PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN
A Publication of the Botanical Society of America, Inc.
THOMAS N. TAYLOR, Editor, Department of Botany, Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Ave., Columbus. Ohio 43210 (614) 422-3564
Editorial Board
SHIRLEY GRAHAM, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242
ROY H. SAIGO, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614
JOHN H. THOMAS, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
The Plant Science Bulletin is published six times a year, February, April, June, August, October and December. Change of address should be sent to the Business Manager, Botanical Society of America, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210.
(ISSN 0032-0919)
October 1986 Volume 32 No, 5
AWARDS
Botanical Awards
The following prizes were awarded at the Dinner for All Botanists given by the Botanical Society of America at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences at Amherst, Massachusetts August 10-14, 1986.
BSA MERIT AWARDS
These awards are made to persons judged to have made outstanding contributions to botanical science. This year four botanists were selected:
Bernard O. Phinney - Meticulous research in plant physiology and student of the biochemical genetics of hormonal metabolism, he has deciphered the metabolic pathway of gibberellins and made profound contributions to phytoendocrinology.
John G. Torrey - Developmental botanist and student of root biology, he has contributed classic works on the origin of vascular patterns, cambium activation, quiescent center, lateral root development, and the symbiosis of the actinomycete Frankia with roots of non-leguminous plants.
Billie L. Turner - Exuberant champion of plant systematics, pioneer in chemotaxonomy, and critical student and monographer of Compositae and Leguminosae, he has served with distinction as administrator, inspiring teacher of graduate students, and as ubiquitous catalyzer in con-temporary botany.
DARBAKER PRIZE
This award is made for meritorious work in the study of microscopical algae. The recipients of the 1986 award are Annette W. Coleman and Lynda J. Goff for the innovative research dealing with the use of DNA-specific fluorochromes for elucidation of cytological processes in algae. Through the, use of fluorescence and phase microscopy, often in conjunction with microspectrofluorometry and other techniques, they have traced the fate of DNA-stained chloroplasts in living gametes of Chlaydomonas throughout zygote maturation and germination and have begun to elucidate the behavior of alleged endosymbiotic phototrophs. They have investigated the relationship between the parasitic red alga Choreocolax polysiphoniae and its host Polysiphonia by describing the injection of nuclei and cytoplasmic components of the parasite through pit connections into the host red algae, and following its reproductive fate. Through these similar staining techniques of living cells, the entire sexual life history of the parasitic red alga has been described. Their research involves not only algae, but even pollen development, germination, and fertility, and has pointed to applications beyond the confines of phycology, and has enhanced the value of the light microscope for cytological studies.
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN HENRY ALLAN GLEASON AWARD
This award is made annually for an outstanding recent publication in the field of plant taxonomy, plant ecology, or plant geography. The 1986 award was made to Edward G. Voss, of the University of Michigan, for the second volume of his projected 3-volume Michigan flora. This flora sets a new standard for state floras in its accuracy, completeness, scholarship, and discriminating taxonomic judgment.
LAWRENCE MEMORIAL AWARD
Of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie-Mellon University - This award is used to support travel for dissertation research of a doctoral candidate in systematic botany or horticulture, or the history of the plant sciences. The award for 1986 was presented to Andrew J. Henderson, a student of Dr. Ghillean T. Prance at the City University of New York and the New York Botanical Garden. For his dissertation research Mr. Henderson has undertaken a systematic revision of a group of neotropical palms, the subtribe Iriarteinae. The proceeds of the Award will help support his travel to Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Munich for herbarium and laboratory research.
JESSE M. GREENMAN AWARD
Of the MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN - This award is given in recognition of the best thesis based on a Ph.D. dissertation concerning the systematics of vascular plants or bryophytes published during the previous year. The 1986 award was presented to David H. Lorence for his publication "A Monograph of the Monimiaceae (Laurales) in the Malagasy Region (Southwest Indian Ocean)," which appeared in the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, volume 72, number 1. The publication is derived from a Ph.D. dissertation from Washington University under the direction of Alwyn H. Gentry. This comprehensive account of fifty-five species, all endemic to the region, is based on herbarium and extensive fieldwork. It includes information on pollination syndromes in relation to floral morphology, cytological investigations, population biology, vernacular names, and economic uses.
EDGAR T. WHERRY AWARD
This award is made annually by the Pteridological Section of the Botanical Society for the best presentation at these meetings. The award recognizes Dr. Wherry's long term contribution to the floristics and patterns of evolution of ferns and was made this year to Michael D. Windham of the University of Kansas for his presentation entitled "Reassessment of the Phylogenetic Relationships of Notholaena."
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A. J. SHARP AWARD
This award, given for the best student paper presented in the American Bryological and Lichenological sessions, was awarded to Sharon P. Gowan, Department of Botany, Duke University for her paper on "Evolution of secondary natural products in the lichen genus Porpidia."
ECOLOGICAL SECTION AWARD
This award, presented for the best student paper in ecology at the annual meeting, was given to Helen Young of SUNY-Stony Brook for her paper entitled, "Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Gender in a Monoecious Tropical Herb."
GEORGE R. COOLEY AWARD
This award is given annually by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists for the best paper in plant systematics presented at the annual meetings. This year's award went to Kenneth J. Sytsma of the University of Wisconsin for this paper, "Chloroplast DNA evidence for the origin of the genus Heterogaura from a species of Clarkia (Onagraceae)."
ISABEL C. COOKSON PALEOBOTANICAL AWARD
This award, given for the best contributed paper in paleobotany or palynology presented at the annual meeting, was presented to David C. Wight of Ohio University for his paper en-titled, "Primary vascular architecture of aneurophytalean progymnosperms and its bearing on evolutionary relation-ships of the group." The work for this paper was done when Mr. Wight was a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan.
