggesting additional
regulatory circuits. Thus, physiologic state has a profound effect on the susceptibility of S.
typhimurium to host defenses and requirements for key two-component sensor-regulator systems .

NESTING OF THE LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE (CARETTA
CARETTA) ON DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA. David H. Nelson and
Stephanie A. Alexander. Department of Biological Sciences, University of South
Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Field surveys for sea turtle nests were conducted from June to September
1997 along the beaches of Dauphin Island (Mobile Co.), Alabama. The beach was
monitored three times a week by all-terrain vehicle to identify, locate, protect and
mark individual nests. Specific coordinates of nests and false crawls were
recorded using a hand-held GPS unit In 1997, we confirmed 3 nests, 4 false
crawls and 1 stranding of a dead, adult sea turtle. Nest #1 (located 6/12/97)
demonstrated emergence of hatchlings on 8/6/97. Since the location of this nest
site was lost (due to Hurricane Danny), we could not determine actual clutch size
or hatching rate. Nest #2 (located 6/12/97) manifested tracks of hatchlings on
8/6/97 Since 88 of the 120 eggs hatched, the hatching rate was 73.3%. Nest #3
(located 6/16/97) manifested tracks of hatchlings on 8/20/97. Since 21 of the 134
eggs hatched, the hatching rate was 15 7% . In 1996 we recorded 2 nests and 4
false crawls; in 1995 we encountered 2 nests and 2 false crawls.

71

Abstracts

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE ALABAMA REDBELLY
TURTLE (PSEUPEMYS ALABAMENSIS) ALONG ITS NORTHERN
EXTREME David H. Nelson, William M Turner, Sean D O'Hare and Krista K
Van Amerongen. Department of Biological Sciences, University of South
Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

The Alabama Redbelly turtle (Pseudemvs alabamensis) is an endangered
species endemic to freshwater habitats within the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. This was
the fourth year of field work to delineate the present geographic distribution of the
turtle. To determine the northern limits of the turtle's range, aquatic hoop traps
(with lead nets) were placed in waterways north of interstate highway 65 in which
the turtles had been reported We trapped 1 1 areas in Baldwin, Clark, Escambia,
Mobile and Washington Counties. No specimens of P alabamensis were trapped
in tributaries of the Tombigbee River, Tensaw Lake or on the Claude D Kelley
State Park. Only one specimen of P. alabamensis was trapped. It was caught in
the Alabama River, adjacent to its confluence with the Mobile River. We
captured 3 1 8 turtles of 7 species: 1 5 1 Trachemvs scripta elegans. 1 1 3 Pseudemvs
concinna. 33 Graptemvs nigrinoda delticola. 10 Macroclemvs temminckii. 9
Apalone spinifera. 1 Chelvdra serpentina, and 1 Pseudemvs alabamensis We
also captured 3 alligators and 231 fishes (23 species). The geographic
distribution does not extend as far north as published range maps suggest

TURBIDITY AS A WATER QUALITY ISSUE. Frank A. Romano, Dept, of
Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Erosional soil loss and the consequent increase in suspended solids and turbidity in
streams, rivers, and lakes is one of the largest forms of pollution. In 1989 the USDA
estimated that 2.5 billion metric tons of soil is washed or blown away each year from
cultivated croplands in this country. An additional 3.3 billion metric tons are lost from
torests, pastures, stream banks, and construction sites. It is estimated that the losses of these
plant nutrients via erosion is worth at least $18 billion dollars a year and causes at least $4
billion dollars in damage to freshwater streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. This study,
supported by a NASA-EPSCoR grant to the Alabama Space Grant Consortium, determined
water quality at selected sites within the middle Coosa River; and 3 large tributaries; Akers
Creek, Trout Creek, and Broken Arrow Creek. The following water quality parameters were
measured: turbidity, temperature, total dissolved solids, and conductivity. Suspended solid
loads were determined by vacuum filtering water samples and by drying samples in tared
containers. Turbidity ranged from 7.63 to 15.05 NTU’s in the Coosa main channel. Broken
Arrow Creek was the most turbid of the tributaries, ranging from 17.1 to 36.45 NTU’s. Our
goal is to ultimately enter this information into the Universal soil loss equation (Wischmeier
and Smith 1965) to predict soil loss from this watershed.

72

Abstracts

GRAY SQUIRREL RESPONSES TO INTERSPECIFIC ALARM CALLS IN TWO
COVER TYPES. Jason B. Jennings and Robert S. Lishak, Dept, of Zoology, Auburn
University, AL 36849

Alarm calls of eastern chipmunks (Tamias stnatus) and blue jays (Cyanocitta
cristata) were recorded, digitized, manipulated to conform to a specific intemote interval, and
combined to form a hybrid call. Calls were played through speakers to gray squirrels (Sciunis
carohnensis) in habitats with no ground cover (open) and with ground cover (closed) in order
to assess the effects cover has on the behaviors of gray squirrels. We used a chipmunk
"chuck", a blue jay "jay", and a combined chuck and jay call (hybrid). Data from adults and
juveniles were collected for both sexes from June 1996-December 1997. Both sex and age
classes responded with greater intensity in the closed habitat than in the open habitat. Adult
females had significantly higher mean responses to the jay call in the closed habitat than any
other sex or age class. Juvenile males had significantly higher mean responses to the chuck
and hybrid call in the closed habitat than any other sex or age class. Adult males had
significantly higher mean responses to the jay call in the open habitat than any other sex or
age class. Also, juvenile females had significantly higher mean responses to the chuck and
hybrid call in the open habitat than any other sex or age class. Financial support was
provided by a grant from the Alabama Academy of Science.

RIPARI AN ZONE VEGETATION ANALYSIS AND STREAM CHARACTERIZATION
OF SHOAL CREEK’S INFLOW AND OUTFLOW TO SWEETWATER LAKE.

Jonathan Gilbert, Sharon Southern, Kregg Johnson, Daniel Carver, Kim Thompson, Stephen
Turner, Dr. Frank Romano, and Dr. David Whetstone, Dept, of Biology, Jacksonville State
University, AL. 36265.

A riparian zone analysis and stream characterization was conducted in the Shoal Creek
watershed above and below Sweetwater Lake (Choccolocco Creek/Coosa River drainage). This
report concentrates on the riparian plants and the within stream benthic invertebrate fauna
collected from the area. Following USGS-NAQWA protocols, twelve transects were setup
through various hydrogeomorphic units within each stream (six on each). A quarter point
vegetation analysis (with nested quadrats for shrubs and herbs) within the riparian zone was
established at both ends of each transect. Benthic invertebrate population levels were much
higher above the reservoir than below, most likely due to anthropomorphic damage by dam
construction. A total of 325 benthic invertebrates (2 phyla and 31 insect families) were collected
from the inflow portion of Shoal Creek, while only 1 19 total benthic invertebrates (3 phyla and
13 insect families) were collected from the outflow (below the dam). It is noteworthy that the
insect order Trichoptera, family Hydroscychidae formed 53% of this collection. The inflow
stream banks riparian vegetation were dominated by Acer rubrum (importance value = 29.99),
Liriodendron tulipifera (i.v. = 8.46), and Carpinus caroliniana (i.v. = 7.89) while Ouercus alba
(i.v. = 24.73), Liriodendron tulipifera (i.v. = 15.6), and Fagus grandifolia (i.v. = 12.37)
dominated the outflow stream banks.

73

Abstracts

MORPHOLOGICAL STAGING SYSTEM OF EARLY EMBRYONIG RED SNAPPER
(LUTJANUS CAMPECHANUS). Andrew Woodard and Judith Shardo, Department of
Biological Sciences, University of South Alabama., Mobile, AL 36688.

A morphological staging system is currently being applied to the embryonic red snapper
where developmental features are categorized independently of time (Shardo 1995). The
defining criteria in each stage are fundamental throughout the teleosts while the concurrent
features are species specific. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light
microscopy to describe the morphological development. A developmental series from
fertilization to post hatch (30h) was collected at the Alabama Marine Resource Division in Gulf
Shores. The specimens were fixed in a 2.5% phosphate buffered glutaraldehyde solution for
SEM work. Over 159 embryos have been examined to date, covering twenty samples and
assigned to twelve stages. These twelve stages can be grouped as follows: cleavage, blastulation
and gastrulation. Stages 1-7 extends from fertilization through synchronous cleavage divisions
and finally formation of a high pebbled mound. During stage 8 (Blastulation) the cells become
smaller, while the cell mound becomes lower and flatter and the enveloping layer is formed.
Gastrulation is seen in stages 9-12 where the embryonic axis forms followed by the notochord
and neural keel. The red exhibits similar developmental patterns to the American shad and
Atlantic salmon, indicating early development is conserved. Minor differences are probably due
the small egg diameter of the Red snapper .

CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS OF INDO-PACIFIC CORALS
( Traclixplixllui y eofroyi , Xenia v/>., Tocmllws, and Litophyton arhoremn).

Brvce L. Roberts and Carol A. Leitner. M.D.. Dept, of Surgery. Univ. of Ala.
Birmingham 35233

Circadian rhythms directed by an internal biological clock are thought to exist in
many, if not all. living organisms. This project studied the circadian rhythms of four
species of coral native to the Indo-Pacific and raised in a home aquarium. From
September 1997 through January 1998. weekly observation and hourly recording of
the fleshy configuration of the four species (Tracliypliyllia peofroyi, Xenia sp..
Zoanthus, and Litophyton arhoremn) was recorded. The configurations were
represented as a clock utilizing a computer drawing program. Comparison of the
species' clocks revealed differences that can be explained on the dietary and
environmental requirements of the organism. Hard corals such as Trachyphvllia live
symbiotically with zooanthellae, photosynthetic algae that create food for the host coral.
Trachyphyllia were found to open gradually during the day. allowing the algae to
capture sunlight for phototsynthesis. Soft corals such as Xenia, Zoanthus. and
Litophyton. contain zooanthellae but are primarily filter feeders. Whenever light is
present, these corals open and extend tentacles to filter zooplankton found in shallower
waters during daylight. Other characteristics of biological clocks such as accuracy,
predictability, and adaptability were documented to exist in corals as well.

74

Abstracts

INTERVESSEL PIT MEMBRANE STRUCTURE IN POPULUS DELTOIDES— AN SEM
INVESTIGATION. Kathy M. Duncan and Roland R. Dute, Department of Botany and
Microbiology, Auburn University, AL 36830

This project was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that as intervascular pit membranes
age they become more porous. Cut branches of Pomilus deltoides were induced to take up
safranin dye. Afterward, the wood was divided into stained (functional) and unstained
(nonfunctional) portions. Small segments were fixed, dehydrated, and embedded in Spurr’s
resin. Radial longitudinal sections of 0.5 micrometers in thickness were cut and affixed to
circular glass covcrslips. The plastic was chemically removed and the exposed tissue was
coated with a layer of gold-palladium and viewed with a scanning electron microscope. Such
treatment provided support for the membranes and made them less susceptible to damage from
the electron beam. Functional pit membranes gave the appearance of fibrillar mats perforated
by °Pcmn£s of 80 rim or less. The fibrils were varied in orientation and were found in multiple
lasers. Radially aligned fibrils as occur in torus-bearing pit membranes in gymnosperms and
angiosperms were not observed. The structure of pit membranes observed by this technique
was similar to that seen in other laboratories through use of direct carbon replicas and the
transmission electron microscope. Investigations arc proceeding on the structure of
nonfunctional pit membranes. This research was supported by the Alabama Agricultural
Experiment Station.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF THE LIME
WESTERN HILLS OF ALABAMA. K. R. Brodeur. R, D. Whetstone, J. W. Higginbotham, T.
L Hofinann, S. J. Threlkeld, A. I. Thompson, and K. Morrow. JSU Herbarium, Department of
Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama 36265.

The Lime Hills are located within the coastal plain province. Portions of Choctaw, Clarke,
Monroe, and Washington counties occupied by the study area. Alabama and Tombigbee rivers dissect
1C area and expose lithificd rocks; however, sediments underlie most of the study area. Nearly 1000
vouchers have been collected documenting five divisions, i.e., Equisetophyta, Lycopodiophyta,
olypodiophyta, Pmophyta, and Magnoliophvta. Thus far, Equisetophyta is represented by one family,
Lycopodiophyta by one family, Polypodiophyta by 10 families, Pmophyta by 3 families, and
Magnohophyta is represented by 104 families. Among the Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida has 90
families while Liliopsida has 14 families.

75

Abstracts

METABOLIC ENZYME ACTIVITIES IN THE CRAYFISH PROCAMBARUS
CLARKII . Mickie L. Powell and Stephen A. Watts, Dept, of Biology, Univ. of Ala. at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1 170.

Enzyme activities can be used to identify the metabolic pathways contributing to
energy production in specific tissues. Classical energy-producing metabolic pathways
exist" in crustaceans, however, the level of activity of key metabolic pathway enzymes
varies in the different tissues. The activities of enzymes involved in glycolysis,
gluconeogenesis, Krebs cycle, protein and fatty acid metabolism were measured in the
tail and hepatopancreas of the crayfsh Procambarus clarkii. These tissues serve as
nutrient storage sites and the mobilization of these stored energy reserves during summer
aestivation may be crucial for the survival of the individual. Energy in the form of
glycogen and protein are stored and utilized in the tail, hence the activities tor glycolytic
and amino acid metabolizing enzymes were 4-20 times higher in this tissue than in the
hepatopancreas. The hepatopancreas serves as a lipid storage site and aids in digestive
function. Consequently, enzyme activity levels were lower in the hepatopancreas for all
enzymes with the exception of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, a gluconeogenic
enzyme. The activities of enzymes involved in fatty acid degradation were low or not
detected in either tissue. Information on metabolic enzyme activities for healthy crayfish
may provide a baseline for future experiments examining the effects of environmental
stress and disturbance on the mobilization of energy stores from these tissues.

SEX STEROIDS DURING DIFFERENTIATION IN THE TILAPIA (OREOCHROMIS
NILOTICUS ). Craig B. Rowell and Stephen A. Watts, Dept, of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, AL 35294-1170

Oreochromis niloticus has exhibited characteristics of both temperature-influenced
sex determination (TISD) and gonadal sex determination (GSD). Both of these mechanisms
are hypothesized to be mediated by endogenous sex steroid levels. For example, evidence
indicates that detectable levels of endogenous sex steroids are present at pre-gonadal
differentiation stages of development. Also, at this early stage the fish has demonstrated the
ability to metabolize exogenous sex steroids and steroid precursors, producing potentially
bioactive steroids. There have been extensive studies showing that exogenous applications of
androgens and estrogens promotes the development of phenotypic males and females,
respectively. Recent work has shown that there may be a critical period during which short¬
term exposure to an androgen agonist (prior to gonadal differentiation) will effectively
produce a male phenotypic sex in the adult. Currently the relation of these observed effects
of steroids to the differentiation of the primordial germ cells has not been determined.
Further research investigating sex steroid levels during this proposed critical period, and
involving influences such as temperature, should provide information regarding sex steroid
roles in both sex determination and gonadal differentiation. Knowledge of mechanisms
related to sex determination and sex differentiation will be of value in the aquaculture
industry.

76

Abstracts

CHEMISTRY

FACTORS _ AFFECTING OPENING AND CLEAVAGE IN 1,2-

DIME FFlYLC'i CLOBU1 ENE. B.H. Cook, W.J. Leigh, Department of Chemistry, McMaster
University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1, C.L. Michael, M. Squillacote, Department of Chemistry
Auburn University, AL 36849.

The photochemistry of 1,2-dimethylcyclobutene opening to form isomers of 2,3-dimethyl-
1 .j-butadiene and/or a mixture of butyne and ethylene is affected both by the de-excitation pathway
ot the molecule and the existence of a Rydberg or Valence type excited state. Matrix isolation
experiments have been performed in nitrogen, argon, and propane in order to qualify the response
to different chemical environments and to define the energy decay of this molecule in terms of
conical intersections or excited state funnels. Infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy were used to
study the photoproducts of 1 85nm and 214nm irradiation of samples prepared at temperatures below

H3C - EEEE — CH] + -

RESPONSE OF MIXED LB FILMS OF N-(9-ANTHRYLMETHYL)-N-
(OCTADECYLETHOXY)ETHANOLAMINE (C18AE) AND Ca-ARACFIIDATE TO
MONOLAYER COMPOSITION AND INTERFACED SOLUTION pH. Laura L.
Flemmer and William C. Neely, Dept, of Chemistry, Auburn Univ., AL 36830. Saliya De
Silva, Dept, of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montclair State Univ., NJ 07043. Suram T.
Pathirana and Vitaly J. Vodyanoy, IBDS and Dept, of Physiology and Pharmacology
Auburn Univ., AL 36830.

Surface pressure-area isotherms were recorded for monolayers of C18AE/Ca
arachidate mixtures (0-100 mol %) at the air/water interface. At high concentrations of
C18AE, the molecular area shows a condensing effect accompanied by a minimum in
tree energy ot mixing. Langmuir-Blodgett films of the mixed monolayers show
multiphasic dose dependency of the intensity of fluorescence at 430 nm on the C18AE
concentration with a maximum at 40 mol % suggesting aggregation of C18AE. The
fluorescence intensity of Langmuir-Blodgett films in contact with aqueous solutions was
strongly dependent on pH indicating a potential application as a solid state pH sensor.
Funded by FAA-93-G-058.

77

Abstracts

PYROMETRIC INTERFEROMETRY TECHNIQUE FOR IN-SITU MONITORING OF
THIN FILM THICKNESS AND SURFACE ROUGHNESS. Shane A. Catledge, Walton Comer
and Yogesh K. Vohra, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL 35294-1170.

The growth rate and surface roughness of diamond films grown on Ti-6A1-4V substrates by
microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) was monitored by using intra-red optical
pyrometry. The growing film results in oscillations of the apparent substrate temperature with time
and can be explained by interference effects caused by reflections from the film/air and film/sub¬
strate interfaces. The growth rate is determined from the period of the oscillations while surface
roughness manifests itself as an amplitude damping effect. Although a model has previously been
developed to determine the thickness and roughness of diamond films by this technique, we show
that the equation governing the transmittance of the film/substrate system is incomplete and must
in general take into account the complex index of refraction of an absorbing substrate. We use the
modified model to fit experimental temperature vs. time data and determine film thickness and sur¬
face roughness as a function of time. This technique can be used for any type of film in which the
effects of absorption can be neglected and is useful for in-situ process diagnostics. We have shown
the effect of adding increasing amounts of O2 to a CH4/H2 plasma chemistry. The results indicate
a decrease in growth rate and an increase in surface roughness with increasing 02 additions.

'H, 13C NMR CHEMICAL SHIFT ASSIGNMENTS of N-ACETYL-PRO-GLY-PRO to STUDY
DIFFERENT CONFORMERS in SOLUTION. Yi-Chien Lee. Patricia Jackson, and, Donald D
Muccio, Department of Chemistry, UAB, Birmingham, AL, 35209.

N-acetyl-pro-gly-pro (N-Ac-PGP) is one peptide which has been isolated and identified as
a powerful chemoattractant in alkali-injured cornea. Severe alkali-injuries to the eye is followed by
rapid invasion of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Once PMNs adhere to the vascular
endothelium they are induce by a chemoattractant to move to the source of the chemotactic gradient.
The accumulation of PMNs in tissue is extremely destructive. In the eye, this can lead to comeal
ulceration, perforation, and even loss of the eye. Understanding the structure of a chemoattractant
such as N-Ac-PGP is important to understanding the molecular mechanism of comeal ulceration and
in developing rational therapeutic regimens. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a good tool
to determine the conformers of N-Ac-PGP in the aqueous solution. Cis/trans around the peptide bond
of proline has been reported in both small peptides and native proteins. In order to assign proton
chemical shifts arid determine the spatial structure, 2D NMR. experiments were performed using
proton-proton through bond connectivity (DQF-COSY) and proton-proton through space connectivity
(NOESY). 2D HMQC and HMQC-TOCSY experiments assign carbons correlated directly and
indirectly to protons, respectively. Four conformers of N-Ac-PGP were identified through these
techniques. Populations of the various conformers were estimated using 1-D proton integration and
the Vant Hoff equation.

78

Abstracts

DEVELOPMENT OF A COUPLED NAD SYNTHETASE ENZYME ASSAY. Brandon
PybusL Meena Sthanam2, Raj Singh2, Marek Jedrzejas2&3, Yancho Devedjiev2, Lawrence
DcLucas and Donald D. Muccio . Department of Chemistry', Center for Macromolecular
Crystallography2, Department of Microbiology3, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL. 35294.

NAD synthetase, a member of the ATP pyrophosphatase family of enzymes, plays a crucial
role in the last step of the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) from
deamido nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NaAD) through catalyses of the following reaction

NAD synthetase

ATP + NaAD +NH3 -» NAD +AMP + PPi

The enzyme exists as a dimer, consisting of two subunits of 30,336 Da. Bv coupling the NAD
synthetase mediated reaction with that of alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts ethanol to
acetaldehyde in an NAD dependent manner, NAD production can be indirectly monitored
through the absorbance change at 340 nm. This coupled assay can be used to elucidate the
enzyme kinetics, and their dependence on each of the substrates. Kinetic studies reveal
Michaelis-Menten like kinetics for both NaAD and NH3 , with Km values on the order of 20 pM
and 2 mM, respectively. However, ATP exhibited non Michaelis-Menten behavior. Funding for
this project was provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA)
grant: MDA 972-56-K-0063.

BORON-MODIFIED PHENOLIC RESINS (BPR). Mohamed O. Abdalla, Adriane G.
Ludwick and lemisha Mitchell, Department of Chemistry, Tuskegee University

I licl'prrpp AT ° ’

Increase in the types ot applications of phenolic resins has resulted in the necessity to
examine the modification of these resins. Phenolic resins are thermosets that possess
remarkable thermal stability and are flame-retardants. Processing of these resins into the
desired products with the required properties involves a complicated series of reactions
Thus, much research has been conducted on the chemistry and processing of these
systems. In this work a solid, boron-containing phenolic resin is investigated. An
improvement in the thermal properties of these resins has been reported in the literature
(Zamyo 36(401), 184-8, 1987; translation from Japanese). In an expansion to this citation,
phenyl borates were synthesized from various molar ratios of phenol and boric acid (1:1,’
2:1, 3:1 and 4:1) at 150°C. The 3:1 molar ratio phenyl borate is a liquid at low
temperatures (less than 50°C) and shows promise for processing by resin transfer
molding (RTM). A study of the reaction of this ester with paraformaldehyde is underway.
Hence, the formation of the phenolic resin is being done in the absence of solvents, which
should ultimately give a material with few voids and excellent mechanical properties.
Support from the Army Research Office is gratefully acknowledged.

79

Abstracts

SYNTHESIS OF A CONFORMATIONALLY CONSTRAINED RETINOID, UAB30,
AND BINDING STUDIES TO NUCLEAR RECEPTORS. Kimberly K, Vines. Brahma
P. Sani, Lakshmi Reddy, Wayne J. Brouilliette, Donald D. Muccio, Department of
Chemistry, University of Alabama at Bumingham, Bmmngham, Al. 35294 Depaitment
of Biochemistry, Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, Al. 35205

Retinoids (RA) are valuable tools m the treatment of cancer due to their involvement in cell proliferation
and differentiation. RA binds RA nuclear receptors (RAR and RXR)-, which are ligand activated
transcription factors which modulate gene expression. Activation of RA occurs when ( 9-cis ) RA binds
thus promoting cell proliferation. RXR is activated upon binding of either the (9-cis) or (all -trcins)
isomers of RA which induces cell death by apoptosis. RXR also interacts with other receptors that are
involved in metabolism leading to toxicity and side effects. In order to reduce toxicity, receptor sub-Upe
specific analogs were designed and synthesized that were conformationally constrained to prevent
isomerization in vivo. UAB30 was constrained by including an aromatic ring system in conjugation
with a polyene chain. The starting acid was readily synthesized using the Reformatsky reaction.
Reduction of the acid was followed by oxidation to the corresponding 9Z an 9E aldehydes which were
separated by flash chromatography. 9Z aldehyde was converted to the ester of UAB30 via the Homer-
Emmons reaction. The (9Z,13E) and (9Z,13Z) esters were separated by HPLC. The (9Z,13E) ester
was hydrolyzed to yield UAB30. Binding assays were performed with radio-labeled RA- bound
Cytoplasmic RA Binding Protem (CRABP). The concentration of UAB30 required to displace 50% of
the bound RA was determined.

THE SIGNS OF ORBITALS DO MATTER. Tracy P. Hamilton. Dept, of Chemistry, Univ.
of Ala. at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1240.

The concept that the phases of orbitals (plus or minus) are immaterial in molecular
orbital (MO) calculations is almost a mantra in quantum chemistry. This results from the
simple fact that all observable properties depend on evaluation of integrals where the wave
function is squared, making the sign of the orbitals irrelevant. As a result, most Hartree-
Fock programs use matrix diagonalization algorithms that produce random signs for MOs
(eigenvectors), and are ordered according to orbital energy (eigenvalue). While this has no
impact on Hartree-Fockwave functions, it is of utmost importance in electron correlation
calculations which use the form

iw • * E c; • ...

The sign of the configuration interaction coefficient depends on the sign of the excited
configuration, which in turn depends on the signs of the orbitals i and a. A consistent sign
convention for the orbitals enables improved guesses for correlated wave functions.

80

Abstracts

SYNTHESES AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SOME URACIL-CONTAINING
POLY-NUCLEO TIDE ANALOGS. Lahu Saiii. Rong Wu, Adriane Ludvvick and
Oyewole Adeyemo, Departments of Chemistry and Biology, Tuskegee University,
Tuskegee, AL 36088.

Polynucleotide analogs interfere with the production of nucleic acids either by
incorporation into the cells or by inhibition of polymerases of the nucleic acids. Uracil-
containing poly-nucleotide analogs are potent inhibitors of DNA and/or RNA viruses but
less toxic than small molecule uracil derivatives. In this work, two groups of
polynucleotide analogs were synthesized. Neutral polynucleotide analogs were
synthesized by grafting the pendent, 3-(uracil-l-yl) propanoyl, to partially hydrolyzed
polyethyloxazoline backbones. Anionic polynucleotide analogs were synthesized by
grafting various percents of l-(2-hydroxyethyl)uracil to poly(acrylic acid) backbones.
The corresponding monomer analogs were also synthesized. Cl4-Labeled analogs were
synthesized and used for determining the uptake of these compounds in goat synovial
membrane cells. The antiviral activity of the synthesized compounds was investigated by
using caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus in the goat cells. The initial biological tests of
the synthesized neutral polynucleotide analogs showed that at concentrations that were
not toxic to the host cells, the analogs inhibited the replication of the virus.

SYNTHESES AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SOME URACIL-CONTAINING POLY¬
NUCLEOTIDE ANALOGS. Lahu Saiii, Rong Wu, Adriane Ludvvick and Oyewole Adeyemo,
Departments of Chemistry and Biology, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088.

Polynucleotide analogs interfere with the production of nucleic acids either by incorporation
into the cells or by inhibition of polymerases of the nucleic acids. Uracil-containing poly¬
nucleotide analogs are potent inhibitors of DNA and/or RNA viruses but less toxic than small
molecule uracil derivatives. In this work, two groups of polynucleotide analogs were synthesized.
Neutral polynucleotide analogs were synthesized by grafting the pendent, 3 -(uracil- 1 -yl)
propanoyl, to partially hydrolyzed polyethyloxazoline backbones. Anionic polynucleotide
analogs were synthesized by grafting various percents of l-(2-hydroxyethyl)uracil to poly(acrylic
acid) backbones. The corresponding monomer analogs were also synthesized. C'4-Labeled
analogs were synthesized and used for determining the uptake of these compounds in goat
synovial membrane cells. 1 he antiviral activity of the synthesized compounds was investigated
by using caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus in the goat cells. The initial biological tests of the
synthesized neutral polynucleotide analogs showed that at concentrations that were not toxic to
the host cells, the analogs inhibited the replication of the virus.

81

Abstracts

HALOGENATED PHENOLIC RESINS (HPR). Ivy D. Bradford. Renee Green
and Adriane G. Ludwick, Chemistry Department, Tuskegee Univ., Tuskegee, AL 36083.

Halogenated phenolic resins are being studied because of their good thermal
stability, flame retardancy properties and processability by Resin Transfer Molding (RTM)
to form composites. Processing of these resins into the desired products with required
properties is very complicated. Thus current demands are for specific and improved
properties of the phenolic resins requiring a thorough understanding of the prepolymer.
The prepolymer can be synthesized in basic medium, with an excess of formaldehyde, to
give resoles. In this work resoles were synthesized using pure para-bromophenol and
various molar ratios of phenol to para-bromophenol (1:9, 1:1, and 9:1) and formaldehyde.
In all cases, the molar ratio of total phenol content to para-formaldehyde was 1:2.5.
Characterization of the resoles was done by 13C NMR. Glass fiber composites were
prepared from cure of the resoles (1:9, 1:1 and pure para-bromophenol) and a S2 glass
fiber weave. Analysis of the composites was done by impact testing, C-scan and Scanning
Electron Microscopy (SEM). The para-bromophenol:phenol (l:9)/formaldehyde
composite showed the best mechanical properties. This preliminary work is being further
investigated. Acid conditions to form phenolic resins and their cure products will be
examined. Support of the Army Research Organization (ARO) is gratefully acknowledged.

ANALYSIS OF PROTEINS AND PEPTIDES BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS
USING TWO-COLOR LASER INDUCED FLUORESCENCE DETECTION. GUIDO F.
VERBECK AND STEPHEN C. BEALE, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection can
be a highly effective tool for analysis and characterization of proteins and peptides. Here
we present a two channel laser induced fluorescence detection system for the CE
separation of proteins and peptides. The helium-neon laser (543.5 nm) is used for
simultaneous excitation of biomolecules labeled with Bodipy 530/550 and Texas Red
fluorophores. The fluorescent emission signal from the different fluorophores can be
separated by a dichroic mirror. The fluorescent signal in each channel is spectrally
filtered and collected by photomultiplier tubes.

The system performance characteristics, such as spectral overlap in the channels
and selection of fluorescent reporters, will be presented. In addition, data will be shown
regarding various aspects of the probe labeling chemistry and the electrophoresis
characteristics of the selected probes. Finally, we will show applications of this system to
protein and peptide analysis. These will include the use of size standards and isoelectric
point or migration time markers, each labeled with a fluorescent reporter moiety that is
different from that used for labeling the samples to be determined. Co-injection of the
standards or markers with the analytes provides for in-run calibration of gels or pH
gradients or internal correction of variations in migration time.

82

Abstracts

Experimental Error Analysis by the Monte Carlo Method. M. B. Moeller. Dept, of Chemistry
and Industrial Hygiene, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

Whenever the objective of an experiment involves the determination of a numerical quantity,
knowledge of the accuracy to be expected from the determination can be as important as the
number itself. An estimation of the accuracy can in some instances be obtained from
running tests with samples of known value, but in many cases this is not an option.
Furthermore, selecting experimental conditions so to minimize the final uncertainty requires
a priori understanding of how the accuracy ultimately depends on the various parameters of
the experiment. This understanding can come from propagation of errors analysis, a
technique using a truncated Taylor series expansion of the equation relating the final
numerical result for the experiment to the independent variables but, except for rudimentary
cases, this analysis can be extremely complex and laborious. An alternative technique that
may appeal to many investigators is to create a stochastic computer model of the experiment
and obtain an estimate of accuracy by a Monte Carlo calculation. Beginning with a
spreadsheet similar to one which might be used to analyze actual experimental data, cells are
added which contain precision estimates for input parameters. Assuming a normal error
distribution, a Box-Muller transformation provides scattered data for the spreadsheet to
analyze. The spreadsheet may be considered to generate a virtual experiment in which the
experimental value can be compared to a true value. To obtain the uncertainty expected
from such an experiment, a macrosheet is constructed which executes the virtual experiment
1000 times, each time storing the absolute magnitude of the error in a separate spreadsheet.
By sorting these 1000 absolute error values in descending order, the 95% confidence interval
is estimated by taking the average of the 49th and 50th largest errors. Repeating the entire
process several times provides an indication of the stability of the uncertainty estimate
obtained by this process. This paper offers three examples of this type analysis.

EARTH SCIENCE

INDICATORS OF CHRONIC IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTERS:
TRENDS IN RESEARCH LITERATURE. F. H. Dennard, Social Science, Faulkner
State Community College, Bay Minette. Alabama 36507. J. Steven Picou, Dept, of
Sociology, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

This research presents an analysis of empirical data collected over the past
three decades relating to technological disasters. In particular the indicators of
chronic impacts on human communities. This is accomplished through a review of
previous technological disaster studies to determine social disruption and stress
characteristics that have been identified throughout the literature. Using these
characteristics to indicate recurring emergent patterns in the aftermath of
technological disasters, a comparison is made to the conceptual framework of the
“corrosive community.” The results verify that technological disasters produce
unique characteristics in exposed populations. Finally, those recurring attributes are
consistent with the “corrosive community” paradigm. This study indicates that
further research is justified into the complex nature of technological disaster impacts,
to determine if they are event driven or arise from secondary phenomena.

83

Abstracts

ART 2 NEURAL NETWORK APPROACH TO RESERVOIR ANALYSIS. David C.
Kopaska-Merkel, Geological Survey of Alabama. PO Box O. Tuscaloosa AL 35486. Hsien-
cheng Chang, Dept, of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Ala., Tuscaloosa, AL
35487. Hui-Chuan Chen, Dept, of Computer Science, Univ. ot Ala., Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

A novel technique is used to determine permeability from logfacies using adaptive
resonance theory (ART). ART is used to create artificial neural networks capable of
incremental, unsupervised, and stable clustering input data. ART2, a variety of ART which is
capable of clustering analog data, is employed in this paper. This new method first employs
ART2 to cluster input data (depth in the well, neutron porosity, density porosity, sonic, and
velocity-deviation) into logfacies. The logfacies are calibrated to lithofacies. which are based
on core description and include depositional information, and to horizontal permeability values,
which are derived from core analyses. Logfacies are further processed by fuzzy inference if
their values of permeability span multiple permeability categories. A case study involved five
wells located in a single hydrocarbon reservoir: Smackover Formation in Appleton field,
Escambia County, Ala. The ART2 network used the relationships among logfacies, lithofacies,
and permeability in a training well and log data from four test wells to determine logfacies and
predict lithofacies and permeability in the test wells. Permeability data and lithologic
interpretation of cores from the test wells were used to test the ART2 network predictions.
Lithofacies was correctly predicted in 77% of the samples and permeability category in 68% of
the samples in the test wells. Because this prediction method preserves spatial information and
relates log characteristics to both petrophysics and depositional rock fabric, it may permit
interwell petrophysical prediction guided by sedimentary conceptual models.

GOLD IN SKARN, MINAS DE ORO, HONDURAS. Michael G. Bersch, School of
Mines and Energy Development, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0164. John E.
Hiner, Champion Resources, Inc., 205-409 Granville St., Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2, Canada.

During 1996, Champion Resources, Inc., in connection with other Canadian
exploration companies, conducted exploration for gold in and around Minas de Oro, Honduras.
The project area covered approximately 97 krrf . The stratigraphy in the project area is Jurassic
Todos Santos Formation, consisting of conglomerates, red beds, and carbonate-cemented sands
overlain by Cretaceous Yojoa limestones which are, in turn, overlain by Cretaceous Valle de
Angeles Group, another sequence of red beds and limestones. This sequence has been intruded
by Tertiary!?) Minas de Oro granodiorite and later feldspar porphyry. Copper-gold
mineralization occurs in skarn at the base of the Yojoa limestone in numerous places within the
project area. Skarn consists of very fine-grained siliceous endoskarn to massive medium¬
grained garnet exoskarn. Deep weathering and oxidation have occurred in some areas where
skarn has been fractured and subaerially exposed. Primary mineralization occurs as massive
sulfide (pyrite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite) replacement of Yojoa Limestone, and quartz-pyrite-
pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite veins, veinlets, and breccia fill in Todos Santos conglomerates and
sands. In unoxidized skarn, gold occurs as irregular grains of electrum along mineral-grain
boundaries and as encapsulated grains in oxides and sulfides. Although Champion has
withdrawn from the project other companies continue exploration and testing of this interesting
copper-gold skarn.

84

Abstracts

BONE MICROSTRUCTURE SHOWS HETEROCHRONY PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT
ROLE IN THE ADAPTATION OF MOSASAURS TO THE MARINE. NL Amy
SHELDON, Dept, of Geology and Geography, LSCB 136, Univ. of South Alabama,
Mobile Alabama 36688, and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Rochester, New
York, 14627.

Bone microstructure contains an untapped source of data that can be used to solve
phylogenetic problems. Thin sections of juvenile and adults ribs of Clidastes, Platecarpus ,
and Tylosaurus have been studied using digital imaging analysis. Bone microstructure is
distinctly different among adults of these three genera.

Significant changes in architecture occur during ontogeny. Medullary cavities of all
three genera is filled in by trabecular bone during ontogeny. Platecarpus and Tylosaurus
ontogenetically developed secondary osteons. Data show that cross-sectional porosity of
cortical bone of Clidastes was increased from 5% in neonatal bone to 42% in adults.
Porosity of juvenile Platecarpus is and 2% and adult is 16%. Tylosaurus porosity is 62%
in adults.

Adult Tylosaurus retain characters that are seen only in juvenile stages of
Clidastes. Further, Tylosaurus (15m) large size compared to Clidastes (3m) size may be
the result heterochrony, specifically paedomorphism. Platecarpus bone porosity is lower
than seen in adults of the other two genera. These data indicate that heterochrony played
an important role in mosasaur evolution.

TEXTURAL AND FABRIC CHANGES IN BIVALVES FROM THE TAMIAMI
FORMATION, SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA. Laura C. Quinn, J. Ashley Jordan &
Douglas Havwick, Dept, of Geology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

Changes in fabric and texture of two species of bivalve (Chione cancellata and
Chione sp.) from southwest Florida during progressive meteoric alteration are being
examined through the use of petrography and scanning electron microscopy. Pristine
shells (collected from modem beach environments in Naples and Sanibel Island, FL) are
characterized by a close-fitted cross-lamellar fabric of aragonite crystallites. There is
virtually no intercrystalline porosity in these shells. In contrast, partially dissolved Chione
sp. bivalves (collected from the Tertiary Tamiami Formation near Fort Meyers, FL) are
characterized by a chalky texture, particularly along the outer surfaces of the shell. When
examined under a scanning electron microscope, surfaces of these shells appear pitted,
and irregular due to increased porosity between aragonite crystallites. Shells from the
Tamiami Formation that are intensely dissolved (very chalky) have the highest amount of
intercrystalline porosity. They are also characterized by significant dissolution along
primary and secondary foliations. This is best viewed in thin-section under polarized
light. Enlargement of intercrystalline pores greatly increases the rate of fluid transfer
through the shells and may enhance the speed of dissolution of the remaining aragonite.
The most chalky shells are prone to neomorphic replacement of aragonite by calcite. This
is an important process in the cementation of carbonate sediment and one of the reasons
why the Tamiami Formation is quarried as a building material in southwestern Florida.

85

Abstracts

DETERMINATION OF SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS AND BATHYMETRY
IN WEEKS BAY, SOUTHERN BALDWIN COUNTY. Mary L. Grace and Douglas W.
Haywick, Dept, of Geology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

Weeks Bay is a small (15 km2) brackish water embayment located along the eastern
shoreline of Mobile Bay just south of Fairhope, AL. Our study was initiated in order to
characterize the grain size of bottom sediments and the bathymetry of the bay.
Bathymetric measurements (corrected for tides) were made using a specially designed
probe deployed from a small boat. Bottom samples were collected concurrently with
water depth measurements using a 6 inch grab sampler. Four hundred and one samples
and depth readings we collected during the field work component of this study. The
location of each sampling station (+\- 5 m) w'as determined with a GPS equipped with a
differential antenna. Grain size parameters of the sediment collected from Weeks Bay was
determined using the pipette and sieve method of analysis. For each sample, percentages
of sand, silt and clay were determined and plotted on a grain size ternary diagram. These
data, as well as bathymetric measurements, are presently being transferred to base maps
of Weeks Bay. Eventually all data will be digitized using CAD and GIS software. At the
present time, we are able to conclude that Weeks Bay is shallow (generally less than 2 m
deep outside of river mouths and tidal channels), remarkably flat bottomed, and
characterized by a dominantly silty-clay substrate. Shelly mud is most common in the
vicinity of the inlet into Mobile Bay; sand dominates the sediment in the vicinity of
shorelines (particularly in the southern part of the bay) and the mouths of river channels.

SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF BOLOVINA HUNKRI AND GLOBOC.ASS1DULINA
SUBGLOBOSA ACROSS THE EOCENE OLIGOCENE- BOUNDARY Laura Quinn
and Murlene W Clark, Dept of Geology, Univ. of South Ala , Mobile Ala 36688

The size distribution of populations of B. huneri and G. subglobosa were examined
across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in samples obtained from DSDP Leg 73, Site
522 located in the Angola Basin The Eocene-Oligocene boundary has been identified
as a time of faunal crisis in the deep ocean caused by the initiation of thermohaline
circulation Bottom temperatures dropped, dissolved gasses increased and surface
productivity may have been locally elevated. Environmental parameters have been
shown to affect the size distribution of populations of deep Neogene foraminifers.
Environmentally induced changes in population size are artifacts of precocious or
delayed reproduction which correlates small population size with optimum
environment. G. subglobosa populations decrease in size under conditions of increased
food supply. B. huneri is categorized among infaunal species and should become
smaller under preferred conditions of either low oxygen or increased productivity.
Across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary a significant size decrease is observed in both
species examined here. B. huneri and G. subglobosa remained abundant across the
Eocene-Oligocene boundary and their size distributions decreased perhaps in response
to greater productivity in surface waters at this time.

86

Abstracts

HISTORICAL GEOLOGY OF GOLD AND SILVER DEPOSITS IN ALABAMA. Lewis S.
Dean, Geological Survey of Alabama, P. O. Box O, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486.

The search for gold in Alabama has been a subject of interest for over 450 years.
Three centuries before the discovery of gold in Alabama, its supposed presence lured the
first European expedition into the area by Hernando de Soto. The first recorded discovery
and gold production from Alabama was in 1831 from placer deposits near Chestnut Creek
in old Autauga (now Chilton) County. During the antebellum period, additional placer,
eluvial, and vein deposits were prospected in the northern Piedmont of Alabama with peak
production occurring in the mid 1840's. The total recorded gold production for Alabama is
49,495 troy oz., approximately 2 percent of the total production from the southern
Appalachians.

During the 1840's, interest in gold and other mineral resources of Alabama
stimulated the effort to appoint a state geologist in 1848 to undertake a geological survey
of the state. This provided the first scientific investigation of gold deposits in Alabama;
however, the debate over the occurrence of supposed silver deposits led to partisan efforts
to render inactive the continuation nf a geological survey in 1855.

Persistent interest in the occurrence of precious metals in the state has led to
numerous promotional enterprises which describe gold and silver deposits outside of the
historic gold districts in the state. This circumstance has had a long lasting contribution to
the amount of misinformation regarding the occurrence of precious metals and the
historical significance of the early gold rush period. The most often repeated
misinformation was that the gold rush towns of Arbacoochee and Goldville were the largest
towns in the state during the 1840's gold rush, a claim not substantiated by any historical
records.

TORNADO FAMILY EVOLVING NEAR THE APEX OF A BOW ECHO IN
NORTH ALABAMA. Douglas A. Butts, Jr. and Keith G. Blackwell. Department of Geology
and Geography, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

A supercell thunderstorm occasionally produces a sequential series of tornadoes; these are
known as tornado families. A line of non-tomadic thunderstorms may evolve into oow-shaped
patterns as damaging straight-line winds within the storms accelerate portions of the squall line
ahead of other line elements. This surge is identified on Doppler weather radar as a “bow echo”.
Bow echoes occasionally produce tornadoes; however, these tornadoes usually occur in cyclonic
rotation within the bow’s northern flank. On 16 February 1995, a bow echo was observed on
Birmingham, AL and Columbus, MS Doppler radars near a stationary' front in northeastern
Mississippi. In an unusual occurrence, a tornadic supercell rapidly developed in the central section
of the bow’s convex leading edge and sequentially spawned a family of three tornadoes as it moved
over northern Alabama. Initially, two separate rotation centers developed within the bow echo, one
within the "comma head ’ of the bow’s north end, and one within a strengthening mesocyclone and
hook echo near the bow apex. The first tornado (FI) formed at 3:34 am; however, a tornado
warning was not issued for another 20 minutes. The supercell continued moving along a thermal
boundary across North Alabama, producing w'ind damage over Winston County. By 4:00 am, the
supercell encountered a 56 knot low-level jet over the Tennessee Valley and an hour later the storm
produced its strongest tornado (F3). This tornado killed three and injured over 100 near Arab, AL.
The final tornado (F2) touched down in Northeast AL by 5:30 am. After 6:00 am, the storm
weakened over North Georgia as it moved over cold pool of air dammed against the Appalachians.

87

Abstracts

A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO CONTAMINATION ASSESSMENTS AT
LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK SITES. Daniel J. O'Donnell. P.G.. Volkert
Environmental Group, 3809 Moffett Road, Mobile, Alabama 36618.

In the late 1980s, regulations governing underground fuel storage tanks were
implemented at federal and state regulatory levels. In general, these regulations spelled out
performance standards for new installations, outlined up-grade procedures for existing tanks,
established procedures for reporting, assessing and remediating releases from USTs, and
established mechanisms for financial responsibility for UST owners. Initially, few sites were
being assessed and the demand for trained investigators could keep up with the work. With
the increasing number of sites needing investigations and the lack of trained personnel to
complete them, expertise was often lacking as more firms entered the "booming"
environmental market. In some cases, individuals with no formal training in hydrogeologic
investigations were thrust into responsible positions, directing investigations and providing
training to lower level staff under their charge. The end result was that, at many sites across
the country, contamination investigations became "hit and miss" drilling and well instaiiations
projects rather than carefully planned projects designed to answer specific regulatory
requirements. Now almost a decade later, it may be time to rethink the
assessment/investigative process and return to a practical approach of conducting
contamination investigations at leaking UST sites. This practical approach includes a review
of files on area sites, a planned soil investigation program and. if warranted, a groundwater
investigation program to characterize the release and provide information on the aquifer being
imnacted bv the release.

SIMULATION OF A TRACER TEST rN A DOUBLY POROUS AQUIFER
WITH AN ADVECTIVE FLOW PARTICLE TRACKING COMPUTER
PROGRAM. James L. Robinson, U.S. Geological Survey, 2350 Fairlane Dr., Suite 120,
Montgomery, AL 36116.

The Upper Floridan aquifer of west-central Florida is generally simulated as a porous
media (primary, or matrix porosity), although it contains secondary porosity in the form of vugs
and conduits. A tracer test was conducted in the upper 300 feet of the aquifer by releasing a pulse
of tracer dye into the borehole of a well 200 feet from a pumped recovery well. A dye
breakthrough in the recovery well occurred 4 hours after pumping began and peak dye
concentration in the recover well occurred 15 hours after pumping began. A secondary dye
breakthrough occurred after 36 days of pumping and a secondary peak concentration occurred
after 48 days of pumping. The bimodal distribution of tracer arrival is interpreted as ground-water
flow through a doubly porous system, with the early arrival representing secondary porosity and
the later arrival representing the primary porosity of the aquifer matrix. The second arrival time
was used to calculate an effective porosity of 25 percent, and a longitudinal dispersivity of 1.3 feet
for the aquifer matrix. A calibrated flow model and an advective flow particle-tracking program
were used to simulate the tracer test. An effective porosity of 21 percent for the aquifer matrix and
a secondary effective porosity of 0.15 percent were required in the simulations in order to match
the field data. The results of numerical modeling support the interpretation of ground-water flow
through a doubly porous aquifer, and indicate that the assumption of equivalent porous media flow
in the Upper Floridan aquifer is probably valid only on an intermediate to regional scale.

88

Abstracts

SUMMARY OF TRACE ELEMENT LOSS AND ISOTOPIC CHANGES IN AN
EXPERIMENT SIMULATING ARAGONITE DIAGENESIS. Charles Stapleton and
Douglas W. Haywick, Department of Geology and Geography, University of South
Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

We initiated an experiment approximately two years ago to simulate the effects of
meteoric alteration on aragonitic bivalves. The experiment consisted of four water
filtration canisters, each containing 10 to 20 portions of Donax variabilis, the common
coquina shell. These shells were originally collected live from the surf zone of Orange
Beach, AL. They were disarticulated, placed in hydrogen peroxide to remove all organic
material and dried. Each valve was weighed to 4 decimal places (+/- 0.2 mg) before being
placed into the canisters. Three of the canisters were packed with siliciclastic sand; one
was packed in carbonate sand. Distilled water (simulating meteoric water) was allowed to
pass through two of the siliciclastic sand-bearing canisters and the carbonate sand-bearing
canister. Sea water was passed through ihe remaining canister packed with siliciclastic
sand. Every so often, the shells were removed from each canister and individually
weighed to determine if any mass loss due to dissolution was occurring. After 1 year, the
shells were cut into thirds. One part was thin-sectioned, one part was processed for stable
isotopic analysis ( O and C) and one part was returned to the canister tor continued
dissolution. For shells packed in siliciclastic sand through which distilled water passed,
there is measurable loss in mass and in 6uO. For shells packed in carbonate sand, no
mass loss occurred. These results are consistent with that observed in nature.

CONSTRUCTING .AND MAINTAINING DIGITAL GEOLOGIC MAPS WITH CAD
AND GIS STRATEGY AND TECHNIQUE Christie M. Hardin and David T Allison,
Department of Geology & Geography, University of South Alabama. Mobile, AL 36688.

The availability of powerful desktop computer workstations has enabled computer-aided design
(CAD) and geographic information systems (GIS) to play an increasingly fundamental role in the
geosciences. Some of the results of an ongoing geologic mapping project by the authors will serve
to illustrate the strategy and techniques of constructing digital geologic maps- techniques that are
applicable to a wide variety of projects involving geographic data. USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles
containing geologic contacts, in addition to standard base map layer information (cultural features,
UTM grid, river and lake boundaries, road system, etc.) are digitized with CAD to form the digital
base map Structure data is systematically posted onto the base map via a universal map
projection coordinate system Tabular data is recorded in a relational data base system for
maximum storage efficiency The CAD base map serves as a research tool for field mapping, and
as a starting platform for GIS. Migration of CAD elements to the GIS system is subdivided into
three steps: 1) importation of lithologic polygons, 2) importation of line work (arcs), and 3)
importation of annotation features Some geologic layers must be treated as composites, for
example structural data is imported as both line work (strike & dip symbol) and annotation
(dip/plunge value). The complex issues of when CAD, GIS, or a combination of both, are the
most effective tool for geologic map composition/analysis will serve as the underlying theme of
this presentation

89

Abstracts

PROFESSIONAL LICENSING OF GEOLOGISTS IN ALABAMA. Thornton L.
Neatherv. Neathery and Associates, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35404 for the Alabama Board ot
Licensure for Professional Geologists, Montgomery, AL, 36 101

In response to national concerns dealing with the accuracy and quality ot geologic data included
and incorporated into various reports and documents submitted to governmental agencies for
compliance with federal and state laws, many states have passed professional licensing laws to set
minimum educational and practice requirements for persons engaged in the practice of geology. In
1995. the Alabama Legislature, with the encouragement of many professional geologist in Alabama,
passed public law 95-399 - Alabama Professional Geologists Licensing Act. The law established a
governing board, and set minimum educational and practice requirements for individuals engaged in
the public practice of geology. The public practice of geology is defined as “ The performance of
geological service or work, including, but not limited to, consultation, geological investigation,
surveys, evaluations, planning, mapping or review of geological work related to the public practice
of geology, or both, in which the performance is related to the public welfare or safeguarding ot life,
health, property and the environment except as otherwise specifically provided tor in the Act." All
geologists currently practicing in Alabama, or plan to practice in Alabama, should be knowledgeable
of the Act, Rules and Policies of the Licensure Board. This talk will outline the substance of the Act.
history of the Board, basic qualifications of licensees, and the licensure process.

SIMULATION OF A TRACER TEST IN A DOUBLY POROUS AQUIFER
WITH AN ADVECTIVE FLOW PARTICLE TRACKING COMPUTER
PROGRAM. James L. Robinson, U.S. Geological Survey, 2350 Fairlane Dr., Suite 120,
Montgomery, AL 36116.

The Upper Floridan aquifer of west-central Florida is generally simulated as a porous
media (primary, or matrix porosity), although it contains secondary porosity in the form of vugs
and conduits. A tracer test was conducted in the upper 300 feet of the aquifer by releasing a pulse
of tracer dye into the borehole of a well 200 feet from a pumped recovery well. A dye
breakthrough in the recovery well occurred 4 hours after pumping began and peak dye
concentration in the recovery well occurred 15 hours after pumping began. A secondaiy dye
breakthrough occurred after 36 days of pumping and a secondary peak concentration occurred
after 48 days of pumping. The bimodal distribution of tracer arrival is interpreted as grour.d-water
flow through a doubly porous system, with the early arrival representing secondary porosity and
the later arrival representing the primary porosity of the aquifer matrix. The second arrival time
was used to calculate an effective porosity of 25 percent, and a longitudinal dispersivity of 1 .3 feet
for the aquifer matrix. A calibrated flow model and an advective flow particle-tracking program
were used to simulate the tracer test. An effective porosity of 21 percent for the aquifer matrix and
a secondary effective porosity of 1.5 percent were required in the simulations in order to match
the field data. The results of numerical modeling support the interpretation of ground-water flow
through a doubly porous aquifer, and indicate that the assumption of equivalent porous media flow
in the Upper Floridan aquifer is probably valid only on an intermediate to regional scale.

90

Abstracts

SEDIMENTARY PROVENANCE: NON-VOLCANIC DOMINANCE IN A
VOLCANIC FORE-ARC BASIN. Douglas W, Hayvvick. Department of Geology and
Geography, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

The source of sediment (i.e. sedimentary provenance), that enters into basins and
other depositional environments is usually determined by petrographic methods and via
estimations ot framework composition (e.g., %quartz, %feldspar, %lithic fragments etc.).
These data, when plotted on ternary classification diagrams, yield useful information about
the plate tectonic setting of the depositional environment under study. The premise:

different tectonic hinterlands shed sediment of different and characteristic composition

appears to be valid in most situations; however, exceptions can, and do, occur. For example,
the Plio-Pleistocene Petane Group which crops out along eastern North Island New Zealand
was deposited in a fore-arc basin. But here, sihciclastic sedimentary rocks are dominated by
quartz and sandstone rock fragments that were derived from Permian-Triassic greywacke
basement rocks that lay to the west. Ternary plots clearly indicate a recycled orogenic
provenance with virtually no volcanogenic contribution for the siliciclastic sand fraction
during much of the Plio-Pleistocene. Although this has been observed in other forearc basins
described in the literature, it is nonetheless surprising for this area of New Zealand
considering its proximity to a major volcanic area (Taupo Volcanic Zone) and the volume of
dominantly rhyolitic material erupted from there since the Pliocene (c. 16,000 km3).

MINERALOGICAL AND GRAIN SIZE VARIATIONS IN TFIE CRETACEOUS
PIERRE SHALE FORMATION, SOU I HERN SOU! H DAKOTA. Andrew P. Feltman.
Douglas Haywick, Dept, of Geology, Uni. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688 and
Gorden L. Bell Jr., South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701

The Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale Formation was deposited within a shallow
marine environment and is well known for containing marine vertebrates such as
mosasaurs and turtles. Despite the paleontological importance of this formation, little
sedimentoiogical data exists by which to characterize the Pierre Shale in southern South
Dakota. The purpose of this project is to provide these data for the middle portion of the
Pierre Shale Formation (Gregory, Crow Creek and De Grey Members), and in particular,
to determine a possible method by which to discriminate several bentonite layers within
the Gregory Member. We have collected 66 samples from an outcrop of Pierre Shale that
extended across the interval of interest. Grain size parameters of each sample were
determined in a laboratory. The ^63 pm fraction of each sample was examined in order to
determine the mineralogy of the sand component. Overall, the Pierre Shale is dominated
by silt and clay. Many samples, primarily those from the Crow Creek Member, contained
gypsum within the sand fraction. This mineral is diagenetic and either formed as an
evaporite mineral during deposition of the Pierre Shale or after deposition through the
action of groundwater. The sand fraction in other samples contained quartz, biotite and
foraininifera. At this time, it appears that bentonite layers in the Gregory Member contain
slightly more sand and less foraminifera than intervening shale units in the Pierre Shale.

