TROPINET, Vol. 11, No. 3, September 2000



Association for Tropical Biology on the World Wide Web at ATB members may want to check their listings in the Membership Directory posted on the homepage http://atb.botany.ufl.edu/atb/.



Association for Tropical Biology Annual Meeting 2001
International Conference on Tropical Ecosystems: Structure, Diversity and Human Welfare

The 2001 ATB annual meeting will be held July 15-18, 2001, in Bangalore, India. This meeting will address three major areas of concern in tropical biology: 1) Global change and tropical forests, 2) The structure, diversity and function of tropical ecosystems, and 3) Biodiversity hot-spots. Each topic will be the theme of several symposia. Participants may contribute posters at the meeting. For more informatio, please visit the web page of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), which is co-sponsoring the meeting with ATB. The address is: http://www.atree.org/ ATB is seeking grant assistance to provide travel funding for US researchers to attend the Bangalore meeting. ATB will offer travel grants for ATB members from any country. Details will be provided in the December issue of Tropinet.

FEATURE ARTICLE
LARGE-SCALE, LONG-TERM TROPICAL ECOLOGY
S. Joseph Wright, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama


The Association for Tropical Biology will hold its annual meeting in Panama in 2002, where we expect a wide range of symposia and contributed paper sessions. This commentary will present the motivation for several symposia that are already planned. It is widely recognized that the last large tracts of tropical forest will disappear within 25 years, precipitating a conservation crisis. It is perhaps less widely recognized that widespread deforestation also has profound implications for basic research. To begin, I will contrast these implications with the limitations of the most frequent approach to field research.

Most field research (my own included) involves tractable organisms, a single field station, and a short funding cycle. Tractable organisms are uniformly abundant, and tractable animals have, in addition, small home ranges and short generation times. This proven and powerful approach to field research will continue to provide the bulk of the presentations at society meetings. It is evident, however, that the range of phenomena studied is truncated. Temporal and spatial variation, the larger vertebrates, and the many rare species that characterize tropical forests are systematically neglected.

These very phenomena, at least in their natural state, will become increasingly difficult to study as human populations continue their exponential growth in the tropics. Lisa Curran and her associates have provided a recent, chilling example from a protected Dipterocarp forest in western Borneo (Ecol Monogr 70: 101, Science 286: 2184). Seed set, seedling recruitment, and native granivores were monitored during three general flowering events. An expanding human population isolated the protected reserve during the ten-year study, previously nomadic granivores became sedentary, and, as a consequence, seedling recruitment failed after the most recent general flowering event. Two conclusions are relevant here. First, a large spatial perspective, a long temporal record, and the inclusion of large vertebrates were all essential to understand dipterocarp regeneration. Second, habitat fragmentation altered dipterocarp regeneration even inside a large, protected reserve. Widespread deforestation threatens our future ability to study the very phenomena that are overlooked by research involving tractable organisms, a single field station, and a short funding cycle.

Of course, this is not a new idea. The annual meeting of the ATB has been held in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico and will be held in India (2001) and Panama (2002) to facilitate a large geographic perspective. The late Alwyn Gentry recognized the value of the largest possible spatial perspective in his own influential work and, in 1987, challenged the rest of us to do the same by organizing the “Four Neotropical Forests” symposium to compare well known field stations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru. Lucinda McDade, in her presidential address to the ATB, recognized the value of long temporal records when she challenged each person present to initiate a long-term study in the tropics. Stephen Hubbell, Peter Ashton and Ira Rubinoff leapt to the global scale and the longest possible temporal scale in their conception of a pantropical series of 50-hectare forest dynamics plots. Selected symposia planned for the annual meeting of the ATB in Panama in 2002 will update these initiatives, providing a unique perspective on tropical forests.

