BioScience articles from July 2006

BioScience archives from July 2006

Correction.(Correction notice)
July 1, 2006... In our article "What Use Is Half a Wing in the Ecology and Evolution of Birds?" (BioScience 56: 437-445), the wing loadings marked on the y-axis in figure 1c should be multiplied by 100. Kenneth P. Dial, Ross J. Randall, and Terry R. Dial

Framing biology.(Editorial)
July 1, 2006... A word to readers who may be spending the summer under a rock, in a swamp, or in some other challenging location: Frames are the cognitive concept du jour. Specifically, the excitement is about refraining, a sort of rhetorical jujitsu that...

Open, fair, and free journal ranking for researchers.(Viewpoint)
July 1, 2006... Decision in research management, such as hiring individuals or funding departments, are often driven by metrics ranking research quality. Toward the end of every June, researchers wait anxiously for Thomson Scientific to release the latest ISI...

Genetic resources and the convention on biological diversity: at a meeting in Brazil in March, the Convention on Biological Diversity moved a step closer to finalizing an international regulatory regime for access to and benefit sharing of genetic resources. Discussions now under way will be influential in determining policies governing biodiversity research and bioprospecting.
July 1, 2006... Since the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) first opened for signature at the 1992 Earth Summit, 188 countries have signed on. Although the United States is one of a small handful of countries that have not ratified the CBD, US...

New at the Zoo: ZIMS: a new database about to be launched for zoos and aquariums will overhaul outdated record-keeping systems. Through the Zoological Information Management System, keepers, curators, and veterinarians will have access to integrated, up-to-date information about collections worldwide to track animals, diagnose diseases, and communicate treatments.
July 1, 2006... Zoos and aquariums around the world will launch a new, Internet-based computer data system early next year that could revolutionize how they keep and use records to manage their collections and to monitor new and emerging diseases. The new...

Republicans wrangle over environmental legislation.(Washington Watch)
July 1, 2006... In real estate, the key to success is location, location, location. In Congress, the key to passing legislation is assignment, assignment, assignment--committee assignment, that is. In the 109th Congress, Republicans are attempting to...

Summer research experiences for high school teachers.(Eye on Education)
July 1, 2006... Though others might be concerned about adding to their already long list of responsibilities, David Carr says that spending a summer mentoring a local high school teacher through a research project was completely worthwhile. Carr, acting...

The implications of niche construction and ecosystem engineering for conservation biology.
July 1, 2006... Although strategies to conserve biodiversity (e.g., the establishment of reserves and the management of flagship, umbrella, indicator, and keystone species) are valuable, they entail practical and conceptual difficulties. A focus on niche...

A framework for exploring the determinants of savanna and grassland distribution.
July 1, 2006... An understanding of the factors governing grass-tree coexistence in savannas and exclusion of trees in grasslands remains elusive. We contend that progress in understanding these factors is impeded by a reliance on a falsification approach and...

Linking scales in stream ecology.
July 1, 2006... The hierarchical structure of natural systems can be useful in designing ecological studies that are informative at multiple spatial scales. Although stream systems have long been recognized as having a hierarchical spatial structure, there is...

Carbon storage on landscapes with stand-replacing fires.
July 1, 2006... Many conifer forests experience stand-replacing wildfires, and these fires and subsequent recovery can change the amount of carbon released to the atmosphere because conifer forests contain large carbon stores. Stand-replacing fires switch...

Statistical power, sample sizes, and the software to calculate them easily.(Biologist's Toolbox)
July 1, 2006... Many authors have advocated the use of power analysis for designing more sensitive and efficient ecological studies. However, few manuscripts report using power analysis for improving the study design, perhaps because of the wide range of tests...

Species coverage in multispecies habitat conservation plans: where's the science?(Forum)
July 1, 2006... Habitat conservation plans (HCPs) permit the incidental take of threatened or endangered species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the NOAA Fisheries Service endorse multispecies HCPs,...

Social facilitation.(Hormones and Animal Social Behavior)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Hormones and Animal Social Behavior. Elizabeth Adkins-Regan. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2005. 411 pp., illus. $45.00 (ISBN 0691092478 paper). Thirty years ago, while an undergraduate at Berkeley, I worked as a research...

