Maureen A. Donnelly
ASIH Secretary
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Florida International University
North Miami FL 33181-3000
ph: 305-919-5651
FAX: 305-919-5964
donnelly@fiu.edu

29 May 2001

Dear Governor,

The ASIH Board of Governor's is scheduled to meet on Thursday, 5 July 2001 from 1600-1800 h in the Penn Stater Conference Center, Room 203.

President Burr plants to move blanket acceptance of all reports included in this book. Items that a governor wishes to discuss will be exempted from the motion for blanket acceptance and will be acted upon individually.

Please remember to bring this booklet with you to the meeting. We will bring a few extra copies to Penn State.

Please contact me directly (email is best) with any questions you may have. Please notify me if you will not be able to attend the meeting. There are several proposed changes to the constitution and bylaws (see appendix A) as well as election of the Gibbs Committee member, the approval of the Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology Ballot, and the general election.

We all look forward to seeing you in Happy Valley.

Sincerely,

Maureen A. Donnelly
ASIH Secretary

ASIH Board of Governors 2001

Past Presidents: JW Atz, RM Bailey, RC Cashner, DM Cohen, BB Collette, R Conant, HC Dessauer, C Gans, CR Gilbert, WA Gosline, HW Greene, DW Greenfield, AB Grobman, R Highton, C Hubbs, VH Hutchison, RF Inger, RW McDiarmid, RR Miller, GA Moore, TW Pietsch, FH Pough, GG Rabb, CR Robins, RH Rosenblatt, JM Savage, AH Savitzky, WB Scott, GR Smith, MM Stewart, L Trueb, MH Wake, BW Walker

Executive Committee: BM Burr, DC Cannatella, RC Cashner, MA Donnelly, ME Douglas, HW Greene, MA Neighbors, LM Page, AH Savitzky

Elected Officers (not on the Executive Committee): WD Anderson, FM Cashner, RE Gatten, C Guyer, J McEachran, WL Montgomery, JW Orr, SA Schaefer, KD Wells

Governors - Class of 2001: LG Allen, HL Bart, WE Cooper, ML Crump, AF Echelle, DM Green, RG Jaeger, JC Mitchell, SG Poss, K Winemiller

Governors - Class of 2002: SJ Beaupre, EJ Censky, LS Ford, C Guyer, AR McCune, JS Nelson, C Taylor, SC Walls, EO Wiley

Governors - Class of 2003: R Andrews, CJ Ferraris, SA Foster, HB Lillywhite, HB Shaffer, JE Simmons, JR Stauffer, ML Warren, RM Wood, K Zamudio

Governors - Class of 2004: AM Bauer, J Caldwell, J Hanken, C Johnston, JC Lee, KL Lips, E Marsh-Matthews, TA Munroe, WC Starnes, DJ Stouder

Governors - Class of 2005: ED Brodie III, BI Crother, DL Cundall, AA Echelle, KE Hartel, JG Lundberg, RL Mayden, TW Reeder, MLJ Stiassny, DS Wilson

PRES: President - B.M. Burr

Over the past few months I have responded to a plethora of electronic-mail queries and discussions among Executive Committee members. In addition, I am preparing a report on the state of ASIH over the past 10 years in an effort to make the BOFG more aware of the Society's corporate history, present condition, and future aspirations. I hope to establish at least one committee with the charge of developing awards/honors for the accomplishments of established members (i.e., non-students). My primary objective is to recognize the outstanding contributions of ASIH members in a formal way, thus giving the Society a higher national profile. For example, we might have a category of best book published in 2002 on systematic herpetology or ichthyology (e.g., Grande and Bemis. 1998. Amiid Fishes volume). At present there would be no cash prize associated with the awards, but the award/honor will be useful to those individuals desiring promotion/tenure or other forms of professional advancement. Other award categories might include, best paper published in Copeia for each of the main editorial categories. We also need a new committee or need to encourage the IACC to establish professional guidelines and protocols for animal care of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in both the field and laboratory. We need a document completed by an ASIH committee otherwise animal care issues will be forced on us by other professional societies not familiar with our chosen animals of study.

TREA: Treasurer - L.M. Page

The report on the finances of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is based on audited financial statements for 2000 received from Martin, Hood, Friese & Associates, Certified Public Accountants, Champaign, Illinois. The report divides expenses into those associated with programs of the society (publication - including Copeia, and granting awards) and those related to management (business management by Allen Press, Secretarial Offices, etc.). Expenses of the editorial offices are considered part of the publication program.

Total net assets of the society stood at $716,313 on 31 December 2000 compared to $772,096 on 31 December 1999. The following table shows the society's net assets over the past nine years.

Year Net Assets
1992 $361,886
1993 391,211
1994 495,478
1995 506,492
1996 657,302
1997 621,129
1998 717,613
1999 772,096
2000 716,131

Several factors contributed to the decline in assets in 2000. Revenues declined from $353,030 in 1999 to $234,235 in 2000 due to several factors including lower returns on investments, a decline in sales of Special Publication Number 4, and a decline in page charge revenue. Expenses increased from $267,808 in 1999 to $290,200 in 2000 due primarily to the need to establish a new Office of the Secretary and an increase in the cost of producing Copeia. Revenues for memberships and subscriptions increased slightly.

At the recommendation of the Executive Committee and the Endowment and Finance Committee, the Board of Governors voted to transfer all investments of the society except those for the Life Membership Fund to Salomon Smith Barney, an investment service. The investments were transferred in December 2000 (see report of the Endowment and Finance Committee).

Although total net assets of the society declined in 2000, ASIH remains in excellent financial condition.

SECR: Secretary - M.A. Donnelly

I was appointed as the ASIH secretary in June 2000 during the meetings in La Paz. I recorded minutes during the annual business meeting and banquet. These minutes were published in Copeia (Copeia 2000(4):1156-1168). I entered into negotiations with officials from Florida International University to arrange for space and support for the office after the 2000 meeting.

I continue to learn how to be the ASIH secretary and am grateful I was on sabbatical leave during academic year 2000-01, because taking the job over without a mentor was a bit consuming. We changed the contact on the webpage and all electronic correspondence to the society comes to me. I deal with much of the mail directly but have been helped considerably by Dr. Robert Thomas (Herpetological Information Coordinator 2000), Mr. Travis Taggart (current Herpetological Information Coordinator), Dr. Steve Norris (Ichthyological Information Coordinator), and Mr. Ralph Saporito (ASIH Business Office Manager). These folks have performed admirably answering requests for information about fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. We get several requests for information and many of these are husbandry requests. We will work to have links on the webpage to help provide information to those seeking information on husbandry. There is a lot of interesting correspondence that comes from the secretary's office and we are archiving all of the electronic correspondence on CDs.

The ASIH Secretary's Office moved from Charleston to Miami in the fall of 2000. On my way to Washington DC in September, I packed up all materials and moved it south during two trips: October and November 2000. Tony Harold was extremely helpful in Charleston. We finally got an office at FIU in December 2000 and Ralph Saporito has moved all the boxed materials into the office during January 2001 and created a functional and organized work space. Ralph will continue to work in the ASIH office until August 2001. James Watling will work for the ASIH office from May until August 2001, and Kirsten Hines will replace Ralph Saporito in September. If funds allow, I will hire a second person in the fall to work with Kirsten. We will archive many ASIH files and make the contents to the archived files available on the web.

In addition to moving the office to Miami, I initiated electronic polling of the Board of Governors after the La Paz meeting. Response to the initial email was great and I appreciate the fact that a majority of governors respond quickly for requests to vote. Those results are presented in the report from the Executive Committee (the BOG voted: in favor of opening the TRAK account with SSB, in favor of BioOne, and in favor of meeting in Manaus in 2003).

Our representative at Allen Press and Management, Sabrina Mowry, has been incredibly helpful during these months of transition. I was late getting the request for the 2000 directory going, but it came out with Copeia 2001 (2).

We are now in the process of moving the webpage from the University of Texas to Allen Press and Management. The webpage needs work but it turns out that I am also the person that deals with the webpage information. I plan to visit Allen Press and Management in Lawrence in June (9-13 June) to update the information and work out how I can easily modify information on our webpage. I hope to get much of the webpage problems resolved in June. Ralph Saporito and James Watling are going to work on the update our links and try to find sites that will help people that visit our site. We also need to improve the links to information on our page. Work with the professional webmasters will help us out. We owe a tremendous debt to Lori Bockstanz for her work in developing our webpage and look forward to a new relationship with the webmasters from Allen Press.

I urge all governors and members to visit the website (www.asih.org) to update their personal information for the directory. This ability has always been available and will continue to be available once the site moves to Allen Press. It is quick and easy and will help out the ASIH by providing members with current and detailed information.

I want to thank the ASIH members for their help and understanding during the year of transition. I still feel like I am on the steep part of the learning curve and have benefitted greatly from the help of everyone -- especially those who gladly wrote reports at the last minute. Gracias para su auyda!!!

EDIT: Editor - M.E. Douglas

The Editor, Michael E. Douglas, reported that during 2000, 1212 pages of Copeia were published over four issues: 1 February (344 pages), 8 May (304 pages), 4 August (272 pages), and 22 December (292 pages). These four issues comprised 66 major articles (698 pages or 58%) and 68 shorter contributions (329 pages or 27%). The remaining 15% was distributed as follows: 27 book reviews (9 ichthyological, 13 herpetological and 4 combined, totaling 52 pages), six historical perspectives (32 pages), a 2000 index (30 pages), a 1999 meeting summary (17 pages), a 2000 meeting summary (13 pages), 16 articles in "editorial notes and news" (12 pages), a 2000 volume content (eight pages), eight books received (six pages), societal advertisements (five pages), two obituaries (four pages), three award notices (three pages), instructions to authors (two pages), and a continuation of the table of contents (one page).

Of the major articles published in Copeia, 55% (n=36) were in ichthyology, while the remaining 45% (n=30) were in herpetology. Of the shorter contributions, 56% (n=38) were in herpetology, while 44% (n=30) were in ichthyology. When major articles and shorter contributions were combined, 51% (n=68) were herpetological, while 49% (n=66) were ichthyological.

During 2000, 285 manuscripts were submitted to Copeia, a 2% increase when compared to 1999, but a 17% and 8% decrease when compared to 1998 and 1997, respectively. Of the submitted manuscripts, 75% (n=216) were processed. Some 67% of these (n=145) were submitted from 39 different states and territories of the Union: California (16), Florida (12), New York (10), Illinois (9), Arizona (6), Georgia (6), Hawaii (6), Michigan (6), Pennsylvania (6), Kansas (5), North Carolina (5), Virginia (5), Colorado (4), Louisiana (4), Indiana (3), Massachusetts (3), Missouri (3), Tennessee (3), and Texas (3). Eight states and a territory had two submittals each, while 11 states and a district had one submittal each. The remaining 33% (n=71) of submissions were received from 21 different countries, distributed as follows: Australia (14), Brazil (10), Japan (8), Canada (6), Germany (5), People's Republic of China (5), Switzerland (3), United Kingdom (3), Denmark (2), Mexico (2), South Africa (2), Spain (2), Argentina, France, French Guiana, Morocco, New Zealand, India, Sweden, Uruguay, and Venezuela (one each).

Of the 216 articles processed, 24% (n=53) were allocated to General Ichthyology; 21% (n=46) to Genetics, Development, and Morphology; 19% (n=40) to General Herpetology; 19% (n=40) to Physiology and Physiological Ecology; and 17% (n=37) Ecology and Ethology. Rejection rates were calculated by section as number of manuscripts rejected during 2000 divided by total number for which a decision (positive or negative) was reached. These figures were as follows: Ecology and Ethology, 89% (17/19); Physiology/Physiological Ecology, 65% (22/34); General Ichthyology, 56% (20/36); General Herpetology, 48% (14/29); and Genetics, Development, and Morphology, 21% (5/24). The overall 2000 rejection rate for Copeia was 55% (78/142), which is 7% below that recorded for 1999. Of the 216 manuscripts submitted in 1999, 64% (138/216) were still in review at end-of-year.

The Copeia editorial office requires three months to compile and copy edit an issue, while a fourth month is a buffer for those authors who either do not respond immediately to editorial queries or respond differentially. This four-month span represents the time an issue spends "in train" at the Copeia office. Time required by Allen Press to produce an issue is also four months. Thus, the minimum in-train period for a given issue (i.e., from acceptance of the first manuscript at Copeia to publication of the issue at Allen Press) should approximate eight months. For 2000, the average in-train period for each issue was: first issue, 9.9 months (min = 2, max = 29); second issue, 10.3 months (min = 1.8, max = 22); third issue, 7.9 months (min = 1.8, max = 23.6); and fourth issue, 6.4 months (min = 2.8, max = 13.1), with an overall average of 8.6 months. By comparison, the 1999 in-train average was 7.1 months, while 1998 was 8.8 months.