A large spatial perspective will be possible through a return to the “Four Neotropical Forests” supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In 1987, each of the four research stations had strong research traditions and few comparisons of research results were possible (Gentry A.1990. Four Neotropical Forests. Yale Univ Press). Gordon Orians has agreed to lead an advanced course* to Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru in 2001. The past fifteen years of research plus studies conducted during this course will contribute to comparisons of plant-animal interactions, seedling regeneration, tree dynamics and other topics among the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, the Biological Diversity of Forest Fragments Project, the Cocha Cashu Biological Station, and the La Selva Biological Station.

A 30-year temporal perspective is provided by monitoring studies conducted on Barro Colorado Island, Panama and the adjacent mainland under the auspices of the Environmental Sciences Program of the Smithsonian Institution. These long records have focussed attention on El Niño and La Niña events and their influence on climate, forest-wide fruit production, frugivores, seed dispersal, and seedling recruitment. Long-term studies of hydrology, biogeochemistry, and the population biology of insects, lizards, birds and mammals will also be presented.

The Center for Tropical Forest Science will hold its biennial meeting with the ATB in Panama in 2002. The CTFS coordinates the 15 large (mostly 50 hectares) forest dynamics plots, where all trees larger than 1 cm in diameter at breast height are identified and monitored at five-year intervals. The 2002 meeting should be exciting because, for the first time, most sites will have completed multiple censuses. This will permit detailed comparisons of the demography of more than 4,000,000 individual trees and 3,000 species from sites in Cameroon, Colombia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Malaysia (2 plots), Panama,

The Philippines, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand (3 plots).
Collectively these symposia will provide large-scale, long-term perspectives on a range of natural processes in tropical forests. The annual meeting of the ATB will, of course, require a much wider range of contributions. Suggestions for additional symposia should be sent to me (wrightj@tivoli.si.edu). The time to plan a successful meeting for 2002 is upon us.

*FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COURSE, see the "COURSES" heading in this newsletter which lists upcoming OTS course offerings.


PETER RAVEN HONORED AS ATB HONORARY FELLOW
The 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology convened in Bloomington, Indiana, in late June, 2000, where ATB shared the venue with members from the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Society for Systematic Biology, and the American Society of Naturalists. Keith Clay, the local ATB representative, handled local arrangements, and at the ATB Banquet on June 24, Peter Raven was recognized as the 62nd Honorary Fellow of the society. Honorary Fellows are elected in recognition of their long, distinguished service to biology in the tropics. In accepting the award, Raven applauded the efforts of the ATB to increase international participation in tropical biology, and noted the urgent need for international partnerships to address issues of population, development, and biodiversity that challenge us in the 21st century. He urged members to attend the 2001 meetings in Banglore, India, to broaden their appreciation of tropical biology on a global scale.

Dr. Kamaljat Bawa (University of Massachusetts, Boston), the outgoing ATB President, gave the President's address ; a summary of his remarks will appear in the December issue of Tropinet. The new president of ATB for 2000-2001 is Dr. Theodore Fleming, Department of Biology, University of Miami. The meetings in Bloomington also included several sessions of contributed papers in tropical biology, and two symposia. R. B. Srygley organized a day-long symposium on Coevolution and Speciation in Passion-Flower Butterflies, and V. A. Funk was the organizer of a symposium (sponsored jointly with SSB) entitled: Biodiversity: The Interface Between Systematics and Conservation.

Elaine Hooper receives the 2000 Gentry Award
The Gentry Award is given annually to a student poster or contributed paper at the annual meeting which is judged to be of the highest quality, reflecting a major contribution to our understanding of tropical biology. This year, the panel of judges awarded this honor to Elaine Hooper of the University of Montreal for her poster titled 'Identifying barriers to natural regeneration: an evaluation of the germination, survival, and growth of twenty native tree species planted in abandoned Panamanian pastures invaded by Saccharum spontaneum.' Congratulations to Elaine and to the candidates for the award, all of whom showcased their outstanding research in tropical biology!

