SUMMARY OF THE
MEETINGS 2004
The 84th
annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
(ASIH) was held at the United States Postal Service National Center for
Employee Development (NCED) and Marriott Conference Center in Norman, Oklahoma
from 26--31 May 2004, in conjunction with the 20th annual meeting of
the American Elasmobranch Society (AES), the 62nd annual meeting of
the Herpetologists' League (HL), and the 47th annual meeting of the
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR). Janalee Caldwell served as chair of the
local committee.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MEETING: 26 MAY
2004
The meeting of the
ASIH Board of Governors (BOG) was called to order by President Patrick T.
Gregory at 1700 h on 26 May 2004.
Sixty-six governors and 2 guests were in attendance. Secretary Donnelly conveyed messages of
regret from Governors Bailey, Grobman, Janzen, Lips, Pough, Rabb, Savage,
Starnes, Stewart, Stouder, Warkentin and Wells.
Secretary Donnelly announced the
passing of Walter Auffenberg, Roger Conant, Marjorie
Courtenay-Latimer, Ed Crossman,
Don de Sylva, William Gutzke, Henry Hildebrand, John Moore, David J. Morafka,
Henry Seibert, Robert Shoop, and Richard Wallace.
The minutes as
published in Copeia 2003 (4):930-940 and the agenda for the meeting were
approved unanimously.
Future Annual
Meetings
President Gregory called on Governor
Cashner, chair of the Meetings Management Committee, to describe future
meetings. The meeting in
2005 will be held in Tampa from 6 - 11 July. In 2006, the meeting will be held in New Orleans from 12 -
17 July at the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street. In 2007, the Joint Meeting will be held at Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York. We
will meet in 2008 in Montreal in conjunction with the World Congress of
Herpetology and in 2009 we will meet in Vancouver. Governor Cashner informed the Governors that several tourist
bureaus and conference centers have contacted us. Governor Cashner is certain and we will be able to secure
future venues in a variety of sites.
Executive Committee
Meeting
President
Gregory then called on Secretary Donnelly to read the minutes of the Executive
Committee (EXEC) meeting that was held earlier on 26 May 2004. The Executive Committee meeting was called to order by
President Gregory at 0900 h.
President Gregory opened the meeting by thanking Mike Douglas for his 15
years of dedicated service as Editor of Copeia.
First, Treasurer
Neighbors described the current state of the society's finances. While the society is in good financial
condition overall, our expenses exceed our operating revenues. The Board of Governors approved a dues
increase for 2005 and this action will increase the operating budget for the
coming year and should result in a budget surplus. The number of institutional subscriptions is lower than last
year and the number of members has also decreased. Members of EXEC discussed the reasons for these declines and
scenarios for increasing membership.
The members of EXEC encourage all governors to become sustaining members
or life members to help improve the financial situation of the society. We will have membership applications
available during the meeting this year.
In future years we plan to have a membership table at the meetings that
could include web-based information about the society and the benefits of
membership in the ASIH.
Second, Treasurer
Neighbors informed the committee that 21 copies of Special Publication Number
5, the three volume set published by the FAO on Living Resources of the
Western Central Atlantic, have been sold.
The ASIH invested $45,000 in the project and we need to sell these
volumes to recover our investment.
The Special Publications Committee has produced an order form that is
available on the website. Copies
of the order form will be available at the ASIH table at this
meeting.
Third, President
Gregory turned to the issues associated with the transition of the editorship
of Copeia and other issues.
President Gregory will form an ad hoc committee to
review all issues associated with
our journal including format, editorial policy, our relationship with Allen
Press, the editorial structure, publication mode, and the committee will
provide a report to the BOG for the 2005 meeting. The chair of the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee,
Alan Savitzky, will serve as an ex-officio member of the committee.
Fourth,
Al Savitzky briefly summarized his report on the BioOne meeting and described
the Long Range Planning and Policy meeting that will take place on Friday to
discuss the future of printed journals.
Representatives from Allen Press, BioOne, the Herpetologists' League,
the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and the members of EXEC
will attend this meeting. The
representatives from Allen Press and BioOne will describe the financial impact
of losing print subscriptions on our societies and this information will help
us make plans for the future. An
update will be provided during the Annual Business Meeting on Sunday 30 May
2004.
Fifth,
Secretary Donnelly prepared an order form for the purchase of back issues. The current price per issue is $25 for
non-members, $15 for regular members, and $7 for student members. The back issue prices will be reduced
to $10 for regular members and $5 for student members for issues prior to
2000. An order form with pricing
will be posted to the website in the very near future.
Sixth,
EXEC then voted unanimously to put back issues of Copeia on JSTOR. This requires destruction of the binding of all issues for
scanning. Secretary Donnelly will
donate her personal set of Copeia with the proviso that they be returned to her after the
scanning is completed.
Seventh,
the ASIH Historian, Meg Stewart, is resigning her position. President Gregory is working with
President-Elect Parenti to find a replacement for this position.
Eighth,
President-Elect Parenti will meet with the graduate students during their
meeting on Monday 31 May to discuss the type of mentoring they would like to
have during the annual meeting.
The mentoring meeting scheduled for Thursday will be combined with the
Monday meeting so please inform any of your students who are first-time meeting
attendees that they can learn more about mentoring at that time.
Ninth,
Past-President Page formed the Web Content and Management Committee last year
and it is currently chaired by Morgan Raley. Page, Treasurer Neighbors, and Nelson Rios serve on the
committee. President Gregory is
seeking volunteers, especially herpetologists, to work with the existing
committee members to improve the website.
Tenth,
on the basis of information presented by Past-President Page regarding LINNE,
President Gregory will ask the Ichthyological and Herpetological Collections
Committee to do a survey of collections of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in
the United States. The survey will
include information on holdings, funding priorities, and resources required to
support these valuable resources.
The last survey of collections was published by Poss and Collette in the
early 1990s.
Eleventh,
President-Elect Parenti announced that the American Museum of Natural History
will sponsor a symposium 4 April 2005 on freshwater biodiversity. The ASIH is willing to serve as a
sponsor and will offer modest financial support for the event. Parenti also described the status of
the Systematic Ichthyology Newsletter which has been published annually for 25
years. The California Academy of
Sciences has published the first 25 issues of the newsletter and needs to be
relieved of the duty as they deal with moving during renovations. Lynne will take an active role in
finding a new compiler for this important document.
Twelfth,
Secretary Donnelly reported that Governor Gilbert had issues with the group
photo. The issue was considered by
the Meetings Planning and Meetings Management Committees and they decided
during their February meeting that the group photo was under the purview of the
local committee. Opinions
regarding the group photo varied among members of EXEC and we would like input
from the governors concerning the group photo.
Under
old business, EXEC discussed the publication of the directory. The directory will be published as a
PDF file after July 1. Please
visit the website and make sure all of your information is correct by 30 June
2004.
The Executive Committee meeting was adjourned at 1332
h.
Reports to the Board
President Gregory
called for blanket approval of reports except the report from the
Herpetological Animal Care Committee.
Governor Karsten Hartel exempted the report from the Special
Publications Committee. All other
reports were accepted unanimously by the Governors.
Governor Steve Beaupre, chair of the
Herpetological Animal Care Committee, indicated that the version of the
Guidelines that appear in the Board of Governors meeting book would be revised
to correct minor mistakes. He
asked for governors to send additional changes to him by 15 June. Governor Phillips moved approval of the
report, the motion was seconded by Governor Rosenblatt, and the motion carried
unanimously.
Governor Hartel was concerned that Allen Press was unable to
barcode the volumes and asked if it would be possible to barcode Special
Publication number 5 and all others in print. Governor Carpenter wondered if more aggressive marketing
would help sell the books.