As a result of electronic copy editing during 2000, the society saved $10,049.00 in publishing costs. Savings per issue were as follows: 2000(1) $2,839.00; 2000(2) $2,584.00; 2000(3) $2,312.00; 2000(4) $2,314.00.

An update on the Harold W. Avery situation is as follows. As reported last year, Avery resigned as Physiology/ Physiological Ecology sectional editor immediately following the 1999 ASIH annual meeting. His resignation was health-related and he had been incumbent for approximately one year. Of the 31 manuscripts in his possession, 97% were found to be unprocessed (some had been in Avery's possession for over 11 months without editorial action). The Editor divided these into two groups. The first (13 manuscripts from six to 11 months overdue) was handled directly by the editor. Following a speedy review process, three of the 13 were accepted and published as shorter contributions in Copeia 2000(1) (= 77% rejection rate). The second group (19 manuscripts from three to five months overdue) was spread amongst the other four sections. At the time of the 1999 Editor's report, five manuscripts in this group were accepted, seven were rejected, and seven were still in some form of review or revision. The final tally for these manuscripts is now six accepted and 13 rejected (68% rejection rate).

EDPC: Editorial Policy Committee - M.E. Douglas

EDITORIAL POLICY MEETING: 14 June 2000

PRESENT: T. Berra, F. Cashner, M.E. Douglas, C. Guyer, L. Montgomery, (M.R. Douglas, scribe).

ABSENT (with regrets): R. Gatten, J. McEachran, S. Schaefer, and K. Wells.

Four agenda topics and one "new business" item were discussed. These were: (1) publishing DNA sequence data; (2) evaluating workload of sectional editors; (3) weighing electronic publication of Copeia; (4) updating format for accepted manuscripts; and (5) defining policy on length of author string in a cited paper.

(1) Publishing DNA sequence data: Given that DNA sequence data are becoming more and more prevalent in Copeia submissions, a policy is now needed regarding the manner in which these data are to be presented post--acceptance. Rather than publish these data in extensive appendices, editor Douglas suggested instead that authors be asked to deposit sequences in archiving facilities such as GenBank. Following discussion, all sectional editors agreed with the establishment of this new policy, and furthermore suggested that it be added to our "instructions to authors." Exceptions to this rule may, for example, involve publishing of primer sequences that are of much shorter length and of immediate interest.

(2) Workload of sectional editors: The question of workload for sectional editors was discussed last year. However, since several sectional editors had only recently assumed their positions at that time, it was decided to revisit the issue in 2000 after sectional editor had worked for at least a full year and had a better idea about the extent of the actual work load.

Workload per section averages about 50 manuscripts per year, and sectional editors were asked at what level would a noticeably more manageable workload occur. Although there was some variance in the discussion, most agreed that a workload of 25--30 manuscripts/year (i.e., a 40 and 50% reduction of the current load) would be judged a considerable improvement.

The operations of Copeia are affected in multiple ways by an overbalanced sectional editor workload. For one, it becomes increasingly difficult to find societal members that will obligate themselves to such a time-consuming task. In 1999, for example, 13 individuals declined an invitation to replace the retired Hal Avery in the Physiology/ Physiological Ecology section. Incumbent sectional editors also mentioned that during busy times (e.g., finals, etc.), they readily fell behind with regard of expedient processing of Copeia manuscripts. Once this occurred, it was difficult to catch up because new manuscripts continued to come in. Further, the heavy workload often precluded sectional editors from dealing with the myriad details involved with their editorial position, such as reminding authors of a six-month turnaround for major revisions, and following up this reminder by rejecting those manuscripts that exceeded the time limit. Both of these aspects affect manuscript turn-around times, and in turn, will influence submittal statistics in an unfavorable way. Sectional editors are also expected to provide reviewers with copies of all manuscript reviews, as well as notification of the disposition of the manuscript. Again, these post-review details are often sacrificed due to workload.

A potential solution to ease the workload would be to divide the sections into two equal parts, each with its own sectional editor. All agreed that "splitting" sections would be beneficial to both sectional editors and the journal, and is one of several solutions to the problem. One negative aspect would be an increased workload for editor Douglas. The discussion then moved towards how best to divide sections. Some sections naturally lend themselves to division via subject matter, such as genetics vs. morphology, or ecology vs. behavior. However, others such as Physiology did not. In addition, manuscripts often bridge topics and thus their classification by subject matter may prove difficult. Further, sectional editors for General Herpetology and General Ichthyology would consider their jobs less interesting if indeed they only deal (for example) with species descriptions. In these sections, an ecological or taxonomic split might be more beneficial (such as marine vs. freshwater fishes, amphibians vs. reptiles, etc.). However, the general consensus was that splitting of sections would be difficult.

As an alternative to "splitting," a "shared" model was suggested. Here, rather than dividing a given section, two people would instead share its responsibilities. This has already been done twice in recent memory: David Cundall and Fran Irish served jointly as General Herpetology sectional editors, while John McEachran dealt with Morphology and Development submittals when John Gold continued to handle genetics manuscripts while at NSF for a year. Sectional Editors agreed that the "shared" model was indeed one method for reducing workload while avoiding those difficulties produced by splitting of sections. Further, the mechanism could be flexibly adjusted according to strengths of the individuals jointly serving as sectional editors. And lastly, the "shared" model might assist in a smoother transfer when one sectional editor retired. In this sense, the section would not lose all of its institutional memory upon the retirement of one sectional editor.

One concern was that rejection rates might vary among jointly serving sectional editors, and this could provoke requests from authors that the more lenient of the two handle a given submittal. However, editor Douglas noted that rejection rates fluctuate anyway, and depended more on the quality of the submittal and less on the individual serving as sectional editor.

Since several sectional editors were not in attendance, it was decided to bring this idea forward at a subsequent editorial policy meeting so as to obtain additional discussion from those not currently present. Then, after all sectional editors had an opportunity to discuss pros and cons of the situation, and if the decision was still favorable, then a suggested policy change could then be forwarded to the Board of Governors for consideration.

(3) On-line publishing of Copeia: The question of whether Copeia should be published online, in addition to its print format, was another item revisited from the previous year. However, new information on this topic made the discussion more germane. For example, "Bio-One" is a new consortium between universities and Allen Press initiated to push forward electronic publishing of societal journals. If a society is a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), it is automatically provided access to Bio-One. AIBS membership costs a society $500/year, and ASIH must renew its membership in the coming year. Those societies that are members of Bio-One will be charged a fee of $20,000/year by Allen Press to receive an electronic version of their journal. However, the initiative is based upon a time-sensitive enrollment period. It was thus not clear how much additional cost would accrue if a society elected not to move forward now with regard to an electronic version of its journal, but instead do so at a later time.

According to editor Douglas, ASIH may also lose its $10,000/year saving on electronic preparation of manuscripts if we embarked upon electronic publishing, because this task would become part of the process used by Allen Press to bring journals online. Thus, the actual costs of electronic publishing could border instead on $30,000/year forour society. Other issues regarding costs/benefit ratio of an electronic version of Copeia also remained unclear. Would a reduction in the number of issues published on paper actually reduce or increase the overall costs to the society? For example, the society may save funds with regard to postage charges, but may experience a loss of discount as our print volume dropped. Further discussion centered on how loss of revenue with regard to individual subscriptions could be counterbalanced by, for example, increased library subscription fees.

It was decided that editor Douglas would continue to work with past-president Savitzky to clarify pricing structure of Bio-One, and to itemize the potential benefits/deficits of electronic publishing. This topic would then be revisited the following year, hopefully with additional detailed information on the new endeavor.

(4) Formatting of accepted manuscripts. Sectional editor Schaefer noted that the instructions provided to sectional editors for the formatting electronic versions of accepted manuscripts included procedures that now appear outdated as a result of widely used text processing systems. For example, those instructions now require submitted manuscripts to be in "Courier 12" font, which is small and difficult to read. Editor Douglas noted that many supposedly outdated requirements exist because they are part of the formatting Allen Press currently utilizes in its publishing procedures (for example, electronic versions of accepted manuscripts sent in to Allen Press must be in WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS).

It was decided that editor Douglas would work with managing editor Bann to update these instructions by first checking with Allen Press to insure that the formatting regulations are still mandatory.

(5) The number of authors referenced in a single citation of the literature cited. Editor Berra asked about Copeia policy with regard to citing a multi-authored publication (this, in response to a recent article in Science magazine that contained an unusually large number of contributing authors). The purpose of a citation is to provide sufficient information for individuals to locate the referenced article, and Copeia cites published papers in the Literature Cited by listing all authors. Thus, listing only the first three or four authors of a manuscript would be enough information to find the article. However, the director of a molecular genetics lab or head of a research group is often the trailing author in such a string, and that person's name often provides additional useful information about the citation and/or its contents. By citing only the first three authors, such information would be lost.

Following discussion, it was decided that a publication with 10 or more authors should be cited differently than a publication with fewer authors, and thus only the first author of such a multi authored publications should be listed in the Literature Cited, followed by et al. At the conclusion of these discussions, the Editorial Policy meeting was adjourned.

ENFC: Endowment and Finance Committee - M.A. Neighbors

The ENFC considered two proposals for professional management of the ASIH investments at their meeting in La Paz. The investment plan received from Salomon Smith Barney was chosen over that from Towneley Capital Management. Ultimately the following proposal was sent to the EXEC on Sept. 29, 2000:

The ENFC recommends placing approximately $500,000, a large portion of the ASIH investments, in a TRAK account (http://www.smithbarney.com/prod_svc/trak_b/index.html) under the management of Joanne Avella, First Vice President and Investments, Salomon Smith Barney, Albany, New York. TRAK accounts have an annual management fee of 1.5% of the first $500,000 and 1.2% of assets over that amount. We propose opening an account containing a pool of assets of the ASIH Gibbs, Fitch, Gaige, Raney, Stoye, Storer, General Endowment Funds and a portion of the General OperatingFunds. The initial funding of the account would come from the currently owned mutual funds (over $400,000, excluding Life Membership funds) and other investments (CD's, T-Bills) or cash.

The account would be invested in equity investments as multiple mutual funds representing a broad spectrum of the market and fixed-income investments. We propose an initial asset mix of 70% equity investments and 30% fixed-income Investments. Although this asset mix would result in stock market investments less than the current amount held there, approximately half of each of the ASIH award funds would be invested in the stock market. The current (9/12/2000) investment proposal for an ASIH TRAK Account includes 19% large cap value equity (Smith Barney Fundamental Value Fund), 18% large cap growth (PBHG Large Cap Growth Fund), 10% small cap value equity (Royce Premier Fund), 10% small cap growth (Warburg Pincus Small Company Growth), 10% international equity (Scudder International Fund), 3% emerging markets equity (Dreyfus Emerging Markets Fund), 10% intermediate fixed income (Stein Roe Intermediate Bond Fund), 10% high yield (Janus High Yield Fund), 8% international fixed income (Warburg Pincus Global Fixed Income Fund) and 2% government money (Smith Barney Money Fund and Cash Portfolio) investments. ASIH would receive quarterly reports on the investments and tracking would also be available via the SSB web site.

We are currently not proposing that ASIH Life Membership funds be placed in the SSB account. The invested portion of these funds could be moved to the TRAK account once the analysis ongoing by the ENFC is complete.

After unanimous acceptance by the EXEC, the proposal was sent by the ASIH Secretary to the BOFG on October 9 with votes to be tallied on October 31, 2000. The proposal was passed by the BOFG with 62 votes for and 10 opposed.

ASIH funds held by Fidelity and Vanguard and a portion of the funds deposited in the Busey Bank Checking Account were transferred to the SSB account and the initial total of $408,080.01 invested in SB Money Funds Cash Portfolio Class A by December 15, 2000. Funds in the Federated Utility Fund were transferred to the account on January 3, 2001. On January 4, $483,029.63 were invested in a TRAK portion of the account as follows:

Shares Cost $/sh
Dreyfus Intl. Fds Inc. Emerging Mkts Fund 1305.365 $14,541.77 $11.14
Janus High Yield Fund 4971.546 48,472.57 9.75
Stein Roe Intermed. Bond Fund 5552.414 48,472.57 8.73
PBHG Large Cap Growth Fund 3071.124 87,250.64 28.41
Royce Premier Fund 4906.131 48,472.57 9.88
Scudder Intl. Fund 971.200 48,472.57 49.91
Smith Barney Fund Value Fund Cl A 6235.470 92,097.89 14.77
SB Money Funds Cash Port. Cl. A 7998.420 7,998.42 1.00
Warburg Pincus Global Fixed Income 3960.987 38,778.06 9.79
Warburg Pincus Small Co. Growth Fund 2464.289 48,472.57 19.67

In addition to the TRAK investments, the SSB account contained (1/28/01) 268.86 shares of SB Money Funds Cash Port. Cl. A. ASIH has also opened a FMA Checking Account at SSB.