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - Association for Tropical Biology Honorary Fellows, 2001
The Association for Tropical Biology invites nominations for ATB Honorary Fellows, the highest award given by the Association. Election as an Honorary Fellow recognizes those individuals who have provided distinguished service to tropical biology. Recent recipients have included Peter Raven, E. O. Wilson, Thomas Lovejoy, José Sarukan, and Betty Meggers. To nominate a candidate, please send a 1-2 page letter proposing the candidate, along with the nominee's curricum vitae, to Dr. Ted Fleming, Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA

2000

The American Cetacean Society 7th International Conference, "Whales 2000: Celebrating the Past, Working for the Future," November 17-19, 2000, Monterey Conference Center, Monterey, CA.
The conference will address cetacean conservation, advances in marine mammal science, the future of whaling and whale management. The meeting will include individual presentations, panel discussions and workshops. The conference will officially begin on Friday night, November 17, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, with a special reception and dance honoring Dr. Alan and Sheila Baldridge. Conference attendance is strictly limited to 450. Poster abstract submission deadline is September 1, 2000. Early registration deadline is October 15, 2000. For more information and registration forms: www.acsonline.org


2001

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology 2001 Annual Meeting, January 3-7, 2001, Chicago Hilton and Towers, Chicago, IL.
For information, see the SICB web page at http://www.SICB.org or contact the SICB business office at 703-790-1745 (tel), 703-790-2672 (fax), or email SICB@BurkInc.com. Instructions and abstract forms are on the web page; deadline for abstracts is September 8, 2000

ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR POSTERS - INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
LOWLAND MAYA AREA:THREE MILLENNIA AT THE HUMAN WILDLAND INTERFACE

January 18-20, 2001, Riverside, California. USA, sponsored by the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside. A registration fee of $95 (non-students) and $50 (students) includes luncheon, January 20. Applications for travel grants for poster presenters and students are available. For more information: http://maya.ucr.edu/pril/PRIL.html Call for Posters - Abstracts due October 27. Contact: Cindi McKernan 909/787-3423, (fax) 909/787-4437, bpscin@ucrac1.ucr.edu

Ecology of Insular Biotas: The Invasive Species Specialist Group International Conference. Wellington, New Zealand, 12-16 February 2001. Conference will focus on ecological patterns and processes of particular importance to isolated biotas, including true islands, natural habitat islands, and artificial habitat islands (reserves). WWW: www.vuw.ac.nz/sbs/conferences. Email: sbs-islands-conf@vuw.ac.nz

Third International Conference on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development - ECOSUD 2001, June 6-8, 2001, Alicante, Spain
Organised by University of Alicante, Spain, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK and Universitat Jaume I, Spain
ECOSUD 2001 is the third international conference on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development. The aim of the conference is to facilitate interdisciplinary communication among scientists, engineers, economists and professionals working in ecological systems and sustainable development. Special sessions will focus on research in ecological modelling, socioeconomic ecology, conservation, management and recovery of endangered and degraded areas, sustainable development, information techniques for development, ecological engineering, health and development. ECOSUD 2001 will discuss research results in the following main areas:
1) Development Economics - International and Industrial Applications
2) Conservation, Management and Recovery of Endangered and Degraded Areas
3) Modelling of Natural and Human Ecosystems
CALL FOR PAPERS: Papers are invited on topics falling within the scope of the Meeting. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted by mail, fax or email as soon as possible. For instructions on paper submission, please see: http://www.witpress.com/authors.htm#Conference
For further details on the conference location and logistics, please see our website at: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2001/ecosud01/

Second Symposium on Marine Conservation Biology
June 21-26, 2001, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA.

Sponsored by the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) and the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB). Funding for this meeting has been provided by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The meeting will include invited and contributed papers, poster sessions, workshops, and field trips. For information on registration, field trips, housing, meal plans, etc please contact Julie Morrison, scientific conference coordinator, at juliem@selway.umt.edu or toll-free at: 1-877-712-3777. For information on MCBI, see: http://www.mcbi.org

ASSOCIATION FOR TROPICAL BIOLOGY 2001 Annual Meeting
July 15-18, Bangalore, India

SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2001 Annual Meeting
July 30 -August 4, 2001 at University of Hawaii in Hilo.

