ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ECOLOGICAL SECTION - 2008

A Summary of the Ecological Section’s Activities in 2007-2008

1. Business meeting conducted in Chicago, IL at Botany 2007. Topics at this meeting included:
   a. Introduction and recognitionof the students receiving travel and presentation awards
   b. Symposium sponsorships and ideas for the 2008 Botany meeting
   c. Increasing dues for nonstudent members of the section to $4 from $2.
   d. Nominated candidates for Ecological Section Chair with the election held electronically in the fall of 2007.
2. Students receiving travel awards for the 2007 meeting in Chicago were:
   John Geiger, Florida International University, Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Koptur for his presentation entitled: "Experimental seed and seedling performance of the endangered vine Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb. (Convolvulaceae).".($400)
   Daniel Hewins, Rider University, Advisor: Dr. Laura A. Hyatt for his presentation entitled: "Jack of All Trades: Biological Invasion Facilitated By Use of Multiple forms of Nitrogen".($300)
   Cassandra Boadway, Grand Valley State University, Advisor: Dr. Gary Greer for her Botany 2007 presentation entitled: "Growth and Nodulation in Trifolium repens and Glycine max in Response to Ailanthus altissima Extracts". ($300)
3. Students receiving awards for their presentation at the Botany 2007 meeting were:
   Best Student Oral Presentation
   Teresa M. Woods, from the Kansas State University, for the paper “Multiple reproductive modes contribute to fitness homeostasis of the invasive Lespedeza cuneata (Fabaceae)” Co-authors were David C. Hartnett and Carolyn J. Ferguson. ($150)
   
   Best Student Poster
   Mauricio Diazgranados, of Saint Louis University for the poster “Testing the conservatism of the ecological niche of the Espeletia complex” ($150)
4. Our section sponsored or co-sponsored 4 symposia at Botany 2007
   a. The Evolution and Maintenance of Mixed Mating Systems; Organizers: Diane Byers and Johanne Brunet; $600 support
   b. Conservation Biology of Eastern Tallgrass Prairie: Integrating Issues of Management and Restoration for the 21st Century: Organizers: Timothy Bell and; Marlin Bowles; $600 support
   c. Evolution in a Glaciated Landscape: Contribution of Endemism to Great Lakes Biodiversity; Organizers: J. A. Peirson and Anton A. Reznicek
   d. Symposium: The functional significance of leaf shape variation - towards a consensus from gene to community. Organizer: Adrienne B. Nicotra. (Name only support)
5. Our section co-sponsored a workshop at Botany 2007
   Measuring Eco-physiology of Plants from Cells to Ecosystems with Nondestructive Techniques ($400 support)
6. At Botany 2007 we had 8 Sessions including 34 posters and 38 papers
7. At the Botany 2008 meeting, the Ecological Section will be sponsoring or co-sponsoring 3 symposia.
   a. Pollination to Population Structure - How Understanding Reproductive Biology Can Inform Conservation of Rare Plants. Organizers: Vivian Negrón-Ortiz and Amy Faivre ($400 support)
   b. Polyploidy: Genetics, Evolution, Systematics and Ecology. Organizers: Keith Adams and Jeannette Whitton ($400 support)
   c. Bryophytes and Lichens of North America: Diversity, Function and Importance. Organizers Katherine Frego, and Arthur L. Fredeen, ($400)
8. Our section has 80 presentations that will be given in multiple paper and poster sessions.
9. We will be giving 4 student travel awards for Botany 2008. The awardees are:
   Katie Becklin, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO - Advisor, Dr. Candace Galen "The good, the bad, and the costly: Effects of shading and drought on the costs and benefits of mycorrhizae." ($50)
   Jocelyn Campbell, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC - Advisor, Dr. Cindy Prescott "Expanding the realized niche for cyanolichens in wet-temperate forests of interior British Columbia." ($150)
   Andrew Simpson, California State University, Chico, CA - Advisor, Dr. Kristina A. Schierenbeck - Botany 2008 presentation: "Multiple causal factors influence propagule size gradients in Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae)." ($300)
   Meghan Skaer, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA - Advisor, Dr. Hall Cushman - Botany 2008 presentation: "Evaluating the Effects of Cattle Grazing on a Coastal Prairie in Central California." ($300).

Respectfully Submitted, Diane Byers July 17, 2008