91

Abstracts

THE 1997 ESCAMBIA COUNTY EARTHQUAKE. Dorothy E. Raymond. Geological
Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486, Margaret Hopper and Joan Gomberg, U.S.
Geological Survey, Memphis, TN 38152, and Lorraine Wolf and April Barnes, Auburn
University, Auburn, AL 36849

On October 24, 1997, at 2:30 A.M. citizens of western Escambia County were rudely
awakened by shaking windows and beds, falling pictures, and moving furniture. An
earthquake centered in western Escambia County northeast of Atmore shook much of
southern Alabama and was felt in the adjoining states of Florida and Mississippi. The quake
had a duration magnitude (Md) of 4.9. A smaller quake (Md=3.1) on May 4, 1997, was a
foreshock that had been originally attributed to a sonic boom. Historically, south Alabama is
a region of low seismicity and reports of earthquakes in this area have in the past been
greeted with skepticism. Only two historical earthquakes are known to have occurred within
100 km of the epicenter of this quake.

A system of 1 1 seismic stations was immediately deployed to monitor seismic activity
and more accurately determine the epicenters of subsequent quakes. Three other aftershocks
were felt at 5:50 P.M. October 26 (Md=3.7), at 3 A.M. October 28 (Md=3), and at 4:44 P.M.
January 26, 1998 (Md=2.8). The epicenter for the aftershocks was about 2.4 km south of
Little Rock, Escambia County. Concurrent with seismic monitoring, a comprehensive intensity
survey was conducted immediately following the October 24 quake by home visits, surveys
distributed to churches in the epicentral area, and surveys published in all major papers in the
surrounding areas. Results compiled indicate the maximum intensity (VIII MM) to be limited
to a small area 8 km southeast of the epicenters determined for the aftershocks. Intensities of
VI or more are confined to Escambia County and northernmost Florida between the towns of
Atmore and Brewton. Reported damage included a fallen concrete chimney cap, slope failure
beneath a crane, cracks in concrete structures, and fallen objects.

GEOGRAPHY, FORESTRY, CONSERVATION, AND PLANNING

Teaching World Regional Geography in Digital
Format. Tom L. Martinson, Dept, of Geography, Auburn
University, Auburn, AL 36849.

Teaching world regional geography in digital format opens new possibilities
for both teaching and learning. Exploring these possibilities has led to my
developing the first full multimedia Web-based course at Auburn University,
the first quarter-long televised course using the microwave transmission
facilities between Auburn and Auburn University at Montgomery, the first
use of Auburn’s restricted access web site for lecture review matenals, the
first textbook on compact disk, the first digital on-line textbook sold by the
Auburn University Bookstore, the first use of the Aubum University Media
Database, and the first distance learning class on World Regional Geography
submitted by Aubum University' and approved by the Southern Regional
Education Board for nationwide distribution. All these themes are illustrated
in this presentation.

92

Abstracts

DIFFERENCES IN FIIGH SCFIOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS PERCEPTION
ON PLANNING EDUCATION AND PRACTICE; Chukudi V. Izeogu. Ph D.
Dept, of Community Planning, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762

The need to meet state mandated program viability standard has forced
administrators ot small planning programs in Alabama to become more adept at
developing student's recruitment programs. Students' choice of a field of study in
the university, however, is often predicated upon their perception on the
substance, purpose and employment prospects of various disciplines To recruit
effectively, planning educators need to know potential students' perception on
planning. This study examines the perception of Huntsville, Alabama, high
school and college students on urban planning, and the implications for students
recruitment. The study focuses on what the students know urban planners do, and
aspects of their community that planning influences. The results show that
college students know more about what urban planners do, and associate urban
planning with improving housing and community facilities than high school
students. While high school students mostly hear about urban planning from TV
programs, most college students know about the discipline in college and from
print media. Also, more college students than high school students think that
planners are mostly needed in their communities. The studv reveals a need to
develop different recruitment materials and programs with clear images of urban
planning applications in the community for high schools and colleges

CITYGREEN: URBAN FOREST ANALYSIS OF FLORENCE. ALABAMA. Chester Kichev
and Elizabeth Sutherland, Undergraduates, University of North Alabama, Florence. AL 35632

The purpose of this project is to make students, citizens and business leaders aware of the
importance of trees in the urban ecosystem and to help them understand the effect that trees have
on the urban environment. CITYgreen, created by American Forests, is a software extension to
the AreView Geographic Information Systems (GIS) program. With CITYgreen, natural
resource managers, urban planners, environmental organizations, and even private citizens can
monitor their community’s resource growth and development. The program provides the user
with the ability to map, measure, and analyze urban ecosystems. It helps in the determination of
how urban landscapes are affected by:

• Air Pollution Removal.

• Household Energy Conservation,

• Stormwater Management,

• Carbon Storage and Sequestration, and

• Urban Wildlife.

The project involved a field inventory of selected sites of Florence urban ecosystem. The
data was digitized or manually entered into a database and then formed the basis for the urban
ecosystem analysis using the CITYgreen software. The project was funded research through the
Alabama Forestry Commission.

93

Abstracts

GEOGRAPHY IN THE NEW SOCIAL STUDIES COURSE OI
STUDY. William R. Strong, Dept, of Geography, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35032.

Geographic illiteracy in this country was documented by numerous surveys
during the past decade. A 1988 Gallup reported that the USA came in last in the 18-
24 year old cohort in a survey of 9 nations and lagged behind such countries as Japan,
France, Canada and Mexico, liven before the survey, however, efforts were already
underway to promote greater instruction in geograph}' in every state of the union. The
National Geographic Society provided early leadership and funding and was joined by
the National Council for Geographic education and the Association of American
Geographers. One of the major goals was to establish world class national standards
that could inform curriculum developments in the states. During the past year, the
Alabama State Department of education charged a select committee of teachers,
professors and political appointees to develop standards for four foundational
disciplines, geography, history, economics, and political science that support social
studies instruction. The document produced by the committee, known as the Social
Studies Course of Study, was approved by the State Board of Education in February,
1998, and will go into effect in the fall of 1999. It will guide instruction in geography
and the other social studies for the following six years. This presentation reports the
results of the year long deliberations and focuses on the themes, elements and
standards that drive geographic education.

TVA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS IN THE TENNESSEE VALLEY
REGION. Wanzina Jackson, Nelda Smith and Chukudi Izeogu, Dept, of Community
Planning and Urban Studies, Alabama A & M University, Normal, AL 35762.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), established in the 1930's to foster economic
development in the impoverished rural areas of the Tennessee Valley and to control
flooding, has under gone several changes. Although its programs have expanded over the
years to include community and social programs, it has been criticized for its nuclear power
plants and associated environmental impacts. Currently, TVA faces several cuts in its non¬
power budget and environmental programs. However, TVA plans to fulfill its goals in its
integrated resource plan, Energy Vision 2020. This study indicates that TVA has continued
to improve its economic state with new cost-effective environmental technologies. Some
of its non-power programs such as Economic Development Loan Fund, a multi-million
dollar revolving loan pool fully funded through power revenues, have contributed to the
social and economic development of states in the region. With the fund, TVA created over
ten thousand jobs in 1996. Many of its recreation areas serve as economic stimulators as
well as environmental education facilities. It offers over 170,000 acres of recreational and
educational opportunities to visitors from all fifty states and twenty foreign countries. It
provides continuing education opportunities for its employees. Also the TVA University,
affords approximately 15,500 employees the opportunity to maintain their current jobs or
obtain other high value jobs. This study suggests that the performance of TVA‘s regional
economic development efforts has had a positive impact on the communities it serves.

94

Abstracts

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT: A NONTECHNICAL
OVERVIEW. James R. Lowery, Institutional Studies and Services, University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-0104.

Wetland plants clean water naturally by removing or immobilizing pollutants through
several processes including slowing the flow of water so that suspended solids settle to the
substrate and are removed from the water, absorbing some of the pollutants into the plants
themselves, collecting some of the pollutants onto the substrate material, providing a location
for aerobic bacteria to neutralize the wastewater and to break down pollutants, and providing
oxidation and reduction zones for chemical transformation of pollutant components. Wetlands
used for wastewater treatment (both constructed and natural wetlands) capitalize on the ability
of wetland plants to clean water and to do it in a natural setting.

Treatment wetlands (constructed, “artificial,” and natural) are being used throughout the
world to treat various types of wastewater including wastewater from municipalities, mining
operations, individual homes ( backyard wetlanus”), high schools, college and university
buildings, industry, commercial establishments, stormwater runoff, and agricultural operations.
This is a nontechnical overview of this environmentally friendly alternative to the treatment of
wastewater.

The first part focuses on what wetlands are, how wetland plants clean wastewater, the
variety of applications for this proven technology, and the general concept of phytoremediation
of which constructed wetlands are a part. The second part features operational constructed
wetlands focusing on such facilities in Alabama.

WEATHER FORECAST SERVICE IN A UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT: ITS
DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION. Aaron Williams. Department of Geology-
Geography, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688.

Although most of the growth in the private weather forecasting industry in the last ten years
has involved the large forecasting companies with national and international clientele, smaller
weather companies with limited service regions can compete if they locate in a strong industrial
area and provide a variety of services that emphasize personal communication. The University of
South Alabama’s Coastal Weather Research Center provides personalized forecasts and warnings
to a large and growing business and industrial community along the central Gulf Coast.
However, the success of the Weather Center can also be attributed to its on-campus location
where it (1) provides the university with a high profile program, (2) attracts businesses, (3)
creates strong university-industrial ties, (4) supports other academic programs and university
operations, and (5) serves as a training facility for future meteorologists. Thus, the on-campus
setting has been highly beneficial for the Weather Center and the University of South Alabama
and could be duplicated by colleges in other urban areas, especially if the National Weather
Service continues to reduce its operations while businesses increase their demand for local and
personal forecasts and warnings.

95

Abstracts

FROM TRADITIONAL TOURISM TO ECOTOURISM. Gloria Charles and William
McAllister, Department of Community Planning and Urban Studies, Alabama A & M University,
Normal, Alabama 35762.

During prehistoric times, men traveled in search of life sustaining resources. In times, other
motivations for travel such as leisure, health, education, and business became equally important.
With technological advancement, declining workweek paid yearly vacations, and improvements
in transportation, travel demands continued to increase. The demand has led to the rapid
development of infrastructure (hotels, industrial and entertainment sites) to accommodate and
facilitate tourist and other travelers. The emphasis was primarily on profits and economic
development. The accompanying rapid expansion of tourism, resulted often in the abuse of
natural and cultural resources. Signs of environmental degradation became visible through the
destruction of flora and fauna habitat, damage to archaeological and historical sites, and the loss
of amenities of native residents. In response to these challenges, government officials and other
stakeholders turned to find solutions to the environmental problems of the tourism industry. The
solutions being sought focused on creating a balance between sustainable economic activities and
environmental protection. The result was ecotourism; a term coined in the 1980s. Ecotourism
promotes activities that would foster sustainable economic growth and concurrently protect the
natural and cultural resources of the area. It seeks to maintain and preserve the pristine nature of
the natural environment, for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

DOES GIS IMPROVE AGENCY EFFECTIVENESS'7 William K. McAllister, Department of
Community Planning and Urban Studies, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, AL

Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have become popular spatial analysis tools for
public agencies at all levels of government. Now that GIS diffusion has become widespread,
what can be concluded about its effectiveness and the level of effectiveness it might bring to the
agencies that adopt and implement its technology? Agencies typically adopt GIS to fulfill the
goal of improved decision-making by processing more and better data to higher levels of
analysis. In the case of geographic data, the output can be a series of impressive-looking custom
made maps with a minimum of distortion and a maximum amount of detail overlaying both
physical and socio-economic data. The mental images that are created in the minds of our leaders
from GIS-based presentations and analyses can have potentially powerful results for all land use
decisions. As this picture unfolds for agency administrators, more investment is committed to
this technology', and, in turn, GIS becomes a greater force in those agencies. Measuring GIS's
effectiveness, that is its positive results toward meeting agency goals, is made more difficult in
public agency settings than for other organizations due to changing leadership and varying levels
of commitment to both research and the process of setting meaningful goals Current research
results suggest that GIS is a mainstay in most agencies that do spatial analysis, but more
empirical research is needed as to GIS effects on organizational dynamics and its real role in
improving public decision-making.

96

Abstracts

MOBILE COUNTYS’ NATURAL RESOURCE POTENTIAL. Wilbur B. De Vail,
President, Proxy Services, Ltd., Auburn, AL 36830.

The potential of a county depends primarily on having markets
and processors of materials for these markets. In the case of Mobile
County, having an export market (State Docks) strengthens the
potential. Listed among the natural resources of the County are its
people (population), land (acres), minerals including gas and oil,
waterways (rivers, lakes, and salt water) all of which play a part in
developing the potential markets and hence income from raw materials
processed locally. The population of the County in 1990 was 378,643
and represented an increase of 3.7% in the last decade. Land area is
reported to be 809,100 acres of which 16.1% is agricultural, 62.2% is
forested, 10.9% covered by «ater, and 10.8% devoted to urbanization.
Minerals include cement, sand, gravel, gas and oil both off-shore and
land-based. The high percentage of land in forests provides the
primary basis for projection of potential in this paper. The forest
resource provides a payroll for 10,800 persons of $290 million. This
translates into an economic impact for the County of $2.9 billion with
15% attributed to the value of the forest products and another 16% to
value added through manufacture. Pulpwood represents 65% of the total
and sawtimber 35%. Primary processors of the forest's raw materials
number 25 while secondary processors number 57.

DIRT PITS AND OUR BACKYARDS. Stephen L. Whipkey, Student, Adult
Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS), University of South Alabama, Mobile, Ala., 6535 Cheyenne
Parkway, EightMile, Ala., 36613

The state of Alabama maintains an antiquated law dating back to 1969 that not only allows but
also encourages property owners to mine their property and then to abandon it without reclamation. The
miners suffer no penalty for their actions except the forfeiture of a mere $150 per acre bonding fee. Not
only can these operators mine the property under the current law, but they can remove the earth up to the
property line, leave a high wall (bluff) and destroy the potential of their neighbor’s property — all within the
safety of this same law. Many of these operators purchase tracts of land that are often completely
surrounded by residential neighborhoods, creating devastating monstrosities in the very back yards of the
surrounding property owners. The only recourse for the people who have experienced damage to their
property is to file a lawsuit and hope that the courts are understanding enough to award damages. To
encourage reclamation, legislation was enacted in 1997 at the insistence of a citizens group in EightMile,
Alabama, increasing the bonding fee to $2,500 per acre. This same group is pursuing additional legislation
in 1998 to place restrictions on the mine owners/operators. Restrictions will provide severe penalties if the
land is not reclaimed and will deny permits to violators. By early 1997 more than 100,000 acres of mined
land in Alabama had not been reclaimed. Much of this land is mined down to material that is considered
unusable for construction and is incapable of supporting any form of vegetation. With nature left on its
own to recover, many of these areas will not support life for several decades. It is past time to halt this
assault upon our landscape and to bring open-pit mining under control in the state of Alabama.

97

Abstracts

PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS

GROWTH OF BINARY ORGANIC NONLINEAR OPTICAL CRYSTALS*

J. Choi, T. Gebre, W.S. Wang, M.D. Aggarwal, Dept, of Physics, Alabama A&M
University, Normal, AL 35762. K.J. Chang, Dept, of Chemistry, Alabama A&M
University, Normal, AL 35762. Benjamin G. Penn, Donald O. Frazier, NASA /Marshall
Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812.

Bulk single crystals of thermally stable binary organic system have been grown
for various compositions. Benzil and 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) binary system has
been utilized to take advantage of the merits of these materials. Benzil is thermally
stable in the molten state in air. MNA has the highest optical nonlinearity. However,
MNA decomposes at the melting point and its surface degrades when exposed to air. A
transparent Bridgman-Stockbarger chamber and an observation system with CCD
camera have been used to grow these crystals. A self-sealing ampoule is used to reduce
the tendency of decomposition of MNA in its molten state Initial surface quality of
grown binary crystals remain good in air for a period of 6 months. Absorption of water
vapor seems to be the main cause of surface degradation of crystals. Hardness of grown
crystals(5wt% benzil in MNA) is measured to be 13 Kg/mm2 which is 45 % higher than
benzil. It has been found that the conversion efficiency of second-harmonic generation
for 5wt% benzil in MNA is 1.5 % with 4.5 mm interaction length. This organic binary
crystal has the same efficiency as the commercial potassium dihydrogen phosphate
(KDP) crystal.

* Work was performed under NASA Alliance for Nonlinear Optics grant NAG5-6532
and NAG8-1390.

INVERSE SPECTRAL PROBLEMS FOR OPERATOR-VALUED
A-FUNCTIONS. Sergey Belyi. Dept, of Mathematics, Troy State University, Troy, A1
36082.

We consider direct and inverse realization problems for the operator-valued /^-functions acting in
finite-dimensional Hilbert space as linear-fractional transformations of transfer functions of
linear systems generated by rigged operator colligations. Certain subclasses of the class of
realizable /^-functions arise. These classes of operator-valued /^-functions allow us to define
classes of 7-contractive operator-valued functions in half-plane that can be realized as a transfer
mapping of the rigged operator colligations. A problem when the product of ./-contractive
operator-valued functions from defined class belongs to the same class is investigated.

98

Abstracts

DETERMINING THE TRAJECTORIES OF PROTONS IN AREAS OF RAPIDLY
CHANGING ELECTRIC FIELDS IN THE EARTH'S MAGNETOSPHERE. B, J,
Bateman. Physical Science Department, Troy State University, Troy, Al. T.E. Moore and
Barbara Giles, Interplanetary Physics Branch, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbellt,
Md 20771

A computer code used to determine the trajectories of charged particles works
very very except in areas of rapidly changing electric fields. The code is designed to
determine the trajectories by assuming the electric field is constant over a pre-deflned
volume of space. The code has been modified by adding a predictor-corrector routine
which reduces the volume of space as the electric field changes. Preliminary results
indicate that the routine produces reasonable results for the first three hours of the
particles trajectory.

HEAT CONDUCTION INCORPORATING TEMPORAL FOURIER AND OHM
LAWS. John H. Young. Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL 35294.

The heat flux resulting from a temperature gradient, as originally proposed by
Fourier, implicitly assumes an infinite propagation speed of thermal effects. Although
not problematic in most cases of heat conduction analysis, certain contemporary
engineering interests such as pulsed laser annealing have resulted in recognizing the
need to modify the Fourier law in order to account for finite propagation speeds.
Modification of Fourier’s law to a time-dependent transient form alters the heat conduc¬
tion equation from its usual form (parabolic) to a form (hyperbolic) containing a second
time derivative of the temperature. Transient solutions to the latter have been shown by
a number of authors to include thermal pulses having short duration and propagating at
speeds dictated by material characteristics. Several recent analyses have examined the
short-term solutions resulting from electrical current conduction in the host medium.
The common assumption, however, is that Ohm’s law holds on the exceedingly short
time scales of interest. This is not the case, as Ohm’s law must be cast into a transient
form similar to that of the modified Fourier law and incorporated into the hyperbolic
heat conduction equation. The forms of these modifications and their implications will
be discussed.

99

Abstracts

ATOMIC VIBRATIONS AND ITS IMPACT ON HEAT
CONDUCTIVITY* Kaylla Dixon, Thomas Jeffrey, Ben Oni
and P. C. Sharma, Department of Physics, College of Engineering,
Architecture and Physical Sciences, Tuskegee University, AL 36088.

Essential to electronic industry is to devise the means and ways to
control the temperature of the devices fabricated by semiconductors. As
widely believed and proved beyond doubts that one of the chief reasons for
the failure of a device is the lack of expertise in managing the access
thermal energy. The heat energy in semiconductors is by and large
transported by phonons and therefore in this paper the phonon interactions
and their impact on thermal transport have been investigated. The
scattering of phonons, in the semiconducting devices by the boundary, the
defects and the phonon processes have been incorporated in the current
analysis. A new equation for heat current has been obtained and applied to
semiconducting systems. The theoretical model explains the temperature
dependence of phonon conductivity very well.

GRAVITY AND DYNAMICS DUE TO A SPHEROIDAL CHARGED MASS. Govind
K. Menon. Department of Physical Science and Chemistry, Troy State University, Troy,
AL 36082, and John H. Young, Department of Physics, University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

One of the bases for seemingly peculiar results predicted by Einstemian gravity
(“general relativity”) is rooted in that theory’s extending gravitational sources so as to
include contributions in addition to conventional mass. The gravitational field of a
charged point mass, for example, has been known for some eighty years and the
inclusion of the electric field due to the charge gives rise to a field which differs
substantially from that of an uncharged mass. It has come to be realized more recently
that a neutral particle undergoing radial motion in such a field can experience the very
nonNewtonian effect of gravitational repulsion. We have solved the coupled Einstein-
Maxwell field equations for the case of a nonspherical mass containing a large enough
net charge so as to prevent the formation of a black hole, thus making visible the entire
region exterior to it. Our investigations of neutral particle motion in these regions, all of
which should be accessible to a distant observer, have shown the possibility of repulsion
and trapping and will be discussed.

100

Abstracts

A TERRESTRIAL RELATIVISTIC RED SHIFT EXPERIMENT. F. Neff
Weber, Department of Physics, University of South Alabama, Mobile,

Alabama 36688.

The gravitational red shift has long been observed in astronomy. Efforts to
make terrestrial measurements confirming this gravitational shift of frequencies,
resulting from the gravitational slowing down of the electromagnetic oscillators
causing the shift, have been few indeed. The main reason for this dearth of
experiments is that the slow-down is a function of vVc2, v being the speed of the
source and c the speed of light in a vacuum. For most earth-bound experiments this
ratio is exceedingly small. A consequence of the smallness of this effect is the
need therefore for extremely precise frequency measurements, on the order of 1
part in 1011. Combining an ultracentrifuge with the technique of optical
heterodyning allows one in principle to overcome both of these limitations. Results
will be reported at this talk on progress made in this effort.

THE SEARCH FOR CP VIOLATION IN HYPERON DECAYS:
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE HYPERCP EXPERIMENT
AT FERMILAB. C. Merrill Jenkins, Dept, of Physics, University of South
Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688, for the HyperCP Collaboration.

The HyperCP Experiment has taken data in the Fermilab fixed target
run that ended in September 1997. This experiment has collected approx¬
imately 67 billion triggers. The angular distributions of the proton (anti¬
proton) in the decays of A/A from E~ decays are measured. Amy dif¬
ference in these distributions is a signal for CP violation. Based on the data
set collected, the experiment expects to have a sensitivity of approximately
2.0 xlO-4 for the CP violation asymmetry. A progress report of this exper¬
iment will be presented and mass plots of the A/A and E~ /E and other
particles will be shown from data collected during this run. A summary of
other physics topics will be given. This work was supported in paxt by the
Department of Energy, grant number DE-FG02-96ER40970.

101

Abstracts

INDUSTRY AND ECONOMICS

The United States Trade Balance: Prospects and Policy Recommendations. .lames H. Roller
and Eric Rahimian. Dept, of Econ. and Finance, Alabama A&M Univ., Normal, AL 35762.

A trade deficit occurs when a country’s imports exceed its exports. If the U.S. is to balance its
international trade, it must become more productive and technologically advantaged as compared
with its trading partners. According to the theory of comparative advantage a country can profit
from international trade, when it exports items for which production opportunity costs are smaller
than the trading partner’s opportunity costs and imports the commodities for which the opportunity
costs are high. We have studied the data of the U.S. trade balance for the most recent thirty years.
For the trade of goods, services and income, one observes that the balance was negative in 1977,
1978 and again in 1983 and since then. We also have studied the value of the major commodities
exported and imported by the U.S. in 1987 and 1995. The comparison of the data of these two
years reveals that the U.S. has recaptured part of the lost market in automotive vehicles and has
increased its net exports of chemicals. In the computer industry, the U.S. did lose some markets
and indeed in 1995, it had net imports of $16.3 billion. In addition, in 1995 the U. S. was a net
exporter of aircraft ($10.1 billion) and of grains. On the other hand, the U.S. is a net importer of
petroleum. Overall, the U.S. balance of goods, services and income had a deficit of $1 13 billion in
1995. The recent recession in some other countries including the Southeast Asia may have a
negative impact on our trade balance. The U.S. government should evaluate its macro-economic
policies, which affect the trade and practice more negotiations to eliminate the unfair trade
practices of its trading partners. The producers should evaluate the micro-economic foundation of
their production to improve their technology and reduce their unit costs. Overall, though the trade
balance can be temporarily negative due to cyclical forces, the trade deficit of U. S. has been
running too long and it is time to reverse it.

RETIREMENT PLANNING SPREADSHEET. Jerry W. Ferry and T. Morris Jones, College of
Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

This spreadsheet analyzes four aspects of retirement planning. First, the amount of income that you
must fund during your retirement is estimated. Second, assumptions about inflation, time until
retirement, and duration of retirement are used to calculate the total amount of capital you will need to
fund your retirement. Third, the lump sum and monthly annuity needed to fund your retirement arc
calculated assuming that you have no investments. Finally, your current investments are analyzed
using an asset allocation approach to refine the estimate of their future value and the lump sum and
monthly annuity needed to fund any deficiency are calculated.

102

Abstracts

ANALYZING PUBLIC ACCESS IN LOW TO MODERATE INCOME
COMMUNITIES IN ALABAMA’S COASTAL ZONE. Phillip A. West and William K.
McAllister, Department of Community Planning and Urban Studies, Alabama A&M University.
Huntsville, AL

The coast is the border to a public trust resource - the navigable rivers, waterways, and coasts that
are held by the sovereign for use by all the people. Many current land development activities inhibit
and discourage public access to these waters, impairing their use as a public resource. Alabama has
one of the lowest public access to shore front ratios of the many states involved in the federally-
approved coastal zone management program. Perhaps the most affected by this shortage of public
fishing piers, boat ramps, and shore front parks are the low to moderate income persons who can not
afford the high cost of property on or near shore lines. Although there are federal monies available
to states for providing public access, the criteria for spending these funds are drawn up by states,
which may or may not have systematic methods for targeting special needs. This research examines
Alabama’s coastline to see whether the present distribution of public access points are spread evenly
among all communities, regardless of income.

Economic Status of Sub-Saharan Africa. Eric N. Rahimian and Fesseha Gebremikael, Dept,
of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University', Normal, AL 35762

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is one of the most impoverished regions of the world. The 1997 Human
Development Report of the United Nations Development Program estimates that half of the
population of SSA will be income poor by the turn of the century. Currently, about 220 million
people in this region are income poor. In this paper we have studied the indicators of economic
conditions and growth of six selected countries of SSA. We have found that SSA countries have
experienced hardship in improving the economic conditions of their people. Indeed the economic
productivity and growth rate are sometimes negative. The following recommendations are made to
improve the economic conditions and to eliminate the absolute poverty in SSA nations and other
less developed countries (LDC): (1) Educate people, particularly to make them professionally
productive and to encourage them to follow family planning practices. (2) Provide health care, safe
water and sanitation. (3) Establish social safety nets to reduce the poverty incidence. (4) Adopt a
pro poor growth policy to reduce the gap between the top and bottom 20% income groups. (5)
Eliminate gender inequality. (6) Help the rural poor by stimulating micro-enterprises and farm
cooperatives. (7) Adopt export-oriented growth policies. (8) Establish full-scale regional
economic unions between these countries. (9) Utilize the assistance of international organizations
and other countries to provide a favorable environment for implementation of the above policies.
(10) The international organizations and developed nations should feel social responsibility in
promoting the growth of SSA nations and LDC. We have concluded that the growth of the SSA
countries and elimination of poverty are not impossible. Nevertheless, it takes real cooperation and
support of developed nations to break the cycle of poverty and stagnation.

103

Abstracts

The Economic Growth and Trade of Kenya After Its Independence. Erie Rahimian and
Maria Obiero, Dept, of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
35762

Kenya gained independence on December 12, 1963. It has a population of 28 million people.
According to a recent study by David Green published by the World Bank, “Kenya’s first decade
as an independent nation was one of remarkable growth and structural transformation.” Between
1964 and 1973, the total GDP grew at an annual rate of 6.6%. Agriculture grew rapidly at 4.7%
and manufacturing grew at a rate of 8.4% annually. Despite the fast growth at the beginning of its
independence, the rate of growth has not been uniform and the average growth rate has gradually
slowed down. For example, the agricultural growth rate of 1972 was only 2.7%. The 1997
Human Development Report compares the real GDP per capita of all nations. Kenya has a real
GDP per capita of $1,403, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) as compared with the U.S.
real GDP per capita of $6,101 (adjusted for PPP). The unadjusted GDP per capita was $280 in
1996. The GDP per capita grew by 4.9% in 1995 and 4.2% in 1996. Toda_y agriculture accounts
for 27% of GDP and approximately 70% of employment. Tourism and manufacturing accounts
for 7% and 14% of GDP respectively. The other 52% come from other areas like mining, foreign
trade and services. This data indicates that there is room for using better technology in agriculture
and transferring the excess population from agriculture to manufacturing and other sectors as
necessary. It also shows that there should be some government subsidies to tourism industry. The
government should also maintain the social and political stability to attract more tourists. New
methods of making the arid and semi-arid areas productive should be initiated for more agricultural
growth, and both the small and large-scale farmers should be promoted through farm cooperatives.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE WORKPLACE: HELPING ORGANIZATIONS COPE.
Bryan Kennedy and Dahlia B. Newton, School of Business, Athens State College, Athens, AL

3561 1.

Tire workplace is one of the key locations in which to confront the growing problem of
substance abuse. No longer viewed as just a health or law enforcement issue, such abuse is
effectively dealt with in programs developed by large organizations. Increasingly, however,
smaller organizations, which often have limited resources, seek help from faculty of colleges in
dieir communities. Faculty with management and other appropriate backgrounds can help identify
the presence of substance abuse or the potential for developing the problem and develop
programs to deal with it. The U.S. Department of Labor (1991) provides five steps to assist with
this goal. Once need is analyzed, policies and program can be developed to meet specific needs.
Legal considerations, such as the need for confidentiality, must be addressed in connection with
policies. Ideally, a substance abuse program will be part of a comprehensive drug free program.
When faculty respond to die need of these small organizations, they support the importance of
their institutions to their communities and combat the negative effects of substance abuse in
organizations and the lives of employees.

104

Abstracts

THE ECONOMIC DYNAMICS OF ALABAMA IN THE 1990S. Fesseha Gehremikael, and Eric
Rahimian, Dept, of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762.

The main goal of this paper is to study the economic status of the State of Alabama in the 1990s.
Some of the demographic data such as population growth, income, employment, poverty status by
composition for the years 1980, 1990, and 1995 have been compared to show the trend and change
in the economic status of Alabama. From 1993 to 1996, Alabama created approximately 150,000
nonagricultural jobs. This translates to 37,460 net new jobs a year for an average annual growth
rate of 2.1 percent. By comparison, employment at the national level for the same period increased
by 1.5 percent annually. Beginning 1996, however, Alabama's employment growth dropped well
below the average for the period. The slow growth continued in 1997, when the state’s employment
increased by 1.1 percent, while the national average was over 2.0 percent. The primary reason for
slow job creation in 1997 was that job losses did offset job gains. More than 13,000 apparel jobs
were lost during 1995-1997. In 1997 alone, durable goods industries in Alabama created over
1,300 new jobs, while non-durable goods industries and primary apparel lost about 3,3000 jobs.
The recent events that weakened some Asian currencies imply that Alabama export to that region
may fall. Given the above constraints, Alabama is expected to add about 17,100 net new
nonagricultural jobs in 1998. These jobs will occur primarily in the service, trade, and
construction sectors of the economy. As far as agriculture is concerned, the state of Alabama
ranks third in peanuts exporting, and fourth in poultry. Currently Alabama ranks the 29th in
agricultural exports nation wide. Over all our study indicates that the North Alabama performed
better than the State. Some parts of the region lacked a diversified economic base. Balanced socio¬
economic development will require stimulating investment in these areas.

PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN THE PRESENCE OF HOME SCHOOLING.
Dr. Jim Couch, Dr. J. Douglas Barrett, and Mr. Peter M. Williams, College of Business,
University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632-0001.

The neoclassical school of thought in economics emphasizes the role of competitive
forces in the provision of services. In a market where price and quality serve as
margins of competition, the profitability and even the survival of firms rests on
delivering a product within a reasonable range of its competitors. Monopolies have
long been criticized for the lack of incentives to improve their products and services.
Anecdotal evidence on the nature of competition in schools might be inferred from the
fact that students of home schooling scored 18% to 28% higher on standardized tests
than their public school counterparts. However, our focus is not upon the relative
quality of home schooling versus public schooling. Ours is an analysis of the quality of
public schooling across varying degrees of competition. In the provision of educational
services, the legal restrictions on the provision of education seive to erect barriers to
entry of alternative educational services, thus protecting the monopoly power of the
public school system. For those states with less restrictive educational laws, the lower
barriers provide greater competition for “customers,” and thus increase the incentive of
public school employees to improve their educational services. Using linear regression
analysis, we analyze the relationship betw een ease of home schooling and the quality of
the public school services as measured by standardized test scores.

105

Abstracts

The Contrast-Inertia Model and the Process of Systems Analysis and Design. Bob
Sweeney, Dept, of Computer Information Systems, Gerald Crawford and Bob Williams,
Dept, of Marketing and Management, The University of North Alabama, Florence, AL
35633

The purpose of this paper is an attempt to explain certain information gathering and
processing functions of the systems analysis and design methodology using an underlying
theory of human behavior involving judgment under uncertainty. The anchoring and
adjustment heuristic has been used to develop several models to explain how human beliefs are
updated as new information is sequentially presented. One such model, the contrast-inertia
model, explains how humans update their current beliefs as new information is sequentially
received by a decision maker and predicts the effects of this information on the decision
maker’s belief system. The process of systems analysis and design involves a number of
phases or tasks which are performed in order and where, within each task, information is often
received sequentially. A pilot test was performed in order to test some aspects of the contrast-
inertia model in a systems analysis and design setting. The results of the pilot test conducted
by this researcher did not conform to the predictions of the contrast-inertia model.

THE RICH, THE POOR, AND THE SOCIAL ORDER. James G. Alexander and Marsha
Griffin, Alabama A&M University, Normal, Alabama 35762

America faces many problems of social disruption and disarray: crime, drug abuse,
gangism, cultism, militia extremism, family infirmity, community dissolution, excessive
litigousness, road rage, and more. Tins widening disarray is related to, and largely a product of,
declining authority of and respect for society’s defining institutions: governments, schools, various
professions, religious orders, labor organizations, business entities, and so forth. While social
pathologies are not simply and singly the result of economic depravation, many of them are
clustered among low income populations. Consequently, the temptation and tendency is to blame
social ills on the poor. Doing so, however, constitutes a failure to recognize society as a systemic
whole, a failure to understand that “society” is not a simple summation of “individuals.” Tire
weakening of institutional authority is critical because institutions serve important social purposes
of cohesion and intergroup mediation. In comparison with most other developed countries, the
U S. historically has relied more heavily on nongovernmental rather dian governmental institutions
as social “glue” for a diverse population Much of the strength of this social glue derived from the
nation’s large middle class — tire mainstream society was sufficiently large to minimize adverse
effects of deviations from the norm — from the “norms” of society. The declining size of the
middle class has been an important underlying factor in the diminution of cohesive social forces.
Neither poverty nor wealth provides adequate justification for exemption from society’s rules.
Nevertheless, tire widening income disparity characterizing the past quarter-century indeed places
heightened responsibility on the rich to act in ways which strengthen the social order.

106

Abstracts

EMAIL: FACILITATING ANDROGOGY IN A CIS COURSE. Tommie Singleton (CIS Dept.)
and Margie Crocker (ASM Dept), University of North Alabama, Box 5173, Florence, AL 35632.

Faculty is being encouraged to incorporate new technologies into curriculum. New methods of
delivery, such as distance learning, are forcing the increased use of technology for those
methods. One easy-to-use technology for faculty is e-mail. E-mail is relatively easy to learn,
being much like word processing. E-mail offers different venues for different disciplines and
courses, such as chat groups or LISTSERVs. E-mail can actually cause the instructor to
develop a better level of intellectual and social interaction. Research shows no difference in
learning outcomes of distance learning students and traditional in-class students; therefore, e-mail would
not deter learning. E-mail offers the student a much larger educational audience - able to communicate
with people all around the world. In addition, research indicates that written feedback is superior to
verbal feedback. E-mail operates twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week; so there is a potential for
instant feedback to questions and problems in particular. E-mail, and distance learning tools in general,
tend to make in-class lectures better because faculty become better prepared. The information learned via
e-mail can enhance the curriculum the next time it is offered. The drawbacks or considerations include
administrative support, technical assistance, and technical support during the course. At UNA, we found
the advantages to be true, and the disadvantages to be nominal.

ARE ALABAMA'S HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENDITURES EXCESSIVE? Marsha
Griffin and James G. Alexander. Alabama A&M University. Normal. Alabama 35762

Conventional wisdom holds that funding for education in the South is inadequate to provide the
human capital infrastructure necessary for a productive, modem economy. This point is olfen implicitly
conceded by industrial recruitment promotion of wage and tax concessions rather than of a skilled labor
force Nevertheless, the argument has been promulgated, most notably by Gov James, that Alabama is
overfunding higher education. This position is reflected in the funding decline of his current
administration. Evaluation of the appropriateness of a given expenditure level involves several
dimensions, including resource availability, competing public needs, interjurisdictional comparisons,
and developing circumstances. A common contention is that Alabama cannot afford to provide public
services at a level comparable to much of the nation due to the state's low income levels. While
Alabama docs rank low in income comparisons, public sector services arc retarded further bv our
comparatively low tax effort. All states face competing needs for public sector funding, but no cogent
case has been made that other public needs have disproportionately crowded out school funding in
Alabama. In interstate comparison. Alabama ranks low in education funding. However, Alabama has a
history ol providing comparatively better funding for higher education than for the K-12 level. James's
concern with distribution changes within the education budget therefore has some grounding in
interjurisdictional comparisons. Perhaps the most troubling counterfact, however, lies in developing
economic circumstances. Increasing economic globalization distinctly calls into question the concept of
low wage competition: the relevant comparison is becoming much less that with other low wage states
as with very low wage countries.

107

Abstracts

DEVELOPMENT OF A SCREENING ASSAY FOR CANINE MYOTONIC
DYSTROPHY. Tamara M. Musso, COSAM, Auburn U., Auburn, AL 36849.
Bruce F. Smith, Scott-Ritchey Research Center, Auburn U., Auburn, AL 36849.

Myotonic dystrophy is the most frequently occurring neuromuscular disease, affecting one out of
every 8500 human adults. This autosomal dominant disease has a wide range of phenotypes, and is
characterized by genetic anticipation. When examined at the molecular level, a direct correlation is
seen between the severity of the disease and the number of tnnucleotide repeats present in the gene.
Tire affected gene of this disease consists of unstable repeats of three nucleotide bases. The
instability of the gene sequence is exhibited by variation in the number of triplet repeats in
successive generations, and also by variation in the number of repeats found within different
tissues from a single person. When examined at the molecular level, a direct correlation is seen
between the severity of the disease and the number of trinucleotide repeats present in the gene. Tins
triplet repeat normally exists in the 3' untranslated region of the nrRNA encoding the enzyme
Myotonin Protein Kinase (MTPK). The lack of an appropriate animal model of this disease has
seriously hampered investigations into the pathological mechanisms of repeat instability and
disease progression. We are investigating whether dogs which are clinically diagnosed with
myotonic dystrophy may provide an animal model for this serious disease. Through the process of
sequencing the MTPK gene of normal dogs, the presence of repeats in canine MTPK can be
verified. As of yet, our results have not been conclusive as to the existence of this CTG repeat.
These inconclusive results may be due primarily to the nonhomology of the canine MTPK sequence
from the human sequence, which is the only sequence.

MYELODYSPLASIA: DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT. Jennifer Burdette
and Robert Pieroni, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, University of Alabama
School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa Program.

Myelodysplasia describes a variety of bone marrow abnormalities which may
evolve into acute myeloid leukemia. Patients can present with anemia, bacterial
infections, and bleeding. Myelodysplasia occurs predominantly in patients over 65 years
of age, although it can occur at any age. Diagnosis is suggested by peripheral blood
smears showing morphologic abnormalities, of neutrophils, platelets, or macrocytes.
Bone marrow aspirate showing abnormalities of erythroid, myeloid, or megakaryocytic
lines can help confirm the diagnosis. A differential diagnosis given these findings would
also include B12 or folate deficiency, alcoholism, or HIV infection, and so a complete
history' and further laboratory data would be necessary to confirm myelodysplasia. Given
the potential for death from bone marrow failure in approximately two-thirds of patients
with myelodysplasia, an accurate diagnosis is desirable. Treatment is usually palliative,
with transfusions, antibiotics, or hemopoietic growth factors. Intensive chemotherapy
can offer improvement; however, remissions rarely last longer than 18 months. Young
patients may be cured by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Overall, patients with
myelodysplasia have a median survival of 20 months from time of diagnosis.

108

Abstracts

THE IMPACT OF RECAD ON ALABAMA REAL ESTATE AGENTS. Bruce

Gordon and Keith Absher. University of North Alabama, Marketing and Management
Department, Florence, AL 35632.

Following the lead of approximately two dozen other states, Alabama enacted a new law on
October 1, 1996 that more clearly defined the types of allowable agency relationships in real
estate transaction. It also prescribed how those types of relationships are to be disclosed.

This law was called the Real Estate Consumer's Agency and Disclosure Act, or RECAD
RECAD has been widely debated and criticized but, its intent was to establish whether RECAD
has had a significant impact on the practice of real estate in Alabama and what the effects have
been on both consumers and real estate professionals in the state. One of the most significant
results from this study is the high number (46.5%) of respondents feel real estate agents do not
adequately understand RECAD The real-world implications of this are very significant
because it is impossible for an agent to adequately explain RECAD to a consumer if they do
not themselves fully understand the various agency relationships and the ramifications of each.

INTRANETS: BENEFITS FOR COMMERCIAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL ENTITIES.
Christy Johnson (student) and Tommie Singleton (CIS Dept.), University of North Alabama, Box 5173,
Florence, AL 35632.

Two major forces affect every business entity today - globalization and the
Information Age. The global economy has created a demand for global communications.
Global business activities demand fast and accurate information. Organizations need a way to
provide fast and accurate information. This need can be met by an intranets. An intranet is
simply a closed Internet, using the same technologies and tools as the Internet, only for a
limited number of clients. Intranet technology offers entities a number of benefits. An intranet
can help an entity share information, to eliminate paperwork, to automate the workflow
process, and to schedule meetings more efficiently. The intranet technology is already being
employed by numerous entities. Commercial organizations are using this technology - in
manufacturing and retail. Non-commercial organizations are also using this technology -- in
schools, government contracts, police departments, and member organizations. Why should an
entity invest in this technology? Efficiencies in cutting the costs per unit, maximizing profits,
saving time, and increasing productivity. Intranets also assist entities in being more effective at
meeting their goals -- goals such as quality, sales, better service, and better communication.
The intranet offers benefits to actually take advantage of modern-day pressures rather than
succumbing to them. In fact, twenty-two percent of U.S. companies have already implemented
intranets and 40 percent of U.S. companies plan to implement intranets. The intranet has
arrived as a viable technological tool in winning profits for commercial entities and achieving
goals for non-commercial entities.

109

Abstracts

Economic condition and trade of Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Eric N.
Rahimian and Yevheniy Y. Kompanivets, Dept, of Economics and Finance, Alabama A&M
University, Normal, AL 35762

After the breakup of the USSR in 1992, Ukraine has made significant progress in establishing new
democratic institutions. However, privatization of state property and other reforms aimed at
transition from the planned all-state economy towards free enterprise system have been moving
very slowly. The change was somewhat inhibited by the procommunist members of the parliament
and lack of qualified professionals with knowledge of the free market. During its first 4 years of
independence, Ukraine experienced hyperinflation (up to 400%) and decline of the GDP (17% in
1994), triggered by the military conversion and slow privatization. Direct foreign investment in
Ukraine remains among the smallest in the region. However, during the last two years inflation
was curtailed to approximately 25%, decline in the GDP slowed down and a modest growth is
predicted for 1998. Foreign trade is the only sector of the Ukrainian economy which has been
showing fast growth (in 1995 it grew 24%). Although slowly, reforms are being implemented. In
March 1998, Ukrainian president will present a 15-year reform package for approval by the newly-
elected parliament. To improve its economic performance, Ukraine must reduce government
control and regulation of companies, cut taxes (which are still high) and facilitate free enterprise
development by speeding up privatization in all sectors. The decrease in taxes and revenues should
be compensated by: (I) expanding the tax base (it is estimated that 50% of the economy is in the
“gray sector”), (2) government borrowing (foreign debt of Ukraine is low compared to the size of
the economy), (3) attraction of foreign and domestic business investment, which requires stability,
favorable investment climate and creation of adequate business infrastructure.

SALES MANAGEMENT: A COMPARISON OF THEORY AND
PRACTICE. Keith Absher. Donna Yancey and Beverly Dyer, University of North Alabama,
Marketing and Management Department, Florence, AL 35632.

This study compares retail sales manager's practices in the areas of recruitment, selection,
training and compensation. A survey was developed from a review of the literature on sales
management. The survey consisted of a series of questions that could be ranked from very
important (5) to not important (1) and don't know or no opinion. A convenience sample of 190
was collected and the resulting data was analyzed using SAS. When asked about recruiting
tools retail sales managers ranked the top five as (in order of importance) (1) employee
referrals, (2) business relationships, (3) internal training programs, (4) internal transfers and (5)
educational institutions. When asked about the importance of various selection tools,
managers ranked (1) personal interviews, (2) resumes, (3) references and (4) testing as the top
four. When evaluating the choices of sales training programs, sales managers ranked as
follows: (1) On the job training, (2) demonstrations, (3) discussion method, (4) role playing
and (5) lecture method as the top five in order of importance to them. Sales managers ranked
compensation techniques in the following ways (1) bonus, (2) combination plan, (3) salary, (4)
commission and (5) draw against a commission.

110

Abstracts

ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE

OFFICE EMPLOYEES. Margie S. Crocker. College of Business, University of North
Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire study of the educational requirements of
businesses for future employees. The sample is well-balanced between small, medium and
large businesses. Good communication skills, accuracy, promptness and dependability and
telephone skills were considered most important by these businesses.

Teamwork skills, knowledge of computer usage, records management and problem solving
abilities had secondary importance. Ranked toward the lower end of the scale were meeting
deadlines, typewriting skills, ability to take notes, and professional dress.

The top five software computer programs used were WordPerfect, Lotus, Microsoft Excel,
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access. Some businesses were just beginning to use the
presentation software programs. The busmesses used a variety of other office equipment
including calculators, fax machines, copiers, scanners, check encoders, postal meters satellite
receivers, vital statistic fax machines, and laser/ink-jet printers.

ISO 14000: THE ROLE OF THE AUDITOR. Sharon N. Campbell and Walter Camphell
Dept, ot Accounting and Bus. Law, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

In an effort to provide a consistent, internationally recognized model for environmental
management, the International Standards Organization (ISO) has developed a series of
environmental management standards, ISO 14000. ISO 14001 outlines the planning and
operational elements of an effective environmental management system (EMS) and
requirements for review and improvement. It is the only standard of the ISO 14000 series
through which a company can obtain independent certification. The environmental auditing
standards, ISO 14010-14012, cover general principles of environmental auditing, auditing of
EMS, and qualification criteria for environmental auditors.

In this reseai ch, respondents from the manufacturing sector provide evidence on the
background of internal auditing personnel, the involvement of the internal auditing group in
enviionmental auditing, factors limiting internal auditing involvement, and expected steps to
increase the internal auditing involvement. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) provides
opportunities for professional development in the area of environmental auditing. Using the
criteria in the ISO 14000 model, the IIA and the Environmental Auditing Roundtable formed
the Board ot Environmental Auditor Certifications to provide credible and professional
certification of environmental auditors.

Ill

Abstracts

PURCHASING CARDS: AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO REDUCE COSTS

Margie S. Crocker. College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632,
Rata Smith, Student, University of North Alabama. Florence, AL.

Cost reduction is a primary way to remain competitive in today's business environment.
Purchasing cards are one method of cost reduction that has proven to be effective. Purchasing
cards, also called procurement cards, are an increasingly popular method of reducing the costs
associated with small dollar purchases and specifically non-inventory items. The purchasing
card is used like a credit card, and therefore, reduces and even eliminates some of the activity'
and paperwork associated with the traditional purchase order system.

However, both the purchase order system and the purchasing card system have benefits and
costs associated with them. A company's management needs to evaluate both systems to
determine the system that provides the most benefit to them. Due to the reduction m cost and
the ease of implementation, management is increasingly decidmg that the purchasing card
system is more beneficial than the purchase order system.

USING THE "DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES" AS A TOOL
IN THE COMPUTER BASED JOB SEARCH. Marlon Rico and Keith Absher,
Department of Marketing, Univ. of North Ala., Florence, AL 35632.

Getting a good job after graduation is an important reason why students attend school.
If you think that teachers should assist their students in finding suitable work after graduation you
will probably want to stay abreast of current opportunities and job search techniques.
Sophisticated technology has brought about new employment opportunities at all levels of the
work force. Not only are there many new jobs today that did not exist a few years ago, but the
whole process of getting a job is changing drastically. Today a growing number of companies are
relying on computer data base searches to match applicants with job vacancies. These computer
searches match key words from a job description with the same word on the resume of an
applicant. When entering resume information into any employment data bank the applicant should
make sure that correct key words are included so that he or she will be matched for further
consideration as a possible job candidate. The intent of this report is to familiarize the reader with
the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, a U.S. Government publication that list all job titles along
with detailed job descriptions. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles includes standardized and
comprehensive descriptions of job duties and related information for about 20,000 different
occupations. The job description includes the medical doctor, professional, managerial, clerical,
sales, service, machine trades, bench work, and just about all other legal occupations in the U.S.
economy. This dictionary is a good reference for new employment opportunities and an excellent
source for the key words used in specific job descriptions.

112

Abstracts

FACULTY ATTITUDES TOWARD INFORMATION PRIVACY. Paulette S. Alexander. T.
Morns Jones, Sarah R. Brown, College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence
AL 35632.

As the information age continues to develop and telecommunications capabilities continue to
expand, information privacy can be threatened in many ways. Based on the landmark study
by Smith, Milbcrg and Burke (MIS Quarterly June 1996), this research is designed to
determine the types and levels of concerns of faculty members regarding organizational
practices in the collections and use of information. Smith, Milberg and Burke developed an
instrument to measure individual concerns relating to organizational use of information along
four dimensions: collection, errors, unauthorized secondary use, and improper access. A
survey of all faculty at one regional public university in the southeast United States was
conducted. A total of 107 responses were received (49.54 percent). Differences were
analyzed based on computer skills, computer usage, college within the university, and gender.
Significant differences were found among faculty respondents in three of the four dimensions.
From this study our conclusion is that business college faculty are less concerned about
organizational practices related to collection, errors, and unauthorized secondary use of
information than their counterparts in arts and sciences, education, and nursing.

USING OFFICE 97 AND/OR FRONTPAGE 98 FOR BUILDING UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENTAL WEB SITES. T. Morris Jones. Sarah Brown and Paulette Alexander,
College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632.

The advent of the World Wide Web and an array of sophisticated Web design tools have kept
professional layout/ graphic design occupations alive and active. Moving to Web page design
was quite natural for them, but many Web pages have been designed by unskilled or amateur
persons, who have had little or no training in design work. More and more, colleges and
universities are using the World Wide Web to provide useful information to students,
prospective students, alumni, and other interested persons. Frequently individual
departments within a university are asked to design and develop Web pages with specific
information relating to that department. Within the last couple of years, sophisticated software
has been introduced to facilitate the easy creation of well-designed Web pages. The present
research has reviewed both the latest software and various design criteria as presented by
professional Web page developers. Application of these findings to a variety of sites results in
some “best practices” in academic department Web site development. The purpose of this
paper is to provide guidance to those departments who are not professionals in both design
and computer technologies. Through the use of Microsoft Office 97 and Microsoft Front Page
98, a Web page has been developed incorporating suggested building blocks of a high quality
academic department Web page. Design features and considerations highlighted and
illustrated include menu schemes, limiting download time, keeping flashing to a minimum,
breaking up larger Web pages, checking colors and resolutions and maintaining links. The
paper is a multimedia presentation consisting of illustrations of best practices (and compared
with less desirable practices) and Web page design resource links to WWW sites.

113

Abstracts

THE ALABAMA MOTOR FUEL MARKETING ACT. Mrs Txwana M. Pride. Dr. Jim
Couch, & Mr Peter M. Williams, College of Business, University of North Alabama, Florence,
AL 35632-0001.

The Alabama Motor Fuel Marketing Act is designed to prevent monopolization and
enacted because "the motor fuel marketing business has the potential for monopolization".
According to proponents, the act is designed to discourage pricing practices that are claimed to
be predatory in nature. Economists argue that predatory pricing is of dubious merit. Instead,
legislation lessens competition and allows existing marketers to enjoy economic rents. In short,
the legislation is not consumer friendly.

SCIENCE EDUCATION

THE USA SCIENCE IN MOTION PROGRAM IN PHYSICS: A FOUR YEAR
PERSPECTIVE, Paul Helminger. F. Neff Weber, and Robin Chestnutt, Department of Physics,
University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688.

Since 1994, the State of Alabama has funded the Alabama Science in Motion (ASIM)
program, a state-wide high school science initiative in the areas of Chemistry, Biology, and
Physics and centered around mobile science vans. Currently each of the 1 1 state universities
designated as Teacher In-Service sites operates two science vans (9 Chemistry, 8 Biology, and
5 Physics) and the long range goal is three vans at each site. Each of the ASIM vans, driven
by a state-certified science teacher, contains $100K of laboratory equipment and typically
serves 25 participating area high school teachers on a rotating basis. In Physics, the available
laboratory experiments cover a wide range of topics with emphasis on computer-interfaced
experiments using laptop computers. A number of the laboratories are discovery-based
experiments which may be used with no prior class coverage of the specific physics topic.
The ASIM program also includes a substantial commitment to teacher training. An overview
of the USA program in Physics at the four-year point will be presented.

114

Abstracts

3-D “HOLLOW MOUNTAIN” MAPS: INTEGRATING TOPOGRAPHY
AND CULTURAL HISTORY. James S. Brown, Jr., Dept, of History &
Political Science, Samford Univ., Birmingham, AL 35229.

3-D topo maps are potentially wonderful educational tools, but several
drawbacks virtually disqualify them as classroom teaching devices:

- they are bulky, requiring large storage space when not in use.

- they are passive, not very engaging or experiential.

- they are inaccurate, at least in the typical molded plastic version.
This recently patented device solves most of this difficulty. Print the same
2-D contour map on four “motherboards” of the thickness required for the
vertical scale desired. Cut these motherboards along alternating contour
lines: motherboard #1 on lines 1, 5, 9, etc., #2 on lines 2, 6, 10, etc., and
so on. Outer contour ring from motherboard #1 is base layer for map, on
top of which goes outer layer from motherboard #2, etc. Fifth layer comes
again from motherboard #1. Completed model disassembles for storage

in 1" thickness or less. Illustrated with slides of model of central Honshu.

The Effect of Feedback Timing and Question Format on Retention in a College Level
Introductory Biology Course. Mandv E. Tinsley. L. Quinn Head and Charles P. Olander,
Department of Biology and College of Education, Jacksonville State University,
Jacksonville, AL. 36265

Students retention of academic material as measured by performance on delayed retention
exams should be a concern of students and teachers alike. Student retention is usually
assessed with standardized multiple choice exams. Our objectives were twofold. First,
does the test type used in the instructional phase of a course effect the performance on a
subsequent multiple choice delayed retention exam? That is, will the students do better on
a multiple choice delayed retention exam if their weekly quizzes were in multiple choice
format. Secondly, when is the optimum time to give informational feedback on student
quiz performance? We evaluated both of these hypothesis in a college level introductory
biology course at a northeastern Alabama state university. An ANOVA procedure was used
to analyze the student retention data across types of information feedback and quiz question
format.

115

Abstracts

BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HANDWASHING PRACTICE. Carolyn White,
Community-Mental Health Department, University of South Alabama , College of Nursing,
Mobile, AL 36688.

Handwashing as the sine qua non of infection control has been well established. A vast
array of literature exists relevant to its significance and the reluctance of health providers
to consistently practice handwashing. This study examined the phenomenon from the public
perspective. The hypothesis that a lack of motivation contributes to decreased handwashing
rates was explored. Random sampling of 200 mall public restroom users (100 males and
100 females) in a southeastern American city was conducted. Handwashing practices of 100
(50 males and 50 females) were observed. Subjects were predominantly young and middle-
aged adults with approximately 20% children and elderly. Covert observation of the control
group by the investigators determined the general public practice of handwashing after
restroom use in both the male and female groups at 30%. An intervention was applied via
an awareness tool. This independent variable was a poster of an elderly woman (a typical
grandmother) with a caption that read “Don’t forget to wash your hands.” The posters
were placed in each of the restroom stalls. An experimental group of 100 males (n=50) and
females (n=50) was observed. After the intervention, a significant improvement in
compliance to 90% was found in the female group in contrast to a minimal improvement in
the male group.

