ASB 2022 Meeting - Event Information

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Symposia
Plant Conservation Genetics
Organizer - Matt C. Estep, estepmc@appstate.edu, Appalachian State University
Description -Genetics is a powerful tool that can be used to address many questions in Biology. Our goal is to bring together the botanists within the southeast that are using genetic techniques to address questions concerning the conservation status of our native plants. We hope to provide an inviting platform for labs to discuss their work and build a network of botanists focused on the conservation of our local flora.

From Cookbooks to Cell Blocks: Developing a Research-Centered Undergraduate Curriculum
Organizer - Lori Hensley, lhensley@jsu.edu, Jacksonville State University
Description - For faculty to be successful in developing a research-based curriculum, they must have a viable research program themselves and the confidence to move their research into course-based labs.To address such needs, the Cell Biology Education Consortium (CBEC/www.cellbioed.com) created a comprehensive model that provides faculty with the resources they need to incorporate mammalian cell culture into the undergraduate classroom.By providing resources in the form ofCell Blocks, even inexperienced faculty members can successfully make a move. Cell Blocks consist of video protocols, written protocols, classroom implementation strategies, and assessments for common cell culture experiments.Most current CURE initiatives focus on students conducting predefined projects; however, this often limits student creativity and the ability to scaffold research throughout a program's curriculum. Because Cell Blocks are all similarly formatted, they serve as mix-and-match modules, allowing faculty and students to develop projects that are of interest to them, relevant to their course content, and feasible at their institutions. In addition, Cell Blocks are freely available to everyone through the CBEC website, our YouTube channel, and Google Classroom. In this Symposium, faculty will discuss best practices and present examples for integrating research into the curriculum. By blurring the lines between the classroom and the research lab, the CBEC seeks to improve undergraduate research and positively impact science education. Our Symposium will end with a panel discussion focusing on how schools can receive technical and financial support through the CBEC voucher system as well as ways to work creatively with upper administration to obtain the necessary support. This session is designed for both the beginner, "I do not have a hood," and the seasoned expert.
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The Surprising Frequency, Diversity, and Relevance of Southeastern Grasslands (and Why We Need to Save Them)
Organizer - Dwayne Estes, dwayne.estes@segrasslands.org, Austin Peay State University
Description - The purpose of our symposium is to create a forum for researchers, land managers, historians, and others to increase awareness of the unique but largely overlooked ecology of southeastern grasslands. For most North Americans, the term 'grassland' likely evokes images of the prairies of the Great Plains or other western locales. But grasslands in the southeastern US are more frequent and more biodiverse than most realize. Southeastern grasslands also have unique and rich cultural histories, and preserve information and artifacts that can span millennia. Grassland ecological research has been overshadowed in the southeast by studies that focus on forest, coastal, and other systems that are more commonly associated with the region. However, a recent resurgence in interest has revealed levels of biodiversity in southeastern grasslands that can rival those in western environments. Such studies expose both a need and an opportunity for transformative research on the processes that shape grassland environments in southern US--environments that differ significantly from those in the more familiar west. Unfortunately, agriculture, development and other anthropogenic forces have reduced grasslands in the southeast by an estimated ninety to ninety-nine percent, and this loss is thought by some to represent the greatest threat to biodiversity in the eastern United States. Remaining grasslands face these same threats but are also vulnerable to climate-driven changes in temperature, moisture, and fire frequency as well as the often related encroachment by invading species and communities. As grassland communities disappear, so do countless opportunities for research because southeastern grasslands are also repositories of novel genetic, ecological, and evolutionary information. With those opportunities in mind, we hope that this symposium will serve to educate and inspire others in the ASB to forge new opportunities for collaborative research, and to take an interest in exploring and preserving novel grassland ecosystems in their own communities.

