Plant Science Bulletin archive

Issue: 1994 v40 No 1 Spring

PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

A Publication of the Botanical Society of America, Inc.

VOLUME 40, NUMBER 1, SPRING 1994
The Botanical Society of America: The Society for ALL Plant Biologists

News from the Society, the Sections and the Committees
Clinton establishes Science and Technology Council    2
Joint Field Meeting    3
Thank You    3
National Biological Survey survives contentious floor fight    4
Planning your estate?    4
Commentary    5

Articles
How to Write an Influential Review M. Rosenzweig et al 6

In Memoriam 9

Announcements
Calls for Nominations    10
Back Issues Wanted    11
Personalia    11
Positions Available    12
Educational Opportunities    15
Funding Opportunities    16
Symposia, Conferences, Meetings    17

Books
Reviews    20
Received    30
BSA Logo Items Available from the Business Office    32

VOLUME 40, NUMBER 1, SPRING, 1994

Editor: Meredith A. Lane, McGregor Herbarium, University of Kansas, 2045 Constant Ave., Lawrence KS 66047-3729 PH: 913/864-4493, FAX: 913/864-5298or-5093, E-Mail.: mlane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu

Editorial Committee for Volume 40
Clifford W. Smith (1994), Dept. of Botany, University of Hawaii, Honolulu HI 96822
Donald S. Galitz (1995), Dept. of Botany, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58103
Robert E. Wyatt (1996), Dept. of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
James D. Mauseth (1997), Dept. of Botany, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78713
Allison A. Snow (1998), Dept. of Plant Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210

News from the Society, the Sections and the Committees

Clinton Establishes Science and Technology Council from: AIBS Washington Scene, December, 1993

On November 23, President Clinton established by executive order a new science advisory group, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The NSTC re-places the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering, and Technology, and is envisioned as a coordinating body for science, space, and technology policies throughout the federal government.

The NSTC has cabinet-rank status within the Clinton administration, and the president himself will chair the council. Other members include Vice President Al Gore, presidential science advisor John Gibbons, and the secretaries of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, and State. The heads of NASA, NSF, EPA, and the Office of Management and Budget are also members of the council.

The United States Department of Agriculture, however, was not included on the council. Therefore, USDA science agencies, including the Forest Service, the Agricultural Research Service, the Cooperative State Research Service, and the Soil Conservation Service, may have limited involvement in the NSTC process. Efforts to redress this omission have been initiated by AIBS and many of its member societies.

According to the presidential statement accompanying the executive order, the council will focus on broad national goals, such as information technology, rather than agency missions. The council will coordinate R&D budgets in order to accomplish national objectives in areas ranging from information technologies to health research. Co-ordinating committees include Education and Training R&D; Environment and Natural Resources Research; Fundamental Science and Engineering Research; and Health, Safety and Food R&D. On the same day, Clinton also established the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology to serve as a private sector group for the president and the council. The committee's mission is to ensure that the government's science and technology policies reflect the nation's needs. Fifteen individuals from industry, education, research institutions, and other non-federal sectors will comprise the committee.

PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

ISSN 0032-0919
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

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Phone/Fax: 614/292-3519 e-mail: KHISER@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU

JOINT FIELD MEETING 26–30 June 1994

The 1994 joint field meeting of the Botanical Society of America, the Torrey Botanical Club and the Philadelphia Botanical Club will be June 26-30, 1994 under the auspices of Frostburg State University, Frostburg, Maryland. The field trips will examine plants of shale barrens, swamps, old-growth forests, bogs and Triassic uplands. Evening programs will deal with aspects of the the flora visited, with the geology of the region, and with the management of the threatened species. Western Maryland and eastern West Virginia have many interesting habitats, as well as development pressure which threatens those habitats. It should be an interesting meeting. The price is $175.00 per person. This includes housing, meals, bus transportation, trip leadership and evening programs. For further information and a registration form, send E-MAIL to: kbilton@cap.gwu.edu, Kathy Bilton, PO Box 886, Shepherdstown, WV 25443

Thanks to the following BSA members and friends who assisted with the Society table at the Ames AIBS meetings: Joe Armstrong, Carol Baskin, Bill Culberson, Dorothy Essman, Kim Hiser, Jack Horner, Kenneth McCleod, Joanne Sharpe, Marsh Sundberg, and others who did not leave their names. Thanks to your efforts over $2,000 was added to the Endowment Fund from sales of t-shirts, totebags and lapel pins. Endowment funds help support BSA activities
such as travel to international botanical congresses, the "Botany for the Millennium" project, a BSA presence in Washington, D.C. and future initiatives. All
members are invited to contribute to the Endowment and to volunteer to work
at the BSA table at future AIBS meetings.

National Biological Survey Survives Contentious Floor Fight from: AIBS Washington Scene, December, 1993

Property rights issues dominated debate over the creation of a National Biological Survey (NBS) at the Department of the Interior on the House floor in October. Some members of Congress expressed considerable concern about federal scientists trespassing on private land to gain biological data. As a result of continued debate along this course, several amendments were added to the bill (HR 1845) to further ensure protection of the property rights of landowners, and lessen the impact of the survey. The NBS is a Department of Interior proposal to create a new agency to consolidate biological research within the department. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced his intention to establish the NBS in late March, and requested that Congress enact the proposal into law. Babbitt has the authority to establish the agency within the department, but he requested congressional consideration to put the agency into statute. The goal of the NBS is assessment of the nation's biological resources, in a manner similar to the way the US Geological Survey evaluates the nation's mineral resources. Biologists from each of Interior's agencies (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management) will be transferred to the NBS to consolidate research efforts and ease jurisdictional tensions among agencies.

At times, opponents of the NBS appeared to be arguing against the acquisition of more scientific knowledge. This unsettling debate held that the more science knowledge acquired, the more precarious the situation for private property owners. AIBS, on behalf of the life sciences community, strongly objected to this reasoning, and wrote to each member of Congress that "scientific knowledge, in and of itself, will not infringe on private property rights; it will, however, provide a sound scientific base on which to determine the wisest use and management of the nation's biological resources."

Amendments adopted on the House floor included a measure to eliminate authority for the secretary to use volunteers to collect data. As an indication of the contentiousness of the debate, these volunteers were once referred to on the House floor as "environmental Gestapo." That amendment was agreed to by a 217—212 vote. Another amendment prohibits other federal agencies from using the information gathered by the survey unless the landowner was given a detailed description of the manner in which it was collected.

Ola'ihrvlg Your Estate? Remember the 65747

Botanical Society of America members and their families are reminded that contributions to the BSA are tax-deductible. Gifts to special funds and to the Endowment help support current and future Society projects, including travel to international botanical congresses, the "Botany for the Millennium" project, botanical education materials for the K-12 classroom, a Washington D.C. presence for the BSA and coordination with other scientific societies.

Members and friends are also invited to remember the BSA when planning their estates. Memorial gifts and bequests are gratefully accepted and may be in the form of cash, stocks, bands, and other real property. If you have questions about how to arrange such gifts, contact the Business Office, 1735 Neil Avenue, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (Telephone/FAX: 614/292-3519

Commentary

Editor:

In his recent presidential address to the Botanical Society of America (Plant Science Bulletin 39(4):8-12, 1993) Grady L. Webster exhumes the old argument that the only way for botanists in Academe to survive and prosper is to remain totally independent in their own Department of Botany. He implies that amalgamation of botanists into any combination such as a Department of Biology guarantees a withering away of botanical strength. Like William L. Stem, to whom I responded aboutthree decades ago, Webster is partly right but mostly wrong.

The truth is that no single organizational pattern guarantees the optimal development of botany in a,~l academic settings. The best arrangement for any campus depends on many considerations, such as the nature and size of the institution, the number and quality of students and courses in botany, and the strength of relevant colleagues in related departments. Thus, the situation in a liberal arts-oriented institution, especially one without any attached school of agriculture or forestry, may dictate one course of action, while in a large state institution including many applied plant science departments, a different strategy might well be more appropriate. (For some reason, Webster refers to this rather obvious generalization as a "surprising admission".) Accordingly, I continue to believe that any attempt to force all botanists into a single organizational mold may turn out to be inappropriate or harmful to some of them.

Academic growth or even survival in these days of budgetary stringency is no simple matter, and little wisdom inheres in the adoption of stubbornly parochial or impolitic positions. Certainly some groups of botanists have been forced into integrated biology departments against their wills or because that is the only way they could survive at their particular university. That is certainly to be deplored. On the other hand, integration into Departments of Biology has sometimes helped botanists to improve their research and teaching, sometimes to an enlarged and superior student body from whom they can recruit outstanding scientists who otherwise would not have done botanical work. I believe that despite important setbacks in some areas, this has been generally true at Yale, used by both Stem and Webster as a horrible example to bolster their thesis. Webster goes so far as to refer to "the meloncholy history of botany at Yale". A look at the record of this "melancholy history" will yield a more balanced view.

First, the generally "down" side of the picture. Yale fused its Departments of Botany and Zoology into Biology in 1962. Since then the number of faculty positions assigned to botanists has declined from 9 to 7, but current searches and offers will probably soon increase that number. Fifteen botanical graduate students, twelve postdocs and a weekly seminar in Experimental Botany provide a reasonably lively and productive intellectual environment for the plant group, which specializes in genetics, development, plant molecular biology, physiology and cellular biology. Additional botanical strength is also found in certain "non-botanical" members of the Department of Biology, our sister Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Unhappily (and as predicted by good friend Oswald Tippo, as well as by Webster and Stem), plant anatomy, systematics, and certain other organismic studies are gone from the department, a fact that saddens the remaining botanists, and causes them to continue to press for the appointment of more classical botanists. On the other hand, plant ecology has been very strong in our flourishing (not in demise!) School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, which also offers courses in plant systematics, anatomy, pathology, soils and microbiology, while Geology and Geophysics includes a well-known paleobotanist in its distinguished paleontological group.

Now for the "up" side. One way to measure the quality of any educational program is to assess the impact of the students it has produced. In this respect the record is outstanding in one field with which lam familiar. Because Yale's Department of Biology has taught an integrated course in Developmental Biology staffed by both botanists and zoologists, its botanists have been able to co-opt several distinguished non-botanical students into re-search with plants. Among these have been Elliott Meyerowitz, now Professor at Cal Tech, whose work on the genes controlling floral development is classic, Peter Carlson, of Crop Genetics International, who first accomplished parasexual plant hybridization via fusion of protoplasts, and Gerald Fink, head of the Whitehead Institute at MIT, whose molecular genetic studies have contributed definitive information on auxin biosynthesis. Among other distinguished botanical graduates of Our department are Sharon Long, Professor at Stanford, who has revolutionized our understanding of nodulation, Virginia Walbot, also at Stanford, whose work on the plant genome has been very influential, Masaki Furuya, now retired as Professor at Tokyo University, whose laboratory was for a while the world center for studies of phytochrome, Ralph Guatrano, of the University of North Carolina, who has contributed so much to our understanding of polarity and the molecular biology of abscisic acid physiology, David Meinke of the University of Oklahoma, whose analysis of embryo-lethal mutants has greatly advanced the field, Robert E. Cook, now Director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard, Scott Poethig, of the University of Pennsylvania, whose analysis of clonal cell development has sparked a new under-standing of plant organization and Hector Flores of Pen State who has produced brilliant studies of plant stress and of the uses of hairy root cultures. W c have also been blessed by many able postdocs: I recall with great appreciation two influential ones of my own, both now deceased; William S. Hillman, who opened up Lenora forphotoperiodic studies, and Ruth L. Satter, who helped explain the physiology of nyctinastic leaf movements in Albizzia and Samanea. It seems tome that these people have all added to the prestige, visibility and funding of botanical research in this country. If that list constitutes a "melancholy history",I'll eat the Cycas revoluta in the greenhouse of our Marsh Botanical Gar-den.

My advice to Grady Webster is to "lighten up a bit". It is certainly commendable to fight for the rights of botanists at all universities and colleges, but in Academe, as in nature, heterogeneity or organizational pattern is a virtue. We all do what we can, in our own organizational setting, to advance our field, and each unique setting carries its own built-in strengths and weaknesses. Let us remember that not all Departments of Botany do a good job.

One final point: it is certainly a mistake to say, as Webster does, that "the molecular revolution in botany is too recent to have had a major effect in publication patterns over the past 80 years". A perusal of the size, quality and contents of such journals as Plant physiology, The Plant Cell and Plant Molecular Biology certainly leads one to the opposite conclusion.

Arthur W. Galston
Eaton Professor of Botany, Emeritus, Yale University
Former President, BSA

How to Write an Influential Review

Reprinted from Pula SCIENCE BULLETIN 34(2): 5—7 (1988)

Michael L. Rosenzweig², Jerrold I. Davis³ and James H. Browns

"It is not the critic who counts. The credit belongs to the (one) who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at last fails while daring greatly." —Theodore Roosevelt.

Often we are asked for our anonymous written opinion of a colleague's research proposal or manuscript. Most of us respond whenever we can, because it is one of the most important ways that we contribute to the development of our science. Such peer review is the primary mechanism by which we, the community of scientists, affect the distribution of limited grant funds and journal pages. Our reviews have enormous influence on the direction and rate of progress in our disciplines.

