Botany & Conservation

A newsletter for alumni of Botany and Conservation Biology Fall/Winter 2015

Family tree for orchids explains astonishing variability - Page 6

Coryanthes, commonly known as Bucket Orchids

Meet the new A new model for Civil War surprise in Contents 2 Botany faculty 4 eukaryote evolution 5 the herbarium

Botany: botany.wisc.edu Conservation Biology: bacmajor.ls.wisc.edu NEWS & NOTES In Memoriam: Robert R. “Bob” Kowal (1939–2015) —Ted Cochrane, Senior Academic Curator Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison Robert R. Kowal, affection- Bob would quickly see the crux of ately known to all as “Bob,” died matters being discussed during on August 3, 2015, at the age of 76. seminars and express the Bob was born on April 23, 1939, at points he made with great clarity. In Paterson, NJ. He attended Cornell departmental committee meetings University, where he earned his he was extremely conscientious, fair- doctorate in plant taxonomy and minded, and reasonable. ecology in 1968. His dissertation Bob’s exuberant home garden was was based on field research on stocked with a wide range of Packera, the ragworts or groundsels, but was most notable for the range in Quebec. He was also greatly in- of daylily, peony, and hosta culti- terested in cytotaxonomy, numerical vars. Besides being a knowledgeable taxonomy, and botanical nomencla- plantsman, Bob was an avid swim- ture. He held a post-doctoral fellow- mer and sometime jogger and flute ship in the biomathematics program player, a lover of classical music and at North Carolina State University reading, and a long-time generous during 1967–69 and a visiting as- supporter of environmental organi- sistant professorship in biology at zations and other good causes. Kansas State University in 1969–71 An individualist with his own ob- before accepting a faculty position sessions, Bob was unrepentant about in the Department of Botany at the his disheveled dress and uncharitable University of Wisconsin-Madison toward shaky ideas, sloppy botany, (1971–1997). and slipshod writing. Nonetheless, Bob devoted a great deal of time and biological diversity. The exams he gave in departmental staff will remember him as effort to teaching the department’s flag- his advanced taxonomy class reminded a remarkably patient man with a gentle ship Botany 130 course, and he won the us students of the high standards to sense of humor. He always found time appreciation of undergraduate majors which we were being held. He was the to assist staff, students, friends, and and graduate students who took his most exacting person we knew when it neighbors who came to him with ques- courses on the spring flora of Wisconsin, came to pressing plants, keeping records, tions and requests. Above all, he was an dendrology, community analysis, and and writing clearly. A critical thinker, excellent botanist.

Fishes of Wisconsin BAC becomes

This newsletter is published by The prolific Botany Artist Emerita, Conservation Biology the Department of Botany at the Kandis Elliot, continues to produce beau- You may be wondering, “What hap- University of Wisconsin-Madison tiful educational posters. Her most recent pened to BAC?” This Fall, the former for alumni, colleagues and friends. creation is a poster of all the Fishes of Biological Aspects of Conservation major Editorial team: Carmela Diosana, Eve Wisconsin...in life size! This giant canvas was officially renamed “Conservation Emshwiller, Ginny Jackson, and Sarah print can be purchased at the Zoology Friedrich. Biology”. Conservation biology was not Museum web store: https://charge. Chair: David Baum a widely used term when the BAC major Submissions are welcome. Please wisc.edu/zoology/items.aspx. Kandis’s was developed in the early 1940s, but it send comments, ideas and photos to: botanical posters can be found at: https:// has now come to best describe the field Alumni News Editor charge.wisc.edu/botany/sales.aspx. and the evolution of the BAC program. UW Department of Botany Retitling the BAC program to the sim- 430 Lincoln Drive pler and more modern “Conservation Madison, WI 53706 Biology” brings the major in line with Phone: 608-262-0476 programs across the country and more Fax: 608-262-7509 accurately reflects the training that we email: [email protected] www.botany.wisc.edu provide.

