The 79th annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists was held in State College, Pennsylvania, June 24-30, 1999, in conjunction with the 42nd annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), the 47th annual meeting of the Herpetologistsí League (HL), and the 15th annual meeting of the American Elasmobranch Society. The meeting was hosted by the Pennsylvania State University. The Chair of the Local Committee was Dr. Jay Stauffer.
The meeting of the ASIH Board of Governors was called to order by President Robert C. Cashner at 4:06 PM in Conference Room Q of the Conference Center of the Pennsylvania State University. Fifty-four governors were in attendance as indicated by the responses on the sign-in sheets provided.
Dr. Richard H. Rosenblatt was appointed Parliamentarian as provided by the Procedures Manual.
Two late reports not previously distributed to the Governors, that of the Henry S. Fitch Award Committee, and that of the Ichthyological Animal Care Committee, were distributed.
Two additional documents that had been available on the ASIH website but which had not been distributed by mail were called to the attention of those Governors desiring copies, viz. The newly revised "Guidelines for Hosting ASIH Meetings" (http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/meetings/1999/Hosting.pdf) prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Meeting Guidelines, and the most recent, and likely last, paper-based edition of the ASIH Procedures Manual (http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/pubs/policy/policy7.pdf) prepared by the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee and approved at the Guelph Meetings.
President Cashner read the list of Governors who had sent regrets: Hal Avery, Reeve Bailey, Dan Cohen, Marty Crump, Alan de Queroz, Alice Echelle, Carl Gans, David Green, Arnold Grobman, Bob Jaeger, Rick Mayden, Bob Miller, Joe Mitchell, Jay Orr, Ted Pietsch, Phil Pister, Harvey Pough, Andy Price, Jay Savage, Alan Savitzky, Brad Shaffer, John Simmons, Dave Wake, Marvalee Wake, Kentwood Wells, Robert Wood. (26 in all). Happily several who had tentatively sent regrets were in fact able to attend part or all of the Board meeting or joined us following the Board meeting.
President Cashner called for a motion to approve the Minutes of the 1998 BOFG meeting which had been included with the BOFG packet as well as posted on the web (http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/meetings/1999/Guelph99.pdf). A summary will be published in Copeia 1999(4). The motion was made, seconded and approved without opposition (Nelson/Helfman).
President Cashner then announced three appointments to the Resolutions Committee: Gene Helfman as Chair, Gene McCormick, Alan Savitzky, to restrain the Chair, with the possibility of 1 or more additional appointments. All Stoye and Storer Award judges had also been appointed but as always announcement of their names was to be withheld until the banquet.
Pat Gregory then reported for the Time, Place and Program Committee. The 2000 meetings will be held in La Paz, southern Baja California, Mexico (http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/meetings/2000/prelim.html). The meeting dates are June 14 ñ20. Additional details were to be announced at the Annual Business Meeting. Gregory also announced that despite considerable effort by the TPPC, the Executive Committee, and others, no venue could be identified for the 2001 meetings. This problem was discussed at several points during both the EXEC meeting and the Board meeting on June 24 and will be summarized in a series of proposals and announcements to be discussed by President Cashner and summarized later in this report.
President Cashner then announced a number of items of discussion and decision that had arisen before the Executive Committee (EXEC) but which were not dealt with elsewhere in the agenda for the BOFG meeting:
President Cashner called for a motion of blanket approval of all reports to the BOFG except any that had been removed by the EXEC and any others that any individual governor might wish to exclude for discussion. Five reports had been excepted by EXEC and 3 additional reports were excepted by request. Acceptance of all the reports was moved, seconded and unanimously approved.
Complete reports to the Board of Governors exactly as submitted and distributed to the Governors prior to the meeting are available at the ASIH website (http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/meetings/1999/Bofg99.pdf) and also a limited number of hard copies were to be made available for inspection to any member at the Annual Business Meeting. The summary below deals only with those reports excepted from the blanket motion.
President Cashner recognized Governor Rosenblatt whose query concerned the report of the Editor. Specifically the Editor was asked why the listing of Honorary Foreign Members had been removed from the inside front cover of Copeia. Governor Helfman asked what else had been removed. Editor Douglas indicated that it had been the feeling of many, among member members of the Editorial Policy Committee and the ASIH Executive Committee, that the density of information on the inside front cover produced and effect that was both too busy and too minuscule for useful information retrieval. All of the information was readily available on the website. And therefore the revision to include only essential contact information. After limited further discussion the report of the Editor was accepted.
Governor Rabb had requested the exclusion of his own report as Representative to the World Conservation Union. Rabb took this exclusion as an opportunity to update the report, including the formation of the Partnership for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. For those interested in additional detail on PARC or IUCN, beyond what is covered in the report, Dr. Rabb receives email at bzadmin@brookfieldzoo.org. Support for the PARC effort was recognized in a resolution offered by the Resolutions Committee (RESC) and detailed later in this report. The IUCN representativeís report was unanimously accepted.
The report of the Ad Hoc Newsletter Committee was updated by Editor Douglas who indicated that any newsletter would most likely be distributed electronically. With no further comment at this point, the report was accepted.
President Cashner then called upon Governor Heins to expand upon the report of the Endowment and Finance Committee and to make two motions on behalf of the Committee.
The first motion: The ENFC moves the acceptance of the brochure entitled, "Planned Giving Opportunitiesî for distribution to members of ASIH and any other interested parties."
This motion referred to the text of a proposed brochure which was included verbatim as an appendix in the BOFG packet, is reproduced on the web, and will not be repeated here. This motion was approved unanimously by the Board, without further discussion.
The second motion: The ENFC moves that each life member be allowed to redirect her/his subscription of COPEIA to the library of a teaching or research institution in an undeveloped country only during the lifetime of the particular life member. Additional costs of mailing the issues of COPEIA shall be assumed by the Society and paid from the general operating funds. The life member may designate an appropriated institution or allow the Executive Committee to choose one.
This motion elicited fairly substantial discussion involving Heins and a number of Governors. The principal questions and concerns can be summarized along the following lines:
How much will this cost the Society and will this not act to the fiscal detriment of the purpose of offering life memberships?