It is not much help if we use this influence unwisely, or our review is not taken seriously. How should a review be fashioned so that it is taken at face value and not discounted? What sort of influence should it try to exert?

Surely a review should seek to identify and encourage the most promising and innovative research. Yet it is precisely the newest ideas that are the least tested, the most controversial and easiest to criticize. In fact, history reveals that new theories often are incomplete and often do contain serious errors. But wouldn't it have been a tragedy if Natural Selection had been rejected because Darwin founded it upon incorrect mechanisms of inheritance?

If we are to advance our science, it is necessary that we take risks and actively encourage the development of new concepts, theories, and methods. If we as reviewers are afraid of mistakes, and insist that our peers write airtight proposals, then who will dare to tackle the difficult questions? If we required that a proposal be so well described that we can visualize every aspect of the research, is the work really likely to produce any surprises or major new discoveries? We have to be honest and point out potential problems, but, above all, we must strive to identify and express our enthusiasm for new ideas and innovative approaches.

How do we write a review that will convince panel members and program directors that a proposal, for all its rough edges, is an eminently worthwhile risk, an exciting adventure with a high payoff if it succeeds? The Research Support Liaison Committee in Ecology, Evolution and Systematics took this question to the staff members of NSF's Division of Biotic Systems and Resources. The way we phrased it reflects a nagging perception that we shared with them: With funds scarce relative to need and the average quality of proposals very high, is there a tendency for reviewers, panel members, and program directors to be conservative, avoid risks, and look for grounds to criticize a proposal? Is any fault or loose end likely to prevent funding? Must we avoid negative comments in our reviews if we feel a proposal should he funded?

The Correlation Between Detail and Negativity in Reviews

The more negative the tenor of a review, the more detail it has. This is a fact. We know no reason why it has to be so, but it is. Negative reviews are often full of well-reasoned objections. Positive reviews are more often brief statements of approval. They may be full of glowing adjectives, but they rarely contain the details and logical arguments which would give them substance.

Faced with positive reviews lacking substance and with well-documented negative criticisms, panels are often swayed by the negative comments. What else can we expect? If NSF is to discount negative comments about promising, but risky and even somewhat flawed proposals, it must have good reasons for doing so.

Accentuate the Positive

We all know what along, negative review looks like. It is time to produce some long, positive ones. When you encounter a good proposal or manuscript, spend your time on that one. Describe in detail what makes it good. Remember that NSF panels and ad hoc reviewers are drawn from a wide spectrum of our peers. Just because we recognize the merits of a proposal does not mean that other reviewers will appreciate them. State why the problem is important, what contribution the proposed research will make, and why the investigators are well-qualified to do the work. Avoid hyperbole and be specific. Point out weaknesses, too, and explain why they have not put you off. Give the program director or editor a good excuse to follow your advice.

Many reviewers seem to think it is their primary responsibility to discover and call attention to all the flaws in a proposal or manuscript. Perhaps they have the attitude that it should be deemed worthy until proved otherwise. They may sound fair, but it is, in truth, pernicious. It makes us over into petty bookkeepers, subtracting the value of each counterfeit penny without noticing that they arc coming from a solid gold box. If we adopt the attitude that a proposal does not deserve funding unless the research is daring, novel or interesting, then we should place more emphasis on the positive aspects of a good proposal and write longer, more constructive positive reviews.

We need to remember that it is much more damaging to our discipline to suppress an important contribution than to fund or publish a questionable piece of research. New ideas and conflicting data cannot have any influence unless they are developed, whereas serious errors will usually be detected and corrected, either by the investigator before publication or by the scientific community soon afterward. This is why it is essential to be broad-minded, and to consider the potential importance of a piece of research as well as to search for flaws.

Regulate the Proportion of Positive Comments

Do not undermine what is intended to be a positive_ review by devoting more attention to criticism than to supporting comments. The overall impression your re-view makes depends upon the proportion of criticisms which are positive. You cannot counter that fact with an introductory or concluding paragraph. If there are three pages of negatives, and the first sentence says, "This is a manifestly important proposal and should be fully funded," what do you think the panelists notice? Their overall negative impression cannot be reversed. Believe it. If you really think the proposal is that good, fill the review with your reasons and mention the negatives briefly.

The score assigned by reviewers to NSF proposals is also very influential. As much as panel members and program officers try to read the reviews carefully, it is a fact that proposals that receive low scores or average less than "very good" have a difficult time. Scores should reflect the priority that we place on supporting a particular program of research, not the number of nita that can be picked from the way the proposal is written. In writing a review we would all do well to bear in mind the difficulties we each have in writing a proposal to support the most exciting of our own research.

If you feel compelled to note every flaw, send the details directly to the author, and point out in your review that you have done so. The panel will then be even more convinced of your positive opinion because they see you are taking so much time to help. For example, a prescient reviewer of Darwin might have written, "I have my doubts as to the validity of Mr. Darwin's ideas on the process of heredity, and I have written to him in detail about these doubts. But even if I am correct, Mr. Dar-win's proposal to visit the Galapagos Islands remains extremely valuable." And just to be sure that you realize Darwin is hardly the only example, consider whether it would have been wise to discourage R.A. Fisher's re-searches because his models lacked the component of genetic drift. Would you have suppressed Eldredge and Gould's work on punctuated equilibria because they first insisted that punctuation had to be connected to speciation? Would you have retired R.H. MacArthur as soon as he made the illogical jump from resource-use overlaps to competitive alphas?

Negative Reviews

Simultaneously, we should learn to write shorter negative reviews. Simply admit that you found nothing particularly exciting or novel. It is very important, however, to write such reviews, thus calling attention to proposals that are solid but unexciting and unlikely to result in significant advances. If other reviewers have expressed similar concerns, the panel will have little difficulty making an evaluation. The panel needs help ensuring that critically short funds are not wasted on pedestrian projects.

The above is not intended to suggest that we should endeavor to be less critical. Serious criticisms and substantial concerns should always be expressed, but this can be done in dispassionate language without indulging in ad hominem assaults.

Critics of art and literature, whose criticisms are often published and who earn their keep from them, feel they must entertain their readers with a rapier wit, caustic comments, piercing put-downs, and acid cuts. Many appear to have decided that criticism is a written version of prize fighting, except that in boxing, low blows are against the rules. Leon Wieseltier calls it "aggression as an intellectual instrument".⁵

Unfortunately, all too many negative scientific re-views seem to have been written by put-down artists. This is not only cruel and cowardly (at least the literary critic signs his piece), but it minimizes their influence as well. The editor, panelist or program director is driven to sympathize with the victim. This may mean that if you and you alone noticed the flaws, but reported them intemperately, your criticism will be ignored. Moreover, such aggressive attacks leave a lasting impression of unprofessionalism on your part.

The Payoff to our Whole Science

Basic science in America is often under attack as a social luxury, and an expensive one at that. Usually the attacks are oblique. Politicians ask what direct, immediate benefits to expect from our work, or given golden fleece awards to projects whose titles make them easy targets.

Dr. Janet V. Dorigan of the Department of Energy has observed that when scientists are under attack, they circle `round, wagon train style. The physicists aim outward at their opponents. Biologists, on the other hand, aim inward, at each other. Their weapons, of course, are disparaging reviews and negative comments.

The earth pulses with fascinating ecological and evolutionary questions, and threatens with environmental concerns. The questions are as intellectually challenging as those facing any other scientific discipline. The answers are essential to deal with the environmental problems that best the world. But we cannot convince other scientists (or the public, or government officials) of the importance of our work if we seem to be calling each other incompetents. Why should anyone want to invest in a bunch of incompetents?

In order to convey a more accurate impression of the view of our collective labors, we all need to make a conscious effort to tolerate diverse ideas and unconventional approaches, and to promote independence and originality. Robert Reich has written that "Technological innovation is largely a process of imagining radical alternatives to what is currently accepted." In our reviews, we must encourage that dissent and emphasize the advances it will make possible.

A famous cartoon character (Pogo) once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." This may accurately characterize many human activities, such as ethnic and religious prejudice, war, and degradation of the environment. But it cannot be permitted to be true of the scientific enterprise, which is, in its very essence, mutuālistic and collaborative. The peer review system has obvious limitations and imperfections, but it is the best means that scientists have devised to evaluate each others' work. It is up to us, the community of ecologists, evolutionists and systematists, to use the peer review system carefully and wisely. One then can make it serve the goal we all share: the rapid advancement of our disciplines.

¹ This is the first contribution of the Research Support Liaison Committee in Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (Constituent Societies: Amer. Soc. Natur., Amer. Soc. Zool., Amer. Soc. L&O, Amer. Soc. Plant Taxon., Bot. Soc. Amer., Ecol. Soc. Amer., Soc. Study Evol., Soc. Syst. Zool.). It is in the public domain.

² Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721

³ L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853.

⁴ Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131.

⁵ The New Republic, 16(12):42,1987. But notice that even professional critics often make fools of themselves with negative reviews: Henderson, Bill (1986, 1987) Rotten Reviews I & II. Pushcart Press, New York.

⁶ NLw REPUBLIC 3(8):32, 1987.

Acknowledgements: The Division of Biotic Systems and Resources, US National Science Foundation, directed by Dr. John Brooks, provided freely of their time to discuss the issues with the Committee. Dr. James T. Callahan suggested the main idea of this editorial. The following members of the Committee contributed to its planning or discussed an earlier draft of it or both: Drs. Dave Allan, Walter Eames, Doug Gill, Steven Green, Jim Lawrey, Jane Lubchenco, Norton Miller, Larry Pomeroy, Muriel Poston, Paul Risser, Dick Root, Larry Slobodin, Rick Vari, Elizabeth Wells.

In Memoriam

Joseph Miller Wood

With sorrow we announce the death on Jan. 14, 1994, of Joseph Miller Wood, age 72, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri. Joe came to Missouri in 1960 after completeing his PhD in botany at Indiana University. He regularaly taught Botany to an audience of more than 500 students, and was considered "a master with a piece of chalk." He was one of the first recipients of the Standard Oil Teaching Award, and also received the Teaching Award of Merit of the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society and the coveted MU Arts and Science Student Government Purple Chalk Award. Joe maintained an active research program in paleobotany, training seven PhD and two MA students. He was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1985, at which time he donated his extensive pollen slide and specimen collection to the MU Herbarium (UMO).—Robin Kennedy, University of Missouri

Edward L. Proebsting was a Retired Member of BSA who joined the Society in 1941.

Ernest R. Sears was a Retired Member of BSA. David Baxter Dunn

With sorrow we announce the death on Jan. 3, 1994, of David Baxter Dunn, age 76, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri and Curator of UMO from 1956-1987. He was a noted expert on the genus Lupinus, and trained 14 PhD and 17 MA students during his tenure at Missouri. "Doc" taught 16 different courses and published more than 60 re-search papers. He and his students collected widely in Mexico and Central America as well as the western and southwestern U.S., and left UMO a legacy of more than 137,000 specimens.—Robin Kennedy, University of Missouri

As you know, your Society depends on volunteers for its operation. This last year there were 13 committees with over 50 people working to make the BSA run smoothly and to promote research, teaching and national and international cooperation in plant science.

The BSA is only as good as, and can only be, what you, the member (remember that students are members, too, and are welcome on committees!) make it. A sample of the committees working for the Society are: Archives and History, Conservation, Education, Ethics, Financial Management, and Membership. If you would be willing to serve the Society on these or other committees, or in some other way, please send your name, address, telephone number [fax, too, please!] to: Harry T. Horner (President-Elect and chair of the Committee on Committees), Dept. of Botany, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011-1020.

Announcements

Calls for Nominations

Call for Nominations - David Starr Jordan Prize

Prize for Innovative Contributions to the Study of Evolution, Ecology, Population or Organismal Biology In 1986, Cornell, Indiana and Stanford Universities established a joint endowment to fund a prize in honor of David Starr Jordan, a scientist, educator, and institution builder with important ties to each of these institutions. The prize is international. The intent of this prize is to recognize young scientists who are making re-search contributions likely to redirect the principal focus of their fields. In addition to a cash award, the recipient will receive a commemorative medal and will attend an awards ceremony, visit each of the institutions and give scholarly presentations of her/his work. The third David Starr Jordan Award will carry a prize of $15,000 and will be announced in late 1994. Nomination forms are available from: Dr. William L. Crepet, L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, 462 Mann Library, Ithaca NY 14853. Telephone: 607/255-2131; FAX 607/255-7979. All nomination materials must be received prior to 1 April 1994.

Call for Nominations - H.M. Lawrence Award

The Award Committee of the Lawrence Memorial fund invites nominations for the 1994 Lawrence Memorial Award. Honoring the memory of Dr. George H.M. Lawrence, founding director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the Award (S1,000) is given biennially 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 pre-pared 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 directed to: Dr. R.W. Kiger, Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890 USA. Telephone: 412/268-2434.. Nominations should be received by the Committee no later than 1 May 1994.

