Subject: 6-10 August AIBS Annual Meeting Highlights

From: [email-masked] (Keith L. Cowing)
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 10:10:45 -0500

American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) 
46th Annual Meeting
Town & Country Hotel, San Diego, CA
August 6 - 10, 1995

For further information on the AIBS Annual Meeting, contact Donna Haegele
at 202-628-1500 x254 (voice), 202-628-1509 (FAX), or via email at
[email-masked]   

You can also check our gopher at gopher.aibs.org or via WWW at gopher://aibs.org

Selected Program Highlights 

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Sunday, August 6
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Plenary Session
7:00 pm, Presidio Room

The opening session features a talk by the AIBS President's Award
recipient, Francisco Ayala, the Donald Bren Professor of Biological
Sciences and Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at
Irvine.  

AIBS awards to be presented during the plenary session are: 

€ President's Award: Francisco Ayala, University of California at Irvine,
for his efforts to keep evolution in school curricula

€ Distinguished Service: John Cairns, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University, for his continued work on the application of
ecological information in management

€ Media Award: Rosie Mestel for her article in the October 1994 issues of
Discover Magazine entitle "Ascent of the Dog"

€ Past President: Harold Mooney, Stanford University, for his valued
service to the Institute 

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Monday, August 7
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Plenary Symposium: Ethics, Science, and Public Policy
8:30 am, Presidio Room

The plenary session examines science-ethics dilemmas in public agencies,
academia, the private sector, and the law.  Topics include "The strange
case of ethics and agency science," "The pressures of organizations and
the responsibilities of university professors," "Ethical tensions in
technical consulting," and "Ethics vs. science vs. the law."  

Insights from Recent Studies of Early Succession 
8:00 am, Padre Room

This session examines succession of communities in areas such as Mount St.
Helens and the Indiana dunes.  Other talks include "The role of understory
disturbances in succession: The tyranny of small decisions," "Experiments
on mechanisms of primary succession," "Arrested succession," and
"Trajectories of succession and restoration of southern California
shrublands after anthropogenic disturbance."  

Conservation Biology: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice (2
sessions)
8:00 am, Sierra Room

Talks in this session include "Influence of population genetic structure
on reproductive output in rare plants," "Genetic erosion and fitness
consequences in small populations of plants: What is the evidence?"
"Hybridization in rare plants: Implications for conservation biology," and
"Genetics in conservation programs, or when do we need designer genes?" 

1:00 pm, Sierra Room
Topics in this section include "Developing a strategy for conservation of
native Monterey pine forests in California," "Population viability
assessments for plant species associated with old-growth Douglas-fir
forest ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest," "Managing for rare plants
within the Columbia River Basin," and "Scientific assessment of the
distributional patterns of rare and/or endemic plants for the Sierra
Nevada."  

Scientific and Ethical Concerns with Agricultural and Environmental
Biotechnology
1:00 pm, Chamber Room

Discussion will focus on the concerns with biotechnology advances in
agriculture and its effect on the environment. 

The Science and Ethics of "Artificial" (Classical and Neoclassical)
Biological Control
2:00 pm, Council Room

This session explores the ethics and science of using living organisms to
control pest populations as an environmentally sound alternative to
chemical pest control.  Talks include "The ethics of biological control:
Understanding the moral responsibility of our most powerful ecological
technology," and "Extinction and other environmental impacts caused by
introduced biological control agents."  

Special Lecture: The Lost Genius of Wilhelm Hofmeister: The Origin of
Causal-Analytical Research in Plant Development
4:00 pm, Presidio Room

Essential Botanical Knowledge at the College/University Level (2 sessions)
4:30 pm, Adobe Room

Talks include "Teaching genetics: hands-on science in teaching,"
"Introducing ethical issues into technical courses," and "Including
research and research-like experiences in teaching the plant sciences."  

____________________

Tuesday, August 8
____________________

The Natural History of the Southwest, Its Flora and Fauna: A Tribute to
the Career of Charles H. Lowe
8:00 am, Hampton Room

The symposium will honor Dr. C. H. Lowe, University of Arizona, for his
commitment to understanding the herpetofauna and vegetation of the
Southwest.  It will also present new information and synthetic works on
organisms and ecosystems shaped by the complex and stressful environments
of the American Southwest.   

