Fellow MSA members:

Mary Palm

Former MSA president Dr. Palm (of the Beltsville USDA-APHIS lab) shares her and fellow August asco workshoppers’ happy memories of Venezuela before the devastating floods and landslides of December.

Late last August (1999), two groups of lucky mycologists were able to attend NSF funded basidiomycete and ascomycete workshops held prior to the III Latin American Mycological Congress in Caracas, Venezuela. As instructors Don Pfister and Jack Rogers both stressed, while it is essential to study these organisms throughout the year in order to understand them, the courses were designed to maintain and increase taxonomic expertise of those who study in these areas of high biodiversity. The 25 students in each workshop had traveled from a wide variety of Latin American countries including Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela with a few also attending from Spain, Denmark, and the USA.

"Students" included practicing mycologists as well as graduate and undergraduate students and a number of Venezuelan mycologists who work with plant pathogens at the Venezuelan Department of Agriculture. As Fernando Fernandez, one ascomycete instructor from Venezuela, noted, "I was really impressed by the level of knowledge of ascomycetes shown by many of the participants."

Introductory lecture and laboratory presentations occupied the first day and a half of the workshops, both held at the attractive Simón Bolivar University. We then boarded two buses, including the infamous blue bus (see photo), for a trip to the Rancho Grande Biological Station in the Henry Pittier National Park. Racho Grande serves as a biological station for the Agronomy school at Universidad Central de Venezuela in Maracay. Over the next two days, we collected on and around several trails in the cloud forest. There was ample moisture in the forest and a number of interesting ascomycetes and ascomycetous anamorphs were collected (I know that the basidio people also collected some interesting fungi). Many of us remember Meredith Blackwell’s excitement over the eversion of the quellkorper in what she recalls as "...the fungus close to what Margaret Barr calls Acanthonitschkia in the Nitschkiaceae (Sordariales, p. 364 in the text). The Quellkorper is within the perithecium and it swells to evert and open the "cleistothecium" in a regular way. Some species also have a subiculum which absorbs water very quickly (water uptake increases Quellkorper eversion). The other neat thing is that the subiculum is home to many small invertebrate animals — especially nematodes."

Emory Simmons notes that "any Ascomycete workshop that lets me illustrate that Alternaria, Stemphylium, Nimbya, and Embellisia are perfectly good ascos has a lot going for it! ....Contacts with the Maracay group were fruitful on the Alternaria front, particularly Raisa Rumbos (Venezuela) who collected fresh material of an undescribed species on bean and Mauro Albarracin (Venezuela) who 4-wheel-drove me all over Aragua state looking for likely Alternaria leaf spots on Solanaceae."

I have also received comments from two of the students. Marcela Soto (an A. Romero student from Argentina) wrote "....For me it was wonderful to have the chance to work along with specialists of each group. This enriched me at the personal level as much as at the professional level. In my particular case, it was additionally very useful to meet so many wonderful people and to learn new ways to work and think. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity that was given to me when I was granted one of the fellowships for attending." José Hernández (a J. Hennen student from Argentina) expressed, "I was impressed with the beauty of the rain forest, the flora and fauna, and appreciated the opportunity to visit and collect fungi in such an incredible place. I was also impressed with the hospitality of the Venezuelan people in general and in particular the staff of the Universidad Simón Bolivar. The University is well-organized with a beautiful campus and was a very enjoyable place to study and to attend the course and the Congress which followed. I want to take this chance to say thank you to NSF and the organizers for the opportunity to attend the workshop." We all join him in extending our sincere appreciation to NSF, to those that made this workshop possible, and especially to Teresa Iturriaga who took care of all of the details needed to make the workshop a success.

After having such a wonderful experience it was painful to hear about the recent devastation and hardship in Venezuela. As Meredith Blackwell wrote "As I sit here remembering my first experience I am also thinking of the devastation the region has suffered." News from Gioconda San Blas (former President of ALM, Venezuela) and Teresa Iturriaga (former Secretary General of ALM, Venezuela) indicate that they and their families are fine but as San Blas writes "Thanks for your concern. We, our family, our belongings, our institute, are OK. But the country is in very bad shape after the flood. Since Venezuela’s main airport and port are located in the disaster area, we have been almost incommunicado to the outside world since December 15. It is only now that the airport (where you entered the country last August) is slowly recovering and starting operations. The whole beach zone was destroyed, some 30 thousand people died, and an additional 200 thousand lost their houses. It was really catastrophic. Universidad Simon Bolivar (where we held the LA Mycological Congress) has (had) a campus in the area, where they gave courses in 15 disciplines. Of the 11 buildings conforming the campus, 9 were completely destroyed and the 2 remaining were severely damaged. This has been the worst ever natural catastrophe in Venezuela’s recorded history." And as Teresa wrote "I am only today reading my Email, since I have been working at different centers helping with this devastating situation we have had in Venezuela. Since last week, Simon Bolivar University has lodged 160 people that lost their homes, and we have been working organizing food, medical attention, and information." It seems that in this situation the news media did not exaggerate and it appears that the devastation was even worse than reported.

To end on a more positive note, in addition to seeing lots of interesting fungi - we saw beautiful birds, monkeys swinging through the trees, and incredible vegetation. Meredith Blackwell and Matias Cafaro (a R. Lichtwardt student from Argentina) were lucky enough to happen upon a very large, speckled snake. We also saw a memorial for a graduate student who died after falling from a tree in the forest while doing his research. We ate great food and drank fresh fruit juices prepared by the Station’s manager. The workshops gave both students and instructors alike an opportunity to interact, a better appreciation for the diversity of fungi in the tropics, and a desire to return to the Biological Station to collect in the future.

1Asco) front row (l to r) - Rick Weinstein, Rosario Medel, Karen Hansen, Kris Peterson, Marcela Soto; back row Matias Cafaro, Paolo Porras, José Hernández, Mary Palm, Fernando Fernandez, Don Pfister, Dick Hanlin, Emory Simmons

2bAsco) Three Argentinean mycologists - Mario Rajchenberg, José Hernández, Matias Cafaro

3Asco) The blue bus - front row (l to r) Pavel Lizon, Mario Rajchenberg, Josepa Gene, J. Guarro, Javier Collado, Julieta Carranza, Esperanza Franco; mid row Fernando Fernandez, Sharon Cantrell, Pidal Vidal, Jean Lodge, Dick Hanlin, Jack Rogers, Nils Hallenberg, Jose Hernandez, Mary Palm, Emory Simmons, Peter Robert; last row - Tim Baroni, Karl-Henrik Larsson, Felipe San Martin, Don Pfister

Barring the unforeseen, you should be receiving this issue of INOCULUM in January-February, 2000. Now that you have received the roster of Committees in the November-December INOCULUM (held up due to a delay in completing the MYCOLOGIA Index for volume 91), we should press forward on MSA Committee business and get some things done. If you are in doubt about your timetable or your duties, please do not hesitate to ask me or Maren Klich, MSA Secretary, for direction. Do not wait to be directed!

In the past two months, three really interesting opportunities have arisen for the MSA to make a difference - not just the weekly, routine-though-always-unexpected MSA crises that erupt with great urgency. The first of these opened up as the WTO meeting in Seattle approached in November. We had the opportunity to nominate a MSA mycologist to sit on a new Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) for the U.S. Department of the Interior. The purpose and role of the ISAC, under Executive Order 13112, are to provide advice to the Invasive Species Council on a broad array of issues related to preventing the introduction of invasive species and providing for their control and minimizing the economic, ecological, and human health impacts that invasive species cause. The Council is Co-chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce. ISAC will consist of no more than 25 voting members, to be U.S. citizens. Members will be appointed by the Secretary of Interior, in consultation with the other members of the Council. We hope that our nominee will be selected.

Even though the WTO has been in the spotlight, scientific oversight on unintentional introductions of alien organisms in the course of global trade has not been an issue that has gotten much attention. After much discussion and deliberation, the MSA Council approved a set of amendments to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement) sent to us by Faith T. Campbell, of the American Lands Alliance. Other endorsing organizations included the Ornithological Council and the Center for Marine Conservation. Council Members, James Worrall and Mary Palm were extremely helpful in sorting out the facts as we dealt with this complex issue. As Mary Palm pointed out, "The main additions that this group has suggested are very important for the fungi since we have discovered so few of the fungi, and (we) have little or no information on biology, etc. for most fungi. These additions to the agreement will allow expert opinion etc. in making risk assessments and will also allow assessing the risk of certain pathways or commodities, e.g. the solid wood packing material - where we don’t know what fungi might be there but its likely there are fungi that pose a potential risk. The SPS agreement specifies that countries should use risk assessments of specific organisms - and this is where it is difficult with fungi - i.e., if we can’t prove it is bad then we have to assume its OK, which as we all know is not necessarily the case...The amendments address issues that are directly related to our gaps in knowledge of the plant inhabiting fungi." It may turn out that some U.S. regulation intended to keep pests out is overturned by a WTO decision, which could allow preventable introductions of potentially damaging species. We all know how fractious the Seattle WTO meeting turned out to be. WTO officials will begin meeting with individual countries after Christmas to discuss where the WTO will try to go next. All trade negotiations are likely to be long and complicated.

