Botany & Conservation

A newsletter for alumni and friends of Botany and Conservation Biology Fall/Winter 2017

Unraveling the secret to the unique pigment of beets - page 5

The many colors of the common beet

Mo Fayyaz retires Letters to a A virtual museum Contents 3 4 pre-scientist 6 reunion

botany.wisc.edu conservationbiology.ls.wisc.edu NEWS & NOTES NEWS & NOTES Chair’s Letter Longtime botany greenhouse director Mo Fayyaz retires Adapted from a story by Eric Hamilton sense of inevitable change in the air. At Those seminal collections, intended hen the Iranian government plants. Fayyaz and his greenhouse staff overseeing the work himself. The garden the same time, autumn in Wisconsin to encourage interest in the natural Woffered Mo Fayyaz a full schol- have grown a dizzying array of plants organizes plants by their family rela- always evokes a feeling of comfort in the resources of Wisconsin, grew quickly arship to study horticulture abroad, a used by 14 lecture and laboratory courses tionships and features several unique familiar – botany students are once again and would ultimately serve as the cradle simple oversight meant the University as well as botanical research labs. The specimens, such as a direct descendent out trying to ID asters and goldenrods. of origin for most of the natural science of Wisconsin–Madison was not his top greenhouse climates range from humid, of Isaac Newton’s apple tree, said to have It’s that enigmatic sense of the familiar disciplines that have propelled UW- choice. tropical jungles nurturing orchids to arid inspired the physicist’s theory of gravity. coupled with a sense of change that Madison into an international research “I didn’t even know there was a state deserts brimming with cactuses. University members, area residents makes it such a pleasure to be part of powerhouse (UW-Madison currently called Wisconsin,” laughs Fayyaz, who In 2001, Fayyaz coaxed the notorious and schoolchildren visit the garden for our exceptional university. We continue ranks 28th in the world). Today, more retired in August after 33 years as the ‘corpse flower’, Amorphophallus titanum, informal and organized tours — or to to embrace our traditions, while at the than 150 years later, a generous grant distinguished director of the botany to bloom. He had rescued the plant from simply smell the flowers. same time fulfilling our state motto – from the Wisconsin Alumni Research department greenhouse and botanical the compost during greenhouse renova- Fayyaz always extended his mission Forward! The feature story in this issue Foundation is breathing new life into gardens. outside of the university walls. of the newsletter epitomizes this concept that 19th Century Cabinet using 21st “I even knew Kentucky!” He co-founded the Association perfectly. Century digital technology to re-unite Fortunately for the university of Education and Research them. The Department of Botany has and Fayyaz’s future students and Greenhouse Curators, which con- In 1849, the newly established UW colleagues, UW–Madison was the nects greenhouse staff at universi- Dear Alumni and Friends, Board of Regents proclaimed that “efforts a rich history steeped in tradition, but continues to collaborate, innovate, and first school to admit him. After ties and colleges to share knowl- Who knows where the time goes? It should be made at once to begin the earning his master’s degree in hor- edge and experience. Working seems just yesterday that the students formation of a cabinet of natural history.” advance – everything old is new again. On Wisconsin! ticulture, Fayyaz went on to gradu- with artists, he has designed returned to Madison, and here we are Without delay they commissioned ate with a Ph.D. in botany. A friend engrossing, educational posters already at the mid-term. I am sitting geological, zoological, and botanical Ken Cameron introduced him to his now-wife, a about plants and fungi, using the in the Botany Chair’s Office, which samples to be collected from around Chair nurse from Wausau, Wisconsin. proceeds to advance the green- I took over in July, and see the oaks Wisconsin. Mr. Increase Lapham donated While paying off his scholar- house mission. and elms on Bascom Hill starting to 1,500 plant specimens to establish the ship by teaching at the University Fayyaz received the 2017 transform color - there is a palpable cabinet’s herbarium; others followed. of Tehran, Fayyaz lived through Chancellor’s Award for Excellence the Iranian Revolution and Iran- in Service to the University for Iraq war. He was nearly bombed his contributions to the botany by Iraqi forces while traveling be- department and the university. tween university campuses. When Although Fayyaz prides himself Hugh Iltis Inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Photo by Bryce Richter / UW-Madison This newsletter is published by Fayyaz returned to the safety of his on the renovations he has overseen Hall of Fame Adapted from the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame: wchf.org the Department of Botany at the wife’s home state, and to Madison, for the garden and greenhouse, University of Wisconsin-Madison for The world lost a passionate con- conservation organizations to protect university hiring freezes and temporary tions and had to brush off skepticism that and the outreach he has championed alumni, colleagues and friends. servationist and we lost a Botany natural areas and promote environmental work provided new challenges for his it was worth pampering a mercurial plant with partners such as Edgewood College Department legend when Hugh Iltis died quality. His technical bulletin Atlas of the young family. that only rarely blooms. As the flower and Madison College, he is most proud Editorial team: Carmela Diosana, Eve in December 2016. This past Earth Day, Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora co- When a position for director of the opened, Fayyaz welcomed 30,000 visitors of his record of safety. His efforts over Emshwiller, Ginny Jackson, and Sarah greenhouse opened up, Fayyaz saw an to the greenhouse night and day to get a the decades to move from chemical pest Friedrich. April 22, 2017, Hugh was posthumously authored by Theodore Cochran and pub- recognized for his efforts with a place lished in 2000 is still being used today. opportunity to stay as busy as he enjoyed whiff of its pungent stench. His idea to control to a program of integrated pest Chair: Ken Cameron in the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Nationally and globally, Iltis is being. livestream the blooming from a webcam management, which uses natural meth- Fame. best known for his work as Wisconsin “This job is just like juggling five, six set records for website hits and crashed ods like releasing beneficial insects, has Submissions are welcome. Please In 1960 he co-founded The Nature Herbarium Director, his efforts to protect balls at the same time,” says Fayyaz. “You university servers. helped protect the health of his green- send comments, ideas and photos to: Conservancy in Wisconsin and champi- biosphere reserves in Mexico and South cannot look to the side and let one go.” Fayyaz distributed the seeds he col- house staff. Fayyaz juggled the demands of lected to other greenhouses to grow, Fayyaz has many offers from differ- Alumni News Editor oned its efforts to protect natural areas by America, and his plant studies, including growing plant material for classes and display and study. The offspring of the ent horticultural and botanical societies UW Department of Botany serving on its Board, providing techni- the discovery in Mexico of Zea diplope- 430 Lincoln Drive cal and scientific advice on acquisitions, rennis, a perennial wild relative of corn, research, managing the botanical garden, UW–Madison corpse flower have now to consult in retirement. He also plans to Madison, WI 53706 and working with landowners to protect now being used for plant breeding. and reaching outside of the university to bloomed around the world. spend time volunteering for Habitat for some of Wisconsin’s most unique eco- ltis received numerous awards for his share his love of the plant world as widely Donation money from visitors to the Humanity. But his first task? Cleaning Phone: 608-262-0476 systems, including the Baraboo Hills and contributions to conservation including as possible. rare bloom was pooled with other grants out the basement at home. Fax: 608-262-7509 Chiwaukee Prairie. TNC’s highest honor – the Golden Oak Among Fayyaz’s many stories of his to undertake a massive renovation of the “The botany department is my second email: [email protected] In the 1960s he joined fellow citizen Leaf Award, and a Presidential Award adventures at the university is the time botany department garden at Mills Street family,” says Fayyaz, who, despite dislik- he masterminded an ambitious rais- and University Avenue. UW–Madison ing the climate, has found a home in a www.botany.wisc.edu activists to launch efforts to ban the use from the Republic of Mexico for his role of DDT in Wisconsin and the nation. He in establishing the Sierra de Manantlan ing of the greenhouse roof — it had to landscape architecture students submit- chilly state he once didn’t know existed. also worked with many other national Biosphere Reserve. be bent into place to fit after extensions ted designs and Fayyaz stretched the “I hate cold — these people kept me were added — to accommodate larger funds by paying student workers and warm.”