RALPH E. ALSTON AWARD
This award, for the best contributed paper presented at the annual meeting of the Phytochemical Section, was given to James E. Rodman for his paper, "Does Compound Co-occurrence Signify Biosynthetic Relationship?"
PHYSIOLOGICAL SECTION AWARDS
Each year, the Physiological Section awards two prizes for outstanding presentations made by students at the annual meeting. The Li-Cor Prize, acknowledging the best presentation made by an student, regardless of subdiscipline, was awarded to Henri Maurice of Rutgers University for his presentation, "Acid-induced corolla unfolding in Ipomoea nil." The DNA Plant Technology, Inc. Prize, which acknowledges the best presentation made by a student in the area of plant tissue culture was awarded to Peter Straub of the University of Delaware for his presentation, "Soluble protein patterns in salt treated and control suspension cultures of Distichlis spicata and Kosteletzkya virginicus."
GENETICS SECTION AWARD
For the first time in 1986, the Genetics Section offered an award for an outstanding contribution presented in the contributed papers section. The award was made to Thomas Templeman from Dartmouth College for a convincing demonstration of genetic conservatism in a paper co-authored by Augustus Demaggio and Diana Stein entitled, "An ostrich fern storage protein shares genetic homology with the 1.75 rape seed storage protein."
YOUNG BOTANISTS AWARDS - 1986
The Botanical Society of America has awarded each of the following graduating seniors a Certificate of Merit. They were judged to be outstanding, based on nominations by faculty members.
Alan D. Brooks, Department of Botany, University of Maryland; College, Park, Maryland
Barbara Z. Doman, Department of Botany, University of Maryland; College, Park, Maryland
Nicholas B. Duck, Department of Botany, University of Maryland; College, Park, Maryland
Leslie Dybiec, Department of Botany, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Mark R. Figurella, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Jeffrey W. Gillikin, Department of Biology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
M. Beth Hyder, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
William D. Jerve, Department of Biology, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI
Joan E. McElfresh, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Shawn C. Oakley, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Saskia Mooney, Department of Botany, Connecticut College, New London, CT
Wendy S. Rhoads, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Nancy Sills, Department of Botany, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Scott Steinwert, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Chico, CA
Robert L. Tetrault, Department of Botany, University of Maryland; College, Park, Maryland
Lawrence Memorial Award
Andrew J. Henderson of the City University of New York and the New York Botanical Garden is the recipient of the 1986 Lawrence Memorial Award. A student of Dr. Ghillean T. Parance, Mr. Henderson has undertaken a revision of a group of neotropical palms, the sub-tribe Iriarteinae. He will use the proceeds of the Award for travel to Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Munich for herbarium and
laboratory research. Commemorating Dr. George H. M. Lawrence, founding Director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie-Mellon University, the annual Award of $1,000 is made to an outstanding doctoral candidate for travel in support of dissertation research in systematic botany or horticulture, or the history of the plant sciences.
International Award
Dr. Peter H. Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden will become the second recipient of the International Prize for Biology, November 20, in Tokyo, Japan. Raven will be recognized for his contribution to systematic biology. The International Prize for Biology was established in 1985 to celebrate the sixty-year reign of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and to commemorate the
Emperor's longtime research in biology.. Raven was selected for this honor by a committee of 10 outstanding Japanese biologists and five overseas members, named by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. The first recipient of the International Prize for Biology was Edred John Henry Corner, Professor Emeritus, Cambridge University. The prize itself is a medal and a cash award of ten million yen.
Distinguished Teaching Award
Dr. Ernest M. Gifford, Professor of Botany at the University of California, Davis, is one of our recipients of the 1986 Distinguished Teaching award, presented by the Davis Division of the Academic Senate of the University of California in recognition for excellence in teaching. Dr. Gifford joined the Davis faculty in 1949 and currently teaches courses in vascular plant morphology and botanical microtechnique. He is the co-author of the widely used text, Comparative Morphology of Vascular Plants. Dr. Gifford's research in comparative morphology and evolution of vascular plants and structure and function of shoot apical meristems has resulted in 90 published papers to date. He has been the recipient of several NSF grants, a Fulbright Research Scholar Award, a NATO Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship, and, in 1981, a Certificate of Merit Award from the Botanical Society of America. Dr. Gifford has served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Botany and as President of the Botanical Society of America.
Call for Symposium Topics
Members of the Botanical Society of America desiring to plan a symposium for the annual meetings to be held on the campus of The Ohio State University in August should communicate that information by 15 December 1986. After discussing the potential symposium topic with the appropriate section secretary, forward a 200 word abstract and list of potential speakers to: Or. Thomas N. Taylor, Program Director, Department of Botany, The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210.
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POSITIONS
Molecular Biologist/Geneticist
Applications are invited for an assistant professor position in the Department of Nematology. The opening is a tenure track appointment in conjunction with the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and the Agri-cultural Experiment Station. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an innovative, vigorous, and independent research program on nematodes at the molecular level. Potential research areas might include genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans, identification of virulence and susceptibility genes in nematode/plant interactions, molecular genetics of nematode development, and molecular aspects of nematode resistance to nematicides. This position will include limited teaching responsibilities and graduate student supervision. A Ph.D. degree in any of the several fields related to molecular genetics is required. Applications must be received by October 31, 1986.
Applicants should forward a curriculum vitae, reprints of research publications, statement of research interests, and a list of four references to Dr. E. G. Platzer, Department of Nematology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521. The University of California, Riverside is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.
