... madly trying to cope with a plague of Muscus tempi ... I know, you've got them in your lab too.
To the new members among us, and Jerry Motta tells me that there are quite a few, welcome to ISEP and Protistalk Online! And if you've got a bit of news you'd like to share with us via the Newsletter, kindly send it along.
If you've received this Newsletter edition via email, then we have your correct email address and (in most cases) your ISEP dues. If you -have- been receiving the Newsletter by email but didn't get this one, then maybe our records are not up-to-date. As I've mentioned, from now on we'll be sending email or hard Newsletter copies only to current ISEP members. Contact me or somebody on the ISEP Executive, and let's get the records straight.
We're making good progress on assembling a membership directory. Perhaps we'll be able to put it into the World Wide Web archive by early next year.
A correction: in the last newsletter, we celebrated the addition of John Corliss and Brent Heath to the ranks of Honorary ISEP Members. The Honorables number six, not four as claimed earlier, including Andre Lwoff, Lynn Margulis, Hans Ris and Max Taylor.
Finally: Happy Chanukkah! and to the Americans in the audience: Happy Thanksgiving!
2) The Money Hunt
Charley O'Kelly
"The Money Hunt" highlights potential sources of funds for investigators in protistology, compiled for whatever sources I can get my actual or virtual hands on. Anyone who has information on funding sources, please let me know. I would especially like to know about programs from outside North America, and to have tips on accessing the private funding markets.
Only new items appear in this Newsletter. A complete listing is available in the Money Hunt section of the ISEP WWW Archive.
a) NASA Planetary Biology Internship
Lorraine Olendzenski, Department of Biology, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-5810, USA
pbi@bio.umass.edu
The NASA Planetary Biology Internship (PBI) provides opportunities
to explore scientific questions of global scale about Planet Earth.
Each year, the PBI program sponsors approximately ten interns who
undertake research with principal investigators at NASA Research
Centers or NASA-sponsored laboratories at universities or other
related institutions. Students accepted to the Microbial Diversity
course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA
may also be selected.
For eight weeks, generally during the summer, graduate students and senior undergraduates already accepted into graduate school programs are granted a one-time opportunity to travel outside their home institutions to participate in research related to NASA's planetary biology objectives. Interns receive a stipend of $2200 and are reimbursed for travel expenses up to $1100. Past interns have participated in a wide variety of studies including those on mineral precipitation by bacteria, modeling of the global elemental cycles, and studies on the origins and early evolution of life.
Students interested in applying for the PBI program should obtain a brochure and application from Lorraine Olendzenski, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-5810, USA; tel: (1) 413 545 3223; fax: (1) 413 545 3243; email: pbi@bio.umass. edu. Applications and supporting information must be mailed directly to the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543. Application deadline: March 1, 1995. "The Internship Experience 1986-1992", a document that summarizes the research of each intern is also available upon request from Lorraine Olendzenski.
[ISEP's Secretary, Lynn Rothschild, has sponsored PBI Interns working on protist-related problems. For informal information, you might want to contact her. Full address in the World Wide Web archive. Email: lynn_rothschild@qmgate.arc.nasa.gov. - Ed.]
b) NSF Continuing Programs
===== Deadline: December 15, 1994 Research Planning Grants and Career Advancement Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers. (Brochure NSF 93-130.) Environmental Biology (306-1481); Integrative Biology and Neuroscience (306-1421); and Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (306-1440). ===== Target Date: December 15, 1994 Research Collections in Systematics and Ecology. (Brochure NSF 93-116.) Dr. James Estes, Division of Environmental Biology (306-1483). Systematics and Population Biology. (Brochure NSF 93-103.) Systematics, Dr. Annalisa Berta, Dr. Jane Harrington, or Dr. James Rodman; and Population Biology, Dr. Tabor Allison, Dr. Mark Courtney, or Dr. Lisa Brooks. Division of Environmental Biology (306-1481). ===== Deadline: January 1, 1995 Minority Graduate Student Travel Award. (Brochure NSF 91-118.) Ms. Carter Kimsey, Division of Biological Instrumentation and Resources (306- 1469). ===== Deadline: January 6, 1995 Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Awards. Ms. Carter Kimsey, Division of Biological Instrumentation and Resources (306-1469).
