Dear
graduate student and postdoctoral members of the Division of
Invertebrate Zoology,
In 2006,
invertebrate zoology was as vigorous a field as ever. We saw the
publication of the sea urchin genome and the release of the sea
anemone draft genome, and in 2007 we look forward to the draft
genomes of a placozoan, a sponge, and limpet. Such resources are
invigorating the field of invertebrate zoology and, together with
already established invertebrate model systems, promise to further
illuminate animal evolution and the genetic underpinnings of cell and
developmental processes central to understanding human health and
disease. In addition to recent genomic advancements, in the last year
we have been presented with exquisitely preserved neoproterozoic
fossil embryos from the Doushantuo Formation of China that offer
direct insights into the development of possible stem group
metazoans. We now have compelling evidence from the fossil record of
bivalves that increased species origination rates in the tropics
account for global latitudinal diversity gradients - a finding the
underscores the importance of preserving tropical habitats as both a
"cradle and museum" of invertebrate biodiversity. Last year
we were delighted with eloquent studies of invertebrate behavior and
cognition, and our ever-improving hypotheses about invertebrate
relationships were altered with evidence that monoplacophorans are
allied with chitons and that tunicates are more closely related to
vertebrates than cephalochordates. We have even heard arguments for
placing placozoans as the earliest branching animals - challenging
long-held ideas about animal origins. I hope and expect that 2007
will be even more eventful and exciting than 2006.
Keep up
the good work!
Scott
Message from the Student Awards Committee Chair
Ben Miner
We had a great meeting in Phoenix
this year, and there were many excellent student presentations. Thank
you to all the students who presented!! I would also like to thank
the 20 volunteer judges for their time and commitment to the
students. This year 30 students competed from for best student paper.
The best oral presentation went to Alison Sweeney for her talk
entitled, "Evolution of high-acuity vision in coleoid cephalopods".
The best poster presentation went to Ben Lake for his poster
entitled, "Influence of orientation and flow speed on feeding
behavior and metabolism of the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides".
The Adrian M Wenner Strong Inference Award went to Dawn Vaugh for
her talk entitled, "Predator-induced morphological defenses in
marine zooplankton: a larval case study". The runner up for best
student paper went to Fernanda Oyarzun for her talk entitled,
"Plasticity in brooding time of a species with alternative
reproductive modes". The runner up for best student poster went to
David Sischo for his poster entitled, "Biofilms affect the behavior
of polychaete larvae landing on surfaces in water currents and
waves". Runner up for the Adrian M Wenner Strong Inference Award
went to Tracey Smart for her talk entitled, "Tolerance of the early
life history stages of Owenia fusiformis to environmental
conditions: possible limits to dispersal". Please join me in
congratulating these outstanding students. I look forward to next
seeing you all at the next meeting!
Sincerely,
Ben
Minutes of the 2007 Annual Business Meeting
Phoenix, Arizona, January 4, 2007
Janice Voltzow (DIZ Chair) opened the meeting by
requesting motions to approve the minutes of the previous year's
meeting. The minutes were unanimously approved.
Bob Thacker (DIZ Secretary) announced the results of the
Secretary election: Renae Brodie will be the next DIZ Secretary.
Congratulations were given to Renae; Larry Basch was also thanked for
his willingness to run for office. Bob also announced that last
year's proposed changes to the DIZ By-Laws were approved.
Bob also presented proposed changes to the DIZ By-Laws
that will be subject to a vote this year. The current By-Laws do not
reflect our current practice for the Chair-Elect term. A change is
proposed to Article V, to state: "The Chair-Elect shall be elected
triennially. The Chair-Elect should attend the annual meeting that
follows her/his election. At the end of this annual meeting, the
Chiar-Elect shall automatically become Chair for three years. He/She
shall serve as Past Chair during the succeeding two years."
A second change moves a responsibility from the
Past-Chair to the current Chair, moving the statement "He/She shall
sign all proposals to federal granting agencies on behalf of the
Division of Invertebrate Zoology" from Article VII to Article VI.
Amy Moran (DIZ Program Officer) detailed DIZ sponsorship
of SICB Symposia in 2007, as well as Symposia planned for 2008 (San
Antonio) and 2009 (Boston). Amy encouraged all attendees to submit
proposals for future symposia. Amy also led discussion of the concern
that symposia take too long to organize and described the proposed,
less formal group sessions that may be featured at future meetings.
Ben Miner (Student Awards Committee Chair) thanked all
volunteers for helping judge the Best Student Paper / Poster
Competition. 29 students competed at the 2007 meeting, with 27
volunteer judges. Winners of the 2006 awards were announced and
congratulated.
Chair Voltzow announced the winner of the Libbie Hyman
award. She also encouraged graduate students and postdoctoral
researchers to contact Scott Nichols (Graduate Student / Postdoctoral
Affairs Representative) with their ideas, questions, and concerns.
