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Lucy Emma Braun

By Ashley Moulton

 

Emma Lucy Braunis best known for her pioneering work in many fields including plant & forest ecology, vascular plant taxonomy, and plant geography. She was born in 1889 in Ohio and quickly developed a curiosity of nature during family trips to neighboring woods with her sister Annette Braun. Later she received her B.A. and Masters at the University of Cincinnati which helped further her early interest in plant geography and distributions. She then went to get her PhD in Botany in 1914. Her sister Annette was the first female PhD recipient at University of Cincinnati and studied entomology and she was the second.

 

 

Following her doctorate studies she became employed for the university. During this time she went on many road trips all over the country with her sister in their Model T. Ford. Together they explored many remote areas together and made friends with moonshiners. During their trips, Lucy made observations on the vegetation and prepared herbarium samples while her sister Annette studied moths. She took numerous photos during her travel, which she used later for teaching classes as a professor at the University of Cincinnati.

 

 

Over the next 31 years she ascended up the ranks from an Assistant in Botany to Professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Cincinnati. During her time as a professor she had 13 Master students and one PhD student, 9 of which were females which was highly unusual at this period of time for woman professors. Lucy’s focus on graduate mentoring and publishing her research made her rather unique in comparison to her contemporaries who at this time often focused solely on teaching. 

Lucy had an early retirement from teaching in 1948 at age 59, which allowed her conduct more specialized research. In total she wrote 4 books as well as 180 articles that were published in over twenty journals. Most notably was her book, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America, published in 1950 which was a huge success and went out of print numerous times. This book was a culmination of her 25 years of fieldwork and over 65,000 miles of traveling with her sister. The book itself describes in detail the plants of deciduous forests and their evolution since the most recent ice age to the middle of the 20^th century. Also in 1950 Lucy was elected the first female president of the Ecological Society of America.

 

 

She made several floristic contributions including organizing the Ohio Flora Committee, within the Ohio Academy of Science which lead to the publication of “the Woody Plants of Ohio (1961)” and “The monocotyledoneae of Ohio (1967)”. Her published articles comparing her floristic studies in Ohio to a previous flora notes from hundreds of years prior served as a model for comparing change over time in flora now known as longitudinal studies. Also during her time she fought to preserve over 10,000 acres of natural areas and set up nature reserves, particularly in her home state. She also collected an Extensive herbarium of nearly 12,000 species that now resides in the National Museum in Washington, D.C. She received numerous awards and honors before her death in 1971 at age of 82. Her strong willed and forceful personality was noted by many as one of her greatest strengths as well as the inseparable relationship she had with her sister Annette.

 

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Assistant professor to bestselling author: Diana Gabaldon

By Lindsay Miles

Dr. Diana Gabaldon has not had the typical career of a woman in science. She started her career as an ecologist, earning a BS, MS, and PhD in biological sciences with a broad interest in ecology. She had the standard academia track, 2 post-docs followed by an associate professor position at Arizona State University, teaching environmental science.

While at ASU, she saw a need for computation in biology, so she decided to fill the need herself. She became an expert in science computing and founded Science Software Quarterly. During this time, she was writing manuals and tutorials in plain text, quite uncommon for computing and software manuals, however, this made the computer software broadly accessible to more than just computer science professionals.

 While still teaching at ASU and writing computer manuals, she decided to learn how to write a novel just for fun. Given her background in research and her already proven ability to learn new skills when a need arose, she was quite successful in this endeavor. She wrote the first novel in the Outlander series, a fiction novel that fits into historical fiction, fantasy, romance, and several other categories. This led to major success, as many readers of various genres could enjoy her writing.

Gabaldon quit the academia track of her career to pursue her writing ambitions. She wrote 8 novels in the Outlander series, as well as a number of other novels and short stories. She has since become a New York Times Best-Selling author and the Outlander series has been turned into a television series.

While Dr. Gabaldon did not continue her career as a woman in ecology, she has proven to be an inspiration nonetheless for women in science. She has had the drive and ambition to become an expert in more than one field. She was able to utilize the skills she learned as a scientist and apply them to be a success in other fields.

