BioScience articles from December 2007

BioScience archives from December 2007

Unifying biology.(specialization in the field of biology)(Editorial)
December 1, 2007... As a first-year graduate student in zoology in the 1960s, I faced a three-day written examination that would determine whether I continued in the program. The questions ranged from biochemistry and molecular biology to ecology and systematics....

Human-induced ecosystem and landscape processes always involve soil change.(Viewpoint)
December 1, 2007... Soil, the living skin of Earth derived from weathered rock materials and surficial biota, has been dubbed "Earth's critical zone" by the US National Research Council. It is an inseparable part of nature's dynamic ecosystems, yet it is...

Facing the brink without crossing it: an emerging theoretical framework demystifies ecological tipping points and elucidates some long-standing environmental problems, providing a perspective that is both sobering and hopeful.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Clear lakes turn cloudy. Colorful, teaming coral reefs vanish under shrouds of brown seaweed. Productive pastures unravel into shrublands or deserts, perhaps displaying intriguing vegetation patterns along the way....

Feds seek to ignite bioenergy research.(Washington Watch)(research on bioenergy funded by the United States Department of Energy)
December 1, 2007... Whether from a desire to reduce dependency on foreign oil, to develop new rural economies, or to reap potential environmental benefits, bioenergy-related research has captured enormous national attention in the last couple of years. In June...

Beyond traditional hardiness zones: using climate envelopes to map plant range limits.(Report)
December 1, 2007... Traditional plant hardiness zone maps identify areas that are relatively homogeneous with respect to climatic conditions that affect plant survival. Plants are typically categorized according to the most northerly, and sometimes the most...

Potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of North American trees.(Report)
December 1, 2007... Currently predicted change in climate could strongly affect plant distributions during the next century. Here we determine the present-day climatic niches for 130 North American tree species. We then locate the climatic conditions of these...

The role of animal-derived remedies as complementary medicine in Brazil.(Report)
December 1, 2007... Although animal-derived remedies constitute an integral part of folk medicine in many parts of the world, particularly for people with limited or no access to mainstream medical services, their role in health care has generally been overlooked...

The beginning of a new invasive plant: a history of the ornamental Callery pear in the United States.(Report)
December 1, 2007... The Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana Dcne. [Rosales: Rosaceae]), an ornamental tree from China, has begun appearing in disturbed areas throughout the United States. To understand the relatively recent spread of this species into natural areas, we...

Evaluating existing and emerging connections among interdisciplinary researchers.(Professional Biologist)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Interdisciplinary research programs are needed to address complex medical and scientific issues. Such programs are difficult to launch, however, in part because scientists who might work in interdisciplinary teams often lack shared experiences...

Biodiversity studies and their foundation in taxonomic scholarship.(Forum)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Studies of biodiversity rely on taxonomically recognized variation to establish regions of special evolutionary and conservation interest. The number of species known from a region relates well to the number of taxonomists working on that...

Ecological flux and traditional religion.(Books)(Religion and the New Ecology: Environmental Responsibility in a World in Flux)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Religion and the New Ecology: Environmental Responsibility in a World in Flux. David M. Lodge and Christopher Hamlin, eds. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, IN, 2006. 344 pp., illus. $40.00 (ISBN 9780268034043 paper). Now that we...

The actions of fungi in ecosystems.(Fungi in Biogeochemical Cycles)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Fungi in Biogeochemical Cycles. Geoffrey Michael Gadd, ed. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006. 490 pp., illus. $150.00 (ISBN 9780521845793 cloth). I was a zoology major as an undergraduate student. I had not thought at all about...

By the numbers.(The Theoretical Biologist's Toolbox: Quantitative Methods for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... The Theoretical Biologist's Toolbox: Quantitative Methods for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Marc Mangel. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006. 390 pp., illus. $56.00 (ISBN 9780521537483 paper). For too long, biology has been...

