Published quarterly by Botanical Society of America, Inc., PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299
The yearly subscription rate of $15 is included in the membership dues of the Botanical Society of America, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Columbus, OH and additional mailing office.
Address Editorial Matters (only) to:
Marsh Sundberg, Editor
Dept. Biol. Sci., Emporia State Univ.
200 Commercial St.
Emporia, KS 66801-5057
Phone 620-341-5605
email: sundberm@emporia.edu
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Botanical Society of America
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Editorial Committee for Volume 48
Ann E. Antlfinger (2002)
Biology Department
Univ. of Nebraska - Omaha
Omaha NE 681823
antlfinger@unomaha.edu
Norman C. Ellstrand (2003)
Department of Botany and Plant Science
University of California
Riverside CA 92521-0124
ellstrand@ucracl.ucr.edu
James E. Mickle (2004)
Department of Botany
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7612
james_mickle@ncsu.edu
Andrew W. Douglas (2005)
Department of Biology
University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677
adouglas@olemiss.edu
Douglas W. Darnowski (2006)
Department of Biology
Washington College
Chestertown, MD 21620
ddarnowski2@washcoll.edu
Contents
Plant Blindness: "We have Met the Enemy and He is
Us." (David Hershey)..............................78
News from the Society
Annual Reports
President.............................................................................................................................85
Past President.....................................................................................................................86
President-Elect...................................................................................................................86
Secretary.............................................................................................................................86
Treasurer............................................................................................................................87
Program
Director................................................................................................................88
The
American Journal of Botany.......................................................................................89
Plant
Science Bulletin.......................................................................................................89
Webmaster..........................................................................................................................90
Committees
Committee
on Committees..............................................................................................91
BSA
Conservation..........................................................................................................92
Darbaker
Prize................................................................................................................93
Education........................................................................................................................93
Elections.........................................................................................................................93
Financial
Advisory.........................................................................................................93
Karling
Awards..............................................................................................................94
Membership
and Appraisal............................................................................................94
Merit
Awards.................................................................................................................95
Jeannette
Siron Pelton Award........................................................................................95
BSA
Publications...........................................................................................................95
Web
Page.......................................................................................................................96
Sections..................................................................................................................................96
Council of Society of Scientific
Presidents............................................................................98
Natural Science Collections Alliance....................................................................................98
Letter to the Editor.................................................................................................................98
Personalia
In Memoriam: Judith Lee
Gerow Croxdale, Plant Morphologist, 1941-2002......................100
Sherwin Carlquist Awarded Linnean
Medal........................................................................101
Announcements
Special Opportunities
Biology
and Systematics of the Saprolegniaceae..............................................................101
Plant
Anatomy Images Available......................................................................................101
Symposia, Conferences, Meetings
Diversity
and diversification processes in high mountain ecosystems: bridging
the gap between population,phylogenetics, and ecological approaches........................102
Janet Meakin
Poor Research Symposium: Invasive Plants - Global Issues,
local Challenges...........................................................................................................102
Wetland
Stewardship: Changing Landscapes and Interdisciplinary Challenges...............103
SSB/SSE/ASN
Joint Annual Meeting.............................................................................103
Positions Available
Cycad Biologist................................................................................................................103
Harvard
University Bullard Fellowships in Forest Research...........................................103
Book Reviews..........................................................................................................................104
Books Received........................................................................................................................122
Botanical Society of America Logo Items................................................................................124
PLANT SCIENCE
The article on "Plant Blindness" by Wandersee and Schussler in volume 47 (1) of Plant Science Bulletin struck a chord with many readers. I continue to receive positive comments about the article and it was frequently mentioned at the Education Forum that preceded the Botany 2002 meeting in Madison. Although the article was directed primarily to those of us who teach, it also had wider interest and applicability. One could speculate, for instance, on the degree to which plant blindness afflicts our elected representatives and decision makers at funding agencies. To my eyes we clearly have a problem!
In this issue's lead article, David Hershey provides some additional
insight into the problem of "seeing" plants. David suggests that some additional
related factors may be at least as important as "Plant Blindness" and makes
some suggestions for things we can do as individuals to address the problem.
More importantly, he has several suggestions for Society activities that
could make a dramatic and positive impact on the public - - Executive committee
take note! Wouldn't it be fun, for instance, to periodically see Michael
Christensen on the Jay Leno show "talking plants" with an exotic plant
or two to show the audience or to hear Karl Niklas "talking plants" as
a regular feature on "All Things Considered?" David may be correct in paraphrasing
Pogo - - "We have met the enemy and he is us." However, we are also the
ones that can do something about it. Lets get started!
- editor
Plant Blindness: "We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us"
Wandersee and Schussler (1999, 2001) coined the term "plant blindness" to describe the widespread lack of awareness of plants and neglect of plants both in biology education and in the general population. This seems a very useful term to focus attention on those problems. It is well established that "plants are the most important, least understood, and most taken-for-granted of all living things" (Wilkins 1988).
However, Wandersee and Schussler (2001) have also hypothesized that plant blindness can also be take almost literally as a human "default condition" due to limitations in human visual perception of plants. To avoid confusion, I will use the first definition of plant blindness in this article. Wandersee and Schussler (2001) make many interesting points in their discussion of visual principles relating to plant blindness, however, they do not eliminate plant neglect and zoochauvinism as causes of plant blindness.
Case for Visual Perception Causing Plant Blindness
The literature cited by Wandersee and Schussler (2001) on the limits to human visual perception apparently contains no specific experiments on human perception of plants. Zoochauvinism, plant neglect, and other causes of plant blindness have substantial concrete evidence to support them. Wandersee and Schussler (2001) present a very circumstantial case for a visual perception limitation as the main cause of plant blindness. Much of their evidence could also be used to support zoochauvinism and plant neglect as important reasons for plant blindness.
While the conclusion that people typically know less about plants than animals seems reasonable, it could be caused solely by plant neglect and zoochauvinism. It is not necessarily related to the figure that under 2.5% of the U.S. population is directly involved in raising farm crops. The percentage of the population involved in raising farm animals is probably not that far from 2.5%. The 2.5% figure may be misleading because it probably does not include people who process and sell farm crops; those who produce and sell flowers, turfgrass, nursery plants, bulbs, forest tree seedlings and gardening supplies; those who build and maintain landscapes, parks, arboreta, botanic gardens and golf courses; those who garden outdoors or indoors, those who make and sell fertilizers, pesticides, and other plant chemicals, etc.
Has there ever been a nationwide survey or test comparing student knowledge of plants versus animals? I have frequently heard of national tests of student knowledge in math, science, geography and history. Those reports usually seem to conclude that the majority of students are sadly deficient in the particular subject examined. It would be interesting to test the botanical literacy of biology teachers as well as students.
The argument that plants are nondescript when not in bloom ignores the fact that plants change dramatically with the seasons, more dramatically than animals in most cases. In the northern U.S., there is a nearly continuous change with the seasons starting with a burst of new plant growth in spring which is noticeable because of the new leaves on deciduous trees and the light green or sometimes red-tinted new leaves on evergreens. New leaf growth is accompanied and followed by a succession of blooming and fruiting from bulbs, trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous perennials, bedding plants, weeds and wildflowers until frost. Then there are spectacular fall leaf colors followed in winter with deciduous tree and shrub branch silhouettes, colorful "berries" or intriguingly-shaped fruits, and textured or colored barks. Plant breeders have achieved nearly continuous blooming of many bedding plants so there is much less of a problem of plants being nondescript when out of bloom. Unlike animals, plants often possess pleasant fragrances.
The argument that people who have had few meaningful experiences with plants may pay little attention to plants seems reasonable but it could just be caused by plant neglect or zoochauvinism because the person never had a plant mentor.
The observation that although people see a lot of pennies during their lifetimes they cannot draw an accurate picture of a penny is not directly relevant to the situation with plants. To determine if students have a default visual limitation that prevents them from accurately drawing plants, but not animals, would require experimentation. For example, students could be given a lesson which focused equally on a plant and an animal, such as a bird nesting in a saguaro cactus or an ant and its myrmecophyte. Students would then be asked after the lesson to draw the plant and the animal. If they could accurately draw the animal but not the plant, then that might be evidence of a visual limitation specific to plants.
Preference Versus Interest in Plants
There are a few limited studies that indicate a majority of students prefer to study plants rather than animals. The largest study appears to be Wandersee and Schussler's unpublished survey of 274 grade four to seven students in one city which indicated that students preferred to study animals compared to plants by a "nearly" 2:1 margin (Wandersee and Schussler 2001). Considering how plants are virtually absent or in the background on most children's TV shows, cartoons, movies, books, and toys, having only two-thirds of students preferring to study animals over plants is surprisingly low.
One weakness of such surveys is that there has apparently been no attempt
to determine if a preference for animals over plants is a default condition
or a learned condition due to zoochauvinism or plant neglect in the school
curriculum and media. Were any of the
teachers of the surveyed students good plant mentors or were they too
suffering from plant blindness?