EXEC: Executive Committee - M.A. Donnelly

The EXECUTIVE committee, or members of the committee conducted the following business since the La Paz:

The EXEC moved $2000 from the General Fund to the Student Travel Fund to match (in part) the $2400 the students earned with the 2000 book raffle. The EXEC also voted to donate $3000 to support publication of the Herpetofauna of Costa Rica (University of Chicago Press). The EXEC voted against charging members additional fees for returned checks. The EXEC approved acquisition of the domain name "asih.org" and Treasurer Neighbors did so through NameSecure.com in July 2000. Additionally,

The EXEC voted for:

1) an official ASIH endorsement of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) list of common and scientific names of amphibians and reptiles of North America (requested by Brian Crother)

2) moving the website to Allen Press and Management fromUniversity of Texas

3) replacing a missing member of the BOG in the 2001 election (see appendix - candidate information)

4) discarding out-of-date directories stored in Allen Press to reduce our inventory costs

5) move the back issues of Copeia stored in Seattle to New Orleans.

The EXEC voted against:

1) investment in an Australian petting zoo

2) linking our site electronically to the Blackwell Scientific website

3) charging for use of copyrighted materials

4) providing our membership list electronically to Reptile Magazine

The EXEC voted to change the bylaws in two ways (see Appendix C). The Executive Committee will move that the ASIH increase dues and change standing committees.
The EXEC voted to increase dues as follows:

Current Proposed
Regular (domestic and foreign): $50 $60
Sustaining $65 $75
Student $25 $30
Associate $10 (2nd family member, no journal) $10 $10
Life (25 X regular membership) $1250 $1500
Life (four consecutive annual payments) $312.50 $375
Institutional subscription $90 $100

The EXEC voted to replace the Time Place and Program committee with two new standing committees: Program Planning and Program Management. We also voted to create a committee to administer the Fitch Award.

Because this is a change in the bylaws, there will be a vote on this issue at the BOG meeting and during the business meeting. All governors are asked to attend the meeting at Penn State to weigh in on these issues.

We sadly report the passing of George A. Moore, Theodore Monod, Fred Berry, Genie Bohlke, Wilfred Neill, Jr., and David Lindquist.

President Greene appointed Al Savitzky to be the ASIH representative to AIBS. Al has worked hard to develop our relationship with AIBS and BioOne.

Page and Donnelly authorized Allen Press to send a complete set of Copeia 2000 to the library of North Dakota State to replace their damaged copies of the journal.

Page and Neighbors arranged the move of the treasurer's office from Illinois to California in January.

On behalf of EXEC, Secretary Donnelly called for three votes:

1) a vote to open a TRAK account with Solomon Smith Barney,
2) a vote to join BioOne, and
3) a vote to meet in Manaus.

The BOG voted electronically 1) in favor of opening the Salomon Smith Barney account (62 in favor, 10 opposed), 2) in favor of joining BioOne (54 in favor, 7 opposed), and 3) in favor of meeting in Manaus (49 in favor, 7 opposed). Neighbors and Donnelly filed paperwork to open the SSB account in November 2000. In April 2001, Treasurer Neighbors signed the contract for BioOne and submitted the form detailing Copeia subscription history required for potential reimbursement for subscription losses during fiscal years 2001 and 2002.

Secretary Donnelly arranged the move of the webpage from Texas to Allen Press. She will visit Lawrence, KS in June to work with the webmasters on webpage issues.

GFAC: Gaige Fund Award Committee - S.B. Emerson

The Gaige Fund Award committee (Joseph Pechmann, Maureen Kearny, and Sharon Emerson - chair) reviewed 28 proposals from graduate students. There were 8 proposals from MS students and 20 from PhD students. The committee selected ten proposals for funding (9 PhD projects; 1 MS project). Each Gaige winner was awarded $500. The Gaige Awardees for 2001 are:

Tomasz Owerkowicz, Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Function of the postpulmonary septum in monitor lizards.

Michael Rubbo, Department of Biology, 208 Mueller Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Multiple causality of frog deformities: the relationship between environmental stressors and parasitic infection.

Ryan O'Donnell, Department of Zoology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331. The effects of temperature on sex ratio in garter snakes.

Lauren Chan, Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Corson Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Evolutionary consequences of habitat heterogeneity: maintenance of polymorphism in three species of desert lizards.

Valerie Simon, Dept. Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708.
The influence of predation intensity on signal use in an Anolis lizard

Christopher Leary, University of Oklahoma, Dept. Zoology, 730 Van Vleet Oval Norman, OK 73019. Alternative mating strategies, steroid hormones, and the potential for sequential hermaphroditism in the Great Plains Toad

Aaron Krochmal, Dept. of Life Sciences, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809. Evidence for the use of facial pits in the thermoregulatory behavior of Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes.

Becky Williams, Dept. Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322. The occurrence, longevity, and distribution of tetrodotoxin in tissues of the common Garter snake after ingestion of the rough-skinned newt.

Shannon O'Grady, Dept. Biology, 257 South 1400 East, University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Significance of colonic nematodes in the digestion of fiber by reptilian herbivores.

Jessica Stapley, Division of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200, AUSTRALIA. The evolution of female mate preference and male mating success in lizards.

GSPC: Committee on Graduate Student Participation - C. Tracy

Members: Chris Tracy, Chair, Dr. Jackie Webb, Faculty Advisor, Nirvana Filoramo, Jeanette Gonzales-Garcia, Andrés Lopez, Patrick Owen, Kyle Piller, Ricky-John Spencer, Duane Stevenson.

OVERVIEW

The goals of the ASIH Graduate Student Participation Committee (GSPC) are to represent the student membership of the Society and to consider ways that the Society may best serve and attract graduate students. A number of continuing responsibilities exist with which the Committee is charged: 1) fundraising for student travel support and distributing student travel awards; 2) planning and executing student activities at the annual meeting; 3) distributing completed evaluation forms for student award presentations; and 4) enhancing recruitment of new students and promoting the effective and efficient communication among existing student members. Additional tasks pertinent to student concerns may be handled as necessary by the GSPC membership.

FUNDRAISING AT THE 2000 MEETING IN LA PAZ

Despite the logistical difficulties of fundraising outside the United States, the GSPC was able to raise over $2000 for student travel awards, due mostly to the efforts of Nirvana Filoramo, who organized the annual book raffle under less than ideal conditions. Because of this, we were able to offer student travel awards of $250 to all of the students who applied this year.

THE ANNUAL MEETING:

2000 CGSP WORKSHOP

The GSPC will held its annual workshop in a continuing effort to encourage constructive interaction and discussion among ASIH student members. Kyle Piller and Andrés Lopez organized a workshop on international research. The workshop included a panel discussion of researches with experience in international research projects, including: Melanie Stiassny (AMNH), Lynne Parenti (USNM), John Lundberg (Phil Acad. Sci.), Barry Chernoff (Field Mus. Chicago), Maureen Donnelly (FIU), and Harry Greene (Cornell).

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE

Jeff Stewart is the graduate student representative to the Environmental Quality committee and will be attending the annual meeting in La Paz.

STUDENT ORAL PRESENTATION FEEDBACK

Evaluation forms will be distributed to the judges of the Stoye Award competition. These forms are filled out by the judges as a means of positive feedback to those students presenting a paper for the Stoye Award competition. Forms are then redistributed to the students following the meeting by the chair of the GSPC.

CGSP RECRUITMENT AND COMMUNICATION

As with every meeting it is the local committee members of the CGSP that greatly facilitate the organization of student events. I would like to thank the local committee members, particularly Carlos Villavicencio, the meeting host in La Paz, and Janet Paterson, the conference planner at Penn State for their support of the GSPC while organizing the 2000 and 2001 meetings.

LLRP: Long Range Planning and Policy Committee - M.A. Donnelly and A.H. Savitzky

The LRPP in 2000 was composed of Maureen A. Donnelly (Chair), Robert C. Cashner, Kathleen S. Cole, David W. Greenfield, Deanna J. Stouder, Susan Jewett, and Edmund D. Brodie III. Alan H. Savitzky assumed the Chair in January 2001.

The LRPP met in La Paz, Baja California. The committee had not received a formal charge and was still savoring its completion of the Procedures Manual. During its meeting, the committee discussed the needed change in the chair because Donnelly was elected Secretary of the society. The committee discussed how the LRPP interacts with both the Program Planning and Program Management Committees. Several members of the LRPP (Donnelly, Stouder, and Cole) served on the ad hoc Program Planning Committee.

The LRPP wishes to develop plans for spending proceeds generated by the Endowment Fund. We discussed several ideas that were worthy of support, including supported symposia, fellowships or awards for graduate students, and other events that would be sponsored by the Endowment Fund. It may also be appropriate for the LRPP to be involved in discussions of electronic distribution of Copeia to individual members.

NOMC: Nominating Committee - K. Winemiller

The nominating committee included Kirk Winemiller (chair), Bob Cashner, Jan Caldwell, Laurie Vitt, and Lynne Parenti. They began their task in December 2000 and the information on candidates is included in Appendix C. The committee thanks all ASIH member that agreed to have their names placed into nomination for the 2001 election.

RFAC: Raney Fund Award Committee - E. Marsh Matthews

The Raney Committee was made up of Keith Gido, John Friel, and Edie Marsh-Matthews (chair). The committee received 29 proposals and we funded six of them as follows:

Ruttenberg, Benjamin, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, Larval retention and population connectivity in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. $1,000.00

Zimmerman, Mara S., Biology Department, University of Michigan, 1122 Natural Sciences Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, Ecological and life history contributions to morphological differences among brook stickleback populations. $1,000.00

Samhouri, Jameal F., Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 100 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI 02882, Consequences of early life-history attributes for the survival and population persistence of Thalassoma bifasciatum. $500.00

Wormald, Clare, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 100 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI 02882, Reef fish migration and source-sink dynamics: relevance to management of protected areas. $470.00

Craig, Matthew T., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 9500 Gilman Dr., Mail Code 0208, La Jolla, CA 92093, Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of the genus Epinephelus (Teleostei: Serranidae). $853.00

Darden, Tanya L., University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Biological Science, Southern Station Box 5018, Hattiesburg, MS 39496, Evolutionary processes within dystrophic blackwater habitats: Dispersal, speciation and historic biogeography in Enneacanthini sunfishes. $1,000.00

Rehage, Jennifer S., 101 Morgan Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, Population performance and community function of invasive vs. noninvasive Gambusia: Is there a difference? $177.00

RHGC: Robert H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee - B.M. Burr

During April and May 2001, the Robert H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee, consisting of William D. Anderson, Bruce B. Collette, and Brooks M. Burr (Chair), evaluated four nominees for the 2001 award for Excellence in Systematic Ichthyology. The recipient of the award this year, the thirteenth since the inception of the award, will be announced at the annual ASIH meeting in July in State College, Pennsylvania.

The Committee will continue to announce and promote the award through publication of notices in scientific journals, including Copeia. Following the annual ASIH meeting, the Committee Chair will forward the announcement of the winner for 2001 to these journals along with request for future nominations. A full page in Copeia 2001(4) will be devoted to a plaque bearing the name of the 2001 awardee as well as a list of all the recipients of the award (e.g., p. 1155 of Copeia 2000(4) acknowledges the recipient for 2000, James C. Tyler). As with previous awardees, this year's recipient of the award will be encouraged to submit a paper in systematic ichthyology to Copeia to appear (following the normal editorial review process) in the second year following the award as a leading ichthyological paper in the journal.

STAC: Student Awards Committee - E. Marsh Matthews

The chair of this committee works with all judges during the annual meeting. Prior to the Penn State meeting, I worked with President-Elect Cannatella to find judges for 2001.