 

Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series

 

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Bias against women and the Nobel Prize - Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg

By Joe Morina

 

After our discussion on Esther Lederberg, questions about women and the Nobel Prize were brought up.  Between 1901 and 2014 there were a total of 860 individuals who won the Nobel Prize/ Prize in Economic Sciences according to the Nobel Prize website. Out of 860 individuals, only 46 of them were women. Or, 95% of the awards have gone to men, while 5% have been awarded to women (Marie Curie won the award twice which means 47 total award to women, but only 46 individual women have been awarded).

Figure 1.  1901-2014 Nobel Prizes awarded to women.

Interestingly the Physics Nobel has not been awarded to women since 1963. Here is a list of women who would be prime candidatesto win the Physics Nobel since. This list includes Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered the pulsar star. However, she will never receive that Noble Prize because in 1974 her graduate advisor and a colleague received the Nobel Prize in Physics for her discovery. In fact, only two women have ever won the Physics Nobel Prize (Marie Curie and Maria Mayer). Fortunately, 12 women have won the prize in medicine or physiology, suggesting that these fields present less gender discrimination than the male dominate realm of physics. Finally, most of the Nobel Prizes awarded to women have been in literature or the Noble Peace prize. The disproportionately low amount of Nobel Prizes awarded to women coupled with the discipline distribution of these Prizes highlights the gender inequalities inherent in our academic/scientific global community.

Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg is another Nobel candidate that will never win the prize. However her life’s work is not lost to the annuals of time. Her pioneering discoveries are still serving us today, and her work on the fertility factor changed our fundamental view on bacterial replication as well as molecular genetics (and even won her husband the Nobel!).

 

Figure 2. Joshua receiving the Nobel that Esther helped him win

Up until one month before Josh Lederberg won the Nobel Prize, he did in fact credit Esther in his work. However, after winning the Nobel Prize, Joshua never credited, or even mentioned, Esther’s role in their scientific discoveries. It is hard to discern just how Esther viewed this injustice. Throughout her life Esther maintained that Joshua was a brilliant scientist.

It is clear that much of Esther’s work was accredited to her husband or other male scientists she was working with.  In class we discussed Joshua’s NLMwebsite. The biography section mentions Esther once, 11 paragraphs in. In addition, it credits the research group with her discovery of lamda. Even the Max Plank institute wrongly credits Joshua with a role in Esther’s lamba discovery.


Sadly Esther story is not unique. Women before and after her have been overlooked or excluded from Nobel Prizes, with no other justification than the fact they are not men (Rosalind Franklin is a classic example). For a complete list of women who have received the Nobel Prize, click here. The Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg website can be found here. You can also check out a short biographyof her life, or the disrespectful guardian obituary that continues to perpetuate gender inequality.

 

The problems that Esther M. Lederberg had to surmount during the course of her career included attempted falsification of the historical record, misrepresentation, and theft of correspondence and other documentation, supported by gender discrimination.
                                                - Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg Trust

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6 Truths Women in Ecology Face Today

By April Harris

 

Ecology is a vast and wondrous field that allows scientists many opportunities to explore and answer questions about the world around them. Having a career in this field can be as challenging as it is rewarding, especially for women in ecology.  Coming from a background of having many supportive and encouraging women ecologist around me, it never occurred to me that others may not have had such support. It also never occurred to me that as women ecologists, we still face hurdles that we must overcome today. To help me explore these issues, I enlisted the help of Judy Che-Castaldo a post-doc researcher at the National Socio-environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). Together we sat down and talked about some issues women face and how might we best overcome them. What came from that conversation are 6 truths that women in ecology face:

 

 

1. Women may not be the best self-promoters.

While this certainly does not apply to all women, some may have trouble “selling” their research to others. Being bold, self-assured, hard hitting, and unapologetic are not character traits society typically associates with women. However, to me these are the exact traits that make some of the best self-promoters.  So how do we adopt these traits to enhance our skills? The simple answer is practice. The more you self-promote or “sell” your research, the better you become at doing so. Being able to successfully self-promote is vital in today’s world when important research is so easily overlooked, and landing jobs become more competitive than ever.

