Supplement to Mycologia Vol. 55(6) Nov. 2004 Newsletter of the Mycological Society of America — In This Issue — National Science Foundation Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Research Experience for Teachers . 1 by Patricia A. Smith and Harold W. Keller Program Description of RET — RET supplement awards rep- MSA Business . 6 resent a new program activity that supports participation of K-12 Mycological News . 14 teachers of science and mathematics. The intent of these awards is to facilitate professional devel- Mycologist’s Bookshelf . 18 opment of teachers at the cut- ting edge of science through Mycological Classifieds . 22 strengthened partnerships be- Mycology On-Line . 24 tween institutions of higher education and local school Calender of Events . 25 districts. This NSF award was submitted through the Sustaining Members . 27 Division of Environmental Entrance to Pertle Springs near Central Missouri State University. Biology, Biodiversity Sur- veys and Inventories Program, as a supplement request that was part of an active NSF grant # 0343447 entitled “Biodiversity and Ecology — Important Dates — of Tree Canopy Biota in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park”. Prospective applicants for an RET must first locate a current NSF December 11 Deadline: grant awardee willing to develop a partnership, then consult with the Inoculum 56(1) appropriate NSF Program Officer before the application is submitted. March 31, 2005: The application requirements include a three page descriptive narra- MSA 2005 Awards tive, a two page curriculum vitae, budget justification, and a prepared Submission budget with a total limit of $10,000 per teacher. The supplement is submitted electronically through the grant-holder’s university by NSF July 30-Aug. 5, 2005: Fastlane. The RET narrative should clearly articulate in some detail MSA-MSJ, Hilo, HI the prospective teacher’s involvement in the Principal Investigator’s August 15-19, 2005: research project and how the involvement will lead to transfer of new International Congress on knowledge into class- the Systematics room practice. Appli- and Ecology cations can be submit- of Myxomycetes V ted at any time and are reviewed internally within NSF programs. More details are avail- able in NSF Program Editor — Richard E. Baird Warrensburg Middle School entrance. Announcement NSF Entomology and Plant Pathology Dept. 03-056. Box 9655 Educational Experience of Applicant — Patricia A. (Trish) Mississippi State University Smith is a seventh grade life science teacher from Warrensburg R-VI Mississippi State, MS 39762 School District, Warrensburg Middle School (WMS), in Warrens- Telephone: (662) 325-9661 Fax: (662) 325-8955 burg, Missouri. She was invited by Dr. Harold W. Keller of Central Email: [email protected] Missouri State University to apply for an RET supplement to his NSF grant. Trish received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education MSA Homepage: and her Master’s of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Cen- http://msafungi.org tral Missouri State University (CMSU). With her major in biology, Continued on following page Trish has developed long- • search for species new to science in all of the targeted term working relationships groups of organisms with several of her former • sample for cryptogams along vertical transects of indi- professors, which is how she vidual trees at different heights to quantify the association of learned of the new NSF RET the relative species composition, abundance, and diversity of program and was subsequent- these assemblages with the available environmental charac- ly introduced to Dr. Keller. teristics (host tree species, vegetation type, height class, Trish prefers to teach an in- light, pH, and humidity) quiry-based life science cur- • provide research experiences for students that will en- riculum and stimulates her stu- hance opportunities for postgraduate study. dents’ interest in learning by Pre-trip Preparations at Central Missouri State Uni- incorporating the numerous an- versity — Trish and her husband Stan (a former biology imals housed in her classroom teacher who is now an instructional technology coordinator for (warrensburg.k12.mo.us/ani- the Warrensburg school district) began documenting this re- mals/.) In the past, she has de- search project in Warrensburg as they interviewed, video taped, Trish Smith collecting veloped several Internet-based tree data in GSMNP. and photographed the student climbers during several pre-trip activities for her students to meetings and climbing clinics. participate in, including I-ADVENTURES, WebQuests, and stu- Former graduate student and dent web pages, all of which are linked to her website at war- tree climber, Kenneth Snell, rensburg.k12.mo.us/teachers/ts/. was