Pandemic Pedagogy: Innovations That Inspired Better and More Inclusive Teaching
Organizer - Steph Jeffries, ssjeffri@ncsu.edu, North Carolina State University 
Description - Instructors adjusted to teaching during the pandemic in multifaceted ways. Not only did they need new methods to deliver content, but they also had to meet their students' needs in an often chaotic environment. Despite the obstacles, learning continued, sometimes through unexpected pathways. This symposium offers an opportunity to reflect and share best practices for better and more inclusive teaching going forward.

SERP Institute: Departmental Strategies for Change in Life Sciences Education
Organizer - Christopher Finelli, finellic@uncw.edu , University of North Carolina - Wilmington
Description - The Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) provides academic departments with resources and training that promote alignment of undergraduate life sciences programs with best educational practices, including those recommended in the Vision & Change Report (2011). The Southeastern Region of PULSE (SERP), which coordinates PULSE’s efforts across the southeastern US, has led fifty-four teams of faculty from colleges and universities in a process of reflection, planning, and action to improve outcomes for undergraduate students. During this symposium attendees of previous SERP Institutes will share insights and results from their departmental change efforts. Talks will include topics such as advanced pedagogy, designing inclusive curricula, navigating departmental change, incorporating undergraduate research, and other topics of interest to the ASB membership.

Progress Update from the SERP III Institute
Organizer - Christopher Finelli, finellic@uncw.edu , University of North Carolina - Wilmington
Description - The Southeastern Region (SERP) of the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) hosted the third SERP Institute during May 24-27, 2021. Fourteen teams of faculty and administrators met virtually over the course of the Institute to interact with experts in advanced pedagogy, building equitable learning environments, and departmental transformation. Each team developed an action plan to improve learning outcomes for undergraduate students. At this invitation only symposium, teams will share the progress, challenges, and insights from their work. As part of our IRB for this work, this session is by invitation only. Posters and a separate symposium will also be presented for attendance by the general ASB membership. This is a closed symposium. 

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Workshops
Hitting the Ground Running with Your Graduate School Applications
Organizer - Chinyere Knight, cknight@tuskegee.edu, Tuskegee University
Description - This workshop has been designed to better prepare our undergraduate student members to apply to graduate school. Through dynamic discussion with more experienced ASB member panelists and short exercises, learn about the key elements for successful graduate school applications. After a short introduction, an interactive discussion will ensue with the help of four experienced ASB panelists. We will also divide the discussion into blocks so that we can engage attendees with short exercises that will help them experience successful strategies for career development. To ensure the progress of the discussion, there will be a moderator from the Human Diversity Committee. The workshop will end with a short review of the take-home messages to remember.

Southeastern Regional PULSE Institute Attendees Reporting Session 
Organizer - Christopher Finelli, finellic@uncw.edu , University of North Carolina - Wilmington
Description - Attendees in this workshop will report on their progress in implementing action plans developed at the SERP III Institute. This is a closed workshop.

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• Field Trips

A Botanical Tour of Camp Robinson Special Use Area (AR Game and Fish)
Field Trip Leader - Dwayne Estes, dwayne.estes@segrasslands.org, Austin Peay State University
Schedule - Wednesday March 30, 2022

• ​8:45 AM                           Meet at designated departure site
• 9:00 AM                          Drive to Camp Robinson Special Use Area (SUA)
• 9:30 AM                           Arrive at Camp Robinson SUA
• 9:30AM - 11:30 AM        Tour sites (locations TBD)
• 11:30AM - 12:30 PM       Sack Lunch
• 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM       Continue tour to sites (locations TBD)
• 3:30 PM                           Return to Little Rock
• 4:00 PM                           Arrive Little Rock

Description - Join Dwayne Estes, Director of the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and Professor and Herbarium Curator at Austin Peay State University for a tour of the Camp Robinson Special Use Area near Mayflower. This area supports some of the highest-quality open oak woodland, savanna, and prairie habitat in the region and has an 80+ year history of management with prescribed fire.  Originally part of the nearby National Guard training center, the Camp Robinson SUA was deeded to the Arkansas Game and Fish after World War II. It includes a variety of upland and wetland habitats, including remnant prairies and savannas, upland oak woodlands (with some old growth examples), open oak flatwoods with pimple mounds, and bottomland hardwood forests.  The area has an exceptional flora including many conservative grassland species, nine of which are of state conservation concern, and three of which are of global concern. Dwayne is an expert in the flora and plant communities of the Southeastern United States, with a special love for (and knowledge about) grasslands of the region.