2 Botany and Conservation Biology Alumni Newsletter 3 NEWS & NOTES NEWS & NOTES

Giving back, one letter at a time by Rachel Toczydlowski UW researchers discover an evolutionary stepping stone to beet-red beets Who doesn’t love getting a hand- “You can just feel the energy when By Eric Hamilton of beets developed the red and yellow analyzed the genomes of dozens of plant written letter in the mail? Rachel you walk into the classroom on a The color red is splashed across gar- betalains, and then turned off the redun- families, some that made betalains and Toczydlowski received four last year letter opening day.” “I would have dens, forests and farms, attracting pol- dant anthocyanins. Besides beets, the others that diverged before the new in her Birge mailbox, complete with my students wait until everyone linators with bright hues, signaling ripe color is found in Swiss chard, rhubarb, pigments had evolved. They discovered drawings and stickers, from a 6th had a letter in their hand and do a fruit and delighting vegetable and flower quinoa and cactuses, among thousands that the tyrosine pathway innovation — grader in L.A. who is interested in countdown (3…2…1… open!). The gardeners alike. of species. Betalains are common food with one enzyme free to make more of dinosaurs, space, and drawing. How? students would be so incredibly excited But if you put a ruby raspberry up dyes and are bred for by beet breeders. the amino acid — evolved long before She participates in the Letters to a and then all of a sudden complete against a crimson beet and look closely, When Maeda lab graduate student betalains. Only later did other enzymes Pre-Scientist program (LPS). LPS is silence would fall over the classroom you might just notice: they are different and lead author of the new paper Samuel evolve that could turn the abundant a program that pairs elementary and as they browsed through their letters, reds. Lopez-Nieves isolated the enzymes in tyrosine into the red betalains. middle school students from under- photos, and other items scientists sent. Millions of years ago, one family of beets that produce tyrosine, he found “Our initial hypothesis was the resourced communities with scientists This silence was quickly followed by plants — the beets and their near and two versions. One was inhibited by betalain pigment pathway evolved world-wide. They write letters back chatter and questions of who each distant cousins — hit upon a brand new tyrosine — a natural way to regulate the and then, during the breeding and forth for a school year as pen pals. other’s pen pal was, what they did for red pigment and discarded the red used amount of the amino acid, by shutting off process, people tweaked the tyrosine Students ask scientists what it is like fun, where they lived, etc. The whole by the rest of the plant world. How this production when there is a lot of it. But pathway in order to further increase to be a scientist, and talk about what day is just fascinating to observe new red evolved, and why a plant that the second enzyme was much less sensi- the pigment. But that was not the case,” they’re learning, and scientists have the children absolutely engaged in science makes both kinds of red pigment has tive to regulation by tyrosine, meaning it says Maeda. “It actually happened way opportunity to offer encouragement, and beginning to form a connection never been found, are questions that could keep making the amino acid with- back before. And it provided an evolu- talk about life as a scientist, and show with a real person in the field.” have long attracted researchers puzzling out being slowed down. The upshot was tionary stepping stone toward the evolu- genuine interest in a student that over plant evolution. that beets produced much more tyrosine tion of this novel pigment pathway.” often lacks a large educational support In the journal New Phytologist, than other plants, enough to play around The takeaway of this study, Rachel is currently a Botany PhD Candidate system. The program’s main mission is to students have never met a scientist, University of Wisconsin–Madison with and turn into betalains. says Maeda, is that altering empower and inspire young students to so imagine how powerful it is to have in Dr. Don Waller’s lab studying inbreeding Figuring that humans had bred this the production of raw and landscape genetics in Impatiens Professor of Botany Hiroshi Maeda and pursue careers in science and technology. one take a genuine interest in them all capensis in Wisconsin floodplain forests. his colleagues describe an ancient loos- highly active tyrosine pathway while materials like tyro- Here’s what Rachel has to say after school year. I love that I can portray selecting for bright-red beets, Lopez- sine opens up new LPS started in 2010 in North Carolina ening up of a key biochemical pathway her first year. “I love participating in this scientists in a positive light, especially in and has since grown to include over 20 that set the stage for the ancestors of Nieves isolated the enzymes from wild avenues for produc- program. It sounds cliché, but I really do our current climate. In addition to the classrooms and 450 scientists from 13 beets to develop their characteristic red beets. ing the varied and feel like I am giving back to the broader warm fuzzy feeling of inspiring young countries. Scientists can participate by pigment. By evolving an efficient way “Even the wild ancestor of beets, useful compounds community in a meaningful way. I grew scientists, writing these letters gives me signing up to be a pen pal and/or donating to make the amino acid tyrosine, the sea beet, had this deregulated enzyme that make plants up around scientists, so I learned early great practice at making my research letter-writing supplies to classrooms. For already. That was unexpected. So, our nature’s premier more information: http://www.prescientist. raw material for the new red, this plant on that they were just people, and these accessible. It also allows me to reflect org/. family freed up extra tyrosine for more initial hypothesis was wrong,” says chemists. interactions gave me the confidence on my own journey in science, and to Lopez-Nieves. For some un- Quote from Macon excerpted with uses. Later innovations turned the newly to pursue a scientific career. I also remind me of why I love what I do.” permission from the LPS Blog at http://www. abundant tyrosine scarlet. So he turned to spinach, a more known ancestor of knew about the cool things I could get The founding teacher, Macon prescientist.org/blog/) The new findings can aid beet breed- distant cousin that diverged from beets beets and cactuses, this paid to do as a scientist. Most of these Lowman, captures the power LPS has. ing programs and provide tools and longer ago. Spinach also had two copies, flexibility in raw materials information for scientists studying how one that was not inhibited by tyrosine, allowed it to discover a new to turn tyrosine into its many useful meaning the new tyrosine pathway must kind of red that the world had not Consider helping our Department’s people and programs derivatives, which include morphine and be older than the spinach-beet ancestor. seen before, one that is still splashed The researchers needed to go back much across the plant world today. Botany Department General Fund (fund # 1216106) Online donations at the links provided are vitamin E. The generosity of our donors allows the Botany Department to help our students, faculty easy and secure. Check donations can be “The core question we have been further in evolutionary time to find when and staff reach their full potential via grants, awards, travel support, internships, guest made out to the University of Wisconsin interested in is how metabolic pathways the ancestor of beets evolved a second, lectures, and buying critical equipment. Please consider making a donation to via the UW Foundation. Please include the fund have evolved in different plants, and why less inhibited enzyme. Foundation. See: http://www.supportuw.org/giving?seq=1254 number on the check. plants can make so many different com- Working with collaborators at Additional targeted funds are available at: Send to: the University of Michigan and the https://botany.wisc.edu/giving/botany-directed-funds/ pounds,” says Maeda. “Beets were the UW Foundation perfect start for addressing the question.” University of Cambridge, Maeda’s team U.S. Bank Lockbox Conservation Biology Major Fund (fund # 12168143) Box 78807 The vast majority of plants rely on a Please join us in our efforts to provide support for important Conservation Biology pro- Milwaukee, WI 53278-0807 class of pigments called anthocyanins gram priorities. Gifts to the Conservation Biology Major are used to recognize outstanding Conservation Biology undergraduates, support various activities such as research and study Questions? Contact: Ann E. Lippincott to turn their leaves and abroad, and to sponsor special lectures and other professional development opportunities [email protected] fruits purple and for students. (608) 308-5320 red. But the See: http://www.supportuw.org/giving?seq=19206 ancestors

