SICB 1998 Fall Newsletter
Meeting Co-sponsors
SICB Information
Contributors to SICB Funds
Announcements
Late-Breaking Symposium
The Wildlands Project: Holding Off the Sixth Extinction
Michael E. Soulé and Stuart Pimm will focus on conservation biology in a late-breaking
symposium at the 1999 Annual Meeting, Jan. 6-10 in Denver. In this symposium titled
"The Wildlands Project: Holding Off the Sixth Extinction," Soulé and Pimm will
discuss the changing environment, biodiversity and the social causes of the destruction of
nature worldwide.
Soulé is research professor in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa
Cruz, and president of The Wildlands Project. He has written and edited a number of books
on biology, conservation biology, and the social context of contemporary conservation. He
has published more than 100 articles on various subjects including population and
evolutionary biology, population genetics, island biogeography, environmental studies,
biodiversity policy, and ethics, and he continues to do research on the genetic basis of
fitness and viability in natural populations.
Pimm is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee
and is the author of over 150 papers plus three books. For most of his career, he has
tried to join the critical issues of the loss of biodiversity with the difficult
scientific issues that are often essential to resolve them. Receiving the Pew Scholar in
Conservation and the Environment (1993) allowed him to develop a greatly increased
involvement in the policy issues surrounding biodiversity issues. This late-breaking
symposium will kick-off the Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Election Results
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's secretary, Thomas G. Wolcott,
announces the following results of the General Elections held in the spring of 1998.
President-Elect
Martin Feder
Secretary-Elect
Penny M. Hopkins
Member-at-Large
Harvey B. Lillywhite
1999 SICB Annual Meeting Symposia
SICB is featuring 10 groundbreaking symposia at the 1999 SICB Annual Meeting, Jan. 6-10
in Denver. Below is a brief look at each.
"Organismal, Ecological and Evolutionary Significance of Heat Shock Proteins
and the Heat Shock Response"
This symposium focuses on how organisms in the wild actually use heat shock proteins to
cope with stresses encountered. You'll find out how evolution has yielded the present-day
form of the stress response, and the importance of heat-shock proteins for natural species
and ecological communities. Organized by Gretchen Hoffmann, University of New Mexico and
Martin Feder, University of Chicago.
"Evolutionary Origin of Feathers"
The symposium will contribute to understanding interactions among behavior, structure,
function and development, which underlie the evolutionary origin of complex structures,
such as feathers, that characterizes a major vertebrate group. Organized by Paul F. A.
Maderson, University of New York and Dominique Homberger, Louisiana State University.
"Phenotypic and Genotypic Strategies to Chronic Hypoxia"
Physiological acclimatization to chronic hypoxia will be compared and contrasted with
putative evolutionary adaptations to low oxygen in the environment. Responses involving
oxygen supply and oxygen demand will be explored at the molecular, cellular and organismal
level. Organized by James W. Hicks, University of California and Frank L. Powell,
University of California.
"Tribute to Erika Plisetskaya: New Insights on Enteropancreatic Hormones"
This symposium is in honor of Dr. Erika Plisetskaya, research professor emeritus,
University of Washington. The major issues to be addressed include: 1) hormone
biosynthesis from gene to bioactive peptide, 2) hormone structure-function relationships,
and 3) evolution of hormone-receptor interactions. Organized by Mark A. Sheridan, North
Dakota State University and Stacia Sower, University of New Hampshire.
"Evolution of Starfishes: Morphology, Molecules, Development and
Paleobiology"
Among starfishes, fascinating life cycles and complex morphological patterns have evolved
within a basic body plan. Discussion will center around current perspectives on phylogeny,
the implications of the recently discovered concentricycloids, and consideration of
significance of events that precede the diversification of extant asteroid groups in the
Jurassic. Organized by Daniel Janies, American Museum of Natural History and Daniel Blake,
University of Illinois.
"Animal Consciousness: Historical, Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives"
The symposium will examine the history of modern scientific and philosophical ideas about
the consciousness of non-human animals and then turn to theoretical and epistemological
issues. Organized by Matt Cartmill, Duke University and Irene Lofstrom, Duke University.
"Function and Evolution of the Vertebrate Axis"
Presentations in this symposium will focus on three areas - the skeletal support system,
locomotion and the design of the axial systems in general. Axial systems in model
organisms will be discussed, including hagfish, bony fish, amphibians, reptiles and
mammals. Organized by John H. Long, Jr., Vassar College and Tom J. Koob, Shriners Hospital
for Children.
"Comparative Vertebrate Reproduction: Neuroendocrinology, Behavior and Life
History Aspects"
Scientists will gather to honor the many contributions of Dr. Richard Evan Jones in the
field of comparative reproductive endocrinology on his retirement from the Department of
Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Organized by David O. Norris, University of Colorado, Boulder, and Catherine R. Propper,
Northern Arizona University.
"Endocrine Disrupting Contaminants: From Gene to Ecosystems"
Environmental contaminants that have the potential for interfering with natural hormones
produced by the body. The existence and potential impacts of such contaminants are the
focus of this symposium. Organized by Louis J. Guillette, Jr., University of Florida and
D. Andrew Crain, University of Mississippi.
For more information on the Annual Meeting, visit the SICB Web site at: www.sicb.org
1999 Annual Meeting Final Program and Abstracts
To manage your Annual Meeting registration fees and dues more effectively, you will
receive your copy of the American Zoologist 1999 SICB Annual Meeting Final Program and
Abstracts (issue number 6) at the meeting. This issue will not be mailed out before the
meeting. Members and subscribers not attending the meeting will receive a copy of the
American Zoologist Abstract issue in the mail in January.