Another important consideration is that a student preference for animals does not necessarily mean they have no interest in plants, nor do student preferences even seem that important in biology teaching. Biology curricula should not be determined by the preferences of the students but by what is important for students to know about biology. Many students object to animal dissections and teaching of evolution but biology teachers have strongly opposed changes in those areas. Thus, how significant to the case for plant blindness are surveys that say students tend to prefer animals over plants as objects of study?
In contrast to the student preference surveys is substantial evidence that many people are interested in plants. Plant curricula on Wisconsin Fast Plants, C-Fern, and gardening have proven popular with students. Gardening has often been named the top leisure activity in Gallup polls, and gardening is a huge, tens-of-billions of dollars per year business. There are thousands of gardening books in print. Cut flowers, flowering container plants, and other plant materials are standard gifts, symbols, and decorations for almost all occasions including holidays, birthdays, weddings, and funerals. There are hundreds of arboreta and botanical gardens, and many are popular tourist attractions. Each spring there are major flower and garden shows that draw large crowds. There are hundreds of gardening and plant-specific organizations plus thousands of local gardening clubs. The most visited exhibit at Walt Disney's EPCOT Center has often been the hydroponics display in The Land Pavilion. The flowering of the Washington, D.C. cherry trees is a major cultural event, as are similar festivals for blossoms of apple, peach, azalea, tulip, etc. in other areas. The fabulous flower-covered floats in the annual Rose Parade attract tens-of-millions of viewers each year. Excursions to see fall leaf colors are very popular. Wildflowers and other plants, such as redwoods and giant sequoia are big draws in parks. Each state celebrates Arbor Day, and trees are often planted as memorials. Every state has a state flower and state tree. There is a national flower and a campaign for a national tree. There is significant interest in champion trees (Jorgenson 1992), heritage trees (Meyer 2001) and exceptionally old trees (Lewington and Parker 1999). Plants are important elements in art, architecture, fashion and interior design. Two of the world's most expensive paintings are van Gogh's "Irises" and "Sunflowers." Plants are one of the most common themes on postage stamps.
Plant Mentors
It does seems very reasonable that having a plant mentor may be a key factor in preventing or overcoming plant blindness by nurturing an interest in plants (Wandersee and Schussler 2001). However, the effectiveness of plant mentors is not direct evidence for a visual perception limitation causing plant blindness. Plant mentors could simply spark an interest in plants, thereby overcoming plant neglect or zoochauvinism.
I can personally add to the anecdotal evidence to support the value of plant mentors. When I was a child my mother and aunt encouraged me to grow plants on the windowsill. I still have a now forty year old grapefruit tree grown from a seed when I was a child. I remember being fascinated by the common philodendron my aunt grew in clear glass jars filled just with colorful glass marbles and water. Other positive experiences I remember were growing cotton and a sweet potato vine indoors, backyard gardening, making a weed collection in a high school biology class, and visiting Longwood Gardens. I remember being impressed by some of the plant activities described by Chesanow (1987). I also remember how boring a high school assignment on photosynthesis was because it involved no experimentation, but just looking up the answers to questions in the library.
Some examples of good plant mentoring would include the Wisconsin Fast Plants (Williams 1989) and C-fern (Renzaglia et al. 1995) curricula, Wandersee and Schussler's (2001) plant blindness poster, and "The Plant Lady", who visits 3rd and 4th grade classes to teach about plants (Rohrbaugh 1997). Other innovative examples of plant mentoring are Winterthur Gardens "Enchanted Woods" children's garden (www.winterthur.org/Enchanted/enchanted.description.htm) in Winterthur, Delaware and the May 11, 2002, Mini Page "A Kid's Guide to Flowers" which appeared in many of the nation's newspapers.
A unique example of plant mentoring is found at Bonfante Gardens (www.bonfantegardens.com), a plant-themed amusement park in Gilroy, California which includes 25 of the world famous grafted "circus trees" created by Axel Erlandson beginning in the 1920s. The park opened on June 2001 and features gardens, a large greenhouse, educational exhibits and plant-themed rides, such as Garlic Twirl, Banana Split, Strawberry Sundae and Artichoke Dip.
Proven Causes of Plant Blindness
In contrast to the lack of specific evidence for a visual perception limitation as the cause for plant blindness, there is substantial concrete evidence that zoochauvinism and plant neglect are major causes of plant blindness. Zoochauvinism or animal chauvinism is the widespread tendency of biologists to consider it more important to study and teach about animals than about plants (Bozniak 1994, Darley 1990, Greenfield 1955, Hershey 1996). Speaking for biology teachers, Maura Flannery, longtime American Biology Teacher columnist, has more than once stated the zoochauvinist attitude. "I have to admit I don't give enough attention to plants ... in biology courses. ...I'm afraid this is a problem I share with many biology teachers. ... We are all more interested in animals: They react, they move, they even think. We can relate to them more easily because they are more like us." (Flannery 1991). "I am not alone in my prejudice; to many, botany is synonymous with what is dry, complicated, and uninteresting in biology" (Flannery 1987).
The high school biology text by Biggs et al. (1991) even had an anti-botany quotation by James Thurber, "I passed all the other courses that I took at my University, but I could never pass botany ..." Math teachers created a national outcry when the talking Barbie doll said that "Math class is tough" (Schroeder 1992) but biologists didn't make a peep when botany was maligned in the same way in a biology textbook. In sharp contrast, the quotation for the Human Biology unit of Biggs et al. (1991) was by Shakespeare, "What a piece of work is a man!" and the quotation for the Vertebrate unit was from "The Eagle" by Alfred Lord Tennyson,
He
clasps the crag with crooked hands,
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Zoochauvinism, which results in plant neglect in biology courses, is an extremely important problem in biology education because it distorts the reality of biology. "Our knowledge about the world around us is incomplete if we do not include plants in our discoveries, and it is distorted if we do not place sufficient emphasis on plant life" (National Research Council 1992). It is almost unbelievable that so many biology educators are apparently largely ignorant about and often biased against plants, which are such an essential component of life on Earth. However, they were taught that way by their biology teachers, and they will likely pass that ignorance of plants and bias against plants along to their students unless botanists work to break the cycle.
Contrary to Wandersee and Schussler (1999) who dismissed zoochauvinism as a cause of plant blindness by calling it a "bugbear of zoological conspiracy", zoochauvinism seems all too real. I have never heard zoochauvinism characterized as a conspiracy. Nichols (1919) described how zoologists were the primary instigators in combining separate zoology and botany courses into biology courses, presumably with the best of intentions. However, the more numerous zoologists wrote most of the biology textbooks and taught most of the biology courses. Therefore, it is not surprising that biology courses tended to ignore botany and overemphasize zoology. This "plant-lite" vision of biology in biology courses has apparently established great inertia over time. Botanists and botanical organizations have failed to mount a serious and sustained effort to reverse the situation and assure that biology courses give plants the attention they deserve. This has contributed to a downward spiral in plant biology research and education (National Research Council 1992).
Plant neglect is often the result of zoochauvinism by biology educators but even botanists have sometimes been unwilling to do their share in teaching introductory biology courses (Greenfield 1955). Eliminating botany classes and replacing them with biology classes is an old and apparently chronic problem. Nichols (1919) described how botany course elimination resulted in "biology taught by a zoologist." In the late 1980s or early 1990s, the University of Maryland eliminated their introductory botany course, and the Horticulture Department had to establish a new introductory horticulture course to teach the basic botany that Horticulture majors needed for later courses. There has been a recent precipitous drop in introductory botany textbook sales attributed to the same type of replacement of introductory botany courses with introductory biology courses (Uno 2001).
Plant neglect is widespread in biology curricula at all levels (Flannery 1991, Honey 1987, Kurtz 1958, Stern 1991, Taylor 1965, Uno 1994, Walch 1975). Plant neglect is evident in many biology textbooks and many biology courses which have minimal plant coverage relative to animal coverage (Uno 1994). Plant neglect is evident in the course offerings of many college biology programs which offer few or no botany courses or offer botany courses much less frequently than zoology courses. Biology programs sometimes do not require biology majors to take any botany classes, yet typically do require one or more zoology courses. Few, if any, botany courses exist that are designed to fill the needs of education majors, so how can botanists expect precollege teachers to teach students much about plants or be good plant mentors?