. c,T'r»r"C,o a\t r a tt/

i nc livirnu i w r o 1 ixjdoo win jl,g\ vv

rv \ n i/ pi t a r\ Att ;c o’! jr pti tda/ ap tt ft ta tn a ct /a

vj t\ in iv onnu'j vv o- i rio o i uu 1 w r * . . .

FMFORrFMPMT OFFIPFR^ A Nf H TFIFTP FAIMTI IFQ \,Wj

P oKi

1 l 1 C tl

ucjji. nuuuin um \

\ ,f ^ ^ AT TAMA

at iviumiiwuici \ , al, „• u i i yj .

Thin n/Jrl**''ccr»c h-.a^o aF ctr^cc + j 1 — -r. ^.^A TU« 1

Jiiib papv^i uuui cooes uiv in pob vji v.nv^iiJig iu\n cuiui toiiicm unicco cniu iiivii lunninjo i nc

unique charactcnsti cs oi law cnlorccmcnt stress will first be identified. Furthermore, tire etlects of j
these unique characteristics will be discussed. Finally, appropriate avenues to address the problem I
will be explored. The locus will be on defining, and treating the problem in wavs that arc nieaningfn
and ell cell vc.

116

Abstracts

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: A BRIEF HISTORY. Krissie Singleton (student) and Tommie
Singleton (CIS Dept), University of North Alabama, Box 5173, Florence, AL 35632.

Russia embraced the Gospel in 992 when the Great Prince Vladmir was converted. For the first
time, Russia turned toward Christianity. From Kiev, the Gospel spread throughout Russia. It is
possible that the unity Christianity caused in Russia saved them from the Tartars' oppression.
Moscow eventually became the "Third Rome" as it established its own Patriarchal throne.
Under Godunov, the Church increased immensely in wealth and influence. Subsequently, Peter
the Great instituted reforms in the Church -- including confiscation of Church properties.
Protestant scholasticism and pietism influence the Russian Orthodox Church in the eighteenth
century. These influences led to Westernization of theology and an attempt to develop
doctrines, traditions, and sacraments. It also led to services being limited to registered churches
(under the close supervision of the government), abolition of small group meetings (i.e.,
Sunday School), and weddings being moved for churches to chapels. The Church in Russia
today uses the "Elizabethan Bible", which was written in 1751, as its Biblical text. Despite the
separation of church and state in Russia, the government assumes the preservation of
Cathedrals, many having been transformed into mere museums. The Church, however, did
influence the social beliefs of issues such as family, divorce, and marriage. Faithful Orthodox
believers still worship in the Gothic structures while some others believe the Orthodox faith has
lost its meaning and only exists in emotionless traditions being observed. Whereas the history
of the Church illuminates some aspects of the religion, the Church exists as much as any other
with its expansion and influence dependent upon individual believers.

A STUDY OF HOMICIDES IN A SOUTHERN CITY: THE IMPLICATIONS, Jerald C.
Burns, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Alabama State Univ., Montgomery, AL
36101-0271.

The purpose of this study is to analyze black homicides in a medium size southeastern
city using official police department data. The study looks at all the variables and theories that
impact on black homicides to determine trends and whether this city mirrors other findings from
previous studies. The study concludes that the theories of routine activities explains many of
these black homicides.

117

Abstracts

THE PERCEPTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CRIME VICTIMS IN THREE
ALABAMA CITIES: DOES RACE OF VICTIM AFFECT POLICE RESPONSE9
Gerald P. Fisher. Dept, of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Alabama State University,
Montgomery, AL. 36101.

Minorities, especially African-American minorities, believe that the police have been
biased against, or at the very least, indifferent to their needs. This opinion appears to be
shared by minorities of all social and economic strata. This study is a work in progress
designed to measure the perceptions of African-American victims of robbery and
aggravated assault in three Alabama cities, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile. The
perceptions to be measured include the amount of time expired between the initial report
of the crime, and the arrival of officers on the scene. Additional considerations include
the amount of time the responding officers spend interviewing witnesses, victim(s),
possible suspects and writing reports.

Computer Stress in Small Businesses. Richard A. Hudiburg. U. of North Alabama,
Florence, AL, James R. Necessary and Douglas Naffziger, Ball State Umv., Muncie, IN

A survey was conducted with 126 small business owners in a midwestem U.S. city. The owners
completed a questionnaire containing questions about their business, personal demographic
characteristics, computer experience, and computer use. Additionally, the owners were assessed
about their computer use reactions using three scales: Computer Attitude Scale, Computer
Self-Efficacy Scale, and Computer Hassles Scale. Additionally there was an assessment of the
level of anxiety and somatic complaints. The small business owners were mostly male (74 %),
were an average age of 44 years, had been in business an average of 13 years, used the computer
an average of 18 hours a week, and had an average of 6 years computer use experience. The small
business owners had positive attitudes toward computers and had moderate confidence in their
basic and advanced computer skills. The owners experienced a moderate level of computer stress
and reported very low levels of anxiety and somatic complaints. The ten most reported computer
hassles were comparable to those reported by student users in a normative sample except for two
hassles: updated software requirement (53 %) and software confusion (48 %) were reported at
higher level than the normative sample student users. The typical relationship, shown in other
research, between computer stress (computer hassles) and stress outcomes (anxiety/somatic
complaints) was not demonstrated in this study. The absence of this relationship was probably due
to the extreme low level of reported anxiety and somatic complaints.

118

Abstracts

THE AMISTAD AND HISTORY. Howard Jones, Dept, of History, Univ. of Ala Tuscaloosa
AL 35487

The Amistad case has been one of the most overlooked incidents in history. In 1839, fifty-three
West Africans mutinied on the Spanish Amistad in Cuban waters, sparing two Spaniards aboard
to navigate the vessel to Africa. Instead, they steered northward until it landed off Long Island,
New York. Abolitionists intervened to prevent the blacks’ return to Cuba, arguing that they were
“kidnapped Africans” with the inherent right of self-defense in winning their freedom from
illegal captivity. The case culminated in a decision for freedom before the U.S. Supreme Court in
early 1841, but only after the abolitionists had revealed the wide gulf between morality and the
law, and won the first civil rights case in the American courts. The basic issue was human v.
property rights, which lay at the heart ot President Abraham Lincoln’s struggle during the Civil
War. In the only instance in history, the West Africans of the Amistad returned home. It comes
as no surprise that Steven Spielberg has chosen to make a movie based on this incident. One
outcome of the case was the formation of the American Missionary Association in Africa, with
some of its students eventually coming to the United States and establishing schools such as
Atlanta, Dillard, Fisk, Florida A & M, Howard, Lemoyne-Owen, and Talladega. A major
outcome of the movie has been the promotion of discussions over racial relations in the United
States, making it clear that the struggle for racial equality is not over.

Miranda: Who, What, When, Where, How and Why? Traci L. Roberti.

Jurisprudence student, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, Al. 36117.

In 1966, the Supreme Court ailed on the most famous self-incrimination case in history,
Miranda v. Arizona. The courts' decision was based in accordance with the fifth amendment of
the Constitution that states "No person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, ..." Based on the outcome of this case, it became mandatory to inform an
individual: of the right to remain silent, that anything said can and will be used in a court of law
to gain a conviction, and of the right to have an attorney present during questioning. But, who
is to read these rights to the defendant? What if the defendant was not informed of these rights,
is the testimony useless? When is it necessary to inform someone of these rights? Where should
a person be informed of these rights? How often should a defendant be informed of these rights?
Why does any of this matter? Protect yourself, know what rights are afforded to law enforcement
personnel and to members of the public.

119

Abstracts

EVALUATING BATTERER INTERVENTION PROGRAMS: METHODOLOGICAL
CONSIDERATIONS. William E. Osterhoff. Dept, of Justice and Public Safety and Anne
Permaloff, Dept, of Public Administration, Auburn Univ. Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
36124.

In recent years, declines in property and violent offenses have been reported throughout
much of the nation. Domestic violence offenses, however, have been on the increase. The
increase may reflect a higher incidence of domestic violence, a higher reporting rate, or a
combination of both. Various reasons for the increase are discussed, as are myths commonly
associated with domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a pattern of physical, psychological, and/or sexual abuse involving
an intimate partner that is based on power, control, and a predictable cycle of harm. Punitive
and treatment responses to domestic violence have shown only limited effectiveness.

Communities and the criminal justice system are attempting to cope with the problem by
establishing batterer awareness, prevention, and intervention programs. The E.V.E.N. (End
Violence Effectively Now) batterer intervention program in Montgomery, Alabama involves
16 sessions which are attended by batterers as a result of court order or on a voluntary basis.
The program’s goals are victim safety, victim empowerment, and acceptance of responsibility
of the batterer for his/her behavior. The program attempts to change the basis of
interpersonal relationships from power, control, and abuse to more equally shared
interpersonal interactions, trust, and increased self esteem. Numerous impediments to
evaluation of programs such as E.V.E.N. are discussed, as are potential design solutions.

HEALTH SCIENCES

UPDATE ON CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME. Robert E. Pieroni. Department of Internal Medicine,
Univ. of Alabama School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0326.

In 1994 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with other organizations
worldwide developed a comprehensive approach to defining and studying chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
This disorder, which has been branded “The Disease of a Thousand Names” has been the subject of
considerable controversy as to its possible etiology, potential therapeutic options, and possible relationship
to other disorders such as fibromyalgia, somatization, psychogenic processes, and neurasthenia, which
was a frequent diagnosis in the 19th century. In 1934, the first reported cluster outbreak of a CFS-like
disorder occurred at Los Angeles County Hospital, and similar clusters have been reported worldwide. To
date, no definite evidence of an infectious agent, no specific lab abnormalities, and no definitive therapy
have been found for CSF patients. Unfortunately, in view of the suffering these individuals endure, many
avail themselves of unorthodox, expensive, and potentially harmful “remedies.” I shall discuss the
classification of CFS, hypotheses regarding causation, and its epidemiology. Intriguing similarities
between the “Gulf War Illnesses” and CFS will be underscored.

120

Abstracts

EFFECT OF AGED GARLIC EXTRACT™ ON THE CYTOTOXICITY OF BETA-
AMYLOID PEPTIDE IN VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS AND PC12
CELLS. Nomalanga Gwebu, Michael Selassie, Brenya Griffin, Tamara Young, and Ephraim
T. Gwebu. Departments of Research, Oakwood College, Huntsville, AL 35896.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of progressive intellectual failure and
memory impairment in the elderly, with no effective treatment. A crucial pathological
process in AD is deposition of Beta-Amyloid (Ap) on arterial blood vessels resulting in
degeneration of both smooth muscle and neuronal cells. We have recently shown that AP is
toxic to arterial smooth muscle cells (ASMCs), and this toxicity is attenuated by vitamin E in
a dose-dependent manner, [Gwebu, et al (1997) In Vitro Cell Develop. Biol. Animal ; 33:672-
673]. Garlic has antioxidant, anti-aging and anti-ischemic properties. The purpose of the
present study was to determine whether aged garlic extract solution protects ASMCs and
PC12 against AP cytotoxicity. Cel! viability was determined using the MTT (methylthiazol
tetrazolium) assay. We report that Aged Garlic Extract ™ (AGE) protects both ASMCs and
PC 12 cells against Ap toxicity in a dose dependent manner. These results suggest that AGE
has antioxidant properties that ameliorate oxidative injury induced by Ap in culture.

Assay Absorbance Cell Viability

Procedure

at 570 nm)

(as % control)

Control (no AGE, no Ap) 0.

.238 + 0.080

100

AGE (0.1%) alone

0.204 ± 0.010

85.7

Ap (no AGE)

0.1 1 1 ±0.029

46.6

AGE + AB

0.173 ± 0.020

72.6

Funded in part by: N1GMS/N1H-MARC #2 T34-GM08259

THE ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID SYNDROME: CLINICAL SPECTRUM. Mukul Mehra. Grant Eudy, and
Robert Pieroni, Department of Internal Medicine, Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0326.

Antibodies against phospholipids are found in about 25 to 50% of patients with systemic lupus
erythematosis, but may also occur in subjects without this disorder. These antibodies are responsible for
the in-vitro lupus anti-coagulant test, and for false positive tests for syphilis (e.g., VDRL) because of the
inclusion of the phospholipid cardiolipin in the test substrate. Among the numerous clinical conditions
associated with these antibodies are habitual abortions, labile hypertension, kidney disease, heart attacks,
cardiac valvular disease, pulmonary hypertension, strokes, transverse myelitis, and livedo reticularis.
Additionally, elevated partial thromboplastin time, positive Coombs’ test, thrombocytopenia, recurrent
venous and arterial thromboses, and pulmonary emboli may occur. Clinical risk increases with higher
antibody titers, and IgG antibodies appear to be of greater pathologic importance than IgM. We shall
present the case of a young male who presented with lower extremity deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary
embolism, and subsequently developed upper extremity arterial thrombosis and thrombocytopenia while
receiving heparin. Anti-phospholipid antibody was positive. His clinical course, as well as various aspects
of his disease, including differential diagnoses, will be discussed in detail.

121

Abstracts

UTILITY OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP) IN INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASE STATES.
Chris Jahraus and Robert Pieroni, Department of Internal Medicine, Univ. of Alabama. Tuscaloosa, AL
3487-0326.

C-Reactive protein (CRP) is a prototypical acute phase reactant and a sensitive, albeit nonspecific,
indicator of inflammation. CRP elevation reflects cytokine-mediated liver production resulting from most
types of inflammation, infection , and tissue damage. In general, CRP increases within 12 hours of the start
of inflammation, and within 1 or 2 days its rise may be a thousandfold. This increase in CRP levels is
dramatic in comparison of other blood proteins such as complement and fibinogen. The value of using
CRP in assessing the presence of a wide variety of disease states, as well as in monitoring therapy, has
been amply demonstrated. Its use can often preclude unnecessary surgical or medical interventions, and
may provide valuable prognostic information. CRP has been used in the diagnosis and/or follow-up of
patients with appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, liver disorders including carcinoma,
neonatal infections, otitis media, meningitis, osteomyelitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, rheumatologic
disorders and a variety of other infections, cancers, and inflammatory states.

We shall present evidence of the extreme utility of CRP assays in numerous pathological states and
emphasize the need for clinicians to avail themselves of this valuable, but underutilized test.

Physical Activity Assessment Methodology in the Older Population: Review of the
Literature. Patricia O. Emplaincourt and Mark T. Richardson, Dept, of Human Performance
Studies, and Robert Pieroni, College of Community Health Sciences, Univ. of Ala., University,
AL 35486.

In light of the 1996 Surgeon General’s report on the importance of physical activity in
maintaining health and functional ability in older individuals, it is important to determine the
dose/response relationship between physical activity and health outcomes in this population.
This is especially true considering the projected increase in the number of individuals that will
fall into the catagory of “older” in the future. One of the major problems with determining
dose/response is that there is a need for better methods of assessing physical activity. The most
widely used method for assessing physical activity in the aging population is the physical activity
questionnaire. There are several surveys which have been designed specifically for use in the
older population, including the Modified Baecke (Voorips et al., 1991), the Zutphen (Caspersen
et ah, 1991), the Yale (DiPietro et ah, 1993), and the PASE (Washburn et ah, 1993). Limited
data reveals that these surveys have been shown to be significantly associated with a variety of
criterion measures of physical activity such as 24-hour recall and pedometer (Baecke), energy
expenditure as determined by the doubly labeled water method (Zutphen), V02max , diastolic
BP, and percent body fat (Yale), and Caltrac accelerometer, 3-day diary, and self-assessment
(PASE).

122

Abstracts

HOMOCYSTEINE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND AEROBIC
FITNESS/PHYSICAL ACT I VI I Y: A REVIEW. Jane L. P. Roy, Mark T.
Richardson & ^Robert E. Pieroni. Dept. Human Performance Studies &
^College of Community Health Sciences, The University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

Many recent clinical and epidemiological studies have suggested that
elevated plasma Homocysteine (Hcyst) levels are an independent risk factor
for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one cause of premature death
in the U.S. Several studies have indicated that elevated plasma Hcyst is
related to other risk factors in the CVD risk profile: LDL cholesterol, high
blood pressure, smoking and obesity. However, little is known about the
relationship between levels of aerobic fitness (AF) and physical activity
(PA). To date, only one large scale epidemiological study has examined the
relationship between plasma Hcyst levels and PA (assessed by a global self
reported four item questionnaire) (Nygard et al 1995). It was concluded
that PA was inversely related to plasma Hcyst level. Wright & Francis
(1997) investigated the relationship between plasma Hcyst and AF
(measured by a V02max test) in 20 young healthy males. It was concluded
that plasma Hcyst level was not related to AF. Clearly, more research is
warranted in this area.

A COMPARISON OF THE CYTOTOXICITY OF BENZOYL PEROXIDE AND BETA-
AMYLOID ON VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS (SMCs). Noma Gwebu. Joanne
Williams, Nalo Hamilton, Michael Selassie, Stephanie Richardson, Dwavne Mathis. Jr., and
Ephraim T. Gwebu, Department of Research, Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama 35896.

Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) is an oxygen radical progenitor used in the treatment of
decubitus ulcers and inflammatory acne. Studies from our laboratory have shown that BPO is a
potent platelet aggregating agent, and that this aggregation is inhibited by antioxidants and free
radical scavengers. Oxygen radical injury is implicated in cancer, atherosclerosis, and the aginc
process. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of progressive intellectual failure
and memory impairment in the elderly. A crucial pathological process in AD is deposition of
beta-amyloid peptides (AP) in AD and Down’s syndrome. SMCs accumulate Ap in their intra-
cytoplasmic granules. The effect of this accumulated Ap on SMC viability is not fully
understood. However, AP deposition on blood vessels is associated with the degeneration of
SMCs. The purpose if this study was to compare the cytotoxicity of BPO and AP on SMCs. Our
results suggest that AP is more toxic than BPO.

Funded in part by: NIGMS-MBRS #G S14-GM 48439 and NIGMS-MARC #T34-GM08259

123

Abstracts

HYPERL1PIDEMIC PANCREATITIS. Miranda Edwards and Robert Pieroni, Department of Internal
Medicine, Univ. of Ala., Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0326.

Patients with serious elevations of triglycerides are known to be at risk for development of potentially
lethal pancreatitis. This association is extremely important to recognize for both prevention and therapy.
Recently we treated a 39 year old female with anorexia, nausea , vomiting, and severe mid-epigastric pain
radiating to her right lower quadrant. Appendicitis was immediately suspected. The patient was currently
being treated for a dissecting thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysm with a beta-blocker, and was also
taking a diuretic for hypertension. She had a history of excessive alcohol intake and was mildly obese,
having gained 20 pounds over the last 6 months. Her vital signs were stable, but evaluation revealed
leucocytosis with a left shift, a marked elevation of C-reactive protein, a hundred-fold elevation of
triglycerides, a threefold elevation of cholesterol, over tenfold elevation of amylase, with a lipase over 40
times normal. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a fatty liver, and CT scan was consistent with serious
pancreatitis. Medical and dietary regimens resulted in marked improvement of both her pancreatitis and
of her severe dys'iipidemia. We shall discuss methods to prevent hyperlipidemic pancreatitis , its risk
factors, especially in this patient, and various modalities of treatment. Other features of this disease,
theories concerning etiology and treatment, as well as the potential for spurious lab values which may be
encountered and which may effect proper diagnosis and treatment will be emphasized.

RECURRENT SERTOLI-LEYDIG CELL TUMOR IN A 24-YEAR OLD BLACK FEMALE.
CLASSIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY WITH UNIQUE CHEMICAL AND OPERATIVE FINDINGS. Guy
W. Sneed, D.O., Chief Medical Officer, Muscogee Creek Nation Division of Health Administration,
Okemah Health System, Okemah, OK 74859

A 24-year old black female presented to the family practice clinic with a 7-month history of a non-tender
left upper quadrant mass increasing in size. The patient's symptoms included frequent "upset stomach",
increasing body hair, a progressive deepening of her voice, and amenorrhea. Past medical history
revealed that she had a left ovarian tumor classified as a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor surgically removed
four years previously. Positive diagnostic laboratory findings included an IVP which showed non¬
visualization of the left kidney and upper 1 /3rd of the ureter, and a markedly elevated alpha-fetoprotein
(350ng/ml) and serum testosterone (420mg/dl). Surgical exploration revealed an encapsulated mass in
the left upper quadrant of the abdomen which completely engulfed the left kidney and adrenal gland. No
other abdominal structures were directly involved. After surgical removal, the mass measured 22cm x
16cm at its greatest length and width and weighed a remarkable 922 grams. Histopathology subsequently
identified the mass as a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor of intermediate differentiation. The patient recovered
from the procedure, and was placed on a chemotherapeutic regimen of vincristine, dactinomycin. and
cyclophosphamide (VAC). This patient's case is unique for a number of reasons. Apart from accounting
for less than .5% of all ovarian tumors, Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors rarely produce alpha-fetoprotein.
Also, never has there been a documented case in which a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor completely engulfed
another organ other than an ovary. Finally, recurrence at such a distant site, without tumors noted more
proximal to the site of the original primary' tumor, is intriguing. The rareness of this tumor coupled with
its unusual findings upon diagnostic and surgical intervention might help to contribute to the relatively
small body knowledge known about these tumors.

124

Abstracts

USE OF FLUMAZENIL (ROMAZICON®) IN COMBINED BENZODIAZEPINE AND
ALCOHOL TOXICITY: CASE REPORT. Greg Bradford, Charles Taylor, Les Lenning
and Robert Pieroni, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Alabama School of
Medicine, Tuscaloosa Program., Tuscaloosa, AL 35487

Flumazeml, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, reverses sedation, impairment of
recall, psychomotor impairment and ventilatory depression produced by benzodiazepines.
It is indicated for the complete or partial reversal of sedation produced by
benzodiazepines in cases of general anesthesia, diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, and
for the management of benzodiazepine overdose. Flumazenil has been associated with
serious adverse effects such as seizures and symptoms of acute benzodiazepine
withdrawal. It may also complicate the management of withdrawal syndromes for
alcohol, barbiturates and other cross-tolerant sedatives. Also, reversal with excessively
high doses of flumazenil may produce anxiety, agitation, increased muscle tone,
hyperesthesia and possibly seizures. We describe the clinical course of a patient with
combined benzodiazepine and alcohol toxicity aggressively treated with flumazenil.

OPTICAL (N ON-INVASIVE) MONITORING OF BLOOD GLUCOSE. Glenn M. Cohen. Troy
State University, Dept. Biological Sciences, Troy, AL 36082 and Fred M. Ham, Florida Institute
of Technology, Division of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Melbourne, FL 32901.

We are developing an optical device that uses near-infrared spectroscopy for monitoring
blood. glucose concentrations non-invasively. Our research addresses the need of people with
diabetes for an improved and simplified method of monitoring blood glucose. When people with
diabetes maintain blood glucose concentrations within the normal range, they significantly
improve their health by reducing the severity and delaying the onset of complications associated
with the disease. We have developed discrimination or signal processing algorithms that yield
robust glucose concentrations predictions from the NIR data with an acceptable level of
accuracy. The present study involves the development of signal processing techniques and
refinements of existing methods to detect signals of interest in a noisy environment. Specifically,
we have developed an incremental complexity testing scenario (sometimes called factorial

analysis) that starts with a simple aqueous matrix (i.e., glucose in phosphate buffered saline

solution) and adds one interfering blood constituent at a time to determine its effect on predicting
glucose concentrations. By using a matrix-matched background spectrum, we can remove the
major spectrophotometric effects of interfering blood constituents from the NIR data (i.e.,
increase the signal-to-noise ratio) that obscure the glucose signal. We evaluated a

comprehensive data set which consisted of 1251 NIR spectra of human blood serum and

achieved a level of predictive performance that was comparable to invasive methods for a range
of glucose concentrations from 39 mg/dl to 605 mg/dl.

125

Abstracts

DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION OF VARIOUS ANTIOXIDANTS AGAINST BENZOYL
PEROXIDE CYTOTOXICITY IN VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS. Joanne
Williams, Noma Gwebu, Nalo Hamilton, Michael Selassie and Ephraim T. Gvvebu, Department
of Research, Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama 35896.

Oxygen radical injury is implicated in such chronic diseases as cancer, atherosclerosis
Alzheimer’s disease, and ischemia. Antioxidants provide protection against injuries induced by
oxygen radical progenitors such as benzoyl peroxide (BPO). Studies from our lab have shown
that BPO is a potent aggregating agent. This aggregation is inhibited by antioxidants and free
radical scavengers. The purpose of this present study was to compare the protective potential of
various antioxidants on the cytotoxicity of BPO on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC).
Results. Based on our previous results, benzoyl peroxide induced platelet aggregation does not
involve the generation of hydroxyl radicals in VSMC. The fact that mannitol and DMSO
selectively scavenge hydroxyl free-radicals may explain why there is an insignificant amount of
protection from BPO. Vitamin E and methional, which are scavenge a broad spectrum of free
radicals, provided the most protection from BPO toxicity.

Funded in part by: NIGMS/NIH-MBRS #GS14-GM 48439-03

MISPERCEPTIONS OF WEIGHT IN ADULT CLIENTS Portia Foster, College of
Nursing and Health Sciences, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 36265

Senior nursing students’ ability to accurately assess and measure body weight of adult
clients in a community setting was investigated. The importance of weight and body shape in adult
clients was stressed. Evidence of obesity in the abdominal region, as measured by the waist-to-hip
ratio, has been linked to greater risk for several diseases. The students were first semester seniors
enrolled in a community health nursmg class in a four year baccalaureate program. The nursing
students were taught appropriate body measurement techniques in a beginning level fundamentals
of nursing course. Appropriate body measurement techniques for this investigation included, body
weight in pounds as measured on adult scales; body shape in inches as measured at the abdomen
and hips and thighs. Thirty-one adult clients were measured for weight and body shape in a
community health senior citizen clinical site. There were twenty-one females and ten males. The
clients age ranged from 69 to 98 years. All the clients were ambulatory with minimal or no
assistance. Three clients used walkers. Fifty-one percent of the sample were assessed as
overweight, 39% were evaluated as appropriate weight, and the remaining 10% were identified as
underweight. Of the twenty-one females, 67% were found to be overweight. Only 20% of the
males were found to be overweight. The nursing students demonstrated weight assessment of the
adult clients with 81% accuracy. The implications for improvement in weight evaluation and
health teaching are numerous. The nursing students and adult clients demonstrated an interest in
weight and body shape. It is recommended that the measurements of weight and body shape of all
clients be considered in evaluating health status.

126

Abstracts

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MYELODYSPLASIA. Jennifer Burdette and Robert Pieroni
Department ot Internal Medicine, Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0326.

Myelodysplasic syndromes (MDSs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by ineffective
and disordered production ot cells by the bone marrow which frequently result in reduced circulating blood
cells (RBCs, platelets, and WBCs). These cells can usually be shown to be biochemically and
morphologically abnormal. Although MDSs are usually found in the elderly, they are being found with
increasing frequency in younger patients, especially those exposed to chemotherapy and/or radiation.
Development ot MDSs is usually insidious and patients may present with fatigue and diminished exercise
tolerance. Patients who die trom MDSs usually have developed acute leukemia (up to 40%) or
progressive marrow failure.

We shall present the case of myelodysplasia in an elderly male who was originally diagnosed as having
pernicious anemia^ and whose course has been surprisingly indolent. Features of MDSs, including
lecognition, classification, clinical course and available therapy will be discussed.

ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCES

AN OBJECT ORIENTED FRAMEWORK FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:
GENERAL SOLUTIONS APPLIED TO A SPECIFIC DOMAIN. John Drake,
Dept, of Computer Science, Univ. of Al. at Birmingham, Dr. Kevin Reilly, Dept, of
Computer Science. Univ. of Al. at Birmingham

A software framework is a methodology for software reuse. Frameworks move from the
typical approach of programs built on top of libraries to approach of libraries as complete or
near complete "open" programs. In a well designed framework, a programmer should be able to
find a component similar to the one he's needs and concentrate on the changing/ extending it to fit
current needs rather than concentrating on learning an entire API. Developing a framework
becomes the process of developing useful programs, taking care to make "useful" features of the
program open to the framework, rather than doing a complete initial analysis of all of the needed
library functions. Thus framework design can be integrated with solving a particular task rather
than simply developing and/or learning a complete domain library in the hopes of applying it to
the task. A case study applied to the ongoing RoboKid Al research project is proposed. Some of
the needs of the pioject have been statistical analysis, graphics and animation, and user interface
issues. Al tools such as neural networks and expert systems are being applied to the project. It is
desired that the framework methodology can be applied to this project in such a way that current
Al tools will be more useful, and that other tools can be added to the framework in such a way
that they inherit existing functionality.

127

Abstracts

JAVA REMOTE METHOD INVOCATION FOR DISTRIBUTED DATABASES. Oceana
Q, Pun, Department of Computer Science, Talladega College, Talladega, AL 35160.

Java is an object-oriented programming language which allows the development of pro¬
grams across the Internet. We investigate how this technology may be used to design and
query distributed object-oriented databases. First we designed a sample database represent¬
ing a business enterprise. Then we distributed it in a manner consistent with the business
having several branches, including the management of data stored locally as well as data
replicated on several machines. We have implemented the distribution of the database us¬
ing the Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) package. The databases reside on servers
implemented in RMI and are communicated with through client graphical user interfaces
(GUIs) implemented using the Java Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT). Using RMI, we
were able to distribute a database across multiple servers on a variety of different machines,
and allow access to the database from multiple clients on the local network and over the
Internet. Each client can communicate with the server of its choosing, and the servers
can communicate among one another. The concurrency control is managed by RMI, which
provides an object-oriented framework for the distributed database programming.

MEDICAL IMAGE RENDERING TECHNIQUE FOR A FILMLESS ENVIRONMENT.
Mahendra Varman and Marino Niccolai, School of Computer & Information Science, Univ. of
South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688. Meera Varman, Dept, of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36604.

In managing today’s medical practices, significant effort must be placed on finding ways to
help control the ever growing cost of quality medicine. The high cost associated with the
acquisition, rendering, and storage of medical images on film is a prime target for possible
savings. Medical images are acquired from various noninvasive techniques such as X-ray, CT,
MRI, and Ultrasound. For many technical and cost associated reasons, plain paper printouts can
be used as a viable and less expensive alternative to film. This paper describes an enhancement
technique used to facilitate the rendering of radiological images for non-film based media.
Further, each image’s histogram distribution can be used to fine-tune the final output for
improved feature recognition.

Medical images contain various anatomical features each of which presents a unique
challenge to document rendering quality. In addition, images come in many diversified file
formats. This paper describes Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM),
which is the industry standard for transferal of radiological images and medical information
between computers. We discuss the results of a survey conducted to validate the usage of plain
paper technology to print medical images for teaching and patient care purposes. Finally this
study describes various key advantages of plain paper technology, such as : cost saving,
flexibility, annotation, and teleradiology.

128

Abstracts

SIMULATIONS OF VORTEX-GENERATOR- JET EFFECTS. Z. Charlie Zheng
and Dajiang Wang, Dept, of Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile
AL 36688.

Vortex-generator jets (VGJ) have been found interesting in both fundamental
research and practical applications. The longitudinal vortices produced by VGJ can be
used to convect kinetic and thermal energy in a lateral plane. Vortex promoted mixing is
required in flow and heat transfer control such as separation control, aircraft stall control,
thin film cooling ot turbine blades and auto-ignition control of supersonic combustion
ramjet engines. However, the mechanism of the VGJ effects is not clear. In this paper,
computational simulations have been used to study the fluid dynamic processes produced
by VGJ. A number of jets are used to pipe and diffuser flows, in order to investigate the
effects of jet strength, jet angle and Re number on vorticity generation, vortex decay as
well as wall shear stresses. The simulations have been performed on both straight pipes
(where there is no pressure gradient) and diffusers (where there is an adverse pressure
gradient). Secondary longitudinal vortices with opposite signs have been found and their
influence on separation control has been discusses. This research is partially sponsored
by the University of South Alabama Research Council and the Ministry of Education,
Science and Culture in Japan under the University-to-University Cooperative Research
Program.

MACHINE TRANSLATION: A SIMPLE HEURISTIC APPROACH. Prasenjit Chaudhuri, Dept,
of Computer and Information Sciences, Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294.

In the US, a large number of research groups sprang up to work on MT (usually Russian to
English) in the 50s. Most of this work is based simply on bilingual dictionary lookup. The
developers quickly started realizing that far more was needed. When a committee called AL-PAC
was set up to evaluate the MT research, it easily came to the conclusion that research had failed to
live up to its promises. It said in its report that basic research was needed and MT was not
feasible in the foreseeable future. All funding ceased, the research groups disintegrated, and the
field went in disrepute.

I have tried to resurrect this discipline by developing a framework for successfully translating
simple English sentences to Bengali, an Indian language having its roots in Sanskrit. A source
language sentence is first processed by a morphological analyzer whose output is fed to the local
word grouper (LWG). Its main task is to group functional words with the content words based on
local information. For each word group, the system finds a suitable root in the target language
along with associated linguistic information which are are passed on to a local word splitter
(LWS) followed by a morphological synthesizer (GEN). LWS splits the local word groups into
elements consisting of root and features. Finally, GEN generates the words from the root and the
associated grammatical features. The problems encountered in MT systems are challenging but
the potential benefits of resolving those problems are immense. What is needed is a will and
concerted effort from workers in several disciplines including Computer Science, Artificial
Intelligence, Linguistics, Logic and Philosophy.

129

Abstracts

SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE OF WEB-BASED DISTRIBUTED MIS: A
STUDY. Tao Tap, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, AL 35205.

The MIS (Management Information System) of next generation will be required to
run in a distributed environment as opposed to just a centralized one in order for
employee/employer to realize working at any place/time. This paper studies the
distinguishing features and work styles of the future MIS, describes ongoing work on
developing Web-based Distributed MIS (WD-MIS) and its significant differences from
developing web-based information retrieval system. In particular, it presents a multi¬
tiered architectural model to achieve this goal. This layered structure provides a
practical and extensible solution to distributed information management. Based on this
model, we discuss the design pattern of WD-MIS and a couple of related critical
implementation issues such as programming language, tool and security supports. In
addition, several approaches of transformation from old MIS to MD-MIS are suggested.
Finally, we give a recent successful MD-MIS project and outline pros & cons of our
MD-MIS architecture and aspects needing improvement.

DATAFLOW TESTING CRITERIA IN AN EXPERIMENTAL
EVALUATION. Marino J. Niccolai, William J. Nowack and Hong Chen, School
of Computer and Information Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
36688.

A test criterion (or test data adequacy criterion) is a predicate which is used to determine
whether a program has been tested "enough.” Fifteen subject programs were prepared to perform
this experiment. For each subject program, one set of test cases was randomly generated. Based
on these test sets, five minimal test case subsets were constructed by using test tool ATAC
command atacMin for each program with respect to five test criteria (block, decision, c-use, p-
use, and all use). A number of faults were placed into each subject program, and the ability of
fault detection for each minimal test set was investigated. According to the number of detected
faults by the distinct minimal test set, the relationship among the effectiveness of test criteria will
be discovered.

130

Abstracts

USING SIGNATURES OF THREE DIMENSIONAL ALPHA SHAPES TO IDENTIFY
POLYHEDRA Marietta E. Cameron, Department of Computer Information Sciences, University
of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.

The automatic recognition of three-dimensional objects within a scene has been the goal
of many computer vision systems. One definition of the problem can be stated as follows:
Given a set of points in three-dimensional space, identify the objects and their poses. A new
system that strives to solve this problem using alpha shapes is proposed. This system currently
identifies a set of polyhedral objects from a cloud of points through the curve matching of alpha
shape signatures. In this paper a review of issues in object recognition, a brief tutorial of alpha
shapes, a description of the curve matching algorithm, and current results of system are
presented.

Toward better Computer-Assisted Instruction: Adaptive Methods. William N. Owen. School of
Computer and Information Sciences, Univ. of S. Ala., Mobile, AL 36688.

The benefits of Computer-Assisted Instruction seems to be only partially realized. Many
programs have been developed that do little more than automate existing teaching methods.
Instructional programs from simple drill and test to more advanced constructivist systems have only
begun to scratch the surface. Many of these programs use traditional feedback techniques to prescribe
activities for the learner to achieve mastery. One focus for improving instruction is to take learner
characteristics into account when designing systems. We need systems that can adapt to the individual
learner. This study provides a first step in developing a method of adapting to individual learners.
The Kolb Learning Style Inventory was used to develop an advisor that suggests the next learner
activity in a computer-based lesson. This system was tested on approximately 250 college level
students with mixed success.

OBTAINING SMOOTH AND MEANINGFUL GEOMETRIC REGIONS FOR DATA
MINING. Madhanraj Selvaraj, Dept, of Computer and Information Sciences, Univ. of Alabama,
Birmingham, AL 35294. Dr. Alan P. Sprague, Dept, of Computer and Information Sciences,
Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294.

Data Mining is the process of querying large databases with the aim of distilling some useful
information. Computational geometry has a potential role to play in solving many geometric
problems found in data mining. One such problem is to obtain regular geometric regions in
massive data and to find which one of them has the maximum ilgain”. Fukuda et al, at Tokyo
Research Laboratory, found such a region, what they call a convex region, for 2-dimensional
numeric attributes in timeO(n' 5 ), n being the number of pixels in the grid. Dr. Alan P. Sprague,
at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found an efficient algorithm with time complexity
O(n) for 2-dimensional regions called anchored triangular regions and anchored convex regions.
This paper extends these ideas to obtain anchored triangular regions for 3-dimensional numeric
attributes.

131

Abstracts

NON-STEREOTYPICAL SEQUENCE PROCESSING IN ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT
MEMORY SYSTEMS. Steve Donaldson. Department of Computer Science,

University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294.

Recall of learned or innate sequences is characteristic of animal intelligence from
insects to humans. Such behavior ranges from highly stereo-typed responses such as wasp
nesting activity and human alphabet learning, to a variety of non-stereotypical operations
apparently found exclusively in humans. Artificial systems intended to capture the essence of
human cognition must therefore show an ability to deal with such non-stereotypical processes
as word replacement, recognition of semantically equivalent phrases, paraphrasing, extracting
the gist, use of "memory hotels" as an aid to memory, modification of sequence order,
maintenance of important sequence continuity in spite of sequence interrupts, and processing
viable alternative sequence endings (as in route following or spelling completion tasks). This
research considers mechanisms whereby a limited form of non-stereotypical processing may
be realized in an artificial memory system based on a suitable conjunction of a recurrent
neural network (Elman, 1990) with a an associative memory system. A CONSYDERR (Sun,
1994) type module interface is explored, with emphasis on expanding that approach to include
sequence processing, learning, distributed representations, and automatic memory selection.

ANTHROPOLOGY

A STUDY TO CORRELATE HEMOGLOBIN AIC LEVELS AND INDIAN
BLOOD QUANTUM LEVELS IN MUSCOGEE CREEK INDIANS. Guy W. Sneed,
D.O., Chief Medical Offcer, Muscogee Creek Nation Division of Health
Administration, Okemah Health System, Okemah, OK 74859

Eighty-nine Muscogee Creek Indian patients with Type II diabetes mellitus were
studied over a period of six months. The patient cohort consisted of both insulin
requiring and non-insulin requiring diabetics . Indian blood quantum levels were
documented by way of the Certificate Degree of Indian Blood and included a range of
patients from 4/4 th degree to 1 /256th degree of Muscogee Creek Indian Blood.
Hemoglobin AIC levels were drawm at the beginning of the study, time zero, and at
the end of the six-month period. In conclusion, no identifiable correlation could be
deciphered Between degree of indian blood quantum and severity of diabetes.
Regression analysis and scatter graph methodology confirmed the above findings. It
is hypothesized that severity of diabetes is due to a multifactorial regime of biological
and environmental factors in this particular population, and that these findings would
be similar to like information gathered in other populations.

132

Abstracts

OBSERVER BIAS IN "INTERPRETATION-FREE" LITHIC DEBITAGE ANALYSIS.
James N. Ambrosino. Panamerican Consultants, Inc., Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 and Southern
Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275.

Within archaeology, the analysis of lithic debitage is recognized as an important avenue
of research by which to study site function and internal organization. Unfortunately, researchers
often disagree on the method of classification to be performed. A traditional scheme, one
commonly preferred by students of the Old World Paleolithic, involves the classification of
debitage according to the lithic reduction stage during which they were produced. However, as
Alan Sullivan and Kenneth Rozen have argued in a 1985 American Antiquity article, this
traditional scheme requires the analyst to routinely interpret the data during the classification
process. Moreover, a level of observer bias is inherent in this system that makes comparison of
analyses performed by different analysts tentative at best. The recently popular scheme
advanced by Sullivan and Rozen seeks to avoid this problem by concentrating on specific
physical attributes of debitage. These attributes, viewed as dimensions of variability, are
organized into a hierarchical typology based on presence and absence. It is argued here that this
hierarchical typology is not entirely interpretation-free as its authors claim. During the
numerical analysis of lithic debitage from Site IWA128. Walker County, Alabama, by
Panamerican Consultants. Inc., it became apparent that observer bias was the strongest factor
affecting fine-grained differences in debitage distributions across the site. A formal test of this
observation next was carried out on an independent data set from Site 1 MR 165, Marion County,
Alabama. I he results of these studies are presented here, and their implications are explored.

EXAMINING THE STONE MOUND ENIGMA: PREHISTORIC CEREMONIALISM

OR HISTORIC FIELD CLEARINGS. GreaHendryx and Kendall Rich, Panamerican Consultants,

Inc., P.O. Box 40930, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404.

Panamerican Consultants, Inc., conducted archaeological fieldwork at the 1 MR-00 stone
mound complex during September and December of 1997. and during January of 1998. The
complex consisted of seven stone mounds, a 37 m long stone wall, and a small stone biidge. The
research was geared toward determining the origin and function of the mound complex. A total
of 10 units were excavated, including nine 1-x-l in units under the mounds, and a l-x-2 m unit
under the stone wall. Four mounds were disassembled for excavation; three of these were
excavated, and the fourth was determined to be a chimney fall. A thorough review of the data
indicated that the mounds probably represented field clearings which were placed ovei a low-
density prehistoric site, by Euroamerican agriculturalists.

133

Abstracts

A SYNTHESIS OF THE WEST JEFFERSON PHASE. Paul D. Jackson and Kristen
Zschomler, Panamerican Consultants, Inc., Tuscaloosa, AL 35404.

The West Jefferson phase is a part of the Baytown culture which was active during the
Late Woodland period. The West Jefferson phase was originally defined by Jenkins and Nielsen
in 1974 while excavating three Late Woodland sites along Village Creek in west Jefferson
County (Jenkins and Nielsen 1974). The unique occurrence of an overwhelming number of
grog-tempered plain sherds and a small occurrence of shell-tempered sherds, led Jenkins to
classify these sites as a new phase in the Late Woodland period. Since Jenkins’ work, numerous
Phase I surveys have identified West Jefferson components, and several have undertaken
intensive investigations through excavation. But the information gained from these works has
never been combined into one synthesis in order to better understand the nature of West
Jefferson sites and recognize the problems still surrounding the phase. This is the goal of the
present paper. An overview of West Jefferson sites and information from 1974 to 1997 will be
discussed. Additionally, several sites recently excavated containing West Jefferson components
will be discussed.

THE SHELLIE SITE, 1SC291, A LATE GULF FORMATIONAL SITE IN THE
MIDDLE COOSA VALLEY. Harry O. Holstein, Jacksonville State Archaeological
Resource Laboratory, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama. 36265.

During the Spring of 1997, Jacksonville State conducted a brief archaeological
field school upon the Shellie Site, 1 Sc29 1 , located near Ragland, Alabama on the present
day shore of Logan Martin Lake. Lying approximately four miles south of Ten Islands
along a natural levee of the Coosa River, the Shellie Site represents the most northern
expression of the Gulf Formational Culture, to date, for the Coosa drainage. Nearly a one
meter thick freshwater shell midden, Alexandria Ceramics, numerous steatite vessel
fragments, Flint Creek bifaces and Tallahatta quartzite attest to the cultures presence.
Four archaeological storage and / or cooking features were also uncovered. Excellent
bone and botanical remains should provide a clear picture of the regional adaptation of
this transitional Archaic / Woodland Culture.

134

Abstracts

AN EXPERIMENT IN HEAT TREATING QUARTZ AND QUARTZITE. Athanasius
Isaac and L Demetrius Adair. Panamerican Consultants. Inc.. Tuscaloosa . AL 35404.

Information concerning the thermal alteration of certain lithic materials is limited in the
archaeological literature. In an attempt to improve on this, we conducted an experiment using
quartz and quartzite derived from the Tuscaloosa Formation. Our objectives in the experiment
were twofold: ( I) to sec if thermal alteration of the lithic material affects the knapping quality, and
(2) to determine if thermal alteration results in attributes that can be identified in laboratory
analysis. In this paper, we discuss the findings from the experiment

PROBLEMS IN TYPOLOGY: THE AMBIGUITIES OF THE COASTAL SOUTH
CAROLINA CERAMIC TYPOLOGIES. Teresa A. Lotti. Panamerican Consultants. Inc..
Tuscaloosa. Alabama 35404.

Ceramic tvpology is one of the most important tools utilized by archaeologists for
establishing the chronology of any prehistoric site. However, several preexisting typologies are
riddled with numerous ambiguities and inconsistencies. This is apparently the case with the
ceramic typology of the coastal area of South Carolina. Several scholars who have worked in the
coastal area of South Carolina have attempted to resolve the problems associated with the
preexisting typology: however, solutions have not been agreed upon. This study attempts to
explore the problems of the typologv using examples of ceramics obtained by Panamerican
Consultants, Inc., from various prehistoric sites located within the coastal region of South
Carolina.

AN ATTRIBUTE BASED TYPOLOGY OF TRIANGULAR PROIECTILE POINTS
A CASE STUDY FROM NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA Meghan LaGraff Ambrosino.
Panamerican Consultants. Inc.. Tuscaloosa. AL 35404 and University of Alabama. Tuscaloosa.
AL 35487.

One of the most critical initial steps in an archaeological investigation is the assessment of
a component's cultural and temporal affiliation. Once this is accomplished, a site can take its
place in the more dynamic analysis of culture change through studies of population growth, culture
contact, and technological innovation. Numerous researchers have noted certain trends and
changes in triangular point size and morphology through time. Some researchers have attempted to
quantify- these changes in an attempt to develop a tighter, more specific chronology. This study
evaluates such data recorded from archaeological contexts in North and Central Alabama.

135

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 2, April 1998.

MINUTES

Alabama Academy of Science
Shoals Community College
Muscle Shoals, AL
University of Alabama Birmingham
Birmingham, AL
December 2, 1997

Dr. Ellen Buckner, President of the AAS, called the Special Teleconference meeting
of the AAS Steering Committee to order at 9:00 a.m. Those in attendance in the UAB
Conference Site were: Ellen Buckner, Larry Boots, Sam Barker, Elsie Spencer, Moore
Asouzu, Leven Hazlegrove, Eugene Omasta, Larry Krannich, and Ken Dillon. Attending at
the Shoals Conference Site were Priscilla Holland and Tom Jandebeur.

Dr. Buckner gave a brief history of the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation and its
evolution to the present status. She presented the agenda for the day, which was as follows:

I. Proposed action by the Gorgas Scholarship Foundations - Concerns and
Comments. General discussion ensued on the proposal, with certain concerns

expressed:

A.

Name of the Gorgas Foundation in the Selections Agreement.

B.

Confusion regarding continuance of GSF after its dissolution.

C.

Administrative fee to the AAS.

D.

Expenses of the AAS for the competition.

E.

Concerns over the divergence of the financial side
operational side of the proposal.

and

F.

Assurance of the payment of the Scholarship
reimbursement of expenses, plus administrative fee.

and

II. Involvement of the Alabama Academy of Science in the selection agreement-
Concerns and Comments:

A. AAS retaining the identity of being associated with the Gorgas
Scholarship.

B. Select a Standing Committee for the Gorgas Scholarship and

136

Minutes

keep the Business and Industrial members of the Gorgas Board
of Trustees involved in the process.

C. How to operationalize the process - transition stage - from the
Gorgas Scholarship Advisory Council to the more permanent
Standing Committee of the A AS.

D. Chairman of the A AS Standing Committee of the Gorgas
Scholarship Program should be the Executive Director of

A AS.

Formal motion was made by Dr. Eugene Omasta and seconded by Dr. Sam Barker
that the Steering Committee accept the Selection Agreement with proposed changes (included
below). The motion was carried by a majority of aye with one opposed.

Article IV

Section I: Standing Committees

(t) William Crawford Gorgas Scholarship Program Committee. This
committee shall be chaired by the Executive Director and a co-chairman
appointed by the President for a four year term. Six members shall be
appointed by the co-chairmen to serve staggered three year terms. All
members shall be Academy members in good standing. The duties of this
committee shall be to coordinate the Alabama Science Talent Search, Gorgas
Scholarship Competition and Awards. (The Gorgas Scholarship Program is
a program of the Alabama Power Foundation, Inc.)

Article XIII - Gorgas Scholarship Program

Sec. I The Academy shall sponsor and supervise the Gorgas Scholarship
Program to include the Alabama Science Talent Search, Gorgas Scholarship
Competition and Awards.

Sec. 2 The Chairman of the Gorgas Scholarship Program is the Executive
Director of the Academy.

The Chairman is assisted by a Gorgas Scholarship Program Committee, a
standing committee of the Academy, which functions to supervise the
activities of the Alabama Science Talent Search and Gorgas Scholarship
Competition and Awards.

Article XIV (renumbered from XIII) Amendments

137

Journal of the Alabama Acedemy of Science, Vol.69, No. 2, April 1998.

MINUTES

Alabama Academy of Science
Spring Executive Committee Meeting
USA Terrace

University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL

Wednesday, March 18, 1998

Dr. Ellen Buckner, President of the AAS, called the Spring Meeting of the AAS Executive
Committee to order at 7:35 p.m. The minutes of the Fall Meeting were discussed and
approved.

Officers’ Reports

1 . Board of Trustees - Dr. Sam Barker thanked President Buckner for her yeoman work
on the Gorgas changes and gave a brief report on the timeline and changes that had
taken place with the Gorgas Scholarship. Four Trustees were present: Samual B.
Barker, Michael B. Moeller, Ken R. Marion, and Prakash C. Sharma.

2. President - Dr. Ellen Buckner - Presented the amended By-laws with change on line
3 to read Chairman and Co Chairman for approval. Dr. Samual Barker moved to
accept the amendment with the change, the motion was seconded, discussed with Dr.
Moeller calling the questions. The motion carried unanimously. Dr Buckner then
presented the following written report:

Since the Fall Executive Committee I have done the following:

a. Continued discussions with Drs. William Barrett, Glynn Wheeler, Leven
Hazlegrove, and Mr. Art Beattie regarding the agreements concerning the Gorgas
Scholarship Program and the Academy.

b. With the assistance of Beverly Powers, Auburn University Archives, obtained
original letter from the IRS (dated 1958) designating the AAS as a tax exempt
501(c)3 organization. Forwarded copy of that letter to Mr. Art Beattie, Chairman,
Gorgas Scholarship Foundation for files.

c. Corresponded with the Steering Committee concerning the status of those
discussions and called a meeting of the Steering Committee on December 2.

d. Conducted the called meeting of the Steering committee on December 2, 1997,
including videoconference participation between two sites at UAB and Muscle
Shoals. This meeting was called to discuss the topic of the Gorgas Scholarship
Program. The Steering Committee voted to participate in a selection agreement with

138

Minutes

the Alabama Power Foundation in which the AAS would annually conduct the
Gorgas competition.

e. Corresponded with Mr. Art Beattie, Chairman of the Gorgas Scholarship
Foundation, to convey the Academy’s willingness to participate in the selection
agreement with revisions.

f. Corresponded with AAS members who are Gorgas Foundation Trustees to acquaint
them with our willingness to participate in the selection agreement.

g. Arranged, edited, and proofed history brochure for 75th annual meeting, printed
by Auburn University Printing Service. This printing was supported in part by a
gift from Dr. Bill Barrett.

h. Invited and received acceptance from Dr. George F. Crozier, Executive Director,
Dauphin Island Sea Lab, to speak at Joint Banquet, March 20, 1998.

i. Mailed AJAS materials and Visiting Scientist Network Directory to approximately
20 school teachers requesting these at the ASTA meeting.

j. Corresponded with the IRS to update AAS status as a 501-(c)3 tax-exempt
organization. This included sending copies of Forms 990 from previous years,
obtained from Dr. Krannich, Treasurer, an updated letter confirming the
Academy’s status has been received.

k. Discussed by telephone arrangements for spring meeting with Dr. David Nelson,
Local Arrangements Committee Chairman.

l. Corresponded by e-mail with Dr. John Fransden regarding legislation affecting
science textbook selection process.

m. Organized correspondence for archival use.

n. Assisted with proofreading of program for 75th Annual Meeting.

o. Discussed procedures for Gorgas Scholarship Competition with Drs. Hazelgrove
and Wheeler. Assisted in design of letterhead stationery with acknowledgment of
Gorgas Scholarship Program as a program of the Alabama Power Foundation and
administered by the Academy.

p. With Dr. Samuel Barker, Chairman of Board of Trustees, signed “The Annual
Gorgas Scholarship Winners Selection Agreement” with the Alabama Power
Foundation, Inc. for the Alabama Academy of Science to administer/conduct the
annual Alabama Science Talent Search and Gorgas Scholarship Program
competition. This agreement was signed February 26, 1998.

q. Drafted By-laws revisions to create a Gorgas Scholarship Committee of the AAS
as proposed and approved by the Steering Committee. Considered appointments
to that Committee and discussed appointments with individuals involved.

r. Corresponded with Executive Committee including update on Gorgas Scholarship
Program status and proposed By-laws revision.

s. Planned and circulated agenda for Spring Executive Committee meeting.

t. Requested Secretary to generate an e-mail directory of the Academy.

u. Requested Chairman of Editorial Board of the JAAS to look into Journal costs.

v. Corresponded with past presidents inviting them to the 75th annual meeting.

139

Minutes

President-Elect - Dr. Moore Asouzu - No report
Second Vice-President - Dr. Larry Boots - No report
Secretary - Dr. Priscilla Holland

Membership

Individual Membership

605

University Libraries

26

Secondary Schools

51

Trends in Membership:

April 1992

728

March 1993

661

March 1994

739

March 1995

650

October 1995

670

March 1996

571

October 1996

642

October 1997

633

March 1998

605

Membership by Section

Section

March 1998

I.

Biological Science

185

II.

Chemistry

63

III.

Geology

31

IV.

Geography, Forestry, Conservation,

Planning

24

V.

Physics & Mathematics

70

VI.

Industry & Economics

27

VII.

Science Education

32

VIII.

Social Science

38

IX.

Health Science

86

X.

Engineering & Computer Science

34

XI.

Anthropology

13

77.

University Libraries

26

88.

High School Libraries

51

Unknown.

2

140

Minutes

Treasurer - Dr. Larry Krannich submitted the following report:

Copies of the following (available upon request) were presented:

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of 12/31/97

ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1997 BUDGET for the period 1/1/97-12/31/97
TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER (1/1/97-12/31/97)
TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY ACCOUNT (1/1/97-12/31/97)

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of 3/9/98

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER (1/1/98-3/9/98)

ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1998 BUDGET for the period 1/1/98-3/9/98

Total account balances as of 12/31/97 were $62,163.96. Although the Academy
budgeted a deficit of $6,390, the year ended with income exceeding expenditures by
$349.64. This is somewhat misleading, because 1996 annual meeting income
($2,985.35) was not received until January 1997 and appears as 1997 income. Although
we had allotted $2,000 for State Science Fair expenses, the host reimbursed us $2,480
from the proceeds of the fair. We experienced another year of declining dues income ($-
2,825 in 1997 compared with $-850 in 1996). Interest income from the 6 and 12 month
certificates of deposits were almost twice our projections. Expenses were $817.43 more
than budgeted. Journal printing in 1997 exceeded the budgeted amount by over $6,000.
Some of this was offset by the decrease in expenses for the annual meeting, the executive
director, and in other areas.

For the first quarter of 1998, our dues income is at the level expected. Although Journal
support might appear to be lagging, it is at the level of last year. The low-income figure
does not reflect that several of the checks received had to be returned, because they were
made payable to an individual and not the Academy. The printing of the 75th
anniversary booklet (President expense) is a one-time expense. Overall, our expenses are
as expected for the first two months of a fiscal year. Thus, we appear to be keeping
within the budget for 1998 and do not anticipate any budgetary problems.

