NEWSLETTER
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
- From The Editor
- Future Meeting Sites
- Election Results
- Member News
- Books of Interest
- Positions Available
The ISCE Newsletter is published
triannually, in October, February, and June.It is financed through member
contributions. None of the material contained herein may be reprinted
without the proper written acknowledgment of the editor. Address all correspondence
and newsletter submissions to the editor (Stephen Foster,
stephen.foster@ndsu.nodak.edu).
Deadline for the next issue is October 1, 2003.
By
this time, the first joint ISCE-APACE meeting should have taken place in
Gyeong-ju, South Korea. The meeting would have been the second ISCE meeting
held in Asia, and was intended by its principal organizer, Dr K.S. Boo,
to bring together chemical ecologists from Asia and the Pacific region,
many of whom have difficulty in attending meetings outside of their region,
with those from other parts of the world. Unfortunately, the confluence
of international events such as the war in Iraq, uncertainty over North
Korea, and especially the outbreak of SARS, probably conspired to deter
members from attending the meeting. The low actual and projected registration
numbers, which would have made the meeting uneconomic to stage, combined
with the realization that the aim of bringing chemical ecologists from around
the world to Asia, would not be achieved, led to Dr Boo deciding, with the
full support of the ISCE executive, to cancel the meeting. Needless to say,
this decision was not taken lightly especially since, at that late stage,
Dr Boo and his co-organizers had already done much of the planning and organizing,
and a number of members had already finalized their travel plans.
Along with disappointment, the cancellation of the meeting brought home to me many of the benefits and practicalities of the annual meeting for us, as researchers and members of this society. First and foremost it provides the best live forum for presentation of data in the field of chemical ecology. No other scientific meeting covers the range of topics in chemical ecology with such depth, and with so many of the leading researchers present. Related to this, is the fact that the annual meeting is also the best opportunity to meet with many colleagues and discuss research and issues in our field. The relatively small size and informal nature of the annual meeting means that it is relatively easy to meet with virtually everybody at the meeting. The annual meeting is also an opportunity for members to honor formally some of the outstanding contributors to the development of the field of chemical ecology. The intended recipients of this year’s Silver Medal and Silvetein-Simeone Awards, Jeremy McNeil and Richard Vogt, will now present their talks and be honored at the Ottawa meeting next year. In order that we will not double up on award winners at the Ottawa meeting, the Executive decided that the winners (to be announced in the next newsletter) of this year’s vote for these awards, will present their talks and be honored at the 2005 meeting in Maryland. Consequently, we will not be asking for nominations next year for the awards.
On a practical level for the society,
the annual meeting is important for the smooth running of the society.
It essentially offers the only opportunity for Executive and Council members
to meet and discuss and resolve various matters of interest to the society,
as well as providing a forum for members to express their views and vote
on these and other matters. The cancellation of the annual meeting has
meant that these issues have had to be dealt with by remote communication,
a more difficult and less satisfactory process. For example, the financial
statement for the past year is currently being prepared by Steve Teale,
and this will be checked by two members, however, members will not be
able to vote to accept/reject it until the Ottawa meeting.
With the cancellation of this year’s meeting it is therefore doubly important that members make a special effort to attend next years meeting in Ottawa, July 25-29 being organized by Thor Arnasson and Bernard Philogene (See http://www.isce-psna2004ottawa.ca/). Next year’s meeting will also be a joint meeting held in conjunction with the Phytochemical Society of North America. More details about this meeting are given below.
Finally, the new Executive has assumed
duties, albeit without the usual fanfare offered at the annual meeting.
Tom Baker has taken over the position of President from Jean-Luc Clément,
with Jean-Luc replacing Murray
Isman as past-president. Steve Teale and myself remain as Treasurer and
Secretary, respectively, while, completing the group, is Hanna Mustaparta
who was elected vice-president. I would like the express my
congratulations to Hanna, and also to Manfred Ayasse, Anne-Geneviève
Bagnères, Ken Haynes and Hiromi Sasagawa who have been elected
as new councilors.
The
theme for the ISCE 2004 Annual Meeting is: Chemical Ecology and Phytochemistry
in Forests and Forest Ecosystems. This will be a joint meeting with the
Phytochemical Society of North America (PSNA). The meeting will take place
on the campus of the University of Ottawa, Canada, on July 25-29, 2004.
There will be a symposium addressing the theme and participants are encouraged to submit papers and posters dealing with various aspects of chemical ecology that fit in the forest ecosystem, both temperate and tropical (plant/plant interactions; plant/animal interactions; animal/animal interactions; pheromones, etc).
Participants wishing to organize symposia on specific topics are also encouraged to inform the organizers by October 31, 2003. This is an absolute deadline.
Letters of invitation are available
from meeting hosts
Prof. J.T. Arnason / Prof. B.J.R. Philogène if they are required
to help attendees obtain funding (jarnason@science.uottawa.ca
; bphilog@science.uottawa.ca
).