Plant Physiological Ecologist
The Botany Department invites applications and nominations for a tenure track faculty position beginning September 1987. Appointee will conduct independent research in physiological ecology and assist in teaching physiological ecology and plant physiology. A record of publication and grant support is required. Rank and salary will be commensurate with experience. Applicants should arrange to have a statement of research goals, a curriculum vitae including a list of grant support, publications, and four letters of reference sent to Dr. B. Haines, Box 3505, Botany Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 by December 1, 1986.
Assistant Professor of Plant Morphology and Development
The Botany Department is accepting applications for a faculty position in the area of plant morphology and development. The position is at the assistant professor level, but a more senior appointment commensurate with experience is possible. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an active research program and teach undergraduate courses in plant anatomy and morphology, as well as advanced subjects of the candidate's choice. Although all research areas will be considered, we en-courage applications from those using cellular or molecular tools to answer fundamental questions in plant biology. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, and arrange to have three letters of recommendation sent by December 15, 1986 to: Dr. Barry A. Palevitz, Search Chairman, Botany Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. University of Georgia is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.
Assistant Professor of Evolution or Physiology
Applications for a tenure-track position are invited from individuals with research interests in evolution or physiology (plants or animals). Preference will be given to candidates using modern molecular or biochemical approaches. Postdoctoral experience preferred. Send curriculum vitae, brief statement of research interest, and three letters of recommendation by December 31 to: Chairman, Search Committee, Department of General Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235. The position is subject to administrative approval. Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer.
Plant Biology
Over the next five years the Department of Biology at the University of Utah anticipates filling several faculty positions in the plant science in the areas of biochemistry, development, physiology and genetics. At present we seek two candidates for regular, tenure-track appointments in these subdisciplines (rank open). The successful candidates will be expected to establish active research programs and to participate in undergraduate and graduate teaching. Our preference at this time is in the areas of plant physiology and plant development, however, the areas of specialization are less important than overall evidence of excellence and out-standing potential. We do hope to appoint two colleagues who can establish product interactions with the existing programs in molecular biology, genetics and ecology. The University of Utah is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. These positions are subject to final budgetary approval. Address applications or nominations to: Dr. James Ehleringer, Chairman, Search Committee, Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Please send a resume, copies of recent publications, and three letters of reference. The deadline for applications is November 15, 1986.
Position in Plant Biosystematics
The Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University will have a position at the assistant professor level available July 1987 in the field of plant biosystematics and based in the Harvard University Herbaria. Applicants should have a Ph.D., postdoctoral experience desirable. Preference will be given to applicants with an experimental approach, and/or whose techniques are those of molecular sytematics, cytogenetics, or analysis of secondary plant compounds. Candidates should have an interest in the evolution of a particular group of vascular plants. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching in the department. Closing date is 7th of December, 1986. Please send curriculum vitae, statement of research interests and objectives, and names of three references to: P. F. Stevens, Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. Harvard University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Position Announcement
Colby College, Waterville, Maine, Department of Biology invites applications for a tenure-track position at the level of assistant professor, beginning September 1987. A Ph.D. and a strong commitment to undergraduate education are required. Broad training and interests in the biological sciences, familiarity with liberal arts colleges, teaching experience and/or postdoctoral training are desirable. Candidates should have a demonstrated interest and experience in the study of organismic phenomena in eukaryotes using cellular and/or molecular methods of analysis. Possible areas of expertise which might be useful to the department include developmental biology, endocrinology, functional anatomy, immunology. Responsibilities may include teaching in part of the department's core curriculum, in advanced courses in the successful candidate's areas of specialization, in courses for non-majors, and in the departmental seminar for biology majors. An active research program, including supervision of undergraduate research will also be expected. Submit letter of application, curriculum vitae, reprints, and transcripts of undergraduate and graduate records, and have three letters of reference sent to: Dr. Arthur K. Champlin, Chairman, Department of Biology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine 04901. Completed applications should be received by December 15, 1986. Colby College is an Affirmative .Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Smithsonian Research Fellowships
The Smithsonian Institution announces its research fellowships for 1987-1988 in the fields of earth sciences and biological sciences.
Smithsonian Fellowships are awarded to support independent research in residence at the Smithsonian in association with the research staff and using the Institution's resources. Predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowship appointments for six to twelve months, senior postdoctoral fellowship appointments for three to twelve months, and graduate student appointments for ten weeks are awarded. Proposals for research in the following areas may be made:
- Biological Sciences - Tropical biology, ecology, systematics, natural history, evolutionary biology, animal behavior and pathology, paleobiology, marine biology, environmental studies.
- Earth Sciences - Sedimentology, palentary geology, mineralogy, petrology, meteroitics, volcanology, and paleobiology.
Applications are due January 15, 1987. Stipends supporting these awards are: $25,000 per year plus allowances for senior psotdoctoral fellows; $18,000 per year plus allowances for postdoctoral fellows; $11,000 per year plus allowances for predoctoral fellows; and $2,500 for graduate students for the ten-week tenure period. Pre-, post-, and senior postdoctoral stipends are prorated on a monthly basis for periods less than one year.
Awards are based on merit. Smithsonian Fellowships are open to all qualified individuals without reference to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or condition of handicap of any applicant. For more information and application forms, please write: Smithsonian Institution, Office of Fellowships and Grants, Desk F, 7300 L'Enfant Plaza, Washington, D.C. 20560. Please indicate the particular area in which you propose to conduct research and give the dates of degrees received or expected.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nominations for the Lawrence Memorial Award
The Award Committee of the Lawrence Memorial Fund invites nominations for the 1987 Lawrence Memorial Award. Honoring the memory of Dr. George H. M. Lawrence, founding Director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the Award ($1,000) is given annually to support travel for doctoral dissertation research in systematic botany or horticulture, or the history of the plant sciences, including literature and exploration.