President Gregory informed the Governors that the advertisement for
BioScience will be submitted to AIBS in the very near future. In order to recover our investment, we
must sell 450 copies of Special Publication Number 5. Governor Tom Munroe suggested that we might be able to make
a consignment arrangement with museum bookstores. It was also suggested that we should encourage libraries at
our home institution to purchase the books. We should also solicit reviews of the volumes in appropriate
journals. It was also suggested
that we use the pages of Copeia to advertise our special publications. President Gregory charged the Special
Publications Committee to investigate all of these issues. Chris Phillips moved acceptance of the
Special Publications Committee Report; Governor Crother seconded the motion
which was approved unanimously.
Old and New Business
There were no items
of old business.
President Gregory
then called for other items of new business. Governor Bauer announced that the fifth World Congress of
Herpetology would be held from 20-24 June 2005 in Stellenbosch, South
Africa. Governor
Collette announced
that an art exhibit at the City Art Center in Oklahoma City had 70 paintings by
Rudy Miller on display.
The Gibbs, Fitch,
and Johnson committee ballots were approved and the Governors voted for new
committee members. David Johnson
reminded the Governors that the Gibbs ballot must include three
candidates. David Greenfield was elected to a
three-year term on the Gibbs Committee, Julian C. Lee was elected to a
three-year term on the Fitch Committee, and Harvey B. Lillywhite was elected to
a three-year term on the Johnson Committee. The ballot for the general election was also
approved unanimously.
President Gregory
adjourned the meeting at 17:45 h.
ANNUAL BUSINESS
MEETING: 30 MAY
2004
The
Annual Business Meeting (ABM) was called to order at 1701 h by President
Gregory in Room GHI of the NCED Training Center.
President Gregory
called for a motion to approve the minutes of the annual business meeting held
on 20 June 2003 at the Hotel Tropical, Manaus Brazil. The minutes were
unanimously accepted. President
Gregory called on Secretary Donnelly to read the minutes from the Board of
Governor's meeting held on 26 May 2004.
President Gregory called for a motion to approve the minutes of the BOG
meeting; the motion was made, seconded, and carried unanimously.
President Gregory
called on Past-President Page to come forward and describe the LINNE
initiative. The LINNE initiative
will bring funds to NSF to support collections at systematics-based
institutions. The LINNE initiative
and the NEON initiative both have strong support at NSF. Page asked all members to inform their
colleagues about LINNE.
Aaron Bauer came
forward to describe the Fifth World Congress of Herpetology that will be held
20-24 June 2005. The congress will
be held at the Conservatorium of Music, Stellenbosch University, in
Stellenbosch,
South Africa. Aaron pointed out
that South Africa has the highest reptile diversity on the continent and was a
"hotspot" for tortoises, lizards, and snakes. Frog diversity is lower than reptile diversity, but
endemicity is high in the western Cape region. New species of amphibians and reptiles are discovered
regularly. Stellenbosch is in the
heart of the winelands and the average temperature during June is 53F. Stellenbosch is a University town with
a small town ambience. The
Herpetological Association of Africa (www.wits.ac.za/haa/) is sponsoring the
Congress. The estimated fee for
the congress is $425. Additional
information can be obtained from
conf@conferencesetal.co.za.
Morgan Raley, Chair
of the Web Content and Management Committee, came forward to describe
the Committee
that currently includes 4 ichthyologist.
Morgan called on herpetologists to serve on the committee. The website requires revision and if
any member would like to be involved in this important society function, please
contact Morgan (Morgan.Raley@ncmail.net).
The website is our public face and we need assistance from the
membership.
Jon Armbruster,
Chair of the Special Publications Committee, came forward to announce the
availability of ASIH publications.
The Fishes of Bermuda, the volume on Collection Building, and the new
FAO volume are available. The
order form can be downloaded from the website and mailed to Allen Press. Jon announced that his committee was
trying to do a better job of marketing the books. Rick Mayden suggested that we include an order form in every
issue of Copeia. Richard
Rosenblatt asked if University Presses could help market the books. Jim Williams suggested we talk with the
American Fisheries Society for help with marketing.
President Gregory
announced that Margaret Steward was stepping down as Historian and that David
G. Smith has been appointed to be the new ASIH Historian.
In an effort to
encourage ABM attendance and decrease the time devoted to presentations at the
banquet, the EXEC moved the presentation of certificates of appreciation and
the announcement of Gaige and Raney award winners from the banquet to the ABM
this year. President Gregory
called on Robert Espinoza, Chair of the Gaige Award Committee to come forward
to announce the names of the 2004 winners of the award. Christopher Phillips and Kirsten
Nicholson also served on the committee in 2004. The committee received 28 applications and 10 awards of $500
were granted as follows:
Venetia
S. Briggs,
University of Miami, Sexual selection and larval performance of Neotropical
frogs of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize; Alessandro
Catenazzi, Florida International
University, Marine productivity and gecko populations in the Peruvian coastal
desert: The importance of marine
food subsidies as revealed by stable isotope and dietary analyses;
Kamelia
Fallahpour, California State
University, Northridge. Effects of female breeding coloration on the behavior
and mate selection of male leopard lizards, Gambelia
wislizenii; Raymond A.
Hernandez,
California State University, Northridge. Allometric engineering of the desert
tortoise Gopherus agassizii:
An empirical test of the minimum body size hypothesis [Awarded, but
declined funds]; Lesley T. Lancaster, University of California, Santa Cruz,
Evolutionary patterns of changing reaction norms and the evolution of complex
specialization: Investigation of
intrapopulational differences in endocrine maternal effect initiation and
response plasticities in the side-blotched lizard Uta
stansburiana; Deborah I.
Lutterschmidt. Oregon State University. Comparative physiology of
"time-keeping" mechanisms: Evolved or environmentally
induced?; Suzanne
McGaugh, Iowa State University.
Ecological and genetic dynamics of invasive-endemic interactions; Nancy M. Schoeppner. University of
Pittsburgh. Understanding the effects of malathion on amphibian
communities: A mechanistic
approach; C. Tristan Stayton, University of Chicago. Patterns of functional
and morphological convergence among herbivorous lizard skulls; Daniel A.
Warner,
Ph.D. expected 2006. University of Sydney. The adaptive significance of
temperature-dependent sex determination:
An experimental test using an Australian agamid lizard; and Dennis K.
Wasko,
Ph.D. expected 2007. University of Miami. Top-down effects of a tropical
predator, Bothrops asper.
President Gregory
called on David Eisenhouer to announce the winners of the 2004 Raney Award
competition. Secretary Donnelly
made the announcement for Dr. Eisenhouer.
David Eisenhouer chaired the committee that included Cheryl Wilga and
Andrew Simons. The committee
received 40 meritorious proposals and made awards of $1000 to: Christen Bossou, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, The effects of light environment on color divergence and
species diversity in barcheek darters;
Brian Langerhans, Washington University, Predator-driven adaptive
diversification in an endemic livebearing fish; Shannon Martin, University of Louisiana at Lafayette,
Reproductive strategies of coastal marine fishes: Testing the potential trade-offs due to sea level rise; Aaron Rice, University of Chicago
and Field Museum of Natural History, Evolution of reef fish feeding:
Coordination of feeding, visual, and
locomotor behaviors in wrasses and parrotfishes ($995.00); and
Jada-Simone
White,
University of Florida,
Long-term effects of variable recruitment - linking early and late life
history stages in a reef fish.
President Gregory
then called on David Green, Chair of the Resolutions committee to come forward
to read three resolutions that were unanimously approved by the
membership. Frank McCormick, Chair
of the Conservation Committee, came forward to read five resolutions; three
from AES and two from the Conservation Committee. After the resolutions were presented Frank described who the
resolutions would be sent to; Bruce Collette moved and Richard Rosenblatt
seconded approval of all resolutions which were approved unanimously by the
membership.