2 Botany and Conservation Biology Meet our New Faculty!

Q&A with Anne Pringle Associate Professor in Botany and Bacteriology

How did you get interested in your in bread, beer or biofuels, then you subject? already know the myriad roles fungi play I became fascinated by fungi over the in human lives. course of my Ph.D., when I was exploring Why are you most excited to join the a mutualism between plants and a group faculty at UW-Madison? of fungi associated with plant roots. The I’m excited to join the Botany and fungi bring phosphorous to the plants, Bacteriology departments because of and in exchange, the plants provide car- the diverse talent pools in Madison. bon to the fungi. It’s an intricate symbio- There seem to be thousands of biologists sis but I quickly realized the fungi were around and it’s a real opportunity to take the black box: by comparison to other my research in new directions. groups, we know little about even basic aspects of fungal biology. If you weren’t in your field or academia, what would you be doing? What is the biggest challenge in your Please describe your research If I weren’t a biologist, I’d be an M.D. area of study? focused on geriatrics. I study the biodiversity and evolu- The biggest challenge I face is teach- tion of fungi, a megadiverse group of ing about fungi; most people haven’t What do you like to do outside of work? organisms that we don’t think about very thought about them and think they’re Outside of work, I’m currently reno- much, probably because even though weird. It takes time to explain why fungi vating my house. fungi are everywhere, they are usually are worth understanding. Of course, if What’s your favorite fungus? hidden inside substrates - growing inside you’ve had a serious medical issue involv- My favorite fungus is Cortinarius wood or soil, for example. ing fungi, for example asthma or any iodes, because it’s purple! And because kind of immune system challenge, or if I’ve seen it in many parts of the world. you’ve handled dry rot or are interested

Q&A with Alex Wiedenhoeft Adjunct Assistant Professor in Botany

What should the general public know the Center for Wood Anatomy Research about your area of study? Why is it opened up. It was announced only to the significant? students in the Honors section of that Because wood has formed the basis course, and getting that job was what for huge swaths of material culture across opened my eyes to the field of wood the known pre-history and history of our anatomy. Once a transverse section of species, I work in an area that is directly Ulmus took my breath away, it was pretty applicable to nearly every human nearly clear I was not going to become a nuclear every day. I’m spoiled in that sense, physicist or a diplomat. because it usually doesn’t take more than Do you have any hidden talents? a few moments of conversation to find I really enjoy learning foreign lan- some way in which a stranger appreciates guages, and I have a comparatively easy trees and wood, and so most people ‘get’ time of it, so my hidden talents are prob- Please describe your research. what I do. Combined efforts to under- ably in the smattering of other languages At my core I am a wood anatomist; stand wood as a material of botanical that I speak, read, and write to various I specialize in the anatomical study of origin, as a material for human use, and degrees. In a non-geeky context, I am wood and woody plants, especially their as objects of legal dispute are critical to quite handy and can fix or rebuild most microscopic structure and function. This efforts to value, protect, and sustainably non-electronic things. can mean micromechanical characteriza- use forest-based natural resources. tion of pit membranes, the study of wood What’s your favorite wood/plant? How did you get interested in your My favorite wood to look at with the evolution, the role of botanical wood subject? anatomy in wood technology and use, naked eye is polished Nesogordonia, my When I was a freshman in the Honors favorite tree is probably Robinia pseu- or forensic wood science, for example, section of Ray Evert’s Botany 130, a part- wood identification techniques to combat doacacia, and I still have a soft spot for time student hourly position at the Forest transverse sections of Ulmus. illegal logging. Service’s Forest Products Laboratory in

Alumni Newsletter 3 NEWS & NOTES

New theory suggests alternate path led to rise of the eukaryotic cell Excerpted from the original news story by Terry Devitt. As a fundamental unit of life, the cell scientists an opportunity to re-examine since nobody seems to have seriously is central to all of biology. Better under- some of biology’s key dogma. considered alternative explanations,” standing of the evolution of complex Prevailing theory holds that eukary- explains Botany Chair David Baum, “eukaryotic” cells, such as occur in ani- otes came to be when a bacterium was who, with his cousin, University College mals, plants, fungi, and algae, is needed swallowed by an archaeon. The engulfed London cell biologist Buzz Baum, has to better understand how such cells work bacterium, the theory holds, gave rise formulated a new theory for how eukary- in health and disease. to mitochondria, whereas internalized otic cells evolved. Known as the “inside- But deep thinking on how the eu- pieces of the outer cell membrane of the out” theory of eukaryotic cell evolution, karyotic cell came to be is astonishingly archaeon formed the cell’s other internal the alternative view of how complex life scant. Now, however, a bold new idea of compartments, including the nucleus and came to be was published in the open ac- how the eukaryotic cell and, by exten- endomembrane system. cess journal BMC Biology last year. sion, all complex life came to be is giving “The current theory is widely accept- The inside-out theory proposed by ed, but I would not say it is ‘established’ the Baums suggests that eukaryotes evolved gradually as cell protrusions, called blebs, reached out to trap free-liv- ing mitochondria-like bacteria. Drawing energy from the trapped bacteria and using bacterial lipids — insoluble organic fatty acids — as building material, the blebs grew larger, eventually engulfing the bacteria and creating the membrane structures that form the cell’s internal compartment boundaries. “The idea is tremendously simple,” says David Baum, who first began thinking about an alternate theory to explain the rise of the eukaryotic cell as an Oxford University undergraduate 30 years ago. “It is a radical rethinking, tak- ing what we thought we knew (about the cell) and turning it inside-out.” From time to time, David Baum dust- ed off his rudimentary idea and shared it (continued on page 7...) Inside-out model for the evolution of eukaryotic cell organization