2002

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology 2002 Annual Meeting January 2-6, 2002, Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, CA
For information see the SICB web page at www.SICB.org or contact the SICB business office at 703-790-1745 (tel), 703-790-2672 (fax), or email SICB@BurkInc.com

Association for Tropical Biology, 2002 Annual Meeting
August, 2002, Panama City, Panama.



COURSES, WORKSHOPS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS

STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR BAT CONSERVATION RESEARCH
Bat Conservation International announces the availability of student research scholarships. Approximately 15 grants ranging from $500 to $2,500 will be made in 2001. Grants will go to research that best helps document the roosting and feeding habitat requirements of bats, their ecological or economic roles, or their conservation needs. Students enrolled in any college or university worldwide are eligible to apply. Projects must have bat conservation relevance. The application deadline for 2001 scholarships is 15 December 2000. Application information and forms are available on our web page at <http://www.batcon.org/schol/schol.html> or write to Bat Conservation International, Student Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 7871 or email: aengland@batcon.org

THE ORGANIZATION FOR TROPICAL STUDIES ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING COURSES
:
OTS-1 Tropical Biology: An Ecological Approach (8 weeks – starting in mid January 2001) Offered continuously since 1964, this course is the flagship offering of OTS. This course is designed for students in the early stages of graduate study in biology or a related field, with the goal of training the next generation of tropical biologists in research methods by providing intensive field experience in diverse tropical ecosystems. Application deadline: Oct. 13, 2000
OTS-13 Ecosistemas Amazónicos (4 weeks – early May 2001) This intensive field course in Spanish, offered in collaboration with the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER), will focus on the unique characteristics of the flooded and upland forests of the western Amazon region of Peru. This course is primarily intended to serve Latin American graduate students regardless of institutional affiliation, although Spanish-speaking graduate students from OTS member institutions may apply regardless of nationality. Partial fellowships may be available. Application deadline: Oct. 10, 2000
OTS-18 Sistemática de Plantas Tropicales (4 weeks – early July 2001) Offered for the first time in 2001, this course is the Spanish language version of Tropical Plant Systematics. It emphasizes a strong conceptual foundation in phylogenetic systematics in an intensive field setting. The course travels to diverse habitats around Costa Rica, from cloud forest and páramo to monsoonal dry forest and Atlantic lowland rainforest. It is primarily intended to serve Latin American graduate students regardless of institutional affiliation, although Spanish-speaking graduate students from OTS member institutions are encourage to apply regardless of nationality. Partial fellowships may be available. Application deadline: Nov. 1, 2000
OTS -25 Advanced Comparative Neotropical Ecology (10 weeks – early Sept 2001) This unique, one-time only, 10-week course offered by OTS and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) will provide an intensive comparative experience for postdoctoral scholars, junior faculty members and advanced graduate students. The course, coordinated by Gordon Orians, will visit La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica; Barro Colorado Island in Panamá, the sites of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project near Manaus in Brazil and Manu National Park in Perú. Applicants must have prior research or course experience at one or more tropical forest sites. Participants are not required to be affiliated with an OTS member institution or with STRI. Application deadline: Oct. 16, 2000

OTS/Duke University Undergraduate Semester Abroad Program in Costa Rica (15 weeks – spring 2001) This semester-long program is offered in collaboration with Duke University. Students enroll in four courses: Fundamentals of Tropical Biology, Field Research in Tropical Biology, Environmental Science and Policy and Spanish Language and culture. The program visits the three OTS stations as well as other sites throughout Costa Rica. Application deadline for spring 2001: Oct. 6, 2000
For more information on all these courses please contact the Organization for Tropical Studies, Box 90630, NC 27708 or see the web page at http://www/duke.ots.edu/

