Botany 2011 Symposia and Colloquia

Symposia

Onagraceae as a model experimental system

Organizers: Peter C. Hoch (Missouri Botanical Garden) and Warren L. Wagner (Smithsonian Institution)

The plant family Onagraceae has emerged as an outstanding model system for evolutionary studies, due in large part to the efforts of Peter Raven and his associates. This symposium will celebrate that legacy, summarize at least some of what we have learned, and demonstrate promising new evolutionary approaches with broad applications in biology. Wagner will open the symposium with a summary of our current understanding of the classification and relationships of Onagraceae. Systma will present insightful new phylogenetic analyses in Clarkia, subject of Raven’s first major scientific paper, the genus that brought him to work with Harlan Lewis for his doctorate, and a model group for genomic evolution. Raguso will demonstrate new insights gained from fragrance analysis in the evolution of pollination systems. Krakos, using her refined new phylogeny of Oenothera, will elucidate the remarkable radiation in reproductive biology found in one clade of the genus. Greiner will introduce American botanists to the deeply insightful genomic research on Oenothera being pursued in Europe, carrying forward the legacy of Herrmann, Stubbe, Cleland, and even the pioneering early 20th-century Dutch geneticist Hugo de Vries. Johnson will elaborate on the Oenothera model, exploring the relationships between genetic variation, changes in reproductive biology, and the evolution of defenses against herbivores and pathogens. The symposium will conclude with the unique insights on Onagraceae by Peter Raven, in recognition and celebration of his 40 years at the Missouri Botanical Garden and more than 50 years working on Onagraceae.

Speakers:
Warren L. Wagner, Smithsonian Institution - A new classification in Onagraceae
Kenneth Sytsma, University of Wisconsin – Clarkia: clades, clocks, and characters.
Robert Raguso, Cornell University - Evening perfumes: insights from scents and non-scents in the Onagraceae.
Kyra Krakos, Washington University - Reproductive evolution in Oenothera
Stephan Greiner, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology - Oenothera – a model for non-Mendelian inheritance and speciation
Marc Johnson, University of Toronto Mississauga - From micro- to macroevolution: the contribution of Onagraceae to a modern synthesis of evolutionary ecology
Peter Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden – My life with the Evening Primroses

History of Botany: the Missouri Connection

Sponsored by: BSA Historical Section

Organizers: Marissa C. J. Grant, Instructor Math/Science Division, Lake Land College, 5001 Lake Land Blvd., Mattoon, IL, 61938, Phone (708) 606-2132, Fax (217) 581-7141 mcjernegan@yahoo.com or mgrant39493@lakeland.cc.il.us

Lee B. Kass, Visiting Professor, L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Department of Plant Biology, 412 Mann Library Building. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853 Phone 607-255-2131, 304-816-4787 (H) lbk7@cornell.edu

Summary: The Historical Section of the Botanical Society of America wishes to continue sponsorship of Symposia to highlight the importance of Botany in the Americas. In 2007, the BSA Historical Section sponsored a Symposium on "A Historical Perspective on Chicago Area Botany" and in 2010 we sponsored “History of Botany in the Rhode Island Area.” This year, along with the sponsorship of the Developmental and Structural, Economic, Paleobotanical, Southeastern and Systematics Sections, our symposium will highlight botanists who have a botanical connection to Missouri and demonstrate how each has contributed to the development of the field of botany. This symposium will be in conjunction with the annual meeting of Botany 2011, in St. Louis, MO. Our half day morning symposium will feature Nuala Caomhanach, Michael Long, Deborah Lewis, Lynn Clark, Kim Kleinman, Betty Smocovitis, Dennis Stevenson, Edward Coe and Lee Kass. Speakers will look at the growing appreciation of past generations of botanists including Thomas Nuttall, George Engelmann, William J. Robbins, Barbara McClintock and other notable researchers. We anticipate and encourage discussion and socializing during the break and the question/answer period following the presentations. Following the symposium there will be an afternoon field trip to The Missouri Botanical Garden herbarium and rare book room featuring historical documents aiding in discoveries of botany. Space is limited; interested participants are encouraged to preregister.