Call for Nominations - Jeanette Siron Pelton Award

The Pelton Award honors the memory of Jeanette Siron Pelton who died on October 20, 1966, in her forty-second year. A native of Minneapolis, Jeanette Siron received her undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Pelton joined the Botany Department at Butler University in 1955 where she contributed her many talents to the activities of the department. She was a stimulating teacher, inspiring many students to enter biology as a profession. Her special interest was plant morphogenesis, and she published a number of papers in this field. This award was established by the Conservation and Research Foundation in 1969 to recognize and encourage sustained and imaginative contributions in the field of experimental plant morphology by persons in the earlier stages of their careers. The field is broadly defined to include subcellular, cellular, and organismal levels of complexity. The award carries a stipend of 51,000. Candidates are selected by a special committee appointed by the Botanical Society of America; the names are submitted to the Foundation for final approval. There is no restriction as to gender, nationality, or society affiliation, nor as to the language in which the investigations are published. Please send a curriculum vitae, a description of the candidate's achievements and supporting letters to the Botanical Society Pelton Award Commit-tee in care of Elizabeth Lord, Dept. of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside 92521. The nominations must be submitted by 1 May 1994.

Call for Nominations - Charles E. Bessey Award

The Charles E. Bessey Award is presented annually by the Teaching Section of the Botanical Society of America to recognize and encourage excellence in teaching botany, as well as excellence in leadership in botanical education. The section is seeking nominations for this year's award. If you have a suggestion of someone who is doing an outstanding job of teaching botany and is deserving of recognition for this achievement, send a letter of nomination to: Donald S. Galitz, Secretary, Teaching Section of the BSA, Botany/Biology Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58105. Your letter should include the nominee's name, position, address and a one page description of his or her accomplishments and unique contributions to botanical education. The letter should arrive before 1 June 1994.

Call for Nominations - 1994 Young Botanist Awards

The Botanical Society of America requests nominations for the Young Botanist recognition Awards for 1993-94. The purpose of these awards is to offer individual recognition to outstanding graduating seniors in the plant sciences and to encourage their participation in the Botanical Society of America. Award winners receive a Certificate of Recognition signed by the President of the Society and forwarded to the nominating faculty member for presentation.

Nominations should document the student's qualifications for the award (academic performance, research projects, individual attributes) and be accompanied by one or more letters of recommendation from faculty who know the students well. Nominations should be sent to the Past-President, Gregory J. Anderson, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, U-43, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269-3043 no later than 1 April 1994

Back Issues of Journals Wanted

Harvard Forest, a forest education and research institute associated with Harvard University, is currently expanding its program in forest ecology and conservation biology. To support this work, the Library is seeking back issues of several principal journals covering the period 1980-present. We would like to buy or receive donations of:

AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST AMERICAN NATURALIST

BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION

BULLETIN OF IHE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY OIKOS

All donations will be gratefully acknowledged. Please contact: Ms. Barbara Flye, Librarian, Harvard Forest, P.O. Box 68, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366, 508/724-3302

Personalia:

C. Thomas Philbrick

Dr. C. Thomas Philbrick, formerly at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, has started a new position as Assistant Professor of Biology, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT 06810 (203/797-4167; FAX 203/ 797-4167). In his new position Philbrick will continue his studies of the biology and evolution of aquatic angiosperms, particularly Callitrichaceae and Podostemaceae.

Positions Available

Program Directors

National Science Foundation (NSF) NSF's Division of Environmental Biology (formerly Biotic Systems and Resources) is seeking qualified applicants for Program Director positions in fiscal year 1994. The incumbents to these positions will ad-minister grant programs in support of research in the following areas: Ecology, Systematic Biology, Population Biology, Ecosystem studies, and Research Collections in Ecology and Systematics Programs. These positions will be filled on a I- or 2-year visiting scientist/ temporary basis and are excepted from the competitive civil service. The per annum salary range is $56,627 to $88,255. The visiting scientist receives a leave of absence from his/her employer and salary is set in accordance with NSF's Visiting Scientist program. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience. In addition, six or more years of successful research experience beyond the Ph.D. is required. Some administrative experience is also desired. Applications are also being accepted for future vacancies for these positions. Applicants should submit a Standard Form 171, Applications for Federal Employment, or resume to: National Science Foundation, Division of Human Re-source Management, Room 315, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230. Attention: Catherine Handle. Telephone: 703/306-1185 for further information about the NSF application process, or 703/306-1480 for technical details on these specific positions. Hearing impaired individuals should call 703/306-0090. NSF is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Botanist

College of St. Benedict 1St. John's University The College of St. Benedict, a women's college, and St. John's University, a men's college, are accepting applications for a tenure-track position to begin Fall 1994 in the joint Biology Department. We seek candidates with a broad botanical training and expertise in aquatic and or wetland systems. Our campus includes 3,000 acres

of forest, field, wetland and lakes. Qualifications for the position include a Ph.D., demonstrated interest and ability in teaching and a desire to participate in research with undergraduates. Annual duties include teaching upper division botany, aquatic ecology and intro biology. Applicants should submit a letter of application to: Kathy Flynn, 37 S. College Ave., St. Joseph, MN 56374. Applications received after February 11, 1994 cannot be guaranteed consideration. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. For more information, contact Stephen G. Saupe; Biology Department; College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, St. Joseph, MN 56374; 612-363-2782; 612-363-3202 (fax); SSAUPE@ CSBSJU.EDU

Executive Director

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden is devoted to the collection, cultivation, study, and display of native California plants and to graduate training and research in plant systematics and evolution. Located in Claremont, California, the 86 acre Garden is one of the leading botanic gardens in the United States and is an internationally recognized research center for the identification, classification and study of plant evolution. In cooperation with the Claremont Graduate School, The Garden offers a graduate program in botany conferring both masters and doctorate degrees. The horticulture department has a national reputation for the horticulture, maintenance and conservation of California flora; the Garden also houses the third largest herbarium in the western United States. Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer of the Garden with overall responsibility for the management of the institution, including an operating budget of approximately $2.1 million and a staff of approximately 40. The Executive Director will be the chief spokesperson of the Garden and will represent it to its varied constituencies. He/She will have responsibility for the sound fiscal management of the institution and will maintain a close working relationship with the Board of Trustees. The successful candidate will be a successful leader, scholar and administrator in a similar kind of organization or academic setting with a national reputation in the field of botany, horticulture or other natural science disciplines. Specific knowledge of systematics, floristics, biodiversity, and conservation techniques and issues is important; significant research experience and appropriate scholarly/academic credentials. demonstrating credibility in the field is desirable. Women and members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. A doctorate in botany is preferred, although a terminal degree in another appropriate discipline would also be considered. Annual compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience. Relocation assistance is available and an excellent benefits package will be provided. Please send resume and cover letter to: Morris & Berger, 201 S Lake Ave., Suite 700, Pasadena CA 91101; Phone: 818/795-0522, FAX 818/795-6330. RSA is an Affirmative Action Employer

Landscape I Systems Ecologist, Auburn University

The School of Forestry at Auburn University is soliciting applications for a faculty position in landscape, ecosystems, or community ecology. This is a 12 month, tenure-track position with responsibilities in teaching and research. Qualifications: Applicants must hold a PhD in forest ecology or a closely related field. Experience in studying hydrologic linkages among natural forest ecosystems and/or relationships between community and ecosystem processes at the landscape level is preferred. Quantitative skills such as spatial statistics and GIS are highly desirable. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in acquiring extramural funding and a demonstrated ability to publish in refereed journals. Responsibilities: The individual occupying this position will be expected to teach undergraduate and graduate courses related to his/her research specialty. This faculty member will also be expected to develop an active research program in landscape or systems ecology, work cooperatively with other faculty in multiple disciplines, advise graduate and under-graduate students, serve on appropriate university and School of Forestry committees, interact with various clientele groups and perform other duties normally associated with academic appointments. Rank and Salary: Commensurate with training and experience. Closing Date: May 1, 1994 or until a qualified applicant is identified. For information, contact Dr. Graeme Lockaby at (205) 844-1054. To apply, submit a letter of application, vita, official transcripts, and the names of three references to Ms. Lenore Martin, School of Forestry, Auburn University, AL 36849-5418. Auburn University is an EO/AA Employer; applications from minorities and women arc encouraged.

Project Manager, BioSystems Analysis, Inc.

BioSystems, a leading natural and cultural resources consulting firm, is seeking highly qualified applicants for a new Senior Resource Manager position in early 1994. Position may be based in any of BioSystems' three primary offices: Tiburon, sacramento, or the corporate headquarters in Santa Cruz. Work will involve client contact, determining study and research protocols for interdisciplinary wildlife and botanical inventories, managing other professionals and field crews, data analysis, and coordinating report writing and product completion. We are particularly interested in people experienced with developing new client relationships and with proposal development. Candidates must have a graduate degree in either botany, wildlife, wildlife biology, zoology or any related field with 5+ eyars technical and managerial experience in the areas mentioned above. Salary and benefits commensurate with experience. Please send resumes, by 18 Feb 1994, to: Andrea Reich, Personnel Manager, BioSystems Analysis, Inc., 303 Potreto St., Suite 29-203, Santa Cruz, CA 95060-2756. BioSystems is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

Forest Ecologist, New York Botanical Garden

Will coordinate ongoing research and initiate new re-search projects in the NYBG Forest, 40 acres of intensively studied hemlock-hardwood forest on 250-acre campus in New York City. Will supervise NYBG Forest Manager and work with staff to develop interpretive programs. Other duties as assigned by the Director of the Institute for Systematic Botany or the V.P. for Botanical Science. Ph.D. in botany, ecology, forestry or biology required as well as plant ecology research experience with emphasis on vegetation analysis. Preference will be given to candidates who have familiarity with northeastern U.S. forest ecosystems and the ability to identify vascular plants of the region. Excellent benefits including 4 weeks vacation. Send resume and let-ter of interest to: Personnel Manager-FE, the New York Botanical Garden, 200th Street & Southern Blvd., Bronx, New York 10458-5126. AA/EOE/M/F/D/V

Ecologist, Northern Michigan University

Northern Michigan University invites applications for an anticipated opening in the Department of Biology. This continuing position begins August 22, 1994. The successful candidate for this tenure-earning position must possess a Ph.D. in Ecology or in an immediately related field, have experience in directing research, and have undergraduate teaching experience. This person will be responsible for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ecology and computer applications to biology, and for directing research for undergraduate and master's degree students. Other teaching assignments may include introductory and specialty courses in biology. All applications received by March 1 will receive full consideration. However, the application period will remain open until the position is filled. Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, transcripts, and names, addresses and telephone numbers of three references, and a statement of professional goals to: Dr. Thomas G. Froiland, Department of Biology, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI 49855-5341. Telephone: 906- 227-2310. Northern Michigan University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, or age in its programs or activities. Persons having civil rights inquiries may ' contact the Affirmative Action Office at (906) 227-2420. Persons have inquiries regarding Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may contact the ADA Coordinator at (906) 227-2970.

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Duke University

Duke University's Department of Botany has a fellow-ship, under a grant from the A.W. Mellon Foundation, for postdoctoral study in systematic botany for the academic year 1994-95. Applications should include a curriculum vitae, copies of publications, and a research proposal. The application and three letters of recommendation from people familiar with the applicant's research are due by I April 1994 to Prof. Richard B. Searles, Box 90338, Duke University, Durham NC 27708-0338.

Postdoctoral Associateship, University of Nevada, Reno

To investigate the phylogenetic relationships within and among species of juniper in the Western U.S. Qualifications: Ph.D. in the area of molecular genetics/systematics. Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and ability in quantitative genetics, RFLP, PCR, sequencing, and cloning. Ability to work in an interdisciplinary context and to publish results in peer-reviewed journals are also needed. Desirable characteristcs include experience with ancient DNA and with genome mapping. Salary: $25,000 for 1st year plus full health benefits. Position is funded by a grant from the Program for Ecosystem Research, U.S. Department of Energy. Continued appointment is contingent upon the availability of funds and is limited to a maximum of 5 years. Send a letter that details your qualifications and experiences, a copy of your curriculum vitae, and have 3 letters of recommendation [closing date 15 March 1994] sent to: Dr. Robert S. Nowak, Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 1000 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512 [(702) 784-1656, FAX: (702) 7844583, EMnn.: nowak@unssun.scs.unr.edu The University of Nevada Reno is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

Field Collector, Smithsonian Institution

The Biological Diversity of the Guianas Program, Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, Washing-ton DC, USA, has an opening for a plant collector. Beginning in October 1994, the individual selected will spend the remainder of 1994 through early 1996 in the Guianas collection (minimum of 18-24 months in the Guianas), and one to two months in Washington, helping to identify these collections. For additional information, please contact: C.L. Kelloff, Biological Diversity of the Guianas Program, Department of Botany NHB#166, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560-0001, USA; telephone 202/786-2518; FAX: 202/786-2563; (e-mail: mnhbo041@sivm.si.edu). This position is open to all qualified individuals and will remain open until a suitable person is found. The Smithsonian is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Katherine Esau Postdoctoral Fellowships University of California, Davis

Applications and nominations are invited for Katherine Esau Postdoctoral Fellowships and which will be awarded to outstanding young scientists interested in developing careers in structural aspects of plant biology. Esau Fellowships will be awarded for a period of two years to enable successful candidates to work under the mentorship of a UC Davis faculty member. Applications/nominations should identify an appropriate faculty mentor(s) and include a curriculum vitae of the candidate, reprints of published works, an outline of the proposed research that would be carried out under this program. The name and address of three references is also required. Requests for information regarding the fellowships and guidelines for applications can be made by contacting the Dean's Office, Division of Biological Sciences at 916/752-6764. All application materials should be forwarded to Dr. William J. Lucas, Chair, Faculty Advisory Committee, Esau Fellowships Program, Dean's Office, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis CA 95616. Fellowships will be awarded on a bi-annual basis; dead-lines for this on-going program are June 1 and December 1. The University of California is an equal opportunity employer.