Plant Neglect Outside Schools
There are many examples of plant neglect beyond schools and colleges but the Kew Mural (www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/pictures/misc/kew-mural.jpg) discussed by Wandersee and Schussler (2001) is not one of them as the Kew brochure on the After the Storm Trail explains (Kew 1994). The mural was not commissioned by Kew Gardens but was a gift from a then 16 year-old Robert Games, who was impressed by the 1987 storm's destruction of Kew's trees. Games explained that he was inspired by a turkey oak that had fallen on Kew's two stone lions without damaging them. Wandersee and Schussler (2001) are incorrect that about two-thirds of the mural was covered by animals being displaced by the storm. Nearly two-thirds of the mural is the violent storm depicted as dark clouds and a giant man plus the two large stone lions that stood at the entrance to Kew gardens and figuratively defended it from the storm. There are a squirrel, rabbit and bird fleeing the storm but also a greenhouse and over ten trees or shrubs depicted. Games spent 1,000 hours making the mural and went to the trouble of using different types of wood from trees felled in the storm. It stands at the entrance to the After the Storm Trail which takes two hours to walk and visits thirteen of the tree species whose wood was used in the mural (Kew 1994). The spectacular Kew Mural is not an example of plant neglect but actually a good example of plant mentoring because it commemorates the sudden loss of a thousand trees at Kew and promotes an appreciation of trees.
Plant neglect is prevalent in science reporting. The June 6, 2002, demise of America's oldest white oak, the Wye Oak, was not intensely reported yet the April 26, 2002, rescue of a dog from a sinking ship was. May 2, 2002, was an unusual day for plant reporting because there were two botany stories on the internet wire services. The Associated Press reported on the discovery of the oldest angiosperm fossil, Archaefructus sinensis, and Reuters reported on the blooming of Amorphophallus titanum at Kew Gardens (www.kew.org/titan/). Often, weeks or months go by without a single botany story appearing. There are certainly enough botanical discoveries that at least one or two plant stories should appear each week on the wire services.
A major aspect of plant neglect is the near total lack of plant characters in cartoons, movies, books, toys and games, which are filled with thousands of anthropomorphic animal characters. Mr. Potato Head is one of the few well-known plant characters. If there were some well-known plant characters on Sesame Street, at Disney studios, and in the newspaper comic pages, plants might be more popular with children. The VeggieTales video series is an example of how effective computer-animated plant characters can be in education. VeggieTales uses plants such as Tom the tomato, Larry the cucumber, Frankencelery, and Junior asparagus, to tell Biblical stories. The 19 VeggieTales videos have sold over 28 million copies and will soon spawn a movie, a book, a video game and other products (Luscombe 2002). It seems likely that animated plant characters would be effective in teaching children about botany too.
Animals are the main focus on all of the many natural history TV series, such as Wild Kingdom, Wild America, Animal Adventures, Zoboomafoo, and Crocodile Hunter. Animal biology is a prime focus of the Animal Planet network and a major topic on the Discovery channel. The Home and Garden network focuses on gardening but not the scientific aspects of plants. There has apparently never been a long running TV series that featured plant science. The six-episode mini-series, The Private Life of Plants, is about the closest to a botany TV series. Only occasionally are there plant episodes on the PBS series, Nature, such as "Deathtrap", "Obsession With Orchids", "The Seedy Side of Plants" and "Sexual Encounters of the Floral Kind". The series, Bill Nye the Science Guy, had a memorable photosynthesis episode where Nye drove an old car covered with living lawn. There seems to be no good reason why an entertaining natural history or science TV series on plants would not be successful.
Zoos frequently get tremendous publicity from the birth of animals or acquisition of new specimens such as pandas or polar bears. However, botanical gardens and arboreta rarely seem to be in the news. Perhaps they could be if they had more unusual exhibitions, e.g. titum arums, parasitic plants, or Linnaeus' flower clock. Another marketing technique might use more of the fascinating stories behind many of their existing specimens, such as ginkgo, dawn redwood, handkerchief tree and carnivorous plants. It is unfortunate that more publicity has not been obtained for the recent discoveries of two new conifer species, Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis) in 1994 and golden Vietnamese cypress (Xanthocyparis vietnamensis) in 2001.
Plant Neglect by Botanists and Biologists
Hoekstra (2000) identified the main culprit behind plant blindness, i.e. "Botanists work very hard to make their science second-rate in the eyes of the public." Or perhaps most botanists and botanical societies simply don't work much to promote botany or botany education (Hershey 1989, Mathes 1983). Hence, the title of this article, Plant Blindness: "We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us". The quote is by Walt Kelly from his famous Pogo cartoon for Earth Day 1971.
A dramatic example of plant neglect can be seen in the color covers of American Biology Teacher. Of the last 100 covers that featured nonhuman animals or plants, just 21 featured a plant while seven identified an animal and a plant. The remaining 72 featured animals. Several of the 72 animal covers also had a plant in the background, often occupying a greater area than the animal, but the plant was not identified.
American Biology Teacher columnist Maura Flannery (1999) asked "Why deprive ourselves of the joy of learning about organisms [plants] that have come up with so many fascinating strategies to deal with the challenge of life on Earth." However, in over twenty years and over 160 Biology Today columns (through May, 2002), Flannery has had only ten columns devoted mainly to plants. A couple dozen other columns briefly mentioned plants so all told around ten percent of Biology Today has dealt with plants. That is too low a percentage to be considered anything but plant neglect. By comparison, Uno (1994) found high school biology textbooks devoted a meager 14% of their chapters and 20% of their lab exercises to plants and botanical topics, including algae, biomes and photosynthesis. It is rather ironic that over three years and 28 issues have passed since Biology Today was last devoted to plants (Flannery 1999), a column that discussed the problem of plant blindness.
The many plant errors in the biology teaching literature is another sign of plant neglect. Too few college-trained botanists write precollege botany books so many are written by botanically-illiterate authors. It should not be surprising that precollege botany books often contain many serious errors. For example, Bonnet and Keen (1989) has at least a couple dozens errors such as saying that xylem transports waste, that phloem transports starch, that chlorophyll is a catalyst, that celery is a monocot, that plants can exhibit hydrogen deficiency symptoms, and that iodine is an essential element for plants.
The National Gardening Association's Growlab elementary grade gardening curriculum (Cohen and Pranis 1990, Pranis and Hale 1988) has serious errors such as stating that plants only respire at night, that every seed is either a monocot or dicot, that a cotyledon is attached to the stem above a true leaf, and that the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was less than 50 ppm in 1850. The Life Lab curriculum (Jaffe and Appel 1990) also teaches elementary science through gardening but reinforces the long outdated view that plants eat soil in the song, Dirt Made My Lunch. Even a teacher who I had never met expressed her dismay at that song when it was sung at the National Science Teachers' Association national meeting. It certainly seems to be plant neglect by plant science societies when National Science Foundation funding for plant science curriculum development goes to nonscience organizations, such as the National Gardening Association, rather than to actual plant science societies.
The botany inaccuracy problem even extends to the refereed biology teaching
literature apparently because too few botanists write or review teaching
articles. A
1999 article on "Supermarket Botany" in American Biology Teacher
(Avery and Smith 1999) was authored by a Ph.D. herpatologist and a Ph.D.
ornithologist and generated four letters-to-the-editor complaining of the
numerous errors. Ironically, the "Supermarket Botany" article appeared
in the same issue as Wandersee and Schussler (1999). A recent article by
a Ph.D. animal physiologist (DeGolier 2002) contained several errors such
as saying that all cold hardy plants thermoregulate. In truth, thermoregulation
is a rarity in the plant kingdom, and only a few flowers, such as skunk
cabbage, thermoregulate (Seymour 1997).
What to do to fight plant blindness?
If botanists want to overcome plant blindness then undergraduate and precollege education must be made a priority by professional plant science societies. The prevalence of "research chauvinism" in the scientific societies and universities also needs to be overcome (Hershey 1996). It seems logical that a lot of the education effort has to be aimed at precollege teachers, particularly elementary school teachers, who can act as plant mentors before students are turned off to plant study for life. Plant science societies could become important in the fight against plant blindness by having hands-on botany exercises and current information useful to precollege teachers. Currently, these websites have very little of use to precollege teachers, especially the 100,000-plus elementary school teachers. Plant science societies could fight plant blindness in the following ways:
1. Develop a curriculum for a service college course designed specifically for precollege teachers, especially elementary school teachers, which gives them experiences with innovative hands-on plant activities and curriculum materials about plants that they can use in their teaching. Assist college botanists to establish such courses nationwide.
2. Make sure that introductory biology textbooks at all levels have adequate and accurate plant coverage and place online model biology textbook chapters for plants. Biology textbooks with accurate and adequate plant coverage could be given some kind of a botanical society seal of approval.
3. Make the main page of every botanical society website a tool to fight plant blindness. It should visually and intellectually promote an interest in plants for nonbotanists. It should support precollege teachers and college biology teachers who are nonbotanists by providing the following:
a. Interesting, educational features that keep the website fresh, such as a daily birthday bio of a famous botanist in history, a daily botany quotation, botany question of the week, a weekly plant profile, weekly plant misconception, and plant-themed activities or games for children.
b. Simple, inexpensive, and fast hands-on plant exercises for class labs for all levels pre-K to college (Uno 1994).
c. Lists of plant examples for general biological concepts (Uno 1994).
d. An online glossary of botanical terms to help standardize botanical terminology and provide a ready reference for teachers and students.
e. Frequent teacher updates online for traditional plant teaching topics, such as photosynthesis, tropisms, fall leaf coloration, transpiration, and plant taxonomy and newer topics of great importance, such as phytoremediation, bioengineered plants, and ecosystem destruction by introduced plants.
f. Recognition of innovative and dedicated botany teachers and their innovative plant biology teaching methods.
g. Bibliography of botanically accurate teaching materials.