The second opportunity for the MSA to mix with the outside world was the first ever, Presidents’ Summit, hosted by the American Institute of Biological Sciences at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA., November 11-14, 1999. AIBS is an umbrella organization with 69 member societies, representing 150,000 scientists; representatives of 57 societies were at the Summit. Member societies include the MSA, Ecological Society of America, Entomological Society of America, Society of Systematic Biologists, Torrey Botanical Society, U.S. Federation for Culture Collections, Society for the Study of Evolution, Botanical Society of America, and the American Phytopathological Society, but societies representing every area from Poultry Science to Ecological Economics are also members. I represented the MSA at the meeting (Bob Pohlad is our AIBS Council Representative) and the MSA was one of 16 sponsors, although the Packard Foundation provided substantial support and all my expenses were covered by AIBS. The meeting was extraordinary in two respects. First, I rediscovered AIBS. Many of us think of AIBS as the organizer of meetings in which we participated in the past. AIBS has much more to offer the MSA, namely legal and business advice, graphic and logistical support for our home page, a professional policy representative in Washington, and an exciting new venture to bundle journals, facilitating electronic publication for small societies like the MSA. Second, the meeting, opened by Rita Colwell* and closed by E. O. Wilson, offered an opportunity to catch up in breaking areas of research funding, public policy and education. After stimulating panel presentations, we broke up into facilitated discussion sessions. After two days of very hard work, we agreed on a set of policy priorities. The commitments on specific plans of action made by the group include:

1. Increase and diversify research funding by demonstrating the benefits of basic and applied research;

* Related to all this is the new $50 Million NSF "Special Competition" for grants on Biocomplexity in the Environment: Deadline for filing letters of intent is 31 January 2000, the proposal deadline is March 1, 2000. The anticipated date of awards: September 2000. See the full text at <http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsf0022/nsf0022.htm>

One very tangible outcome of the summit will be a workshop on biological collections and databases to be held at the Smithsonian Institution tentatively just before the AIBS 2000 Meeting in March. I am working with Brian Boom (New York Botanical Garden) of the Association of Systematics Collections and a small committee of others in getting this organized. We hope to have representatives of all kinds of collections and NSF together in one room in order to discuss infrastructure funding in an era of expanding research in genomics, biodiversity and biocomplexity.

Third, and last, on December 3-4, I attended a Council Meeting (at the Royal Society) and the Annual General Meeting of the British Mycological Society as the guest of the BMS President, Dr. Stefan Buczacki. I presented the Annual Lecture, "History, process and diversity: Looking forward to a new century of fungal systematics" at the Linnean Society. I discussed in depth with BMS senior officers our mutual interests and concerns. Watch for a new BMS publication, FIELD MYCOLOGY. The BMS main meeting on Tropical Mycology will be held at John Moores University, Liverpool, 25-29 April, 2000; several MSA members will be contributing and the MSA has provided sponsorship. Also, watch for new liaison relationships between our two societies. We have our sights on a joint meeting, perhaps in 2003 with an exciting and inclusive theme. Stay tuned.

Linda M. Kohn, President
Mycological Society of America

To the Mycological Society of America on the Occasion of becoming a "Distinguished Mycologist."

I would like to thank the members of the society, the Awards committee and all those who so kindly worked and wrote on my behalf. To receive an award from ones peers at a National meeting is a wonderful experience, and to receive this one in particular is an experience of a lifetime. It does take almost a lifetime to attain these rarefied heights – heights that seemed Olympian when I first ventured into the arena of professional mycology and met the then most distinguished mycologists. My first experience with one such DM was meeting Cap Weston. My mentor at McGill, Charles Wilson, had been a Weston student, and had done a post-doc with Ralph Emerson, also a Weston student, and I had been fully exposed to the wonderful nature of this great man. At my first national meeting in 1955, Charles took me to meet Cap. He was sitting in a corner and Charles led the way to introduce me. I must say that Cap was a tall man, and he had very large feet- a point of importance as you will see. I was a nervous graduate student and as I approached Cap, my feet bumped into what I thought was a small ledge upon which Cap’s chair was placed, so I stepped up on the ledge. Cap, in all his graciousness said that he would be glad to rise to greet me, if I would only get off his feet! Not, I must admit, the best way for a young mycologist-to-be to meet one of the great men!

The following year, I presented my first paper at the MSA meeting in 1956. Charles was well aware of the standards held by Cap and Ralph Emerson as to the way students should present papers and he had drilled me, and drilled me, and drilled me until I could recite the talk, with feeling, in my sleep. Thank heavens that he did, as I stepped up to the podium I glanced at the front row and there was an array of DMs that was terrifying to this shaking speaker both Ken and John Raper, E.W. Olive, E. Bessey, C. Alexopoulos, J. Karling, R. Emerson, L. Olive, F. Sparrow, J. Couch, F. Wolfe, and a galaxy of other lights. I really cannot remember actually giving the talk I know I must have done because the time had passed and I was finished and it was then that I finally realized the value of thorough preparation because that talk led to my post-doc with Ken Raper.

It has been 48 years since I was asked by the Botany department chair at George Washington University to feed a slime mold over the week end an act of nutrition that got me hooked on things small and pale and filamentous, an addiction that I have never regretted and intend to feed for many years to come. But it would be foolish of me to believe that it has been only my obsession with fungi that have brought me to this point in my life. The major, the greatest aspect of my career has been the interaction with students; students just entering college, advanced undergraduates working in my lab or taking my courses, graduate students who tolerated my ignorance and dilettantism and got down to the real work while managing to keep my ego under control, the post-docs who came to learn and gave more than they received, all have been the sanctuary to which I could return after the usual frustrations of administration and who have made this fungal journey one of joyous unlimited exploration.

--MSA agreed to endorse several amendments to the Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards, a part of the World Trade Organization agreements.

--Nominated Jeff Stone as the MSA candidate for membership on the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (US Department of Interior)

-- $500 in travel expenses for President Linda Kohn to attend the AIBS Presidents’ Summit in Warrenton VA

-- $2000 to support the British Mycological Society Symposium on Tropical Mycology in 2000. This symposium has a number of contributors from the Americas, and is on a topic of special interest to MSA.

-- payment of the Karling Lecture honorarium in 2000 without requiring a paper for Mycologia.

-- a motion to increase symposium funding from the usual $3000 to $7000 for the year 2000 meeting. This allows usage of the $20 surcharge already approved for full members participating in this meeting.

The following three items, involving minor changes to our new Constitution/Bylaws, have been passed by council. Society members will be asked to vote on these issues on the spring ballot.

1. The name of the Senior Research Awards Committee will be changed to the Research Awards Committee. This new committee administers the Smith and Martin-Baker awards. The Smith bequest was to support research at all levels, not just senior scientists. The new committee name is in keeping with this intention.

2. The size of the International Affairs Committee will be changed to 4 to 5 members, each serving 4 year terms (from 4 members in the current Bylaws). This gives the chair some leeway in committee size.

3. Mycologia Associate Editors will serve 3 year terms with one renewal permitted (maximum term, 6 years). This is a change from the current Bylaws which stipulate a 2 year term with a maximum of 2 renewals. This comes at the request of the current Editor-in-Chief who finds it difficult to replace Associate Editors on the current 2 year cycle.

The roll-over to the new century might well have slipped by unnoticed had the editorial worry wart not prepared for the big Nonevent by upgrading to byte-heavy Y2K compliant programs. The brain of the editorial computer became so packed with extraneous knowledge that most programs slowed to a virtual standstill. Newly refreshed, we remind you that the deadline for the second issue of the millennium is February 15 and wish everyone a most wonderful next thousand years.

On the Embarrassing additions, omissions and corrections front: we omitted the "co" from an Email address last April. This was finally noticed by Dr. Royall Moore when he tried to access Taxy using the wrong address. Be alert for the corrected address in the Mycology On-Line directory.

Marilyn Shaw, alerting us to an error in Jack Murphy’s report in the ‘upper right quadrant’ of Inoculum 50(5) page 21: the correct year of the NAMA Copper Mountain foray was 1997, not 1977.

A caption was inadvertently omitted under Teresa Iturriaga’s photo of the Ascomycete workshop participants in Inoculum 50(6): 15. The revelers included (left to right) Pavel Lizon, Meredith Blackwell, Rick Weinstein, and Don Pfister.

The annual MSA foray will be held on Sunday, July 30. We will collect in the Indian Brook Reservoir Park (IBRP), located about eight miles from the UVM campus. Between 500 and 600 acres, the IBRP has a nice variety of woodlands and mixed terrain. The park will be described in more detail in the next Inoculum.

Registration is required for the foray, limited to 135 participants. The cost of $30 per participant also covers a boxed lunch and additional beverages. For questions or more information, contact Don Ruch, Foray Coordinator, at 765-285-8829 or <druch@bsu.edu>.

The Committee is hosting an informal poster session on fungi in the laboratory at this year’s meeting at the University of Vermont. In order for this session to be successful, we need your participation.

If you are using fungi in interesting ways in the laboratory or know of such uses, please consider presenting a poster. Remember, although you may think that what you do in the teaching laboratory is common knowledge, your colleagues may be totally unaware of these techniques.

To help organize the session, please submit a short abstract to Don Ruch, chair of the committee. (Mail to Dr. Don Ruch, Dept. Biology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47383 or Email to <druch@gw.bsu.edu>.)

All abstracts will be published in a booklet to be distributed at the meeting. Since this is an informal poster session, these presentations will not count against any research presentations.

Donald G. Ruch, Chairman
MSA Teaching Committee

For over 20 years the Mycological Society of America has been recognizing excellence in research, teaching and service among its membership by awarding honors of distinction such as the Distinguished Mycologist Award, the Alexopoulos Prize, and the William H. Weston Award for Excellence in Teaching. This year the MSA Council, with help from the newly formed Distinctions Committee, has established a new honor, the MSA Fellows award, to be presented each year to two outstanding mycologists midway through their distinguished careers. Details on awards criteria, requirements, and the nomination process are provided below. Please help us to recognize and honor our distinguished colleagues and mentors by submitting nominations for these awards to the Distinctions Committee.

Note: The Distinctions Committee is responsible for evaluating nominees and selecting recipients of the Distinguished Mycologist Award, the MSA Fellows awards, the Alexopoulos Prize, and the William H. Weston Teaching Award. The committee consists of four members who are previous winners of one or more of these awards. Committee members are not eligible to nominate or be nominated for these awards.

Chair, Dr. Dennis E. Desjardin - Dept. of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132. Phone: (415)338-2439. Fax: (415)338-2295. Email: ded@sfsu.edu

Dr. Brent Heath - Dept. of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. Phone: (416)736-5511. Fax: (416)736-5698. Email: brent@yorku.ca

Dr. Jack D. Rogers - Dept. Plant Pathology, Washington State University, PO Box 646430, Pullman, WA, USA 99164-6430. Phone: (509)335-9541. Fax: (509)335-9581. Email: rogers@wsu.edu

Dr. Ian Ross - Dept. of MCD Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA 93106. Phone: (805)893-2784. Fax: (805)893-4724. Email: ross@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu

Awarded annually to an individual who has been outstanding in his or her mycological career. This is one of the highest awards to be bestowed by the MSA and is intended to mark a distinguished career. Nominees for the award will be evaluated on the basis of quality, originality, and quantity of their published research, and on the basis of service to the MSA or to the field of mycology in general.