Collections Manager / Assistant Curator University of Alabama

The appointment is full-time and permanent. Salary starts at $19,000 for 12 month position and benefits are provided. The successful candidate will be expected to assist with the following: collection and idenification of vascular plants; cataloging and computerization of holdings; preparation and maintenance of collection of plants; and loans, acquisitions, and exchanges. Candidates must have M.A./M.S. degree in biological sciences with background in botany. Computer skills and experience with field collecting methods are important. Preferably, the candidate should have at least one year experience in handling botanical collections and equipment. Applicants should submit curriculum vitae; a statement of professional goals; and names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references to: Dr. Robert R. Haynes, Collection Manager Search Committee, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Box 870344, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0344. Review of applications will begin 1 March 1993. Applications from qualified members of minority groups and women are encouraged. The University of Alabama is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Educational Opportunities

Tropical Botany, 13 Jun-9 Jul 1994

Harvard University summer School, in collaboration with Fairchild Tropical Garden, offers an intensive in-residence graduate level course in tropical botany, centered in Miami, Florida at Fairchild Tropical Garden. The course (4 weeks) will be given completely in Miami and is resuming its yearly occurrence after a Hurricane Andrew-caused hiatus. Prerequisites: A reason-ably extensive training in the botanical sciences and familiarity with the major groups of plants. Students will be chosen according to whether their experience and interests will allow them to benefit from the course and the significance the course may have in their further professional development. Enrollment: Limited to 10 students. Scholarships: Partial tuition and partial travel support are available for qualified students. Applications: Should be made to the Summer School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, but with the earlier deadline of March 31, 1994 (Environmental and Field Biology, Dept. FB, Harvard Summer School, 51 Brattle Street, Cambridge MA 02138). Admission is made on the basis of a Supplementary Application available at the above address or from the instructor, P.B. Tomlinson, P.O. Box 68, Petersham MA 01366. Dormitory Accommodation: Students will be houses collectively in comfortable and reasonably inexpensive accommodation (ca. $30/day), close to Fairchild Tropical Garden. Tuition and Fees (Estimate only): $1325.

Tropical Botany, 3 Jul-3 Aug 1994

The University of Florida Department of Botany, under the sponsorship of Fairchild Tropical Garden and National Tropical Botanical Garden - Kampong, will offer an intensive, in-resident course in tropical botany at the Fairchild Tropical Garden and The Kampong, in Miami, Florida. The object of the course is to provide advanced students of botany with an introduction to the systematics, diversity of structure, and ethnobotany of tropical vascular plants. Prerequisites: An elementary biology or botany course, plus a beginning course in plant systematics and/or plant anatomy, or permission of the instructor. Accommodation: Students will be housed in the Hotel Ponce de Leon (close to The Kapong and Fairchild Tropical Garden); estimated cost of room and board will be $26 per day. Tuition: $760 (in-state) and $2,530 (our-of-state), subject to change. Funds will be available for a limited number of fellow-ships for out-of-state students. Application: Applicants should apply by April 15, 1994 to: Dr. Walter S. Judd, Director, Tropical Botany course, P.O. Box 118526, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611-2009. Applications should include the following: curriculum vitae, two letters of recommendation and a paragraph stating the reasons for taking the course. Students will be notified of acceptance by May 11, 1994.

Organization for Tropical Studies, 1-23 Aug 1994

Tropical Diversity adn Conservation in costa Rica (OTS 94-10) will study the diversity of plants, animals, and biotic interactions found in three types of tropical forests. Participants will learn about these tropical environments and then conservation via orientation walks, faculty-led field research projects, discussions, and lectures. Participants are selected on the basis of back-ground and goals related to the objectives of the course. Priority is given to applicants who are enrolled in or accepted for graduate programs at OTS member institutions. Application deadline: 15 April 1994. apply to: Organization for Tropical Studies, Box 90630, Durham NC 27708-0630 Tel: 919/684-5774, Fax: -5661.

Plant Reproductive Biology Workshop, 12-26 Aug 1994

The National Science Foundation has funded, through its Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement Program, a workshop in Plant Reproductive Biology. The work-shop, which will focus on pollination biology, is de-signed for faculty who teach undergraduate students and who are interested in learning research techniques that they can then incorporate in classes and laboratory exercises at their home institutions. The workshop will be taught 12 - 26 August at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, by Drs. David Inouye, Carol Keams, James Thomson, and Nick Waser, with assistance from other researchers in plant reprodutive biology who work at the Laboratory. All workshop expenses (but not travel) will be paid for participants by the NSF grant. For applications or more information please contact Dr. David Inouye, Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. E-mail: di5@umail.umd.edu. 301-405-6946. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities that are not incompatible with field research are encouraged to apply.

Funding Opportunities

Tissue Culture Association - White Memorial Award

The White Memorial Award is a national training award made in honor of Dr. Philip R. White, an eminent teacher and researcher in plant cell and tissue culture techniques. The fund is to be used to supplement expenses of an individual for continuing education in plant tissue culture techniques. A stipend of up to $650 is awarded yearly for training at an institution of the awardee's choice, or to attend a professional meeting. The award can be used to supplement other awards and scholarships, provided such other awards arc not total payment for training. It should be used for direct training in tissue culture. It should not be used to supplement living expenses at a home institution. Applicants for the award must be able to demonstrate interest, scholastic achievement, and need. In addition, applicants should be able to substantiate that the training will extend their ability to perform research and/or development in the field of plant tissue culture. The 1994 award will be announced at the Annual Meeting of the Congress on Cell and Tissue Culture held June 4-7 in Research Triangle Park, NC. Applicants should submit 1) a statement of his/her objectives, 2) a statement concerning past training and research experiences, 3) the preferred training location, or meeting to be attended, with justification, and 4) an itemized account of funding needed (travel expenses, research materials, etc.). Two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicants training and experience in plant tissue culture are also required. Send all application materials to: Dr. Pamela J. Weathers, Chair, White Memorial Award Committee, Dept. Biology & Biotechnology, Worcester MA 01609. Applications must be postmarked by April 1, 1994.

National Research Council - Postdoctoral and Senior Research Associateships

The National Research council announces the 1994 Resident, Cooperative, and Postdoctoral Research Associateship Programs to be conducted on behalf of federal agencies or research institutions whose 140 participating research laboratories are located through-out the United States. The programs provide opportunities for PhD scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability to perform research on problems largely of their own choosing yet compatible with the research interests of the sponsoring laboratory. Approximately 350 new full-time Associateships will be awarded on a competitive basis in 1994 for research in: chemistry; earth and atmospheric sciences; engineering and applied sciences; biological, health, and behavioral sciences and biotechnology; mathematics; space and planetary sciences; and physics. Awards are made for 1 or 2 years, renewable to a maximum of 3 years; senior applicants who have held the doctorate at least 5 years may request a shorter period. Annual stipends for re-cent PhDs for the 1994 program year range from $30,000 to $45,500 depending upon the sponsoring laboratory, and will be appropriately higher for senior Associates. Applications submitted directly to the National Research Council are accepted on a continuous basis throughout the year. Those postmarked no later than January 15 will be reviewed in February, by April 15 in June, and by August15 in October. Initial awards will be announced in March, July and November, followed by awards to alternate candidates later. Information on specific research opportunities and participating federal laboratories, as well as application materials, may be obtained from the Associateship Programs (TJ 2094/D3), National Research Council, 2.101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20418. FAX 202/ 334-2759.

Symposia, Conferences, Meetings

New York Natural History Conference 13-15 Apr 1994

The New York Natural History Conference is a forum for researchers to present current information on natural history in New York State and for identifying critical research needs. Furthermore, it fosters friendships and rekindles interests in natural history. The meeting will be held at the New York State Museum, Cultural Education Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York. The program will include a conference speaker, workshops, paper sessions, poster session, illustrators' gallery, book market, and barbecue. All sessions will be open to contributed papers, and the number of con-current sessions will be minimized to reduce conflicts. For more information, write: The New York Natural History Conference, Rm. 3132 C.E.C., Biological Survey, New York State Museum, Albany NY 1230

Pollen-Pistil Interactions 19-21 May 1994

The 9th Annual Penn State Symposium in Plant Physiology will assess our current knowledge of pollen tube growth and pollen-pistil interactions. Twenty-two talks by international leaders will be presented in five sessions: "Development of Pollen and Pistils", "Pollen-Stigma Interactions and Sporophytic Self-Incompatibility", "Pollen Tube Growth", "Pollen-Style Interactions and Gametophytic Self- Incompatibility", "Fertilization and Pollen Selection". Poster presentations are solicited and up to 10 travel awards will be available for student and postdoctoral presenters of posters. For Information contact: A. G. Stephenson, Depart. of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, Fax: 814- 865-9131, EMail: AS4@PSUVM.PSU.EDU; or T-H Kao, Depart. of Biochem. and Molec. Biol., Fax: 814-863-9416.

Cell and Tissue Culture Congress 4-7 June 1994

"Regulation of Cell and tissue Culture", Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, Research Triangle Park, NC. Contact: Marietta W. Ellis; telephone 410/ 992-0964; FAX 410/992-0949.

Tree City USA National Conference 5-7 June 1994

The first Tree City USA National Conference is scheduled for June 5-7, 1994, at Arbor Day Farm's new Lied Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Tree City USA community leaders will share success stories on a national basis. 1,800 communities have been recognized as Tree Cities USA for implementing pro-grams to care for public trees. More than 300 towns have received the Tree City USA Growth Award. Con-tact: The National Arbor Day Foundation, 402/474-5655.

NT 26 18-19 Jun 1994

The Numerical Taxonomy Group will have its annual meeting (NT26) June 18-19 concurrently with CSNA-94. The format of the meeting will be similar to that last year. A joint session is planned for Saturday, as well as a contributed paper session. A Special Session on "Recent advances in the methodology of molecular phylogenetics" has been organized by Professor Wen-Hsiung Li. The program concludes with a contributed paper session. Papers in any area of NT are welcome. For more information, contact Buck McMorris (FRMCMO01@ULKYVX.LOUISVILLE.EDU) Or George Estabrook (GEORGE.ESTABROOK@UM.CC.UMICH.EDU).

Plant Nutrition 14-24 Jul 1994

The fifth international symposium on Genetics and Molecular Biology of Plant Nutrition will be held at University of California, Davis Campus, on July 17-24, 1994. Please refer inquiries to D.W. Rains, Dept. Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Phone 916/752-1711; FAX 916/ 752-4361.

North American Prairie Conference 12-16 July 1994

at Kansas State University. The theme is "Prairie Biodiversity: From molecules to landscapes, from the past to the future" but paper and poster sessions will encompass a wide range of topics relevant to grass-lands. Deadline for submission of abstracts for papers or posters is 1 April 1994. Inquires should be sent to the 14th North American Prairie Conference, Conference Office, Division of Continuing Education, College Court Building, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-6006.

Compositae: Systematics, Biology, Utilization 24 July - 5 Aug 1994

Venue: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London, UK. Week 1: Systematics and Evolution (evidence and hypotheses of family, tribal, subtribal and major genera systematics and phylogeny). Week 2: Biology and Utilization (development, autecology, inter-organismal relationships, weed control, ethnobotany, crops). DE-TAILS FROM: C. Jeffrey, Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, UK (E-MAIL c.jeffrey@rgbkew.org.uk)

Plant Biomechanics 5-9 September 1994

The aim of the Congress is to provide a forum for presentation of research activities, applications and discussions on a wide range of mechanical aspects of plants. The Congress will emphasize the importance of inter-actions between biological, materials science, and engineering aspects of plants. The main objectives are to promote cooperation between biologists, and materials scientists and engineers already working in plant biomechanics and to highlight the practical benefits of plant biomechanics and stimulate wider participation in the subject. The program will include: 1) Adaptive mechanical design of plants, 2) Biomechanics of growth, and 3) Short term biomechanical responses. Further details may be obtained at the following address: Bernard Thibaut, LMGC "Bois", CP 81, U. Montpellier II, Place Eugene Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cedex, France. Tel: (33) 67.14.34.31, FAX (33) 67.54.48.52. Registration documents will be sent out in March 1994 with details of conference fees.

Savannas Conference 15-16 October 1994

The "North American Savannas and Barrens Conference "Living in the Edge" will be held on the campus of Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois on Saturday, October 15, and Sunday, October 16, 1994. The conference is designed to provide expert presentations on savanna and barren ecology and wildlife, and management practices that can be utilized by park managers and stewards involved in management or restoration work. We hope to bring together a diverse assortment of savanna and barren enthusiasts in a weekend of seminars, workshops, and field trips. For more information contact: Dr. Roger Anderson, Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal IL 61790-4120 (309/438-2653).