4. Publish plant teaching articles in the society's refereed paper journals or in an online teaching journal to show that botanical societies genuinely value teaching scholarship and to encourage more such scholarship.
5. Fund a special plant issue of American Biology Teacher.
6. Sponsor a plant science exhibit at major flower shows.
7. Have a botanist periodically appear on TV talk shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, to show fascinating plants. Leno's show frequently features exotic animals.
8. Issue at least one plain English press release per month on a recent botanical discovery. Seasonal press releases should also be issued on seasonal topics such as pollen allergies, blooming of the Washington D.C. cherry trees, Arbor Day, fall leaf coloration, Christmas trees and poisonous holiday plants. Press releases on plant topics in the news should also be made available so that the public has some plant experts to rely on for situations such as the infamous 60 Minutes Alar scare.
9. Offer annual awards for an excellent plant teaching article or website.
10. Reach out to instructors of introductory college biology courses who are not botanists to encourage them to include an appropriate amount of botanical coverage so that "The first year course, then, should make a bright young student feel that this is the golden age in which to be a biologist and the golden age in which to be a botanist" (Steward 1967).
Conclusions
Plant blindness seems to be a useful and catchy term for widespread botanical illiteracy and neglect of plants in biology teaching but there is no concrete evidence that plant blindness is caused by a limitation in human visual perception of plants. In contrast, there is much solid evidence that zoochauvinism and plant neglect are widespread and are important causes of plant blindness. Therefore, to improve the state of botanical education, the most productive approach would be to work to reduce zoochauvinism and plant neglect. Greenfield (1955) provided good advice on these issues, "The wisdom of experience dictates ... a calm and realistic acceptance of any situation, however bad, with dedicated resolution to work towards solving the problems and improving conditions."
David R. Hershey
dh321z@yahoo.com
Literature Cited
Biggs, A., Emmeluth, D., Gentry, C., Hays, R., Lundgren, L. and Mollura, F. (1991). Biology: The Dynamics of Life. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
Bonnet, R.L. and Keen, G.D. (1989). Botany: 49 Science Fair Projects. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: TAB Books.
Bozniak, E.C. (1994). Challenges facing plant biology teaching programs. Plant Science Bulletin, 40, 42-26.
Chesanow, J.R. (1987). Honeysuckle Sipping: The Plant Lore of Childhood. Camden, Maine: Down East Books.
Cohen, J. and Pranis, E. (1990). GrowLab: Activities for Growing Minds. Burlington, Vermont: National Gardening Association.
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DeGolier, T. (2002). Cold war: Flora's undercover agents, a campus winter field trip to illustrate that plants do indeed thermoregulate. American Biology Teacher, 64, 45-51.
Flannery, M.C. (1999). Seeing plants a little more clearly. American Biology Teacher, 61, 303-307.
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Smith, D.G. and Avery, D.F. (1999). Supermarket botany. American Biology Teacher, 61, 128-131.
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Wandersee, J.H. and Schussler, E.E. (2001). Toward a theory of plant blindness. Plant Science Bulletin, 47, 2-9
Wandersee, J.H. and Schussler, E.E. (1999). Preventing plant blindness. American Biology Teacher, 61, 82,84,86.
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Williams, P.H. (1989). Wisconsin Fast Plant Manual. Burlington, North Carolina: Carolina Biological Supply.
News from the
Society
I. Annual Reports of Executive Committee, Editors, and
Webmaster
(note: below are summares of report highlights. The complete reports may be viewed on the BSA website: www.botany.org.)
Retirement of Kim Hiser, BSA Business Manager, effective November 30, 2001. Temporary reassignment of responsibilities amongst Treasurer, CPA, Secretary, and Business Office staff.
Invitation from Peter Raven to locate BSA headquarters at the Missouri Botanical Garden, site visit Jan. 1-2, 2002, with Pres.-Elect Scott Russell, agreement between BSA and MBG signed March 21, 2002.
Renewal of MOU with Department of Plant Biology at Ohio State University, to house Meetings Office and Meetings Manager.
Job description, advertising and search for first BSA Executive Director; appointed Search and Screening Committee.
Agreement with Daniller + Co. for fundraising consultation, David Northington principle contact.
Appointment of joint ad hoc committee with American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta (AABGA) to explore ways of collaboration and cooperation.
Appointment of Centennial Planning Committee. -Judy Jernstedt
Committee on Corresponding Members: this committee did not function this year as there is a full complement of Corresponding Members at present, and no new ones were to be added.
Elections Committee: As Chair of the Elections committee, I initiated solicitation for nominations, the committee established a list of potential nominees, these were contacted and a roster of candidates prepared. The nominees for President-Elect were Linda Graham* and Loren Reiseberg, and the nominees for Program Director were Jeff Osborn* and W. Carl Taylor. *elected
Plenary Speaker: After several trys, I invited Dr. Martin Apple, President of the CSSP (Council of Scientific Society Presidents) to be Plenary Speaker for Botany 2002. It is a good idea to start at least a year ahead on finding a Plenary Speaker. In the process we also invited Peter Raven to give a Special Lecture, and I invited Neil Campbell to be Speaker at the Forum.
Plenary Symposium: In consultation with the President's of participating societies in Botany 2002, the theme for the Plenary Symposium was selected to be "Evolution- highlighting plants". This is appropriate since plants provide many important insights into the pattern and process of evolution, and frequently are overlooked when examples of evolution are sought for teaching or research. Speakers for the symposium include: Dr. Michael Donoghue (systematic/phylogenetic perspective), Yale University, Dr. Loren Rieseberg, Indiana University (microevolution, processes, speciation), Dr. Gar Rothwell, Ohio University (contribution of the fossil record), Dr. Todd Vision, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (genome level evolution), and Dr. Anj Petto, University of the Arts (Evolution in the classroom).
Young Botanist's Awards.
Fourteen students were nominated for Young Botanist's Awards. After considering these, we determined that eight merited the Certificate of Special Achievement and 6 the Certificate of Recognition. Following is a list of the awardees, their institution, and primary nominator.
Young Botanist Awardees for
2002
Certificate of Special
Achievement
Name Institution Nominator
Carolyn
Reilly
Ohio
University
Dr. John Mitchell
Anna
Sherwood
Washington State
Univ.
Dr. Pam Soltis
Eva
Hager
Miami University,
Ohio Dr.
David Francko
Sabrina
Byrum
Miami University,
Ohio Dr.
David Francko
Katie
Kettler
Miami University,
Ohio Dr.
David Francko
Ryan
Blenkush
Univ. Calif.,
Davis
Dr. James H. Richards
Selena
Smith
Univ.
Alberta
Dr. Ruth Stockey
Stephen
Reynolds James Madison
University Dr. Conley K.
McMullen
Certificate of Recognition
Cary S.
Miller
Ohio
University
Dr. John Mitchell
Shannon
Beach
Univ. of
Illinois
Dr. Janice Coons
Pieter
Badenhorst
Southern Ill.
Univ.
Dr. Barbara Crandall-Stotler
Andrew
Ertley
Miami
University
Dr. David Francko
Karl
Gustafson
Miami
University
Dr. David Francko
Mark
Tancig
University of
Florida
Dr. Doug Soltis
-Patricia G. Gensel
President-Elect's Report, 2002
The major responsibilities of the President-Elect are: (1) to appoint committees that will be activated at the close of this meeting, (2) to prepare a banquet address for the BSA banquet, (3) prepare to take office and (4) perform demised duties as assigned by the President. Reports on these activities are available elsewhere or will be evident by the close of this meeting. In addition to these activities, I have also been involved in the decisions of the BSA to move its business office to Missouri Botanical Garden facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, which will occur soon. I also serve as a member of the search committee to name the BSA's first Executive Director and will serve as president when the Executive Director starts. Among my demised duties have been serving as liaison to libraries during the transition of the American Journal of Botany Online to controlled access. These discussions resulted in improved long-term strategies to achieve competitive pricing for the journal that will allow it to continue to flourish. In upcoming years, we have connections that we can use to continue to gather data on the impact of subscription increases.
-Scott Russell
Secretary's Annual Report, 2002
I served as the Society's Secretary at the BSA Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM, Saturday, Aug. 11 through Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001. In this capacity I took minutes at the Executive Committee meetings Saturday night and Thursday morning, at the BSA Council meeting on Sunday, and at the BSA Business meeting on Tuesday. In addition, I served as the recorder for the BSA Strategic Planning meeting on Thursday, Aug. 16, and summarized and distributed to the meeting participants the results of this planning exercise. I also prepared the announcements for the Society Awards presented at the BSA Banquet. The award descriptions and winners were given to PSB Editor Marsh Sundberg and published in the Plant Science Bulletin, as were the BSA Council reports.