The Institute for Tropical Marine Ecology announces the availability of a limited number of scholarships for its Spring 2001 semester program in Dominica. Dominica boasts lush tropical rainforests and unspoiled emerald waters in which to study, experience, and conserve nature's bounty. The courses carry 15 academic credit hours, and include 5 courses in marine ecology and conservation, field work and community outreach and environmental education. Further information is available at admin@itme.org. Please visit our photo gallery at http://www.itme.org

The Smithsonian Institution's Conservation & Research Center is offering "Introduction to the Use of Geographic Information Systems & Remote Sensing in Conservation and Wildlife Management," Dec. 4-8, 2000. The course will provide hands-on experience for the collection of data, GIS analysis of the data, and map making. This short course will provide wildlife managers with a working knowledge about the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing to the monitoring and management of wildlife and forest vegetation. For more details please see our web page: http://www.si.edu/crc/tp/tp_gis/tp_gis.htm or contact: Melissa Songer, Smithsonian Conservation & Research Center, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630 (540)635-6578 songerm@crc.si.edu

Sandpiper Technologies, Inc. is accepting grant applications through December 31, 2000. The company offers three types of grants to wildlife biology graduate students:1) Equipment Grants - Students receive the STI rental equipment free of charge. 2) Equipment Discount Grants - Equipment is sold to graduate students or universities at a discount. 3) Cash Grants. Formerly operating as Christensen Designs, Sandpiper Technologies develops wildlife research equipment and specializes in burrow probes, underwater and elevated video systems and time-lapse surveillance devices. For additional information contact: Sandpiper Technologies, Inc., 535 W. Yosemite Ave., Manteca, CA 95337. Phone: (209) 239-7460. Email: Ann@peeperpeople.com. Information about how to apply for the grant is available in the grants/rentals section of the STI website: http://Peeperpeople.com.


The Central American Institute for Biological Research and Conservation (a non-governmental, non- profit organization) promotes scientific research in Biology and Conservation in the Central American Isthmus. They are offering short training and field courses in Biology and Conservation subjects which may be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students. The courses are offered in Costa Rica.

Multivariate Methods in Biology- 2000
Oct 22, 2000 – Nov. 5, 2000; Application Deadline: September 1

Phylogenetics (cladistic analysis)- 2001
Jan 21, 2001 - Feb 4, 2001; Application Deadline: Nov 24, 2000

Field Ecology -2001
April 15, 2001 - April 31, 2001; Application Deadline Jan 30, 2001

More information including course cost and application procedures can be found at http://www.cibrc.freehosting.net or email academics@cibrc.freehosting.net



Web Resources


The International Organization for Plant Information (IOPI), a Commission of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), manages the Database of Plant Databases (DPD). The DPD is a global list of plant databases including Taxonomic databases ("with systematic information on families or genera, or for Flora projects"); Collection catalogs (usually of herbaria); and DELTA datasets (DELTA is "the Description Language for Taxonomy, a data format for character data, used for identification, key construction and the generation of descriptions."). The DPD may be searched using numerous specified fields, or it may be viewed in its entirety -- by Database Name, Host Name, or Host Country. Though bare bones in appearance, this extensive database contains a gold mine of information, with hundreds of hyperlinks to valuable plant databases. You can access this site at http://iopi.csu.edu.au/iopi/iopidpd1.html

The CIDA Forestry Advisers Network (CFAN) has recently posted a new presentation on its website - "Tropical Forests and Climate Change -". To access: http://www.rcfa-cfan.org/english/issues.13.html

Ecologyfund
(www.ecologyfund.com) has just added a new project - "Mexican Endangered Wildlife". Clicks benefit Pronatura, Mexico's largest conservation organization and The Wildlands Project of Arizona, which is also involved in the protection of the Mexican Thick-billed parrot. Ecologyfund is supporting two Pronatura projects in Northern Mexico, 1) creating an 8,000 acre reserve in the Cuatro Cienegas Valley and 2) protecting a 6,000 acre forest in the Sierra Madre. More information about both of these projects is available on the site. All money from clicking on Ecologyfund is paid for by sponsors, and is sent directly to the projects to protect threatened wilderness areas. There are no deductions for administrative expenses. There are now 5 Ecologyfund projects: 1)Amazon Rainforest, 2)Mexican Wildlife Habitat, 3)Canadian Wildlands, 4)USA Wilderness Areas, and 5) Patagonian Coastal Reserve.

