QH301
. A78
v. 53
no. 3

SOUTHEASTERN

~TOLOGY

Sep 2008 e 53

September, 2006

Number 3

ASB

ASB

ASB

ASB

ASB

ASB

ASB

ASB

ONLY CALL FOR PAPERS
FOR THE 68th MEETING

ASB

Abstract Submission— See Page 404

ASB
ASB
ASB
ASB
ASB
ASB

Claudia L. Jolls addressed the banquet audience
as Past President of the Association

ASB

ASB

ASB

ASB

The Official Publication of
The Association of Southeastern Biologists

http://www.asb.appstate.edu/

SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY

(ISSN 1533-8436)

SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY (ISSN 1 533-8436) is published quarterly in January, April, September, and December by
the Association of Southeastern Biologists, Inc., Carolina Biological Supply Co., 2700 York Road, Burlington, NC 27215.
Periodicals postage paid at Burlington, NC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: please send address changes
to the SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY business manager, Tim Atkinson, Carolina Biological Supply Co., 2700 York Road,
Burlington, NC 27215. ASB members receive the SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY as part of their membership dues. For
non-members, the cost is $7.00 per issue.

All contributions, inquiries about missing numbers and other matters should be addressed to the Print Editor. News
items should be sent to the News Editor. Send books to be reviewed to the Book Review Editor. Printed by Allen Press,
810 East 10th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Print Editor . James D. Caponetti, Division of Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0830;

(865) 974-6841; FAX (865) 974-4057; jcaponet@utk.edu.

Associate Editor . Debbie Moore, Department of Natural Sciences, Troy University, P.O. Box 8368, Dothan, AL

36304-8368; (334) 983-6556, ext. 250; FAX (334) 983-6322; dsmoore@troy.edu.

Web Editor... . Dwayne A. Wise, Dept, of Biological Sciences, P. O. Drawer GY, Mississippi State University,

Mississippi State, MS 39762; (662) 325-7579; FAX (662) 325-7939; daw1@ra.msstate.edu.

Business Manager . Tim Atkinson, Carolina Biological Supply Co., 2700 York Road, Burlington, NC 27215; (336) 538-

6224; tim.atkinson@carolina.com.

News Editor . Ricky Fiorillo, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA 7 1 209; (318)

342-1797; FAX (318) 342-3312; fiorillo@ulm.edu.

Book Review Editor .. . Debbie Moore, Department of Natural Sciences, Troy University, P.O. Box 8368, Dothan, AL
36304-8368; (334) 983-6556, ext. 250; FAX (334) 983-6322; dsmoore@troy.edu.

Meetings Coordinator. Scott Jewell, P.O. Box 1088, Mebane, NC 27302; Office (336) 421-0034; FAX (336) 421-3425;

Cell (336) 213-7373; a2zconvention@yahoo.com.

ASB Officers

President . Kim Marie Tolson, Dept, of Biology, University of Louisiana, Monroe, LA 71209-0520; (318) 342-

1805; FAX (318) 342-3312; tolson@ulm.edu.

President-elect . W. Michael Dennis, Breedlove, Dennis and Associates, Inc., 330 W. Canton Ave., Winter Park, FL

32789; (407) 677-1882; FAX (407) 657-7008; (800) 304-1882; mike@bda-inc.com.

Vice-President . Bonnie Kelley, Dept, of Biology, University of North Carolina, Pembroke, NC 28372-1510; (910)

521-6419; kelley@uncp.edu.

Past President . Dwayne A. Wise, Dept, of Biological Sciences, P. O. Drawer GY, Mississippi State University,

Mississippi State, MS 39762; (662) 325-7579; FAX (662) 325-7939; daw1@ra.msstate.edu.

Secretary . Debbie Moore, Department of Natural Sciences, Troy University, P.O. Box 8368, Dothan, AL

36304-8368; (334) 983-6556, ext. 250; FAX (334) 983-6322; dsmoore@troy.edu.

Treasurer . Tim Atkinson, Carolina Biological Supply Co., 2700 York Road, Burlington, NC 27215; (336) 538-

6224; tim.atkinson@carolina.com.

Membership Officer. .. Deborah Atkinson, Office of Continuing Education, School of Public Health, University of North
Carolina, CB#8165, 400 Roberson Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8165; (919) 843-6892; FAX
(919) 966-5692; datkinso@email.unc.edu.

Archivist . John Herr, Dept, of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; (803)

777-8110; FAX (803) 777-4002; herr@biol.sc.edu.

Executive Committee Members-at-Large

2007: Elaine J. Davis, Dept, of Natural Sciences, Bowie State University, 14000Jericho Park Rd., Bowie, MD 20715;
(301) 860-3876; edavis@bowiestate.edu.

Scott Franklin, Dept, of Biology, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Ave., Memphis, TN 381 52;
(901) 678-5539; FAX (901) 678-4746; sfrankli@memphis.edu.

2008: Jennifer J. Davis, Dept, of Biology, Shorter College, Rome, GA 30161; (706) 233-7292; jdavis@shorter.edu.

Dennis C. Haney, Dept, of Biology, Furman University, Greenville, SC 29613-0418; (864) 294-2050; FAX (864)
294-2058; dennis.haney@furman.edu.

2009: Donald H. Roush, Department of Biology, University of North Alabama, P. O. Box 5181, Florence, AL 35632; (256)
765-4435; FAX (256) 765-4430; ahrouse@una.edu.

Robert Wayne Van Devender, Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, 572 Rivers Street, Boone, NC
28608; (828) 262-6907; (828) 262-2127; vandevenderr@appstate.edu.

Purpose

The purpose of this association shall be to promote the advancement of biology as a science by encouraging research,
the imparting of knowledge, the application of knowledge to the solution of biological problems, and the preservation of
biological resources. The ASB has representation in Section G Committee of the AAAS. Varying types of membership are
available to individuals and institutions. See inside back cover.

Time and Place of Future Meetings

2007 April 18-21: Hosted by the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.

2008 April 16-19: Hosted by Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina.

2006 Meeting

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THE VIEW FROM HERE

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
KIM MARIE TOLSON

Congratulations to everyone who attended the 67th Annual Meeting of the
Association of Southeastern Biologists in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, March 29
through April 1 , 2006. I would like to extend a special welcome to all of the first¬
time attendees, presenters, and exhibitors. If you have not heard by now, you
played a part in the making of history. This was a record setting meeting in many
ways. There were a record number of attendees — 965; a record number of
presentations made — 494; and a record number of exhibitors — 35. If these
numbers are a sign of things to come, then the future of ASB is looking great.

As a prosperous and expanding organization, change is inevitable and
necessary to accommodate our growth and success. The Executive Committee
will be meeting this September to address some changes that we feel need to be
made to make our organization more attractive to all disciplines of biology, more
efficient in light of the time demands that are placed on all of us, and more
professional. I predict we will be presenting changes to the bylaws to be voted
on by the membership — changes that reflect our current needs and size. This will
not be an easy task, but I am confident in the wisdom and experience of the
individuals you have elected to govern our Association. My promise to you is that
the Purpose of ASB will not be ignored.

As with any growth spurt, I also predict that we will experience a few growing
pains. Please remember that growth is not a problem to complain about, but
rather an achievement to brag about. I’m asking that you use the data above to
encourage your colleagues to join ASB and participate in our meetings.
Encourage diversity! We
want research into all five
Kingdoms of Life
represented; we want the
organismal and the
molecular research pre¬
sented; we want faculty,
graduate students and
undergraduate students
involved; we want acade¬
micians, consultants and
government employees
participating in our
Association. Columbia,

South Carolina is waiting
for us all.

from Dwayne A. Wise.

Kim Marie Tolson (right) receives the gavel

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ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS
INTERIM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
SATURDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2005
HAMPTON INN

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA

ATTENDANCE: 19 individuals attended the meeting.

NAME

Dwayne Wise
Kim Marie Tolson
Tom Wentworth
Terry Richardson
Tim Atkinson
Debbie Moore

Jerry Ritchie

Scott Franklin

Dennis Haney

Elaine Davis

Jennifer Davis

Jim Caponetti
John Herr
Scott Jewell
Patricia Cox
Joe Pollard
Donald Roush
Judy King
John Shields

CAPACITY

President

President-Elect

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Print Editor
Archivist

Meetings Coordinator
Local Arrangements 2006
Committee Representative
Tri-Beta Representative
SEMS Representative
SEMS Representative

EMAIL ADDRESS

dawl @ra. msstate.edu

tolson@ulm.edu

tom_wentworth@ncsu.edu

tdrichardson@una.edu

tim.atkinson@carolina.com

dsmoore@troy.edu

jritchie@hydrolab.arsusda.gov

sfrankli@memphis.edu

dennis.haney@furman.edu

edavis@bowiestate.edu

jdavis@shorter.edu

jcaponet@utk.edu

herr@biol.sc.edu

a2zconvention@yahoo.com

pbcox@tva.gov

joe.pollard@furman.edu

dhroush@una.edu

jking@usouthal.edu

jshields@cb.uga.edu

President Dwayne Wise called the meeting to order at 8:59 A.M.

Presidents Opening Remarks — Dwayne Wise began the meeting by welcoming
representatives from the Southeastern Microscopy Society (SEMS). Introductions
of all attending were made. Dwayne pointed out that in order to speak, you must
be recognized by the Chair. Everybody remembers what happened on
September 11th. You probably also remember what happened about 10 days ago
on the Gulf Coast. My state, Louisiana, and to some extent, Alabama took a fairly
major hit. He then followed by asking for a moment of silence for all the victims of
9/1 1 and Hurricane Katrina. In order to try to finish by 5:00 today, Dwayne asked
if you are making a report to try to be brief and highlight the important things. We
understand that you did that and try to just highlight the things that you think
people ought to hear that are somewhat different. So we will begin with the
officer’s reports.

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OFFICER’S REPORTS

President’s Report — Dwayne Wise indicated he had prepared a written report.
He mentioned he had all the committees filled except for one which is currently
under-staffed. He said he had talked a lot with affiliates and the presence of Judy
and John of SEMS is partly a result of that. He also talked with the Southeastern
Branch of the American Society of Microbiologist and said they are not ready at
this time to affiliate with ASB. SB-ASM thinks it might be a good idea and they
are considering it. Dwayne mentioned that the President is one of his colleagues
and she will be bringing it up to their Executive Committee. Dwayne added that
he had appointed an ad-hoc committee to deal with the broad issue of how ASB
wants to run its meetings and where, and what role a meeting coordinator will
play in our meetings. He said the Committee is working on it, but they do not
have a report yet. Dwayne mentioned he had sent about 250 letters to regional
biology chairs, graduate coordinators and so on advertising our annual meeting
and encouraging them to come to attend as exhibitors in order to recruit graduate
students.

President Elect’s Report — Kim Marie Tolson gave a report. Kim mentioned she
was very fortunate in that Pat Cox, the local arrangements chair, volunteered to
secure Dr. Peter White as the plenary speaker. She indicated that a travel and
honorarium were currently being worked out. Pat explained that Dr. White is
director with the North Carolina Botanical Gardens and is also Chairman of the
Board for Discovery Life in America. He is a plant ecologist and should be very
interesting. Additionally, he will probably play in the band Wednesday night. Jim
requested information on Dr. White for the December issue of SEB and Kim
responded that Pat or she will get some information to Jim as well as to Terry for
the web site.

Action Item 1: Kim and Pat will get biographical information on Dr. Peter
White to Jim Caponetti for the December issue (deadline
September 28) of SEB and Terry Richardson for the website.

Secretary’s Report — Terry Richardson gave the report. He indicated AAAS
information had been updated as well as the archives up through April 05. The
said April 15th business minutes had been prepared and published in the bulletin
for the membership’s vote of approval at the next meeting in 2006. The April 13th
Executive Committee and April 16th Executive Committee meeting minutes have
been prepared and need approval pending revision. He asked the Chair to call
for approval of minutes. Dwayne called for a motion to approve the minutes as
amended.

Motion 1: It was moved that the April 13th and 16th EC meeting minutes be
approved as amended.

Motion 1 was seconded.

Motion 1 passed.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

Treasurer’s Report — Tim Atkinson presented his report. He indicated we need
to look at our financial picture but would save that for New Business.

Print Editor’s Report — Jim Caponetti gave his report. He indicated all is going
well with Allen Press and with FedEx. He said they have been very good about
delivering the journal in a timely manner. He also mentioned that if any of the EC
had changed addresses, telephone, fax, or e-mail, to let him know for the inside
front cover of SEB. Jim said that paper costs keep going up, printing costs, etc.,
causing bulletin costs to rise. He has somewhat addressed the situation by
reducing the number of extra issues. He said he had reduced the number of
extra copies from 50 per issue to about 20 for the September through January
issues in an effort to reduce costs. Jim pointed out that the April issue was
another story. He said he was still trying to fine-tune how many extra copies are
needed because a certain number of people join ASB at the annual meeting and
they should get the April issue. Jim indicated that the motion passed in the last
EC meeting to print a program and may result in savings on the April issue.
Some discussion followed. Jim also said that there were increased printing costs.
Allen Press keeps raising its prices because the cost of paper keeps going up.
Dwayne said that we are going to come back to the whole issue of the journal
and the quality of the journal as it relates to our budget later this afternoon.

Web Editor’s Report — Terry Richardson gave the report. He mentioned he had
done his best to try to keep the site up-to-date. He said he tried to post
everything almost immediately as it was sent. He also indicated that there were
some things beyond his control at this point. For example, when you go to the
web page and see question marks, those are actually quotations, but when he
does the editing in Frontpage there are quotation marks there. Likely there is
something in the communication through the server that is not coming up
correctly. Joe Pollard indicated he may be able to help with the question marks.
Terry requested that items should be sent in MS-Word format or a PDF file, and
to be certain that it is the way you want it to appear. Some discussion followed
concerning the ASB domain name.

Action Item 2: Joe Pollard should consult with Terry on how to change the
question marks appearing on the web page to quotation
marks.

Archivist’s Report — John Herr presented his report. He said he had filed all that
he received for last year and that we are up to date on things taken down to
University of Georgia libraries. He mentioned that he keeps most of the archive
materials in his possession for a while because people call and ask about recent
items. John mentioned he came across an old computer-generated list of ASB
attendees at the 1967 annual meeting in Columbia. He suggested we may wish
to again generate a list of attendees. Terry inquired if there was an ‘Affiliates’ file
in the archives and John indicated there was, but that there were no files for
individual affiliates. Terry asked if it would be possible to construct such
individual files and John said he could. Terry commented that this would be an
additional perk for organizations affiliating with ASB.

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321

Action Item 3: John Herr will construct file categories for each individual
affiliate wishing to archive materials through ASB.

4

Book Editor’s Report — Debbie Moore briefly gave a report. She indicated that
there had been an increase in book review submissions from the ASB
membership due to a large part to the EC. She thanked those who have agreed
to review books and have done so in a timely fashion.

AFFILIATE REPORTS

Southeastern Fishes Council — Hank Bart was unable to be present due to
Hurricane Katrina. Hank is in Baton Rouge and safe. It was also mentioned that
Don Hauber from Loyola was in Kansas with his family. Dwayne requested that
anyone receiving news on colleagues from the storm ravaged area please email
the EC.

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society — Pat Cox was present and gave a
report. She said she had an e-mail from Michael Held who is SABS President
with the biggest news for SABS that they reached their goal for the endowment
of $200,000 in April. Howard Neufeld is the President-Elect for SABS.

Southeastern Society of Parasitologists — Pat Cox mentioned that SSP would
be meeting with ASB in 2006.

Tri-Beta — Don Roush presented a brief report. He indicated that Tri-Beta was in
the early stages of preparation for the 2006 meeting with ASB. He said they had
forwarded information to LAC with their needs for space and will be sending out a
call-for-papers to get ready for the meeting. He said they were looking forward to
having a good meeting.

Society of Herbarium Curators — John Herr reported. He announced that he
was the affiliate representative of the Society of Herbarium Curators and that this
was the first time an international society had affiliated with a regional one. He
said SHC now has members from the British Isles. He said that bulldozers were
currently pushing a road through to the herbarium at Gulfport, Mississippi, and
tomorrow botanists from at least 3 or 4 universities will be converging on the
herbarium to rescue it from the water it has been soaking in. The herbarium
specimens will probably be carried to Fairchild Gardens in Florida, because they
have had a lot of experience with restoration and drying out specimens.

SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

AAAS — Bonnie Kelley was unable to attend, but a written report was forwarded.

AIBS — Geraldine Twitty was unable to attend but sent a written report via Elaine
Davis. Elaine Davis read the report as presented. And a copy was given to the
secretary. It was suggested that Terry get a copy of the report from Geraldine
and place it on the web page.

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Action Item 4: Terry needs to contact Geraldine for an electronic copy of
the report and post it on the web page.

Association of Systematics Collections — Kim Marie Tolson gave an update.
She indicated that ASC has folded into a larger organization called NSCA, the
National Science Collection Alliance and they have a web site,
www.NSCAIIiance.org. She said she went to their web site and learned that
membership was extremely pricey. If your have a collection, whether it’s plants,
animals, or whatever, anything in the natural history realm, if you have
international specimens in your collection, dues are $5,000 a year. Kim indicated
that she was not sure that individuals participating in ASB would belong to such a
pricey alliance. She mentioned that Pat Cox gave her some information on
another group, The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections or
SPNHC (the “spinach” group). She indicated she would pursue this group further.

Dwayne asked for a motion to discontinue affiliation with ASC.

Motion 2: It was moved to discontinue affiliation with ASC.

Motion 2 was seconded.

Motion 2 passed without discussion.

Dwayne charged Kim Marie with pursuing the SPNHC connection and report at
the spring meeting.

Action Item 5: Kim Marie will pursue affiliation with SPNHC further and
report to the EC at the spring meeting.

(Agenda Suspended)

Dwayne suspended the Agenda to address the affiliation of the Southeastern
Microscopy Society. He welcomed our friends and colleagues from SEMS, Judy
King and John Shields. He indicated that, as a representative of ASB, he had
been talking about an affiliation with SEMS for about a year or maybe longer.
Dwayne said he went to Pensacola Beach to their annual meeting and met with
their Executive Committee. They discussed the issue and voted in favor of
affiliation with ASB. Dwayne indicated that Judy, as SEMS President, presented
to him all of the necessary documentation as listed in ASB’s affiliation document.
Dwayne then asked for a motion for ASB to officially affiliate with the
Southeastern Microscopy Society.

Motion 3: It was moved that ASB officially affiliate with the Southeastern
Microscopy Society.

Motion 3 was seconded.

Discussion followed.

It was asked how many members SEMS had. Judy responded that there were as
many as 160 on the books. She said the number of active dues-paying members

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323

is less than that. The last number she had was about 80. Corporate membership
is running around 30-40.

The question was called, seconded and passed.

Motion 3 passed.

Dwayne mentioned the need to discuss whether a vote for approval of affiliation
should go before the membership and opened the floor for discussion. It was
mentioned that this was not in the ASB By-laws. Discussion followed. After
hearing that there was no precedent for presenting affiliation to a vote of the
membership, Dwayne ruled that voting by the EC alone was effective and that
SEMS was now an official ASB affiliate. It was mentioned that something would
be put into SEB about SEMS as a new ASB affiliate.

(Return to the Agenda)

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Local Arrangements Committee 2005, Florence — Terry Richardson gave a
report. He presented a budget summary and had copies for distribution. He noted
that he included percentages so that future LACs would have these to go by. He
noted we had 596 in attendance. Of these in attendance, we had less than 10 or
11% take field trips, and that was with only 3 field trips offered. He pointed out
that if Tri-Beta is removed, less than 5% attending signed up for field trips. About
1/3 of the membership or 1/3 of attendees register and attend the pre- and post¬
plenary socials and about 25% attending wanted box lunches for Thursday and
Friday. Sixty-five percent attended the social with 46% attending the banquet.
Terry noted that this was likely the result of relatively low banquet costs and that
award applicants had to be present in order to win the award. He offered an
addition to the disbursements not appearing on the distributed copy. He pointed
out that the copies did not have the security officers at $1525.00 bringing the
total to $76,601.68. This gave a meeting short-fall of $963.19. Terry said
because of liability issues, certainly for the Thursday night social, that there
should be security officials present especially as it relates to people driving to
and from events.

Terry pointed out that there was basically a $1000 short fall but, adding the
expense of meeting coordinator, it came to about $-10,563.19. Terry also
reported some information about room nights. He indicated he only had to
guarantee 375 room nights at the Holiday Inn to get the meal deals and free
banquet room use and the complimentary breakfast that the EC had. However,
he said ASB actually ended up with 634 room nights and that does not count
those staying over Saturday night. Tim Atkinson pointed out that the T-shirts
included in Terry’s report were listed only because they were run through the
ASB registration. Those were done by Tri Beta and Tri Beta was reimbursed; it is
not a meeting expense that has to be dealt with. Some discussion followed.

Local Arrangements Committee 2006, Gatlinburg — Pat Cox and Randy Small
were present to give a report. They passed out a meeting planner guide for the
Gatlinburg meeting. They showed what the new Mill Auditorium will look like.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

Three weeks ago Pat had a hard-hat tour of these facilities and said they had just
poured the concrete on the floor. She said they promised that this will be ready
and gave her some drawings so we could see what the newly renovated Mill
Auditorium will look like. The Glenstone Lodge, the meeting hotel, is about two
blocks from the convention center. Right next door to the lodge is the Holiday Inn
that will take any overflow. The Microtel is right across from the Convention
Center and they were hoping that would be for students only because it is
cheaper and the rooms are very small. They next covered general meeting layout
discussing what functions would be held in various rooms. They mentioned that
there will be security because it is required by the Convention Center. Discussion
followed.

They mentioned the banquet was set up as well as the Thursday night social.
The Thursday night social is going to be called the Beer and Bandana bash and
beer will be from the local microbrewery. They also mentioned that the various
luncheons and breakfasts were set up. The banquet is going to be about $30-$35
with students about $5-10 less. Pat pointed out the concern over filed trips, but
really does not think that will be an issue at Gatlinburg. Some general discussed
ensued.

Local Arrangements Committee 2007, Columbia — John Herr was present to
give a report. John indicated that Columbia was very excited to have ASB return.
He mentioned that two symposia were already being discussed and that two field
trips were being planned as was something for attending spouses. The Thursday
night social was being planned and is scheduled to be held in the Strom
Thurman Wellness Center. There is a swimming pool area with beach volleyball.
John says swimming will be allowed but no skinny-dipping. There will be a band
playing everything from beach music to bluegrass. He said since this was the
barbeque capital of the world, they were planning a whole pig barbeque, a pig¬
picking type barbeque. John mentioned that their committee was in place and
everyone seems to be on task. John wrapped up asking if there were any
questions. There were some general questions and discussion that followed.
John mentioned that at least one symposium will feature the fact that the USC
Herbarium will be 100 years old in 2007 and that is also the 300th year of
Linnaeus.

Local Arrangements Committee 2008, Greenville — Joe Pollard was present to
report. Joe said there was not much to report because 2008 is still a long way
out, but that everything seems to be well in hand. He said Scott made a second
site visit a couple of months ago mostly looking at facilities for the Thursday
venue. For the meeting venue as a whole, Joe indicated there were still basically
two options, one is the Hyatt which ASB used before. It is by far the most
economical because they will give us the meeting rooms for free with a
guarantee of room occupancy which ASB can meet. The size of this facility may
be a little cramped, depending on how much the meeting grows, but it can
probably be worked out. Joe said the other alternative is the Palmetto Expo
Center which would be great but it’s out on the edge of town with nothing
interesting near by and Greenville is the main attraction. Plus it’s much more
expensive and you have to pay up front to have a meeting there. They are
looking at several more alternatives for the Thursday night socials, all of which

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325

can be in-doors, and otherwise everything is well in hand. He said the room rate
is $1 19 at the Hyatt but that they are going to try and negotiate that down.

Committee on Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities — Dwayne
Wise had a written report from Committee Chair Pat Parr. He first covered a
proposal put forth by the committee. The committee proposed that for the ‘06
Gatlinburg meeting they would like to have an hour and half to two hour mini¬
symposium on identifying career opportunities in Biology with some refreshments
available, lunch if possible. Dwayne said they will try to get a sponsor to cover
the cost. The committee is asking the EC for a commitment of $300.00, but if
they get the sponsorship commitment they won’t use the $300.00. They also
request that there be a way to sign up for box lunches on the registration form.
Pat mentioned they are not going to do box lunches so there’ll be some other
solution for that if it comes up. They are soliciting ideas for discussion leaders
and presenters. Some general discussion ensued. Dwayne continued the report.
In ‘05 this committee had a successful workshop and they are collecting
information about ASB minority involvement. Dwayne made a statement
regarding increasing minority involvement in ASB. The committee’s suggestions
were to do things like give travel assistance to any minority presenter, give
special assistance to minority institutions that want to send people and so on. He
mentioned that they have volunteers to contact HBCU biologists in several
states, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
and they need volunteers for the states of Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, West
Virginia, Louisiana, and Illinois. Dwayne concluded the report.

Action Item 6: Dwayne charged the committee to present some actionable
recommendations for the spring meeting regarding financial
support to increase ASB minority involvement.

Conservation Committee — Bob George was not present. Dwayne said he knew
they were working on a statement that would become a resolution and that he
had received e-mails from Bob George about that. He said Bob is working with
Pat Parr and Claudia Jolls who is Chair of the Resolutions Committee to present
a resolution at the spring meeting. Dwayne thought it had to do with invasive
species.

Education Committee — Phil Gibson was not present for a report. Dennis Haney
presented a synopsis of work up to this point by the committee. He said they had
been working on a proposal to conduct a half day workshop on teaching
technology. Dwayne pointed out that the Education Committee is under staffed
with only three members instead of the required six. This is causing the
committee to run a little behind schedule.

Action Item 7: Dwayne will appoint 3 additional members to the Education
Committee before the ’06 meeting.

Don Roush, Debbie Moore and John Shields agreed to fill the committee
vacancies. It was agreed that Kim Marie Tolson will reestablish the rotation
schedule.

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Enrichment Fund — Kim Marie Tolson presented a report. She reported no
activity other than possible contributions that Tim Atkinson will have reported.
The Enrichment Fund will seek out the NABT Outstanding teacher from the state
of Tennessee and invite that teacher to the meeting. Some discussion followed.
Some asked about contributions since Claudia Jolls’s challenge. Kim mentioned
she had not actually totaled those but she was relatively confident that we were
not near matching the challenge yet.

Action Item 8: Jim Caponetti will prepare a box announcement regarding
Claudia’s challenge to be printed in the Bulletin.

John Herr mentioned considering making the Enrichment fund an Endowment.
He pointed out the success that SABS is having with that technique. Some
discussion followed.

Finance Committee — Tim Atkinson was present but no report was needed.

Meritorious Teaching Award Committee — Pat Cox reported. She said there
were no new nominees, but mentioned they had three strong candidates.

Nominations Committee — Andy Ash was not present but Dwayne Wise said the
committee was making progress.

Past-President’s Council — There was no report given, but Dwayne mentioned
there would be an item to discuss under New Business.

Place of Meeting Committee — Joe Pollard said there was no report. Dwayne
was considering looking into the University of Mississippi and Oxford as a future
meeting place.

Poster Awards Committee — Dennis Haney spoke regarding the committee.
Things are going as planned. The addition of ad hoc members to the committee
was discussed.

Publications Committee — Debbie Moore gave a report. She said all is going
well. She mentioned that we have two ASB members wanting the cover of their
respective books featured on the cover of the bulletin. She mentioned this was
not normally done. She said they then inquired about a page on the inside. She
asked the EC for direction on this. Dwayne said that advertisement space in the
bulletin was available for purchase. Discussion ensued. Jim Caponetti mentioned
that we indeed do not sell advertisements in the bulletin. Don Roush and Terry
Richardson spoke to the historic consideration that we do not sell ads in the
bulletin.

Action Item 9: Dwayne charged the Publications Committee to provide a
set of written actionable recommendations for a meeting
program with space for exhibitors to advertise. They should
also consider how ads might reduce journal costs.

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Microbiology Research Award Committee — There was no report.

Action Item 10: Dwayne charged the committee to write up a committee
description for the constitution.

Resolution Committee — Dwayne mentioned that there was a resolution in the
works on invasive species.

Break — 12:00 noon
Reconvene — 1:55 pm

OLD BUSINESS

Meeting Coordinator — Dwayne Wise and Tim Atkinson were directed by the EC
to conclude a contract extension with Scott Jewell which they did. Dwayne said
copies were available on request. Dwayne said Scott has continued to work with
the LAC and do similar things to what he had been doing and he negotiated a
price for doing that. The amount was less than he had suggested at the previous
meeting. At the EC meeting in Florence, Dwayne formed a committee of Tim
Shaw, Jim Hull, and Andy Ash to come up with a study on the whole area of ASB
meetings. This was to include not just whether or not we should have a Meetings
Coordinator and what we should pay that person, but looking ahead to the next 5
years or even 10, about what does ASB want these meetings to be like. Dwayne
said the committee is working and they are going to have a set of
recommendations for us for the April meeting. However, Dwayne pointed out that
in the mean time, Scott has a contract that goes only through the end of April. He
indicated that the EC would have to do something at the April meeting. The EC

will need to make a decision with the input from the ad hoc committee.

Action Item 11: Dwayne will remind the ad hoc committee members to
communicate with previous LAC chairs for input into the
matter.

Discussion followed regarding the time frame for presentation of meeting

coordinator contracts. Dwayne pointed out that the EC could, again, ask him and

Tim to come to the EC in April with a negotiated contract. Considerable
discussion followed. Dwayne urged the EC to do something at this time. Tim
recommended a three year contract with annual renewal. Considerable
discussion followed.

Motion 4: It was moved that the EC have Dwayne and Tim negotiate a
three year rolling contract renewable annually at the spring EC
meeting with Scott Jewell and A2Z Convention Services.

Second.

Discussion followed.

The question was called and the call passed 7-3.

Motion 4 passed.

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Other Old Business — At the Saturday EC meeting in April Dwayne Wise
charged Joe Pollard, Jim Caponetti and Tom Wentworth to look into ways to
address the problem of no-shows at the meeting, i.e., people who submit
abstracts, posters, or papers and then don’t present them. One option examined
was the one that is utilized by the Ecological Society of America. This has a
person pay up front for submitting for a presentation. The fee is not refundable
unless the person cancels before a specified deadline which is well in advance of
the meeting. In other words, a person could cancel by some day established by
us and receive a refund or they can register for the meeting and have that money
put toward their registration fee. There are contingencies for people with medical
emergencies or family emergencies and international people who can’t get a visa
and so forth, they can get a refund beyond the deadline. Also, if the person does
not show they are not allowed to present the following year. Discussion followed.

Action Item 12: Dwayne charged the ad hoc committee in place to pursue
the issue of no-shows and bring data to the spring EC
meeting with actionable recommendations on the issue.

NEW BUSINESS

Dues — Dwayne presented a handout looking at similar sized organizations and
their dues. It was clear that ASB was considerably lower than those
organizations. Discussion followed. Tim presented some numbers from state
organizations. It was pointed out that the last ASB dues increase was in 2002.
Since that time publication expenses have increased 13%. Total expenses have
increased 41% during that time period, but income increased only 27%. Other
comparable increases in expenses and dues short falls were presented.
Discussion followed.

Break — 3:20 pm
Reconvene — 3:35 pm

Unfinished Business — Joe Pollard reminded the EC that recommendations
from the Patrons and Exhibitors Committee to be entertained by the EC were
tabled at the Saturday April 12 meeting. This was to be brought forth today, but
the committee thought more time was needed and the recommendations would
be presented at a later date.

Dues (cont.) — Discussion on dues increase and structure continued.

Motion 5: It was moved the EC bring before the membership a
recommendation to increase regular member dues to $35,
regular member three years to $95, student member dues to
$15, family to $40, emeritus to $15, contributing to $70,
sustaining to $140, life to $350, and library to $40 and library
three year dues to $100.

Seconded.
Discussion followed.

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Action Item 13: Dwayne Wise and Tim Atkinson will distribute to the
‘members of the EC their data reflecting a need for dues
increase.

Question was called and passed.

Motion 5 passed.

Action Item 14: Jim Caponetti will publish these proposed increases and
arguments as written by President Wise and that the EC
passed this recommendation unanimously.

Website Issue — Terry Richardson presented an offer from a company to move
the site to their server. This could make finding our site easier. Discussion
followed.

Motion 6: It was moved to leave the web site where it is.

Seconded.

Discussion.

Question was called and passed.

Motion 6 passed.

Publications Issue — Total printing and mailing costs exceed our dues income
and represents 30% of total expenditures. Discussion followed.

Motion 7: It was moved to eliminate issue number 4 and combine duplicate
material from issues 4 and 1 into a single issue.

Seconded.

Discussion ensued with the Constitution and Bylaws read for clarification.

Action Item 15: Dwayne charged the Publications Committee to bring to
the Wednesday EC meeting in Gatlinburg a list of
recommendations for rearrangement of our publication
strategy.

Question was called and passed.

Motion 7 did not pass.

More discussion followed.

Symposia — Symposia of the 2006 Gatlinburg meeting were next entertained.

Committee on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities proposal was

read. The proposal carries with it a request for $300.

Motion 8: It was moved to accept the Committees proposal.

Seconded.

Discussion followed.

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Question was called and passed.

Motion 8 passed.

Zack Murrell sent a proposal for a symposium on community standards.

Motion 9: It was moved to accept the proposal

Seconded.

Discussion followed.

Motion 9 passed.

There was a proposal from Pat Cox for an “All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory”
symposium.

Motion 10: Move to accept.

Seconded.

Motion 10 passed.

There was a motion from the Education Committee for a half-day workshop doing
science and biology education with technology. Dennis Haney mentioned they
were planning on bringing in two experts in this area. He said they would need
about $500 for each expert. Discussion followed.

Motion 1 1 : It was moved to approve the request for funding.

Seconded.

Discussion followed.

Motion 1 1 and the second were withdrawn.

Scott Jewell had some additional new business related to non-dues revenue. He
also mentioned that he would be representing ASB at several upcoming national
meetings. He also addressed meeting locations and competition for our
business. Discussion followed.

Discussion arose regarding selling advertisements in the bulletin.

Motion 12: It was moved to sell advertisement space in issue number 2 of
the 2006 bulletin only to patrons and exhibitors, at a price
determined by the LAC and meeting coordinator.

Seconded.

Discussion.

Motion 12 passed.

Adjournment — 4:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry D. Richardson, Secretary.

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ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS
AIBS REPRESENTATIVE REPORT
REPORT: 56th AIBS ANNUAL MEETING

Kent Holsinger, AIBS President, opened the 56th AIBS annual meeting on 24
May 2006 at the Westin Grand, Washington, D.C. The theme, “Biodiversity: the
Interplay of Science, Valuation, and Policy,” offered the two hundred plus
participants the opportunity to explore diverse linkages among the fields linking
biodiversity to economics, policymaking, and ecosystem services. The initial
plenary address by Daniel Esty, “From Science to Policy: Biodiversity Protection,
Metrics, and Results,” was followed by a Welcome Reception and Student Poster
Session.

Plenary sessions, interspersed with discussion groups/panels and the
Student Poster Awards Ceremony, continued on 25 May 1006. The plenary
speakers included Jamie R. Clark (The Endangered Species Act Under Attack:
The Dynamic Interplay between Science and Policy), Shahid Naeem
(Applications of Biodiversity Research to Human Well-Being), Richard B.
Norgaard (Values and Valuation in the Rapidly Changing World), Stephen
Polasky (Valuing Ecosystem Services), and Stephen Bocking (Defining Effective
Science for Biodiversity). Access to the proceedings is available via the AIBS
Virtual Library.

Attendees interested in working towards expanding career, professional
development, and services opportunities for women, minorities, and persons with
disabilities were welcomed at the first AIBS Diversity Luncheon on 25 May. The
featured speaker, Dr. Robert Stanton, former Director, US National Park Service,
addressed issues regarding the “Diversity in Resources Stewardship: An
Imperative for Achieving and Sustaining Environmental Quality.” The Student
Poster winners — Michelle D. Nicholson (Howard University) for individual
research and to Rysanek Rivera (The City College of New York) for group
research — were introduced.