2. If your spouse is also in science, finding jobs together can be challenging.

Having a spouse in the same field as you can be great. They understand how research goes, and are there for you to bounce ideas off of. However, when it comes to finding jobs together in one locale, it can prove quite challenging, especially if you’re both in academia. Many couples have taken jobs in different cities so they can pursue their career, which forces them to live apart. Other couples have to “take turns” as to whose career comes first. Thankfully this is becoming better as some universities are now advertising couple’s positions. This allows both people in the relationship to pursue their career together!

3. As women in ecology, there is no “Right Time” to have children.

During your graduate years you are busy trying to finish your thesis or dissertation. When you are a post-doc your schedule may not be as flexible. All in all there is no right time to have children. You have to do what you deem is best for yourself and what you can handle. Do some research and see if your university offers graduate student leave for having children. Explore your university/job to see what support they offer parents. The presence or absence of these support systems may influence your decision on when to have children.

4. Having children can cut into your scientific productivity.

Having children is wonderful and family is the top priority in the world for most people, but it can cut into your scientific productivity. When a women gives birth to a child I wonder how many take the full 12 weeks of leave. I wonder how many women worry about the loss of scientific productivity during this time and how it will affect them professionally when that should be the last thing on their mind. When your child is sick and you can’t put them into daycare, typically it is the mom who has to stay home with them. Also, you may not get as many hours in the office compared to your pre-children days. There are daycare pickups you can’t miss, soccer or softball games that you want to attend, and having no food in the house is just no longer acceptable. While your spouse may help out with these things, a majority of the time these responsibilities are still shouldered by women. Many try to make up for lost hours in the wee hours of the night after the children are asleep but should they have to? Should society expect people with children to be just as productive as those who choose to remain childless? There is no right answer to this question in my opinion. Anyone could argue both sides and create a compelling argument.

5. Competing for jobs with people who don’t have children is tough.

This comes back around to the loss of productivity. How can you tell a company or university to choose a person who has a less productive CV (less grants, proposals or publications), than someone whose productivity is exceptionally high? This can be a real life problem that women who have children earlier in their career face. Shouldn’t we as women be able to translate having family into a set of desirable assets that make us more competitive in the eyes of a company or university? While I’m not sure how this would be accomplished it’s definitely something worth pondering.

6. There is still an “Old Guard” who have it out for women in ecology.

Hopefully you have never experienced these people but yes they do still exist. The “old guard” are those who still believe that women cannot have a successful career and a family as well. The only thing I have to say to these people is look around you. There are many women all over the globe who are managing a successful career and a thriving family. If you can’t be supportive of that please step to the side because we don’t have time for haters.

 

While I frame this post around women in ecology, truth be told these circumstances could just as easily be applied to other scientific disciplines as well as the men within them. This is why I feel it is important that we support one another in all things and make light of the issues once cast into the shadows. Women have come a long way in ecology, and with the continued help and support of male colleagues, universities and perspective employers, we will continue to make strides to break the glass ceiling. As a final note I would like to thank Judy Che-Castaldo for taking time out of her day to lend me the insight of someone who has been in this industry longer than I have. Her thoughts and insights were immensely helpful in formulating this blogpost.

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seppeltsfield studio and the big clay day out...

This is a slow day post a very busy long wkd in Adelaide…

I'm getting into a groove with my new space and starting to get a work flow happening, it is quite the challenge and very different to market headspace. But all good and meeting some fab peeps over for a holiday plus quite a few locals, which is nice! Recycling is still a challenge and my sludge bucket is filling up which means it will be getting stinky soon, I would say as the temperature warms up in the studio!