Requirements: (1) The nominee must be a current member of MSA or eligible for emeritus membership. (2) The nominee must have received his or her terminal degree at least twenty years prior to January 1 of the year in which the award is given. Honorary degrees shall not be considered in determining the time interval. (3) An individual may receive the Distinguished Mycologist Award only once. (4) Self nomination is not allowed. (5) Nominators must also be members of the MSA.

Documents required: The nomination folder should contain: (1) A nominating letter, including a detailed evaluation of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to Mycology. (2) A current curriculum vitae. (3) A list of the nominee’s publications. (4) Up to five additional letters of support.

Apply to: The nominator should prepare four copies of the completed nomination folder and send one copy to each of the four members of the committee (addresses above). Each copy of the completed application must include all required documents listed above.

Note: The Chairperson of the Distinctions Committee will appoint ad hoc committee members in place of committee members whose major professor may be nominated for the award. The committee may choose to make more than one award or no award in a given year, if it is appropriate. Presentation of the award, a plaque, will take place at the awards ceremony at the annual meeting of the MSA. The recipient will be notified in time to plan to attend the presentation. The name of the winner of the award will be published in Inoculum.

Nominees will be evaluated primarily on the basis of quality, originality, and quantity of their published research, and on the basis of service to MSA or to the field of mycology in general.

Requirements: (1) The nominee must be a current member of MSA. Those wishing to nominate a non-member should encourage the potential candidate to join MSA prior to nomination. (2) The nominee must have received his or her Ph.D. 10-25 years prior to January 1 of the year in which the award is given. Under exceptional circumstances an outstanding candidate lacking a Ph.D. may be considered. (3) An individual may receive the MSA Fellows award only once. (4) Self nomination is not allowed. (5) Nominators must also be members of the MSA.

Documents required: The nomination folder should contain: (1) A nominating letter, including a detailed evaluation of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to Mycology. (2) A current curriculum vitae. (3) A list of the nominee’s publications. (4) Up to five additional letters of support, at least 2 of which are from MSA members.

Note: Although the committee seeks to make two awards annually, it may choose to make one or no award in a given year in the event that there are insufficient suitable nominees. Presentation of the award, a plaque, will take place at the awards ceremony at the annual meeting of the MSA. The recipients will be notified in time to plan to attend the presentation. The names of the winners of the award will be published in Inoculum.

Awarded annually to an outstanding "young" mycologist based on evaluation of his or her research. The nominees will be evaluated primarily on the basis of quality, originality, and quantity of their published work.

Requirements: (1) The nominee must be a current member of the MSA. (2) Nominees are to have received their last degree within the ten year period immediately preceding January 1st of the year in which the award is given. This will normally be an individual who received his or her degree 7-10 years previously. (3) An individual may receive the Alexopoulos Award only once. (4) Self nomination is not allowed. (5) Nominators must also be members of the MSA. (6) Nominees who are not chosen for the prize in the year in which they are nominated will be reconsidered for up to two additional years (within the 10-year limit). The Distinctions Committee Chairperson will request updates of the nominee’s materials.

Documents required: The nominator should request that the nominee prepare four copies of the following two items and send one copy to each of the four members of the Distinctions Committee: (1) a current curriculum vitae; and (2) 7-10 reprints of the nominee’s most significant papers. In addition, (3) a letter from the nominator that states the nominee’s merits, and (4) at the nominator’s discretion, up to five additional supporting letters should be sent directly to the Distinctions Committee Chairperson, who will collate and distribute them to committee members.

Note: The award consists of a plaque and a monetary award derived from the annual interest on the principle deposited in the MSA Alexopoulos Fund. Presentation of the award will take place at the awards ceremony at the annual meeting of the MSA. The recipient will be notified in time to plan to attend the presentation. The name of the winner of the award will be published in Inoculum.

Awarded annually to an outstanding teacher of mycology. However, if none of the nominees meets the standards of excellence acceptable to the committee, an award need not be made.

Requirements: Awardee preference should be given to active teachers of either graduate or undergraduate courses in mycology. No preference should be made according to candidate’s age, sex, academic rank, or type of institution (e.g., liberal arts college, agricultural school, medical school, junior college, etc.) A nominee’s folder should be compiled by a responsible, qualified person who knows the nominee. The nominator (or person designated by the Distinctions Committee Chairperson in consultation with the committee, the nominee, and the nominator) should prepare the nominee’s folder.

Documents required: The nomination folder should contain: (1) a current curriculum vitae, including courses taught in mycology, plant pathology and related areas. (2) A list of graduate students with research (thesis) topics, degrees and dates, publications, and current addresses. (3) A list of publications related to the teaching of mycology; textbooks; teaching seminars, symposia or workshops given by the nominee to either lay or academic groups; and national, regional, state or local committees, panels, etc., on teaching. (4) A statement from the nominee on teaching philosophy, i.e., what the nominee personally believes it takes to make an excellent teacher, what the candidate is trying to accomplish in teaching mycology, and how various teaching techniques and strategies help to accomplish this goal. (5) A list of previous awards or recognition for outstanding teaching. (6) Evaluation of the nominee’s teaching is to be completed by the folder compiler. This section should contain: solicited and unsolicited letters from students and colleagues who have taken or audited the nominee’s courses; course evaluation forms; and any other information documenting teaching excellence. Letters of evaluation should address the nominee’s interest in teaching, enthusiasm for the subject, special attributes, innovative and special techniques, ability to present clearly ideas or concepts, capacity to motivate students, concern for students, ability to relate to students, and the characteristic or going above an beyond normal teaching duties. The nominator should contact a minimum of three former students, listed by the nominee, requesting letters of evaluation.

Apply to: One copy of the nomination folder containing all required documents listed above should be sent to the Distinctions Committee Chairperson (address above).

Note: The nomination folder of unsuccessful nominees will be retained by the Distinctions Committee for two years, and the nominee will have the option of updating or adding to the folder each year. Presentation of the award will take place at the awards ceremony at the annual meeting of the MSA. The recipient will be notified in time to plan to attend the presentation. The name of the winner of the award will be published in Inoculum.

Margaret E. Silliker, Chair--Dept. of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, 2325 North Clifton Ave, Chicago IL 60614 USA <msillike@wppost.depaul.edu> 773-325-2194 Fax 773-325-7596

Lauraine Hawkins--Pennsylvania State University at Mont Alto, Mont Alto, PA 17237-9703 USA <lkh1@psu.edu> 717-749-6237 Fax 717-749-6069

Joseph W. Spatafora--Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology, 2082 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2902 USA <spatafoj@bcc.orst.edu>541-737-5304 Fax: 541-737-3573

Wendy A. Untereiner--Brandon University, Botany Dept, Rm. 3-9 J.R. Brodie Science Centre Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A9 CAN <untereiner@brandonu.ca> 204-727-9603 Fax: 204-728-7346

Two MSA Graduate Fellowships of $2,000 each, one additional $2,000 award (the Memorial NAMA Fellowship), and one $1000 award (the Backus Award) are awarded annually to promising graduate students in mycology. Applicants are evaluated on the basis of their scholastic merit, research ability, and promise shown as a mycologist. The Fellowship stipends are intended as supplementary grants and may be used by the recipients in any way to further their graduate studies. They are awarded in addition to any fellowship or assistantship support from other sources.

Restrictions: (1) Applicants must be student members of the MSA; (2) Applicants must be candidates for the Ph.D. and resident during the tenure of the fellowship in a university in the United States or Canada; (3) Previous MSA Fellows are not eligible; (4) The NAMA Fellowship comes with the stipulation that the awardee prepare an article for McIlvainea.

Documents required (four copies): (1) A curriculum vitae that includes a paragraph concerning the student’s training in preparation for the proposed work. (2) A detailed plan of study. The text of the proposal should be no longer than five pages, single-spaced. See below for suggestions. (3) Two letters of recommendation, one of which is from the student’s advisor. (4) Graduate school transcripts showing courses taken, grades received, student Social Security number and Student ID number. Xerox copies are acceptable if signed by the advisor.

Suggestions for the Plan of Study: (1) Use a one paragraph abstract at the beginning. (2) An introduction should explain what you want to do and why it is interesting/important. (3) A methods section should convince the reader that the project is feasible. (4) A discussion section should explain results and significance. (5) Be concise. Use double spacing between paragraphs to make reading easier. Use section heading to make the organization easier to follow.

Apply to: Prepare four copies of the completed application and send one copy to each of the four members of the Awards Committee: Drs. Margaret Silliker (chair), Lauraine Hawkins, Joseph W. Spatafora, and Wendy A. Untereiner. Each copy of the completed application should include all four types of information listed above.

NOTE: The chairperson will appoint an ad hoc member to replace any committee member who has a student applying for a fellowship or who otherwise feels a conflict of interest. The winning applicants will be notified upon selection (usually within four weeks of the closing date for applications) so that they may plan to attend the awards presentation at the annual meeting. Those applicants not notified within this time were not selected as awardees, but all applicants will be notified of their status. The stipends are awarded after confirmation of university registration.

Two MSA Graduate Research Prizes of $100 each are awarded annually to the two best research papers in mycology presented orally by graduate students at the annual MSA meeting. Two MSA Graduate Research Prizes of $100 each are awarded annually to the best student posters in mycology, presented by graduate students at the annual MSA meeting.

Requirements: (1) The applicant must be a member of the MSA. (2) Persons eligible for a Graduate Research Prize are MSc or PhD candidates or those who have been awarded the degree within one year of the annual meeting. (3) Previous recipients of either category of Graduate Research Prize are not eligible for a second award.