Substantive Resolutions
RESOLUTION FOR BRUCE
BADEN COLLETTE.--WHEREAS Bruce B. Collette has served the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists as a member since 1954, as a Governor since
1962, Secretary from 1974 to 1978, and as President in 1981, and
Whereas the ASIH has benefited and grown
due to his being Ichthyological Editor of Copeia from 1964-1968, and a member of the
Nomenclature (1967-1973), Nominating (1985), Raney Award (1986-1987), National
Plan for Ichthyology (1973-1976), Environmental Quality (1977-1982), and
Executive (1974-1978 and 1980-1982) committees, and
Whereas Bruce Collette is a herpetologist
and an ichthyologist, having won the ASIH Stoye Award in both Herpetology
(1956, first prize) and Ichthyology (1958, first prize; 1959, second prize) and
having published four of his first seven papers in herpetology; later followed
with well over 200 papers in ichthyology, focused on but not limited to the
systematics of darters, tunas, and halfbeaks, accomplishments recognized in his
being the first recipient of the ASIH Gibbs Award for an outstanding body of
published work in systematic ichthyology, and
Whereas Bruce taught summer courses in
Ichthyology, advised numerous graduate and post-graduate students for over 35
years, and during that time taught
us all the meaning of hard work and the finer points of great beers,
and
Whereas the ASIH, its members, and uncounted
colleagues have benefited from Bruce's frank opinions, critique, and advice,
which are often given in a unique and forceful voice, with a firm pounding of
the fist on any nearby surface,
Therefore be it
Resolved that the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, at the end of his seventh decade and
beginning of his eighth, recognizes Bruce B. Collette's contributions to this
society, to systematic Ichthyology, and to his efforts in fostering awareness
of the importance of biodiversity.
Resolution for
copeia editor
michael Douglas,--Whereas Copeia is
the jewel in the crown of the American Society of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists, and
Whereas
Copeia is the leading journal for
publications in ichthyology and herpetology, and
Whereas
editorial oversight and maintenance
of the high quality of Copeia are demanding tasks, requiring absolute devotion to the
journal and the society, and
Whereas
Mike Douglas has faithfully served
the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists as Editor
of Copeia since 1990,
and
Whereas
Mike Douglas has scrupulously
maintained the delicate balance of herpetological and ichthyological
contributions in the journal, and
Whereas
Mike Douglas has overseen the highly
successful transition to online manuscript submission and has incorporated
important cost-saving policies, to the benefit of the society and its members,
and
Whereas
Mike Douglas has, during this
period, turned completely gray and acquired a thicker, scalier skin and more
terrestrial habits, and
Whereas
Mike Douglas is stepping down from
his position as Editor of Copeia, effective the end of 2004
Therefore Be It Resolved
that the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists expresses its most profound appreciation to
Mike Douglas for his many years of selfless service to the society
and to Copeia, and wishes him a most peaceful,
well-deserved respite from these labors.
RESOLUTION
REGARDING THE EPA RULE ON MERCURY.--Whereas
mercury is a toxic, persistent pollutant that accumulates in the food chain,
particularly in aquatic, estuarine, and marine ecosystems,
and
Whereas concentrations of methylmercury can
build up in fish and animal tissues, and
Whereas coal-fired power plants are the
largest remaining source of human-generated mercury emissions in the United
States, and
Whereas
a United Nations Environmental Programme report, compiled by an international
team of experts, says that coal-fired power stations and waste incinerators now
account for around 1,500 tons or 70% of new, quantified anthropogenic mercury
emissions to the atmosphere, and
Whereas the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has announced water quality criteria for the maximum advisable
levels for methylmercury in freshwater and estuarine fish and shellfish to
protect human health because consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish is
the primary route of human exposure to methylmercury, and
Whereas data published by the EPA's Office
of Research and Development revealed extensive contamination of freshwater fish
by methylmercury at levels that exceed concentrations expected to impair the
health of terrestrial and aquatic organisms, and
Whereas the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency proposed two alternatives for controlling mercury emissions from power
plants, one that imposes strict caps on new sources and requires installation
of the most advanced pollution abatement technologies and one that relies on
market incentives to reduce emissions,
Therefore be it resolved that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the oldest professional society in the United States concerned with the biology and conservation of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles and has a membership of over 3,000 practicing scientists and academic professionals supports the EPA alternative approach that would require power plants to install controls known as "maximum achievable control technology (MACT) under section 112 of the Clean Air Act that would reduce nationwide mercury by 14 tons or about 30 percent by early 2008.
RESOLUTION
REGARDING SALMON.-- Whereas the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
is the oldest professional society in the United States concerned with the
biology and conservation of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles and has a
membership of over 3,000 practicing scientists and academic
professionals, and
Whereas the ASIH, as a professional
organization knowledgeable about the impacts of and interactions between
hatchery- and naturally-reproducing fishes and other taxa, supports NOAA's
stated goal of conservation of sustaining, naturally-spawning
populations, and
Whereas we are encouraged by public
statements by Undersecretary Lautenbacher recognizing the highly variable and
often negative track record of salmon hatcheries as a conservation
tool, and
Whereas continued historical declines of
many salmon Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) and Evolutionarily Significant
Units (ESUs) - despite active hatchery programs - confirm the ineffectiveness
and even counterproductive nature of such efforts, and
Whereas hatcheries succeed as a means of
supporting fisheries, but have repeatedly failed as a tactic for conserving
biodiversity (this failure being the combined result, in part,
of:
*
historical inattention to genetic differences between native and hatchery
stocks;
*
negative ecological interactions between native and hatchery
stocks
*
a lack of appreciation for and understanding of the adaptive genetic uniqueness
of localized ESUs and DPSs and
*
the artificial selection and domestication that occur in hatcheries,
and
Whereas the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is deeply concerned that adoption of an
"equivalency" policy would establish a dangerous precedent with far-reaching
consequences wherever artificial propagation is used as part of a strategy for
species recovery, and
Whereas we view such a policy as promotion
of artificial propagation in lieu of attention to and correction of actual,
underlying causes of species declines,
Therefore be it
resolved that the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists strongly opposes any decision that would
include counts of hatchery-reared fish or other taxa with naturally-reproducing
individuals in assessing population status. Our misgivings apply especially where an abundance of
hatchery individuals can be used to justify delisting, downgrading, or delaying
of decisions about the conservation status of a stock.
Resolution Regarding NAFO and Thorny Skates.-- Whereas
the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
Organization (NAFO) is responsible for international management of fish stocks
(other than highly migratory species and sedentary species of the continental
shelf) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, and
Whereas
directed fisheries for
thorny skate (Amblyraja
radiata) occur
unregulated in the NAFO Regulatory Area, and
Whereas the NAFO Scientific Council
reported a decline in thorny skate abundance and biomass in the late 1980s and
early 1990s, and
Whereas NAFO has recognized the
vulnerability and special management needs of elasmobranchs by hosting a
symposium on elasmobranch sustainable use and biodiversity
conservation, and
Whereas the National Marine Fisheries
Service has prohibited possession of thorny skates in U.S. waters and have
classified them as "species of concern," and
Whereas the NAFO Scientific Council will
provide further advice on skate status and quotas at the 2004 NAFO annual
meeting,
Therefore Be It
Resolved
that the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists urges the U.S. Departments of State and
Commerce as well as U.S. NAFO Commissioners to raise the issue of NAFO skate
quotas during upcoming bilateral meetings with Canada and the European Union
and to enhance efforts to secure science-based NAFO quotas for thorny skates at
the 2004 NAFO annual meeting.
Resolution Regarding U.N. Ban on Shark Finning.--
Whereas the high commercial value of shark
fins creates an incentive for "finning" -- slicing off a shark's fins and
discarding its carcass in the sea, and
Whereas this wasteful practice remains a
driving force for unsustainable shark mortality in a wide array of fisheries,
and
Whereas the United States led efforts in
the fall of 2003 to secure a United Nations General Assembly (U.N.G.A.)