Reports of each of the AIBS services and programs were made. All reported
positive interactions, growth, and plans for expanding operations. In particular,
the Diversity /Committee anticipates the first Diversity Scholars/Diversity
Leadership Awards this summer, the Education Committee is implementing the
national office of the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS).
AIBS and COPUS will cooperatively organize the 2009 Year of Public
Understanding of Science Activity along with AAAS and the National Academy
of Science. There are plans for curriculum study in 2008 and perhaps an
educational summit.

Exciting plans are in the works! Plan to attend the May 2007 AIBS meeting in
DC that will be held in conjunction with the International Union of Biological
Scientists.

Respectfully submitted,

Geraldine W. Twitty
AIBS Representative

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ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS

67th ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
FRIDAY, 31 MARCH 2006
GATLINBURG CONVENTION CENTER
GATLINBURG, TENNESSEE

Attendance — 173 voting members present

Call-to-Order — President Dwayne Wise called the 67th Annual Business Meeting of the
Association of Southeastern Biologists to order at 1 1 :24 AM.

Dwayne commented this may be the largest ASB meeting ever with over 978 registered,
a record number of abstracts and posters submitted and the largest bulletin ever.

Dwayne asked for approval of the minutes of the 66th Annual ASB Business Meeting.
Terry requested any editorial corrections be given to him following the meeting.

Motion 1 : A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes.

Motion 1 passed.

Election of Officers — Dwayne announced the following slate of officer candidates
presented by the Nominations Committee and asked each to stand:

President-Elect — Beverly Collins and Mike Dennis.

There were no nominations from the Floor.

Vice President — George Cline and Bonnie Kelley.

There were no nominations from the Floor.

Secretary — Debbie Moore and Paul Schmalzer.

There were no nominations from the Floor.

Executive Committee Members-at-Large — Neil Billington, Mijitaba Flamissou, Don
Roush, Wayne Van Devender.

There were no nominations from the Floor.

Motion 2: A motion was made and seconded to close nominations.

Motion 2 passed.

Voting proceeded and ballets were collected by tellers and removed for tallying.

Election Results: [Note from the Secretary: Results of the election of officers are

presented herein as a matter of record. Election results are not
announced at the Annual Business Meeting, but rather are held
for announcement at the Annual ASB Banquet.]

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f

Mike Dennis, President-Elect
Bonnie Kelley, Vice President
Debbie Moore, Secretary

Don Roush, Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Wayne Van Devender, Executive Committee Member-at-Large.

General Business — Dwayne distributed a description of the Research Award in
Microbiology worded for the ASB Bylaws

Motion 3: Motion to amend the Bylaws as described was made and seconded.
Motion 3 passed.

A resolution regarding Invasive Species was distributed.

Motion 4: A motion was made to approve the resolution. The motion was
seconded.

Motion 5: A motion to amend the resolution was made and seconded.

Discussion followed.

The question was called and passed on the motion to amend.

Motion 5 passed.

Motion 6: A motion was made to amend the resolution as follows — replace “alien”
with “invasive/exotic” and replace “weeds” with “invasive/exotics”.

Discussion ensued.

The question to amend as above was called and passed.

Motion 6 passed.

Motion 7: A motion was made and seconded to accept the resolution as amended.
Discussion followed.

Motion 7 passed. [Note: Motion 4, as stated was never acted on.
Subsequent motions were allowed and apparently took precedence over
Motion 4 while still on the floor. The validity of the final action is
questionable.]

Dwayne asked for a motion concerning application for emeritus status.

Motion 8: A motion was made and seconded to accept the list of applicants for
emeritus status.

Motion 8 passed.

Adjournment: The 67th Annual Business Meeting of the Association of Southeastern
Biologists adjourned at 12:06 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Terry D. Richardson, Secretary c«

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Events of the 2006 Annual Meeting in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

ASB Meritorious Teaching Award
University Professor Honored
Ronald V. Dimock, Jr.

The ASB Meritorious Teaching Award is our most prestigious award,
honoring those who have excelled in their commitment to excellence in teaching
and relaying their love and passion for biology to others. The award carries a
cash prize of $1,500.00 and is graciously sponsored by patron member Carolina
Biological Supply Company, Burlington, North Carolina.

The 2006 ASB Meritorious Teaching award was presented to Dr. Ronald V.
Dimock, Jr., of Wake Forest University, by award committee chair, Patricia B.
Cox. Dr. Dimock was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, and received his BA
degree in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire, a MS degree also in
Zoology from Florida State University where his research was entitled “An
examination of physiological variation in the American oyster ( Crassostrea
Virginia)" and a PhD from the University of California at Santa Barbara. His
research for his PhD centered on the “Ecological and physiological aspects of
host recognition by a symbiotic polychaete.”

An ASB member since 1971, Dr. Dimock has served on the Meritorious
Teaching Award Committee and has been an author or co-author on 21
presentations at ASB meetings and his name appears on 52 peered reviewed
publications. He has directed 24 MS and PhD students as well as 68
undergraduates in independent research projects during his 35 years of teaching.
These students have gone on to productive careers in academics, researchers,
or the medical field.

He regularly teaches a freshmen-sophomore course in Comparative
Physiology as well as upper division classes in Invertebrate Zoology and Marine
Biology, and on occasion, Tropical Marine Ecology, Physiological Ecology and
Advanced Invertebrate Zoology. He is a regular instructor at the Duke University
Marine Laboratory where he teaches Marine Invertebrate Zoology. Ron also
loves to take undergraduate students on extended field trips such as a 30 day
trip from Winston-Salem NC to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California; a three-week
trip to the Galapagos Islands, and a semester-long residential program in
London, England.

Dr. Dimock has several impressive honors. He was named the Thurman D.
Kitchin Professor of Biology in 2003. This is an endowed chair which Wake
Forest University reserves for professors that are the embodiment of the scholar-
teacher ideal. He also has one organism ( Unionicola dimocki) and 1 subgenus
(Dimockatax of the genus Unionicola) named in his honor.

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When reading through all the letters of support for Dr. Dimock’s nomination
for this award, I found myself jealous that I didn’t have a class taught by him.
Here are just a few of the many notable comments provided by his former
students.

Quote: “He cares deeply about his students, both personally and professionally
and views his role as advisor to be a lifelong commitment. His unwavering
devotion to teaching and the well-being of his students makes his courses
amount the most popular in the department. His lectures are inspiring. He is
meticulous and thorough and has an uncanny ability to distil down the most
complex concepts into their components parts and convey them effectively. He
believes that students learn best by doing, thus he has spearheaded efforts to
introduce innovative inquiry-based laboratory exercises that encourage student’s
to hone their problem-solving and critical thinking skills while helping them gain a
greater appreciation for the scientific process. However his commitment to
teaching is not restricted o the classroom or laboratory, He can turn any situation
into an educational experience. I once witnessed him giving a mini-lecture on the
biomechanical properties of snail mucus to a group of students who had stopped
to watch a slug crawl across the sidewalk after an afternoon rain”.

Quote: (Duke Marine Lab) “He gave us a long lecture before we started to pull
specimens off the side of the dock telling us to be really careful of certain
organisms because they would sting you, 45 minutes later he had the best
specimens and his arms were swollen and red from recklessly brushing up
against all the stinging organisms. He once hung off the back of the boat with the
propeller going and used a bucket to scoop up some terror from the deep that
was invariably the highlight of my day. He would say... .’Never hang off the back
of the boat with the propeller going’, as he hung off the boat with the propeller
going. He is the only professor I’ve ever had who was an absolute superhero to
me!”

Quote: (England) “While biology is of utmost importance, he never failed to show
us the humanistic side to science nor let us fail to experience contemporary
culture and social and scientific history. We ate at the Eagle pub, Cambridge
which Watson and Crick frequented, we visited the Linnaean society saw
countless plays, London and its surrounding areas became our laboratory.”

Quote: “While in London, he involved our entire group in many scientific field trips
in and around the city. We went to the Museum of Natural history were he
managed to book a backdoor tour of the facility. I still remember how excited he
became while teaching and showing us specimens collected by Darwin on the
Beagle’s native voyage. He never once tired of our questions and his depth of
knowledge continually amazes me as a student.”

I could spend more time quoting from these letters, but they all say the same
thing — this year’s recipient is most deserving of this award. The Association of
Southeastern Biologist proudly presented this most prestigious award to
Dr. Ronald V. Dimock, Jr., of Wake Forest University.

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Ronald V. Dimock, Jr., relaxing during a field trip.

Ronald V. Dimock, Jr., (left) receives the 2006 ASB Meritorious
Teaching Award from committee chair Patricia B. Cox.

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337

ASB Enrichment Fund Award

High School Teacher Honored
Brenda Royal

The ASB Enrichment Fund recognized the 2005 Outstanding Biology
Teacher (OBT) from the state of Tennessee at the annual meeting of the
association in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Ms. Brenda Royal from Nashville,
Tennessee, attended the meeting and was presented with a certificate and a
check for $500.00 from the Enrichment Fund Account at the Friday night awards
banquet.

Brenda Royal is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, having
received her B.S. with a double major in chemistry and biology in 1980, her M.S.
in Biology in 1982, and Ed.S. in curriculum and instruction in 1995. She currently
teaches Advanced Placement Biology and Anatomy and Physiology at Hume-
Fogg Academic Magnet High School in Nashville. She was a finalist for the 1995
Tennessee Teacher of the Year, a finalist for the 2005 Metro Nashville Teacher
of the Year, the 2005 Outstanding Biology Teacher from the State of Tennessee,
and she was just told Wednesday that she is the recipient of the 2005-06
Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement for teachers in Tennessee. Her
passion is getting students excited about learning science, about seeing the
amazing interconnections in the study of biology, and making the links of
textbook to real world. Her greatest joys are her teenage daughters, Julie and
Emily, and her dogs, Dusty and Bailey.

Brenda Royal (left) receives the ASB Enrichment Fund
Award from award committee chair Kim Marie Tolson.

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2006 Research Award Recipients
ASB Senior Research Award

The ASB Senior Research Award sponsored by Associated Microscopes,
Inc., Elon, North Carolina, was awarded to Martin Henry H. Stevens,
Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, for his manuscript entitled
“Placing local plant species richness in the context of environmental drivers of
metacommunity richness.” The manuscript was published in the Journal of
Ecology, 94:58-65, 2006. His paper presentation at the annual meeting is entitled
the same as above, SE Biology Abstract 63, 53(2).

Award committee chair, Lisa Kelly, submitted the following autobiography of
Martin Henry Hoffman Stevens.

Hank spent formative years in the Adirondack Mountains, where his love for
the natural world and its biodiversity grew strong. During his high school years,
he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and then went on to the University of New
Hampshire, where, oddly enough, he majored in psychology, with a minor in
dance. He went on to dance with several ballet companies, finishing up for five
seasons with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. He then went on to graduate work in
ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh, completing an
M.S. on stream-landscape interactions with Kenneth Cummins. His interest in the
controls on plant communities grew out of this work, and his Ph.D., with Walter
Carson, tested mechanisms by which productivity and soil resources influence
plant species diversity. This work now appears in two recent ecology textbooks.
He spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Peter Morin at
Rutgers University, where he began to use laboratory microcosms to study the
effects of temperature and light on the diversity of both eukaryotes and
prokaryotes. Hank is currently at Miami University, residing in Oxford, Ohio, with
his wife, two children and multitude of pets. Hank, and his student and faculty
colleagues, continue to study the effects of environmental factors and resources
on plant and microbe biodiversity and food web dynamics. They use a wide
variety of model systems, from field experiments in herbaceous plant
assemblage, to Escherichia coli cultures, to mathematical models.

ASB Senior Research Award recipient
Martin Henry H. Stevens.

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339

ASB Student Research Award

The ASB Student Research Award sponsored by the Martin Microscope
Company, Easley, South Carolina, was presented by award committee member
Dennis Haney (for committee chair Katie Greenberg) to Christie Bobowski,
Department of Biology, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, for her
paper co-authored with Eli V. Hestermann entitled “Combinatorial gene
regulation by the estrogen and aryl hydrocarbon receptors,” SE Biology Abstract
49, 53(2).

Christie Bobowski (left) receives the ASB Student Research Award from
award committee member Dennis Haney.

Brooks/Cole Student Research Award In Aquatic Biology

The Brooks/Cole Student Research Award in Aquatic Biology sponsored by
the Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Belmont, California,
was presented by award committee member Dennis Haney (for committee chair
Katie Greenberg) to Anna J. Phillips, Department of Biology, Appalachian State
University, Boone, North Carolina, for her paper co-authored with Mark E. Siddall
of the American Museum of Natural History entitled “Phylogeny of the New World
medicinal leech family Macrobdellidae (Oligochaeta: Hirudinida: Arhynchob-
dellida),” SE Biology Abstract 142, 53(2).

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Anna J. Phillips (left) receives the Brooks/Cole Student Research Award

in Aquatic Biology from award committee member Dennis Haney.

The student awards committee also singled out the following two paper
presentations for honorable mention.

1. Sarah E. Johnson and Claudia L. Jolls. Department of Botany,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Department of Biology, East Carolina
University, Greenville, North Carolina. “An assessment of the role of competition
on the beach as a factor in the distribution of Amaranthus pumilus Raf.
(Amaranthaceae),” SE Biology Abstract 151, 53(2).

2. Christopher G. Brown and Daniel J. Funk. Department of Biological
Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. “Fecal-case associated
behavior and life history of Neochlamisus leaf beetles,” SE Biology Abstract 147,
53(2).

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Christopher G. Brown (left) receives an honorable mention certificate
from student research award committee member Dennis Haney.

ASB Research Award in Microbiology

The ASB Research Award in Microbiology sponsored by the Thomson
Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Belmont, California, was presented
by award committee chair Donald H. Roush to Angela R. Scarborough,
Department of Biology, Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, Missouri,
for her paper entitled “Species assemblages of tree canopy myxomycetes related
to bark pH,” SE Biology Abstract 79, 53(2). (See photo next page.)

ASB Student Poster Award

The ASB Student Poster Award sponsored by ASB was presented by award
committee chair Victoria Turgeon to Kristen Ammay, Department of Biology,
Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, for her poster co-authored with
Dennis Haney, John Wheeler, and Clarymar Ortiz of the Universidad
Metropolitano entitled “Evaluating the presence of estrogen in wastewater
treatment plant effluent in the Broad River watershed, South Carolina,” SE
Biology Abstract PI 7, 53(2). (See photo next page.)

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—iwwwaBaMHMBBH— — Bwaw— bbbwb—

Angela R. Scarborough (left) receives the ASB Research Award in
Microbiology from award committee chair Donald H. Roush.

Kristen Ammay (right) receives the ASB Student Poster Award
from award committee chair Victoria Turgeon.

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343

The North Carolina Botanical Garden Award

The North Carolina Botanical Garden Award sponsored by the NCBG made
two awards this year for the first time. The first award was presented by award
committee chair Johnny Randall to Susan B. Farmer, Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for her paper co¬
authored with Edward E. Schilling entitled “Status of the Trillium pusillum species
complex,” SE Biology Abstract 179, 53(2).

The second award was also presented by award committee chair Johnny
Randall to Wade A. Wall, Department of Botany, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, for his paper co-authored with Thomas R. Wentworth and William A.
Hoffmann entitled “Vegetation and soils of a North Carolina Coastal Plain wet
savanna,” SE Biology Abstract 264, 53(2).

Susan B. Farmer (right) and Wade A. Wall (left) each receive
the North Carolina Botanical Garden Award from award
committee chair Johnny Randall (center).

Eugene P. Odum Award

The Eugene P. Odum Award sponsored by the Southeastern Chapter of the
Ecological Society of America was presented by award committee chair Nicole
Turrill Welch at the Friday ESA/SE luncheon to Daniel M. Johnson, Department
of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for his paper
co-authored with William K. Smith entitled “Effects of cloud immersion on

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understory light environment and photosynthesis in the southern Appalachian
Mountains (USA),” SE Biology Abstract 164, 53(2).

Daniel M. Johnson winner of the Eugene P. Odum Award is shown

conducting field research.

Elsie Quarterman-Catherine Keever Award

The Elsie Quarterman-Catherine Keever Award sponsored by the
Southeastern Chapter of the Ecological Society of America was presented by
award committee chair Frank S. Gilliam at the Friday ESA/SE luncheon to
Angela R. Scarborough, Department of Biology, Central Missouri State
University, Warrensburg, Missouri, for her poster entitled “Tree canopy
myxomycetes: patterns of distribution,” SE Biology Abstract PI 31, 53(2).

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Angela R. Scarborough (left) winner of the Elsie Quarterman-Catherine
Keever Award with award committee chair Frank S. Gilliam.

Society of Wetland Scientists South Atlantic Chapter

Student Travel Award

Award committee chair Mary Davis and chapter chair Gregory Noe reported
that Masamichi Ogasawara and William Chapman were the recipients of travel
awards to the annual ASB meeting from the South Atlantic Chapter of the Society
of Wetland Scientists. Masamichi Ogasawara gave an oral presentation and is
currently a doctoral student at Clemson University. William Chapman presented
his poster and is a Cadet/undergraduate researcher at The Citadel. Award
recipients must be currently enrolled students, conduct research pertaining to
wetland science, and present their research at the ASB annual meeting. Each
student was presented with a $250 check by Dr. Greg Noe, Chapter Chair, at the
Chapter luncheon on Thursday, March 30, 2006.

1. Masamichi Ogasawara, Department of Biology, Clemson University,
Clemson, South Carolina, for his paper entitled “A comparison of spatial
variability associated with ephemeral wetland ponds in the Duke Forest, North
Carolina,” SE Biology Abstract 37, 53(2).

2. William Chapman, Department of Biology, The Citadel, Charleston,
South Carolina, for his poster co-authored with Shane Kersting, Danny J.
Gustafson, and Jennifer Beck of the College of Charleston, entitled “Is the grass
greener on the other side of the road? Characterizing primary producers, primary

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and secondary consumers in two marshes separated by an earthen causeway,”
SE Biology Abstract Pill, 53(2).

Society of Wetland Scientists South Atlantic Chapter Student Travel Award
winner Masamichi Ogasawara conducting research.

Society of Wetland Scientists South Atlantic Chapter Student Travel
Award winner William Chapman (right) receives the award from
chapter chair Gregory Noe at the Thursday chapter luncheon.

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Society of Wetland Scientists South Atlantic Chapter Student Travel
Award winner William Chapman (left) with mentor professor and
SWS member Danny J. Gustafson at the Friday night banquet.

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society Awards

Howard S. Neufeld, President of SABS, presented awards in three
categories at the SABS/BSA Friday morning breakfast/business meeting, and
announced the names of the awardees at the Friday night awards banquet.

Earl Core Student Award

Dr. Earl Core was a major force in the founding of the Southern Appalachian
Botanical Club in 1936. The annual Core Student Award was established by the
Society to provide financial assistance in support of student research projects in
plant taxonomy, systematics, and ecology. The application deadline is February
1st each year. Two awards were presented this year.

1. Julie Wyatt, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-
Salem, North Carolina. Limiting similarity among coexisting species in the
herbaceous layer of Southern Appalachian cove forests. Research Advisor:

Miles R. Silman.

2. Joy van Der Vort-Sneed, Department of Biology, Appalachian State
University, Boone, North Carolina. Species delineation of two imperiled wild
gingers ( Asarum contracta and Asarum rhombiformis) using morphology,
molecules, and pollinators. Research Advisor: Zack Murrell.

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Julie Wyatt (left) and Joy van Der Vort-Sneed (center) winners of the SABS
Earl Core Student Award with SABS President Howard S. Neufeld.

Richard and Minnie Windier Award

The Richard and Minnie Windier Award was established in 1990 at the
annual meeting of the SABS by Dr. Donald R. Windier of Towson University as a
memorial to his parents. The award is presented annually to the author or
authors of the best systematic botany paper published in Castanea during the
previous year. The eligible papers may fall into the broad area of plant
systematics, including floristic, experimental, revisionary, and nomenclatural
studies.

The recipients of the award this year are:

Kerry D. Heafner, Botany Division, Museum of Natural History and
Department of Biology, The University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe,
Louisiana; and Rebecca D. Bray, Department of Biological Sciences, Old
Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, for their paper entitled “Taxonomic
reassessment of North American granite outcrop Isoetes species with emphasis
on vegetative morphology and I. piedmontana (Pfeiffer) Reed Sensu lato"
published in Castanea 70(3): 204-221 (September, 2005).

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Rebecca D. Bray (right) one of the winners of the SABS Richard and
Minnie Windier Award with SABS President Howard S. Neufeld.

Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award

The Society annually presents this Award in memory of Elizabeth Ann
Bartholomew’s untiring service to the public, to plant systematics, and to this
organization. This award is presented to individuals who have also distinguished
themselves in professional and public service that advances our knowledge and
appreciation of the world of plants and their scientific, cultural, and aesthetic
values, and/or exceptional service to the society. The 2006 award goes to Joe E.
Winstead, Dean, College of Science and Technology, Southern Arkansas
University, Magnolia, Arkansas.

A detailed presentation of Dr. Winstead’s accomplishments will be presented
in the September, 2006 issue of Castanea.

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Joe E. Winstead (right) winner of the SABS Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew
Award with SABS President Howard S. Neufeld.

Botanical Society of America Southeastern Section

Student Award

The Botanical Society of America Southeastern Section Student Award
sponsored by the SE Section of the BSA was presented by Lytton John
Musselman to Brett A. McMillan, Department of Biological Sciences, Old
Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, for his paper co-authored with Frank P.
Day entitled “Determinants of floristic structure on the ‘pimple’ dunes of Virginia’s
barrier islands,” SE Biology Abstract 77, 53(2). (See photo next page.)

Southeastern Microscopy Society Awards

Ruska Award - The purpose of the Ruska Award is to recognize and reward
student excellence in research in which microscopy is used as a research tool in
biological and/or physical sciences. The Ruska Award is given to the best
student presentation at the annual meeting. Ruska participants are required to
send a written abstract with illustrations prior to the annual meeting and give an
oral presentation at the meeting.

The winner of the Ruska Award for 2006 is Sangmi Lee, Department of
Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi.
The award was presented by the President of SEMS Judy King.

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Brett A. McMillan (left) receives the Botanical Society of America Southeastern
Section Student Award from award committee chair Lytton John Musselman.

From left to right: Sangmi Lee, winner of the Ruska Award, Jennifer
Seltzer, Ruska Award Participant, and Judy King, President of SEMS.

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Distinguished Scientist Award - The Distinguished Scientist Award is given to
members of longstanding who exemplify personal and intellectual integrity,
perennial scholarship, contributions to the field of microscopy, excellence in
teaching and service to the society above and beyond the call of duty. The award
is not given on a regular basis, but only at such times as individuals are identified
by nomination.

No award was given in 2006.

Distinguished Corporate Member Award - The purpose of the Distinguished
Corporate Member Award is to recognize and show appreciation to corporate
members of longstanding. The award is not given on a regular basis, but only at
such times that corporate members are nominated.

No award was given in 2006.

Roth-Michaels Teaching Award - The purpose of the Roth-Michaels Teaching
Award is to honor the contributions and commitment of two of our members, Dr.
Ivan Roth and Dr. Gene Michaels, to microscopy education. Candidates for the
Roth-Michaels award should have exemplified excellence in the teaching of
microscopy at the primary and/or secondary levels of education. The award will
be given only at such times as individuals are identified by nomination.

The winner of the award for 2006 is Charles W. Mims.

Jerry Paulin Lectureship Award - The purpose of the Jerry Paulin Lectureship
Award is to provide funding for an outstanding lecturer in any area of microscopy
to attend and present a one-hour presentation at the annual meeting. These
presentations should be held only when a candidate has been identified and
funding is available to support a candidate.

No award was given in 2006.

Micrograph Competition

The winner of the competition for 2006 is Sangmi Lee.

Student Poster Award

The winner of the award for 2006 is Murali Ayyanath.

SEMS Technician Travel Support Awards

The recipients of the award for 2006 are Beth Richardson, Mary Ard, Vera
Lanke, and Cathy Pennington.

For more information about SEMS awards, please check the website at
http://www.semicroscopy.org.

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Beta Beta Beta Biological Society Southeastern Region
Outstanding Paper and Poster Awards

District 1 Paper Session
Frank G. Brooks Paper Award Winner

Ian K. Breckheimer, Sigma Phi, Giulford College. “The invasive vine Akebia
(. Akebia quinata) at Guilford College: Niche, impact, and potential for further
spread.”

District II Paper Session
Frank G. Brooks Paper Award Winner

Lakesha Johnson, Eta Mu, Southern University, Baton Rouge. “How the brain
locates a sound in space.” Michael Anderson, Ph.D. (Mentor) Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine.

District I and II Paper Session
Frank G. Brooks Paper Award Winner

Lena D. Caron, Sigma Pi, Guilford College and Harvard Institutes of Medicine.
“RNA interference in human vascular cells achieved via rapid pressure
transfection with silencing RNA.”

District I Poster Session
John C. Johnson Poster Award Winner

Damian Rumbough, Beta Eta, Florida Southern College. “The positive effect of
a recently created wetlands on species diversity.”

District II Poster Session
John C. Johnson Poster Award Winner

In Ki Cho, Mu Epsilon, Troy University. “Lead acetate exposed Saccharomyces
cerevisiae — gene expression and growth of deletion strains.”

Southeastern Division, American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
and Southeastern Fishes Council

These two ASB affiliates met with the ASIH in New Orleans this year and
presented their respective awards at that meeting.

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Awards from the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

2005 Awardees

Robert H. Gibbs, Jr. Memorial Award

Presented for excellence in systematic ichthyology. In July 2005, at the ASIH
annual meeting in Tampa, Florida, the award was presented to Dr. Theodore W.
Pietsch, University of Washington at Seattle. Dr. Pietsch has worked on many
diverse fish taxa with a special interest in male sexual parasites. He has been
involved with many international expeditions.

Henry S. Fitch Award

Presented for excellence in herpetology. In July, 2005, at the ASIH annual
meeting in Tampa, Florida, the award was presented to Dr. Margaret Stewart,
Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Stewart’s most
famous research was numerous herpetological field studies conducted in Puerto
Rico on a small, abundant, and vociferous anuran. She published many papers
in several journals including on the biology of Eleutherodactylus coqui

Robert K. Johnson Award

Presented for excellence in service. In July 2005, at the ASIH annual meeting in
Tampa, Florida, the award was presented to Dr. Margaret McBride Stewart,
Porfessor Emeritus, State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Stewart has a
long, distinguished record of service to the ASIH. She has served as a reviewer
for Copeia, has reviewed books for Copeia, has served on the Editorial Board,
and served a three-year term as General Herpetology Editor. She has served on
many committees of the ASIH, served several years on the ASIH Board of
Governors, served as the President, served five years as the Historian, and has
been an active participant at annual ASIH meetings.

Raney Fund Awards

Awards of $1 ,000 were made to each of the following five young ichthyologists in
2005. They are listed by name, institution, and title of proposed research.

Benjamin Ciotti, University of Delaware, “Spatial variability in growth and diet of
juvenile plaice: Predator-prey linkages in dynamic nursery environments.”

Donovan German, University of Florida, “What does it take to eat wood:
Mechanisms of digestion in closely related armored catfishes (Loricariidae)
representing algivory, herbivory, and xylophagy.”

Shannon Gerry, University of Rhode Island, "A comparison of feeding
morphologies and behaviors in a generalist and specialist shark species."

Erin Reardon, McGill University, "Effects of hypoxia on the life history and
energetics of the African Cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor ."

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Takashi Maie, Clemson University, "Relationships of feeding morphology and
performance to habitat distribution in Hawaiian stream gobies: Awaous
guamensis and Lentipes concolor ."

Gaige Fund Awards

Awards of $500 were made to each of the following 10 young herpetologists in
2005. They are listed by name, institution, and title of proposed investigation.

Lelena Avila, Indiana University, "Why do Thamnophis sirtalis eat toxic newts?"

Nathan Calder, University of Central Oklahoma, "Do neuropeptides mediate
alternative reproductive tactics in male collared lizards?"

Jena Chojnowski, University of Florida, "Identifying candidate genes for
temperature-dependent sex determination in the red-eared slider turtle,
Trachemys scripta."

Paula Kahn, Auburn University, "Gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus )
relocation: Effects of stress, immunocompetence, and reproduction."

Daria Koscinski, University of Western Ontario, "Comparative phylogeography
of Andean frogs."

Gregory Pauly, University of Texas, "Sexual selection and mating signal
evolution in the western toad, Bufo boreas"

Daniel Rabosky, Cornell University, "Rampant parallel evolution of color pattern
in a clade of Australian skinks.”

Jennifer Sheridan, University of California San Diego, "Reproductive variation
across latitude for a wide-ranging tropical species."

Justin Touchon, Boston University, "Does an embryo's environment alter later
tadpole interactions with predators?"

Jessa Watters, University of New Hampshire, "A test of optimal foraging theory
in two lizard species: Sceloporus virgatus and Sceloporus jarrovii."

Justin Touchon received a warm round of applause as he came forward to
accept his certificate.

Stoye Awards

Awards for best oral presentations were made to each of the following five
students in 2005. Each winner received a cash award of $250, a certificate, and
all available back issues of Copeia. They are listed by name, institution, category,
and title of oral presentation.

Tanya Darden, University of Southern Mississippi, Conservation, "Dispersal in
Enneacanthini sunfishes: A test of wetland regulatory assumptions".

M. Rockwell Parker, Oregon State University, Ecology and Ethology, "Revealing
greater complexity in rattlesnake chemical ecology: Change is in the air."

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Rebecca Blanton, Tulane University, General Ichthyology, "The geographic
distribution of genetic diversity in the Etheostoma flabellare species complex
(Percidae, Catonotus) from the lower Atlantic Slope River drainages of North and
South Carolina."

Lisa Lobel, University of Massachusetts, Genetics, Development, and
Morphology, "Field studies evaluation of developmental and reproductive effects
of chemical exposure in the coral reef fish, Abudefduf sordidus (Pomacentridae)."

Rita Mehta, University of Tennessee, Physiology and Physiological Ecology,
"Comparative epaxial motor patterns in snakes during constriction."

Storer Awards

Awards for best poster presentations were made to each of the following two
students in 2005. Each winner received a cash award of $250, a certificate, and
all available back issues of Copeia. They are listed by name, institution, category,
and title of poster presentation.

Krista Larson, Purdue University, Herpetology, "Call complexity in northern
leopard frogs: Are males advertising beauty or brawn?"

Kurtis Gray, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Ichthyology, "Population
genetic structure of the marlinsucker, Remora osteochir (Perciformes:
Echeneidae) inferred from mitochondrial control (D-loop) DNA sequence
analysis."

Local Arrangements Committee at the Friday night banquet. From left to right:
Jim Caponetti, Ed Lickey, Pat Cox, Scott Jewell, and Randy Small.

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Women, Minorities, and People of Disabilities
Luncheon and Workshop

Identifying Careers in Biology
March 30, 2006

Submitted by Pat Parr, 2005/2006 Chair of the ASB Committee for Human
Diversity and Natural Resources Manager, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak
Ridge, Tennessee.

A workshop on "Identifying Careers in Biology" held at the 2006 ASB meeting in
Gatlinburg was very successful with almost 60 students, faculty, and other
professionals participating from about 30 different institutions. Four inspiring
individuals, shared information on careers in biology drawing from their varied
backgrounds and experiences. The response was so enthusiastic that a request
was made for Dr. Barb Kreutzer, Dr. Gillian Bowser, Dr. Judith Wubah, and
Dr. Robert Washington-Alien to provide their comments for publication in
Southeastern Biology.

Additionally, posters were provided to participants that Dr. Barb Kreutzer had
acquired from Ventura College, California, on “What Can You Do with Your
Biotechnology Skills.” Contact Mary Pat Huxley mphuxley@vcccd.net for copies
of the biotechnology poster. With permission, the James Madison Creative Arts
Studio modified the poster as “What Can You Do With a Biology Degree” and a
pdf file of this poster is available from Pat Parr at parrpd@ornl.gov.

Dr. Barbara B. Kreutzer is Professor of Biotechnology with the Department of
Integrated Science and Technology at James Madison University, Harrisonburg,
VA 22807. She can be reached by email at: kreutzbb@jmu.edu.

Thank you all for coming to the Identifying Careers in Biology Workshop. Pat
asked us to describe our own biology career story. My career story can best be
summed up by the quote “The best laid plans ... oft go astray.” However, my
biology degrees have always landed me on my feet.

How many of you have ever wondered, what am I going to do with my life? I
know I have. Science and the outdoors were a focus of my interests when I was
growing up. My parents, who had my best interest at heart, stressed that I could
do whatever I wanted but to make sure that I could support myself when I
graduated. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Virginia.
Biology because I was fascinated by the field, and a Bachelor of Arts both
because I was primarily interested in plant science, not medical topics, and so, if
possible, stayed away from courses packed with premed students. Also, I wanted
to receive a broad Liberal Arts education.

By then I had decided to do research and teach at the university level and so
wanted to go to graduate school. My parents again helped me define my career
my telling me, “That‘s great, but you need to pay for it yourself.” I devised a plan
to get a Master of Science in Plant Pathology and work as an extension agent to

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save money for a Ph. D. program of study. I received my M.S. in Plant Pathology
from Virginia Tech but then ran into a small glitch. At that time, the Extension
Service, preferring good, ol’ country boys, was not interested in hiring women as
extension agents. This field is much more open to women today and I highly
recommend it if you enjoy working with the public and practical applications of
biology. Instead, I worked and saved money as first a lab technician for a
university professor and then as a lab manager for a pharmacology-related
research position.

After a few years, I earned my Ph.D. in Botany from Ohio University (where I
had some truly excellent mentors) and taught for a few semesters. However,
family responsibilities prompted me to drop out of the workforce for quite a while.
During this time, my biology degrees proved themselves immensely useful. It’s
true that knowledge is power. My biology background put me in a much better
situation to handle a growing family and health problems associated with aging
parents. Especially the discipline, attention to detail, critical thinking and math
skills gained by studying a science provided me with the abilities and confidence
to deal with a multitude of personal and community situations. Everything from
the everyday challenges of managing a family to organizing, fund-raising and
implementing community projects. After our children were older, I reentered the
workforce. My biology degrees made it easy to resume teaching and university
research.

That’s one person’s story. To give you some more direction, here are some
jobs and career paths my friends and students have chosen.

Many take lab technician and quality control jobs in academia, forensics or
the pharmacology, agribusiness or food industry. Their initial placement is
frequently in temp placement firms. Yes, there actually is a Kelly Scientific and
they have hired a lot of our students! For those not interested in lab jobs, field
positions such as environmental testing, environmental remediation system
design, plant population and disease monitoring are popular. Law firms,
consulting firms and government agencies which deal with biotechnology and
environmental policy issues hire many of our graduates. Elementary, middle and
high school science programs are also popular. Biotechnology, agribusiness and
biological product companies like to hire biologists for sales, marketing, public
relations and technical writing positions. Cartography agencies hire some of our
ISAT program graduates to do vegetation mapping.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/oes), typical
salaries for a graduate with a Bachelor of Science in a Life Science range from
$32,000 - $90,000 (not including medical fields). In the federal government, for
2003, the following average salaries are listed for several common fields:

General biologist $66,000
Ecologists $65,000

Geneticists $78,000

Botanists $56,000

Microbiologists $74,000

Physiologists $85,000

Zoologists $90,000

Biochemists $72,000

I would like to emphasize again that biology degrees have worked well for my
friends, students and myself in all phases of our lives. Follow your passions.

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There is a lot you can do with your biology skills, have a rewarding career and
pay the rent. I’m living proof.

The following is a list of jobs for which our ISAT students have been hired in
the past five years. If you need further information, feel absolutely free to contact
me. I’d be happy to provide you with additional information.

Students have been hired as ....

• Plant biology researchers - academic and commercial positions

• High school, middle school, elementary school science teachers

• Research consultant for futures firm

• Statistician

• Quality control specialists for industries which manufacture biological and
environmental products

• Lab technicians for industries dealing with biological products and
biotechnology firms

• Environmental testing agents - soil and water

• Environmental remediation system designer

• Extension agents

• Plant epidemiologist - field sampling for state extension offices

• Researchers for lobbying agencies at the Federal Level and consulting
firms

• Public affairs specialist for the National Forest, Regional Offices

• Field scientists for the National Park Service

• Cartographers (map-making) and Geographic Information System
analysts

• Technical writers and Information System and Web Design

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Dr. Gillian Bowser is the National Park Service Liaison and Research
Coordinator, Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Texas A&M
University in College Station, Texas. Her email is: gbowser@tamu.edu.