How to apply: An individual should apply for consideration for a Graduate Research Prize by so indicating on the 2000 Abstract Form for the MSA meeting. Application may be made for either but not both categories of Graduate Research Prizes. A student can apply for and receive both the Graduate Fellowship and a Graduate Research Prize. Include Social Security number and Student ID number.

Evaluation: The Awards Committee will evaluate applicants on the basis of significance of the work, creativity, appropriateness of the methods, clarity of presentation, and validity of conclusions. An effort will be made to send at least two members of the committee to each oral presentation and for all members to view the poster competition. Ad hoc members of the Awards Committee will be appointed by the Chair to avoid a conflict of interest or to facilitate the judging. These prizes will be announced at the Awards ceremony.

The previous issue of Inoculum [50(6): 13-14] contains complete instructions for the Smith and Martin-Baker Research Awards and Mentor Student Travel Awards. Only summaries of critical information are provided below.

(i) proposal indicating how the study of AH Smith specimens and manuscripts will advance the applicant’s work

Send to: Committee Chair Dr Timothy Baroni, Dept of Biological Sciences PO Box 2000 SUNY College at Cortland, Cortland NY 13045 <BaroniTJ@Cortland.edu>

(i) curriculum vitae with publication list and alternative support sources

Send to: Dr. Kenneth Wells, 601 Indian Camp Creek Rd, Hot Springs, NC 28743 <kwells@nclink.net>.

(ii) curriculum vitae with telephone, fax and Email addresses + information on any past Mentor Travel Award(s) + contact address for matching funds verification (if available from home institution)

(iii) one page research project description including how award will further research/course of study

(iv) letter of support from major professor addressing student’s abilities & potential and briefly summarizing the student’s current research.

Send to: Committee Chair Dr Josephine Taylor, Dept of Biology, Box 13003, Stephen F Austin State University, Nacogdoches TX 75962 USA <jtaylor@sfasu.edu>.

During the III Latin American Mycological (ALM) Congress in Caracas (27-31 August, 1999), American rust taxonomists met in two symposia (Overview of Rust Knowledge in the Western Hemisphere I and II) and in a post congress workshop (Planning for Coordinated Rust Taxonomy Research in the Americas) organized by José R Hernández and Joe F Hennen and funded by the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).

The Symposia gave the opportunity for each participant to present their current research efforts and provided the basis for future work. The goals of the Workshop were to coordinate communication, research efforts, and the sharing of collections and literature in order to further knowledge of the rust fungi of the Americas.

As a result of the workshop, Centers of Study were designated in each of the countries to serve as resource centers in an overall network for rust research. Future production of references (in print and on the web) on rusts of the Americas that include high-quality illustrations was also emphasized, since few of the available references include photomicrographs. Another goal of the group is to train additional students in rust taxonomy, therefore future meetings will include forays and teaching workshops.The participants expressed their appreciation to the organizers of the III ALM Congress, especially to Teresa Iturriaga for her many efforts in making this event a success.

After the meeting, John Pitt, the well-known Penicillium taxonomist who has so often visited his colleagues in other countries, took the opportunity to organize several outings as "Pitt’s Personal Tour of Australia". The trip to the wineries of the Hunter Valley included no fewer than five Alexopoulos Prize winners! Despite a wounded leg, John led us all on a walk along the coastal cliffs, with lots of botanizing (and shockingly little mycology) along the way.

October (1999) Dr Alice W Chen gave presentations on the cultivation of Grifola frondosa and Agaricus blazei at the 3rd International Conference on Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products in Sydney, Australia. While there she visited the Elf Agaricus mushroom farm, Leading Specialty mushroom Farm, Li-Sun Mushroom Farm, and Arnold Spawn Laboratory in Bowral, NSW. While studying medicinal mushrooms in Chinatown, Chen was interviewed on radio; that interview was broadcast in Sydney during the conference. Proceedings of the conference are available on CD-ROM (Contact Dr Andrew Broderick <a.broderick@usw.edu.au>).

Drs Steve Stephenson and Martin Schnittler spent ten days in the Yucatan region of Mexico during late November. They were accompanied by two of Steve’s students, Adam Rollins and Maribeth Overking. The purpose of the trip was to carry out a biotic survey of myxomycetes associated with the subtropical semi-deciduous forests of the El Eden Ecological Reserve on the Yucatan Peninsula. They were joined at El Eden by Carlos Lado of the Real Jardin Botanico in Madrid, Diana Wrigley de Basanta of the American School in Madrid, Arturo Estrada-Torres of the Universidad Autonoma de Tlaxcala in Mexico, and Nisao Ogata, a biologist from the University of California at Riverside. The biotic survey carried out on this trip is part of an ongoing study of the distribution and ecology of myxomycetes in the forests of Central and South America.

MSA members Toru Okuda, Gerald Bills and Maren Klich spoke at a symposium on Diversity of Fungal Metabolites held December 4 at Tamagawa University in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. Other lecturers included Yasuhiro Hori (Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co.), and Haruo Seto (University of Tokyo). The one-day meeting was attended by about 150 people. The symposium ended with an enthusiastic panel discussion on the current and future role of filamentous fungi in modern high-throughput screening programs for pharmaceutical discovery. This symposium was sponsored by the Kanto Branch of the Mycological Society of Japan.

A field guide to the myxomycetes, written by Dr Steve Stephenson and published originally as a hardback edition by Timber Press (Portland, Oregon) in 1994, is scheduled to be reprinted in a paperback edition early next year. The hardback edition of the field guide, which is entitled Myxomycetes: a Handbook of Slime Molds, is now almost out of print. The new paperback edition, which will sell for $19.95, will represent a more affordable version of the field guide, which has been marketed worldwide.

Dr Alice Chen and collaborators published "Maitake at a glance" with numerous photographs of cultivation techniques in the Mushroom Grower’s Newsletter Sept/Oct 1999.

Dave Farr, keeper of the MSA Online Directory, asks that everyone take a moment to update their information on the Online Directory.You may wish to change or add information. Those of you whose area codes or Email addresses have been changed should make note!

Meredith Blackwell’s directory information has changed: new information includes the addition of ‘Department of Biological Sciences" and the following area code changes: 225-388-8551 FAX 225-388-8459.

A ‘c’ was unfortunately omitted from the directory listing for Coleman McCleneghan. Her correct Email address should be <mccleneghanc@appstate.edu>.

Roy Watling can be reached via his new Email address <caledonianmyc@compuserve.com>.

Dr William Andrew Campbell died in Athens George on September 20, 1999 at the age of 93. Born in New Jersey in 1906, "Andy" grew up in Pennsylvania. He attended Mansfield State Normal School, the University of Colorado and obtained his doctorate in plant pathology from Pennsylvania State College. Dr Campbell entered the field of forest disease research with the USDA in 1936 and in 1942 was assigned to the Guayule Project in Salinas, California as Senior Pathologist. He moved to Georgia in 1946 where he began a long and productive association with the University of Georgia Forestry School and the Department of Plant Pathology. From 1946 until 1953 he was in charge of the Forest Disease Research laboratory at UG’s Bureau of Plant Industry and was Research Center Leader at the Southeast Forest Experiment Station (1955-1961) where he received the USDA Superior Service Award. After serving as Pathologist-in-Charge of the Forest Service Biological Lab in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina (1961-1963), he returned to Athens where he was director of the Forest Service Laboratory until his retirement in 1971. From 1971 until 1980 he taught plant pathology at the University of George. In 1981, Dr Campbell was inducted into the Georgia Forestry Hall of Fame.

On December 8-10, 1999 Fungal TWIG Representatives Dr Carol Shearer, Dr Jim Johnson and L Anathea Brooks attended the first annual Great Smoky Mountain National Park-All Taxa Biological Inventory scientific review in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. While we may not have conducted the first millennium’s worth of research in the first eight months, the Fungal TWIG hit the ground running and was able to report on an impressive array of accomplishments.

Anathea, who served both as Liaison for the Macrofungal Pilot Study and meeting scribe, noted: "Jim prepared the TWIG’s presentation on his laptop using Power Point, which he presented on December 9. It looked superb. I had prepared handouts of the main page for the epigeous macrofungal project ("Butterflies of the Soil"), so participants could view our updated species list and site reports on their computers after the meeting." University of Tennessee’s Frank Harris chaired the meeting. Important announcements:

· The $450,000 congressional appropriation for design and planning of the proposed Twin Creeks sorting lab facility has been approved (design input desired).

· A charter has been written for the newly incorporated Discover Life in America (DLIA) with an ad agency contracted to create both logo and ‘presence’ (Mycologists take note: the stationery will include a generic agaric and three animals representing life).

· The Legal Committee seeks volunteers willing to address the trademark issue (e. g. Taq) and decide whether new species names should be sold for fundraising (Anathea’s comment: ‘heated negative debate ensued by taxonomists").

· A Memorandum of Understanding between the National Park Service and DLIA will be signed in Washington DC sometime in February.

· The Cosby sorting center and 3-bedroom scientist bunkhouse will be replaced by two new centers near Gatlinburg (TN) and Maggie Valley (NC), with a supervisor overseeing volunteer/intern sorters (input needed now during the crucial planning phase).

· Soil, vegetation and historical land-use maps for determination of collection sites based on ecological parameters will soon be available on the DLIA web-site.

· NSF has granted ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information Systems) funds to ATBI members for setting up the Biota database by April 2000.

Jim’s suggestions that an interactive identification system be activated and that the ATBI obtain a bulk discount on CSIRO’s Delta program met general approval during the TWIG report presentations. University of Tennessee Herbarium’s DK Smith noted that Park ‘legacy’ mycological collections need taxonomic reevaluation and that they still have space to house some ATBI fungal collections. Immediate challenges confronting the young ATBI include inadequate funding, sluggish communication within and among the TWIGs (with numerous complaints leveled toward the existing DLIA web site), and under-use of volunteers. Carol, Jim and Anathea found the session highly informative, and our TWIG was frequently praised for its communications, the seriousness of grant proposals and activities, and our conference ‘presence’ and presentation.