Ecological Models for Environmental Risk and Policy Analysis
8:15 am, Committee Room

Ecological modeling for predicting effects of various pollutants will be
discussed.  Talks include "Modelling the fate and effects of pollutants in
aquatic ecosystems," "Assessing uncertainty and risk in exploited marine
populations," "New paradigms for models in fishery and forest management,"
and "Modelling extinction rates based on species distributions and land
conversion rates."  

Open Discussion - International Society for Ecological Modeling
1:00 pm, Committee Room

An open forum for the discussion of the current and future state of
modelling, systems analysis, and simulation in ecology and natural
resource management as it relates to education, communication with
resource managers, policy makers and funding agencies, and anything else
of concern to those with an interest in ecological modelling.  

Exploitative Interactions of Flowers and Insects: The Evolution of
Balanced Conflict (2)
1:30 pm, Senate Room

Evolutionary adaptions of plants including tropical vines, angiosperms,
and yuccas are explored in conjunction with changes from those insects
that pollinate those species such as bees and hummingbirds.  Specific
talks include "Exploitation, cheating and the mutualism-antagonism
continuum," and "The evolutionary consequences of variation in pollinator
environment."  

Essential Botanical Knowledge at the College/University Level (2nd session)
4:45 pm, Forum Room

This second section includes talks on "Ethics in science: Whose work is it
anyhow?" The value of women role models in teaching botany," and "How to
get everything done that needs to get done in freshman botany besides
teaching content."  

____________________

Wednesday, August 9
____________________

Vegetation and Floristics of the United States-Mexican Boundary Region (2
sessions)
8:00 am, Presidio Room

Talks include "Introduction: The biogeography and ecology of the Frontera
region," "Evolution and historical biogeography of the Chihuahuan and
Sonoran Deserts," "Anthropogenic vegetation change along the U.S./Mexico
boundary," and "Range limitations of the flora of the western Frontera.  

Genetic Engineering and Conservation
8:30 am, Sunrise Room

Talks will include "Will transgenes escape into natural populations?"
"Ecological safety assessment of transgentic plants," "Genetic engineering
and the conservation of rare forest species," and "Genomic analysis and
the environment."  

Medicinal Plants: The Importance and Impact of the Search for
Plant-Derived Drugs
8:40 am, Committee Room

Talks include "The past, present and future importance of plant-derived
medicines," 
"Plants as a source of novel drugs: The NCI experience," and "The impact
of bioprospecting on botanical research and conservation."  The session
will also present studies from several regions, including Honduas, Zambia,
and Nicaragua.  

Vegetation and Floristics of the United States-Mexican Boundary Region (2
sessions)
1:00 pm, Presidio Room

Talks in the second session include "The vernal pools of souther
California and northern Baja California, Mexico," "Disrupted
plant/pollinator relationships in the U.S./Mexico border states: Effects
of chemically-induced habitat fragmentation," "Afterward: The future of
the biota of the Frontera," and "Systematic studies on oak woodlands of
the border region in southwestern North America."  

Forensic Botany: Plant Sciences in the Courts
1:00 pm, Sunrise Room

This symposium will provide an in-depth introduction into forensic botany
and will include a discussion of evidence in the Lindbergh case.  Other
talks include "Forensic botany: An under-utilized resource," "Forensic
botany: The entomological evidence," and Forensic botany: The soil
alternative."   

WORKSHOPS

Although workshops have a nominal fee, this fee may be waived for
credentialed press.  Please contact Jennie Moehlmann at AIBS for more
information (202-628-1500 x240 or [email-masked]).

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Sunday, August 6
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Workshop: An Introduction to World Wide Web
9:00 am, San Diego State University, Student Services Building, Room 2659

Workshop: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills (2 sessions)
9:00 am, Council/Chamber Room
1:00 pm, Council/Chamber Room

Workshop: Preparing the Next Generation of Biology Instructors (2 sessions)
1:00 pm, University of San Diego, Serra Hall, Room 210

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Wednesday, August 9
____________________

Workshop: Mycology in Sustainable Development: Expanding Concepts,
Vanishing Borders
1:00 pm, Padre Room

This workshop will include discussions of environmentally friendly new
technologies such as biocontrol agents and recombinant symbiosis,
bioprospecting, and enlightened management techniques.

-- 
Keith L. Cowing  -  Manager of Planning and Operations
American Institute of Biological Sciences
10700 Parkridge Blvd Suite 380  -  Reston, VA, USA 22091
703-758-1212 voice  -  703-758-1222 fax
[email-masked]  -  gopher://aibs.org