the instructor for the Objectives of RET Supplement in Great Smoky demonstration and tying of all Mountains National Park — The objectives are to: knots used to access the tree • allow the teacher to participate in the summer tree canopy. His first-hand experi- canopy biodiversity field research in GSMNP ence as the project leader for • learn the recognition of different taxa, collection tech- the summers of 2000 and 2001 niques, and laboratory culture procedures from a multidisci- was helpful in preparing the plinary research team of international experts and participat- prospective climbers for the ing undergraduate and graduate students daily activities of the research • provide the basis for development of parallel research team in GSMNP. experiences for 7th grade middle school students which will Charly Pottorff was the enhance their interest in biology and careers in science instructor for the tree-climb- • extend the benefits to secondary student’s world-wide ing school held at the 200- as the student materials and research experiences will be acre forest research and edu- published on the internet as an interactive web-based inquiry cation Pertle Springs area of Charly Pottorff, activity. the CMSU campus. Charly tree-climbing instructor. Participating students should experience the three phas- taught students how to use the es of research emphasized in the original GSMNP grant: the double rope climbing system, including knot tying, proper use Adventure Phase (tree climbing and sampling), the Labora- of tree climbing gear, tree climbing body positions, and how tory Phase (sample sorting and moist chamber cultures), and to advance to the highest possible position in the tree canopy. the Publication Phase (poster and oral platform presentations Charly Pottorff is an internationally known arborist who has a and writing topical narratives). professional tree service in Manhattan, Kansas. Safety precau- Objectives of GSMNP tree canopy biodiversity re- tions and procedures search project — The objectives are to: were repeatedly empha- • complete the first comprehensive survey and inventory sized for the double rope of tree canopy biodiversity for biota represented by myx- climbing technique and omycetes, other mycetozoan groups (protostelids and dic- potential hazards were tyostelids), fungi, mosses, liverworts, lichens, ferns, selected described while sampling insect groups, and molluscs in Great Smoky Mountains Na- in the tree canopy. There tional Park was a swarm of bees in a • assemble a multidisciplinary research team of experts nearby tree and poison who will collect, identify, and curate this diverse group of or- ivy on another tree that ganisms and serve as mentors who will give special lectures, served as good examples slide shows, hands on identification of specimens, and field of possible tree climbing demonstrations to aid undergraduate students in the recogni- hazards. Eight under- Undergraduate CMSU student tion of specimens and collection of bark samples graduate students com- Amber Ferguson using dou- ble rope climbing technique • compare the assemblages of tree canopy organisms pleted the tree climbing to ascend tree. with those found on ground sites Continued on following page 2 Inoculum 55(6), November 2004 school and five were selected to participate in all phases of this Transferring of New Knowledge into Classroom research project: Cheryl Dunham, Thomas Fayet, Jr., Erin Practice — Trish is now working to create a two-tiered web- Fanning, Amber Ferguson, and Ashley Willard. All of these site that will allow worldwide access to the field experiences students were biology majors with high grade point averages. of tree canopy research and allow her secondary students the Tree Canopy Biodiversity Workshop — Trish joined opportunity to conduct parallel field research in their outdoor the students for the pre-trip workshop with myxomycologist laboratory at Pertle Springs near the University campus. The Dr. Keller, entomologist, Dr. Stephen Wilson, and plant website activities will mirror the three phases: the Adventure ecologist, Dr. Joseph Ely. The all-day workshop held on Phase, the Laboratory Phase, and the Publication Phase. The June 7 provided information about housing, personal con- first tier of the website, duct, a typical climbing day, evening duties, literature and Exploring Life in the references about GSMNP, the ATBI project, and previous Forest Canopy, is still student publications. Sampling protocols were discussed and under construction as HOBOS (data logger microstations) were demonstrated to minor revisions will be collect data such as light intensity, relative humidity, and made as a result of temperature. An overview of insect taxonomic groups was field-testing it with the described and demonstrated