Resolution that urges countries to consider measures to ensure the long-term
sustainable use of sharks, including the banning of fisheries for shark fins,
and
Whereas the 2003 U.N.G.A. Resolution called
for waste reduction and spotlights fin fisheries, but stops short of calling
for a halt to finning of sharks taken incidentally in other
fisheries, and
Whereas little if any progress has been
made under this Resolution or toward broader implementation of the U.N.
International Plan of Action (IPOA) for Sharks, and
Whereas the U.S. Shark Finning Prohibition
Act of 2000, which banned the practice in federal waters, directs the U.S. to
work towards international finning restrictions, and
Whereas domestic finning bans in countries
such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Oman and Palau are hampered by
enforcement loopholes and could be enhanced by broader finning bans and
stronger international cooperation.
Therefore Be It
Resolved that the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists urges the U.S. Departments of State and
Commerce to build upon the previous U.N. Resolution by proposing and working to
secure an international ban on shark finning at this fall's meeting of the
United Nations General Assembly.
Resolution Regarding White Sharks and CITES.-- Whereas White Sharks (Carcharodon
carcharias) are slow growing and highly migratory fish, and
Whereas these factors combined with natural
rarity in the marine environment (as apex predators) makes this species
exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation, and
Whereas The IUCN (World Conservation Union)
classified white sharks as "vulnerable" on the 2000 Red List of Threatened
Species, and
Whereas developing regional assessments are
expected to label some populations as "endangered" or even "critically
endangered" later this year, and
Whereas the fins, teeth and jaws of this
highly sought species are exceptionally valuable and enter international trade
as trophies and curios, and
Whereas the U.S. is a major importer of
white shark teeth and jaws and responsible for all of the five white shark
recorded imports in 2002, and
Whereas there are few national protections
for white sharks and no restrictions for this migratory species imposed by
Regional Fishery Management Organizations, and
Whereas inclusion in Appendix II of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) would establish
monitoring programs for trade in white shark parts and require Parties'
Scientific Authorities to demonstrate legal capture and no detriment to the
population from trade before exporting white shark parts, and
Whereas in April 2004, the Shark Working
Group of the CITES Animals Committee reviewed the technical merits
of Australia's white shark listing proposal and most members agreed that the
species appears to meet the criteria for inclusion in Appendix II,
Therefore Be It
Resolved that the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists urges the United States and other Parties to
CITES to strongly support listing of white sharks in CITES Appendix II at the
13th Conference of the Parties in October
2004.
Certificates
of Appreciation
President
Gregory called on Secretary Donnelly to come forward and present Certificates
of Appreciation to Editor Michael E. Douglas, Historian Margaret M. Stewart,
and Past-President Larry M. Page.
Constitutional
Changes
The
following constitutional changes, approved by the Board of Governors in the
spring of 2004, were unanimously accepted by the membership. The ASIH constitution is posted on the
ASIH website (http://www.asih.org/info/about.html). Secretary Donnelly presented the rationale for the changes
prior to the vote.
The first change was
to Article III of the Constitution.
The categories of membership were changed to reflect current practice
(there is no differentiation between Regular and Foreign members). We created a new category of Regular
membership (no journal). This
category was created to accommodate those who want to support the activities of
the society without receiving a journal.
Article III: Membership
- SECTION 2 -- OLD VERSION
Section 2. The
membership of the Society shall consist of the following classes:
a.
Active members who pay annual dues in the following categories: Student,
Foreign, Regular, Associate, and Sustaining.
Article III: Membership
- SECTION 2 -- NEW VERSION:
Section 2. The
membership of the Society shall consist of the following classes:
a.
Active members who pay annual dues in the following categories: Student,
Regular, Associate, and Sustaining.
Secretary Donnelly
described the second constitutional change proposed because of current
practice. The Distinguished
Fellows category was created several years ago but we do not have equal numbers
of ichthyologists and herpetologists as mandated by the constitution. .
Past-President Page suggested that this category of membership could be
removed from the constitution to reflect current practice.
Article III: Membership
- SECTION 4 -- OLD VERSION:
Section 4.
Distinguished Fellows.
a.
Distinguished Fellows shall be elected by the Board of Governors from among
North American members of the Society who have attained distinction as
investigators and/or have made noteworthy contributions to the
Society.
b.
Nominees for Distinguished Fellows shall have been a member of the Society for
a period of 20 years or more.
c.
The number of Distinguished Fellows shall not exceed 20 at any one time and not
more than six shall be elected in any one year. They shall be equally divided
among ichthyologists and herpetologists.
d.
Distinguished Fellows shall be nominated by petition which shall be signed by
ten or more members of the Society. This petition shall list the scientific
achievements and services rendered by the nominee. The petition shall be
addressed to the Secretary at least two months before the annual
meeting.
e.
Distinguished Fellows shall be listed on the inside front cover of
COPEIA.
NEW VERSION: Article III: Membership -
SECTION 4
Section 4. This section will be
deleted.
The third
constitutional change was generated by effect of the weak economy on society
finances. The ASIH dues are among
the lowest for professional scientific societies, however our dues have not
kept pace with expenses. The
members of EXEC realized that a dues increase required a constitutional change
which requires one year. This slow
response time is not a good practice.
The new bylaw places the responsibility for the dues schedule on the
Board of Governors. The
change in the bylaws removes the amount of dues paid as follows:
BYLAWS - ARTICLE I,
SECTION 3 -- OLD VERSION
Article I:
Dues
Section 1. Annual
dues shall be payable 1 January, in advance. COPEIA shall not be sent to those in arrears for dues. Upon
payment of arrearage, plus a late fee calculated as 10% of the annual dues, the
former member shall be reinstated.
Section 2. A service
charge calculated by the Secretary to recover actual costs may be billed
subscribers requiring special billing procedures.
Section 3. The
following is the schedule for dues and subscriptions to be paid in United
States dollars or equivalent:
Student Members $30.00 annually, Regular Members (domestic and foreign)
$60.00 annually, Associate Members $10.00 annually, Institutional Subscribers
$100.00 annually, Sustaining members $75.00 annually. Life Members: $1500 in a single payment or in four equal
consecutive annual payments of $375.
BYLAWS - ARTICLE I,
SECTION 3 -- NEW VERSION
Article I:
Dues
Section 1. Annual
dues shall be payable 1 January, in advance. COPEIA shall not be sent to those
in arrears for dues. Upon payment of arrearage, plus a late fee calculated as
10% of the annual dues, the former member shall be
reinstated.
Section 2. A service
charge calculated by the Secretary to recover actual costs may be billed
subscribers requiring special billing procedures.
Section 3. The
schedule of dues will be estimated by the Treasurer, proposed by the Executive
Committee, and approved by the Board of Governors to meet the financial needs
of the society.
The final
constitutional change was initiated to recognize Robert K. Johnson's service to
the ASIH. Bob Johnson served the
society in several ways including a stint as editor, the chair of the Long Rang
Planning and Policy Committee, and as Secretary. This constitutional change adds the Robert K. Johnson Award
Committee to the list of Standing Committees.