4 Botany and Conservation Biology Alumni Newsletter 5 Julia Suits & A VIRTUAL MUSEUM REUNION Alex Wild

Campus museums recreate ‘cabinet of natural history’ digitally Adapted from an article by Eric Hamilton from, we lose much of its research In 1849, the Board of Regents of the new University of potential,” explains Elizabeth Leith, Wisconsin directed the curation of the state’s plants, animals the curator of the anthropology and minerals in a “cabinet of natural history.” collection. The same could be said for all of the Now, that founding piece of scientific inquiry is re-forming natural history museums. — digitally. Leith is the only one overseeing the million-or-so anthro- A new UW2020 initiative will centralize pological specimens in the Sewell Social Sciences Building. the databases of the university’s five natural The collection had no permanent staff until 2007. Unlike the history museums, which have separated curators of the biological collections, Leith cannot rely on spe- over the decades to specialize and accom- cies names to organize the anthropology specimens. Instead, modate growing collections. The 1.3-mil- artifacts are typically grouped by the site where they originated lion-specimen Wisconsin State Herbarium Whether it is boxes of bones or a fully articulated skeleton, will coordinate with the zoology, geology, the Zoological Museum in Noland Hall has trouble imaging entomology and anthropology museums most of its specimens in a way that would be useful to research- to merge records in a way that allows re- ers, says curator of collections Laura Monahan. But if they can searchers to study the full scope of natural document when and where each species was collected, re- artifacts in one central location. This searchers can match that with information about other animals digital cabinet of natural history will link or specimens from other museums. the museums’ combined 9 million-plus Coordinating the different collections gives scientists a specimens that span all seven continents, sense of “what that place was like at that time” in a way that a the moon and Mars. single museum cannot, says Monahan. “We’re coming back together, not in a Because each museum is always collecting, paring down physical way, in a common building, but backlogs and keeping up with new specimens is a constant through a virtual platform,” says Ken struggle. And just as a collection begins to familiarize itself Cameron, the director of the herbarium with the latest database systems — which are rarely built to and the lead scientist of the project. The The herbarium as it appeared in the 1890’s. The herbarium today. accommodate the demands of large and varied collections such curators hope the project will be up as these — the technology changes. The institutional knowl- and running and avail- photography studio for the many specimens far too heavy to edge of the directors, curators and staff about their respective able online in about a Nearly microscopic insect larvae from entomology move. collections keeps the museums humming along as they steadily year. “One hundred are just as hard — only in different ways — to docu- The boxes of pinned insects lining the drawers of the catalog and database their specimens. sixty-some years ment and catalog as massive rock or fossil samples Wisconsin Insect Research Collection call for a different ap- The UW2020 initiative will fund database managers and later, the cabinet, from geology. Jars of fish and boxes of bones are proach. In the back room of the entomology collection on the additional student and staff support to develop links between the museum of difficult for zoology to image, while anthropology third floor of Russell Laboratories, director Dan Young and the collections. natural history, struggles without a universal system of terms for curator Craig Brabant manage a robotic camera that can image “This central database isn’t a complete answer for natural is re-forming, but in this new 21st different items. an entire drawer of hundreds, if not thousands, of individual history research,” says Cameron. “But it gives scientists the op- century online way.” Many of the museums capture images of as insects in just five minutes. Tiny labels full of portunity to know to ask for further information.” The new database would allow a researcher many specimens as possible to give even remote vital information still require a lot of time to query specimens from each collection at researchers a chance to inspect the samples and labor to digitize. Some samples, once. For example, they could look up a time and up close. These pictures can help scientists like larvae preserved in jars, must place in Wisconsin and uncover the plants and verify that the specimen is labeled correctly be imaged in more labor inten- animals that resided there and then, which miner- while documenting variation across a species. sive ways. als or fossils have been found there, and whether any In the eastern wing of Birge Hall, herbarium But curation is not all human-made artifacts have been recovered at the site. curators fit pressed plant sheets into a dedi- about pictures. The most With some specimens intact back to the founding of cated lightbox chamber, capture an image and copy important information the cabinet, the century and a half of records provides a details of the specimen to the digital entry. A simi- is typically the date and boon to scientists trying to track how populations have lar lightbox, only much larger, allows Carrie Eaton, location where a speci- shifted over time. the curator of the Geology Museum, to photograph men was collected. Each contributing museum curates and digitizes its Bryce Richter rock samples, with their shimmering colors true- “If we don’t know collections in unique ways, while facing its own challenges. to-life to aid identification. Eaton relies on a mobile where an item came Didier Descouens