In Memoriam: S. Galen Smith (1926–2015) –by Ted Cochrane Galen Smith was born on March 25, of The Nature Conservancy, helped 1926, and died on October 23, 2015. establish the Iowa natural areas system He was an Emeritus Professor, UW- and the Beulah Bog and Lulu Lake nature Whitewater, and Honorary Fellow, UW- preserves in Wisconsin, and served on Madison, Department of Botany. the Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s After earning a Ph.D. in Botany from Board of Directors for twelve years. the UC, Berkeley, Galen taught at Iowa Galen showed curiosity or concern State University (1960–1965) and the about a diverse array of matters and UW-Whitewater (1965–1991). Primarily supported many worthwhile groups and interested in wetland ecology, he became causes. He was an excellent botanist, dear one of the leading American authorities friend, and above all an honorable man. on the taxonomy of various aquatic plant groups. He co-founded the Iowa Chapter

4 Botany and Conservation Biology NEWS & NOTES

Flower links Civil War, natural history and ‘the blood of heroes’ Excerpted from the original news story by David Tennenbaum. On August 14, 1864, in a Union the flower as ‘stained with the blood of It’s wonderful that it was discovered, but Army camp in Georgia, a captain from heroes,’ and that really caught our eyes!” I think Lapham would have had a very Wisconsin plucked a plant, pressed it Who was this lyrical captain? John ambivalent response to such a letter. He onto a sheet of paper, wrote a letter de- Cornelius McMullen was apparently was a Quaker, a pacifist — did not want scribing the plant as “certainly the most born in Delaware or New Jersey and anything to do with war. But he was interesting specimen I ever saw,” and sent graduated from Lawrence University in very supportive ... of veterans, especially it with the plant to a scientist he called Appleton, Wisconsin. He entered the wounded veterans.” “Friend” in Wisconsin. First Wisconsin Regiment on Sept. 16, In his letter, McMullen laid out the “It was growing outside my tent and 1861 from Sheboygan Falls, and fought circumstances of the First Wisconsin notwithstanding the noise of 500 Regiment. “We are now in plain pieces of artillery flourished,” view of the great commercial city wrote John Cornelius McMullen, of Georgia. My company are in “and seemed to repose as sweetly the front line of works only a half at night as if its native heath was mile from town and while I write not disturbed by the tread of shot and shells are constantly hostile armies.” passing over us. It may be some The captain-collector was days before Atlanta falls but in clearly literate, even poetic. the end it must yield for the best The scientist, Increase army in the world are thundering Lapham (1811-1875), is today at its gate.” considered the founder of natural Despite his surroundings history in Wisconsin. A geolo- — or perhaps because of them gist, botanist and historian, he — McMullen concluded on a is the subject of the biography, sentimental note: “This flower “Studying Wisconsin: The Life of was moistened by the blood of Increase Lapham,” published by heroes, for Wisconsin men have the Wisconsin Historical Society died where it was plucked.” Press. McMullen worked for the And but for that book, a federal government in Tennessee plant specimen that Wisconsin after the war, and may have State Herbarium director Ken moved to Oakland, California, Cameron calls “perhaps our most where a man of the same name astonishing of all” might never and general age was described as have surfaced from the 1.2 mil- running a bank. lion dried plants in the collection Although herbarium speci- on the University of Wisconsin- mens are now being used scien- Madison campus. tifically in ways they never imag- Because Lapham’s personal A plant specimen collected by a captain in the 1st ined a century ago, Cameron says plant collection actually founded Wisconsin Regiment, John Cornelius McMullen, during a this mystery, worthy of Antiques the herbarium more than 160 Civil War battle near Atlanta, Georgia on Aug. 14, 1864. A Roadshow, demonstrates another years ago, authors Paul G. Hayes notation reads “Stained with the blood of heros”! side of these collections. Photo: Bryce Richter and Martha Bergland held a “This specimen shows that reading of the biography at the our collection also has value for herbarium, located in the Department with them through Kentucky, Tennessee understanding history and bridging the of Botany, last year. In preparation, and northern Georgia under General sciences with the humanities. This comes the herbarium put on display some of Sherman. down from a time when all well-educated Lapham’s original specimens, including The plant and the letter were both people had a different view of nature and the 150-year-old sheet holding Cassia a surprise, says co-author Bergland, a collecting plants was a common activity. obtusifolia (“Wild Sensitive Plant”). “We retired English teacher from Glendale, There are treasures in the collection that started to read the letter attached to it,” Wisconsin. “I did not know about it we don’t know we are sitting on.” says Cameron. “The sender described until we showed up to do the reading.