Evolutionary Protistology 4-10 August 1994

The Tenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Parisitology will convene from 4-10 August 1994 at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada.. Special toics include Aquatic Parasitic and Pathogenic Protists; the Protistan Cytoskeleton: A Molecular Perspective; Protein Sequences and Metabolic Evolution of the earliest Protists; and The Early Fossil Record. Workshops on Molecular-Sequence Analysis and on The Origin of Sex in Protists are under consideration. Information: ISEP-10 Secretariat, NRC Institute for Marine Biosciences, 1411 Oxford St., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3Z1; tel. 902/426-1647; fax 902/426-9413; e-mail MARK@IMB.LAN.NRC.CA

Molecular Biology Databases 9-12 August 1994

A meeting at Standford University on the Interconnection of Molecular Biology Databases will bring together biologists, computer scientists, and bioinformatics researchers who are interested in the problem of intcroperation of the growing number of distributed, heterogeneous databases and knowledge bases that serve molecular biology and genome re-searchers. Participation in the meeting will be by invitation, based on abstracts submitted by prospective participants. For information on ISMB-94, E-MAIL ismb@nlm.nih.gov.

VI Congreso Latinoamericano de Botānica 2-8 October 1994

El Comitē Organizador invita a los colegas interesados en las diferentcs areas de la Botānica a participar del VI Congreso Latinoamericano de Botācia que se llevara a cabo en la ciudad de Mar del Plata entre los dias 2 y 8 octubre de 1994. En el marco de este Congreso, se podra una vez mās conocer el desarrollo de la Botānica en America Latina y discutir entre los botānicos latinoamericanos y de otras partes del mundo sobre diferentcs aspectos que comprenden las distintas areas de esta ciencia. Los idiomas oficiales del Congreso sex-in el Espanol y el Portuguēs. Se prevēe traduccidn simultanea Inglēs-Espanol para las Conferencias Magistrates y Simposios que asi to requjieran. Los participantes que requieran invitaciones personales por razones de trāmites administrativos en sus respectivos paises, podrān solicitarlas al Comitē Organizador. Con el fin de que su nombre sea incluido en nuestra lista de correspondencia, le rogamos el favor de devolver a la mayor brevedad el formulario que se adjuncta a esta Circular. La Segunda Circular sera enviada a quienes devuelvan el Formulario. Si Ud. desea recibir copies adicionales de esta Primera Circular, puede solicitarlas a la Secretaria del Congreso. Correspondencia: Dr. Arturo J. Martinez, Presidente, hag. Agr. Renee H Fortunato, Secretaria Ejecutiva, VI Congreso Latinoamericano de Botdnica, Institute de Recursos Bioldgicos, INTA Castelar 1712, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Sucrose Metabolism 8-13 May 1995

A five day symposium is being organized for May 8-13, 1995. The aim of the meeting is to present an integrated view under the following main topics: Sucrose biosynthesis and its regulation: Sucrose cleavage and its regulation; Molecular biology of sucrose metabolizing enzymes; Sucrose conversion to starch; Sucrose conversion to fructans and raffinose based polymers; Sucrose transport (long distance and intracellular); and Role of sucrose in plant stress. The symposium will consist of 6 to 8 sessions of 4 to 5 speakers each with discussion session and evening poster presentations. Contact: Dr. Horacio Pontis or Dr. Graciela Salerno, Fundacidn para Investigacidnes Biologicas Aplicadas, Casilla de Correos 1348, 7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina; Tel. 54-23-74-8257, FAX 54-23-74-3357, or Dr. Ed Echeverria, Citrus Research and Education Centre, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred FL 33850 USA; Tel. 813/956-1151, FAX 813/956-4631.

IOPB Sixth International Symposium 29 July - 2 August 1995

The University of Tromso will host the VI International Symposium of the IOPB ("Variation and Evolution in Arctic and Alpine Plants") in cooperation with the Bergius Foundation of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, and the Botanical Garden and Museum, University of Oslo. Correspondence concerning general matters of the Symposium should be addressed to: VI IOPB-Symposium, the Bergius Foundation, P.O. Box 50017, S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden; FAX +46 8 612 9005.

12th Chromosome Conference 4-8 September 1995

Anyone wishing to be put on the mailing list to receive the First Announcement giving preliminary information about this international meeting should send their names to Dr. M.J. Puertas, Departmento de Genetica, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain.

Harnessing Apomixis 25–27 September 1995

College Station Hilton Hotel and Conference Center, College Station, Texas. Invited speakers and contributed posters will cover various genetic, molecular, physiological, cytological, and evolutionary aspects of asexual seed reproduction and its application to crop improvement. Related topics in plant sexual reproduction will also be presented. Some financial support for international attendees will be available. For further information and circulars, please contact Dr. David M. Stelly, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2474. Phone: (409)-845-2745, fax: (409)-862-4733, E-MAIL: monosom@rigel.tamu.edu.

Announcements of Publication I Availability:

Las Plantas Acuaticas Vasculares en las Aguas Continentales del Peru has been published by the Instituto Frances de Estudios Andinos, IFEA, Casilla 18, 1217, Lima-18, Peru. Cost is $25 plus $10 for shipping.

Guidelines for Institutional Database Policies

This Association of Systematics Collections report contains guidelines for natural history institutions housing specimen-based databases which address legal owner-ship, responsibilities of owners and users, and financial support. In addition the report contains examples of data sharing agreements, and references on data sharing and transfer policies. 76 pp., 1993. Copies are available for $12.00 (includes postage) from ASC, 730 11th St., NW, Washington DC 20001-4521, Telephone 202/347-2850.

Smithsonian Institution Natural History Gopher Server

The following resources are now available on the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Gopher Server: ASPT Newsletter, Biological Conservation Newsletter and Bibliography, Type Specimen Register and Historical Collections of the US National Her-barium, Checklist of the Plants of the Guianas, Check-list of the Mammal Species of the World, PAUP Pro-gram (Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony).

Book Reviews

Reviewed in this Issue:

Developmental/Structural:
p. 20 The Molecular Biology of Flowering Jordan, B.R., ed. (1993)

Ecological:
p. 21 Forest Development in Cold Climates. Alden, J., J. L. Mastrantonio & S. (Mum, eds. (1993)
p. 22 Functional Ecology of Woodlands and Forests. J.R. Packham, et al. (1992)
p. 23 Nature's Champion, B.W. Wells, Tar Heel Ecologist. Troyer, J.R. (1993)
p. 25 Perspectives on Biodiversity: Case Studies Potter, C.S., et al., eds. (1993)

Economic Botany:
p. 26 Crop Evolution, Adaptation and Yield. Evans, L.T. (1993)
p. 26 Origin and Geography of Cultivated Plants. N.I. Vavilov (Translated by D. Love). (1992)

Physiological:
p. 28 Molecular, Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of Plant Respiration. H. Lambers et al., eds. (1992) p. 28 Cellular Communication in Plants. Amasino, R.M. ed. (1993)

Systematics:
p. 28 Origin of Land Plants. Graham, Linda E. (1993)
p. 29 Weed Seeds of the Great Plains. Davis, L.W. (1993)

The Molecular Biology of Flowering B.R.Jordan, ed. 1993. ISBN 0-85198-723-0 (cloth US$85.50; UK£45.00) C.A.B. International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK—"Flowering is a fundamental process in plant development", the Preface of this expensive little tome begins. Well, "Call me Ishmael!" I said to myself. Things soon looked up, however: The Preface promised a set of reviews, each of which "provides a framework of existing knowledge into which future information can be incorporated." And then it promised two introductory chapters "that establish the context of the molecular research." Now this could be my kind of book, I thought. While there is at least one excellent chapter in this book (unfortunately, a xerographic copy won't do justice to the color plate), I found the rest of the book to fall quite short of the rather lofty aims in the Preface. Eternal optimist that I am, I hoped that the first chapter would point out that flowering was an angiosperm-specific example of a widespread and more general property. From the algae on up (ignoring similar phenomena in animals), plants perceive their environment, and, often when times get bad or nutrients start to dry up, development switches from ordinary vegetative growth to the production of some kind of propagule, vegetative or otherwise. And, since you know that photoperiodism is going to rear its ugly head later in the book, I was ready to read about appropriately primitive floras, their latitude and longitude, and get the current scoop on whether photoperiodism is primitive or derived. Perhaps, since all that long-day, short-day, vernalization stuff continues to fascinate plant physiologists, the introductory chapters might speculate at least on whether such responses are variations on one theme or some exercise in counterpoint. I'd learn a lot; I'd be able to mine it for lecture material.

The first chapters do make for nice reading, but are so restricted in scope they seem most suited to remind you (a seasoned professional) of what you already know. For me there was a sprinkling of incidental facts and nuggets—did you know that water stress has little or no effect on flowering in sunflower, for example? No reference given, so you'll have to test it yourself, write the author, or browse through a data-base if you want to know more. Even the stuff I found myself disagreeing with was sufficiently superficial that I couldn't really object—like the part about plants being made up of phytomers, and sentences like "Defoliation experiments indicate the rate at which the stimulus moves." I think I'll continue to haul out the Wareing and Phillips for the undergraduates, use things like Carl McDaniel's re-views to jog my own thinking, and hope that Richard Greyson's new book may be what I seek. It really would be nice to have what the Preface promised: a rigorous context to introduce and focus the contemporary molecular work on flowering.

The next chapters re-review the first chapters (and it is interesting to see how each set of authors picks and

chooses) and then review gene cloning and genes cloned by gene cloning (covering and recovering the same ground, once again showing interesting variation in the views of the sets of authors). There are no "frameworks" for incorporating future information here, gentle reader. There are some good tables with the various names for the same gene isolated by different people in the same organism, or the homologous genes isolated by other people in other organisms: a kind of floral molecular concordance, and certainly useful. In general, these chapters will go out of date quickly—witness the papers on Arabidopsis flowers and inflorescences in recent issues of SCIENCE and PLANTA. There is at Ieast one glorious typo: a Figure on page 55 where Genotype and Environment are coded "+" and "–" and presented four times as interacting in the same pattern with the same end results, while the fascinating but incomprehensible section of the text begins "The last of these patterns of effect describes the situation where the genotypic difference is not influenced at all by the environment." The authors of this chapter are smart folks, and I really wish I could decipher their page about genes for time-to-flower and how they might act.

The final two chapters, a brief look at fertilization by Dumas and Gaude, and a succinct summary of floral pigmentation by Martin and Gerats, come close to the promise in the preface. Neither is encyclopedic, and there are typos or out-and-out mistakes (unless some Authority has transferred Camellia japonica to the mono-cotyledons). Maybe I'm just a sucker for papers that cite

"Mendel, G. (1865) VERHANDLUNGEN DES NATURFORSCIIENDEN VEREINS IN BRCTNN IV:3-47" with such authority that I am convinced that the writers actually read it in the original and not in the Stem and Sherwood translation. These chapters summarize results by giving the actual finding (and then the reference). The subsections usually end with a speculation or suggestion of what is likely to be exciting soon, conveying a sense of movement and scientific progress—a marked contrast to the suggestions elsewhere in the book that accumulating enough genes and sequences will eventually lead to deeper (or real) understanding of the flowering process.

This is one book that your librarian should get only by interlibrary loan.—Michael Christianson, University of Kansas, Lawrence

Forest Development in Cold Climates NATO ASI series A: Vol. 244. J. Alden and S. 0dum, eds. 1993. ISBN 0-306-44480-1 (cloth US$135.00) Plenum Publ. Corp., 233 Spring St., New York NY 10013—At first glance Forest Development in Cold Climates appears to be the right book for the wrong reason; an extensive compendium of papers on silviculture, tree developmental morphology and physiology, biogeography, genetics, and forest history —with the singular intent of improving forest productivity at high latitudes for commercial use. A second look at the book, tempered with a forward by President V. Finnbogadōttir of Iceland (where this NATO symposium was held in 1991) introduces the humanistic importance of trees and forests, especially for people in nearly treeless high latitudes. The president ends her address on a note of hope which acts, unfortunately, as the major unifying theme in this large (566 pp) volume. There is little else to direct the collection, save a disappointing four-page summary of working group sessions toward the back of the book. Questions brought up in early papers, such as the desirability of introducing exotic species to delicate ecosystems, forestry vs. agriculture, and the role of afforestation in reclaimining degraded ecosystems, all go unexplored. If there is a theme in this book, it is the then-presumed inevitable advance of global warming and its projected effects on cold-climate forestry. Tragically, the here-and-now consequences of severe over-utilization of forests in marginal areas, for example northwestern North America, are ignored. The topic of environmental abuse through clearcutting might have been too controversial at a NATO meeting in 1991, given the policies of the Reagan-Bush era, but it would have provided a stronger basis for action than the hypothetical scenario of global warming that is repeated throughout this book.