6 Botany and Conservation Biology Alumni Newsletter 7

Gozitano STUDENT PROFILES ALUMNI NEWS

Field Notes: Claire Viellieux from that day. I was surprised to find that bonding experience rather than a divid- ALUMNI NEWS a major part of learning how to do field ing one. Some of my favorite memories Claire is a Conservation Biology major Thank you to all the alumni who took Bruce McCune (1982 PhD research is also learning how to work in are of the amazing wildlife I saw up close graduating in May 2018. the time to send us their updates. Botany), who has been a group and get along with your team when deep in the forest with my team Please keep the news coming! with the Dept of Botany Two summers ago, I spent a month members. Conditions in the thick forests members. I saw more species of spiders and Plant Pathology at in Gabon with nineteen other American of Loango Park can make even the most than I ever cared to see, but I also saw Robert McIntosh (1950 PhD Botany) Oregon State University and Gabonese students. I had been ac- patient person irritable. I discovered forest elephants, duikers, buffalo, mon- passed away on July 7th, 2017. since 1987, received the cepted into a program run by the Central that, if you’re willing and have a positive keys, butterflies, and reptiles. We even Acharius Medal at the African Biodiversity Alliance that en- outlook, these challenges can serve as a heard a group of gorillas calling out from Martha Christensen (1956 MS Botany, 2016 meeting of the couraged international cooperation the distance. Knowing that many 1960 PhD. Botany) passed away March International Association between undergraduate research- of these species were exceedingly 19, 2017 of Lichenologists in ers. We were lucky enough to visit rare and may soon disappear in my Helsinki, Finland. This is multiple forests around Loango lifetime made the experience all the Leon Standifer (1959 PhD Botany) the highest international Bruce McCune National Park where professors more valuable. passed away on November 8th, 2016. award for lichenologists, from the local university taught us As I boarded my plane home, Jack M. Bostrack (1959 MS Botany David Wright granted for a lifetime of achievement in how to set up line transects, keep I felt as if I were leaving a piece of 1962 PH.D. Botany) passed away on lichenology, and Bruce is only the 4th a field notebook, use camera traps, myself behind. I plan on returning November 30, 2016. of New York. Starting in 1970, David American to receive it since it was first and many other important skills. to Gabon someday, and I am grate- spent his time creating sculpture in awarded in 1992. I had chosen to be in the group ful to the CAB Alliance for provid- Fred Swan (1961 MS Botany) and his the hills of Colorado with his wife Ann that was studying the types of fruit ing undergraduates with such an wife Pat traveled to Wyoming on June Herzog Wright, a painter and also a Robert Morrow (1987 PhD Botany) which large mammals eat. Every amazing program. I now plan on 20 and enjoyed visiting Dennis (Ph.D. past student of the UW. Their art can be works for the Madison-based ORBITEC, morning at 6am we would enter pursuing field research as a career, Plant Ecology) and Judy Knight in viewed at https://www.artsbywrights. which has been bought by Sierra the forest, and we wouldn’t arrive but I also hope to incorporate my Laramie. Dennis was the best man at com/. David and Ann have two chil- Nevada Corporation (SNC), a large back to our campsite until 6pm. findings into conservation educa- their wedding in November 1962. They dren, now grown. Twelve years ago aerospace company. The SNC team We would all have dinner together Claire (far right) and other members of the large mammal tion and management programs then went on to Grand Teton National they returned to Wisconsin and this past worked closely with NASA Kennedy and listen to other groups’ stories group develop a hypothesis for their study. whenever possible. Park to attend the 60th anniversary of year they published “Journal from the Space Center in the development of the start of the Student Conservation Heartland” (https://journalfromtheheart- the Advanced Plant Habitat, which Program. From July 3 to the 15th, they land.com/ ), a collection of their work, was just installed on the International enjoyed a two-week tour of Iceland. both written and visual, and of other Space Station. They developed the writers and painters