Alumni Newsletter 5 Mediocalcar bifolium ORCHID DIVERSITY DECONSTRUCTED

Orchid family tree explains astonishing variability Adapted from an article by David Tenenbaum Orchids, a fantastically complicated “It was surprising that many clas- at a slow rate relative to flower- and diverse group of flowering plants, sic characteristics of orchids — the ing plants as a whole. Then there have long blended the exotic with the tiny, dust-like seeds, the role of fungi in were three waves of accelerated beautiful. Most species live on trees, often triggering germination, the fused male- speciation beginning 60, 40 in remote, tropical mountains. Their female flower parts that define the orchid and 33 million years ago. flowers can be flower — did not Pollinia apparently strange — one even “Orchids, almost alone among trigger the accel- sparked the first flowers under- flowering plants, have a large eration in species acceleration, ground, and many number of species that lure pol- formation,” says Givnish says. species deceive Thomas Givnish, The origin of linators by mimicking a mate, or their pollinators the Henry Allen epiphytism — into thinking they a nesting site or food resources Gleason Professor and the inva- are good to eat. The — ‘lies all for the sake of love’ — of Botany and first sion of tropical estimated 25,000 but such deceit seems to have author of the new mountains with orchid species out- played no role in accelerating study. a constant swirl number mammals, the formation of new orchid To build a fam- of clouds and rain reptiles and birds ily tree for the or- — sparked the second, species,” combined. chids, the scientists greater acceleration. The inva- Previously, – Thomas Givnish sequenced genes sion of the Andes as they were botanists have in the chloroplasts. being uplifted triggered the third proposed more They looked at and greatest acceleration. than a half dozen explanations for this chloroplasts from 39 species, strategically Interestingly, many proposed diversity. Now, research from the UW- placed throughout the orchid family, explanations for orchid diversity Madison Botany Department, published then added genetic data on 150 more failed the new test. Not in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, species. By tying their molecular data to even deceitful pollina- corroborates many of these explanations, fossils of known ages, Givnish and his tion (present in about but finds no evidence for other logical colleagues created a branching struc- one-third of all suggestions, such as that of deceitful ture that indicated how many million orchid species) was pollination. years ago each major group of orchids linked to acceler- appeared. ated speciation, Then, based on the numbers of spe- Givnish says. cies known in each of these groups today, “Orchids, the researchers were able to calculate almost alone their rate of species diversification and among flower- test the many putative causes of the ing plants, explosion in orchid species. They found have a large number that the factors that most greatly acceler- of species that lure pol- ated the formation of new species were linators by mimicking life in extensive mountain ranges (like a mate, or a nesting site the Andes and New Guinea Highlands); or food resources — ‘lies the evolution of epiphytism (life in the all for the sake of love’ — but trees); pollination by orchid bees, moths, such deceit seems to have played or butterflies; and origin of pollinia no role in accelerating the formation (packages of hundreds to thousands of of new orchid species,” he says. pollen grains dispersed as a unit). Chloroplasts were a useful source Givnish and his colleagues found of DNA for the study, Givnish says. that initially, orchids speciated no more “There are thousands of chloroplasts rapidly than their closest relatives, and per cell, and many loops of DNA