--NSF Highlights Pfiesteria (dinoflagellate) Research--
Those of you who attended ISEP-10 in Halifax last August, or who have otherwise heard of this story through the scientific or popular press, will be glad to know that JoAnn Burkholder has received funding to continue her work. The US National Science Foundation sent this announcement to the press on 21 October.
SCIENTIST CONTINUES RESEARCH ON TOXIC, FISH-KILLER ALGAE
Thanks to support from the National Science Foundation
(NSF)'s biological oceanography program, scientist JoAnn
Burkholder of North Carolina State University in Raleigh is
continuing research on an unusual alga (singular of algae),
-Pfiesteria piscimorte-. It has been linked to numerous fish die
offs, and has been dubbed "killer algae". Scientists have
described P. piscimorte as a predatory plant, akin to grass
^?!?^
feeding on sheep.
[we still have some work to do, folks. - Ed.]
This recently recognized species is one in a growing number
of so-called harmful algae known for their toxicity to fish and
other organisms. Some scientists say this increase in toxic
algae is due to increased ocean pollution, a theory that remains
unproven. A national workshop, sponsored by the National
Science Foundation, was held this summer on research related to
increasing numbers of these harmful algae.
Among the thousands of species of microscopic algae at the
base of the marine food chain are a few dozen which produce
potent toxins. These species make their presence known in many
ways, ranging from massive red tides or blooms of cells that
discolor the water, to dilute, inconspicuous concentrations
of cells noticed only because of the harm caused by their highly
potent toxins. The impacts of these phenomena include mass
mortalities of wild and farmed fish and shellfish, human
illnesses from contaminated shellfish and fish, deaths of marine
mammals, seabirds, and other animals, and alterations of marine
habitats through shading, overgrowth, and adverse effects on
early life history stages of fish and other marine organisms.
The so-called killer algae live on the bottoms of
estuaries as microscopic cysts or dormant cell forms. Fish
swimming by - particularly in large schools - release an unknown
chemical substance that triggers the cysts to break their
dormancy and transform into active cells. Most marine
scientists would recognize this form as a typical
dinoflagellate, a swimming, one-celled plant with an armored
cell wall and two characteristic flagella (tail-like
appendages). It is the only typical form of a very complicated
life cycle that includes both photosynthetic (using energy from
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
[I thought JoAnn indicated at ISEP-10 that -P. piscivora- lacks
photosynthetic stages ... have I erred? - Ed.]
sunlight, like most plants) and heterotrophic (using energy from
dissolved substances, like most animals) forms.
Once transformed, the algae produce an apparent nerve toxin
that rapidly kills fish. The algae then feed on sloughed-off
dead fish tissue. Within a matter of hours after the fish are
killed, most of the algae form new cysts and sink back into the
sediments. Although water samples taken immediately after a
fishkill typically do not reveal the presence of P. piscimorte,
blooms of this creature have killed thousands of fish in a few
hours, and then disappeared from the water. The toxin produced
by even small numbers of the algae can also overcome
researchers, who now study it only when wearing head-to-toe
toxic protection suits.
Burkholder believes that there are several clues about
where, when, and how to look for this organism, but that
questions remain: Is it a normal inhabitant of estuaries? Is it
responsible for many, or just a few unusual, fish kills? She
hopes to soon be able to provide some of the answers.
Only new items are listed in this Newsletter. A complete listing is available in the Upcoming Meetings section of the ISEP WWW Archive.
Have I missed a meeting of interest? Drop me a line!
6-8 February 1995
Phylogeny Reconstruction Workshop, Princeton, NJ
Dr. Simon Tavare'
Department of Mathematics
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1113
USA
email: stavare@gnome.usc.edu
27-30 March 1995
EuroLOOP Workshop II, Amsterdam
[To European biologists concerned with the systematics of
invertebrates and microorganisms; EuroLOOP is a part of
BioNET-INTERNATIONAL - the global network for biosystematics
of Invertebrates and Microorganisms.]