List of speakers:

• NUALA CAOMHANACH, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO. “Thomas Nuttall and 19th Century Botany: The St. Louis Connection”

• MICHAEL LONG, Webster University, St. Louis, MO. "George Engelmann's Fortunate Connections

• DEBORAH Q. LEWIS, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. &
  LYNN G. CLARK, Iowa State University, Ames, IA “A.S. Hitchcock” [tentative title]

• KIM KLEINMAN, Webster University, St. Louis, MO; “Edgar Anderson, The Missouri Botanical Garden, & the Rise of Biosystematics”

• BETTY SMOCOVITIS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. “Joseph Ewan and the Cinchona Missions in Latin America, 1942-1945”

• DENNIS STEVENSON, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY. “William J. Robbins: The Missouri Years”

• EDWARD COE, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. “Lewis J. Stadler: The Nature of the Gene, and a Clue to DNA”

• LEE B. KASS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. “Barbara McClintock at the University of Missouri (1936-1942): The Road to Transposition”

Incorporating microbes into plant community ecology

Sponsored by: BSA Mycological Section

Organizers: Melissa McCormick, SERC, P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, MD 21037. Phone: 443-482-2433. Fax: 443-482-2380. mccormickm@si.edu

James Bever, Indiana University, Department of Biology, Bloomington, IN 47405. Phone: 812-855-0771. jbever@indiana.edu

Summary: Traditional models of plant community ecology do not include microbial interactions and, perhaps because of this, have a difficult time explaining how so many plant species are maintained in diverse communities. Bever et al. (2010) propose three types of microbial interactions that could help to stabilize plant community composition, all of which include soil fungi. These three mechanisms are 1) microbes altering plant ability to access nutrients, 2) common mycorrhizal networks, and 3) plant-soil community feedbacks. We propose a symposium that would address the potential for soil fungi, especially mycorrhizae, to fulfill each of these proposed roles and extend the subject with talks that address difficulties in incorporating microbial interactions into plant community ecology. We then end the session with a discussion about how to overcome those difficulties and increase the interaction between soil microbial ecology and plant community ecology.

List of speakers:

• Introduction: Jim Bever (U. Indiana) incorporating microbes into plant community ecology—overarching models

• Microbes and plant nutrient access (Brian Steidinger, University of Illinois)

• Common mycorrhizal networks (Tom Horton, SUNY)
  

• Plant-soil community feedbacks (Scott Mangan, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)

• Break

• Seasonality of microbial community composition (John Walker, Appalachian State University)

• Plant invasion and microbial interactions (Gail Wilson, Oklahoma State University)

• Invasive species that alter microbial communities (Melissa McCormick, Smithsonian Institution)

Healing the Planet: Conservation of the World's Tropical Forests

The Third William L. Brown Symposium

Organizer: Dr. Rainer W. Bussmann, Director William L. Brown Center and William L. Brown Curator of Economic Botany, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA; phone: (314) 577-9503, facsimile: (314) 577-0800; rainer.bussmann@mobot.org,

Since the formation of the IUCN Plant Conservation Program in the 1980s, much has been done to heed Peter Raven’s call to “study, name, and understand the plants of the world" in order to save as many plants (and by extension animals and microorganisms) as possible from the threat of extinction. This work has been carried out with greatest urgency in the tropics, where the forests, in most instances, have been felled at an ever increasing rate. The WLB Symposium will review the state of the world’s tropical forests and address several questions:

How did tropical forest structure come about? (Neutral theory vs. Niche paradigm)
To what degree were the forests managed by people in prehistoric times?
How stable are the forests?
What changes in climate can we expect in the coming century?
How effective have conservation efforts been thus far?
What conservation strategies are likely to yield the best results in future?