Much has already been written about the accomplishments of the epigeous macromycete pilot study ("Butterflies of the Soil") coordinated by Macrofungal TWIG leader Dr Rod Tulloss, who conducted several workshops, made numerous on-site visits, engaged in Amanita taxonomic research, and manned the project’s eye-catching web-site at his own expense. The Asheville Mushroom Club, spear-headed by its President and On-Site Coordinator Theresa Rey, formed the core of a group of taxonomists and parataxonomists who inventoried a permanent transect in the Cataloochee Valley from March to November (1999). During those months macrofungal TWIG members processed (i.e. field identified, described, photographed dried, and prepared for expert identification and further taxonomic investigation) 709 collections (198 from within the transect). Virtually all 541 ‘Butterflies’ project collections have been photographed (primarily by Tulloss, Gerald Sheine and Hank Mashburn) and are now cd-rom archived. Several collections of species new to the Park or new to science have also been made.

The Fungal TWIG roster currently lists 70 members, of whom 33 were actively engaged in research or collection activities last year. Our most recent estimate of volunteer ATBI time is 3900 hours, most devoted to the macrofungal pilot study. Progress on other fronts includes work by Dr Robert Fogel, University of Michigan Fungal Herbarium curator, who searched the MICH database (finding 256 Park collections) and placed Smith & Hesler’s Lactarius keys and descriptions on the web and by Tom Rude, who identified a number of yeast using molecular scan techniques and located ATCC isolates obtained from park species.

For the most part, however, the mycological inventory has only begun. Field identifications of the fungal specimens collected during 1999 represent at least 270 species, a number certain to rise rapidly as specialists examine and re-evaluate the finds. Final identification is the most labor intensive and time-consuming task facing the Fungal TWIG ("unknown fungus" seems to be the most commonly collected species, for instance), and the daunting mycological endeavor may well be the culture and isolation of ‘non-charismatic’ microfungi, which outnumber the macros 10-30 times.While Drs George Carroll, Richard Hanlin and Carol Shearer have isolated several microfungal species, a vast universe of opportunity awaits those wishing to enumerate and study the ‘little guys’.

The ATBI’s greatest challenge at this point is funding.Our TWIG was fortunate last year in that we received a modest amount to conduct the pilot study and participate in the ATBI Memorial Day Nature Quest.Donations from other sources have been matched by the GSMNP Natural History Society. Because this $6600 working budget may be used only to defray expenses (not for salaries), most of the herbarium searches, list-making/revising and reference corralling still remain undone. Fortunately the Fungal TWIG made great headway due to the generosity of our willing volunteers, most of whom have donated materials in addition to time. Grants have done ‘double-duty’: Dr Joey Spatafora was able to use his Cordyceps grant to inventory the Park and its surroundings, and a fair amount of optimism surrounds two other recently submitted proposals.

Eventually, the ATBI will be a multi-million dollar research consortium, but in the interim we urge any mycologist looking for a fascinating research opportunity to consider writing Smokies related proposals whenever possible.

— Lorelei Norvell, Coordinator
GSMNP-ATBI Fungal TWIG

New members of the Slime Mold TWIG of the ATBI being carried out in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are Andy Swanson, Roland McHugh (Ireland), Denise Binion, and Randy Darrah. At least 155 species of slime molds (myxomycetes, dictyostelids, and protostelids) are now known from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Fifty-six of these (representing 36% of the total) have been added to the mycoflora of the Park as a result of the sampling effort carried out during the first year of the ATBI.

— Steve Stephenson, Coordinator
GSMNP-ATBI Slime Mold TWIG

British Mycological Society Millennium Meeting on Tropical Mycology is scheduled to occur in Liverpool, UK April 25-29, 2000.The program will include:

· April 25--Poster set-up, registration, official welcome by Vice Chancellor P Toyne of Liverpool John Moores University and introduction by BMS President S Buczacki. Session 1 (General) will include presentations by DL Hawksworth (UK) and R Watling (UK). Reception and Dinner will follow the Benefactors’ Lecture on ‘Thoughts and musings on the tropical Xylariaceae" to be delivered by JD Rogers (USA).

· April 26--Session 2 (New World Topics) will include presentations by R Halling (USA), DJ Lodge (USA), L Guzman-Davalos (MX), and JN Hedger UK), chair. Following lunch, Session 3 (Old World Topics: Africa & China) will include presentations by E Boa (UK), M Harkonen (Finland), LT Hui (PR China), and MJ Wingfield (South Africa), chair. The President’s Reception and Symposium Dinner will be held at the Liverpool Maritime Museum.

· April 27 -- ADM Rayner (UK) coordinates Sessions 4-6: A Unifying Theme. Chair C Robinson (UK) introduces Session 4 (Ecology & Environmental SIC) with presentations by JW Palfreyman, N White and J Singh (UK) and TT Chang (Taiwan). After coffee T Butt (UK), Chair, will introduce Session 5 (Invertebrate Interactions SIC) with presentations by PJ Fisher (UK), ST Moss (UK), and questions and answers moderated by ADM Rayner (UK). Following lunch, M Rotheroe (UK) introduces Session 6 (Conservation SIC) with presentations by TN Kaul (India), M Nunez (Norway) & A Suhirman (Indonesia). Following an option tea with viewing of the BMS/Thai & Ecuador expedition videos, Session 6 resumes with presentations by M Whalley (UK) and ADM Rayner (UK). Concurrently with Session 6 is the alternative Session 7 (Life Strategy Groupings) with introduction and summary by EB Gareth-Jones (Thailand), chair and presentations by HC Evans (UK) & NL Hywel-Jones (Thailand), BJ Coppins (UK), and S Sivichai, EBG Jones & NL Hywel Jones (Thailand). Viewing of Posters will follow dinner.

·April 28--Sessions 8-11 will run concurrently. Session 8 (Physiology SIC) includes an introduction by JF Peberdy and presentations by S-W Chui (Hong Kong), D Moore (UK) & S-W Chui (Hong Kong), CD Reynolds, MJ Donovan, AJS Whalley (UK) & S Rodtong (Thailand), and S Pointing & KD Hyde (Hong Kong). Session 9 (Pathogenic and Mutualistic Interactions SIC), to be introduced by JA Luckas (UK), Chair, includes presentations by MA Spencer & MW Dick (UK), E McKenzie (New Zealand), SP Whitton & KD Hyde (Hong Kong), LS See (Malaysia & R Watling (UK) and EGV Evans (UK). Session 10a (Workshops on the collection, isolation & identification of tropical fungi) introduced by S Watkinson (UK) with insights presented by GF Bills (USA), AJS Whalley (UK), BJ Spooner (UK), P Roberts (UK), R Watling (UK) and BJ Coppins & PA Wolseley (UK) will continue in the afternoon in Session 10b with attendees splitting up into six small groups to be tutored by the morning speakers. In Session 11 (Fungal Imaging and Fungal Data-bases) EE Emmett (UK), Chair and Secretary Foray SIC will introduce G Kibby’s (UK) workshop and DW Minter (UK) will introduce ‘Fungi of the Caribbean’ by M Rodríquez (Cuba) and DW Minter (UK). S Assinder (UK), Chair will introduce Session 12 (Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolution SIC) with presentations by D Silva-Hanlin & E Ramalho (Brazil), JB Heales & BW Bainbridge (UK) and GW Griffith, RN Birch, JN Nicholson & IM Scott (UK). D Lonsdale (UK) will chair Session 13 (Joint Session: Convention on Biological Diversity) with lectures by H Gürtler & Lene Lange (Denmark) and GF Bills (USA) A Dombrowski, F Pelaez, J Polishook & Z An (Spain). Dinner and closure of the poster session will follow the President’s closure of the formal proceedings.

· April 29--The morning will offer either a "Public Face jointly with National Museum & Galleries on Merseyside" with an open forum at the Liverpool Maritime Museum including live link with A. Eicker in Pretoria, South Africa in liaison with J. Edmondson and C. Smith, Liverpool Museum. Continuity R. Watling and M. Wingfield or day forays to Gait Burrows Nature Reserve and Ainsdale with E.E. Emmett & R. Cook. Following a buffet lunch, ST Buczacki will present "Men, Women & Fungi: The first few thousand years" at the Liverpool Maritime Museum, after which there will be a tea, banquet and tour of exhibits that include a special exhibition of EJH Corner’s drawings, paintings and notebooks and illustrations of fungi from the Mary Rose.

For Registration form, accommodation and travel information and further details consult the flyer included with the previous Inoculum mailing or contact Professor A.J.S. Whalley, School of Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byron Street, Liverpool L3 3AF UK.

*Registration costs (completed booking forms and payment due March 24, 2000) are £100/meeting or £25/day for BMS Members (no registration fee for BMS student members) and £140/meeting or £25/day for Non-Members.The deadline for poster abstracts is also March 24, 2000.

The CBS Symposium on Mycology in the 21st Century- Morphology and DNA in the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Fungi is scheduled for 11-12 May 2000, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures is organizing a special symposium to commemorate the retirement of Walter Gams and his achievement for mycology. The symposium will be held from in the Trippenhuis of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in Amsterdam. Invited speakers will present visions, ideas and suggestions for new directions in phylogeny, fungal systematics and bioinformatics.

May 11--Welcome and opening symposium (D van der Mei & R.A. Samson, CBS), Visions on fungal phylogenetics (D Hibbett, USA), - The ghost’s apprentice (D Malloch, Canada), Coevolutionary trends in fungi and plants (F Oberwinkler , Germany), Perspectives in ascomycete classification (O Eriksson, Sweden), The end of taxonomy........ (KA Seifert, Canada), Gene genealogies and cryptic species (D Geiser, USA), Reconstructing history at the population-species interface (L Kohn, Canada, Molecular versus morphological data: Redefining anamorph genera (P Crous, S. Africa), Fungi and Experimental Evolution (J Anderson, Canada) and Phylogeny and taxonomy of powdery mildew fungi - status quo and perspectives (U Braun, Germany).

