Biology Department Newsletter Volume 8 Number 6 November 15, 2004

Biology Department Newsletter Volume 8    Number 6    November 15, 2004

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Letter from the Editor (menu)

Hi...hope that you enjoy this issue of the newsletter.  See you next issue.  If you have any contributions, please submit them to S Saupe or W Lamberts. 

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Student News (menu)

Jeremiah Eisenschenk, Chelsea Cohrs, Andrea Meuleners, and Kristoff Olson will be accompanied by advisor Dr. Marcus Webster when they present their paper "Heat acclimation in Cactus Mice, Peromyscus eremicus" at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in San Diego in early January.  Before the meeting, Dr. Webster will resume his research on seasonal adjustments to temperature in Common Ground Doves at the Deep Canyon Desert Research Center near Palm Desert, CA.

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Faculty News (menu)

Dr. Larry Davis is currently on sabbatical in northern Arizona.  He is working on a book, "Introduction to a Laboratory Study of Dinosaurs" and he submitted for review a manuscript on the slump (mini landslide) along I-94 just past the foot bridge leading to SJU.  In between sojourns to the NAU library to work on his book and manuscripts he has been involved in the excavation of a plesiosaur, measured and described a newly discovered set of dinosaur tracks, and had a wonderful visit to Meteor Crater.  Winter has arrived in Arizona; 5” of snow fall one day followed by 9” the next.  Click on the thumbnail at the right for a dazzling view of Mt Humphrey's in its snowy splendor.  In mid-November Dr. Davis is scheduled to conduct a paleontological survey in Canyonlands National Park.  It will involve about 10 days floating down the Green and Colorado Rivers with hikes into the side canyons.  The rivers are at a much lower elevation than Flagstaff, so he is hoping that he won't encounter too much cold weather.  In between, Dr. Davis went to Utah and to Denver, where he met three CSB students who are giving presentations at the Geological Society of America meeting.

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Curriculum News  (menu)

Advisors for Pre-Professional Programs

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Calendar of Events (menu)

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Biology Club News (menu)

Biology Club Officers:

Co-Presidents Jen Tarmann Jeremy Eisenschenk (fall) Ryan Kroschel (spring)	Treasurer: Lindy Watanaskul
PR-Secretary: Jake Theis

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Scholarships/Graduate Study (menu)

Scholarship Opportunities (contact the External Scholarships Office, HAB - 103, for more details)

• Floyd Forsberg Environmental Scholarship

• The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

• Blandin Paper Company Scholarship - applications, which must be received by 30 November, are available at the External Scholarship Programs office, HAB 103 – CSB

• American Foundation of Vision Awareness - applications, which must be postmarked by 1 March, are available at the External Scholarship Programs office, HAB 103 – CSB.

• Talbots Women's Scholarship Fund

• The Scholarships for Military Children Program - available to full-time students who are the dependent children of active duty, Reserve/Guard, and retired military personnel

• The Major General James Ursano Scholarship Fund  - available to children, stepchildren, or legally adopted children of Army soldiers on active duty, retired, or deceased while on active duty or after retirement. 

MS Fellowship Opportunity
Western Washington University is pleased to announce the availability of nine graduate fellowships for Masters students in Biology, Chemistry and Geology. The fellowships are funded by the NSF GK-12 program and provide a generous stipend ($30,000 per year) and tuition.  Fellowships will begin July 2005 and will provide one year of funding.  GK-12 fellows will likely receive an additional year of support from WWU from research grants and/or teaching assistantships.

For their GK-12 fellowship, students will spend 15 hours per week working with local middle school teachers as they implement reform science curricula.  We are looking for students with the potential to be excellent graduate students and who will be able to work well with middle school children and their teachers.

These fellowships are for biology, chemistry and geology graduate students who wish to complete MS research with the science faculty at Western Washington University.  Descriptions of the research pursued by WWU faculty are available at departmental websites for Biology, Chemistry and Geology. 

Links for Scholarships/Grants/Fellowships for Graduate Study

• CSB/SJU Career Services Links

• External Scholarship Program Office

• Graduate School Tips - some useful graduate school resources for students.

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Jobs/Volunteer (menu)

E-Link
    E-link is an on-line career tool available to CSB/SJU students and alums.  It is a service of the Career Resource Office and can help you find a job, info on a major, access the career calendar of events and lots of other cool stuff.  For more information, email the Career Resource Office.