This symposium, to be held Wednesday morning, forms the first half of the day-long WLBC Award symposium/colloquium, Healing the Planet: Conservation of the World's Tropical Forests. The award meeting is scheduled to coincide with the presentation of the William L. Brown Award, which recognizes the outstanding contributions of an individual in the field of genetic resource conservation and use. It is administered by the William L. Brown Center (WLBC) at the Missouri Botanical Garden and is made possible through a generous endowment from the Sehgal Family Foundation, in cooperation with the family of Dr. Brown. The sixth recipient of the award will be Peter Raven. The award will be presented Wednesday evening at the closing banquet of the Botany 2011 Conference.

List of Speakers:

• Steve Hubbell (UCLA)

•  Greg Asner (Stanford)

•  Stuart Pimm (Duke)

• Tom Lovejoy (The Heinz Center)

• Bill Laurance (James Cook University)

• Kamal Bawa (Univ. of Massachusetts)

The fruitful outcome of graduate student-designed curricula: research modules, publishing opportunities, and outreach inspired by the NSF’s Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Program

Sponsored by: BSA Education Committee; BSA Teaching Section

Organizers: Rachel Meyer, 111 E 125th Street Apt 4E, New York NY, 10035, 206-351-7997 718-817-8101, rmeyer@nybg.org

Claire Hemingway, 4209 E. 3rd. Street, Long Beach, CA 90814, 562-308-0075, 314-577-9515, chemingway@botany.org

Summary: Hands-on inquiry-based learning has been shown to be more effective than traditional textbook methods of teaching science. Graduate students can play a significant role in retooling science education in high schools or colleges by modeling and guiding long-term scientific research. When researchers integrate their enthusiasm, expertise, and experiences into the science program, the outcome is often a new pedagogy that engages students in doing science and thinking like scientists. The NSF GK-12 fellowship enables teachers and graduate students to collaborate and guide high school level students in authentic research. It also develops graduate students’ communication and pedagogical skills and prepares them for future roles as educators and research leaders. Frequently, their work is tailored to the unique and multi-cultural context of the community thus encouraging local and international institutions to integrate research experiences into larger educational programs. The purpose of this symposium is to help graduate students maximize what they can do with the teaching experience they build while in a PhD program. This symposium draws from both graduate student teaching and the GK-12 fellowship experience to demonstrate the wealth of possible outcomes stemming from graduate student-developed curricula. Topics include: 1) effective teaching methods that make use of the graduate student’s research, 2) how to package curricula into a self-sustaining versatile course, 3) how scientists can publish in education journals, and 4) local and international outreach and activism opportunities.

List of speakers:

• Rachel Meyer, CUNY Graduate Center/NYBG, Doctoral candidate, GK-12 Fellow

• Lauren Loizides, Baruch College Campus High School, Environmental Science Teacher, GK-12 Teacher, “One hundred researchable questions growing in New York City’s parks”

• P. Roxanne Steele, University of Missouri-Columbia, Postdoctoral Fellow and former GK-12 Fellow, “From the rainforest to the classroom: connecting students with field research”

• Jason Douglas, CUNY Graduate Center, Doctoral candidate, former GK-12 Fellow, “Engaging students through environmental justice activism”

• Victor Strozak, Center for Advanced Study in Education, CUNY Science Now GK-12 Program Co-PI, “STEM authentic research modules and their integration into CUNY’s College Now program”

• Selena Ahmed, Tufts University, NIH TEACRS Postdoctoral Fellow and former GK-12 Fellow, “Bringing classroom research to publication and beyond”

• Natalia Pabon-Mora, CUNY Graduate Center/NYBG, Doctoral candidate, and Favio González, Associate professor, National University of Colombia, “Evo-devo on a budget: An effort to update the plant developmental biology curriculum for public universities in Colombia”

Healing the planet: medicinal plants and the legacy of Richard E. Schultes

Sponsored by: The Society for Economic Botany and the BSA Economic Botany Section

Organizer: Rainer Bussmann, Director William L. Brown Center and William L. Brown Curator of Economic Botany, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA, phone: (314) 577-9503, facsimile: (314) 577-0800; e-mail: rainer.bussmann@mobot.org,

2011 will be the 10th anniversary of the death of Richard Schultes, one of the leading ethnobotanists of the 20th century. Schultes spent much of his career gathering plants and TEK in the Amazon Basin. His insights into the world of the indigenous peoples there have shaped a generation of scholars.