BYLAWS - ARTICLE VIII
(Committees, SECTION 5) -- OLD VERSION
Article VIII. Committees
Section 5. Standing Committees are provided for
separately in the CONSTITUTION and/or BYLAWS, and/or are those which must be
renewed yearly to conduct society business. Standing Committees are as follows:
ANBM
Annual
Business Meeting
BOFG
Board
of Governors
EDBD
Editorial
Board
EDPC
Editorial
Policy
Committee
ENFC
Endowment
and Finance Committee
EXEC
Executive
Committee
GFAC
Gaige
Fund Award Committee
GSPC
Committee
on Graduate Student Participation
HSFC
Henry
S. Fitch Award Committee
LOCL
Local
Committee for the Annual Meeting
LRPP
Long
Range Planning and Policy Committee
MMGT
Meetings
Management Committee
MPLN
Meetings
Planning Committee
NOMC
Nominating
Committee
RFAC
Raney
Fund Award Committee
RHGC
Robert
H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee
STAC
Student
Awards Committee
NEW VERSION - BYLAWS -
ARTICLE VIII (Committees, SECTION 5)
Article VIII. Committees
Section 5. Standing Committees are provided for
separately in the CONSTITUTION and/or BYLAWS, and/or are those which must be
renewed yearly to conduct society business. Standing Committees are as follows:
ANBM
Annual
Business Meeting
BOFG
Board
of Governors
EDBD
Editorial
Board
EDPC
Editorial
Policy
Committee
ENFC
Endowment
and Finance Committee
EXEC
Executive
Committee
GFAC
Gaige
Fund Award Committee
GSPC
Committee
on Graduate Student Participation
HSFC
Henry
S. Fitch Award Committee
LOCL
Local
Committee for the Annual Meeting
LRPP
Long
Range Planning and Policy Committee
MMGT
Meetings
Management Committee
MPLN
Meetings
Planning Committee
NOMC
Nominating
Committee
RFAC
Raney
Fund Award Committee
RHGC
Robert
H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee
RKJC
Robert
K. Johnson Award Committee
STAC
Student
Awards Committee
Election of Officers
President Gregory
then moved to the election of ASIH officers, including the President-elect,
Editor, new members of the Board of Governors (Class of 2009), the Nominating
Committee Chair, and members of the Nominating Committee. The slate of nominees as provided by
the Nominating Committee and the BOG will be available on the website by the
end of the year at the website (www.asih.org, click on annual meeting
link). Nominations from the floor
were invited, and G. David Johnson was nominated to be a Governor and his name
was added to the ballot. It was
moved to then close the nominations.
The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Ralph Saporito, Emilie Verdon, James
Watling, and Steven Whitfield distributed and tallied the ballots.
Results of the
elections were announced at the banquet and are listed here (an asterisk [*]
denotes reelection of an incumbent officer): President-elect:
Darrel R. Frost; Secretary:
Maureen A. Donnelly*; Treasurer:
Margaret A. Neighbors*; Editor:
Scott A. Schaefer; General Ichthyology Editor: Donald G. Buth*; General Ichthyology Editor: Jonathan W. Armbruster*; General
Herpetology Editor: Tod W.
Reeder*; General Herpetology Editor:
Michael J. Lannoo*; Physiology & Physiological Ecology Editor: Steven J. Beaupre*; Genetics,
Development, and Morphology Editor:
Robert M. Wood*; Genetics, Development, and Morphology Editor: Joseph M. Quattro*; Ecology and
Ethology Editor: Stanley F. Fox*;
Ecology and Ethology Editor:
Christopher M. Taylor*; Book Review Editor (Herpetology): Kentwood D. Wells*; Book Review Editor
(Ichthyology): Marlis R. Douglas*;
Board of Governors Class of 2009 Herpetology: Michael E. Dorcas, David M. Green, Nathan J. Kley, Charles
R. Peterson, Richard J. Wassersug; Board of Governors Class of 2009
Ichthyology: G. David Johnson,
John D. McEachran, Kyle R. Piller, Mark H. Sabaj, Kirk Winemiller. The chair of the Nominating Committee
is Brooks Burr, and members of the nominating committee are Martin T.
O'Connell, Aaron Bauer, and Maureen Kearney.
Old and New Business
Under old business,
President Gregory announced that we were still looking for a volunteer to serve
as the Herpetological Information Coordinator. Since the meetings, President Gregory appointed Eileen
Banach to serve a three-year term as the Herpetological Information
Coordinator.
President Gregory
then called on Steve Beaupre, Chair of the Herpetological Animal Care
Committee, who announced that the final version of the new Guidelines for the
Use of Amphibians and Reptiles in Research is ready for final comment. The new guidelines will be posted on
the ASIH website and will be published as an electronic document through the
BioOne initiative for Open Access.
President Gregory
announced that we are looking into providing electronic access to
Copeia for the members. Bruce Collette asked about the BioOne
meeting that involved the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee, members of
the Executive Committee, a representative from Allen Marketing and Management,
and a representative from BioOne.
Subscriptions are an important source of revenue but the day is coming
when subscriptions to print will end and libraries will move to electronic
access. We discussed several
scenarios that could benefit our members prior to the end of print. There are at least two ways to deliver
an electronic version of the journal to our members. This issue should be resolved in the near future. Secretary Donnelly will contact the
membership once this has been resolved.
President Gregory
called on Henry Mushinsky to describe the 2005 meeting, which will be convened
in Tampa, Florida from 6--11 July.
The local committee is working with the ASIH committees and Kansas State
University Conference Services. A
logo has been developed and the website (http://www.dce.ksu.edu/jointmeeting)
is posted. Details are provided
elsewhere in this summary. Check
the ASIH website (www.asih.org/meetings/meetings.html) for information during
the coming months. .
Bob Cashner came forward to describe
additional venues. July 12-17 we
will meet in New Orleans at the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street. The meeting is hosted by Bob Cashner at
UNO and Hank Bart at Tulane.
Trolleys run along St. Charles Ave. to go to City Park. We will publicize family
activities. Meetings are scheduled
through 2009 as follows:
2007: Cornell University - Ithaca, NY;
2008: Montreal, Canada; 2009: Vancouver, Canada. Bob pointed out that he is contacted
regularly by cities and tourist bureaus that want our business.
The Annual Business
Meeting was adjourned at 18:25 h.
ANNUAL BANQUET: 31 MAY 2004
The banquet was
called to order by emcee David Hillis.
He introduced the folks assembled at the head table. Patrick Gregory, Maureen Donnelly, and
Margaret Neighbors represented the ASIH.
They were joined by the local committee representatives
Janalee Caldwell,
Laurie Vitt, and representatives from the participating societies (AES, HL,
SSAR).
A total of 1,059
registrants were present at the 2004 meeting and 43% of the participants were
student members. The registered
members represented the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, and United
Kingdom.
David then called on
all Past-Presidents of the ASIH to stand and be recognized. He then called on all past-presidents
of the AES, HL, and SSAR to stand and be recognized.
The committee on
Graduate Student Participation raised $4119 during the book raffle and the ASIH
will provide a match of $2000 to bolster the travel award fund.
David presented a
wonderful powerpoint presentation that captured some highlights from the
meeting following dinner.
David
called on Jan Caldwell to present awards for the SSAR, then called on Henry
Mushinsky to present the Herpetologists' League awards. David then called on representatives
from the ASIH. Bobby Espinoza read
the names of Gaige Award winners for 2004 and Mo Donnelly read the names of
Raney Award winners for 2004.
Matthew Parris then came forward to present the names of the Stoye and
Storer judges and 2004 winners.
Each winner receives a monetary prize and all available back
issues of Copeia. The Conservation Committee was chaired
by Michael Ghedotti. Erin Muths
and Matthew Parris served as judges.
The committee gave an Honorable Mention to Kimberly M. Andrews, SREL and
University of Georgia for her paper entitled "To cross or not to cross: A
behavioral investigation of responses to roads by southeastern snake
species." Jason J. Kolbe of
Washington University won the Stoye Award in Conservation for his paper
entitled "Origin, colonization, and population structure of the invasive lizard
Anolis sagrei. The Ecology and
Ethology Committee was chaired by Christine Bridges. Nancy Brown, Eric Schultz, and Stan Trauth served as
judges. Maria Thaker, won for her
presentation entitled "Sensory cues, association preferences and cohabitation
patterns of San Marcos salamanders (Eurycea nana)." The General
Herpetology Committee was chaired by Leslie Rissler; Chris Beachy served as a
judge. The committee gave Emily N.