Bob Thacker encouraged all DIZ members to participate in
updating the DIZ Researchers Database on the SICB website.
Chair Voltzow thanked Bob for his service to the
Division as Secretary for the past three years.
Chair Voltzow asked the DIZ membership to think of ways
to enhance support for graduate students at SICB. She announced the
intention to hold another DIZ Auction at the 2008 meeting to raise
funds for the Libbie Hyman award. DIZ members are encouraged to
donate to this fund, to make or bring items for the auction, and to
participate by purchasing items at the auction.
All members were encouraged to attend the DIZ and
Society-wide social events.
Announcements included a call for an editor of the
Invertebrate Zoology section of the SICB Digital Library. The goal of
the library is to make many resources available for teaching,
including slide sets, syllabi, and digital videos. Editor(s) are
needed to coordinate the peer-review process for the library.
The society's journal, Integrative
and Comparative Biology has now caught up in its publication
schedule, with all 2006 symposia published. All symposium papers are
now due at the end of January. The journal has made a commitment to a
fast turn-around from reviewers. Attendees were reminded that
Integrative and Comparative Biology has first refusal of
publications resulting from SICB symposia.
The SICB Executive Committee (Sally Woodin, John Pearse,
Lou Burnett, and Ron Dimock) visited the meeting, and invited all to
attend the General SICB Business Meeting. SICB President Sally Woodin
announced a new fund with a $100,000 endowment for support of
symposia. SICB is currently seeking contributions to increase the
size of this endowment. President Woodin also asked the membership to
consider which aspects of the annual meeting are most important for
them, and to consider where the society could cut costs.
Bill Zamer and Diana Padilla (NSF) encouraged DIZ
members to attend the workshop on NSF's Integrative Organismal
Systems program.
Patrick Reynolds provided
information on the status of Invertebrate Biology, which is
sponsored by AMS and DIZ. Patrick thanked his previous co-editor,
Susie Balser, and welcomed new members of the editorial board, Bruno
Pernet, Louise Page, and Michael Hart. The past year saw 91
submissions and 34 published papers, with about 30 days time to
decisions. In January 2007, the journal begins continuous electronic
publication, with quarterly printed issues. The journal's impact
factor increased to 1.29.
Rick Harrison announced the first International Congress
on Invertebrate Morphology, to be held in Copenhagen in 2008.
Rachel Collin announced the 13th
International Congress on Invertebrate Reproduction and Development,
to be held in Panama in August 2007. The registration deadline is May
31, 2007. Details are available at http://striweb.si.edu/icird/
Chair Voltzow requested volunteers to form a nominating
committee to identify candidates for DIZ Program Officer-Elect. The
three volunteers included Diana Padilla, Ben Miner, and Patrick
Reynolds.
A round of applause thanked Bob Thacker for his service
as DIZ Secretary, and welcomed Renae Brodie as the new DIZ Secretary.
Submitted by R Brodie and RW Thacker.
Elections: Candidates for DIZ Program Officer
Please
review the biographies of our two candidates for the position of DIZ
Program Officer, John Zardus and James McClintock. We will hold an
election for this office later this spring.
John D. Zardus
Current Position: Assistant
Professor, The Citadel, Charleston, SC; Adjunct Faculty,
Graduate Program in Marine Biology, College of Charleston.
Education: 1988, B.S.
(Zoology), and 1991, M.S. (Zoology), Brigham Young University, Provo,
UT; 1998, Ph.D. (Biology), Northeastern University, Boston, MA.
Professional Experience:
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
(1999-01); Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Hawaii - Kewalo Marine
Lab, Honolulu, HI (2001-05).
SICB Activities: Member and
presenter at SICB since 1991; session chair, 2005; Judge, Best
Student Paper, 2006.
Other Memberships:
The Crustacean Society (since 2003).
Research Interests:
Specializing in marine invertebrate ecology and evolution, I am
currently utilizing tools of molecular phylogenetics, larval biology,
and electron microscopy to investigate the association of barnacles
with marine vertebrates. My questions are: How are these barnacles
related? How do their larvae find hosts? What can these crustaceans
tell us about the biology of their hosts?
Statement of Goals:
Membership in SICB has proved instrumental in helping to establish my
career. As a program officer I want to reach out to the next
generation of invertebrate zoologists by promoting membership among
students and seeking ways for the Division to help foster their
professional development.
James B. McClintock
Current Position: Endowed
University Professor of Polar and Marine Biology, Department of
Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Education: 1978, B.S.
(Biology), University of California at Santa Cruz, 1980, M.A.
(Zoology) University of South Florida, 1984, Ph.D. University of
South Florida.