Shouldnít life members desirous of providing this donation not be asked to contribute part or all of the cost of additional postage?
Is there really a need for ASIH to institutionalize this ñ how many governors would do it, how many institutions would want it, shouldnít this be done on an individual and ad hoc basis?
After an important editorial correction, the motion was carried by voice vote. The report of the Committee was then accepted.
The report of the LRPP was exempted only to make mention of the availability of the final paper version of the ASIH Policy and Procedures Manual. This Manual will be updated from now-on on the web with additional paper copies produced only if and when needed. A limited number of copies were made available from the SECR at this meeting and are available to ASIH Committee chairs on demand. The report of the Committee was accepted.
President Cashner then called upon Gene Helfman to discuss the report of the Environmental Quality Committee. Here the item for discussion was a set of recommendations designed to minimize the environmental impact of the Societiesí activities, particularly as a consequence of the annual meetings. Under the title of Greening the Meetings Governor Helfman noted that the actions suggested depend upon a decision by the membership on whether to at times trade-off some convenience and cost savings in the process of reducing environmental impacts, although in many cases the proposed actions are alternatives that involve no additional cost or may even involve lower costs.
The full set of recommendations is reproduced in the board packet, on the ASIH website, and in the Hosting the ASIH Meetings manual. In presenting the proposal Helfman noted that it was the strong recommendation of the Committee that ASIH be flexible in its adoption of the guidelines, accepting what works, modifying what doesnít, and striving to match goal with local reality and opportunity. The Committee strongly recommended that each Local Committee have a designated Environmental Impact Chair whose sole or chief function would be to adapt operating principle to local context. After limited discussion, it was moved, seconded and adopted that the report of the Committee be accepted by the Board of Governors.
President Cashner then called upon Tim Berra to present the report of the Committee on Special Publications. The chief item requiring Board action in this report was the Committeeís unanimous recommendation, backed by unanimous recommendation of the Executive Committee, that ASIH advance $45,000 in support of a proposal from Dr. Kent Carpenter of Old Dominion University. The funds are needed to ensure completion of a revision of the FAO Species Identification Guide to the Western Central Atlantic. ASIH was asked to support the printing costs of the three fish and sea turtle volumes. (a fourth volume will deal with invertebrates).
In return FAO has agreed in principle to (1) allow designation of the fish volumes as ASIH special publication number 5, (2) imprint the ASIH name and logo on the cover, and (3) provide ASIH 1000 free copies of the full four volume set. By selling 450 of these volumes at the highly attractive price of $100 for four volumes ASIH would fully recoup the $45K advanced and additional sales would provide net profit. Since the volumes will constitute a most valuable identification and reference aid, the situation was seen as win-win for all participants.
A number of governors offered discussion and/or asked questions concerning method of distribution, would a market exist after distribution of free copies, actual cost recovery, whether ASIH really needed 1000 copies or would 500 copies suffice, and the likelihood of completion of the entire project even with ASIH support. After due discussion both the recommendation of the Committee to advance the sum requested and the report of the Committee were unanimously approved and accepted.
President Cashner then called upon Robert Johnson to present the report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Meeting Guidelines. This report is largely the effort of Ted Pietsch, who unfortunately was unable to attend these meetings, supplemented by input from several members of the committee. The report is embodied in the 78 page voume Guidelines for Hosting ASIH Meetings, available on the ASIH website, made available for distribution to Board Members, and available to member inspection at the Annual Business Meeting. This Manual was first produced in 1980 by the Time, Place and Program Committee. It was extensively revised in 1986 but has not been revised since until now. Much about meetings has changed since 1986:
The new manual attempts to deal with these facts and differs from preceding versions in two basic assumptions:
But the new manual in dealing with this new world also seeks to preserve and extend the traditions of ASIH and our sister societies in preserving what is best about our annual meetings, particularly the feeling of community, of fellowship, of intention, of preservation, and of advancement.
Both the Manual and the Report of the Committee were unanimously adopted and accepted.
President Cashner then called upon Larry Page to present the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Management of the Society. Page explained that this committee, co-chaired by past-President Savitzky and Treasurer Page, was charged to explore all facets of society business operations with respect to the advisability and availability of paying for professional management of the same. Basically this broke down into 3 main areas: (1) meetings management, (2) asset management, (3) business operations and membership management.
Of the 5 firms sent detailed RFPís, one did not answer, one wanted all of our assets before discussion was to begin, one, Allen Association Management, basically sought to continue present operations in the area of business operations and membership management and did not seek to offer services in the other two areas. The other two firms sent replies relevant to at least two of the three areas but were simply deemed too costly to be further considered.
Page noted that while this appeared to put us back at square one, that the exercise had been worth it in terms of better definition of society operational needs and practices Page divided further discussion, which included a broad spectrum of the Governors, into consideration of the three main areas of need.
While not solving the 2001 problem, Page put forward the following proposal from the Executive Committee seeking to address and hopefully ameliorate some of the problems we have been facing.
This action addresses several issues:
The report of the Committee was accepted by the Board.
President Cashner then called for further items of Old Business. None being offered, Cashner then asked for items of New Business.
A question was asked concerning arrangements for the 2000 Meetings at La Paz. Unfortunately no representative from that LOCL was present at the BOFG meeting, so the question was deferred until the Annual Business Meeting.
Cashner then called upon Gene Helfman of the Environmental Quality Committee for two items of new business.
ENQC intends to establish a listserver similar to that to be established for the Board of Governors. This BBS will allow subscribers to exchange views and suggestions on issues of impending concern.
Helfman then asked that ASIH and ASIH members support the development of FishBase working toward the availability of information on occurrence, distribution, biology and conservation status of all US fishes in one place.
This request elicited an explosion from a hitherto surprisingly quiescent Governor Collette. Further interaction between Collette and Helfman, while lively, is not recorded here. The explosion came much to the relief of the President and Secretary who expect a minimum of one such explosion per Board meeting and who regarded the unanticipated up-to-this-point tranquillity as potentially signaling an unsuccessful meeting. These fears were set firmly to rest.