Computerized Map Of Latin America's Threatened Birds
University of Arkansas researchers Kimberly Smith, professor of biological sciences, former research associate Tom Brooks, director of biodiversity analysis for Conservation International, and Fred Limp, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), have created a computerized map showing the ranges of threatened bird species in Latin America. The map, which includes the ranges of 1,300 bird species considered at risk in Mexico, Central and South America, is produced on CD-Rom with instructions in Spanish, Portuguese and English. The CD is available to conservation groups, non-governmental organizations, research professors and governments for use in making conservation-based decisions about land use practices. The research is part of a Nature Conservancy program, Wings of the Americas, made possible by Canon U.S.A. Inc. The original news release describing the CD can be found at http://pigtrail.uark.edu/news/apr00/birds.html

Ecuador's Jatun Sacha Foundation is pleased to announce a new listserve for the discussion and exchange of information, issues, and events pertaining to coastal zone conservation. This list is open to everyone and discussion will concern global coastal conservation issues. To subscribe to the Coastal Conservation Listserve (Conserve Coast), send an email to coastalzonesubscribe@topica.com This list is managed by the Jatun Sacha Foundation's Coastal Conservation Program and the Coastal Trust.


The UNEP/GPA Coordination Office and the International Ocean Institute invite you to visit the UNEP/GPA News Forum web site to view the articles that have been posted recently and to participate in the online discussions. The GPA News Forum is a news and information service for the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities. As an integral part of the GPA clearing-house, the News Forum provides information on recent GPA-related activities at the national, regional, and global levels, including capacity-building opportunities, progress in key or pilot projects, and upcoming meetings, workshops, and conferences. Visit the News Forum at http://gpanews.unep.org for more information.

Co-op America has been working on marketing sustainable products from domestic suppliers as well as tropical suppliers for many years. They have several sustainably harvested products listed on their greenpages website, http://www.greenpagesstore.com. The site provides information which can help you use your purchasing power reinforce the economic value of native ecosystems.

BIOLOGICAL PERMITS FOR RESEARCH:
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/su-pap071900.htmlPERMIT-L is a moderated cross-disciplinary listserv, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, intended to facilitate discussion and information flow on all issues related to the rapidly changing terrain of biological collecting, permits, access, and import/export transactions. To join, send email to LISTSERV@SIVM.SI.EDU. No subject is required. In the body, issue the command: Subscribe PERMIT-L Firstname Surname.



JOBS

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITIONS
PLANT ECOLOGIST & PLANT SYSTEMATIST/ECOLOGICAL GENETICIST

The Department of Biology of the University of Puerto Rico, RÌo Piedras, seeks a plant ecologist with expertise in one or more of the following areas: ecophysiology, population, community or ecosystem processes, and a plant systematist or plant ecological geneticist with expertise in molecular techniques. Responsibilities include the establishment of an active research laboratory that will attract extramural funding, supervising MS and Ph.D. research, and teaching graduate and undergraduate courses. Candidate must hold a Ph.D. and have post-doctoral research experience. Interested candidates should send a curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, representative publications, and three letters of reference before December 31, 2000 to:
Dr. Alberto M. Sabat, Chair, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 23360
San Juan, PR 00931-3360. Email: asabat@upracd.upr.clu.edu
University of Puerto Rico is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (FCS) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN MEXICO