Taylor, Arizona State University, an Honorable Mention for her paper entitled
"Why are male rattlesnakes larger than females?". Thomas J. Devitt, University of California, won the Stoye
Award in General Herpetology for his paper entitled "Phylogeography of
lyresnakes (Trimorphodon): Testing biogeographic hypotheses for North and Middle
American aridlands." The General
Ichthyology committee was chaired by Tom Munroe. Andrew Kinziger, Karen Martin, and Richard Strauss served as
judges. Jacob D. Egge, University
of Minnesota, received an Honorable Mention for his paper entitled "Systematics
of the Ozark Madtom, Noturus albater, with the description of a new species." John F. Switzer, St. Louis University,
won the Stoye Award in General Ichthyology for his paper entitled "Molecular
systematics and phylogeography of the Etheostoma variatum species group in the
Kanawha/New River drainage." The
Genetics, Development, and Morphology committee was chaired by Rick Mayden and
Maureen Kearny served as a judge.
Heidie, M. Hornstra, Northern Arizona University, won the Stoye Award
for her paper entitled "Gas bladder movement in lionfishes: A novel mechanism
for control of pitch?" Frank
Burbrink served as the chair of the Storer Award in Herpetology Committee. Raf de Sa and Jim Collins served as
judges. Emily N. Taylor, Arizona
State University won the Storer Award for her poster entitled "Reproductive
ecology of the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake." Kathleen Cole chaired the Storer Award in Ichthyology
Committee. Carol Stepien and
Thomas Orrell served as poster judges.
Wasila M. Dahdul, University of Pennsylvania won for the poster entitled
"Utility of vertebral morphology and meristic counts for phylogenetic analysis
in the Neotropical Serrasalminae (Ostariophysi:
Characiformes)."
David
then called on Larry Page to present the first Robert K. Johnson Award, David
Wake to present the Henry S. Fitch Award, and Hank Bart to present the Robert
H. Gibbs Award.
Presentation of the Robert
K. Johnson Award
Last
year at our meeting in Manaus, ASIH decided to honor members of the society who
have provided outstanding service to the society. The award has been named the Robert K. Johnson Award in
honor of Bob's exceptional dedication in his service to the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
Bob served on many ASIH committees, four terms
as a member of the Board of Governors, was Managing Editor of Copeia,
Secretary, and Chair of the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee. As chair of the Long Range Planning and
Policy Committee, he developed a policy and procedures manual for the ASIH that
has proved to be an exceptionally useful document. Bob's committee was inspired by his commitment to this task,
which codified the activities of ASIH.
The Robert K. Johnson Award is to be given
annually to a deserving member of the society at the annual meeting
banquet. As this year's
chair of the committee, it is my pleasure to recognize the first recipient of
the award. As you would expect,
this year's recipient is someone who has contributed in many ways to the
society, through elected and appointed positions, and by being generally
helpful in many ways.
This year's awardee has served on numerous
committees, has served on the Board of Governors since 1951, served as Managing
Editor of Copeia 1971-1984 (this is 14 years and represents a huge commitment to
the society), and he served as President in 1987. But, perhaps more than all of
this, Clark Hubbs is always here at the meetings telling us what he likes and
what he doesn't like. In fact, it
seems to many of us that Clark has always been a major player in ASIH. The first meeting he clearly remembers
(according to the biography of Clark published in Copeia in 2000 and written by
Dean Hendrickson and Meg Stewart) was the 1934 meeting; Clark was 13. Clark became a life member in 1940 when
he was still a college student!
ASIH is much the better organization because of his commitment to the
society. It is my pleasure to
present the first Robert K. Johnson Award to Dr. Clark Hubbs, Regents Professor
Emeritus of the University of Texas.
Presentation of the Henry
S. Fitch Award
The
Henry S. Fitch Award honors the herpetological spirit of Henry S. Fitch, a
distinguished member of the University of Kansas faculty, for his manifold
contributions to our understanding of the systematics, ecology, natural history
and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. The award is made by the American
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) to an individual for long
term excellence in the study of amphibian and/or reptile biology, based
principally on the quality of the awardee's research, with consideration given
to educational and service impacts of the individual's career in the field of
herpetology.
A series of eleven
distinguished herpetologists were nominated for consideration as the awardee
for 2004. We selected an
individual who is a wonderful natural historian, a renowned teacher, a
stimulating and effective communicator to his scientific peers and the public,
and who as a budding herpetologist was deeply influenced by Henry S. Fitch --
Harry W. Greene of Cornell University.
Presentation of the Robert H. Gibbs Award
Robert H. Gibbs, Jr. Memorial Award
for Excellence in Systematic Ichthyology was established in 1989 in honor of
Bob Gibbs, by his family. It is
awarded annually to a citizen of the western hemisphere judged by a committee
of three to have the most outstanding body of published work in fish
systematics. I was assisted with judging this year's
nominations by Larry Page and Joe Nelson, both of whom are past Gibbs Award
winners. Other past winners
include Bruce Collette (the first), Jack Randall, Stan Wietzman, Gary Nelson,
Vic Springer, Bob Miller, Reeve Bailey, Bill Gosline, Dan Cohen, Dick Robins,
Bill Eschmeyer, Jim Tyler, Larry Page, Joe Nelson, and last year's winner, Dave
Johnson.
We had five nominees in this year's competition: C. Leavitt
Smith, Royal Suttkus, Ed Wiley, John Lundberg and Ted Pietsch. Considering the outstanding
contributions of this group, I am sure you can understand the difficult job the
committee faced in deciding on a winner.
This year's Gibbs Award Winner has published over 100 papers
and four books, two of which are in their second editions. His publications include important
papers on the systematics of gars, fundulids and other cyprinodontoids, a
number of groups of minnows, lampridiformes, acanthuroids, darters
and Latimeria. He has worked on both fossil and living fishes, conducted
studies of gill arch morphology, worked extensively with fish osteology and
even introduced a new method of preparing fish skeletons. He has shown the ability to adapt to
changes in the methods of systematics, publishing important papers on molecular
systematics involving both allozymes and DNA sequence data. He has had made many contributions to
general understanding of fishes.
Some of his most recent contributions are in the emerging field of
biodiversity informatics, involving uses of natural history collection
information in ecological modeling.
However, his greatest contributions are in the area of
systematics theory, principally phylogenetic systematics and vicariance
biogeography. He literally wrote
the book on the theory and practice of phylogenetic systematics, with the
publication of Phylogenetics in 1981. He
further championed the cause of phylogenetics with a primer on cladistics
published in 1991, numerous book chapters, and papers in
Systematic Biology. Through these works, he introduced the Hennigian method to a
generation of biologists, and based his examples primarily on fishes. His primer, The Compleat
Cladist has been translated to Japanese and
Chinese; Phylogenetics has been translated to Japanese.
He co-wrote the book Evolution as Entropy, which has been published in two
editions, and made important theoretical and philosophical contributions on the
species question.
Melanie Stiassny called him "a world class systematic
ichthyologist, a free-thinking scholar, and an accomplished theoretician; among
the major thinkers in the international arena of contemporary evolutionary
biology."
It gives me great pleasure to present the 2004 Robert H.
Gibbs Jr. Memorial Award for excellence in Systematic Ichthyology to Edward O.
Wiley.
David then called on
Mo Donnelly to announce the results of the election which were reported
elsewhere in this summary. David
then called on Linda Ford and David Green to read the Banquet
Resolutions.
Banquet Resolutions
RESOLUTION
ON THE WEATHER.--WHEREAS the American Society of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists has held its 84th annual meeting, the Society for the Study of
Amphibians and Reptiles has held its 47th annual meeting, the Herpetologists'
League has held its 62nd annual meeting and the American Elasmobranch Society
has held its 20th annual meeting, and
WHEREAS all of these annual meetings were seamlessly
integrated and simultaneously held in Oklahoma at the height of tornado season
and,
WHEREAS for several days black clouds filled the sky (as
much as we could see) and winds whipped across the plains (as much as we could
tell), and
WHEREAS several severe weather warnings were issued for the
region, and
WHEREAS the barbecue picnic was moved indoors on account of
a severe weather warning on Saturday, which hardly qualifies it as a picnic in
the strict sense but I suppose we shouldn't complain, and
WHEREAS 91 tornadoes were recorded across the Great Plains
of the United States on Saturday night alone, and
WHEREAS severe weather and tornadoes appeared immediately
north of Oklahoma City on Saturday night, and
WHEREAS some of us were getting a mite worried about all
this atmospheric mayhem and took careful notice of the locations of the severe
weather shelters in the bathrooms of the Training Center,
and
WHEREAS that could get you a bit concerned over exactly who
you were likely to be huddled next to in one of those severe weather shelters
in the event a tornado came our way, and
WHEREAS others among us were too busy carousing to give it
much notice,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that meetings next year and the
year after be held in the southeastern United States during hurricane
season.