President Cashner closed the New Business portion of the meeting with a reminder of the Indonesian coelacanth forum that was scheduled for Saturday, June 26.
Then followed election of a new honorary foreign member in ichthyology. Of the two candidates offered by the Committee on Honorary Foreign Members (Ichthyology) Dr. Gloria Arratia of the Museum fur Naturkunde, Humboldt-Universitat, Berlin, Germany, was elected.
Then followed election of a new member to serve a three year term on the Robert H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee. Of three candidates proposed by the Nominating Committee, Dr. Bruce B. Collette of the National Systematics Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, Washington, DC was elected
Then followed nomination by the Board of Herpetologists and Ichthyologists to serve on the year 2000 Nominating Committee of ASIH. Herpetologists placed in nomination included: Robin Andrews and David Hillis. Ichthyologists placed in nomination included G. David Johnson, Michael Ghedotti, Jennifer Nielsen, Eric Schultz and Kirk Winemiller. Election of the Nominating Committee takes place at the Annual Business Meeting.
There being no further business to be brought before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 6:10 PM.
Following the opening Plenary Session the next morning began the presentation of technical papers, posters and symposia. These presentations continued throughout the meetings until the afternoon before the banquet. Abstracts and titles of all papers and posters may be found on the www via http://www.cde.psu.edu/C&I/ASIH/schedule.html.
Other events: ASIH: Graduate Student Workshop (photography and illustration preparation for publication); Equal Participation Committee Mentoring Program and Luncheon; Graduate Student Travel Award Fund Raiser; HL: Distinguished Herpetologist Lecture (Dr. Jonathan A. Campbell); SSAR: Conservation Forum; Multimedia Presentation; Auction; The International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology Luncheon; Smithsonian Reunion Social.
President Cashner called for an Emergency Meeting of the Board of Governors to discuss the ASIH Year 2001 meetings. The meeting was called to order by President Cashner at 3:06 PM in Presidentsí Room 1 and 2 at the PennStater Conference Center on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University. A quorum of 30 members was present fide head count by the Secretary.
Governors Bruce B. Collette and Richard H. Rosenblatt asked for and received joint recognition to express their objection to the timing of the meeting which conflicted with the closing 30 minutes of a number of technical sessions. President Cashner apologized, indicated that the reason was the need to gather the Governors prior to the Annual Business Meeting, and that all that is humanly possible would be done to avoid repetition of such conflicts in the future.
President Cashner noted that at this late date and despite much effort by the TPPC, EXEC, the officers, and other members of the society, prior to the start of the Penn State meetings ASIH had in hand no firm offer for hosting the Year 2001 meetings, nor any such offer in sight. President Cashner announced, with great gratitude, that Jay Stauffer, Janet Patterson, and the Pennsylvania State University conference organization were willing to bring ASIH back to Penn State in 2001. The emergency nature of the offer was that facilities at Penn State were booking fast and it seemed certain that unless ASIH took immediate action to accept the offer, it would have to be withdrawn. While noting that no one, least of all Jay, was seeking such an early return to the same venue, it did offer ASIH the opportunity to put the new meetings committee structure in place while still covering us in 2001. It is anticipated that the 2001 meetings at Penn State would extend over five days, not the six days scheduled in 1999.
Asked if there were any feasible alternatives, President Cashner mentioned as potentially interested facilities at Clemson (SC), Victoria (BC), New Orleans (LA), San Diego (CA) and Las Vegas (NV), but it appeared that none of these would be ready with a firm offer for 2001. In other words, no. There were no feasible alternatives. That appeared to simplify the discussion.
A motion to accept the most kind offer of the Pennsylvania State University was made by Clark Hubbs and second by Dave Heins. With the exception of Jay Stauffer, who most noticeably voted ìnoî, the motion was agreed to by unanimous consent. There being no additional business to be brought before the Board of Governors, the meeting was adjourned at 3:11 PM.
The Annual Business Meeting was called to order at 3:34 PM by President Cashner in Presidentís Room 1 and 2 at the PennStater Conference Center on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. A quorum in excess of 100 members was present.
President Cashner called for a motion to approve the minutes of the Annual Business Meeting held 21 July 1998 at the University of Guelph. These minutes were published at http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/meetings/1999/Guelph99.pdf on the ASIH website. The requested motion was made by David Greenfield, seconded by Larry Allen, and was carried without dissent.
Secretary Johnson read the summary of the minutes of the Board of Governors meeting. President Cashner called for a motion to approve these minutes and the motion carried without objection.
President Cashner then called upon several members to make brief announcements.
William Matthews announced that the move of the fish collection at the University of Oklahoma to the new Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History has been completed and that the collection is again operational for loans or visits.
Richard Rosenblatt announced that with long-anticipated completion of a new Collections Building, the move of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography vertebrate collections will begin in October, 1999. Some 90,000 lots must be transferred and it will take a bit of time to effect. Greatly needed additional collections storage space will be provided by the installation of compactorized shelving obtained with aid of support from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Rosenblatt will retire on January 15, 2000, and Dr. Phil Hastings has been hired to serve as curator following that retirement.
Stuart Poss announced that the International Congress of Zoology XVIII will meet 28 August 2 September, 2000, in Athens, Greece.
President Cashner then called upon Gene Helfman to read the substantive resolutions which are reproduced below. After due discussion of each, all resolutions were unanimously approved.
RESOLUTION IN HONOR OF ASIH MEMBERS DECEASED WITHIN THE PAST YEAR
Dr. Helfman began by noting with sorrow, a sense of loss, and gratitude for the opportunity of knowing and working with members of ASIH deceased within the past year. ASIH extends the sympathy of its members to the bereaved and celebrates with them the lives and contributions of:
Joseph Bailey, Sherman Minton, Kenneth Norris, Jimmy Pigg, and Thomas Thorson.
RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING DR. DAVID M. HILLIS ON RECEIVING THE McARTHUR AWARD
WHEREAS the McArthur Award is one of the most prestigious prizes, recognizing individual achievement and excellence, and
WHEREAS, the McArthur Award is commonly referred to as the genius award, and
WHEREAS David M. Hillis of the University of Texas has recently been awarded this outstanding distinction,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists extends its most heartfelt congratulations to Dave for this well-deserved honor.