Within its narrow scope the book makes a scientific contribution. The papers strike a balance among disciplines. Readers are introduced to topics atmolecular and cellular levels, and larger-scale studies are also included. The inclusion of Webb and Harwood's paper on PlioceneNothofagus forests provides abalance from the perspective of historical biogeography. Trees as organ-isms are not neglected, which helps to make the book accessible to non-specialists who may be interested in a range of issues. However, they are viewed as organisms in a biotic vacuum. The scope of the book is too narrow because it portrays trees as living systems at their functional limit as defined by climate. Much of the book seems to address trees as a problem in engineering: models are introduced, discussed, and applied, but some-thing is missing. The interactions of trees with other organisms is somehow overlooked. Yet interactions would seem to be of great importance in marginal climates since the stresses on biological systems are so great. For example, fungal and animal pathogens, the role of birds and small mammals in seed dispersal and consumption, and the effect of lichens and bryophytes as inhibitors of seedling establishment are not reported. Mycorrhizal relationships, which are potentially of major importance to tree survival in cold climates, are briefly mentioned in only three of the papers but are not discussed in depth anywhere.

It is curious that the papers focus on treeline, which is the most marginal of cold-climate forest habitats. Taiga, wetlands, bogs, and sinkholes, all of which are marginal and which may be considered cold-climate in some contexts, are not treated. These habitats occupy vast areas of the earth's surface and from an afforestation perspective they are perhaps more practical than the

coldest climates. Marginal forests have been variously utilized by humans for millenia, and they are closer to centers of human population (and more threatened by humans!) than are high arctic areas. Why have they been ignored here?

A strong point of the book is that exhaustive references are provided by the contributing authors. I was introduced to research I was not aware of in areas of interest (for example, the horticultural uses of Salix) through the contributed papers and their literature citations. The papers themselves might have benefited from a bit of pruning. This would have made the book more managable in terms of size and cost, and would have reduced some of the repetitious material. The obvious expense and technical expertise that were devoted to the volume are belied by its incomplete subject index. Forest Development in Cold Climates is a useful albeit narrow reference book with some excellent contributions. It brings a variety of disciplines together through its contributed papers, which may be useful for some readers. Its focus on the biotic-abiotic interface of trees with the most marginal cold climates is just too narrow a scope to make this book a must for every library.—Samuel Hammer, Boston University

Functional Ecology of Woodlands and Forests. Packham, J. R., D. J. L. Harding, G. M. Hilton, R. A. Stuttard. 1992. Chapman and Hall, London. 408 pp. ISBN 0-412-44390-2 (cloth), ISBN 0-412-44390-6 (paper)—There has been a recent upsurge in student interest in both ecology and a wide range of issues related to woodlands and forests. Accordingly, the publication of this text is timely. The book, which is a completely renovated edition of Ecology of Woodland Processes (Packham, J. R. and D. J. L. Harding. 1982. Chapman and Hall, London), is written as a standard undergraduate text in forest-woodland ecology. The layout, printing, and figures in the book are excellent, and I could find only three typos in the entire text.

The book is divided into eleven chapters. An introductory chapter reviews the ecology of individual trees, spatial and temporal organization of forest-woodland communities, ecosystem components, tropical forests, biomes, forest threats, and silviculture. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on plant adaptations, including sections on physiological ecology, phenology, life forms, and basic strategies of germination, establishment, growth, andreproduction. Chapter 4 covers soils, plant-soil interactions, community zonation over the landscape (latitude, longitude, and altitude), and a section on sources of diversity within communities. In Chapter 5, on "Forest Change," the authors present succession, the mosaic theory, patch dynamics, the Krakatau case study, paleoecology of British woods, and coppicing systems. Chapters 6-8 provide broad coverage of the autecology and strategies of herbivores, pathogens, carnivores, and decomposers, as well as information on key-factor analysis, ecological strategies (r- and k-selection), and sources of gradients in diversity within communities (e.g. latitudinal gradients). This overview of these functional groups of organ-isms provides the background for Chapter 9, which reviews energy flow and nutrient cycling through these trophic levels. Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 are each a collection of topics related to "Working forests" (forest management, forest genetics, fire, and agroforestry) and "Contemporary problems and the future of forests" (desertification, climate change, acid rain, arboriculture, farm forestry, and habitat restoration), respectively.

One of the strengths of this book is its broad coverage, much broader than most other forest ecology textbooks, such as Forest Ecosystems (Waring, R. H. and W. H. Schlesinger. 1991.340 pp. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, FL), Terrestrial Ecosystems (Aber, J. D. and J. M.Melillo. 1992.427 pp. Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia, PA), and Forest Ecology (Spurr, S. H. and B. V. Barnes. 1980. 3rd ed. Wiley, New York). Packham et al. broach almost every subject related to forests and woodlands, including the autecology of a very wide range of plant, animal, and other species; interactions of plants with other organisms; community ecology; vegetation science; soil science and ecology; ecosystem ecology; conservation issues; arboriculture; forest management; and silviculture. There is more plant autecology and more applied ecology in this book than in those listed above and other similar books. In fact, the text could be described as a merger of texts on plant autecology, forest ecosystems, and forestry. The advantage of this approach is that is exposes students, such as lower-level undergraduates, to a smorgasbord of topics related to ecology and forests, some of which they may wish to pursue in more advanced courses or for a career.

Clearly, the greatest strength of the book is its richness of examples, case studies, and natural history details. For almost every general point, specific species or systems are presented in some detail. The strength of this approach shines through in the context of ecosystem ecology. Energy flow and nutrient cycling often are presented in textbooks in what students might call a "dry" manner, devoid of the excitement of real organisms. Chapter 9 presents this important information, but Chapters 6, 7, and 8 do an excellent job of setting the context for this material in terms of the examples, basic strategies, and effects on live and dead plants of the species that actually fill the "black boxes" used in Chapter 9. Chapter 3 on "Reproductive Strategies of Woodland Plants" also provides an impressive variety and depth of examples and natural history. Refreshingly, many of the examples in the book are from the authors' own studies and experiences, and these cases are conveyed with the depth possible only with such inside knowledge.

The approach of the book—broad reportage and emphasis on case studies and examples—may constrain the usefulness of the book for some audiences. The broad coverage appears to result in uneven treatment of topics. For example, although there are six pages on masting in

trees, there is relatively little on germination. There are eight pages on coppicing, mainly in Britain, but only one or two paragraphs each on diversity and stability and on global climate change. Such sections should, perhaps, be deleted or elaborated in future editions. In general, owing to its breadth, a book of this sort can not present the depth that some teachers may seek.

The richness of examples in the text appears to be at a cost of emphasis on general principles and themes; for some, the book may read more like a compilation than a synthesis, especially compared to similar textbooks. This approach may, in part, reflect a more system-oriented as opposed to a concept-oriented philosophy, which is suggested in the text as follows: " ... the quest to find a unifying theory of succession is a pointless one. On the other hand, an understanding of how succession operates in particular habitats is of great value to vegetation managers ... " (p. 141). This emphasis also appears to result in some lack of clarity in organization. For example, seed dormancy is in a section in Chapter 3 on seasonal changes in communities rather than with other aspects of reproductive strategies earlier in the chapter. A section on diversity within communities seems very out-of-place in Chapter 4 on "Soil, Climate, and Zonation"; in fact, factors controlling diversity are scattered among Chapters 4, 5, and 7. Combining these sections would clarify and emphasize this crucial topic. In other chapters (e.g. 7 and 10), it is similarly difficult to detect a conceptual thread. The challenge of this type of book is to provide students with a feeling for the complexity and excitement of nature, while conveying generalizations in concepts, approaches, and contexts—no easy task. The text achieves the first goal with flying colors, but, for some teachers, this book may have inordinately sacrificed attention to general principles in the process.

Although the range of concepts and examples in this book is international, the authors emphasize Britain, British ecological perspective, and temperate zone forests. Much attention is devoted to some concepts (e.g. phytosociology, British consery ation science) and methods (e.g. coppicing) that are much more relevant to British and European ecologists than to North American or tropical ecologists. Other topics (e.g. fire ecology, conservation biology, gradient analysis) of stronger relevance to North America and the tropics receive little coverage. A large portion of the examples, especially the detailed ones, are from Britain and from the temperate zone.

This book is an excellent choice for lower-level (or non-majors) forest ecology courses in which teachers seek breadth of treatment, solid knowledge of British systems, but also an international scope. For upper-division courses, texts with a more narrow focus, more emphasis on principles, and more references (e.g. Waring and Schlesinger 1985) may be more appropriate. For North American teachers and courses, the book would probably not be satisfactory. Other course texts, with more emphasis on North America, such as the three mentioned in this review, would make better choices.—Drew Barton

Nature's Champion. B. W. Wells, Tar Heel Ecologist James R. Troyer. 1993. ISBN 0-8078-2081-4, 243 pp. (cloth US$24.95). University of North Carolina Press, Post Office Box 2288, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2288.-Ecology is becoming more and more aware of its history. Over the last several years, a number of books have appeared that outline the development of the science, as well as a selection of biographies of ecologists that serve to flesh out the skeleton. Book-length works about Victor Ernest Shelford, Forrest Shreve, Aldo Leopold, and John Thomas Curtis are recent examples. Troyer has now given us a biography of Bertram Whittier Wells, another of the "old timers" that helped to build ecology into its current position in the community of sciences.

The book consists of 14 chapters organized into four parts; Scientist, Champion of Nature, Academician, and Private Person, plus a short Prologue and an even shorter Epilogue. Wells spent most of his professional career in North Carolina, starting in the early days of what was to become North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He was trained at Ohio State, and finished his PhD at the University of Chicago in 1917. After a couple of temporary positions, he began his career at North Carolina State in 1919 as head of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. The other two faculty members were both pathologists, so it fell to Wells to handle all of the botany courses. Not unusual for that time, conditions were primitive, equipment almost nonexistent, and library facilities in short supply. Apparently, Wells was

most concerned, however, with the lack of "academic excellence," and throughout his career, he tried to raise the standards of the institution. By linking teaching and research, by upgrading the curriculum, by proposing that the College begin a program in Forestry, Wells sought to elevate the intellectual atmosphere. Reviewing North Carolina State University today, success in this venture is evident.

Wells was a good teacher, as exemplified by his classroom and laboratory skills, his eminence as a field trip leader, and the tremendous amount of time he spent in public lectures and semipopular writing. In research, he was oriented primarily to the Carolina Coastal Plain, with apparently little interest in either the Piedmont or the Mountains, although class trips were sometimes taken to these regions. His research was sometimes ignored, sometimes denigrated, particularly by those with whom he was often in direct competition. Ecologists at Duke and elsewhere took issue with his work on the origin of the Carolina Bays, resulting in Wells working (perhaps) in somewhat of a professional vacuum.

In addition, Wells did not have many graduate students, producing only one PhD in over thirty years. In contrast to many contemporaries, even those in close proximity, one is left to wonder at the potential reasons. What comes through in the biography is a private person of quick temper, constantly reminded of his lack of respect by his peers—almost a Rodney Dangerfield syndrome. There is little information on his activity in the research arena that might have led to greater fortune. He loved the Big Savannah, and left his mark with good work on southeastern plant communities, from the Carolina Bays to the Appalachian Grass Balds. His published scientific works in ecology range from ten cited abstracts and three by "title only," to many contributions to the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. To be sure, Wells published in Ecology, Ecological Mono-graphs, and the Botanical Review too, but his research record, by many standards, is still sparse.

Nevertheless, Troyer has presented an admirable biography of a quite remarkable man. Virtually all that one looks for in a work such as this is present, although one wishes for a bit more integration and less apologia. The parts on "Scientist" and "Academician" are, in my view, inseparable, and I believe both would have been strengthened in combination. Some of the writing is difficult at times, with introductory clauses straining the precepts of good grammatical construction and syntax. My main problems with what is otherwise a most engaging story lie with the citation style. Whole paragraphs are covered by a single footnote. Pages 199-213 carry "Notes" for each chapter. Many of these refer to archival sources (e. g., Wells papers, Whitford papers, etc.), while others are bibliographical references by author and date. The Bibliography (pp. 215-231) is sectionalized. Section I., Unpublished Sources, is followed by H., Published Writings of B. W. Wells, and III., Other Published Sources. Section II has six parts, A. Reports of Research in Ecology, B. Reports of Research on Insect Galls, C. Miscellaneous Scientific Reports, D. Other Communications to Scientists, E. Works Related to Teaching, and F. Popular or Semipopular Works. Working from text to footnotes to citations, I kept wishing for a simple, unified, chronological bibliography of the writings of B. W. Wells.

At times the author goes to great lengths to make the writing conform to the endnotes. On page 194, for example, "... in 1986 the botanical community was provided with a detailed study of his ecological work." Getting to the end of the long paragraph yields note 11, which among other references, cites Troyer 1986, a reference to a paper published in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY by the current book's author. While cognizant that this is a matter of personal preference, I wish that "(Troyer 1986)" simply appeared in the text. After much back and forth searching, the frustration level climbs precipitously.

Several redundancies could have been eliminated. We are told several times of "his book, The Natural Gardens of North Carolina," and are twice informed (p. 175 and p. 191) that he referred to himself as "a gifted amateur artist. Wells' second wife, Maude Rhodes Barnes, is repeatedly referred to as "Barnes." In Chapter 14, she becomes "Maude," but we are left to wonder what B. W. called her!

The book is nicely printed and bound, and is remark-ably free of error. It is liberally sprinkled with photo-graphs of Wells, spanning his lifetime, and showing him in laboratory, field, and office. His retirement photo (p. 148) is of an impressive gentleman, whose pose and mien almost seem to summarize the set of chapters in Troyer's biography.