Web Sites:

• CSB/SJU Career Resources Office

• CSB/SJU Financial Aid

• CSB/SJU Student Employment

• SELT

• Science Jobs

• MN - DNR Volunteer Activities

• Careers in Botany

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Internships/Research (menu)

Forensic Science Internships
If you think you might be interested in a career in forensic science and are a junior or senior, you should check out the internship program at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. 

Senior Thesis Projects
Participation in Honors Thesis is not just for Honors students.  Many departments require some type of senior project as part of their graduation requirements.  You may be able to use the Honors thesis as a way to fulfill this requirement.  In order to undertake an Honors thesis, you should enroll in Honr 396. For more information visit the Honors Thesis web site or contact Dr. Richard White (Chemistry Dept).

CUR Conference
The 19th National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) takes place April 21-23, 2005 at Washington & Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute.  Students interested in presenting their research or scholarly work must submit an abstract by Nov. 15.  Visit the CUR website or email for more information.  Funds are available for students traveling to the conference. 

Funding for Prairie Research by Prairie Biotic Research, Inc.
Prairie Biotic Research, Inc. is a Wisconsin nonprofit established in 2000.  Our purpose is to foster biotic research in prairies.  One of the ways we do this is through a Small Grants Program that funds grants up to $1000 for the study of any grassland taxa in the USA.  We are especially eager to support independent researchers (individuals lacking institutional support), but anyone may apply. To apply for a grant, contact Michael Anderson at Prairie Biotic Research, Inc., PO Box 5424, Madison, WI 53705.

Graduate Assistant in Plant Ecology
The J. W. Jones Ecological Research Center and the University of Florida Department of Wildlife and Conservation offer a co-sponsored graduate research assistantship for a m.s. level student interested in species recruitment dynamics in the diverse fire-maintained longleaf pine ecosystem.  Potential students should have a strong undergraduate background in plant ecology and plant taxonomy and interest in basic and applied aspects of conservation biology. Coursework will be completed at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Thesis research will be conducted under the direction of K. Kirkman and E. Bruna at the Jones Research Center (Ichauway) in Newton, Georgia as part of an on-going long term study of resource gradients and responses of the longleaf pine ecosystem. For more information, contact: Dr. L. Katherine Kirkman (229-734-4706)

Internship Links

• CSB/SJU Internship Office Home Page
       -New Internship Opportunities page 
       -Environmental Internships
       -Science Research
       -Women's Issues

Links for Undergraduate Research

• CSB/SJU Career Resources Office

Links to Summer Research

• University of Minnesota Summer Undergraduate Research

• BioInformatics Summer Research Program - UM

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Seminars/Symposia/Field Trips (menu)

Health Conference for Senior Students
Medical Alley is hosting their Health Care Technology Conference and Expo on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. Click here to obtain a pdf file with more information. 

Food:  Friend or Foe? 
A panel and discussion on food, dieting, body image, and eating disorders. Free hot chocolate will be provided!  Yummy! on Wednesday, November 17th, 4:00-5:00 pm in TRC Boardroom, Main Building, CSB.  This panel will be led by Jenny Miller, Ph.D., LP, Psychologist; Jayne Byrne, M.S., R.D., L.D., Associate Professor of Nutrition, and Sigrid Hedman-Dennis, RN, MSN, CNS, Health Educator/Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Biology Department Seminars
Dr. Chuck Rodell has organized a fantastic set of biology seminars for the fall semester.  All of the seminars will be held in PENGL 373 at 4:00 pm.  Everyone is invited to attend.  The seminars are:

Outdoor Week at CSB/SJU - November 14th-21st, 2004
Next week will be a bonanza of activities sponsored by the St. John's Arboretum, Career Center, Outdoor Leadership Center, Women's Lives Series, CSB Women’s Expeditions, Men's Lives Series, Health Initiative, and Peer Resource Program.