RESOLUTION THANKING DR. DEAN HENDRICKSON
WHEREAS Dean Hendrickson has served the Society as secretary for 5 years, and
WHEREAS Dean has faithfully chronicled the business of the society during that time,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists express its sincere gratitude to dean for his dedication and service as secretary.
RESOLUTION THANKING MS. LORI BOCKSTANZ, ASIH WEBMASTER
WHEREAS the web page titled American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists was selected by Links2Go as a key resource in the herpetology topic, and
WHEREAS Links2Go samples millions of web pages to determine which are most heavily cited by web page authors and
WHEREAS at most 50 pages are selected as a key resource in a topic and fewer than 1 in 1000 pages are selected as key resources by Links2Go,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists congratulates its webmaster, Lori Bockstanz, for her outstanding work on the ASIH website.
RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE USGS-BRD Caribbean Science Center
WHEREAS the introduction of non-indigenous and other aquatic nuisance species has been identified as a significant stressor to aquatic ecosystems, and
WHEREAS the Caribbean Science Center of the Biological Resource Division, United States Geological Survey has invested resources in disseminating information about the extent and deleterious effects of aquatic nuisance species in the United States, and
WHEREAS this investment has resulted in a searchable internet website and a recent AFS publication on non-indigenous fishes, and
WHEREAS the excellent work of the USGS-BRD Caribbean Science Center will support research and education in the effects of aquatic nuisance species on aquatic ecosystems,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists commend the Caribbean Science Center for the excellent quality of this work, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists thank Leo Nico, Pam Fuller, and Jim Williams for their effort on behalf of the protection of native aquatic ecosystems.
RESOLUTION TO LIST TWO SPECIES OF SAWFISHES, Pristis pectinata AND Pristis perotteti, ON THE U.S. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973
WHEREAS the smalltooth (Pristis pectinata) and largetooth (Pristis perottetl) sawfishes are highly vulnerable to incidental capture in entangling fishing gear in coastal waters;
WHEREAS a recent analysis of the demography of two sawfish species indicate that sawfish have a very low biological potential for population growth;
WHEREAS these sawfishes are vulnerable to habitat disturbances in coastal regions due to their almost exclusive distribution in freshwater and estuaries;
WHEREAS there is no federal management for sawfish populations in U.S. waters;
WHEREAS early accounts from coastal waters of the Southeast U.S. suggest that sawfish were once abundant in the region;
WHEREAS the U.8. proposal to prohibit the international trade of all species of sawfishes was considered at the 10th Conference of Parties to CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species;
WHEREAS the IUCN Shark Specialist Group has listed the smalltooth sawfish as Endangered globally and Critically Endangered in the Northwest Atlantic, and the largetooth sawfish as Critically Endangered globally, on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals;
WHEREAS the NMFS has placed these sawfishes on the U.S. Endangered Species Act Candidate Species List;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the membership of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists requests the NMFS to begin a review as soon as possible of the status of the smalltooth (Pristis pectinata) and largetooth (Pristis perotteti) sawfishes to evaluate their listing as Threatened or Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973.
RESOLUTION ON FINNING OF SHARKS IN THE US WESTERN PACIFIC
WHEREAS finning is the practice of removing the fins from a shark and throwing the rest of the shark back into the water;
WHEREAS tens of thousands of blue sharks are subject to finning each year in the US Pacific;
WHEREAS pelagic sharks are not subject to effective management in the Western Pacific Management Council region;
WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service has stated that finning of sharks is wasteful and contrary to US fisheries policy;
WHEREAS a finning ban would be consistent with other State, Federal and international fishing policies;
WHEREAS the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council and the State of Hawaii recently failed to take action to end or to control finning, despite widespread concern from fishermen, the public, scientists, conservationists, and the National Marine Fisheries Service;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists urges the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council the State of Hawaii, and the National Marine Fisheries Service to immediately end the practice of finning in US Western Pacific waters.
RESOLUTION FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SPINY DOGFISH Squalus acanthias MANAGEMENT PLAN IN THE US WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC
WHEREAS scientists (from the National Marine Fisheries Service, thc Spiny Dogfish Technical Team and the Scientific and Statistical Committees of the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils) have determined that North West Atlantic spiny dogfish regulations are urgently needed in order to halt serious overfishing and rebuild the spawning stock biomass within the legal time limit of ten years;
WHEREAS the National Marine Fisheries Service has yet to publish the spiny dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) more than three months after its submission by the Councils;
WHEREAS the FMP's rebuilding plan is based on implementation in May of 1999;
WHEREAS National Marine Fisheries Service denied the Mid-Atlantic Council's request for interim action to protect the stock during peak summer fishing;
WHEREAS the female segment of the population is depleted and recruitment overfishing has been occurring;
WHEREAS the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recently voted unanimously to begin development of coast-wide spiny dogfish regulations based on the Federal FMP;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists calls upon the National Marine Fisheries Service to publish and expeditiously review the spiny dogfish FMP and to implement final regulations, based on the scientifically-derived spawning stock biomass (SSB) rebuilding target as soon as possible.
JOINT RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR PARTNERS IN AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE CONSERVATION (PARC): A NEW MULTI-SECTOR CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
WHEREAS the mission of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) is to conserve reptiles, amphibians and their habitats as integral parts of our ecosystem and culture through proactive and coordinated public/private partnerships; and
WHEREAS PARC and its members from both public and private sectors, seek to form a coordinated and cooperative conservation partnership in this endeavor; and
WHEREAS the comprehensive national conservation strategy for reptiles and amphibians to be developed by PARC will incorporate issues in research, management, monitoring, policy/regulation/trade, and education outreach;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists join with their colleagues of the Herpetologistsí League and Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles in expressing their support to the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation for their vision and commitment to the long-term conservation of reptiles, amphibians, and their habitats.