Cypripedium acaule photo: Per Verdonk 6 Botany and Conservation Biology ORCHID DIVERSITY DECONSTRUCTED Lepanthes photo: Andreas Kay

per chloroplast, and the and W. Mark fungi to germinate, genome structure is quite Whitten and and their fused stable.” Mercedes Ames, Norris Williams pistils and anthers — a post-doc with Givnish, of the University of were not themselves sequenced most of the Florida provided genetic responsible for the high chloroplast genomes. data. rate of orchid speciation. Other UW-Madison Looking at the orchids Only later, when the orchids Botany collaborators as a family, Givnish finds “not acquired pollinia, started to included students Daniel one spark for their extraordinary grow in trees, and then colonized Spalink and Alejandro Zuluaga, diversification, but many. Many the cloud forests along extensive and orchid specialist Kenneth Cameron, hypotheses advanced by previous inves- mountain ranges in the tropics, did director of the Wisconsin State tigators proved to be correct, but some the orchids’ unrivalled diversification Herbarium. Collaborators in Australia of the defining characteristics of orchids begin.” and Chile provided DNA for the study, — their tiny seeds, their requirement for

New origin theory of the eukaryotic cell (continued from page 5)

with others, including the other features seem to be derived from diseases; aging; and the development of late Lynn Margulis, the the bacteria. valuable new traits for important crop American scientist “It is refreshing to see people thinking plants. who developed the about the cell holistically and based on One catch for fleshing out the evo- theory of the origin how cells and organisms evolved,” says lutionary history of the eukaryotic cell, of eukaryotic or- Ahna Skop, a UW-Madison professor of however, is that unlike many other areas ganelles. Over time, genetics and an expert on cell division. of biology, the fossil record is of little Buzz and David Baum The idea is “logical and well thought out. help. “When it comes to individual cells, refined and detailed their I’ve already sent the paper to every cell the fossil record is rarely very helpful,” idea, which, like any good biologist I know. It simply makes sense explains David Baum. “It is even hard to theory, makes predictions that are to be thinking about the cell and its con- tell a eukaryotic cell from a prokaryotic testable. tents in the context of where they may cell. I did look for evidence of microfos- “First, the inside-out idea immedi- have come from.” sils with protrusions, but, not surpris- ately suggested a steady stepwise path The way cells work when they divide, ingly, there were no good candidates.” of evolution that required few cellular she notes, requires the interplay of A potentially more fruitful avenue to or molecular innovations. This is just molecules that have evolved over many explore, he suggests, would be to look for what is required of an evolutionary millions of years to cut cells in two in intermediate forms of cells with some, model,” argues Buzz Baum, an expert the process of cell division. The same but not all, of the features of a full-blown on cell shape and structure. “Second, the molecular functions, she argues, could eukaryote. “The implication is that model suggested a new way of looking at be repurposed in a way that conforms to intermediates that did exist went extinct, modern cells.” the theory advanced by the Baums. “Why most likely because of competition with Modern eukaryotic cells, says Buzz spend the energy to remake something fully-developed eukaryotes.” Baum, can be interrogated in the that was made thousands of years ago to However, with a more granular context of the new pinch in a cell? The functions of these understanding of how complex cells theory to answer proteins just evolve and change as the or- evolved, it may be possible to identify many of their un- ganism’s structure and function change.” living intermediates, says David Baum: explained features, Knowing more about how the eukary- “I do hold out hope that once we figure including why otic cell came to be promises to aid biolo- out how the eukaryotic tree is rooted, we nuclear events ap- gists studying the fundamental properties might find a few eukaryotes that have pear to be inherited of the cell, which, in turn, could one day intermediate traits.” from archaea while fuel a better understanding of things like cancer, diabetes and other cell-based

Spiranthes longilabris photo: NC Orchid Alumni Newsletter 7 STUDENT PROFILES

Field Notes: Amelia Rossa and plant identification to backpack- The following summer I had a posi- ing all over the western United States. tion as a Native Plant Gardener at the Amelia is a Conservation Biology Major Conservation biology was a natural fit UW-Madison Arboretum where I was graduating in May 2017. and classes relating humans to our envi- lucky enough to work outside every I knew coming to UW-Madison as ronment such as Human Geography and day learning restoration techniques and a first year that I wanted to major in the American Environmental History lead perfecting my native plant identification natural sciences. My parents had nur- me to pursue Geography as an additional skills. I also worked at the Dane County tured my appreciation for nature through complementary major. Land and Water Resources office where everything from teaching me gardening The field of conservation encompass- I learned more about the administrative es many different careers so during my management of local natural areas. summers in Madison I have pursued a Last summer I was a horticulture in- variety of experiences. During the spring tern at Olbrich Botanical Gardens where semester of my freshman year I began I worked with a team of staff and other working with my Botany TA, Kristin interns to care for sixteen acres of public Michels, to assist in her PhD research. In gardens. I got to plant and care for a huge her lab I am currently sorting and count- variety of plants and interact with the ing charcoal samples using a dissecting public on a daily basis. microscope. Kristin’s research uses frozen I am currently preparing to study lake sediment cores to sample plant abroad through the Ceiba program in remains from fires and determine the Ecuador for spring semester. I am look- effects of anthropogenic activities on na- ing forward to traveling throughout tive forests. Her work will help determine Ecuador for terrestrial and marine ecol- how settlement and activities like logging ogy field courses as well as perfecting my affect natural fire regimes and when com- Spanish skills and completing an intern- pleted could inform boundary placement ship with a local conservation agency. of nature reserves.