List of speakers:

• Robert Bye (Jardín Botánico Exterior, Instituto de Biología, U.N.A.M.)

• Jim Zarucchi (MBG)

• Michael Balick (NYBG)

• Neil Schultes (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station)

• Djaja Soejarto (Field Museum)

Innovations in organismal botany - a tribute to the pioneering studies of Donald A. Eggert

Sponsored by: BSA Paleobotany Section

Organizers: Gar W. Rothwell, Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, (740) 593-1129, fax (740) 593-1130, rothwell@ohiou.edu

Thomas N. Taylor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, Kansas 66045, (785) 836-3176, fax (785) 864-5321, tntaylor@ku.edu

Summary: Over the span of 30 years Don Eggert dramatically altered the course of organismal botany by developing a wide array of innovative new approaches to the integrated study of living and extinct vascular plants. Eggert’s pioneering studies have laid the foundations for exploring plant structure, growth, and development at the organismal, organ, and tissue levels, and have informed and inspired several highly productive avenues of botanical inquiry. Among his most creative endeavors are new approaches for developing organismal concepts of ancient filicalean ferns, for understanding the growth architecture of trees, for studying microgametophyte development in ancient seed plants, for characterizing phloem and vascular cambium in fossil plants, for uncovering the homologies of rooting organs in arborescent lycopods, and for deciphering the underlying morpohological construction of complex seed fern pollen organs.

List of speakers: This symposium focuses on Eggert’s most innovative contributions, and reviews the development and progress that have been made in the new areas of study that he initiated. Proposed topics of the presentations for this symposium are:

• Introduction – The contributions of Don Eggert

• Recognition, reconstruction, and characterization of ancestral filicalean ferns

• Carboniferous arborescents; a model for understanding growth architecture of trees

• Structure, function, and evolution of phloem

• Microgametophyte development of fossil seed ferns and the origins of modern pollen

• Rooting the Paleozoic’s largest trees; morphology, development, and homologies of Stigmaria

• Complex medullosan pollen organs; a model for deciphering structure and homology

Plant reproductive strategies under environmental stress

Sponsored by: BSA Ecology Section, BSA Genetics Section

Organizers: Arathi, H.S., Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Tel: 970-491-0952, Fax: 970-491-0649, Email: arathi@lamar.colostate.edu

Brenda Molano-Flores, Illinois Natural History Survey, , 1816 S. Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820, Tel: 217-265-8167, Email:molano@inhs.uiuc.edu

Summary: Significance: With increasing evidence for wide ranging changes in climatic conditions, evolutionary responses of plant sexual reproduction can have wide spread implications on population changes and food production. We aim to bring together researchers addressing different aspects of plant reproductive strategies and thus provide a synthesis of current research.

Overview of symposium:
It has become increasingly evident that global climate change is bound to have large impacts on many biological processes. Changes in phenotypic traits of different plant species strongly suggest that natural populations are responding to these altered environmental conditions. The sexual phase of plant reproduction, a particularly vulnerable developmental process, under active selection offers the unique potential to understand the role of environmental stress in the adaptive processes that modulate plant reproduction. While sexual strategies in flowering plants are diverse and a majority of plants are hermaphrodites, the extent and manifestation of reproductive functions differs based on sexuality, breeding systems and life histories. Understanding the impacts of climate change on the evolutionary potential of plant populations is the need of the hour especially given the fact that a successful food production from agricultural crops depends on successful functioning of plant reproduction. In this symposium, we aim to bring together diverse researchers to present their current research and share ideas on consequences of environmental stress on plant reproductive strategies.