Major professors are urged to nominate outstanding doctoral students who have achieved official candidacy for their degrees and will be conducting pertinent dissertation research that would benefit significantly from travel enabled by the Award. The Committee will not entertain direct applications. A student who wishes to be considered should arrange for nomination by his/her major professor; this may take the form of a letter which covers supporting materials prepared by the nominee.
Supporting materials should describe briefly but clearly the candidate's program of research and how it would be significantly enhanced by travel that the Award would support. Letters of nomination and supporting materials, including seconding letters, should be received by the Committee no later than 1 May 1987 and should be directed to: Dr. R. W. Kiger, Hunt Institute, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA. Tel. (412) 268-2434.
Library Acquisition
The Missouri Botanical Garden has purchased one of the most comprehensive collections of books on the history of natural history in the world. The world-renowned, 4500-title Joseph Ewan Collection will add to the Garden's already extensive library collection.
Nominations
The Committee for the Botanical Society of America Merit Awards invites members to nominate awardees (accompanied by a supporting letter and names of two other potential referees). The award is made "to persons judged to have made outstanding contributions to botanical science." The nominees and information are to be sent to Professor David Dilcher, Secretary, Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA, by February 1, 1987.
Missouri Botanical Garden Awarded Cancer Contract
--The Missouri Botanical Garden has been awarded a five year contract to provide plant specimens to the National Cancer Institute. The approximately $650,000 contract calls for work to be carried out in Africa, in nearby tropical and subtropical areas, and at the Garden's research facility in St. Louis.
Under terms of the contract, Garden scientists will collect plant specimens from Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius Islands, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Kenya. A total of 1500 plant specimens annually will be supplied to the National Cancer Institute where extracts of plant materials will be screened for potential cancer treating agents.
Dr. Marshall Crosby, director of research for the Missouri Botanical Garden and principal investigator for the project, said, "The Missouri Botanical Garden in particularly well-suited to conduct this work, because of our pre-eminence in this research area." Crosby said, "The Garden focuses its research program in tropical and subtropical areas because plant life is much more diverse in those areas. There is an abundance of life forms there that have not yet been discovered, let alone collected, identified, cataloged or screened for possible human uses.
Upon reaching the National Cancer Institute, each plant specimen will be extracted twice, once with an organic solvent and once with water. The extracts will then be tested extensively against human cancer cell lines in vitro. Any plant extracts that show selective activity against one or more of the cell lines will then be recollected by the Missouri Botanical Garden in larger quantities for isolation of the active chemical constituents.
The contract awarded to the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of three by the National Institute for the collection of plants. The New York Botanical Garden will conduct work in Latin America and a still to be deter-mined facility will conduct work in southeast Asia.
Since the 1920's the Missouri Botanical Garden has oriented its botanical research toward tropical areas. In 1970, the Garden was designated the United States center for the study of African botany. Today the Garden's herbarium, a collection of over 3.5 million plant specimens, contains over half a million African plants. Of the more than 60 research staff persons working at the Garden, five full-time research botanists are studying the flora of Africa. The Garden currently has scientists living and working in Cameroon, Tanzania and Madagascar, in addition to other locations.
1986 Membership Directory
A new edition of the Botanical Society Directory was sent to all members with the June issue of the American Journal of Botany. It was also sent to retired members who do not receive the Journal. If you did not receive your copy, please let David Dilcher (Dept. of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405) know. If your library or departmental office would like to purchase a copy, they can order one from David at a cost of $10.00 (prepaid, please). Checks should be made payable to the Botanical Society of America.
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IN MEMORIAM
Dr. H. Kihara, a corresponding member of the Botanical Society of America, died July 27, 1986.
Battelle-Kettering Staff Member Dies - Harry Calvert, associate director for research operations at Battelle-Kettering, died October 12. He was 39. A 1969 graduate of Wabash College, Harry obtained a Ph.D. in biology/phycology from the University of South Florida in 1974. Following a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, he joined the Kettering Lab as a research scientist in 1977. He had served as the director of the Electron Microscopy Services Laboratory since 1979 and as an adjunct professor at Antioch College. He was a member of Sigma Xi, the International Phycological Society, the Phycological Society of America and the Botanical Society of America.
Nominations for the 1987 Gerald W. Prescott Award
The Phycological Society of America will accept nominations for an award to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society at the Ohio State University, Columbus in August 1987. The Award will recognize the author(s) of a scholarly work devoted to phycology in the form of a book or monograph published in English. Edited volumes, individual book chapters, typical journal articles and the like will not be considered. Publications must have copyright dates of 1985 or 1986. Authors need not be members of the Phycological Society of America to have their publications nominated for the Award. The value of the Award for 1987 is expected to be $500.
Nominations may be made by any member or non-member of the Phycological Society of America by submitting a brief letter stating the strong points of the scholarly work and a copy of the book or monograph to be considered. It is acceptable and in fact strongly encouraged that authors nominate their own publications. Separate publications by the same author(s) may be nominated. Nominations for the 1987 Award should be sent to the Chairman of the Gerald W. Prescott Award Committee, Dr. Linda E. Graham, Department of Botany, 430 Lincoln Drive, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, U.S.A., and to be considered must be postmarked not later than April 1, 1978, For further information write the Chairman or phone her at 608/262-2640.
