- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
This is a meeting of the Davis Botanical Society, which begins at 6:45 p.m. President Marie Jasieniuk will announce the 2014 student grant recipients and the members will elect new officers. All interested persons are invited. The library is located at 315 E. 14th St.
Karban will discuss the rarely studied phenomenon of communication between plants, announced plant taxonomist Ellen Dean, curator, Center for Plant Diversity. "For a number of years, Dr. Karban has been studying plant-to-plant communication in big sagebrush (Artemisa tridentata) at Sagehen Creek in the Sierrra Nevada. His research has shown that volatile compounds are released from injured plants and that these compounds are detected by nearby plants, allowing them to better defend themselves against herbivores and other predators."
Excerpts from a news release published Feb. 13, 2013 by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology:
If you're a sagebrush and your nearby kin is being eaten by a grasshopper, deer, jackrabbit, caterpillar or other predator, it's good to be closely related. Through volatile (chemical) cues, your kin will inform you of the danger so you can adjust your defenses.
If you're not closely related, communication won't be as effective.
Newly published research in today's Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences shows that kin have distinct advantages when it comes to plant communication, just as “the ability of many animals to recognize kin has allowed them to evolve diverse cooperative behaviors,” says lead researcher and ecologist Richard Karban, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
For example, fire ants can recognize kin. “Ants will destroy queens that are not relatives but protect those who are,” Karban said.
That ability is less well studied for plants, until now.
“When sagebrush plants are damaged by their herbivores, they emit volatiles that cause their neighbors to adjust their defenses,” Karban said. “These adjustments reduce rates of damage and increase growth and survival of the neighbors.” See more.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
STAR stands for Staff Appreciation and Recognition, and honors MSP (manager and senior professional) and PSS (Professional and Support Staff) employees, including students, who have gone “above and beyond” in support of the campus's core values.
Editor Dave Jones wrote in today's Dateline:
"Since 2006, in addition to his full-time position, Chan has voluntarily provided comprehensive and professional audiovisual support and service to the UC Academic Business Officers Group. Working at the direction of the systemwide conference steering committee, Chan has undertaken full and primary responsibility of the ABOG conference and has provided time and talent to what is, in and of itself, a full-time AV specialist position. Even during a six-month deployment to Afghanistan as a an Air Force Reserve captain, he served ABOG's AV needs were met without interruption."
Chan is one of 22 staff members honored by Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi in the second annual campuswide STAR Award Program.
See more on the Dateline web page.
Among this year's recipients: Ellen Dean, curator of the herbarium in the Center for Plant Diversity, who has close ties with the Department of Entomology and Nematology, including the Bohart Museum of Entomology, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology.
Dean was singled out:
"Ellen Dean, principal museum scientist, curator of the herbarium in the Center for Plant Diversity — “Ellen has earned a well deserved reputation as one of the best identifers of plants in the region,” her nominator wrote. But Dean's work goes far beyond identifying plants: She's the herbarium administrator, writes grants, provides instruction and training, and does independent research. Especially notable are her efforts over the last several years to make taxonomic name changes to ensure that the herbarium's collections and database are in agreement with the recently published second edition of The Jepson Manual. She leads field trips, gives talks and workshops, and organizes the annual wildflower display for Picnic Day.