Professional Experience:
1984-1986, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at Santa
Cruz , Instructor - Intertidal Ecology; 1986; Visiting Scientist,
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (1986), Instructor - Biological
Oceanography; 1986-2007, 11 research field seasons, Visiting
NSF-funded Principal Investigator- McMurdo and Palmer Stations,
Antarctica.
Honors and Awards: College
Honors, UCSC (1978); National Science Foundation Antarctic Service
Award (1984); Omicron Delta Kappa (1989); UAB Ellen Gregg Ingalls
Teaching Award (1989); Honorary Member Phi Kappa Phi (1993); Caroline
P. and Charles W. Ireland Prize for outstanding UAB faculty scholar
(1993); United States Board on Geographic Names designated the
geographic feature "McClintock Point" in Western McMurdo Sound,
Antarctica, (October 6, 1998); Elected Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (1999); Wright A. Gardner
Award for Outstanding Scientist in Alabama, Alabama Academy of
Science (2001); Elected Board of Trustees Member, McWane Science
Center, Birmingham, (2001-2007); Co-recipient Tyge Christensen Award
for best 2000-2001 paper published in Phycologia; Named
"University Professor", University of Alabama at Birmingham
(2003-present); CASE Award (Council for the Advancement and Support
of Education for UAB Antarctica Web Site) (2005).
SICB Experience: As
graduate student assisted John M. Lawrence with Program Officer
duties related to hosting SICB (ASZ) meetings in Tampa, Florida
(1979); Proposed, co-organized and co-directed two society-wide
symposia on Antarctic Marine Biology (San Francisco - 1990; Atlanta -
2000). DIZ Best Student Paper judge (numerous occasions).
Other Memberships: Ecological
Society of America (ESA), American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS), Regular participant in Benthic Ecology Meetings
(BEM), Alabama Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi.
Research Interests: Marine
chemical ecology, marine invertebrate nutrition, reproduction and
larval ecology, intertidal and subtidal marine ecology, echinoderm
biology, sponge biology, polar marine biology.
Statement of Goals: Since
my early ontogeny as a graduate student I have been significantly
involved with SICB/ASZ, and in particular, with the Division of
Invertebrate Zoology (DIZ). Over the past two decades, along with my
graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, I have immensely enjoyed
the benefits provided by my affiliation with DIZ. In 1990 and again
in 2000, I worked very closely with DIZ Program Officers to organize
and lead society-wide, collaborative and integrative, symposia on
aspects of Antarctic Marine Biology. These symposia were not only
rewarding on a personal level but provided me with an appreciation of
the immense value of timely collaborative symposia to the membership
of the society at large, as well as to members of DIZ.
As a consequence of all these personal benefits and
rewards, I have long felt a strong desire to give back to the
division. I would have enjoyed doing so at an earlier point of my
career, but an unanticipated invitation to serve an eight-year stint
as Dean of my School of Natural Sciences and then Interim Dean of our
Graduate School at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,
forestalled these plans. Recently, I have been honored to transition
from my deanship to an Endowed University Professorship. Thus, should
the DIZ membership so desire, I have the time, and certainly the
energy and enthusiasm, to serve as Program Officer of DIZ. Indeed, it
would be an honor and a privilege.
Over the years, SICB/ASZ has transitioned through some
very productive, and also some very trying, periods. Nonetheless, I
am convinced that the DIZ has not only sustained the status quo but
has continued to strengthen and expand its programs. As Program
Officer I would be committed to not only strive to work with our
division membership and other divisional program officers to bring
cutting-edge symposia to the forefront, but also to continue to
engender the enthusiasm and participation of graduate students and
postdoctoral fellows, who hold the key to a strong and vibrant
division in the years to come. I would also work hard to communicate
with my former Postdoctoral Mentor, and current President of SICB,
John Pearse, to best serve our division within the broad constructs
of the goals of the society at large, to further optimize
opportunities to co-host symposia and integrate educational outreach
technologies, and to expand opportunities for fund raising to support
targeted DIZ programs. I appreciate your consideration and hope that
I may have the opportunity to serve as your voice as our next DIZ
Program Officer.
Elections:
Changes to DIZ By-Laws
I. Item 1.
Chair terms
The current By-Laws do not reflect our current practice
for the Chair-Elect term. A change is proposed to Article V, to
state: "The Chair-Elect shall be elected triennially. The
Chair-Elect should attend the annual meeting that follows her/his
election. At the end of this annual meeting, the Chiar-Elect shall
automatically become Chair for three years. He/She shall serve as
Past Chair during the succeeding two years."
II. Item 2. Chair responsibilities
A second change moves a responsibility from the
Past-Chair to the current Chair, moving the statement "He/She shall
sign all proposals to federal granting agencies on behalf of the
Division of Invertebrate Zoology" from Article VII to Article VI.
Link to officer list on DIZ page