living in Central two “Veggie” plant growth systems After a short hitch with the Coast Field Notes: Corrigan Shea area, invasive species were taking over, Wisconsin. David intends to produce on the space station which continue Guard, Joseph F. Stegner (1963 the Sauk River shore was eroding, and two issues a year and is working on a to be used for a broad variety of plant Corrigan will graduate with a BS Conservation Biology) started extreme amounts of nutrients were flow- couple more books. related studies. In addition to supporting Conservation Biology major and working for the US Food and Drug ing in the river. Dr. Lenhart and I worked plant research by NASA and University Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering Administration in Cincinnati, Ohio, then alongside a Minnesota Department of Darryl Sullivan researchers, Veggie systems have been and Society certificate. transferred to Indianapolis, IN, then Natural Resources representative, a soil (1975 BS and will continue to be used for experi- to Boise, ID and finally to Seattle, WA. This past summer, I had the privilege scientist, and a graduate student to assess Conservation ments by UW Botany faculty member, He also traveled to Japan, England, of working with Dr. Christ Lenhart at the and implement a plan to restore this land. Biology) is back in Dr. Simon Gilroy and UW Genetics fac- Germany, Finland, Denmark, Scotland, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in In addition, I worked on building and Southern WI after ulty member Dr. Patrick Masson. Canada , as well as Eastern Europe the Biosystems Engineering Department. implementing mesocosms to test the re- working in several (before the collapse of the Soviet Union) Jay Campbell, (1997 BS Conservation Through this experience I worked with tention of nutrients in wetlands, specifi- locations around and France. Joseph now resides in Biology) just completed his MS in soil scientists, engineers with various cally phosphorous. Agriculture, storm- the U.S.. He travels all over the world Issaquah, WA and attends the Rain City biotechnology from UW-Madison in specializations, and other conserva- water, wastewater, fertilizers and other with his job as Director of Industry and Badger meeting. May 2017 and is currently working as a tionists. Despite varying credentials human activity have a large influence Regulatory Affairs with Covance Food researcher in the Dept. of Neurology, and backgrounds, we all have a strong on the levels of phosphorous in water. Solutions – but always enjoys returning and allowed for me to explore different David K. Wright (1966, BA Botany) SMPH UW-Madison studying binaural passion to maintain the environment. I Surplus amounts of phosphorous lead to to Wisconsin. areas and perspectives of conservation. enjoyed a brief stint as an Entomologist/ hearing pathways in rodent models. helped Dr. Lenhart with research that fo- eutrophication. A common consequence Particularly, I learned about how inter- Botanist largely killing as many desig- Duane Kolterman (1978 MS Botany, cused on wetland restoration. One of the of eutrophication is blue-green algal connected the environment and human nated noxious insects and weeds as 1982 PhD Botany) retired in 2015. He David T Hanson (1999 PhD Botany) is a projects that we worked on was a wetland blooms which produce toxins that can activity are, and how crucial it is for possible, that is until that same occupa- just went through Hurricane Maria Professor of Biology at the University of in northern Minnesota. The goal of the be harmful to both humans and animals. humans to be informed and educated on tion was found to be a value in Vietnam. and can say that the vegetation has New Mexico. This has been a good year project was to restore the area that had Blue-green algal blooms are seen here in the actions they are taking when it comes It was then that he turned to teaching been coming back, because it’s been at UNM with new funding from NSF IOS been destroyed and stripped of its natural Madison in Lake Mendota. to natural resources and land usage. school in the Trinity Alps of California mostly cloudy and often rainy since the on the errors cuticles cause for measur- form. As a result of land-use negligence; This experience expanded my and in the foothills of the Adirondacks hurricane. ing photosynthesis in leaves, returning native species could not inhabit the knowledge of environmental toxins