Field Notes: Julisa Ricart Aglaeactis cupripennis (a spe- cies of hummingbird). Julisa is a Conservation Biology Major In the field, I have been able graduating in 2016. to integrate many of the skills I During my freshman year at UW have acquired during my time Madison, I took Zoology 260 Intro at UW-Madison. But, now that Ecology with Dr. Tony Ives. Each day, I have been living and work- the class began with “the organism of the ing in the field for 6 months, day.” I fell in love with it. I went run- I’ve learned many things that ning to my CCAS advisor demanding I would not have learned in to find a major where I only had to take the classroom environment! “fun classes” like ZOO 260. Together, we For instance, I am amazed at found a major that fit the bill, the BAC some of the strange things that major, and Dr. Ives soon became my field biologists have to do to faculty advisor. collect data. One component This semester, I am working as a of Anusha’s thesis is doubly- hummingbird to feed (usually involving field research assistant in the Andes of labeled water experiments to study daily airplane noises). I’ve also learned how Ecuador for PhD candidate Anusha energy expenditure. To do this, we catch to collect hummingbird pee off my face Shankar (The Graham Lab – SUNY Stony a hummingbird, inject it with marked when the bird doesn’t exactly aim it’s Brook) who is studying hummingbird water, release it, and then recapture “stream” where I want it to! energetics. I have been able to work on a it within 24 hours. Blood samples are After Ecuador, I’ll return to Madison variety of physiology and ecology proj- usually collected for these experiments, and graduate in Summer 2016. Post- ects and even developed my own ecology but since hummingbirds are so small graduation, I plan to gain more interna- study investigating the effects of nectar (sometimes weighing less than a nickel), tional field experience with the eventual availability on territorial behaviors in we collect their urine instead. I’ve learned goal of returning to a formal education to some of the best techniques to get a pursue a graduate degree.

8 Botany and Conservation Biology ALUMNI NEWS ALUMNI NEWS Thank you to all the alumni who took His association with Richard Vogl and Crossing Burl Wood Gallery in the time to send us their updates. his Ph.D. work on the effects of fire Waynesville NC, which produces cus- Please keep the news coming! on the vegetation of Crex Meadows tom crafted burl wood furnishings from in northwestern Wisconsin provided salvaged American woods. Last spring the inspiration for his Ph.D. research at they brought in what may have been Cornell University on the effects of fire the largest burled oak tree in America: on the vegetation of south-central New a white oak 6 feet in diameter. It had York State. He and his wife Pat enjoyed caught on fire and was saved from the a great tour of central and south- ashes – a “Phoenix Oak”! Janet was ern Spain in May and a week’s stay in pleased to have the opportunity to work Provincetown, MA in September. Their with this magnificent wood. All of the whale watching trip off Provincetown woods they use are American so they was outstanding; they witnessed four know the source and can verify no old whales breeching. growth habitat is cut.