As the life and times of one of America's early ecologists, the book is a welcome addition to the biographical and historical literature of the science. If widely read, it will serve to remind many contemporary ecologists of what conditions were like before the National Science Foundation. North Carolina State University, the State of North Carolina, and the entire south-eastern United States are enriched by its publication, and I have only drawn attention to minor blernishes in what otherwise is an important and scholarly work on an exemplary, but little known, ecologist.—Robert L. Burgess,SUNY, Syracuse plant will be locally managed.

The potential for using ecotourism as a means of integrating conservation and development is addressed by William Weber in one of the case studies dealing with fisheries and wildlife. Focusing on primate conservation in Africa, Weber reports how the combination of foreign revenue and local employment associated with the Rwandan mountain gorilla project has resulted in increased protection for this endangered species. One of the most important aspects of ecotourism revenues is in changing how local residents and government agencies view the value of conservation. Serious constraints to ecotourism, however, exist. Besides being dependent on political stability, ecotourism is limited by the number of charismatic, easily viewed species that visitors are willing to pay relatively large fees to "experience." Further-more, areas of greatest biodiversity may not coincide with those of target species.

While Perspective on Biodiversity focuses on the relationship between development and conservation, it is not limited to low latitudes. Wilcove and Olson quickly point out that this issue in the Pacific northwest of the United States is not one of owls vs. jobs, but a complex debate over valuing goods and services from forest ecosystems. They too emphasize the importance of in situ conservation in maintaining the "content and con-text" of diversity. They point out that we have little information of the impacts of development on genetic diversity because such data are difficult and expensive to obtain. One of my surprises in reading this book was how little genetic resources have been directly assessed. This may reflect technological limitations for inexpensive, rapid through-put methods for genetic appraisal. It may, however, indicate the critical state of conservation world-wide for which the absence of such information is not a major limitation.

Throughout the book the importance of local contribution to and benefits from conservation efforts is emphasized. In their chapter on "Community and govern-mental experiences protecting biodiversity in the lowland Peruvian Amazon," Pinedo-Vasques and Padoch contrast the current state of the Pacaya-Samiria national reserve with the Mahuizococha intervillage reserve. The management of the former occurs at the national level and is directed by a team of specialists; the latter depends exclusively on an intervillage committee and is not formally recognized by the Peruvian government as a conservation area. Both seek to preserve biodiversity in the face of increasing pressure by commercial extractors. In the former all resource extraction is prohibited, in the latter hunting, fishing, and collecting forest products are permitted in specific areas. Mahuizococha provides most of the fish and game meat consumed in three villages; Pacaya-Samira supplies urban areas of the Peruvian Amazon with nearly all of their fish and game meat. This points out both the importance of local involvement for protecting resources and the need to coordinate conservation programs with regionwide planning to ensure that urban communities have access to

Perspectives on Biodiversity: Case Studies of Genetic Resource Conservation and Development C. S. Potter, J. I. Cohen & D. Janczewski, eds. 1993. ISBN 0-87168-512-4, 245 pp (no price given). AAAS Press, 1333 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA—What is biodiversity? Is it important, and if so, important to what? How much is a species worth? What is the value of a given species to human society? Should conservation strategies be scientifically or culturally based? Why should we care?

A central premise of this collection of essays is that conservation of biodiversity enhances the potential for economic development, whereas loss of genes, species and ecosystems reduces options for transforming society. Thus, conservation of biotic resources—whether they be housed in communities or chromosomes—requires that the socioeconomic context be examined. Yet, while the consideration and involvement of local factors is essential in promoting both conservation and sustain-able development, it is not enough. Ultimately, population, poverty, political instability, and economic policies that promote export-driven resource exploitation under-lie the environmental, cultural, and genetic erosion that form the hallmark of the 20th century.

Perspectives inBiodiversity addresses the importance and implementation of genetic resource conservation. The book itself can be divided into two parts. The first consists of four essays (three of which are reprinted from Science) that explore broad conceptual issues surrounding conservation; the second documents specific examples of resource conservation. This latter part is, in turn, broken into four sections (of three chapters each) covering agroccosystcms, fisheries and wildlife, managed forest ecosystems, and regional development. A common theme running through these "case studies" is that they occur within the context of international development and, thus, highlight the competing interests and often antagonistic relationships between the various stakeholders. It should come as no surprise that it is these case studies that form the most engaging portion of the book. This is not to imply that the opening chapters are neither instructive nor unimportant. Yet, perhaps as in poetry, it is through specific experiences and details that a more universal understanding is achieved.

Or maybe we just like reading about Carlos Pinto's farm. In the first of the case studies sections, Garrison Wilkes documents a recent trip (1991) to visit all of the known sites of teosintc populations in Guatemala. Drawing upon 30 years of experience with maize relatives, Wilkes documents not only a dramatic decline in teosinte populations, but also his interactions with co-workers and government officials. His travels emphasize that genetic resources most important for crop species often occur in weedy zones associated with cultivated areas, rather than sites of intrinsically high diversity. Thus the importance of fallow areas on Carlos Pinto's farm. Wilkes also reports a Guatemalan initiative to financially encourage farmers to protect and preserve teosinte populations. This represents the first time that in situ conservation of an annual wild relative of a major crop adequate resources.

How do we value good vs. goods? Ethics vs. economics? The issues are complex; the options irrevocably closing. As Morowitz points out in his chapter entitled "Balancing species preservation and economic considerations," there has been far too little dialogue between economist and environmental biologists. Perspectives in Biodiversity presents an invitation and a confirmation that addressing specific situations, rather than searching for broad principles, that natural resources are actually conserved.—N.M. Holbrook, Carnegie Institution, Stanford, CA

Crop Evolution, Adaptation and Yield L.T. Evans. 1993. ISBN 0-521-22571-X (cloth US$95.00) Cam-bridge University Press, 40 West 20th St., New York NY 10011-4211—This is an amazing book. The subject is crop plants, their domestication, evolution through migration and adaptation to evolving pest and pathogens, new soils and water regimes, changes in daylength, seasons and cultivator practices. Them ark of success for almost all crop plants has been measured by yield. The ultimate test of a "good crop" has usually been yield over cost of inputs (labor, land, water, fertilizers, seed, etc.). The book is unlike any other I've ever read in the area of cultivated plants, the coverage is both wide ranging and unique, totally fresh views are taken in every chapter with the author putting his personal experiences and insights on every page. The book is a true rambling of genius through all the elements that make crop plants so highly productive and that influence yield both positively and negatively.

The book is organized in eight chapters that group in three mega-sections. The first three chapters take a quarter of the book and cover the role of crop plants in feeding the world, regional differences and domestication histories of the classic Vavilov centers. This section is not a rehash of the familiar but full of novel ideas and new emphases. The next three chapters cover half of the book and look at the ecology of yield, physiological aspects of crop improvement and trends, and limits to yield increase. The first six chapters are a backdrop to understanding the last two chapters, on inputs, the efficient use of resources, and the future of yield.

The book is a personal synthesis of the author which is well documented with original figures to illustrate the text and almost a hundred pages of references. The author truly breaks new ground and has created a whole new way to look at crop plant evolution and improvement. The coverage is expansive, with many tropical crops used as examples, but the style is not encyclopedic in the sense of exhaustive or complete coverage in a systematic way of all that is known about yield. The value of the book is the breadth of new ways of looking at familiar topics. Stereotypic coverage of the familiar is totally lacking and for those that enjoy new and piquant ideas the book is pure pleasure. Some of the views and interpretations might not be true or hold up under scrutiny of detailed examination but they are certainly mind expanding.

To truly appreciate the work requires an extensive knowledge of crops, the agricultural context of production and classic plant physiology. Sometimes the author jumps too fast without leading the reader carefully through the literature to follow the flow of ideas. Since this book is like no other and should be read by all involved in international agricultural development to feed an expanding human population, I do hope there will be a second and expanded edition in the future. This book marks the threshold of a new way to view crop improvement and both the Cambridge University Press and the author should be congratulated for a brave step forward and beyond the maddening crowd's "same and safe" writing. In my view the author is in the company of DeCandolle and Vavilov in the new insights he brings to cultivated plants. Bravo!—Garrison Wilkes, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Origin and Geography of Cultivated Plants N.I. Vavilov. 1992. [ed., V.F. Dorofeyev]. English Translation, D. Lave. xxxi + 498 pp. ISBN 0-521-40427-4 (cloth US$120)Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th St., New York, N.Y. 10011-4211. —This collection of papers written by Nikol ay Ivanovich Vavilov on the geographic origins of cultivated plants was originally published in Russian in 1987 by the Soviet Academy of Sciences to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. It is one of several volumes of his works published for this celebration. The 1992 English language edition was made possible by a cooperative agreement between the Russian N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-ARS).

Students of agriculture are well aware of the contributions of Vavilov who in the tradition of Darwin essentially created the modern discipline of crop evolution. During his tenure as director of the VIR from 1921 until his arrest in 1940, Vavilov pioneered the discipline of genetic resource management and created an infrastructure for cultivated plant exploration, germplasm collection and evaluation, and modern plant breeding pro-grams which became an example for the rest of the world. Ironically, this man who contributed so significantly to the Soviet effort to reorganize its agricultural system died of starvation in the Saratov prison in 1943. Although his voice was silenced by the collaboration of the Stalinist system with the political goals of T. D. Lysenko, Vavilov's strong influence on the scientific commitment of his colleagues persisted. In the Preface, V.F. Dorofeyev and A.A. Filatenko document the further development of the centers of origin theory by Vavilov's colleagues, noting that it continues to serve as the fundamental basis for Russian plant breeding pro-grams.

Most Westerners are only familiar with Vavilov's first major article published in Russian in 1926, "Center of Origin of Cultivated Plants" (pp. 22-135), and a 1935 article published posthumously in English [CHRON. BOT. 13 (1-6): 14-54, 1950]. In the initial introduction of his theory, Vavilov proposed five centers of type formation for cultivated plants—Southwestern Asia, Southeastern Asia, Mediterranean area, Abyssinia and Egypt, Mexico and South America. In 1935, the number had increased to eight by the subdivision of the Southeastern Asian and South American centers but was reduced to seven in 1939. Vavilov 's concept of centers of origin as centers of diversity has been challenged. J.R. Harlan, who is perhaps the most outspoken of his critics, takes issue with the "fundamental concept of "centers" as a universal phenomenon" [SCIENCE 174:468-474, 1971] His evaluation of the theory is based on a partialrecord of Vavilov 's prolific writings. In this regard, Dorofeyev and Filatenko suggest that contemporary critics have not paid due attention to the theory's progressive 20-year development, which saw change in concept and terminology. With the availability of this complete compilation of articles and lectures, a more comprehensive evaluation of this theory is now possible.

Included in the 24 chapters are reports on plant expeditions—Vavilov himself visited 52 countries—that embodied the mission of the VIR "to bring the best plant resources of the world to the service of socialistic agriculture" (p. xiv). Over the 15 years of active plant exploration (1924-1939), Vavilov and his colleagues collected agricultural plants in the field and market-place, observed and documented agricultural methods, studied the ecology and geography of each country and region they visited, and conducted genetic and agronomic studies of the germplasm they brought to the institute and its field stations. In the early years of the VIR program, the research effort was built upon the phytogeographic method introduced in the latter half of the 19th century by the Swiss botanist Alphonse de Candolle. Botanical and genetic techniques used in the study of phytogeography were refined by concentrating on infraspecific variation, distributions of this variation both past and present, and taxonomic differences (p.32). At the end of Vavilov's career, in a lecture delivered before the Soviet Academy of Sciences (pp. 421-442), Vavilov acknowledged Charles Darwin as the greater influence and driving force behind the development of his theory of cultivated plant origins. It was upon Dar-win's concept of "centers of origins of species" (p. 451) that Vavilov operated with a view toward the "interrelated variation, heredity and selection" (p. 423), factors incorporated into Darwin's explanations of the evolutionary process. Vavilov's statement that de Candolle's work was "one-sided" (p.424) is an interesting comment in light of Harlan's assessment that "the modern approach is more in the tradition of de Candolle than Vavilov" [SCIENCE 174:468-474, 1971].

The articles and lectures in this volume, which are arranged chronologically, trace the development of an evolutionary concept which goes far beyond the geographic demarcation of centers of origin. They document a theory that dramatically changed the direction of plant breeding and essentially laid the groundwork for modem-day germplasm programs. In these writings, Vavilov expounds upon the evolution of plants and animals under domestication, the genetics of type-formation and variation in and out of the geographic centers, the changes in biological patterns that occurred in one center versus another, how artificial and natural selection acted in the domestication process, and the ecological patterns shared in common by all the centers. Included with the translations are the original distribution maps, photos and draw ings of agricultural implements and plants, compilations of plant distributions and infraspecific variation, and tables recording data from agronomic and inheritance studies.

