From aceska@cue.bc.ca Fri Aug 27 23:18:37 1993 Date: Sat, 7 Aug 93 22:41:21 -0700 From: Adolf Ceska To: ben@cue.bc.ca Subject: BEN # 61 BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 61 August 7, 1993 Address: aceska@cue.bc.ca Victoria, B.C. ---------------------------------------------------- BOTANICAL COMMUNITY MOURNS DEATH OF LEADING BOTANIST From: Janine Adams kama@mobot.mobot.org & biodiv-l@bdt.ftpt.br ST. LOUIS - Dr. Alwyn Gentry, the world's leading expert on the plants of Latin America, was killed August 3 in a plane crash in Ecuador. Three other people, including American ornithologist Ted Parker, were killed in the crash in the Pacific lowlands coast of Ecuador. Three biologists survived the crash. The scientific group was doing an aerial survey of the coastal area of Ecuador, 350 miles southwest of Quito, when the crash occurred. They were on a reconnaissance trip for Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP). Gentry began working at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1971. He was revered for his botanical knowledge of South America and was recognized as one of the world's leading field biologists. He made more than 70,000 botanical collections during his lifetime. His understanding of woody tropical plants, a subject about which he had recently published a major volume, was unsur- passed. "We feel Al's loss very deeply," said Dr. Peter H. Raven, direc- tor of the Missouri Botanical Garden. "He was undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable people in the world about the complex flora of Latin America. With the passing of Al Gentry, the botanical community, and indeed the world, has lost an invalu- able resource. And the Garden has lost a valued, long-time staff member." Gentry is survived by his wife, Rosa Ortiz de Gentry; a son, Darrell Gentry; two daughters, Diane Gentry and Maria Liana Gentry; two sisters and his mother. CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE LAYOFFS [see BEN # 59] From: grapevine (various unofficial sources) The Museum of Nature lay-offs have happened and they can be described as an "intellectual massacre". Eight scientists will lose their jobs: five zoologists and three botanists are going. The botanists are Dr. Robert Ireland, one of Canada's few moss experts; Dr. Erich Haber, who is an expert on Pyrola and rare and endangered plants; and Dr. K.A. Pirozynski, a palaeobotanist who has unique knowledge of fossil fungi. There is a rumour about yet another layoff notice that could not be delivered to a botanist who is on a field trip. Among the zoologists was Dr. Francis R. Cook, editor of The Canadian Field-Naturalist. We do not know the duties of the 10 technicians who are being laid off, but since he says there is no museum in Canada that has sufficient technical staff to maintain its biological col- lections properly, the cuts must be serious. Maintenance of the Museum of Nature collections and access to them are also problems. They hold the Canadian moss collection, for example, but will now not have anyone on staff with exper- tise in that field. They have apparently suggested that the Ottawa collections could be sent out to provincial museums, but as we know that is impossible in British Columbia because the Royal B.C. Museum is also short-staffed and uncertain about its future role. In many museums "the exhibition people have taken over" (Science 258, 16 Oct 1992 p. 396). The museum directors seem to want to be in the entertainment business and have forgotten why museums were established and have lasted 400 years. BOTANY IN CANADA "Botany is at a low ebb in Canada, at a lower ebb than in most civilized or half civilized countries on the face of the earth." George Lawson 1860 RE: HAYNES' LEASE ECOLOGICAL RESERVE FIRE [BEN # 60] From: Jane Bock One thing bothered me about the fire description you sent. My colleague, Yan Linhart, and I are very concerned with two aspects of restoration of vegetation.My concerns are that using exotic plants, even if sterile, slows plant success- ion as a natural process because the natives must find some way to re- place the exotics. Linhart is always worried about revegetation discouraging maintenance of the naturally occurring gene pool. I was very impressed with your weed disposal efforts up there from volunteers. What if a volunteer party were organized to collect seeds from indigenous species that were on the land pre-burned from the closest seed sources. This is very labor intensive, but if done by volunteers, this helps. We are trying to get the National Park Service here to stop revegetating lands from central nursery stock. It is not sufficient to use the same species in our opinion. The best job is using stock from nearby. I have lots more to say about this topic if it interests you.