I always wonder what my own job description would look like if it truly
reflected my career. Students are always asking what skills do they need to get a
wildlife biologist job with the National Park Service and which classes they should
take. I can see the potential job announcement for my position and career in my
mind’s eye:

JOB OPPORTUNITY: We are looking for someone with the following critical
skills:

1. Ability to outrun the tranquilized elk that just woke up and is extremely
annoyed at the researchers,

2. Climb a tree faster than the bear just released from a culvert trap and
who is not appreciative of that mode of transportation,

3. Fly in a two-seater Piper Supercub with an antennae on either wing,
swooping after collared animals in canyons and not lose ones lunch on
the microphone connected to the pilot,

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4. Able to navigate sandpits and streams without burying the research
vehicle above the headlights,

5. Able to navigate on the flat Dakota Plains in the dark and find not only
the transect line and small pieces of rebar, but also relocate the black
truck on the flat plains at 3 AM in the morning, and

6. Able to identify any organism correctly or incorrectly to visiting political
dignitaries.

SKILL SETS NEEDED: Energy, Enthusiasm, love of adventure. Poverty is
optional but likely.

HOW TO APPLY: Applicants must navigate to application site using GPS,
Remote Sensing, a compass and dead reckoning. Homebodies need not apply.

While I am speaking somewhat in jest, a career in conservation and wildlife
biology is not as simple as taking classes in mammalogy and I find increasingly
that students are ill-prepared mentally for working as a field biologist. I firmly
believe that a student equipped with a sense of adventure, willingness to grow, a
love of sunsets and the ability to wonder, will excel in wildlife biology. Classes
and schoolwork are only a foundation, one simply must take that first
adventuresome step outside ones comfort zone. My own background is most
telling as I started out with limited skill sets and certainly less of an outdoor sense
than most of the students in this audience!

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the High School for Music
and Performing Arts (better known as Fame) in Harlem. My original interests
were in art and medical illustration and I dreamed about being an illustrator for
Grey’s Anatomy or a vet’s guide to horses, as they were my favorites to draw. I
ended up at a strong biology school (Northwestern University in Chicago) with a
major in medical illustration.

Wildlife biology and the field of conservation biology are fascinating in that
nothing you learn at school has any relevance for that first field experience.
Northwestern University has an excellent ecology program that inspired me to
want to work with animals more directly than drawing them. Yet these classes
were hardly the survival skills I needed when I arrived at my first wildlife biology
job. As a New York City urban kid, I was very adept at navigating through New
York City subways, could out sprint a potential mugger in Central Park, and could
identify flashers on the subway from normal guys in trench coats with a single
glance. However, even with those survival skills and an impressive roster of
classes in cellular biology, I was woefully ill prepared for my first job in the wildlife
field and had a 20-year old backpack from my dad.

I believe it safe to say that most field biologists fall into their jobs by chance,
a sense of adventure, and good timing. During my sophomore year in college,
my father mailed me an announcement for concession jobs in Yellowstone
National Park. He was a man of few words so the accompanying note said little
more than “look at this” which was his way of endorsing his youngest daughter’s
love of adventure. My first job was not in wildlife biology but as a room clerk in a
hotel in Yellowstone National Park — an adventure that I delighted to partake in.
When I went to purchase my Greyhound ticket from New York City to Livingston

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Montana, neither the ticketing agent, nor myself could find Montana on the map
much less the tiny town of Livingston. It was a 72-hour adventure on a
Greyhound bus meeting folks from all walks of life united simply by the rumble of
wheels, long dusty roads, and that sense of adventure approaching in the
horizon.

My first position in Yellowstone was not a dream job but it exposed me to the
National Park Service, an agency I was completely unfamiliar with except
through vague memories of a subscription to Ranger Rick magazine my
grandmother once got me. However, through this first adventure, I chanced to
meet the resource management specialist of the park and I offered to volunteer
in the field just for the experience. He invited me back the following summer and
my first job was to inventory all the backcountry campsites in the park onto
computer punch cards — a technology no student today has even heard of! My
crew was to spend three months backpacking to every one of the 352
backcountry campsites in Yellowstone and recording their condition on these
cards. I had never been backpacking before. During our first trip, the crew
decided a tent was too heavy and we would sleep under the stars. I remember
waking early in the morning to the sounds of something very large breathing right
next to my head. “BEAR!” I thought, “It must be a grizzly bear! I am from New
York! I can deal with heavy breathers in subway cars wearing trench coats but a
BEAR!” I was in total panic — I couldn’t get out of my sleeping bag and the bear
was so very close that I could hear every breath. I slowly pried open my eyes,
peeked carefully out of my sleeping bag and stared up the nose of a very
large. ..bull moose.

I spent eleven years in Yellowstone and Teton National Parks and the
adventures were many. I thrived with each new challenge and grew in skills and
competence in outdoor skills and self survival. Each project we were assigned as
a crew of wildlife biologist became a new skill set and learning experience. How
do you dart a moose and outrun it when you miss? How do you track a collar’s
signal in a small aircraft that is swooping and turning up and down canyons and
not get sick? And most importantly, when the Director and local congressmen
come to view your study on elk and moose winter mortality, be able to say with
perfect confidence and aplomb that of course you can identify the urine samples
needed for nutritional work by species because they smell differently. But mostly
my love of adventure allowed me to enjoy the challenges of each new
conservation task I was assigned to and perhaps gave me the freedom to admit I
didn’t know a skill and ask questions.

I look back at a good career in conservation and wonder what advice I could
give today’s students as they explore career options that might include
conservation. I think there are perhaps four factors that I would pass on.

Go for the adventure. When I first left New York City, I thought Chicago might
be a wilderness. My grandmother, who had never been outside of New York
State, would send me care packages of peanut butter and chocolate chip
cookies, just in case such things didn’t exist in the wilds of Chicago. Leaving
Chicago for Montana was even a bigger adventure. In my first winter in Montana,

I won an award for the best Free Style turn on an Arctic Cat (snowmobile) after
managing to spin the thing 360 degrees, lose the front skid and somersault down
the road unharmed. One summer I was tracking moose in a Supercub two-seater

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airplane. We soared up and down canyons tipping the antennae mounted on
wings up and down, flipping the aircraft with each move. We soared up the wall
of one canyon and as we burst into the open blue sky, we startled a grizzly bear
at breakfast. So many adventures in one career — all perhaps topped by a giant
panda in Woolong, China, offering to share his half chewed apple as I stood
beside him in a glorious moment of being able to touch that rare animal.

Go for the growth. As I said, I was always good at navigating and enjoyed maps
early on, so I was on the alpine search and rescue team for Yellowstone and
Tetons and we would get called out to search for lost souls in the woods. These
searches were often periods of great inner growth as we raced against odds to
find people lost often in snowstorms or mountain tops. I recall facing the deep
sorrow of human cruelty when we searched all night for a five-year old girl
supposedly lost in a snow storm in Wyoming. Somehow, when we all saw her
picture at the Sheriffs office, we knew in our hearts, she was already dead — I
cannot explain such knowledge, but we found her dead by her stepfather’s hand
early the next grey morning. Later, those same skills took me home to New York,
and I grew profoundly as I stood at Ground Zero on September 12 as part of the
emergency team assessing national park resources. I will always see in my mind
the inside of Federal Hall National Historic Site which was covered with thick dust
patterned with the footprints of refugees fleeing the collapsing towers.

Go for the Sunsets. Conservation biology does not pay the best salary, but, as
old rangers say, we get paid in sunsets. How can one put a price tag on getting
invited to China as a wildlife biologist to work on world heritage sites, and have
that giant panda offer you his apple as you stood inside his cage? What is the
bonus in dollars of hiking down a long trail on a project, then returning an hour
later to find huge grizzly bear footprints on top of your own, and never seeing the
bear? What is the price of the joy of watching dawn break on the South Dakota
Plains and see a sleepy golden eagle casually starting his morning with a prairie
dog snack? But the best payment of all is being able to take the next generation
of children to Joshua Tree National Park and show them an ancient desert
tortoise lumbering across the desert with the faded outline of a numbered tag you
placed on his back ten years ago. Those payments in sunsets are better than
any bank account in my view.

Go for the wonder. We forget the sheer joy of wonderment. When the beauty of
dawn in the bottom of the Grand Canyon makes your heart ache with pain--that
is wonder. When you find yourself in silent tears when the Mojave desert bursts
into an intense El Nino-induced spring bloom unsurpassed in over 40 years — that
is wonder. And lastly, the incredible inner warmth that flows to your frost-bitten
toes, when you finally spy the little log patrol cabin, after a 15 mile ski through a
snowstorm — is sheer beauty,

Explore, be adventurous, grow and wonder. Take the first step by signing up
for an internship at a park to do something you would never dream of doing, at a
place you can’t find on the map, and see where it leads you. When I left New
York City, I had no wildlife skills. Now I train wildlife biologists and have searched
the woods for lost hunters who were usually mortified to be found and rescued by
an inner city urban concrete jungle kid like me!

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Dr. Judith A. Wubah is Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology with the
Department of Biology at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA 22807.
She can be reached by email at: wubahja@jmu.edu.

Thank you for inviting us to speak at this workshop on “Identifying Careers in
Biology”. My talk will fit in between those of our two previous speakers. As you
can all tell, my accent is from South Georgia. I am originally from Ghana, West
Africa where I obtained my undergraduate degrees. I graduated with a double
major in Botany and Education. Showing an interest and performing well in
science, my parents’ dream was for me to become a physician. Notice that I refer
to the profession as “physicians” and not “doctors” since those of us with the
letters Ph.D. after our names are the “doctors”.

During one science class in high school where we dissected frogs, I realized
that I did not want and could not be a physician, specifically a surgeon, which is
what I had told my parents I would be. The reasons were two fold: I did not have
the patience for the detailed microsurgery that would be involved and neither
could I stand for long periods of time during surgery. Of course, I beg to differ
with myself on these issues since my current research requires that I do
microsurgery on mouse embryos and it does take a long time. However, I can sit
while performing the delicate surgery. I knew I would stay in science because I
loved it and also I was strongly encouraged by my science teacher who thought
there was no question about whether I should major in science or the humanities.
Upon informing my parents about my epiphany, it was mind shattering especially
for my father, who would not speak to me for a couple of days. After I got my
mother to calm him down, I told him that I was not leaving the field of science and
promised him that I would become a doctor. Of course at that time, I really did
not know what other form of doctor there was except being a physician. Here I
am today as I doctor and my father only addresses me as “Dr. Mrs. Wubah, but I
have skipped ahead several years.

After graduation I moved to the United States, specifically The University of
Akron, Ohio, where I obtained my Masters in Biology, with a concentration in
Phycology. While finishing up my thesis I worked for a year as an electron
microscopy technician at Case Western University in Cleveland using the skills I
had acquired in a graduate class. This opportunity opened up for me because a
former student of my graduate mentor had heard about a position requiring a
technician in this field. He told my future employer that he knew someone who
could fill that position as well as informing my advisor about this opportunity. This
job could not have come at a better time, because I had technically completed
my course work but needed to finish writing my thesis and needed a job while
undertaking this part of my degree.

I worked for several more years before deciding to go back to graduate
school to obtain my Ph.D. When I started researching schools, it became
apparent that the cutting edge of science was molecular biology, which was at its
relative infancy. Because my undergraduate and Master’s degrees were in the
field of Botany, I knew that I would not be competitive (although I was a straight A
student) in a program that involved molecular biology because it was not
considered as a tool as we do today. I decided to get a second Master’s in
Molecular Biology which would put me in better stance when it came to applying

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to a Ph.D. program. I did not know which specific field I was going to pursue for
my doctorate but I just knew that it would be outside Botany.

I applied to the Master’s program at Thomas Jefferson University in
Philadelphia. I was called for an interview only to be told that they had filled up all
the positions for that year. But the interviewer suggested that I talk to the Director
of the Graduate Admissions because she had better knowledge of other
programs at Jefferson with openings available. This lady’s (Jesse is her name)
first question to me was that did I know that I already had a graduate degree. I
responded in the affirmative but continued that my field of specialization would
not make me competitive for entry into a Ph.D. program. She informed me that
the Developmental Biology/Teratology program had openings. Indeed there was
but because of technicalities I could not start that year of 1993. Jesse kept my
application open and was the one who contacted me the following year to find
out if I was still interested in the Teratology program. Because of that opportunity,

I have a Ph.D. in Teratology, the study of birth defects. Within this time, I started
my family which is one of the challenges facing women in science. I had a very
supportive family, specifically my husband and mother. My mother came from
Ghana to take care of my daughter 3 weeks after she was born till she was one.
My husband drove me every weekend from Baltimore to Philadelphia for 3 out of
the 4 years that I did my studies. Not everyone can be that fortunate but support
for graduate studies is crucial.

If anyone had told me that I would end up with a terminal degree in the field
of the study of abnormal development, after studying seaweeds for my
baccalaureate and master’s degree, my answer would have been no. But that is
why I can not stress it enough; take any opportunity that comes your way
because you never know where it may lead you. I am living proof of that.

A major in Biology is more than a single scientific area of study. We all know
of the numerous concentrations that exist within this field. In addition, attention to
detail, math skills, and critical thinking associated with the discipline comes into
play when you least expect. Many of us think of the first job that one can attain
with the Biology degree is being a laboratory technician. Although this fact may
be true for some people, it is becoming more and more evident that with
changing times, this is not the case. Below is a list compiled by James Madison
University’s Academic Advising and Career Development Office showing various
career paths chosen by Biology graduates. I have modified the list to highlight
those professions that deviate from the typical career paths associated with the
major.

• Air pollution analyst

• Aquarium technician

• Blood bank specialist

• Conservation program aid

• Environmental lawyer

• Environmental Protection Agency inspector

• Ethicist

• Hospital administrator

• Medical illustrator

• Park ranger

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• Technical marketing specialist

• Technical writer

This list is by no means comprehensive and bear in mind that some fields require
graduate study or further training beyond the baccalaureate. My last piece of
advice is to follow your passion. The old cliche that “there is nothing greater than
doing something you love and being paid for it” is true. It can happen with a
biology degree. Remember to be open to opportunities. Thank you.

es

Dr. Robert A. Washington-Alien is a Research Assistant Professor with the
Center for Regional and Environmental Studies in the Department of
Environmental Sciences of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. He
can be reached by email at: washingtonra@mac.com.

I will present a short autobiography which will provide three main points 1)
the influences on my career track, 2) choose a career track that is a passion for
you, and 3) graduate school in the biological or environmental sciences should
be relatively cost-free to you.

I received my BS degree in Zoology from The Ohio State University. I wanted
to be a scientist at least from 9 years of age because my primary influence was
my love of science fiction and comic books, the latter of which I still collect today.
My favorite characters were Bruce Wayne who was The Batman, Henry Pym
who was Giant-man, Ant-man, and Yellow Jacket, and Reed Richards who was
Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four and a certifiable genius. Batman was known
as “The Detective” and he was very smart, very logical, and very able at
inventing devices and using them to solve crimes. Dr. Pym was an entomologist
and a biochemist/physicist who discovered the “Pym particles” that allowed him
to grow to Giant size or shrink to ant size. Also his research in cybernetics
(control systems) allowed him to communicate with ants. Reed Richards was a
physicist and an explorer of inner and outer space whose skills led him to have
many patents and led to the inception of the Fantastic Four. A lot of these things
were pure fantasy, but speculative fiction can lead the way to discoveries. For
example, Robert A. Heinlein conceived the idea of both Waldos (robotic arms)
and the waterbed before either was ever invented and then there are Jules
Verne’s stories.

At OSU, I was a biology major, but discovered that OSU’s biology program
was really a pre-med program and because of the large student body a factory¬
line that was not personally oriented towards the development of interested
biologists. Also my interest originally tended towards marine biology, but after
seeing the movie Jaws during high school I abruptly changed my mind about that
career and went into Zoology Funny enough I became interested in Ethology
(Animal behavior) and wanted to study grizzly bears -trading an ocean predator
for a terrestrial. My undergraduate advisor at OSU was the late Professor Walter
Rothenbuhler who is considered the father of Behavioral Genetics. Dr.
Rothenbuhler was the first Professor I had at OSU who honestly cared about his
students and who had a great desire to teach. I was a student-athlete at OSU
running both Cross Country and Track & Field. I ran the steeplechase and set a
school record that has since been broken. For my first few years at OSU I was

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really an athlete-student, losing sight of the fact that I was there to learn a
profession. Dr. Rothenbuhler, among others got me back on the right track after I
spent a year academically ineligible. He asked me what my career goals, likes,
and dislikes were and advised me on what I would need to do to make myself
attractive to graduate schools in the sciences. One of the things he advised I do
was gain public speaking experience. I pursued this upon graduation by
becoming a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer (PCV). I went to Lesotho (Lay-soo-too),
southern Africa. Lesotho is completely surrounded by the Republic of South
Africa and I was there during the Apartheid era.

My PCV assignment concerned teaching math and science (Basic, Physics,
Biology, and Chemistry) to high school students. PC provided my cohort with 8
weeks of education training that included: teaching English as a second
language, government education organization structure and philosophy, syllabus
design and organization, test design and organization, classroom design and
organization, teaching experience, science instruments design and construction,
and teaching methods. PCVs get great academic benefits from our 2-year
service. We are extremely attractive to a number of graduate schools because
our experience tends to train us to be independent and tremendous self-starters
(Type-A personalities), characteristics that Major Professors love. I was in
Lesotho for 6 years because after 3 years in PC I went to work for the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a subcontractor
teaching at the Lesotho Agricultural College (LAC). At the Lesotho Agricultural
College (LAC) my tasks included development of curricula for the agricultural
extension course. At LAC, our mission was to train our graduates to be
agricultural extension workers. I found that the extension courses curricula had
too great an emphasis on theory and lacked aspects of practical field training
necessary for our graduates to perform their duties. Consequently, I redesigned
the course to reflect the purpose of the institute and the needs of agriculture in
Lesotho. I also developed the library, laboratory and field science facilities
successfully funding these projects through internal grants.

I came to teach at the college because I had read Aldo Leopold’s Sand
County Almanac and there is a section of the book where he explains that
courses labeled ecology were not the only place that you could learn ecology, but
also in agronomy or other agricultural science classes. So when I heard that LAC
taught ecology, I went over to see how this was done and got firsthand
experience by teaching the course.

My experience at LAC solidified my career track. I interacted with natural
resources from the perspective of management, research, teaching, and
technology transfer (extension). This is the type of career I wanted to continue so
I went to Utah State University to get my MS in Rangeland Ecology. I visited a
number of graduate programs that had accepted me, including the University of
Wisconsin and Cornell, and learned that you shouldn’t have to pay for graduate
school particularly at research-oriented Universities. You find a major Professor
whose interests mirror your own and he/she will support you to further their
research agenda. Secondly, if you have been accepted in a number of programs,
you become a commodity that sophisticated programs will compete for and this
increases your chances for fellowships and other sources of internal financial
aide.

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My MS research concerned the effects of drought on subsistence agro
pastoral communities on the Bolivian Altiplano. I used time series of satellite
imagery to identify grazing resources that were resilient during extreme drought
events. As a part of my training, I worked for the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian
Relocation (ONHIR) in Flagstaff, Arizona as a range conservationist. I conducted
oral surveys for ONHIR looking at the cultural reasons for raising sheep and
reconstructed the Clan genealogy. I started my PhD in Ecology at Utah State, but
was simultaneously offered a remote sensing and GIS research position with the
Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. I had learned about ORNL from Dr. Monica Turner, one of the
leading landscape ecologists in the country, who was a guest lecturer at USU. I
learned from her that my research fell within the realm of landscape ecology.
Take advantage of visiting speakers, if only to network and develop future
collaborators and friends. ORNL was looking for a landscape ecologist with RS
and GIS skills and I fit the bill perfectly. However, I told them I had started a PhD
program and they then informed me during negotiations that they would pay for
my pursuit of this degree. It took a while working a full-time job and trying to
complete a PhD but I succeeded and I am now pursuing an academic career
after working at ORNL for nearly 10 years. However, my dissertation research
was funded by a Science-to-Achieve Results (STAR) grant I received from the
Environmental Protection Agency. My research concerned the development of
techniques for using time series of satellite imagery to assess the ecological
sustainability of rangelands.

The late Robert Peters commented in his book A Critique for Ecology, that
ecology is the science of the environment, and that the purpose of ecology is to
solve environmental problems by application of ecological principles. I share Dr.
Peters’ viewpoint with the hope that I have been doing and would like to do
research that betters not only the human condition but contributes to
sustainability of the earth’s resources. I have been trained in aspects of physical
geography, biology, ecology including landscape ecology, and statistics with the
attendant field and laboratory courses concerning the inventory and survey of
plant, soil, and land form attributes at different spatial and temporal scales. My
research and work experience has primarily focused on applied ecology, natural
resource management, and rural sociology in regards to farming systems
research, environmental monitoring, and related topics under the general rubric
of sustainable development. The research topics I am interested in include
biogeography, landscape ecology and ecotoxicology; biogeochemical cycling;
development of ecological indicators; ecological risk assessment; ecological
resilience in the tradition of C.S. Holling and the late Walter Westman, with a
particular focus on thresholds; plant-herbivore dynamics from the perspective of
I. Noy-Meir and C. Loehle and their relation to landscape structure and
configuration; vegetation dynamics, particularly states-and-transition models
(multiple stable states) and dynamical systems analysis; wildlife and livestock
relations; and the relationship of concepts which now come under the rubric of
biological complexity including general systems, chaos, complexity, catastrophe,
and hierarchy theories. I am interested in how these theories may relate to
middle number and self-organizing system concepts. I am mostly interested in
how these concepts are linked to management of natural resources. My research
has been primarily empirical studies in southeastern oak-hickory and long-leaf

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pine forests, the Great Basin, Chihuahuan, Colorado Plateau, and Mojave
deserts, the high plains grasslands of the Bolivian Altiplano and Lesotho, the
savanna ecosystems of South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana, the mangrove
ecosystems of Mozambique, and tall grass prairie ecosystems in Kansas and
Oklahoma. The research tools I have employed include fieldwork, laboratory
studies, computer programming, spreadsheets, a host of geomatic tools
including, field, airborne, and, satellite remote sensing, Geographic Information
Systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), photogrammetry, and
cartography, and analytical and statistical modeling.

03

The workshop “Identifying Careers in Biology” was organized by the ASB
Committee for Human Diversity. Lunch, much appreciated by participants, was
sponsored by UT-Battelle (managing contractor for Oak Ridge National
Laboratory) and Carolina Biological Supply Company for providing lunch.

03

Workshop speakers from left to right Judith Wubah, Barbara Kreutzer, Robert

Washington-Alien, and Gillian Bowser.

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The Pembroke Group at Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Pictured are faculty and undergraduate students of the Department of Biology,
University of North Carolina, Pembroke, who attended the 67th Annual Meeting of
the Association of Southeastern Biologists in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Pictured in the photograph on the back row (from left to right) are Bill Hickman,
Demetrius Locklear, Christy Parker, Jacob Davis, Bryan Sealey, *Andy Ash, and
*Bruce Ezell. Pictured on the front row (from left to right) are *Lisa Kelly, *Bonnie
Kelley, Allison McRae, Brad Wright, Courtney Kilgore, Sarah Brown, Hannah
Sprinkle, Kristen Vaughan, *Debby Hanmer, and *Leon Jernigan. The asterisks
indicate members of the faculty; the other people are undergraduate students.

C33

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RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO
THE UNIVERITY OF TENNESSEE

WHEREAS, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville did agree to make
all local arrangements for the Association of Southeastern Biologists to
hold its annual meeting on 29 March through 1 April, 2006 in Gatlinburg,
Tennessee; and

WHEREAS, Local Arrangements Co-chairs Drs. Patricia Cox of the
Tennessee Valley Authority and Randall Small of the University of
Tennessee, Program Chairs Drs. Joseph H. Williams, Karen Hughes,
Charles Faulkner and Jake Weltzin of the University of Tennessee did an
admirable job of orchestrating the events and organizing the paper and
poster session; and

WHEREAS, Drs. Joseph Williams and Karen Hughes organized posters
and Chuck Cooper and Charles Wilder coordinated audiovisuals, Mr.
Scott Jewell coordinated commercial exhibits and workshops, and
corporate sponsorships, Drs. Ken McFarland and Edward Clebsch
planned field trips, Leeds Corporation handled registration and meeting
statistics, Drs. Patricia B. Cox, Randall Small and Mr. Scott Jewell made
social arrangements, Dr. Edward Lickey coordinated Beta Beta Beta, Dr.
Patricia Cox coordinated symposia, Dr. Terry Richardson managed the
web page, Dr. Jim Caponetti coordinated volunteers, Ms. Eunice Turner
provided secretarial assistance for both the journal and program
schedule, Dr. Chris Boake of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
biology provided monetary assistance for publishing the program
schedule, and Dr. John Koontz, director of the Division of Biology
assisted with funding for the Wednesday night social; and

WHEREAS, the citizenry of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the administrators at
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, cooperated to welcome ASB to the city of Gatlinburg,
Tennessee; and

WHEREAS, the students of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville
volunteered to assist with local arrangements; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the members and officers of the Association of
Southeastern Biologists give their sincere thanks and appreciation to all
involved in making this the excellent and memorable ASB meeting that
resulted from the cumulative efforts of these individuals and
organizations.

29 March 2006

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A Resolution on Invasive Species
to the Conservation Committee and the Resolution Committee
Association of Southeastern Biologists March 2006

The Resolutions Committee has recommended the following position statement,
crafted by the Conservation Committee, be submitted to the ASB membership for
their consideration at the 67th annual meeting in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Respectfully submitted,

Claudia L. Jolls

Past President and chair of the Resolutions Committee

DRAFT RESOLUTION

The Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB) is a regional, professional
society of biologists. The purpose of this Association is to promote the
advancement of biology as a science by encouraging research, the imparting of
knowledge, the application of knowledge to the solution of biological problems
and the preservation of biology resources. This statement expresses the
recommendations of the Association concerning

RESOLUTION TO APPROVE A STATEMENT CONCERNING SUPPORT FOR
KNOWLEDGE AND CONTROL OF NON-NATIVE INVASIVE SPECIES

WHEREAS, virtually all natural habitats are imperiled by invasion of non-native
organisms,

WHEREAS, the number of both non-native and native invasive taxa and their
impacts are increasing; and

WHEREAS, non-native invasive organisms have profound, detrimental impacts
on the environment and on human economies; and

WHEREAS, as scientists in the Southeastern United States, we are concerned
that our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are threatened and limits to our
knowledge impair our ability to manage these threats; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the membership of the Association of Southeastern Biologists
adopts the position set forth herein as the official position of the Association on
these matters; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this position statement shall be sent to the appropriate
agencies and organizations of several states in which we are well-represented as
well as any appropriate officials when the need arises, as approved by the
Executive Committee of the Association.

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Statement of the Position
of the Association of Southeastern Biologists
Regarding Invasive Species

Revised March 2006

The Association of Southeastern Biologists identifies the need and supports
actions (at federal, state, regional, and local levels) to address critical, non-native
invasive species issues. The issue of invasive exotic species is of great concern
to all facets of society as the costs, both in dollars and ecological damage, are
increasing.

The infestation of invasive non-native plants, animals, and microorganisms is a
long-standing and growing problem in the United States. There are
approximately 50,000 foreign species and the number is increasing. The spread
of invasives is described by the U.S. Government Accountability Office as “an
explosion in slow motion.” Some estimate that 42% of the species on the
Threatened or Endangered species lists are at risk primarily because of non¬
native plant species.

Invasive non-native species have caused major economic losses in agriculture,
forestry, ranching, fisheries, and several other segments of the U.S. economy, in
addition to harming the environment and impacting the frequency of wildfires.
The federal government has a substantial stake in the battle against invasive
species. Numerous federal agencies spend over a billion dollars annually to
prevent, detect, control, or otherwise manage invasive species. The
environmental and economic costs associated with invasive species in the U.S.
are estimated to be more than $120 billion annually.

Numerous ecological processes may allow non-native invasive species to
become abundant and persistent. These include the lack of controlling natural
enemies (e.g., purple loosestrife and imported fire ant); the development of new
associations between non-native parasite and host (e.g., gypsy moth in oaks);
the establishment of effective non-native predators in new ecosystems (e.g.,
brown tree snake and feral cats), the creation of artificial and/or disturbed
habitats that provide favorable ecosystems for invasion by these taxa (e.g., in
crop and lawn habitats); and invasion by some highly adaptable and successful
non-native species (e.g., water hyacinth and zebra mussel). There continues to
be a lack of knowledge on impacts of both recognized and unrecognized high-
impact invaders.

The Association of Southeastern Biologists advocates guidelines set forth by the
Species Survival Commission Invasive Species Specialist Group of The
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) to
“strengthening the management response, providing appropriate legal and
institutional mechanisms, and enhancing knowledge and research efforts”.
(http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/pubs/policy/invasivesEng.htm).

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The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS),
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/108cong/fish/2003apr29/windle.htm, states
the guidelines as:

“prevention to keep out invasives from the US and their establishment

early detection and rapid response to monitor, detect and rapidly respond
while eradication is still possible, improving understanding and awareness

control and management to coordinate ongoing efforts with local, state,
regional, federal, and international authorities to minimize impacts of existing
invasions and prevent their spread

public outreach and education to alert the public of this serious threat and
inform so individual actions can limit the introduction or spread of harmful, non¬
native species

research and monitoring to invest in effective and environmentally sound
control technologies and other tools, and in the biologists and biological research
needed to ensure long-term success.”

The Association of Southeastern Biologists further supports directives to reduce
introduction of damaging invasives with better screening, control and exclusion of
organisms known to be threats, including inadvertent introduction through major
pathways, including ships; packaging, and imported live plants, animals and their
products. The Society also encourages and supports stronger regulations to
prevent the import and export of non-native invasive species via trade not
only in the United States, but the broader international community.

Scientists, educators and government officials are called upon to increase public
awareness of this increasing problem with the goal of generating on-the-ground
policy. In addition, increased funding, funding focus, scientific dialogues and
public forums are needed for education, prevention, early detection and rapid
response, control, monitoring, and research on invasive species.

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OMITTED ABSTRACT

This abstract was inadvertently omitted from the April, 2006, abstract issue
listing.

POSTER PRESENTATION

JIANG, CHEN1, GLENN M. COHEN1, AND ERIC G. SPOKAS2. Troy University1
and Rowan University2 — Alkaline and acid phosphatase activities inmosquitofish
gills after freshwater and seawater adaptation.

To demonstrate the expression of acid (ACP) and alkaline (ALP) phosphatase activities in
mosquitofish gills under ionic stress, mosquitofish were divided into groups l-IV: group I
was adapted from freshwater (FW) to 50% seawater (SW); group II was adapted from
50% SW to FW; group III was adapted to 50% SW, and group IV was adapted to FW.
Groups I and II served as experimental, whereas groups III and IV served as controls. All
fish were sacrificed 0, 3, 6 and 12 hrs after the transfers. For enzyme histochemistry,
naphthol AS-MX phosphate-stabilized diazonium salts were used to demonstrate the
distribution and staining intensities of the two enzymes. In present study, ACP stained most
gill cell types; chloride cells stained especially strongly. However, ACP staining intensities
remained the same during ionic stress. ALP stained only pillar cells and gill vascular
elements. Ionic stress did not affect ALP staining intensities. Cellulose acetate gel
electrophoresis was used to determine the number of ALP and ACP isoforms. Our
experiments showed that three ALP isoforms and two ACP isoforms are normally present
in mosquitofish gills. L-tetramisole inhibited one ALP isoform, but did not inhibit the other
two ALP isoforms. One ACP isoform was sensitive to sodium tartrate whereas the other
was insensitive to sodium tartrate. However, both ACP isoforms were inhibited by cupric
sulfate. Neither ALP nor ACP formed new isoform patterns under ionic stress. In
conclusion, ionic stress did not influence either enzyme activities (as expressed by
staining intensities) or the number of enzyme isoforms.

03

Past Presidents of ASB at the Friday night banquet. From left to right:
William Martin, John Herr, Claudia Jolls, and Dwayne Wise.

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ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS 2006
TREASURER’S REPORT FY 1 JANUARY-31 DECEMBER 2005

I. BEGINNING BALANCE

II. RECEIPTS

Non-Patron Dues

16,550

Patron Dues

3,750

Meeting Revenue, 2005 Florence

19,329

Meeting Revenue, 2006 Gatlinburg

581

Exhibits 2005

5,224

Exhibits 2006

3,225

ASB Enrichment Fund Contributions

2,280

Interest 107

Carolina Biological Sup. Meritorious Teaching Award

1,500

Martin Microscope Student Research Award

1,000

TL-Brooks/Cole Student Aquatic Biology Award

200

Royalties 67

TOTAL RECEIPTS

TOTAL RECEIPTS AND BEGINNING BALANCE

DISBURSEMENTS

1 Publications

SE Biology 52(1)

(2,117)

SE Biology 52(2)

(6,546)

SE Biology 52(3)

(4,186)

SE Biology 52(4)

(3,684)

Publications Total

(16,533)

2 Office Expenses

(1,215)

3 Official Travel

—

4 Awards and Honoraria

Graduate Student Support Grants

(3,370)

Speaker Flonorarium

(1,000)

Speaker Travel

(434)

Brooks/Cole Student Aquatic Biology Award (200)

Martin Microscope Student Research Award (1,000)

ASB Senior Research Award

(1,000)

Certificates/Plaques

(396)

ASB Student Poster Award 2004

(300)

ASB Student Poster Award 2005

(300)

ASB Outstanding Biology Teacher

(500)

Carolina Bio Meritorious Teaching Award

(1,500)

Total Awards

(10,000)

5 Interim Meeting

(272)

6 Affiliations

(125)

7 Local Committees 2005

(33,302)

2006

(7,000)

Local Committees Total

(40,302)

8 Symposia, Workshops

(1,000)

9 Bank Charges

(132)

10 Liability Insurance

(670)

11 A2Z Convention Services

(12,000)

TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS

V. ENDING BALANCE

VI. NET CHANGE

$ 71,707

$ 53,813
$125,520

($ 82,249)
$ 43,271
($ 28,436)

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ASB ENRICHMENT FUND
1 JANUARY - 31 DECEMBER 2005

I. BEGINNING BALANCE $40,923

II. RECEIPTS

1. Contributions 2,280

2. Interest 107

TOTAL RECEIPTS $2,387

III. TOTAL RECEIPTS AND BEGINNING BALANCE $43,310

IV. TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS (OBT) $ 500

V. ENDING BALANCE $42,810

VI. NET INCREASE $ 1,887

ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS
MEMBERSHIP OFFICER’S REPORT

2006 ASB DECEASED MEMBERS

William Burbanck

William Mengebier

Neil Grant

Albert Radford

Robert Martin

2006 ASB EMERITUS STATUS REQUESTS

Jon R Fortman

Ken McLeod

Eugene P Keferl

Richard F Modlin

Marian L Lewis

James B Sickel

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP

April 2005 March 2006

Complimentary

20

20

Contributing

11

11

Emeritus

65

73

Family

33

32

Library

56

56

Life

11

25

Patron

7

7

(Life & Patron

2

2)

Regular

787

892

Student

308

517

Sustaining

4

2

TOTAL

1,303

1,635

Respectfully submitted,

Deborah K. Atkinson, ASB Membership Officer

2006 Meeting

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ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS
ENRICHMENT FUND CONTRIBUTORS 2005

Adams, Jennifer P.
Anderson, Gilbert E.
Baker, Gail S.

Beaird, Janis
Bowen, William R.
Brown, Christopher
Brown, Rebecca L.
Burks, Kathy Craddock
Chandler, Clay M.
Cohen, Glenn M.
Dimock, Ronald V., Jr.
Douglas, Ruth

Drapalik, Donald J.
Fantz, Paul R.

Franklin, Beryl C.

Greco, Tony
Gregg, Katharine B.
Griffith, Adam
Harrison, Julian R.

Herr, John M & Lucrecia
Jolls, Claudia L.

Kelly, Lisa
Maki, Jon R.