The value of this publication will be found principally within a historical context. It will be a useful resource volume for a variety of researchers—geneticists, plant breeders, botanists, ethnobotanists, and science historians. Indexes to plant names (Latin and vernacular), animal names, and centers of origins allow easy access to the location of each item as it is treated throughout the 24 chapters. An index for the textual content, which is not present, would have been useful. The price may prove prohibitive, an unfortunate limitation that will affect the book's accessibility. The book itself provides the international scientific community with the full record of one part of Vavilov's extensive contribution to mod-ern biology. Perhaps it will help to stimulate Western science to undertake a more comprehensive reassessment of his accomplishments.—Laura A. Morrison, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Molecular, Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of Plant Respiration H. Cambers and L.H.W. Van der Plas, eds. ISBN 90-5103-079-7 (cloth US$148.00). SPB Academic Publishing bv, P.O. Box 97747, 2509 GC The Hague, The Netherlands.—Chapters in this book are based on 82 presentations made during the "Third Plant Respiration Meeting" held in Utrecht (1991). The text is very comprehensive and its coverage is basically divided into three sections: Electron Transport Chains; Interactions Between Mitochondria, other Cell Organelles and the Cytosol; and Biogenesis of Mitochondria and Molecular Aspects of Plant Respiration. The book is very informative and would be a valuable text for those actively involved in respiration biochemistry. Its major draw-back is that discipline-specific abbreviations are utilized throughout the text and this makes it difficult to comprehend for anyone not recently trained in the discipline.—James W. Wallace, Jr., Western Carolina Univ., Cullowhee NC

Cellular Communication in Plants. Richard M. Amasino, Ed. 1993. ISBNO-306-44415-1 (cloth US$69.50) Plenum Publishing Corp., 233 Spring St., New York NY 10013.—Plants share with animals the ability to sense external stimuli and to transmit signals representing external stimuli and internal changes throughout the organism. We know quite a lot about signal perception, transduction, and cellular communication in animals but remarkably little about the molecular, cellular and structural basis for these actions in plants.

By bringing together a group of papers on transduction and cellular communication in plants, the present volume, the Proceedings of the Twenty-First Steenbock Symposium, held in Madison, Wisconsin in 1992, not only serves to summarize current work in cellular communication in plants but also heightens awareness of the importance of this developing field among those from other areas of research. The nineteen papers in this volume represent a spectrum of work ranging from "Signal Perception in Plants" to "Cell Communication and the Coordination of Differentiation." In addition to the papers, abstracts are presented for 44 talks and posters.

I was somewhat disappointed when I first opened this short volume and found a lack of cohesiveness among the papers. Even after spending some time with this book, I have emerged from the text with many details but a poor overview of cell communication in plants. I do not think that this is the fault of the symposium organizers or the individual authors. Rather, it is indicative of our lack of detailed knowledge of the many facets of plant cell communication. This field could benefit especially from the increased funding supplied by a major research initiative.

Overall, I am glad to have Cellular Communication in Plants on my bookshelf. It provides a view into one of the most important, developing research areas in the biological sciences.—Thomas J. Herbert, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL

Origin of Land Plants. Linda E. Graham. 1993. ISBN 0-471-61527-7 (cloth, (US$89). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10158, USA—This is the first comprehensive review of the topic in 85 years, says the publisher. The chapter titles make it clear what the book covers: An Introduction to Land Plant Origins; Early Silurian and Late Ordovician Environments; Approaches to an Under-standing of Early Land Plant Evolution; The Charophycean Algae; Morphology, Ecology, and Physiology of Charophytes; Gaps Between Charophycean Algae and Land Plants; Evolution of Plant Morphology: Cell Walls, etc.; Evolution of Plant Sexual Reproduction; Origin of Plant Signal Transduction Systems, etc.; and Land Plant Origins—A Summary. To call this book "comprehensive" is an understatement.

The author appears to have cited every relevant reference; scarcely any important point lacks a modern reference to the primary literature, including some from [early] 1993.1 found but one exception: page 234, "The closest marine relatives of the [land] plant lineage were most likely scaly, unicellular flagellates. Land plants almost certainly did not arise from multicellular sea-weeds that washed up onto beaches and sprouted there—a concept often presented in introductory textbooks." I've never seen such a thing in print; no references to such books are given — to protect the guilty, perhaps. Because the book is everywhere marked by the most careful scholarship, one wonders whether the publisher's lawyers asked Graham to delete the citations!

Throughout, the author repeatedly tells us what is not known and she states explicitly what studies need to be undertaken to support or repudiate a given line of reasoning. I find this rare, and I compliment the author for taking such an approach.

Definitions for possibly obscure words are given regularly. Symplesiomorphy, autapomorphy, homoplasy: all are defined parenthetically where they first occur, and sometimes again in later pages. Graham is a teacher, and it shows.

The book is lavishly illustrated. There is a problem with the very numerous electron micrographs (and may-be for some readers some of the light micrographs as well): they need marker arrows to point to the relevant structure or organelle. Those well versed in interpreting electron micrographs will probably have no trouble. However, I found I lost the thread of the argument on several occasions, until I took the book to my local friendly electron microscopist, and he set me straight very quickly, and commented on the excellence of some of the pictures as well.

The last chapter happily includes clever cartoons by the author's husband and co-worker, James Graham. These mostly feature a stylized anthropomorphic Coleochaete with two supraocular antennae. In some, the antennae are lacking—the artist's sly way of suggesting the loss of biflagellate zoospores as Charophycean algae gave rise to the first terrestrial plants.

This is a masterful synthesis of paleobotany, biochemistry, morphology, ecology, cladistics, and classical life cycle studies. Because the author points so clearly to what lines of research need to be pursued, one can anticipate that a second edition is not so many years away. Meantime, buy it; read it; it deserves a wide audience.—Neil Harriman, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Weed Seeds ofthe Great Plains, A Handbook for Identification Linda W. Davis. 1993, vi + 145 pp., ISBNO-7006-0651-3 (cloth US$25.00), University Press of Kansas, 2501 W 15th St., Lawrence KS 66049-3904—Much of the vast Great Plains region of the United States has been converted to farm and range-land. Control of undesirable native or introduced plant species that occur in this region is necessarily of great importance to agribusiness. One of the most effective and environmentally sound methods of weed control is the detection, identification and removal of weed seed contaminants in crop seed. The purpose of this aptly titled handbook is to present a system that will enable users to compare, distinguish and identify the seeds, fruits or disseminules of 280 common or problematic weed species (mostly herbs) that occur in the region. True to this purpose, discussions of seed biology and dispersal, plant anatomy, systematics or allied topics are not included. Readers desiring information on these subjects are free to consult works that appear in the annotated list of references provided in the introduction. After brief introductory remarks the author proceeds directly to a clear explanation of the system and how to use it.

The author has devised a useful multiple-entry key based on 22 non-technical characters describing conspicuous macroscopic features of the various disseminules such as size, three-dimensional form, and gross surface ornamentation or texture. To identify an unknown seed, one simply selects an obvious character exhibited by the seed and locates the appropriate "finding list" containing the subset of taxa whose disseminules exhibit that character. Most of the disseminules included in this handbook possess several salient features and so appear on more than one finding list. The user thus is afforded the luxury of several "correct" starting points from which to initiate a search. The subset of taxa appearing in each finding list is further divided into "subgroups," each based on an additional distinguishing character. Upon identifying the subgroup of taxa containing the possible match (3–14 taxa) the user has two options. One may either check the unknown against the excellent color enlargements of each of the disseminules of that subgroup or turn to the written description of each for a summary of the important disseminule characters and information about its range, preferred habitat, familial assignment and common name(s). Life-size silhouettes of several representative disseminules accompanying each description offer an additional opportunity to visually compare the unknown disseminule with those of the particular entity described. Exercising either option results in a quick and successful identification of the unknown disseminule, provided of course, it is one of the species treated.

The merits of this system are several. Foremost, in my opinion, is the careful avoidance of technical jargon wherever possible. This is evident in the selection of characters used to construct the findings lists, where terms such as "spherical," "bristles" and "chiplike form" are the norm and "floret," "bract" and "apical collar" are the exception. As a result, the entire book is "user-friendly" and readily accessible to the non-specialist. Two glossaries are provided to elucidate the smattering of botanical terms employed for the sake of precision and clarity. The second of these illustrates descriptive terms for basic shapes and surface textures by means of simple line drawings.

The book os not so large (26 x 18.5 cm) as to preclude its use as a field manual; its quality paper, sturdy binding and cloth-covered boards will surely endure frequent use outside of the laboratory. The individual user is left to solve the problem of extracting tiny seeds of Capsella bursa-pastoris or Hypericum perforatum from the gutter between the pages should a puff of wind lodge them there while performing identifications. I suggest that perhaps microforceps should follow handlens on the list of necessary gear that should be carried with this volume into the field.

This handbook, unmatched in its taxonomic and geographic coverage and centerpiece (literally) of beautiful photographs, will be a standard reference for the identification of Great Plains weed seeds. Its usefulness will not be restricted to specialists at private and governmental seed certification agencies. Straightforward and concise, it will serve a broad spectrum of students and practitioners of taxonomy, agronomy, agribusiness, conservation, archeology and paleobotany.—Victor Call, University of Florida

Books Received

If you would like to review a book or books for PSB, contact the Editor, stating the book of interest and the date by which it would be reviewed (15 February, 15 May, 15 August or 15 November of the appropriate year). Send E-Main, call or write as soon as you notice the book of interest in this list, because they go quickly!—Ed.

* = book in review or declined for review ** = book reviewed in this issue Ecological

An African Savanna: Synthesis of the Nylsvley study Scholes, R.J. & B.H. Walker. 1993. ISBN 0-521-41971-9 (Cloth us$69.95) Cambridge University Press, 40 W 20th St., New York NY 10011-4211

La Selva: Ecology and Natural History of a Neotropical Rain Forest McDade, L.A., et al. 1994. ISBN 0-226-03952-8 (paper us$28.95, utc£23.25; cloth us$90.00, ux£71.95) Univ. Chicago Press, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago IL 60637

Restoration of Tropical Forest Ecosystems Lieth, H. & M. Lohman. 1993. ISBN 072319451 (cloth us$154.00; uic£102; Dfl 260.00) Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, P.O. Box 989, 3300 AZ Dordrecht, The Netherlands

Economic Botany

*New England Natives: A Celebration of People and Trees Connor, S. 1993. ISBN 0-674-61350-3 (cloth us$39.95) Harvard Univ. Press, 79 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138

Plant Breeding, Theory and Practice Stoskopf, N.C., D.T. Tomes and B.R, Christie. 1993. ISBN 0-8133-1764-9 (cloth, us$65.85) Westview Press, 5500 Central Ave., Boulder CO 80301-2847

Plant Diseases of Viral, Viroid, Mycoplasma and Uncertain Etiology Maramorosch, K., ed. 1992. ISBN 0-8133-1616-2 (cloth, us$68.00) Westview Press, 5500 Central Ave., Boulder CO 80301-2847

Principles of Diagnostic Techniques in Plant Pathology Fox, R.T.V. 1993. ISBN 0-85198-740-0 (paper us$36.00) University of Arizona Press, 1230 N Park Avenue, Suite 102, Tucson AZ 85719-4140.

Genetics

Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Glick, B.R. & J.E. Thompson, eds. 1993. ISBN 0-8493-5164-2, price not cited) CRC Press, P.O. Box 6123, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310

Peas: Genetics, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Casey, R. & D.R. Davies. 1993. ISBN 0-85198-863-6 (cloth us$95.00) Arizona Press, 1230 N Park Ave., Tucson A7.85719

Plant Cytogenetics Singh, Ram J. 1993. ISBN 0-8493-8656-X (cloth price not cited) CRC Press, Inc., P.O. Box 6123, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33310

Paleobotanical

Biological Relationships between Africa and South America Goldblatt, Peter, ed. 1993. ISBN 0-300-05375-4 (cloth, price not given) Yale Univ. Press, 82/ Tkw /arruibm New Haven CT 96520

Physiological

Flux Control in Biological Systems Schulze, E.-D., ed. 1994. ISBN 0-12-633070-0 (cloth price not cited) Harcourt Brace & Co., 465 S Lincoln Dr., Troy MO 63379.

Life Processes of Plants Galston, A.W. 1994. ISBN 0-7167-5044-9 (cloth US32.95) W.H. Freeman, 41 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010

Stable Isotopes and Plant Carbon-Water Relations Ehleringer, J.R., Hall, A.E. & Farquhar, G.D. eds. 1993. ISBN 0-12-233380-2 (cloth, no price given) Harcourt Brace, 465 S Lincoln Dr., Troy MO 63379

Systematics

Asteraceae: Cladistics and Classification Bremer, K. 1994. ISBN 0-88192-275-7 (cloth us$79.95) Timber Press, 133 SW 2nd Ave., Suite 450, Port-land OR 97204-3527

The Bamboos McClure, F.A. 1993. ISBN 1-56098-323-X (paper us$16.95) Smithsonian Institution Press, 470 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7100, Washing-ton DC 20560

Molecular Evolution: Producing the Biochemical Data Zimmer, E.A., White, T.J., Cann, R.L. & Wilson A.C., eds. 1993. ISBN 0-12-182125-0 (cloth, no price given) Harcourt Brace, 465 S Lincoln Dr., Troy MO 63379

*A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United Sttes, Canada and Greenland. 2 vols. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. ISBN 0-88192-204-8 (cloth us$149.95) Timber Press, 133 SW 2nd Ave., Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527

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