New titles.(Bibliography)
December 1, 2007... The Biology of African Savannahs. Bryan Shorrocks. Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.278 pp., illus. $110.00 (ISBN 9780198570653 cloth). Biology under the Influence: Dialectical Essays on Ecology, Agriculture, and Health. Richard...

2008 AIBS annual meeting on climate, environment, and infectious diseases; registration, posters, and program online.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... The 2008 annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, "Climate, Environment, and Infectious Diseases," will be held 12-13 May at the Westin Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Registration and poster submission forms are online at...

Fourth annual evolution symposium at NABT sponsored by AIBS and NESCent.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... AIBS, in conjunction with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), will host the Fourth Annual Evolution Symposium at the National Association of Biology Teachers Annual Conference on 1 December at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in...

AIBS joins other scientific groups online on Facebook.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... AIBS has joined the Facebook social networking community with the launch of its group page at www.facebook.com/ group.php?gid=5534817377. Facebook is an online networking utility that connects people with others who work, study, and live around...

AIBS accepting applications for the 2008 Diversity Scholars Program, Diversity Leadership Award, and Media Awards.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... AIBS is now accepting applications for the 2008 Diversity Scholars Program. The program recognizes and promotes the achievements of underrepresented minorities in the biological sciences. Diversity scholars will receive support to present their...

AIBS, member societies are core participants in new collections initiative.(AIBS news)(natural history collections)
December 1, 2007... As various reports in the news media and in BioScience and other scientific journals have recently recounted, natural history collections and the researchers who use them have faced some difficulties because of constricting budgets and curator...

OMB, OSTP encouraged to provide new funds for natural science collections.(AIBS news)(Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and federal agencies are currently negotiating budgets for the fiscal year 2009 budget request. While these budgets are being negotiated, the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections (IWGSC)...

AIBS, MSOs work to defeat creationist measure in Senate.(AIBS news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... On 23 September, the Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported that Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter requested $100,000 in a fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for the Louisiana Family Forum, a group that opposes the teaching of...

NEON connects with the Science and Engineering Alliance.(AIBS news)(National Ecological Observatory Network)
December 1, 2007... The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) was represented at the Science and Engineering Alliance (SEA) 17th Annual Student Technical Conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for the second consecutive year. At the conference, which was...

NEON welcomes 47 founding and institutional members.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... A total of 43 universities and scientific institutions were approved as founding members of NEON before the application deadline of 1 November 2007. An additional four organizations comprise the nucleus of the observatory's institutional...

AIBS at FAST conference.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... The Florida Association of Science Teachers (FAST) held its annual conference in Orlando, 25-27 October. More than 800 educators attended the event, which featured workshops, presentations, and exhibits with the theme of "Light the Fire." The...

Executive director's recent blog entries online at http://blogs.aibs. org/richardogrady.(AIBS news)
December 1, 2007... * Strategies for Ecology Education, Development and Sustainability (SEEDS) mentoring program at ESA receives presidential award * Twelve academics jailed and tortured in Bangladesh * Biodiversity from NSF Research Coordination Grants to...

Recent articles online at www.actionbioscience.org.(AIBS news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Original article in English * "The African Elephant: Conservation Challenges" by Holly T. Dublin, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the African Elephant Specialist Group Spanish translation of a previously posted...

Recent public policy reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Public Policy Report for 12 November 2007 * National Academies to host symposium on the interaction of physical and life sciences * New agriculture secretary nominated, farm bill stalled in Senate * Federal agencies invite input:...

Calendar of meetings.(Calendar)(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... January 2008 2-6 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, San Antonio, TX; www.sicb.org/ 26-31 Society for Range Management, Louisville, KY; www. rangelands.org/louisville2008/ louisville2008_index.shtml February 2008 ...

Genetically modified maize.(BioBriefs)
December 1, 2007... IMPACTS ON STREAMS A recent study by scientists at several midwestern universities determined that genetically modified (GM) crops may not be quite as benign as they have been thought to be. Farmers first began growing GM crops...