BioScience articles from December 2001

BioScience archives from December 2001

Controversy over Evolution Is Not Scientific--It's Political. (Editorial).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
December 1, 2001... Creationists have been busy this year on several fronts. They have pursued their goal of introducing creationism into science courses through state legislatures, through boards of education, and lately-ominously--through Congress. On every...

Letters.
December 1, 2001... An open letter from AIBS President Judy Weis about the events of September 11. The events of September 11 have had profound effects on our lives and outlooks. Living so close to ground zero, and being a New York City native, I felt as if I...

Resurrecting the Dammed: A Look at Colorado River Restoration. (Features).
December 1, 2001... John Villalobos stands on the high ground overlooking a backwater slough of the Colorado River at the Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, a 1,000-acre park and wildlife refuge on land owned by the Colorado River Indian Tribes in the Sonoran Desert south...

Declining Biodiversity: Why Species Matter and How Their Functions Might Be Restored in Californian Tidal Marshes. (Features).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Species diversity is being lost in habitats that are increasingly diminished by development, fragmentation, and urban runoff; the sensitive species drop out and a few aggressive ones persist, at the expense of others. Alarmed by declining...

Defining and Unraveling Biocomplexity. (Features).
December 1, 2001... The 21st century is an exciting time for biological scientists and other researchers interested in complex systems. Relating biodiversity to ecological function and sustainability, understanding the dynamics of coupled human and natural...

Evolution Series Prompts "Equal Time" Response. (Washington Watch).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... When broadcasters with Idaho Public Television looked at the PBS lineup for fall 2001, they saw stormy weather ahead. An eight-hour miniseries on evolution scheduled for September, they knew, would not go quietly--not in the same state...

Lichens: The Interface between Mycology and Plant Morphology. (Articles).
December 1, 2001... Where do the lichens belong in the biological sciences? They are composed of fungus and alga, but neither mycologists nor phycologists have been eager to claim them. In most lichens, it is the fungus that builds the structural tissues of...

Whale Origins as a Poster Child for Macroevolution. (Articles).
December 1, 2001... Whales indisputably are mammals, which is clear from their means of oxygen intake (they breathe with lungs), their care of newborns (mothers nurse their calves with milk), and a host of other features. This implies that whales evolved from...

Statistical Significance Tests: Equivalence and Reverse Tests Should Reduce Misinterpretation. (Articles).
December 1, 2001... Because both biological phenomena and the measurements researchers make in studying them are often quite variable, methods of statistical analysis have much to offer science. Statistical analysis has many aspects, including describing...

Modeling the Spatial Transition Probabilities of Landscape Dynamics in an Amazonian Colonization Frontier. (Articles).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Many researchers concerned about the enormous ecological impact of deforestation in the Amazon have turned their attention to this rich biome, which is the largest tropical forest in the world. Indeed, the Amazon is among the highest priorities...

Designs for Evaluating Local and Regional Scale Trends. (Articles).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... The declining status of numerous plant and animal populations valued by contemporary society has prompted their listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Many populations have declined so severely that their loss is...

Perils and Promise of Privately Owned Protected Areas. (Forum).
December 1, 2001... Governments have long been the principal force behind the establishment of protected areas worldwide. The quality of governmental protection, however, has often proven inadequate, with many parks existing only on paper (Van Schaik et al. 1997,...

The Consequences of Citing Hedged Statements in Scientific Research Articles. (Professional Biologist).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Biologists are taught to collect and analyze data according to practices that have developed in the scientific disciplines over the years, practices collectively known as the scientific method. These established practices serve to validate...

Low-Calorie Evolution. (Books).
December 1, 2001... Evolution and the Fossil Record. John Pojeta, Jr., and Dale A. Springer. American Geological Institute and The Pale-ontological Society, Alexandria, VA, 2001. 29 pp., illus. $8.95 (ISBN 0-922152-57-8 paper). Available at...

New Addition to the AIBS Public Policy Staff. (AIBS news).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... The AIBS proposal to its member societies and organizations to help fund expanded public policy activities for the common interests of all members of the AIBS federation has been realized: Adrienne J. Froelich was hired in October 2001 as a...

A New Century of Biology Available from AIBS. (AIBS news).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Derived from the plenary presentations given at the 2000 AIBS annual meeting, A New Century of Biology features essays from some of the world's most notable biologists as they consider how their discipline must evolve in the 21st century to...

AIBS Participates in Member Society Meetings. (AIBS news).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... AIBS representatives were on hand at several member society meetings in the fall of 2001. In October, AIBS participated in "Parasitology in Science and Society," a symposium sponsored by the Helminthological Society of Washington. The symposium...

2002 AIBS Annual Meeting to Feature Special Stage Performance. (AIBS news).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Attendees at the 53rd annual AIBS meeting, "Evolution: Understanding Life on Earth," will enjoy a special performance of "Charles Darwin: Live and in Concert," on 23 March 2002. Written and performed by Richard Milner, a historian of science...

Ocean Oasis Garners Film Festival Award. (AIBS News).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Ocean Oasis, the IMAX film featured during a private showing at the 2001 AIBS annual meeting, recently received the Best Theatrical Program Award at the biannual 2001 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. The award is given to the best natural...

How to prepare a manuscript for BioScience. (Information for Contributors).
December 1, 2001... The editors welcome manuscripts written for a broad audience of professional biologists and advanced students. BioScience publishes peer-reviewed overview articles summarizing recent advances in important areas of biological research....

Biodiversity Initiatives Make Good Use of Technology. (BioBriefs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... A new megaproject, like the Human Genome Project only more ambitious, was launched at a summit recently held by the ALL Species Foundation, a group of prominent scientists and Silicon Valley visionaries (Science 294: 759-760). Their mission is...

Here are two new Web sites that have potential to make technology worth the hassle. (BioBriefs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... * Terrafly (www.terrafiy.com), produced by the US Geological Survey and Florida International University, allows you to explore, virtually, anyplace in the United States from the air. Fly over your community, zoom in on your study site, or get...