Dear Members of the Pteridological Section

BSA PTERIDOLOGICAL SECTION ELECTRONIC BALLOT

Please vote for candidates to occupy the position of Section Secretary-Treasurer. The ballot includes a brief biography of the candidate, followed by “email voting links” to be used to cast your vote. Please vote for the person listed, or list your write-in candidate.

Electronic voting will close on JULY 30, 2007, at 11:59 PM PDT.

Candidate for Secretary-Treasurer: Dr. James Watkins

James (Eddie) Watkins is a Mercer Fellow in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Eddie’s interest in ferns first began in High School where, with the support of Herb Wagner, he initiated a project to survey populations of the rare winter grape fern: Botrychium lunarioides. Eddie’s interests in plants and especially ferns continued and he went on to complete undergraduate degree in botany at Auburn University in 1997. As an undergrad, he was actively involved in research on Botrychium and heavy metal accumulation in seed plants. Upon completion of his BS, Eddie moved to Ames, Iowa where he completed a master’s degree under the direction of Donald Farrar. Eddie’s master’s work involved detailed studies of the disjunct fern Thelypteris burksiorum (Stegnogramma). It was in the latter part of his MS work that Eddie became interested in tropical ferns. He took this interest to the University of Florida where he studied the reproductive ecology of tropical ferns. He completed his PhD at Florida in 2006. His current research at the Arnold Arboretum combines physiological, anatomical, ecological, and phylogenetic data to understand better the evolutionary ecology of tropical and temperate ferns.

Candidates for Pteridological Section Secretary-Treasurer 2007-2010:

Dr. James Watkins (JWatkins@botany.org)

Write-in candidate (PterTres@botany.org)

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Michael Windham
Chair, Pteridological Section
Botanical Society of America
www.botany.org
www.BotanyConference.org
www.PlantingScience.org

Mission: The Botanical Society of America exists to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere.

The objectives of The Society are to: sustain and provide improved formal and informal education about plants; encourage basic plant research; provide expertise, direction, and position statements concerning plants and ecosystems; and foster communication within the professional botanical community, and between botanists and the rest of humankind through publications, meetings, and committees.