President Cashner then moved to the election of ASIH officers, including the President-elect, other officers, Copeia editors, new members of the Board of Governors, and the Nominating Committee. The slate of nominees as provided by the Nominating Committee is available on the ASIH website at: http://zeus.allenpress.com/asih/meetings/1999/nomcres2.html. Nominations from the floor were invited and three additional nominations for election to the Board of Governors were received. In all three cases a statement of qualifications and a written statement of willingness to serve were received. A motion and second to close nominations was affirmed without dissent. Members then completed and cast their ballots.
Results of the elections were announced at the Banquet but are listed here (an asterisk (*) denotes reelection of an incumbent officer):
President Cashner indicated that he had no additional items to be considered under the headings of Old or New Business but requested any input from the membership.
Richard Rosenblatt expressed his concern that ASIH in recent years had been poorly represented by presentations at the Plenary Session. His conclusion was that the situation in part stemmed from failure of past ASIH Presidents to honor the informal obligation of offering a Presidential address. Limited discussion involving mostly past Presidents failed of definitive resolution.
Pat Gregory, Chair of the Time, Place and Program Committee, and Carlos Villavicencio, Chair of the Local Committee for the La Paz 2000 Meetings, were called upon by President Cashner to respond to questions concerning arrangements for the Year 2000 meetings. Dr. Villavicencio passed out a number of brochures describing housing arrangements and promised early posting of a website to provide detailed information.
President Cashner then reviewed the results of the Emergency Meeting of the Board of Governors identifying a return to Pennsylvania State University as the venue for the 2001 meetings. It was announced that these meetings will not be jointly held with our two sister herpetological societies (Herpetologistsí League and Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles). It was further announced that years 2002 and 2003 are yet to be resolved in terms of meeting site with the next reasonably assured venue year 2004 at the University of Oklahoma. The newly reconstituted Logistics and Program Committees derived from the Time, Place and Program Committee will be working very hard to fill the missing venues.
There being no further business to be brought before the Society, the Annual Business Meeting adjourned at 4:47 PM.
The banquet was called to order by the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, ASIH Treasurer, Dr. Larry M. Page. Larry noted that the meetings had been exceptionally well-organized and conducted thanks to the efforts of the dedicated Local Committee, the Pennsylvania State University Conference Center, and called upon Local Chair, Dr. Jay Stauffer, to accept the gratitude and acknowledgment of all assembled. Larry noted that his job as M. C. was to move things along as smoothly as is possible in a large room filled with herpetologists and ichthyologists.
In summarizing the meeting Larry noted that we love amphibians, we love reptiles, we love fishes, and we love imbibition, not necessarily in that order. He noted that our consumption of certain fluids exceeded that consumed by all other conferences in the proceeding seven months. He noted the only two rules required for a successful joint meeting: (1) Do not run out of beer, and (2) Do not run out of beer.
Larry then introduced the person standing behind Jay Stauffer whose best efforts were directed toward ensuring that we lacked for nothing, and pretty much succeeded, and without whose efforts the meetings would not be the resounding success we enjoyed. He asked Janet Patterson to stand and accept our thanks.
Adding to the success of the meeting were special donations, which Larry acknowledged:
Larry then announced some of the meeting statistics:
Number of registrants = 1,150. About 45% of the attendees are students This is a very high percentage (attendance at AFS meetings runs about 25% students). Larry credited our low membership cost, the high quality of Copeia, reduced student registration rates at meetings, and the many categories of student research awards and support that we offer as helping to keep student attendance high.
Other statistics: 47 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico, all represented. At Penn State 35 registrants were from Canada, 3 from Mexico. From countries outside North America we have registrants from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malawi, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom.
At these meetings 43% of the registrants are women, a huge and welcome difference from meetings of not too many decades past.
Larry proceeded with the introduction of those those seated at the head tables, including the officers and their spouses/ significant others/ guests in attendance of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (President Cashner and Index Co-Editor Fran Cashner; Past-President Al Savitzky and with him Barb Savitzky; President-Elect Harry Greene and with him Kelly Zamudio; Candidates for ASIH President-Elect Bill Anderson and Brooks Burr; Secretary Bob Johnson; Chair of the ASIH Time, Place and Program Committee Pat Gregory), American Elasmobranch Society (Past-President Phil Motta), Herpetologistsí League (President Joe Mitchell), and Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (President Vic Hutchinson). Larry thanked ASIH Secretary Bob Johnson for chairing the Long Range Planning and Policy Committee during the period that the committee prepared the ASIH Procedures Manual. Larry described the document as being enormously useful to anyone engaging in the service of ASIH. Larry acknowledged the many contributions of Pat Gregory during years of service on the Time, Place and Program Committee. Larry offered special thanks to Bob Cashner and Gene Helfman for organizing the Forum on the Indonesian Coelacanth. Larry then called upon all past ASIH Presidents present to stand and be recognized for their years of effort on behalf of the society.
Larry then proceeded to announcement of the ASIH election results. The results were reported earlier in this document and are not repeated here but ASIH extends congratulations to both winners and all nominees, thank you for your willingness to serve, and to those not called at this time, please remember the standing ASIH tradition, that the simple fact of nomination acknowledges contribution to and recognition and gratitude from the Society.
Next came announcement of the awards, to both senior society members and to current and recent graduate students.
Larry called upon Dr. Harry Greene, ASIH President-elect, to announce the Henry S. Fitch Award in Herpetology. The 1999 recipient is Dr. David B. Wake.
Larry then asked William Eschmeyer, winner of this yearís Robert H. Gibbs, Jr. Memorial Award in Systematic Ichthyology to stand and be recognized.
Larry announced that Dr. Jonathan Campell is recipient of the Herpetologistsí League Distinguished Herpetologist award for 1999.
Larry announced that Dr. Eugenie Clark is recipient of the Distinguished Fellow Award of the American Elasmobranch Society.
Larry then called upon Dr. Larry Allen to announce this years winners of the Edward C. and Charlotte E. Raney Awards. The committee was able to fund the following seven meritorious proposals:
Larry then called upon Dr. Karen Lips to announce this years winners of the Helen T. and Frederick M. Gaige Award. For 1999, the Committee (GFAC) decided to make 10 awards of $500 each to the following 10 awardees:
Next came the results of the Tracy Storer Competition for best student poster.
