Index

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Bibliography of American Paleobotany

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Willy Taylor reported that the Bibliography of American Paleobotany for 2001, including the current membership directory for the Section, has been published and was distributed to members and institutional subscribers in August, 2002. Additional copies are available for $18. Contact Willy at: taylorwa@uwec.edu

The Paleobotanical Section currently has 347 members. The Section sponsored an active program for Botany 2002, including 42 contributed papers, and several additional "New Research" posters submitted by members of the Paleobotanical Section. Two of our Section members, Past President of the Botanical Society of America Patricia Gensel and Gar Rothwell, participated in the Plenary Symposium "Evolution: Highlighting Plants" organized by Pat Gensel. Among the informal presentations given in our Section meeting was an informational presentation by Judy Skog on NSF programs supporting paleobotanical interests. A document on NSF programs supporting Botany prepared by Judy can be found on the Botanical Society Website at: http://www.botany.org/bsa/nsf-plant-biology-2002.html. A Paleobotanical Dinner and Auction was held on Monday, August 5, 2002 at the Essen Haus, a German resturant in downtown Madison, Wisconsin and attended by 72 people. Fourteen students who presented papers were the guests of the Section at the Banquet. This year's auction included a generous donation of materials and was called with much enthusiasm by Willy Taylor. The Paleobotanical Section also continues to receive donations in support of endowment funds, including the Cookson, Becker, Cichan, and Remy funds. Each year, proceeds from the sale of anonymously donated "campaign" buttons (this year: "Still Deep, Once Green") go to the Paleobotanical Endowment.

The attached report shows status of our accounts over the past four quarters, and over the preceding two years. Our standing remains excellent, with a total of $81,555.48 in our combined accounts, representing a 12-month increase of $5,660.69. Auction and button proceeds from Botany 2002 (which will be posted for the next quarter, and not included in the current summary) were $1742 called auction, $100 silent auction and $200 buttons.

Kathleen Pigg reported on the 2002 BSA Council Meeting (theme: "Botany in the Curriculum: Integrating Research and Teaching") which was chaired by Judy Jernstadt. The meeting began with a discussion on the changes in the organization of the Business office of the Botanical Society of America, with the resignation of Kim Hiser and the move of the office from Columbus to the Missouri Botanical Garden. Joanne Stogran will continue to provide day-to-day operation of the Business Office until the transition is made and will continue to oversee meetings operations thereafter. The first Executive Director of the Bot Soc, Bill Dahl is beginning his duties at the St. Louis office.

Annual reports were delivered by the President, Secretary, Treasurer, BSA meeting coordinator, Program Director, Editor of American Journal of Botany, Editor of Plant Science Bulletin, Webmaster and others, all of which were subsequently published in Plant Science Bulletin, Vol 48, no. 4. This volume is available online on the BSA website at http://www.botany.org/ and can be consulted for details. The new president for BSA is Scott Russell, and new president elect is Linda Graham.

Jeff Osborn, Program Director, reported that around 1000 people were registered for Botany 2002, with 750 papers in 60 sessions, 2 special lectures and 13 symposia comprising the program. The premeeting Educational Outreach Forum had 300 participants.

The 2003 meeting will be in Mobile, Alabama at the new convention center in late July with E. O. Wilson speaking at the Plenary session. The theme of the meeting will be "Aquatic and Wetlands Plants: Wet and Wild". An Educational Forum will be held preceeding the meeting. The website for the meeting is at: http://www.2003.botanyconference.org/. Future venues for meetings include Snowbird, Utah in 2004, 2005:to be announced--possibly in the Southwest? (2005 is the year of the International Botanical Congress in Vienna, the Bot Soc meeting will have to take this meeting into account), 2006 the Centennial Year for the Botanical Society - Cornell University.