Nominations for Corresponding Members to the Botanical Society of America
Each year the Botanical Society of America considers foreign botanists for election to The Society as Corresponding Members. These must be distinguished senior scientists who have made outstanding contributions to plant science and who live and work outside of the United States of America. The number of such members is limited to fifty living persons. Members or sections submit nominations supported by credentials (c.v., letters, etc.) of proposed Corresponding Members to the Committee on Corresponding Members which reviews these credentials and forwards it recommendations to the Council. The Council evaluates these proposals and presents its selected nominees to The Society for election at an annual business meeting.
Currently there are 40 Corresponding Members. Except for those recently deceased, they are listed on page 90 of the Membership Directory and Handbook of The Society. This year there were no nominations for Corresponding Members, surely an oversight on the part of our active membership. There are many foreign botanists deserving of this honor who should be considered by The Society for election. Please help us by nominating plant scientists in your area of interest. Send all nominations, accompanied by curricula vitae, letters of support, etc., to the Chairman of this year's committee on Corresponding members, William Louis Stern, Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, by March 1, 1987.
Directory of Research Activities Involving Undergraduates
The Collegiate Research Association Of Biologists (CRAB) of the Council on Undergraduate Research has just published Research in Biology at Private Undergraduate Institutions, a directory of research activities that involve undergraduate students. Sixty-three departments contributed information on their research activities as well as data on the research environment, including items such as staffing, equipment, library resources and grant support. The directory, which is modeled after directories for chemistry and physics published by the other disciplinary councils of the Council on Undergraduate Research, also includes the address of the department, the name of the department chairperson and telephone numbers and publications for all faculty. Copies are $30.00, with the check made out to CRAB. Orders should be sent to: Dr. Laura Hoopes, CUR/CRAB, Department of Biology, Occidential College, Los Angeles, CA 90041.
Botanical Society of America
Please send information for President-Elect and Program Director for the Botanical Society of America. The fall mailing sent to each member includes a list of former officers and a form to use in making nominations. If you do not have a form, please send your nominations for President and Program Director, by 1 December 1986, to: Florence S. Wagner, Department of Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048.
MEETINGS
Symposium - The California Chaparral: Paradigms Reexamined
A symposium on the California chaparral will be held at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles November 7-8, 1986. The program includes papers on historically important paradigms, contemporary research findings, and working discussion groups to identify future research priorities. The meeting is being held in conjunction with the opening of a new permanent exhibit; The Chaparral - a story of life from fire." Information and registration materials may be obtained from Sterling Keeley or Don Reynolds, Section of Botany, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007.
Biomedical and Agricultural High Technology Conference
The Second International Biomedical and Agricultural High Technology Conference will be hosted by The Ohio State University November 1-14, 1986 in Columbus, Ohio. Presentations will relate to these major themes: Plant Improvement; Animal Improvement; Virus as Agents for Genetic Engineering; Improvement of Microorganisms; and Receptor Physiology. Session chairpersons include J. M. Widholm, Thomas E. Wagner, and Milton Zaitlin. Posters are invited and exhibitors are welcome. For information about registering for the conference, submitting poster abstracts, or exhibiting contact Louise Larew, OSU Conferences & Institutes, 225 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (614)422-8571.
Future Meeting Sites of the American Institute of Biological Sciences
Ohio State University-Columbus 9-13 August 1987
University of California-Davis 6-12 August 1988
University of Toronto 6-10 August 1989
North Carolina State University 12-16 August 1990
Trinity University-San Antonio 3-8 August 1991
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Conservation News BioDiversity and Tropical Forests Bills
Two bills sponsored by Rep. Gus Yatron have passed the House. One bill seeks to protect tropical forests (HR 2957) and the other, biological diversity (HR 2958). Companion bills (S 1747 and S 1748) have been introduced by Sen. Wm. Roth. Both bills are strongly supported by environmental and conservation groups, while the Reagan administration is opposed. Write your senator! For more information, see AIBS Forum May/June 1986.
Biological Diversity
The Office of Technology Assessment has recently issued a second background paper "Assessing Biological Diversity in the United States: Data Consideration." The paper proposes new ways for improving the use of biological data in order to maintain biological diversity and is available for $3.50 from the Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402.
Staff Changes - AIBS Public Responsibilities Department
Amanda L. Spitler is the new Manager of the Public Responsibilities Department. Ms. Spitler is in charge of implementing AIBS's policy regarding research and education in the life sciences and maintaining contact with Congress and federal agencies. Nancy S. Bell is the new Legislative Assistant. Ms. Bell is responsible for preparing Forum and handles all day-to-day legislative tracking for AIBS. Both individuals may be contacted at the following address: AIBS, 730 11th St., NW, Washington, CC 20001-4584 (202) 628-1500.
Wrecking Our Own Rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is 16.7 acres and is the largest single unit of the national forest system. This forest is being logged at the rate of 450 million board feet per year and taxpayers are subsidizing this logging at $50 million or more a year. According to the Wilderness Society the forest service gets back 7 cents for every dollar spent. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) permits the Forest Service to offer the timber for sale. ANILCA contains a provision allowing the logging to provide jobs in SE Alaska. The Wilderness Society calculates the government is paying $36,000 for each remaining job. Conservationists have been working on a legislative solution; write to Audubon's Capital Office, William A. Butler, Vice-President, 645 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington, CC 20003 (202) 547-9009.
Endangered Species Act
Action on the ESA is still being delayed. If you have not written to your senators about this, please do so immediately. For more information, contact the Natural Resources Defense Council, 1350 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20005 {202) 783-7800.