Lorance Creek Aquatic Biology
Field Trip Leader - Dustin Lynch, dustin.lynch@arkansas.gov, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
Schedule - Wednesday March 30, 2022

• 8:45 AM                         Meet at staging area
• 9:00 AM                        Leave for Lorance Creek Natural Area
• 9:30 AM                        Arrive at Lorance Creek and begin tour – aquatic sampling on boardwalk (aquatic traps)
• 12:30 PM                       Lunch
• 1:30 PM                         Continue tour – habitat, plants, and herping
• 3:30 PM                        Depart for Little Rock
• 4:00 PM                        Arrive at start

Description - Join ANHC's Dustin Lynch for a visit to Lorance Creek Natural Area, south of downtown Little Rock. The 389-acre natural area protects a high-quality groundwater-fed swamp in the West Gulf Coastal Plain. The swamp is surrounded by a diverse mosaic of habitats including sandy upland woodlands, pine and hardwood flatwoods, bottomland hardwood forests, and seeps, all managed with periodic prescribed fire. The natural area is accessible via an elevated boardwalk that takes you through a shallow water bald cypress/tupelo swamp. There is also a universally accessible paved trail on higher ground. This area is known to support more than 600 plant species, 15 of which are state endemics, as well as such amazing animal species as Bird-voiced Treefrog and Prothonotary Warbler. Your guide will be Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission's Dustin Lynch, an expert in aquatic ecology who knows Lorance Creek well. Dustin will set aquatic traps in the creek along the boardwalk the evening before this field trip and pull them during the visit. We may encounter such fascinating lowland species as Ouachita River Crayfish, Dollar Sunfish, Pirate Perch, Devil Crayfish, Marbled Salamander, Tadpole Madtom, Flier, and Mississippi Grass Shrimp, while listening to birds such as Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Northern Parula singing in the swamp. Join Dustin for an up-close look at aquatic biology in Arkansas.

Cove Creek Natural Area - Bluff, Stream, Restoration, and Arkansas Endemic Plant
Field Trip Leaders - Travis Marsico (trmarsico@astate.edu, Arkansas State University), Benjamin Benton (benjamin.benton1@smail.astate.edu, Arkansas State University), and Kunsiri Grubbs (grubbsk@winthrop.edu, Winthrop University)
Schedule - Saturday April 02, 2022

• The trip will involve two groups, one leaving at 7:00 AM and another leaving at 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 2.
• Cove Creek is just under 1 hour drive from downtown Little Rock. Arriving at the site, we will hike the natural area, discuss the land management practices including prescribed burning to open a forest canopy for glade and woodland restoration. There are 3 species of Claytonia (spring beauty) that grow at the site, including an Arkansas endemic species and a western disjunct. It is a beautiful site that provides views of the creek from bluffs that overlook the water and access to the stream.
• We will spend 2.5-3 hours at the site, returning to Little Rock by 12:00 PM or 2:00 PM for a late lunch on our own or with the group.
• We will have two 15-passenger vans for the trip, and we would like to cap field trip registration at 20 participants. SABS will provide snacks and drinks for the trip.
• The hike is generally accessible, so should be open to a wide range of physical abilities. The Cove Creek Natural Area field trip, sponsored by SABS, is generally geared toward botanists, but is open to all naturalists interested in learning about the natural history of and experiencing nature in Arkansas.