 Central Minnesota Audubon Society
The Central Minnesota Audubon Society meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month in the Unitarian Fellowship Building in St. Cloud (south of Walmart, click here for directions and more info).   Everyone is invited to attend Audubon meetings.  If you need a ride to this, or other, Audubon program, contact Dr. S Saupe.  CMAS presentations for the remainder of the semester include: 

Rehabilitating Injured and Orphaned Wildlife
This session, presented by Ellen Ellickson (Nursing) and Linda Peck, Certified Wildlife Rehabilitation Expert, will explore the process of becoming certified to care for animals in the wild. The forum, which will be held on Friday November 12 at 4:15 pm in Little Theater, will discuss the history of wildlife rehabilitation and describe the network of people involved. It will show how the care of wild animals has become regulated to protect the animals and the people who rescue and care for them. Linda Peck is a local hero who has rescued and cared for many animals, including owls and hawks, many songbirds and many large and small mammals. She will share some of her exciting and heart warming stories of animals saved from certain death and restored to health to be able to be released back to the wild. The session will close with simple suggestions that anyone can do when finding an animal in need of human assistance.

Gender & Resistance Training
On November 19 come to a Friday Forum presentation by Don Fischer entitled, "The Influence of Gender on Resistance Training Adherence in Division III Athletes."  For more details, visit the Friday Forum website. 

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Miscellaneous  (menu)

Watch Your Valuables!
A purse was stolen out of an office in the Peter Engel Science Center this past week.  So be sure to lock up all of your valuables, keys etc. 

Campus Deer Hunt
Last weekend you probably noticed the signs about the "deer hunt."  The St. John's Arboretum sponsors this activity because our campus deer population is too high.  The deer are doing significant damage to our native plant populations so this hunt is an effort to reduce the deer population to a sustainable level.

Faculty Scholarship Celebration
Project Logos is sponsoring "Off the Page: Celebrating Community Creativity and Scholarship" on Tuesday, January 25, from 4:15-6:30 p.m. in Petters’ Auditorium Lobby, BAC, CSB.  All faculty and staff are invited to share their recent works in the visual arts, music, dance, theater and other performance-based and hand-made art.  Contact Mark Conway for more information. 

Breathing Difficulties
Do you remember the BIG BLACKOUT in August of 2003?  Scientists at the University of Maryland discovered that after the blackout there was a 90% drop in sulfur dioxide levels, a 50% reduction in ozone, and visibility increased by more than 25 miles.   These improvements in air quality were due to many power plants in the Midwest and Northeast shutting down during the blackout.  “Improving air quality should not require shutting down the power grid.”  Power companies were required to install pollution-control devices on all newly built plants under the 1970 Clean Air Act.  In 1977, when this act was revised electric companies were obligated to clean up older plants.  The EPA, in recent years, has cracked down on several companies that have violated such laws.  This progress, however, has been halted by EPA officials appointed by President Bush.  The rules have been rewritten, restricting the agency’s ability to force electric companies to install pollution controls.

Global Warming Confirmed
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), titled "Impacts of a Warming Arctic," was recently released at a press conference in Washington, DC. The assessment documents warming-related changes that are already underway in the Arctic region and projects the effect of these trends as warming continues throughout the century. According to the press advisory, the report is "an unprecedented four-year scientific study of the region" that "was conducted by an international team of 300 scientists." The Arctic Council -- a ministerial intergovernmental forum comprised of eight nations including the United States and six Indigenous Peoples federations -- commissioned the study. 

The ACIA finds that North American glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate and air temperatures across Alaska and Siberia are rapidly warming, with substantial impacts to Artic communities and wildlife. It also finds that the Greenland Ice Sheet and crucial Alaskan glaciers will likely melt at a faster rate than previously anticipated, accelerating global sea-level rise. Among the ecological impacts noted are impacts to Arctic-dependent species, such as polar bears and migratory birds; ecosystem changes caused by shifting vegetation zones; and increases in frequency and intensity of fires, insect infestations, and other disturbances.

As a result of these ecological changes and impacts on regional infrastructure, the ACIA notes that, "Indigenous communities are facing major economic and cultural impacts." Arctic sea-ice is likely to retreat far enough away from landmasses to open new shipping routes and extend the period during which shipping is possible. 

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) regards this report as yet another urgent warning that human-induced climate change will have a profound and likely near-term effect on communities around the world and is calling on the Administration and the Congress to work to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases and implement sensible solutions.  Links to additional sources of information are below.

• Union of Concerned Scientists: Overview of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, November 8, 2004.

• UCS, Arctic Climate Report Finds Dramatic Changes Underway And Projects More Severe Impacts In Coming Decades, November 8, 2004.

• Arctic Climate Impact Assessment web site

• ACIA Overview Report 

• Washington Post, U.S. Wants No Warming Proposal - Administration Aims to Prevent Arctic Council Suggestions, November 3, 2004.