Journal Editor - Dr. James T. Bradley -Presented the following written report:
1997-1998 manuscripts submitted and published:

Since the 1997 Annual meeting 17 manuscripts were submitted for publication. Each
received 2-3 peer reviews. Of these, 12 were accepted for publication, 2 were rejected,
and 3 remain in the review process.

Increased cost of publication:

In response to concern expressed at the last Executive Committee at increased costs for
publications of the JAAS (Attachment tt\), I have visited in person twice with Mr.
Harvey Dahl, Director of Auburn University Printing Service. He has provided
information about per-page publication costs for each issue over the past few years.
There is significant fluctuation between issues due largely to issue size. He also
explained to me that during the past year the cost of paper has increased somewhat and
that there was a University mandated salary increase for all employees are the Printing

141

Minutes

Service which resulted in an increase rate for their work. Dramatic variations in the cost
of individual issues are due primarily to the number of photographic plates required for
the manuscripts. In one case this year, the color cover photo possessed an inset photo
so that the final cover resulted in processing costs nearly equivalent to two cover photos.
Mr. Dahl also discovered that the charge for the July 1997 issue had been miscalculated
to the Academy’s disadvantage by about $240. This mistake arose because of an unusual
binding used for that small issue; this binding should have been charged at a rate lower
than that used for the usual binding. He has applied this as a credit against the cost of
the January 1998 issue, which will soon go to press. Finally, I am informed by the AU
Library that $4646 earmarked for publication costs of the JAAS presently exists in their
budget.

Editor’s recommendations regarding immediate future of JAAS publications:

a. Remain with AU Printing Service for 1998-1999. The quality of the publication has
been very good, and the proximity to the editor has expedited the publication of the
journal in several ways.

b. Change to use of a nonglossy paper beginning with the January 1998 issue. This
will reduce publication costs and remove glare, which presently makes the pages
difficult to read under some lighting situations.

c. Retain color, glossy cover, but do not use more than one photo per cover.

d. Strive through the review process to reduce the number of photographs used in
manuscripts.

Unreimbursed secretarial services:

In October 1996 the Journal lost secretarial services that had been provided by
Auburn University College of Science and Mathematics for many years. Since then these
services have been provided at no charge to the Academy by Sue Bradley. A specific
listing of these secretarial jobs is attached (Attachment #2). I would welcome action by
the Executive Committee thanking Sue Bradley for her donation of time and effort during
the past 18 months and possibly recommending that some modest stipend be paid by the
Academy for provision of these services in the future.

8. Counselor to AJAS - Dr. B. J. Bateman - Report by Dr. Gene Omasta - AJAS is down
in participants because of the school systems going to the block semester.

9. Science Fair Coordinator - Dr, May Thomaskutty - Written report:

State and Regional Science Fair Winners for 1998:

142

Minutes

North Region

Director: Mr. George Williams, Calhoun Community College
Student School

Covenants Christian Academy, Huntsville
Covenant Christian Academy, Huntsville
Elkmont High School, Athens
Covenant Christian Academy, Huntsville

Jeremiah Brown
Ehrin Biglari
Jeb Orr
Jason Davis

Central Region

Director: Dr. James Martin,
Student
John Cannon
John Mays
David Murphy

Jennifer Hools

University of Alabama at Birmingham
School

Altamont School, Birmingham
Altamont School, Birmingham
Shades Mountain Christian School,
Birmingham

Shades Valley High School
Birmingham

West Region

Director: Dr. Haynes, University of Alabama

Student School

Holly Hitt Tuscaloosa County High School

Southeast Region

Director: Dr. Gene Omasta, Troy State University
Student School

Anna Elizabeth Scheiban
Melinda Sue Ellis

Southwest Region

Director: Mrs. Gladys Swain, Talladega College
Student School

Jonathan Day

Christina Meirs Fyffe High School

South Region

Director: Dr. Jim Langdon, University of South Alabama
Student School

Roopa Dhawan Murphy High School, Mobile

Pearl Flath Murphy High School, Mobile

143

Minutes

State Science Fair
Director: Dr. Grame Duthie

Student

Elizabeth Dillard
Lindsey Farina
Monica Sekoh
Jamie Aides
Taylor Griswald

School

Bradshaw High School
Brooks High School
JCIB

Murphy High School
Student observer Montgomery

10. Science Olympiad Coordinator - Steven Carey - Presented the following written report:
As of March 18, 1998, Science Olympiads have been conducted at the University of
Alabama (Divisions B and C), Auburn University (Divisions B and C), Jacksonville State
University (Division C), University of Alabama at Huntsville (Divisions B and C), and
TJMS-Wright Preparatory School (Division B). the regional at Troy State University
(Division C) will be conducted on April 11. The State Science Olympiad for Division B
will be held at the Alabama School of Math and Science on April 4, and the State Science
Olympiad for Division C will be held at the University of Mobile on April 18.

Schools advancing to the state competitions (for which I have information) include:
Hartsville H.S., Bob Jones H.S., Shades Valley H.S., Auburn H.S., Haleyville Jr. H.S.,
McBride M.S., Our Lady of the Valley, Muscle Shoals H.S., Hillcrest H.S., Academy
for Science & Foreign Language, Randolph School, Hibbett M.S., Grissom High School,
Alabama School of Fine Arts - Russell Math/Science Center, and UNS-Wright M.S.

I have not received a final count of all schools participating in the regional Olympiads.
Attendance seems to be about the same for the Science Olympiads at Alabama and
Auburn. Jacksonville State reports that attendance was down a little from previous years;
however, UAH had their biggest year yet with about 275 students participating. I had
the opportunity to attend the Science Olympiads at Auburn and UMS-Wright and was
very please with the turnout and the enthusiasm exhibited by the students. 1 am planning
to attend the Troy State Regional Science Olympiad and both the Division B and C state
tournaments.

I should like to thank all regional coordinators and their respective institutions for all the
hard work and dedication it takes to organize and run a Science Olympiad. I should like
to thank the Alabama Academy of Science for its continued support of the Science
Olympiad program.

Counselor to AAAS - Dr. Katharine Mayne - No Report

144

Minutes

12. Section Officers:

I- Biological Sciences - Roland Dute - No report

II. Chemistry - Stephen Beale - No report

III. Earth Science - Douglas Havwick - No report

IV- Geography, Forestry, Conservation and Planning - Victoria Rivizzigno Oral
report: Section IV has 16 presentations from 6 universities.

V. Physics and Mathematics - John Young - No report

VI. Industry and Economics - T. Morris Jones - No report

VII. Science Education - Adriel Johnson - Submitted the following oral report:
There were seven titles submitted with a diverse range of topics in the Science
Education Section. After the paper presentations, a business meeting will be
conducted to select a new vice chair; Dr. Helen Benford, current vice chair from
Tuskegee University will become the new section chair until 2000.

VIII. Social Science - Jerald Burns - No report

IX. Health Science - Jian Han - No report

X. Engineering and Computer Science - Alan Sprague - No report

XI. Anthropology - Harry Holstein - No report

13. Executive Officer - Dr. Leven Hazlegrove - Presented written report as follows:

Since the Fall Executive Meeting, BSC, October 3, 1997 (Great Dining, Steering

Committee) and UAB, October 10, 1997 (Lister Hill Library, Great Tour), we have been

working on the following projects for the last five months:

a. Set up and prepared the Gorgas Scholarship, Science Talent Search, in cooperation
with the Westinghouse Scholarship Science Service, Inc., D.C. for USA March 20,
1998, with the leadership of Dr. Glynn Wheeler, Secretary Treasurer, and Dr. David
Nelson, USA. Also, with Dr. Ellen Buckner’s leadership and the guidance of Dr.
Barker and Dr. Barrett’s help to merge with the Alabama Power Foundation, Inc.

b. Prepared for bulk mail 700 “Call for Paper Titles” for USA meeting for March 1922,
1998, edited by Dr. William J. Barrett.

c. Sent development letters to five industrial companies and foundations, with positive
reply from one.

d. Sent handwritten notes to 30 outstanding Scientists and Engineers, Mathematicians,
and potential members whose “writeup” appeared in local publications. (Five New
Members!!)

e. Met twice with Dr. David Nelson, Professor of Biology, and his site committee for
the AAS meeting dates: March 19-22, 1998.

f. Set up ASTA booth at Hoover High School, Friday, October 24, and Saturday,
October 25, 1997, with the able supervision of Dr. William J. Barrett, Dr. Dan
Holliman, Dr. Tom Jandebeur, Dr. Ellen Buckner, and Dr. B. J. Bateman.

145

Minutes

g. Prepared 250 abstract forms for the USA meeting, March 19-22, 1998, for eleven
section chairs.

h. Your director studied flora, fauna, and pollution in the USA, February 11-14, 1998,
with the Alabama Fisheries Association, Gulf State Park, and Dr. Ken Marion.

i. Set up, with Dr. David Nelson’s able help (334-460-6331), the 1998 meeting at USA,
with the kind invitation of President Whiddon and the USA faculty, March 19-22,
1998.

j. Set up the 76* Annual Meeting at Athens College, with the able direction of Dr. Tom
Jandebeur, Professor of Biology , March 24-27, 1999. and the 77* Annual Meeting with
Dr. Larry Davenport, Professor of Biology, Samford University (205-870-2584),
March 29-April 1, 2000.

C. Committee Reports

1. Local Arrangements - Dr. David Nelson submitted an oral report. There were
120 preregistered, with 41 for the Awards Banquet.

2. Finance - Dr. Sam Barker - When Dr. Krannich became Treasurer (6 years ago),
I believe he was the first Treasurer to show in hard copy the extreme quarterly
fluctuations in Academy finances. With our major activity, the Annual Meeting,
taking place in the second quarter, a great deal of our money flow occurs then.
With the Annual Fall Meeting of the Executive Committee requiring presentation
of a budget proposal for the next calendar (and fiscal) year, a truly reliable
estimate of the next year’s income and outgo is largely a matter of faith - not just
in the Treasurer, but in our fellow Academy members.

Over the last 6 years, I have issued semiannual displays of data from Dr.
Krannich’s financial reports through 1995, showing that, despite deficit budget
proposals, we had come through with positive balances (from $225 to $6,589)
at the end of each full year. In 1996, two unfavorable trends started: (1) dues
payments were considerably less than expected and (2) Journal publication
expenses were unexpectedly high. When the income from the 1996 Annual
Meeting was not sent to the Academy until well into 1997, the 1996 projected
deficit of $3,980 increased to the actual figure of $4,485. This was the first true
full-year deficit in Larry’s 2 terms as Treasurer.

In spite of the January 1997 receipt of 1996 meeting income, the 1997 deficit,
anticipated one year ago as $6,390, will clearly be even worse, with dues far less
than budgeted, and Journal publication already running 69% above budgeted,
with one of four issues yet to go.

Since the proposed 1997 budget, set forth one year ago, is now obviously
inadequate, I have encouraged Dr. Krannich to submit a more realistic budget for

146

Minutes

1998, increasing Annual Meeting income to $4,500, dropping to $9,000 for dues
with total income of $24,200. Total Journal expenses are shown at $16,600,
raising total expenses to $38,765. Overall deficit ($24,200 income minus
$38,765 outgo) would then be projected as $14,565. Our Academy assets, total
$58,710, would be depleted by 25%.

This obviously is not a pleasant prospect, and deserves a hard look. I do not
recommend an increase in dues, but clearly our sagging membership roster needs
a boost. Since our members are obviously willing to pay a meeting registration
fee high enough over meeting expenses to yield significant income to the
Academy, this trend is necessary. The Journal is a problem.

3. Membership - Dr. Adriel Johnson’s oral report included recommendations to
enhance membership for AAS: 1) I would like to encourage all executive
committee members to pay their dues or to confirm payment; 2) I would like to
recommend that all executive committee members consider becoming lifetime
members of AAS; 3) I would like to challenge the executive committee members
to return to your universities and ask your undergraduates and graduate students
to join AAS. Express to them the advantages of an AAS membership.

4. Research - Dr. Hudiburg submitted the following written report: The Chairperson
of the Committee on Research received 22 requests for application materials
related to the Student Research Award Competition, Student Research Grants,
and Student Travel Awards. These requests for materials were much lower than
last year due to the establishment of a webpage
(http://www2.una.edu/psychology/hudiburg.htm) to access application materials.
1 recommend that the webpage be continued for next year’s meeting. Once
again, e-mail has facilitated communication with interested students and cuts
down on the time and cost of correspondence.

Eighteen travel grants were awarded. A total of 19 papers and 4 posters,
covering 8 of the AAS sections, are entered I the Student Research Award
Competition. There are 6 applications for Student Research Grants. The section
Vice-Chairpersons will need to provide the names of his/her competition winners
to the Chairperson of the Committee on Research before the annual meeting
banquet scheduled for March 20. The award in a section can be split between
co-winners according to the decision of the judges.

It has been suggested by several section chairs and vice chairs there is a
need to change the rules for entering the Student Research Award
Competition. The suggestion is that all students who give papers or posters
at the annual meeting of AAS be automatically entered into the competition
of their respective sections. This suggestion might be worthy of discussion

147

Minutes

by the Executive Committee.

5. Long-Range Planning - Ken Marion - Submitted the following written report: The
Committee considered a number of items generated from an informal discussion
at a dinner for the Executive Committee hosted by Birmingham Southern College
previous to the Fall AAS Executive Committee meeting. The Long-Range
Planning Committee’s recommendations or suggestions center around two on¬
going problems of the Academy: potential budgetary inadequacies and
membership numbers. Items along these lines that the Committee felt should be
addressed in the near future were:

a. Raising of Annual Dues and/or Registration Fees - It may well be time for a
modest increase in annual membership dues. It has been several years since the
least increase. Most other societies have higher annual dues and an AAS
membership does include a journal. It was felt that a modest increase would not
deter current members from renewal. Further, it was felt that meeting
registration fees for senior Academy members should always be kept high
enough to ensure that the Academy can receive at least a small amount of monies
as income from the annual meeting. A significant profit from the annual meeting
should not be the aim; instead, the aim would be to mandate that there would be
no monetary loss.

b. JournalExpenses: Journal expenses have been rising due mostly to paper and
printing costs. This is a major expense for the Academy, but at the same time
the Journal is clearly a major asset. It was agreed that quality must be
maintained, but the Committee suggests that it may be time for the Academy to
consider an ad hoc committee to make specific recommendations (if any) for
dealing with future Journal expenses. It should be noted that the Long-Range
Planning Committee recommended in the recent past that the Academy consider
a reduction in the number of annual issues as a potential cost saver.

c. Drive to Increase Membership: In recent years, the Academy has experienced
steady and/or decreasing membership. The Committee generally agrees that it
may be time to again do something that might encourage new membership. A
possible suggestion is that each new section chair be charged with solicitation
duties (in some fashion). The drive for additional members would likely be more
effective at the section level, rather than appeals from the presidential level.
Additional suggestions that would likely impact annual meeting attendance, but
would also possibly enhance membership, include holding the annual meeting
frequently in the central part of the state and the possibility of shortening the
annual meeting to encourage additional attendance.

6. Auditing - Sr. Academy - Denny Bearce - No report

7. Auditing - Jr. Academy - Danice Costes - No report

8. Editorial Board and Associate Journal Editors - Douglas Watson/Larry

Witt/Bill Osterhoff - No report

148

Minutes

9. Place and Date of Meeting - Thomas Bilbo - Reported the following written
report:

10. Most of you are probably aware that Auburn University has decided not to host
the year 2000 Annual Meeting because they will be changing from the quarter
system to the semester system at that time, but they indicated they would be
interested in hosting a future meeting (more about that later). After Auburn
declined, Dr. Ellen Buckner called me and mentioned that Dr. Larry Davenport,
a member of the Date and Place of Meeting Committee, had said he would be
glad to inquire about whether Samford University would serve as the site for the
year 2000 Annual Meeting. Dr. Davenport worked with the Provost at Samford,
and Samford University has agreed to host the Annual Meeting on March 29-
April 1, 2000. I appreciate very much Dr. Davenport’s work in getting Samford
University to host the meeting.

After we received the letter from Auburn indicating their interest in hosting a
future meeting, Dr. Hazlegrove responded that Auburn University would be an
ideal site for the year 2001 Annual Meeting if that time is convenient. The Vice
President for Research and Associate Provost is in the process of planning for
hosting the year 2001 Annual Meeting at this time. 1 appreciate Dr. Hazlegrove’s
help in working with Auburn University.

Soon after this meeting, we will be contacting individuals at Jacksonville State
University and Alabama State University who have expressed interest in hosting
future meetings on their campuses. If your or someone that you know may be
interested in hosting a future meeting at your institution, please mention it to Dr.
Buckner, Dr. Hazlegrove, or myself.

11. Newsletter - Tom Jandebeur, Associate Editor for Electronic Media. Helvi
McCall resigned as the Newsletter editor.

12. Public Relations - Myra Smith - Submitted the following written report:

Thirty-three press releases announcing the annual meeting of the A AS,
along with the Alabama Junior Academy of Science, to be held in
Mobile at the University of South Alabama and the call for papers were
sent to various city and school newspaper editors in December. In

February, 42 press releases were mailed. These releases included
information about the meeting, the oral and poster presentations, the
symposium, and Dr. Howard Jones’ presentation on his book,
“Amistad,” as well as the joint banquet and guest speaker. In addition, a
separate letter was included regarding the recipient of the Gardner Award.
Also, the editorial staffs of the Birmingham Post-Herald and News and
Huntsville Times & News were personally contacted about Dr. Thomas Wdowiak,
the winner of the Gardner Award.

149

Minutes

The Chair of this Committee wishes to thank Dr. Leven Hazlegrove for his
preparation of the press release about the various aspects of the annual meeting.

13. Archives - Troy Best - No report

14. Science and Public Policy - John Frandsen - Submitted the following written
report:

Science Education. All is presently quiet on the science education front. The
“insert” is in all of the biology texts, and, though it has been examined by several
groups to identify possible grounds for challenging it in the courts, none of these
groups has decided to mount such a challenge to it as of this date. It is now
simply one of a number of such inserts, or statements to be presented orally in
biology courses, adopted by several states, and organizations such as the National
Center for Science Education (NCSE) must decide which one is most vulnerable
to challenge on constitutional grounds, and which judicial district would be the
best site for a suit.

The members of the State Board of Education will all be up for election next year
(1998). Certainly it would be desirable to have some members who have a
background in the sciences or science education, and appreciate the need for
science to be taught as science. Has a member of this Academy ever served on
this board? Is there, perhaps, a way that we might encourage such a person to
seek election?

The ongoing process of consolidating and eliminating programs in state-supported
4-year colleges and universities with the goal of conserving resources and
preventing duplication raises some insufficiently-addressed questions: When
departments that presently provide science courses to meet general education
requirements are abolished, what of the future quality of these courses when the
surviving faculty members who teach them are incorporated into other
departments? When departments, such as philosophy, that presently provide
“service” courses in logic and ethics, for example, required for science majors,
are abolished, what of the future quality of these courses? Can colleges and
universities continue to attract instructors of the quality needed to teach these
important courses when the present buyer’s market in higher education becomes
a seller’s market, and these instructors have no opportunity to conduct research
or teach advanced courses? Should society allow the “invisible hand” of the
marketplace to guide higher education unfettered?

150

Minutes

This committee doesn’t know the answers to these questions, but believes they
are worthy of thoughtful consideration by lawmakers and the Alabama
Commission on Higher Education.

Environmental Issues. A number of issues concerning the environment are
likely to become subjects of intense interest and political debate in the next
few years. The first of these is likely to be non-point pollution of the
state’s freshwater streams. There is strong evidence that many of these are
becoming over-enriched by non-point-source nutrients, leading to
eutrophication, with attendant disruptions of aquatic ecosystems and
accompanying multiplication of “water weed” vegetation. On the one side
of this issue will be those alarmed over the “loss of quality” of these
waters. On the other side will be those individuals who feel their rights
will be curtailed, and their profits reduced, by the measures necessary to
address the pollution problem.

The Academy must be prepared to adopt a public position on these
environmental issues. Our Environmental Panel-operating as a
subcommittee of this committee-was created to provide us with the
expertise necessary to develop such positions and to provide advice to those
preparing relevant legislation. Though this panel is composed of well-
qualified individuals with the requisite expertise, its efficient operation has
been impeded since its appointment by the unwillingness or inability of any
of its members to provide the time and energy required to function
effectively as its Chair. The original Chair resigned more than a year ago,
pleading lack of time to continue and none of the other members has been
willing to take his place. This Committee solicits suggestions of the names
of qualified individuals who might be willing to accept appointment to the
Environmental Panel and serve as its Chair.

15. Gardner Award - George Cline - No report

16. Carmichael Award - William Boardman - Written report:

The committee presented its annual award for the outstanding paper published in
the JAAS during the previous year to B. H. Estridge and J. T. Bradley,
Department of Zoology and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University. The title of
their paper is “Brefeldin A Alters Fat Body Vitellogenin Secretion in the Stick
Insect Carausius Morosus Br.”

Two newly appointed members of the committee are: Dr. Ephriam Gwebu,
Department of Chemistry at Oakwood College in Huntsville, and Dr. Robert E.
Pitts, Department of Engineering at UAB. Continuing members are: Dr.
William Boardman, Division of Science and Math at Birmingham-Southern; Dr.

151

Minutes

Velma Richardson. Department of Biology at Tuskegee; Dr. Linda Reed, UAB
School of Nursing; and ex officio as JAAS editor, Dr. James T. Bradley,
Department of Zoology and Wildlife at Auburn University.

17. Resolutions - Gerald Regan - Written report:

The Committee presented a resolution regarding the script to be followed by the
Executive Committee in making presentations at the annual banquet, as follows:
Each year the Academy recognizes individuals who have served it in an
exceptional manner. First and foremost we recognize Frederick P. Whiddon,
president of the University of South Alabama, for graciously hosting the 75th
annual meeting of the AAS. The Academy would also like to recognize David
H. Nelson, chairperson of the local arrangements committee for the many weeks
of planning and hard work that enabled us to have this very successful annual
meeting. Lastly, the Academy thanks Ellen Buckner for her able leadership of
the Academy as its president during the past year.

18. Nominating Committee - Larry Boots -Oral report:

Several positions are open, including four trustees, Second Vice Chair, and the
Coordinator of the Science Olympiad.

19. Mason Scholarship - Dr. Michael B. Moeller - Written report:

We had ten completed applications for the William H. Mason Fellowship this
year. After considering all the application material, the committee has selected
Cynthia Ann Phillips from the University of West Alabama for the $1000
fellowship. Miss Phillips has been notified of this award.

The committee chairperson is very appreciative of the work by Dr. Mac Braid
and Dr. Sandy Caudle for their work in reading and rating the applications.

D. Old Business - None

E. New Business - A motion was made to pay a small stipend ($50) for Secretary
duties each quarter for work on the Journal; it was carried and will be effective
immediately.

F. The meeting was adjourned.

152

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 2, April 1998.

JOINT AAS / AJAS
BUSINESS MEETING
AGENDA

Friday March 20, 1998
6:00 p.m. 119 Life Science Building
University of South Alabama

1. Call to Order - Dr. Ellen Buckner

2. Counselor to AJAS - Dr. B. J. Bateman

3. Counselor of Science Fairs - Ms. Mary Thomaskutty

4. Coordinator of Science Olympiads - Dr. Steven D. Carey

5. Gorgas Scholarship Program - Dr. Glynn Wheeler

6. Secretary’s report on membership - Dr. Priscilla Holland

7. Treasurer’s report - Dr. Larry Krannich

8. Executive Director - Dr. Leven Hazlegrove

9. Place and Date of Meeting - Dr. Thomas Bilbo

10. Research Committee - Dr. Richard Hudiburg

11. Nominating Committee - Dr. Larry Boots

12. Mason Scholarship Committee - Dr. Michael B. Moeller

13. Resolutions - Dr. Gerald Regan

JOINT BANQUET

7p.m.

Student Center
University of South Alabama

Old Business

Acceptance of Gorgas Winners Selection Agreement
Revision of By-laws

153

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 69, No. 2, April 1998.

STATE and REGIONAL
SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS
1998

A. North Region Director: Mr. George Williams Calhoun Community College

1. Jeremiah Brown

2. Ehrin Biglari

3. Jeb Orr

4. Jason Davis

School: Covenant Christian Academy, Huntsville
School: Covenant Christian Academy, Huntsville
School: Elkmont High School, Athens
School: Covenant Christian Academy, Huntsville

B. Central Region Director: Dr. James Martin

U.A.B.

5. John Cannon

6. John Mays

7. David Murphy

8. Jennifer Hooks

School: Altamont School, Birmingham
School: Altamont School, Birmingham
School: Shades Mountain Christian School, Birmingham
School: Shades Mountain Christian School, Birmingham

C. West Region Director: Dr. Haynes

University of Alabama

9. Holly Hitt School: Tuscaloosa County High School

D. Southwest Region Director: Dr. Gene Omasta Troy State University

10. Anna Elizabeth Scheiban

11. Melinda Sue Ellis

E. Southwest Region

12. Jonathan Day

13. Christina Meirs

F. South Region

Director: Mrs. Gladys Swain
School:

School: Fyffe High School
Director: Dr. Jim Langdon

Talladega College

University of South Alabama

14. Roopa Dhawan School: Murphy High School, Mobile

15. Pearl Flath School: Murphy High School, Mobile

State Science Fair Director: Dr. Grame Duthie

16.

17.

18.
19.

20.

Elizabeth Dillard School:
Lindsey Farina School:
Monica Sekoh School:
Jamie Aides School:
Taylor Griswald Student

Bradshaw High School
Brooks High School
JCIB

Murphy High School
Observer Montgomery

154

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is restricted
to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. Larry R. Boots,
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294.
Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline sections of the
Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology; Forestry, Geography, Conservation, and
Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and Economics; Science Education; Social
Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely
review articles of exceptional quality and general readership interest will also be considered.
Invited articles dealing with Science Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book
reviews of Alabama authors are also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the
implies that it has not been published previously and that it not currently being considered for
publication elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Submission: Submit an original and two copies to the editor. Papers which are unreasonably
long and verbose, such as uncut theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the
author’s name, affiliation, and address, including zip code. The editor may request that
manuscripts be submitted on a diskette upon their revision or acceptance.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. An abstract not exceeding 200
words will be published if the author so desires. Use heading and subdivisions where
necessary for clarity. Common headings are: Introduction (including a literature review),
Procedures (or Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other
formats may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all¬
caps and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and placed
at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. Do not use the number 1 for footnotes;
begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have their
present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and white
glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed 20 cm.
Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use lettering
that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as figures, number
consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on a separate sheet of
paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are satisfactory for review
purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each table.
Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table footnotes. Cite
all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature Cited.
Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers, etc.). List in
alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text parenthetically by
author-date.

The Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science
AM. MUS. NAT. HIST. LIBRARY
Received on: 11-23-98
5. 06(76. DB

HE JOURNAL OF THE
LABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

JULY 1998

OLUME 69

COVER: Installation of groundwater monitoring wells on the UAB campus to facilitate a
study of the surficial aquifer beneath Birmingham, September 1995.

(Photograph by Michael J. Neilson)

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 69 JULY 1998 NO. 3

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

Troy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 3, July 1998.

CONTENTS

ARTICLES

A SIMPLE TEMPERATURE CONTROL APPARATUS
FOR LIGHT MICROSCOPY

Anthony G. Moss , . 155

THE EFFECT OF DISASTERS ON WORLD POPULATION

Gene Garza and Travis Hill . 165

SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN WATER TABLE ELEVATIONS
IN THE SURFICIAL AQUIFER, BIRMINGHAM VALLEY

Michael J. Nelson and Denny N. Bearce . 175

ATMOSPHERIC OZONE CONCENTRATIONS AND FOOTBALL
ATTENDANCE

John S. Kush, Dean N. Jordan, Ralph S. Meldahl, Efrem Robbins,
and Arthur H. Chappelka, III . 183

THE VASCULAR FLORA OF PIKE COUNTY LAKE, ALABAMA

Michael Woods and Jeanese Reiss . 190

REPORT on the Gorgas Scholarship Rankings, 1998

204

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 3, July 1998.

A SIMPLE TEMPERATURE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR LIGHT MICROSCOPY

Anthony G. Moss, Ph.D.
Zoology and Wildlife Sciences
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama USA

ABSTRACT

A thermoelectric apparatus, suitable for temperature control of microscopical
preparations during light microscopy, is described. The apparatus can quickly change and
hold temperatures from near-freezing to 40°C. Advantages of the system are its small size,
making it suitable for use with high-power oil-immersion objectives, the ease of manufacture,
and its low cost. Addition of a feedback amplifier/circuit would allow close control of the
temperature of the preparation; however, the apparatus as described is surprisingly stable even
when used with both an oiled immersion objective and condenser.

Keywords: Peltier, thermistor detector, temperature regulation.

INTRODUCTION

Microscopists frequently find that they need to regulate temperature during the course
of their experiments; this is especially true for cell biologists working with living cells.
Excellent commercial equipment do exist to control the stage temperature of light
microscopes, and regulation by such devices is tightly controlled; +/- 0.1 °C is routinely
reported. However, such equipment is often quite expensive. Furthermore, many do not
provide the investigator with the certainty that his/her experiment is being performed at
exactly the temperature reported by the readout of the thermoelectric control, since the
temperature sensor is often at a distance from the actual site of observation, and the
temperature varies considerably from the stage heater/cooler to the critical, observed portion
of the slide. Since objective, stage and condenser can act as very effective temperature sinks,
especially when the slide is fully oiled, the investigator must depend upon a long equilibration
time for an accurate temperature readout. Here I describe a simple, small and easily
constructed thermoelectric module that provides very accurate readout of the current
temperature in the immediate vicinity of the experiment, just outside of the region of
illumination and nearly in direct contact with the biological specimen. Although some drift
can be expected from the design as described, one can easily modify the design to provide
a negative-feedback power supply to regulate the local microscale temperature. A typical
current/temperature curve is presented. The device described has been used to study the

155

Peltier Control Apparatus

kinetics of dynein/microtubule interactions using a gliding microtubule assay as described
previously (Moss et al., 1992) (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Overview of the thermistor-regulated Peltier-based heating and cooling device. Application is in an upright
microscope (Olympus BHS). The flat surface is upward toward the objective, to allow the lenses to freely index in place.
Several objectives have been for clarity. A high power objective (100X planapochromat) is fitted over the specimen. Code:
t, thermistor location; Al, aluminum plate; ins, plastic insulator plate; C, clip; B, brass thermistor lead extensions.

MATERIALS, CONSTRUCTION AND CALIBRATION
Overall construction

The assembled system is shown in Figure 1. The design as described, including the
Lambda power supply, cost less than $500 but will of course vary with local machine-shop
expenses and materials cost. The assembly can be separated into three distinct sections: a
thermally-conductive aluminum slide block (Fig. 2), a plastic insulating block holder (Fig.
3), and a removable Sylgard™ Film that contains the thermistor and provides a fluid space for
the biological experiment (Fig. 4).

The metal slide insert

The thermally-conductive slide component is machined of aluminum, and should be

156

Moss

anodized to protect it from corrosion by the biological salt solutions. Alternatively, and from
the viewpoint of toughness as well as corrosion-resistance, the slide can be machined from
stainless steel. However, at the time our resident machinist found working stainless steel to
such fine tolerances to be exceptionally difficult and a hard aluminum alloy has worked very
well. It is very important to keep the open viewspace within the slide (a 3 mm wide slot at
the end of the aluminum or stainless insert) as small as possible in order to maintain the best
temperature control. The design describes a taper between the 3 mm thickness of the slide
/ heat sink body and the thin viewed region, but the original design merely had an abrupt step
in thickness, and worked well. The taper would allow the operator to change objectives more
easily so that they more smoothly fit into the viewing space (Fig. 2) in an inverted
microscope. In the upright microscope it is not necessary since the flat upper surface
provides no impediment to changing objectives.

6.5 cm

0.8 mm
thick

2.5 cm

3 mm

V

j-Q c*gl A

Lk

o

3

Drill & chamfer
to accommodate
Peltier device

9;

3.5 cm

9

Aluminum
Black anodized,
3 mm thick

o

-'t

Figure 2. Thermally-conducove aluminum plate. Coverslipped region is in the 2.5 X 2.5 cm square to die left. Peltier
device/water jacket (or cooling fins) must be attached to the plate by a nonconductive strap; in the author’s example it was made
from acrylic plastic. Dimensions are not critical and can be adjusted as needed for a particular application; dimensions provided
are merely suggestions.

In the design of the optical and biological chamber it was important to try to maintain
the normal optics and light-path length as close as possible, since the original work was
performed at full n.a. under demanding high resolution conditions. The thin end of the
thermally-conductive insert was therefore built so that cover slips (22 mm square by
approximately 0.1 mm thick) could be fitted to either side of the 0.8 mm-thick section,
secured snugly with a tiny dab of vacuum grease, and filled with water to simulate a normal¬
thickness slide, thereby satisfying the optical needs of the objective lens. The region of

157

Peltier Control Apparatus

interest in our case could be very small since we were examining microtubule movement, and
so a small coverslip chip was further attached to the concave surface of the aluminum slide,
again with vacuum grease. The objective viewed the centermost region of the slot, with very
little lateral (x-y) displacement possible.

The aluminum block was drilled and tapped to accommodate an acrylic strap that
secured the Peltier device. Peltier devices transfer heat across their two flat surfaces
dependent upon the polarity of the applied current; one side becomes cold while the other
becomes warm. Therefore, although the Peltier device must be tightly attached, a heat-
conducting strap cannot be used because heat is carried away to or from the slide in a small
water jacket mounted to the reverse side of the Peltier thermoelectric module. A thermally-
conductive strap would transfer head back to, or away from, the aluminum plate, and would
counter the effects of the thermoelectric module.

The Peltier unit (we used a Cambion model 806-1006-01 with an integral water
jacket, Cambridge Thermionic Corp., Cambridge, MA) was mounted tightly to the surface,
with heat-sink compound (GC Electronics, Southern Electronics, Opelika, AL) used to
intimately connect the Peltier unit and the aluminum slide. Deionized water was used as the
working fluid; the water line was a very flexible thin-walled vinyl tubing that ran from a
nearby sink, through the water jacket, back to the sink. Water flowed at approximately 100
mL per minute through the system and did not affect the operation of the microscope. Undue
vibration from water flow through the water jacket was not observed.

The Peltier thermoelectric module was powered by a stand-alone DC regulated low
voltage, high current power supply, (model 300, Lambda Electronics, Westborough, MA);
a Nobotron unit would also work very well. It could alternatively be powered by an
automobile battery through a variable resistor (a “Variac”) as are found in many laboratory
settings, particularly for electrophysiological applications. The power supply must be able
to deliver as much as 9 A at 12 V in order to provide full power to the thermoelectric
module.

The insulating slide insert holder

The aluminum slide was mounted into a machined of polyethylene plastic insulating
holder (Fig. 3). This isolated the aluminum slide from the stage and allowed the Peltier
device to displace the slide temperature from the ambient temperature relatively easily. As
a result, the operating temperature of the slide could vary over 0 - 40°C, with temperature
changes of 10°C made in less than 2 minutes. Tolerances between the aluminum slide and
the plastic insulating holder are not particularly tight, in order to allow expansion and
contraction of the aluminum plate without deformation of the plastic assembly, although
detectable drift in the aluminum holder must be held to a minimum.

Thermistor mount

The thermistor used in this application is an exceptionally tiny and delicate electronic
element, and must be protected from damage by embedment in a uniform, tough medium.
The black thermistor is encased in a clear glass 350 /xm X 500 /xm bead with 25 /an Pt-Ir
leads. The paradox with the current arrangement is that although rather fragile, it must also

158

Moss

4 mm thick

1.5 mm thick

Milled to
accommodate
cooling block
assembly

Figure 3. Polyethylene block milled to accommodate the aluminum block of Figure 2. The aluminum block drops
into the central area. Dimensions are suggested and should be adjusted to fit the investigator’s particular application.

be easily removed to allow cleaning of the chamber. Sylgard™, a flexible but tough,
polymerizable silicone elastomer (Dow Coming, MI) normally used for a variety of electronic
embedment applications, was used to protect the thermistor yet retain ease of removal and
remounting. The extremely small, bipolar lead thermistor (Fenwal # GB4IL2; Fenwal
Electronics, CT) was embedded in approximately a 400 nm - thick Sylgard™. The precise
overall dimensions of the Sylgard™ film must allow the insertion of the thermistor into the
observation chamber end of the aluminum slide near to, but outside of, the illumination path
(the thermistor will absorb light strongly and thereby heat up artifactually if placed in the light
path). Figure 4 depicts the thermistor/Sylgard™ film assembly.

Brass shimstock (0.001 inch) was used as a tough connecting conductor from the
thermistor to the outer edge of the Sylgard™ film. The thermistor leads were carefully
soldered in place on the brass, keeping the solder film very hot and thin, and allowing proper
cooling characteristics to avoid a cold-soldered joint, while carrying out the process as quickly
as possible. Since the thermistor conductors are a 0.001 inch diameter platinum-iridium alloy
(and therefore not actually solderable), they were very carefully coiled prior to attachment

159

Peltier Control Apparatus

around the shimstock material, and gently soldered in place. Solder assembly of the
thermistor unit must involve great care by the technician since the thermistor is easily
damaged by the high heat of the iron. Flat, polished heat sinks must be used between the
iron and the thermistor bead to protect the fine wires and the thermistor unit.

A 2 mm-wide channel was cut in the Sylgard™ to allow space for the biological
sample, and to allow exchange of fluid via perfusion. The Sylgard™ film/thermistor assembly
was held in place with a thin film of silicone vacuum grease; the shimstock leads were
clamped and stabilized by miniature flat-tip copper-coated spring clips (Radio Shack cat. no.
270-373) mounted to the plastic insulating holder with hot-melt glue. The leads from the
clips made from fine, limp “pillow-speaker” wire to prevent shifting of the slide when
mounted on the stage, and attached to a conventional digital VOM typically found in
electronics shops (we used a common model from Radio Shack).

Figure 4. Sylgard™ film embedment of thermistor and brass shimstock assembly. The embedment film was made
by building a structure out of plastic coverslips and carefully sealing them to make a flexible mold. Thickness was
determined by stacking cover slips and then covering with a glass slide. The assembly was allowed to sit overnight
at room temperature to stabilize, then heated for several hours at 60 degrees to assure complete polymerization of
the Sylgard™ silicone polymer.

160

Moss

Calibration of the thermoelectric module

Calibration of the thermistor unit was carried out by laying the thermistor/Sylgard™
film assembly in an aluminum boat that floated in the reservoir of a recirculating water bath.
Thermistors display an inverse relationship between temperature and resistance such that at
low temperatures they have relatively high resistance, while at high temperatures they exhibit
reduced resistance. The thermistor assembly described here was calibrated at 5 degree
intervals over 0 - 40°C. The calibration curve for the described unit is shown in Figure 5.

Operation

Operation is very simple: The operator attaches coverslips around the thin (0.8 mm)
portion of the aluminum assembly, and the aluminum plate is mounted into the plastic
insulating holder. The Sylgard™ film is secured with silicone grease into the aluminum plate.
The microclips are adjusted to hold the brass shimstock extensions are. A third coverslip is
mounted in position over the window cut in the Sylgard™ film, allowing the groove to be
exposed on either end if the investigator wishes to perfuse the assembly. The entire assembly
is mounted onto the stage carrier. Water is applied to the open edge of the 0.8 mm thick
region to simulate the full thickness if a glass microscope slide. The author has successfully
followed multiple reactivation and microtubule gliding experiments over a range of 2 to 40°C
using this apparatus.

The design given here fit nicely into a microtiter plate holder for the Zeiss IM 35.
However, since the observation region is so small (in order to maintain good control over the
chamber temperature) the assembly cannot be moved laterally very much. When used with
a high-power objective it is possible that it may not be moved at all because of the objective
girth. For some applications this is acceptable; for others of course it is not, and the
applicability of the assembly is dependent on the limitations of each experiment.

The operator monitors thermistor resistance while adjusting the current output of the
power supply. Thermistor resistance is inversely proportional to the temperature (see above;
Fig. 5) and so the operator can easily and quickly determine the temperature. Although this
might at first sound very cumbersome and time-consuming, with a little practice the device
can be preset to different power outputs. The temperature can be quickly adjusted and
stabilized to the desired temperature.

The Peltier/thermistor apparatus can be set up to drive negative-feedback circuitry to
automatically regulate temperature, with a concomitant increase in complexity, time-to-
completion, and cost. For many applications this is easy to do and desirable; many such
control circuits are available through well-known sources (Horowitz and Hill, 1980). Inoue
and Spring (1998) list several appropriate references in which various approaches have been
presented. In particular, the circuitry of the designs of Chabala et al. (1985) and Datyner
(1985) describe, in very great and clear detail, the construction of feedback circuitry designed
to regulate temperature using a slightly different scheme, by using thermistor-regulated
feedback. The talented investigator should be able easily modify such designs to his/her own
needs with this simple apparatus as a basic design.

161

Peltier Control Apparatus

Temperature

Figure 5. Thermistor response from 0 to 40°C. The operator merely glances at this relationship to determine
temperature in the block assembly within a millimeter of the light path. Thermistor output could be redirected as
indicated in Chabala et al. (1985) or Datyner et al. (1985) to provide automated temperature control.

DISCUSSION

Utility of the design — considerations and cautions.

The design described here is intentionally simple, and can be easily fabricated by the
investigator. There are many far more sophisticated designs reported in the instrumentation
literature (see in particular the elegant design of Delbridge et al, 1990 in which the fluid is
controlled with regard to level, flow rate, and temperature.) However, many investigators
have limited resources (and time and money) and this design has worked very well in a
particular application; the reactivation of motility in a gliding microtubule assay. Also, many
designs involve the use of a considerable amount of a working fluid for heating or cooling
(e.g. Inoue et al, 1975) and although they work very well, their complexity is likely to result
in more leakage and potential difficulty to the investigator. I describe here a scheme to use
water to draw off the heat (if the thermoelectric module is used for cooling); however,
depending on the application, the user could choose to use a very efficient finned air heat-sink

162

Moss

such as is used on computer CPU chips; such fins are available at electronics supply houses
such as Allied Electronics (Ft. Worth, TX). Such an approach would entirely eliminate
potential vibration from water flow, and would also eliminate the danger of a water leak near
expensive components; however the design described here never produced any significant
difficulties.

Another approach, suitable for work under constant temperature, is an air-curtain
assembly that heats the entire stage and optical path uniformly. Such a system provides the
very best stability, and the very best image resolution, at temperatures that are distinctly
different from ambient, and has been very effectively used for culturing cells directly on the
microscope stage, and for following cells for an extended period of time (McKenna and
Wang, 1989).

The design described here was originally made for an inverted microscope (Zeiss IM
35) but has been used quite effectively on an upright model (model BHS Olympus).
Depending upon the resolution requirements of the experiment the operator has the option to
oil or not oil the flat condenser surface of the apparatus and the chamber cover glass.
Shifting between upright and inverted designs merely requires the relocation of the
coverslipped assay space housing the specimen. Oiling of course greatly improves the
resolution by increasing system n.a., but introduces a much greater heat sink problem,
especially if the condenser is also oiled. Furthermore, it is obvious to this author that
immersion oils vary in refractive index as the temperature changes; this was in mm
manifested as changes in focus position and clarity as the temperature was lowered. If the
investigator can avoid the use of oil, the temperature control will be much easier with this
apparatus. If high numerical aperture is required, substitution of high n.a. water-immersion
lenses, for the more usual oil-immersion objectives, would prevent development of oil/water
emulsions that occur in cooled, oiled preparations.

Probably the most difficult aspect regarding day-to-day usage involves condensation
of water around the cold objective barrel. Damage to the objective can be alleviated
somewhat by sheathing the lens barrel with Parafilm™ or a similar wrap but sufficient
insulation to prevent significant condensation requires several layers of tightly-fitting latex
glove fingers with a hole cut in the finger tip; this can be difficult and they must be routinely
replaced, and the opportunity for damage via repeated handlings, the possibility of dropping
the lens, etc, make this a less-than- optimal approach.

Long-term exposure of the objective and condenser to fluctuations in temperature can
result in loosening of the lens elements, with the unpleasant result that very expensive
equipment can be rendered permanently damaged by such experiments. Furthermore, strain-
free objectives such as are used for differential interference and polarization microscopy that
are exposed to temperature fluctuations are likely to develop strain as a function of thermal
fluctuations (see Inoue and Spring, 1998 for an in-depth discussion of these dangers) so that
their crossed-polars extinction will be greatly attenuated. The investigator needs to balance
such effects against the potential payoff of the temperature-control experiment.

163

Peltier Control Apparatus

LITERATURE CITED

Chabala, L. D., R. E. Sheridan, D. C. Hodge, J. N. Power, and M. P. Walsh 1985. A
microscope stage temperature controller for the study of whole-cell or single-channel
currents. Pfliiger’s Arch. 404:374-377.

Datyner, N. B., G. A. Gintant, and I. S. Cohen, 1985. Versatile temperature-controlled
tissue bath for studies of isolated cells using an inverted microscope. Pfluger’s Arch.
403:318-323.

Inoue, S., J. Fuseler, E. D. Salman, and G. W. Ellis, 1975. Functional organization of
mitotic microtubules. Physical chemistry of the in vivo equilibrium system. Biophys.
J. 15:725-744.

Inoue, S. and K. R. Spring, 1998. Video Microscopy. The Fundamentals, 2nd ed. Plenum
Publishing Corporation, New York, NY. 741 pp.

Horowitz, P. and W. Hill, 1980. The Art of Electronics. Cambridge University Press, New
York, NY. 716 pp.

McKenna, N. M., and Y-L. Wang, 1989. Culturing cells on the microscope stage. Meth.
Cell Biol. 29: 195-205.

Moss, A. G., J-L. Gatti, and G. B. Witman, 1992. The motile (3/lCl subunit of sea urchin
sperm outer arm dynein does not form a tight rigor bond. J. Cell Biol. 118(5): 1 177-
1188.

Address for correspondence:

Anthony G. Moss, Ph.D.

131 Cary Hall

Zoology and Wildlife Sciences
Auburn University,

Auburn, AL 36849-5414

Tel. (334)844-9257
Fax. (334)844-4065

mossant@mail . auburn, edu

164

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 3, July 1998.

THE EFFECT OF DISASTERS ON WORLD POPULATION

Gene Garza and Travis Hill
Mathematics Department
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, A1 35115

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dampening effect that major disasters
have had on world population. We consider only disasters which have caused a significant
number of deaths and use an exponential model to predict how many people would now
inhabit the earth if disasters had not brought an early end to so many millions of lives.

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the ages, planet Earth and, in particular, its most celebrated inhabitants,
namely we humans, have been ravaged by disease, famine, wars, epidemics (even pandemics)
and many other disasters. However, even with all of the catastrophes that mankind has
endured, none has been sufficient to eliminate humans from the planet as with dinosaurs. So
the human population continues to soar. Today there are about five and a half billion people
on Earth, so many in fact, that one of the major problems now facing mankind is mankind
himself, that is, over-population. Indeed, our own success as a species may be our next, as
well as our greatest, disaster. With not enough food for the hungry and not enough homes
for the homeless, even without a disaster, life may soon be grim for the planet’s entire
population.

The disasters that have plagued humanity throughout the centuries have been as varied
as they have been destructive. They come as floods, droughts, earthquakes, famine,
hurricanes, tornadoes, disease (especially disease) and as man-made disasters such as wars
and massacres . The spreadsheet table in Table 1 shows the total death toll of each significant
disaster over the past two millennia. Disasters have come as erupting volcanoes that slay only
a few thousand and as deadly diseases that wipe out millions. In the past two thousand years
no continent on the Earth has been spared from their ravages and wanton destructiveness.
In the years spanning 500 A. D. to about 620 A. D., a terrible plague swept through Europe,
Asia and Africa. The plague finally subsided after more than a century but not before
sending 100 million people to an early grave. Unfortunately this would not be the last time
that disease would devastate the globe. In 1347, the Black Death devastated Europe and Asia
killing about-one-third of the world’s population with what can only be described as a horrible
and excruciating death preceded by exquisite torture as boils sometimes hardened and then

165

Garza and Hill

refused to break, leaving their host demented. Fortunately, death, at this point, was fairly
quick. Although these are only two examples. Earth has seen this serial and mass murderer
many times. Fortunately, with modem medicine it is unlikely that this disease will ever
terrorize mankind again. However, today new strains of bacteria are becoming immune to
the cures we have come to trust. A recent report in Science News, June 7, 1997, tells of a
mutated bacterium that resisted vancomycin, the last "surefire drug" against it after it had
already "acquired resistance to every other antibiotic." Though disease has been the worst
of the disasters, none are unimportant. Droughts and floods also kill great numbers of
people and are frequently accompanied by another disaster — famine, with the result being
an even greater death toll. For example, in 1896 and 1899, a total of 6,250,000 people were
reportedly killed by droughts. This in turn caused crop failures and ultimately resulted in
famine for the same years. The famine alone killed 6,200,000 people. With today’s early
warning systems provided by advanced communication systems, volcanoes, earthquakes and
hurricanes cause little loss in terms of numbers. But, that has not always been the case. In
1737, two separate hurricanes took a total of 600,000 lives. Apparently not until this
millennium have single wars and massacres caused such great destruction. The greatest
massacre occurred in 1402 resulting in the deaths of 20,000,000. This was associated with
the slave trade as one African tribe would capture and then sell members of other tribes into
slavery. The death toll for World War I and World War II combined was almost 30 million
people.

PROJECT LIMITATIONS

While all of these catastrophes have taken their share of lives and even though any
loss of life is regrettable, for this project some criteria had to be set up for what constitutes
a significant disaster. Obviously, for the purposes of this project, 35,000 deaths 20 centuries
ago might well be even more significant than a million deaths this century. Thus, we had to
make a decision as to what constituted a significant number of deaths for the various time
periods. Finally, it was decided that 1,000,000 would be a reasonable number for the 20th
century and then it seemed only natural to use any disaster regardless of size if its non¬
occurrence would have contributed 1,000,000 to the world population by 1997. This criteria
reduced the number of disasters we had accumulated from several hundred to 84, all of which
are given in the appendix.

COMPUTATIONS

After the data was reduced, the world population growth rates for the various time
periods from 1 A.D. were needed. Most growth rates for early centuries were, of course.

166

Effect of Disasters on World Population

estimates and were found in Mudd’s The Population Crisis and the Use of World Resources.
Those rates are:

Years Population (billions) Population Growth Rate

1 -

1650

.170-

- .545

1.0007

(0.07%)

1650

- 1750

.545 •

- .720

1.003

(0.3%)

1750

- 1850

.720 ■

- 1.2

1.005

(0.5%)

1850

- 1950

1.2 -

2.5

1.008

(0.8%)

1950

- 1997

2.5 -

5.5

1.017

(1.7%)

All of these growth rates, except for the first one, were given in Mudd. The first one had
to be determined mathematically. This was done as follows:

With an assumed world population of 170,000,000 in 1 A.D. and 545,000,000 in
1650, the following model was used for the population at time t:
pop(t) = ab‘

Now we determine a and b:

pop(t=0) = 170 = ab° = a
pop(t= 1650) = 545 = ab1650

Substituting for a in the second equation, we obtained a value of 1.0007 for b. That is, for
the first sixteen and a half centuries A.D., the growth rate was a mere seven hundredths of
one percent - barely enough to maintain population level. That compares poorly with today’s
generally accepted growth rate of 1.7 percent (some estimates are higher).

The same formula was used to determine the unknown growth rate as was used to
determine the number of people who would be alive today if their assumed ancestors had not
been killed by these disasters. This, of course, includes all of their likely descendants since
the time of the disaster and so separate calculations had to be made for each time period.
These calculations were made on an electronic spreadsheet using the following formula (which
is the same as the one above except for the variables):

FP = IP(1 + GR)‘

where:

FP represents the Future population
IP represents the Initial population
GR represents the annual Growth Rate and

t represents time (which is the final year of the time period minus the initial year for
that time period)

The initial year represented the year the disaster took place or the beginning year in
case the disaster lasted for an extended time period. The growth rates are the average annual
increase percentages experienced by the population during a time period. The initial
population was the number of people that lost their lives during the disaster (or, in subsequent

167

Garza and Hill

calculations, the number of descendants resulting from a computation for an earlier time
period). During a drought in 968, for example, 600,000 people died. Calculations, using
the growth rate of .07% for the remainder of that first time period, yield 966,965 (see
appendix). This means that almost a million people would have been alive in 1650 had it not
been for that drought in 968. Likewise, in 1750 with its growth rate of .3%, this number
would have increased to 1,304,681. By the year 1997, this number would have swollen to
10,525,637. The 1896 famine mentioned earlier served to eliminate over 16,000,000 from
today’s world population.

Table 1 gives the totals for the various categories of disasters, along with a grand total
for all categories.

Table 1. Major disaster totals by category

Deaths

1— >1650

->1750

->1850

—>1950

—>1997

Hurricane

|Total

900,000 |

623,826

1 ,027,234 |

2,798,761

6,180,883

Earthquake Total

2,240,000

1 1

1,992,617 |

3,592,324

5,915,367 |

13,123,054

28,981,422

! Famine

Total

[ 41,488,000 |

517,441 j

830,285

7,678,635 |

68,874,158

157,081,430

iWar

(Total

47,796,000 |

245,395 |

331,099

545,211 |

77,341,931

170,804,692 |

Drought

l Total

51,250,000

1,104,072 |

1 ,489,672

10,795,537]

79,656,719

198,001,112 |

Flood

Total

51,310,000

1 ,258,252 j

1,697,700

2,795,549 |

112,023,405

247,396,503 |

Massacre

(Total

31,700,000 |

23,790,148 |

32,098,922

52,856,283 |

127,222,024

285,235,942 |

| Plague

(Total

| 254,000,000 |

305,197,499 j

413,515,268

682,377,826 |

1,611,915,545

3,559,812,068 j

TOTAL:

|

| 480,684,000 j

334,105,424 |

454,179,097

763,991,642 |

2,092,955,597

4,653,494,053

The following figure shows the number of actual deaths caused by the various
disasters (except for hurricanes) used in this report, i.e., for those which would have
generated at least a million additional people by 1997.

Over the centuries that mankind has existed on Earth, it has continually triumphed
over adversity and consistently improved its lot. In the early centuries mankind was abused
by nature, but as the species gained intelligence and even certain power over the elements,
it began to gain control over the fury of its ever-present adversary. We have indeed
discovered a cure for the bubonic plague, which, as already mentioned, historically has been
the one thing most responsible for controlling world population by killing more than all other
disasters combined. Additionally, we have developed buffers against the destructiveness of
nature’s other tantrums - floods, earthquakes, droughts and hurricanes. This power is a great
source of pride for us humans, but everything comes with a price. As this power over our

168

Effect of Disasters on World Population

destiny was achieved, mankind flourished throughout the planet and began to disregard
nature. The resources which nature so freely provides have been ravished by mankind as
much as nature once ravished man. Indeed, rain forests are disappearing throughout the

Deaths by Disasters

D

e

a

t

h

s

300,000,000

250,000,000

200,000,000

150,000,000

100,000,000

50,000,000

Eq-

■ ■ ■

Mass. Famine

War Drought

Type of Disaster

■ Death toll

Flood Disease

Figure 1. Number of Actual Deaths by Disasters

world and hundreds of animal species are being wiped out on an annual basis as world global
temperature continues on an escalating upward march.

In the end, a lot of factors have devastated mankind, but the population of the world
continues to grow. And, as it does, problems continue to torment us. These problems
include more homelessness and ever-present famine for various parts of the world. It seems
clear that there will not be enough food, nor enough resources to compensate for the
population explosion if it continues unabated for much longer. According to Cohen, the
Earth is estimated to be capable of supporting around 79 billion people (some estimates are
higher, but we must all agree that there is definitely an upper limit). We are now at five and
a half billion, but at the current growth of 1.7% that number is expected to double in about
41 years and then double again 41 years later. To see this, consider the following where 11
represents a doubling of the present population in billions:

Pop(t = 1997) = 5.5(1.017)" = 11

169

Garza and Hill

Taking logs of both sides yields:

nlog(1.017) = log(2)
or

n = log(2)

log(1.017)

Simplifying this produces a value of 41 for n. This means, as stated, that the world
population now doubles in only 41 years. This compares poorly with previous time periods
as seen below:

Time period

Growth rate

Years reauired to double

1-1650

.07%

991

1650-1750

.3%

231

1750-1850

.5%

139

1850-1950

.8%

87

1959-1997

1.7%

41

With current life expectancy, many of us will, no doubt, see the world population
quadruple within our own life times. This can be easily verified already by comparing the
world population, given by Cohen, of 2.5 billion in 1950 with that of 5.3 billion in 1990, just
40 years later. The actual increase, slightly more than double, occurred in only 40 years.