May 12— Development of a comprehensive multilocus DNA sequence database for Fusarium: Applications in agriculture and medicine (K O’Donnell, USA), New molecular and old techniques measuring biodiversity - the missing fungi (K Hyde, Hong Kong), Hopeful monsters: undifferentiated Pyrenomycetes in the primordial soup (G Samuels, USA), Fungi as biocontrol agents for weeds—the importance of systematics (A. Rossman, USA), Polyphasic taxonomy: integrating morphological, physiological, molecular biology and ecological data (O Petrini, Switzerland), Title to be announced(M Blackwell, USA), The monastic mycelium, a look at the consequences of complete asexuality (R Summerbell, CBS), The Fungal Web - Concepts and expectations of a fungal network (L Lange, Denmark), Demonstration of the Fungal Web (I Groth, Clausen Denmark) plus contributed papers and discussions about bioinformatics and the role for taxonomy, phylogeny and culture collections. After the closing ceremonies there will be a Symposium Dinner during which Prof David Hawksworth will speak on Hyphomycete taxonomy at CBS and the honored guest, Prof Walter Gams, will give the Epilogue.

Registration fee--Symposium, including lunches, coffee and tea: US $100; Symposium dinner: US$ 50. Restaurant and snack bar facilities are widely available in the area. CBS can provide assistance finding hotel or Bed & Breakfast accommodation in Amsterdam or Baarn. For more information contact: Rob Samson <Samson@cbs.knaw.nl> or visit http://www.cbs.knaw.nl.

The 14th New Zealand Fungal Foray & Australasian Mycological Society Conference will be held May 6-13, 2000

DEADLINE: Registration, payment of deposit, and submission of abstracts:29 Feb. 2000

The 14th New Zealand Fungal Foray and Australasian Mycological Society Annual Conference will be held in the World Heritage area of Te Anau, Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand. The location is adjacent to large areas of virgin Nothofagus forest where ectomycorrhizal fungi are typically abundant during May. We plan to visit lakeside and the higher altitude forests, as well as tussock communities. Te Anau is on the shores of Lake Te Anau and centrally located for tourism, with day-trips possible to several popular locations such as Milford Sound, Lake Manapouri, Doubtful Sound, Queenstown, and Arrowtown.

Planned programme includes Saturday, May 6--arrival, May 7--mycological workshop (to be announced, possibly on truffleoid fungi or agarics), May 8--Australasian Mycological Society Conference (with presentation of mycological papers), May 9-12--Collection excursions in areas adjacent to Te Anau (e.g., Control Gates; Kepler Track; Eglington Valley; Borland). Each field day, display tables with identified specimens will be prepared, and lectures or slide shows presented during evenings. Some facilities for laboratory work will be available. Departure is scheduled for Saturday, May 13.

Accommodation and Meals: Accommodation is at Cascade Lodge, Te Anau Holiday Park, in small basic bunkrooms sleeping 2 to 6. Bedding can be hired at a reasonable price for those not wishing to bring sleeping bags. For booking bunkroom accommodation and for meals, please use the registration form. Meals will be prepared in part by participants under the experienced guidance of our long-suffering mycophagous chef, Lawre Taylor.

The Holiday Park also has a variety of more upmarket accommodation on site.If you wish to book a self-contained motel or tourist flat, instead of the bunkrooms, please arrange this privately, though mention that you are part of the Fungal Foray: Contact: Te Anau Holiday Park, Te Anau-Manapouri Rd, PO Box 81, Te Anau, New Zealand;. +64 3 249 7457; Fax. +64 3 249 7536; <eanau@xtra.co.nz> OR http://www.teanauholidaypark.co.nz

Transportation: For participants arriving from Australia, there is a connecting flight from Sydney to Queenstown arriving at 2:35 pm on Saturday 6 May. We will endeavour to arrange transport from Queenstown airport to Te Anau (165 km), for which there may be a charge; please let us know if you require this (there is no regular bus service from Queenstown to Te Anau at that hour of the afternoon). A returning flight to Sydney departs Queenstown on the afternoon of Saturday 13 May, at 3.50 pm, and regular bus service can be used from Te Anau to Queenstown that day. For domestic travelers who are flying in to Queenstown or Invercargill, please make your own arrangements for road transport.

Costs: Approximately NZ$40 per person per day for those staying in the bunkrooms, as a share of actual costs which include food, bunkroom accommodation, and planned trips for collecting in nearby regions. This price does not include the cost of getting to the venue, or privately organized accommodation upgrades.

Registration: For general inquiries by Email, please contact Peter Johnston <johnstonp@landcare.cri.nz> or Peter Buchanan <buchananp@landcare.cri.nz> Fax +64 9 8497093.

The joint XXVIIth Congress of the Mexican Phytopathological Society and XIIth Biennial Workshop on the Smut Fungi will be held July 9-13, 2000. The Mexican Phytopathological Society and Smut Workers cordially invite you to attend and participate in this international meeting which will take place at Sheraton Buganvilias Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. The technical program will include oral and poster sessions, as well as symposia, conferences, pre-congress courses and post-congress trips. Social, cultural and tourist activities will form part of the meeting. For more information, contact Dr Guillermo Fuentes-Davila, 52-64-141940/145799; fax 64-145898 <g.fuentes@cgiar.org> or Lic Veronica Gonzalez 52-3-641-8630 fax 52-3-642-7982)

A Berlin Fusarium workshop will be held September 11-16 in the Biologische Bundesanstalt Berlin-Dahlem (Koenigin-Luise-Str 19) and Freie Universität (Koenigin-Luise-Str 34). Helgard Nirenberg <H.Nirenberg@bba.de> will serve as chairperson, and registration is US$ 200. The scientific program will include lectures and posters dealing with systematics, mycotoxins, genetics, biodiversity, plant pathology and there will be a workshop devoted to the microscopy of newly described Fusarium species. For further information please contact Dr Helgard I Nirenberg or visit<www.bba.de> where (under events) a preregistration form is available.

On December 16, 1999 the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a "Special Competition" for Biocomplexity in the Environment Grants.

NSF will award $50 million in grants under the Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE) initiative launched by NSF Director Rita Colwell. In1999, CNIE, with much assistance from supporters of the NIE, educated Congress about the importance of the BE initiative. Congress funded the initiative by this fall at the level requested by the Foundation.

"Biocomplexity in the Environment" is now the descriptor of the full portfolio of environmental science and engineering at NSF. The grants to be allocated in fiscal year 2000 represents the beginnings of the additional $1 billion/year that the National Science Foundation hopes to receive as a result of the recently adopted report Environmental Science and Engineering in the 21st Century: the role of the National Science Foundation. The report stems from a congressional request that NSF to study the creation of a National Institute for the Environment (NIE) through the Foundation. The report recommends implementing nearly all the activities proposed for an NIE directly through the National Science Foundation. CNIE has endorsed the report, committed to working for its full implementation, and suspended its call for creation of an NIE.

(i) Integrated Research "to better understand and model complexity that arises from the interaction of biological, physical, and social systems... specifically ... research projects which directly explore nonlinearities, chaotic behavior, emergent phenomena or feedbacks within and between systems and/or integrate across multiple components or scales of time and space in order to better understand and predict the dynamic behavior of systems.... Research Projects can be up to 5 years in duration. Annual budgets may be up to $600,000, with budgets up to $1 million each year possible if extremely well justified."

(ii) Incubation Activities "that enable groups of researchers who have not historically collaborated on biocomplexity research to develop projects via focused workshops, virtual meetings, and other types of development and planning Activities.... Incubation Activities can be up to two years duration with total budgets not to exceed $100,000 and cannot be renewed."

The deadline for letters of intent is January 31, 2000 and for proposals March 1, 2000. The anticipated date of awards: September 2000

Illustrated Genera of Fungi Imperfecti (Fourth Edition). 1998. HL Barnett and BB Hunter. APS Press, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121-2097. North America: <aps@scisoc.org>, Europe <apspress@pophost.eunet.be>. 240 p. Price: $43 US.

Leaf through the pages of this book and it acts like a time machine, whisking you effortlessly back to the ’60s and ’70s. The authors use an outmoded name for the group of fungi they are illustrating. For their main key they use taxonomic characters harking right back to the 19th century. They employ taxonomic groupings that were never widely adopted, or have been abandoned by most mycologists. Perhaps these are just philosophical differences between the authors and the reviewer, but the authors seem to feel that the average user of the book should not be expected to deal with most of the new characters explored over the past half-century.

Reinforcing this initial impression is the fact that of 480 references cited, only 14 are post-1980, and none is more recent than 1983. This would seem to suggest that interest in anamorphic fungi has pretty well ground to a halt, although such an assumption would be entirely unjustified. In fact, several hundred new genera have been described since 1980 (at least as many as are treated in this book), and anamorph-holomorph connections are still being made at a fast clip; there are now about 5,000 such connections, as readers can discover for themselves by consulting the following web site: <http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/jbrzusto/anateleo/anatel.html>.

An equally serious problem is that the text was obviously not proofread thoroughly. I found no fewer than six generic names misspelled in the main body of the illustrations - Bartilinia [Bartalinia], Microclavia [Microclava], Papulospora [Papulaspora], Phymototrichum [Phymatotrichum], Nodulosporium [Nodulisporium] and Sporochisma [Sporoschisma]. The reference section is also contaminated with numerous typos. I found errors in references 31, 100, 107, 121, 134, 168, 173, 182, 186, 196, 210, 213, 238, 242, 243, 253, 263, 270, 282, 285, 286, 287, 296, 305, 306, 311, 314, 347, 352, 356, 362, 368, 395, 416, 443, 448, 458 and 459. Many of these errors are rather serious in that, like those in the main text, they involve the misspelling of generic names. Computers, as we know, cannot generally find things unless they are fed correct spellings (absent fuzzy logic). Year of publication is not given for references 59, 147, 199 and 455. Had this been an on-campus course handout (as the original version was, back in the late ’50s), this litany might have been regrettable but understandable, but in a fourth, published edition, almost all such errors should long since have been weeded out.

Perhaps I’d better retreat for a while into the Book Review Editor’s requests that I evaluate

(1) the significance of the book’s contribution. Well I would have to say that there is certainly nothing philosophically or factually new in this book, though the authors have added several sections not found in earlier edition which provide useful background information.