List of speakers: List of speakers with
tentative titles:

• Arathi H.S. (Colorado State University) – Introduction and presentation on “Temperature stress and reproductive functions”

• Theresa Culley (University of Cincinnati) – Chasmogamous and Cleistogamous flowers

• Susan Mazer/Alisa Hove (University of California, Santa Barbara) Drought stress and male functions

• Rebecca Sherry (University of Oklahama) – reproductive phenology under global warming

• Andrew Simons (Carleton university) – Life history evolution under changing environments

• Christina Caruso – (University of Guelph) Gynodioecy

• Brenda Molano-Flores (Illinois Natural History Survey) – Conclusion and presentation on “CO2 levels and mating systems”

Advances in Plant Systematics and Population Genomics: Applications of Next Generation Techniques

Organized by: Dr. Ashley N. Egan, East Carolina University, Department of Biology and North Carolina Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858; egana@ecu.edu

Sponsored by: ASPT (lead), the BSA systematics section, and the BSA Genetics section, and the Torrey Botanical Society

Primary Objective and Conceptual Focus: This symposium will bring together scientists from across the country who are conducting leading edge research in plant systematics and population genomics through the use of next generation methodologies, including Illumina and Roche 454 pyrosequencing.  The purpose of the symposium is to showcase how next gen methods can be applied to plant systematics and population genomics and the types of questions that can be answered through their application.  As such, much of the research being discussed will be either empirical or present novel methods for analyzing the data.  The symposium format is justified here to enable i) cutting edge research from leading labs to be presented together and ii) a balanced representation of scientists across gender and career stage; these goals are best obtained through invitation to speak at a symposium. 

Significance and Appropriateness:  Next generation methods are now well formulated and tested and have become widely accessible. However, much of the first applications of these methods are just beginning to be completed and not yet published, with the exception of publications dealing with one or two species. In addition, analyses of these vast stores of data are still being developed. This symposium will provide scientists with examples of how next gen methods can be applied to plant systematics and population genomics, and how these technologies are revolutionizing these scientific disciplines. The increasing availability of these methods makes this symposium topic timely.  

Those who have accepted an invitation to present:

• Dr. Ashley N. Egan                East Carolina University        
  “Comparative genomics of Phaseoleae: what 454 transcriptomics can tell us about
  phylogeny”
• Dr. Jessica Schlueter               UNC – Charlotte                  
  Application of next generation sequencing in legumes
• Dr. Joshua Udall                     Brigham Young University    
  “Sequence capture techniques in natural (sagebrush) and domesticated (cotton) settings”
• Dr. Michael S. Barker             Univ of Arizona                  
  Analyzing genome-level data: assessing gene duplications
• Dr. Richard Cronn                  U.S. Forest Serviee              
  Forest Genomics via next gen methods
• Dr. Nolan Kane                       Univ of British Columbia     
  Genetic underpinnings of divergence and adaptation in Helianthus

 

Strategies for healing our coast lines: Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, erosion and urban degradation: progress for the North American future marine macro-plants

Sponsored by: BSA Physiology Section

Organizers: Anitra Thorhaug
Yale University. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
1359 Sw 22 Terrace, Miami, Fl 33145 athorhaug@msn.com

Janice Coons
Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, jcoons@eiu.edu

The theme of the Botany 2011 Conference is “Healing the Planet and its Biodiversity”. Thus, we propose having a symposium fitting the Conference theme at the cutting edge of the USA present experiences in Injury and restoration and natural recovery of highly diverse plant communities by an assessment what should or can occur after the Deep Water Horizon Mississippi Canyon 232 Oil spill in five states in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most pressing problems in the years from 2010-2011 from an Botanical Eco-Physiological aspect. We will have several highly involved scientists from shoreline and underwater science.