At this rate we will reach the 79 billion mark in about 158 years. This is determined
in the following manner:

pop(t) = 79 =.5.5 (1.017)"

79/5.5 = (1.017)"

n = log(79/5.51 = 158 years

log(1.017)

The resulting population increase will further tax our scarce resources and cause even
more troubles in the years to come. Many ideas have been considered, but have yet to solve
the problem. One idea consists of population control. The idea is to reduce the number of
births that occur in the world and ultimately reduce the population through contraception.
As with any plan, it also has flaws as some religions do not look favorably toward
contraceptive devices.

Another idea is the expansion of exploration of extraterrestrial resources. For
example, by setting up extraterrestrial colonies we could house some of the world population.
The lack of funds and technology needed for such an endeavor puts a damper on that idea for
now. However, if the earth were at capacity and the growth rate were still 1.7%, this would
mean an annual increase of

(0.017)(79,000,000,000)

or

1,343,000,000

persons each year. On a daily basis, this would mean an increase of 3.6 million people.

170

Effect of Disasters on World Population

That is, if we wait until the planet is at capacity, the number of people that would have to be
transported off the planet to some other celestial orb each day in order not to overload earth
would be 3.6 million. This would be a tremendous drain on not just energy resources but
all of the planet’s resources, especially since this would have to continue every day forever,
or at least until the growth rate started to decline. This idea, therefore, has its drawbacks and
will likely long remain in the realm of science fiction.

With a growth rate of .07%, the world population took almost a millennium to
double. However, human population growth over the last millennium shows a rate of steady
increase each century (with the exception of the 14th when the Black Death was pandemic).
All of this is cause for alarm since certain natural resources, some of which are non¬
renewable, are being depleted at a likewise increasing rate each year.

Think of population growth in this way: suppose humans are cells and they divide
once a day and the Earth is a jar in which the cells are kept. The jar can sustain life for only
79,000,000,000 cells. It would take less than 27 days, less than one month, for the cells to
fill the jar. How long would it then take to fill a second jar? Just one more day! That is
exponential growth! And that is the way populations increase under ideal conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Now assume for the moment that the earth’s population was just one couple 25
centuries ago and that the population doubled every century. Then, in only two more
centuries this planet would be at its maximum capacity. Theoretically, one more century after
that (without some new disaster) there would be enough people to populate a second planet
the same size as earth to its maximum capacity. Another century would then see the need for
a third and a fourth new planet. Of course, as pointed out already, world population now
doubles every 41 years (or less) instead of every hundred years. This means that in just 41
years after reaching capacity, whenever that finally is, we will need an entirely new planet
the size of our present one (the moon would be much too small) to hold the population
increase. Forty-one years after that we will need two more new planets.

Without the 4.65 billion lives lost to the present population as a result of various
disasters, the world population would currently be beyond 10 billion (see Figure 2). This
means, among other things, that the maximum capacity of 79 billion would be reached in only
120 years from now instead of the 158 years based on a present population of 5.5 billion.

One might ask if it is likely that we will ever find a solution to this ever staggering
dilemma. The answer to that question may have already presented itself. Several recent
reports concerning the environment highlight the damage done to it by man. But even more
troubling are numerous reports that this damage is now affecting man in an unexpected
manner — sterility. From Time Magazine. March 18, 1996, we read that sperm counts for
men all over the world have dropped as much as 50% in the past half-century. At this rate
and with new bacteria resistant to all antibiotics, there may never be any need for those
spaceships to other worlds as man is forced to face his greatest foe ~ himself.

171

Garza and Hill

Figure 2. World Population

LITERATURE CITED

Cohen, J., 1995. How Many People Can the Earth Support. New York, Norton and
Company.

Cornell, J., 1982. The Great International Disaster Book. New York, Charles
Scribner’s Sons.

Flexner, S. and Flexner, D., 1992. The Pessimist’s Guide to History. New York, Avon
Books.

Hauser, P., ed., 1963. The Population Dilemma. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall.

Mudd, S., ed., 1966. The Population Crisis and the Use of World Resources. Bloomington,
Indiana University Press.

172

Effect of Disasters on World Population
Appendix

Table 2 shows disaster type, year, original number of deaths and then, for the various
time periods, the number which would have lived had the original number not died in the
disaster:

Type

Year

Deaths

1 — >• 1650

—>1750

—>1850

—>1950

—>1997

Drought

968

600,000

966,965

1,304,681

2,148,376

4,766,105

10,525,637

Drought

1199

100,000

137,107

184,992

304,620

675,790

1 ,492,438

Drought

1769

5,000,000

7,488,951

16,614,000

36,690,954

Drought

1837

800,000

853,589

1 ,893,660

4,182,027

Drought

1866

1,500,000

2,929,382

6,469,351

Drought

1876"

5,000,000

9,016,737

19,912,884

Drought

1876

13,000,000

23,443,515

51,773,499

Drought

1892

1,000,000

1 ,587,490

3,505,869

Drought

1896

5,000,000

7,688,449

16,979,446

Drought

1899

1,250,000

1,876,710

4,144,593

Drought

1928

3,000,000

3,574,810

7,894,738

Drought

1936

5,000,000

5,590,073

12,345,317

Drought

1950

10,000,000

22,084,358

Drought

Total:

51,250,000 1

1, 104,072)

1 ,489,672

10,795,537

79,656,719

198,001,112

Earthquake

- 36T

50,000

- 122,880'

165,796

273,011

605,667

1 ,337,577

Earthquake

526

250,000

548,938

740,656

1,219,615

2,705,678

5,975,316

Earthquake

893

180,000

305,721

412,494

679,241

1,506,875

3,327,838

Earthquake

1290

100,000

128,648

173,579

285,827

634,098

1,400,365

Earthquake

1556

830,000

886,430

1 .196,019

1 ,969,446

4,369,154

9,648,996

Earthquake

1693

93,000

110,315

181,653

402,991

889,980

Earthquake

1703

200,000

230,236

379,123

841 ,072

1,857,454

Earthquake

1730

137,000

145,459

239,522

531,372

1 ,1 74,5Ul

Earthquake

1731

100,000

105,857

174,311

386,703

854,008

Earthquake

1737

300,000

311,913

513,617

1,139 443

2,516,388

Earthquake

Total:

2,240,000

1,992,617

3,592,324

5,915,367

13,123,054

28,981,422

Famine

1601

500,000

517,441

698,159

1,149,637

2,550,432

5,632,466

Famine

1657

100,000

132,126

217,567

482,665

1 ,065,936

Famine

1769

3,000,000

4,493,371

9,968,400

22,014,572

Famine

1770

188,000

280,184

621 ,579

1,372,716

Famine

1845

1,500,000

1,537,877

3,411,731'

7,534,589

Famine

1866

1 ,500,000

2,929,382

6,469,351

Famine

1876

5,000,000

9,016,737

19,912,884

i Famine

1876

11,000,000

19,836,820

43,808,345

Famine

1896

5,000,000

7,688,449

16,979,446

Famine

1899

1 ,200,000

1,801,642

3,978,810

| Famine

1921

2,000,000

2,519,912

5,565,065

Famine

1928

3,000,000

3,574,810

7,894,738

Famine

1932

2,500,000

2,885,557

6,372,566

Famine

1943

1,500,000

1 ,586,043

3,502,674

! Famine

1967

1,500,000

2,487,252

Famine

1984

2,000,000

2,490,017

Famine

Total:

41,488,000

517,441

830,285

7,678,635

68,874,158

157,081,430

173

Garza and Hill

Flood

1099

100,000

147,044

198,400

326,699

724,772

1,600,613

Flood

1228

100,000

134,352

181,275

298,501

662,214

1 ,462,4571

Flood

1277

100,000

129,824

175,165

288,439

639,893

1,413,162

Flood

1530

400,000

435,039

586,977

966,557

2,144,276

4,735,496

Flood

1642

“ 300,000

301,684

407,048

670,273

1,486,980

3,283,900

Flood

1646

110,000

110,308

148,834

245,080

543,702

1,200,731

Flood

1851

45,000,000

99,038,760

218,720,747

Rood

1887

1,500,000

2,478,020

5,472,548

Flood

1931

3,700,000

4,304,789

9,506,850

Rood

'Total:

51,310,000

1,258,252

1,697,700

2,795,549

112,023,405

247,396,503

Hurricane

1737

300,000

311,913

513,617

1,139,443

2,516,388

Hurricane

1737

300,000

311,913

513,617

1,139,443

2,516,388

Hurricane

1881

300,000

519,874

1,148,108

Hurricane

Total:

900,000

623,826

1,027,234

2,798,761

6,180,883

Massacre

1402

20,000,000

23,790,148

32,098,922

52,856,283

117,259,984

258,961,152

Massacre

1933

8,700,000

9,962,040

22,000,527

Massacre

1976

3,000,000

4,274,263

Massacre

Total:

31,700,000

23,790,148

32,098,922

52,856,283

127,222,024

285,235,942

Disease

125

1 ,000,000

2,907,014

3,922,297

6,458,723

14,328,471

31,643,510

Disease

542

300,000

651,392

878,892

1 ,447,244

3,210,664

7,090,546

Disease

~620

100,000,000

205,597,002

277,402,315

456,789,651

1,013,373,322

"2,237,969,968

Disease

746

200,000

376,492

507,982

836,479

1,855,701

4,098,197

Disease

1097"

100,000

147,250

198,678

327,157

725,787

1,602,854

Disease

1347

75,000,000

92,713,483

125,093,919

205,988,216

456,978,310

1,009,207,279

Disease

1528

200,000

217,824

293,900

483,955

1,073,639

2,371,064"

Disease

1530

1,000,000

1,087,597

1,467,443

2,416,392

5,360,690

11,838,739

Disease

1545

250,000

269,060

363,030

597,790

1,326,179

2,928,781

Disease

1600

500,000

517,804

698,648

1,150,441

2,552,218

5,636,409

Disease

1611

200,000

205,533"

277,316

456,648"

1,013,059

2,237,276 |

Disease

1630

500,000"

507,047

684,134

1,126,542

2,499,198“'

5,519,319 j

Disease

16561

400,000

530,088

872,879

1,936,454

4,276,533]

Disease

1664

100,000"

129,384"

213,052

472,650"

1,043,817

Disease

1 672

4009OO1

505,281

832,030'

1,845,8321

4,076,401

Disease

1711

500,000

561 ,961

925,364

2,052,890

4,533,677

Disease

1792

800,000"

1,068,370

2,370,144

5,234,3121

Disease

1799

300,000

386,893

858,309

1,895,520

Disease

1851

250,000"

550,21 5

1,215,115

Disease

1876

3,000,000

5,410,0421

1 1 ,947,731]

Disease

1898

12,000,000

18,160,547

40,106,402

Disease

1914

3,000,000

3,996,690

,

8,826,432

Disease

1917

3,000,000

3,902,283

8,617,943]

Disease

1917

50,000,000

65,038,058

143,632,378

Disease

1947

1 ,000,000

1 ,024,193^

2,261,863!

Disease

Total:

254,000,000"

305,197,499

41 3,51 5,268

682,377,826"

1,611,915,545

3,559,812,068

War

1175

176,000

245,395

331,099

545,211

1,209,533

2,671,176 i

War

1850

20,000,000

44,369,364"

97,986,895 |

War

I860"

620,000"

1,270,105

2,804,945 |

War

1919

10,000,000

12,801,961"

28,272,309 j

War

1945"

17,000,000

17,690,967

39,069,366 j

War

Total:

47,796,000"

245,395

331, 099 4

546,211

77,341,931"

170,804,692

174

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 3, July 1998.

SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN WATER TABLE ELEVATIONS
IN THE SURFICIAL AQUIFER, BIRMINGHAM VALLEY

Michael J. Neilson and Denny N. Bearce
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
770J Administration Building
Birmingham, AL 35294

ABSTRACT

Three wells drilled into the surficial aquifer on the UAB campus were monitored from
October 1, 1995 to September 30, 1996. Average depth to the water table was from 3.0 feet
to 14.3 feet, and the yearly range in each well was up to ± 40% of the mean depth. Wells
take between 4 to 5 days to completely respond to a major rain event. Ignoring the effect of
Hurricane Opal in early October 1995, depth to the water table showed a clear seasonal trend:
in all three wells, the water table was depressed during the late spring through early fall and
was at its highest during February and March. Monthly potential evapotranspiration
explained between 17% and 50% of the variation in minimum monthly depth to the water
table.

INTRODUCTION

Major urban regions such as Birmingham-Bessemer often suffer incidents of
groundwater pollution from industrial, commercial, and public sources. As many
contamination events, such as leaking storage tanks and spills, are confined to the soil, an
understanding of the hydrogeology of this surficial material, including the depth to the water
table, is important. Although seasonal fluctuations in the water table are well documented
(Fetter, 1994), no data are presently available to indicate the magnitude of the fluctuation in
the surficial material underlying Birmingham. Existing groundwater studies of the region
(Moffett and Moser, 1978; Planert and Pritchett, 1989) are based on combined data from
deep bedrock wells, springs, and sinkholes and do not address this issue. This paper
presents the first study of the variations in water table level over one year in the surficial
aquifer, based on records from three wells, located on the campus of the University of
Alabama at Birmingham.

GEOLOGIC AND HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING

The city of Birmingham is located on the northwestern edge of the southern
Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province. The city is underlain by Paleozoic sedimentary
rocks that have been folded and thrust faulted (Thomas and Bearce, 1986). The UAB campus

175

Variations in Water Table

is located on the southeast side of the Birmingham valley (sec. 36, T.17S., R.3W. and sec.
1, T.18S., R.3W., Birmingham North and Birmingham South 7.5’ quadrangles: Figure 1)
on carbonate rocks of Cambrian age that generally dip gently to the southeast. The campus
is mainly on cherty dolomite of the Copper Ridge Formation, which has been subjected to
groundwater solution and is cavernous. Sinkholes have developed adjacent to the campus,
and campus building foundation excavations have encountered caverns. Red Mountain, on
the southeast side of the UAB campus, is a cuesta composed of Ordovician-Mississippian
limestone, shale, sandstone and chert that dip gently southeastward.

Groundwater flow in the surficial soil of the Birmingham valley in Jefferson County
has a general southwesterly flow (Bearce and others, 1994), but unpublished data from the
campus indicates a flow to the northwest, generally following the contour of the land. Planert
and Pritchett (1989) show flow in the deeper confined aquifers from Center Point in northeast
Birmingham southwest to the vicinity of the UAB campus and 1-65, where flow direction
becomes westerly, parallel to Village Creek through Boyles Gap in Sand Mountain.

Figure 1. Location of the UAB Campus in Jefferson County, Alabama.

Base map and physiographic boundaries from Kidd and Shannon, 1977.

176

Neilson and Bearce

MONITORING WELLS

Three monitoring wells were developed during September 1995. Wells 4 and 5 were
completed as two-inch diameter polyurethane wells, and Well 1 as a six-inch diameter well.
All wells had interrupted slot screens ranging in length from 5 to 10 feet, depending on
borehole depth. All wells were provided with a three-inch sand pack (Cu = 5.4, D10 = 0.007
inch) that extends at least one foot above screen tops. A bentonite seal at least one foot thick
was installed above the sand pack, extending to about 18 inches below ground surface. The
casing top is within a few inches of ground surface and was surveyed and used as datum for
water level measurements. Each well has a sump about 8 inches deep that surrounds each
casing and is lined with a metal jacket, topped with a cast iron lid, and floored with concrete.

Water level depths were measured during the period October 1, 1995 to September
30, 1996 with a battery-powered depth meter. The same depth meter was used to record
water levels periodically during slug tests. In October, levels were measured each day;
however, in subsequent months, measurements were made less frequently, but always within
one day of significant precipitation.

THE SURFICIAL AQUIFER

The surficial aquifer is a mixture of residual and colluvial soil and the debris of urban
development. Classified as urban land soil by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (Spivey,
1982), the soil contains asphalt and concrete pavement, lumber, sand, gravel, and slag in the
upper few feet. Beneath the urban-modified zone, the soil is composed mainly of red, cherty,
silty, and locally sandy clay. A zone with an apparent thickness ranging from 0. 1 to 0.7 foot
of fine grained dolomite rhomb sand, and/or fine grained quartz sand, and/or chert fragments
occurs at the soil-bedrock interface. This weathered sandy zone overlying the bedrock has
been observed to be up to two feet thick elsewhere in the carbonate valley (Steven C. Bearce,
Southern Company Services geologist, personal communication). Soil varies in thickness
from 5 to 25 feet over the UAB campus, with thickness increasing markedly on the
northwestern slope of Red Mountain.

Hydraulic conductivity of the surficial aquifer, determined from slug tests analyzed
by the Bouwer and Rice method, ranges from 5.29xl0'6feet per minute in Well 4 to 8.45xl0'5
feet per minute in Well 1 . The material responsible for this conductivity is uncertain: the
dominant soil material is clay, but scattered seams of quartz sand and chert fragments are
present, as well as the sandy interval at the soil-bedrock interface. It is possible that this fine
sandy zone is the primary flow pathway to the monitoring wells and that the slug test
conductivities reflect mainly this thin zone. The overlying clays may have conductivities of
more than an order of magnitude lower. If this is the case, a reasonable model for flow of
groundwater in the UAB campus soil might consist of three layers: 1) an upper unconfined
(where unpaved) sandy anthropogenic soil of high conductivity containing perched ground
water supplies, 2) a middle confining clay layer of very low conductivity, and 3) a basal
confined sandy layer of moderately low conductivity receiving flow from and discharging to
underlying bedrock through fissures.

177

Variations in Water Table

WATER TABLE VARIATIONS

Table 1 lists the locations of the wells and other pertinent data. Depth to bedrock
varied between 7.5 and 24 feet, with the greatest thickness of overburden occurring in Well
5, which is located at the lowest elevation. Mean depth to the water table ranged from 3.0
feet in the shallowest well (Well 4) to 14.4 feet in the deepest well (Well 5). The range of
depths to water table varied from 2.0 feet in Well 4 to 7.1 feet in Well 1. These variations,
which are up to ±40% of the mean depth, are typical of seasonal variations seen in shallow
aquifers (Mew and others, 1997).

Table 1 . Depth to Water Table (feet), UAB Wells October 1 , 1995 - September 30, 1996.

Location

Elevation

(ft)

Well Depth (ft)

N

Mean Depth
To Water
Table (ft)

s

Minimum Depth
to Water
Table(ft)

Maximum
Depth to Water
Table (ft)

Well 1

1117 14l" St. S

645

17.3

82

9.6

1.56

5.7

12.8

Well 4

901 14lh St. S

615

7.5

81

3.0

0.51

2.2

4.2

Well 5

500 12th St. S

601

24.0

80

14.3

1.43

11.0

17.8

Figure 2 shows the depth to water table for each well plotted against time. Wells 1
and 5 show remarkably similar trends, including the notable spikes in water table elevations
in early October 1995 and in February and August 1996. Variation in Well 4 is somewhat
subdued compared with Wells 1 and 5; however, when depths to the water table in all three
are plotted as percentage variation from their mean values, Well 4 has as large a variation and
a trend similar to the other wells. All three wells display a definite seasonality, with the
lowest water table levels occurring in the summer months and consistently high water tables
in January and February. All three wells also show unusually high water table levels in
October, the result of Hurricane Opal (Figure 2).

Lag Time

The data for early October can be used to estimate the lag time between a major
precipitation event and its expression as a rise in the water table. As a result of the remnants
of Hurricane Opal, October 3-5, 1995 saw 10. 1 inches of rainfall in the Birmingham region,
with 6.94 inches falling at the Birmingham Municipal Airport in one 24-hour period. (All
temperature and precipitation data used in this paper were collected at the NWS station at the
Birmingham Municipal Airport, 4 miles northeast of the UAB campus.) Prior to the October
3 deluge, 0.6 inch of rain fell on September 22; no rain occurred after the deluge until
October 14. Thus, the rainfall event was preceded by a ten-day dry spell and was followed
by a nine-day dry spell. Figure 3 shows a plot of water table variation in Wells 1 and 5 and
precipitation for early October. As can be seen, the water table in each well responded within
hours of precipitation beginning, but took several days before peaking. Fifty percent of the

178

Hourly Rainfall (inches)

Neilson and Bearce

Figure 2. Depth of water table in Wells 1, 4, 5, UAB Campus.

Data collected October 1, 1995 to September 30, 1996.

Figure 3. Response of Wells 1 and 5 to Hurricane Opal.

179

Depth to Water Table (feet)

Variations in Water Table

rainfall from this event had fallen by 3 p.m., October 3, and the event finished by 6 a.m.,
October 5. Well 5 reached its highest recorded level on October 7 at 1 p.m., and Well 1
reached its highest recorded level on October 9 at 4 p.m. Both then began to decline.
(Interestingly the small rainfall events on October 14 and 16 apparently had no influence on
water table elevations.) Thus, the wells took between four and five days to completely
respond to the event.

Seasonal Response

Figure 4 shows both the minimum and maximum monthly depths to the water table
in each well. Discounting the effect of Hurricane Hugo (the average rainfall in October is
2.81 inches, compared with the 11.9 inches that fell in October 1995), a clear seasonality of
the data is apparent, with the water table being shallowest during winter. Depth to the water
table is greatest in the fall, particularly the month of September.

Figure 4 also shows monthly precipitation for the twelve-month period. As can be
seen, the greatest precipitation occurred in October. Although the highest water tables were
recorded in two wells in October, variations in precipitation alone do not explain water table
changes. Linear regression analysis shows that variation in total monthly precipitation only
explains between 0% and 10% of the variation in minimum monthly depth to the water table
and 0% of the variation in the maximum monthly depth to the water table.

□ Monthly Precipitation
-•-Well 1 Minimum
Well 4 Minimum
Well 5 Minimum

E3 Monthly Potential Evapotranspiration
-e-Well 1 Maximum
-♦-Well 4 Maximum
-*-Well 5 Maximum

Figure 4. Minimum and maximum monthly depths to the water table in Wells 1, 4, and 5
UAB Campus, October 1995 to September 1996.

180

Neilson and Bearce

In addition, Figure 4 shows monthly potential evapotranspiration, calculated by
Thomthwaite’s method (Dunne and Leopold, 1978). This method considers average monthly
temperature as a measure of energy available, adjusted for latitude, but does not include soil
type or vegetation cover as variables. As can be seen, depth to the water table is roughly
inversely proportional to potential evapotranspiration. Linear regression analysis shows that
variation in total monthly evapotranspiration explains 40 to 50% of the variation in minimum
monthly depth to the water table in Wells 4 and 1, but only 17% of the variation in Well 5.
Linear regression of maximum monthly water table depths against potential evapotranspiration
shows that the variable can explain 26% of the variability in Well 1 , but 0% of the variability
in Wells 4 and 5. Well 1 is situated in a well-vegetated area of the campus and is at the foot
of the thickly wooded slope of Red Mountain. Wells 4 and 5 are situated in parking lots on
campus with few trees and little grass in the vicinity. The relative success of potential
evapotranspiration as a predictor of both maximum and minimum monthly water table levels
in Well 1 suggests that phreatophytic vegetation may be tapping the surficial aquifer in that
area and having a controlling influence on levels (Meyboom, 1967).

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate that the water table in the surficial aquifer beneath
Birmingham displays a definite seasonality, with depths to the water table varying throughout
the year by up to 40% of the mean value. Discounting the dramatic effect of Hurricane Opal,
the water table is at its lowest in the summer and early fall and at its highest in winter. The
data also clearly indicate the danger of using a single reading or the average of two to three
days readings from a monitoring well to estimate depth to the water table. Measurements
made during summer months clearly underestimate highest yearly elevation, and those made
within one to two days of a significant rainfall event probably do not record the full impact
of that event. Regulations governing the timing of monitoring well water level measurements
lack constraints based on precipitation events and seasonal water level fluctuations. During
contamination site assessment, the primary goal is to establish flow direction. Commonly
only a single reading per well is required. If an extensive cleanup is undertaken, the most
stringent requirement, as a general rule, is a quarterly reading per well. These facts should
be considered when compiling data from various sources, such as ADEM contamination site
reports, when preparing potentiometric surface contour maps or when relying on such maps
for flow direction determination.

REFERENCES

Bearce, D.N., Neilson, M.J., and Carter, S.A. (1994). Preliminary water table map of
surficial aquifer, Birmingham-Bessemer, Alabama from ADEM environmental
assessment database. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26,

4, 3.

Dunne, T. and Leopold, L.B. (1978). Water in Environmental Planning. San Francisco:
W.H. Freeman and Company, 818 p.

181

Variations in Water Table

Fetter, C.W. (1994). Applied Hydrology. Upper Slade River: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 691 p.

Kidd, J.T. and Shannon, S.W. (1977). Preliminary areal geologic maps of the Valley and
Ridge Province, Jefferson County, Alabama. University, AL: Geological Survey of
Alabama Atlas Series 10, 1-41.

Mew, H.E., Medina, M.A., Heath, R.C., Reckhow, K.H., and Jacobs, T.L. (1997). Cost-
effective monitoring strategies to estimate mean water table depth. Ground Water 35,
1089-1096.

Meyboom, P. (1967). Groundwater studies in the Assiniboine River drainage basin Part II:
Hydrologic characteristics of phreatophytic vegetation in South-Central Saskatchewan.
Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 139, 1-69.

Moffett, T.B. and Moser, P.H. (1978). Ground-water resources of the Birmingham and
Cahaba valleys, Jefferson County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Circular
103, 1-78.

Planert, M. and Pritchett, J.L. (1989). Geohydrology and suscepibility of major aquifers to
surface contamination in Alabama; Area 4. U. S. Geological Survey Water Resources
Investigations Report 88-4133, 1-31.

Spivey, L.D., Jr. (1982). Soil Survey of Jefferson County, Alabama. Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 140 p.

Thomas, W.A. and Bearce D.N. (1986). Birmingham anticlinorium in the Appalachian fold-
thrust belt. In Southeastern Section Geological Society of America Centennial Field
Guide 6. T.L. Neathery, ed., 191-200.

182

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 69, No. 3, July 1998.

ATMOSPHERIC OZONE CONCENTRATIONS AND FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE

John S. Kush1
Dean N. Jordan, Ph.D.2
Ralph S. Meldahl, Ph.D.1
Efrem Robbins1

Arthur H. Chappelka, III, Ph.D.1

ABSTRACT

Atmospheric ozone (03) concentrations were monitored every 0.5 hour at Auburn
University for four years (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994) as part of a project studying the effects
of ozone and acid-rain on southern pines. As an auxiliary project, a study was undertaken
to determine if there was a relationship between meteorological factors, intermittent vehicular
traffic, and atmospheric ozone concentration. Using linear regression techniques, an R2 of
0.52 was attained using both meteorological variables and Auburn University football game
attendance as independent variables. Ozone concentrations averaged 38.28 ± 12.58 parts per
billion (ppb) (+ standard deviation (s.d.)) during game weekends and 33.58 ± 12.87 ppb on
non-game weekends during football season over four years. Daytime solar radiation,
maximum daily temperature and ozone concentration from the previous day were significant
predictors of ambient ozone. Ozone concentration was also significantly related (p = 0.09)
to attendance at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn University, AL (@ 1.5 km).

INTRODUCTION

Atmospheric ozone has been well documented in large urban areas, particularly those
with topography-limited air movement, such as the Los Angeles, California basin (Edinger,
1973; Pitts et al., 1973) and the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area (Altshuller, 1975).
Ozone pollution is produced by photochemical reactions in conjunction with various forms
of internal combustion processes (Demerjian et al., 1974; Demerjian, 1990). Thus,
tropospheric 03 is frequently associated with automobile traffic (Cleveland and McRae, 1978).
What is lacking in ozone studies is a quantifiable anthropogenic input, which varies
substantially from one period to another. A study was undertaken to determine if there was
a relationship between meteorological factors, intermittent vehicular traffic, and atmospheric
ozone concentration. The ozone-monitoring data in this study are unique, having been
collected on the outskirts of a moderate-sized town (Aubum-Opelika area approximate

1 School of Forestry, Aubum University, AL 36849- 5418

2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154^1004

183

Ozone Concentration and Football Attendance

population = 60,000) which undergoes approximate population doubling on game weekends
during the college football season (September-December). In addition, there are no local
mountain ranges to limit dispersal of pollutants.

METHODS

Ozone Monitoring

The ozone data were collected for a study examining the effects of ozone and acidic
precipitation on loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) growth (Chappelka et al., 1989). The
monitoring site was approximately 1.5 km south of the football stadium. U.S. Highway 29
is 0.7-km southeast of the site and U.S. Interstate Highway 85 is 3 km south (Figure 1). The

Figure 1. Map of Auburn, AL showing the location of Jordan-Hare stadium, weather
station, and the AT DEP site.

184

Kush et al.

site is on the Auburn University campus in a rural setting. Other than vehicular traffic, no
other local sources that could generate detectable amounts of 03are known to us.

Ozone was monitored every 30 minutes (Thermo Environmental Instruments,
Hopkinton, MA) at a 1-m height above ground. Twelve-hour (0900-2100) mean ambient
ozone concentrations (ppb) were computed for the months of September through December
(football season) for the years 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1994. The monitor was calibrated and
audited each year of the study.

Meteorological Data

Meteorological data were obtained from the Auburn, Alabama station of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (NOAA 1989, 1990, 1991). A NOAA
monitoring site is located approximately 1 km east of the ozone-monitoring site. Variables
obtained from the NOAA station were 24-hour precipitation, maximum daily temperature, and
incident solar radiation (24-hour period). Wind speed and wind direction was available but
more than 50% of the wind direction observations were recorded as "variable." Since a
direction was not available, the decision was made not to include wind in modeling efforts.

Football traffic

In addition to the meteorological variables, the reported paid attendance at Jordan-Hare
stadium was obtained for each of the four seasons. The stadium is located approximately 1 .5
km north of the monitoring site and has a theoretical paid attendance capacity of 85,214.
Exact automobile traffic was not possible to monitor, so attendance data from the Auburn
University Athletic Department were used as a surrogate for traffic volume. No effort was
made to calculate the ratio of attendance to automobiles, but it is clearly a strongly positive
correlation. On a game day, the number of automobiles far exceeds the approximately 10,000
parking spaces available on the Auburn University campus. Additionally, no estimates of
non-football traffic activity were included in the model. It was assumed that these activities
would be approximately the same as on non-game days when attendance was zero and would
remain roughly constant throughout the observation period.

Statistical Model

Mean 12-hour ozone concentration was used as the dependent variable in a linear
regression model (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). The meteorological variables, along with game
attendance and mean 12-hour ozone concentration from the previous day were treated as
independent variables. Solar radiation was entered as both a linear and quadratic term.

The attendance data were not normally distributed, as football games were only scheduled
on some weekends: all other days had paid attendance of zero. Game days represented 29
of the 484 days used in the analysis. The robustness of the F-test to non-normal distributions
of independent variables was considered sufficient to apply ANOVA techniques. Day of
week (weekday/weekend classification) was entered into the model in an attempt to account
for local variations in traffic due to work or recreational activities independent of the football
schedule.

185

Ozone Concentration and Football Attendance

RESULTS

The parameter estimates and F-ratios for the variables in the model are presented in
Table 1. The regression model indicated that ambient ozone levels are highly significantly
related to incident solar radiation from the current day (p= 0.0025 quadratic term), maximum
daily temperature (p = 0.0337) and ozone concentrations from the previous day (p <
0.0001). Attendance at the football games was significantly related to the ambient ozone (p
= 0.0945, Figure 2), with game days exhibiting 14% higher concentrations of 03 than non¬
game days (38.28 ± 12.58 ppb and 33.58 ± 12.87 ppb, respectively). No relationship was
found between day-of-week with average weekend and weekday 03 levels of 33.60 ± 11.97
ppb and 33.97 ± 13.26 ppb, respectively (Figure 2); precipitation; or solar radiation (linear
term) and the ambient concentration of 03.

Table 1 . Regression results of mean daily ozone concentrations (ppb) against solar radiation
(W hr nr2), maximum daily temperature (°C), precipitation (cm), previous day 03
concentration, weekday /weekend classification, and football game attendance at Jordan-Hare
Stadium, Auburn University, AL.

Variable

Parameter

Estimate

F-value
(475 df)

p > F

Intercept

13.40

0.001

Attendance

3.95E-5

2.81

0.0945

Solar radiation

-0.0018

2.40

0.1216

(Solar radiation)2

5.0E-7

9.26

0.0025

W eekday / weekend

-0.8183

0.71

0.4005

Maximum temperature

0.1554

4.54

0.0337

Precipitation

-0.5787

1.21

0.2710

Prior 03 concentration

0.5025

96.45

0.0001

186

Kush et al.

Weekend Weekday

Day Type

Home

Game

No game

Figure 2. Ozone concentrations (ppb) for weekday /weekend and home game/no home game

classification.

DISCUSSION

Football-related traffic is linked to concentrations of atmospheric ozone. This correlation
may represent the first time that regional pollution has been related to a single sporting
activity. The weekend/weekday analysis indicates that traffic variations during a week are
insufficient to increase ozone concentrations to levels significantly greater than background
concentrations. The football/ozone phenomena is observed during a portion of the year when
03 concentrations are not near an annual maximum and the levels observed were not in excess
of the EPA standards (McKee, 1990).

In this study, the pollution source is best described as a non-point source, caused by
increased traffic density converging on the area. The traffic relationship to ozone
concentration is probably limited to the immediate region due to the dispersal of ozone at
greater distances from the sources (roads and stadium parking lots) and the sporadic nature
of the source. Further studies addressing the actual number of vehicle-miles or vehicle-hours

187

Ozone Concentration and Football Attendance

driven in the area on game day might make it possible to quantify the effect of the average
car on the air quality of the region. Related internal combustion pollutants such as carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate contamination were not addressed in this study.
The significance of the ozone observation from the previous day may be related to persistent
meteorological conditions and/or availability of precursors in the atmosphere. The ambient
ozone measured on any given day is most likely not a reflection of the same ozone molecules
that were present on the previous day, as nocturnal ozone concentrations typically are reduced
to levels well below those observed during the day.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank Dr. Lisa Samuelson, Dwight Lauer and Dr. Jyoti Rayamajhi for their
reviews and comments. The ozone monitoring was partially supported by funds provided by
the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Southern Commercial Forest Research
Cooperative of the Forest Response Program. The Forest Response Program, part of the
National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, is jointly sponsored by the USD A Forest
Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Council of the Paper
Industry for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI). This paper has not been subject to EPA
or Forest Service policy /review and should not be construed to represent the policies of either
agency or NCASI. AAES Journal No. 9-965259.

LITERATURE CITED

Altshuller, A.P. 1975. Evaluation of oxidant results at CAMP sites in the United States.

J. Air Poll. Control Assoc. 25:19-24.

Chappelka, A.H., Lockaby, B.G., Meldahl, R.S. and Kush, J.S. 1989. Atmospheric
deposition effects on loblolly pine: development of an intensive field research site.
In Proceedings of the Fifth Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference,
Memphis, TN, 1988 November 1-3 (edited by Miller J.H.), pp. 57-60. U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station Gen.
Tech. Rep. SO-74.

Cleveland, W.S. and McRae, J.E. 1978. Weekday-weekend ozone concentrations in the
Northeast United States. In Air Quality Meteorology and Atmospheric Ozone,
Boulder, CO, 1977 July 31-August 6 (edited by: Morris, A.L. and Barras, R.C.),
pp. 407 -420. ASTM STP 653.

Demerjian, K.L. 1990. Factors affecting the formation of ozone. In Ozone Risk
Communication and Management (edited by Calabrese, E.J., Gilbert, C.E. and Beck,
B.D.) pp.1-21. Lewis Pub., Chelsea, MI.

Demerjian, K.L., Kerr, J.A. and Calvert, J.G. 1974. The mechanisms of photochemical
smog formation. Adv. Environ. Sci. Technol. 4:1-262.

Edinger, J.G. 1973. Vertical distribution of photochemical smog in Los Angeles basin.
Environ. Sci. Technol. 7:247-252.

188

Kush et al.

McKee, D.J. 1990. Factors affecting the formation of ozone. In O zone Risk Communication
and Management (edited by Calabrese, E.J., Gilbert, C.E. and Beck, B.D.) pp.163-
191. Lewis Pub. Chelsea, MI.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1989. 1988 Weather Data. Auburn
University (AL) Agr. Exp. Sta. Agricultural Weather Series, No. 28, 148pp.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1990. 1989 Weather Data. Auburn
University (AL) Agr. Exp. Sta. Agricultural Weather Series, No. 29, 149pp.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1991. 1990 Weather Data. Auburn
University (AL) Agr. Exp. Sta. Agricultural Weather Series, No. 30, 149pp.

Pitts, J.N., Jr., Lloyd, A.C. and Sprung, J.L. 1973. Chemical reactions in urban atmosphere
and their application to air pollution control strategies. In International Symposium
on Environment Measurements , Geneva, Switzerland, 1973, 2-4 October, 35pp.

189

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 3, July 1998.

THE VASCULAR FLORA OF PIKE COUNTY LAKE, ALABAMA

Michael Woods

Department of Biological Sciences
Troy State University
Troy, Alabama 36082

Jeanese Reiss

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 37901

ABSTRACT

Pike County Lake is located four miles south of Troy, Alabama, off County Road 39,
1.9 miles from the junction with Highway 87. The lake property consists of 500 acres of
land and 45 acres of lake water. Six major habitats, including marshes, lowland and dry
upland forests, and shorelines, were systematically collected from June of 1995 through May
of 1997. The 274 species and varieties, representing 198 genera and 86 families, found to
occur at Pike County Lake are presented in an annotated checklist.

INTRODUCTION

The lack of botanical information available for southeast Alabama makes it a high
priority area for a floristic study. Since 1977, four floristic studies have contributed to our
knowledge of the vascular flora of south Alabama. Lelong (1977) compiled an annotated list
of 876 taxa of vascular plants in Mobile. In their work on a survey of the fauna and flora
of Fort Rucker, Mount and Diamond (1992) collected 549 taxa of vascular plants. Diamond
and Freeman (1993) listed 908 species and varieties of vascular plants in Conecuh County.
Crouch and Golden (1997) reported 450 species of vascular plants from an area along the
Tombigbee River in northeastern Choctaw County. Although these studies were
comprehensive treatments of their collection areas, additional records are needed to adequately
represent the diversity of plants found in south Alabama.

DESCRIPTION OF PIKE COUNTY LAKE

Opened in June of 1951, Pike County Lake, consisting of 500 acres of land and 45
acres of water, is one of the smallest Alabama state lakes. In addition to the primary lake

190

Woods and Reiss

body, there are also several adjoining ponds and marshes created by natural damming of the
intermittent streams which feed the lake and by runoff from the surrounding upland area.
Due to their nature, these ponds receive a fairly regular inflow of fresh water which then
works its way into the lake. From the shoreline, the land rises gradually through a range of
habitats, finally reaching a region of dryer upland woods surrounding the property.

The exposed geologic units at Pike County Lake range in age from Cretaceous to
Quaternary. The soils are characteristic of those formed in the humid, subtropical type
climate of the southeast section of the United States. Seven soil series have been identified
in the study area: LeE-Luveme, TaE-Troup, TgC-Troup, BnB-Bonifay, SpC2-Springhill,
LcB-Lucy, and CoC-Co warts (Neal 1997).

The climate of Pike County Lake is subtropical, with an average annual precipitation
of about 132 cm. Of this, 71 cm usually fall in April through October. The growing season,
from the last subfreezing temperature in the spring to the first subfreezing temperature in the
fall, is 225 to 235 days (Neal 1997).

In early October of 1995, shortly after this study began. Hurricane Opal caused
significant damage in the area. Due to the large number of trees blown over and uprooted,
the lake was closed and logging crews were called in to remove as many of the downed trees
as possible. Unfortunately, additional damage by the logging equipment and subsequent
erosion was unavoidable. The lake reopened in January of 1997.

DESCRIPTION OF HABITATS

Six habitats were defined at Pike County Lake on the basis of topography, moisture
content, and vegetation. The shoreline habitat consists of a narrow region surrounding the
edge of the lake and various ponds. It contains plants growing in or at the edge of the water,
ranging from totally submersed to partially or completely emersed. Marshes can be found
in several areas surrounding the lake where water from runoff and intermittent streams
collects and remains at or just beneath the ground surface. These are areas of high humidity
and due to dense overhead vegetation light is limited at ground level. A lowland wooded
habitat occurs around the edge of the lake and marshes. This habitat has a rich supply of
ground water and also has limited light at ground level due to a dense canopy. An upland
wooded habitat surrounds the lake. It ranges from densely wooded to relatively open with
thick undergrowth. This habitat is more xeric and is characterized by well drained sandy soil.
Along the north side of the lake a lightly wooded habitat occurs with soils ranging from mesic
to slightly xeric. The canopy is thin and light is abundant at ground level. Numerous
drainage pipes empty into this area forming intermittent pools where herbaceous plants
flourish. Several open grassy areas occur along the dam and land piers around the lake.
Since the lake has reopened, many of these areas have been closely cut to benefit the
fishermen.

METHODS

The systematic collection of vascular plants at Pike County Lake began in June of
1995 and continued through May of 1997. To obtain a more complete floristic list, the six

191

Woods and Reiss

specific habitats were collected three times a month from March through November and once
a month from December through February. All seed plants, with the exception of some
shrubs and trees, were collected with either flowers or fruits. Seedless vascular plants were
collected with sporangia. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Troy State University
Herbarium (TROY).

Sources used for identification were: Hitchcock and Chase (1950), Dean (1961),
Radford, Ahles and Bell (1968), Duncan (1975), Godfrey and Wooten (1979, 1981),
Cronquist (1980), Clewell (1985), Godfrey (1988), and Isely (1990).

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

A total of 274 taxa representing 198 genera and 86 families were found to occur at
Pike County Lake. The Asteraceae was represented by the largest number of species, with
a total of 42. Fabaceae was the next largest family with 19 species. Quercus was the largest
genus, with 7 species.

After two years of intensive collecting, it should be noted that this study is certainly
not complete. It is highly unlikely that all of the species of vascular plants once growing at
Pike County Lake will ever be documented because of man’s continued alteration of their
habitats. Many plants were either destroyed or repressed by Hurricane Opal, logging, or
burning prior to the lake’s reopening.

It is hoped that this initial study will provide a basis of comparison for future studies
and encourage interest in the rich variety of habitats and flora provided by Pike County Lake.

ANNOTATED CHECKLIST

The nomenclature follows that of Kartesz and Kartesz (1980). The families are
arranged in alphabetical order. Generic names and specific epithets, within each family, are
also listed alphabetically. A collection number is given for each taxon.

ACANTHACEAE

Ruellia caroliniensis (J.F. Gmel.) Steud.; 204

ACERACEAE
Acer rubrum L.; 91
A. saccharum Marsh.; 89

AGAVACEAE

Yucca flaccida Haw.; 216

ALISM AT ACE AE
Sagittaria latifolia Willd.; 17

192

Vascular Flora of Pike County Lake

AMARANTHACEAE
Amaranthus spinosus L.; 201

ANACARDIACEAE
Rhus copallina L.; 313
R. glabra L.; 312

Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze; 166, 183
ANNONACEAE

Asimina parviflora (Michx.) Dunal; 306
APIACEAE

Chaerophyllum tainturieri Hook.; 156
Hydrocotyl umbel lata L. ; 1
Sanicula canadensis L.; 291

APOCYNACEAE

Amsonia tabernaemontana Walt.; 287

AQUIFOLIACEAE
Ilex opaca Ait.; 106
I. vomitoria Ait.; 116

ARACEAE

Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott; 236, 261
Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott; 171

ARALIACEAE
Aralia spinosa L.; 283

ARISTOLOCHIACEAE
Hexastylis arifolia (Michx.) Small; 133

ASCLEPIADACEAE
Asclepius tuber osa L.; 2, 194
A. variegata L.; 182

ASPLENIACEAE

Asplenium platy neuron (L.) Oakes ex D.C. Eat.; 34

Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth var. asplenioides (Michx.) Farw.; 41, 102

193

Woods and Reiss

ASTERACEAE

Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Richards.; 253

Aster dumosus L.; 82

A. patens Ait.; 105

A. patemus Cronq.; 220

A. undulatus L.; 76

Baccharis halimifolia L.; 74, 77

Brickellia eupatorioides (L.) Shinners; 56

Cirsium horridulum Michx.; 151

Coreopsis lanceolata L.; 139

Elephantopus elatus Bertol.; 233

E. tomentosus L.; 47

Erigeron philadelphicus L.; 159

E. vernus (L.) Torr. & Gray; 21

Eupatorium aromaticum L.; 83

E. capillifolium (Lam.) Small; 73, 250

E. coelestinum L.; 79

E. compositifolium Walt.; 314

E. fistulosum Barratt; 298

Facelis retusa (Lam.) Schultz-Bip.; 311

Gnaphalium obtusifolium L.; 59

G. purpureum L. ; 286

Haplopappus divaricatus (Nutt.) Gray; 66
Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock; 78

H. brevifolium (Nutt.) Wood; 191
Helianthus angustifolius L.; 80, 244
H. resinosus Small; 35

Heterotheca subaxillaris (Lam.) Britt. & Rusby; 65

Krigia caespitosa (Raf.) Chambers; 135, 165

K. virginica (L.) Willd.; 164

Lactuca canadensis L.; 25, 280

Liatris elegans (Walt.) Michx.; 61

Mikania scandens (L.) Willd.; 239

Pluchea camphorata (L.) DC.; 240

Pyrrhopappus carolinianus (Walt.) DC.; 154

Senecio anonymus Wood; 152

S. glabellus Poir.; 274

Silphium asteriscus L.; 20

Solidago fistulosa P. Mill.; 70

S. nemoralis Ait.; 51

S. odora Ait.; 71

Sonchus asper (L.) Hill; 158

Taraxacum officinale Weber; 124

194

Vascular Flora of Pike County Lake

BIGNONIACEAE

Bignonia capreolata L.; 257

Camp sis radicans (L.) Seem, ex Bureau; 215

Catalpa bignonioides Walt.; 188

BLECHNACEAE

Woodwardia areolata (L.) T. Moore; 101

BRASSICACEAE
Cardamine hirsuta L.; 121

CACTACEAE

Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf.; 190

CAESALPINIACEAE
Cassia obtusifolia L.; 226
C. occidentalis L.; 225

CALYCANTHACEAE
Calycanthus floridus L.; 180

CAMPANULACEAE
Lobelia amoena Michx.; 98
L. puberula Michx.; 63

Triodanis perfoliata (L.) Nieuwl. var. perfoliata ; 308
T. perfoliata var. biflora (Ruiz & Pavon) Bradley; 307
Wahlenbergia marginata (Thunb.) A. DC.; 15, 176

CAPRIFOLIACEAE

Lonicera japonica Thunb. var. japonica ; 167
L. japonica var. chinensis (P.W. Wats.) Baker; 168
L. sempervirens L.; 185
Viburnum nudum L.; 100

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

Cerastium fontanum Baumg. ssp. triviale (Link) Jalas; 138
Stipulicida setacea Michx.; 285

CLUSIACEAE

Hypericum gentianoides (L.) B.S.P.; 30, 228
H. hypericoides (L.) Crantz; 31
H. mutilum L.; 18

Triandenum walteri (J.G. Gmel.) Gleason; 241

195

COMMELINACEAE
Tradescantia ohiensis Raf.; 297

Woods and Reiss

CONVOLVULACEAE
Cuscuta gronovii Willd.; 230
Dichondra carolinensis Michx.; 295
Ipomoea pandurata (L.) G.F.W. Mey.; 22
Jacquemontia tamnifolia (L.) Griseb.; 248
Stylisma humistrata (Walt.) Chapman; 209, 229

CORNACEAE
Cornus florida L.; 88

CUPRESSACEAE

Juniperus silicicola (Small) Bailey; 189
J. virginiana L.; 109, 249

CYPERACEAE
Carex howei Mackenzie; 279
C. lurida Wahlenb.; 169
Cy perus strigosus L.; 85

Eleocharis tuberculosa (Michx.) Roemer & Shultes; 303
Rhynchospora glomerata (L.) Vahl; 19
R. mixta Britt, ex Small; 304
Scleria ciliata Michx.; 325

DIOSCOREACEAE
Dios corea villosa L.; 289

ERICACEAE

Gaylussacia dumosa (Andr.) Torr. & Gray; 110, 126
Oxydendrum arbor eum (L.) DC.; 96
Rhododendron periclymenoides (Michx.) Shinners; 256
R. viscosum (L.) Torr.; 302
Vaccinium arbor eum Marsh.; 181, 234
V. stamineum L.; 172, 245

EUPHORBIACEAE
Acalypha gracilens Gray; 84

Cnidoscolus stimulosus (Michx.) Engelm. & Gray; 184, 235
Croton glandulosus L. var. septentrionalis Muell.-Arg.; 221
Euphorbia corollata L.; 206
Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L.; 224
Tragia urens L.; 223

196

Vascular Flora of Pike County Lake

FABACEAE

Apios americana Medic.; 107

Centrosema virginianum (L.) Benth.; 16, 57

Crotalaria rotundifolia (Walt.) Poir. var. vulgaris Windier; 43

Desmodium lineatum DC.; 64

D. tortuosum (Sw.) DC.; 227

Kummerowia striata (Thunb.) Schindl.; 219

Lespedeza cuneata (Dum.-Cours.) G. Don; 13

L. intermedia (S. Wats.) Britt.; 5

Rhynchosia reniformis (Pursh) DC.; 38

Schrankia microphylla (Dry.) J.F. Macbr.; 8

Strophostyles helvola (L.) Ell.; 58

5. umbellata (Muhl. ex Willd.) Britt.; 14

Stylosanthes biflora (L.) B.S.P.; 6

Tephrosia spicata (Walter) Torr. & Gray; 4, 195

Trifolium campestre Schreb.; 264

T. dubium Sibthorp; 130, 263

T. incarnatum L.; 299

Vida hirsuta (L.) S.F. Gray; 144

V. sativa L.; 129

FAGACEAE

Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.; 322
Quercus alba L.; 104, 111
Q. falcata Michx.; 273
Q. laurifolia Michx.; 318
Q. muehlenbergii Engelm.; 323
Q. nigra L.; 40, 75
Q. shumardii Buckl.; 324
Q. stellata Wang.; 32

GENTIAN ACE AE
Gentiana catesbaei Walt.; 99

GERANIACEAE (1)

Geranium carolinianum L.; 162

HALORAGACEAE

Myriophyllum aquaticum (Veil.) Verde.; 252

HAMAMELIDACEAE
Hamamelis virginiana L.; 321
Liquidambar styradflua L.; 33, 55

197

Woods and Reiss

HIPPOCASTANACEAE
Aesculus pavia L.; 150

HYDROPHYLLACEAE
Hydrolea quadrivalvis Walt.; 11

IRIDACEAE

Sisyrinchium rosulatum Michx.; 177

JUGLANDACEAE
Carya glabra (P. Mill.) Sweet; 81, 93
C. pallida (Ashe) Engl. & Graebn.; 316
C. tomentosa (Poir.) Nutt.; 94

JUNCACEAE

Juncus coriaceus Mackenzie; 296
J. effusus L.; 281
J. gymnocarpus Coville; 1 14
J. marginatus Rostk.; 173

LAMIACEAE

Lamium amplexicaule L.; 131
Lycopus rubellus Moench; 243
Monarda punctata L.; 69
Salvia lyrata L.; 143
Stachys floridana Shuttlw.; 155

LAURACEAE

Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees; 48, 92
LILIACEAE

Allium canadense L.; 120, 157
A. vineale L.; 192, 200
Chamaelirium luteum (L.) Gray; 290
Hypoxis micrantha Pollard; 272
Medeola virginiana L.; 320
Polygonatum biflorum (Walt.) Ell.; 284
Trillium underwoodii Small; 137
Uvularia perfoliata L.; 294

LOGANIACEAE

Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) St. Hil. ; 132
Polypremum procumbens L.; 7

198

Vascular Flora of Pike County Lake

LORANTHACEAE

Phoradendron serotinum (Raf.) M.C. Johnston; 118

MAGNOLIACEAE
Liriodendron tulipifera L.; 95, 54
Magnolia grandiflora L.; 266
M. virginiana L.; 62

MALVACEAE
Sida rhombifolia L.; 44

MELASTOMATACEAE
Rhexia virginica L.; 205, 46

MIMOSACEAE
Albizia julibrissin Durz.; 28

MORACEAE
Moms mbra L.; 292

MYRICACEAE
Myrica cerifera L.; 269

NYSSACEAE

Nyssa sylvatica Marsh.; 282

OLEACEAE

Chionanthus virginicus L.; 278
Ligustmm sinense Lour.; 186

Osmanthus americanus (L.) Benth. & Hook. f. ex Gray; 134, 45

ONAGRACEAE
Ludwigia altemifolia L.; 309
Oenothera biennis L.; 60
O. laciniata Hill; 310, 161

ORCHIDACEAE

Platanthera cristata (Michx.) Lindl.; 237

OSMUNDACEAE

Osmunda cinnamomea L.; Til

O. regalis L. var. spectabilis (Willd.) Gray; 232

199

OXALIDACEAE
Oxalis dillenii Jacq.; 163

Woods and Reiss

PAPAVERACEAE
Sanguinaria canadensis L.; 293

PASSIFLORACEAE
Passiflora incamata L.; 197
P. lutea L.; 305

PHYTOLACCACEAE
Phytolacca americana L.; 207

PINACEAE

Pinus echinata P. Mill.; 86, 87
P. elliottii Engelm.; 68
P. glabra Walt.; 67, 108
P. taeda L.; 42

PLANTAGINACEAE
Plantago lanceolata L.; 199
P. virginica L.; 141

POACEAE

Andropogon virginicus L.; 72

Arundinaria gigantea (Walt.) Muhl.; 97

Chasmanthium sessiliflorum (Poir.) Yates; 37

Danthonia spicata (L.) Beauv. ex Roemer & Schultes; 24

Dichanthelium boscii (Poir.) Gould & Clark; 246

Eragrostis pilosa (L.) Beauv.; 52

Erianthus alopecuroides (L.) Ell.; 50

Panicum virgatum L.; 36

Paspalum notation Flugge var. saurae Parodi; 27

Poa annua L.; 254

Sphenopholis obtusata (Michx.) Scribn.; 142
Tridens flavus (L.) A.S. Hitchc.; 53

POLYGALACEAE
Poly gala incarnata L.; 208
P. polygama Walt.; 175

POLYGONACEAE

Polygonum setaceum Baldw. ex Ell.; 218
Rumex hastatulus Baldw. ex Ell.; 145, 146

200

Vascular Flora of Pike County Lake

POLYPODIACEAE

Polypodium polypodioides (L.) Watt; 117

POTAMOGETONACEAE
Potamogeton diversifolius Raf.; 170

RANUNCULACEAE
Clematis reticulata Walt.; 3, 178

ROSACEAE

Aronia arbutifolia (L.) Pers.; 259
Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke; 174
Prunus americana Marsh.; 317
P. serotina Ehrh.; 49, 260
Rosa Carolina L.; 315
R. palustris Marsh.; 179
Rubus cuneifolius Pursh; 160, 275
R. trivialis Michx.; 267

RUBIACEAE

Cephalanthus occidentalis L.; 214
Diodia teres Walt.; 222
D. virginiana L.; 12
Galium aparine L.; 271
G. circaezans Michx.; 319
Hedy otis crassifolia Raf.; 122, 128
Mitchella repens L.; 103
Richardia brasiliensis Gomez; 39

SAXIFRAGACEAE
Itea virginica L.; 112, 187

SCROPHULARIACEAE

Agalinus fas ciculata (Ell.) Raf.; 247

Aureolaria virginica (L.) Pennell; 238

Gratiola floridana Nutt.; 258

G. virginiana L.; 276

Linaria canadensis (L.) Dum.-Cours.; 147

Verbascum thapsus L.; 270

Veronica arvensis L.; 127

SMILACEAE

Smilax bona-nox L.; 242

S. glauca Walt.; 29, 210

S. laurifolia L.; 125, 212

S. smallii Morong; 115, 119, 202, 211

201

Woods and Reiss

SOLANACEAE

Phy satis virginiana P. Mill.; 300
Solarium americanum P. Mill.; 301
S. carolinense L.; 198

T AXODIACE AE

Taxodium distichum (L.) L.C. Rich.; 113

ULMACEAE

Ulmus alata Michx.; 262

URTICACEAE

Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw.; 217

V ALERI AN ACE AE
Valerianella radiata (L.) Dufr.; 231

VERBENACEAE
Calticarpa americana L.; 203
Verbena bonariensis L.; 10
V. halei Small; 9, 153
V. rigida Spreng.; 23

VIOLACEAE
Viola palmata L.; 148
V. priceana Pollard; 140
V. primulifolia L.; 149
V. rafinesquii Greene; 123
V. villosa Walt.; 136

VITACEAE

Ampelopsis arborea (L.) Koehne; 196
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch.; 265
Vitis cineria Engelm. ex Millard; 288
V. rotundifolia Michx.; 268

202

Vascular Flora of Pike County Lake
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Alabama Game and Fish Commission for
granting permission to conduct this study at Pike County Lake. We would also like to thank
Ms. Diane Sullivan, the current manager of Pike County Lake, for her cooperation during
this study. And, thanks to family and friends for their aid in collecting.