The Stephen Bowers show in the Jam Factory Gallery is in it's last days which means change over next week and I'm looking forward to seeing the Janet DeBoos show that is next. The opening is in a couple of weeks time and no doubt will be a bit of a feature here.

ang walford ceramics 

bat clay

lil birdie beakers

lil birdie serving dishes

The Big Clay Day Out 2015

A bunch of new lil birdie beakers and bowls will be ready soon and I've added a couple of serving size pieces back into the range. These pieces rapidly dried over sunday night and were ready for a quick trim yesterday...

The Big Clay Day Out 2015 - Kevin

The Big Clay Day Out 2015 was held at Flaxley this year, the Adelaide Hills Ceramic crew did a fabbo job this year complete with cup cakes for the intollerant guests :P just loved that sign…. Kevin got stuck in full gusto digging the pit and getting all sorts of preparations underway for the big day which was also very well supported by Mt Barker Council. Thanks guys for the fencing, the Loo and the Gazebos it all made for an excellent setup. I have dreams of making this annual event something way more extensive and having been part of 2 now am seeing where this day - event can go towards in the future.

The Big Clay Day Out 2015 - Kevin

the intolerant guests

The Big Clay Day Out 2015 - Annas glazes

Karen had the raku area all cranking and connie got stuck into the little raku rocket bins, they are a treat to fire! I see Anna had some of her fab glazes on the go again and the results are quite something. All the media is waiting for a few quiet hours so I can edit and put something special together, can't wait!!

The Big Clay Day Out 2015 - Karen

The Big Clay Day Out 2015 - Connie

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Pioneering paleoecology - Dr. Kaye Reed

By Kelsey O'Neill

When we discussed female paleoanthropologists it was the same time a major science story was breaking. Homo naledi is a new species of hominin that has been broadcasted all over the popular press; one major spotlight is that a team of women scientists was conducting the excavation of the fossils from the cave site. While this is a good start for advancing women in the field of paleoanthropology, it is not enough. The Rising Star team of women scientists is only credited for excavating the site under the direction of Lee Berger, the program director. Women will only truly advance in the field when women mentor and oversee other women scientists in field research.

 

Figure 1: Bones of the Homo naledi fossils found in South Africa.

 

Figure 2: The women excavating team of Rising Star.

 One major woman paleoanthropologist who is actively educating, mentoring and overseeing a younger generation of women paleoanthropologists is Dr. Kaye Reed.  Dr. Reed earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook in 1996, after having a nonlinear academic path. Unlike many other anthropology students attending university right after high school, Dr. Reed went to university for her undergraduate after having a child and a career. She was active in many field archaeology opportunities around the United Stated while completing a B.S. in Anthropology. It was during her time in graduate school that Kaye Reed began excavating at field site in South Africa, Argentina, and Ethiopia with several big name paleoanthropologists. Not only was Kaye Reed excavating sites, she was also the director of several field schools, where she would teach students excavation techniques.

Figure 3: Kaye Reed in the field at Hadar, Ethiopia.

After earning her Ph.D. in Anthropology, which focused on the paleoecology of hominin localities in South Africa, Kaye Reed worked as a Postdoctoral research assistant at the Institute of Human Origins (IHO), which at that time was associated with the University of California, Berkeley.  While at IHO, Dr. Reed worked along side paleoanthropologists Don Johanson, Bill Kimbel, and Tim White. In 1997 Johanson and Kimbel left Berkeley and moved IHO to Arizona State University, and offered Dr. Reed a position as an assistant professor in the department of Anthropology.

Dr. Reed has been at ASU ever since the move in 1997. She has earned a full tenured professor position, and she is the only female in the department of Anthropology to have such distinction. In 1999, Kaye accepted her first student, Amy Rector. In addition to teaching, directing field sites, and mentoring students, Dr. Reed has also served as an associate editor for the Journal of Human Evolution, a NRC panel member on Earth Sciences Context for Human Evolution, and NSF Biological Anthropology program director. Dr. Kaye Reed is a paleoecologist and paleoanthropologist that deserves to be recognized for her help with advancing women scientists in fields where men dominate the highest academic positions.