MMGT: Meetings Management Committee - R.C. Cashner

Bob Cashner (Chair), Hank Bart, Doug Martin, and Richard Rosenblatt

As Chair of Management, I worked primarily with members of the Meeting Planning Committee during 2001 because the management of the Penn State meeting is being conducted by Penn State Conference Services. As a representative of the Management Committee I went to State College in August 2000 to work with Deanna Stouder and Kassie Cole, and then in March 2001 to help the full Committee arrange sessions and schedule papers. The effort was considered to be essential for the meeting to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, July 4-8, 2002. The meeting, although largely managed by Kansas State Conference Services, will require a tremendous effort from ASIH, particularly the Planning Committee. The role of Management will be expanded and members will be asked to meet with people from Kansas State Conference Services during the Penn State meetings to finalize plans for next year.

MPLN: Meetings Planning Committee - D.J. Stouder

Acting Chair: Deanna J. Stouder
Members: Larry Allen, George Burgess (AES rep.), Robert Cashner, Kassie Cole,
Maureen Donnelly

The 2001 Meeting Planning Committee (MPLN) has been active since the 2000 Annual Meeting in La Paz. As a result of the 2000 meeting the MPLN has created a set of templates that have been useful in assisting with the 2001 Annual Meeting at Penn. State.

These templates include:
1. Overall Master Schedule
2. Daily Schedules of Oral and Poster presentations
3. A list of basic meeting requirements [e.g., needs for presentation rooms
(poster and oral presentations)]
4. Instructions for Session Chairs

On 2 August, 2000, Bob Cashner, Kassie Cole, and Deanna Stouder met with Jay Stauffer (local committee chair) and Janet Patterson (Penn State Conference Coordinator) in State College, PA. During that meeting we discussed the length of the conference [1 day of executive meetings, 5 days of presentations (with 5-8 concurrent sessions/day depending on demand)], the desire to have poster session as socials during the evenings, the call for papers and deadlines, and web submission for abstracts. In addition, we agreed to have the MPLN members come to Penn State in March to set up the schedule.

During 25-27 March, 2001 all MPLN members traveled to Penn. St ate to assist Jay Stauffer and Janet Patterson set up the schedule for the upcoming July meeting. We spent two full days during which we developed the overall schedule including business meetings, social events, poster and oral presentations. While sorting presentations into appropriate groupings, we also contacted symposia organizers, student presenters, and others for clarification of missing or unclear information. By the time we departed on 27 March, the local committee and conference coordinator had hard and disk copies of the entire schedule. Maureen Donnelly provided the Chair of the Student Award Committee with the names and schedule for all competing students. Bob Cashner agreed to provide names (and get their concurrence to participate) for all session chairs.

Since our meeting in March, Janet Patterson, Deanna Stouder, and the committee have continued to provide support as names have been withdrawn from the program, assisting in the correction of submission errors (e.g., poster versus oral presentation), and responding to unexpected requests.

Bob Cashner has taken the lead role in working with the Conference Organizers for the 2002 Annual Meeting in Kansas City. Bob has met with the organizers in Kansas City and has set up a meeting with them during the Penn. State meeting.

Future recommendations:

We encourage the scheduling of poster sessions as "stand alone" events (no conflicts with ongoing oral presentations), possibly with social enticements.

AASR: Representative to the American Association for the Advancement of Science - J.S. Rogers

I attended several sessions of interest to ASIH members:

AAAS Affiliates Meeting

Welcoming remarks by Mary Good. AAAS President
National Security Issues (see http://www.aaas.org/spp/scifree/)
Scientific Relations with Cuba (http://shr.aaas.org/rtt)
Update on Science in the Courts Project (http://www.aaas.org/spp/case/case.htm)

Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows Program

The program is described on the web (http://ehrweb.aaas.org/ehr/MassMedia0719.html). Student members of ASIH may be interested in applying for this program. The program is open to "college or university students (in their junior or senior years, or in any graduate or post-graduate level) in the natural, physical, health, engineering, or social sciences". Matthew Carr, American Geophysical Union Mass Media Fellow, gave a very interesting presentation on his experiences in the program.

Biological Sciences Section Business Meeting

A large part of this meeting was devoted to planning for the 2002 and 2003 meetings of AAAS. Affiliate societies have the opportunity to suggest speakers for topical lectures and themes for symposia. One proposed symposium theme for the 2002 AAAS meeting in Boston is Environmental and Biological Diversity in a Changing World. One proposed symposium topic for this track is invasive species. It is now too late to propose symposia for the 2002 meeting. However, there is ample time to propose topics for the 2003 meeting in Denver. ASIH members who are interested in proposing a symposium for that meeting, or other future meetings, can contact me at jsrogers@uno.edu for assistance.

Deep Green: Phylogeny, Evolution and Genomics of the Green Plants

Although this symposium did not discuss any fishes, amphibians or reptiles, it did present some very interesting results of phylogenetic studies on the very important sister group of the animal-fungus clade. An over-view and list of speakers and titles for this symposium can be viewed at http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2001/6088.00.htm. I think this is a good model for anyone who wishes to propose a similar symposium on fish-herp phylogeny.

ABSR: Representative to the Animal Behavior Society - J.M. Fitzsimons

Although the Animal Behavior Society is a relatively young scientific organization (founded in 1964), it is a familiar group to ASIH members with interests in ethology and experimental aspects of behavior. Membership includes a subscription to the journal Animal Behaviour with over 3,000 pages per year, a newsletter describing opportunities for employment, funding, and instructional materials for teachers, updated lists of graduate programs in animal behavior, information on careers, and descriptions of annual and regional meetings. The Society's website (www.animalbehavior.org) and publications can be a valuable resource for ASIH members with research in behavior.

The 37th annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society was held at Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, and Zoo Atlanta during August 5-9, 2000. Among the 343 talks and posters presented, 56 focused on fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Presentations including these animals comprised 16% of the program and very nearly matched contributions during last year's meeting (15%). Most talks (31) were on fishes and limited to teleosts. Among the fish papers, about a third concerned mate selection, and the remaining reports included, in decreasing order, reproductive behavior other than mate choice, predator-prey interactions, territoriality associated with feeding, behavioral aspects of life-history stages, behaviorally mediated coloration, orientation behavior, and behavioral physiology. The 15 papers on amphibians focused about equally on mate selection and other reproductive behaviors with one or two talks involving sensory systems, predator-prey relationships, communication, life histories, coloration, and orientation. With the exception of one paper on newts, frogs and salamanders were the animals studied. Papers on reptiles included lizards (7), snakes (2), and a dinosaur (1) whose predilection for egg predation was determined from fossil remains. Lizard papers included mostly predator-prey interactions and one or two talks on communication, territoriality and aggressive behavior, mate selection, and learning. Reports on snakes investigated food and feeding behavior.

The 2001 meeting of the Animal Behavior Society is scheduled for July 14-18 at Oregon State University (www.animalbehavior.org/ABS/Program/).

AESR: Representative to the American Elasmobranch Society - G.H. Burgess

The American Elasmobranch Society (AES) held its 16th Annual Meeting on 14-19 June 2000 in La Paz, Mexico in conjunction with the 80th Annual Meeting of the American Society. Hosted by ASIH local chair Carlos Villavicencio and his tremendously cooperative group of staff and students from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur with the assistance of local chair Greg Cailliet, the meetings were a resounding success with in excess of 200 AES members and elasmo-enthusiasts in attendance. The program consisted of more than 100 contributed papers, nearly 30 posters, and the traditional open slide/video finale. The contributed sessions included papers devoted to age and growth, behavior, bioenergetics, demography, ecology, development, evolution, feeding biology, fishery biology, genetics, immunology, morphology, movements, physiology, population structure, reproductive biology, and sensory biology. Three symposia were held: Natural History of the Whale Shark, organized by John O'Sullivan and Adria Rocio Lozano, Elasmobranchs of the Gulf of California, organized by Bob Hueter and Carlos Villavicencio, and Biotelemetry of Elasmobranchs, organized by Chris Lowe and Brad Wetherbee. Many presentations were made at the open slide/video session. The AES sessions were well attended by AES and ASIH members, with more than 200 attending most sessions. Student presentations were especially numerous and very well received. The Student Affairs Committee hosted a successful workshop, How to get a post-doctoral or faculty position on 19 June.

The society's Executive Board and Board of Directors met on 14 June, and the Business Meeting was convened on 19 June. Two environmental policy statements and two resolutions were passed urging banning of finning in all U.S. waters and protection for sawfishes and spiny dogfish shark stocks. Two amendments to the Constitution were approved, one addressing the replacement of elected members of the Board of Directors and one providing verbiage for the establishment and administration of endowed funds. Elections held at the Business Meeting produced the following results:

Secretary: Rebeka Merson

Board of Directors: Chris Lowe, Jack Musick

Grant Fund Committee: Julie Neer, Colin Simfendorfer

Nominating Committee: Ed Heist, Michele Heupel, Lisa Rosenberger, Mahmood Shivji, Jennifer Wyffels

More than 200 people were in attendance at the outdoor AES banquet. At the banquet the Gruber Award for best student paper was awarded to Michael Heithaus for his contribution Tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, habitat use and behavior in Shark Bay, western Australia. The Carrier award for outstanding poster presentation went to Michael Janech for A putative renal urea transporter cloned from the euryhaline stingray, Dasyatis sabina. The evening was highlighted by the annual Elasmo Auction which yielded more than $4,000 and an additional $1,200 from raffle ticket sales for the Student Travel Fund.

As always, AES is appreciative of ASIH for its continued support of joint meetings and will next meet at Penn State University in State College, PA from 5-11 July 2001 in association with the 2001 ASIH annual meetings.

AFSR: Representative to the American Fisheries Society - M.L. Warren

The 130th annual meeting in St. Louis, MO, featured several symposia of high interest to ichthyologists. The symposia included sessions on the biology, management, and protection of catadromous eels (the first international anguillid symposium) and of sturgeons. Others focused on ecology, issues, and management of the Mississippi River and forest management (future wood demand) and fishes. Nonindigenous fishes and other aquatic organisms and conservation of native fishes filled the pages of several issues of Fisheries. The Southeastern Fishes Council Technical Advisory Committee reviewed all freshwater, native fishes of the southern United States, including undescribed species, subspecies, and complexes, and assigned each taxon a conservation rank (2000. Fisheries 25 (10):7-29). Jack Musick, who has lead a multi-year effort to identify extinction risk in marine fishes, identified for the first time marine fishes at risk of extinction in North American waters (2000. Fisheries 25(11):6-30). Nonindigenous crayfishes were highlighted in two articles in the August 2000 issue (Fisheries 25(8):7-20, and 21-23). Articles on nonnative fish control on the Colorado River and decline of the American eel were featured in September (Fisheries 25(9):7-16 and 17-24). The conservation plight of the landlocked Formosan salmon was reviewed in the April issue (2001. Fisheries 26(4):6-14).

AIBS: Representative to the American Institute of Biological Science - A.H. Savitzky

ASIH voted in La Paz to reinstate its membership in AIBS, following decades of estrangement. The ASIH representative to AIBS attended a meeting of member society representatives in October 2000 in Washington, DC, although he was unable to attend the Spring meeting of the AIBS Council in March 2001.

AIBS has positioned itself to serve as a unified voice for organismal and environmental biology through the involvement of its 78 member societies, which have a cumulative individual membership of over 190,000 biologists. (In addition to ASIH, the Herpetologists' League joined those ranks in the Fall of 2000.) Among other actions this year, AIBS was active in addressing the proposed closing of the National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Center, and it was widely cited as a strong voice in support of the CRC's continuance. ASIH has also supported increased funding for the USGS Biological Resources Division and has addressed controversies over the teaching of evolution in the public schools. AIBS employs a Public Policy Representative who maintains an active presence on Capital Hill.

Among the advantages of membership in AIBS is free participation in BioOne, the nonprofit electronic publishing initiative sponsored by AIBS, Allen Press, and a number of other organizations. By joining BioOne as a charter participant in the Spring of 2001, ASIH had an opportunity to enjoy an extended period during which we would be guaranteed against loss of library subscriptions as a result of electronic publication of Copeia. The Board of Governors voted overwhelmingly, in an electronic ballot, to join BioOne. Unlike individual electronic subscriptions, electronic publishing through BioOne does not involve any costs to ASIH beyond its existing printing contract with Allen Press. Subsequent feedback from academic librarians has confirmed that BioOne is well positioned to deliver Copeia electronically to academic libraries and thereby to those members able to access such resources. Membership in BioOne is also nonexclusive, so ASIH is not prohibited from engaging in other electronic publishing relationships. Unlike BioOne, delivery of electronic copy to individual members would involve a substantial additional cost to the society.

Governors interested in learning more about AIBS and its services can access the website at www.aibs.org. Among the links on the home page is one on member societies.