LITERATURE CITED

Clewell, A. F. 1985. Guide to the vascular plants of the Florida Panhandle. University
Presses of Florida, Tallahassee.

Cronquist, A. 1980. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States, Vol. 1. Asteraceae.

The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

Crouch, V. E. and M. S. Golden. 1997. Floristics of a bottomland forest and adjacent
uplands near the Tombigbee River, Choctaw County, Alabama. Castanea 62(4):
219-228.

Dean, B.E. 1961. Trees and shrubs in the Heart of Dixie. Coxe Publishing Co.
Birmingham, Alabama.

Diamond, A. R. and J. D. Freeman. 1993. A checklist of the vascular flora of Conecuh
County, Alabama. Sida 15(4): 623-638.

Duncan, W. H. 1975. Woody vines of the southeastern United States. University of
Georgia Press, Athens.

Godfrey, R. K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent
Georgia and Alabama. University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Godfrey, R. K. and J. W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and wetland plants of the southeastern
United States. Monocotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Godfrey, R. K. and J. W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of the southeastern
United States. Dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Hitchcock, A. S. and A. Chase. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, 2nd Ed.

U. S. D. A. Misc. Publ. 200. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Isely, D. 1990. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States, Vol. 3, Part 2.
Leguminosae (Fabaceae). The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

Kartesz, J. T. and R. Kartesz. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the
United States, Canada and Greenland. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel
Hill.

Lelong, M. G. 1977. Annotated list of vascular plants in Mobile, Alabama. Sida 2:118-146.
Mount,' R. M. and A. R. Diamond. 1992. Final survey of the fauna and flora of Fort
Rucker, Alabama. Auburn University.

Neal, H. B. 1997. Soil survey of Pike County, Alabama. United States Department of
Agriculture. Washington, D. C.

Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles and C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the
Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

203

REPORT ON THE GORGAS SCHOLARSHIP RANKING, 1998

On March 20, 1998, the Gorgas Scholarship Committee announced the ranking of the
finalists in the 1998 Alabama Science Talent Search. The Search was held at the meeting of
the Alabama Academy of Science at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama.

The winner of the first-place tuition grant of $3,000 was

Mr. Daniel Christian Killilea, 305 Saddle Court, Mobile, AL 36608. Murphy
High School, Mobile, AL 36606. Teacher - Ms. Wanda Griffis.

First alternate and winner of a $2,000 tuition grant was

Ms. Emily Allison Ackley, 7620 Lakewood Drive, Florence, AL 35634.
Brooks High School, Killen, AL 35645. Teacher - Ms. Wanda Phillips.

Second alternate and winner of a $1,500 tuition grant was

Ms. Petronella Rita Lugemwa, 848 Sun Valley Road, Birmingham, AL
35215-3114. The Altamont School, Birmingham, AL 35222.

Teacher - Ms. Sophia Clifford.

Third alternate and winner of a $1,000 tuition grant was

Ms. Cathryn Marie Sterling, 4104 Brookmont Drive, Birmingham, AL 35210.
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, Birmingham, A1 35210.
Teacher - Dr. Trudy Anderson.

Fourth alternate and winner of a $500 tuition grant was

Ms. Lindsy Meredith Farina, 110 Cedar point Lane, Killen, A1 35645.
Brooks High School, Killen, AL 35645. Teacher - Ms. Vicki Farina.

Fifth alternate was

Ms. Angela Scott Cato, 3427 Sheffield Circle, Birmingham, AL 35223.
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, Birmingham, AL 35210.
Teacher - Dr. Trudy Anderson.

Sixth alternate was

Mr. William David Lyndon, 321 Nottingham Road, Florence, AL 35633.
Henry A. Bradshaw High School, Florence, AL 35630.

Teacher - Ms. Cynthia Tillery.

Seventh alternate was

Mr. Steven Douglas Hyde, 150 Doubletree Lane, Florence, A1 35634.
Bradshaw High School, Florence, AL 35630.

Teacher - Mrs. Cynthia Tillery.

204

Gorgas Report

Eighth alternate was

Ms. Lawren Elizabeth Olenchak, 123 Canyon Trail, Pelham, AL 35124.
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School Birmingham, AL 35210.
Teacher - Dr. Trudy Anderson.

Unable to exhibit:

Ms. Annukka Aida Antar, 12021 Comanche Trail, Huntsville, AL 35803.

Virgil I. Grissom High School, Huntsville, AL 35802.

Teacher - Ms. Lady Emrich.

Ms. Roopa Dhawan, 2900 Steeplechase Court South, Mobile, AL 36695.

S.S. Murphy High School, Mobile, AL 36606.

Teacher - Ms. Wanda S. Griffis.

The rankings were established by a panel of judges consisting of department heads,
deans, and professors from many of the leading universities and industries in Alabama.

Winners and finalists in the Gorgas Contests receive offers of tuition scholarships to
colleges and universities in Alabama for the study of science. The Gorgas Committee is
named for General William Crawford Gorgas, the Alabama physician who conquered yellow
fever in the Panama Canal Zone and later became the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army.
The purposes of the Committee are to promote interest in science and to aid in the education
of promising students.

205

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of [he Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is restricted
to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. A. Priscilla Holland,
Office of Research, UNA Box 5121, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632-
GOO 1 . Subject matter should address original research in one of the discipline sections of the
Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Geology: Forestry, Geography, Conservation,
and Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and Economics, Science Education; So¬
cial Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and Computer Science; and Anthropology.
Timely review articles of exceptional quality and general readership interest will also be
considered. Invited articles dealing with Science Activities in Alabama are occasionally
published. Book reviews of Alabama authors are also solicited. Submission of an article for
publication in the implies that it has not been published previously and that it not currently
being considered for publication elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two si¬
multaneous peer reviews.

Submission: Submit an original and two copies to the editor. Papers which are unreasonably
long and verbose, such as uncut theses, will be returned. The title page should contain the
author’s name, affiliation, and address, including zip code. The editor may request that
manuscripts be submitted on a diskette upon their revision or acceptance.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manuscripts
throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. An abstract not exceeding 200
words will be published if the author so desires. Use heading and subdivisions where neces¬
sary for clarity. Common headings are: Introduction (including literature review), Proce¬
dures (or Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. Other
formats may be more appropriate for certain subject matter areas. Headings should be in all
caps and centered on the typed page; sub-headings should be italicized (underlined) and
placed at the margin. Avoid excessive use of footnotes. No not use the number 1 for foot¬
notes; begin with 2. Skip additional footnote numbers if one or more authors must have
their present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and
white glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 1 5 cm and height must not exceed 20 cm.
Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author. Use letter¬
ing that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations as figures,
number consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions on a separate
sheet of paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs are satisfactory for
review purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each table.
Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, for table footnotes. Cite
all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature Cited.
Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers, etc.). List in
alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text parenthetically by
author-date.

The Journal of the Alabama
Academy of Science
AM. MUS. NAT. HIST. LIBRARY
Received on: 02-09-99
5. 06(76. 1)B

VOLUME 69

NO. 4

Cover Photograph: Confocal laser scanning photomicrograph of the
protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila fluorescently labeled with a mouse
monoclonal antibody directed against a surface (membrane) antigen localized
to somatic and oral cilia. Photo Credit: Barbara Estridge and Dr. Christine
Sundermann, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University.

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

ALABAMA ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE

AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

VOLUME 69 OCTOBER 1 998 NO. 4

EDITOR:

James T. Bradley, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn
University, AL 36849

ARCHIVIST:

T roy Best, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Auburn University,
AL 36849

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Douglas Watson, Chairman, Department of Biology, University of Alabama
at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Michael B. Moeller, Department of Chemistry, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632

Prakash Sharma, Department of Physics, T uskegee University, T uskegee,
AL 36088

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

William Osterhoff, Department of Criminal Justice, Auburn University at
Montgomery, AL 36193

Lawrence C. Wit, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849

Publication and Subscription Policies
Submission of manuscripts: Submit all manuscripts and pertinent
correspondence to the EDITOR. Each manuscript will receive two
simultaneous reviews. For style details, follow instructions to Authors (see
inside back cover).

Reprints. Requests for reprints must be addressed to Authors.

Subscriptions and Journal Exchanges: Address all Correspondence to the
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSN 002-4112

BENEFACTORS OF THE
JOURNAL OF THE
ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The following have provided financial support
to partially defray publication costs of the Journal.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF MONTEVALLO
AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT MONTGOMERY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
TROY STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

CONTENTS

ARTICLES

The Importance of Longleaf Pine (Pinus pcilustris) and Hardwood Forests
for Breeding Birds in the Tallagdega Mountains, Alabama

Geoffrey E. Hill . 206

Electrphoretic Analysis of Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Lesuer, 1840),

Blue Catfish I.Jurcatus (Rafinesque, 1818), and Their Interspecific Hybrid

Mark Mead and John Gladden . 223

Evolution and Creationism: Attitudes of UAB Undergraduates

Dail W. Mullins, Jr . 228

Examination of Family and Friendship Relationships on the Loneliness
Experienced by Members of the Widowed Person' Service

Larry C. Mullins, and Nelya J. McKenzie . 236

INDEX . 248

MEMBERSHIP ROLL . 263

MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . 268

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LONGLEAF PINE ( Pinus pcilustris) AND HARDWOOD
FORESTS FOR BREEDING BIRDS IN THE TALLADEGA MOUNTAINS, ALABAMA

Geoffrey E. Hill

Department of Zoology and Wildlife Science and
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
331 Funchess Hall
Auburn University, AL 36849

ABSTRACT

The Talladega Mountains in the extreme southern Appalachian Region support a complex
forest that includes longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) forest, hardwood forest, and
pine/hardwood forest. Much of the native longleaf pine forest of the region has been
degraded through fire suppression and encroachment by hardwood forest. In an effort to
restore longleaf pine to its original distribution and condition the USDA Forest Service has
been converting hardwood and pine/hardwood forests to longleaf pine. To assess the impact
of forest management practices on breeding birds in the region, I compared the birds present
in the four dominant forest types of the region: hardwood forest, mixed pine/hardwood
forest, established longleaf pine stands, and sites that had been recently cut and replanted in
longleaf pine. The greatest diversity and abundance of birds along with many species of
concern occurred in established and recently planted longleaf pine sites. Hardwood sites
supported a lower diversity and abundance of birds but provided critical habitat for several
species of Neotropical migrant birds.

INTRODUCTION

The Talladega Mountains of eastern Alabama form the extreme southwest extension
of the Appalachian chain. The natural vegetation of the region was not well documented
before most of the area's forests were cut and altered. However, reconstruction of the pre¬
settlement forests of the region based on witness trees indicate that Fire and the highly
variable soil moisture of the steep rocky slopes maintained diverse forest types (Shankman
and Wills, 1995). An isolated population of longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris) grew on ridge
tops and dry south-facing slopes that were periodically swept by fire (Shankman and Wills,
1995; Harper, 1943). Hardwood forests of American beech ( Fagus grandifolia), oak
( Quercus sp.), hickory (Carya sp.), and American chestnut ( Castanea dentata) grew on
moist, north-facing slopes and in the stream valleys. In the broad transitional zones between
stands of pine on the ridgetops and hardwoods in the stream bottoms pine/hardwood forest
grew (Shankman and Wills, 1995).

Surprisingly little is known of the bird-habitat relationships of this region. For
instance, the bird communities of longleaf pine stands in the southern Appalachian
Mountains are virtually unknown (Chuck Hunter, USFWS Regional Partners-in-Flight
Director, pers. comm.). Moreover, nesting habitat of many species of birds in this region
is characterized as "hardwood" or "pine", but few data exist on how various bird species
fare in the mixed pine/hardwood forests that dominate the region or what proportion of pine
or hardwood trees is necessary to provide suitable breeding habitat for particular species of
birds.

206

Hill

The Talladega Ranger District of the U. S. Forest Service is working to restore
mountain longleaf pine stands in the Talladega National Forest (USDA Forest Service,
1986). A primary impetus for this agenda is restoration of breeding populations of
endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers ( Picoides borealis), which historically bred in
longleaf pine throughout the region. Currently only six breeding pairs occur in the
Talladega Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest (R. Smith, USDA Forest Service
District Ranger, pers. comm.). The restoration process is complex. Before disturbance by
European settlers, stands of longleaf pine in the Talladega Mountains were thought to have
been structurally similar to the longleaf pine stands of the coastal plain — large, well-spaced
trees with little midstory, and a dense ground cover of grasses and forbs (Shankman and
Wills, 1995). Although Shankman and Wills (1995) indicate that stands of longleaf pine
dominated ridgetops (see also Harper, 1943, pgs 116-119), the original extent of longleaf
pine stands in the Talladega Mountains remains unknown. In an effort to restore longleaf
pine stands to estimated original conditions, the USDA Forest Service has (1) burned stands
of mountain longleaf, (2) cut hardwood from stands of mixed hardwood and longleaf pine,
(3) cut planted stands of loblolly pine (P. taeda) and replanted with longleaf pine, or (4) cut
stands of hardwoods or mixed loblolly pine/hardwoods and replanted with longleaf pine.

The purpose of this study was to assess habitat use by breeding birds in the
Talladega Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest. I compared the presence of
breeding birds among four dominant upland forest types: (1) hardwood stands, (2) mixed
pine/hardwood stands, (3) established longleaf pine stands, and (4) recently planted longleaf
pine stands. I also assessed the effect of forest composition and structure, including
percentage of pine, tree size, and tree density on the songbird community as a whole and on
particular species of birds.

METHODS

This study focused on the Talladega Ranger District of the Talladega National
Forest in northeast Alabama, including Cheaha State Park. I included in the study only
ridgetops and slopes; valleys of major drainages were excluded from this study. Valleys
were excluded because they are not being altered by the Forest Service as part of the
longleaf pine recovery program and the purpose of this study was to compare use by
breeding birds of various upland forest habitat.

1 surveyed four general habitat types: (1) Oak-hickory or beech-oak-hickory forest,
hereafter referred to as "Hardwood Sites". To be selected, these sites had to have trees
mature enough to produce a closed canopy and had to have few or no pines (maximum 23%
pine; see Results). Hardwood Sites varied in tree composition depending on the elevation,
slope, exposure, and soil characteristics. Lower, moister Hardwood Sites were typically
dominated by American beech ( Fagus grandifolia) , white oak ( Quercus alba), and black oak
( Quercus velutina). Hardwood sites on ridgetops or upper slopes were characterized by
white oak, chestnut oak ( Quercus prinus), post oak ( Quercus stellata), pignut hickory
( Carya glabra), and shagbark hickory ( Carya ovata). (2) Mixed pine/hardwood with more
than 50% of trunks (DBH > 8 cm) comprised of pine, hereafter referred to as "Mixed
Pine/Hardwood Sites". Eight out of the 64 "pine/hardwood sites" had no hardwood stems
with DBH > 8 cm and thus were described as 100% pine. The predominant pine of these
sites was loblolly pine with some shortleaf pine (. Pinus echinata) and some longleaf pine.
Predominant hardwood species included the same species as for ridgetop/upper slope
Hardwoods Sites listed above with Sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflua) also a predominant
species. None of these sites were "pine plantations" with trees planted in rows. All sites
appeared to have naturally regenerated following disturbance. (3) Longleaf pine forest with
little hardwood midstory or canopy, hereafter referred to as "Longleaf Sites". These sites

207

Forests for Breeding Birds

were open with scattered longleaf pine (DBH > 17 cm) and dense and highly variable
ground cover of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Most Longleaf Sites had longleaf pine as the
only mature trees but some sites had a small component of loblolly or shortleaf pine (not
more than 10% or the site was not used). (4) Sites that had been recently cut and replanted
within the previous 3 - 7 years in longleaf pine, hereafter referred to as "Regeneration
Sites". To be selected, these sites had to have longleaf pine seedlings 1 - 3m tall. Ground
cover of Regeneration Sites varied from grass to shrubs depending on how each site was
prepared before reseeding and whether and how frequently it had been burned.

Plots were selected by systematically searching Forest Service roads from a car. To
be suitable, a site had to have a patch of more-or-less uniform vegetation that was at least
200 m in diameter and that was at least 1 km from any other sampling points. When a
suitable patch of habitat was located, I stopped the car at least 50 m from the nearest edge of
the patch and walked 70 m into the patch perpendicular to the road. When I reached the 70-
m point, I waited 3 min for birds in the area to recover from the disturbance caused by the
vehicle and my movement in the habitat and then began the count. Point counts lasted 5
min, during which I recorded all birds heard or seen within a radius of 50 m of my position.

After each count I quantified the vegetation of the site. Maximum diameter at
breast height (DBH) measured to the nearest inch (2.5 cm) was recorded for each stand by
taking the DBH of the maximum size class of trees represented by at least four individual
trees (±5 cm DBH) in the 50-m count circle. In other words, the DBH of one large tree in
a stand of much younger trees would not be used as maximum DBH; the DBH of the next
largest size class represented by at least four trees was used as maximum DBH. Virtually
all stands counted in this study were of relatively uniform age (because all forests were
second growth, regenerating from clearcuts) and it was almost always straightforward to
unambiguously assign a maximum DBH. Tree density was added to the protocol for site
description after some counts were completed so not all stands had trunk density recorded.
I counted the number of pine versus hardwood trunks of any species within 10 nr of the
center of the count circle by orienting north and counting trunks as I rotated clockwise until
thirty trunks (DBH > 8 cm) were tallied as hardwood or pine. As a measure of tree
density, I also recorded the number of degrees of rotation that were required to tally 30
trunks (0 to 360 degrees). In the few very sparse stands that had fewer than 30 trunks in the
entire area within 10 m of the center of the count circle, I calculated proportion of pine
based on the number of trunks within 10 m and I designated trunk density as 360 degrees. I

then converted degrees of rotation to trunks/nT.

A total of 209 point counts were conducted between 25 May and 28 June 1997, a
period in which all birds observed in this part of Alabama can be assumed to be potential
breeders rather than transients (Imhof, 1972). Sampling was conducted at 65 Hardwood
Sites, 64 Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites, 41 Longleaf Sites, and 39 Regeneration Sites. Each
site was counted only once. All counts were conducted between fifteen minutes before
sunrise and 1100 CST and I rotated the order in which counts were conducted so that counts
in all habitat types were uniformly distributed through the morning hours.

I compared the four habitat types by mean number of individual birds recorded per
count (hereafter "mean individuals") and by mean number of bird species recorded
(hereafter "species richness") using a one-way ANOVA. When a significant difference
among habitats was indicated by the ANOVA , I determined which particular habitat types
differed significantly using a Scheffe's Test. I performed a similar analysis among habitat
types for mean DBH, proportion of pine, and trunk density, but I only compared Hardwood
Sites, Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites, and Longleaf Sites because forest descriptors were not
meaningful for Regeneration Sites. For each of the 10 bird species observed during 20 or
more point counts in the study, I also compared whether the distribution of observations
across habitats differed from that expected by chance using a chi-square test. To correct for
multiple comparisons I adjusted the x for rejection of the null hypothesis to 0.05/number of

208

Hill

comparisons = 0.05/10 = 0.005. I used regression analysis to examine the effect of
proportion pine, tree density, and DBH on mean individuals and species richness as well as
on individual species of birds. The scientific names of all bird species recorded in this study
are given in Table 1 .

Comparison to Bankhead National Forest

In June 1995, I conducted point counts in hardwood forests in Bankhead National
Forest, which lies approximately 70 miles northwest of the Talladega Mountains (Hill
1997). The criteria for selecting Hardwood sites in the Bankhead National Forest were
identical to the criteria used at in the Talladega Mountains. Moreover, point counts in
Bankhead National Forest were conducted using the same counting methods and by the
same observer as point counts in the Talladega Mountains, allowing comparisons among
these two regions. For species recorded at least ten times in the Bankhead and Talladega
counts 1 compared the distribution of occurrences using a Chi-squared Test. Such
comparisons assume no effect of year. To correct for multiple comparisons I adjusted the x
for rejection of the null hypothesis to 0.05/number of comparisons = 0.05/7 = 0.007.

RESULTS

Site characteristics— Hardwood Sites used in this study ranged in proportion of pine from 0
to 23% (x = 4. 1 + 5.5%, n = 65), in maximum DBH from 20 to 76 cm (x = 48.5 ±11.2

i

cm, n = 52), and in tree density from 0.14 to 0.77 trees/m (x = 0.32 ± 0.15 trees/m2, n =
33). Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites ranged in proportion of pine from 33% to 100% (x =
72.4 + 19.7%, n = 64), in maximum DBH from 10 to 70 cm (x = 28.0 ± 10.8 cm, n =

52), and in tree density from 0.10 to 0.77 trees/m2 (x = 0.38 + 0.20 trees/m', n = 40).
Longleaf Sites ranged in proportion of pine from 73% to 100% (x = 92.3 ± 5.9%, n =
41), in maximum DBH from 18 cm to 50 cm (x = 38.8 ± 7.8 cm, n = 37), and in tree

density from 0.10 to 0.77 trees/m" (x = 0.36 ± 0.25 trees/m , n = 12). Some
Regeneration Sites had scattered snags or standing trees but no forest descriptors were
relevant to these sites.

Hardwood Sites, Longleaf Sites, and Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites did not differ
significantly in tree density (F = 0.89, df = 2, 82, P = 0.41), but they did differ in
maximum DBH (F = 56.7, df = 2,150, P = 0.0001; Table 2). Hardwood Sites had
significantly greater DBH than Longleaf Sites which had significantly greater DBH than
Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites (p < 0.05 for all comparisons).

Comparisons of bird distributions among habitat types— Both mean individuals and species
richness differed significantly among habitat types (total individuals: F = 13.74, df = 3,
203, P = 0.0001; species richness: F = 17.32, df = 3, 205, P = 0.0001). Regeneration
Sites and Longleaf Sites had significantly higher mean bird species richness and mean
individuals than Hardwood or Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites (Table 2). There was no
significant difference between Hardwood Sites and Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites or between
Longleaf Sites and Regeneration Sites in mean number of individuals or mean species
richness (Table 2).

The distribution among habitats of Carolina wren (x2 = 6.12, P = 0.10), Carolina
chickadee (x2= 4.52, P = 0.21), and northern cardinal (x2 = 4.15, P = 0.25) did not differ
significantly from that expected by chance (d.f. = 3 for all comparisons; Table 1). Scarlet
tanagers (x2= 41.66, P = 0.0001) and red-eyed vireos (x2 = 47.85, P = 0.0001) were
found more often than expected by chance in Hardwood and Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites
(d.f. — 3 for all comparisons; Table 1). Both species were found significantly more often

209

Table I. Oceurunce of birds during point counts in lour forest types in Talladega National Forest, Alabama in June 1997.

Forests for Breeding Birds

210

Blue Jay Cyanocilta cristate!

Hill

DC

CM

cm

DC

cm

sC

<N

CM

DC

r- rr

-^r

cm

r*. c: ri •**. cm

CM

cm

cr

CM

O' c*.

tt r-

o

C> r“,

o r-

cr DC

cm c>

CM

cm

O Tf CM O

wc

CM CM

o

CM

CM

c-

o

o o

DC

r-

°9 »/->, ^

p- cm

TD

<D

c

c

c

o

X)

cd

H

r-

p**

— r-~

O r“. r-

O iy~, —

CM C

CM V-. O CM

211

Table 1 continued

Forests for Breeding Birds

O

CM O

oo

01

vC

04

o-

o-

OO

oi

O

04

NO

oi

O C

o

04

04

O'

~T

oi

vC

04

c

04

04

04

04

O'.

o~

O'

o

oo

On

o

CO

sO O-

co — ^r

o

o

^r

o

o o o

Ol

O'

oo

oc

u~,

04

04

d

o

04

Ol

vD

04

00

o

O

04

d

r- wo.

o- —

212

Worm-eating Warbler llelniilherox vermivorus

Yellow-billed Cuckoo ('accyztis americiums

Hill

o o

20

sC sO

01 ri

sO

n

*=r

oj

cj

O O —

C" vO

3f —

r-i

r-

p- so

—

o

3D

CD

3

a

3

o

o

JD

X

03

H

r-

r-

<o

CN

X

D

>

T3

2=

"3

£

D

>

33

u

3

j*

"G

>

CO

00

On

3

.2

*5

D

*00

oo

OX) -T3

3D

3D 3D

-2

<D

<D

<D <D

/'■N

33

-a

3D 3D

c_5

u.

u-i

U. 1—

X

O

O

O O

.3h

o

o

o a

3

<u

CD

d> d)

Ui

u.

u«

U. l_

o

c/5

00

00 C/5

c3

o3

03 03

c

o3

£

£

* *

eO

C/5

C/5

C/5 C/5

'C

.2

.2

2 2

CD

G

*o

a 'G

6

<

8.

<D

CL

d> d>
CL CL

C/5

c/5

C/5 C/5

£

X

x

X X

o

2

2

2 °

x

x

X X

1

£

£

£ £

C/5

c

3

a 3

<D

• •—•

• —=*

■

G

vn

3f

—i On

03

vO

vO

'ct cn

a

l—

«4_

C+~« c+— <

o

O

o

o o

X

3

3

3 3

G

O

O

O O

.2

c/5

00

00 c/5

G

3

3

3 3

c/5

3

3

3 3

O

O

O O

o

O

o o

§

Ct_

L-.

L— 1 0t_4

o

o

o o

3

u.

t-1

(-1 X

v—5

e

CD

X

d)

X

£ i$

e

s

E

e g

o

3

3

3 3

U

z

z

z z

^35

*0

r4

rN

-rl

-H

r-

O

<

m

co

o

o

Z

2C

X

20

—

-H

41

o

20

<

X

20

r i

ro

z

r-

O'

O'

—

•o

41

4i

-4

ro

<

ri

<N

r-

z

»o

CNj

C"

^r

o

—

CN

CN

-H

41

41

r-

(N

m

— ;

• — ;

ro

•o

vC

r-

—

•o

— -

•O

o

ri

<N

m

4i

4^

41

r-

o

ro

r-

CO

ro

r^.

•o

•o

*^r

X

o

>

3D

l_

tj-

CN

35

D

m

"5

X

c

a.

o

.22

», .

C-

cd

3D

JJ

o

<L>

2J)

c

X

c

2D

i

o

X

<u

213

Forests for Breeding Birds

Table 3. Percentage of point counts in hardwood during which bird species were recorded in
the Talladega National Forest (point count number = 65) and in the Bankhead National Forest
(point count number = 30) in June 1995 and 1997, respectively.

Common Name

Talladega

%

Bankhead

%

X2

P

Acadian Flycatcher

3.1

43.3

22.08

0.001

Blue Jay

7.7

16.7

0.93

0.33

Carolina Chickadee

7.7

23.3

3.32

0.07

Carolina Wren

12.3

30

3.25

0.07

Great Crested Flycatcher

7.7

20

0.19

0.66

Ovenbird

18.5

16.7

0.005

0.94

Pileated W'oodpecker

4.6

53.3

27.48

0.0001

Red-bellied Woodpecker

6.2

53.3

24.72

0.0001

Red-eyed Vireo

61.5

96.7

11.03

0.0009

Scarlet Tanager

41.5

76.7

8.79

0.003

Tufted Titmouse

13.8

33.3

3.73

0.05

White-breasted Nuthatch

7.7

33.3

8.31

0.004

Worm-eating Warbler

1.5

56.7

37.11

0.0001

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

13.8

86.7

50.45

0.0001

214

Hill

than expected by chance in Hardwood Sites compared to mixed Hardwood/pine Sites
(scarlet tanager: x2 = 8.07, d.f. = 1, P = 0.004; red-eyed vireo: x2 = 4.84, d.f. = 1, P =
0.03). Indigo buntings (x2 = 71.71, P = 0.0001) and rufous-sided towhees (x2 = 48.90, P
= 0.0001) were found more often in regeneration sites and less often in Hardwood Sites
than expected by chance (d.f. = 3 for all comparisons; Table 1). Prairie warblers (x2 =
70.07, P = 0.0001) were abundant in both Longleaf and Regeneration Sites but nearly
absent from Hardwood and Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites, and pine warblers (x2= 43.83, P
= 0.0001) were abundant in Mixed Pine/Hardwood and Longleaf Sites but lacking in
Hardwood Sites (d.f. = 3 for all comparisons; Table 1). Finally, summer tanagers were
about equally abundant in Regeneration, Mixed Pine/Hardwood, and Longleaf Sites but
were less abundant than expected by chance in Hardwood sites (x2 = 1 1.17, P = 0.01).

Effect of forest characteristics— There was no relationship in Hardwood Sites and Mixed
Pine/Hardwood Sites between percent pine and mean individuals or mean bird species

richness (total individuals: r = 0.0003, n = 129, P = 0.85; species richness: r = 0.002,
n= 129, P = 0.63; Fig. 1). I then looked at the relationship between mean number
detected and percent pine for the nine species that were observed at least 18 time in
Hardwood or Mixed Pine/Hardwood Sites. Scarlet tanagers and red-eyed vireos declined
significantly in abundance with increasing proportion of pine in forest stands (scarlet

tanager: x = 0.09, n = 129, P = 0.0005; red-eyed vireo: r~ = 0.10, n= 129, P = 0.0002;
Fig. 2). Carolina chickadee, indigo bunting, and pine warbler increased significantly in

abundance with increasing proportion of pine in forest stands (Carolina chickadee: r =

0.03, n = 129, P = 0.05; indigo bunting: r = 0.05, n= 129, P = 0.01; pine warbler: r"
= 0.17, n= 129, P = 0.0001; Fig. 3). Proportion of pine in forest stands had no significant

affect on abundance for Carolina wren(r = 0.04, n = 129, P = 0.62), northern cardinal (r*
= 0.01, n= 129, P = 0.39), or summer tanager (r' = 0.01 , n= 129, P = 0.17; Fig. 4).

Comparison to Bankhead National Forest

Overall mean number of individuals was significantly lower for Hardwood Sites in
the Talladega Mountains than in Hardwood Sites the Bankhead National Forest (Bankhead:
x = 10.5 ± 3.4; Talladega: x = 3.82 ± 2.10; t = 11.6, d.f. = 92, P = 0.001, two-tailed
t-test). I found that acadian flycatcher, pileated woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, red¬
eyed vireo, scarlet tanager, white-breasted nuthatch, worm-eating warbler, and yellow¬
billed cuckoo were encountered significantly less often in point counts in the Talladega
National Forest than in point counts in the Bankhead National Forest (Table 3). Blue jay,
Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, great crested flycatcher, ovenbird, and tufted titmouse
did not differ significantly in frequency of encounter on point counts in the Talladega and
Bankhead National Forests (Table 3).

DISCUSSION

The highest mean diversity of birds and greatest mean number of individual birds
were recorded in Longleaf Sites and at sites that had been recently cut and replanted in
longleaf pine (Regeneration Sites). These sites not only contained a high diversity of birds,
they also provided habitat for several species of management concern in the Southern Ridge
and Valley Ecological Unit, as defined by the USFWS (Hunter et al., 1993a). Under the
Partners in Flight Species Prioritization Scheme (Hunter et al., 1993b), species are grouped
according to their concern scores as "highest overall priority", "high overall priority", and
simply “priority” (Hunter et al., 1993b). The following species ranking are based on
concern scores for the Southern Ridge and Valley/Southern Cumberland Plateau Ecological

215

Forests for Breeding Birds

£Z

3

O

o

CD

Q.

U}

CC

3

-g

>

T 3
_C

o

c

3

o

CD

o3

CL

w

V

‘o

CD

CL

(70

o

Figure 1. Total individual birds and total bird species richness per count in relation to the percent of
pines in the forest habitat sampled. Point size is proportional to the number of overlapping
observations.

216

Hill

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1

Proportion Pine

Figure 2. Number of Scarlet Tanagers and Red-eyed Vireos per count in relation to the percent of
pines in the forest habitat sampled. Point size is proportional to the number of overlapping
observations.

217

Forests for Breeding Birds

Proportion Pine

Figure 3. Number of Carolina Chickadees, Indigo Buntings, and Pine Warblers per count in relation
to the percent of pines in the forest habitat sampled. Point size is proportional to the
number of overlapping observations.

218

Hill

Figure 4. Number of Carolina Wrens, Northern Cardinals, and Summer Tanagers per count in
relation to the percent of pines in the forest habitat sampled. Point size is proportional to
the number of overlapping observations.

219

Forests for Breeding Birds

Units supplied by B. Ford, The Nature Conservancy). Red-cockaded woodpecker is one of
four species in the region with a "highest overall priority" ranking, and although no red-
cockaded woodpeckers were recorded in Longleaf Sites in this study, the restoration of
longleaf pine habitat by the USDA Forest Service is directed toward increasing red-
cockaded woodpecker habitat in the Talladega National Forest (USDA Forest Service,
1986). Bachman's sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch, field sparrow, yellow-throated
warblers, and prairie warblers, all of which are ranked as “high overall priority” for the
region, were found exclusively or almost exclusively in Longleaf Pine or Regeneration sites.
In other parts of the southeast, Bachman's sparrows have been shown to prefer areas with
sparse midstory and a dense groundcover of grass (Dunning and Watts, 1990, Plentovich et
at. 1998). In this study, all four sites with Bachman's sparrows had been recently burned
and, consequently, had dense ground cover of grasses and forbs and virtually no midstory.
Yeliow-throated warblers were found only in Longleaf Sites and in one Regeneration Site in
which a 20-to-30-year-old longleaf pine had been left standing. Clearly, both the
established and recently planted longleaf pine stands in the Talladega National Forest are
providing important habitat for a number of bird species of management concern.

Although both established and newly planted longleaf pine forest had the greatest
abundance and richness of birds. Hardwood Sites provided critical habitat to several species.
Scarlet tanagers and red-eyed vireos, neither listed as of special management concern for the
region but both of which have shown continent-wide declines in recent years (Robbins et al.
1989), were more abundant in Hardwood Sites than in any other habitat type. Neither
species was found in either Longleaf Pine or Regeneration Sites. Acadian flycatcher, wood
thrush, Kentucky warbler, and worm-eating warbler, all species of “high overall priority”
were infrequently encountered, but all of these species were recorded almost exclusively in
Hardwood sites. Yellow-throated vireo, another species of “high overall priority”, was
found more frequently in Hardwood Sites. Summer tanagers, another species of “high
overall priority”, were equally common in pine and hardwood forests.

The proportion of pine in forest stands had a significant effect on several species of
birds. Scarlet tanagers and red-eyed vireos showed a significant decline as the proportion of
pine increased. Carolina chickadee, indigo bunting, and especially pine warbler showed
significant increase in abundance with increasing pine. The net effect was no change in total
bird abundance or species richness with change in percent pine across sites in mixed loblolly
pine/hardwood sites. These observations suggest that loblolly pine stands with a hardwood
component can provide habitat for a relatively diverse bird community, but that relatively
pure hardwood stands are required for some breeding Neotropical migrant birds.

To my knowledge, this is the first study to look at the effects on breeding bird
communities of converting of hardwood and mixed pine/hardwood forests to longleaf pine
forests. However, other studies have looked at bird communities in longleaf pine forests
and pine plantations in the Gulf Coastal Plain. In general, these studies agree with the
observations made in the current study: the greatest diversity and numbers of birds are
found in native longleaf pine stands compared to pine plantations (Engstrom 1984, Hill
1998). Previous studies in the southern Appalachians have generally found a negative effect
on native forest birds of converting hardwood or pine/hardwood forest to loblolly pine
plantations but many species of birds that prefer open successional habitats benefit for the
first few years postcut (Conner et al. 1979, Crawford et al. 1981, Childers et al. 1986, Hill
1987). The longleaf pine stands surveyed in this study differ from stands of loblolly pine by
maintaining high bird species numbers and richness from seedling stage until mature trees

are present. .

Comparison of point counts conducted in Hardwood Sites in the Bankhead National
Forest in June 1995 to the point counts in Hardwood Sites in the Talladega Mountains from
the present study suggests that hardwood forest birds are much less abundant in the
Talladega Mountains. Compared to Hardwood Sites in the Bankhead National Forest, the

220

Hill

Hardwood Sites in the Talladega National Forest had significantly lower density of Acadian
flycatcher, pileated woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, scarlet tanagers, red-eyed vireo,
worm-eating warbler, and yellow-billed cuckoo. The differences in density for some
species were striking. Worm-eating warblers were found at only one site (2% of counts) in
the Talladega Mountains but at 37% of counts in the Bankhead National Forest. Pileated
woodpeckers were found at only 5% of counts in the Talladega Mountains but at 53% of
counts in the Bankhead National Forest. The differences in abundance of several other
species were also of an order of magnitude or more.

Point counts in the Talladega and Bankhead National Forests were conducted in
different years, and it is possible that some unknown year effect is responsible for the
difference in the number of birds detected. However, the difference in bird abundance was
so striking that a year effect does not seem sufficient to explain it. A likely explanation for
the relative scarcity of hardwood forest species in the Talladega National Forest compared
to the Bankhead National Forest is the dry, rocky conditions that prevail in the Talladega
Mountains (Harper, 1943; Wills pers. comm.).

Another difference between the hardwood forests of the Bankhead and Talladega
National Forests is the size of hardwood stands. In the Bankhead National Forest large
contiguous blocks of hardwood forest remain, while hardwoods in the Talladega National
Forest are mostly located in small pockets surrounded by pine/hardwood forest; there were
simply few large contiguous patches of hardwood forest in which to place point counts.
Thus, the size of the hardwood stands in which point counts were conducted may have
influenced the abundance of species that are sensitive to forest area (Robbins et al . , 1989;
Wenny et al., 1993). In the forests of Fort McClellan, which lies adjacent to the Talladega
National Forest, the number and diversity of breeding birds declined (Soehren, 1995) and
nest predation increased (Keyser et al., 1998) with decreasing size of hardwood stands.
Species such as worm-eating Warbler and pileated woodpecker were most strongly affected.
To better test the idea that fragmentation of hardwood forests has caused a decline in
hardwood forest bird species would require point counts in forest patches of known size.
Such a study would be difficult in the Talladega National Forest, however, because most
hardwood forests are surrounded by other types of forest, not clearings, making it very
difficult to define an edge and hence to delineate forest fragments.

Acknowledgements .— This research was supported by a grant from WildLaw and the Sierra
Club. Scott Lovell helped with field work and Ron Smith, District Ranger with the USDA
Forest Service, provided logistical support.

LITERATURE CITED

Childers, E. L., T. L. Sharik, and C. S. Adkisson. 1986. Effects of loblolly pine plantations
on songbird dynamics in the Virginia Piedmont. J. Wildl. Manage. 50:406-413.

Conner, R. N., J. W. Via, and I. D. Prather. 1979. Effects of pine-oak clearcutting on
winter and breeding birds in southwestern Virginia. Wilson Bull. 91:301-316.

Crawford, H. S., R. G. Hooper, and R. W. Titterington. 1981. Songbird population
response to silviculture practices in central Appalachian hardwoods. J. Wildl.
Manage. 45:680-692.

Dunning, J. B., Jr., and B. D. Watts. 1990. Regional differences in habitat occupancy by
Bachman’s Sparrow. Auk 107:463-472.

Engstrom, R. T., Crawford, R. L. and Baker, W. W. 1984. Breeding bird populations in
relation to changing forest structure following fire exclusion: a fifteen year study.
Wilson Bull. 96:437-450.

Harper, R. M. 1943. Forests of Alabama. Monogr. 10. Geological Survey of Alabama,
University, Alabama. 230 p.

221

Forests for Breeding Birds

Hill, G. E. 1997. The effects on bird communities of converting southern Hardwood forests
to pine plantations. J. Ala. Acad. Sci. 68:285 - 295.

Hill, G. E. 1998. Habitat Use by Breeding Birds in the Southern Coastal Plain, Alabama.
South. J. Appl. For. 22:133-137.

Hunter, W. C., M. F. Carter, D. N. Pashley, and K. Barker. 1993a. The partners in flight
species prioritization scheme. Pages 109-119 in D. M. Finch and P. W. Stangel,
editors. Status and management of Neotropical migratory birds. USDA Forest
Service, General Technical Report RM-229.

Hunter, W. C., D. N. Pashley, and R. E. F. Escano. 19936. Neotropical migratory
landbird species and their habitats of special concern within the southeast region.
Pages 159-171 in D. M. Finch and P. W. Stangel, editors. Status and management
of Neotropical migratory birds. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report
RM-229.

Imhof, T. A. 1976. Alabama birds. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Keyser, A., G. E. Hill, and E. Soehren. 1998. The effect of fragment size, nest density, and
proximity to edge on the risk of predation to ground-nesting passerine birds. Cons.
Biol. 12:986-994.

Plentovich, S., Tucker, J., Holler, N. and & Hill, G. E. 1998. Enhancing Bachman's
Sparrow habitat via management of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. J. Wildl.
Manage. 61:347-354.

Robbins, C. S., J. R. Sauer, R Greenburg, and S. Droege. 1989. Populations declines in
North American birds that migrate to the Neotropics. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA
86:7658-7662.

Robinson, S. K., F. R. Thompson III and T. M. Donovan. 1995. Regional forest fragmenta¬
tion and the nesting success of migratory birds. Science 267:1987-1990.

Shankman, D., And Wills, K. 1995. Pre-European settlement forest communities of the
Talladega, Alabama. Southeastern Geographer 35: 118-131.

Soehren, E. C. 1995. Effects of forest fragmentation on breading populations of
Neotropical migratory birds on Fort McClellan, Alabama. Unpublished masters
thesis, Jacksonville State Univ., Jacksonville, Alabama.

USDA Forest Service. 1986. Land and resource management plan : National Forests in
Alabama. U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Atlanta, Georgia.

Wenny, D. G., R. L. Clawson, J. Faaborg, and S. L. Sheriff. 1993. Population density,
habitat selection and minimum area requirements of three forest interior warblers in
central Missouri. Condor 95:968-979.

Wilcove, D. S. 1985. Nest predation in forest tracts and the decline of migratory songbirds.
Ecology 66: 121 1-1214.

222

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

ELECTROPHORETIC ANALYSIS OF CHANNEL CATFISH ICTALURUS PUNCTATUS
(LESUER, 1840), BLUE CATFISH /. FURCATUS (RAFINESQUE, 1818), AND THEIR

INTERSPECIFIC HYBRID

Mark E. Meade and John Gladden
Department of Biology
Jacksonville State University
700 North Pelham Road
Jacksonville, A1 36265

ABSTRACT

In their natural habitat, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Lesueur, 1840) and blue catfish
Ictalurus furcatus (Rafinesque, 1818) spawn during different seasons. Hybrids of the two
species are commonly produced artificially in fisheries but, historically, are rarely observed
in the wild. Several sources suggest that hybrid catfish are commonly being produced in
native Alabama waterways. Identification of channel, blue, and hybrid catfish using
morphological keys is often difficult, particularly when examining fry or juveniles. Gel
electrophoresis coupled with histochemical staining is a rapid and relatively inexpensive
method for examining phenotypic differences among species. The purpose of this study was
to determine if electrophoretic fingerprints could be used to identify tissue samples taken
from either channel, blue, or hybrid catfish fry. Tail muscle tissue samples were analyzed
using standard protocols for IEF electrophoresis and staining of soluble proteins. Protein
patterns for channel, blue, and hybrid catfish fry were distinct. Major protein bands in the
pi range from 3. 5-5. 8 were identified as species-specific markers. Preliminary analysis
suggests that these marker proteins may be muscle parvalbumins, a group of highly
conserved proteins commonly found in vertebrate muscle.

KEYWORDS: catfish, biochemical identification, electrophoresis, IEF

INTRODUCTION

Difficulty in identifying juveniles of many species has been one of the major
obstacles in the development of sound ecological theories regarding fish population
dynamics. Morphological keys for a variety of fish species are available, however, due to
the plasticity of juvenile morphology, particularly when examining potential sub-species,
strains, and hybrids, identification remains a difficult task. An alternative method of
identification is the use of laboratory techniques that can distinguish individuals based on
biochemical data.

Electrophoresis is a powerful yet relatively simple tool that can be used to separate
and visualize soluble tissue proteins. Electrophoresis patterns, often termed “fingerprints”,
have successfully been used to demonstrate patterns of ontogenetic, phylogenetic, or

223

Meade and Gladden

zoogeographic variation among organisms (Buth, 1990). One method of electrophoresis,
isoelectric focusing (1EF), has been particularly effective in distinguishing hybrid fish from
their parent species (Whitmore and Hellier, 1988; Whitmore, 1990). In many cases IEF
protein fingerprints are so specific that identification can be determined solely without the
use of morphological keys.

The production of hybrid catfish in the Southeast is rapidly expanding as the US
demand for catfish products increases (NASS/USDA, 1998). Hybrid catfish are typically
produced artificially. The process involves stripping eggs from female channel catfish,
Icatlurus punctcitus, and then fertilizing the eggs with milt taken from male blue catfish,
Ictalurus furcatus (Tucker and Robinson, 1990). Natural production of hybrids is believed
unlikely due to differences in spawning behavior of the two parent species (Tucker and
Robinson, 1990). Since it is likely that the production of hybrid catfish will increase in the
future, the ecological impact of the possible introduction of large numbers of hybrid catfish
in natural waters should be addressed. Monitoring natural waters relies heavily on the
successful identification of indigenous and introduced species.

Characteristics such as body coloration, body shape, and number of rays on fins can
easily be used to distinguish adult hybrid catfish from their parent species (Whitis, personal
communication). Morphological identification of hybrid juveniles, particularly fry, is a
much more difficult task and is often impossible. The purpose of this study was to
determine if IEF protein fingerprints could be used to identify hybrid fry catfish from fry of
their parent species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Animals

One-week-old channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, and blue catfish, Ictalurus
furcatus , fry were obtained from the Gadsden State Community College Aquaculture
Education and Development Center (Gadsden AL). The channel catfish were a Kansas-
Marion strain and the blue catfish were a Rio-Grande strain. The Gadsden Center originally
obtained the fish strains from Mr. Bill Davis (Davis Catfish Farms, Centre AL). One-week-
old hybrid catfish fry were a cross between Kansas-Marion channel catfish and Rio-Grande
blue catfish and were generously donated by Mr. Davis.

Sample preparation

One week old catfish fry ('100 mg wt w) were anesthetized on ice prior to removal
of tissue samples. Approximately 5 mg of tail muscle was excised from each fish and
homogenized in a 1 % Triton X-100 sample preparation solution (1:3 w/v). Samples were
centrifuged for 15 min at 45,000 RCF and the resultant supernatant removed and frozen at -
20°C until used for electrophoresis. Samples were prepared from a total of five sibling
channel, blue, and hybrid catfish fry from each of two spawning seasons (i . e . , 10 total fish
for each population).

Electrophoresis

Samples were analyzed using standard protocols for IEF electrophoresis and staining
of soluble cytoplasmic proteins (Biorad application guide #161-0993). Briefly, 10 u\ of each
muscle tissue sample was loaded into precast IEF mini-gels. Broad range IEF gels, pH 3-

224

Protein Fingerprints for Catfish

10, were used to maximize the total number of potential protein bands observed. Anode and
cathode solutions used for electrophoresis were 100 mM arginine and 43 mM phosphoric
acid, respectively. IEF standards were co-electrophoresed with fish samples and were used
to determine pi values for protein bands. Power conditions for electrophoresis were
followed according to standard protocol (Biorad application guide #161-0993). Following
electrophoresis, gels were removed, fixed, and then silver stained to observe protein
patterns. Finally, gels were preserved by soaking in a 20% ethanol/ 10 % glycerol solution
for one hour and then dried between cellophane drying sheets.

Data Analysis

Banding patterns on gels were scored both visually and using gel analysis computer
software (Sigma Gel™). Gel analysis software was used specifically to determine pi values
of potential species-specific protein bands.

RESULTS

IEF protein fingerprints of channel, blue, and hybrid catfish fry were distinct.
Although differences were observed in minor staining bands among siblings within a
population for each spawning season, several major staining bands were consistently
observed among the three populations. Specifically, major protein bands in the pi range of
3. 5-5. 8 were species-specific (Figure 1). For channel catfish, a unique group of proteins at
a pi of 5.8 was observed that was not observed in either hybrid or blue catfish samples.
Likewise, for hybrid catfish, a unique group of proteins at a pi of 5.2 was observed that was
not present in either channel or blue catfish samples. Blue catfish samples exhibited no
unique major staining proteins with acidic pi values. Overall, species-specific proteins were
consistent within each population for both spawning season populations examined.

fll — 5.8

C H B pi

Figure 1 . Representative IEF patterns of total muscle proteins from fry channel catfish I.
punctatus (C), blue catfish I. furcatus, and their interspecific hybrid (H).

225

Meade and Gladden

DISCUSSION

Adult catfish, Ictalurus spp., can be accurately identified using morphological keys.
One of the major morphological differences between channel, I. punctatus, and blue catfish,
I. furcatus , are the shape and the number of rays on the caudal fin (Tucker and Robinson,
1990). Errors in identification using morphological keys rarely occur except when
examining immature fish (fingerlings or fry) or when examining potential hybrids of two
species (Whitmore, 1986). Identification of hybrid catfish fry from channel and blue catfish
fry using morphological keys is often difficult. In the present study, IEF total protein
fingerprints easily permitted the accurate identification of I. punctatus fry from I. furcatus
fry and their interspecific hybrid.

IEF techniques are one of the most rapid and sensitive methods of examining tissue
proteins electrophoretically (Whitmore, 1990). The ability to concentrate limited amounts of
proteins into sharp zones at their respective pis makes IEF techniques particularly useful
when limited amounts of tissue are available for examination, such is the case when
examining fish fry. IEF techniques are also particularly consistent in producing repeatable
protein fingerprinting data. To date, the high sensitivity of this technique has proved
invaluable in the biochemical analysis of- genetic variation among fish populations
(Whitmore, 1990).

Isoelectric focusing (IEF) techniques have been used successfully to establish
species-specific protein fingerprints for a variety of fish species (Whitmore, 1990). IEF
established fingerprints of blood hemoglobin and muscle parvalbumin proteins have been
particularly useful in examining fish population structure and dynamics (Whitmore, 1990).
IEF muscle parvalbumin fingerprints have also been successfully used to identify species and
assess interspecific hybridization (Monaco et al., 1982; Whitmore and Hellier, 1988).
Parvalbumins comprise a family of soluble proteins found in large quantities in fish skeletal
muscle (Bhushana et al., 1973; Monaco et al., 1982; Chikou et al., 1997). Parvalbumins
are typically of low molecular weight, have acidic pi’s, and are extremely stable compared
to other soluble muscle proteins (Pechere et al., 1971; 1974). Based on their relative
abundance and pi values, it is possible that the species-specific proteins observed in this
study were muscle parvalbumins.

Whitehead and Harvey (1989) examined muscle tissue proteins from six species of
catfish including /. punctatus and I. furcatus using IEF techniques. The majority of the
species examined were collected in Texas with a few from Louisiana (one blue and two
channel) and Alabama (nine white catfish). Species specific protein fingerprints were
identified for the majority of muscle samples examined on pH 4-5 IEF gels and could be
used to identify the various fish populations. Although not determined in their study, acidic
pi values and relative abundance suggests that these marker proteins may also be muscle
parvalbumins.

Recent investigations have demonstrated ontogenetic variability in total protein
patterns in developing and adult catfish, Chrysichthys auratus (Chikou et al., 1997). In this
study, no differences were observed in muscle protein fingerprints among same-species,
seven-day-old catfish fry. Analysis of muscle proteins from fry, juvenile, and adult catfish

226

Protein Fingerprints for Catfish

used in this study may reveal similar ontogenetic variability. The further examination and
establishment of biochemical fingerprint “libraries” for catfish species and their hybrids may
provide a secondary method of identifying unknown individuals when morphological keys
prove unsuccessful.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to thank Mr. Tim Morris of the Gadsden State Community

College Aquaculture Education Program and Mr. Bill Davis of Davis Catfish Farms, Inc.

for generously donating the fish examined in this study.

LITERATURE CITED

Bhushana, Rao KSP, Gerday, Ch. (1973). Low molecular weight proteins of pike (Esox
lucius ) white muscles. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 44(B), 1113-1118.

Buth. D.G. (1990). Genetic principles and the interpretation of electrophoretic data. In
Electrophoretic and isoelectric focusing techniques in fisheries management
(Whitmore, D.H., ed.), pp. 1-21. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Chikou, A., Fluriaux, F., Laleye, P., Vandewalle, P., and B. Focant. (1997). Isoform
distribution of parvalbumins and of some myofibrillar proteins in adult and developing
Chrysichthys auratus (Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1808)(Pisces, Claroteidae). Archives of
Physiology and Biochemistry 105(6), 611-617.

Monaco, P.J., Rasch, E.M., Balsano, J.S., and B.J. Turner. (1982). Muscle protein
phenotypes and the probable evolutionary origin of a unisexual fish, Poecilia formosa,
and its triploid derivatives. Journal of Experimental Zoology 221, 265-275.

NASS/USDA. (1998). Catfish Production Report.

Pechere, J.F., Capony, J.P., and J. Demaille. (1974). Evolutionary aspects of the structure
of muscular parvalbumins. Systematic Zoology 22, 533-541.

Pechere, J.F., Demaille, J., and J.P. Capony. (1971). Muscle parvalbumins: preparative
and analytical methods of general applicability. Biochimica and Biophysica Acta 236,
391-400.

Ready gels application guide. Catalog #161-0993. Bio-Rad Laboratories. Hercules. CA.

Sigma Gel™. Jandel Scientific.

Tucker, C.S. and E.H. Robinson. (1990). Breeding. In Channel catfish farming handbook,
pp. 1 1-134. New York: Chapman and Hall.

Whitehead, P.K., and W.D. Harvey. (1989). Identification of six catfish species utilizing
isoelectrically focused muscle tissue. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the
Southeast Association of Fisheries and Wildlife 43, 138-145.

Whitis, G. Personal communication.

Whitmore, D.H. (1986). Identification of sunfish species by muscle protein isoelectric
focusing. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 84B(2), 177-180.

Whitmore, DH. (1990). In Electrophoretic and isoelectric focusing techniques in fisheries
management. (Whitmore, D.H., ed.), pp. 96-105. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Whitmore, D.H., and T.R. Hellier. (1988). Natural hybridization between largemouth and
smallmouth bass (Micropterus). Copeia, 493-501.

227

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM:
ATTITUDES OF UAB UNDERGRADUATES

Dail W. Mullins, Jr.

School of Education
and

Honors Program

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL 35294

INTRODUCTION

In January, 1997, the Alabama Academy of Science devoted an entire issue of its
Journal to the topic of Science Education in Alabama (Vol. 68, No. 1). Despite the wide range
of subjects and activities implied by such a broad theme, however, virtually all contributed
articles dealt, either directly or indirectly, with the so-called evolution-creationism controversy
in general, and the Alabama textbook insert in particular (1-5). Such focused attention on this
matter is testament to the concern among members of the scientific community over the
continued and growing challenge to the teaching of evolution in this state, and in the nation,
coming from religious fundamentalists (6).

Although the most recent Alabama Course of Study: Science (COSS) was modified
somewhat by the State Board of Education in response to pressures from anti-evolution interests
(7), Frandsen and Brande (4) have argued that such changes may not markedly affect the
instruction of evolution in the classroom. The textbooks themselves (despite inclusion of the
cautionary disclaimer), individual teacher knowledge and initiative, and local curricular
supplementation were all suggested as factors which might conceivably mitigate the de-emphasis
of evolution in the state-approved curriculum.

While this optimistic assessment may well be true for some of the more affluent
suburban school districts in which the sociopolitical and religious environments tend typically
not to be inclined toward fundamentalist extremes, it is less clear what effect, if any, such
factors as enhanced teacher initiative and local curriculum changes would have in the more
religiously conservative, rural school districts of the state. As recently pointed out by Eugenie
Scott, executive director of the National Center of Science Education, one of the purposes of
state-mandated textbook disclaimers of evolutionary theory is teacher intimidation (8), and one
suspects that such intimidation is more likely to be realized in religiously conservative rural
school systems.1

‘We have recently completed a survey similar to that reported here on 10th-, 1 1th- and 12th-grade biology students
in a small public high school in rural northwest Alabama (Wood, S., 1998, Ed.S. thesis). Qualitative findings from
this study, including interviews and informal discussions with both students and teachers, suppoit such a view of
enhanced intimidation.