McDougal, Karen M.

McLetchie, Nicholas
O’Kelley, J. Charles
Pollard, A. Joseph
Porcher, Richard D.
Ramseur, George S.
Schmalzer, Paul A.
Schutte, Alice S.
Walker, Joan
Wentworth, Thomas R.
Williams, James D.

05

ASB Executive Committee members at the Friday night banquet. From left to
right: Jim Caponetti, Don Roush, Dennis Haney, Tim Atkinson, Bonnie Kelley,
Wayne Van Devender, Debbie Moore, Kim Marie Tolson, Dwayne Wise, Michael
Dennis, John Herr, and Tom Wentworth.

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ASB Plenary Session Address

Looking for Linnaea: biological diversity and the ATBI
in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Peter White

Department of Biology and North Carolina Botanical Garden
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

We meet on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the site of
the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI). In this talk, I reflect on the history of
the park, the biodiversity of the Southeast, and the nation’s largest biological
inventory project.

Reflections on Great Smoky Mountains National Park

In the archives of the national park, I came across a pamphlet, printed in
1926, with the simple and modern message “Save Our Mountains”. What did the
mountains need to be saved from? Large logging companies had moved south
by the early 1900s. This was unsustainable logging writ large: whole watersheds
cut, logging slash fires, and severe soil erosion.

There were conservation responses to exploitive logging. “Scientific forestry”,
imported by the Biltmore Estate from Germany, sought to find ways to harvest
forests without permanently affecting productivity. The first forestry school was
founded in Brevard, North Carolina, in 1898. A second conservation response
was preservation. Based on the campaign expressed by the pamphlet “Save Our
Mountains”, congress passed an act authorizing the creation of a national park in
1926.

Scientists also responded. Examples are the formation of the Southern
Appalachian Botanical Club in 1925, the founding of the Highlands Biological
Station in 1927, and the creation of the Association of Southeastern Biologists in
1937. ASB’s statement of purpose carried among its three goals, the
“preservation of biological resources”.

The national parks in the west were created from publicly owned land, but
the southern Appalachians were in private ownership. The act authorizing Great
Smoky Mountains National Park specified that the states of North Carolina and
Tennessee were to buy the land from current owners. So a race between logging
and conservation was underway. In 1934, sufficient land had been acquired and
the congress officially created Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At that
time, about 25 percent of the park had never been directly disturbed — and on
that land are some of the East’s largest trees and biggest blocks of old-growth
forest.

Preservation had been successful, but our jobs as scientists and
conservationists will never be done. Air pollution, climate change, and invasive
species were not excluded by park boundaries. The park had already lost large
predators like the mountain lion and wolf, and other animals such as the elk (now
reintroduced), beaver (recolonizing on its own), and passenger pigeon. Fire
frequency has decreased — and some fire-dependent habitats are being lost

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through succession. Direct taking would seem to be a thing of the past — but
ginseng, black bears, and other species are illegally poached in the park. Habitat
loss and fragmentation would also seem to be a problem of the past — but
projects such as the North Shore Road remind us that we need to be vigilant
even now.

Although the “biological diversity” (1980) and “biodiversity” (1985) are new
terms, it has rapidly become our new rallying cry. We may not be able to
guarantee nature free of human influence, but the response of ecosystems
depends on biological variety, and so a new focus is the conservation of
biological diversity itself.

Linnaea and the meeting grounds of biodiversity

One of the first floras I ever opened was the Flora of Berkshire County,
Massachusetts. I was delighted to learn in the introduction that I was lucky to be
in Berkshire County because it was the meeting ground of a Northern and a
Southern flora, an Eastern and a Western flora. My professional journey took me
next to Missouri, where, soon after my arrival, I also learned that I was lucky to
be in Missouri, for it was the meeting ground, too! I moved next to Tennessee —
where when Paul Somers of the Natural Heritage Program told me that I was
lucky to be in Tennessee, for it was a meeting ground. When I moved to North
Carolina, of course, I discovered another meeting ground. Not much comes from
the East, but we have the most southern locations of the Greenland sandwort
and the most northern locations of palms and even a species of epiphytic orchid,
plant types more subtropical or tropical than temperate.

I don’t mean to belittle these claims. I think every place is a meeting ground
and that life is spread out around us like an ever changing tapestry, making each
place a meeting ground and each place unique and each deserving of
celebration.

This is where Linnaea borealis comes in. This northern species is
circumpolar and was so loved by Linnaeus in Sweden that he had it named for
himself. Linnaeus the father of taxonomy and the popularizer of the binomial as a
convenient system of reference. At the University of Tennessee Herbarium is the
only collection of this plant from our area: Albert Ruth, August 12, 1892, “in
mountain woods”, Sevier County, Tennessee. Linnaea has a romantic
association with Linnaeus himself — and this is the only location south of West
Virginia.

Eventually Ruth moved to Texas and his collection of Linnaea went with him.
The specimen may never have come to light except for a disaster back in
Knoxville: the University of Tennessee Herbarium was lost in a fire that
consumed Morrill Hall (today’s threats to biological collections are often more
subtle: lack of administrative support!). Tennessee botanists of all ranks worked
to rebuild the collection through field work and through writing letters to people
who might have specimens from the state. One of those people was Albert
Ruth’s daughter in Texas (Ruth had died two years earlier) who returned a box of
her father’s Tennessee specimens.

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The Southeast’s distinctive biodiversity signature

As a northern plant, Linnaea is part of the meeting ground of the Smokies. It
hasn’t been seen since 1892 and therefore also represents the intriguing hunt for
rarities. But the story of biodiversity in the Southeast also goes beyond meeting
grounds: our area has remarkably high numbers of localized endemics that come
from nowhere else.

My own scientific route tells this story, too. As one moves south from New
England to North Carolina, the diversity of vascular plants increases — some 30
percent in this span of latitudes. But the numbers of narrow endemics increases
much more steeply than the overall number of species. The narrow endemics of
the Southeast include plants, amphibians, reptiles, turtles, fish, mussels, crayfish,
and snails. I have computed that for a variety of terrestrial and aquatic groups,
the gradient in narrow endemics is 5-75 times steeper than the gradient in total
richness. This increase is most associated with the boundary of the last glacial
advance and probably results from the evolutionary age of the Southeast,
assisted by climate change without the greater changes of glaciation.

The ATBI: an overview

Given the conservation challenges of the day, biodiversity has become an
equal cause to wilderness itself. Our lack of knowledge, beyond the best studied
groups, is clear. Some of the less well known groups harbor species that play
critical ecological roles, such as soil fungi, bacteria, and pollinating insects. The
statistics of extrapolating from small samples to larger areas has proved difficult.
Thus, we often can’t predict the total diversity, not only for the globe but also for
Great Smoky Mountains National Park itself.

Given our lack of knowledge and the conservation importance of biodiversity,
the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory was launched in 1997. Inspired by a project in
Costa Rica, the ATBI had indispensable leadership from Keith Langdon, the
park’s head of inventory and monitoring. We organized a non-profit, Discover Life
in America (DLIA), to oversee the development of the project. The project quickly
captured the imagination of folks in many walks of life. We are now educators,
professional scientists, citizen scientists, volunteers, conservationists, and even
artists.

The field work is represented by intensive bioquests (24 hr to 2 week
intensive efforts by teams of scientists and volunteers), several-year graduate
student projects, and sustained multi-year projects. DLIA has been able to award
small grants — and scientists and graduate students find matching money and
services for their work. Several of our scientists have used our small grants to
land large NSF grants, including work on fungi, algae, myxomycetes, beetles,
and explorations of tree canopies. We are using both traditional methods
(taxonomists exploring the places that seem best to them) and structured
methods (biodiversity reference plots chosen to represent the factors that control
species distributions). We are using digital maps and data to analyze park
environments and to model species distributions (these may even help us predict
the most likely spots for the rediscovery of Linnaea!). Some 200 people are
involved, with many states and several foreign countries represented in the list of
investigators. The ASB Meeting includes a full day symposium on the ATBI,

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organized by Pat Cox of TVA, which presents a much fuller picture of this project
(by my count 26 institutions and 17 states contributed to this symposium).

The species scorecard is astounding: so far 612 species new to science and
5,000 species never before reported from Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
There is so much life teeming around us and we know so little about it. The
project is not just about the numbers of species, it is also about building maps,
discovering life history traits and species interactions, building park databases,
and bringing the story of biodiversity to the public. Our investigators are using the
new methods, including GPS units to map locations (if only Albert Ruth had
access to these, the looking for Linnaea would be much easier today) and the
DNA Barcode Project that seeks to develop molecular techniques for rapid
species identification. Given the huge task, the DNA Barcode Project is
particularly attractive in that it will allow us to rapidly estimate the probability that
a species is new to science (thus helping us prioritize taxonomic work). The
promise of this work is also that it will help us link life stages to the correct
species (some aphids have up to 7 distinctive morphologies during their
development), identify the diet of insects from samples of their gut, detect the
presence of parasites, and confirm species from traces and fragments.

The ATBI is conventional biological exploration, but it is also helping to
establish a new model for biological inventory and seeks to create a new
connection between biodiversity and the public, including those who know and
love Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the great wilderness preserve it
represents (discover more at www.dlia.org).

Final thoughts

I come back to where I started. Just as in the beginning, when scientific
societies like ASB took stands against biological destruction, science must also
meet this challenge: to continue to document and understand biological diversity,
for both ethical (the preservation of living things) and practical (the sustainability
of human life) reasons. At the same time, we live in an age when systematics
and taxonomy are themselves under threat, as resources devoted to natural
history collections have been decreasing. It is my hope that projects like the ATBI
will help reverse this trend and that new methods and models of biological
diversity survey will rush to fill the breach. Linnaeus started us on a process of
biological discovery and communication. In looking for Linnaea, we are also
extending the purposes and methods of Linnaeus to a new age.

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Thursday Evening at the Bandana Bash

Posing are Jon Davenport (left) and Julie Marik of
East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

From left to right: Jon Davenport, Claudia Jolls, and Tracy Rogers
of East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

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ASB Past President’s Banquet Address

Ethics in Science: Cardinal Sins and Heavenly Virtues

(Advice from a No-Longer-Young Biologist on Being One,
with apologies to Sir Peter Medawar and Dr. John Janovy)

Claudia L. Jolls

Department of Biology
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina 27858-4353
jollsc@ecu.edu
Past President
31 March 2006

It was 1980 and I had just received a doctorate in biology from the University
of Colorado. Although trained in the sciences, I realized I did not yet know how to
be a scientist. Fortunately, finer minds than mine offered the benefits of their
experiences, including 1960 Nobel Laureate Sir Peter Brian Medawar. Six years
before his death, the great immunologist gave his perspective on being a
scientist, entitled, Advice to a Young Biologist. Shortly thereafter, University of
Nebraska parasitologist John Janovy, Jr. contributed On Becoming a Biologist
(thus, my choice of title). Nevertheless, I began my faculty appointment at East
Carolina University feeling much as one does as ASB Past President, with
enthusiasm and trepidation. As is so typical of our profession, the kindness and
experiences of colleagues nearer than Medawar or Janovy have been
instrumental in my professional development. My colleague at ECU, Mark
Brinson, brought me to my first ASB meeting in 1986 at the University of South
Carolina at Columbia (where, by the way, we reunite in 2007). In ASB, a regional
organization unmatched in this country, I found a professional, personal and
even spiritual home.

In 1994, my dear colleague and former ASB treasurer Gerhard Kalmus
cajoled me into involvement with the North Carolina Collegiate Academy of
Science Undergraduate Research Workshop. He asked me to speak on ethical
issues in science... .me, a plant ecologist, who despite the University of
Michigan’s best aspirations, was not raised in the liberal arts tradition. Ethics:
isn’t that the realm of philosophy and the humanities? Gerhard was encouraging,
but could I learn a new trick? Many of you have seized this subject (e.g.,
Wentworth and Rosenfeld 2005). Thanks to discussions with many colleagues,
notably Gehard, Hal Daniel and James Leroy Smith, I here present what has
evolved from early approaches at an ASB education session (Jolls 1995) to how
we approach “ethics” with our first year graduate students in an Introduction to
Research class.

Science is a way of knowing and ethics has been defined as the “science” of
human conduct. Science is something people do, thus, our craft, as for all human
endeavors, requires adherence to values and moral standards, operative caring
for all things and for us as scientists to live our lives above reproach. How do we

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navigate our paths through the stormy seas of professional ethics? Perhaps as
biologists we might find ethical safe harbor moored in Western philosophy and
the Judeo-Christian tradition?

Domenici di Michelino’s 1465 fresco Dante and His Poem illuminates the wall
of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Dante is shown holding a
copy of his epic poem, The Divine Comedy, and pointing to a procession of
sinners being led down to the circles of Hell. Behind Dante are the seven
terraces of Purgatory, with sinners atoning for each of the Seven Cardinal Sins.
Recall these sins: lust, gluttony, greed/avarice, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. The
other side of the coin of human nature and our moral compass is reflected in
what Western tradition has named “The Heavenly Virtues”. Crafted by Greek
philosophers and expanded from The New Testament to include theological
values specific to Christians, these virtues are chastity, moderation, generosity,
zeal, meekness, charity and humility.

We use this model of seven sins and virtues to illustrate ethical breaches and
values in science for discussion with our students. Consider “Seven Deadly Sins
in the Sciences”, including: plagiarism and lack of collegiality; falsification,
fabrication or forgery;“poor” or “soft” science tainted with bias or ignorance;
conflicts of interest; failure to predict and think holistically;frailties, including
human aims and worldly pursuits; and crimes against society.

We also point out what is valued in science as a process and by scientists as
persons and professionals. “Seven Scientific Virtues” should include objectivity,
truth and critical judgment; productivity; dedication and tenacity; extensive
impact; collaboration and collegiality; visibility; and accountability. These values
encompass the quality of science, which is by definition, the determined pursuit
of truth, reminiscent of the heavenly virtue “zeal”. Our contributions are deemed
more worthy and valued more highly if they are highly visible and impact a larger
community. Of late, interdisciplinary efforts among scientists are valued. And
lastly, our science has implications beyond esoteric pursuits of the ivory tower
and knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Increasingly, our science is accountable to
the public and viewed for its application to the betterment (or not) of the human
condition. I often reflect on the personal burden levied on J. Robert Oppenheimer
(1904-1967) as director of the Manhattan Project and the resultant devastation at
Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Bird and Sherwin 2005).

As junior or senior scientists, we are obliged to adhere to a moral code, often
defined by our own personal code and that of our professional societies and
institutions we serve. Fortunately, myriad of resources is available to chart our
scientific paths, including from our flagship institutions such as the National
Academy of Sciences, and even our own umbrella, the American Institute of
Biological Sciences; AIBS dedicated their March 2004 annual meeting to the
theme of bioethics in a changing world.

To adhere to these standards, we must ask ourselves several questions
dealing with the type of science we do and for whom, and how science is done.
Do we work with laboratory animals, humans or human embryos? Will we employ
our craft to develop technologies such as armaments or biocides? Often, our
resource base, including research funds, controls the questions we ask as
scientists. This type of moral dilemma has generated discussions, including

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those of Stanford chemist, playwright and father of the birth control pill, Carl
Djerassi on "chaste" (pure or operating within the confines of academe) vs.
"promiscuous" (commingling with industry and business) science. Scientists are
asked more and more to make their knowledge available to the people. This
accountability extends to making our discoveries not only accessible but
understandable to lay people. The face of science is changing and we are
compelled to aid the diversification of who does science; is science as a career
available to all peoples? Part of our craft demands we collaborate and mentor
young scientists; as a result, our relationships may be held up to higher scrutiny
than those of other disciplines. Lastly, the way science is done, including the
scientific method, allows us the opportunity to demonstrate truth, and our
integrity. We are asked to confirm our personal and professional integrity
repeatedly, by presenting our work and ourselves for review to peers and the
public, accountable to peers, professional societies, funding agencies, and even
government and regulatory organizations. Yet, scientists must resist to human
frailties; for human aims and worldly pursuits of power and wealth often conflict
with a career in science.

Every aspect of the life sciences has the opportunity to teach some of the
human aspects of being a scientist and each subdiscipline has its own unique
ethical considerations (e.g., use of human subjects, humane treatment of
animals, overcollection, environmental consequences of genetically engineered
organisms). Let us briefly consider some possibilities.

In the 1920’s, University of Vienna scientist Paul Kammerer (1880-1926)
performed an experiment allowing land-mating midwife toads ( Aleytes
obstetricans) to mate only in water. After six generations, he claimed that the
toads had developed spiny nuptial pads typical of aquatic species, suggesting
Lamarckian inheritance of acquired characteristics had taken place. Challenges
between Lamarckian and Darwinian views of evolution, then as now, can
become acrimonious. G. Kinsley Noble, Curator of Reptiles at the American
Museum of Natural History, argued in Nature that the nuptial pads of the only
remaining specimen were fake, having been created by injecting the frogs with
India ink. Kammerer had a history of depression, tragic love entanglements and a
ruined career due to losses from WWI; six weeks after Noble’s article appeared,
Kammerer shot himself. He left a suicide note explaining that he himself did not
inject the ink, but that he knew who did, although he did not reveal his/her
identity. Arthur Koestler’s (1971) The Case of the Midwife Toad reviewed the
tragedy and wrote a vindication of a man who may have been betrayed, possibly
by a Nazi sympathizer.

In the 1940s, John Heslop Harrison (1881-1967) of Newcastle University
announced the discovery of several species of rare plants on the Isle of Rum of
the Hebrides off Scotland, hypothesizing some were survivors from a time before
the last Ice Age. According to a rather tedious popular account “The Rum Affair”
(Sabbagh 2001), John Raven (1914-1980), then a young don at Kings College,
reportedly accused Heslop Harrison of transplanting several species of rare
plants to the Isle of Rum. Raven wrote a “damning expose” that he had sealed in
a Cambridge library. Interestingly, the only public account of his investigation was
a letter published in Nature in 1949 that does not directly implicate Heslop
Harrison. One wonders whether this is a tale of fabrication of data and breaches

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of ethics, or one of directed hindsight of science and scientists for
sensationalized popular viewing.

These sensational ethic issues in the life sciences are not historic; we also
present recent accounts. Most recently, a university panel announced that South
Korean stem-cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang had fabricated results of obtaining
stem cells from cloned human embryos, a huge setback for therapeutic cloning.
In 1983, a battle was waged over the discovery of HIV between Luc Montagnier's
group of the Pasteur Institute (their “LAV”) and Robert Gallo’s lab at the National
Cancer (their “HTLV-III”). A much publicized international dispute ensured about
ownership involving the Office of Scientific Integrity at the National Institutes of
Health and eventually President Frangois Mitterand of France and President
Ronald Reagan of the USA. Three years later, the French and US labs finally
agreed to share credit for the discovery, newly named, “human
immunodeficiency virus” (HIV) (Coffin et al. 1986, Chang et al. 1993). A final
modern example may also illustrate the perils of attempted whistle-blowing,
whether fact or fiction, for all involved. In 1986, Nobel laureate David Baltimore,
then of M.l.T, co-authored a scientific paper in immunology with Thereza
Imanishi-Kari (Weaver et al. 1986). Margot O’Toole, a postdoc in the lab, argued
the paper contained false statements, was denied access to the data she
requested, and in effect accused Imanishi-Kari of data fabrication. Despite his
initial refusals, Baltimore and his co-authors eventually retracted the paper,
although Imanishi-Kari did not (Weaver et al. 1991). National Institutes of Health
and eventually Representative John Dingell of the U.S. Congress were involved.
In 1991, NIH’s Office of Scientific Integrity accused Imanishi-Kari of falsifying
data and recommended censure as denial of funding for 10 years. Amid the
controversy, Baltimore resigned from the presidency of Rockefeller University.
Imanishi-Kari was vindicated by a new federal review in 1996. One version of the
story is described in Daniel Kevles (2000) book, The Baltimore Case.
Interestingly, mathematician and activist, Serge Lange (1927-2005) later
vehemently opposed Yale University’s offer of a tenured position to Kevles, in
part due to Kevles’ book’s sympathetic position toward Baltimore. Others support
Baltimore’s position in support of his junior colleague, Imanishi-Kari. Baltimore
has since served as President of Caltech and received the National Medal of
Science, Imanishi-Kari received tenure at Tufts University, Kevles went from
Caltech to an endowed professorship in history at Yale, and Margot O’Toole lost
her postdoctoral appointment but is working in the biotechnology private sector.

I present ethics in biology to graduate students by first illustrating the charts
to help orient one’s moral compass to reassure young, aspiring professionals that
we are not cast adrift in ethical stormy seas. My institution, East Carolina
University, like most, has spent considerable effort to detail aspects of
professional conduct within their organization, including 1) how we do research
and creative activity, 2) ethical issues for students in the classroom, 3) dealing
with diversity, and 4) our relationships with other organizations and each other.
Such guidelines are drafted as policies and procedures on personal conduct,
academic integrity, improper relationships between students and faculty,
discrimination, sexual, racial and ethic harassment, and conflicts of interest. I
stress to our graduate students, many of whom are teaching assistants, than it is
useful to remind all students and faculty alike that we have a code of honor. Is it
dishonorable to work collaboratively on assignments? How do we appropriately

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use written sources? The new Cyber Age and our ease of rapid access to
unfiltered and often unrefereed information via the World Wide Web also pose
new perils and potential ethical dilemmas. Most of us, particularly as instructors,
have run up against misguided and directed use of information and
misinformation as well as blatant acts of plagiarism.

As with all instruction, the disconnect between what we say and what
students hear, as well as the hypocrisy between what we say and what we do,
can make passive learning about ethics in biology ineffective. We incorporate
active learning involving student discussion groups in response to ethical
scenarios. As is always the case, finer minds than mine have more eloquently
articulated these issues. These scenarios were developed, in part, using two
valuable resources by Robin Penslar and Brian Schrag, both affiliated with the
Association for Practical and Professional Ethics at Indiana University (Penslar
1995, www.onlineethics.org). I attempt to enliven the scenarios by adding some
personal anecdotes based on my experience in academe and biology. Here are
three brief examples of some of the scenarios.

SCENARIO 1

“Your university has a policy concerning improper relationships between students
and employees. In passing, one of your undergraduate students gleefully
mentions she is having dinner with one of her professors in your department.
What do you do?

One of your fellow graduate students mentions she had a romantic
involve/ment with a faculty member on her thesis committee. They have
had a falling out and she now fears for the outcome of her defense?
What do you do?”

SCENARIO 2

“In opposition to the University’s policy, the director of your research lab has a
bottle of “Yee-Ha Licker” in her desk drawer, which you discovered while looking
for the phone book. What do you do?”

SCENARIO 3

“You are a student drafting your thesis work for publication. Your research has
been funded, in large part, by a grant awarded to your major professor.

- Do you include your mentor as an author on the manuscript or not?
How?

- Your mentor played a major role in design of the project and editorial
remarks on your thesis and manuscripts. Do you include him/her on the
manuscript? How?

You are now the major professor. You have stressed that the ultimate goal of any
research is its publication. Your student produced a stellar thesis, however,
repeatedly has shown no interest in its preparation for possible publication.

Do you submit the thesis? If so, who are authors in what order?”

Finally, although I promised advice in the title, I am no icon of virtue.
Nevertheless, I can recommend a focus on education rather than adjudication in

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matters of professional mores. Misconduct is more often than not a rash error in
judgment rather than malice of forethought. It is important to remind ourselves
that we too have made erroneous decisions due to ignorance, immaturity, stress
or misconceptions that there were no alternatives. More often than not,
knowledge and education are preferable in the long-term to punishment and
retribution in the short-term. I hope my offerings here will inspire more of us to
bring the personal into the professional in our research and training in biology,
and encourage some of us to formalize teaching professional ethics as part of
our classroom experience.

In closing, author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote of writing, “You have to develop a
conscience and if on top of that you have talent so much the better. But if you
have talent without conscience, you are just one of many thousand journalists."
To paraphrase Fitzgerald, as life scientists, talent without conscience would
make us nothing at all, or simply one of many tens of thousands technocrats.
Writer and environmentalist Ann Linnea reminded us, “It is imperative that
universities support their faculties and students when they make decisions based
on both passion and logic. Why? Because passion involves both feeling and
commitment, and without them there is not hope of solving our own personal
problems, let alone the world’s. I believe that following passion is a lifelong skill —
a magic wand that keeps us awake and able to fashion our own best lives...” Yet,
what drives our craft as life scientists is passion; we, too, must make our
decisions based on not only ethical considerations and logic, but passion as well.

It has been my privilege to serve as your president, and I have many people
to thank, not least of all, the membership and those of you who have graciously,
energetically and selflessly served on our Executive and other ASB and affiliate
committees. I thank you for the opportunity to serve this wonderful union of
biologists, fine professionals and fine people, who have contributed to my own
personal and professional development, specifically, your contributions, tolerance
and patience, and for teaching this old dog new tricks.

References and Readings

Bird, K. and M. J. Sherwin. 2005. American Prometheus: the triumph and tragedy
of J. Robet Oppenheimer. Alfred P. Knopf Publishers, New York, New York.
736 pp. ISBN: 0375412026

Chang, S. Y. P., B. H. Bowman, J. B. Weiss, R. E. Garcia and T. J. White. 1993.

The origin of HIV-1 isolate HTLV-IIIB. Nature 363 (6428): 466-469.

Coffin, J., A. Haase, J. A. Levy, L. Montagnier, S. Oroszlan, N. Teich, H. Temin,
K. Toyoshima, H. Varmus, P. Vogt and R. Weiss. 1986. New name for AIDS
virus-what to call the AIDS virus. Nature 321 (6065) 10.

Djerassi, C. 1991. Cantor’s dilemma: a novel. Penguin, New York, New York.
240 pp. ISBN: 0140143599

Janovy, Jr., J. 2004. On becoming a biologist. 2nd ed. Bison Books, Lincoln,
Nebraska. 153 pp. ISBN: 0803276206

Jolls, C. L. 1995. Incorporating ethics into biological education. Association of
Southeastern Biologists Bulletin 42:1 15.

Kevles, D. 2000. The Baltimore case: a trial of politics, science, and character.

W. W. Norton & Company, New York, New York. 512 pp. ISBN: 0393319709
Koestler, A. 1971. The case of the midwife toad. Vintage Books, New York, New
York. ISBN: 0394718232

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Medawar, P. B. 1981. Advice to a young scientist. 2nd edition. Harper Collins,
???. 109 pp. ISBN: 0060130296.

National Academy of Sciences. 1995. On being a scientist: responsible conduct
in research. 2nd edition. Committee on Science, Engineering and Public
Policy, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering,
Institute of Medicine. 40 pp. ISBN: 0309051967. URL:

http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/obas/content.html.

Penslar, R.L. 1995. Research ethics: cases and materials. Indiana University
Press, Bloomington, Indiana. 320 pp. ISBN: 0253209064.

Sabbagh, K. 2001. A rum affair: a true story of botanical fraud. Da Capo Press,
New York, New York. 296 pp. ISBN: 0306810603.

Weaver, David, M. H. Reis, C. Albanese, F. Costantini, D. Baltimore and T.
Imanishi-Kari 1986. Altered repertoire of endogenous immunoglobulin gene
expression in transgenic mice containing a rearranged Mu heavy chain gene.
Cell 45: 247-259.

Weaver, D., C. Albanese, F. Constantini and D. Baltimore. 1991. Retraction:
Altered repertoire of endogenous immunoglobulin gene expression in
transgenic mice containing a rearranged Mu heavy chain gene. Cell 65: 536.

Wentworth, T. R. and K. M. Rosenfeld. 2005. Toward a land ethic: responsible
conduct of field research Southeastern Biology 52(2): 155-1 56. abstr.

03

WELCOME
ASSOCIATION OF
SOUTHEASTERN
BIOLOGISTS

MARCH 29 - 31

Paul Marek (left) and Amy Stockman of East Carolina University, Greenville,

North Carolina, taking a break.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

MEMORIES OF 2006 ASB-GATLINBURG IN THE
VICINITY OF THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
NATIONAL PARK IN TENNESSEE

Robert Y. George

President, George Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability
305 Yorkshire Lane, Wilmington, North Carolina 28409

(www.GIBSconservation.org)

Tennessee hosted ASB meetings before, most recently in Memphis and also
in Chattanooga, but the 2006 67^ ASB in Gatlinburg was unique for three
reasons. (1) Our hosts Dr. Patricia Cox and Dr. Randall Small (University of
Tennessee) chose Gatlinburg Convention Center, where our ASB meeting was
the first major event since its recent renovation, as the mayor told us in the
opening session on March 29. (2) The venue was at the eastern edge of
Tennessee, near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (see
Plate 1, Fig 1). (3) On the first day at the plenary session, Dr. Peter White,
Director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden (UNC-Chapel Hill), presented an
eloquent speech on conservation and management of Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. The special symposium on the following day, “All Taxa
Biodiversity Inventory — A Search for Species in our Backyard”, with morning and
afternoon sessions that included two dozen scientific presentations, highlighted
the plant and animal communities of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
All ASB members in Gatlinburg, maximum we ever had as pointed out by ASB
President Dwayne Wise in his presidential remarks, found the 2006 meeting
most enjoyable.

I came to Gatlinburg by car all the way from North Carolina’s Atlantic coast
(Wilmington) through the higher elevations of the Grand Father Mountains which
the late Hugh Morton (a photographer and conservationist) promoted as a
national treasure and nature preserve. Despite the distance, it was a treat to
drive through the Appalachian Hills and particularly the Smoky Mountains (see
Plate 1 Figs 2-4) which attained its pinnacle of beauty in the spring bloom with
occasional wanderings of wild pheasants and turkeys. I also came to Gatlinburg
as 2005-2006 chair of the ASB conservation Committee. Nevertheless, I pointed
out in the committee report that even though ASB passed a resolution in 2005 to
express our concern on “Endangered Species”, the US Congress at the House of
Representatives took steps that encouraged developers to get rid of critical
habitat status to vulnerable areas that accommodated populations of endangered
species. Therefore, the reauthorization of the “Endangered Species Act (ESA)” is
in jeopardy.

At Gatlinburg, we also passed another resolution that addressed the “non¬
native invasive species” in the southeastern United States. This important
resolution, that has a bearing on the health of the aquatic and land ecosystems,
was originally brought to my attention as ASB conservation committee chair by
ASB former president Patt Parr. The resolution was endorsed by the ASB
membership in Gatlinburg with enthusiasm. We do not realize that a species of
red fire ant was brought to United States from Brazil by unintentional accident.
The fire ant populations exploded in a matter of few years, invading rapidly

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toward north. The cost to combat the red fire ant is estimated as 6 billion dollars
that is same as the entire budget of US National Science Foundation. It is really
appalling!

Another recent invasive species is the colorful and venomous lionfish, a
native of Indo-Pacific Ocean. Some tourists from Florida fetched a pair of lionfish
in one of their diving adventures for their home aquarium. Lo and behold, the
male and female lionfish were released into the sea off Atlantic coast of Florida
and eventually the lionfish reproduced in the alien coastal waters of conducive
high temperature and began spreading to the north, aided by the northward
flowing Gulf Stream. This episode is not too different from that of the python
snakes brought to Florida from foreign countries as pets. These giant snakes
escaped into wilderness and became predators devouring the lower trophic
levels, thus impacting the very trophic structure of natural ecosystems.

How do we put an end to this ecological nuisance species? While serving on
the editorial board of the ASB-endorsed journal -Southeastern Naturalist -I
encouraged scientists in the Marine Resource Center in Charleston, South
Carolina, when they submitted a paper in this journal on the episode of lionfish
innovation from Florida to North Carolina continental shelf. I got their paper
reviewed by peers. Finally the paper appeared in the journal. Thanks to the
publishers, “Humboldt Institute in Maine” for making lionfish as the cover page
photo of this particular number that carried the article. This is one way to bring to
focus the urgent need to introduce bills in the US Congress to enact laws (ACTS)
to stop the invasion of non-native and harmful or unharmful species of plants and
animals in the ecosystems of the United States. In fact I gave a copy of the
journal with lionfish photo to a prominent US Senator (Plate 2, Fig. 1).

In Gatlinburg on March 28, 2006, as chair of conservation committee I sat in
the ‘ASB Executive Committee’ meeting and suggested that at the ‘business
meeting’ we introduce a “Scientists’ Statement of Concern on the Endangered
Species Act-ESA reauthorization”. My proposal was discussed and the EC
unanimously decided to make it a petition to US Congress as my initiative (rather
than ASB’s) with signatures from ASB membership (more than a 1000 members
and about 700 in attendance at Gatlinburg) during this annual meeting. I then
rolled up my sleeves and generated the following statement for signatures at the
2006 Gatlinburg meeting.

“We, the undersigned, as members of the Association of Southeastern
Biologists (ASB) appeal to the US Congress, that the Senate should reevaluate
the House Bill on the ‘Endangered Species Act’ which needs updating since its
inception 33 years ago. Presently 1300 plant and animal species are listed as
endangered and 30 species became extinct in the last 3 decades. Coastal
habitat loss and deterioration, as evidenced in the Katrina hurricane impact on
coastal states in the Gulf of Mexico (in particular Louisiana and Mississippi
coasts), present compelling reasons for revitalizing the ESA now. We therefore
recommend that the US Congress reauthorize ESA with appropriate and
innovative methods to maintain, improve and restore species habitats on land,
coastal wetlands, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches, shelf and offshore deep¬
water cold coral habitats within the US EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zones). ASB
passed a resolution on endangered species, put forth by the ASB Conservation
Committee, presented it to the membership by the ASB resolution committee and
voted favorably for action by the membership in ASB 2005 meeting in Florence
(Muscle Shoal=Mussel Shoal) meeting in Alabama. We, therefore, applaud the

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House for improving the ESA but appeal for further improvement (by adding
appropriate threatened species to endangered species list). We urge the US
Senate for further improvement and swift action to reauthorize the bill soon for
executive action by the President of the United States”.

I am pleased to report that 60 ASB members signed this “statement of
scientists’ concern” in Gatlinburg We stopped getting signatures when we got 60
and we could have got signatures as many as 500 in Gatlinburg. I am thankful to
my colleague Ms. Julia Berger, new ASB member and member of the science
advisory committee of my organization -George Institute for Biodiversity and
Sustainability-tor her enthusiasm in Gatlinburg for fetching half the number of
signatures (I got the other 50%). The petition was signed by 7 ASB past
presidents. I submitted the signed (xeroxed) copies of the petition to appropriate
US House Representatives and US Senators. I am keeping my finger (and toes)
crossed for action.

We face today a situation wherein priorities are reversed. For example,
environmental protection, along with education, remain at the bottom of
congressional priorities. This scenario is really reflection of lack of funds for
improving the budget of agencies such as National Science Foundation (NSF)
and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Two major
national commissions, PEW Ocean Commission and US Commission for Ocean
Policy, recommended firmly and wisely that we need to protect our environment
by adopting the ‘Ecosystem Based Management’. We in the southeast are
pounded by increased incidence of category IV and V hurricanes and our coastal
ecosystems are threatened by climate change. Global warming has become a
problem and Al Gore, in his book/movie on “Inconvenient Truth”, cautions that in
10 years the damage to “Nature” may become irreversible. In my opinion, it may
not be that soon but his warning ought to be taken seriously by scientists and
policy-makers alike.

Our wetlands are in trouble. The ‘Clear Water Act’ calls for Army Corps of
Engineers to get permission before filling wetlands that are in link with navigable
bodies of water. Supreme Court justices differ in their definition of wetlands. Jim
Titus of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a paper entitled
“Does the U. S. Government Realize that the Sea is Rising?” He warned of the
need to preserve wetlands and beaches in the face of global warming. During my
tenure as ASB conservation committee chair, I conducted a national symposium
on the impact of global warming at the 2005 AAAS (American Association for the
Advancement of Science) in Washington, DC with 7 prominent scientists as
invited speakers. In the coming years ASB needs to give emphasis on
environmental issues with symposia and workshops. In essence, this was the
recommendation of the conservation committee at the 2006 Gatlinburg meeting.