ASCR: Representative to the Association of Systematics Collections - L.M. Page

Member institutions, foundations and individuals provided more than $110,000 to ASC in additional support for two initiatives - Celebrating a Partnership for the 50th anniversary of the National Science Foundation, and a public affairs campaign which gets underway in 2001. The public affairs initiative will focus on the value of collections, provide a toolkit that members can use in local fund-raising and community affairs, and conduct awareness and media activities in Washington to enhance the profile of museums and universities with collections.

The Board of Directors adopted changes in ASC's organization and structure with its approval of a revised mission statement, major changes in the bylaws, and an organizational name change to take effect in 2001. Members ratified the new bylaws and new organizational name in ballot initiatives in March and November. In late spring 2001, ASC becomes the Natural Science Collections Alliance.

ASC's Web site was overhauled in February with new architecture and a navigation system to improve faster access to resources for members. A weekly Member Highlight showcases species discoveries, research, museum expansion and other activities at ASC institutions. ASC institutions may advertise online at no charge for jobs, fellowships and internships. Content development is now underway for a special Web "permitting" section that will feature legislation, treaties, regulations, and other resources.

ELHR: Representative to the Early Life History Section of the American Fisheries Society - M. Fahey

This year's Larval Fish Conference is the 25th Annual Conference. It will be held Aug. 8 13 at the Sandy Hook Marine Laboratory, a NMFS facility in New Jersey. The program focus will be on transitions in the early life histories of fishes ("It's About Change"). Oral presentations and posters will be concentrated into five thematic areas: Ontogeny (including taxonomy and systematics), Habitat, Physical Processes, Methods and Paradigms. Each area will feature an invited keynote speaker and contributed papers. The conference organizers have established a website (www.sh.nmfs.gov/lfc2001.html).

ENQC: Environmental Quality Committee - G.S. Helfman

ENQC, ANNUAL REPORT, 2000-2001

Members: G. Helfman (chair), F. McCormick (vice-chair), S. Walsh, J. Baskin, W. Courtenay, J. Musick, K. Hartel, S. Heppell, J. Williams, W. Minckley, J. Nelson, H. Mushinsky, G Smith, G. Stewart, P. Pister, A. Savitzky, P. Yarrington, E. Crossman, J. Carter, T. Fritts, M. Warren, P. Unmack, J. Stewart, G. Raab, J. Mitchel, A. Flecker

Henry Mushinsky drafted a letter over President Greene's signature supporting a legislated ban on harvest of northern diamondback terrapin in Maryland. The letter was sent to Dr. Taylor Rogers, Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

We initiated action to support restrictions on building roads in BLM roadless areas.

ENQC added to sponsorship of PARC symposium in La Paz (this is a follow up on our initial endorsement of the symposium last year).

Frank McCormick was named chair of a committee to draft a letter on USFS roadless area policy.

Gerry Smith was named chair of a committee to draft a Society response on the issue of genetically engineered fishes, particularly salmon.
Sent resolution to EXEC and BOFG endorsing the idea that eligibility for Stoye and Storer Awards be extended to include multiauthored papers.

We took up the issue of mountaintop removal and valley fill, but tabled it at La Paz since a federal judge had issued injunctions.

We drafted a response to Clinton Administration's proposed Clean Water Action Plan.

The ENQC co-sponsored PARC symposium on endangered reptiles and amphibians at annual meeting.

Several resolutions passed at the annual business meeting in La Paz, the most controversial being the Transgenic Salmon Resolution; others concerned black carp, Alabama sturgeon, the George Rabb IUCN fellowship, Pacific leatherbacks and amphibian declines. Gerry Smith distributed the Transgenic Salmon resolution to 24 U.S. and Canadian agencies, which led to a proposal to have an open forum on the topic involving an industry representative at Penn State, but after several dozen e-mails and votes, the industry person backed out.

We also rectified an error in the awarding of the Stoye Conservation Award for the previous year at Penn State (we found out at La Paz that the student had never been notified of having won the award).

George Rabb was given proxy voting privileges to represent ASIH at the IUCN World Conservation Congress meetings in Amman, Jordan

We began planning for Nonindigenous Species Symposium and Habitat Conservation Symposium for 2002 meeting.

Noel Burkhead contacted us in January 2001 about the possibility of ENQC joining forces with AFS Endangered Species Committee, Desert Fishes Council, and Southeastern Fishes Council to form a "supercommittee" on fish conservation issues. This is still in the discussion phase (i.e., nothing has happened).

Appointed Selina Heppell to draft a resolution on the definition of introduced species to help inform a debate surrounding proposed legislation in Oregon.

Submitted to President Burr a resolution for a change in the Procedures Manual defining the role of ENQC and the methods to be used for taking action on arising matters.

HFMI: New Foreign Member (Ichthyology) - L.R. Parenti

The Committee to nominate an Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology was charged in December 2000 with proposing at least two nominees to fill the vacancy left by the death of Prof. Theodore Monod (France) last year.

The ASIH Constitution, as posted on the ASIH web site, states: "Honorary Foreign Members shall be elected... from among the ichthyologists and herpetologists, located outside of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, who have attained distinction as investigators."

Criteria for selection of an Honorary Foreign Member, Ichthyology, include: (1) Outstanding world eminence and record of accomplishment in research in ichthyology; (2) National representation (other conditions being equal, choice of an HFM should bespread among as many countries as possible); and (3) Interest in, helpfulness to, or evidence of cooperation with colleagues in ASIH countries (Canada, Mexico and the USA).

A Call for Nominations was posted to the ASIH web site in January 2001. The Committee, 'meeting' via e-mail, compiled a list of potential nominees, and, following extensive discussion and several rounds of voting, choose two distinguished foreign ichthyologists for the ballot, Dr. Phillip C. Heemstra (South Africa) and Dr. Maurice Kottelat (Switzerland). Biographical statements for both candidates are in Appendix X. A complete curriculum vitae for each candidate is available from the committee; contact the chair at parenti.lynne@nmnh.si.edu.

Following the ASIH Procedures Manual (June, 1999, p. 92), the ballot is presented to the Board of Governors for approval (example ballot in Appendix X). If the ballot is approved, the election of an HFMI will take place at the annual business meeting. Results of the election are to be announced at the annual banquet.

Lynne R. Parenti, Chair
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

William N. Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Joseph S. Nelson, University of Alberta, Edmonton
Melanie L. J. Stiassny, American Museum of Natural History, New York

HSOC: Representative to the Herpetologists' League and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles - A.H. Savitzky

For the first time in several years, HL and SSAR will not meet with ASIH in 2001. Perhaps for that reason there has been limited interaction between the societies during the past year. Even at La Paz, where all three societies met together, no joint business was transacted other than informal discussions of meeting sites for 2001. Ironically, most of the objections HL and SSAR had to meeting with ASIH are not being remedied by their meeting in Indianapolis. That meeting is being held at a hotel and conference center associated with Indiana University ? Purdue University, where housing is more expensive than at Pennsylvania State University, and the registration rates are similar. The meeting will be shorter and smaller than when all three societies meet jointly, and some constituents prefer such meetings. HL and SSAR have been invited to meet with ASIH at all future venues, but neither society appears to have established meeting sites beyond 2001. Hopefully those societies have realized, from their experience with the Indianapolis meeting, that they are subject to the same changing meeting conditions that induced ASIH to alter its approach to meeting sites and management.

Several items of joint business among the three societies were rendered irrelevant during the past year, including discussions of joint professional business management (ASIH now uses Allen Marketing and Management for many services) and the joint membership directory (which was delayed too long by conflicts over whether to produce it in print and/or electronic format). The most positive interactions among the three societies continue to occur in the area of conservation issues. The committees and individuals charged with dealing with such concerns maintain close communication and often share ideas in responding to issues.

IHCC: Ichthyological and Herpetological Collections - D.W. Nelson

I was the chair of the Ichthyological and Herpetological Collections Committee (IHCC) in 2000. The committee was not very active last year, so there is little to report. I had communicated to Brooks that, if he wished me to continue as chair, I would do so for 2001, but I did not wish to serve beyond 2001.

Here is a brief report based on responses received from the four subcommittee chairs.

The Ichthyological and Herpetological Collections Committee consists of four subcommittees.

The Curation Newsletter (CN) subcommittee (H.J. Walker, chair) continues to solicit and edit articles for the next issue (#13); projected publication date is as yet undetermined. In addition, efforts continue to index the back issues. A major concern of the IHCC is that only issue #12 is available online; the GOPHER-server basis of the first 11 issues apparently no longer works. These issues need to be scanned and put into the same type of format as issue #12 (HTML and PDF). In addition, the IHCC believes that the CN needs to be moved from its present webpage (rather deeply buried in the Committees" section of the ASIH website) to the "Publications" area. If such a move requires BOG approval, this would be appropriate for the governors to take up at the Penn State meeting.

The Supplies and Practices subcommittee (Alexandra Snyder, chair), having put together its "Supplies Database", received and answered numerous supplies-related queries during 2000. This database, however, has also experienced periods of inaccessibility at the ASIH website.

The Ichthyological Data Standards subcommittee (Jeffrey Williams, chair), having produced its report (available on the ASIH website), has probably completed its mission.

The Herpetological Data Standards subcommittee (Linda Ford, chair) continued to work on
basic issues related to their charge, but had nothing specific to report this year.

NFJC: Joint ASIH-AFS Committee on the Names of Fishes - J.S. Nelson

The Joint ASIH/AFS Committee on Names of Fishes, Joseph S. Nelson, Chair, reported that the fish names committee and advisory subcommittee met Friday, 16 June, 1200-1400 hrs at the 2000 ASIH conference in La Paz, Mexico (Los Arcos Hotel). Present were committee members Joe Nelson (Chairman), Ed Crossman, Héctor Espinosa-Pérez, Lloyd Findley, Carter Gilbert, and Bob Lea. Committee member Jim Williams could not attend, with apologies. Others present included: Bill Anderson, George Burgess, Brooks Burr, Salvador Contreras, Bill Eschmeyer, Mike Littmann, John Morrissey, Ramon Ruiz-Carus, Wayne Starnes, and H.J. Walker. In addition, the Committee met 23-27 January 2001 in Gainesville, FL at the U.S. Geological Survey Bldg. Expenses were paid by the AFS. We met long hours and accomplished a great deal. We were assisted by local ichthyologists, most notably by Bill Smith-Vaniz, George Burgess, Brian Bowen, Walter Courtenay, and staff at the Florida Caribbean Science Center. We also appreciate the help of many other colleagues with the list.

Progress items include: a) a major advance was made to the draft at the Gainesville meeting by incorporating the Mexican fish fauna with committee members reviewing fish names members Espinosa and Findley had computer-projected on screen with most Mexican species added, b) among the varied updates, the most notable involved changing the common name of Epinephelus itajara from the controversial name jewfish to goliath grouper (a paper has been submitted to Fisheries on this change), c) in the next edition there will be a change in page orientation from Portrait to Landscape, d) we hope to finish the manuscript by late July and submit the manuscript to AFS on disk by early October.

CHIP: Careers in Ichthyology Pamphlet - R.H. Rosenblatt

The text of the Careers pamphlet is now on the web. However, it is in an uninteresting black and white format. The intended audience of the pamphlet is young people. They are accustomed to use of color, interesting design and even movement on websites. The text of the pamphlet is informative, but the format is not helpful to delivery of the message. If we wish to maximize the impact of the text, the site should be redesigned, using color and a more reader friendly arrangement of text material. The use of illustrations, perhaps showing scientists at work in the field and the laboratory, should be considered. The present committee does not have the capability of carrying out these changes.

HACC: Herpetological Animal Care - S. Beaupre

The HACC has been charged with the revision of the ASIH document on the care and use of reptiles and amphibians in field research, and specifically, to expand the document to include care and use of reptiles and amphibians in the laboratory. The committee consists of Dr. Steve Beaupre (Chair), Dr. Elliot Jacobson, Dr. Harvey Lillywhite, and Dr. Kelly Zamudio. In addition, Dr. Ray Semlitsch (ex-officio), who served on the committee that formulated the current document, has agreed to assist in an advisory capacity.

After making some progress by email, three members of the committee (SJB, HBL and EJ) met during May 2001 at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The goal of the meeting was to produce a draft outline for the revisions, and to hammer out some details with regard to the scope and content of the document. Several portions of the existing document were sent to relevant experts for comment. By the end of our meeting in Gainesville, a draft outline had been produced (available upon request to committee chair), and a plan for producing a draft was formulated. The committee hopes to have a draft revision available for review no later than Fall 2001. The committee brings no motions forward at this time.