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) based in Oaxaca, Mexico seeks an Executive Director. Founded in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council is an international, independent, non-governmental non-profit organization promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. FSC accredits certifying organizations, which in turn, certify forests and their management that meet FSC Principles and Criteria and other specific standards identified at the national and/or regional levels. The Executive Director will promote good forest management practices consistent with the FSC P&C on a global scale. The Executive Director is an ambassador and communicator for FSC. S/he will initiate and coordinate the strategic thinking process; anticipate strategic issues and proactive responses; and manage and develop FSC's fundraising and revenue generation strategies. The successful candidate should have at least two languages, including English and preferably Spanish, and experience in or with non-profits and membership organizations. He or she should have familiarity with issues related to sustainable resource use, particularly certification. The successful candidate should have previous experience living or working in lesser developed countries, an advanced degree or its equivalent in natural resources, business or management disciplines, and a minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience. Preferred location for the position is the FSC office in Oaxaca, Mexico. To Apply, please contact Jill Solomon, Global Recruitment Specialists, 96 Oakview Terrace, Short Hills, New Jersey, 07078 USA fax (973) 379-7325, E-mail jillsolomo@aol.com, Web: http://www.globalrecruitment.net. See more about FSC at the website http://www.fscoax.org/

CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE (AQUATIC BIO-DIVERSITY PROGRAM)
The New England Aquarium is seeking an energetic, analytical, organized, computer savvy and detail oriented individual to assist Principal Investigator with all aspects in developing a new traveling bio-diversity exhibit and related programs. Requirements:A BA/BS degree in Biology, Marine/Conservation Biology, Environmental Studies (Master’s preferred). Previous conservation policy or scientific research experience preferred. Previous grant-writing experience preferred. Some travel may be required. Previous office administration skills required. Individual will have exceptional communication (verbal /public speaking & written), multi-tasking skills and able to work with minimal supervision. TO APPLY: PLEASE SEND RESUME & COVER LETTER TO: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES & DIVERSITY, NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, CENTRAL WHARF, BOSTON, MA 02110-3399. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!!!

Conservation International
Senior Director, State of the Hotspots, in the Department of Conservation Strategic Planning, Washington, DC. Start Date: September 1, 2000
Conservation International (CI) is a non-governmental organization working in 27 countries in the Americas, Asia, and Africa to preserve global biodiversity. The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) has established the State of the Hotspots program to analyze the impact that CI and its partners are having in these important regions. CI is seeking an experienced conservation professional to lead the State of the Hotspots program.
State of the Hotspots is a macro-level monitoring initiative comprised of a network of experts and institutions working in the hotspots. The program coordinates biennial global assessments of the 25 hotspots and conducts several assessments of individual hotspots each year. The Senior Director reports to the Vice President for Conservation Strategic Planning and will lead CI's rapidly growing State of the Hotspots initiative. She/he will be responsible for defining the program's strategy and objectives, working to refine the monitoring framework, further developing a global network of collaborators, and publishing periodic global and regional State of the Hotspots reports. Qualifications: * Advanced degree in the natural or social sciences. * 10+ years experience leading an international conservation program or project.* Experience developing and using indicators and indices to monitor environmental, social, and/or institutional issues. * Proven leadership and management abilities. * Familiarity with biological, socio-economic, political, and legal issues affecting biodiversity conservation outside the U.S. * Prominent stature within the international environmental community. * Proven ability to write and publish scientific publications in a team environment.* Excellent writing, public speaking, and communication skills. * Strong analytical skills and knowledge of statistics. * Fluency in English; working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and/or French.* Willingness to travel internationally. * Field experience in Latin America, Asia and/or Africa. * Strong interest in global biodiversity conservation and commitment to the goals of Conservation International. Please send cover letter and resume to:Conservation International, Attn: Sr. Director, State of the Hotspots c/o Center for Applied Biodiversity Science 2501 M Street, NW #200, Washington, DC 20037 Fax: 202-887-0193, Email:
p.flick@conservation.org No phone calls please.


BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS

THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN announces publication of two more volumes of Flora Neotropica.
Teuvo Ahti has completed Monograph #78, Cladoniaceae. Monograph #81, by E. M. Norman, covers the Buddlejaceae. Volumes are available from The New York Botanical Garden Press, Scientific Publications Department, 200th St. and Kazimiroff Blvd, Bronx, New York 10458.