The marine ecosystem is the largest global ecosystem and contains sites of the highest biodiversity in the world including the coral reef-seagrass communities and mangrove-seagrass communities. Simultaneously, due to its complexity and difficulty of access, it is one of the least known or understood botanically in the US array of botanical possessions. The deep marine trenches around Alaska or deep areas off Island Territories are just on the brink of exploration. The eco-physiology of marine ecosystem macro-plants, are just beginning to be elucidated, although extremely important to the functioning of this massive marine ecosystem which are about 13% of the surface area of the sea, similar to the entire terrestrial ecosystems. Historically much emphasis has been put on deepwater plankton, their physiology and their involvement. However, a great deal of the intense oceanic productivity is immediately next to shore where the terrestrial nutrients from riverine systems plus shallow waters allowing light penetration to relatively shallow bottoms occur simultaneously. Unfortunately, it is in this ecological zone that man’s activities including industrial accidents frequently coincide with these ancient marine and estuarine ecosystems which have provided very high biodiversity of plants and animals, oxygen, carbon sequestration, productivity, fisheries nurseries, water clarification, and sediment stabilization. It has been assumed implicitly by human society for thousands of years that since these ecosystems were underwater and not visible, they were of small worth. Changes in attitude have created a new valuation of these resources, although less is known about them than almost any parallel terrestrial ecosystem of this importance. During the 1900’s less was known about the “swamps” of Louisiana and the Florida Everglades than any other terrestrial part of the USA, except its submerged resources in the marine environment. This symposium lies at the intersection between these two massive ecosystems, the Mississippi Delta and the upper reaches of the Western Hemisphere’s largest inland sea, the Gulf of Mexico. Here the estuary of one of the world’s largest rivers, draining toxins from 38 states reaches the low energy end of the USA ‘s largest marine engulfment surrounded on 3 sides by Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and to the South the nation of Mexico. This will push forward and codify ecological knowledge about the fate and effects of oil and dispersed oil on wetland, marsh, and marine plants. A vigorous discussion on what has been done in the past and how through defined restoration healing of the macro-plants and their animal communities can be expected to occur The effect of oil and dispersed oil on estuarine and coastal plants of the Gulf of Mexico and the physiology and ecology of restoration amidst an oiled condition of the dominant groups of coastal species of the USA (and North American) coast lines are suddenly an intense center of attention and speculation. This has included much mis-information from the responses of plant systems to dispersants added to the oil to the ability of investigators to restore the ecosystems. The debate continues past the response stage into the Natural Resource Damage Assessment stage so that an intense scrutiny by both government natural resource trustees and the American public on how these ecosystems can be restored occurs without the benefit of scientific wisdom and experience. The Symposia intends to bring to the attention of Botanical Scientists in America the Restoration or Healing science going forward by thousands of workers in the field and laboratories and the past scientific investigations and information which allows wise judgments of future actions of restoration of damage. It will be aimed at making sense of the present Gulf of Mexico situation in terms of the following : 1.) past experience of coastal vegetative ecosystems under attack by massive oil spills especially in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean ( Ixtoc, Yum, Panama, and Gulf War I ); 2.) Knowledge of physiological responses of coastal macro-plants to oil, and to dispersed oil; and 3.) Successful restoration of the dominant coastal species under difficult situations with contamination still present. The last time senior botanical investigators turned their attention to the physiological responses of marine plants to oil and their restoration in oiled conditions was in the early 1980’s in a joint BSA meeting with the Canadian Botanists on restoration which papers were published by AJB , and also in a conference on oil and marine ecosystems resulting in a book by Cairns and Bukema in 1985.Much progress in the last 25 years, creates a wealth of new information. Thus, this symposium will interest botanists of various fields since although little attention has been paid to the problem within recent time periods much new technical material is available including remote imagery. The Ecological and Physiological Sections have highly experienced members who have developed not only techniques for damaged ecosystem restoration through their physiological knowledge and for healing the planet, but also having developed techniques for responses to oil spills such as dispersed oil effects on the marshes, mangroves and seagrasses. The cutting edge of where the USA’s strategy for the responses and repairing the damage to the Oil Spill and Reponses to this and other oil spills will be discussed. The information will be integrated into the theme of healing biodiversity.