Description - The Cove Creek field trip is a 1/2 day trip including a hike in one of Arkansas's natural areas. Participants will learn about the Arkansas River Valley region, sandstone glades and woodlands, restoration practices, and have a chance to see an Arkansas endemic plant species. We will discuss the unusual patterns of plant biogeography in the Interior Highlands region. This field trip is sponsored in part by the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society (SABS). We are planning to have two groups leave at separate times: an early group from 7am-noon and a later group from 9am-2pm. 15-passenger vans will be provided for transport. Field trip times are inclusive of travel and site visit times. Lunch is on your own or as a group after the field trip in Little Rock.

Gillam Park Birding and More with Audubon Arkansas
Field Trip Leader - John Young, jontathan.young@audubon.org, Audubon Arkansas
Schedule - Saturday April 02, 2022

• 8:45 AM                         Meet at designated starting point
• 9:15 AM                          Arrive at the Little Rock Audubon Center (LRAC)
• 9:30 AM                        Begin Site and birding tour (approximately 3 mile hike)
• 12:30 PM                       Sack lunch at LRAC
• 1:30 PM                         Depart (Bathrooms will be available at the LRAC and the site is near the Little Rock Airport)

Description - Gillam Park is a 485 acre, largely wooded site in southeast Little Rock. The park is managed as a natural area by Audubon Arkansas, whose Little Rock Audubon Center is located on the property. Gillam Park is home to one of the few exposed igneous rock formations of Nepheline syenite in the world. This property offers varied habitats that go from xeric glades down to a cypress lined oxbow lake which makes for a diverse botanical experience. The park is a popular place for local birders and is a hotspot for spring warbler migration. The center has several  trails as well as gardens and constructed Post Oak Savanna. Join Jonathan Young Field Projects Manager for Audubon Arkansas , Dr. Dan "The Bird Man" Scheiman, and Collection Manager for the University of Arkansas Herbarium Jennifer Ogle, for a tour of Gillam Park and its unique ecology, botany, and spring  birding.

Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area
Field Trip Leader - Theo Witsell, theo.witsell@arkansas.gov, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
Schedule - Saturday April 02, 2022

• ​8:45 AM                                 Meet at designated departure site
  
• 9:00 AM                                Depart
  
• 10:00 AM                              Arrive at Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area
  
• 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM         Tour half of area
  
• 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM            Sack Lunch & optional trip to restroom/gas station/deli down the road
  
• 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM              Tour other half of area
  
• 3:00 PM                                Return to Little Rock
  
• 4:00 PM                                Arrive Little Rock

Description - Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area protects some of the finest known examples of Ouachita Mountain shale glades, barrens, and woodlands - a mosaic complex of globally rare natural communities. These rare grasslands range from seasonally wet (in flat sites) to xeric (on south- and west-facing slopes). Despite its modest size, the natural area is home to more than 700 plants species, including several endemic and/or globally rare species including Ouachita indigo-bush (Amorpha ouachitensis), Ouachita bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), Open-ground Whitlow-grass (Draba aprica), Ouachita blazing-star (Liatris compacta), Nuttall’s pleatleaf (Nemastylis nuttallii), Nuttall’s cornsalad (Valerianella nuttallii), and the single-county endemic Pelton’s rose-gentian (Sabatia arkansana), which was described in 2005. The site is also a hotspot for glade-associated invertebrates like Diana fritillary (Speyeria diana), striped bark scorpion (Centuroides vittatus), Texas brown tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi), and Seltzer’s pouncer (Melanoplus seltzerae), a narrowly-endemic grasshopper described from the site in 2015. Theo Witsell is well-known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Arkansas plant communities, and his tremendous enthusiasm for conservation and management in his home state. JoVonn Hill is widely regarded as one of the best entomologists in the Southeast and a top authority on eastern North American Orthoptera. Join them for a trip that highlights these arid and open islands of biodiversity in a sea of forest. This trip will cover both the biodiversity of the site and how it was restored and managed since it was acquired in 2004.