The Storer competition in Ichthyology was judged by Edie Marsh-Matthews (Chair), Bruce Thompson, and Tom Munroe. The winner: Meredith Bostrom, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, "An investigation of possible hybridization between the coney Cephalopholis fulva and the creole fish Paranthias furcifer." Honorable mention: Ross Langston, University of Hawaii, "Histological evidence of sequential hermaphroditism in the sanddiver Crystallodytes cookei (Pisces, Creedidae)."
The Storer competition in Herpetology was judged by Darrel Frost (Chair), Brian Crother, and Maureen Donnelly. The winner: Becky L. Williams, Utah State University, "Resistance of Thamnophis sirtalis to tetrodotoxin: injection vs. ingestion."
Next came announcement of the Frederick H. Stoye Awards for best student presentations in each of several categories. Each senior judge came forward, announced his/her fellow judges, and announced the winner of each award:
General Ichthyology. Judges: Mark Pyron (Chair), Carole Baldwin, Tony Harold. The winner: Annie-Chantal Guibord, University of Ottawa, "Intrarelationships in the Rhombosoleinae (Rhombosoleidae; Pleuronectiformes." Honorable mention: Duane E. Stevenson, University of Washington, "Chaenogobius Gill, Gymnogobius Gill, Chloea Jordan and Snyder, and Chasmichthys Jordan (Perciformes: Gobiidae): Nomenclatural changes based on discovery of the holotype of Chaenogobius annularis."
General Herpetology. Judges: Maureen Donnelly (Chair), David Cundall, Jim McGuire. The winner: Meredith Mahoney, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC-Berkeley, "Phylogenetic relationships of Plethodon and Aneides (Plethodontidae) based on mitochondrial DNA."
Physiology and Physiological Ecology. Judges: Dave Sever (Chair), Gayle Barbin, Joseph Zydlewski. The winner: Lisa Hazard, UCLA, "Control of ion secretion by the nasal salt gland of the desert iguana."
Genetics, Development and Morphology. Judges: Andrew Simons (Chair), Judy Shardo, Rafael O. de Sa. The winner: Nathan Kley, University of Massachusetts, "Kinematics and mechanics of feeding in Leptotyphlops dulcis (Serpentes: Scolecophidia)."
Ecology and Ethology. Judges: Steve Platania (Chair), Christopher Taylor, Eric Schultz, Karen Warkentin, Kathleen Cole, Allison Abell. The winner: Amy M. McClean, California State University Northridge, "Patterns of settlement in a temperate reef fish: Paralabrax clathratus." Honorable mention: Sharon J. Downes, University of Sydney, "Tall tails or true: caudal anatomy enhances a lizards later vulnerability of (some) predators."
Conservation Biology. Judges: Gene Helfman (Chair), Henry Mushinsky, Charles R. Peterson. The winner: Jennifer Wilcox, University of Colorado at Boulder, "Genetic variation and differing signals of history in populations of endangered desert fishes."
There followed presentation and/or announcement of awards by the other societies. Linda S. Ford, presented the Herpetologists' League Award for Graduate Student Research to Travis Ryan, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and University of Missouri, Columbia, "Growth, metamorphosus, and maturation in Ambystoma talpoideum and the ecology of life cycle polymorphisms." Honorable Mention went to Allison Welch, University of Missouri Columbia, "Male call duration correlates with larval behavior in gray treefrogs: Mechanism of a good genes effect?" Travel Awards were received by Michelle D. Boone, University of Missouri, Columbia, Christine M. Bridges, University of Missouri, Columbia, Anna Maglia, University of Kansas, and Jennifer Barry Pramuk, University of Kansas
The eighth annual Seibert Awards were presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the SSAR at Penn State, 24-30 June 1999. These awards are named in honor of Henri C. Seibert, an early and tireless supporter of SSAR (having served as an officer for over 20 years). In recognition of outstanding student presentations at the annual meetings, a single award was given in each of the following categories: Systematics, Ecology/Evolution, Physiology/Morphology, and Conservation. All four awardees received a check for US $200 and a book from Academic Press.
The Winners:
Conservation: Jeannine A. Ott, Department of Zoology, Auburn University (co-authors William Michener, Craig Guyer), "Home range and cohabitation patterns of a population: estimating gopher tortoise area requirements."
Ecology/Evolution: Matthew A. Flowers, Department of Biology, Arizona State University, "Population variation in male color pattern and female preference in chuckwallas, Sauromalus obesus."
Systematics: Rafe Brown, Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin (co-author Sheldon Guttman), "Phylogenetic systematics and historical biogeography of the Rana signata complex of Philippine and Bornean stream frogs."
Physiology and Morphology: Jennifer Yeh, Department of Zoology, University of Texas at Austin (co-author David Cannatella), "The ontogeny of skull ossification in pipoid frogs."
Honorable Mention.-Systematics: Christoffer R. Feldman, Department of Biology, San Francisco State University (co-author Greg Spicer), "Comparative phylogeography of three squamate reptiles in California: Contia tenuis, Diadophis punctatus and Elgaria multicarinata."
The judges were: Bill Lutterschmidt (University of Oklahoma), Steve Beaupre (University of Arkansas), Joe Mendelson (Utah State University), Paul Stone (University of Central Oklahoma), and Kelly McCoy, chair (Angelo State University).
Larry then paraphrased Oscar Wilde to the effect that he liked people better than principles, and liked people without principles best of all. In that vein ASIH has established a special award for an attendee of our annual meeting, the Carter Gilbert Bounds of Decency Award. Larry called upon Carter to receive recognition for all that this award brings to our fellowship. He then called upon Gene Helfman to present this year's CGBODA. This year the Committee chose to present career awards for lifetimes spent beyond the bounds to Dr. Don Buth (UCLA) and Dr. G. David Johnson (USNM). The choice of these recipients for this particular honor was greeted by unanimous acclaim from the audience assembled.