I participated in, took notes, and distributed summary minutes from the spring Executive Committee meeting in St. Louis, OH, April 5-7, 2002. I participated in the on-going Executive Committee discussions and decisions on BSA business, which occur via e-mail throughout the year. I also responded to inquiries and correspondence directed to the BSA Secretary. I sent out reminders to Committee members concerning deadlines for their Committee work. I have worked with Marsh Sundberg and Jeff Osborn to develop ideas for affiliated society memberships and begun to organize re-writing the Duties of Officers handbook.
With the help of Webmaster Scott Russell, I collected the annual reports of the Executive Committee, the BSA Council members, and the Committee Chairs, compiled the reports, and posted them on the BSA webpage. I helped President Judy Jernstedt and President-elect Scott Russell plan the agendas for the 2002 BSA Council and Business Meetings and the agenda for the BSA Banquet, as well as the agendas for the pre- and post-meeting Executive Committee meetings.
-Jennifer H. Richards
1. Assets of The Botanical Society of America (as of 30
June, 2002)
Endowment Funds (includes all sectional
accounts and special funds)
Common stock &
Options $1,514,061.29
Money
Funds
$ 324,813.63
Total
$1,866,619.85
Bank Accounts
Society's
Checking
$ 39,326.90
Society's
Saving
$101,389.63
Business Office
Checking
$ 80,050.00
Business Offfice
Savings
$129,654.16
Total
$350,420.69
2. Allocation of funds to sections.
A proposal was presented to the Council for a more
equitable and flexible allocation of funds to sections. This proposal
establishes eligibility standards (representation at the Council, an annual
report, a business meeting) for receiving an annual allocation. Alocations will
be based upon activity at the annual meeting rather than membership numbers.
These changes are intended to give active sections more resources and encourage
more activity at the annual meeting.
3. 2001-2002 Fiscal Year
As of
30 June, 2002, the end of the third quarter, the Society's revenues fell well
short of their projections (budgeted - $867,600, YTD - $723,145.23, shortfall -
$144,454,.77). However Society expenses were also considerably less than
anticipated (budgeted - $897,600, YTD - $447,827.93, shortfall - $426,789.37).
Since many expenses are incurred in the 4th
quarter, I project that the Society will end the fiscal year with a budget
surplus. Smile!
4. 2002-2003 Budget Proposal
The new initiatives undertaken may stretch the Society's
resources in the short term, but a reduction in publication costs (30% reduction
in number of printed copies since onset of online version) allows some
redistribution to new expenses. These actions are anticipated to improve the
Society's fiscal picture in the long term, but since fund raising and
development activities have a lag time before realization, expenses and revenues
will be watched closely.
The proposed budget is based upon anticipated revenues of $881,700. The proposed expenses of $880,000 would produce a surplus of $1,700. Even if membership revenues fail to meet estimates, the deficit will be manageable, so generally speaking, the Society's finances are in good shape. If the 2002-2003 fiscal year follows patterns of recent years, both revenues and expenses will fall somewhat below targeted figures. The hiring of an Executive Director and new business office personnel, the move and setup of the business office, the addition of E-commerce capability for membership renewal, and the relocation of the web page and its management, means some new expenses will be realized and no large surplus can be expected. Excess funds from fiscal year 2001-2002 will be used if some of these transitional expenses threaten to generate too much red ink.
5. Annual Meeting - A Budgetary Perspective
Budgetarily the post-AIBS Annual Meetings have been a huge
success. In simple terms they have paid for themselves while incorporating many
costs usually borne by the Society's operating budget, e.g., plenary speaker and
program director expenses. This year's Educational Forum appears to be improving
upon past years' successes. Presently meetings are budgeted on a break even
basis: they are not a source of revenue. For next year's budget, this includes a
shift of an additional 25% of Johanne Strogan's salary (Meetings Manager) and
duties to the Meetings budget (proposed 75% meetings manager/25% business
office) as well as the travel and other expenses incurred the by the Program
Director.
-Joseph E. Armstrong
Coordination of the Scientific Program for Botany 2002
News Coverage. The news divisions of four national periodicals, Science magazine, National Geographic, TheScientist, and Science News were contacted with information about Botany 2002 and an inquiry about obtaining news coverage. At this date, reporters from National Geographic and TheScientist will be attending. A press release about Botany 2002 was also prepared for distribution to local and regional news outlets.
The Forum Program for Botany 2002
This year's inaugural Forum, focusing on botanical education and outreach, will begin on Friday evening, August 2, with early registration and an welcoming reception. The main Forum program will occur on Saturday, August 3, with a Keynote Address by textbook author Dr. Neil Campbell titled "Botany Education in our Schools and Colleges: An Optimistic Forecast," and 23 one-hour sessions, including two on funding opportunities available at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The individual sessions are grouped within five topical themes, or `threads,' that span the Forum program, and these have been scheduled such that those from the same thematic thread don't overlap at the same time slot. A range of topics will be addressed in interactive panel and roundtable discussions, breakout groups, as well as informational sessions.
On Sunday, August 4, the Forum is formally linked to the annual scientific meeting via workshops and field trips, for which attendees register separately. Sixteen hands-on workshops are available as two-hour, half-day, and full-day events. Two workshops are sponsored by the NSF and the Deep Gene Research Coordination Network, and these are free to registrants.
Although the principal focus of the Forum is undergraduate education and related outreach, K-12 teachers have been encouraged to participate, and several hands-on workshops are targeted for K-12 educators.
The Forum is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL), the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), the Deep Gene Research Coordination Network, and Prentice Hall publishers. There were approximately 300 participants.
The Scientific Program for Botany 2002
All BSA disciplinary Sections have some function(s) scheduled at Botany 2002 except for the Bryological and Lichenological Section (ABLS is meeting independently in 2002) and the Mycological Section. However, the Mycological Section is a co-sponsor of one symposium. Detailed schedules for the sectional programs are presented in the final Program, and summary information for the number of presentations and sessions for the entire conference is presented below. Approximately 1000 pre-registered.
Total number of
presentations 748
Talks
570
Contributed
papers
443
Symposium
presentations 121
Special lectures and
addresses 6
Posters
176
Regular
submissions
143
Recent
Topics
33
Discussion
Sessions
2
Total number of
sessions
61
Contributed
Papers
43
Symposia /
Colloquia
13
Special
Lectures
2
Posters
1
Discussion
Sessions
2
Future Annual Meetings
2003 - Mobile, Alabama. Botany 2003 will be held from July 26-31, 2003 in Mobile, Alabama. In addition to the BSA, other societies participating in the conference will include: the American Byrological and Lichenological Society (ABLS), the American Fern Society (AFS), and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT). The theme for the conference is "Aquatic and Wetland Plants: Wet & Wild," and a logo has already been designed. In addition, Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson has accepted an invitation to deliver the Plenary Address.
Calls. The "Call for Symposia," "Call for Workshops," and "Call for Field Trips" for the 2003 Annual Meeting were distributed in the BSA-wide Spring 2002 mailing and posted on the Botany 2003 web site. Copies of these "Calls" were also sent to the Program Chairs of participating societies. Deadlines for submissions of on-line proposals are as follows: Symposia (July 15, 2002 for the Paleobotancial and Systematics Sections, and September 15, 2002 for all other Sections); Workshops and Field Trips: (October 15, 2002). The "Call for Papers" will be distributed in the BSA-wide Fall 2002 mailing, as well as posted on the web site.
2004 - Snowbird, Utah. Botany 2004 will held at the Snowbird Conference Center in Snowbird, Utah from August 1-5, 2004. Programmatic Planning for this meeting has not begun in any significant way, but a Plenary Speaker will soon be invited.
2005 - Location not yet determined. 2005 is also the year of the next International Botanical Congress (IBC), and this may affect our annual meeting registration numbers.
2006 - Location not yet finalized. This is the BSA's Centennial year, and we're hopeful that the conference will be held at one of the Society's founding institutions. In addition, special programming will be included in the conference to celebrate the Societies 100 years.
-Jeffrey M. Osborn
The American Journal of Botany
1. Publication status
Year
MS Received Total
Pages Publications
2001 -
2002
356
2,1891
2322
2000 -
2001
347
2,184
224
1999 -
2000
325
1,804
189
1998 -
1999
301
1,820
181
1997 -
1998
325
1,802
212
1996 -
1997
323
1,728
181
1995 -
1996
325
1,618
176
2. Manuscript
status
2001-2002
2000-2001 1999 - 2000
Accepted
or at Allen Press 116
147
166
Out for
review
110
45
47
total
226
192
213
3. Production
schedule 2001-2002
2000-2001 1999 - 2000
Receipt
to final editorial decision
excluding split
reviews 1.2
1.1
1.2
including split
reviews
2.14
3.5
7.4
Receipt to
publication
4.55
7.4
8.3
1 On average, 182 pages per issue; 19.9 papers et al. per issue; 9.4 pages per paper (decline in the length of papers, e.g., 9.8 pages per paper in 2000 _ 2001).