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A species that matters - Cuphea viscosissima

Blue Waxweed or Clammy Cuphea (Cuphea viscosissima) is infrequently encountered in North Carolina. It has been reported from the northern mountains, southern mountains, and northern Piedmont - perhaps it is overlooked and unreported at stations in between?  The species is widely distributed in neighboring states to the north and west, but is apparently most common in Missouri and southern Illinois.

Clammy Cuphea (Cuphea viscosissima): perimeter of Mt. Vernon Prairie, MO (08/21/15)

One of the most interesting traits of Blue Waxweed is the abundance of sticky hairs (shown above) which are thought to serve as defense against insect pests. Several years ago I noticed this adaptation in action. A grasshopper had landed on a Cuphea stem presumably to feed but ended up stuck by its front and hind legs (see below). At the time, the grasshopper was alive and well. Perhaps it would have eaten its way free, or perhaps eventually succumbed? Either way, evolution was thwarted when I felt a bout of compassion and flicked the grasshopper free.

Grasshopper stuck on Blue Waxweed (Durham Co, NC - 9/27/11)

Plant conservationists are often expected to justify saving native plants, with the implication that each species must stand on merits that we can measure.  To many, an otherwise obscure and insignificant species (like Blue Waxweed) only really "matters" if it holds the cure for cancer, or provides some other potential human benefit. When the utilitarian argument is needed it comes in handy to have a couple local, supporting examples.

Blue Waxweed serves admirably. Unexpectedly, Cuphea viscosissima produces some of the highest concentrations of capric acid among herbaceous plants (1).  Also known as a medium chain triglyceride, this type of "goat smelling" fatty acid has several commercial and industrial uses whose demand is growing exponentially worldwide. However, current supply comes almost exclusively from oil palms and coconut, creating a virtual "tropical oilseed monopoly" (2). Consequently, Blue Waxweed has been under consideration for massive production. One estimate suggests that 2.7 million hectares of Cuphea fields could supply North America and Europe's demand. I can only imagine!

Cuphea viscosissima in natural habitat, bordering sandstone glade in Missouri (8-18-2015)

References
(1) http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=ncrpis_pubs
(2) https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-372.html

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Using 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil with Azadirachtin in Your Garden: Stop Chewing Insects!

Using 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil with Azadirachtin in Your Garden: 

Stop Chewing Insects!

I have been using Neem Oil for several years. It is outstanding for stopping chewing insects in your vegetable garden. It is 100% natural as it pressed from the seeds of the Neem tree. If you look up Neem Oil use in India, you will find it has been used for well over a 1000 years.

I sell 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil with all its components on my blog. You are certainly welcome to purchase it from me but no matter from where you purchase it.... make sure it is 100% cold pressed with the component azadirachtin. That is what kills chewing insects. That is what you are paying for as an insect killer.

Sadly, in the States they sell a filtered product of Neem and all you get is the oil. All the key components are gone. An oil in itself does smother and kill insects but you can use any oil for that. If you buy Neem Oil make sure it is not filtered. This video will explain the products that ARE NOT useful and yet fool you buy saying Neem Oil.

Neem oil changed the way I can grow kales, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, collards and the related crops. Neem oil with Azadirachtin coats the leaves, the insects chew and ingest it and in several days they die. It will not harm non chewing insects if they are not sprayed by it. There are several ways to mix the spray. You can watch my videos but because soaps and climates vary... ALWAYS test spray new sprays on leaves of your different vegetables. You should wait 48 hours to see if the spray damages the leaves of the different plants. If there is not damage spray away.

Here are some testimonials from people that have used 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil and/or purchased what I sell. Just make sure you buy 100% cold pressed Neem Oil with all its components. you want the Azadiracthin.

Good Luck with Your Garden,
Gary (The Rusted Garden)

Join My New YouTube Channel Just for NEW Gardeners: My First Vegetable Garden

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PhD student Stephen Via wins 1st place!

