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> Fall Plant Sale > Collections & Research > Bartlett at Botany 2010
Bartlett at Botany 2010Check Out videos from Bartlett at Botany 2010 on our Facebook Page!
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Facebook VideosVisit the Bartlett on Facebook to ee new videos of our Eric and Jons presentations at Botany 2010
Cut and Paste the folloving link
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Stamford-CT/Bartlett-Arboretum-Gardens/313168855327?ref=ts&__a=11&ajaxpipe=1
(Posted 8/13/2010 by admin) |
Tuesday, August 3 |  | |
Tuesday was another busy day for us. Beginning at 8:00, we attended about 15 talks on a variety of topics. Beginning with a series of talks on invasive plants, we heard about some great research being done on Fallopia japonica (Japanese Knotweed) that is being done by a recent PhD student at Stony Brook University on Long Island. Other topics of research presentations included hybridization with natives in Celastrus orbiculatus (bittersweet) and Morus alba (mulberry).Several of the techniques being used will be very useful and applicable to research at the Bartlett upon Phellodendron amurense.
Before heading to lunch we got the chance to hear two short talks on the importance of teaching at botanic gardens. A major portion of these talks was having proper science taught to even younger course attendees. A brief slide show on an early elementary school program was discussed where kids visited an arboretum to perform experiment based projects. The presenters research showed strong evidence that this method of raising standards and difficulty levels of work expected of children, not just presenting facts led to much more information being retained.
After a great lunch of Cuban sandwiches (again), we attended a series of talks on what are known as the Asterids. These are later branching plants on the plant family tree. Those of you who have visited the Bartlett Arboretum Herbarium will know them as the plants in the last few cabinets by the door. While numerous talks are taking place simultaneously, we had to choose those that interested us the most. Since food is often on our minds we ended up listening to talks about the Solanales, which include common vegetables such as the eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes. The amount of molecular work being done to reconstruct the ancestry of these plants is both fascinating and mind boggling. A former classmate of mine from the New York Botanic Garden presented a fascinating paper on using the phenolic compounds in eggplant to construct their family tree, as well as the important health benefits of these compounds.
So, tonight we will head out to grab some food and track down some of the other attendees to exchange ideas and hopefully come up with areas in which we can collaborate on future projects.
Also . Keep your eyes out for videos of Jon and I presenting our work on youtube.
Eric
(Posted 8/3/2010 by admin) |
Monday August 2, 2010 |  | |
Today we attended paper sessions all day where presenters gave an overview of the research and results they got for recent publications. The presentations in the morning were about Invasive plants in a time of environmental change. The topics presented discussed predictions for what will likely happen to current populations of invasive exotic plants based on changing climate in geographic regions. These predictions do not speak to the decline of invasive populations but rather the expansion of those populations. Many of the presenters did provide models with methods to determine proper control measures based on resources or ecosystem function.
After lunch, which consisted of the worlds best Cuban sandwiches, we attended several other presentations. Several speakers spoke about floristic research in the Northeast and how herbaria can assist in the creation of an all inclusive flora in both print and electronic online accessible forms. Eric and I both felt inspired with multiple ideas for new research from the many presenters we encountered today.
When the presentations concluded for the day we got a chance to present our research posters on Phellodendron during the poster session. There were many posters to see however we discussed our poster with so many people we hardly had time to see any of them, perhaps tomorrow. Several fellow researchers approached us about the research we are doing at the Arboretum and offered to send along more information including herbarium sheets, sighting information from Massachusetts, and species description of Phellodendron from Ohio. The collaboration opportunities alone make this conference well worth attending but our research posters seemed to be very popular and elicited several wow that s cool. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day with interesting talks and hopefully some more discussions about future research opportunities.
(Posted 8/2/2010 by admin) |
August 1, 2010We just wrapped up our first few hours at Botany 2010. After setting up our posters for display, we attended the opening lecture by Ken Miller of Brown University. A cell biologist, Dr. Miller presented on the importance of teaching evolution to students and the opposition to teaching this integral part of all biology by a small but vocal politically backed group.
After the lecture we attended to opening mixer, a great chance to meet with other plant biologists to exchange ideas. Tonight we had the chance to discuss our work on invasives with a professor from SUNY Plattsburg, who has worked with several of the same species we work on at the Bartlett, including several asian species of Viburnum such as V. sieboldii, V. dilatatum and V. setigerum.
Tomorrow we have a full day scheduled, from 7:00am through 10:00pm but we ll be sure to get some photos up to go with the blog.
Eric
(Posted 8/1/2010 by admin) |
August 1, 2010 - Getting ready for Botany 2010Botany 2010
Botany 2010 is the annual conference of the Botanical Society of America, the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, the American Fern Society and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. As a major scientific conference with hundreds of participants from Botanic Gardens, Arboreta and Herbaria throughout the world attending, Jon and I are ecstatic to be representing the Bartlett Arboretum as the first attendees ever form the organizations
Over the past few days we have been preparing two posters to present throughout the course of the conference. Both posters describe some of the results of our recent research into the invasive tree Phellodendron amurense. One poster deals with the pattern of invasion of P. amurense into the forest at the Bartlett, as well as its impact upon the understory flora of the area invaded. The second poster covers the ability of P. amurese to invade a variety of vegetation types and includes the results of research we conducted throughout the eastern United States.
This conference will give us the chance to meet with other scientists, exchange ideas and learn about new research which is being done in other areas. We will be taking part in numerous discussion groups as well as attending many lectures on a variety of topics. Hopefully you will all get a chance to check in with the website for the updates we provide from the conference.
Eric C Morgan & Jon A. Borysiewicz
(Posted 8/1/2010 by admin) |
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