2 225 research articles; 8 brief communications; 3 special papers. An additional 7 book reviews were published. Total = 239 manuscripts.
4 ~17% of all manuscripts received a `split decision'; 54% of all of these manuscripts were accepted; rejection rate for all manuscripts, on average, was ~ 41%.
5 Receipt of final manuscript to appearance in print. Time from submission to appearance in print ~ 11.5 months due to
delay of authors providing revised manuscripts for 3rd
review or final
manuscripts after successful first round of reviews.
The time to appearance in print in governed by the number of manuscripts
published per issue not by the efficiency of journal staff.
4. Highlights: Backlog of manuscripts reduced significantly since the adoption of new signatures. Turn-around time from receipt of final manuscripts to appearance in print reduced by ~60% (compared to August 2000 _ July 2001). Special Papers and book reviews have not been actively solicited, although we continue to look for excellent SPs and will continue to publish reviews of important new books. Citation Index ranking of the AJB increasing. AJB has been mentioned in Science, Nature, and Science News.
5. Recommendations: Maintain current issue-size. Maintain manuscript backlog at ~100 manuscripts. Target 6_8 months as optimal turn-around time from submission to appearance in print. Maintain average manuscript length by continued rigorous review, encouraging authors to reduce length, and discourage publication of large data sets, voucher tables, and similar materials in bound-copy. Shift readership from bound- to electronic-copy. Support request for staff annual salary increments. Hired a copy editor at junior level (one of our staff has left for health reasons). Reduce institutional and individual subscription rates in developing countries (as defined by NATO). Raise an endowment for the AJB. Increase advertising in the e_AJB. Appoint AJB editor-in-chief as a non-voting member of the BSA EC.
-Karl J. Niklas
Volume 47
1. Four issues, 180
pages, were published on schedule. This was 40 pages more than the previous
volume. Half of this increase was due to an expanded annual reports section
(Secretary Richards has been very successful in obtaining reports from almost
all sections and committees). The press run was 4500 copies, 100 fewer than
volume 46. It was distributed quarterly, packaged with the American Journal of Botany.
2. Production cost for volume 47 was $14,301.37
3. Feature articles included:
-Toward a Theory of Plant Blindness
47(1)
-Ethics in Science: Preparing
Students for their Career 47(2)
-Educational Program about Wildland Fire Integrates Plant Science into
Curriculum 47(3)
-The E.A. McIlhenny
Natural History Collection 47(4)
4. 160 books, CD's and Videos were received for review; 83 reviews were published. In previous volumes only about 1/3 of the books received were reviewed; we would like to maintain at least 50%.
5. Both PDF and HTML electronic versions are posted on the BSA web page.
Volume 48
1. Two issues, 76
pages, have been published on schedule. The press runs were 3800 copies 48(1)
and 4000 copies 48(2). The fall issue is in preparation. Mailing continues to be
with American Journal of Botany.
2. Production cost for volume 48 (1&2) is $5511.60.
3. Feature articles included:
- Why Botany?; The Future of Botany at
the Undergraduate Level; Preparing a Grant Proposal for NSF 48(1)
- Reflections; Some Practical Bioethics
for Botanists 48(2)
Upcoming articles will include: a response to "Plant Blindness;" articles on the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and Bellingrath Gardens (the latter as a promotion of our Mobile meeting in 2003).
4. 55 books have been received for review; 35 reviews were published.
Individuals interested in submitting lead articles or in suggesting future article topics should contact the editor.
-Marsh Sundberg
Total page requests: Total hits: 1,644,458 hits (from March 4, 1997 through June 30, 2002). There were 571,948 in 2001 and so far 292,832 in 2002 (projection: 585,664), up 2.4%.
Main BSA Site (www.botany.org): In June 2002, there were 40,827 page requests, with logins from 13,719 distinct hosts, 2.275 Gbytes (77.657 Mbytes/day) downloaded from the main BSA site, 84 countries, 2,519 distinct files and 169,798 individual requests (one day over 2,000; five days under 1,000). Busiest day of the month: 20/Jun/02 (2,153 requests for pages). All-time highs include: 69,982 page requests (August 2001), 2.275 Gbytes (77.657 Mbytes/day) downloaded from the main BSA site (June 2002), and 240,853 individual requests (April 2002), 97 countries (November 2001), number of distinct hosts: 19,432 (April 2002), distinct files requested: 3,030 (September 2001). The second highest number of countries visiting was 94 (May 2002). The seven busiest days have been in August 2001: 3/Aug/01: 4459, 4/Aug/01: 4795, 5/Aug/01: 5799, 6/Aug/01: 5747, 7/Aug/01: 7154, 8/Aug/01: 5934
Requests from 84 countries were received in June 2002 .
A total of 156 countries outside the U.S. have been logged on the BSA website, from January 1998 to the present (up from 141 last year).
Access statistics are available for the following BSA domains from the BSA home page: BSA Main Site = http://www.botany.org/; BSA Images = http://images.botany.org/ ; Botany 2000 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2000.org/ ; Botany 2001 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2001.org/; Botany 2002 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2002.org/ ; Botany 2003 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2003.org/; BSA Announcements site = http://announce.botany.org/ ; AJB Supplemental Data site = http://ajbsupp.botany.org/; McIntosh Apple Development site = http://mcintosh.botany.org/.
BSA runs its own web servers, domain name servers, email service and security systems. Steve Wolf runs the BSA Directory. This has not always been reliable (i.e., when the webmaster is out of town) and relies too heavily on volunteer effort. We are investigating moving all web service to Missouri Botanical Gardens and are also considering outsourcing an e-commerce site for membership dues and subscriptions to a company. The web versions of documents and membership are increasingly becoming the focal set of references for the BSA. Future web use should increasingly use the web to electronically archive digital correspondence as it serves as an ideal means of disseminating information within the BSA membership and leadership and to the outside world.
BSA Image Site: This site continues to be popular and fluctuates with the academic term. The server has provided up to 7746 pages of data in one month with almost 3 gigabytes of data downloaded. The home page was reorganized to emphasize the search feature. This has improved utility of the site somewhat. This was moved to a faster server in December 2001.
American Journal of Botany Online has now been in operation for over three years. Last year, over 500,000 page retrievals occurred with a total of 72.5 Gigabytes of data downloaded. Both of these are 100% increases. With access control instituted, we will find much lower data transfer rates. The average weekly number of PDFs downloaded has gone from 3000 per week to 300 per week, and data transfer rates are about 1/3 of what they have been. We are still building our online subscriber base, however, and they will never be this low again! Of the members, 1,027 have activated their accounts, whereas 1,270 have not. Of subscibing institutions, 48 have activated their subscriptions, whereas 42 are not activated.
II Committees
Committee on Committees
Almost all positions are filled. The entries below are color-coded: automatic appointments are blue, new appointments are green, important notes are red. Following is the constitution of committees as of July 26, 2002.
Standing Committees (Administrative):
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES (6
appointed members; 3 year terms) (ONE OPENING)
New
President-Elect (2003), Chair, ex officio
Ned Friedman (2003)
Jerrold Davis (2003)
Missy Holbrook (2004)
Gar Rothwell (2004)
Bob Jansen
(2005)
Jennifer Richards
(2003), Secretary, ex officio
FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms) (FILLED)
Harry T. Horner (2004), (Chair)
Russell Chapman (2003)
Greg
Anderson (2004)
Scott Russell (2003), President,
ex officio
Joe Armstrong
(2004), Treasurer, ex officio
Business Manager, ex officio
ANNUAL MEETING COORDINATING COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms) (COMMITTEE DISSOLVED)
ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM COMMITTEE
(NO OPENINGS)*
Jeffrey M.