The Friday night ASB banquet on March 31, 2006 was eventful with
speeches and meritorious awards to students and college faculty. As usual the
performance of Tri-BETA students was superb. The Tennessee school teacher,
who sat in the same table with me and my colleagues, was thrilled to receive the
“ASB Best Teacher Award”. Also, Dr. Kim Marie Tolson, a conservation biologist
at the University of Louisiana in Munroe, officially assumed charges as President
of ASB for 2006-2007. I met her at the end of the banquet and gave her a copy of
the petition to US Congress for the reauthorization of the ‘Endangered Species
Act’ (ESA). I asked Kim to give “conservation” the priority it deserves in the
coming year. When we meet in 2007 at the University of South Carolina in

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393

Columbia, we will see signs of revitalization of conservation goals to protect our
threatened aquatic and land ecosystems. In Columbia, S. C. at the 68th ASB
annual meeting I will, as immediate past chair of the ASB Conservation
Committee, propose that ASB should create a representative to ‘Society of
Conservation Biology’ (SCB) and will send the elected person to annual meetings
of SCB as ASB spokesperson.

Let me now turn to the light side of the 2006 ASB annual meeting. As usual
the Thursday Night Social’ on March 30 was indeed the highlight of the meeting
and so it was. The event occurred in the newly renovated Mills Auditorium in the
Gatlinburg Convention Center. The tall cathedral-like roof and the local band
playing on the stage made the evening rather exciting for the audience that
listened to both boring and fascinating talks (papers) all day. There was a
copious quantity of beer to boost the mood of the gathering. Noise pollution also
made some folks retire early in the evening for a peaceful walk in the streets of
this elegant mountain town Gatlinburg. We say: “One picture is worth a thousand
words”. Therefore, I am presenting with this article a few pictures that depict this
gala Gatlinburg event (Plate 2 Figs. 2- 4).

Plate 1 —

Places

MARCH 29 - 31

Conference Center

WELCOME
ASSOCIATION OF
SOUTHEASTERN
BIOLOGISTS

Fig. 1 . Welcome sign for ASB 2006. Note
the visibility behind the sign showing clouds
and sky. Thanks to local arrangements
committee for keeping the sun shinning for
four days.

Fig. 3. Bob George with ASB tag in
Gatlinburg. See the Appalachian hills in the
background.

Fig. 2. Entrance to Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. Yes, President Theordore
Roosevelt was wise to listen to early 20th
century conservationist John Nuir & establish
the national parks for saving nature.

Fig. 4. Gatlinburg city scene with the
convention center on the left & a nice hotel we
stayed on right (one minute walk to meetings).

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

Plate 2 — People

Fig. 1. Bob George (right) discussing
“Endangered Species Act” (ESA) with vice-
presidential candidate Senator John
Edwards at the U.S. Senate Office.

Fig. 2. John and Lucrecia Herr at the
Thursday night social.

Fig. 3. ASB 2006 attracted several children
(future biologists). See the couple dancing
with their child while the orchestra was
playing at the Thursday night social.

Fig. 4. From left to right: ASB Past President
Lafayette Frederick, his wife Antoinette,
colleagues, and graduate students at the
Thursday night social.

Special Honor

395

Longtime Member of ASB Honored by BSA

Lafayette Frederick

aia

Botanical Society of America

P.O. Box 299
St. Louis. MO 63166-0299

Phone: 314-577-9566
FAX: 314-577-9515

www.botany.org

Botanical Society Of .America

February 23, 2006

Dr. Lafayette Frederick
Howard University, Department Of Biology
415 College St Nw
Washington, DC 20059

Dear Dr. Frederick:

In honor of our Centennial Celebration, the Botanical Society of America is pleased to be
recognizing leading scientists and Society members for their contributions to the plant
sciences. We will do so by presenting special BSA Centennial Awards at the Botany
2006 Conference in Chico, California, on August 2, 2006.

Dr. Frederick, we are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen by your peers and
BSA leaders to receive a Centennial Award. The Botanical Society of America sincerely
thanks you for your contributions to the advancement of the plant sciences and looks
forward to your participation in our special awards ceremony.

You will receive your award at the special centennial reception, hosted by Drs. Peter H.
Raven and Ed Schneider during the Botany 2006 Conference on Wednesday, August 2,
2006, beginning at 3:00 p.m. We invite you to the Botanical Society of America's
banquet as our guest later in the evening. We hope very much that you can attend both
the reception and the banquet.

Plant sciences have evolved a great deal over the past 100 years. Behind this evolution,
dedicated people such as you have played a critical role. Scientists and the systems that
support their work, and the propagation of the knowledge and new ideas they create, and
students they foster afe essential components of society. As a major scientific society, we
appreciate and applaud your efforts.

The Botanical Society of America was formally established in 1906 and has been a
bastion of support for the plant sciences and developing plant scientists over the past
century. We look forward to this role well into the future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Peter H. Raven
Past President

Dr. Edward Schneider
President

ES/PHR/wl

The Botanical Society of America is a scientific and educational organization devoted to the fundamental study of the form,
function, development, diversity, evolution and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere.

Letter reprinted with permission.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

The following biography of Lafayette Frederick appeared in The Scientist 19:
29, November 7, 2005, Supplement 21 by Staff Writer Ishani Ganguli. Reprinted
with permission.

LAFAYETTE FREDERICK

Lafayette Frederick was born in Dog Bog, Mississippi, and grew up with five
brothers and sisters on a cotton farm in Missouri, where his sharecropper father
taught him and other local kids in a one-room schoolhouse that doubled as a
church. Working on the farm, Frederick became deeply interested in agriculture.
Fie remembers studying flower structure in a biology textbook, then finding he
could learn more by just taking apart a flower from the family’s garden.

Fascinated by the work of Tuskegee University alumnus George Washington
Carver, Frederick went at the age of 16 to the traditionally African-American
university and pursued a BS degree in technical agriculture. Flere, Frederick met
mentors such as Flarold Romm, who introduced him to the study of botany.

Anticipating the military draft for World War II, Frederick moved to
Washington State with friends and was able to parlay his skills into work as an
electrician’s assistant, an unusual white-collar job for an African American at that
time. He entered the Navy in 1944, and was posted to Pearl Harbor where he
worked as an architectural draftsman. By the time the war ended and Frederick
could use the Gl bill to pay for graduate school, studying botany was no longer
an obvious first choice. But his first passion prevailed, and Frederick stayed on to
study native plants at the University of Hawaii. He then completed a master’s
degree with a project on Dutch elm disease at what is now the University of
Rhode Island and received his PhD in plant pathology at what is now Washington
State University.

Romm recruited Frederick to the biology department at Southern University
in Louisiana, where Frederick developed a botany concentration during his 10
years at the school. He did the same at Atlanta University, where he chaired the
biology department during his 14-year tenure. In 1976, Frederick came to
Howard University in Washington, DC, where he chaired the botany department
and is now professor emeritus.

As an African-American scientist, Frederick has to break significant barriers
to end up where he is today. “I’d go to meetings, there would be hardly any
blacks there. I wanted to change that situation.” In 1958, Frederick was
responsible for integrating the Association of Southeastern Biologists meeting,
which had not allowed its African American members to attend.

Since his days at Southern, Frederick has worked to get black students
excited about making new discoveries, an effort that includes taking students to
scientific conferences. He once drove a car full of students from Atlanta to a
conference in Alberta, Canada. “Some of my colleagues at other schools asked,
“Haven’t you ever heard of airplanes?’ I said, sure I’ve heard of airplanes, but if I
come by airplane, I can’t bring the students.”

Frederick is still in touch with more than 40 of his former students, and quite
a few have gone onto successful careers of their own in plant biology. In 1991,

Special Honor

397

the American Association for the Advancement of Science recognized his tireless
efforts in guiding young black scientists by presenting him with the AAAS Mentor
Award for Lifetime Achievement.

At age 82, Frederick still conducts research on Dutch elm disease and lives
with his wife of more than 50 years and one of their ten grandchildren outside
Washington, DC.

--Ishani Ganguli

Antoinette and Lafayette Frederick.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

ASB Southeastern Biology Staff, ASB Officers, and Executive
Committee Members-at-Large, 2006-2007

Telephone numbers, Fax numbers and e-mail addresses can be found
on the inside front cover of each issue of the Southeastern Biology.

Print Editor

Southeastern Biology Staff

James D. Caponetti, Division of Biology, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

Associate Editor

Debbie Moore, Department of Natural Sciences, Troy
University, Dothan, AL

Web Editor

Dwayne A. Wise, Department of Biological Sciences,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS

Business Manager

Tim Atkinson, Carolina Biological Supply Company,
Burlington, NC

News Editor

Ricky Fiorillo, Department of Biology, University of
Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA

Book Review Editor

Debbie Moore, Department of Natural Sciences, Troy
University, Dothan, AL

Meetings Coord.

Scott Jewell, P. O. Box 1088, Mebane, NC

ASB Officers

President

Kim Marie Tolson, Department of Biology, University of
Louisiana, Monroe, LA.

President-elect

W. Michael Dennis, Breedlove, Dennis and Associates,
Inc., 330 W. Canton Ave., Winter Park, FL

Vice-President

Bonnie Kelley, Department of Biology, University of
North Carolina, Pembroke, NC

Past President

Dwayne A. Wise, Department of Biological Sciences,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS

Secretary

Debbie Moore, Department of Natural Sciences, Troy
University, Dothan, AL

Treasurer

Tim Atkinson, Carolina Biological Supply Company,
Burlington, NC

Membership Officer

Deborah Atkinson, School of Public Health, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Archivist

John Herr, Department of Biological Sciences, University
of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Executive Committee Members-at-Large

2007: Elaine J. Davis, Dept, of Natural Sciences, Bowie State Univ., Bowie, MD
Scott Franklin, Dept, of Biology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2008: Jennifer J. Davis, Dept, of Biology, Shorter College, Rome, GA.

Dennis C. Haney, Dept, of Biology, Furman University, Greenville, SC.
2009: Donald H. Roush, Department of Biology, University of North Alabama,
Florence, AL

Robert Wayne Van Devender, Department of Biology, Appalachian State
University, Boone, NC

Association Affairs

399

ASB COMMITTEES 2006-2007

Representatives to Other Societies

AAAS - American Association for the Advancement of Science

Representative: Bonnie Kelley. Biology Department, UNC Pembroke,
One University Drive, P.O. Box 1510, Pembroke, NC 28372-1510;
bonnie.kelley@uncp.edu.

AIBS - American Institute of Biological Science

Representative: Geraldine Twitty. Department of Biology, Howard

University, 415 College St., NW, Washington, DC20059; 202-806-6953, FAX
202-806-4564; gtwitty@howard.edu.

ASB Committees

Committee for Human Diversity

Chair: Victoria Turgeon, Department of Biology, Furman University, 3300
Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC, 29613-0418; 864-294-3791, FAX 864-
294-2058; victoria.turgeon@furman.edu.

LaJoyce Debro, Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, 700
N. Pelham Road, Jacksonville, AL 36265; 256-781-5036; ledebro@
succ.jsu.edu.

Anisha Campbell, Dept, of Natural Sciences, Bowie State University, 14000
Jericho Park Rd., Bowie, MD 20715; 301-860-3341; acampbell@
bowiestate.edu.

Conservation Committee

Chair: Richard Henson, Department of Biology, Appalachian State

University, P.O. Box 32027, 572 Rivers Street, Boone, NC 28606-2027;
828-262-3025, FAX 828-262-2127; hensonrn@appstate.edu.

Michael Woods, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences,
Troy University, Troy, AL 36082; 334-670-3403; mwoods@troy.edu.

Neval Erturk, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, North
Greenville University, Tigersville, SC 29688; 864-977-7134;

nerturk@ngc.edu.

Education Committee

Chair: Ricky Fiorillo, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at
Monroe, Monroe, LA 71209; 318 342-1797; FAX 318 342-3312;
fiorillo@ulm.edu.

Dennis Haney, Department of Biology, Furman University, 3300 Poinsett
Highway, Greenville, SC 29613; 864-294-2050, FAX 864-294-2058;
dennis.haney@furman.edu. (Co-chair in 2007-2008)

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SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

Don Roush, Department of Biology, UNA Box 5212, University of North
Alabama, Florence, AL 35632; 256-765-4435; dhroush@una.edu. (Co¬
chair in 2007-2008)

John Shields, EM Lab, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; 706-542-
4080; jshields@cb.uga.edu.

Enrichment Fund

Chair: Bonnie Kelley, Biology Department, UNC Pembroke, One University
Drive, P.O. Box 1510, Pembroke, NC 28372-1510; 910-521-6419, FAX
910-521-6649; bonnie.kelley@uncp.edu.

Finance Committee

Chair: Tim Atkinson, Carolina Biological Supply, Co., 2700 York Rd.,
Burlington, NC 27215; 336-538-6224, FAX 800-222-7112;

tim.atkinson@carolina.com.

Past President: Dwayne Wise, Department of Biological Sciences, P.O.
Drawer GY, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762;
662-325-7579, FAX 662-325-7939; daw1@ra.msstate.edu.

President-Elect: Mike Dennis, Breedlove, Dennis and Assoc., Inc., 330
West Canton Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789; 407-677-1882; mike@bda-
inc.com.

Executive Committee Member: Scott Franklin, Department of Biology,
University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Ave., Memphis, TN
38152; 901-678-5539, FAX 901-678-4746; sfrankli@memphis.edu.

Graduate Student Support Award Committee

Chair: Rebecca Bray, Department of Biology, Old Dominion University,
Norfolk, VA 23529; 757-683-3610; rbray@odu.edu.

Steven W. Keenum, TVA, 16401 Chenal Valley Dr., Apt. 7211, Little Rock,
AR 72223; 501-821-6390; swkeenum@tva.gov.

M. Wayne Morris, P. O. Box 2583, Gainesville, GA 30503; 678 357-4307.

Local Arrangements Committee

Chair 2007: John Herr, Department of Biology, University of South
Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; 803-777-8110, FAX 803-777-4002;
herr@mail.biol.sc.edu

Chair 2008: Joe Pollard, Department of Biology, Furman University, 3300
Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613-0418; 864-294-3244, FAX 864-
294-2058; joe.pollard@furman.edu.

Meritorious Teaching Award Committee - Award sponsored by Carolina

Biological Supply

Chair: Larry Mellichamp, Department of Biology, University of North
Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223; 704-687-4055, FAX 704-
687-3128; tlmellic@email.uncc.edu.

Ken Shull, Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC,
28608-2027; 828-262-2675, FAX 828-262-2127; shulljk@appstate.edu.

Association Affairs

401

Ron Dimock, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-
Salem, NC 27109; 336-758-5567; dimock@wfu.edu.

Nominating Committee

Chair: Claudia Jolls, Department of Biology, East Carolina University,
Greenville, NC, 27858-4353; 252-328-6295, FAX 252-328-4178;

jollsc@mail.ecu.edu.

Mike Dennis, Breedlove, Dennis and Assoc., Inc., 330 West Canton Ave.,
Winter Park, FL, 32789; 407-677-1882; mike@bda-inc.com.

Diane Nelson, Professor Emerita, Dept, of Biological Sciences, East
Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614-1710; 423-282-
4828; janddnelson@yahoo.com.

Past-President’s Council

Chair: Dwayne Wise, Department of Biological Sciences, P.O. Drawer GY,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762; 662-325-
7579, FAX 662-325-7939; daw1@ra.msstate.edu.

Patron Member and Exhibitor Committee

Chair until 2009: Wayne Van Devender, Department of Biology,
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 28608; 828-262-6907, FAX
828-262-2127; vandevenderr@appstate.edu.

Vice-Chair until 2007: Joe Pollard, Department of Biology, 3300 Poinsett
Hwy., Furman University, Greenville, SC, 29613-0418; 864-294-3244,
FAX 864-294-2058; joe.pollard@furman.edu.

Randy Small, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996; 865-974-3065, FAX 865-974-3067;
rsmall@utk.edu.

Bonnie Kelley, Department of Biology, UNC Pembroke, One University Dr.,
P.O. Box 1510, Pembroke, NC 283-72-1510; 910-521-6419, FAX 910-
521-6649; bonnie.kelley@ uncp.edu.

Scott Jewell, A2ZConvention Services, P.O. Box 4156, Glen Raven, NC,
27215; 336-421-0034, cell 336-213-2048, FAX 336-538-6395;

a2zconvention@yahoo.com. (ex-officio)

Place of Meeting Committee

Chair: Joe Pollard, Department of Biology, 3300 Poinsett Flwy., Furman
University, Greenville, SC 29613-0418; 864-294-3244, FAX 864-294-
2058; joe.pollard@furman.edu.

Don Roush, Department of Biology, UNA Box 5212, University of North
Alabama, Florence, AL 35632; 256-765-4435; dhroush@una.edu.

Patricia Cox, TVA Heritage Program, 400 West Summit Hill Dr.,
WT11C407K, Knoxville, TN 37901; 865-632-3609; pbcox@tva.gov.

Scott Jewell, A2ZConvention Services, P.O. Box 4156, Glen Raven, NC,
27215; 336-421-0034, cell 336-213-2048, FAX 336-538-6395;

a2zconvention@yahoo.com. (ex-officio)

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

Poster Awards Committee

Chair: Irene Kokkala, Department of Biology, North Georgia College and
State University, Dahlonega, GA 30597; 706-864-1368, FAX 706-867-
2703; ikokkala@ngcsu.edu.

Ray Williams, Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone,
NC 28608-2027; 828-262-6511, FAX 828-262-2127;

willmsrs@appstate.edu.

Loretta Battaglia, Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL 62901; 618-453-3216; lbattaglia@plant.siu.edu.

Publication Committee

Chair: Elaine Davis, Bowie State University, Computer Science Bldg., Ste.
308C, 14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, MD 20715-9465; 301-860-3876,
FAX 301-860-3887; edavis@bowiestate.edu.

Jennifer Davis, Department of Biology, Shorter College, Rome, GA; 707-
233-7292; jdavis@shorter.edu.

Don Roush, Department of Biology, UNA Box 5212, University of North
Alabama, Florence, AL 35632; 256-765-4435; dhroush@una.edu.

SEB Editor (ex-officio): Jim Caponetti, Division of Biology, M303 Walters
Life Sciences Bldg. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0830;
865-974-6841, FAX 865-974-4057; jcaponet@utk.edu.

Research Awards Committee-Senior-Award Sponsored by Associated

Microscopes, Inc.

Chair: Howard Neufeld, Department of Biology, Appalachian State

University, Boone, NC 28608-2027; 828-262-2693, FAX 828-262-2127;
neufeldhs@appstate.edu.

Nitya Jacob, Department of Biology, Division of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics, Oxford College of Emory University, Oxford, GA 30054;
770-784-8346, FAX 770-784-8423; njacob@learnlink.emory.edu.

Martin Henry Stevens, Botany Department, Miami University, Oxford, OH
45056; 513-529-4206, FAX 513-529-4243; hstevens@muohio.edu.

Research Awards Committee-Student-Award Sponsored by Martin

Microscope Company and Thomson Brooks/Cole

Chair: Dennis Haney, Department of Biology, Furman University, 3300
Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613; 864-294-2050, FAX 864-294-
2058; dennis.haney@furman.edu.

Frank Romano, Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, 700
Pelham Rd. North, Jacksonville, AL 36265; 256-782-5038;

fromano@jsucc.jsu.edu.

Tom Pauley, Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University,
Huntington, WV 25755; 304-696-2376, FAX 304-736-1424;

pauley@marshall.edu.

Association Affairs

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Research Awards Committee-Microbiology-Award Sponsored by Thomson

Brooks/Cole

Chair: Ken Shull, Department of Biology, Appalachian State University,
Boone, NC 28608-2027; 828-262-2675, FAX 828-262-2127;

shulljk@appstate.edu.

Min-Ken Liao, Department of Biology, Furman University, 3300 Poinsett
Highway, Greenville, SC 29613; 864-294-3246; min-

ken.liao@furman.edu.

Christi Magrath, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences,
MSCX 31 2C, Troy University, Troy, AL 36082; 334-670-3622; FAX 334-
670-3626; cmagrath@troy.edu.

Resolutions Committee

Chair: Dwayne Wise, Department of Biological Sciences, P.O. Drawer GY,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762; 662-325-
7579, FAX 662-325-7939; daw1@ra.msstate.edu.

Rebecca Cook, Biology Department, Lambuth University, 705 Lambuth
Blvd, Jackson, TN 38301; 901-425-3278, FAX 901-988-4900; cook-
reb@lambuth.edu.

Walter J. Diehl, Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State
University, Mississippi State, MS 39762; 662-325-7576, FAX 662-325-
7939; wjdiehl@ra.msstate.edu.

05

The ASB Presidential Group at the Friday night banquet. From left to right:
President-Elect Michael Dennis, President Kim Marie Tolson, and
Past President Dwayne Wise.

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SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

2007 MEETING OF THE
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN

BIOLOGISTS

COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION CENTER
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
APRIL 18-21, 2007

Sit

2007 Meeting

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CALL FOR PAPERS

(this is the only call)

THE 68th ANNUAL ASB MEETING

HOSTED BY:

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

COLUMBIA

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Please note the following deadlines that are to be
met before our 68th annual meeting. This will be

the only call for papers!

15 OCTOBER Nominations for ASB officers and

executive committee due to the
Nominations Committee.

1 DECEMBER Titles and abstracts of papers and

posters, including those applying for
awards, due to the Program
Committee. This will be the only call
for papers. They must reach the
Program Committee by this date.

1 DECEMBER-20 JANUARY

Submission materials for research
awards due to respective research
awards committees.

23 JANUARY Meritorious Teaching Award

materials due to Meritorious Teaching
Award Committee. Application for
graduate student travel awards due to
Graduate Student Travel Awards
Committee.

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LOCAL COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
FOR THE 68th ANNUAL MEETING
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, SC

Local Arrangements Chair: John Herr

herr@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-8110

Program Committee:

David Lincoln
lincoln@biol.sc.edu
Rob Raguso
raguso@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-7306
(803) 777-7074

Commercial Exhibits
and Workshops:

Dick Zingmark and MC* (803)777-4873

zingmark@biol.sc.edu

Jerry Hilbish (803) 777-6629

hilbish@biol.sc.edu

Field Trips:

John Nelson (803) 777-8196

nelson@biol.sc.edu

Social Events:

David Rembert and MC* (803) 777-0096
rembert@biol.sc.edu

Transportation/Parking:

Robert Feller
feller@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-3937

On-Site Registration:

Gerald Cowley

(803) 772-0539

Volunteer Coordinator:

Dick Vogt
vogt@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-8101

Tri-Beta Coordinators:

David Reisman
reisman@biol.sc.edu

Loran Knapp
knapp@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-8108

(803) 777-2557

Audiovisual Coordinator:

Clint Cook and MC*
cook@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-3975

Promotions:

Tim Mousseau and MC*
mousseau@biol.sc.edu
Richard Showman
showman@biol.sc.edu

(803) 777-8047

(803) 777-2457

Hotel Accommodations:

Scott Jewell (the MC)*

*Meeting Coordinator (MC):

Scott Jewell (336)421-0034

a2zconvention@yahoo.com

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

PAPER & POSTER SUBMISSION DOCUMENTS

FOR 2007 MEETING

DEADLINE: FRIDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2006

Individuals presenting papers or posters are expected to be members ofASB or an

affiliate society!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING ABSTRACTS

Submit a single e-mail message with two attachments in word document format
to the program chair, David Lincoln (lincoln@biol.sc.edu). The two attachments
should be titled, “Author Information” and “Abstract”. DO NOT submit author
information or abstracts within the text of the e-mail message.

ATTACHMENT 1 (Titled “Author Information”)

Number and list the following information items:

1. AUTHOR(S)

2. INSTITUTION(S)

3. 1st AUTHOR PHONE/FAX

4. 1st AUTHOR E-MAIL

5. ABSTRACT TITLE

6. PRESENTATION TYPE: PAPER or POSTER

NOTE: All oral presentations will be on PowerPoint with a backup copy on a CD
disk or flash memory drive. Slide projectors will not be available. Poster space is
4’ x 4’. Bring you own pins or Velcro.

7. CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE SECTION(S) TO WHICH YOUR PAPER OR
POSTER SHOULD BE ASSIGNED. IF YOU CHOOSE MORE THAN ONE,
RANK SECTIONS AS TO YOUR PREFERENCE (1 = MOST PREFERRED).

Animal Behavior

Animal Ecology

Animal Physiology

Aquatic, Wetland & Marine Mgmt.

Developmental Biology

Genetics, Cell & Molecular Biology

Herpetology

Ichthyology

Invertebrate Zoology & Entomology

Microbiology

Ornithology

Parasitology

Plant Biology

Plant Ecology

Plant Systematics

Teaching Biology

2007 Meeting

409

8. AWARDS: If you intend to apply for one of the following awards, please
indicate this so that the Program Committee can schedule talks appropriately.
You must indicate that you want to be considered for an award during the
abstract submission. Students must be first author to be considered for
student awards.

For many awards, you MUST also submit an abstract to the award committee
chairperson. Please see applicable rules for each award at
http://www.asb.appstate.edu/Awards%202007.htm and in this issue. If you do
not follow these instructions, you may not be considered for the award.

ASB Senior Research Award ($1,000). Sponsored by Associated
Microscopes, Inc.

ASB Student Research Award ($1,000). Sponsored by Martin Microscope
Company.

Brooks/Cole Student Research Award in Aquatic Biology ($200). Sponsored
by Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

ASB Research Award in Microbiology ($500). Sponsored by Thomson
Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

ASB Student Poster Award ($300). Sponsored by ASB.

Eugene P. Odum Award ($500). Sponsored by the SE Chapter of ESA.

Elsie Quarterman-Catherine Keever Award ($300). Sponsored by the SE
Chapter of ESA.

NC Botanical Garden Award ($200). Sponsored by the NCBG.

SEASIH Student Travel Awards ($50). Sponsored by the SE Chapter of ASIH.

See http://www.asih.org. ASIH will meet in St. Louis in 2007
SEASIH Student Ichthyology Award ($100). Sponsored by the SE Chapter of
ASIH. See http://www.asih.org. ASIH will meet in St. Louis in 2007
SEASIH Student Herpetology Award ($100). Sponsored by the SE Chapter of
ASIH. See http://www.asih.org. ASIH will meet in St. Louis in 2007
SAC/SWS Student Travel Awards ($100). Sponsored by the SA Chapter of
SWS.

BSA Student Plant Science Award ($100) plus travel expenses ($300).
Sponsored by the SE Section of BSA.

SFC Student Travel Awards ($100). Sponsored by the SFC. See
http://www.asih.org. ASIH will meet in St. Louis in 2007

ATTACHMENT 2 (Titled “Abstract”)

Please follow guidelines below.

The abstract must be in 9 point Arial (if your computer does not have Arial, use

Times New Roman) with margins of 1 inch right and 2 14 inches left. Text should

be fully justified. Do not place hard returns at ends of lines; allow word wrapping.

The abstract (not including the authors’ names and addresses) must not exceed

250 words. Single space all typing.

1. Indent author, institution, and title information 1 tab stop (1/2 inch). Type in the
following order: AUTHOR’S NAME(S) all capitalized; last name first for first
author; other authors’ names (if any), first names first. If two authors, separate

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

names with “AND”. In the case of more than two authors, separate all but the
last name with a comma and separate last two with “AND”. End with a period

2. Institution(s) follow authors’ names directly. Maintain the same indentation as
names and end with a dash ( — ). In case of two or more authors from different
institutions, place all author names together first, followed by all institutions in
the same order. If necessary, key the authors’ names to the institution with a
superscript number.

3. Start the title immediately after the dash without a space. Capitalize first
letter of first word, then only proper and scientific names as customary.
Underline all of the title, and maintain the same indentation as the name and
institution. End with a period. Leave one full blank line between title and
abstract text.

4. Start text of abstract on a new line. Do not indent first line. Use one paragraph
for entire text. Do not put any reference citations in the abstract. Justify both
left and right margins. 250 word maximum.

5. Single space all typing. Put taxonomic names in italics.

EXAMPLES

RADENBAUGH, TODD A. United States Peace Corps, Jamaica — Major plant
community types of Duncan Bay, Jamaica, West Indies.

There is an urgent need to record and describe the coastal ecosystems on the North coast

of Jamaica before they are severely altered by human .

DAVIS, JENNIFER1 AND DWAYNE WISE2. Shorter College1 and Mississippi
State University2 — Causes and consequences of elevated levels of meiotic
abnormalities in laboratory colonies of the crane fly Nephrotoma suturalis.

Progeny of wild-caught crane flies were compared to a laboratory colony of Nephrotoma
suturalis for mean % chromosomal abnormalities, mean % survival, and parameters
indicative of .

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS

All oral presentations will be done using Microsoft PowerPoint only. Presenters
should bring a backup copy on a CD disk or flash memory drive.
Complete and final presentations must be submitted on CD to the

audiovisual coordinator to be received by April 11. The first author’s name
and truncated title should be written on the upper surface of the CD using an
indelible marker.

Submit the CD to be received by the April 11 deadline to: ATTN: ASB 2007
Annual Meeting, c/o Mr. Clint Cook, Department of Biological Sciences,
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208.

2007 Meeting

411

n

□ ASB-COLUMBIA 2007 FIELD TRIPS

The list of field trips is tentative. More information will be
available in the December issue of SE Biology .

Columbia South Carolina is rich and diverse in botanical and
zoological ecosystems. A comprehensive list of field trips are
being planned that will stimulate the mind and excite the soul.
Plan early to attend one of the Saturday trips.

1. Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve, Calhoun County
SC. 9:00 am-1:00 pm. Trip leader: Ann Darr, SCDNR. One of the
newest members of South Carolina's heritage sites, situated on the
south side of the Congaree River. You won’t want to miss this
exciting opportunity to visit the magnificent 200 foot riverine bluffs.

2 Flat Creek Heritage Preserve, Lancaster County SC. 9:00
am-1:00 pm. Trip leader: Kathy Boyle, SCDNR. During this field
trip you will be rewarded with the best developed granitic flatrock
ecosystems in the Southeast.

3. Congaree National Park, Richland County. 9:00 am-1:00
pm. L. L. Gaddy, Terraincognita, Inc. A complex of various
bottomland ecosystems, along with mesic bluff communities; the
largest contiguous tract of virgin forest remaining in South Carolina,
and home to a number of national champion trees. This will be an
experience you will never forget!

4 Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve, McCormick County
SC. 9:00 am-1:00 pm. Trip leader: Rudy Mancke, USC. One of the
Southeast's most diverse botanical sites, featuring a large number
of rare species.

5. Birding In South Carolina: Destination, time TBA. Trip
leader: John Cely. Destination, time TBA. Characteristic avian
fauna of the SC midlands, led by one of the state's top
ornithologists.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

6 Herpetology In South Carolina, Hampton and Jasper
Counties SC, SCDNR properties. 9:00 am-until? Trip leaders:
Stephen Bennett, SCDNR, Julian Harrison, College of Charleston.
Reptiles and amphibians, and their habitats, from a variety of low-
country sites.

7. Sandhill Excursion-Gamecock Style: Peachtree Rock
Heritage Preserve, Shealy's Pond Heritage Preserve. 9:00-until?
Trip leaders: Bert Pittman, SCDNR, Wayne Grooms. The first
Nature Conservancy Preserve in SC, now a Heritage Preserve.
Unusual geologic formations support a variety of habitats and rare
species.

Activities for Guests

There are a plethora of interesting places to visit not too distant from the
Columbia Convention Center. The short list includes: Riverbanks Zoo
and Botanical Garden; State Museum, Confederate Relic Room and
Museum; McKissick Museum and USC Visitor Center; Columbia
Riverfront Park and Historic Canal; and the Caroliniana Library, the first
free-standing college library in the United States. Among many other
attractions are several homes open to the public: Hampton-Preston
Mansion and Gardens, Built in 1818, this restored antebellum mansion is
furnished with Hampton and Preston family pieces; Mann-Simons
Cottage, Celia Mann, an enslaved Charleston midwife who acquired her
freedom and walked to Columbia, lived here from the 1840s until 1867;
Robert Mills House & Park, This restored mansion was built in 1823 and
designed by South Carolina’s most famous architect, Robert Mills; and
the Woodrow Wilson Family Home, Woodrow Wilson, the nation’s 28th
president, spent four years of his youth in Columbia. He and his family
lived in this home built by his parents in 1872.

2007 Meeting

Announcing the ASB
Thursday Night Social
“ A Night of Beach”

413

ASB has a historic reputation for hosting an exciting and fun-filled
Thursday Night Social. And this year is no different!!!!

We are bringing the Beach to Columbia!!! This year’s event will be held
at the brand new Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center on the
beautiful campus of the University of South Carolina. This world-class
facility has over 192,000 square feet of indoor space, outdoor pool and
sand volleyball courts.

Since 1971, The Second Nature Band has been a regional favorite for
Country Clubs, College Campuses, Reunions and Convention Groups.
They will provide an evening of the most popular Beach & Dance Music
and are a top choice for Festivals and Beach Shows. The band’s
repertoire contains exceptional variety to excite any gathering. Bring

your sliding dancing shoes . you will want to learn “The Shag” that

was invented in South Carolina.

The outdoor pool will be open (life-guards will be on duty) and sand
volleyball courts will also available for everyone to enjoy!

Bring your swimsuit, your appetite, your dancing shoes and yourself to
this sure-to-be-fun night of enjoyment!!!

ASB will provide continuous transportation to/from the event — no driving
required!

Outdoor Pool Area

Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

Special Reminders from the Print Editor

ASB BANQUET ATTENDANCE

Please keep in mind that recipients of ASB awards must be
present at the annual ASB banquet to receive the award.
Therefore, all applicants for ASB awards must attend the
banquet to insure the presence of the winners.

EXTRA ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Besides sending abstracts of papers and posters to the
Program Committee by December 1, 2006, anyone wishing to
be considered for an award must send an abstract to the
respective award committee chairperson in order to be
considered. Checking the box on the registration form for the
award is not enough. An abstract must be sent to the
chairperson by January 20, 2007.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS

All oral presentations will be done using Microsoft PowerPoint only.
Presenters should bring a backup copy on a CD disk or flash
memory drive.

FINAL SUBMISSION OF CD

Complete and final presentations must be submitted on CD to

the audiovisual coordinator to be received by April 11. The first
author’s name and truncated title should be written on the upper
surface of the CD using an indelible marker.

Submit the CD to be received by the April 11 deadline to: ATTN:
ASB 2007 Annual Meeting, c/o Mr. Clint Cook, Department of
Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
29208.

2007 Meeting

415

Nomination for ASB Officers and Executive
Committee Positions

DEADLINE: 15 OCTOBER 2006

To members of the Nominating Committee: I wish to suggest that you consider
the following ASB member(s) in selecting nominees for officers and executive
committee positions. ( Please include the institutional address of each
nominee.)

PRESIDENT-ELECT

VICE-PRESIDENT

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ( two will be elected for three-year terms)

MAIL TO: Dr. Claudia L. Jolls, Department of Biology, East Carolina University,
Greenville, NC 27858-4353; (252) 328-6295; Fax (252) 328-4178;
jollsc@ecu.edu.

NAME & ADDRESS OF NOMINATOR

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

SUPPORT AWARDS FOR GRADUATE
STUDENT MEMBERS OF ASB

DEADLINE FOR POSTMARK: 23 JANUARY 2007

Limited funds are available to partially defray the expenses of graduate
students attending the Annual Meeting. The awards are for lodging and meals
only, including the ASB Banquet. Departments are urged to provide
transportation for their graduate students. Recipients must be members of ASB.
See ASB web site for membership application or renewal forms. The guidelines
for application are as follows:

(a) The recipient is a current member of ASB.

(b) The recipient must be presenting a paper or poster at the Annual
Meeting and must include a separate copy of the abstract of the paper or
poster to be presented along with the application.

(c) The recipient must be currently enrolled as a graduate student in the
department where he/she conducted this research.

(d) Student travel awards are granted on a competitive basis. Applicants
must document expected expenses and list other sources of financial
support for this meeting, including institutional aid, shared lodging and
shared transportation.

(e) In a paragraph, give a brief history of your education to date: indicate
how many years you have been in graduate school and the expected
date of completion of work for your degree, your major field of study and
research, publications including those in press and in preparation,
degree sought, name of major professor and any other pertinent details.

(f) Give your source(s) of support while in graduate school: e.g. NSF, NIH,
USDA, Teaching Asst., Research Asst., etc.

(g) Include a letter of recommendation for an ASB support award from your
faculty research advisor. This letter should comment on the work being
presented and indicate the financial need of the student presenter. It
should also indicate whether any departmental or other funding is
available to the student.