And continuing along that highway, Larry called upon Frank McCormick of the Resolutions Committee to read the banquet resolutions for this year, to wit:
RESOLUTION HONORING MARK AND ARNAZ ERDMAN AND THE ORGANIZERS AND PARTICIPANTS IN THE FORUM ON THE INDONESIAN COELACANTH
WHEREAS Susan Jewett, Bob Cashner and Gene Helfman organized the forum on the recently discovered population of Indonesian coelacanths, and
WHEREAS Bob Cashner and the Executive Committee of the ASIH provided support essential to the success of the evening and
WHEREAS an enthusiastic standing-room audience of ichthyologists and herpetologists sat in rapt attention for much of the two hours of discourse and
WHEREAS an august panel of renowned scientists was convened to discuss the discovery including Arnaz Erdmann, Jack Musick, Phil Heemstra, Hans Fricke, Eugene Balon, and John Wourms, and
WHEREAS Mark Erdmann, an admitted crustaceanologist and accidental discoverer with his wife Arnaz, provided an entertaining, informative, exciting, heart rending, multimedia description of the history of coelacanth discoveries, including this most recent one, and
WHEREAS the discussion panelist provided thought-provoking stories of fascinating experiences, clear statements of concern that we should care about the welfare and protection of these magnificent animals, and a few soporific moments of commentary and
WHEREAS Mark Erdmann properly credited his wife Arnaz for bringing the fish to his attention and confessed that she had the presence of mind to photograph the treasure, thereby insuring that the actual discoveries of both populations of living coelacanths were made by women and
WHEREAS through a dubious demonstration of ethics by scientists from the land of Jean LaFitte and editors of otherwise respected journals, this piscine treasure was described by someone other than Dr. Erdmann and his colleagues, and
WHEREAS there is a long history of the recognition of the original discoverer of living coelacanths in the scientific nomenclature for the new organism,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we profusely thank all involved in the Forum on the Indonesian Coelacanth for having contributed one of the most memorable, magical, exciting and fascinating evenings in the recent history of the society and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the assembled societies express their gratitude to the Erdmanns for their presentation as well as their priceless contribution to ichthyology, to conservation of rare species, and to the understanding of the rich potential of careful observation and serendipity in the lives of biologists, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the assembled societies suggest an immediate redescription of the new coelacanth to redress the evil done to nomenclatural standards and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to maintain the historical precedent established for Latimeria chalumnae, the name be changed to Latimeria arnazerdmanni.
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AN ALTERNATIVE SUNDAY MORNING PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SUSAN JEWETT
WHEREAS the panel discussion on the discovery of an Indonesian Coelacanth was led by Susan Jewett with the flair of Oprah and the savvy of Cokie Roberts,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the ASIH annual meeting institute a regular event ìLive with Susan Jewettî, an evening forum for the discussion of discoveries and trends in ichthyology with Dave Johnson and Don Buth serving as stand-ins for Sam Donaldson and George Will.
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ENFC TO LOOK WHERE IT MAY
WHEREAS David M. Hillis has recieved the prestigious McArthur Award and
WHEREAS the McArthur Award carries with it a substantial cash prize,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Endowment Committee be really, really nice to Dave.
RESOLUTION ILLUSTRATING WHY THE RESC IS SET FREE ONLY ONCE EACH YEAR
WHEREAS Mad Magazine has been known for its masthead, ìWhat, Me Worry?î and
WHEREAS the NY Times has been know for its masthead, ìAll The News Thatís Fit to Print.î and
WHEREAS Mike Douglas does not want Copeia to be second fiddle to any publication,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that ASIH adopt the Douglas Motto for the Copeia masthead, ìIf Fishiní Were Easy, Peter and James Wouldnít Have FollowedÖî
RESOLUTION FAVORING CROSS-FERTILIZATION
WHEREAS Phil Heemstra seems to have triggered a new interest among molecular systematists in morphology and
WHEREAS Brian Bowen has trumpeted a new age in molecular biology by suggesting ways in which form follows function in the musicology of fish morphology and
WHEREAS Phil Willink devoted part of his presentation to philosophy and
WHEREAS Dick Rosenblatt, having proven more seismically sound than the museum building at Scripps, provided a lesson in geotectonism
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that future ASIH meetings devote part of the program to interdisciplinary cross-training.
RESOLUTION IN FAVOR OF PAST-PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES
WHEREAS the past-presidential address has been missing from the morning plenary session at the last two annual meetings and
WHEREAS two past-presidents expressed their profound regrets at the absence of the lost lamented address and
WHEREAS the guidelines do not specify which past presidents actually give the past presidential address,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the two said past presidents alternate giving all future past presidential addresses.
RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE PENNSTATER FOR SUPPORT OF VIPER VENOM STUDIES
WHEREAS the participants at the 1999 meeting of the ASIH learned that the cranial mechanics of pit vipers result in substantial spreading of the fang tips during striking and
WHEREAS members residing at the Penn Stater Conference Center were provided with not one but two drinking glasses in the precise configuration of the beakers employed in milking venomous snakes, and
WHEREAS said glasses had a diameter of 83mm, sufficient for extracting venom for the largest species of pit vipers,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that ASIH commend the staff of the Penn Stater for anticipating the results of recent studies of cranial mechanics in venomous snakes and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ASIH disavow any knowledge of the disappearance of said drinking glasses from the Penn Stater conference center.
RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE STAFF FOR HAVING THOUGHT OF IT BEFORE AL GORE
WHEREAS the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists has initiated activities to reduce the environmental impact of its annual meeting, and
WHEREAS Penn State University and the Penn Stater Conference Center have taken obvious and commendable actions along these lines, including but not limited to reusable plates and flatware at coffee breaks, prominent recycling bins throughout, optional linen exchange, recycled cotton tote bags, call for papers printed on recycled paper, degradable paper rather than non-degradable foam coffee cups, un-air-conditioned dormitories and low output light bulbs in conference center hotel rooms,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the assembled societies commend the local committee and Penn State University for their energy and resource conserving efforts and look forward to expanding these efforts at our future meetings.