8 Botany and Conservation Biology Alumni Newsletter 9 Center for Orchid Conservation and Rachel Schmidt-Jabaily (2009 PhD needed to start his own restoration spends part of each week working with Botany) is now an Assistant Professor and consulting firm (Forward Land the orchid collections at the National in the Department of Organismal Management LLC). For the past two Herbarium in the Museum of Natural Biology & Ecology at Colorado College years Andy has been working full time History in DC. He is currently work- (Colorado Springs). for The Prairie Enthusiasts (a not-for- ing on the Palau Orchid Conservation profit land trust) while maintaining his Initiative where he conducts research Meg Phillips (2009 BA Conservation small business on the side. on the diversity and distribution of Biology, certificate in Environmental Studies) graduated with her M.S. degree Duplicate of space station APH orchids on several islands in Palau and monitors them on a new perma- in Water Resources Management in to David’s roots (or lack thereof) with nent forest plot in the Ngardok Nature 2013 while concurrently serving as new NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity Reserve in Melekeok Palau. They study the Executive Director of the Upper funding for Sphagnum moss adaptive the ecology of these orchids by look- Sugar River Watershed Association. In evolution (growing from his grad work Justin Zweck in the Paramo of Ecuador ing at their relationships with symbiotic 2014 Megan and her partner moved Sean Johnson-Bice on Jyme bog at Kemp Station), and new Ecuador, doing a temporary postdoc mycorrhizal fungi. to Albany, NY, where she began pur- exploitation) have on inter-annual crazy-cool micro-needle and micro- with the Technological University of suing a career in state government. fluctuations in beaver (Castor canaden- gas chromatograph work for new ways Katie Greene (2003 BS Botany and Indoamerica, where he studies interge- She currently is employed at the NY sis) populations; and 2) Evaluating to study plants in the field with ARPAe Conservation Biology) lives and works neric plant hybridization in the crater of Department of State as a coastal the spatial and temporal dynamics of ROOTS funding. However, this year in Duluth, MN with her husband, whom an old volcano! resources specialist in the Office of beavers in the Minnesota Lake Superior David thinks about UW-Madison Botany she met on a CALS study abroad pro- Planning, Development and Community north shore watersheds, as part of a more while looking to the sky. As a grad gram in Trinidad and Tobago, and their Infrastructure. In this role she works larger project investigating the historical student, Linda and Jim Graham often two children. She went on to earn her with communities across New York influence that beaver activity has had on got him thinking about putting plants M.Ed in Environmental Education at the State to develop waterfront revitaliza- brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) habitat on Mars and Judy Croxdale would talk University of MN Duluth, as well as a tion strategies and implement priority Sam Wegleitner characteristics in cold-water streams. to him about actually doing botany in teaching certificate from the College of projects that connect waterfront areas space. David always thought that was St. Scholastica. She shares her passion to vibrant downtowns. In her spare time Sam Wegleitner (2011 BA Botany and A month after graduating in 2016, Clay cool but never thought he would get for the natural world and all things bo- she volunteers as the Treasurer for a Conservation Biology) went on to Bess (2016 BA Conservation Biology) the chance to do it. Without the dreams tanical with her elementary students at newly formed non-profit organization study law at the University of Wisconsin. was hired as the first Conservation they inspired, David would not have Duluth Edison Charter Schools. called CapSci, which aims to increase After graduating, he worked for the Specialist for the agriculture program, joined his colleagues on his current science literacy and engagement in the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New Precision Conservation Management NASA project. He is lucky to be part of After completing her postdoc at the capital region of New York. She returns York focusing on subsidized housing (PCM). He works directly with around the first team who will get to use NASA’s Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, to Madison for a visit and a beer on the denials and eviction defense. Shortly one hundred corn-soybean farmers in new Advanced Plant Habitat on the Maria Spletter (2003 BS Botany) started terrace at least once a year and never thereafter, he moved to Atlanta, GA, East-Central Illinois across 5 