Seeing clearly now.(From Resource Scarcity to Ecological Security: Exploring New Limits to Growth)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... From Resource Scarcity to Ecological Security: Exploring New Limits to Growth. Dennis Pirages and Ken Cousins, eds. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2005. 280 pp. $24.00 (ISBN 0262661896 paper). How accurate were the models and projections of The...

Even for entomophobes.(For Love of Insects)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... For Love of Insects. Thomas Eisner. Harvard University Press, Belknap. Cambridge, MA, 2005. 448 pp., illus. $19.95 (ISBN 0674018273 paper). As Thomas Eisner writes in the prologue, For Love of Insects is a retrospective of a lifetime of...

New titles.(Bibliography)
July 1, 2006... The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize: A Life in Science. Peter Doherty. Columbia University Press, New York, 2006. 320 pp. $24.95 (ISBN 0231138962 cloth). Biodiversity and Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction. Sahotra...

Slate for 2007 AIBS Board elections approved.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2006... At the end of 2006, the following four positions become vacant on the 13-person AIBS Board of Directors: (1) president-elect, (2) treasurer, (3) a board member elected by the AIBS individual membership, and (4) a board member elected by the...

AIBS presents annual awards in science, education, service, and media.(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... AIBS's major annual awards were presented at a gathering of the AIBS Council of member societies and organizations on 23 May in Washington, DC. The awards went to the following individuals: Distinguished Scientist Award * Louis J....

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert receives award from AIBS.(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... To cap off its 2006 annual meeting, AIBS presented House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) with an award commending him for his distinguished record of service to the scientific community and support for the biological...

AIBS cosponsors CNSF reception showcasing science on Capitol Hill.(American Institute of Biological Sciences, Coalition for National Science Funding)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... On 7 June the Coalition for National Science Funding held its 12th annual exhibition and reception on Capitol Hill. The theme was "Science@Work." AIBS was among dozens of scientific societies and universities to display work funded by the...

BESC writes to Senate Appropriations Committee leaders about NSF.(AIBS news)(Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition (BESC), of which AIBS is a founding member, sent a letter on 1 June in support of the National Science Foundation to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Ranking...

NEON on display.(American Institute of Biological Sciences and National Ecological Observatory's conferences)
July 1, 2006... As the design process for the National Ecological Observatory enters its final stage in 2006, the NEON Project Office staff have begun new outreach efforts to keep the ecological community apprised of program developments. At the 56th...

AIBS recognizes outstanding biology teachers.(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, administered by the National Science Foundation, are presented each year to some of the top science and math teachers in the United States and US territories. Awardees are...

Recent articles online at www.actionbioscience.org.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2006... Original article in English * "Primer on Ethics and Crossing Species Boundaries," by Francoise Baylis, professor and Canada Research Chair in Bioethics and Philosophy at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and Jason Scott Robert,...

Recent AIBS education reports online at www.aibs.org.(AIBS news)
July 1, 2006... * AIBS Diversity Programs: Call for applications and nominations * AIBS Education Award presented to Judy Scotchmoor * 2006 AIBS/BSCS/NESCent evolution symposium * Integrating NEON science and education * Research and teaching...

Recent AIBS public policy reports online at www.aibs.org.(American Institute of Biological Sciences)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Public Policy Report for 5 June 2006 * Cobb County case to go back to district court * AIBS honors Rep. Sherwood Boehlert and calls for 2009 to be the Year of the Public Understanding of the Nature of Science * EPA releases latest...

Calendar of meetings.
July 1, 2006... July 7-12 Phycological Society of America, Juneau, AK; www.psaalgae. org/ops/psa2006.shtm 8-12 American Society for Photobiology, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico; www.pol-us.net/ASP_Home/asp_meet.html 9-14 Society of Wetland Scientists,...

New National Estuarine Research reserve opens.(BioBriefs)(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
July 1, 2006... On 6 May, a group of local dignitaries celebrated the official designation of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve as the 27th reserve in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), which the National Oceanic and...