(h) Send application with supporting letter to: Dr. Rebecca Bray,

Department of Biology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529;
(757) 683-3610. In addition, e-mail a copy of your completed application
documents without the supporting letter to rbray@odu.edu.

(i) Applicants will be notified of the decision of the Committee as soon as is
practical. Recipients of the award will pick up their checks at the ASB
table at the meeting.

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417

GUIDELINES FOR POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Poster sessions have been incorporated as a regular means of scientific
presentation at the annual ASB meetings. This type of presentation provides a
more informal environment that encourages a direct interchange of ideas and
discussion between presenter and audience. Poster presentations are open to all
ASB members. Adherence to the following guidelines helps ensure the
effectiveness of the poster presentation and consideration for the award.

(1) Display should fit on a 4' h x 4' w board suitable for thumbtacks,
pushpins, or Velcro.

(2) Poster must be displayed from 10 a.m. Thursday through 5 p.m. Friday.
Authors will be required to be present at specified times during the
Annual Meeting.

(3) Poster should be carefully planned to maximize clarity and simplicity in
conveying information.

(4) Poster should have a heading, including a title, author, and author's
institution(s). This heading should be placed at the top in letters no less
than 3 cm high.

(5) The body of the poster, including text, figure legends, and table captions,
should be in type no smaller than 18 pt (3-4 mm) and must be legible
from a distance of about 1-2 meters.

(6) The body should be self-explanatory and should include figures, tables,
graphs, maps, or photographs displayed in a well organized, coherent,
and easy-to-follow sequence from top to bottom. Each illustration should
contain a caption. Do not overcrowd the display. Significance will be one
of the criteria looked for in judging the posters.

(7) A limited degree of text may be included, but care should be taken not to
overwhelm the audience.

(8) A large, abbreviated version of the abstract should be presented at the
top of the poster, but below the heading. A clear listing of specific
conclusions should appear at the bottom or end of the presentation. An
abstract must also be submitted to the award committee chair.

Further inquiries may be directed to the Chair of the ASB Poster Award
Committee: Dr. Irene Kokkala, Department of Biology, North Georgia College
and State University, Dahlonega, GA 30597; (706) 864-1368; Fax (706) 867-
2703; ikokkala@ngcsu.edu.

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RESEARCH AWARDS

SPECIAL NOTICE: Please read carefully the description of requirements for
the ASB award for which you apply. Note especially that recipients of ASB
awards must be present at the annual ASB banquet to receive the award.

ASB Senior Research Award ($1000)

Given for an especially meritorious manuscript presented orally by the
author(s) at the Annual Meeting of ASB. The presenter must be a member of
ASB. In order to qualify for this award sponsored by Associated Microscopes,
Inc., the author(s) must have presented the work orally at any previous annual
meeting or have submitted an abstract by the 1 December abstract deadline for
an oral presentation at the next annual meeting. The manuscript must either
have been submitted for publication or be ready for submission and carry the
format of the journal to which it will be (or has been) submitted. Author(s) must
submit four copies of their manuscript and short biographical sketches of each
author. Manuscripts received by 20 January 2007 will compete for the 2007
Senior Research Award. Manuscripts not received by this deadline (but
submitted by 20 January 2007) will remain in competition for the 2007 Senior
Research Award, subject to the following condition, which applies to ALL
manuscripts eligible for this award: manuscripts may be in press, but not
published prior to the last annual meeting. Judges will use a standard evaluation
form that includes the following criteria: significance of ideas, soundness of
hypotheses, originality (creativity), quality of methodology, validity of results,
soundness of conclusions, clarity, completeness, organization, and contribution
to the field. At the discretion of the Senior Research Award Committee, the
award may be withheld or it may be split in case of a tie. The recipient of the
award must be present at the annual ASB banquet to receive the award.

Committee Chair: Dr. Howard Neufeld, Department of Biology, Appalachian
State University, Boone, NC 28608-2027; (828) 262-2693; Fax (828) 262-2127;
neufeldhs@appstate.edu.

ASB Student Research Award ($1000)

Given for an especially meritorious manuscript presented orally by the
author(s) at the Annual Meeting. In order to qualify for presenting the paper, the
author(s) must submit an abstract by the December deadline. Papers submitted
for the competition must be received in triplicate and in their entirety by the
January deadline and must be journal-ready manuscripts worthy of publication.
The student award (sponsored by Martin Microscope Company) is given to the
senior author if she/he is a graduate or undergraduate student at the time of
presentation. To qualify, author(s) must submit an abstract, title form, and
application for the award by 1 December 2006, and four copies of the journal-
ready manuscript with abstract, title form, and short biographical sketches of
each author by 20 January 2007. Judges will use a standard evaluation form that
includes the following criteria: significance of ideas, soundness of hypotheses,
originally (creativity), quality of methodology, validity of results, soundness of

2007 Meeting

419

conclusions, clarity, completeness, organization, and contribution to the field. At
the discretion of the Student Research Award Committee, the award may be
withheld or it may be split in the case of a tie. Papers may be in press, but not
published prior to the previous annual meeting. Only members of ASB are
eligible and the recipient of the award must be present at the annual ASB
banquet to receive the award.

Committee Chair: Dr. Dennis Haney, Department of Biology, Furman University,
3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613; (864) 294-2050; Fax (864) 294-
2058; dennis.haney@furman.edu.

Brooks/Cole Student Research Award In Aquatic Biology ($200)

The purpose of the award is to encourage excellence in aquatic biology
research by undergraduate and graduate students. The award is sponsored by
Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. Students who are
members of ASB and whose work is sponsored by a professional biologist who is
also an ASB member are eligible. The paper must be based on research
designed and completed by the student and it must be presented orally by the
student as senior author at the Annual Meeting. To be eligible, author(s) must
submit an abstract, title form, and application for the award by 1 December 2006,
four copies of the journal-ready manuscript with abstract, title form, and short
biographical sketches of each author by 20 January 2007 and a letter from the
sponsor affirming student status at the time the research was completed and
sponsorship of the student to the chair of the Student Research Award
Committee. Judges will use a standard evaluation form that includes the
following criteria: significance of ideas, soundness of hypotheses, originality
(creativity), quality of methodology, validity of results, soundness of conclusions,
clarity, completeness, organization, and contribution to the field. At the discretion
of the Student Research Award Committee, the award may be withheld or it may
be split in the case of a tie. It is intended that aquatic biology be broadly
interpreted. For example, research projects on aquatic organisms, wetland biota,
and water quality are all eligible. The recipient of the award must be present at
the Annual ASB Banquet to receive the award.

Committee Chair: Dr. Dennis Haney, Department of Biology, Furman University,
3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613; (864) 294-2050; Fax (864) 294-
2058; dennis.haney@furman.edu.

ASB Research Award in Microbiology ($500)

Sponsored by Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, the
award is given for an especially meritorious oral presentation of research results
by the author(s) at the annual meeting. The purpose of the award is to stimulate
greater participation at the Annual Meeting in the broad area of prokaryotic and
eukaryotic microbiology including cell biology and physiology, molecular biology,
and genetics. The presentation must deal clearly with one of these topics and
should represent substantially completed work. In order to qualify for this award,
the senior author must request consideration for the award on the abstract

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submission form, submit one copy of the title and abstract to the ASB Program
Chair by the 1 December 2006 deadline, and submit a second copy by the same
date to the Microbiology Award Committee Chair. Only members of ASB are
eligible and the recipient of the award must be present at the Annual ASB
Banquet to receive the award (go to http://www.asb.appstate.edu/ member.htm
for membership application or renewal form).

Committee Chair: Dr. Kenneth Shull, Department of Biology, Appalachian State
University, Boone, NC 28608-2027; (828) 262-2675; Fax (828) 262-2127;
shulljk@appstate.edu.

ASB Student Poster Award ($300)

Given for an especially meritorious poster presentation by the author(s) at
the Annual Meeting. The purpose of the award is to stimulate greater student
participation at the Annual Meeting. To qualify for this award, the senior author
must be a graduate or undergraduate student at the time of presentation,
must be a member of ASB, must submit an abstract by the 1 December
2006 deadline, and must be present at the Annual ASB Awards Banquet.
Student poster presentations must also adhere to the “Guidelines for Poster
Presentations.” Only student authors who request consideration for the poster
award on the abstract submission form will be judged for the award. In addition to
adherence to the “Guidelines for Poster Presentations,” student poster
presentations will also be judged using the following specific criteria:

(1) Overall aesthetics and attractiveness of presentation

(2) Ease of reading from a distance (1-2 meters)

(3) Clear and concise organization

(4) Clearly stated hypothesis or study objectives

(5) Soundness of methods for testing hypotheses or meeting study objectives

(6) How well conclusions are supported by results

At the discretion of the ASB Poster Award Committee, the award may be
withheld or it may be split in the case of a tie. Some posters may also be
awarded “Honorable Mention” at the discretion of the ASB Poster Award
Committee (Honorable Mention awardees receive no monetary award). Further
inquiries may be directed to the chair of the ASB Poster Award Committee.

Committee Chair: Dr. Irene Kokkala, Department of Biology, North Georgia
College and State University, Dahlonega, GA 30597; (706) 864-1368; Fax (706)
867-2703; ikokkala@ngcsu.edu.

Eugene P. Odum Award ($500)

Given by the Southeastern Chapter of the Ecological Society of America for
the best ecological paper presented by a student. Undergraduate and graduate
students are eligible, and the student must be the sole or senior author. The
paper must deal with a clearly ecological topic and should represent substantially
completed work. It should be presented in one of the following sections: Aquatic

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421

Ecology, Plant Ecology, or Animal Ecology. One copy of the title and abstract
should be sent to the ASB Program Chair by 1 December 2006, and a second
copy must be sent by the same date to the Odum Committee Chair.

Committee Chair: Dr. Danny Gustafson, Department of Biology, The Citadel,
Charleston, SC 29409; (843) 953-7876; Fax (843) 953-7264; danny.gustafson@
citadel.edu.

Elsie Quarterman-Catherine Keever Award ($300)

Given by the Southeastern Chapter of the Ecological Society of America for
the best ecological poster presented by a student. This award was given for the
first time in 2005. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible, and the
student must be the sole or senior author. The poster must deal with a clearly
ecological topic and should represent substantially completed work. It should be
presented in a regular contributed poster session. One copy of the title and
abstract should be sent to the ASB Program Chair by 1 December 2006, and a
second copy must be sent by the same date to the Quarterman-Keever
Committee Chair.

Committee Chair: Dr. James Luken, Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina
University, P.O. Box 261954, Conway, SC 29528-6054; (943) 349-2235; Fax
(843) 349-2201 ; joluken@coastal.edu.

The North Carolina Botanical Garden Award ($200)

Given by NCBG (through the Southeastern Section of the Botanical Society
of America and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society). This is awarded for
a paper presented at the annual ASB meetings that best advances our
understanding of the biology and conservation of the southeastern plants and
thus contributes to the mission of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Of
special interest to the Garden are the rare plant species of the Southeast: why
they are rare; how they interact with plants, animals, and their environment; and
what can be done to ensure their survival. The paper may deal with a broad area
including systematics, ecology and conservation. All individuals who are eligible
to present at the ASB meetings are eligible for this award. They may be students,
faculty or others.

Committee Chair: Dr. John Randall, Department of Biology, University of North
Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412; (919) 962-0522; fax (919) 962-3531;
jrandall@email.unc.edu.

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Society of Wetland Scientists South Atlantic Chapter

Student T ravel Award

The South Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) will
again offer its student travel award to support students presenting wetland
research at the ASB annual meeting. We will award at least $100 to a maximum
of five students. The Chapter’s Awards and Executive Committees will judge the
applicants based on the scientific quality and importance of their research as
described in the abstract. All students presenting research on a wetland topic are
eligible; membership in SWS is not required. Please check the appropriate box
on the ASB registration form and submit the abstract as instructed in the ASB call
for papers. Further, applicants must also submit their abstract, by electronic mail,
to Dr. Mary M. Davis at mdavis@tnc.org, at the same time the abstract is
submitted to ASB. Award winners will be invited to the Chapter’s luncheon
meeting (no charge for awardees) held during the ASB annual meeting. Dr.
Davis’s address: The Nature Conservancy, 1330 West Peachtree Street, Suite
410, Atlanta, GA 30309; (404) 253-7217; Fax (404) 873-6984.

Botanical Society Of America
Southeastern Section Student Award

Award: A $100 cash prize for the best paper in plant science presented at the
annual meeting of ASB as well as $300 toward expenses to participate in the
annual meeting of the BSA and one year’s paid membership in BSA.

Who is eligible: Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. The
student must be the sole or senior author of the paper. Any topic in plant science,
broadly defined, can be considered.

How to apply: To be included in the competition, applicants should e-mail
their abstract to the Botanical Society of America Southeastern Section Student
Award committee chair at the time of registration. The winner will be announced
at the ASB Banquet.

Committee Chair: Dr. Lytton John Musselman, Department of Biological
Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0266; (757) 683-3595;
Fax (757) 683-5283; cell (757) 434-0982; lmusselm@odu.edu.

Southeastern Microscopy Society

The SEMS 2007 meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn in Decatur, Georgia,
April 12-13. For more information about the meeting and awards, please check
the website at http://www.semicroscopy.org.

2007 Meeting

Honor Thy Teacher!

ASB Meritorious Teaching Award
Deadline January 23, 2007

423

Each year the Association of Southeastern Biologists recognizes one of its
members for especially meritorious teaching. Carolina Biological Supply
Company, Burlington, North Carolina, generously sponsors this $1500 award,
which will be presented together with a plaque and appropriate citation at the
Annual Banquet in Columbia, South Carolina in April, 2007.

The Meritorious Teaching Award Committee may each year select for the
award a member of the association who has taught biology for at least ten years
in any college or university represented in the association. There is no restriction
on the size of the institution, nor must the institution have a graduate program.
The award simply recognizes highly effective teaching. There are many
deserving teachers in ASB. However, they cannot nominate themselves, so
former students or colleagues must take an active role in assembling the
materials that the committee will then evaluate.

Take the lead, pass the word - serve as the coordinator and nominate a
deserving teacher! Solicit supporting letters from the nominee’s present and
former students. Contact his or her colleagues for additional endorsements.
Document any form of recognition by the nominee’s home institution of
excellence in teaching, as well as special assignments and mentoring roles
facilitating good teaching. Of special note would be the number and quality of
students for whom the nominee provided primary inspiration to continue their
study of biology, especially for students who subsequently earned advanced
degrees. In short, document the educational impact this individual has made by
virtue of his or her role as a biology professor.

Nominators should prepare a portfolio containing at least a letter of
nomination, the nominee’s current curriculum vitae, and supporting letters,
together with the Nomination Form for the Meritorious Teaching Award and other
relevant documentation. Submit all materials in triplicate by the January 23
deadline to: Dr. Larry Mellichamp, Department of Biology, University of North
Carolina, Charlotte, NC 28223; (704) 687-4055; Fax (704) 687-3128;
tlmellic@email.uncc.edu. If you have any questions, please call me or send an e-
mail. Files for previously nominated candidates who did not receive the award
will remain active for two additional years, and these files may be updated. The
committee would welcome the task of deciding among several candidates.

Thanks for taking the initiative to nominate your favorite teacher!

Dr. Larry Mellichamp, Chair

ASB Meritorious Teaching Award Committee

c#

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NOMINATION-ASB MERITORIOUS TEACHING AWARD, 2007

Name: _

Address:

Teaching Interest:

Nominator Name/Address:

Supporting Documentation: Letter of nomination _

(enclosed, in triplicate _ ) Supporting letters _

Curriculum Vitae _ Additional Information (list) _

ASB Enrichment Fund Award

ASB maintains an enrichment fund to support long- and short-range
objectives to advance biological education through teaching and research. The
Enrichment Fund Board is chaired by Bonnie Kelley. As has been the custom for
the past several meetings, ASB recognizes individuals for their achievements
and dedication to biology education at the secondary school level. The awardee
is invited to attend the annual meeting and be honored. Expenses for attendance
at the meeting are defrayed by the Enrichment Fund. The use of money from this
fund shows appreciation for excellence in teaching at the secondary level, and to
reach out to our colleagues in the teaching profession. Contributions to the fund
can be made at the annual meeting or can be sent to the Treasurer of ASB
whose address can be found in the inside front cover of this issue.

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425

A Letter from the Treasurer

Dear ASB Member:

As you know, ASB strives to serve the educational and scientific community in
many ways. These endeavors also serve the world community.

ASB encourages the advancement of biology by

• The promotion of research in biology

• The increase and diffusion of knowledge of biology

• The application of biology to the solution of biological problems

• The preservation of biological resources

• Its meetings, reports, discussions, and publications to promote scientific

interests and inquiry

Website: http://www.asb.appstate.edu

PURPOSE

The Association of Southeastern Biologists was established in 1937 by
biologists concerned with the quality of biological research in the
southeastern United States. Today, ASB is the largest regional biology
association in the country, and is committed to the advancement of biology
as a science by the promotion of science education, research, and the
application of scientific knowledge to human problems.

WHO WE ARE

ASB members include faculty, students, researchers, conservation workers,
military and government personnel, and business people with a common
interest in biological issues in the southeastern United States. Interests are
diverse, but range from genetics and molecular biology, to physiology and
population ecology, to community and ecosystem ecology.

PATRONS

Associated Microscope Inc, Elon College and Haw River, NC

Tim Atkinson, Burlington, N.C

Breedlove, Dennis & Associates, Winter Park, FL

Carolina Biological Supply Company, Burlington, NC

Martin Microscope Company, Easley, SC

Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing, Belmont, CA

Marilyn Pendley, West Iredell High School, Statesville, NC

AFFILIATE SOCIETIES

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Southeastern Division

Beta Beta Beta, Southeastern Districts I and II

Botanical Society of America, Southeastern Division

Ecological Society of America, Southeastern Chapter

Society of Wetland Scientists, South Atlantic Chapter

Southeastern Fishes Council

Southeastern Society of Parasitologists

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society

Society of Herbarium Curators

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SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

AWARDS PRESENTED BY THE ASSOCIATION

The Association and its affiliates present a number of awards at the annual

meeting. These include several for outstanding research, plus service

awards.

ASB Awards

Meritorious Teaching Award - presented in recognition of outstanding
teaching and mentoring of students. This is the association’s most
prestigious award. Sponsored by Carolina Biological Supply Company,
Burlington, NC.

Student Research Award - presented to a student member for outstanding
research. A written manuscript is required as well as an oral presentation
at the annual meeting. Sponsored by the Martin Microscopy Company,
Easley, SC.

Brooks/Cole Student Research Award in Aquatic Biology - presented to
that student whose research in aquatic biology is deemed outstanding.
Sponsored by Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole Publishing Company,
Belmont, CA.

Senior Research Award - presented to a senior member for outstanding
research. A written manuscript is required as well as an oral presentation
at the annual meeting. Sponsored by Associated Microscopes, Inc., Elon
College and Haw River, NC.

Student Poster Award - presented to a student member who has the
best overall poster at the annual meeting. Sponsored by ASB. Travel
Support Grants - given to assist graduate students with expenses
at the annual meeting. Sponsored by ASB.

Research Award in Microbiology - presented to a member for outstanding
research in Microbiology. Sponsored by Thomson Learning Brooks/Cole
Publishing Company, Belmont, CA.

Affiliate Awards

The North Carolina Botanical Garden Award - sponsored by the NCBG.
Presented to a member for outstanding research which best advances
our understanding of the biology and conservation of the southeastern
plants.

Eugene P. Odum Award - sponsored by the Southeastern Chapter of the
Ecological Society of America. Presented to a student member for the
most outstanding paper presentation in the field of ecological research.

Elsie Quarterman-Catherine Keever Award - sponsored by the South¬
eastern Chapter of the Ecological Society of America. Presented to a
student member for the most outstanding poster presentation in the field
of ecological research.

Ichthyology and Herpetology Awards - sponsored by the Southeastern
Division of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
Presented to a student member for outstanding research in each of the
two categories.

Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award - sponsored by the Southern
Appalachian Botanical Society. Presented to individuals who have

2007 Meeting

427

distinguished themselves in professional and public service that
advances our knowledge and appreciation of the world of plants.

Richard and Minnie Windier Award - sponsored by the Southern
Appalachian Botanical Society. Presented annually to the author or
authors of the best systematic botany paper published in Castanea
during the previous year.

Student Award in Plant Science - sponsored by the Southeastern Section
of the Botanical Society of America. Presented to a student for the most
outstanding paper presentation in plant science.

Byrd Award - sponsored by the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists.
Presented to a member for outstanding research in the field of
parasitology.

ANNUAL MEETING

Annual meetings are hosted by member institutions throughout the
southeast. Meetings are in April, and include a distinguished plenary
speaker, special symposia, field trips, oral and poster presentations of
research, workshops, social events, exhibits, election of officers, and award
presentations.

MEMBERSHIP

The Association of Southeastern Biologists currently has about 1400
members, spread among 220 academic and 60 non-academic institutions.

ACTIVITIES

The Association publishes a quarterly bulletin, Southeastern Biology, which
contains the program of the annual meeting and abstracts of papers
presented, book reviews, science news and information about scientists in
the southeast, Association affairs, and special features of regional or timely
interest.

SEVEN REASONS TO BE AN ACTIVE ASB MEMBER

1 . Subscription to Southeastern Biology, the Bulletin of the Association.

2. Privilege of presenting papers at the annual meeting.

3. Publication of your abstracts and articles in Southeastern Biology.

4. Participation in recognition, honors, and awards competition.

5. Representation of your interests in regional, national, and worldwide
governmental, educational, and industrial programs concerning biology

6. A vehicle to showcase and support students’ work in the biological sciences.

7. Participation is a commitment to your profession and your active support
becomes part of over 60 years of significant biological legacy in the
southeastern United States.

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SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

A contribution to the ASB Enrichment Fund will help to insure the continuation of
these efforts. Please consider what you may do.

YES, I want to contribute to the ASB Enrichment Fund!

I enclose my contribution of $ _ . Please use this to further the

interests of ASB and its Members.

I would like to see the ASB Enrichment Fund used in the following areas (Check
those you wish to support):

_ Research Awards

_ Student Research Awards

_ Graduate Student Travel Grants

_ Speakers & Programs for the Annual Meeting

_ Outstanding Teacher Awards

Other (please list) _

Please make any checks payable to ASB. Please mail your contributions and
ideas to:

Tim Atkinson

ASB Treasurer/Business Manager
Carolina Biological Supply Company
2700 York Road
Burlington, NC 27215-3398

AIBS Diversity Awards

AIBS Diversity Scholars and
Diversity Leadership Awards

429

Applications and nominations due 3 July 2006 and 15 January 2007!

AIBS is now accepting applications and nominations for two awards that promote
the participation of underrepresented minorities in the sciences:

• The AIBS Diversity Scholars Program recognizes outstanding minority
undergraduate and graduate students. Diversity Scholars will receive a
$1,000 travel award to present research at a scientific meeting of the
student’s choice; free registration at the AIBS annual meeting; free 12-
month membership in AIBS; and a free 12-month subscription to
BioScience.

Submit applications by 3 July 2006 for meetings to be held between 1 January
and 30 June 2007; for meetings between 1 July and 31 December 2007, the
deadline is 15 January 2007.

• The AIBS Diversity Leadership Award recognizes programs and
initiatives that actively promote a diverse community of biologists. AIBS
welcomes nominations from scientific societies, K-12 institutions,
colleges and universities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations,
and community groups, as well as institutions such as museums, botanic
gardens, and field stations.

Nominations for the Diversity Leadership Award are accepted throughout the
year, with reviews conducted twice a year, at the end of January and at the end
of July.

For selection criteria and more information, and to download application and
nomination forms, please visit http://www.aibs.org/diversity/.

Abraham Parker

Education and Outreach Program Associate

American Institute of Biological Sciences

1444 Eye St. NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20005

phone: 202-628-1500 x249

fax: 202-628-1509

aparker@aibs.org

http://www.aibs.org <http://www.aibs.org/>

430 SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

The Southeastern Naturalist . . .

♦ A quarterly peer-reviewed and
edited interdisciplinary scientific
journal with a regional focus on
the southeastern United States
(ISSN #1528-7092).

♦ Featuring research articles,
notes, and research summaries
on terrestrial, freshwater, and
marine organisms, and their
habitats.

♦ Focusing on field ecology,
biology, behavior, biogeog¬
raphy, taxonomy, evolution,
anatomy, physiology, geology,
and related fields. Manuscripts
on genetics, molecular biology,
archaeology, anthropology, etc.,
are welcome, especially if they
provide natural history insights
that are of interest to field
scientists. Symposium pro¬
ceedings are occasionally
published.

♦ Indexed in Biological Abstracts
(BIOSIS), BIOSIS Previews,

CAB Abstracts, Cambridge
Scientific Abstracts, EBSCO-
host, Environmental Knowl¬
edgebase (formerly Environ¬
mental Periodicals Bibliography), FISHLIT (Fish and Fisheries Worldwide; Aquatic
Biology, Aquaculture, and Fisheries Resources), Wildlife Review Abstracts, and
Zoological Record (BIOSIS UK). Arrangements for indexing in Elsevier BIOBASE
(Current Awareness in Biological Sciences), and ISI Services (Science Citation Index-
Expanded, ISI Alerting Service, and Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology, and
Environmental Sciences) are pending.

♦ A sister journal of the Northeastern Naturalist (ISSN #1092-6194), published since
1997. Both journals are identical in focus, format, quality, and features. The journals
together serve as a matched-pair of regional journals that provide an integrated
publishing and research resource for the eastern part of North America.

♦ Printed by Allen Press, printer of many journals in the biological and environmental
sciences, especially those whose parent organization is a member of the American
Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).

♦ Available online in full-text version in the BioOne database (www.bioone.org, a
collaborative effort of Allen Press, AIBS, and other organizations) and the Proquest
Information and Learning databases (www.il.proquest.com).

♦ For information, instructions for authors, and subscriptions: Southeastern Naturalist,
PO Box 9, 59 Eagle Hill Road, Steuben, ME 04680-0009; 207-546-2821, FAX: 207-
546-3042; mailto:office@eaglehill.us; http://www.eaglehill.us/jsgeninf.html. Online
secure ordering of subscriptions is available!

Southeastern

Naturalist

Volume 5 2006 Number 1

Southeastern Naturalist Information

431

Southeastern Naturalist

CONTENTS

Breeding Biology of a Florida Population of Ambystoma cingulatum (Flatwoods Salamander) 1

During aDrought

John G. Palis, Matthew J. Aresco, and Sandra Kilpatrick

Capture Rate, Body Size, and Survey Recommendations for Larval Ambystoma cingulatum 9

(Flatwoods Salamanders)

David C. Bishop, John G. Palis, Kevin M. Enge, David J. Printiss, and Dirk J. Stevenson

Relationship Between Physiochemical Factors and Distribution of Stygobitic Crayfishes in 17

Southeastern Caves

Genevieve R. Spanjer and Martin L. Cipollini

Comparison of Two Burrowing Crayfish Trapping Methods 27

Shane M. Welch and Arnold G. Eversole

Unionid Habitat and Assemblage Composition in Coastal Plain Tributaries of Flint River (Georgia) 31
Paula Gagnon, William Michener, Mary Freeman, and Jayne Brim Box

New Distributional Record for Simpsonaias ambigua (Say) (Salamander Mussel; Bivalvia: 53

Unionidae) in the Duck River, Central Tennessee

Michael M. Gangloff and George W. Folkerts

A Survey of Terrestrial Gastropods of the Slpsey Wilderness (Bankhead National Forest), Alabama 57

Janet Waggoner, Stephanie A. Clark, Kathryn E. Perez, and Charles Lydeard

Distribution and Population Biology of the Black Warrior Waterdog, Necturus alabamensis 69

Michelle C. Durflinger Moreno, Craig Guyer, and Mark A. Bailey

Population Structure of the Tallapoosa Shiner (Cyprinella gibbsi) and the Tallapoosa Darter 85

(Etheostoma tallapoosae )

Heather M. Connelly, Christopher R. Tabit, and Leos G. Krai

Comparison of Sandhills and Mixed Pine-hardwood Communities at Fort Benning, Georgia 93

Beverly Collins, Rebecca Sharitz, Kathryn Madden, and John Dilustro

Rudbeckia auriculata infected with a Pollen-mimic Fungus in Alabama 103

Alvin R. Diamond, Jr., Hanan El Mayas, and Robert S. Boyd

Effects of Prescribed Fire on the Vegetation of a Savanna-Glade Complex in Northern Arkansas 113

Sean E. Jenkinsand Michael A. Jenkins

Characteristics of Sap Trees Used by Overwintering Sphyrapicus varius (Yellow-bellied 127

Sapsuckers) in an Old-growth Pine Forest

J. Morgan Varner Ill, John S. Kush, and Ralph S. Meldahl

Bird Communities in Silvicultural Fragments of Holly Springs National Forest, Mississippi 135

Steven M. Aquilani

Comparison of Survival Estimates Using Age-Specific Mortality and Radiotelemetry Data for 149

Florida Key Deer

Patricia M. Harveson, Roel R. Lopez, Nova J. Silvy, and Philip A. Frank

Cuterebra fontinella Parasitism on Peromyscus leucopus and Ochrotomys nuttalli 157

Chad A. Jennison, Luis R. Rodas, and Gary W. Barrett

Chironomid Emergence and Relative Emergent Biomass from Two Alabama Streams 165

Steven K. Reynolds, Jr. and Arthur C. Benke

Monthly and Daily Activity of a Fossorial Lizard, Neoseps reynoldsi 175

Kyle G. Ashton, and Sam R. Telford, Jr.

Book Reviews 184

Natural History Science Announcements 190

Publication Date: March 31, 2006

Printed on Recycled Paper

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Classified Ads for Northeastern and Southeastern Naturalist

Classified ads offering opportunities for people with career interests in the natural
history sciences may now be placed in the Southeastern and/or Northeastern
Naturalists, within the following categories.

Faculty positions at colleges and universities
Graduate student fellowships and assistantships
Postdoctoral research opportunities
Field biologist positions
Requests for funding proposals

Announcements of scientific meetings and conferences

Ads need to be received by February 20, May 20, August 20, and November 20,
and must be placed over the web at http://eaglehill.us/Merchant2/merchant.mv.
Journal issues mail about one month later. Rates are a modest $. 03/character,
with a $5 minimum. Space allocated to classified ads within the journal is limited.
Ads will be reviewed prior to acceptance.

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Lucrecia Herr (left) and Antoinette Frederick at the Cove Hardwood Forest, Great

Smoky Mountains National Park.

Book Reviews

433

BOOK REVIEWS

Debbie Moore, Review Editor
Department of Natural Sciences
P. O. Box 8368, Troy University
Dothan, AL 36304-8368

Patterson, Gordon. 2004 The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control
in Florida. University of Florida Press, FL. $55.00. 263 p.

The World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/en/) reports that
hundreds of millions of people worldwide are infected with mosquito-borne
pathogens, including the causative agents of dengue, yellow fever, encephalitis,
and malaria. Yet few of us living in the United States today have any experience
with these diseases. This was not always the case. From the late 1600s through
the late 1800s, for example, the major American cites of Philadelphia,
Washington D.C., New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Jacksonville
experienced epidemics of yellow fever. Gordon Patterson, a Florida Institute of
Technology professor of History, has written a seminal work on the complex
interactions of science and technology, society, politics, and economics in the
battle against one of humankind’s greatest enemies. Rich in detail and colorful
anecdotes, The Mosquito Wars provides an in-depth examination into
humankind’s endeavors in dealing with a seemingly insurmountable problem
facing the health and welfare and development of Florida, particularly in light of
the state’s permissive climate and nearly 2 million acres of wetlands.

Extensively researched and annotated with 25 pages of footnotes and a 24
page bibliography, the story of The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control
in Florida chronologically unfolds through 10 engaging chapters illustrated with
30 black and white photos and figures. Patterson’s lucid writing is enhanced by
his judicious use of anecdotes, including interviews and writings from the various
scientists, physicians, local governmental officials, and other pioneers in the
development of Florida’s mosquito-control program. In addition, the book
includes a thorough and detailed index and an appendix listing the major
mosquito pest species and their vectored diseases.

A brief world history of the mosquito relative to its impact on humans is the
subject of

Chapter 1 in which diverse sources are cited ranging from Herodotus, the
Talmud, and Spenser’s Faire Queen to Water Reed, Rachel Carson’s Silent
Spring, and Zora Neale Hurston. The early days of Florida’s mosquito control
efforts are the detailed in Chapter 2 and include the accounts of the 1888
Jacksonville and the 1905 Pensacola yellow fever epidemics, the Herculean
efforts of Joseph Y. Porter in establishing the Florida State Board of Health, and
the early “fomite theory” on the origins in epidemic diseases. In Chapter 3
Patterson recounts the creation of the Florida Anti-Mosquito Association and the
first major successes in the control of mosquito populations through such means
as the application of suffocating surface oils, the introduction of the mosquito fish
( Gambusia affinis), and the draining of breeding sites, accomplishments that

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were especially remarkable in regions of the state where between 40% and 80%
of the residents were infected with malaria.

Throughout the text, Patterson chronicles the trials and tribulations of
Florida’s pioneers in their political battles and public awareness campaigns to
gain financial and community support for their programs. Chapter 4 describes the
formation of Florida’s 1st mosquito control district, the failed and ill-conceived use
of bats for biological control, and the success of dynamite ditching to drain
breeding sites. In subsequent chapters, Paterson relates the contributions of the
Great Depression era Civilian Works Administration, the promise of DDT during
the golden age of mosquito control in 1950s and the later revelation of its
hazardous environmental impact, the creation of the Entomological Research
Center, the passage of critical legislation to continue the expansion of education
and control programs, the ongoing research into the natural history of
mosquitoes and effective control measures, and the growing problem of
insecticide resistance and the search for alternative strategies.

The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control in Florida is a tribute to
the scientists, technicians, and politicians who persevered in the daunting
undertaking of significantly reducing the impact of these disease vectors. It is a
fascinating read for students from all walks of life, from novice to expert.

Alan F. Smith, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.

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Wolfe, Jeremy M, Kluender, Keith R. Kluender, Dennis M. Levi, Linda M.
Bartoshuk, Rachel S. Herz, Roberts L. Klatzky, and Susan J. Lederman. 2006.
Sensation & Perception. Sinauer Assoc., Sunderland, MA. 407 p.

Sensation & Perception written by Wolfe et al. provides a thorough account
of the sensory systems including vision, hearing, touch, olfaction, and taste. In
addition to providing clear descriptions of the anatomy and mechanisms for each
of the senses, the text delves into more complex topics such as motion
perception, and psychoacoustics. The textbook is well-organized and outlines the
chapter contents on the first page of each chapter, a feature which I find helpful
in organizing my thoughts before plunging into the material. The media and
supplements provided for this text are well-done and definitely added to my
experience with the text. In fact, I recommend reading the textbook in front of a
computer.

The chapter organization is logical and provided many avenues to learn the
material. I appreciate the thought that went into writing and constructing the
chapters to appeal to different learning styles. The writing is straightforward and
clear, but still interesting. The illustrations are well-placed and appropriate for the
material. Vocabulary words are not only highlighted in the text, but they are also
listed in the margins for easy access. Within the text of each subheading,
references direct the reader to web resources which are divided into activities,
essays, and study aides. Each chapter ends with summary points and a reminder
to refer to the website for activities, essays, study questions, and other study
aides.

Book Reviews

435

One of my favorite chapters was Chapter 2: The First Steps in Vision. This
chapter began with an overview of the visual system anatomy and the properties
of light. Both web-linked activities - Visual System Overview and From Sun to
Eye were easy to follow, but reinforced the text. At first I thought these activities
were beneath the knowledge base of the presumed reader, but I soon found that
the activities built upon each other and got progressively more challenging. The
web-linked essays in this chapter were great additions, complete with
illustrations. The essay, Accommodation, Presbyopia, and Cataracts, was a nice
follow-up to the basic information about the lens found in the textbook. At the end
of each activity, there was the opportunity to take a quiz to test your short-term
memory and reinforce the information. In addition to these short quizzes, the
study questions and additional aides helped me fully process the information.