HIST: Society Historian - M. M. Stewart

The ASIH oral history project, "Historical Perspectives," began in printed form with Copeia 2000 (1) and during that year included sketches of Joe Bailey, Sherman and Madge Minton, Clark Hubbs, Henry Fitch, and Reeve Bailey. Volume 2001 includes Perry Gilbert, Wilmer Tanner, Jack Randall, Roger Conant, Jack Briggs, and John A. Moore. The list of persons (including honorary foreign members when we can find interviewers for them) that have been interviewed, with sketches in progress, include the following members: Jim Atz, Carl Bond, Chuck Carpenter, Eugenie Clark, Ilya Darevsky, Herb Dessauer, Herndon Dowling, Howard Evans, Bill Gosline, Arnold Grobman, Bob Inger, George Jacobs, Raymond Laurent, Murray Littlejohn, Hy Marx, John Poynton, Jay Savage, Robert Storm, Royal Suttkas, Bob Stebbins, Joe Tihen, Boyd Walker, Robert R. Miller, Garth Underwood.

I very much appreciate the help of interviewers, and I urge those who have agreed to interview a member to send me any completed material. Let me know if you need help. Thanks to Michael Douglas and Jean Bann for their patience and assistance. Margaret M. Stewart, Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222 518-442-4348, mstewart@csc.albany.edu.

IACC: Ichthyological Animal Care - H. Bart

For the past three years, I have served as the ASIH representative on the joint American Fisheries Society (AFS)/ASIH Committee for Guidelines on the Use of Fishes in Research (UFR). The committee's task is to update the previous Guidelines on Use of Fishes in Field Research (AFS/ASIH/AIFRB, 1988), and draft new guidelines for use of fishes in laboratory research. Other members of the committee are:

John G. Nickum, Committee Chair, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Paul R. Bowser, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
Eugene Greer, U.S.G.S. Columbia Environmental Research Center
Jill A. Jenkins, U.S.G.S. National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, LA
J.R. (Randy) MacMillan, Clear Springs Foods, Inc., Buhl, ID
James (Jim) Rose, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
Peter W. Sorensen, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, University of Minnesota
Joseph (Joe) Tomasso, Department of Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Wildlife, Clemson University

A draft version of Guidelines for Use of Fishes in Research has been prepared by the committee. The draft guidelines originally included an appendix on the issue of pain in fishes, based on a review prepared by Jim Rose. However, the committee subsequently decided that Jim's review should be published separately and cited in the UFR guidelines. The UFR guidelines are currently on hold, pending publication of Jim's review.

Jim has completed a draft of the review manuscript and will submitit to Reviews in Marine Science after some minor revisions suggested by pre-submittal reviewers (including UFR Committee Chair, John Nickum). The review article should be submitted before the end of April, 2001. Bob Stickney, the editor of Reviews in Marine Science, has promised to expedite the peer review process and subsequent publication of the review (assuming this is recommended by reviewers).

John Nickum is proceeding under the assumption that the review will be published and is now filling the few remaining holes in the draft UFR guidelines. John is planning a face-to-face weekend meeting of all of the UFR committee members in Fall 2001 to finalize the guidelines. AFS will support the travel costs for those who need it.

IINC: Ichthyological Information Coordinator - S. Norris

This report includes activity starting Summer 1999, following the meeting that year, as I failed to submit a report last year (2000).

1999-2000 (Penn State to La Paz).

All but a very few questions have continued to originate from the internet site and are forwarded to me by the ASIH Secretary. The number of questions dropped sharply after a 'filter' statement was added to the website in the early Spring of 1999. This was intended to limit questions posed by students at various levels who were, we felt, trying to avoid doing assigned research themselves. The volume dropped from sometimes several questions a week, to hardly 1-2 a month. Perhaps the 'filter' statement is too strong and discourages too many legitimate questions. The Herp Information Coordinator may have input here as well.

For this period I have records of about 23 questions and answers (aquarium related: 4; general ichthyology: 11; career request: 6; political/misc. 1; kids questions: 1). There are probably a few additional ones that were handled on an older computer (to which I no longer have access). The topics span a variety of topics. Some people seek information about a specific group or species of fish. For such, information is provided and also these people are directed to standard sources, with hints or instructions on how to use the literature. An occasional question involves aquarium fish keeping or behavior of aquarium fishes. I do the best I can on these, often suggesting that the questioner post their question on a aquarium hobby website. A couple people have requested clarification on taxonomy or nomenclatural issues (I've fielded at least two questions on Salmo gairdneri vs. Onchorynchus mykiss). A few have come from researchers seeking information on fish biology for laboratory studies on fish physiology, etc. Several questions regarding ichthyology as a career were also fielded. These have come from students as young as 2nd grade through to a graduate student wishing to change his career path. Sometimes a series of questions is posed in the form on an on-line interview, which is part of an class assignment. I answer these as honestly as I can, and direct the questioner to the 'Ichthyology as a career' paper on the ASIH web site, or other sources that seem appropriate. As a partial aside, last time I read this career paper, it struck me that it was overly optimistic regarding ichthyology (or any zoological field) as a career option. Many of the invertebrate zoologies died in the 1970s and 1980s, I think pure or classical ichthyology is headed down the same path.

2000-2001 (La Paz to Penn State)

Again, nearly all questions came off the internet site, and again the volume was reduced from the period when I first began this service to the society.

Approximately 17 questions were received, and nearly all were provided with an answer. Some were just too off track (such as one seeking assistance with interpretation scriptural prophecy). A couple I'm still researching. The topics remain much the same: individuals seeking information on some fish the saw at an public aquarium or read about some place or another; aquarium fish problems, and career information. Occasionally, a student writes seeking help; I assist these people as much as I feel is appropriate, usually offering clarification of taxonomy or suggestions to make their literature search easier. Topic breakdown: general ichthyology: 11; career: 3; kid questions: 2; aquarium questions: 1.

I try to answer all questions within a week, but sometimes I just don't have time and answers are delayed, sometimes up to several weeks.

I think it was Bob Johnson who suggested that we might add a list of FACs or canned answers or links on the website on the 'submit a question' page.

A few I would suggest:

*a link to the ASIH career papers (see my reservations above)

*a set of literature searching suggestions for folks seeking information on specific fishes or fish topics.

*links to aquarium society-type pages for people with purely aquarium keeping problems.

I would guess the herp information coordinator could suggest others, and I assume that together we could construct a set of appropriate canned answers.

Appendices

Appendix A: Changes to the Constitution

Appendix B: Vitae for Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology

Appendix C: Candidate Information - ELECTION 2001

Appendix D: Independent Auditor's Report

Appendix A. Proposed changes to the constitution ASIH Changes to the Constitution: - 2001

1. The following change is required to replace the Time Place and Program Committee with the two new committees (Meetings Management and Meetings Planning).

OLD: Article VI: Meeting of the Society
Section 2. The Time, Place and Program Committee shall solicit and receive invitations from prospective home institutions for the Annual Meetings, shall evaluate such invitations, and shall report its recommendation(s) to the Board of Governors.

PROPOSED: Article VI: Meeting of the Society
Section 2. The Meetings Management Committee shall solicit and receive invitations from prospective home institutions for the Annual Meetings, shall evaluate such invitations, and shall report its recommendation(s) to the Board of Governors.

2. While we try to conduct all substantive business during the annual meeting, there are situations that require a vote by the Board of Governors. Secretary Donnelly is able to poll the BOG electronically and we need an explicit statement regarding an electronic quorum.

OLD: Article VIII: Quorum
At the Annual Meeting, one hundred members shall constitute a quorum of the Society and thirty a quorum of the Board of Governors.

PROPOSED: Article VIII: Quorum
At the Annual Meeting, one hundred members shall constitute a quorum of the Society and thirty a quorum of the Board of Governors.
If the Board of Governors votes electronically between annual meetings, 30 votes shall constitute a quorum of the Board.

ASIH Bylaw Changes - 2001

1. The ASIH is faced with potential new costs (e.g., webpage maintenance, AIBS membership) and EXEC recommends the following dues increase.

OLD: Article I: Dues
Section 3. The following is the schedule for dues and subscriptions to be paid in United States dollars or equivalent: Student Members $25.00 annually, Regular Members (United States, Mexico, and Canada) $50.00 annually, Associate Members $10.00 annually, Foreign Members $50.00 annually, Regular subscribers (institutional) (United States and Mexico) $90.00 annually, Foreign subscribers (institutional) (including Canada) $90.00 annually, Sustaining members $65.00 annually. Life Members: 25 X regular annual membership in a single payment or in four equal consecutive annual installments.

PROPOSED: Article I: Dues
Section 3. The following is the schedule for dues and subscriptions to be paid in United States dollars or equivalent: Student Members $30.00 annually, Regular Members (domestic and foreign) $60.00 annually,Associate Members $10.00 annually, Institutional Subscribers $100.00 annually, Sustaining members $75.00 annually. Life Members: $1500 in a single payment or in four equal consecutive annual payments of $375.
2. Meeting management and planning require us to replace the Time, Place, and Program Committee with two new committees: The Meetings Planning Committee and The Meetings Management Committee. This change affects the Bylaws: Article VII: Meetings and Article VIII: Committees, Section 5. Standing Committees.
We also need to create the Fitch Award Committee.
The change to Article VIII, Section 2 is a minor change in punctuation.

OLD: Article VII: Meetings
Section 1. The Chair of the Local Committee shall be appointed by the President if possible, at least six months before the time of the meeting.
Section 2. The Chair of the Local Committee shall be responsible for all local arrangements including the arrangements for printing the program.

PROPOSED: Article VII: Meetings
Section 1. The Chair of the Local Committee shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the chairs of the Meetings Management Committee and Meetings Planning Committee if possible, at least six months before the time of the meeting.
Section 2. The Chair of the Local Committee will work with the chairs of the Meetings Management Committee and Meetings Planning Committee to make all local arrangements including the arrangements for printing the program.

OLD: Article VIII: Committees
Section 2. Except as provided for separately in the CONSTITUTION and BYLAWS all committee appointments are made by the President and carry a tenure of appointment of one year. By arrangement between the President and the incoming Committee Chair Subcommittees may be appointed and delegated to specific functions. Subcommittees are not listed separately and exist at the discretion of the President and the full Committee.
Section 5. Standing Committees are provided for separately in the CONSTITUTION and/or BYLAWS, and/or are those which must be renewed yearly to conduct society business. Standing Committees are as follows:
ANBM Annual Business Meeting
BOFG Board of Governors
EDBD Editorial Board
EDPC Editorial Policy Committee
ENFC Endowment and Finance Committee
EXEC Executive Committee
GFAC Gaige Fund Award Committee
GSPC Committee on Graduate Student Participation
LOCL Local Committee for the Annual Meeting
LRPP Long Range Planning and Policy Committee
NOMC Nominating Committee
RFAC Raney Fund Award Committee
RHGC Robert H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee
STAC Student Awards Committee
TPPC Time, Place and Program Committee

PROPOSED: Article VIII: Committees
Section 2. Except as provided for separately in the CONSTITUTION and BYLAWS all committee appointments are made by the President and carry a tenure of appointment of one year. By arrangement between the President and the incoming Committee Chair, subcommittees may be appointed and delegated to specific functions. Subcommittees are not listed separately and exist at the discretion of the President and the full Committee.
Section 5. Standing Committees are provided for separately in the CONSTITUTION and/or BYLAWS, and/or are those which must be renewed yearly to conduct society business. Standing Committees are as follows:
ANBM Annual Business Meeting
BOFG Board of Governors
EDBD Editorial Board
EDPC Editorial Policy Committee
ENFC Endowment and Finance Committee
EXEC Executive Committee
GFAC Gaige Fund Award Committee
GSPC Committee on Graduate Student Participation
HSFC Henry S. Fitch Award Committee
LOCL Local Committee for the Annual Meeting
LRPP Long Range Planning and Policy Committee
MMGT Meetings Management Committee
MPLN Meetings Planning Committee
NOMC Nominating Committee
RFAC Raney Fund Award Committee
RHGC Robert H. Gibbs, Jr., Memorial Award Committee
STAC Student Awards Committee

3. In 2000, Linda Ford (chair of NOMC) urged EXEC to change the term of office for the NOMC to meeting-to-meeting. The EXEC supports the following:
Article VIII: Committees

OLD: Section 3. Committee service, including that of Committee Chairs, is upon a calendar year basis, commencing January 1 and ending December 31.

PROPOSED: Section 3. Committee service, including that of Committee Chairs, is upon a calendar year basis, commencing January 1 and ending December 31, except for the Nominating Committee and Chair, which serve from meeting to meeting.