Osborn (2002) (Chair) - New Program Director
(2005), ex officio
Program
Organizer of each Section
Chair, Local Organizing Committee
Representatives of Other Societies
meeting with BSA
ARCHIVES AND HISTORY COMMITTEE (2 appointed members; 5
year terms) (NO OPENINGS)
Ronald Stuckey (2003) (Chair)
Lee Kass (2004)
Pamela Soltis (2003), Immediate
Past Secretary, ex officio
CONSERVATION COMMITTEE (6 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Tom Ranker (2004) (Chair)
Harvey Ballard (2003)
Diane Horton (2003)
Paul Wolf (2004)
Nancy
Morin (2005)
Jon Shaw (2005)
EDUCATION COMMITTEE (6 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Rob Reinsvold (2004) (Chair)
Neil Sawyer (2003)
Stephen Scheckler (2003)
Margaret Kuchenreuter (2004)
Tom Rost (2004)
Gordon Uno
(2005)
Scott Russell (2003), President, ex officio
Jennifer Richards (2003),
Secretary, ex officio
J. S.
Shipman (2003), Secretary of the Teaching Section, ex officio
Marsh Sundberg (2004), Editor of
the Plant Science Bulletin, ex officio
David Kramer (2004), Immediate
Pair Chair, Education Committee, ex officio
ELECTION COMMITTEE (3 appointed members; 3 year terms) (FILLED)
Judy Jernstedt
(2003), Past President, Chair ex officio
Barbara Crandall-Stotler (2003)
Richard Olmstead (2003)
Steven
Manchester (2005)
Jennifer
Richards (2003), Secretary, ex officio
MEMBERSHIP AND APPRAISAL COMMITTEE (5 appointed members;
5 year terms) (FILLED)
Donald Hauber (2003)
Lyn Loveless (2004)
Massimo Pigliucci (2005)
Michael Mayer (2006)
Ruth
Stockey (2007)
Business
Manager, ex officio
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE (5 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Nancy Dengler (2003) (Chair)
Pat
Herendeen (2004)
Andrea Schwarzbach (2004)
Mary
Barkworth (2005)
Diane Marshall (2005)
Karl Niklas, Editor, AJB, ex
officio
Marshall Sundberg,
Editor, PSB, ex officio
Scott
Russell, Webmaster, ex officio
Business Manager, ex officio
WEBPAGE COMMITTEE (5 appointed members; 3 year terms) (FILLED)
Scott Russell, Webmaster &
Chair
Jim Reveal (2003)
Pam Diggle (2004)
James Mickle (2004)
Janice
Glime (2005)
Carl Schlichting (2005)
Rob Reinsvold (2004), Education
Committee Chair, ex officio
Marsh Sundberg (2004), Editor, PSB, ex officio
Karl Niklas (2004), Editor, AJB,
ex officio
Jennifer Richards
(2003), Secretary, ex officio
Business Manager, ex officio
Standing Committees (Awards):
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS COMMITTEE (Past Presidents) (NO OPENINGS)*
Pat Gensel (2004), ex officio
Douglas Soltis (2003), ex officio
Judy
Jernstedt (2005), ex officio
MERIT AWARDS COMMITTEE (3 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Chris Haufler (2003), Chair
Chris Campbell (2004)
Lynn Bohs
(2005)
Scott
Russell (2003), President, ex officio
DARBAKER PRIZE COMMITTEE (3 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Robert Bell (2003), Chair
Debabish Bhattacharya (2004)
Rick McCourt (2005)
ESAU AWARD COMMITTEE (3 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Geeta Bharathan (2003), Chair
Dennis Stevenson (2004)
Larry
Hufford (2005)
KARLING AWARD COMMITTEE (6 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (NO OPENINGS)
Gene Mapes (2003), Chair
Kathleen Pryer (2003)
Javier Francisco-Ortega (2004)
Amy Litt (2004)
James Quinn (2004)
Susanne Renner (2004)
MOSELEY AWARD COMMITTEE (3 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Kathleen Pigg (2003), Chair
Cindi Jones (2004)
Frank Ewers (2005)
PELTON AWARD COMMITTEE (3 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (FILLED)
Elliot Myerowitz (2003), Chair
Darlene Southworth (2004)
Sarah Hake (2005)
Ad Hoc Committees:
MEMBERSHIP TIERS COMMITTEE (COMMITTEE DISSOLVED)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE
Ed Schneider, Chair
David Northington
Judy Jernstedt
Scott Russell
PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY
American Journal of Botany (NO OPENINGS)
Karl
Niklas, Editor-in-Chief (2004)
Plant Science Bulletin (FILLED)
Marshall Sundberg, Editor (2004)
Editorial Committee for Volumes 47/48
Norman C. Ellstrand (2003)
James Mickle (2004)
Andrew Douglas (2005)
Douglas Darnowski (2006)
Andrea Wolfe (2007)
Representatives to Various Organizations:
AAAS COUNCIL (NO OPENINGS)
Patrick Herendeen
AIBS COUNCIL (NO OPENINGS)
Patricia Gensel
ASSOCIATION OF SYSTEMATICS COLLECTIONS (NO OPENINGS)
Laurence E. Skog (2003)
BIENNIAL INCORPORATION, STATE OF CONNECTICUT (NO OPENINGS)
Kent E. Holsinger
COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY PRESIDENTS (EACH
PRESIDENT-ELECT) (NO OPENINGS)*
New
President-Elect (2003)
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES
BOARD OF BASIC BIOLOGY ( NO OPENINGS)
Jennifer Richards (2003),
Secretary, ex officio
-Scott D. Russell
At the request of President Judy Jernstedt, the Conservation Committee reviewed a proposal by the US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to modify certain phytosanitary rules, a summary of which follows.
"SUMMARY: We are proposing to revise our regulations
regarding the movement of plant pests by adding risk-based criteria for
determining the plant pest status of organisms, establishing a notification
process that could be used as an alternative to the current permitting system,
providing for the environmental release of organisms for the biological control
of weeds, and updating the text of the subpart. These proposed changes would
clarify the factors that would be considered when assessing the plant pest risks
associated with certain organisms, facilitate
the
importation and interstate movement of regulated organisms, and address gaps in
the current regulations."
After reviewing the entire proposal, the Conservation
Committee informed President Jernstedt that the proposed changes seemed
relatively insignificant and should have a minor impact on the botanical
community.
-Tom A. Ranker
The Darbaker Prize for 2002 will be awarded to Dr.
Arthur R. Grossman at the 2002 BSA Banquet. This prize includes a certificate
and check for $1000.
-Louise A. Lewis
The Education Committee sponsored workshops for K-12 teachers at the Texas Regional Science Convention and the National Science Teachers Association Annual Meeting in San Diego. We also sponsored a booth at the NSTA Convention where over 20,000 teachers from across the nation attended. The two workshops organized by Tim Gerber and Rob Reinsvold were well received and well attended (in both cases we exceeded the seating capacity of our assigned rooms). At the booth we had an interactive activity to help teachers explore more ways to incorporate more plants in their teaching of biological concepts. Based on our records we talked with nearly 1500 teachers and administrators. The new apple development posters were a big hit and will be in classrooms across North America (we gave out nearly 1000 poster in the first couple of days.)
The Education Committee also commends Jeff Osborne and the Forum Committee in organizing the first Pre-conference Forum in Madison. Based on the initial plans this looks like it will be a success.
In the past several years the Education Committee has help lead the botanical educational outreach efforts for the nation. We have collaborated with other societies to prepare materials and sponsor workshops for teachers. We have concentrated on NSTA and NABT national meetings to get the most "bang for the buck". We are requesting $10,000 for next year to continue the educational outreach activities.
-Rob Reinsvold
This year election of President-Elect and Program Director was needed. A call for nominations by the membership was conducted and their reponses tallied. The Elections Committee generated a list of names of possible candidates for election to the offices of President-Elect and Program Director. Potential candidates were contacted and the following ballot list resulted: President-Elect: Linda Graham, University of Wisconsin, Loren Rieseberg, Indiana University; Program Director: Jeffrey Osborn, Truman State University, W. Carl Taylor, Milwaukee Public Museum. Results of the voting is: President-Elect- Linda Graham and Program Director- Jeff Osborn.
Some discussion took place, within the Election Committee, and in conversations with potential candidates, which raised points we consider important for future consideration:
1. What characteristics should we be looking for in a potential President? Here, name recognition, knowledge of how BSA works, contribution to the society were some attributes mentioned. Some prior experience, such as having served on one or more committees or on the Council, or holding a previous office was judged important by some but not all individuals. Commitment to the society is important.
2. It has been suggested that the Program Director should not be an elected position, but an appointed one.
-Pat Gensel
Financial Advisory Committee (FAC)
The FAC has the responsibility for managing the BSA Endowment Fund. The BSA assets are invested through Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) under a management group (managed funds). About 23 percent of the endowment is retained in an unmanaged money market fund within SSB. Normally this percent is maintained at 15 percent, but the decrease in the value of the stocks has changed this percent. All of these funds are divided among the following categories (as of June 28, 2002):
Managed money funds -
Cash balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$ 155.40
Money funds . . . . .
. . . . . . $ 20,406.00
Accrued
dividends. . . . . . . . . . . $ 11.84
Common stock & options . . $1,386,565.18
Unmanaged money funds
Money funds . .
. . . . . . . $ 324,982.46
Accrued
dividends. . . . . . . . $ 168.55
Total
$1,732,289.23
The present BSA Endowment fund ($1,732,289.23) is less than at the end of June 2000 ($1,867,492.41). However, the fund has grown 95.6% since its inception 8.5 years ago (12/93; $884,317). This represents, with this year's losses, an average increase of 11.28% per year.
The economic events prior to and following September 11, 2001, and the continuing volatility in the stock market, especially this past June, have affected the growth of the BSA endowment. However, financial restructuring of these funds in 2000 greatly reduced the impact of these more recent events.