Bob Ream (Botany PhD 1963) con- Emmet Judziewicz (PhD Botany, 1987) tinues to give a number of lectures retired from UW-Stevens Point in June around Montana, one titled “A 40 Year 2015 and is now an Emeritus Professor Odyssey with Wolves in Montana” and there. He has a nook in the Robert W. another “Climate Change and Wildlife in Freckmann Herbarium, so stop by for Montana”. He skied a lot last winter and a visit! His retirement projects include: Jim Habeck (left) in the spring of 1955. did several backpack trips this past sum- continuing work on a revision of the mer. Bob and his wife visited London Neotropical bamboo Aulonemia; Jim Habeck (Botany PhD 1959) taught and Wales last fall and did some hiking assisting with Paul Hlina and Mary Ann plant ecology at the University of in Wales. He now serves on the Board of Feist with field work on their “Analysis of Montana from 1960 to 1995. He writes, the Montana Environmental Information the Vegetative Cover of the Brule River “John Curtis did provide routine indoor Center, the University of Montana Watershed (Wisconsin), Revisited 2015- lectures on plant ecology history, President’s Advisory Council, and the 2018”; publishing “Vascular Plants of St. theories, and methodology, but he was College of Forestry and Conservation Martins Island, Delta County, Michigan” a firm believer that an ecologist needed Dean’s Advisory Council. in the Michigan Botanist, with coauthors to develop the basic skills of ‘reading Mike Grimm (The Nature Conservancy) the landscape.’ And this required hiking Gary Gallo (Cons. Bio. 1973) loved the and Gary Fewless (UW-Green Bay); as the outdoor landscape; bogs, swamps, botany courses he took as an under- well as continued teaching including the forests and grasslands. It required see- graduate and remembers Dr. Iltis lectur- “Field Biology of Hawai’i Island” course ing, assembling and integrating pieces ing about cloud forests. After Madison of ‘ground information’, and once he graduated from pharmacy school digested, develop a narrative of a site’s in Boston, then graduate pharmacy likely past history, current status, and school at UNC-Chapel Hill. He then possible future. And I used the same took a faculty position at the University technique in my years of teaching ecol- of Minnesota (sorry!). After that, Gary ogy to Montana students majoring in “went corporate” and took a position at botany, wildlife and forestry.” Now, at E.R.Squibb and Son in Princeton, NJ. He the age of 83, he continues to attend remained at Bristol-Myers Squibb from ecology seminars, and is often in a posi- 1989 until his retirement in 2012. His tion to comment on how things were positions were in the medical develop- done, and how ecological knowledge ment department and included work on was acquired, 60 years ago! lipid-lowering medicines and anti-viral medicines – not research positions but Fred Swan (Botany MS 1961) is grateful interesting nevertheless. Gary currently for the education he received and for resides in Hatboro, PA. Emmet Judziewicz (back row, white hat) and his association with Professors Curtis UW-Stevens Point field biology class assist- and Cottam and the talented graduate Janet Metzger (Mattison) (Botany ing The Nature Conservancy with erecting BS 1979) currently works at Moose anti-ungulate fencing at their Kaiholena students in the plant ecology program. Reserve on Hawaii Island, January 2015.

Alumni Newsletter 9 ALUMNI NEWS for UWSP this (and every) winter break, interns from around the world. During Science Lab in Utah. Her research is and summer plant taxonomy courses. that time, her focus shifted towards centered on sagebrush conservation health. She began apprenticing with genetics and recent work involves how Adam Larson (Cons. Bio. 2007) It’s been a Shiatsu practitioner in Ecuador, and seeds and smells can be used to identify a long, crazy trip for Adam since gradu- returned to the U.S. to certify as a mas- species/subspecies in this group. She ation. After an extra year in Madison, sage therapist and women’s health just coauthored a paper published in he stumbled into a ten-month residen- educator. She is currently developing Ecosphere on how sagebrush seed tial internship teaching environmental her practice and engaging with individu- weights can be a diagnostic for sub- education in Western Massachusetts als on a deeper level to promote healing species identification. She is finishing building and maintaining hiking trails and balanced health. a manuscript on how volatile organic across the state. Trail work and conser- compounds (i.e. essential oils) are a vation field work have since become his better taxonomic indicator than phylo- passion and led him to the Adirondacks genetics for sagebrush. Deirdre will be of upstate New York, the deserts of looking for a new plant science job as Arizona, the mountains of Virginia and her husband’s graduate school will bring California, and the canyon country of them back to Madison in January 2016! southern Utah. The seasonal lifestyle can be hard, but it allows for months of adventures in the off-season, and he’s been lucky enough to spend a couple of winters in Central America, guiding Laura Randall in Ecuador treks in Guatemala and teaching SAT math in El Salvador. This December he’ll Melissa Weymiller (Cons. Bio. 2010) be moving back to Utah to work once currently attends graduate school at again in Zion National Park. the University of Idaho in Conservation Social Science. She is completing a Deirdre Jaeger graduate assistantship with the Bureau of Land Management at the St. Anthony Sand Dunes in Idaho conducting a visi- Matthew Pace (Botany PhD 2015) tor survey regarding visitor preferences began his new position as the Assistant for future management decisions. She’s Curator of The New York Botanical also working with the Yellowstone Garden Herbarium (the largest her- National Park Social Science Program barium in the Western Hemisphere). His on issues related to increasing visita- position allows for both management tion and as a technical editor with and curation of the collection in addi- the Yellowstone Science publication. tion to continuing his original research Melissa will be graduating with her focused on the evolution and systemat- Master’s degree in May. She writes, ics of . Adam Larson “My time in Yellowstone has been so amazing and I have been so fortunate to spend time in Wonderland!” Laura Stevens Randall (Cons. Bio. 2009) After graduating, Laura spent two years in AmeriCorps at Common Wealth Development in Madison as a youth mentor and program coordina- tor. Feeling a pull back into environ- mental work, she accepted an offer as volunteer coordinator and community Melissa Wymiller engagement coordinator with Third Millennium Alliance in Manabi, Ecuador. She lived in a small rural town leading Deidre Jaeger (neé Conocchioli) environmental education and reforesta- (Botany & Cons. Bio. 2012) continues tion projects while supervising biology working for the US Forest Service Shrub Matthew Pace