Article IX: Nominating Committee
OLD: Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members; three in the discipline of the President-Elect to be elected, and two in the alternate discipline. Five ASIH members in good standing shall comprise the Nominating Committee:

PROPOSED. Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members; three in the discipline of the President-Elect to be elected, and two in the alternate discipline. Five ASIH members in good standing shall comprise the Nominating Committee and serve meeting to meeting:
Appendix B. Vitae for Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology

Phillip C. Heemstra (South Africa)

Current Title: Curator of Marine Fishes

Institutional Affiliation: J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown

Previous positions: Biologist, Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Laboratory (1963-1965); Research Assistant (part-time), National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center (1968-1972); Research Associate, Department of Ichthyology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1972-1974); Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography, Cronulla, Australia (1975-1977); Curator of Marine Fishes, J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown (1978- present).

General Areas of Interest: 1. Systematics, biology (especially reproduction), ecology, zoogeography and conservation of fishes. 2. Survey of marine and freshwater fishes for conservation, management and research purposes.

Publications: More than 55 research articles, plus over 70 family accounts in Margaret M. Smith and P. C. Heemstra's 1986 Smiths' Sea Fishes, now under revision.

PHIL HEEMSTRA plays a pivotal role in our understanding of marine fishes, in particular those of the southern oceans. As a curator of marine fishes at the J.L.B. Smith Institute in South Africa for the past 23 years, he has carried out a regular program of surveys and publication on marine fishes. Smiths' Sea Fishes is an outstanding compilation of the marine fishes of the southern Indian Ocean and is now in revision in a format that extends coverage to the entire Western Indian Ocean. As such, it will be an even more important resource than the original. Phil has served as a South African liaison for many ASIH members, and ichthyologists worldwide. His taxonomic investigations of fishes of the marine percomorph families such as the Serranidae, Carangidae, Balistidae, and Holocentridae and various elasmobranch taxa, have reached a broad audience through publication in FAO species identification guides as well as scientific and popular journals. He has also been at the forefront of recent coelacanth discoveries off South Africa and Madagascar. He serves as an editorial board member of Copeia, and of Ichthyological Research, published by the Ichthyological Society of Japan. Heemstra's achievements in both research and fish biodiversity make him worthy of recognition as an Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology of ASIH.

Maurice KOTTELAT (Switzerland)

Current Title: Independent consultant and taxonomist

Institutional Affiliation: Honorary Research Associate, National University of Singapore.

Previous positions: Curator of Ichthyology, Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich, 1989-1992.

General Areas of Interest: 1. Systematics and zoogeography of Southeast Asian freshwater fishes, particularly loaches, catfishes and minnows; 2. Asian freshwater biodiversity; 3. European freshwater fishes.

Publications: More than 190 scientific and technical publications, including a major book on the freshwater fishes of Indonesia and a second on the fishes of Laos.

Maurice KOTTELAT is one of the leaders in the study of the systematics, distribution and biodiversity of Southeast Asian freshwater fishes. He has collected extensively throughout the area, described innumerable species, and contributed material to a long list of investigators, including many members of ASIH. He founded and continues to edit the highly successful journal, Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, which publishes papers on Southeast Asian and other freshwater fishes. He was the stimulus behind the multi-authored, bilingual 1993 book Freshwater fishes of Western Indonesia and Sulawesi, an ambitious field guide to 960 species of fishes, with 840 color plates, and has just recently published an equally detailed guide to the fishes of Laos. Maurice has also focused on the freshwater fishes of Europe and produced an up-to-date checklist of these fishes, a fauna that has been understudied for decades. He has served as General Secretary (1994-1997) and President (1997-2001) of the European Ichthyological Union. His activities as a consultant and technical advisor are many and varied; he is a member of the editorial board of the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, South Asian Journal of Natural History, and Annals of Tropical Research, among many other duties. It would be most fitting to honor this distinguished scientist by electing him an Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology of ASIH.

BALLOT - HONORARY FOREIGN MEMBER IN ICHTHYOLOGY

_______Phillip C. Heemstra (South Africa)
Current Title: Curator of Marine Fishes, Institutional Affiliation: J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown
Previous positions: Biologist, Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Laboratory (1963-1965); Research Assistant (part-time), National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center (1968-1972); Research Associate, Department of Ichthyology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1972- 1974); Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography, Cronulla, Australia (1975 1977); Curator of Marine Fishes, J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown (1978- present).
General Areas of Interest: 1. Systematics, biology (especially reproduction), ecology, zoogeography and conservation of fishes. 2. Survey of marine and freshwater fishes for conservation, management and research purposes. Publications: More than 55 research articles, plus over 70 family accounts in Margaret M. Smith and P. C. Heemstra's 1986 Smiths' Sea Fishes, now under revision.
PHIL HEEMSTRA plays a pivotal role in our understanding of marine fishes, in particular those of the southern oceans. As a curator of marine fishes at the J.L.B. Smith Institute in South Africa for the past 23 years, he has carried out a regular program of surveys and publication on marine fishes. Smiths' Sea Fishes is an outstanding compilation of the marine fishes of the southern Indian Ocean and is now in revision in a format that extends coverage to the entire Western Indian Ocean. As such, it will be an even more important resource than the original. Phil has served as a South African liaison for many ASIH members, and ichthyologists worldwide. His taxonomic investigations of fishes of the marine percomorph families such as the Serranidae, Carangidae, Balistidae, and Holocentridae and various elasmobranch taxa, have reached a broad audience through publication in FAO species identification guides as well as scientific and popular journals. He has also been at the forefront of recent coelacanth discoveries off South Africa and Madagascar. He serves as an editorial board member of Copeia, and of Ichthyological Research, published by the Ichthyological Society of Japan. Heemstra's achievements in both research and fish biodiversity make him worthy of recognition as an Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology of ASIH.

_______Maurice KOTTELAT (Switzerland)
Current Title: Independent consultant and taxonomist, Institutional Affiliation: Honorary Research Associate, National University of Singapore.
Previous positions: Curator of Ichthyology, Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich, 1989-1992.
General Areas of Interest: 1. Systematics and zoogeography of Southeast Asian freshwater fishes, particularly loaches, catfishes and minnows; 2. Asian freshwater biodiversity; 3. European freshwater fishes. Publications: More than 190 scientific and technical publications, including a major book on the freshwater fishes of Indonesia and a second on the fishes of Laos.
Maurice KOTTELAT is one of the leaders in the study of the systematics, distribution and biodiversity of Southeast Asian freshwater fishes. He has collected extensively throughout the area, described innumerable species, and contributed material to a long list of investigators, including many members of ASIH. He founded and continues to edit the highly successful journal, Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, which publishes papers on Southeast Asian and other freshwater fishes. He was the stimulus behind the multi-authored, bilingual 1993 book Freshwater fishes of Western Indonesia and Sulawesi, an ambitious field guide to 960 species of fishes, with 840 color plates, and has just recently published an equally detailed guide to the fishes of Laos. Maurice has also focused on the freshwater fishes of Europe and produced an up-to-date checklist of these fishes, a fauna that has been understudied for decades. He has served as General Secretary (1994-1997) and President (1997-2001) of the European Ichthyological Union. His activities as a consultant and technical advisor are many and varied; he is a member of the editorial board of the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, South Asian Journal of Natural History, and Annals of Tropical Research, among many other duties. It would be most fitting to honor this distinguished scientist by electing him an Honorary Foreign Member in Ichthyology of ASIH.

Appendix C. Candidate Information - ELECTION 2001 President-elect

Larry Page, Principal Scientist, Center for Biodiversity, Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign; Adjunct Professor, Departments of Animal Biology, and Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Champaign; Program Director, Biotic Surveys and Inventories, and Biological Research Collections, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.
ASIH Service: Treasurer,1992-2000, Executive Committee 1992-2001, Board of Governors 1986 2001, Endowment and Finance Committee 1992-2001 (Chair 2001), Local Host for National Meeting 1992, Editorial Board 1984-1985, 1987-1992, Representative to Association of Systematics Collections 1993-2000, Time, Place and Program Committee 1991-1992, Stoye Award Judge- various years, Session Moderator- various years.
Research Interests: Systematics, evolution, and ecology of freshwater fishes and crustaceans, protection of aquatic natural areas.
Goals as President of ASIH: Examine effectiveness of administrative structure of ASIH in comparison to that of other organismal societies such as the Society of Mammalogists, examine the value of organizing organismal societies into a coalition that can effectively advocate the preservation of natural areas and promote increases in funding for biotic surveys, biological collections, and research.

Ed Wiley, Senior Curator, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence; Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence; Research Associate, Division of Fishes, U.S. National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.
ASIH Service: Board of Governors 1977-1981, 1983-1988,1991-1996, 1998-present., Ichthyological Collections Committee 1981-1983, Chair Nominating Committee 1983, Chair Resolutions Committee 1985.
Research Interests: Evolutionary relationships and biogeography of fishes using morphological and molecular data, theory and practice of phylogenetic systematics, predictive niche modeling of species and clades using neural networks, use of database and internet technologies to access fish databases on a world-wide basis.
Goals as President of ASIH: 1. Promote continuity between meetings through enhanced communication between and within the Executive Committee, the Board of Governors, and the various ASIH committees. 2. Pursue avenues for enhanced funding for student participation.
3. Support the growth and professional management of the ASIH Endowment. 4. Promote the use of the Endowment for worthy projects that benefit the Society. 5. Support the move towards enhanced publication of research using electronic media.

Genetics, Development, and Morphology editor

Robert M. Wood, Assistant Professor of Biology, Saint Louis University, 3507 Laclede, St. Louis, MO 63103-2010.
ASIH Service: Board of Governors- Class of 2003, Copeia Editorial Board- 1996-99; Stoye Award Judge- 1996, 1997, 1998.
Research Interests: Molecular Systematics of North American freshwater fishes, population genetics and speciation in highlands fishes.

Gibbs Committee

Hank Bart, Associate Professor and Museum Director and Curator of Fishes, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Tulane University and Tulane Museum of Natural History.
ASIH Service: Local Committee Meeting in Norman 1984, New Orleans 1996, Session Moderator, Stoye Award Paper Session 1992, Systematics and Genetics of Fishes 1996, Morphology and Behavior of Fishes 1997, Stoye Award Judge, 1997, 1998, Supplies and Resources Subcommittee of Collections Committee 1993-1996, Board of Governors 1996-present, Ichthyological Animal Care Committee 1998-99, Joint AFS-ASIH Committee to Revise Guidelines on Use of Fishes in Research 1998-present.
Research Interests: Ecology, morphology and systematics of freshwater fishes and necturid salamanders.

Chris Taylor, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University Mississippi State.
ASIH Service: Raney Award 1991, Reviewer for Copeia, Stoye Award Judge 1996, Board of Governors 1999.
Research Interests: Community ecology of stream fishes, largescale ecology and conservation biology of fishes.

Robert M. Wood, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis.
ASIH Service: Board of Governors- Class of 2003, Copeia Editorial Board- 1996-99; Stoye Award Judge- 1996, 1997, 1998.
Research Interests: Molecular Systematics of North American freshwater fishes, population genetics and speciation in highlands fishes.

Chair of the Nominating Committee

Janalee P. Caldwell, Curator of Amphibians, Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Professor of Zoology, University of Oklahoma.
ASIH Service: Co-editor, General Herpetology 1988 - 1991, Board of Governors 1992-1997, 1999-2004, Stoye Award Judge 1993, 1997.
Research Interests: My research focuses on the ecology, behavior, and systematics of tropical amphibians.

Laurie Vitt, Professor of Zoology, Curator of Reptiles, and Associate Director of Collections and Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
ASIH Service: Co-Editor, General Herpetology for Copeia 1988-1991, Board of Governors 1984-1987, Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Student Participation in ASIH 1983-1987, Nominating Committee 2000-2001.
Research Interests: Lizard ecology and behavior.

Nominating Committee

Ichthyology

Carole Baldwin,
Museum Specialist , Division of Fishes, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
ASIH Service: Nominating Committee 1994-1995, Stoye Award Judge 1995, 1997, 1999, Copeia Editorial Board 1997-2000, Mentor in Equal Participation 2000.
Research Interests: Systematics of tropical marine and deep-sea fishes, biogeography of the tropical eastern Pacific; utility of marine fish larvae in phylogenetic studies; marine conservation.

Kathleen Cole, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
ASIH Service: Long Range Planning and Policy Committee 1998-2001, Program Planning Committee 1999-2002, Stoye or Storer Award 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, Symposium Co Organizer/Co-Chair 1996.
Research Interests: Evolution and biology of gobioid fishes, reproductive behavior, spawning and reproductive success in egg-guarding fishes, functional sex-change, patterns of hermaphroditism with respect to teleost phylogeny, gonad ontogeny and developmental morphology, life history specializations of obligate coral-dwelling and extreme habitat fishes.