Last August, two recommendations were approved: $27,400 was recommended for use from the Endowment Income for the `special initiatives' during the 2001-2002 fiscal year, as determined by the Executive Committee and Council per Guideline 4. (see Guidelines below); and both section and special accounts are to have an interest rate equal to the endowment interest rate.
Daniller + Company was hired for at least a three-year period to aid the EC and Council in a strategic plan to increase the visibility of the BSA and to enhance its gift-giving for society initiatives.
Recommendation: The FAC recommends that $13,700 be used from the Endowment unmanaged money market portion of the endowment for the `special initiatives' during the 2002-2003 fiscal year, as determined by the Executive Committee and Council per Guideline 4 (see Guidelines below).
Rationale for Recommendation: The severe economic conditions of the past year have affected the stock market significantly. Fortunately, the BSA Endowment Fund was reasonably protected because of its reorganization and restructuring the previous year. Nonetheless, the losses that have been incurred are reflected in the reduced amount recommended by the FAC for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Even though there was a loss, the FAC feels that BSA `initiatives' for the 2002-2003 fiscal year are vitally important to the continued growth and development of the Society and need to be supported, even at a reduced level, through the Endowment Fund.
The Endowment Fund Guidelines and Interest Earnings for Special and Section Accounts are available on the web to clarify decisions related to the operating procedures of the FAC and the determinations by the BSA Treasurer of how 1) the annual amount for BSA initiatives is determined; and 2) the annual interest percentages for the special and section accounts are determined.
Karling Awards were made to the following students. The list gives the student's name, university, title of the project, and award amount.
Name
University
Award
Alvarez,
Aida. New York Botanical Garden
"Phylogeny of Prescottinae and systematics of
Gomphichis
(Orchidaceae)"
$500
Baumert, Anthony. University of
Pittsburgh "Application of resource competition theory to
ecosystem
succession"
$500
Bell,
John.
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee "The effect of interspecific
competition for pollinator service on the mating patterns and pollen
dispersal in Mimulus
ringens"
$500
Cortes-Burns, Helen. University of Texas "Phylogenetic
and biogeographic study of
Bell-flowers (Walhlenbergia) in the sourth ern hemisphere of Oceanic
Islands
$500
Cortes-Palomec, Aurea. Ohio University "Reproductive
systems and population genetics of a
Mexican Viola
species"
$500
Cronin,
James. University of Pittsburgh
"Herbivory and the top-down regulation of
terrestrial plant communities: A test of two prominent theoretical lineages"
$500
Dunn,
Michael. Ohio University "The
Mid-Carboniferous Floral Break: a crucial and
enigmatic episode in the evolution of the terrestrial
ecosystem $500
Forest,
Felix. Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew "A molecular systematic study of the South
African endemic genus Muraltia
(Polygalaceae)
$500
Hernandez-Castillo, Genaro. University of Alberta
"Taxonomic reevaluation and systematics of
primative conifers from
Euramerica"
$500
Karst,
Lisa.
Portland State University "Phylogeny of Sysrinchium (Iridaceae), genetic
and
morphological"
$500
Moody, Michael. University of
Connecticut "Phylogenetics, hybridity and aquatic origins in
the angiosperm family
Haloragaceae"
$500
Moore, Michael. University of
Texas "The roles of edaphic shifts and long distance
dispersal in the evolution of the American desert genus Tiquilia
(Boraginaceae)"
$500
Morris,
Ashley. University of Florida
"Exploring the biogeographic history of eastern
North American trees: a comparative phylogeographic approach $500
Roncal,
Julissa. Florida International
University "Evolution of the Geonoma macrostachys
(Palmae)
complex
$750
Rydholm,
Carla. Duke University
"Lichenicolours fungi systematics and the transition from
mutualism to parasitism in
Asomycetes"
$500
Specht, Chelsea. New York
Botanical Garden "Systematics and evolution of the tropical
plant family
Costaceae"
$500
Steets, Janette. University of Pittsburgh "Ecological correlates of Pollen Limitation" $500
Thompson, James. University of
Florida "Phylogeny and the evolution of breeding systems in
the moss Pohlia
Cruda"
$500
Thompson, Stacey. University of British Columbia
"Transmission of apomixis in a Townsendia
hybrid
zone
$500
Wu,
Carrie.
University of California "Ecophysiological variation among natural hybrids
in an Ipomopsis (Polemoniacae) hybrid
zone."
$500
-Gene Mapes
Membership and Appraisal Committee
Membership in the Botanical Society has been fairly constant over the last ten years, with total membership fluctuating from a high of 2902 in 1997 to the current membership of 2282. There were 2363 members in 2001. The year 2002 was the first year with the printed journal was separate from membership and 959 members received the printed journal.
Suggestions for revising the poster and brochure primarily include adding changes in fee structure, now that the hard copy of the journal is separate from membership, and making the poster more colorful with less text. Past photos from AJB covers could be added to the poster. The membership web site (http://www.botany.org/#membership ) should be highlighted as providing more information and downloadable membership forms. Another suggestion is to have the brochures available in an attached envelope on the poster, instead of the tablet of tear-off application forms.
-Kathleen Shea
The Committee included myself as Acting Chair, Maxine Watson, Christopher Campbell, and Judy Jernstedt, BSA President, ex officio.
We received only one Merit Award nomination this year,
and that was one that was being reconsidered from 2001. This nomination
was submitted before last year's meeting, but it arrived quite late in the
process and because there was only one supporting letter, the committee decided
that more extensive documentation would be needed before rendering a decision.
Unfortunately, no more letters were included with the resubmitted
nomination. Therefore no Merit Award will be presented this year.
-Christopher Haufler
The Jeannette Siron Pelton Award is made by the Conservation and Research Foundation of New London, CT through the Botanical Society of America for sustained and creative contributions in experimental plant morphology. BSA appoints the committee and gives the award at the annual meeting. Beginning in 1998, the awarding of the Pelton has included an invitation to provide a special address. The Pelton Award is made irregularly based on availability of funds and an appropriate candidate. For 2002, there will be an award.
The awardee will be Karl J. Niklas. The inscription of the award is as follows: "The Conservation and Research Foundation through the Botanical Society of America is pleased to present the Jeanette Siron Pelton Award to Karl J. Niklas for his sustained and imaginative contributions in experimental plant morphology, especially for his theoretical and experimental examination of plant form, strategy, and evolution. His pioneering studies applying mathematical and structural modeling to describe plant geometry have provided a strong basis for understanding the optimization of plant form. He has effectively applied this approach to the three basic vegetative structures as well as to flowers, strobili, and inflorescences. His studies have produced an extraordinarily rich and diverse series of publications that will serve the field for many years to come." A special lecture is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
-Scott Russell
The BSA Publications Committee discussed four proposals related to electronic publication of the American Journal of Botany and made recommendations to the Executive Committee. Other issues relating to BSA publications, such as the revised pricing schedule for online subscriptions, will be presented by the Executive Committee. The Editor-in-Chief will report on the current status of manuscript backlog reduction.
1. e-letters. The committee supported the proposal to initiate electronic letters to the editor of the American Journal of Botany. Highwire Press will offer for each paper a hyperlink to an e-letters site where readers can submit comments, criticisms, and questions about that specific paper. The AJB Editor-in-Chief, Karl Niklas, in consultation with the Editorial Board, submitted a draft policy for e-letters that was ratified by the Executive Committee.
2. CiteTrack. The committee supported the proposal to purchase ($1500) the CiteTrack utility that allows registered viewers to sign up for a daily watch on specific keywords or authors names in about 200 HighWire Press journals. This feature is to be inaugurated with online subscriptions.
3. Hold-back charge for pay-per-view. The committee supported the proposal for a $2500 hold-back charge to cover costs incurred by Highwire Press for developing the AJB pay-per-view site. According to this model, HWP would hold back the first $2500 of revenue and then share subsequent revenue on a 50:50 basis with the BSA.
4. eIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries Project)
HighWire Press is joining other publishers (Blackwell, Elsevier, Harcourt, Springer, Wiley, etc.) in providing discounts for online subscriptions for countries in 3 categories ("developing", "impoverished", and "not well off"). An advantage of joining this initiate is that AJB will be exposed to institutions that might not subscribe to AJB individually, but would wish to receive it as part of a package.
This year a major milestone was met as the main BSA web server served its millionth page. So far, as of June 30, 2002, 1,644,458 pages have been served from the main site
American Journal of Botany Online service:
Here is a summary of the activity of the American Journal of Botany Online server run by HighWire Press on behalf of the Botanical Society of America. The free period of web service ended June 12, 2002. After that time, access is by password for individual users and by IP blocks for institutional members. This clearly reduced the usage of the site. The experience of other HighWire Press journals, however, has been that usership rapidly increases to free levels once users are used to it being a paid site.
Requests
Requests-OK
Requests-Fail
Distinct Files
Totals 1999
657,469
315,491
52,435
193,376
Totals 2000
1,060,440
395,342
18,246
341,997
Totals 2001
1,653,407
517,583
52,295
555,074
Totals 2002 so far
917,358 &n