10 Botany and Conservation Biology Consider helping our Department’s people and programs Botany Department General Fund (fund # 1216106) Online donations at the links provided are The generosity of our donors allows the Botany Department to help our students, faculty easy and secure. Check donations can be and staff reach their full potential via grants, awards, travel support, internships, guest made out to the University of Wisconsin lectures, and buying critical equipment. Please consider making a donation to via the UW Foundation. Please include the fund Foundation. See: http://www.supportuw.org/giving?seq=1254 number on the check. Additional targeted funds are available at: http://www.botany.wisc.edu/giftgiving/ Send to: UW Foundation Conservation Biology Major Fund (fund # 12168143) U.S. Bank Lockbox Please join us in our efforts to provide support for important BAC program priorities. Gifts Box 78807 to the Biological Aspects of Conservation Major are used to recognize outstanding BAC un- Milwaukee, WI 53278-0807 dergraduates, support various activities such as research and study abroad, and to sponsor special lectures and other professional development opportunities for students. Questions? Contact: Ann Dingman See: http://www.supportuw.org/giving?seq=19206 [email protected] 608-265-9954

Count Classic: A Botanical Crossword contributed by David Baum (answers at botany.wisc.edu/alumni-newsletter.htm)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 43. Speaker of 15. User of 12 “Mars will come 17. Patch of hard, 7 9 to fear my botany cross-grained powers” in 2015 wood 10 11 12 13 14 15 movie, to friends 20. Equal prefix 44. Channeled 16 17 18 lengthwise 22. Plains state 24. Not a tree or a 19 20 shrub Down 21 25. *Stamen 1. Stimulating whorls in

22 23 24 25 plant, that makes Ornithogalum, for you want to talk? example 26 27 28 29 2.*Tepals in some 27. Secale Magnolia flowers 28. *Sporangia in 30 31 3. *A rough start a typical stamen to the count, or 29. Chickpea 32 33 34 Botanist Gordon in 22? 31. Farming tool 35 36 37 38 4. Plumeria 33. *Horn-like carpels in the 39 40 41 42 product Australian bastard 5. South African crows ash 43 Aizoiaceae genus minus its “tum” 34. Genus in 44 Convulvulaceae 6. Chemical with an SH 37. *Petals in Dryas 7. Resemblance of Across 16. Wood sought 26. Of landscapes “oak” in such a an Anguillicarpus 38. herbe à _____ for ship-building formed by dissolv- language 1. Folded length- fruit (Wild millet ) ing soluble rocks wise, as in a leaf 18. London rocket 36. An infusion 8. Drying West 39. DNA codon epithet 30. *Leaflets in the of oak bark or 9. *Ploidy in the Coast wind for Ile pink trumpet tree vegetable matter, coast redwood 19. Segregate ge- 40. Location for used in tanning 11. *Petals in the (Sequoia), for one nus of Phyllanthus 32. Without thinleaf sunflower the start of bacte- microbes (primordially?) 10. Genetic mate- 21. Having no rial chromosome 39. Oxygen 13. Arillate fruit rial for Cécile Ané? trace of life, for 35. The word replication crop example in rocks “druid” derives avoider 12. Pressed drupe 41. Ratite favor- from the word for 42. Tasty bolete 14. Of Vitis product 23. Artichoke ing Distichlis products thistle distichophylla?

Alumni Newsletter 11 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Room 132 Birge Hall Permit No. 658 430 Lincoln Drive Madison, WI Madison, WI 53706

Ferns of Ice Professor Marisa Otegui’s photo of ice crystals growing on glass was a 2015 Cool Science Image contest winner.