• Washington Post, Report Sounds Alarm on Pace of Arctic Climate Change, October 31, 2004.

• New York Times, Big Arctic Perils Seen in Warming, Survey Finds, October 30, 2004.

Some Tips for Students
Not too long ago, CSB/SJU faculty discussed some "etiquette" that students should consider.  Some of these follow:

1. Most faculty members don't e-mail at 2am.  Give faculty at least 24 hours to respond to messages.

2. When you ask a professor for a recommendation be sure to fill out all the relevant information on the form, and attach a note specifying when the recommendation is due.  Do your best to give professors plenty of time.  A week or so before the recommendation should be mailed or submitted, send the professor a short, friendly e-mail reminder.  When the whole process is done, let the professor know the results and thank your professor for the effort on your behalf. 

3. If you miss class, do not approach your professor afterwards and say, "Sorry I missed class.  Did I miss anything important?"  After all, can you really imagine a professor responding, "Naw, you didn't miss a thing.  Class today was a waste of time.  We did nothing!"  Rather, ask "what did I miss and how can I make up the work?"

4.  When you have a scheduling conflict, politely ask the professor if arrangements can be made (but remember that there is no requirement that they do so).

5. Find out what a professor's policy on home phone calls is.

(Editor note:  if any student's have some "tips for faculty," send them to me for inclusion in a future newsletter)

Error in the Vegetarian Times by Dr. SG Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
While reading the October 2004 issue of the Vegetarian Times I noticed some potentially dangerous advice.  In the “firstperson” column, “In the Moonlight of Morning,” the author nostalgically described mushroom-collecting with her father.  Although the piece was not meant to be a treatise on poisonous and edible mushrooms, it misleadingly suggested that the inky cap mushroom, Coprinus atramentarius, is completely safe to eat.  This species and some others in the genus (but not the shaggy mane, C. comatus) contain a chemical called coprine that synergistically interact with alcohol to cause a hot flushing of the face, a pounding and rapid heartbeat, nausea and vomiting.  Although these symptoms can be avoided if alcohol is not consumed for a few days surrounding the meal, the risk of poisoning is certainly not worth a dish of “mushroom toast” as the author described.  Fortunately the symptoms are transitory and there also seems to be differences in the susceptibility of individuals to poisoning.  Nevertheless, inky caps should only be eaten by experienced mycophagists who are aware of their potential reaction with alcohol.

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News from the Melancon Greenhouse (menu)

The CSB/SJU Biology Department Greenhouse is located in the SE corner of PENGL and is open daily from about 9 - 4.

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News from the CSB/SJU Bailey Herbarium -  (menu) - by Stephen Saupe

Remember, the herbarium is always open from about 8 - 5 daily and is open to anyone to study, relax and/or use the networked computer.  For more information, visit the herbarium website.

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Web Sites Worth A Visit  (menu)
(have you visited any cool sites lately?  Send us your suggestions)

Science On-Line
Great news - we now have institutional online access to the journal Science.  Thanks to librarian Dave Wuolu and Natural Science Division Head Dr Frank Rioux for working on this project.  To access the journal, CLICK HERE.

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Puzzler of the Week (menu)
(Do you know any good puzzlers?  Please send us your ideas)

New Puzzler.  (repeated from last issue)
What weighs 10 tons, covers 36 acres and has lived for 1,500 years?
      (a) The roots of a Giant Redwood tree
      (b) Prickly Pear, an Australian cactus
      (c) a toadstool
 

To enter the competition, simply send your answer to Dr. S. Saupe via email or snail mail (c/o Biology Department, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN 56321), campus mail, or simply slide the entry under my office door, SC335). The winner will be selected randomly from among the correct entries.  The winner will receive an official CSB/SJU Bailey Herbarium Magnet. Entries are due Nov 23.

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Joke of the Week  (menu)
(Have you heard any good jokes?  Please share them with us)

Q: Why did the lazy zookeeper get fired?
A: He sat on his ocelot.

(courtesy of Garrison Keilor suggested by Dr. M Webster)

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Frequently Asked Questions  (menu)

none submitted

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For more information, contact:

Dr. Stephen G. Saupe
Professor & Herbarium Curator
Biology Department
College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
Collegeville, MN 56321
(320) 363-2782; (320) 363-3202 (fax); ssaupe@csbsju.edu