(2) the audience likely to find the book useful. Here, I think that undergraduates trying to identify conidial (anamorphic, mitosporic) fungi may find the book helpful, though I am concerned about the rather large number of errors that have crept in - these would not initially be detected by students, and certainly do not set a good example for them.

(3) the effectiveness with which the information is presented. Here I find that the way in which the genera are grouped is often quite intuitive, but the illustrations, perhaps the most crucial element of the book, leave a lot to be desired. Few if any have been re-drawn for this new edition. As one of my students said "the lines are too thick and the dots are too big." Readers who have rejoiced in drawings such as those produced by Pirozynski and Nag Raj will not be happy with those in this book. Many of the light- and scanning electron-micrographs are lacking in contrast, or taken at an angle that will be confusing to those unfamiliar with the fungi illustrated. The use of Chalara on page 44 to exemplify phialidic hyphomycetes is unfortunate, not only because it is a highly atypical genus, but because the scanning electron-micrograph is difficult to interpret. If you know the genus, you’ll be able to sort out the parts, but if you don’t, you could be forgiven for confusing it with the arthrosporic mode exhibited by Geotrichum on page 41. Arrows and labels superimposed on the pictures would have been helpful.

(4) A general impression of the quality of the book. The paper is good, the text is clear, the ring binding allows the book to be placed fully open on the bench, the cover has a relatively durable plastic coating, the line drawings, though not very well executed, are relatively clear. The content is discussed elsewhere in this review.

Now back to some specific comments. The anamorphs of both Monilinia (Sclerotiniaceae, Leotiales) and Neurospora (Sordariaceae, Sordariales) are here placed in the same anamorph-genus, Monilia, though Neurospora anamorphs are now generally disposed in a distinct anamorph-genus, Chrysonilia. What is now recognized as Acremonium is here placed in Cephalosporium. The genus Monilochaetes is dubiously distinct. But most genera are correctly identified and adequately illustrated.

The authors write: "The...inability of many imperfects [sic] to reproduce sexually is considered a primitive condition." Since most of us now assume that most or all of such fungi once produced sexual stages, surely the loss of that stage must be regarded as a secondary or derived condition, and is certainly not primitive.

The spores produced by anamorphic zygomycetes are not generally regarded as conidia, but are sporangiospores, albeit in some cases reduced to unispored sporangioles. They are developmentally very different from conidia, as has been documented in the literature. At another level, the treatment of anamorphic Zygomycetes in the book is puzzling, because all those illustrated are placed in the Order Mucorales, despite general agreement that Helicocephalum, Syncephalis and Piptocephalis belong in the Zoopagales; Dimargaris, Tieghemiomyces and Dispira in the Dimargaritales; Coemansia, Martensella, Kickxella, Linderina, Martensiomyces, Spirodactylon and Spiromyces in the Kickxellales.

Examining the main Key to Genera, I found some descriptors misleading. For example, "Several lateral branches of conidiophores end in sterile apical point" does not suggest Chaetopsis. In fact, it sounds as if the text has become garbled. If it read "Conidiophores with several lateral branches, and with a sterile setose apex" it would work well. A few more such incorrect descriptions, and any key becomes hopelessly compromised. How are students supposed to tell?

Another problem is the fragmentary nature of the book. Despite claiming to cover an extremely wide range of fungi - anamorphic Zygomycetes, hyphomycetes and coelomycetes, which among them must have about 2,000 recognized genera - the book illustrates just over 400 genera. Admittedly, most of the commoner genera are included, but this severely limited treatment is another reason why I would not recommend this book to any professional mycologist looking for a reference work on a group with which he or she is not familiar.

Is there an alternative? I do not know of a single book that covers this ground adequately. "The Genera of Fungi Sporulating in Pure Culture" 3rd Edition (1981) by von Arx is useful. Perhaps the best single source is the rather expensive 2-volume set Compendium of Soil Fung" (1980) by Domsch, Gams and Anderson. The serious inquirer will want at least the following three books: Zygomycetes in Culture (1979) by O’Donnell; Genera of Hyphomycetes (1980) by Carmichael et al., and The Coelomycetes (1980) by Sutton (ideally with the addition of Coelomycetous Anamorphs with Appendage-bearing Conidia (1993) by Nag Raj). Ominously, none of the six sources just mentioned are cited in the reference section.

The two things that bother me most about this book - and the fault for these must rest squarely upon the shoulders of the authors - are (1) its dated character and (2) the alarming number of errors it contains. Many of these errors, as already mentioned, involve generic names, and so could not have been caught by a spell checker or by a lay proofreader. Only someone familiar with the organisms and their literature, which is what one presumes was the responsibility of the authors, could have detected them. That they remain, causes me to label the book slipshod and unprofessional. I am surprised that APS Press did not exercise greater care in the pre-production phase by having the manuscript competently reviewed. I regret an opportunity lost, because we do not have enough good handbooks to the microscopic fungi.

— Bryce Kendrick
Mycologue Publications, 8727 Lochside Dr.
Sidney, BC V8L 1M8 Canada
<Mycolog@Pacificcoast.Net>

From Ethnomycology to Fungal Biotechnology: Exploiting Fungi from Natural Resources for Novel Products. 1999. J Singh and KR Aneja (eds). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 233 Spring Street, New York NY. Review needed

Molecular Fungal Biology. 1999. RP Oliver and M Schweizer (eds). Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK. Review needed

Septoria on Cereals: a Study of Pathosystems. 1999. JA Lucus, P Bowyer and HM Anderson (eds). CABI Publishing, 10 E 40th St Suite 3203, New York NY USA <cabi-nao@cabi.org>. Price: $100 (US). Review needed

Microbes in Action. 1999. J Hertage, EGV Evans, and RA Kilington. Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK. - An introductory level text that presents the interactions among microbes and their environment and their roles in ecosystem processes and disesases.

Fungicide and Nematocide Tests. Vol 54. 1999. RN Raid (ed). APS Press 3340 Pilot Knob Rd, St. Paul MN 55121-2097 USA. 240 p. Price US$28 NAmerica: <aps@scisoc.org> Europe: <apspress@pophost.eunet.be>.

A Dictionary of Plant Pathology, 2nd edition. 1998. P Holliday. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge CB2 1RP, UK. Price: $150 (US) Inoculum 50 (4):13-14.

British Fungus Flora: Agarics and Boleti No 8/ Cantharellaceae, Gomphaceae and Amyloid-Spored and Xeruloid Members of Tricholomataceae (excl Mycena). 1998. R Watling and E Turnbull. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR. Review in progress.

Combined Keys to Illustrated Genera of Ascomycetes I & II. 1998. RT Hanlin, $20 (US).130 p. and Illustrated Genera of Ascomycetes Volume II. 1998. R T Hanlin, $35 (US). 268 p. Both books published by APS Press, 3340 Pilot Knob Rd., St. Paul MN 55121-2097; North America: <aps@scisoc.org>, Europe: <apspress@pophost.eunet.be>. Review in progress.

Ecology and Evolution of Black Yeasts and Their Relatives. 1999. GS de Hoog (ed). Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn/Delft, The Netherlands. 208 p. Price: Hfl.95. Review needed.

First Contribution to a Monograph of Septoria Species in India. 1999. J Muthumary. C. A. S. In Botany, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai - 600 026 India. 145 p. <botany@vsnl.com> Price: Rs. 250 (India), $40 (US). Review needed.

The Fungal Colony. 1999. NAR Gow, GD Robson, and GM Gadd (eds). Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20 St, New York NY 10011-4211. 332 p. $105 (US). Review needed.

Fungi of Southern Australia. 1998. N L Bougher and K Syme. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, Western Australia 6907. 391 p. Inoculum 50 (5):31-32.

Genera of Bionectriaceae, Hypocreaceae and Nectriaceae (Hypocreales, Ascomycetes). Studies in Mycology No. 42. 1999. AY Rossman, GJ Samuels, CT Rogerson, and R Lowen. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn/Delft, The Netherlands. 248 p. Price: Hfl.95. Review needed.

The Hypocreae schweinitzii Complex and Trichoderma sect. Longibrachiatum. Studies in Mycology No. 41. 1998. GJ Samuels, O Petrini, K Kuhls, E Lieckfeldt, and CP Kubicek. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn/Delft, The Netherlands. 54 p. Price: Hfl.60. Review needed.

Illustrated Genera of Imperfect Fungi, 4th edition. 1998. HL Barnett and B Hunter, APS Press, 3340 Pilot Knob Rd., St. Paul, MN 55121-2097, in North America e-mail: <aps@scisoc.org>, in Europe e-mail: <apspress@pophost.eunet.be>. 240 p. Price: $43 (US). Review in this issue, Inoculum 51(1): 21-22.

Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds. 1998. G Hudler. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 248p. Price: $29.95 (US). Inoculum 50(5): 19.

Microbial Signaling and Communication. 1999. R England, G Hobbs, N Bainton, DMcL Roberts (eds), Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20 St, New York, NY 10011-4211. 365 p. $115 (US). Review in progress

Molecular Variability of Fungal Pathogens. 1999. PD Bridge, Y Couteaudier, and JM Clark (eds). CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK. 319 p. Price: $100 (US). Copies can be ordered from <cabi@cabi.org> in UK/Europe, or from <cabi-nao@cabi.org> Review needed.

Proceeding of the Symposium "Taxonomy, Evolution and Classification of Lichens and Related Fungi 1998. M Wedin, T Tonsberg, and DH Brown (eds), Academic Press Limited, 24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX, UK. 208 p. Price: £10.00 for surface mail. Review needed.

Systematics and Ecology of the Macromycetes, Paul Heinemann Memorial Symposium. 1998. A Fraiture (special ed). Belgian Journal of Botany (Special Issue) 131: 65-288. The journal issue can be ordered from: Dr P Compére, Jardin Botanique National, Domaine de Bouchout, B-1860 Meise, Belgium. Price: 1800BeF. Review in progress.

Take-All Disease of Cereals: A Regional Perspective. 1998. D Hornby (ed). CAB International, Wallingford. Oxon OX10 8DE, UK. 384 p. Price: $120 (US). Copies can be ordered from: <cabi@cabi.org>. Review needed.