List of speakers:

• Anitra Thorhaug, Yale University and Janice Coon , Eastern Illinois University - Introduction : Strategies for the Future. Repairing of the Marine Coastal Damage to Macroplants in the Greater Caribbean Basin (including the Gulf of Mexico) and the Atlantic Ocean.

• Denise Seliskar and Jack Gallagher. University of Delaware. - The Coastal Marine and Estuarine Marshes: Degradation by a series of man’s activities, and strategies for restoration while pollution remains.

• Gary Harman. Entrix Corp., Newark, Delaware - Healing the Marshes of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

• Cynthia A. Moncreiff Botanical Consulting and Analyses, Ocean Springs, Healing the Fresh Water Macroplants. Oil Spills’ eco-physiological effects, degradation by water releases, erosion, and restoration. Louisiana and Mississippi’s past, present.

• Janice Coons, Eastern Illinois University - Healing the Mangroves: Oil Spills, dispersed oil physiology, degradation, and restoration.

• Howard Teas, University of Miami, and Anitra Thorhaug, Yale University, -Healing the Seagrasses and other Submerged Aquatic Vegetation: Oil and dispersed-oil physiology, degradation measurements, and restoration of various seagrass.

• Marieke Von Katwijk, University of Nemingen, Netherlands. - Healing Atlantic Urbanized Seagrasses: Dyking, Oil spills, Structures, Channelization and Changes of water flow and volume, and Restoration of Seagrasses in the Eastern Atlantic,

• Anitra Thorhaug and Janice Coons - Summary of Results, Discussion, and Strategies for the Future.

Grab that Research Baton and Teach: Bessey Award Winners

Sponsored by: BSA Teaching Section

Organizers: Stokes S. Baker, Biology Department, University of
Detroit Mercy, 4001 W. McNichols Rd., Detroit MI, 48221
Phone: 313-993-1142, bakerss@udmercy.edu

Donna Hazelwood, Dakota State University, Department of Biology,820 N. Washington Ave., Madison, SD 57042 Phone: (605) 256-5187, Donna.Hazelwood@dsu.edu

A continuation of the Broader Impact symposium held at the Providence meeting. We plan to showcase the Bessey Awardees and highlight successes large and small on integrating research into classes. Part of the hook is that the Bessey Awardees are teaching, and teaching successfully in a variety of institutions with appointments that range from primarily teaching to somewhere along the teaching-research continuum. The integrations may be a lab, a unit or a semester, but the integration of research into teaching is the exciting and innovative key. We showcase the awardees and everyone wins. Thus we will set up a showcase that gives a voice to the Bessey Awardees and opens dialogue to everyone, experienced teachers to graduate students. Perhaps part of our symposium could be a bit of a brainstorming session. For example; how can participants incorporate research into his/her class. Low budget, low time expenditure, are always welcome. Finally, tie-ins with Planting Science are also a possibility.

List of speakers:

• Beverly Brown: Connecting research the Planting Science

• James Wandersee: Botany Education Research: Overcoming Plant Blindness

• Chris Martine: Developing a web presence, the Chlorofilm Experience

• Roger Hangarter: Slow Life: Time laps photography in research, education and art

• Joseph Armstrong: Portfolio Teaching

• Marshall D. Sundberg: Research methods in pedigogy
  

Colloquia

Education Sharing our Ethnobotany Curriculum: the Open Science Approach

Organizers: Keri Barfield, BRIT, 500 East 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 817.332.4441, 817.332.4112, kbarfield@brit.org

Pat Harrison, BRIT, 500 East 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 817.332.4441, 817.332.4112, pharrison@brit.org

Tiana Franklin, BRIT, 500 East 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 817.332.4441, 817.332.4112, tfranklin@brit.org

Kim Bridges, 3190 Maile Way, Room 101, Honolulu, HI 96822, 808.956.6429, 808.956.3923, kim.bridges@gmail.com