Stephen Via won 1st place for best student presentation at the International Phytotechnologies Conference! He presented his work titled "Physiological and morphological responses to explosives contamination across plant functional groups”.  Additionally, Stephen was awarded travel grants through the conference and VCU graduate school.  Congratulations, Stephen, for your significant accomplishments! This is excellent recognition for you, CPEL, and the Integrative Life Sciences program at VCU. We are all very proud of you!
 

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The fatal flowers of Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum)

Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum); Durham Co, NC (9/14/15)

I find Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum) to be one of our most interesting natives.  Perhaps this is because I often root for the underdog, and so many gardeners, farmers, and even "conservationists" despise thistles. Hopefully their aversion may change if they come to understand the wildlife uses of native thistles and more particularly the benefits for native bees and butterflies. A fairly impressive, preliminary list of these has been documented using Tall Thistle, including over 20 native bees and nearly as many butterflies (1)

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) visiting Tall Thistle; Durham Co, NC (9/14/15)

Tall Thistle occurs widely across the eastern US, from the prairie regions eastward, but is largely absent from the southeastern coastal plain. In North Carolina it has been reported mainly from western Piedmont and mountain counties; Durham County appears to be the easternmost location in the state.

Predominately white flowering Cirsium altissimum with a scattering of pink flowers  (Durham Co, NC - 9/14/15)

The majority of plants I have seen in North Carolina flower white, with a lesser intermixing of pink flowers (elsewhere in the range flowers seem to be more typically pink or purple and less commonly white). Tall Thistle is "monocarpic" meaning individual plants die shortly after flowering and setting seed (the classic case of monocarpism is the Century Plant). Cirsium altissimum is sometimes listed as biennial, but one group of authors (2) documented individual plants taking up to 4 years to emerge from young rosettes (such as the one shown below) into flowering stems.

Densely pubescent leaves of C. altissimum

In comparison to most thistle species, Cirsium altissimum has relatively soft and prickle-free leaves. Lower leaf surfaces are covered with dense white pubescence and stems are obviously hairy to the naked eye. Large leaves, a foot or more long, may develop on heavily shaded plants (see below). Some flowering stems exceed 10' in height and most produce multiple blooms.

Large shade leaves of C. altissimum, almost free of thorns

The large natural range of Tall Thistle and frequent occurrence in many regions suggest this is not, generally, a species whose survival we would need to be overly concerned about. HOWEVER, in a strange twist of fate, Tall Thistle may now be threatened by efforts in Midwestern prairie regions to eliminate truly problematic and invasive thistle species. A "bio-control" agent (weevil) deliberately introduced to control non-native thistles actually uses Tall Thistle "as frequently and intensively as it uses the targeted, exotic host plant" (3).

Cirsium altissimum seems to thrive only in relatively open habitats.  Ironically, the site where Tall Thistle occurs in Durham Co, NC also happens to be both nutrient rich and moist, creating growing conditions very conducive to dense woody plant growth. This apparent conundrum seems to suggest, at least in our area, that Tall Thistle requires regular disturbance and is likely another in the growing list of fire benefiting species. In fact, the currently large Durham population only appeared after burning. Thus far, we have been able to keep a portion of the site open with a combination of prescribed fire, selective chainsaw removal of trees, and invasive plant control.

Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum) flowering in open, "savanna"; Durham Co, NC (9/25/15)

References:
(1) http://illinoiswildflowers.info/flower_insects/plants/tall_thistle.htm
(2) http://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/ES11-00096.1
(3) http://www.researchgate.net/publication/26278359

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Mountain Bog Recovery & Expansion

Bog edge, before thinning (June 2015)

Bog edge, after thinning (July 2015)

The above images were taken near the perimeter of a so-called "mountain bog" in western North Carolina.  The first image shows the conditions before active restoration, the second image shows the same locale after clearing dense rhododendron invasion.  The only evident trees in the initial image are red maple and a lone pitch pine (Pinus rigida). After clearing the dense brush, a number of previously hidden stems of Pitch Pine in the heart of the wetland become apparent. The images also document (especially the second one) a small tributary creek feeding into the site from a black plastic culvert. Hugging the margin of this tributary (just past the lone pitch pine) is a grove of pitcher plants (see image below). 