While my doctorate is in the field of neurobiology, my expertise is in motor
neuron development, not sensory systems. However, after reading the entire
textbook I am impressed by the knowledge and understanding I gained in this
area of neurobiology. The writing is clear so that someone with only an
introductory background in biology could follow it, but the essays found on-line
add additional depth and challenge for the experienced biologist. Granted most
students will not want to rely solely on themselves to learn about the sensory
systems and perception, but it is conceivable that they could. After reading the
textbook and engaging in each of the on-line activities, any reasonably intelligent
person should be able to explain the summary points at each chapter.

This book would be an excellent choice for a sensory neurobiology course or
could be used in a general neurobiology course with a second textbook to cover
the motor systems. It would also be an excellent choice to supplement a
physiology or human biology course.

Victoria Turgeon. Biology Department, Furman University, Greenville, SC
29613.cz

Antoinette Frederick (left) and Marilyn
Caponetti at the Carlos Campbell
Overlook, Great Smoky Mountains
National Park.

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NEWS OF BIOLOGY IN THE SOUTHEAST

Ricky Fiorillo — News Editor
Department of Biology
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA 71209

ABOUT PEOPLE AND PLACES

LOUISIANA

Dr. Ricky Fiorillo has accepted a position as an Associate Professor of
Biology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. His research interests include
amphibian ecology/conservation and ecological parasitology.

TENNESSEE

Dr. Gordon M. Burghardt, Alumni Distinguished Service Professor of
Psychology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and University Macebearer
for 2005-2006, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been invited to give a
plenary address at the Croatian Biological Congress in Croatia in September,
2006.

CDS

The NEON Project

Progress Report

The following is the most recent and significant developments related to the
design process for the National Ecological Observatory Network.

First, the latest versions of the project's design documents — the NEON
Integrated Science and Education Plan and the NEON Networking and
Informatics Baseline Design — are now available at http://www.neoninc.org/. If
you have ideas or suggestions related to the NEON reports, feel free to send
those to the NEON Project Office via the online comment form.

Second, the National Science Foundation has released its FY 2007 Budget
Request, including funding for initiatives under Major Research Equipment and
Facilities Construction. Click on the link below to review the entire NSF FY 2007
MREFC budget request, with details of NEON funding included on pages 269-
274. http://nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2007/pdf/6-MREFC/32-FY2007.pdf.

For further information or to comment, contact:

Dan Johnson, Public Information Rep.

NEON Project Office, AIBS
1444 I St. NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
202/628-1500 x215; fax: 202/628-1509
djohnson@aibs.org; www.neoninc.org

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Obituaries

437

Obituaries

Robert Hamilton Martin, 1916-2006.

Our association lost a devoted member with the passing of Robert Hamilton
Martin in Easley, South Carolina, on April 3, 2006. I first met Bob Martin in
September, 1959 shortly after I joined the University of South Carolina. James
Penney, chair of my department, and incidentally one of the founders and
seventh president of ASB, agreed to provide me with a fine microscope. My
friend and mentor at USC, Wade Batson, introduced me to Mr. Bob Martin who in
turn introduced me to a Wild Heerbrugg M-20 microscope. The thoroughness of
Bob’s presentation was a habit of his, and he spent a whole morning and most of
the afternoon showing me the wonders of this instrument which carried the
capacity for both bright-field and phase contrast microscopy, a feature rare
among microscopes of that time. Of course he wanted me to select his
microscope, but his greatest concern was that I would clearly understand its
operation and its full potential for my specific research. I still have and use that
microscope, and Bob has helped me upgrade its features through the years,
always with my best interest at the forefront. His passion for microscopy and his
keen desire to advance the science by properly equipping investigators set a
tone in the operation of his company elsewhere seldom found. He clearly
understood that good service with good products map out the only noble route to
a successful business.

Bob was born in Easley, South Carolina, in 1916 to James Rosamond and
Mary Hamilton Martin. He was a graduate of Easley High School and a 1937
graduate of Clemson College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
He served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Cairo, Egypt, during World War II,
where he was in charge of optical ordnance facilities in Cairo, Tel Aviv, and
Basra, Iraq. Bob was also an accomplished marksman during this period of his
life and won several national competitions. He eventually- retired from the Army
Reserve, having attained the rank of Lt. Colonel.

Returning to Easley in 1946, Bob started his own business, Martin Scientific
Instrument Company, now Martin Microscope Company. This year marked the
60th anniversary of the company, and he continued to work in the business until
his death. Bob was active in various professional societies, including the
Appalachian Regional Microscopy Society, the Georgia Microscopical Society,
the Royal Microscopical Society, and the Association of Southeastern Biologists.
Bob Martin was a patron member of ASB and a perennial exhibitor at the annual
meeting. For many years, Martin Microscope Company has supported the ASB
Student Research Award, and the company has not missed an ASB annual
meeting at least since 1960. Microscopists in the Southeast and beyond will
greatly miss Bob for his ability to focus on their needs and concerns, his honesty,
his professional advice, and above all for his engaging personality and kindly
spirit.

— John M. Herr, Jr., Department of Biological Sciences, University of South
Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208

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Robert Hamilton Martin

Obituaries

439

WILLIAM L. MENGEBIER, 1921-2006

The Rev. Dr. William L. Mengebier, 84, a former head of James Madison
University’s biology department, died Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at the home of
his daughter in Bridgewater.

In 1954, Mengebier was appointed head of the biology department and
taught at James Madison University until 1968 when he moved to Bridgewater
College to serve as department chairman until 1982. He retired from teaching in
1987.

The Association of Southeastern Biologists awarded him its Meritorious
Teaching Award in 1968 and he was elected a Fellow of the Virginia Academy of
Science in 1978. Bridgewatr College presented to him its Distinguished Service
Award in 1990.

In 1967, Mengebier was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church and in
1968 was ordained to the priesthood. He served as vicar of the Good Sheperd of
the Hills Episcopal Church in Boonesville for 13 years and was curate and interim
rector of Emmanual Church in Harrisonburg from 1970 until his retirement in
1989.

He served as the examining chaplain of the Diocese of Virginia and was
appointed to two terms on the Diocesan Commission of Ministry. From 1990 to
1995 he served as staff chaplain to the Rockingham Memorial Hospital Hospice.

Mengebier was born December 2, 1921, in New York City and was the son of
the late William E. and Frieda Becker Mengebier. He received his B.S. from The
Citadel, an M.S. from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. from the University of
Tennessee.

During World War II, he served with the 104th Infantry Division in Europe and
was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star with cluster. He was retired from
the Medical Service Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve.

In 1945, Mengebier married the former Clelia Matthew of Charleston, South
Carolina, who predeceased him in 2001. He is survived by three daughters,
Margaret Kyger (an assistant professor of special education at James Madison
University) and her husband, Bill, of Bridgewater, Clelia LaMonica and her
husband, Jack, of Marshall, and Nancy Mengebier and her partner, Susan, of
Merced, California; one brother, Robert A. Mengebier, M.D., of Green Valley,
Arizona; and four grandchildren, Clelia Rose and John LaMonica, Katie Kyger
Frazier and Meg Kyger.

-Connolly McMullen, Department of Biology, James Madison University,
Harrisonburg, Virginia.

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TriBeta Abstracts

Presentations at the Forty-Ninth Annual Meeting held with the Association of
Southeastern Biologists, March 29— April 1, 2006, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Paper Presentations
Southeastern District I

Ramsey, Jessica, and Thomas Hurst. Salem College, Beta Alpha and
NOAA/NMFS/AFSC. Light Affects the Visual Foraging Ability of Northern
Rock Sole.

Northern rock sole, a demersal Alaskan flatfish, use visual foraging to locate
prey. Foraging abilities were tested at 7 different light levels varying by order of
magnitude from dim daylight (101 pmol photon m"2 s'1) to total darkness (10 8
pmol photon m'2 s'1) using two different prey, live Artemia and frozen krill. The
rock sole were able to forage effectively at the higher light levels; foraging was
ineffective at the lower light levels. The ability to successfully capture prey
declined between 10'4 and 10"6 pmol photon rrf2 s'1, showing a threshold visual
ability below which the fish could not see. Trials with frozen krill demonstrated
that the rock sole use visual foraging as the primary sensory modality for locating
prey.

McMahan, Caleb D. Sigma Gamma, Erskine College. Relocation as a

Potential Conservation Strategy for the Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene c.

Carolina , in a Fragmented Environment.

In South Carolina there is a growing concern for the status of the Eastern box
turtle, Terrapene c. Carolina. Although box turtles remain plentiful in rural areas,
they are under threat where development and habitat destruction are more
common. As natural habitat is shifted to ‘developed’ status the steady decline of
these turtles is leading to the development of strategies to reverse this trend. To
determine if relocation can serve as a conservation strategy for this species, we
have investigated the relocation of 15 box turtles to a protected woodland area
(100 acres) located in Abbeville County. We tracked these relocated turtles using
radiotelemetry and GPS in order to assess the short-term health, activities and
movement patterns of these box turtles during one active season in 2005. Turtles
showed patterns of weight gain that were consistent with a reasonable ability to
find sufficient food. The mean total distance these turtles moved was 2904m,
while burying down to hibernate an average 295m from the release site. These
data suggest that these box turtles, after an initial “flight” from the release site,
settled into an area of land that could support them, and we predict that they will
survive.

Jefferson, Julie. Sigma Gamma, Erskine College. An Exploration of the
Effects Cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Has on Cardiac Fibroblast

Behavior as it Pertains to Left Ventricular Remodeling.

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts

441

It is thought that the cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-a) causes
either an afibrotic or fibrotic response in the heart myocardium by regulating
cardiac fibroblast extracellular matrix metabolism, and that the response may
vary with factors such as age, the concentration of TNF-a, and the exposure time
of the cardiac fibroblasts to TNF-a. In order to study the effects of TNF-a on
cardiac fibroblast extracellular matrix metabolism, adult and neonatal cardiac
fibroblast samples were extracted from Sprague-Dawley rats. The adult sample
set was treated with 50.00 ng/ml of TNF-a for 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, and 24 h. The
neonatal sample set was treated with variable amounts of TNF-a (0 ng/ml, 0.50
ng/ml, 5.00 ng/ml, and 50.00 ng/ml) for 24 hours. Both sets of samples were
assessed via BCA protein assays followed by western blotting for levels of
various proteins. In both sample sets, analysis of the protein levels of dl integrin
indicated that tissue remodeling might have occurred. Analysis of the protein
levels of smooth muscle actin alpha, collagen I, and collagen III indicated that an
afibrotic response might have occurred in the adult sample set whereas, a fibrotic
response might have occurred in the neonatal sample set.

Wozny, Sara & Leonard Sutton. Tau Gamma, East Carolina University.

“Bovine Serum Albumin and Other Proteins in Caco-2 Intestinal Cell

Transport Models" in Greenville, NC.

Epithelial cells line certain tracks of the body and serve as a border allowing the
absorption of certain molecules, such as proteins. Colonic adenocarcinoma 2
(Caco-2) cells possess many of the properties of the small intestine and therefore
are used as a model of human intestinal epithelial cells. Scientific experiments
were conducted to determine the passage of Bovine Serum Albumin, BSA, and
other proteins, such as Beta-lactoglobulin, across Caco-2 cells. The cells were
grown in 75 cm3 flasks with Fetal Bovine Serum, Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle
Medium, and Penicillin Streptomycin and placed in an incubator at 5.0 % C02
and 37 °C. The cells were placed in a transwell apparatus to establish apical and
basolateral borders. The proteins were applied to the apical side of the cells and
then their passage was followed through the cell’s basolateral side using
fluorescence. It was determined that the size of the protein and competition
aspects influenced the rate of passage in the Caco-2 cells.

* Breckheimer, Ian K. Sigma Phi, Guilford College. The invasive vine

Akebia (Akebia guinata) at Guilford College: niche, impact, and potential

for further spread.

Akebia ( Akebia quinata) is a twining woody vine and groundcover native to East
Asia that has become invasive in parts of the Eastern US. Very little was
previously known about its ecology in an invasive setting. A study was
undertaken at Guilford College to ascertain the vine’s ecological niche, quantify
its impact on native vegetation, and assess whether or not it has the potential to
spread into a section of the campus that is “virgin” forest. Thirty-seven random
sampling plots were established within Akebia’s distribution and 10 within the
boundaries of “virgin” forest. A variety of data were taken at each sample plot,
including percent canopy cover, percent Akebia ground cover, the number of
native woody stems, soil pH, and several soil nutrient indices. The data showed a

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significant negative correlation between Akebia percent cover and the number of
native woody stems, and demonstrated that Akebia is able to thrive in a wide
variety of physical conditions. The “virgin” forest parcel fell within the niche of
Akebia for all measured variables, suggesting it may threaten this area of high
conservation value. Akebia may be a greater invasive threat in North Carolina
than was previously suspected.

Duran, Charity G. Tau Xi, Meredith College. Kv3.2 High Throughput

Assay Development.

Ion channels are pores that span the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane, allowing
ions to diffuse across the membrane. They have numerous physiological roles,
including generating and orchestrating electrical signals in the brain, heart, and
muscle. In nature, ion channels are modulated by a variety of physiological
signals. Modulation of Kv3.2, a voltage gated potassium channel, alters the
maximal firing frequency of interneurons; therefore, it is associated with certain
neurological diseases. Thus, identification of compounds that modulate Kv3.2 is
important for drug development. Using a FLIPR (fluorometric imaging plate
reader), high throughput screening assays can be developed to find ion channel
modulators. In order to study Kv3.2 modulation, CHO cells overexpressing Kv3.2
were plated on 384 well plates and stained with FMP (FLIPR membrane
potential) dye in order to monitor changes in membrane potential. Depolarization
(a positive change in membrane potential) indicate that the channels are open.
By altering extracellular conditions, such as concentration and compound added,
a blocker assay was developed. Two blockers were identified for Kv3.2: TEA and
Fluoxetine. Assays such as these aid in the development of novel compounds for
drugs that specifically target ion channels.

Brown, Brandon D. and April M. Clayton. Sigma Gamma, Erskine

College. Potential Protein-Protein Interactions Involved in Cytoskeletal

Rearraqements and Adhesion in Dictyostelium Development.

When stressed Dictyostelium discoideum aggregate together and exhibit an
alteration in actin cytoskeleton arrangement. The goal of this project was to
determine what roles the Rab8-like G-proteins Sasl and Sas2 play in adhesion
and cytoskeletal rearrangement. Overexpression of Sasl causes a decrease in
adhesion strength and an increase in projection formation. The opposite effects
are observed when Sas2 is overexpressed. It has been proposed that interaction
of active Sasl (Sasl-GTP) with the germinal center kinase (GCK) allows for
phosphorylation of severin, a protein that instigates actin rearrangement. The
yeast dihybrid system was used to determine if Sasl or Sas2 interacts with
MKK4, the human version of germinal center kinase. A DNA fragment containing
the coding sequence for amino acids 433-819 of MKK4 was placed in pGADT7
and the coding regions of various sasl and sas2 alleles (wildtype, constitutively
active, or dominantly negative) were placed in pGBKT7. Following mating of
yeast strains expressing Sasl or Sas2 proteins with a MKK4 containing yeast
strain, protein-protein interaction assays were performed. The C-terminal
fragment of MKK4 did not interact with any of the Sasl or Sas2 proteins. Further
research will be conducted to determine if Sasl or Sas2 interacts with the full-
length MKK4 protein.

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts

443

Baker, Bethany J. Beta Eta, Florida Southern College. A comparison of

benthic macroinvertebrate biodiversity before and after an

alum treatment and development of a wetland filtration system on a

central Florida cultural eutrophic lake.

For a four-week period from 11 February to 15 March, 2006, twelve Hester-
Dendy macroinvertebrate samplers were placed in Lake Hollingsworth, a Central
Florida lake, adjacent to a recently constructed artificial wetland. The wetland
was designed to function as a filtering system for storm water running into the
lake after rain events. The purpose of this study was to determine if the species
diversity of macroinvertebrates, based on substrate spacing, had been affected
by the 2005 construction of the artificial wetland (Southern Landing), and/or a
recent alum treatment on Lake Hollingsworth. The macroinvertebrate data were
collected using an identical method for an experiment completed in the spring of
2003 prior to the alum treatment, thus allowing for a temporal comparison in
macroinvertebrate species diversity. Lake Hollingsworth is a cultural eutrophic
sinkhole lake located in Lakeland, Florida. The water source for the lake consists
mainly of storm water runoff supplied by 57 storm drains. The city of Lakeland
has invested millions of dollars in an effort to improve the water quality of Lake
Hollingsworth through dredging, drawdowns and chemical treatments. Using
macroinvertebrate diversities as indicators, a change in water quality was
measured through species diversity comparisons. This comparison of diversity
before and after these treatments allowed for evaluation of the effectiveness of
attempts to improve water quality in Lake Hollingsworth.

Manchester, Steven J. Beta Eta, Florida Southern College. Water

chemistry on an artificial wetland in Central Florida.

Lake Hollingsworth is a culturally eutrophic Central Florida lake and is the
recreational center for all of Lakeland, Florida. A survey performed in 1992, found
that 2,000 people a day used the perimeter of the lake for recreation,
predominately walking. This survey was conducted by the students of Florida
Southern College in an effort to convince the Lakeland city officials that the lake
needed to be preserved. Due to excessive sedimentation and pollution, the lake
was dredged in 2001. In order to mitigate the pollution, point sources were
located. Once these storm drains were identified, an artificial wetland was
constructed in 2004 to intercept and naturally filter the storm drain runoff into the
lake. Southern Landing, also known as Anchor Park is a 0.57 hectare storm
water reservoir which was designed to filter the water before it reaches Lake
Hollingsworth. As part of a joint research project and effort of many we were able
to analyze the effectiveness of this newly developed artificial wetland and also
determine the effects it has on the water quality of Lake Hollingsworth. In this
portion of the research water chemistry on Southern Landing wetlands as well as
Lake Hollingsworth was analyzed. Chemical analysis was performed for
dissolved oxygen, nitrates, nitrites, phosphorus, pH and turbidity.

Perkins, Amy E. Sigma Psi, Florida Institute of Technology.

Determination of nursery habitats used by Centropomus undecimalis

(snook) as determined by otolith microchemistry.

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Fish otoliths (ear bones) may incorporate elemental signatures that reflect the
water chemistry of the environment utilized during different life stages of the fish.
Microchemistry patterns of otoliths have been used in several studies to
determine the linkages among populations of fish from varying nursery and reef
habitats. I am testing the hypothesis that snook from geographically distinct
nursery habitats incorporate different elemental signatures in their otoliths. These
snook support one of the most valuable recreational fisheries in Florida, and
determination of their most important nursery habitats will help focus
conservation efforts to maintain the population. Otoliths were collected from
juvenile snook in two geographically distinct locations in Florida: Vero Beach
Mosquito Impoundment and Indian River Lagoon, Crane Creek. Samples were
collected between 8 months to examine potential variation within sites. Otoliths
were removed using non-metal instruments to reduce trace metal residues and
will be analyzed using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results
are pending; if the basic hypothesis is accepted, fishery biologists will have a
powerful tool to identify the nursery habitats that produce individual fish.

* Frank G. Brooks Paper Award winner Southeastern District I

Paper Presentations
Southeastern District li

Brown, Christina L., Sohaila Boehm Ibrahim Arram, Gislaine Custodio C.
Piovezan, Servio Tulio Stinghen, Edneia P. Machado, Guilherme
Augusto Parise and Bonald C. Figueiredo. Mu Tau, Christian Brothers
University and Center for Molecular Genetics and Cancer Research in
Children, Federal University of Parana. Genotypinq for TP53 R337FI in
southern Brazil where it is responsible for almost all cases of childhood

adrenocortical carcinoma.

Adrenocortical tumors (ACT) are very rare in children, yet occur in a higher
incidence in several states of Southern Brazil. This study was proposed to
evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of a genotyping method to screen the germ
line TP53 R337H alelle in small amounts of blood samples. This study was
performed in a state from southern Brazil (Parana), where this mutation is
associated with almost all the ACT cases in children, and where childhood ACT
incidence is 12 to 18 times higher than USA and France. A PCR/restriction
enzyme based test was used to test blood samples collected in FTA membrane
from 20 individuals (19 adults exhibiting the wild-type p53 gene and one child
with ACT the TP53 R337H allele previously confirmed by DNA sequencing
analysis). Using only 2 punches (circles of 2mm diameter) of blood-embbeded
FTA membrane per PCR assay, samples were tested after signing a written
consent form. All 20 samples we re-tested four to seven times using the same
protocol and revealed the same results, only the child with ACT presented the
R337H mutation. Additional series of experiments were performed replacing
chemicals, enzymes, and membranes from 3 other manufactures. All control
samples were negative as expected and the positive mutation was also

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confirmed using one of the protocols, indicating that this protocol is
recommended to be used in newborn tests to be initiated in 2005 in Parana. This
test will allow doctors to screen the children with the mutation and in turn allow
for the early diagnosis of ACT needed for a positive long-term prognosis for
these children through medical, hormonal, and imaging exams.

Supported by MHIRT grant (NIH 5T37TW0001 23-03).

Paxson, J.M., M.R.F. Marques, D.B.B. Trivella and G.S. Toledo. Mu Tau,
Christian Brothers University and Dept, of Biochemistry, UFSC,
Florianopolis, Brazil. Effects of Cadmium Exposure on the GST activity
and FISP-70 levels in the gills of the mangrove oyster Crassostrea

rhizophorae.

Heat-Shock Protein-70 (HSP-70) and Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) are
among the biomarkers associated with the exposure to xenobiotics. These
proteins are generally used to help evaluate the toxic effects substances have on
both the organism and the aqueous environment it inhabits. In the present work,
we report the levels of HSP-70 and the activity of total GST and GST k in the gills
of the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae after being exposed to different
concentrations of Cadmium (Cd). Enzymatic GST activity assays using both 1-
chloro-2-nitrobenzene (CDNB) and Ethacrynic acid (ETA) as substrates as well
as Western blot analysis with antihuman HSP70Ab were performed to evaluate
the response involving these two proteins. In the experiment, adult oysters were
collected and then separated into control and Cd-exposed groups. Within the Cd
exposed group, the organisms were further separated into three groups in which
each was exposed to 100 micrograms/liter of Cd for two days or 200
micrograms/liter of Cd for two or seven days. In general, the level of GST activity
was greater in the exposed organisms compared to the controls, but not
statistically significant. The level of HSP-70 was found to be increased in the
groups of organisms exposed to Cd for two days in both concentrations (100
micrograms/liter for 2 days and 200 micrograms/liter for 2 days). However, in the
group of organisms exposed for seven days, the level of HSP-70 returned to
similar levels as in the control organisms. Even though the data collected showed
an increase of HSP-70 in both of the two day Cd exposed groups compared to
the control groups, it was not statistically significant. Studies are under progress
to further characterize the threshold of these biomarker responses upon heavy
metal exposure as well as GST isoforms in this mollusk species.

Wegford, Kimberly D. Mu Chi, Midway College. Acceptability of Hemp
Seed Meal by the Equine of Midway College.

Hemp can be used in the production of many products, including human and
animal feed. It is believed that if the United States were to join the world market
in producing hemp, Kentucky would be an almost ideal place in which to grow it.
Research on hemp as a feed source has already been conducted using livestock
and several different types of fish, including channel catfish. Hemp has shown
potential to be a non-traditional feed source for the equine industry, mostly due to
the fact that the protein content of hemp is similar to that of soybean meal. This

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research project was designed as a cafeteria-style preference trial. The hemp
seed meal was preferred by a total of 25% of the horses and the soybean meal
was preferred by the remaining 75% of the horses. It has been suggested that
another trial could be performed in which only the hemp seed meal is offered to
the horses, eliminating the choice of feed and forcing them to decide if the hemp
seed meal feed is palatable.

* Johnson, Lakesha. Eta Mu, Southern University, Baton Rouge. How
the Brain Locates a Sound in Space. Michael Anderson, PhD (Mentor)
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Head related transfer functions (HRTFs) capture the directional dependence of
sound propagation through the external ear, which encompasses spectral sound
localization cues. We hypothesized there are physiologically defined response
types in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (1C) and physiologically
defined response types show spatially directional selectivity. Cats were
anesthetized with xylazine and ketamine followed by tracheotomy and
decerebration procedures. Single-unit activity was recorded with platinum-iridium
microelectrodes and measured to a range of frequencies at various dB levels.
HRTF stimuli were then presented to the contralateral ear to measure single-unit
sensitivity to sound locations. We concluded that three physiologically defined
unit types in the central nucleus of the 1C exist: V, I, and O. Type V units exhibit
excitation (activity above spontaneous activity) at all dB levels. Type I units
exhibit a narrowly tuned l-shaped excitatory region with wide areas of lateral
inhibition (activity below spontaneous activity). Type O units display an O-shaped
island of excitation at low dB levels, restricted by inhibition at higher levels. We
believe that O units are possibly responsible for encoding directional cues. This
research is fundamental to new developments and advancements in auditory
technology for those with hearing impairments.

Funded by grant number R01DC00954.

Hendrick, J. M., S. C. Kaste, R. F. Tamburro, F. A. Hoffer, M. Onciu, J. T.
Sandlund, R. C. Ribeiro, J.C. Chandler , and S. C. Howard. Mu Tau,
Christian Brothers University and Departments of Radiological Sciences,
Hematology-Oncology, Division of Critical Care St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, the Department of Radiology and University of
Tennessee School of Health Sciences. Abdominal Compartment
Syndrome in a Newly Diagnosed Patient with Burkitt’s Lymphoma.

Burkitt’s lymphoma is a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that predominately
affects young children. Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is caused by
an increase in the intra-abdominal pressure which can lead to intra-abdominal
hypertension. Both Burkitt’s lymphoma and ACS can decrease renal perfusion to
an extent where chemotherapy cannot be optimally delivered. Burkitt’s lymphoma
and ACS have not been reported together. We present the radiological aspects
of ACS associated with Burkitt’s lymphoma at diagnosis. We preformed a
retrospective chart review of one male patient with Burkitt's lymphoma and ACS.
The day after the patient was admitted to our institution his clinical condition
declined. A therapeutic paracentesis was performed to decrease his intra-

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447

abdominal pressure. His clinical condition subsequently improved considerably.
Upon radiological recognition of ACS, the possibility of paracentesis to decrease
intra-abdominal pressure should be considered to allow optimal delivery of
chemotherapy.

Supported in part by grants P30 CA-21765 and P01 CA-20180 from the National
Institutes of Health, and by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities
(ALSAC).

Sharma, Karan and John R. Hisey. Psi Omega, Lee University,
Cleveland, Tennessee. Variation in opossum litter size in southwestern
Tennessee.

Individual fitness is related to number of offspring produced, which may be
influenced by energy balance relating to the mother’s body size, intra- and
interspecific competition and environmental factors that vary over space and
time. We tested hypotheses on these relationships in Didelphis virginiana, a key
mesopredator in which litter size is easily assessed, by operating two trapping
grids near Memphis, Tennessee over three summers (12,000 trap-nights). Forty
six female opossums with mean mass of 2.20 kg and mean snout-rump length of
479.6 mm were captured with pouch young. Mean number of young per litter was
8.8 (range 3-13). No significant relationships were found between number of
pouch young per litter and trap grid, year, the mother’s mass or length, or
predator numbers on a grid. Wide variation in number of young may indicate,
however, that differences in genetics, health, or other factors affecting individual
females influenced litter size.

Gook, Tiffany J. Mu Chi, Midway College. Cryptosporidium spp. in the
domestic horse population of central Kentucky.

Fecal specimens of 25 healthy domestic horses were collected in the central
Kentucky area. After being preserved in 10% formalin, the specimens were
concentrated by the formalin-ethyl acetate procedure. The Merifluor
Cryptosporidium/Giardia Direct Immunofluorescent Detection Procedure was
used to stain the specimens. The results showed the age range affected was
between 1-9 years. Of these 25 specimens, 3 tested positive for Cryptosporidium
spp. Breed and gender did not appear to affect the prevalence of oocysts found
in the fecal specimens.

Witt, Rachel L. Mu Chi, Midway College. Factors influencing the selling
price of 2005 Thoroughbred Yearlings at Central Kentucky public

auctions: A Clinical Study of 95 horses.

This study assessed factors that influenced selling price of thoroughbred
yearlings at Kentucky summer sales at public auction. The factors that were
considered in this study-included dam’s pedigree, surgery record, sex, stud fee,
and significant findings on radiograph (RAD) reports. These were all compared to
selling price or reserve not attained (R.N.A.) price results. The 95 yearlings were
examined by veterinarians from Woodford Veterinary Clinic-Equine (WVC) and

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were catalogued in either the Fasig-Tipton July KY Summer yearling sale or the
Keeneland September yearling sale. Horses in this study were patients at WVC
since birth and had arthroscopic surgery records. Surgery letters and sales RAD
reports were obtained on all horses. The dams’ pedigrees were evaluated on 4
different factors including black type, stakes producing mare, stakes producing
family, and stakes winning family. Stud fees of the yearlings’ sires were obtained
from the Blood Horse 2005 Stallion Register. It appears that the non-surgery
horses sold for a higher price than the surgery horses. The mean average selling
price of horses with no significant findings on RAD reports was higher than of
horses that did have significant findings. The mean selling price tended to
increase as stud fee range increased and as the number of factors in the dam’s
pedigree analysis increased. Gender did not seem to affect the mean selling
price of yearlings.

Falcone, Joseph, and Phillip Musich. Pi Delta, East Tennessee State
University. Cellular Chemoprotective Effects of Flavone, the Simplest
Dietary Flavonoid.

A healthy diet can reduce the risk for certain cancers. Could phytochemicals
which normally protect plants against UV radiation also protect non-plant
organisms, especially humans? Oxidative and UV damage can cause DNA nicks
(breaks) and base modifications, and/or cross-linking between adjacent thymine
bases, respectively. This damage may cause mutations (a pro-mutagenic effect).
Flavonoids are found in fruits and vegetables, and also in chocolate, wine and
tea. This study measured the ability of flavone, the simplest flavonoid, to protect
DNA against oxidant and UV-induced mutations using multiple assay systems.

* Frank G. Brooks Paper Award winner Southeastern District li

Paper Presentations
Southeastern District I & II

Spahlinger, Greg W. Sigma Phi, Guilford College. Structural Analysis of
17a-Ethvnylestradiol Adducted Cytochrome p450 2B Enzymes.

Active CYP 2B6 and 2B1 enzymes were reconstituted with NADPH-Reductase,
and incubated with 17- a Ethynylestradiol in the presence or absence of NADPH
and assayed again for activity remaining. Inactivated P450 enzymes were then
isolated from the reaction mixture for structural analysis by ESI-LC-MS and LC-
MS/MS. Techniques of isolation included SDS-PAGE separation followed by
electroblotting, or Ni++ affinity chromatography. The resulting CYP enzymes were
digested with Trypsin, or S. aurius Glu-C and the resulting peptides were
analyzed using ESI-LC-MS/MS techniques. The sequences for several CYP 2B
peptides were positively identified; the CYP 2B 17- a Ethynylestradiol adducted
peptides, and the sites of adduction by 17- a Ethynylestradiol were later
determined by Drs. Ute M. Kent and Paul F. Hollenberg.

* Caron, Lena D., Sigma Pi, Guilford College and Harvard Institutes of
Medicine. RNA interference in human vascular cells achieved via rapid
pressure transfection with silencing RNA.

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449

Intimal hyperplasia (IH) is the disease process of blood vessel thickening that
occurs after injury, and has deleterious effects in vein bypass grafts used in
coronary and peripheral artery bypass operations. Current hypotheses suggest
that prevention of the disease could be accomplished through the targeted
suppression of the abnormally expressed MARCKS gene. Optimum prevention of
IH would be accomplished by means of a rapid intra-operative treatment of the
vein graft to block the subsequent up-regulation of MARCKS, thereby preventing
the onset of disease. In this study, we sought to determine if gene silencing (via
siRNA) can be achieved in human vascular cells within the timeframe and
conditions of surgical application. Human endothelial and vascular smooth
muscles cells cultured in vitro were rapidly transfected with siRNA in a pressure
chamber; control cells remained at ambient pressure. mRNA levels analyzed via
qRT-PCR suggest that pressure is an effective method of rapidly transfecting
endothelial and smooth muscle cells with siRNA resulting in therapeutic
MARCKS mRNA knockdown.

Kochenour, Nicholas & Leonard Sutton. Tau Gamma, East Carolina

University. Transepithelial transport of IqG Through caco-2 intestinal

cells.

Protein passage through the epithelial cells of the intestines was modeled with
the Caco-2 cells due to the ability to mimic the absorption and passage of
proteins and other molecules in the intestines, in particular the jejunum. Colonic
adenocarcinoma 2 (Caco-2) cells possess many of the properties of the small
intestine and therefore are used as a model of human INTESTINAL epithelial
cells. Scientific experiments were conducted to determine the passage of IgG
(Immunoglobulin G), as well as other proteins such as Ferritin across Caco-2
cells. The cells were grown in 75 cm2 flasks with Fetal Bovine Serum, Dulbecco’s
Modified Eagle Medium, and Penicillium Streptomyosin and placed in an
incubator at 5.0% C02 and 37°C. The cells were placed in a transwell apparatus
so as to establish apical and basolateral borders. The proteins were applied to
the apical side of the cells and then their passage was followed through the cell’s
basolateral side using fluorescence. It was determined that the size of the protein
and competition aspects influenced rate of passage in the Caco-2 cell.

Hinkle, Heather L. Rho Pi, Brevard College. The effectiveness of benzoyl

peroxide in inhibiting the development of drug resistance in

Propionibacterium a ones.

Propionibacterium acnes is the most common bacterial species found to cause
acne vulgaris (pimples). It is an anaerobic bacterium commonly residing in the
pilosebaceous glands located in the skin. When the skin produces an excessive
amount of oil, P. acnes releases lipases to digest the surplus. A pustule
(whitehead) will form on the surface of skin when the combination of digestive
products (fatty acids) and bacterial antigens stimulates a severe inflammation
that ruptures the hair follicle. A variety of topical antibiotics are used to treat acne
vulgaris; however, development of drug resistance in bacteria has become a
problem. P. acnes can become resistant to any currently prescribed topical
antibiotic (e.g., ampicilin, clindamycin). Over-the-counter topical treatments are
also used to prevent breakouts (e.g., benzoyl peroxide). Since these agents help

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reduce the oil on the surface of the skin and are not antibiotics, drug resistance
does not develop in the bacteria. Recently, benzoyl peroxide has been added to
clindamycin as a way of combating drug resistance, and the combination is being
promoted as resistance-proof. This study examines the development of
resistance of P. acnes to clindamycin treatment versus clindamycin/benzoyl
peroxide treatment using the Kirby-Bauer disk method.

Denny-Brown, Sinan; Christopher Jackson; Lisa Rubinsak; and Daniel
Vacendak.. Beta Rho, Wake Forest University. Effect of Foraging
Experience on Muscarinic Receptor Signaling in the Apis Mellifera Brain.

After the first three weeks of their adult lives, worker honey bees become
foragers that collect nectar and pollen. Previous studies have shown that
foraging experience in honey bees is related to an increased volume of the
mushroom bodies - a region of the insect brain that controls learning and
memory. The cholinergic muscarinic system works in conjunction with the
mushroom bodies to process sensory information. Through the use of confocal
fluorescence microscopic observation of stained young (one-day old) and old
(forager) honey bee brain sections, this study tested the hypothesis that foraging
experience in old bees greatly stimulates cholinergic muscarinic receptors,
whereas the lack of foraging by young bees causes less significant muscarinic
signaling. The only result that could be considered conclusive was that the
location of muscarinic signaling was determined to be in the calyces of the
mushroom bodies and in the optical lobes. The hypothesis was found to be
neither supported nor refuted because a defective secondary antibody caused
half of the trials to not show signficant immunolabeling. The other two trials both
exhibited bright immunolabeling, but the presence of multiple variables (foraging
experience and primary antibody concentration) prevents conclusions from being
drawn on the matter.

Munoz, Angela. Beta Eta, Florida Southern College. A Quantitative Study
on the Distribution of the Channeled Apple Snail Pomacea Canaliculata

in a Central Florida Lake.