Summary: The Open Science Network for Ethnobiology (OSN) is a collaborative network open to educators and students interested in the exchange of innovative curricula and educational resources that advance the field of ethnobiology. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the OSN uses open technology to facilitate the exchange of educational techniques, materials, and experiences across institutional and international borders. Selected presenters, reflecting the evolution of the field of ethnobotany, will model innovative teaching methods and share curricula. Presentations will emphasize the importance of sharing information and resources among colleagues; demonstrate the need for peer and student assessments of curricula in order to maintain fresh and creative ideas in the field; and touch on how the creation of open technology has allowed the spread of ideas to the far corners of the globe. Participants will be introduced to the web-based portal and instructed how to use and contribute to its curriculum resources.

List of speakers:

• Will McClatchey, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Medicinal Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants in the Hidden Land of the Dolpo: Working with Himalayan healers at Shey Pohksundo National Park

• Sofia Vougioukalou, University of Kent, Using online educational resources to promote open innovation in ethnobotany

• Sunshine Brosi, Frostburg State University

• We will have 10 more presenters

70 Years After Schultes: Economic Botany from the Andes to the Amazon

Organizer: Dr. Rainer W. Bussmann, Director William L. Brown Center and William L. Brown Curator of Economic Botany, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA; phone: (314) 577-9503, facsimile: (314) 577-0800; e-mail: rainer.bussmann@mobot.org

Richard Schultes made his first trip to the Amazon Basin in 1941. The father of modern Ethnobotany, Schultes’ work in the tropics of South America forms the basis of all subsequent research. Speakers are invited to present current ethnobotanical research being conducted in the Andes and Amazon Basin.

List of speakers and Presentations

 

Biocultural Collections: Developing Standards for Curation and Use

Organizers: Jan Salick, Ph.D., Senior Curator of Ethnobotany, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, Saint Louis, MO 63166, (Ph.)314/577-5165, jan.salick@mobot.org

Katie M. Konchar, M.Sc., Research Specialist in Ethnobotany, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, Saint Louis, MO 63166, (Ph.)314/577-0285, (Fax)314/577-0800, katie.konchar@mobot.org

Collections of Ethno- and Economic Biology (Biocultural Collections) benefit scientists, students, teachers, and the general public, as well as aid in conservation and development. These collections include valuable and potentially valuable foods, fibers, medicines, and other plants, animals, and products used by people around the world and their documentation and archives. Yet there are no standards of curation for these diverse and complicated collections. Following on goals established by participant institutions at the NSF Biocomplexity Workshop “Intellectual Imperatives in Ethnobiology” at the Missouri Botanical Garden (Ethnobiology Working Group 2003), we invite national and international collaborating institutions to develop Biocultural Collections curation and remedy longstanding neglect of these valuable resources for research and education. With NSF-Biological Research Collections support, this colloquium of curators and researchers of Biocultural Collections will establish curation standards for the publication and activation of the Biocultural Collections Curation Standards on-line and in print. Broader impacts of Biocultural Collections for education, conservation and development will also be discussed. Many disciplines, including botany, anthropology, biochemistry, and history, can substantially benefit from the intellectual merit of these collections if they are well curated and readily available for research and education. The colloquium on Biocultural Research Collections is the next step to salvaging valuable Biocultural Collections and making them known and available to researchers and educators, both at herbaria/museums and on-line. With a concerted effort, the research potential of existing Biocultural Collections will be preserved, enhanced, and transformed along with the collections themselves.

List of speakers: Speakers (partial list) and Affiliations at their website

Charles Heiser Special Contributed Paper Session

Charles Heiser, Indiana University, began his long and diverse career in St Louis at Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden, so it is fitting that this special program in honor of Charley and his career contributions is held at the Botany 2011 conference in St Louis. Whether you are a Heiser student or "grandstudent," or simple were you influenced by Charley and his work in some way, you are invited to direct your contributed paper to the special Heiser contributed paper session. Organizer: Gregory Anderson