Numerous pitcher plants (Sarracenia jonesii) hiding in this dense herbaceous foliage

At one time other rare plants were apparently present here when the creek was able to fan out gradually across the area, and the site was more open. However, years ago a road was constructed through the edge of the wetland. Several feet of fill material buried portions of the wetland, and altered the hydrology in some subtle and not so subtle ways (plans are in the works to remove the offending road section and culvert in hopes of restoring more natural water flows and reopening original wetland surface area for bog plants, stay tuned!). The dense thicket of shrubs that developed along the altered stream course excluded nearly all ground layer plant diversity directly underneath. In addition, the thick wall of green created both a sun and rain shadow across the nearby pitcher plants (these pitchers thrive in open sun, in saturated soils).   

Bog edge, before Rhododendron removal (June 2015)

Bog edge, after Rhododendron removal (July 2015) 

Numerous studies have shown that canopy vegetation can intercept and effectively remove up to 50% of seasonal or annual rainfall (Carlyle-Moses and Gash 2011, Forest Hydrology and Biochemistry). In contrast to deciduous plants, the evergreen rhododendrons continue to intercept rainfall all year long. At this site, the result could be losses of as much as 30" of water recharge per year! By removing the wall of rhododendrons we hope to create more open, sunlit conditions and add water back into the wetland system.  

Pile of Rhododendron previously removed from interior and margins of bog

We have been working on this restoration for several years, having been slowed mainly by lack of funding and resources to complete the task; the Friends of Plant Conservation (www.ncplantfriends.org) has recently established a means by which people can support this effort. 

Mountain Bog interior conditions in 2011, before restoration, note forked pine tree

Mountain bog conditions in 2014 after interior brush removal, note forked pine

Elsewhere on this blog I have discussed a few of the rare plants whose populations have begun to rebound due, in part, to these restoration efforts.  Won't you help this progress continue?

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Ornithology for the people - Florence Merriam Bailey

By Jessie Reese

           Florence Merriam Bailey was a pioneering naturalist best known as a celebrated field guide author and for her extensive observational field studies of birds. She was born in 1863 and developed an early interest in natural history and ornithology, which became her life’s pursuit. As a community organizer and environmental advocate, she helped form several chapters of the fledgling Audubon Society and led classes in ornithology there.

 

 

She began observational studies of birds near her hometown in New York and her undergraduate institution, Smith College. In contrast to traditional ornithology at the time, where the standard was to shoot the bird first, then identify it using taxonomic key, Florence refused to kill birds, even if it meant letting one go unidentified. She authored her first field guide in 1899, Birds Through an Opera Glass, which focused on bird identification in the field for amateurs.

 

 

After living in Western North America and publishing several more identification guides, Florence moved back east and met and married Vernon Bailey, a naturalist and colleague of her brother, both of whom worked for the U.S. Biological Survey. They traveled and worked together throughout Western North America, though sources report that he “collected and studied” while she merely “observed”.

 

 

 

However, Florence consistently published her observations in peer reviewed journals and authored several more books, while her husband authored mostly government technical reports. Florence was recognized throughout her lifetime by such achievements as being the first female elected fellow of the American Ornithologist’s Union (AOU) and the first female awarded the AOU’s Brewster Memorial Award for her work Birds of New Mexico. However, it is likely that Florence encountered significant bias early in her career, at a time when male ornithologists opposed the growing popularity of birdwatching, in part because many field guide authors, birdwatching enthusiasts, and Audubon supporters were women. Florence also was severely underrepresented in Who’s Who in America, where she was listed simply as the “brother of C. Hart Merriam” (then the Chief Naturalist at the U.S. Biological Survey) and as being “interested in ornithology”. Interested though she was, a proper citation would include the fact that her first book was the first modern field guide of its kind, that she authored over 100 publications, and helped lead American ornithology away from collection towards the modern observational study.

 

 

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