RESOLUTION IN FAVOR OF STOCHASTIC DETERMINISM, DETERMINED STOCHASTICISM, PLANKTON NETS OF UNUSUAL DESIGN, AND UTILITY TRUCKS
WHEREAS the scheduled departure of the last shuttle from the general reception has been characterized as stochastic, and
WHEREAS 30 or so members clearly had counted on it being deterministic, and
WHEREAS the resourcefulness of the members of the society, inspired perhaps by Eugenie Clarkís panty hose plankton net, should not be underestimated, and
WHEREAS the persuasiveness of Gene Helfman convinced the driver of the Housing and Food Services truck to provide transportation of the 30 stranded stragglers to the dorms as a Housing Service, and
WHEREAS the instant the door closed it invoked memories of episodes of the X-Files and the dark and troubling recollection that the dorms were in the same direction as the animal incinerator,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the ASIH appoint Gene Helfman as its roving ambassador to the Middle East, the Koreas, Southwest Asia and other trouble spots around the globe, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Bill, the Housing and Food Services truck driver, join Leo the Lumberjack in the Pantheon of ASIH heroes.
RESOLUTION NOTING THE NEED FOR EURYTOPY AT JOINT MEETINGS
WHEREAS the SSAR hosted its annual auction on 28 June and
WHEREAS the herpetological members of three societies partook of the hospitality of SSAR and
WHEREAS those members found themselves to be the subjects of a complex behavioral experiment testing the combined effects of elevated temperature, decreased oxygen tension, and powerful airborne pressure waves across a broad spectrum of frequencies,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that future auction organizers be encouraged to tease apart the complex interactions among those treatments by altering only a single variable in a year.
RESOLUTION NOTING THAT THE LAST OVERLY-ACTIVE FIVE STAR WAS FIRED BY TRUMAN
WHEREAS Victor Hutchison has achieved a rank of five star general, and
WHEREAS the responsibilities of such rank apparently increase during annual meetings, and
WHEREAS there is an interest in meetings retaining more of the demeanor of Happy Valley,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Vicís rank be reduced to 3 star general during future meetings to ensure his and others enthusiastic participation in and enjoyment of such events.
RESOLUTION ON A WAN KENOBIE GOBY
WHEREAS Bill Eschmeyer has completed the Catalog of Fishes and
WHEREAS Bill Eschmeyer has provided us with a useful, if sobering analysis of the statistics of ichthyology and
WHEREAS some confusion reigns concerning available common names, patronyms, and misnomers (a Wan Kenobi Goby?),
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Bill Eschmeyer begin work on a list of available common names for all species currently in synonymy in the event they are someday resurrected.
RESOLUTIONS THANKING THE LOCAL COMMITTEE FOR THE PENN STATE MEETINGS
WHEREAS the local committee should receive an award from the American Association of Ophthalmologists for protecting the audiences from retinal damage by laser pointers by requiring session chairs to provide 10 good reasons (all of them dollars) why they should have one and
WHEREAS we learned AT LENGTH that Pennsylvania leads the nation and the world in production of agricultural products and
WHEREAS the Penn Stater has needs for some specific products,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the responsible persons in the conference center contact the appropriate state agricultural authorities to plant a crop of sticks that could be harvested and processed into pointers for the 2001 meeting.WHEREAS this meeting may be the first time that a ìremoteî meant the remote possibility that it would work and
WHEREAS there are 60 minutes in an hour and
WHEREAS four 15 minute presentations can be given in an hour, and
WHEREAS the originators of the program seem to have a little trouble with the arithmetic of time and believe that lunch may occur at any time between 11 and 1,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Penn Stater conference center expend funds to purchase analog watches for the next program committee, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that since moving between session rooms involves a change in time zones, the Society authorizes the Penn Stater to make one long distance call daily at the expense of the society to obtain the correct time from the US Naval Observatory for the purpose of synchronizing the clocks.WHEREAS despite the fact that the shuttles had special boxes for Cleanup of Bodily Fluids suggests that the local committee had warned transportation services just who they were dealing with and
WHEREAS we acknowledge that 2 heads are better than one this does not apply to the portolet capacity at the picnic and
WHEREAS we decry for breaking with the long-standing ASIH tradition of running out of food at the picnic and chide the local committee for establishing the UNTHINKABLE precedent of allowing seconds,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the ASIH expresses its profound thanks to the Jay Stauffer, Ray Morgan, Rich Raesly, John Morrissey, Aaron Bauer, John Matter, & Ellen Chensky, of the Local Committee and Society Liasons, graduate students Gian Rocco, Tim Stecko, Mindy Meyers, Elizabeth Bechtel, Cheryl Himes, Deborah Levinson, Amy Davis, Dave Maser, and John Wozniak coordinators of the website, the submission and publication of the abstracts, Rick Sharbaugh for his artwork which graces the meeting program, shirts and totes, Elaine Smith, Brenna Swires, Nancy Watson, Rob Moir, Judy Moyer, Tiffany Bailey, Keith Beisel, Janice Pearce, Jeff Kline, Kristen Calvert, staff members of Penn State Outreach and Cooperative Extension Office of Outreach Marketing Communications, the Division of Conferences and Institutes, Hospitality Services, Fleet Operations, and Housing and Food Services, and (at Jayís behest) especially Janet Patterson, who, to put it more delicately than Jay did, extinguished parts of his postero-dorsal aspect prone to spontaneous combustion, for their warmth, kindness, generosity and hospitality, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that because of their hospitality (and lapse in sanity), the ASIH embrace the concept of second helpings and return to Happy Valley in 2001.
Larry completed his work as Master of Ceremonies with a very upbeat announcement concerning the Year 2000 Meetings in La Paz. This yearís GSPC raised $2,572 at their book raffle. ASIH agreed to provide matching funds up to $2,000, and that, added to their existing balance provides a total in excess of $8,000 to assist students in attending the La Paz Meetings.
The staff at the Patio Tavern in the PennStater Conference Center looked both bone weary and rather joyful as hundreds of ichthyologists and herpetologists readied for departure. No one has had the heart to tell them that we will be back in 2001.
Submitted by Robert Karl Johnson, ASIH Secretary, 1 November, 1999.