Friends of Manu
Manu is a Biosphere Reserve in Peru, and Los Amigos del Manu has been successful in raising over $16,000 to protect this important area. The Macarthur Foundation has recently granted $25,000 to Los Amigos for each of the next three years. The second and third years there is a requirement for matching funds. Information about and membership in Los Amigos can be obtained from Wildlife Conservation International, New York Zoological Society, Bronx, NY 10460.
Gopher Tortoise Council Meeting
The annual meeting of the GIC, a scientific and conservation organization dedicated to the perpetuation of biological diversity in xeric habitats of the southeastern U.S. will be held at Wekiaw Springs State Park, north of Orlando, on 7-9 November, 1986. For more information contact: Ellen Nicol, Rt. 1, Box 1367, Anthony, FL 32617.
Aldabra Atoll Meeting
The Smithsonian Institution is hosting an international workshop on current marine and terrestrial research on Aldabra Atoll. One goal of the meeting is to establish guidelines for an agressive conservation program. For information contact: Dr. Brian Kensley, Smithsonian Institution, NMNH NHB 163, Washington, DC 20560 (202) 357-2506.
Recent Books on Conservation:
Conserving Biological Diversity in Our National Forests, by E.A. Norse et al., 116 p., prepared by The Ecological Society of America for the Wilderness Society. This book contains chapters on the importance of Ecosystem Management, National Forest Planning and Conserving Rare Species. As of now there is no charge for this volume: write John Reed, Resource Planning and Economics, The Wilderness Society, 1400 I St., NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 842-3400.
Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity, edited by M. Solule, Sinauer Associates, Inc. ($27.00 paper, $46.50 cloth). This book is the latest and most comprehensive overview of the scientific foundations of conservation biology.
Change in the Amazon Basin, two volumes edited by J. Hemming, Manchester University Press. Much of the most recent and most important research on Amazonia is contained in these volumes. Compiled by the Conservation Committee of the B.S.A., V.A. Funk, Chairman.
Hunt Institute Will Exhibit "Fields of Grass"
Pittsburgh--The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie-Mellon University will exhibit art-works of grasses from 12 November 1986 until 28 February 1987.
Of all plants, grasses are by far the most important to man. Overlooked by many artists as a source of inspiration for paintings, grasses are depicted here in a variety of techniques by a number of different artists from the 16th century to the present. Although selected primarily for their aesthetic appeal, these artworks include decorative as well as purely technical works. With their satisfying forms and their challenging details, grasses lend themselves as ideal subjects for botanical art. Particularly noteworthy in the exhibition are original artworks by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (16th century) and Francis Bauer (early 19th century) and a number of watercolors by 19th-century Indian artists.
"Fields of grass" was organized by the Hunt Institute and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, to complement an International Symposium on Grass Systematics and Evolution at the Smithsonian. After its showing at the Hunt Institute this Fall, the majority of the exhibition will be circulated to as many as fifteen galleries by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition service.
Open to the public free of charge, the exhibition will be on display in the Penthouse of the Hunt Library building from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. For further information, contact the Institute at 268-2434.
The International Organization of Plant Biosystematists (IOPB)
An open business meeting of the International Organization of Plant Biosystematists was held during the five day IOPB Symposium "Differentiation Patterns in Higher Plants" which was organized by Krystyna Urbanska and held at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland, July 13-18, 1986.
The President (Prof. William F. Grant, McGill University, Montreal) told of the continued interest in the activities of IOPB and the many favorable comments he had received on the holding of the IOPB Symposia. He also stated that he has been receiving very high praise for the fine production of the IOPB Newsletter under the editorship of Krystyna Urbanska and for the information which she was gathering for the Newsletter from botanists around the world.
Dr. Liv Borgen, Secretary-Treasurer, reported that membership was steadily increasing and stated that she looked forward to many more new :members as additional
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activities were undertaken. Membership fees for the three years 1987-1989 is U.S. $20. New members and renewals of membership may be sent directly to Dr. Liv Borgen, Botanical Carden and Museum, University of Oslo, Trondheimsveien 23B, 0562 Oslo 5, Norway.
Prof. Krystyna Urbanska, editor of the IOPB Newsletter, said that issue No. 6 had just been distributed and that anyone with contributions for Newsletter No. 7 should send them to her before November (Dr. K. Urbanska, Geobotanisches Institut, Stiftung Rubel, Zurichbergstrasse 38, CH-8044 Zurich, Switzerland). She stated that a report on the highlights of the Symposium with summaries of the presentations by the invited speakers would be in the next issue. Members of IOPB automatically receive the Newsletter.
Prof. C.A. Stace (Department of Botany, University of Leicester, Leicester LEI 7RH, England) stated that the IOPB Newsletter would be an excellent place to report genomic and cytogenetic data, such as DNA density measurements, nucleotypic associations, species which have special chromosome markers, species on which chromosome banding are being carried out, species on which restriction mapping are being carried out, etc., in addition to chromosome numbers of species and hybrids. He offered to collect data and compile them for the Newsletter. Please send your data to Prof. Stace for inclusion in the next IOPB Newsletter.
An invitation has been accepted by the Japanese botanists to hold the next IOPB symposium in Japan. Prof. S. Kawano (Kyoto University) stated that the symposium would be held in Japan in 1989 and that he would be working with his botanical colleagues to make it a highly successful meeting. Details concerning "IOPB 1989" will be published in the IOPB Newsletter.
Prof. F. Ehrendorfer (Institute fur Botanik, Vienna) stated that IOPB might sponsor workshops on techniques, such as advances in cytology, electrophoresis, etc., and that he would be willing to hold a one week workshop on cytological techniques at his Institute. Anyone interested in participating or holding a workshop is requires to write to Prof. Grant, who will try to coordinate such a workshop.