The Genus Lactarius, Fungi of Northern Europe vol. 2. 1998. J Heilmann-Clasusen, A Verbeken, and J Vesterholt. Svampetry, Kornblomstevej 6, DK-8381 Mundelstrup, Denmark. 287 p. Copies can be ordered from the website: www.mycosoc.dk. Price Dkr: 250 plus postage. Review in progress.

The Yeasts - A Taxonomic Study (4th revised & enlarged edition). 1997. CP Kurtzman and JW Fell. US/Canada: Elsievier Science Inc., P.O. Box 945, Madison Square Station, New York, NY 10160-0757. Europe: Elsievier Science Inc., P.O. Box 211, 1000AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 1100 p. Hardbound price: NLG 800 / $500 (US). Review in progress.

Trichoderma and Gliocladium: Basic Biology, Taxonomy and Genetics. Vol 1. 1998. CP Kubicek, and GE Harmon (eds). Taylor & Francis Inc, 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol PA 19007 USA. 278 p. Review needed.

Trichoderma and Gliocladium: Enzymes, Biological Control, and Commercial Applications, Vol 2. 1998. GE Harmon, and CP Kubicek (eds). Taylor & Francis Inc, 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol PA 19007 USA. 393 p. Review needed.

Yeast Gene Analysis, Methods in Microbiology Vol. 26. 1998. AJP Brown and MF Tuite (eds). Academic Press Inc, 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego CA 92101-4495 USA. 502 p. Price: (HC) $100 (US), (SC) $60 (US). Copies can be ordered from: <name@acad.com>. Review needed.

America’s Ancient Forests: From the Ice Age to the Age of Discovery. 1999. Wiley Press, 304 p. Price: $50 (US). See Inoculum 50(4). for details on content.

Ecological Diversity in Sustainable Development: The Vital and Forgotten Dimnesion. 999. C Masser (ed). St Lucie Press, 2000 NW Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33431-9868. 432 p. In North and South America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, book can be ordered through: <orders@crcpress.com>. In Europe, Middle East, and Africa order through: enquires@uk.crcpress.com>. Price: 39.95 (US).

Ecology Of Sonoran Desert Plants And Plant Communities. 1999. RH Robichaux (ed). University of Arizona Press. 312 p. Price: $45 (US). See Inoculum 50(4) for details on content.

Encyclopedia of Deserts. 1999. MA Mares (ed). University of Oklahoma, 672 p. Price: $50 (US). See Inoculum 50(4) for details on content.

Forest Ecosystems: Analysis at Multiple Scales. 1998. RH Waring and SW Running. Academic Press. 2nd Edition. 370 p. Price: $60 (US).

Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution and the Light-House Keeper’s Cat. 1998. R Whittaker. TOxford University Press. 285 p. Price: Paper- $30 (US), Cloth-$95 (US). See Inoculum 50(4) for details on content.

Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic History of North American Vegetation (North of Mexico). 1999. A Graham. Oxford University Press. 350 p. Price: $76 (US). See Inoculum 50(4) for details on content.

North American Terrestrial Vegetation. Second Edition. 1999. MG Barbour and WD Billings (eds). Cambridge University Press. 530 p. Price: Paper-$43(US), Cloth- $92 (US). See Inoculum 50(4) for details on content.

Song Of Mukhomor. Videotape. Videography by T Stimson, S Hune (ed), Video documents the search for prople who still use Amanita muscaria for shamanistic rituals in Kamchatka. 24 minute long tape in VHS format. Order from: Mycoinfo, PO Box 16241, Austin TX 78761 USA. Price: $16.95 (US) + $3.95 shipping and handling. Additional information: <http://www.mycoinfo.com/mukhomor.html>

Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment. 1999. TH Ricketts, E Dinerstein, DM Olson, CJ Loucks, W Eichbaum, D Dellas Sala, K Kavanagh, P Hedao, PT Hurley, KM Carney, R Abell, S Walters. Island Press. 558 p. Price: $75 (US). See Inoculum 50(4) for details on content.

A postdoctoral position is available immediately to investigate cell wall-related virulence factors in the model, melanized fungal pathogen of humans, Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis. Studies will focus on chitin and melanin, or on other selected gene products that affect cellular development (Cdc42, Rac1, etc.) leading to cell wall alterations, and their potentials as antifungal targets. The position requires a PhD in microbiology/mycology or related fields.

The preferred candidate will have documented expertise in molecular biology and a genuine interest in fungi. Please send C.V. and names of references, or letters of inquiry, to Paul J. Szaniszlo, Ph.D. Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712; <pjszaniszlo@mail.utexas.edu>

Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Inc has an opening for a full time Mycologist / Analyst in their laboratory located in the San Francisco, CA area. Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Inc. is a recognized leader in bioaerosol and microbial analysis and specializes in the analysis of surface and air samples for fungi. For more information about the company, see http://www.emlab.com.

The primary responsibility will be to analyze air, surface, tape, and bulk samples by microscopy for fungi, and, in some cases, bacteria. Air sample analysis includes analysis of both culturable (Andersen) and non culturable samples (spore traps such as Burkard, Allergenco, and Zefon Air-O-Cell). On-going training and education will be part of the position. Good bright field microscopy skills, good communication, the ability to work well with a team, strong organizational skills, and attention to details are important. A BS in Microbiology is required. Experience recognizing environmental microfungi is very desirable.

Please send your resume and the names of three references to Dave Gallup, Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Inc, 1800 Sullivan Ave Suite 209, Daly City CA 94015 USA 650-991-3436 Fax 650- 991-2243 <dgallup@emlab.com>. Applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Molecular microbial ecologist faculty: The Department of Plant Pathology at Ohio State University, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center invites applicants for a tenure-track 100% research position at the Assistant Professor level in molecular microbial ecology.

We are seeking a colleague who will use molecular techniques and/or functional genomics to examine fundamental questions in microbial ecology and develop a research program aimed at understanding soil microbial community structure and function relative to induced defense responses and other mechanisms of biological control of plant diseases. The successful candidate will develop collaborations with existing interdisciplinary teams. He/she will have access to state of the art service facilities at the OARDC Molecular and Cellular Imaging Center.

A curriculum vitae, copies of academic transcripts and selected publications, a statement of research interests, and three letters of recommendation should be sent to: Dr. S Kamoun, Dept. of Plant Pathology, OSU-OARDC, Wooster, OH 44691-4096 (http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~plantdoc/mme.html).

The Ohio State University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. Women, minorities, Vietnam-era veterans, disabled veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Mold Testing and Identification Services: Identification and contamination control for Indoor Air Quality, Food Technology, Spawn technology, Plant diseases. ASTM & Mil-Spec testing for Aerospace, Controlled Environments and Environmental Engineering. 10% discount for Regular and Sustaining MSA members. Email <microbe@pioneer.net>; home page <www.pioneer.net/~microbe/abbeylab.html.> Write to Abbey Lane Laboratory, P.O. Box 1665, Philomath, OR 97370 USA. VoiceMail 541-929-5984. [Steven Carpenter]

CRYPTOGAMICA HELVETICA--formerly Beiträge zur Kryptogamenflora der Schweiz (Matériaux pour la flore cryptogamique suisse, Contributi per lo studio della flora crittogama svizzera).

First published more than hundred years ago as Beiträge zur Kryptogamenflora der Schweiz, Cryptogamica Helvetica today continues the tradition of presenting monographs on various cryptogams in Central Europe. It is edited by a commettee of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SANW). A new volume containing a checklist of lichens in Switzerland is planned to appear in 2000.

The list of currently available volumes (and fascicles) are presented in the following format — Year, Volume (Number): Author. Title. Price.

The International Course on the Identification of Fungi of Agricultural and Environmental Significance 31 July to 1 September 2000 provides training on the identification of microfungi of importance to agriculture, the environment and industry. Particular attention is given to fungi that are commonly found associated with plant diseases and those that are difficult to identify. This course has been run and developed for 20 years, at the International Mycological Institute (IMI), now integrated into CABI Bioscience. Tropical and temperate examples will be included in all sections. With prior notice of the particular interests of participants, we can normally provide additional coverage of particular topics.

Who is it for? This course is particularly popular with plant pathologists, extension workers, university researchers, trainers and technical staff. The course is aimed at those with a life sciences degree and a good basic knowledge of mycology, preferably with postgraduate experience. Participants will also require a good working knowledge of English to complete the course.

Course Programme--A 5-week programme of lectures and extensive practical work on taxonomy and techniques for mycologists and plant pathologists, covering: (i) Dematiaceous and moniliaceous hyphomycetes, especially Alternaria, Cercospora, Cladosporium, Curvularia, Cylindrocarpon, Drechslera, Fusarium, Helminthosporium, Trichoderma, Verticillium; (ii) Coelomycetes, including Ascochyta, Colletotrichum, Phoma; (iii) Ascomycetes, reviewing important genera, including powdery mildews; (iv) Oomycota--Peronospora, Phytophthora, Pythium; (v) Storage rots and toxin-producing fungi - Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium; (vi) Uredinales and Ustilaginales; (vii) plant pathogenic larger basidiomycetes; (viii) Mycorrhizas. Participants will also receive: (i) A comprehensive course manual (ii) Free access to the CABI Bioscience libraries and online services (iii) Free access to the CABI Bioscience Reference Collections (iv) Individual consultations with our scientists (v) An opportunity to make accurate identifications of specimens and to have identifications confirmed by our experts (vi) A discount on titles from the full catalogue of CABI books

Venue--The course will be held at the CABI Bioscience UK Centre (Egham), formerly the International Mycological Institute (IMI), on the outskirts of London.

Fees and Application--The course fee of £4,200 includes self-catering accommodation at nearby Royal Holloway College. Applications should be made before 15 June 2000. Participants who confirm their applications before 15 June by paying a non-refundable 10% deposit will qualify for an early registration discount of £150.

For further information please write enclosing your full postal address to Stephanie Groundwater, CABI Bioscience UK Centre (Egham), Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9TY. +44 (0)1784 470111 Fax: +44 (0)1491 829100 <S.Groundwater@CABI.org>