counties. International Space Station this year. as an Independent Group Leader in the misses a chance to connect with a fel- where he worked as an organizer for He combines agronomic data with eco- With a bit more luck, he’ll be able to use Department of Physiological Chemistry Pippa Kohn low badger in the Empire State! the Democratic Party of Georgia before nomic data to show the financial benefit this work to pass on some dreams to at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University accepting a job back in Madison with of practices like less tillage (e.g. no-till the next generation. Anything seems to in Munich, Germany in January 2017. Philippa “Pippa” Kohn (2008 BS Rollin Reinart (2010 BS Botany) re- the Elder Rights Project of Legal Action and strip-till), planting cover crops dur- be possible for UW Botany grads. Her group uses Drosophila as a model Conservation Biology) completed turned from Peace Corps - The Gambia of Wisconsin, representing victimized ing the winter, and applying fertilizer at to study alternative splicing in muscle a Master’s in Marine Science at the in January and moved to Sacramento, elders with civil legal needs. Sam re- more opportune times (such as in the development, a process misregulated University of Auckland in New Zealand. CA. He returned to UC Davis, earn- cently stepped away from that position spring when the crops need nitrogen in muscle diseases in humans. She was Following that she moved back to the ing a M.S. in International Agricultural to follow his significant other to Atlanta, instead of in the fall after harvest). In excited to host a UW-Madison stu- US and worked on fisheries research Development. Since then, Rollin has GA. Sam now works for for Georgia return, soil health improves, less soil dent over the summer through the UW in the Gulf of Mexico following the participated in higher education work- Legal Services Program within their the erodes, and fewer contaminants enter International Internship Program. She Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. She has shops in preparation of becoming an Eviction Prevention Project. Pending ad- the water supply, so it’s a win-win. still uses the analytical and dissecting since relocated to the Pacific Northwest instructor. mission to the bar, he will be providing skills she learned working with stomatal and lives outside of Seattle where she free legal services to indigent persons Andy Sleger (2010 BS Conservation development in Arabidopsis cotyledons has a position as a Fisheries Assessment faced with housing instability. daily in the lab, and thoroughly enjoys Manager with the Marine Stewardship Biology) traveled to the Eastern the European flora on hiking trips to the Council - a global non-profit that sets Mediterranean after graduation (Jordan, Sean Johnson-Bice (2013 BS Egypt, Greece, and Turkey). It was a Ben Crain Alps and Black Forest. a standard from which to certify and Conservation Biology) is a second encourage sustainable fishing. Pippa has great experience to see the region prior year Master’s student in the Integrated Ben Crain (2000 BS Conservation Justin Zweck (2006 BS Botany) recently travelled and worked in various places to the tumult of Arab Spring. When Biosciences Graduate Program at the Biology) lives in Washington D.C. where obtained his PhD in Biology from Saint since graduating, but says, “...there he returned in August of 2010 he was University of Minnesota. He is con- he took a position as an Ecologist with Louis University (May 2017), where are several things I fondly miss about immediately hired by Cardno, a firm ducting research on a couple different the Smithsonian Institute. He works he studied generalized vs. specialized Madison, most of all running on the specializing in ecological restoration projects; 1) Evaluating the influence that at the Smithsonian Environmental pollination systems in legumes based lakeshore path!” and consulting. His time with Cardno extrinsic ecological variables (weather, Clay Bess Research Center for the North American on floral form. He’s currently in Quito, provided the experience and tools he habitat change, predation, and human

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

Know your lichens

Penned by James Bennett and published by the Wisconsin State Herbarium, “Common Lichens of Wisconsin” is a booklet that any lichen- curious citizen should have in their library. The 18 page color booklet features the 30 most common lichens among the approximately 800 species known from Wisconsin. Color photos and brief descriptions are organized into crustose, foliose, and fruticose forms. To request a free booklet or download the PDF visit: https://herbarium. wisc.edu/research/ publications/

At right: Cladonia cristatella photo by James Bennett