BATS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA, by Frank J. Bonaccorso, with illustrations by Fiona A. Reid and others, is the second of Conservation International's Tropical Field Guide Series. This nicely produced and very portable field guide covers the 91 species of bats (both megachiropterans and microchiropterans) native to Papua New Guinea. For each species, the author includes sections on Identification, Geographic Range (including range maps), Natural History, and Conservation Status. In addition, the author indicates which specimens were examined and summarizes a set of standard measurements for the species, showing minimum and maximum dimensions by sex. Introductory chapters on the bat fauna of Papua New Guinea, a classification guide, an illustrated glossary, and keys to the bats of the country are also included. As Bonaccorso notes in his introductory chapter, the natural history, behavior, and physiology of this bat fauna are still poorly known. This book, however, should help to highlight the diversity of bats in Papua New Guinea, and should contribute in important ways to ongoing research on this important group of keystone organisms.The book is available from the University of Chicago Press, and the paperback volume (ISBN 1-881173-26-7) is $40.00.

AMAZON INSECTS, by James Castner. ISBN 0-9625150-1-9. Feline Press, P.O. Box 357219, Gainesville, FL 32635 USA. This small-format book is composed of 160 pages of superb photographs of neotropical insects, each photograph paired with two or three paragraphs of text describing the basic ecology of the group which the insect represents. Photos are identified to genus and species, where possible, and while the text is in English, the photos are also captioned in Spanish. The book focuses on the most obvious and dramatic of Amazon insects, and thus does not strive for taxonomic inclusiveness. There are 8 entries for beetles and butterflies, 11 for katydids, 6 for moths, and smaller numbers for other frequently-encountered groups. While the book is thus intended mostly for the ecotourist and naturalist, it can be an effective teaching resource. To test the book's effectiveness in actually describing "Amazon insects," we used the book for two weeks in the OTS Amazon Ecology course in July, 2000. The sites we tested the book in were at the Ducke Reserve and in another terre firme forest near Manaus. Despite the fact that the book is (naturally) selective in what it describes, we encountered several dramatic examples of groups included in the text during this two-week trial, including Fulgorids, Saturniid moths, rhinoceros beetles, and katydids. I polled the Latin American students of the course to assess their judgment of the book's usefulness in the field. The following commentary was volunteered by the moderator/teaching assistant for the course:
"This is a very interesting book. Obviously it is not a systematic treatment or a field guide for professional biologists, which would be impossible in a 'pocket guide.' However, for tourists or for professionals with little knowledge of insects it would be very useful. The photos are excellent in quality, and the species selected justifiably include those which are most noticeable (such as the moth Rothschildia or the "Harlequin beetle" which were seen during our course).
"One final point: the part about Arachnids leaves a bit to be desired, given that there are many interesting and notable species in the region. Even so, considering that this is a book on insects, it is laudable that the author includes, even briefly, several "non-insect" groups in his accounts. A future book on "Amazon Arachnids" would be most welcome. Even so, there is much to be learned and appreciated from this book." Adalberto J. Santos, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide to Tropical Mexico. 1999. Les Beletsky, Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle. Available from Academic Press. ISBN: 0120848120, US Price: $27.95

Forgotten Waters: Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems in Africa, Strategies for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development, C. Shumway. 1999. 168 pp. ISBN 87387-109-X. $5.00. To order, email: cshumway@neaq.org. A Boston University publication. Commissioned by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Africa Bureau, this book provides a primer of lessons regarding conservation of Africa's wetlands, freshwaters and marine ecosystems. Issues analyzed in the book include introduction of exotics, overfishing, land use changes, selection of sites for conservation, policies, community involvement and gaps in knowledge and research. Contains instructive case studies and practical references for various aspects of conservation planning, management and sustainable development including lists of regional initiatives. Edited and printed with support from USAID, the Biodiversity Support Program, and the New England Aquarium.


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