228

Mullins

As has been mentioned previously in the pages of this journal (2) and elsewhere (9), the courts
have spoken clearly and decisively on the matters of banning evolutionary theory or requiring
the teaching of alternative religious creation narratives in public school science classrooms.
Nevertheless, as was made clear by the perceived need for the Alabama textbook insert, public
(and political) sentiment is still in a state of some disquietude over these issues. Currently,
fewer than one-half of adult Americans believe that human beings evolved from earlier species
(2), and more than half say they would like to have creationism taught in public schools (9).

According to Morris Shamos, a past president of the National Science Teachers
Association, some surveys of college and university students "have shown that a large majority
favor the introduction of 'creation science' in the classroom" (10). During the height of the
evolution-creationism controversy in the 1980s, a survey of high-school biology teachers in
Ohio found that at least fifteen percent of the biology courses offered presented "creation
science" in a favorable light (10). Nevertheless, few such attitudinal surveys have focused on
students and teachers in particular, either at the secondary or college level.

In part because of the current situation in Alabama, together with my own convergent
interests in both science education and evolutionary biology, I recently offered a three semester-
hour honors seminar at the University of Alabama at Birmingham titled "The Evolution-
Creationism Controversy." As a class project in partial fulfillment of the course requirements,
students in the seminar developed a brief survey form relevant to the course theme which was
subsequently administered to a random sampling of UAB undergraduates. In addition, the
Gladding, Lewis and Adkins Scale of Religiosity (GLASR) (11) was included as an addendum
to the survey form. Data from this instrument have not yet been correlated with responses to
the students' own survey.2

THE SURVEY

The survey form (Figure 1), in addition to requesting a minimal amount of
demographic information, consisted of four declarative statements which required respondents
to indicate the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with each on a five-item Likert-type
scale. A total of 118 surveys were completed by students representing all eight of the
undergraduate academic units at UAB: Arts and Humanities (5.9 percent); Business (12.7
percent); Education (5.9 percent); Engineering (9.3 percent); Natural Sciences and Mathematics
(22 percent); Nursing (4.2 percent); Social and Behavioral Sciences (24.6 percent); and the
Health Related Professions (8.5 percent). 6.8 percent of the students responding were
undecided with respect to an academic major. The average age of the respondents was twenty-
three, and the ratio of male to female students completing the survey was 0.96.

Despite the consternation of Alabama’s scientific community in the wake of the State

2The GLA Religiosity Scale, or GLASR, was developed at Rockingham Community College in Went-, worth. North
Carolina, 1977-1982, in an effort to provide local mental health career professionals with a useful clinical measure
of the scope and intensity of religious beliefs among individuals living in a traditional rural protestant environment.
Although several other survey instruments designed to measure similar kinds of attitudes have been developed, the
GLASR was chosen for use here because it has been used more extensively at colleges and universities.

229

Evolution and Creationism

Figure 1. Survey Form Administered to University of Alabama at Birmingham
Undergraduate Students

HONORS PROGRAM SURVEY FORM

Part I. General Information

Age _

Female

Circle One: Male

Planned major(s) in: Arts/Humanities

Nursing

Social/Behavioral Sciences
Health Related Professions
Undecided

Business

Education

Engineering

Natural Science/Mathematics

Circle One: Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

Are you a member of a church, synagogue or temple? Yes No

Religious Preference _

Part II. Student Survey Questions

1. I believe Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection to
be a convincing explanation for the appearance and diversity of living
organisms on earth, including human beings.

A. Definitely agree

B. Slightly agree

C. Don’t know

D. Slightly disagree

E. Definitely disagree

2. I believe in the Judeo-Christian (Biblical) account of the creation of the
earth and its inhabitant life forms as described in the Book of Genesis.

3. I believe that religious accounts of creation should be presented in public
school classrooms whenever scientific theories or explanations for these
events are discussed.

230

Mullins

(Figure 1. continued)

4. Please read the following, which is required by the Alabama State Board
of Education to be affixed to the inside front cover of all Alabama public
school biology textbooks:

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some
scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of
living things, such as plants, animals and humans.

No on was present when life first appeared on earth.
Therefore, any statement about life’s origins should be
considered as theory, not fact.

The work “evolution” may refer to many types of change.
Evolutions describes changes that occur within a species.

(White moths, for example, may “evolve” into gray moths.)

This process is microevolution, which can be observed and
described as fact. Evolution may also refer to the change of
one living thing to another, such as reptiles into birds. This
process, called macroevolution, has never been observed and
should be considered a theory. Evolution also refers to the
unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced a
world of living things.

There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life
which are not mentioned in your textbooks, including”

Why did the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the
fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion)?

Why have no new major groups of living things appeared in
the fossil record in a long time?

Why do major groups of plants and animals have no
transitional forms in the fossil record?

How did you and all living things come to possess such a
complete and complex set of “instruction” for building a living
body?

Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday you may
contribute to the theories of how living things appeared on
earth.

231

Evolution and Creationism

Board of Education's textbook insert decision (5), our survey revealed that fully two-thirds of
the undergraduates polled at UAB either strongly or slightly agree that the insert is appropriate
(survey item four); only fifteen percent felt strongly that it was inappropriate (It should be
pointed out that, although most of the students surveyed were aware of the insert— mainly from
news reports— very few had actually read it prior to seeing it on our survey instrument). It is
difficult, however, to know exactly what prompts such sentiment on the part of students.

It may, of course, simply reflect a poor understanding of evolution and evolutionary
theory, either because these subjects were not formally taught during the students' schooling,
or were taught poorly. This is likely the predominant opinion among members of the scientific
community (9, 12), and the impetus behind the drafting of the National Academy of Sciences'
recent publication for teachers, Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science (9).

On the other hand, our students' apparent tolerance toward the textbook insert may also
be due in part to their belief that it is a "fair" document given the controversial nature of the
material. As science historian and legal scholar Edward J. Larson has recently argued, the
issues raised by the so-called evolution-creationism controversy "...endure precisely because
they embody the characteristically American struggle between individual liberty and
majoritarian democracy, and cast it in the timeless debate over science and religion" (13). In
this regard, it is interesting to note that fewer students, albeit 53.9 percent, either strongly or
slightly agreed that creationism ought to be taught in classrooms whenever scientific theories
or explanations of such topics are discussed (survey item three) than did the number who felt
likewise with respect to the appropriateness of the textbook insert (67.3 percent).

Among the more interesting findings to emerge thus far from this small study,
however, were the UAB students' responses to questions one and two on the survey form
(Table 1). Most striking is the fact that nearly two-thirds of the respondents definitely agree
or slightly agree with both a Darwinian interpretation (65%) and a biblical account (67%) of
the appearance and diversity of life forms on earth. While it obviously cannot be assumed that
the same group of approximately eighty students gave the responses noted above (and in Table
1) to both questions, no fewer than a third of them (i.e., approximately twenty-seven students)
must have. If it is further assumed, moreover, that only "strict creationists" would answer "E"
to question one (i.e., twenty-two respondents), and that only "strict Darwinists" would answer
"E" to question two (i.e., nineteen students), then it seems reasonable to suppose that this pool
of approximately forty students could be removed from that group of eighty which might have
strongly or slightly agreed with both questions, leaving forty students (34% of the total
respondents) who actually did so. What are we to make of such an attitude, and how do these
students reconcile such seemingly contradictory views?

The most likely explanation for this phenomenon is what Harvard paleontologist
Stephen Jay Gould has termed "fallen creationism" (14). This is the notion that, while the
evidence for evolution itself seems virtually incontrovertible, evolution has not occurred by
"natural" selection but rather— and certainly in the case of human beings— by a kind of "divine"
selection; that is, via the actions of a supreme intelligence or deity which has, in some way,

232

Mullins

Table 1 Selected Results from the Evolution-Creationism Survey of UAB
Undergraduates

I believe Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection to be a convincing
explanation for the appearance and diversity of living organisms on earth, including human
beings.

36.4%

28.8

6.8

8.5

19.5

A. Definitely agree

B. Slightly agree

C. Don't know

D. Slightly disagree

E. Definitely disagree

1 believe in the Judeo-Christian (Biblical) account of the creation of the earth and its
inhabitant life forms as described in the Book of Genesis.

44.4%

22.2

12.0

6.0

15.4

A. Definitely agree

B. Slightly agree

C. Don't know

D. Slightly disagree

E. Definitely disagree

"overseen" and "guided" the evolutionary process. Such a view, of course, allows individuals
to believe in the fact of evolution without having to accept Darwin's theory that it is a mindless
process void of purpose and direction. According to a 1997 poll Princeton Religion Research
Center (15), thirty-nine percent of adult Americans hold to this view, exceeded only by those
professing a belief in strict creationism (forty-four percent). Only ten percent of the American
public holds to a strictly Darwinian picture of evolution by natural selection. According to the
present study, it is likely that at least a third, and perhaps more, of UAB undergraduates also
hold to the view that God has guided the appearance and evolution of (at least) humans on the
earth.

It is interesting to note that the Catholic Church seems recently to have adopted a
similar position with respect to biological evolution, or at least the evolution of the human mind
(soul). In an open letter transmitted to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in October, 1996,
Pope John Paul II wrote:

Today... new knowledge has led to the recognition of more than a
hypothesis in the theory of evolution. It is indeed remarkable that this theory

233

Evolution and Creationism

has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of
discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought
nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in
itself a significant argument in favor of this theory.

[However]... if the human body takes its origin from preexistent living
matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God. Consequently,
theories of evolution which, in accordance with the philosophies inspiring
them, consider the mind as emerging from the forces of living matter, or as a
mere epiphenomenon of this matter, are incompatible with the truth about man
(16).

One supposes that if there is any encouragement for strict Darwinists to be found
amongst these numbers it is that between thirty-three and forty percent of the American public,
like the Catholic church, seems now to have accepted the fact of evolution, even if they still
have some serious concerns about its mechanism. In any event, the so-called "fallen
creationism" phenomenon, if real, may have implications for those interested in, and concerned
about, the teaching of evolution in our nation's schools.

REFERENCES

1. Dawkins, R. 1997. The "Alabama Insert": A Study in Ignorance and Dishonesty, J.
Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 1.

2. Mullins, D. W., Jr. 1997. The Evolution-Creationism Controversy: A Brief Social and
Legal History, J. Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 1.

3. Beckwith, G. V. 1997. Darwin and Darwinism: The Use and Misuse of Science, J.
Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 1.

4. Frandsen, J. C. and Brande, S. 1997. An Analysis of the 1995 Alabama Draft and
Adopted Course of Study: Science, J. Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 68, No. 1.

5. Brande, S. and Frandsen, J. C. 1997. The Evolution/Creationism Controversy During
the 1995 Alabama Science Textbook Adoptions, J. Alabama Academy of Science, Vol 68,
No. 1.

6. Kennedy, D. 1998. Helping Schools to Teach Evolution, Chronicle of Higher Education,
August 8, p. A48.

7. Teague, W. 1995. Alabama Course of Study: Science, Alabama State Board of
Education, Bulletin 1995, No. 4.

234

7. Teague, W. 1995. Alabama Course of Study: Science, Alabama State Board of
Education , Bulletin 1995, No. 4.

Mullins

8. Dougherty, M. J. and Scott, E. C. 1998. Teaching Evolution in Creationist Communities,
National Science Teachers Association Southern Area Convention, Birmingham, Alabama,
November 19-21.

9. National Academy of Sciences. 1998. Teaching About Evolution and The Nature of Science,
National Academy Press, Washington.

10. Shamos, M. H. 1995. The Myth of Scientific Literacy , Rutgers University Press, New
Brunswick.

11. Gladding, S. T., Lewis, E. L. and Adkins, L. 1981. Religious Beliefs and Positive Mental

Health: the GLA Scale and Counseling, Counseling and Values, Vol. 25, No. 3.

12. Zacks, R. 1997. What Are They Thinking? Students Reasons for Rejecting Evolution Go

Beyond the Bible, Scientific American, October (p. 34).

13. Larson, E. J. 1998. Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing

Debate over Science and Religion. Harvard University Press, Boston.

14. Gould, S. J. 1997. "The Fact of Evolution and the Politics of Creationism," UAB Lecture

Series, May 8.

15. Princeton University Religion Research Center. 1997. "Emerging Trends. "

16. Joannes Paulus Pr. II. 1996. Open letter to the Pontifical Academy Of Sciences, October
22.

235

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

AN EXAMINATION OF FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP RELATIONSHIPS
ON THE LONELINESS EXPERIENCED
BY MEMBERS OF THE WIDOWED
PERSONS’ SERVICE

Larry C. Mullins, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Auburn University Montgomery
P.O. Box 244023

Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4023

Nelya J. McKenzie, Ph.D.

Department of Communication and Dramatic Arts
Auburn University Montgomery
P.O. Box 244023

Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4023
ABSTRACT

This study examines the loneliness experienced by 134 older widow(er)s who are members of
the AARP sponsored Widowed Persons’ Service in a medium-sized southern city. Of particular
interest is the examination of the set of factors that may differentially influence these persons
experience of emotional loneliness. Using multiple regression analysis the impact on emotional
loneliness of the following variables was examined: age, sex, living arrangements, self-rated
health, self-rated economic condition, the existence (or not) of children, tire existence (or not)
of friends, the extent of social support provided by existing children, and the extent of social
support provided by existing friends. The results indicate that greater loneliness is associated
with having no best or closest friend — the number of friends, among those with friends, made
no difference. The existence of children, nor the social support provided 'by those with
children, showed no association with loneliness.

Persons of all ages have needs associated with social affiliations. Older persons are especially
vulnerable, due to advanced age, to the loss of significant others and the social affiliations these
lost persons provided. In the absence of satisfying social relationships, most persons experience
some resultant negative feeling state. One of these is emotional loneliness. Within this context,
we examined a group of older persons who are widowed — those who have experienced the
most stressful life-event (Amster & Krauss, 1974) - and are members of a group dedicated to
providing support for such persons, i.e., the Widowed Persons’ Service sponsored by the
American Association of Retired Persons.

236

Mullins and McKenzie

INTRODUCTION

Loneliness: Considerations of Social Isolation and Emotional Isolation

Loneliness in general is a distressing subjective feeling marked by a perceived
deficiency in social relationships (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). A commonly recurring
assumption is that loneliness is synonymous with social isolation, i.e., a lack of associates with
whom one can interact. Lopata (1969), many years ago, discussed loneliness as a sentiment
felt by a person whose experience level or form of interaction is in some way inadequate. More
recently, Andersson (1986) defined social isolation as the experienced lack of relatedness to the
social environment. Social isolation seems to reflect a general deficit in one’s social life.

Loneliness has been associated also with emotional isolation. That is, loneliness has
been viewed as resulting from the loss or lack of intimate ties (Riesman, 1973). Weiss (1987)
further indicated that loneliness is related to the absence of an attachment figure, i.e., one to
whom one is emotionally committed. Andersson (1986) defined it as an experienced lack of
intimacy. In general, social isolation means there is no one to interact with, while emotional
isolation indicates that while there may be others present the emotional connectedness is weak.

In the context of these two types of isolation, one can view loneliness as an affective
emotional experience in which one begins to sense being apart from familiar support networks
or systems and apart from others. This, in turn, can lead to a realization that social contacts
are diminishing, lacking, or not at a level, quantitatively or qualitatively, that is emotionally
satisfying or supportive (Johnson & Mullins, 1987).

Importance Of Social Relationships In Old Age
Spousal Relations

Several researchers have indicated that individuals experience greater emotional distress
in the absence of a mate (deJong-Gierveld, Kamphuis, & Dykstra, 1987; Essex & Nam, 1987).
Married older persons also score significantly higher than widowed persons on measures of
morale, psychological adjustment, happiness, and life satisfaction (Bachrach, 1980; Lopata,
Heinemann, & Baum, 1982). Severe distress is unusual among married men, more prevalent
among married women, and quite prevalent among those unmarried of both sexes, regardless
of age (Weiss, 1973). As several researchers (Quinn, 1983; Troll, Miller, & Atchley, 1979)
have indicated, marriage in old age is viewed as central to the “good life.”

The marital relationship is seen as a source of comfort and support as well as the focal
point of everyday life. Theoretically, the marital relationship is especially important to what
Weiss (1974) posits as one of the six important types of social support, i.e., attachment.
Attachment includes affection, security and intimate disclosure, and could be represented by
the intimate relationship one has with a spouse. Thus, older widowed persons are without the
one relationship that could be especially important to feelings of social and emotional
integration and attachment (Weiss, 1973; 1974). There are, of course, other personal
relationships, aside from the intact spousal relationship, that are important to social and
emotional well-being. Primary among these relationships are those with children and friends.

237

Family and Friendship Relationships

Relationship With Children

Research over the years has demonstrated that older persons live near (but not with) at
least one child, interact frequently with their children, and are involved in the exchange of
mutual aid with their children as both providers and receivers (Atchley, Pignatiello, & Shaw,
1979; Powers & Bultena, 1976). Adult children contribute greatly to the well-being of older
people -- providing many forms of care, support, and assistance (Mancini & Blieszner, 1989).
Compared with those with children, childless persons are more likely to live alone and, if living
alone, are less likely to have had any social contact in the past day or so. This finding indicates
an association between childlessness and the likelihood of social isolation in old age (Mullins,
Woodland, & Putnam, 1989).

Empirical studies examining the connection between emotional well-being and contact
with children have shown conflicting results. Lee and Ellithorpe (1982) found no association
between persons’ emotional well-being and the frequency of interaction with their children.
DeJong-Gierveld et al. (1987) found the amount of contact unimportant to loneliness, but
concurrently found poor quality of relationships to be important to its manifestation. Mullins,
Johnson, and Andersson (1987) in their studies of older persons residing in congregate
facilities, also found frequency of contact to have little effect on loneliness. A study of older
Canadian seasonal residents in Florida, however determined that persons with more children
residing nearby were less likely to be lonely than those with fewer proximate children (Mullins,
Tucker, Longino, & Marshall, 1989).

Friendship Relationships

Friendships foster a kind of belonging based on proximity and conviviality (Flochschild,
1973). Unlike family ties, which remain fairly consistent through old age, contact with friends
can be subject to more variation. Because they are not formally prescribed, as kinship roles
are, relations with friends require initiative by the older person. Although some conditions
associated with aging (e.g., health or economic problems, geographic distance, retirement, a
neighborhood change) may make interaction difficult (Allan & Adams, 1989), many older
adults maintain some friendships for many decades (Shea, Thompson, & Blieszner, 1988).
Research has shown that friends, especially close friends, exert a positive influence on the
emotional well-being of older persons (Crohan & Antonucci, 1989). Besides serving as
confidants, they provide numerous forms of social and emotional support that are valued and
appreciated especially because the support is nonobligatory. Generally, older persons who have
contact with friends, especially those residing near them and who experience satisfaction from
those relationships, are emotionally satisfied (Mullins, et al., 1987; Mullins, Woodland, &
Putnam, 1989).

THE MODEL

Based on the conceptual and theoretical considerations discussed, we offer a conceptual
model, shown in Figure 1, that allows for an exploratory examination of the direct and indirect
effects of the sociodemographic, health and economic condition, and social support/involvement
variables on the loneliness experienced by widowed older persons, who are members of an

238

FIGURE 1. CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF RELATIONSHIPS

Mullins and McKenzie

QJ

U

TO

C/5

-w

U

o

a

Q*

3

C/5

13

*3

o

C/D

c/5

cj

u

■*— *

CJ

C3

u

3

u

IS

a

3

u

OX)

o

c

<D

T3

*3

o

C/D

00

c

<D

«—

c

<u

OD

C

03

i-i

i—

<

<U 00

-a c
<u c 'r
oo aj

< O J

^ oi co

C/5

•a

'u

fa

-

o

a

a

2

C/3

O

o

C/3

C/5

U

u

4/

O

CS

u

n

JZ

U

c* .o

JS 2
~ ’T3

« a
oj o

X u

"a o
a> *g
a
o

Ss §

QJ U

c/D W

3

u

239

Family and Friendship Relationships

organized support group. Analysis of the model provides insight into two issues.

A) How do variables from each section of the model directly relate to loneliness?

B) How do the antecedent variables in the model relate to the identified predictors of
loneliness in each section as identified in the analysis of the previous question?

METHODS

Sample

Data were collected in 1996 from the members of the Widowed Persons’ Service
(WPS), affiliated with the American Association of Retired Persons, serving a diree county area
in central Alabama. The service provides a formal program for members once a month and
informal counseling on an on-going basis. No formal counseling is provided, though
participants can be referred to appropriate counseling services.

Working in conjunction with the officers of the Board of Directors in order to assure
and maintain confidentiality, questionnaires and stamped return mail envelopes were sent to all
of the current members of the WPS (N = 230). After one follow-up letter, the final response
was 134 returned instruments (58%).

Variable Measurements

Loneliness was measured using the 11-item scale, shown in Appendix A, developed by
deJong-Gierveld et al. (1987). Response categories were “Yes” or “No.” Each scale item was
scored as either 0, indicating a nonloneliness response, or 1, indicating a loneliness response.
The loneliness score ranged from 0 through 11, with higher scores indicating higher degrees
of loneliness. The alpha coefficient of reliability was .88 with the present data.

Three sociodemographic variables were included, i.e. , chronological age, sex, and
living arrangements (i.e., whether the respondents lived alone or not). One indicator for self-
related health and another for self-rated economic condition, also, were used. Regarding self-
rated health, respondents were asked “In general, how would you rate your health?” The four
response categories were poor, fair, good, and excellent. Self-rated economic condition was
measured by the respondents’ selection of one of the following statements: “I really can’t make
ends meet;” “I just about manage to get by with the income I have now;” “I have enough to
get along and even a little extra;” and “I can buy pretty much anything I want with the money
I have.”

In order to tap both social and emotional aspects of these older persons’ relationships
with children and friends - arguably the two most important relationship categories to
emotional condition, aside from marriage - we first identified whether they had children or
friends. Next, among those who indicated they had children, the respondents were asked to
answer a set of both open and close-ended questions about each child. Similarly, among those
who indicated they had friends, they were asked to answer a set of questions about no more
than their four best and closest friends. For both children and friends, information was
collected pertaining to eight variables: A) the total number of children, B) the total number of
friends, C) die sex of the children, D) the sex of the closest friends, E) the ages of the children,

240

Mullins and McKenzie

F) the ages of the closest friends, G) frequency of contact with the children, H) the frequency
of contact with the closest friends, I) satisfaction with the contact frequency with the children,
J) satisfaction with the frequency of contact with the closest friends, K) the quality of the
relationships with the children (and the closest friends), L) the emotional closeness of the

relationship with the children (and the closest friends), and M) an assessment of what support
the relationship with the children (and the closest friends) provide.

The Analysis

With regard to the exploratory conceptual model, a series of stepwise regression
analyses were conducted. First, loneliness was separately regressed on the identified variables
within each antecedent component of the model. This method of analysis optimizes the use of
the data and provides for the identification of the important antecedents of the dependent
variable. The purpose of conducting the multiple regression analyses was to examine: A) the
set of variables within each of the conceptual components of the model that were significantly
related to the expression of loneliness, and B) the set of antecedent variables significantly
related to those factors within a conceptual block of variables that were found to be directly
related to the expression of loneliness.

RESULTS

The frequency distribution, shown in Table 1, indicates that the average age of the
respondents was 74.45 years, 87% of the respondents were female, and 92% lived alone. The
self-rated economic condition was predominately “enough to get along or better.” The self-
rated health status was good (56%) or excellent (20%) — only 24% indicated their health was
fair or poor.

Regarding social supports, 11% had no children and 6% said they had no friends.
Among those with children the median number was two. Most of the children (73%) were
daughters and the children’s average age was 45.54 years; 15% saw a child an average of at
least weekly and these older persons were quite satisfied with this contact frequency. Also, the
general view was that the quality of the relationships with their children was good to excellent
and the experienced emotional closeness was very close. They, also, viewed their children as
exceptionally supportive. Regarding their feelings of loneliness, the descriptive results
indicated that the majority of respondents did not feel lonely -- the mean score of 3.14 (SD =
3.19) was well below the scale midpoint of 5.

Regression Analysis with Loneliness

Stepwise regression results for each of the variable blocks, shown in Table 2, indicates
only the existence of a best and closest friend to be directly related to loneliness. Those who
indicated they had a best and closest friend were significantly less lonely (B -.38). This one
variable accounted for 13.4% of the variance in the loneliness scores. There were no
antecedent variables that were directly related to the existence of a best and closest friend
variable.

241

Mullins and McKenzie

TABLE 1. DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION

VARIABLE*

M

SD

N**

VARIABLE*

M

SD

Age(Older)

74.45

8.98

131

Emotional Closeness to

Children

(Closer)

2.83

0.40

118

Sex(l =Female)

0.87

0.33

134

Provision of Social
Relationships by

Children
(More Support)

5.30

1.13

115

Living Arrangements
(1 = Not alone)

0.08

0.27

130

Existence of Best and
Closest Friend
(1 =Yes)

0.94

0.24

131

Self-related

Economic Condition
(Better)

3.17

0.78

133

Number of Friends
(Higher)

4.02

2.28

119

Self-related Health
Condition(Better)

2.91

0.72

133

Sex of Friends
(1 = Female)

0.96

0.20

123

Existence of

Childrenfl =Yes)

0.89

0.32

133

Relationship of

Friends(l = Relative)

0.23

0.42

120

Number of Children
(Higher)

2.30

1.07

118

Frequency of

Contact w/Friends
(More Often)

2.19

0.63

124

Sex of Children
(1 = Daughter)

0.73

0.45

117

Satisfaction
w/Frequency of

Contact w/Friends
(1 =Yes)

0.99

0.09

124

Ages of Children
(Higher)

45.56

7.99

110

Quality of

Relationships with
Friends(Better)

3.69

0.53

124

242

Mullins and McKenzie

(Table 1 continued)

Frequency of

Contact w/Children
(More Often)

1.90

0.67

114

Emotional Closeness
to Friends (Closer)

2.69

0.48

124

Satisfaction with
Frequency of Contact
w/Children (1 = Yes)

0.91

0.29

116

Provision of Social
Relationships by

Friends

(More Support)

5.63

0.61

118

Quality of

Relationships with
Children(Better)

3.59

0.63

118

Loneliness(Greater)

3.14

3.19

122

The notation in parentheses indicates the scoring direction for each variable, e.g.,
the designation of “closer” for the variable “Emotional Closeness To Children”
indicates that higher scores are indicative of greater closeness.

The number of missing cases equals 134-N for each variable.

TABLE 2. STEPWISE REGRESSION OF LONELINESS ON SUBSETS OF
VARIABLES:

STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT RESULTS

Existence of Relationships

Beta

Slope

Standard Error
of Slope

Existence of a Best and Closest Friend (Yes)

-.38

-5.14

1.17

R2 (Adjusted) = .134(1, 1 18 df; F = 19.48’)

' p < .001

243

Family and Friendship Relationships

DISCUSSION

The results of this study show a group of widowed persons who are not particularly
lonely. They describe themselves, in general, as experiencing good health and satisfactory
economic conditions. The majority of respondents reported having children and described their
relationships with their children in positive terms. For this sample, however, these
interpersonal relationships did not appear to influence the loneliness of these older persons.
Such a finding does little to extend our understanding of the relationship between quality of the
parent-adult child relationship and an older person’s socioemotional well-being. The issue
remains ambiguous. Consistent, however, with previous studies (Lee & Ellithorpe, 1982;
Johnson & Mullins, 1987; Mullins, Johnson, & Andersson, 1987), frequency of contact
between parent and child was not an important factor in socioemotional well-being either.

The only variable found to influence loneliness was the existence of a best and closest
friend. Those who indicated they had a best and closest friend were significantly less lonely.
Loneliness has been conceptualized as an affective emotional experience in which one begins
to sense being apart from others. Based on the current findings, the emotional experience of
loneliness is better abated by friends than by children. The voluntary nature of best friend
relationships appears to exert more influence on the generation of feelings of attachment or
intimacy for older persons than obligatory familial relationships. Should loneliness continue
to be linked to intimacy conceptually, intimacy may benefit from reconceptualization. Intimacy
may have varied dimensions that are tapped by different types of relationships; e.g., voluntary
versus obligatory relationships.

The consistency of the impact of the relationship with best and closest friends, rather
than the relationship with children, to influence loneliness, has implications for counselors of
older adults. The findings reported here suggest that fostering interpersonal relationships with
friends is a better road to socioemotional well-being than fostering relationships with children.
Although there is no indication here that relationships with children hinder socioemotional well¬
being, neither do these relationships appear to improve it. Obviously, relational issues are a
factor in loneliness. Consequently, counselors should focus on development and maintenance
of those interpersonal relationships, and particularly friendships, which have the most promise
of moderating loneliness. Organizations such as the Widowed Persons Service provide an
accessible and affordable opportunity for developing friendships; participation in such
organizations should be encouraged.

A limitation of this study is that the sample under-represents men and minorities. In
general, women place more value on relationships than men (Gilligan, 1982) and this feminine
characteristic may have skewed the results to some extent. Also, most respondents reported
good economic and health conditions. The findings here may not be generalizable to all older
persons, and perhaps not even to the other members of the WPS, who do not fit this same
economic and health profile. In discussions with representatives of the WPS, qualitative post
hoc comparisons on selected and available characteristics, e.g., sex, age, and race, indicate
there was no essential difference between respondents and nonrespondents. Future research
ould address these issues by dealing with samples with greater variability in economic and

244

Mullins and McKenzie

health condition. Additionally, comparisons of widowed persons who are involved with the
WPS with those who are not so involved could be enlightening.

Other social science research has tended to focus on characteristics of the individual
experiencing loneliness (e.g., Bell & Daly, 1985; Zakahi & Duran, 1985). Such a focus
ignores the fact that loneliness is a relational issue and as such is part of an interaction — or lack
thereof -- with others. In addition, much loneliness research, especially communications
research, has tended to focus on college students (e.g., Bell & Gonzalez, 1988; Sptizberg &

Canary, 1985). Such a focus ignores the fact that loneliness is a life span issue. Findings
regarding the loneliness of college students may fail to provide applicable information to those
who care for or counsel older persons. Future research should address life span issues of
loneliness.

These findings suggest a difference in the way interpersonal relationships with family and
friends affect loneliness among older persons. The present study indicates that older persons’
experience of loneliness seems to be less dependent on family than on friends. In addition,
loneliness is perhaps predicated on different sets of predictors. Since this analysis is
exploratory in nature and not based on the examination of a causal model, our conclusions must
be cautiously stated. Thus, while it is necessary, as theorist and researchers have argued, to
examine interpersonal relationships in a manner which allows for inter-relationship
generalizations, the nature of the differences in relationships suggests it may be necessary to
examine them independently. The number of best and close friend relationships, in fact, may
decline in later years; it is clear, however, that the importance of these relationships to an
individual’s socioemotional well-being does not wane.

REFERENCES

Allan, G., & Adams, R. (1989). Aging and the structure of friendship. In R. Adams & R.

Blieszner (Eds.) Older adult friendship: structure and process. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Amster, L., & Krauss, H. (1974). The relationship between life crises and mental deterioration
in old age. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 5, 51-55.

Andersson, L. (1989). A model of estrangement -- including a theoretical understanding of
loneliness. Psychological Reports , 58, 683-695.

Atchley, R., Pignatiello, L., & Shaw, E. (1979). Interactions with family and friends.
Research on Aging, 1, 83-95.

Bachrach, C. (1980). Childlessness and social isolation among the elderly. Journal of
Marriage and the Family, 38, 757-768.

Bell, R., & Daly, J. (1985). Some communicator correlates of loneliness. The Southern
Speech Communication Journal, 50, 121-142.

Bell, R., & Gonzalez, M. (1988). Loneliness, negative life events, and the provisions of social
relationships. Communication Quarterly, 36, 1-15.

Crohan, S., & Antonucci, T. (1989). Friends as a source of support in old age. In R. Adams
& R. Blieszner (Eds.), Older adult friendship : Structure and process. Newbury Park, CA:
Sage.

245

Family and Friendship Relationships

deJong-Gierveld, J., Kamphuis, J., & Dykstra, P. (1987). Old and lonely. Comprehensive
Gerontology, 1, 13-17.

Essex, M., & Nam, S. (1987). Marital status and loneliness among older women: The
differential importance of close family and friends. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49,
93-106.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development.
Cambridge, MA: Howard University Press.

Hochschild, A. (1973). The unexpected community. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Johnson, D., & Mullins, L. (1987). Growing old and lonely in different societies: Toward a
comparative perspective. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 2, 257-275.

Lee, G., & Ellithorpe, E. (1982). Intergenerational exchange and subjective well-being among
the elderly. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44, 217-224.

Lopata, H. (1969). Loneliness: Forms and components. Social Problems, 17, 248-262.

Lopata, H., Heinemann, G., & Baum, J. (1982). Loneliness: Antecedents and coping strategies
in the lives of widows. In L. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of
current theory, research and therapy. New York: Wiley.

Mancini, J., & Blieszner, R. (1989). Aging parents and adult children: Research themes in
intergenerational relations. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 45, 193-202.

Mullins, L., Johnson, D., & Andersson, L. (1987). Loneliness of the elderly: The impact of
family and friends. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2, 225-238.

Mullins, L., Tucker, R., Longino, C., & Marshall, V. (1989). An examination of loneliness
among elderly Canadian seasonal residents in Florida. Journals of Gerontology: Social
Sciences, 44, S80-S86.

Mullins, L., Woodland, A., & Putnam, J. (1989). Emotional and social isolation among
elderly Canadian seasonal migrants in Florida: An empirical analysis of a conceptual
topology. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 14: 111-129.

Peplau, L. & Perlman, D. (1982). Loneliness: A source book of current theory, research and
therapy. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Quinn, W. (1983). Personal and family adjustment in later life. Journal of Marriage and the
Family, 45, 57-73.

Reisman, D. (1973). Forward. In R. Weiss (Ed.), Loneliness: The experience of emotional
and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Shea, L., Thompson, L., & Blieszner, R. (1988). Resources in older adults’ old and new
friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 5, 83-96.

Spitzberg, B., & Canary, D. (1985). Loneliness and relationally competent communication.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2, 387-402.

Troll, L., Miller, S., & Atchley, R. (1979). Families in later life. Belmont, CA; Wadsworth.

Weiss, R. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.

Weiss, K., 1974. The provisions of social relationships. In Z. Rubin (Ed.), Doing unto others.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

246

Mullins and McKenzie

Weiss, R. (1987). Reflections on the present state of loneliness research. Journal of Social
Behavior and Personality, 2, 1-16.

Zakahi, W., & Durna, R. (1985). Loneliness, communicative competence, and communication
apprehension: Extension and replication. Communication Quarterly, 33, 50-60.

APPENDIX A
Loneliness Scale*

Items

No

Yes

1.

There is always someone I can talk to about my day-to-day problems.

1

0

2.

I wish I had a really close friend.

0

1

3.

I experience a general sense of emptiness.

0

1

4.

There are plenty of people that I can lean on in case of trouble.

1

0

5.

I miss the pleasure of the company of others.

0

1

6.

I feel my circle of friends and acquaintances is too limited.

0

1

7.

There are many people that I can count on completely.

0

1

8.

There are enough people that I feel close to.

1

0

9.

I miss having people around.

0

1

10

. I often feel rejected.

0

1

11

. I can call my friends whenever I need them.

1

0

* Higher scores indicate greater loneliness.

NOTE: Items from the Loneliness Scale are taken from deJong-Gierveld, Kamphuis, and
Dykstra 1987. Copyright ® 1987 Munksgaard International Publishers Ltd., Copenhagen,
Denmark. Used with permission

*Please address correspondence to the first author.

247

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

INDEX

1,2-Dimethylcyclobutene, Factors Affecting Opening and Cleavage in . 77

3-D "Hollow Mountain" Maps: Integrating Topography and Cultural History . 115

Abdalla, Mohamed 0 . 79

Absher, Keith . 109, 110, 112

Adair, L. Demetrius . 135

Adams, Jason R . 49

Adeyemo, Oyewole . 81

African-American Crime Victims in Three Alabama Cities: Does Race of

Victim Affect Police Responses? . 1 18

Aged Garlic Extract™ on the Cytotoxicity of Beta-Amyloid Peptide in

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and PC12, Effect of . 121

Aggarwal, M.D . 98

Alabama Motor Fuel Marketing Act . 114

Alabama Redbelly Turtle ( Psuedemys alabamensis) , Movement Patterns . 65

Alabama Redbelly Turtle, Clutch Sizes Determined by X-ray Radiography . 63

Alabama Redbelly Turtle, Geographic Distribution Along Its

Northern Extreme . 72

Alabama's Higher Education Expenditures Excessive? . 107

Alexander, James G . 106, 107

Alexander, Paulette S . 113

Alexander, Stephanie A . 71

Allison, David T . 89

Alpha Shapes to Identify Polyhedra . 131

Ambrosino, James N . 133

Ambrosino, Meghan LaGraff . 135

American Shad and Atlantic Salmon, Comparison of Early

Morphological Development . 69

Amistad and History . 119

Amylase and Acid Phosphatase in Rabbit Secretions . 60

Angus, Robert A . 66, 68, 69

Antifreeze Proteins, New Types of . 59

Antioxidants Against Benzoyl Peroxide Cytotoxicity in Vascular

Smooth Muscle Cells, Differential Protection Of . 126

Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Clinical Spectrum . 121

Anuran Communication and Species Diversity in the Hollis Lake Area . 61

Art 2 Neural Network Approach to Reservoir Analysis . 84

Artifically Intelligent Memory Systems, Non-Stereotypical Sequence

Processing in . 132

Artificial Intelligence, An Object Oriented Framework For . 127

Atmospheric Ozone Concentrations and Football Attendance . 183

Atomic Vibrations and Its Impact on Heat Conductivity . 100

Baggett, Emily B . 51

248

Index

Bagley, Joy E . 54

Barnes, April . 92

Barrett, J. Douglas . 105

Bateman, B.J . 99

Beale, Stephen C . 82

Bearce, Denny N . 175

Bell, Gorden L . 91

Belyi, Sergey . 98

Bersch, Michael G . 84

Binary Organic Nonlinear Optical Crystals, Growth of . 98

Bioassessment of the Upper Cahaba River Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates . 66

Bishop, Charles D . 67

Bivalves from the Tamiami Formation, Southwestern Florida, Textural and

Fabric Changes in . 85

Blackwell, Keith G . 87

Blanchard, Paul . 57

Bolovina huneri and Globocassidulina subglobosa across the Eocene

Oligocene-Boundary, Size Distribution of . 86

Bone Microstructure Shows Heterochrony Played a Significant Role

In the Adaptation of Mosasaurs to the Marine . 85

Boron-modified Phenolic Resins . 79

Bottlenose Dolphin, Hair of . 47

Boyd, Robert . 58

Bradford, Greg . 125

Bradford, Ivy D . 82

Bradley, James T . 56

Brassica rapa Growth under the Influence of Exogenous Gibberellic Acid . 51

Breeding Birds in the Talladega Mountains . 206

Brodeur, K.R . 50, 75

Brouilliette, Wayne J . 80

Brown, James S . 115

Brown, Sarah R . 113

Burdette, Jennifer . 108

Burns, Jerald C . 117

Butts, Douglas A . 87

Cameron, Marietta E . 131

Campbell, Sharon N . Ill

Campbell, Walter . 1 1 1

Canine Myotonic Dystrophy, Development of a Screening Assay for . 108

Capillary Electrophoresis Using Two-color Laser Induced Fluorescence

Detection, Analysis of Proteins and Peptides by . 82

Carswell, Debbie . 60

249

Index

Carter, Jacqueline .

Carver, Daniel .

Catledge, Shane A .

Cej, Adriane . .

Chang, Hsiencheng .

Chang, K.J .

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Blue Catfish /. furcatus, and their

Interspecific Hybrid . . .

Chapman, Charles . .

Chappelka, Arthur . .

Charles, Gloria .

Chaudhuri, Prasenjit .

Chen, Hong .

Chen, Hui-Chang .

Chestnutt, Robin .

Choi, . .

Christopher, Gayle .

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Update On .

Cigarette Smoke, Effects on the Beat Frequency of Mammalian

Airway Epithelium Determined by FFT Analysis .

Circadian Rhythms of Indo-Pacific Corals .

Citygreen: Urban Forest Analysis of Florence, Alabama .

Clark, Murlene . .

Clifton, Scott .

Cline, George . .

Cline, George . .

Cohen, Glenn . .

Collier, Lydell .

Comer, Walton .

Computer Stress in Small Businesses .

Computer-Assisted Instruction: Adaptive Methods .

Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment . .

Contamination Assessments at Leaking Underground Storage Tank Sites
Contrast-Inertia Model and the Process of Systems Analysis and Design.

Cook, B.H . . .

Corporate Philanthropy, Moderating Influence on the Relationship

Between Corporate Criminal Activity and Corporate Reputation .

Couch, Jim .

Couch, Jim .

Cowley, Dewight . . ; .

CP Violation in Hyperon Decays: Preliminary Results from the

Hypercp Experiment at Fermilab .

. 61
.73
.78
. 54
. 84
.98

223
.62
183
.96
.129
.130
.. 84
.114
..98
....1
.120

..55
..74
..93
.. 86
...61
...49
...61
..125
...60
...78
..118
..131
...95
... 88
..106
...77

...62

...105

...114

....60

...101

250

Index

Crawford, Gerald . 106

Crawford, Gerald . 62, 70

Crayfish, Procambarus clarkii Metabolic Enzyme Activities in . 76

C-Reactive Protein in Infectious and Other Disease States . 122

Crocker, Margie . 107, 111, 112

Cytotoxicity of Benzoyl Peroxide and Beta-Amyloid on Vascular Smooth

Muscle Cells (SMCs) . 123

Daniell, Henry . 52, 68

Dataflow Testing Criteria in an Experimental Evaluation . 130

De Silva, Saliya . 77

De Vail, Wilbur G . 97

Dean, Lewis S . 87

Death Penalty, Alabama's Use of the . 23

DeLucas, Lawrence . 79

Dennard, F.H . 83

Devedjiev, Yancho . 79

Diamond, Alvin R . 62

Dictionary of Occupational Titles as a Tool in the Computer Based Job Search . 112

Digital Geologic Maps with CAD and GIS: Strategy and Technique . 89

Dirt Pits and Our Backyards . 97

Dixon, Kaylla . 100

Docampo, Roberto . 59

Does GIS Improve Agency Effectiveness? . 96

Donaldson, Steve . 132

Drake, John . 127

Duncan, Kathy M . 75

Dunn, Stacy . 61

Dusi, Julian L . 48

Dusi, Rosemary D . 48

Dute, Roland R . 75

Dyer, Beverly . 110

Earthquake, 1997 Escambia County . 92

Earth's Magnetosphere, Determining the Trajectories of Protons in

Areas of Rapidly Changing Electric Fields in . 99

Eberle, Amada . 47

Economic Dynamics of Alabama in the 1990s . 105

Economic Growth and Trade of Kenya after Its Independence . 104

Educational Requirements for Future Office Employees . Ill

Edwards, Miranda . 124

Edwards, Robin . 71

Elassoma alabamae (spring pygmy sunfish). Distribution and

Ecology of . 48

251

Index

Email: Facilitating Androgogy in a CIS Course .

Emonina, Ovuke .

Emplaincourt, Patricia . .

Enzymes in Partnership with Ion Channels; Phosphorylation in the

Olfactory Bulb .

Eoncomic Status of Sub-Saharan Africa .

Escherichia coli Host Genes Are Not Involved in IS2 Excision .

Estridge, Barbara H . - .

Eudy, Grant . . .

Evaluating Batterer Intervention Programs: Methodological Considerations...

Evolution and Creationism: Attitudes of UAB Undergraduates .

Experimental Error Analysis by the Monte Carlo Method .

Faculty Attitudes Toward Information Privacy .

Fadool, Debra A .

Falany, M.L .

Fayard, . .

Feltman, Andrew . .

Ferry, Jerry . .

Fisher, Gerald . .

Flora of Limestone County, Alabama .

Flumazenil (Romazicon ) in Combined Benzodiazepine and Alcohol Toxicity
Fort McCLellan Herpetofaunal Inventory and Monitoring Project,

Survey Results from the .

Foster, Portia .

Francis, Kennon .

Frazier, Donald . . .

Fumarate Reductase Inhibitors as Potential Drugs Against Chagas Disease...

Gambusia as a Model for Testing Endocrine Disruptors .

Garza, Gene .

Gebre, . .

Gebremikael, Fesseha .

Gender Differences in Handwashing Practice .

Gene Frequencies in the Domestic Cat Population of Birmingham, Alabama
Genetic Engineering Ecological and Biological Containment of a

Herbicide Resistant Gene via Chloroplast Transformation .

Geography in the New Social Studies Course of Study . .

Geometric Regions for Data Mining, Obtaining Smooth and Meaningful .

Gilbert, Jon .

Gilbert, Jonathan .

Giles, Barbara .

GIS Delineation of Microhabitat in an Aquatic System .

Gladden, John .

...107

....60

122

. 60

....103

. 54

53, 56
....121
....120
....228

. 83

....113
60, 61

. 56

. 64

. 91

....102

....118

. 50

....125

. 49

. 126

. 14

. 98

. 59

. 69

. 165

. 98

103, 105

. 116

. 67

. 68

. 94

. 131

. 61

. 73

. 99

. 57

. 223

252

Index

Gold in Skarn, Minas de Oro, Honduras . 84

Gomberg, Joan . 92

Gordon, Bruce . 109

Grace, Mary L . 86

Gravity and Dynamics Due to a Speroidal Charged Mass . 100

Gray Squirrel Responses to Interspecific Alarm Calls in Two Cover Types . 73

Gray, Steven J . 68

Green, Renee . 82

Griffin, Brenya . 121

Griffin, Marsha . 106, 107

Gwebu, Ephraim T . 121, 123, 126

Gwebu, Nomalanga . 121, 123, 126

Halogenated Phenolic Resins . 82

Ham, Fred M . 125

Hamilton, Nalo . 123, 126

Hamilton, Tracy P . 80

Hamman, Mark . 59

Hammer, Hugh S . 67

Handley, H . 56

Hardin, Christie M . 89

Harrison, Jennifer J . 63

Hataway, Jack . 14

Haywick, Douglas . 85, 86, 89, 91

Head, L. Quinn . 115

Heat Conduction Incorporating Temporal Fourier and OHM Laws . 99

Heat Treating Quartz and Quartzite, An Experiment in . 135

Hed, Ed 1 . 57

Helminger, Paul . 114

Hemmer, Laura L . 77

Hendryx, Greg . 133

Higginbotham, Jeri W . 64, 75

High School and College Students’ Perception on Planning Education

And Practice . 93

Hill, Geoffrey E . 206

Hill, Travis . 165

Hiner, John E . 84

Historical Geology of Gold and Silver Deposits in Alabama . 87

Hofmann, Timothy L . 50, 75

Holstein, Harry 0 . 134

Homcidies in a Southern City . 117

253

Index

Homocysteine, Cardiovascular Disease and Aerobic Fitness/Physical Activity . 123

Hopkins, Thomas S . 63

Hopper, Margaret . 92

Howell, W. Mike . 58

Hudiburg, Richard A . 118

Hulede, Aimee . 60

Hyperlipidemic Pancreatitis . 124

Indicators of Chronic Impacts of Technological Disasters: Trends in

Research Literature . 83

Indo-Pacific Corals, Circadian Rhythms of . 66

Insecticidal Protein Production via Chloroplast Transformation . 52

Insulin Receptor in the Olfactory Bulb of the Rat . 61

Insulin Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Homologous Sequence,

Probing the Genome of Tetrahymena pyrifonnis . 1

Internet Web Sites for College Classes . 70

Interpretation-Free Lithic Debitage Analysis, Observer Bias in . 133

Intervessel Pit Membrane Structure in Populus delloides— An SEM Investigation . 75

Intranets: Benefits for Commercial and Non-commercial Entities . 109

Inverse Spectral Problems for Operator-valued /^-Functions . 98

Isaac, Athanasius . 135

ISO 14000: The Role of the Auditor . Ill

Izeogu, Chukudi V . 93, 94

Jackson, Patricia . 78

Jackson, Paul D . 134

Jackson, Wanzina . 94

Jahraus, Chris . 132

Jandebeur, Tom . 98

Java Remote Method Invocation for Distributed Databases . 128

Jedrzejas, Marek . 79

Jeffrey, Thomas . 100

Jenkins, C. Merrill . 101

Jenkins, Ronald L . 38

Jennings, Jason B . 73

Johnson, Adriel D . 60

Johnson, Christy . 109

Johnson, Jacqueline U . 60

Johnson, Kregg . 73

Jones, Howard . ^ '9

Jones, T. Morris . ^3

Jordan, Dean . . ^3

Jordan, J. Ashley . ^3

Kennedy, Bryan . ^04

254

Index

Kompaniyets, Yevheniy Y . 110

Kopaska-Merkel, David C . 84

Krishnarajah, Girishanthy . 69

Kush, John S . 183

Lee, Kara J . 53

Lee, Yi-Chien . 78

Leigh, W.J . 77

Leitner, Carol A . 66

Leitner, Carol A . 74

Lelong, Michel G . 51

Lenning, Les . 125

Light Microscopy, A Simple Temperature Control Apparatus for . 155

Lindsey, Kristen . 66

Lishak, Robert S . 73

Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Nesting of . 71

Loneliness Experienced by Members of the Widowed Persons’ Service, Family and

Friendship Relationships . 236

Lotti, Teresa A . 135

Lowery, James R . 95

Ludwick, Adriane G . 79

Ludwick, Adriane . 81, 82

Machine Translation: A Simple Heuristic Approach . 129

Marion, Ken R . 66

Martinson, Tom L . 92

Mathis, Dwayne . 123

McAllister, William K . 96, 103

McCall, John . 65

McCants, LaShanda . 60

McCartney, Elizabeth A . 64

McClintock, James B . 70

McCoy, Christopher . 67

McKenzie, Nelya J . 236

Meade, Mark E . 223

Measels, Michael A . 57

Medical Image Rendering Technique for a Filmless Environment . 128

Mehra, Mukul . 121

Meldahl, Ralph S . 183

Menapace, Francis J . 33, 44

Menon, Govind K . 100

Michael, C.L . 77

Mineralogical and Grain Size Variations in the Cretaceous Pierre

Shale Formation, Southern South Dakota . 91

255

Index

Miranda: Who, What, When, Where, How and Why? . 1 19

Mitchell, Temisha . 79

Moar, William . 52

Mobile County's Natural Resource Potential . 97

Moeller, M.B . 83

Molt-lnhibiting Hormone, Effects of Recombinant on

Ecdysteroid Secretion by Crustacean Y-organs In Vitro . 53

Moore, T.E . 99

Morgan, Darrell E . 55

Morrow, D. Keener . 52

Morrow, K . 75

Moseley, Nelson . 52

Mosquitofish ( Gambusia affinis ) in Clarke County, Salinity Tolerance . 65

Moss, Anthony G . 33,44,55

Muccio, Donald D . 78, 79, 80

Mullins, Dail . 728

Mullins, Larry C . 236

Murphy, Felicia A . 61

Muscogee Creek Indians, Study to Correlate Hemoglobin AIC Levels and

Indian Blood Quantum Levels in . 132

Musso, Richard E . 54

Musso, Tamara M . 108

Myelodysplasia: Diagnosis and Treatment . 108

N-(9-Anthrylmethyl)-N-(Octadecylethoxy)Ethanolamine (C 1 8 AE) and

Ca-Arachidate, Response of Mixed LB Films to Monolayer Composition and

Interfaced Solution pH . 77

N-Acetyl-Pro-Gly-Pro, 'H, UCNMR Chemical Shift Assignments of

to Study Different Conformers in Solution . 78

NAD Synthetase Enzymen Assay. Development of a Coupled . 79

Naffziger, Douglas . 118

Neathery, Thornton L . 90

Necessary, James R . 118

Neely, William C . 77

Nelson, David H . 63

Nelson, David H . 65

Nelson, David H . 71, 72

Nelson, Michael J . 175

Newton, Dahlia B . 104

Niccolai, Marino . 128

Niccolai, Marino . 120

Nowack, William J . 180

256

Index

Nuage-like Bodies in Cricket Oocytes, Biochemical Composition and

Structure of . 56

Obiero, Maria . 104

O'Brien, Jack J . 54, 55, 57

O'Donnell, Daniel J . 88

O'Hare, Sean D . 72

O'Hare, Sean P . 65

Olander, Charles P . 115

Oni, Ben . 100

Optical Monitoring of Blood Glucose . 125

Osterhoff, William E . 120

Owen, William N . 131

Parrino, Rose M . 48

Pathirana, Suram T . 77

Penn, Benjamin G . 98

Permaloff, Anne . 120

Perry, LaShaundra . 60

Phillips, Joseph J . 61

Physical Activity Assessment Methodology in the Older Population . 122

Physical Activity Patterns in Alabama, 1994-1996 . 14

Picou, J. Steven . 83

Pieroni, Robert E . 108, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 127

Plant Communities of Little River Canyon . 50

Population Trend Analysis Using Calling Indices in Northeastern

Alabama Wetlands . 49

Powell, Mickie L . 76

Pride, Tywana M . 114

Professional Licensing of Geologists in Alabama . 90

Pseudulvella americana from Alabama, A New Record of the . 44

Public Access in Low to Moderate Income Communities in Alabama's

Coastal Zone . 103

Public School Performance in the Presence of Home Schooling . 105

Pun, Oceana O . 128

Purchasing Cards: An Effective Way to Reduce Costs . 112

Purseweb Spider Sphodros rufipes (family atypidae ) from Alabama,

First Recorded Distribution of . 58

Pybus, Brandon . , . 79

Pyrometric Interferometry Technique for In-situ Monitoring of Thin Film

Thickness and Surface Roughness . 78

Quinn, Laura C . 85, 86

Rahimian, Eric N . 102, 103, 104, 105, 110

Raymond, Dorothy E . 92

257

Index

RECAD, Impact on Alabama Real Estate Agents .

Red Snapper, Morphological Staging System of Early Embryonic .

Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii , Characterization of

Three Digestive Enzymes from .

Reddy, Lakshmi .

Regan, Gerald .

Reilly, Kevin .

Retention in a College Level Introductory Biology Course, Effect of

Feedback Timing and Questing Format On .

Retirement Planning Spreadsheet .

Rhizocephalan Larvae, Phototactic Responses of as Function of Wavelength

Rhizocephalan Naupliar Larvae at a Halocline, Phototactic Responses of .

Rhizocephalan Parasites in Crab Hosts, PCR to Detect .

Rich, Kendall .

Rich, The Poor and The Social Order .

Richardson, Mark T .

Richardson, Stephanie .

Richey, Chester .

Rico, Marlon .

Riparian Zone Vegetation Analysis and Stream Characterization of

Shoal Creek's Inflow and Outflow to Sweetwater Lake .

Robbins, Efrem .

Roberts, Bryce L .

Robertti, Traci L .

Robinson, James L .

Robinson. Marie .

Roller, James H .

Romano, Frank A .

Rowell, Craig . .

Roy, Jane L.P .

Russian Orthodox Church: A Brief History .

Rutland, Travis . .

Sagittaria secundifolia ( Alismataceae ), Preliminary Results of a Study .

Saiji, Lahu .

Sales Management: A Comparison of Theory and Practice .

Salter, Donald .

Sani, Brahma . .

Santini, G.D .

Scott, Kaggia . .

Sea Star Larvae, Regenerative Capacity of .

Sediment Characteristics and Bathymetry in Weeks Bay, Southern

Baldwin County .