Dr. Eliane de Coninck
EuroLOOP Network Coordinating Institute
Koninklijk Museum Voor Midden-Afrika
Leuvensesteenweg 13
B-3080 Tervuren
BELGIUM.
tel: (32) 2 769 5386/5360/5373
fax: (32) 2 767 0242
email: CABI-BioNET@CABI.ORG
13 May 1995
Second Annual Eastern Great Lakes Conference on
Molecular Evolution, Hamilton, Ontario
Brian Golding
Department of Biology
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1
Canada
email: Golding@McMaster.CA
29-31 May 1995
Euroconference on the Experimental Biology of Chlamydomonas,
Amsterdam.
H. van den Ende
BioCentrum Amsterdam
Kruislaan 318
1098 SM Amsterdam
The Netherlands
fax: (31) 20 525 7934
email: CHLAMY@SARA.NL
8-12 July 1995
27th International Numerical Taxonomy Conference
American Society of Naturalists Annual Meeting
Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Meeting
Society of Systematic Biologists Annual Meeting
McGill University, Montreal
For INTC information:
Francois-Joseph Lapointe
Department de sciences biologiques
Universite de Montreal
C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville
Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7
Canada
tel: (1) 514 343 7999
fax: (1) 514 343 2253
email: lapoinf@ere.umontreal.ca
Richard Jensen
Department of Biology
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
USA
tel: (1) 219 284 4674
fax: (1) 219 284 4716
email: rjensen@saintmarys.edu
For Society for the Study of Evolution information:
EVOL Secretariat
Conference Office
McGill University
550 Sherbrooke Street West
West Tower, Suite 490
Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B9
Canada
tel: (1) 514 398 3770
fax: (1) 514 3984854
email: EVOL@550sherb.lan.mcgill.ca
8-15 July 1995
Sixth International Marine Mycology Symposium,
Portsmouth, England
Steve Moss or Gareth Jones
School of Biological Sciences
University of Portsmouth
King Henry I St
Portsmouth PO1 2DY
England
fax: (44) 705 842 070
email: MOSSS@csovax.portsmouth.ac.uk
[ 1 ] Make a hard copy of the form below.
[ 2 ] Airmail it, with your dues, to the ISEP Treasurer.
[snip] - - [snip] - - [snip] - - [snip] - - [snip] - - [snip]
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EVOLUTIONARY PROTISTOLOGY
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/RENEWAL
Name:
Postal address:
City, state/province, country:
Postal code:
Telephone number:
Fax number:
E-mail address:
Membership dues are US$ 25 (*) for two years.
[ ] I enclose for ISEP membership for the years 199__ through
____ .
Signature:
Date:
(*) Please remit US$ 25 per two years' membership to:
Dr Jerome J. Motta
Department of Botany
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742 USA
Payment may be made by personal cheque (within the USA),
bank money order or bank draft, international money order,
or postal money order.
Currently, payment must be made in U.S. dollars.
We can accept payment for two, four, or more years.
[snip] - - [snip] - - [snip] - - [snip] - - [snip] - - [snip]
6) Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa - Prepublication Sale
ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE PROTOZOA
2nd Edition
(including all groups classically considered protozoa)
Editors
John J. Lee, Gordon F. Leedale, David Patterson & Phyllis Bradbury
*Completely revised and updated by 68 experts in their fields.
*Expanded coverage (with a goal to mention every valid modern
genus). Estimated 750 pages.
*Over 4,200 figures, illustrations, and drawings (more than half
new).
*Organized by monophyletic assemblages using latest higher group
taxonomic consensus wherever clear.
*Easy to use taxonomic keys to each chapter.
*Glossary explaining all the technical terms used int he book.
*Organism and subject indices.
*Desk top published by the Society of Protozoologists to keep costs
low and purchase price affordable for students.
Prepublication Sale
Publication due Fall, 1995
Payment must accompany order. Advance payment will help underwrite
costs of publication. Checks payable to "Society of Protozoologists".
Advance Sale Price $65.00
Offer good only until June 30, 1995 - (Post publication price $75 -
85.00)
_________________________________________________________________
Cut-off
Name_____________________________ Mail to:
Address _________________________ Society of Protozoologists
C/O Allen Press
_________________________________ P.O. Box 1897
Lawrence, Kansas 66044-9997
_________________________________ USA
Enclosed is a check or money order for ______ copies of the I.G.
II.