RESOLUTION
ON JOINT MEETINGS.--WHEREAS the joint meeting of the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Society for the Study of Amphibians and
Reptiles, Herpetologists' League and American Elasmobranch Society is now known
as the "Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists," and
WHEREAS saying all that still takes a while,
and
WHEREAS the acronym J.M.I.H. does not so easily roll off the
tongue either,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Joint Meeting of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, i.e. J.M.I.H., shall henceforth be
pronounced "Jimmy", as in "Jimmy's in Tampa next year" and
"I'm leaving for Jimmy in Montreal", which we reckon would be best
spoken for maximum effect by wives to their husbands.
RESOLUTION
ON DATA BASES.--WHEREAS Marty O'Connell continued the high tradition of
scatology in the Society by contributing a new data quantity measure, the
"butt load" to the ecological lexicon, and
WHEREAS "butt load" has thereby joined "Shute
load" in the data dictionary,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that a repository for ecological
data be established in Deep Fin and Linni and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it be called "Big
Butt."
RESOLUTION
ON SHUTTLE SERVICES.--WHEREAS the NCED, being situated on the very edge of
nowhere, does provide shuttle bus service to such hot spots of Norman culture
as WalMart, and
WHEREAS these are know locally as "pleasure
shuttles,"
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we find this whole concept
rather amusing.
RESOLUTION
ON PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING.--WHEREAS the Herpetologists' League is notable for
its trailing plural possessive apostrophe after the
"ologists" in their
name and,
WHEREAS that apostrophe has gone missing on the cover of the
program book and abstract book to be replaced by an "I" with an odd
dot,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the ASIH finds that kind of
funny too, in a pedantic sort of way, and would be eager to lend its sister
society some punctuation should they need it and if we have any to
spare but,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ASIH should not be smug
about this because you'll notice there is an "h" missing from the
word "Ichthyologists" on our name tags and we might want to ask Herp
League if we could borrow one of those from them
sometime.
RESOLUTION
ON OKLAHOMA.--WHEREAS we have been gathered here in Oklahoma for nearly a week,
and
WHEREAS we have spend virtually all of that time
within the walls
of the United States Postal Service National Center for Employee Development,
and
WHEREAS even when we've ventured outside it has been to go
to the Sam Noble Museum in shuttle busses, and
WHEREAS we sure have not seen much, if anything, of
Oklahoma, and
WHEREAS we therefore collectively have very little primary
information available to us that Oklahoma actually does exist, much less know
what it looks like, and
WHEREAS it might be out there anyway,
and
WHEREAS it could just be an elaborate hoax,
and
WHEREAS I don't know about you but I'm getting a little
paranoid about this,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the assembled multitude, just
to reassure themselves about where they are, or where they should be, shall hum
to themselves the state song of Oklahoma, which is entitled
"Oklahoma!" and comes from the musical show, "Oklahoma!",
and contains the lyric, "O.K.L.A.H.O.M.A.,
Oklahoma!"
RESOLUTION
ON DOPPELGANGERS.--WHEREAS Phil Pister can be observed in two places in the
group photograph, one of those apparitions seated next to President-elect Lynne
Parenti and,
WHEREAS at the symposium dinner, B.B. Collette was depicted
in duplicate image and the above-named Phil Pister and President-elect Lynne
Parenti were again noted to be seated next to each other, this time canoodling
about desert pupfish,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that cases of double vision among
ichthyologists are not solely to be related to excess of
drink.
RESOLUTION
ON IMPECCABLE TIMING.--WHEREAS, it was learned at the Collette banquet, both
version A and version B of Bruce B. Collette were in Cuba at the very beginning
of the Cuban revolution, and
WHEREAS
both versions of Bruce B. Collette were involved with the study of movements of
a certain species of Anolis before it invaded Florida, with devastating
effect, and
WHEREAS those same multiple editions of Bruce B. Collette
developed the concepts of ecomorphology and resource partitioning at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba,
THEREFORE be it
resolved that coincident presence of one or
more Bruce Collettes at events preceding major disasters be known as the
Collette Effect.
RESOLUTION
ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - WHEREAS the group photo is a long standing tradition
at SSAR/ASIH/HL meetings, and
WHEREAS the 2004 group photo at the Norman meetings is among
the best ever taken, in spite of the fact that some persons mysteriously
vanished, but Phil Pister mysteriously appeared twice,
and
WHEREAS, the 2002 group photo at the sister-midwest Kansas
City meetings was among the most optically challenging ever
taken,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Janalee Caldwell should give
Ed Wiley the name of her optometrist, or at least lend him her
glasses.
RESOLUTION
ON THE USPS NATIONAL CENTER FOR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT.--WHEREAS the NCED
staff all excelled in providing outstandingly friendly and professional service
to all ichthyologists and herpetologists, and
WHEREAS the NCED staff should accept no blame for the Postal
Training Center not knowing how much it costs to send a postcard to
Canada, and
WHEREAS the NCED provided an abundance of wonderful, even
edible, food in the cafeteria, thereby ending unilaterally the Dust Bowl famine
and allowing visitors from other countries to return home looking decidedly
overfed, and
WHEREAS the NCED is surely not to blame for the incorrect
spelling of "Ichthyologists" on our name tags,
and
WHEREAS, the NCED evidently kept all those tornadoes away
from us,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we extend our eternal
gratitude to the staff of the NCED.
RESOLUTION
ON BIODIVERSITY.--WHEREAS the President of the United States, no less,
estimates that there are a bazillion or more species in the world
today, and
WHEREAS, golly, a bazillion sounds like a whole
lot,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we appreciate this
contribution to our understanding of global biodiversity for what it
is.
RESOLUTION
ON CANADIAN NATIONAL UNITY.--WHEREAS the mighty Canadian River flows all across
the very heart of Oklahoma, and
WHEREAS the good people of Oklahoma are people of generosity
and kindness, like Canadians, and
WHEREAS, these good people of Oklahoma prefer to live in
peace on a bald and bushless prairie, very much like prairie Canada,
and
WHEREAS along with its good people and bushless prairie,
Oklahoma has an abundance of oil, hence wealth and fine universities and
museums, which reminds us a lot of Alberta,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we plant the Canadian flag in
front of the NCED building and annex Oklahoma to Alberta so that they too can
enjoy the winning ways of the Calgary Flames on the way to the
Stanley Cup!
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Florida should be annexed to
Quebec in case the Flames should lose.
RESOLUTION
ON TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT.--WHEREAS the number of university degrees held by
herpetologists and ichthyologists at this meeting at a minimum
exceeds N2,
where N is the number of meeting participants and the exponent represents one
undergraduate and one graduate degree, and
WHEREAS this makes us a highly educated bunch of
folks, and
WHEREAS we are all generally familiar both with laser
pointers and with the concept of advancing from one slide to the next when
giving a talk, and
WHEREAS advancing when what you meant to do was point and
pointing when what you meant to do was advance can be a distracting
embarrassment, and
WHEREAS nonetheless many among us evidently have encountered
difficulty distinguishing between the two technologies when both are present on
a single clicker thing,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that henceforth at meetings of the
societies there will be provided two clicker things to avoid the evil of excess
multitasking.