The purpose of this study is to simultaneously determine the distribution of
Pomacea canaliculata in Lake Hollingsworth and the correlation between water
temperatures and number of egg casings. P. canaliculata, more commonly
referred to as the Channeled Apple Snail (CAS), made its way from South
America to Florida in 1978. This species is of great concern because of the
damaging ecological effects it has on lake habitats. Once this species is
introduced by either storm drains, flood waters, or by humans their voracious
appetites cause damage everything in the lake. Data was collected consistently
from Lake Hollingsworth several times a week for evidence of P. canaliculata.
This evidence was in the form of egg casings, shells, and the snail it self.
Knowledge of this helps to understand how they distribute throughout the lake
since the onset of the snail’s arrival some time in August 2005. In areas where
signs of P. canaliculata had already been established, a record of the
temperature was kept at all times. This study is aimed at determining how the
CAS spreads from one lake to another, how rapidly it invades a lake, and how to
prevent the distribution of the CAS into Southern Landing.

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451

Kullman, Lydia N. Mu Gamma, Western Kentucky University. Diet affects
immunoloqicallv relevant gene expression in brains of Toxoplasma

gondii infected mice.

The protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is a serious health concern for
pregnant women and HIV/AID individuals. Previous studies provided evidence
that dietary supplementation with the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium is
harmful during infection in mice, however a diet lacking in these antioxidants
results in reduced pathology including decreased counts of tissue cysts. In the
present study, we used the technique known as microarray, to investigate the
response of the immune system to T. gondii infection in C57BI6/J mice
maintained on one of these two diets. The microarray (Agilent Oligo Microarray,
Whole Mouse Genome) allowed comparisons in levels of immunologically
relevant gene transcripts in the brains of both infected and non-infected mice (4
groups; 4 mice per group). In this analysis, we focused specifically on the
following genes: IFN-y, various interleukins, TNFs, TGF-|3, and Nos. Transcripts
for the following genes were up-regulated (>2 fold, p< 0.05) in antioxidant-
supplemented mice as compared to non-infected supplemented mice; TNFsf 10
and 13D, interleukin ID, and IFN-y. The following genes were up-regulated in
infected deficient mice: TNFsf 10, IFN-y, and TGF-(3. Support of the National
Institutes of Health and the National Center for Research Resources Grant P20
RR16481 is gratefully acknowledged.

Schnitzlein, Carla W. & Patricia Anderson. Beta Eta, Florida Southern
College. An Artificial Wetland as a System for Filtering Fecal Coliform.

Lake Hollingsworth is known for its year-round high coliform counts and for a
spike in its Escherichia coli population in the winter season. The purpose of this
study was two-fold; first, hypothesizes as to why the annual spike occurs were
examined using data from the city of Lakeland, other prior studies regarding the
high counts in the winter, and the investigators' own research and data. The next,
and primary, focus of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of Florida
Southern Landing as a storm water treatment wetland. Its effectiveness was
established by measuring the amount and rate of coliform deposited into the
landing via three storm drains and then also measuring the outflow into Lake
Hollingsworth.

Zhou, Yi. Mu Gamma, Western Kentucky University. Analysis of gene
expression in mouse brains during Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii.
Infection poses a critical threat to AIDS patients and to the fetus during
pregnancy. Previous studies have shown that supplementation of mice with
vitamin E and selenium results in increased cyst number, pathology, and weight
loss during infection. The goal of the present study was to evaluate changes in
gene expression in the brains of mice following T. gondii infection. At 2 weeks
post-infection, brains were removed and RNA was isolated using RNeasy Lipid
Midi kits (Qiagen). Agilent Oligo Microarrays were utilized to screen mRNA
samples. Differentially expressed genes were identified with annotated function,

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and molecular pathways were explored using PathwayStudio. Comparison of the
transcripts from non-infected and infected mice revealed 1,688 differentially
expressed genes (p < 0.05). A total of 507 genes were up-regulated and 71
genes were down-regulated (2-fold or greater) in infected mice. Nineteen
chemokine related genes, and over 60 cytokine or cytokine-related genes
showed increased expression. Greater than 60% of all genes up-regulated in
infected mice could be categorized as pro-inflammatory, immune function, or
cellular defense genes.

Support of the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research
Resources Grant P20 RR16481 is gratefully acknowledged.

* Frank G. Brooks Paper Award winner Southeastern District I & II

Poster Presentations
Southeastern District I

Cirilo, Stephanie R. and Steven M. Hill. Sigma Gamma, Erskine College.

Limb Bone Strain Rates in Divergent Locomotor Modes: Turtles and

Frogs Compared.

Empirical data indicate that bones experiencing higher rates of strain during
loading can withstand greater magnitudes of strain before yield failure. Here, we
test for potential differences in strain rate that could affect load bearing capacity
in two vertebrate lineages with dramatically different locomotor habits: emydid
turtles, which typically walk slowly, and ranid frogs, which typically use rapid
jumps. Strain rates were collected in vivo from strain gages implanted on the
femur of multiple individual river cooters ( Pseudemys concinna) and bullfrogs
( Rana catesbeiana). Strain recordings were made as the animals walked or
jumped on a treadmill while filmed with high speed video. Strain rate was
positively correlated with strain magnitude in each species. In addition, the time
of foot contact with the ground for jumping frogs was as much as four times
shorter than that for walking turtles. This difference likely contributes to the
substantially greater peak strain rates found in frogs versus turtles. Thus,
differences in rates of limb bone loading rates between turtles and frogs may be
related to differences in load bearing capacity of the limb bones between these
species.

Gaylord, Matt and Shea Tuberty. Beta Psi, Appalachian State University.
Detection of vitellogenin induction in male fish exposed to estrogens in

wastewater treatment plant effluents.

Municipal wastewater has been widely-documented to contain compounds which
are introduced to aquatic systems and can significantly impact biota. Estrogens
represent a class of xenobiotic chemicals present in wastewater from their use in
birth control and estrogen supplement pharmaceuticals. The estrogenic effect of
sewage treatment effluent on male fish from the S. Fork, New River in Boone,
NC was investigated to determine population-level effects of these xenobiotics.
Male expression of egg yolk precursor protein, vitellogenin (Vtg), in the plasma of

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453

two native sucker species ( Catostomus commersoni, Hypentelium nigricans) was
used as a molecular biomarker for endocrine disruption. Vtg presence was
determined by SDS-PAGE and Western Immunoblot using a mouse anti-carp Vtg
primary antibody. For both taxa, western blotting resulted in a vitellogenin band
at 55 kDa. As expected, Western blots of female plasma exhibited Vtg-specific
bands while males demonstrated even denser Vtg bands. Molecular analyses of
plasma vitellogenin levels indicated estrogen exposure in male specimens of
both Catostomid species. Elevated male levels of Vtg when compared to females
is explained by the absence of ovaries which serve to sequester Vtg in female
fish. Solid-phase extraction and GC-MS analysis of the chemical constituents
from effluent samples will be conducted.

Howell, Brandie N. Sigma Gamma, Erskine College. The Effect of

Aquaporin 3 and Oral Glycerol Applications on Wound Healing in Mice.

Previous work has shown that the combination of AQP3 (aquaporin 3) and PLD2
(phospholipase D2), in the presence of glycerol, create phosphatidylglycerol, a
unique signaling molecule involved in the differentiation and proliferation of
epidermal keratinocytes. Thus, an experiment was performed to investigate this
signaling module and its interaction with glycerol. The utilization of glycerol to
increase differentiation and decrease proliferation in keratinocytes could have
positive ramifications in wound healing and in the treatment of skin diseases
resulting from abnormally increased proliferation, including psoriasis and non¬
melanoma skin cancers. An experiment utilizing transgenic mice displaying an
overexpression of AQP3 gene (HK1-AQP3 TG mice) was designed to compare
wound-healing rates. The effects of oral glycerol applications were also explored.
A full thickness wound was administered in the flank of the mouse. Four groups
of mice were established: transgenic and non-transgenic mice treated with oral
glycerol in the water supply and transgenic and non-transgenic mice receiving no
treatment. The rates of wound healing were measured and analyzed. Initial
analysis of data indicates oral glycerol accelerates wound healing due to
increased glycerol transport and, in turn, increased differentiation and decreased
proliferation; however, no differences in wound healing were noted between the
transgenic and non-transgenic mice.

Vadlamudi, Charita. Salem College, Beta Alpha. Effect of Mechanical

Damage on Apoptosis in Porcine Patellar Cartilage.

Osteoarthritis is characterized by a significant deterioration in articular cartilage
covering a synovial joint. It is believed that mechanical damage to cartilage is a
key factor in the development of osteoarthritis. This study intends to determine if
indeed, mechanical damage induces apoptosis (programmed cell death). We
hypothesize that there would be significantly higher numbers of apoptotic cells in
impacted patellae and also that there are significantly greater numbers of
apoptotic cells tissue that was cultured for 0 days than in tissue cultured for 14
days. Porcine patellae were used in this study for their convenient size and
structure. A high impact load of 2000 N was applied to patellae that were then
cultured for 0 or 14 days. Controls for this study were un-impacted patellae that
were 0 or 14 days in culture. TUNEL staining using Apotag detection kit of
tissues from the impacted and non-impacted patellae resulted in staining of

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apoptotic cells. The apoptotic cells were counted using Meta Morph and
analyzed for significant differences in apoptotic cells between control and
impacted tissues. A significant difference was observed in the number of
apoptotic cells between tissue that was un-impacted and tissue that was
impacted with a high load.

Jordan, Rebekah F. Beta Alpha, Salem College. Do the PI3K/Akt and
estrogen receptor pathways “cross-talk" in normal endometrial stromal

cells?

The endometrium is the tissue that lines the uterine cavity. Endometrial cancer is
the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. Estrogen is believed to
be a major causative factor in the development of endometrial cancer. Normal
proliferation of endometrial cells involves a signal transduction pathway of
several proteins including PI3K, Akt, and mTOR. A frequent abnormality in
endometrial cancer is a loss of regulation of this pathway. There are multiple
stimuli that can activate the PI3K/Akt pathway. The hormone insulin can initiate
signal transduction by binding to the insulin receptor, ultimately leading to
induction of cell proliferation. Another pathway which leads to endometrial cell
growth involves signal transduction through the estrogen receptor (ER). This
pathway begins with the binding of estrogen to the ER. The ER becomes
phosphorylated and the transduction pathway begins. In endometrial cancer
cells, it has been demonstrated that activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway by insulin
also leads to the phosphorylation of ER, termed “cross talk”. The purpose of this
project was to determine whether cross talk occurs between the signal
transduction pathways of the insulin receptor and ER in normal human
endometrial stromal cells. Preliminary data suggest that cross talk may be a
normal cellular process occurring in endometrial cells.

Poison, Amanda. Psi, Winthrop University. Classification of Foot and

Mouth Disease Virus.

Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) is a member of the family Picornaviridae
and the genus Aphthovirus. Seven distinct serotypes have been identified: A, O,
C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, and Asia 1. Foot and Mouth Disease is one of the most
contagious animal diseases and has the potential to eradicate tremendous
numbers of livestock causing great economic losses if not controlled. Complete
(118) genome sequences were aligned at the amino acid level and phylogenetic
trees have to date been generated by the maximum parsimony (MP), maximum
likelihood (ML), minimum evolution (ME), and neighbor-joining (NJ) methods
using the uncorrected proportion of amino acid differences (p). Our results
support the proposed classification scheme with two major lineages of serotype
O (bs=100%) most closely related to Asia 1. Within the A serotype, we found
evidence of transmission via international trade from Europe to Central America.
In addition, there was significant support for placement of two unclassified
Taiwanese sequences within the serotype O clade (b2=92%). Estimation of
synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates suggest conserved evolution
of antigenic sites with one exception where there was significantly greater
nonsynonymous change in the epitope compared to the remainder of the VP3
capsid protein.

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts

455

Hathaway, Jonathan. Psi, Winthrop University. The Role of
Thrombomodulin in Prostate Cancer Progression.

This research focuses on the role of the anti-coagulant protein, thrombomodulin
(TM), and its ligands in prostate cancer. TM on endothelial cells binds to the
serine protease, thrombin (I la), and the TM-lla complex activates the serine
protease, protein C (pC), into the anticoagulant serine protease, activated Protein
C (APC). Men with prostate cancer have elevated levels of TM receptors on their
prostate cancer cells (CaP) and in serum compared to men without prostate
cancer. In addition to its role in coagulation, TM regulates the proliferation of CaP
cells in vitro. Since TM is elevated in patients with CaP, regulates CaP cell
proliferation, and is involved with pC, APC, and lla in coagulation, we chose to
study what effect these TM associated serine proteases have on the proliferation
of PC-3, LNCaP and DU-145 CaP cell lines. We determined that as lla
concentrations increased (0-400 nm), the rate of proliferation of DU-145 and PC-
3 cells first increased then showed a decreasing trend at high lla concentrations,
lla decreased LNCaP proliferation. As both pC and APC concentrations
increased, the proliferation each cell line increased slightly. We concluded that
the TM-lla-pC-APC, system regulates proliferation of PC3, DU-145, and LNCaP
CaP cell lines.

Robinson, Chad. Psi, Winthrop University. Phyloqenic Analysis of
Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus.

Caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) is a member of a group of small
ruminant lentiviruses. The genome is approximately 9.2 kb and codes for 4 main
proteins (gag, pro, pol, and env), including reverse transcriptase. CAEV are
economically important pathogens infecting goat primarily via horizontal transfer
through virus-ingested milk in the first days of life. We conducted a phylogenetic
analysis using SRLV gag and polymerase sequences to examine evolutionary
relationships among two of the four proposed serotypes (B1 and A3). Our data
set included 4 sequences that have been to date unclassified. In addition the
phylogeny will be used to identify independent pairs and test the hypothesis that
overlapping reading frames within the gag-polymerase sequence complex
impose constraints on possible nucleotide substitutions in the different genomic
regions. Sequences were aligned at the amino acid level and phylogenetic trees
have to date been generated by the maximum parsimony (MP), maximum
likelihood (ML), minimum evolution (ME), and neighbor-joining (NJ) methods
using the uncorrected proportion of amino acid differences (p). Preliminary
results suggest that contrary to previous results, there is no support for
separation of A3and B1 serotypes. In addition, the four unclassified sequences
were significantly related to other B1 sequences.

Wiley, Rachel. Psi, Winthrop University. The Role of Thrombomodulin,

Thrombin, Protein C and Activated Protein C in Prostate Tumor Cell

Motility.

Prostate cancer (CaP) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men.
Patients with CaP are at a high risk of developing thrombosis. Thrombosis

456

SE Biology, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

develops when excess thrombin (I la), a serine protease which causes a fibrin
clots, is generated. Thrombomodulin (TM) is an endothelial cell receptor for
thrombin that normally decreases thrombin activity by activating protein C into
activated protein C (APC). APC inactivates coagulation by inhibiting thrombin
generation. Interestingly, TM has been found in elevated levels in the tissue and
serum of CaP patients (Glasscock 2005). Thrombin and APC have been shown
to be pro-metastatic in other types of cancer (Lindahl et al 1993). We studied
how the TM-lla-APC system regulates the ability of the CaP cell line PC-3 to
metastasize. Scratch Migration assays were done in the presence and absence
of TM, thrombin, protein C, and APC. Blocking TM expression with anti-TM MAb
decreased migration of PC-3 cell lines by 54%. In contrast, thrombin, protein C,
and APC did not change the ability of PC-3 cell lines to move. Therefore,
although TM regulates PC-3 CaP cell line motility, it does so via a mechanism
other than the thrombin-protein C-APC system.

Burton, Julie. Psi, Winthrop University. Characterization of the oncogenic

properties of deletion mutants of high mobility group Ala.

The high mobility group A (HMGA) proteins are a family of proteins involved in
transcriptional regulation, retroviral integration, and cancer initiation. The family
members, HMGAIa, HMGAlb, and HMGA2, are all aberrantly expressed in
cancers and have well established oncogenic properties. However, the precise
mechanisms involved in HMGA-mediated transformation are unclear. HMGA
proteins possess three characteristic AT hook motifs and an acidic carboxy-
terminal tail. Previous studies on the role of these motifs in transcription show
that the AT hook motifs act cooperatively to facilitate binding of HMGA proteins to
their DNA targets while the acidic C-terminal tail portends binding specificity. To
understand how specific regions of HMGA contribute to transformation, we will
delete the characteristic regions of the protein. Mutants will be transfected into
fibroblast cells and transformation assays will be conducted. These studies will
contribute to our current understanding of the role of these proteins in cancer.

Kahdy, Kristin. Tau Xi, Meredith College. Effects of the herbal drug BM7

on CD4 cell counts in mice.

The physiological effects have not been determined for an herbal drug (code
BM7) that is used to treat AIDS patients in Kenya, East Africa. In order to
determine the effects of BM7 on CD4 cell counts, which are diminished in AIDS
patients, CD4 cells, differentials, and hematocrits were counted in six BALB/C
control female mice, three BALB/C female mice that receive one injection of
BM7, and three BALB/C female mice that received a series of two injections.
Dynabeads (Dynal Biotech) that specifically target mouse CD4 cells were used to
quantify the CD4 cells. BM7 was supplied by the Center for Contemporary
Medicine, Kenyatta University, Nairobi. CD4 cells and WBC’s decreased as a
result of treatment with BM7; PCV did not change. The percent of lymphocytes
increased which could be due to an overall decrease in neutrophils and
monocytes. Further research is required to determine the long-term effects of
BM7 and/or if cytokine interference is altering WBC counts.

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts

457

Quintero-Varca, Tatiana. Tau Xi, Meredith College. Masculinization of
Genetic Female Betta splendens Fish by immersion in 17-a-

Methyldihvdrotestosterone and Androstenediol Hormones.

Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, is a native of Thailand, Malaysia and
South Asia. The fighting fish are of great aquaculture and commercial importance
as ornamental fish. Male Betta fish is more colorful and with larger fins than
female and thus has a higher commercial value. Sex reversal in fish has been
achieved by different hormonal treatments in previous researches. Hormonal
induction of sex reversal in fish is possible in 47 species of gonochores and
hermaphrodites using one of the 31 steroids. Hormonally sex reversed fish may
suffer from poor reproductive performance. The sex reversal treatment of fish by
immersion in hormones involves periodic or continuous exposure of embryonic
stages in water containing steroids. Masculinization is the transformation of a
genetic female into a male. Masculinization of genetic female Betta was
attempted by immersion in different alcohol/hormone concentrations (2.0, 1.5,
1.0, 0.5, 0.0 % Alcohol) for a 24 hour period at room temperature. The hormones
used were 17-a-Methyldiydrotestosterone (20mg/L) and Androstenediol (100
mg/L), both of which are male hormones.

Tibbetts, Jessica A. & Rebecca K. Hunter. Psi Chi, Virginia Wesleyan
College. Examination of erythraeid mites infecting tropical species of
harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones) from Trinidad, W. I.

Erythraeid mites are generalist ectoparasites of arthropods. In temperate areas,
the biology of these mites and their interactions with hosts have been studied.
However, relatively little is known about the biology of these mites or the
interactions with harvestmen in the Caribbean. In July 2005, we undertook a field
study of harvestmen in the Northern Range of Trinidad, W. I. We collected a total
of 458 harvestmen representing xx species and found an overall infestation rate
of 9.4%. The intensity of infection ranged from 1-17. In the Fall, we prepared leg
samples from harvestmen infected with mites for examination by scanning
electron microscopy. Our investigation of the microanatomy of these mites
indicates that they differ from other published species accounts for erythraeid
mites and thus may represent a new species. Recognition of erythraeid mites
species however is difficult, because the adults are not parasitic and we did not
collect any during our field study.

* Rumbough, Damian. Beta Eta, Florida Southern College. The positive
effect of a recently created wetlands on species diversity.

Prior to creating an artificial wetland adjacent to a central Florida lake, a biotic
survey was conducted on the site. The survey has been repeated post¬
construction to determine the effects on the biota created through a multitude of
new habitats. The wetlands main function is to serve as a storm water treatment
area but due to the diversity of its vegetation zones the wetland’s area has
attracted many different species of vertebrates. The overall goal of this project
was to show the positive effects of the creation of a man made wetlands on the
reptile amphibians and avian species. A primary goal was to develop habitat

458

SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

matrices for each of the avian species inhabiting the wetlands. Another goal was
to document the different kinds of vertebrate species that occur in the wetlands.
A comparison of species diversity of the wetlands to the adjacent lake
demonstrated increased vertebrate diversity with increased habitat diversity. For
a representative avian species habitat utilization matrices were developed to
show how each of the eight vegetation zones within the wetlands were used.

Evans, Jennifer D. & Melanie J. Lee-Brown. Sigma Phi. Guilford College.

Phylogenetic analysis of Azomonas insignis.

The azotobacteria are free-living nitrogen fixers specifically related to the
fluorescent pseudomonads. A preliminary analysis of the little-characterized
specie Azomonas insignis suggested that this organism was not a member of
this phylogenetic group. We report here the phylogenetic analysis of A. insignis ,
using both small subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA and ribonuclease P RNA
sequences. These independent markers both show that this organism is actually
a member of the genus Acinetobacter, a member of the Moraxella group, and
only distantly related to the fluorescent pseudomonads and azotobacteria.
Characterized species of Acinetobacter (Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging
opportunistic pathogen) are not known to be able to fix nitrogen, but “ Azomonas
insignis” was confirmed to be able to grow with dinitrogen as the sole nitrogen
source.

Geller, Amy & Charles Allen. Sigma Psi, Florida Institute of Technology.
Catecholamine-Induced Changes in Vascular A7r5 Cell Gap Junctions

Following Exposure to Adrenalin Metabolites.

Pathology resulting from increased levels of catecholamines in vivo has led us to
investigate the effect of adrenalin on the gap junction proteins and the possible
relationship to vascular toxicity. Gap junction channels are specialized ion
channels important to cardiovascular function. Adrenalin and its metabolites,
adrenochrome and adrenolutin were used in this study. Utilizing A7r5 cells we
evaluated the effects of catecholamines on connexins. Using immunoblotting and
immunohistochemistry, we demonstrated that the catecholamines differentially
affect connexin expression in that Cx40 protein was reduced and Cx43
increased. Cell-cell communication was increased 3 fold. Cells were treated with
the adrenergic ft blocker Propanolol to see if the effect of the catecholamine
could be reduced. Propanolol did not reduce the effect of adrenolutin. Given that
a reduction in expression of functional Cx40 channels has been reported with
hypertension, associated with irregular vasomotor activity and conduction
abnormalities in the heart, the effect of these agents on the cardiovascular gap
junction proteins has implications for providing a mechanism for some of the
deleterious effects noted to occur with elevated catecholamine exposure.

Anderson, Patricia and Ashley Bowman. Beta Eta, Florida Southern
College. Avian diversity in an artificial wetland in comparison to adjacent
lake shore habitat.

Over a five week period, the avian and vegetative density was taken from ten
designated areas around Lake Hollingsworth and compared to the avian and
vegetative diversity of the artificial wetland, Southern Landing. All diversities were

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts

459

computed based on the Shannon-Weiner model of diversity. Over the course of
the study, certain species were found to be more prevalent at certain wetland
areas. It was found that the diversity of the avian species present was directly
dependent on the habitat species diversity. Extremes of the habitat densities
were held accountable for absence of diversity. The avian diversity found on
Lake Hollingsworth showed to be more diverse than that of Southern Landing.
The conclusion was supported by correlation of vegetative diversity and habitat
area.

Amis, Jackie. Sigma Phi, Guilford College. The state and contraction of
wildlife corridors in Kimana Group Ranch near Amboseli Kenya: Analysis

of human impacts.

The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of land available for a
wildlife corridor in the Kimana Group Ranch (KGR). The main techniques used
were questionnaires, GPS surveys and spatial analysis. This study found that the
structures that displace wildlife were bomas, or Maasai homesteads (0.23 ± 0.04
km), roads (0.18 ± 0.02 km), electric fences (.07 ±0.04 km) and institutions (0.1 8±
0.06 km). Livestock displaced wildlife 0.21 ± 0.02 km. The largest area
displacements were caused by bomas (28.11 km2 or 11.19% of KGR) and the
electric fence (69.29 km2 or 27.58% of KGR). All human activities displaced
wildlife from 140.01 km2 (55.74% of KGR). In addition, a cluster of bomas was
blocking off the 5 km corridor between the Namelok and Kimana fences that
leads to Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary leaving 1.82 km between the Namelok fence
and the bomas and 0.112 km between the Kimana Fence and the bomas. If the
corridor was closed then the wildlife would avoid Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary, and
local opinion, which was dependant on benefits received from the sanctuary, on
conservation would decline. These findings show that KGR status as a corridor
and dispersal area for wildlife is severely threatened.

Thomas, Emily O. Beta Eta, Florida Southern College. A Survey to
Evaluate the Scientific and Educational Values of, and Ancillary Activities

on, an Urban Lake and Adjacent Wetland.

In 2004, a multipurpose artificial wetland was constructed adjacent to Lake
Hollingsworth in Lakeland, Florida. The primary function of this wetland is to
provide a natural filtration system to intercept stormwater runoff prior to it
entering the lake. Secondary purposes include 1) facilitating public recreation, 2)
providing a site for student research, and 3) aiding in the education of the general
public about lake pollution and preventative measures that can be taken to
ensure the continued quality of the lake ecosystem. This study was conducted to
evaluate the effectiveness of the fulfillment of these requirements. Recreational
usage was assessed at Lake Hollingsworth and the artificial wetland. Data were
collected to determine usage overall, and by activity, beginning January 17, 2006
and ending February 20, 2006. Preliminary surveys of the area around the
wetland identified litter as a major problem. Alternatively, analysis of
questionnaires answered by lake users revealed that poor vegetation diversity
and lack of bathrooms were more common deterrents to recreational usage.
Participation in activities was compared to data collected in 1991, confirming that
walking remains the most popular form of recreation around the lake. Age,

460

SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

gender, and point of origin were also collected, and peak usage times were
reevaluated.

Clarke, Andrea N. Sigma Gamma, Erskine College. Renal Microvascular

Response to P2 Receptor Stimulation in Angiotensin II Hypertension with

8% Salt.

Previous studies suggest locally released ATP is a chemical mediator of
vasoconstriction which occurs through activation of P2 receptor proteins in
preglomerular renal microvascular smooth muscle cells. Previous studies with
Angiotensin II hypertensive animals resulted in blunted vasoconstriction to P2X-\
receptor stimulation. Rats were made Angll hypertensive and fed an 8% salt diet
with the hypothesis that compromised autoregulatory responses of these rats
could be attributed to impaired P2 receptor expression or P2 receptor signaling.
Blood pressure and body weight of experimental and normotensive control rats
were monitored for two weeks. Preglomerular microvascular smooth muscle cells
were isolated from both experimental and normotensive control rats, loaded with
Fura-2 dye, challenged with lOpM ATP or lOpM p,y-methylene ATP, and
observed for intracellular Ca2+ concentration changes. Previous western
analyses and immunohistochemical stainings of normotensive rats and Angll
hypertensive rats revealed that P2X-I receptor protein expression is unique to the
preglomerular renal microvessels. Western analysis done to see if P2X-I
expression is changed in Angll hypertensive rats fed an 8% salt diet revealed
unchanged P2X^ receptor expression. Renal microvascular smooth muscle cells
exhibited a markedly attenuated response to P2 receptor stimulation (ATP) and
to P2X-I receptor stimulation ((3,y-methylene ATP).

Ali, Marium A. Tau Xi, Meredith College. Role of the Sox Gene SoxN and

Homeotic Genes Scr and Tsh on CNS Midline of Drosophila.

How are the fates of cells of the central nervous system (CNS) determined in
various regions of the body during development? Homeotic genes are
responsible for specifying the anteroposterior axis of the body by forming the
identities of the different segments. These experiments are designed to examine
the role of homeotic genes on a specific CNS cell type, midline cells. Midline cells
lie in the center of the CNS and are responsible for guiding the development of
axon pathways by sending out ‘signals’ to axons. Sox genes are diverse
transcriptional regulators that play an important role in early neural development
of midline cells. In the fruit fly, the SoxN ( SoxNeuro ) gene is necessary for the
normal development of midline glia, particularly in the mid section of the embryo.
Mutant SoxN flies lack midline glia in the central region of the embryo. The focus
of this study is to determine if SoxN has any effect on the expression of the
homeotic gene Scr (Sex combs reduced), which determines the identity of the
thoracic region. Specifically we wish to determine if Scr works in conjunction with
SoxN in the development of the mid section of the midline. In addition, Tsh
(teashirt), another homeotic gene expressed in the thorax, abdomen and ventral
nerve chord is examined. The role of Tsh on the CNS midline is studied, by
examining the effect of Tsh mutants on wrapper, a gene that is expressed in
midline glia. The results indicate how SoxN, Scr and Tsh work with other genes
to form cell identities within the CNS of the Drosophila embryo.

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts

461

Markijohn, Catherine M. Tau Xi, Meredith College. Regional
heterothermy in Felidae during pulsed vocalizations.

Of all the mammals in the world, only those in the families Felidae and Viverridae
have the ability to create regular, continuous, pulsed vocalizations, commonly
known as purring. The mechanics of purring have been documented (Remmers
and Gautier, 1972); however, the physiological consequences are not fully
understood. One explanation for the potential physiological advantage for cat
purring has to do with their hunting strategy. After sudden bursts of activity,
purring may be a way to regain physiological equilibrium by down-regulating
sympathetic control. Decreased sympathetic tone should result in increased
peripheral blood flow. To research this effect, thermographic IR images and
audio recordings will be made of several wild and domestic cat species prior to,
during, and after pulsed vocalizations. Though seemingly trivial, the effects of
purring could actually aid humans and felines. Cats suffer from significantly fewer
orthopedic disorders, possibly because purring occurs at a physiologically
beneficial frequency. Cats also maintain muscle condition during long periods of
inactivity, possibly also due in part to purring; this could have applications to
humans whose muscles are not exercised for extended periods.

* John C. Johnson Poster Award winner Southeastern District I

Poster Presentations
Southeastern District II

Rushing, Brett, Kevin Jenne, Taylor Robertson, and Robert Carter. Mu
Phi, Jacksonville State University. Spatial and Age Structure of Old-
growth Mountain Lonqleaf Pine, Pinus palustris , Stands in the Talladega

National Forest of Northeastern Alabama.

The spatial and age structure of four old-growth mountain longleaf pine stands
was examined to determine recruitment patterns. To determine tree age,
standard coring techniques were performed that consisted of strategic coring,
drying, mounting and sanding of each core. The distance and angle between
each tree was also measured. Spatial analysis revealed clumping of individuals
relate to tree age. The dumpings can be related to past anthropogenic changes
such as the Trail of Tears and land acquisitions by government agencies.

Anderson, Melanie. Mu Chi, Midway College. Cryptosporidium species in

the domestic cat population of central Kentucky.

This study determined the prevalence rate of Cryptosporidium species (spp.) in
the domestic cat population of central Kentucky. Cryptosporidium spp. are
parasites that invade the epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal and/or respiratory
tract. In companion animals, these parasites are of great importance because
they can be a direct or indirect source of human cryptosporidiosis. Fecal
specimens were collected from 25 domestic, healthy or diseased kitten and adult
cats in central Kentucky during September and October of 2005. The specimens

462

SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

were preserved in 10% formalin, concentrated by the formalin ethyl-acetate
procedure, and stained according to the MeriFluor® Cryptosporidium/Giardia
Direct Immunofluorescent Detection Procedure. Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts
were present in four of the 25 fecal specimens collected. This accounts for 16%
of the population tested. Two of the four cats positive for oocysts were
asymptomatic, which could leave owners unaware that their cat is infected.

* Cho, In Ki. Mu Epsilon, Troy University. Lead acetate exposed

Saccharomyves cerevisiae-qene expression and growth of deletion

strains.

Microarray analysis of wild type Saccharomyces cerevisiae identified genes with
altered gene expression in response to lead acetate exposure. Microarray
analysis was used to investigate yeast that were exposed to varying
concentrations of lead acetate. The gene expression patterns indicate a large
number of genes are both induced and repressed in response to lead acetate.
Additionally, yeast strains harboring deletions of the lead acetate responsive
genes were exposed to lead acetate(YPD/PbAc) and calcium acetate
(YPD/CaAc)containing rich media. The resulting growth patterns were assessed.
Strains with altered growth in both YPD/PbAc and YPD/CaAc are likely
responsive to acetate or divalent cations and are not specifically lead responsive;
however, no strains were calcium acetate sensitive. These lead acetate
responsive strains will be utilized in future studies of lead acetate sensitivity in
yeast.

Osaya, Emeinoh A. Eta Mu, Southern University, Baton Rouge.

Characterization of phosphatidylinositol phosphate synthase in

Chlamvdomonas reinhardtii.

Chlamvdomonas reinhardtii is a model and widely studied organism that can be
either heterotrophic or photosynthetic and continues to provide endless
possibilities for scientific studies. Chlamvdomonas reinhardtii utilizes specific
metabolites that regulate a variety of signal transduction processes.
Phosphatidylinositol, a major phospholipid in eukaryotic cells of plant and animal
cells. This phospholipid may be considered a secondary messenger because of
its interactions with specific proteins in order to regulate specific cellular
responses. This study provides a brief characterization of the phosphatidylinositol
phosphate synthase gene (PIS), which synthesizes phosphatidylinositol from the
substrate glucose-6 phosphate(6). Data from the Northern blot shows the PIS
gene may be active during the cell cycle because hybridization of purified RNA
from synchronized cells to the DNA probe specific for the second exon of the PIS
gene occurs. Results show hybridization clearly indicates that mRNA
homologous for the PIS gene was present in total RNA isolated from
Chlamvdomonas reinhardtii cc406 cw15 mt- cells.

* John C. Johnson Poster Award winner Southeastern District II

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464

SE Biology , Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 2006

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Southeastern biology.
American Museum of Natural
History

Received on: 08-22-06

SOUTHEAS '
VOLUME 53, NUMI

http://www.aso. appsiai

AMNH LIBRARY

100232979

In This Issue

The View from Here . 317

Minutes of the Sept. 10, 2005, Executive Committee Meeting . 318

AIBS Representative's Report . 331

Minutes of the 67th Annual Business Meeting . 332

Events of the 2006 Annual Meeting . 334

2006 Meritorious Teaching Award (University Professor) . 334

2006 Enrichment Fund Award (High School Teacher) . 337

2006 Research Award Recipients . 338

Women, Minorities, & People of Disabilities Luncheon & Workshop... 357

The Pembroke Group at Gatlinburg, TN . 369

Resolution of Appreciation . 370

Resolution on Invasive Species . 371

Statement of the Position of ASB Regarding Invasive Species . 372

Omitted Abstract . 374

Treasurer's Report for 2005 . 375

Treasurer's Enrichment Fund Report . 376

Membership Officer's Report . 376

Enrichment Fund Contributors in 2005 . 377

Wednesday Evening Plenary Session Address . 378

T hursday Evening at the Bandana Bash . 382

Past President's Banquet Address . 383

Memories of 2006 ASB in Gatlinburg, TN . 390

Longtime Member of ASB Honored by BSA . 395

ASB Staff, Officers, and Executive Committee, 2006-2007 . 398

ASB Representatives and Committees, 2006-2007 . 399

Call for Papers, 68th Annual Meeting, 2007 . 404

Special Reminders from the Print Editor . 414

Nomination Form for ASB Officers & Executive Committee . 415

Support Awards for Graduate Students . 416

Guidelines for Poster Presentations . 417

Research Awards . 418

ASB Meritorious Teaching Award Announcement . 423

Nomination Form for ASB Meritorious Teaching Award . 424

ASB Enrichment Fund Award Announcement . 424

A Letter from the T reasurer . 425

AIBS Diversity Scholars Awards . 429

The Southeastern Naturalist Journal Information . 430

Book Reviews . 433

News of Biology in the Southeast . 436

The NEON Project Progress Report . 436

Obituaries . 437

Beta Beta Beta Abstracts . 440

ASB Patron Members . 464

Patron Members

Associated Microscopes, Inc., Elon, NC • Tim Atkinson, Burlington, NC • Breedlove,
Dennis and Associates, Inc., Orlando, FL • Carolina Biological Supply Company,
Burlington, NC • Martin Microscope Company, Easley, SC • Thomson-Brooks/Cole,
Belmont, CA • Marilyn Pendley, Statesville, NC