Deanna Stouder, Program Manager, Aquatic and Lands Interactions, Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Olympia.
ASIH Service: Committee for 75th Anniversary of Copeia 1984-1988, Committee for Graduate Student Participation 1984-1989 (Chair 1987-1989), Session Chair 1989, ad Hoc Committee on Selection of Nominating Committee 1990-1992, Chair Stoye Award Committee Ecology/Ethology 1992, Myvanwy M. Dick Award Committee in Ichthyology 1992, Raney Award Committee 1993, Board of Governors 1993-1997, Long Range Planning Committee 1995-2000, Stoye Award Committee Ecology/Ethology 1996, Chair Stoye Award Committee Ecology/Ethology 1997, ad Hoc Committee on Stoye Award Ecology/Ethology 1997-1998, Nominating Committee 1997-1999 (Chair 1998-1999), ad Hoc Program Planning Committee Member 1999-2000, Program Planning Committee Member 2000-present, Board of Governors 2000-2004.
Research Interests: Feeding ecology of freshwater, marine and estuarine fishes, fish behavioral responses to changes in habitat and resource abundance, influences and integration of socio economic factors on ecosystem management, restoration and conservation.

Herpetology

Lee Fitzgerald, Assistant Professor and Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A and M University, College Station.
ASIH Service: Copeia Editorial Board 1996-present, Gaige Awards Committee 1997-2000 (Chair 2000).
Research Interests: Population and community ecology of amphibians and reptiles, herpetological conservation, tropical biology, sustainability.

Al Savitzky, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk.
ASIH Service: President 1998, Executive Committee 1997-2000, Board of Governors 1982-1986, 1989-1994, 1996-1997, Long Range Planning and Finance Committee, Nominating Committee (including Chair), Planning Committee for Copeia Anniversary, Public Affairs Committee, Stoye Award Judge.
Research Interests: Evolutionary, functional, and developmental morphology of amphibians and reptiles, especially feeding and defensive adaptations of snakes; morphology of elastic tissues in frogs and snakes; conservation biology of rattlesnakes and other herpetofauna.

Margaret Stewart, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, SUNY at Albany.
ASIH Service: Conservation Committee, Board of Governors, Time and Place Committee, Copeia General Herpetology Editor, Nominating Committee, Annual Meeting Co-host, President-elect, President, Historian.
Research Interests: Amphibian population and community studies.

Linda Trueb, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence; Curator, Division of Herpetology, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
ASIH Service: Publications Secretary 1980-1985, Herpetological Resources Committee 1987 1991, President 1992, Board of Governors 1994-present, Committee for Special Publications- 1995-1998.
Research Interests: Amphibian systematics and morphology, phylogenetic relationships of anurans (fossil and recent), anuran osteology and development.

Richard Wassersug, Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax.
ASIH Service: Board of Governors 1976-1980,1981-1986, Committee on Trafficking in Amphibians and Reptiles for Scientific Purposes 1979-1981, Chair Committee on Workshop Planning and Policy 1984-1985, Nominating Committee 1983-1985, Time Place and Program Committee 1985-1987, Editorial Board of Copeia 1982-1985. Research Interests:
Biology of anuran larvae.

BOG-- Ichthyology

Adriana E. Aquino, Research Associate and Scientific Content Specialist, Department of Ichthyology and Department of Education, American Museum of Natural History, New York.
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Morphology-based systematics, particularly of the catfish family Loricariidae, comparative anatomy of siluriforms level, characid taxonomy, interactions between scientists and teachers.

Jon Armbruster, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn.
ASIH Service: Local committee for Annual Meetings in Champaign 1992, Stoye Award Judge 1998.
Research Interests: Phylogenetics of loricariid catfishes, evolution of accessory
respiration in loricariid catfishes, behavior and ecology of North and South American fishes.

Kathleen S. Cole, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
ASIH Service: Long Range Planning and Policy Committee 1998-2001, Program Planning Committee 1999-2002, Stoye or Storer Award 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, Symposium Co Organizer/Co-Chair 1996.
Research Interests: Evolution and biology of gobioid fishes, reproductive behavior, spawning and reproductive success in egg-guarding fishes, functional sex-change, patterns of hermaphroditism with respect to teleost phylogeny, gonad ontogeny and developmental morphology, life history specializations of obligate coral-dwelling and extreme habitat fishes.

Marlis Douglas, Assistant Professor, Fishery and Wildlife Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
ASIH Service: Editorial Assistant for Copeia 1995-1998, Resolutions Committee 2000, Reviewer for Copeia, Notetaker for Editorial Policy Meetings.
Research Interests: Evolution of biodiversity of fishes, conservation biology, molecular genetics, biogeography, and geomorphometrics in relation to taxonomy and ontogeny, European and southwestern U.S. fishes.

Michael J. Ghedotti, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Regis University, Denver.
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Morphology of cyprinodontiform fishes, phylogenetic studies of cyprinodontiform fishes, alpha-level systematics of anablepid and fundulid fishes.

Antony Harold, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, College of Charleston, SC.
ASIH Service: Session Chair- 1993, Reviewer for Copeia- multiple times, Stoye Award Judge- 1999.
Research Interests: Phylogenetic systematics, biogeography and other aspects of comparative biology of teleosts, especially Gobiidae, Sternoptychidae, Characidae, Bregmacerotidae and Blenniidae.

Nathan Lovejoy, Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Systematics and biogeography of fishes, evolution of marine-derived fishes in South America, including stingrays and needlefishes, use of phylogeny for interpreting other aspects of organismal biology, such as population structure and development.

Bill Matthews, Professor and Curator of Fishes, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
ASIH Service: Ecology and Ethology Editor 1990-1994, Editorial Board- Copeia 1994-1996, Board of Governors 1985-90, 1993-98, Long-range Planning and Finance Committee 1984-87, Endowment Committee 1993-94, Chair or Member of student paper/poster judging committees - multiple times.
Research Interests: Long-term changes in stream fish assemblages, effects of fish on ecosystem processes, distribution and ecology of stream fishes of central US, ecology of reservoir fishes.

Frank McCormick, Research Ecologist, US Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Cincinnati.
ASIH Service: Co-chair Environmental Quality Committee (ENQC) 1998-present, Member ENQC 1994-present, Organizer ENQC Conservation Symposium 1998, Resolutions Committee 1998-1999, Stoye Award Judge 1998, Local Committee 1984.
Research Interests: Evolution and ecology of freshwater fishes, stressor-response relationships of stream fishes, abiotic factors affecting stream fish distributions, patterns of gene flow of upland stream fishes, systematics and relationships of the Percidae.

Martin O'Connell, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans.
ASIH Service: Local Committee for Meeting in New Orleans 1996, Reviewer for Copeia 1997 1999.
Research Interests: Southeastern fishes, ecology of streams/floodplains, immunological responses fish hosts to mussel glochidia, stream invertebrate diversity, fish foraging behavior, conservation of threatened/endangered freshwater fishes and mussels, estuarine fish assemblages.

Mark Peterson, Associate Professor, Department of Coastal Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs.
ASIH Service: Session Chair 1993, 1996, Stoye Award Judge, Student Paper Judge Southeastern ASIH, Reviewer for Copeia, Field trip organizer 1996 Annual Meeting, Secretary Treasurer/President-Elect/President Southeastern Division ASIH 2000-2003.
Research Interests: Fish resource ecology and ecological physiology, habitat-use of fishes and decapods.

Mario de Pinna, Associate Professor, Setor de Ictiologia, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Systematics, phylogeny and evolution of fishes, especially siluriforms from South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, species-level problems, phylogeny and evolution of feeding strategies in parasitic trichomycterid catfishes, higher-level problems of lower teleostean phylogeny, especially relationships between clupeomorphs and ostariophysans.

Stephen T. Ross, Professor and Curator of Fishes, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
ASIH Service: Endowment Committee 1999- present, Copeia Editor for Ecology and Ethology 1994-98, Chair, Nominating Committee 1996-97, Nominating Committee 1995-96, Chair, Stoye Awards 1994, Endowment Committee 1992-93, Nominating Committee 1992-93 (Chair 1984-85), Stoye Award Judge 1992, Editorial Board 1984-86, 1991-92, Board of Governors 1981-86, 1988 93, Stoye Award Judge 1988, Representative to American Fisheries Society 1987-90, President, Southeastern Division ASIH 1985-86, Vice-President, Southeastern Division ASIH 1984-1985, Secretary-Treasurer, Southeastern Division ASIH 1983-1984.
Research Interests: Ecological and evolutionary relationships of fishes, stream fish microhabitat selection, environmental impacts on persistence and stability of fish assemblages, ecology of surf zone fishes, conservation biology, anadromous fishes- especially sturgeon.

Chris Thacker, Assistant Curator of Ichthyology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles. ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Systematics, evolution, ontogeny and biogeography of marine acanthomorph fishes, particularly gobies.

Bruce Thompson, Associate Professor for Research, Coastal Fisheries Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
ASIH Service: Local Committee for Annual Meetings 1970, 1996, Session Moderator 1992, 1995, Storer Award Judge 1998, 1999, Resolutions Committee 2000, Stoye Award Committee 2000.
Research Interests: Taxonomy, systematics and life history of percid, fundulid, percophid and paralichthyid fishes, habitat and life history of
Gulf of Mexico sharks, imperiled species, exotic species.

Mark W. Westneat, Associate Curator of Zoology, Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ASIH Service: Chair Committee on Graduate Student Participation 1989-90, Reviewer for Copeia, Raney Award 1988, Stoye Award 1987.
Research Interests: Phylogenetic systematics and evolution of tropical marine fishes, molecular evolution, evolutionary biomechanics, and phylogeny of Labridae and Scaridae, functional morphology and physiology of vertebrates, modeling of vertebrate musculoskeletal systems.

BOG-- Herpetology

Ronald Brooks, Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Ontario;
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia, Local Committee for Annual Meeting in Guelph 1998. Research Interests: Ecology, behavior, life history evolution and conservation of reptiles, especially turtles and snakes, demography and reproductive behavior of frogs and salamanders, long term population changes in small mammals.

Vincent Burke, Science Editor, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Turtle ecology and conservation biology, biogeography and metapopulation ecology of herpetofauna, landscape ecology.

Lee Fitzgerald, Assistant Professor and Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A and M University, College Station.
ASIH Service: Editorial Board, Copeia, 1996-present, Gaige Awards Committee, 1997-2000 (Chair 2000).
Research Interests: Population and community ecology of amphibians and reptiles, herpetological conservation, tropical biology, sustainability.

Stanley Fox, Professor of Zoology and Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians, Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
ASIH Service: Copeia Editorial Board 1993-98, Reviewer for Copeia multiple times.
Research Interests: Lizard social organization as relating to environment, social cost of tail autotomy, tails as status-signalling badges, sexual selection and social behavior in collared lizards, dear enemy phenomenon in collared lizards, environmental effects on eggs and larvae of Patagonian anurans, effects of local and landscape-level habitat parameters on community structure of herps in the Ouachita Mountains.

Maureen Kearney, Assistant Curator, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
ASIH Service: Equal Participation Committee of ASIH, Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Comparative anatomy, systematics, and evolution of squamate reptiles; theory and methods of phylogenetic analysis.

Jimmy McQuire, Assistant Professor, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia, Stoye Award Judge- 1999, Stoye Award Judge/Chair- 2000. Research Interests: Phylogenetic and comparative methods to address functional morphology, life history evolution, and historical biogeography, Southeast Asian flying lizards (genus Draco).

David Sever, Professor, Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame.
ASIH Service: Stoye Award Judge and Chair- several years, Session Chair- multiple times, Common and Scientific Names Committee- 3 years.
Research Interests: Morphology and phylogeny of secondary sexual characters of amphibians and reptiles, comparative biology of sperm storage.

Laurie Vitt, Professor of Zoology, Curator of Reptiles, and Associate Director of Collections and Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
ASIH Service: Co-Editor, General Herpetology for Copeia 1988-1991, Board of Governors 1984-1987, Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Student Participation in ASIH 1983-1987, Nominating Committee 2000-2001.
Research Interests: Lizard ecology and behavior.

Erik Wild, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point.
ASIH Service: Reviewer for Copeia.
Research Interests: Systematics and ecology of reptiles and amphibians, primarily neotropical anurans, community ecology of adult and larval anurans, evolutionary and developmental morphology of Ceratophryinae, scientific illustration.
Appendix D. Report from the Independent Auditors -- NOT INCLUDED HERE