. 109

. 74

. 67

. 80

. 47

. 127

. 115

. 102

. 54

. 57

. 55

. 133

. 106

122, 123

. 123

. 93

. 112

. 73

. 184

...66, 74

. 119

. 88

. 116

. 102

...72, 73

. 76

. 123

. 117

. 59

. 64

. 81

. 110

. 65

. 80

. 64

. 60

. 70

. 86

258

Index

Sedimentary Provenance: Non-volcanic Dominance in a Volcanic Fore-Arc Basin . 91

Selassie, Michael . 121, 123, 126

Selenium Accumulation in Plants: An Herbivory Defense Mechanism? . 58

Selvaraj, Madhanraj . 131

Serotonin Produces Changes in Nociception, Blood Pressure,

Neural Activity in the Rostral Ventral Medulla . 64

Sertoli-Leydig Cell Tumor in a 24-year Old Black Female . 124

Shardo, Judith D . 69, 74

Sharma, P C . 100

Sheldon, M. Amy . 85

Shellie Site, 1 SC 191, A Late Gulf Formational Site in the Middle Coosa Valley . 134

Sherman, Tim D . 55

Shew, H. Wayne . 67

Signs of Orbitals Do Matter . 80

Silica-Scaled Chrysophytes from Alabama . 33

Simulation of a Tracer Test in a Doubly Porous Aquifer with an

Advective Flow Particle Tracking Computer Program . 88

Singh, Raj . 79

Singleton, Krissie . 117

Singleton, Tommie . 107, 109

Singleton, Tommie . 117

Smith, Bruce F . 108

Smith, Nelda . 94

Smith, Patrick . 71

Smith, Rita . 1 12

Sneed, Guy W . 124, 132

Software Architecture of Web-based Distributed MIS . 130

Southern, Sharon . 73

Spector, Michael . 71

Sprague, Alan P . 131

Stapleton, Charles . 89

Starvation-inducible Resistance to Polymyzin in Salmonella typhimurium . 71

Sterling, Randy . 65

Sthanam, Meena . 79

Stone Mound Enigma: Prehistoric Ceremonialism or Historic Field Clearings . 133

Stress on Law Enforcement Officers and Their Families . 1 16

Striped Hermit Crab, Community Habitat Interactions, And the

Feeding Preferences of . 63

Strong, William R . 94

Substance Abuse in the Workplace: Helping Organization Cope . 104

Sundermann, C.A . 1, 53

Sutherland, ELizabeth . 93

259

Index

Sweeney, Bob . 106

Sweeney, Robert . 62, 70

Synthesis of a Conformationally Constrained Retinoid, UAB30, and

Binding Studies to Nuclear Receptors . 80

Tao, Tao . 130

Taylor, Charles . 125

Taylor, Karen V . 23

Teaching World Regional Geography in Digital Format . 92

Tekulve, Ross . 21

Terrestrial Relativistic Red Shift Experiment . 101

Thompson, Althea 1 . 60, 75

Thompson, Kim . 23

Threlkeld, Steven J . 50, 75

Thurston, C.L . 64

Tilapia, Sex Steroids During Differentiation in . 26

Tinsley, Mandy E . 115

Tolar, Joseph F . 68

Tornado Family Evolving Near the Apex of a Bow Echo in North Alabarna . 87

Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum , Penetration Rates,

Generation Times and Concurrent Growth of In Vitro . 53

Trace Element Loss and Isotopic Changes in an Experiment Simulating

Aragonite Diagenesis . 89

Traditional Tourism to Ecotourism . 96

Tucker, Kristal . 60, 61

Turbidity as a Water Quality Issue . 22

Turner, Stephen . 23

Turner, William M . 63, 65, 72

Turrens, Julio R . 59

TVA's Economic Development Efforts in the Tennessee Valley . 94

Typologies, Ambiguities of the Coastal South Carolina Ceramic . 135

Typology of Triangular Projectile Points . 135

Ukraine after the Breakup of the Soviet Union, Economic Condition

And Trade of . 1 1^

United States Trade Balance: Prospects and Policy Recommendations . 102

Uracil-Containing Poly-nucleotide Analogs, Syntheses and Biological

Effects of Some . 81

USA Science in Motion Program in Physics: A Four Year Perspective . 114

Vallabhaparu, . . 64

Van Amerongen, Krista K . 22

Varman, Mahendra . *28

1

Varman, Meera .

Vascular Flora of Madison County, Alabama . 50

260

Index

Vascular Flora of Pike County, Alabama . 62, 190

Vascular Flora of the Lime Western Hills of Alabama, Preliminary Survey of . 75

Vascular Plants of the Mobile Region . 51

Vegetation at Oak Mountain State Park . 52

Verbeck, Guido F . 82

Vickery, Minako S . 70

Vines, Kimberly K . 80

Vitellin Processing and Protein Synthesis During Embryogenesis in

Acheta domes ticus . 56

Vitellogenin of Mosquitofish, Development of a Quantitative

Enzyme-linked Immunisorbent Assay for . 68

Vodyanoy, Vitaly J . 77

Vohra, Yogesh K . 78

Vortex-Generator-Jet Effects, Simulations Of . 129

Wading Birds in the Mobile Area: 1956-1997 . 48

Wang, Dajiang . 129

Wang, W S . 98

Ward, Jessica R . 58

Water Table Elevations in the Surficial Aquifer,

Birmingham Valley, Season Variations in . 175

Watson, R. Douglas . 53

Watson, R. Douglas . 68

Watts, Benjamin P . 59

Watts, Stephen A . 67

Watts, Stephen A . 76

Weather Forecast Service in a University Environment . 95

Web Sites, Office 97 and/or Frontpage 98 for Building University Departmental . 113

Weber, F. Neff . 101, 114

Weight in Adult Clients, Misperceptions Of . 126

West Jefferson Phase, A Synthesis of the . 134

West, Phillip A . 103

Whetstone, R. David . 50, 73, 75

Whipkey, Stephen L . 97

White, Carolyn . 1 16

Wierzbicki, Andre . 59

Williams, Aaron . 95

Williams, Bob . 106

Williams, Joanne . 123, 126

Williams, Peter M . 105, 114

Williams, Robert J . 62, 70

Wolf, Lorraine . 92

Woodard, Andrew M . 55, 74

261

Index

World Population, Effect of Disasters on . 165

Wu, Rong . 81

Wujek, Daniel E . 33, 44

Yancy, Donna . 1 10

Young, John H . 99, 100

Young, Tamara . 121

Zheng, Z. Charlie . 129

Zhong, Li . 69

Zschomler, Kristen . 124

262

Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1998.

SECTION I
BIOLOGICAL
SCIENCES
Aarons, David J.
Agee-McWhorter, Grace
Al-Hamdani, Safaa
Allan, Mary Ann
Angus, Robert
Bagley, Joy E.

Bailey, Mark
Baker, Dan
Barbaree, James M.
Beaird, Janis
Beasley, Phil
Best, Troy L.

Beyers, Robert J.
Blackwell, Eric A.
Blanchard, Paul D.
Boettcher, Anne
Boettger, Stefanie A.
Boggild, Andrea
Bowen, William R.
Boyd, Robert
Bradley, James T.

Braid, Malcom
Brumlow, William B.
Buckner, Richard L.
Campbell, P. Samuel
Carey, Steven D.
Carroll, Jeffrey W.
Carter, Gregory A.
Carter, Jacqueline
Cassell, Gail H.
Clements, Ben A.

Cline, George
Cohen, Glenn
Conway, Rebecca P.
Conway-Myers, Barbara
Curl, Elroy A.

1998 Membership Roll by Section

Dapper, J. William
Davenport, Lawrence J.
Davis, Michelle
Davison, Paul G.
Denton, Tom E.
Diamond, Alvin R.
Diener, Urban L.

Dindo, John
Dusi, Julian L.

Dusi, Rosemary D.
Dute, Roland R.
Estridge, Barbara H.
Fadool, Debra A.
Fadool, James M.
Falany, Marina L.
Frandsen, John C.
French, Elizabeth
Gannon, Andrew T.
Garstka, William
German Nina S.

Gilbert, Jonathan L.
Gray, Steven
Greer, Stephen
Grizzle, John M.
Gudauska, Robert T.
Haggerty, Thomas M.
Hall, Rosine W.
Hammer, Hugh S.
Harrison, Jennifer
Henderson, James H.
Higgingbotham, Jeri W.
Hileman, Douglas R.
Hill, Curtis E.

Hill, Geoffrey
Holland, Richard, D.
Holliman, Dan C.
Hopkins, Thomas S.
Hunter, Eric
Ivey, William D.

Jandebeur, Thomas S.
Jenkins, Ronald L.
Johnson, Adriel D.
Killough, Gayle H.
Kittle, Paul
Koopman, William J.
Lee, Kara J.

Leitner, Carol
LeLong, Michel G.
Lishak, Robert S.

Loop, Michael S.
Marion, Ken Roy
Mayne, Jeffrey
Mayne, Katharine
McCants, LaShanda D.
McClintock, James B.
McGregor, Stuart W.
McKenzie, Gail O.
McLaughlin, Ellen W.
Meade, Mark E.
Measels, Michael
Menapace, Francis, J.
Meyer, Thomas J.
Miller, Donna H.

Miller, Harvey
Mirarchi, Ralph E.
Moore, Debra S.

Moore, Jack H.

Moore, Teresa K.
Morgan, Darrell
Moseley, Nelson "Chip"
Moss, Anthony G.
Myers, Michael L.
Nancarrow, D. Virginia
Nance, Marione E.
Nelson, David H.
Neidermeier, William
O’Brien, Jack (John J.)
O’Hare, Sean Patrick

263

Roll

Olander, Charles
Parrish, Scott C.
Pierson, J. Malcom
Powell, Mickie L.
Pritchett, John F.
Quindlen, Eugene A.
Ramsey, John S.

Regan, Gerald T.
Reynolds, W. Ann
Richardson, Velma
Riley, Thomas N.
Roberts, Pamela H.
Robertson, Blair E.
Robinson, George H.
Rohrer, Shirley
Romano, Frank A.
Rowell, Craig
Salter, Donald W.
Samuels, Ivy
Sauterer, Roger
Schlundt, A.F.

Scott, Kaggia K.
Shardo, Judith D.
Shew, H. Wayne
Singh, Shiva P.
Sizemore, Doug
Smith, Bruce F.
Spaulding, Dan
Spector, Michael
Spencer, Elsie
Ssenkoloto, Margaret
Stanko, Jason
Stephens, Patrick
Strada, Samuel J.
Sundermann, Christine
Thompson, Larry E.
Thomson, Sue
Thurston, Cindy L.
Tingle, Tracie A.
Tolar, Joe
Varner, Morgan
Vawter, Nancy V.
Vickery, Michael C.L.

Walker, J.H.

Walker, Jennifer M.

Wall, Michael A.

Watson, R. Douglas
Watts, Stephen A.
Whipkey, Stephen L.
Whitehead, Alan
Wilkes, James C.

Wilson, Thomas H.

Wit, Lawrence C.
Woodard, Andrew
Woods, Michael
Wujek, Daniel E.

SECTION II
CHEMISTRY
Abdalla, Mohamed O.
Arendale, William F.
Arnold, Steven E.
Asouzu, Moore U.
Barrett, William J.
Bezoari, Massimo D.
Bradford, Ivy D.
Brouillette, Wayne J.
Brown, Mary Ann Higgs
Bu, Lujia
Bugg, Charles E.

Bush, Russell C.

Cappas, Constantine
Chastain, Ben B.

Claude, Juan Pablo
Crouse, Brian
Dillon, H. Kenneth
Duncan, Wendy
Finkel, Joe M.

Finley, Wayne H.
Friedman, Michael E.
Gebeyehu, Zewdu
Gray, Gary M.

Haggard, James H.
Hamilton, Tracy
Hazlegrove, Leven S.
Ihejeto, Godwin

Isbell, Raymond E.
Koons, L.F.

Krannich, Larry K.
Ludwick, Adriane
McDonald Nancy C.
Moeller, Michael
Moore, McDonald
Mountcastle, William
Muccio, Donald
Musso, Tamara M.
Nichols, Alfred
Odutola, J. Adeola
Ponder, Morgan C.
Rampersad, Dave
Rawlings, Jill
Riordan, James M.
Rutland, Travis, J.
Sheridan, Richard C.
Stanton, Clyde T.
Thomas, Joseph C.
Thomaskutty, Mary G.
Thompson, Davis Hunt
Tieken, V. June
Vallanino, Lidia M.
Verbeck IV, Guido F.
Vincent, John B.

Vines, Kimberly K.
Vulcan Chemicals
Watkins, Charles L.
Webb, Thomas R.

Weiss, Stephanie T.
Wells, David
Wheeler, G.P.

Wierengo, C. John
Zha, Corgxiang (Charles)

SECTION III
GEOLOGY
Bersch, Michael
Blackwell, Keith G.
Brande, Scott
Clark, Murlene
Cranford, Norman B.

264

Roll

Dean, Lewis S.
Geological Survey of AL
Grace, Mary
Haywick, Douglas W.
Kopaska-Merkel, David
Lamoreaux, P.E.

Lowery, James R.
McMillan, Richard C.
Neathery, Thornton L.
Neilson, Michael J.
O’Donnell, Daniel J.
Quinn, Laura
Raymond, Dorothy E.
Rindsberg, Andrew K.
Robinson, James L.
Selby, James K.

Sheldon, Amy
Sitz, Willard L.
Skotnicki, Michael C.
Stock, Carl W.

Thurn, Richard L.
Williams, Aaron

SECTION IV
FORESTRY,
GEOGRAPHY,
CONSERVATION, AND
PLANNING
Baucom, Thomas F.
Boyer, William
Brown Jr., James S.
Dabbs, Merilyn O.
Devall, Wilbur B.

Ehsan, Arjang Ryan
Gardiner, Frederick D.
Gibbs, George S.
Henderson, H.A.
Himmler, Frank N.
Holland, A. Priscilla
Izeogu, Chukudi V.
Klimasewski, Ted
Kush, John S.

Mance, Angelia

Martinson, Tom L.
McAllister, William K.
Mercer, Terry
Mullen, Michael W.
Richetto, Jeffrey P.
Richey, Chester
Rivizzigno, Victoria
Roy, Luke A.

Strong, William R.
Sutherland, Elizabeth
Tang, R.C.

Vickery, Minako

SECTION V
PHYSICS AND
MATHEMATICS
Aggarwal, Manmohan D.
Alford, William L.
Atkinson, Bruce W.
Bachmann, Kurt T.
Baksay, Laszio
Bateman, B.J.

Bauman, Robert P.
Bearden, T.E.
Beiersdorfer, Peter
Belvi, Sergey
Boardman, William J.
Brannen, Noah Samuel
Byrd, Gene G.

Carnevali, Antonino
Comfort, Richard
Datta, Anjali
Essenwanger, Oskar M.
Forte, Aldo
Furman, W.L.

Glotfelty, Henry W.
Harrison, Joseph G.
Hawk, James F.
Helminger, Paul
Holliday, Gregory S.
Horsfield, Christopher
Howell, Kenneth B.
Jenkins, Charles M.

Jones, Stanley L.
Knight, Martha V.
Kornman, Paul T.
Legge, Jennie
Lester, William L.
Lundquist, Charles A.
Marian, Gyongyi
Massey, Julia E.

Mixon, Stacy Tyrone
Miyagawa, Ichiro
Moore, Carey
Omasta, Eugene
Ousley, Derrick W.
Reid, William J.

Reisig, Gerhard
Roberts, Thomas G.
Robinson, Edward L.
Ruffin, Paul B.

Sanders, Justin M.
Sharma, P.C.

Shealy, David L.

Smith, Micky
Stanley, Sonya S.
Stewart, Dorathy A.
Swinney, Kenneth R.
Tan, Arjun
Tarvin, John T.
Thomas, Jeffrey A.
Varghese, S.L.

Wheeler, R.E.

Wills, Edward L.
Young, John H.

SECTION VI
INDUSTRY AND
ECONOMICS
Absher, Keith
Alexander, Paulette
Anantharanman, Sekhar
Barrett, Doug
Bullard, William R.
Campbell, Sharon N.
Crawford, Gerald

265

Roll

Ferry, Jerry
Findley, Henry M.

Gabre, Teshome
Griffin, Marsha D.

Jain, Rohit
Jones, T. Morris
Keener, Manuel
Lovik, Lawrence W.
McCain, J. Wayne
Murray, Gerald D.

Pride, Tywana M.
Rahimian, Eric
Singleton, Tommie
Suwanaku, Sontachai
Viohl, Frederick A.
Wheatley, Robert
Williams, Robert J.
Yancey, Donna

SECTION VII
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Alexander, Janet G.
Anderson, Trudy S.
Baird, Bill
Benford, Helen H.
Biddle, Laurie R.

Bilbo, Thomas
Caudle, Sandra I.
Emonina, Ovuke R.
Falgout, James R.

Fish, Frederick P.
Froning, Michael
George, Joseph D.
Kastenmayer, Ruth W.
Landers, John I.
Morgan, Eugenia L.
Nall, Jane
O’Brien, James M.
Riggsby, Dutchie S.
Riggsby, Ernest D.
Robinson, Jennifer
Rowsey, Robert E.
Shepard, Susie H.

Shumaker, Anne W.
Smith, Karl Dee
Tinsley, Mandy

SECTION VIII
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Barty, Peter F.

Beckwith, Guy V.

Brown, David C.
Buckalew, L.W.

Burke, Jr. Garfield
Burns, Jerald C.

Cantrell, Clyde H.
Easterday, Norman E.
Fisher, Gerald P.

Harris Jr., Louis M.
Haynes, Mike
Holliman, Diane Carol
Hudiburg, Richard A.
Johnson, James A.
Joubert, Charles E.
Luskin, Joseph
Mullins, Larry C.
Newton, Dahlia B.
Osterhoff, William F.
Pashaj, Irena
Raymaker Jr., Henry
Roberts, Robin
Taylor, Karen
Trussed, Maureen C.
Van Der Velde, Robert J.
Vocino, Thomas
Weber, B.C.

Wheelock, Gerald C.
Yeager, J.H.

SECTION IX
Alcazar, Gwendolyn Pitt
Anderson, Cathy U.
Baggett, Emily Beth
Barker, Samuel B.
Beaton, John M.

Beck, Lee R.

Bohannon, Alice S.
Boots, Larry R.

Briles, David E.

Buckner, Ellen
College of Nursing, UAB
Conary, Jon T.

Cusic, Anne
Davis, Richard
Davis, W.R.

DeRuiter, Jack
Eley, John G.

Emerson, Geraldine
Findlay, Margaret
Foster, Portia
French, James H.

Fruh, Sharon
Gilbert, Fred
Grant, Joan S.

Gwebu, Ephriam T.
Gwebu, Noma
Han, Jian
Herbert, Donald
Hicks, Julius
Iddins, Brenda W.
Jackson, Charles
Johnston, Sarah R.

Katz, Judd A.
McCallum, Charles A.
Mullins Jr., Dail W.
Navia, Juan M.

Nelson, Deborah B.
Parsons, Daniel L.
Phillips, Joseph B.
Pieroni, Robert E.
Pittman Jr., James A.
Pitts, Marshall
Reed, Linda
Revis, Deborah
Rodning, Charles B.
Ross, M. Candice
Roush, Donald
Rudd, Steven
Schnaper, Harold W.

266

Roll

Selassie, Michael M.
Shoemaker, R.L.

Skalka, Harold W.
Sneed, Guy W.

Sullivan, Linda
Thompson, Jerry N.
Turrens, Julio F.

Vacik, James P.

White, Caronlyn S.
Wilborn, W.H.

Wilder, Barbara F.
Winters, Alvin L.

Wynn, Theresa Ann

SECTION X
ENGINEERING AND
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Barrett, John
Bright, Tommy G.
Bryant, Barrett
Cameron, Marietta E.
Craig, Thomas F.

Dean, Susan T.
Donaldson, Steve
Drake, John M.
Feinstein, David L.
Francis, Lara
Garza, Gene G.

Hearn, William H.
Hilyer, William A.
Hollis Jr., Daniel L.
Jacobs, Paul L.

Kurzius, Shelby C.
Parker, Donald L.

Pitt, Robert E.

Pun, Oceana
Raju, P.K.

Ren, Jing
Roy, Sanjeev R.
Selvaraj, Madhanraj
Sloan, Kenneth R.
Sprague, Alan P.

Tao, Tao

Thomas, Robert E.
Venkatasubramnian, L.
Walters, J.V.
Wisniewski, Raymond B.
Wong, Daisy
Yerramsetti, Rarnesh

SECTION XI
ANTHROPOLOGY
Driskell, Boyce N.

Gage, Matthew D.
Henson, B.Bart
Holstein, Harry O.

Mann, Jason A.

Rowe, Bobby
Runquist, Jeanette
Shelby, Thomas M.

267

MINUTES

ALABAMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
FALL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Southern Research Institute
Birmingham, AL

Saturday, October 3, 1998

A. Dr. Moore U. Asouzu, President of the AAS, called the Fall Meeting of the AAS

Executive Committee to order at 10:08 a.m. The minutes ot the Spring meeting

were discussed and approved with change.

B. Officers Reports

1 Board of Trustees— Dr. Sam Barker gave an oral report and recognized the trustees

present: Bill Barrett, Michael Moeller and Adriane Ludwick.

2. President— Dr. Moore Asouzu presented the following written report:

I have done the following since the Spring 1998 Meeting:

a. Corresponded with the immediate-past president, Dr. Ellen Buckner,
numerous times by e-mail, telephone, and a visit to Birmingham on the
Presidency, and on nominations to fill several Committee positions.

b. Corresponded with the Executive Director and the Secretary to update the
Elected Officers’ list, and to set dates for various Academy events.

c. Corresponded by telephone with some continuing and newly elected officers
to thank them for their willingness to serve the Academy in their capacities.

d. Discussed by telephone and e-mail arrangements for the Spring Meeting
with Dr. Tom Jandebeur, the Local Arrangement Committee Chairman.

e. Visited Athens State University, the site of the Spring meeting, with Drs.
Buckner, Hazelgrove, Bateman and Bush.

f Corresponded with Dr. Holliman to plan the Fall Steering Committee

meeting at Birmingham-Southern College.

g. Planned and circulated the agenda for the Fall Executive meeting

h. Mailed out membership applications to nonmembers.

3 President Elect— Larry Boots - No report (not in attendance)

4 Second Vice President— Richard Hudiburg - Presented the following written report:

I have had several discussions with Chair of Committee on
Research, Anne Cusic of UAB, concerning the duties of that committee.

As Chair of the Nominating Committee, with the assistance of the
committee, I will be developing a slate of nominees for the 1999-2000
elected officers.

268

Minutes

I would like to propose a goal for the Academy to increase electronic
connectivity. This can be accomplished by using e-mail and web pages on
the Internet.

1 would like to solicit ideas for a theme of the 2001 annual meeting. That
meeting will be the first annual meeting of the Academy in the 21sl Century.

5. Secretary— Priscilla Holland - gave an oral report on dues cards and how the
membership can be increased on campuses.

6. Treasurer— Larry Krannich - gave the following written report:

The Treasurer’s Report consists of copies of the following:

ALL ACCOUNT BALANCES as of September 22, 1998
INCOME & EXPENSE STATEMENT as of September 22, 1998
ACTIVITIES RELATIVE TO 1998 BUDGET for the period 1/1/98 through
9/22/98)

TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY QUARTER (1/1/98 through 9/22/98)
TREASURER’S SUMMARY REPORT BY ACCOUNT (1/1/98 through 9/22/98)
PROPOSED BUDGET 1999 vs 1998

Copies of the complete treasurer’s report may be obtained upon request.

Although the total funds in all accounts has decreased by approximately SI, 800
since the 1997 Fall Treasurer’s Report, this is somewhat deceptive, because the
anticipated revenue check from the 1998 Annual Meeting had not been received by
September 22nd Of some concern is the continued decrease in dues revenue— down
$455 from what had been received within the same time frame in 1997. If a
vigorous dues renewal campaign occurs, this decrease may be overcome by the
fourth quarter dues income. Last year we received $4,685 in dues in the fourth
quarter. If this occurs, we would be on budget for 1998. A new income category,
Gorgas Income, was added this year, which did not appear in the original budget,
because we now receive funds from the Alabama Power Foundation for the
Academy efforts in the Gorgas competition. These funds are then expended for the
Gorgas program. We also receive funds from the regional science fair to offset
expenses for the travel of the winners to the international science fair. This is a
change from previous operations.

On the expense side, we are and expect to finish this year within the budget. We
have not received any invoices for the printing of the Journal. Thus, this is an
expense item which may be a major expense in the fourth quarter. Unless the cash
reserves in the checking and money market account increase, we may have to cash a
CD to have sufficient cash to write checks to meet expenses.

A copy of the Proposed Budget for 1999 is also attached. This budget is almost
identical to the 1998 budget, but includes the Gorgas income and expense entries.

7. Journal Editor— James Bradley - No report.

269

Minutes

8. Counselor to AJAS— B. J. Bateman - presented the following written report:

State Officers/Counselors Meeting— The State Officers and the State Counselors
met at Auburn University at Montgomery on March 21, 1997, to discuss the State
Officer’s roles for the upcoming year (1997-98).

Fall Planning Meeting— The Executive Committee of the Alabama Jr. Academy of
Science (AJAS) did not meet this year because the state counselor B. J. Bateman
was home bound with illness. The State Counselor with permission from the
President of the Alabama Academy of Science made minor decisions concerning the
annual meeting without consulting the executive committee. No changes in rules,
bylaws, etc. were made.

The proposed budget of $14,911.00 for 1997-98 are detailed later in this report.

The paper competition again would be held on Friday morning, with the winners
announced at the Friday night banquet. The statewide JSHS paper competition in
Alabama falls within the long-established program of AJAS and utilizes the
organizational structure of the latter. The AJAS consists of nine regions within the
geographic boundaries of the state. The activities of the nine regions are
coordinated through nine Regional Counselors, two Associate Counselors, and a
State Counselor, utilizing a variety of forms and established deadlines.

Fall AAS Executive Meeting — The State Counselor (B. J. Bateman) was unable to
attend because of illness the Fall Executive meeting of the Senior Academy of
Science held at the Southern Research Institute October 3, 1997.

Regional Meetings— Meetings were held in the nine regions of the state prior to
December 1, 1997, for the purpose of organizing their regions and planning
activities for the year. Major emphasis was given to strengthening science clubs,
discussing appropriate science project work, and reviewing the several aspects of
paper competitions.

Annual Meeting— The 1998 Annual Meeting, like all previous meetings of AJAS,
was shared jointly with the Alabama Academy of Science. The host institution was
University of South Alabama.

David Nelson coordinator for the AAS/AJAS meeting, Murlene Clark, local
arrangements for the AJAS, B. J. Bateman, Counselor to the AJAS, and Bety
Bigham, Associate Counselor, planned registration procedures, space needs, and
arrangements for the AJAS-JSHS social and banquet. Registration was held at the
Best Western Motel. The AJAS Journal and the official program for the Annual
meeting were given to each student. Highlights of the program were:

a. Paper Competition - The paper competition was conducted on Friday and

270

Minutes

Saturday mornings in the Student Center and the Life Sciences on the
University of South Alabama Campus. Following the morning competition,
the judges deliberated through lunch. The names of participants and the
respective papers appear below.

b. Banquet— More than two hundred students, teachers, university professors,
and members of business, industry and government shared the Friday night
banquet at the Student Center Banquet Flail. A major part of the after-
dinner program was the recognition of the first and second-place winners of
the paper competition, and other competitions, including the Westinghouse
Talent Search, in which many of our students had participated.

On alternate years the Junior Academy is responsible for the banquet
speaker. This year the Alabama Academy of Science provided the banquet
speaker, Dr. George Crozier, Senior Marine Scientist and Executive
Director, Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium, Dauphin Island Sea
Lab, who spoke on the history of the Sea lab.

c. AJAS-JSHS Social Activities — No formal social activities were planned.
The participating schools chose to visit some of the many attractions in the
Mobile area.

d. Business Meeting— The customary AJAS business meeting was held on
Saturday morning. This provided a time for awarding a plaque to the
outstanding region, a certificate and a check to the outstanding teacher(s),
the ASHS Award to the teacher of the overall first place winner, and other
awards.

AWARDS

Most with the Least Award

BIOLOGY:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE:
ENGINEERING:

BIOLOGY:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE:
MATHEMATICS:
ENGINEERING:
HUMANITIES:

Melanie Sutton
Patrick Reasonover
Stephen Taylor

Second Place Award

Jimmy Huynh
Petronella Lugema
Justin Knighten
Jared Cox
Jennifer Pritchett

A. P. Brewer
A. P. Brewer
A. P. Brewer

Altamont
Altamont
A. P. Brewer
Brooks
JCIB

271

Minutes

First Place Award

BIOLOGY:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE:
MATHEMATICS:
ENGINEERING:
HUMANITIES:

Kristin Dion
Elizabeth Dillard
Sean Verma
David Branscomb
Ryne Hazzard

JCIB
Bradshaw
A. P. Brewer
Sheffield
Altamont

Grant for Research Projects

none

AAAS Award
Jared Cox

Outstanding Region

Northwest

Outstanding Teachers
Vicki Farini
Cynthia Tillery

Newly elected officers for 1998-99:

President:

Patrick Reasonover

A.

P.

Brewer High School

Vice-President:

Josh Drinkard

A.

P.

Brewer High School

Treasurer:

Brandon McCaghren

A.

P.

Brewer High School

Secretary:

Lennis Clark

A.

P.

Brewer High School

JSHS Participants Attending the Annual Meeting:

Forty-two students, sponsors, and counselors attended the annual meeting as
JSHS participants (expenses paid). An additional 8 persons attended at their own
expense for a total of 50.

National Symposium and Paper Competition— Kristin Dion was chosen to be the
overall winner, and therefore, represented Alabama in national competition and
symposium held at Albuquerque, NM. Four other state winners (Ryne Hazzard,
David Branscomb, Sean Verma, Elizabeth Dillard), Regional Counselor (Mary
Thomaskutty) and the State Counselor (B. J. Bateman) accompanied Kristin.

9. Science Fair Coordinator— Mary Thomaskutty gave the following written report:

Given below are the winners and category for 1998 ISEF held at Fort Worth, TX. I
was little disappointed at our showing this year. Competition was very tough. We
traveled to Texas by bus, and everyone seemed to enjoy the trip. Nineteen finalists
and one student observer went to the competition along with several teachers and
parents. Next year’s fair will be at Philadelphia and it will be the 50"' Anniversary.
The ISEF will be from May 2nd to May 8"’

Central Region UAB

1 . Nassif Cannon - Altamont High School won the following:

$500.00 Fourth Place category in Microbiology.

272

Minutes

North Alabama Region Calhoun Community College

1 . Jeremiah Brown - Covenant Christian Academy won the following:
$1500.00 Second Place category award in Physics

$500.00 First Place special award from American Intellectual Property
Law Association

Honorable Award of a certificate from American Association of Physics
Teachers and the American Physical Society

2. Jeb Orr— Elkmont High School won the following:

Tuition scholarship worth $10,000.00 for a full time, undergraduate
study at University of Texas-Arlington

State Science Fair

1. Elizabeth Dillard— Bradshaw High School won the following:

$100.00 Honorable Mention from Eastman Kodak Company,

tuition scholarship worth $1,750.00 renewable annually for a full time

undergraduate study at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

This year’s ISEF will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 2-10, 1999. This
is the 5011’ anniversary of International Science and Engineering Fair. Regional
Science Fair dates will be announced later on.

Thanks for all the help the SENIOR ACADEMY provides to enhance the Scientific
knowledge of the young people of Alabama.

10. Science Olympiad Coordinator— Jane Nall - No report

1 1 . Counselor to AAAS— Katharine Mavne - No report

12. Section Officers

I. Biological Sciences— Roland Dute gave the following written report:

The 1997 meeting at the University of South Alabama saw the
presentation of 44 talks and 15 posters in the Biology Section as well as 7
symposium speakers. The presentation covered various aspects of biology
from molecular to ecological. The award for best paper presentation was
given to Ms. Kara Lee (R. D. Watson co-author), and the award for best
poster was given to Mr. Darrell Morgan (A. G. Moss, co-author). The
talks were given in three sessions in order to accommodate the Coastal
Resources Development Symposium arranged by Dr. David Nelson. The
same format will be used to accommodate the upcoming Karst in Alabama
Symposium by Dr. Tom Jandebeur.

There will be an election of a new section vice president at this
year’s annual meeting.

273

Minutes

II. Chemistry— Tracy P. Hamilton gave an oral report:

The Chemistry Section elected Regoberto Advencula as the vice-
chairman. This year 12 papers and two posters were presented.

III. Earth Science— Daniel O’Donnell gave the following written report:

I am very pleased to serve the Earth Science Section of the Academy
over the next two years. I will strive to bring about greater participation in
Earth Science Section activities of the Academy through dialogue with
faculty at state universities and colleges, personal invitations to colleagues
and through written correspondence to professional geologic organizations in
the state.

The seventy-fifth annual meeting was well represented by the Earth
Science Section. We had four poster presentations prepared by students
from the University of South Alabama. In addition to the poster
presentations, we had eleven oral presentations from individuals
representing federal and state governmental agencies (United States
Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Alabama), two universities
(The University of South Alabama and the University of Alabama), and one
private sector firm (Volkert Environmental Group, Inc.). Following the
meeting, an invited speaker, Thornton Neatherly, Chairman of the Alabama
Board for Professional Geologists, outlined Alabama’s professional geologist
licensure process and entertained questions on the process from members of
the audience.

One of my goals already reached this year was having the Alabama
Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists approve four credit hours for
attendance at our annual meeting. I hope to leverage this to generate more
interest in our section from individuals who are registered as professional
geologists in Alabama.

I will be working with my Vice-Chairman, David Allison, a
professor at the University of South Alabama, not only on increasing our
membership as a whole, but also on getting current members to actively
participate in the annual meetings through poster or oral presentations.

Lastly, I would like to personally thank Doug Haywick, past
chairman, for his efforts with the Earth Science Section over the previous
two years. Doug was the driving force behind the tremendous participation
of students from the University of South Alabama in our section. I wish
him the best and certainly hope he continues his efforts in this area.

IV. Geography, Forestry, Conservation & Planning— Chukudi Izeogu gave an
oral report regarding increasing membership, encouraging students to
participate and the election of a new chair and vice chair, Ted Klimasewski,
Jacksonville State University. This year 13 papers were presented.

V. Physics & Mathematics— John T. Tarvin gave an oral report on the 8 papers
presented and 1 poster. The chair will use e-mail to encourage membership
in the Physics and Mathematics Section.

274

Minutes

VI. Industry and Economics— T. Morris Jones - No report

VII. Science Education— Helen Benford, chair. The following written report was

given:

Dr. Helen Benford, Tuskegee University, Department of Biology
Tuskegee Institute, Alabama 36088, (334) 727-8824,

hbenford@acd.tusk.edu, is the new Chair for the Earth Science Education

Education Section. During the 75th AAS Science Education Section

Business Meeting, Dr. Jane Nall was elected vice chair, University of
Mobile, Division of Natural Science, Department of Biology, (334) 657-
5990, Mobile, Alabama 36613, or 31110 Wakefield Drive, Spanish Fort,
Alabama 36527.

The Chair for the Science Education Section has recommended the
following: Letters will be written to the Chairs/Vice-Chairs of the other
sections to ask them to encourage any faculty who are active in curriculum
or instructional changes to present at the Science Education Section.

The Chair would suggest that the AAS allow members to list their
primary affiliation and one/two secondary affiliations as well. That way,
people with primary affiliation in Biology, for example, could also appear
on the mailing list for the Science Education Section, and we might draw
larger numbers of papers and larger audiences.

The Chair also thinks it would be nice if the 2000 or 2001 meeting
had a prominent symposium with a collegiate-level science education theme.

VIII. Behavioral and Social Sciences— Jerald Burns Chair. Dr. Gerald Fisher,
Vice Chair presented the following report:

Section VIII enjoyed a very successful annual meeting at South
Alabama. We had a total of 13 research paper presentations with Dr.
Howard Jones of Armistad fame serving as our highlight speaker. This year
we hope to acquire Dr. William Stewart, Chair of Department of Political
Science at the University of Alabama, to serve as our highlight speaker. We
hope to get him to do a post-mortem on the Alabama elections of November
1998, especially the governor’s race and maybe a post-mortem on the
Monica-Bill saga (if it is over by then).

One major goal we have is to encourage more student papers and
involvement in Section VIII.

IX. Health Sciences— Barbara Wilder - No report

X. Engineering and Computer Science— Alan Sprague - No report

XI. Anthropology— Curtis E. Hill - No report

13. Executive Officer— Leven Hazelgrove presented the following written report:

275

Minutes

Since the Spring Executive Meeting, 03-20-98, at the University of South
Alabama, we have been working on the following projects during the last 7
months:

a. Set up and prepared the Gorgas Scholarship Program for Science Talent
Search in cooperation with the Westinghouse (now Intel) Scholarship
Science Service, Inc. D.C. for the University of South Alabama, March 20,
1998, with the leadership of Dr. Ellen Buckner, Secretary /Treasurer and
Dr. David Nelson.

b. Prepared for bulk mail 850 “Call for Paper Titles” for Athens State
University meeting for March 24-27, 1999, edited by Dr. William J.
Barrett.

c. Sent development letters to 4 industrial companies and foundations with
positive reply from one.

d. Sent hand written notes and brochures to 50 outstanding Scientists and
Engineers, Mathematicians and potential members whose “write-up”
appeared in local publications.

e. Met with Dr. Tom Jandebeur, Professor and Head, Biology Administration
and his local committee for the AAS dates: March 24-27, 1999, at Athens,
AL with Drs. Buckner, Asouzu, Bush, Marion, Angus and Bateman.

f. Prepared 250 abstract forms for the Athens State University meeting, March
24-27, 1999, for eleven section chairs and 650 printed programs.

g. Your Director studies flora, fauna and pollution in USA, February 13-16,

1998, with the Alabama Fisheries Association, Gulf State Park.

h. Set up the 76th Annual Meeting with the able direction of Dr. Tom
Jandebeur, Professor of Biology, Athens State University, Athens, AL,
March 24-27, 1999.

i. Carried by hand over 100 files from Dr. Sam Barker, Chair, AAS Board to
Dr. Dwayne Cox, Archivist, Ralph B. Draughon Library, Auburn
University, since Dr. Troy L. Best was off campus.

C. Committee Reports

1. Local Arrangements— Tom Jandebeur gave a detailed oral report for the 76"'
annual meeting at Athens University in Athens, Alabama on March 24-27,

1999. The symposium for this annual meeting “Karst ’ in Alabama.

2. Finance— Sam Barker presented the following written report:

As in the past several years, this fall’s Treasurer’s Report presents
many variables, such as: the lagging dues income over the second and third
quarters after a $3,565 first quarter; a delay in receipt of the anticipated
income from the 1998 Annual Academy Meeting; an unusual delay in
receipt of printing expenses for the journal. Since we are actually a few
days into the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998 (coincident with calendar 1998),
we do not know whether we shall wind up with a sizeable deficit, as in
1996, or a few hundred dollars in the black in 1997.

276

Minutes

I am not especially optimistic, since our operating deficit this time is
($5,234) $13 as contrasted with $2,551 in September of 1997. As I have
said before, come to the Executive Committee Meeting next spring to find
out the exciting denouement!

Incidentally, I should point out that the final agreement between the
Alabama Power Foundation and the Alabama Academy of Science covering
transfer of responsibility for the Gorgas Scholarship Program provided two
related sources of income to the Academy: the first to cover actual expenses
incurred in administration of the Program, and the second ‘an annual
amount equal to one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the amount maintained in
the LEP account” of the foundation. The first of these payments is divided
into an advance estimate plus a final amount covering actually incurred
expenses. It is the responsibility of the Academy to make a written request
for the reimbursements. This activity is the specific responsibility of the
Chairman and co-Chairman of the Gorgas $cholarship Committee of the
Academy. It is necessary that this new Gorgas Committee be alert.

The last page of the Treasurer’s Report, on pumpkin-yellow paper,
has the Proposed Budget for 1999. A sizeable deficit is again predicted;
although we, of course, hope not to encounter it, our reserves are available,
as shown in “All Account Balances”.

3. Membership— Adriel Johnson presented the following written report:

The Chair of the AAS Committee on Membership will yield to the
$ecretary Reports (Minutes from the 1998 $pring Meeting, Mobile,
Alabama; Report to the 1998 Fall Executive Committee Meeting, AL) on
the latest totals for the trends in membership, membership by section and the
special categories of membership.

The Chair for Membership would like to recommend the following
items to enhance membership for the Alabama Academy of $cience:

a. Encourage all executive committee members to pay their
dues or to confirm payment;

b. $trongly encourage the executive committee to consider
becoming lifetime members and to then encourage other
members to do the same;

c. Executive committee members should encourage

undergraduate and graduate students to join;

d. All Membership Committee members should confirm
payment, consider lifetime membership, remind your
colleagues to renew their membership, invite other
colleagues to join and ask your students to join;

e. Membership Committee members should provide any

recommendations to enhance membership;

f. A general poster advertising and encouraging membership
should be prepared and disseminated to all AA$ members;

g. Identify members with multiple section interest and

participation;

277

Minutes

h. Review past efforts to establish current AAS membership
information to update and identify members;

i. Update and prepare a current AAS Membership Directory;

j. Encourage as many people to join the AAS which could be
served by the advantages of membership (Representative
membership from K-12 Teachers; Junior College Faculty
and all state institutions of higher education; Industry
involvement).

The Membership Committee members include: A. D. Johnson;
(Chair); F. A. Romano; T.P. Hamilton; D. O’Donnell; P Holland; W.
Yeh; P. Alexander; H. Benford; B. Payne; B. Wilder; P. K. Raju; and C.
E. Hill.

4. Research— Anne M. Cusic presented the following written report:

The Chairperson of the Committee on Research received 22 requests
for application materials related to the Student Research Award
Competition, Student Research Grants, and Student Travel Grants for the
1998 Annual meeting. This number is lower than in past years due to the
availability of applications from the web page. Following is a list of the
winners of the various awards:

PAPERS

Section I. Biological Sciences

Kara J. Lee

UAB

$50

winner

Section 11. Chemistrv

Guido F. Verbeck, IV

UAB

$50

winner

Section III. Earth Science

Mary Grace USA $50

Section IV. Geography. Forestry. Conservation & Planning

winner

Chester Richey

UNA

$25

co-winner

Elizabeth Sutherland

UNA

$25

co-winner

Section VII. Science Education

Mandy Tinsley

JSU

$50

winner

Section X. Engineering and Computer Science

Marietta E. Cameron

UAB

$50

winner

POSTERS

Section I. Biological Sciences

278

Minutes

Darrel D. Morgan

AU

$50

winner

Section III. Earth Science

Andrew P. Feltman

USA

$50

winner

Section V. Physics and Mathematics

Jeffrey A. Thomas

Tuskegee

$50

winner

Section IX Health Sciences

Norma T. Gwebu

Oakwood College

$50

winner

Student Research Grant Awards

- 1998

Name

Affiliation Section

Advisor

Amount

Matthew P. O’Keefe

UAH

Biology

Campbell

$250

Craig Rowell

UAB

Biology

Watts

$250

Daisy Wong

UAB

Eng. & CS

Jones

$250

Marietta E. Cameron

UAB

Eng. & CS

Sloan

$100

Tao Tao

UAB

Eng. & CS

Hyatt

no award

Stephen Donaldson

UAB

Eng. & CS

Reilly

$250

Student Travel Grant Awards -

1998

Lahu Saiji

Tuskegee

$30.00

Ivy D. Bradford

Tuskegee

$30.00

Mohamed 0. Abdalla

Tuskegee

$30.00

Jeffrey A. Thomas

Tuskegee

$30.00

Darrell D. Morgan

Auburn

$30.00

Kara J. Lee

UAB

$30.00

Minako S. Vickery

UAB

$30.00

Mickie Powell

UAB

$30.00

Madhanraj Selvaraj

UAB

$30.00

Tao Tao

UAB

$30.00

John Drake

UAB

$30.00

Craig Rowell

UAB

$30.00

Marietta Cameron

UAB

$30.00

Jonathan Gilbert

JSU

$35.00

Jacqueline Carter

JSU

$35.00

Kaggia K. Scott

UAB

$40.00

Chester Richey

UNA

$45.00

Elizabeth Sutherland

UNA

$45.00

The Call for Papers section for the student research and travel grants
has been modified slightly for 1999. I have requested that the students
include the e-mail address on the applications, so that I can communicate
any problems with their applications in a timely manner. Due to the

279

Minutes

confusion last year of some students as to whether they had actually entered
the competition, we have decided to highlight the paragraph which states
that they will be sent eligibility requirements and application forms. I also
suggest that the students indicate on the Title Submission Form that they are
entering the research competition. I will cross check with the section
chairperson to ensure that students have met the eligibility requirements for
competition.

Although application forms and eligibility requirements are available
on the web page developed by Dr. Richard Hudiburg
(http://ww2.una.edu/psvchology/aaspage.htm). it will not be included in the
Call for Papers mail out this year. Due to the differences in names and
schools of the address and my address, it was determined that this might be
confusing to students. Students will be referred to this site upon requesting
application and eligibility forms. Dr. Hudiburg has added a membership
application form to this web site.

At the Spring meeting of the Executive Committee, it was suggested
by several section chairs and vice chairs that the rules for entering the
Student Research Award Competition be changed. The proposal was that all
students who give papers and posters at the annual meeting be automatically
entered in the competition. The Research Committee discussed this proposal
and rejected it. The members of the committee felt that some students might
not be ready to compete, that students should actively apply for the awards,
and that it would be difficult to identify students and their eligibility.

Please encourage your students to participate in the award
competitions of the A AS. Please communicate to interested students that the
applicant deadline for student awards for the 1999 meeting is February 2,
1999. Students should be aware that certain eligibility requirements apply,
such as membership in A AS, to receive the cash portion of the awards

5. Long-Range Planning— Ken Marion submitted a written report as follows:

As has recently been customary, the AAS Steering Committee met
informally last night to discuss long-range issues to be dealt with in the
upcoming months. Major issues will be verbally relayed today. The Long-
Range Planning Committee will consider these issues in the upcoming
months, and a formal report and recommendations will be presented at the
Spring meeting.

Recommendations presented at the Spring 1998 meeting were:

a. Consider raising annual dues and/or meeting registration fees;

b. Continue to monitor Journal expenses and take steps to hold Journal

expenses down; and

c. Reinstate some form of membership recruitment. Committee

Members: Ken Marion (Chair), Dan Holliman, Adriane Ludwick,

Eugene Omasta, James Wilkes

6. Auditing - Sr, Academy— Denny Bearce - No report

280

Minutes

7. Auditing - Jr. Academy— Danice Costes submitted the following written
report:

This is a report of the Alabama Junior Academy of Science Auditing
Committee for the July 1997-July 1998 financial year. We have examined
the books provided by the Alabama Junior Academy of Science Treasurer,
Dr. B. J. Bateman. We are satisfied ourselves that the receipts and
expenditures, as presented to us, are correct and that all expenditures are
legitimate expenses.

The net worth as of June 30, 1998, is $18,567.03.

8. Editorial Board and Associate Journal Editors— Douglas Watson/

Larry Wit/Bill Osterhoff - No report

9. Place and Date of Meeting— Tom Bilbro - No report

Tentative sites are: Samford . 2000

Auburn . 2001

Alabama . 2002

Jacksonville... 2003

10. Newsletter— Lvnn Stover/Tom Jandebeur, chairs -Lynn Stover presented
the following written report:

I am very excited about serving as the newsletter editor for the next
year! I am looking forward to getting to know more of you as the year
progresses. I know that many of you have very important announcements
that need to be publicized. Please take a moment to think about what you
need to have published in the Fall newsletter, and document in the space
below or send me a hard copy of your newsletter submission by Saturday,
October 31.

Thank you for your assistance with the newsletter!

Please send all submissions to:

Lynn Stover, RNC, MSN
University of Alabama
Capstone College of Nursing
Box 870358
Tuscaloosa, AL 34505
Lstover@Nursing.UA.Edu

(205) 348-1035 (office)

(205) 553-1990 (home)

Please include your name, address, and phone number with your
newsletter information so you can be contacted in the event that I need
clarification concerning your material.

1 1 . Public Relations— Myra Smith - No report

12. Archives— Troy Best - No report

281

Minutes

■Science and Public Policy— John Frandsen. submitted the following report:

The National Academy’s new book. Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of

Science will be presented to every teacher and presented the following written

report:

Members of the Committee: S. Brande (AUB), J. Frandsen— Chair, M.
Friedman (AU), Dail Mullins (UAB), R. Rowsey (AU), S. Sign (ASU)
Teaching Evolution in the Public Schools of Alabama. When teaching
evolution, Alabama teachers are doubly challenged: some parents and
administrators are openly hostile to evolutionary theory, and many of the
teachers are poorly prepared in the subject. In addition, some teachers do
not appreciate its importance, a fact that makes it all too easy for them to
neglect or avoid it, especially when they fear unfriendly parental reaction.

As a means of addressing the needs of teachers for foundation in the subject
and knowledge of how to teach it most effectively, this committee plans to
provide each biology teacher in the public schools with a copy of the booklet
.Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, published this year
by the National Academy of Sciences. This booklet will be available to
teachers at the national Association of Biology Teachers’ (NABT) booth at
the Birmingham Regional convention of the national Science Teachers
Association (NSTA), in November. As each teacher picks up his or her
booklet there, the corresponding name will be checked off on an official list
of biology teachers prepared by the State Department of Education.
Following this meeting, copies of the booklet will be mailed to the
remaining teachers.

These booklets will be available for distribution thanks to their generous
donation by the National Academy and the National Academy Press. This
donation was made following unsuccessful attempts by this committee to
obtain funds from private individuals or corporations within the state. We
especially appreciate the assistance of the national Center tor Science
Education (NCSE) in obtaining this donation.

The cost of mailing booklets to teachers who did not pick up their copy at
the NTSA meeting can, of course, not be determined at this time. The ncse
has promised to assist us in funding this expense.

Though this booklet will be of great help to classroom teachers, we remain
p ready concerned that future science teachers are generally receiving
inadeouate foundation in evolutionary theory in the colleges and universities
of the state. These students need both a firm, solid foundation in the subject
and instruction in how it can be most effectively taught in the atmosphere ot
hostility that pervades much of Alabama today.

We are confronted with the question of how we can most effectively advise
science educators of our concern. A statement in the Journal has been
suggested, and the editor has encouraged us to prepare one, but few science
educators read the Journal. Past experience has demonstrated that few
newspapers carry our press releases.

282

Minutes

14. Gardner Award— The newly elected chair of the Gardner Award Committee
is Dr. Ellen W. McLaughlin, Biology Department, Samford University,
Birmingham, AL 35229.

15. Carmichael Award— William J. Boardman submitted the following written
report:

The committee presented its annual award for the outstanding paper
published in the JAAS during the previous year to Geoffrey E. Hill,
Department of Zoology and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University. The title
of his paper is: “The Effects on Bird Communities of Converting Southern
Hardwood Forests to Pine Plantations”.

16. Resolutions— Gerald Regan - No report

17. Nominating Committee— Richard Hudiburg presented the following

written report:

The Nominating Committee seeks recommendations for the 14
elected offices for 1999-2000. A report on these nominations will be given
at the Spring 1999 meeting. Of note are four trustees positions. In addition,
there will be vacancies of five section chairs and vice chairs.

18. Mason Scholarship— Michael B. Moeller presented the following written

report:

Last year we had ten completed applications for the William H.
Mason Scholarship. After reviewing all application materials, the
scholarship committee voted to offer the $1000 award to Cynthia Ann
Phillips and Ms. Phillips has accepted the fellowship.

The previous recipients of the William H. Mason Scholarship are:

1990-91

Amy Livengood Sumner

1990-92

Leella Shook Holt

1990-93

Joni Justice Shankles

1990-94

Jeffrey Baumback

1990-95

(not awarded)

1990-96

Laura W. Cochran

1990-97

Tina Anne Beams

1990-98

Carole Collins Clegg

1990-99

Cynthia Arm Phillips

Attached to this report is a copy of an announcement which the
committee plans to be sending soon to deans in schools of science and
education within Alabama. Members of the AAS Executive Committee are
encouraged to copy and disseminate this information.

19. Gorgas Scholarship Program— Ellen Buckner presented the following
written report:

The Gorgas Scholarship Program committee met October 2 at 1:00

283

Minutes

p.m. in the Alabama Power Foundation/Alabama Power Company Offices,
Birmingham, AL. Members of this committee are as follows.

Dr. Leven Hazelgrove, Chairman

Dr. Ellen Buckner, Co-chairman

Dr. S. B. Barker

Dr. William Barrett

Dr. Kenneth Dillon

Dr. David Nelson

Dr. P. C. Sharma

Dr. Joseph Thomas

Mr. Art Beattie,

Alabama Power Foundation Representative

The Gorgas Scholarship Program and Alabama Science Talent
Search comprise a statewide competition among Alabama entrants to the
Intel National Science Talent Search (formerly Westinghouse.) Information
regarding the National Competition is listed on the attached sheet.

The committee considered matters related to the competition
including procedures, methods of encouraging applications, and matching
scholarships from state universities and colleges. Expenses of students
participating as state finalists were paid from Foundation funds as specified
in the Selection Agreement and additional monies were paid to the Academy
as specified. Monies remaining after scholarship awards were added to the

Gorgas Scholarship Fund for future use.

The committee would like to extend resolutions of appreciation to
those members of the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation Board of Trustees who
served for many years and devoted their time and energies to the Alabama
Science Talent Search. With the Executive Committee’s approval, such
resolutions will be prepared by the Resolutions Committee.

Gorgas Scholarship Program

The Alabama Science Talent Search and William Crawford Gorgas
Scholarship were established in 1947 to discover and encourage students
with scientific skill, creativity and conviction. Students desiring to enter
the Alabama Science Talent Search must enter the Intel National Science
Talent Search (formerly Westinghouse). Applications may be obtained or
downloaded from

Intel Science Talent Search

Science Service

1719 N. Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036

http://www.sciserv.org/stshome.htm

Materials must be received by the Science Service by December 2,
1998. Entrants from Alabama are automatically entered in the Alabama

284

Minutes

Science Talent Search. Finalists are selected in February and notified
through their sponsoring teacher. Finalists participate in the Gorgas
Scholarship Competition to include presentation of their work and individual
interviews with an interdisciplinary panel of judges. The 1999 Gorgas
Competition will be held at Athens State University, March 26, 1999, in
conjunction with the meeting of the Alabama Junior Academy of Science.
Scholarships of up to $3000 are awarded to winners, and, in addition, many
Alabama colleges offer further scholarships up to full 4-year tuition awards.

The Gorgas Scholarship Program is a program of the Alabama
Power Foundation, administered by the Alabama Academy of Science. If
further information is desired, please contact Dr. Ellen Buckner, (205) 934-
6799, 204 School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL,
35294-1210, or Nursl 19@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu.

A move to accept all reports with the specifics, with a second by Frank A. Romano,
was carried unanimously.

D. Old Business

None

E. New Business

Established a Journal— Ad Hoc Committee and a Membership — Ad Hoc Committee.

F. Adjournment

At 12.35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Priscilla Holland, Secretary

285

Notes

Notes

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Editorial Policy: Publication of the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science is
restricted to members. Membership application forms can be obtained from Dr. A.
Priscilla Holland, Office of Research, UNA Box 5121, University ot North Alabama,
Florence, AL 35632-0001. Subject matter should address original research in one ot
the discipline sections of the Academy: Biological Sciences; Chemistiy, Geology. Foi-
estry, Geography, Conservation, and Planning; Physics and Mathematics; Industry and
Economics, Science Education; Social Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineeiing and
Computer Science; and Anthropology. Timely review articles ot exceptional quality
and general readership interest will also be considered. Invited articles dealing with
Science Activities in Alabama are occasionally published. Book reviews of Alabama
authors are also solicited. Submission of an article for publication in the implies that it
has not been published previously and that it not currently being consideied for publi¬
cation elsewhere. Each manuscript will receive at least two simultaneous peer reviews.

Submission: Submit an original and two copies to the editor. Papers which are unrea¬
sonably long and verbose, such as uncut theses, will be returned. The title page should
contain the author’s name, affiliation, and address, including zip code. The editor may
request that manuscripts be submitted on a diskette upon their revision or acceptance.

Manuscripts: Consult recent issues of the Journal for format. Double-space manu¬
scripts throughout, allowing 1-inch margins. Number all pages. An abstract not ex¬
ceeding 200 words will be published if the author so desires. Use heading and subdivi¬
sions where necessary for clarity. Common headings are: Introduction (including lit¬
erature review). Procedures (or Materials and Methods), Results, Discussion, and
Literature Cited. Other formats may be more appropriate for certain subject mattei
areas. Headings should be in all caps and centered on the typed page; sub-headings
should be italicized (underlined) and placed at the margin. Avoid excessive use ot
footnotes. No not use the number 1 for footnotes; begin with 2. Skip additional foot¬
note numbers if one or more authors must have their present address footnoted.

Illustrations: Submit original inked drawings (graphs and diagrams) or clear black and
white glossy photographs. Width must not exceed 15 cm and height must not exceed
20 cm. Illustrations not conforming to these dimensions will be returned to the author.
Use lettering that will still be legible after a 30% reduction. Designate all illustrations
as figures, number consecutively, and cite all figures in the text. Type figure captions
on a separate sheet of paper. Send two extra sets of illustrations; xeroxed photographs
are satisfactory for review purposes.

Tables: Place each table on a separate sheet. Place a table title directly above each
table. Number tables consecutively. Use symbols or letters, not numerals, foi table
footnotes. Cite all tables in the text.

Literature Cited: Only references cited in the text should be listed under Literature
Cited. Do not group references according to source (books, periodicals, newspapers,
etc.). List in alphabetical order of senior author names. Cite references in the text par¬
enthetically by author-date.

rhe Journal of the Alabama
Academy 0f Science

Received NAT‘ >HIST‘ UBRAM

5 Tens. \°B 03'14'2000