RESOLUTION
ON CHONDRICHTHYIAN BEHAVIOR.--Whereas
the American Elasmobranch Society members observed all NCED rules and left
their clasper weapons of mass destruction outside, and
WHEREAS AES members confined their choice of beer at NCED to
two brands, thereby remaining almost sober, and
WHEREAS AES members have broken their demolition derby
tradition and forsaken their pistol shark-shooting past,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AES be totally exonerated of
their 1997 Seattle battles and, indeed, be given credit for future misdemeanors
in Tampa to trash that city just as an obscure Alberta hockey team is currently
doing to the Tampa Bay Lightening.
RESOLUTION
ON THE FURTHERANCE OF SCIENCE.--WHEREAS herpetologists and ichthyologists
readily convene over alcoholic beverages (whatever their specific alcohol
content) for the purpose of discussing scientific problems,
and
WHEREAS getting the bar and lounge to open at noon is
clearly a sign of an advanced civilization with a keen appreciation for the
value of science, and
WHEREAS we must have solved several noteworthy scientific
conundrums this past week as all but one beer tap in the lounge was run dry by
Sunday afternoon,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the availability of abundant
beer in several varieties prior to noon and for the duration of the meetings
would further enhance scientific advancement and contribute to the solving of
world crises.
RESOLUTION
ON DECORUM AND LIBATIONS.--WHEREAS the ASIH has a proud and longstanding
tradition of holding its members to the highest standards of appropriate
behavior at our annual meetings, and,
WHEREAS one of the hallmarks of JMIH is in breaking said
decorum, as facilitated by the liberal consumption of alcoholic
beverages, and
WHEREAS the consumption of bona fide alcoholic beverages at
the annual meeting is considered a right that every member of JMIH holds as
dearly as an acceptance letter to Copeia, and
WHEREAS the restriction of alcohol content in beer by the
state of Oklahoma to levels that would be considered safe for children and
pregnant women infringes on our right to cast off our inhibitions,
and
WHEREAS in the attempt to achieve a buzz, ichthyologists and
herpetologists had to drink an average of eight beers per hour,
and
WHEREAS this resulted in repeated trips to the
restroom/tornado shelter by all members
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the stocking of bars with 3.2
beer and other diluted distilled beverages, suitable only for tea-totaling
nuns, be prohibited from future societal events.
RESOLUTION
ON PIANKAFICATION.--WHEREAS Eric R. Pianka survived a potentially deadly
childhood experience, and
WHEREAS Eric has been a life member of the ASIH since the
time he was in high school, thereby saving himself from a lifetime of annual
dues, and
WHEREAS Eric has had a profound influence on the science of
herpetology-particularly in the area of desert lizard ecology,
and
WHEREAS Eric published his first scientific paper
in Herpetologica, to be followed by over 100 more in
various journals, and,
WHEREAS Eric's years in the field have set the standard both
for natural history and for ecological studies, resulting in publications that
have lain the foundation for research programs that will undoubtedly outlive
even his bison farm, and
WHEREAS Eric authored the book "Evolutionary
Ecology", now in its 6th edition and soon to be available in 8 languages,
and
WHEREAS along with Eric's many books and publications, his
web site, including his 10 commandments, open letter to prospective graduate
students, and "obituary," should become mandatory reading for all
graduate students, and
WHEREAS we who are getting on in years particularly like the
one about honoring your predecessors, and
WHEREAS the title of Eric's popular autobiography, The
Lizard Man Speaks,
was changed to mollify the publishers; the result being that the herpetological
community is precluded from the opportunity to cite The Yank Down
Under, a title akin to that of one
featuring well-known stars belonging to the adult-film industry,
and
WHEREAS Eric was honored at these meetings as Distinguished
Herpetologist, and
WHEREAS Eric delivered an emotional and heart-felt keynote
address to the JMIH, and
WHEREAS Rick Shine has coined the term "piankification" to
describe Dr. Pianka's vast and immeasurable influence on several fields of
evolutionary ecology
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the JMIH submit a petition to
Merriam-Webster for the inclusion of the word piankification (verb, piankafy),
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this term be widely adopted
members and used widely in publications.
RESOLUTION
ON LONG-TERM STUDIES.--WHEREAS Henry Fitch, at the young age of 94, is in
attendance at these meetings and,
WHEREAS Henry presented a talk on his continuing
research,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we are all too much in awe to
come up with anything more to say.
RESOLUTION
ON PROPER IDENTIFICATION.--WHEREAS there is an abundance of exuberantly
venomous snakes in Australia, and,
WHEREAS a prominent herpetologist at these meetings has
spent his career mucking about with snakes of all kinds in Australia without
ever getting dinged, and
WHEREAS we are a long way from Australia,
nevertheless, and
WHEREAS there are venomous snakes in Oklahoma,
and
WHEREAS Rick Shine is doing fine but will not be joining us
for dinner tonight,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we wish Rick Shine a speedy
recovery, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in future whenever Rick Shine
travels abroad he be equipped with the appropriate field guide to the local
snake fauna.
RESOLUTION
ON THE ORGANIZATION OF MEETINGS.--WHEREAS ichthyologists and herpetologists
have changed the way they organize and operate annual meetings,
and
WHEREAS the professional leadership, expertise,
congeniality, watchful eyes, and unflagging sense of humor provided by our
conference planners is key to our success, and
WHEREAS we are now able to offer ichthyologists and
herpetologists with a well-planned and organized meeting,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we extend our heartfelt thanks
and gratitude to Sharon Brookshire and Jan Hudzicki, and their associates at
Kansas State Conference Services.
RESOLUTION
ON THE SAM NOBLE OKLAHOMA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.--Whereas the ichthyologists and herpetologists appreciate the
warm welcome extended by the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and
its director Ellen Censky, and
Whereas the state-of-the-art Integrated
Pest Management kept us confined to the lobby, we suspect based on some
members' reputation for their eating and drinking habits,
and
Whereas the state-of-the-art Security kept
the collection tours to a controllable number, we suspect based on some
members' reputation for running amok, and
Whereas we truly enjoyed the wonders of
Brazil through the photo exhibit and the eye-to-eye view of the
Apadosaurus via the
"dinovator,"
Therefore be it
resolved that the societies wish to express
our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful times we have had at
the Museum of Natural History.
RESOLUTION
ON OUR HOSTS.--WHEREAS the University of Oklahoma hosted the joint meetings of
the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Society for the
Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetologists' League and American
Elasmobranch Society (a.k.a. JIMH) at the United States Postal Service National
Center for Employee Development and Marriott Conference Center in Norman,
Oklahoma, and
WHEREAS, two social events, including this memorable
banquet, were also held at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History,
and
WHEREAS the efforts of the Local Committee and sponsoring
institutions have made this a marvelous, if slightly claustrophobic, meeting,
and
WHEREAS, the meeting breaks were provided with soft drinks
and coffee to our heart's content, even though there were no goodies to go
along with it but that's okay because popcorn ad libidum was freely available in the dining
hall and lounge, and
WHEREAS excellent papers and posters were presented
concerning the study of amphibians, reptiles and fishes, both bony and
cartilaginous, and
WHEREAS an atmosphere fostering scientific advancement and
camaraderie among old and new friends was created and
maintained,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the societies thank the Sam
Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and the Department of Zoology of the
University of Oklahoma for sponsoring the meeting and,
BE IT FURTHER AND MOST DECIDEDLY RESOLVED that we express
our sincerest gratitude to the Local Committee chaired by Janalee Caldwell and
consisting also of Charles Carpenter, Vic Hutchison, Edith Marsh-Matthews,
William Matthews, Laurie Vitt, Ellen Censky, Richard Broughton, Sara
Cartwright, Amy Estep, and a host of University of Oklahoma students in
ichthyology and herpetology.
To conclude the
banquet, David Hillis called Henry Mushinsky to the podium. Henry invited all of us to
Tampa for 2005. We look forward to seeing you
there.
Respectfully
submitted,
Maureen A.
Donnelly
ASIH
Secretary