A decision of the Executive and Council was to shorten the term of office of the Executive and Council from between International Congresses of Botany (5-6 years) to between IOPB Symposia which are now being held every 3 years. A Nominating Committee was established to solicit names for a mail ballot for Vice-President and ten Council members (no more than 2 persons from any one country). The Nominating Committee consists of B.A. Barlow (Australia), E. Pogan (Poland), I. Fukuda (Japan), C.A. Stace (Great Britain), D. Cartier (France), K.L. Chambers (U.S.A.), C.C. Chinnappa (Canada) and the Executive ex officio. Suggestions of names should be sent to any member of the Nominating Committee. A ballot will be sent out prior to the International Botanical Congress and the names of the new Executive and Council Members will be announced at an Open Meeting of IOPB during the Botanical Congress 24 July-1 August 1987.
The Executive considered that an award be presented to an outstanding biosystematist at the next IOPB Symposium in Japan. The Nominating Committee was charged also with this task. Names for consideration should be sent to any members of the Nominating Committee or the Executive.
As there was no further business, the President turned the meeting over to the incoming President, Krystyna Urbanska.
BOOK REVIEWS
Gabor, M. and F. Kallay. Flavonoids and Bioflavonoids, Elsevier, 1985, edited by L. Farkas, 1986. 465 pages. ISBN 0-444-9952-X. $109.25.
This collection of papers represents the proceedings of the seventh Hungarian Bioflavonoid symposium. A total of 44 papers are included, with the only common thread running through all of them being flavonoid compounds. The papers represent a mixture of topics ranging from a description of the isolation of the anthocyanin in a particular species to effects of flavonoids on mammalian cell systems. In addition to the heterogeneous nature of the topics covered, the papers are uneven in quality. The latter situation is a problem with any publication based on symposium papers, but this book is an extreme example of uneven contributions. Because the book was produced from camera ready copy the quality of figures and print is variable. It is not possible to recommend this book for personal purchase unless someone has a very broad interest in anything having to do with flavonoids. Most people will not find enough of interest in the book to justify spending the asking price. Libraries should purchase the book, so as to make the contents available to a wide spectrum of workers.
Daniel Crawford Department of Botany Ohio State University
Kaye, Howard L. The Social Meaning of Modern Biology: From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology. Yale University Press, 92A Yale Station, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, 1986. ix + 184 p. ISBNO-300-03497-0. Price: $20.00.
Although there is precious little about plant behavior that is relevant to human behavior, botanists as scientists and as human beings can hardly avoid issues raised by the new science of sociobiology. Kaye's little volume is a good summary of the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution on ideas concerning human origins and what kinds of creatures we are, matters about which Christian theology has not been silent. After a good dose of social Darwinism by Wall Street barons in this country and the excesses of the Germans during WW II under Hitler, a consensus was reached that biology had little relevance for such human concerns as ethics, morals, economics and human values. The attempt to look to nature as a way of grounding human behavior and social interaction, by those no longer satisfied with biblical injunctions, became known as the "naturalistic fallacy"; to argue from "is" to "ought" was a sure sign of philosophical unsophistication. No matter how unsettling Darwin's view of the world was to the religious community initially, its impact was blunted by various accommodations that allowed God a role in shaping human nature, and traditional convictions, though somewhat metamorphosed, were not so profoundly altered as is commonly claimed. And not just the religious community felt it necessary to reconcile Darwinism with human values. Biological humanists (Kaye's category for prominent evolutionists such as Huxley, Simpson, Waddington, Dobzhansky) have engaged in "value salvage" operations and by analogy and metaphor "transformed science into myth by endowing evolution and natural selection with unwarranted qualities of reason, foresight, and intentionality."
A new generation of molecular biologists, many of them prominent in establishing or working out consequences of the structure of DNA (Crick, Jacob, Monod, Stent) have taken issue with the value salvage operation of biological humanists and, with the possible exception of Jacob, have set about to rid biology of both religious (Christian) and biological humanists influence. Their game plan is a thorough going deterministic/reductionistic one that intends to reduce behavior, learning and mind to interactions among molecules. Kaye is pessimistic about this enterprise and labors to show that these views are not derived from scientific knowledge flowing out of molecular biology but rather due to metaphysical presuppositions imposed upon science. To be fair, Kaye also levels this charge against religionists and biological humanists.
It is not until Chapter 4 that Kaye takes up socio-biology per se. Positioned as it is in the book, one has the impression that he regards it as a logical extension of its molecular biology forerunners. The chapter title,
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Sociobiology: The Natural Theology of E. O. Wilson, reveals Kaye's assessment. Wilson challenges the is/ought distinction and the traditional belief that we cannot deduce values from facts or moral prescriptions from scientific information. Kaye is a sociologist but engages in a running critique of Wilson and sociobiological thinking based on his understanding of the scientific issues. He wonders why Wilson chose altruism as the central problem of sociobiology (when the problem was solved long ago by Darwin, Hamilton, Fisher, Haldaen), faults him for misapproriating the term to cover behavior in nonhumans where conscious intent is clearly not involved and believes there is something sinister about the extrapolation from animal to human behavior. Kaye believes it is Wilson's moral concerns that are behind the extrapolation and that his success is more verbal trickery than compelled by scientific evidence.