Another issue brought up was a request for discussion on future venues for the meetings, and the pros and cons of having meetings on campuses vs. in convention centers. Also of concern is the question of the use of computers for presentations. While Powerpoint presentations are more and more commonly used, the cost of having AV equipment available increases the overall cost of the meeting. Coffee breaks are also a costly item for meetings. Section officers were encouraged to get input on their consitutent's feelings on these issues regarding upcoming conferences.

Karl Niklas, Editor of the American Journal of Botany announced his plans to step down as Editor in 2 years. The transition to a new editor will thus be taking place in about 1.5 years. There was a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of going entirely online with the American Journal of Botany. There is a concern about the validity of taxonomic names published online and the need for a specific date of publication to be given. These issues are under consideration.

a. Mid-Continent Paleobotany Colloquium - David Dilcher reported on this meeting, which was held in Gainesville in early March, 2002 with 35+ people in attendance. An open house was held in the Paleobotany Range on Friday afternoon and an indoor Welcome barbeque (because of rain) in Dickinson Hall, complete with music, on Friday night along with a poster session that included an excellent historical summary of palynology by Aureal Cross. Steve Manchester had a demonstration of foreign language translation software. On Saturday there was a full day's sessions of 17 interesting presentations. Steve and Megi Manchester hosted a mixer at their home on Bivens Lake Saturday evening, with dinner at the Bivens Lake Clubhouse and a keynote address by Dr. David Steadman, Florida Museum of Natural History on "Quaternary Changes of Flora and Fauna on Oceanic Islands". David Dilcher hosted a trip for some of the attendees to his "Woods and Swamp" on the Sunday morning.

b. Geological Society of America Regional Section meetings: David Dilcher reported
on the South Central and North Central Sections in Lexington, KY in April. Several Section members participated in this meeting. Highlights of the meeting included a presentation on paleoclimate by Beth Kowlaski and a presentation by Mihai Popa who is visiting this year in Gainesville.

Kathleen Pigg reported on the Cordilleran Section meeting in Corvallis, OR on May 13-15. The theme of this meeting was "Where Plates Collide". This meeting included a symposium on Paleontology of the Pacific Northwest, with contributions from numerous Section members including Elisabeth Wheeler, Rick Dilhoff, Jeff Myers, Paul Kester, Kathleen Pigg, Greg Retallack, Herb Meyer, Estella Leopold and Julie Broughton. A field trip to several Tertiary leaf compression sites in the Eugene area was led by Jeff Myers and Paul Kester.

c. Flowers: Diversity, Development and Evolution, 5–7 July 2002, Zurich, Switzerland - Pat Herendeen reported on this meeting, which was held in celebration of Peter Endress's birthday. Several Section members were in attendance and presented papers including Pat Herendeen, Else Marie Friis and Jim Doyle. There will be a symposium volume produced from this meeting. See site: http://www.herba.msu.ru/news/Botanical_News/confer.html

a. Upcoming meetings

1. 6th European Paleobotany - Palynology Conference Athens, Greece, August 29 September 2, 2002. Ruth Stockey and Gar Rothwell reminded the Section of this upcoming meeting. Among the highlights planned are a trip to the Miocene Petrified Forest on the island of Lesbos.

2. Geological Society of America - 2002 Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, October 27–30. The theme of this meeting is: "Science at the Highest Level". Many members of the Section are involved in the GSA meetings and all are encouraged to attend. The website is: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2002/

Upcoming GSA Section meetings include the South-Central and Southeastern Sections, to be held at the University of Memphis, March 13-14, 2003. An exciting postmeeting field trip to the Claiborne Formation will be led by Roger Moore, David Dilcher and Michael Gibson. Information about this meeting can be found on the following website: http://www.geosociety.org/sectdiv/southc/03sc-semtg.htm

3. 2003 Mid-Continent Paleobotany Colloquium, Field Museum, Chicago - This meeting will be held in early May and will commerate the 20th anniversary of the first meeting, which was also held at the Field Museum. The website is: http://fm1.fmnh.org/aa/Files/yliu/1-circular.html