Other scheduled meetings are:
• 2005, Maryland, USA (Organizer Jeff Aldrich)
• 2006, Barcelona (Organizers, Angel Guerrero and Francisco Camps)
• 2007, Jena, Germany (Organizer Wilhelm Boland)
• 2008, Pennsylvania State University, USA (Gary Felton, Jim Tumlinson)
• 2009, Neuchatel, Switzerland (Ted Turlings)
Vice-President
and President-Elect
Professor
Hanna Mustaparta, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science
and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, has been elected as the new ISCE Vice-President
and President-elect. Dr Mustaparta is internationally renowned for her
work on the mechanisms underlying olfactory coding and olfactory learning
in insect-plant interactions and pheromone communication in insects. Dr
Mustaparta is a member of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
and The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. She is a frequent
participant in meetings of ISCE and regularly referees and publishes papers
in the Journal of Chemical Ecology.
Councilors
ISCE councilors are elected for a term of three years. Councilors are
appointed from various geographical and subject areas, and advise the
ISCE Executive Committee.
Our new councilors will be:
Professor
Manfred Ayasse, Department of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm,
Germany. Professor Ayasse’s research interests focus on the Chemical
Ecology and Behavioral Ecology of hymenopteran insects and the reproductive
biology of orchids.
Dr.
Anne-Geneviève Bagnères, Institut de la Recherche sur la
Biologie de l'Insecte, CNRS, Tours, France. Dr. Bagnères work is
concerned with the chemical ecology of social insects.
Dr.
Kenneth Haynes, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Kentucky, USA. Dr. Haynes research at the University of Kentucky focuses
on the evolution of species-specificity of chemical communication in moths
and aggressive chemical mimicry by bolas spiders.
Dr. Hiromi Sasagawa, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Japan.
Dr. Sasagawa’s research interests range from the identification
of semiochemicals involved in social communication, to endocrine-based
modulation of neural and behavioral responses to these semiochemicals.
The outgoing councilors are John Hildebrand, Wilhelm Boland, Nelida Gomez,
Ann Hagermann, and Steven Seybold. The Executive thank them for their
conscientious duty during their terms on the council.
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Christopher Fettig
and Steven Seybold have recently moved from the Universities of Georgia
and Minnesota, respectively, to Research Entomologist positions with the
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station in Davis, California,
USA. The two scientists will focus on a research program on the chemical
ecology of bark beetles that addresses questions ranging from the basic
(e.g. molecular regulation of pheromone biosynthesis) to the applied (e.g.
population management techniques using semiochemicals). The bark beetle
research program is part of the Western Center for Chemical Ecology and
Management of Forest Insects led by Michael Haverty (Albany, California).
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Insect
Chemoreception: Fundamental and Applied by Michael F. Ryan, Published
by Kluwer Academic Publishers
See http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-0270-X
for more details.
Vomeronasal Chemoreception in Vertebrates by Dr Charles Evans, From World
Scientific Publishing
More about this book at http://www.wspc.com.sg/books/lifesci/p230.html
The publishers are offering a 20% discount to ISCE members if orders are
placed online by 30th September 2003. To obtain the discount, key in the
code:WSPC1000 when you checkout from the online bookshop at http://www.wspc.com.sg/books/lifesci/p230.html.
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Supervisory
Research Scientist
USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Northern Plains Area, Red River Valley
Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, North Dakota, seeks a permanent full
time GS-14/15 Supervisory Research Scientist [Research Biologist (Biochemistry),
Research Molecular Biologist (Insects), Research Physiologist (Insects),
Research Geneticist (Insects), or Research Chemist] to serve as Research
Leader of the Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Research Unit.
Incumbent will be responsible for all aspects of the Unit management including
fundamental research on development of environmentally safe and pest-specific
methods for insect and weed control using biochemical, genetic, molecular
biological, and physiological approaches; and for interaction with USDA
administrators and cooperators in universities and industry. Incumbent
will maintain a personal research program in area of expertise. U.S. citizenship
is required. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, OR specialized is
required. Salary range of $79,344-$121,330 per year. Benefits package
available. For information on the research program and/or position contact
Dr. L. Chandler at 701-239-1371 or via e-mail chandlel@fargo.ars.usda.gov.
A copy of this vacancy announcement appears at web address www.afm.ars.usda.gov/jobs/ARS-X3W-3437.htm;
or call 301-504-1561 for a printed copy.
Vacancy closes 10/20/03. USDA/ARS is an Equal Opportunity Provider and
Employer.
Microbial/Chemical Ecology
Postistion
Post-Doctoral Research Associate position available immediately. Service
Obligation: 100% research
Responsibilites: To conduct research on bacterially-derived semiochemicals
that mediate mosquito oviposition behavior.
Salary: Commensurate with experience. Qualifications: Ph.D. trained in
microbiology, entomology, or related fields. Experience in microbial ecology,
including culture and identification of bacterial species. Alternatively,
chemical ecology, including extraction, purification, behavioral assays
and identification of semiochemicals. Instrumentation skills, including
GC, MS, TLC, HPLC, and electrophysiology (EAG, GC-EAD) experience desirable.
To apply, submit resume, transcripts, relevant reprints and manuscripts,
letter describing background, skills and interests. Also submit names,
addresses and phone numbers of three references to:
Dr. Coby Schal
Department of Entomology
Box 7613
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7613
919.515.1821
coby_schal@ncsu.edu
Closing date: When a successful candidate
is found.
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