The unbroken extrapolation from programmed animal behavior to questionably programmed human behavior is in keeping with the deterministic/reductionistic outlook of his molecular biology predecessors such as Crick and Monod; what can be extrapolated upward can be reversed. Again and again Kaye emphasizes that Wilson's mechanistic viewpoint reflects his philosophical reductionism and social concerns more than the weight of scientific evidence.
This reviewers prejudice is that we are in fact living through the death of Christianity and the moral system that has guided us for 2000 years. The scientific view of the world and biological insight into behavior we now possess do indeed challenge the Judeo/Christian world view. Kaye's treatment of the social and moral issues involved is on the whole balanced and evenhanded. It is interesting reading for anyone interested in the implications of modern biology for traditional social and moral values. Kaye seems to want to defuse the thrust of the sociobiological challenge by emphasizing its metaphysical underpinnings. But in the end he can do no more than close with a plea to hold out for the distinction between knowledge and speculation, science and myth. For a sociologist he has a good grasp of the relevant biology--a much better grasp than this biologist, at least, has of sociology. As a result his insight into the social and intellectual relationships as among biologists and biological schools of thought is both refreshing and enlightening. One can only wonder how Kaye might have countered the molecular and sociobiological challenge were he aware, as he apparently is not, of the rethinking of modern synthesis evolutionary theory now underway as the result of the punctuational challenge and its emphasis on the independence of hierarchical levels. Socio-biology is the logical extension of the modern synthesis version of evolutionary theory with its preference for deterministic, reductionistic and extrapolationist explanations. The profoundly different punctuational view of the evolutionary process, that entertains the autonomy of various hierarchical levels, would seem to possess the ammunition Kaye and others, repelled by the thought of gene controlled robots, would like to have.
Benton M. Stidd
Western Illinois University
BOOKS RECEIVED
Holmgren, Noel H., and Angell, Bobbi. Botanical Illustration: Preparation for Publication. Scientific Publications Office, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458. 1986. vii + 74 p., illus. ISBN 0-89327-272-8. Price: $12.00 (U.S. orders), $13.00 (Non-U.S. orders). (An instruction and reference book that deals with the preparation of illustrations for publication.)
Hudson, Harry J. Fungal Biology. Edward Arnold, 3 East Read Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. 1986. v + 298 p., illus. ISBN 0-7131-2895-X. Price: $22.50. (A paperback which emphasizes the ecological diversity and extreme versatility of the fungi.)
Leonard, Kurt J., and Fry, William E., eds. Plant Disease Epidemiology: Population Dynamics and Management. Vol. 1. Macmillan Publishing Company, 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022. 1986. xii + 372 p., illus. ISBN 0-02948820-6. Price: $42.50. (A volume that focuses on the population dynamics and management in plant disease epidemiology, including methods of quantitative epidemiology, systems analysis and environmental influences on the epidemics of plant disease.).
Linskens, H. F., Jackson, J. F., ed. Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry. Modern Methods of Plant Analysis New Series Volume 3. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 44 Harz Way, Secau Secaucus, NJ 07094-2491. 1986. xvi + 304p., illus. ISBN 3-540-15911-8; 0-387-15911-8. Price: $79.00. (A collection of papers on plant analysis by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry including chapters on cytokinin determination, auxins, gibberelins cyclic nucleotides and other biologically actine compounds.)
Reinert, J. and Binding, H., ed. Differentiation of Protolasts and of Transformed Plant Cells. Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation, Vol. 12, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 44 Hartz Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094-2491, 1986. viii + 157 p., illus. ISBN 0-387-16539-8. Price: $49.00. (A volume that focuses on the development of cell clones and plants from manipulated cells, isolated protoplasts, cell fusion bodies and transformed cells.)
Roame, Martha K., Griffin, Gary J., Elkins, John Rush. Chestnut Blight, Other Endothia Diseases, and the Genus Endothia. The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55121, 1986. v + 53 p., illus. ISBN 0-89054-073-X. Price: $12.00 (Member), $15.00 (Nonmember). (The history and biology of chestnut blight, together with a discussion of several other diseases caused by Endothia.)
Soifer, David, ed. Dynamic Aspects of Microtubule Biology. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 466. The New York Academy of Sciences, 2 East 63 Street, New York, NY 10021, 1986. xiii + 978 p., illus. ISBN 0-89766-327-6. Price: $245.)). (The results of a conference held in 1984 organized around the theme of micro-tubules ranging from regulation of the expression of tubulin genes to the properties of MAP's and the kinetics of assembly.)
Marcelle, R., Clijsters, H. and Van Poucke, M., eds. Biological Control of Photosynthesis. Advances in Agricultural Biotechnology. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, Spuiboulevard 50, P.O. Box 989/3300 AZ Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 1986. xii + 271 p. ISBN 90-247-3287-5. Price: $50.75. (Proceedings of a conference held in 1985, including twenty-four papers on a variety of topics relating to photosynthesis.)
Margulis, Lynn, and Sagan, Dorion. Origins of Sex: Three Billion Years of Genetic Recombination. Yale University Press, 92A Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520. 1986. xiii + 258 p., illus. ISBN 0-300-03340-0. Price: $35.00. (A detailed examination of the evolution of sexuality in microorganisms and more complex forms of life, including the origin of meiotic sex and the connections of sex and differentiation to cell symbiosis.)
McGregor, Ronald L., Barkley, T.M., Brooks, Ralph E., Schofield, Eileen K., et al., eds. (The Great Plains Flora Association). Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, 329 Carruth, Lawrence, KS 66045. 1986. vii + 1392 p. ISBN 0-7006-0295-X. Price: $55.00. (A definitive reference work on the vascular plants of the Great Plains including keys, descriptions, statements of range, flowering times, ecological data and relevant synonymies.)
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