4. Botanical Society of America, Mobile, Alabama; July 2003 Brian Axsmith, of our Section will be serving as local contact person for this meeting. He assures us that the new convention center and the city of Mobile will be an excellent venue for the meeting. Details can be found on the website at: http://www.2003.botanyconference.org/

5. IOPC-VII; Barloche, Argentina, March 21-26, 2004 Gar Rothwell and Edie Taylor announced that planning for this meeting is in progress. Information can be found in the IOP Newsletter: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rothwell/IOP-Newsletters/IOP_Newsletter_72.pdf

b. Student membership and Karling Student Research Awards -Secretary (Karling Chair: Gene Mapes) Twenty BSA Karling student research awards of $500 each were distributed. Two awards were made to members of the Section, Mike Dunn, Ohio University and Genero Hernando-Castillo, University of Alberta..

c. Deaths of members. A moment of silence was observed in memory of Henry Andrews, Knut Faegri, Lisa Weimer and others who passed this year.

Webmaster position. Chuck Daghlian has graciously agreed to continue to serve as Webmaster.

a. Isabel Cookson Award - Steve Scheckler announced for the Committee, which also included Susana Magallon and Carlie Phipps, the winner of the Cookson best student paper award in Paleobotany: Marcela Martinez-Millan for "Leaf architecture of Anacardiaceae,
phylogeny and biogeography". The presentation was co-authored with Sergio R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz, and Teresa Terrazal-Salgado. The selection was based on several criteria, including general significance of the research, clarity of presentation, quality of graphics, and the handling of questions asked following the presentation.

b. Cichan Award- Chair -Tom Taylor announced that the Cichan Award would be announced at the Botanical Society of America banquet.

c. Remy and Remy Award. Tom Taylor remarked that this award is coordinated through the IOP and has a worldwide focus, and that decisions on recipients are in progress.

d. Moseley Award. The award recognizing student papers in the Developmental and Structural and/or Paleobotanical sections that best advance our understanding of the anatomy and/or morphology of vascular plants within an evolutionary context would be announced at the Botanical Society of America Banquet.

e. Nominating Committee for 2003 Section Chair - The nominating committee for the 2003 chair reported their nomination of Brian Axsmith. The nominee was unanimously elected.

f. Symposium for 2003 - Secretary (KP) - Pat Herendeen proposed a symposium for next year entitled "Dating in the 21st Century. Theory and Reality in Finding a Date for your Clade". This symposium will be an all-day event with the morning session devoted to theoretical and methodological issues and the afternoon session to case studies. Speakers will include both Section members (Peter Crane, Susana Magallon, Jim Doyle and Rich Lupia) as well as other botanical and nonbotanical experts. The Section voted to co-sponser this symposium along with the Systematics Section and ASPT and provide $500 toward travel assistance for invited non-botanical participants.

g. Tom Taylor pointed out that we are nearing the Centennial anniversary of the founding of the Botanical Society of America in 2006, and that this meeting may be held at Cornell University, where the first meeting was held. He commented that it is important to get information together on the historical development of the Section, including lists of past Secretary-Treasurers, Cookson award winners, etc. for continuity. The Secretary Treasurer will be providing some updated information to be put on the Section Web site and Section members are strongly encouraged to submit their information of historical interest to the Secretary-Treasurer Kathleen Pigg at kpigg@asu.edu or if for online to Webmaster Chuck Daghlian at daghlian@dartmouth.edu.

h. Recognition of Service - Chair. The Chair gratefully recognized the service of the following individuals who served the Section this past year. Auction Committee: Dan Chaney, Melanie DeVore, Bonnie Jacobs, Willy Taylor, Mike Wiemann; Cookson Award Committee: Susana Magallon, Carlie Phipps, Steve Scheckler; Session Chairs: Bonnie F. Jacobs, Sharon D. Klavins, Gene K. Mapes, Wilson A. Taylor, Cookie Trivett, Nominating Committee for 2003 Section Chair: David L. Dilcher, Steve Scheckler, and Ruth Stockey.