I hope that you have a great holiday season. I wish you all the best for the New Year and good luck on your finals.

Poster Sessions for Ecology, Virology, Environmental Science & Physiology – the department was again treated to the annual end-of-the-semester poster presentations by students in Ecology (Dr. Brown), Virology (Dr. Ellen Jensen), Physiology (Dr. Marcus Webster) and Environmental Science (Dr.s’ Brown, Davis, Ross). The posters were the result of independent research conducted during these courses. The posters were displayed on the walls of New Science Center near the pendulum. Not only did we have food for our mind, but there were also delicious treats for bodies to enjoy while browsing through the posters. Thanks to Dr.’s Brown, Davis, Jensen, Webster and Ross and to their students for organizing and participating in this annual event.

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CSB Biology Graduate Studies Area Lakes – submitted by Dr. Michael Reagan

Sharon Doucette, CSB Biology grad ('98), was recently mentioned in a story in the St. Cloud Times. Sharon participated in the Stearns County Lake Monitoring Project, in which six area lakes were examined for water quality. Tests for dissolved oxygen content, phosphorus, chlorophyll and temperatures were performed in order to obtain a "snapshot" of the health of area lakes. These data will be used as a baseline to which future studies of lake health can be compared. They found that of the six lakes, four (North Browns, Eden, Maria, and Sand) were eutrophic (unhealthy due to excessive algal growth) and two (Big Watab and Big Fish) were mesotrophic (relatively healthy). Students who have taken the Concepts of Biology lab can draw their own conclusions as to why four of the six lakes examined were found to be eutrophic. This study was carried out by members of the St. Cloud State Biology department, where Sharon is a graduate student.

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Bernie Terrien, 1987 SJU, is currently teaching Science (Adv. Biology and Physical Science) at Green Bay Southwest High School. He writes that he is working on his M.S. degree and the title of his thesis will be "Scientific Inquiry and the Nature of Science".

Heidi Anderson Kristin Kragseth Sarah Athman Matthew Kyle Andrew Beaulieu Richard Larson Lonnie Berg
Rebecca Maly  Adam Briggle Megan McInnis  Rebecca Brouillard Valerie Meyer   Caroline Capecchi
Sara Meyering  Laura Carlson Atukuzwe Nyirenda  Pamela Carroll Mary Ofstedal   Benjamin Dahl Gina O’Neill
Sarah Delly Nicole Omann  Nicholas Dufault  Erin Osterholm  Jodi Elfering Amy Ross  Nathan Eversman
Christopher Schimming  Ryan Hansen  Bridget Schletty  Amy Haupert Lacie Scroden  James Healy Mary Schwarz
Ryann Hennis Anna Selmecki   Claire Hill Melissa Sherman  Patricia Hobday Joseph Signorelli  Melisa Illies
Jennifer Smith  Krista Johnson Ben Steil   Joseph Keenan Jeremy Steil   Tricia Kelley Alison Surdo  Elizabeth Kennedy Thomas Tekavec    Jennifer Klein Erin Truhler   Matthew Klooster Sarah Young    Donna Knevel Melanie Ziskovsky

Dr. Manuel Campos (and Dr. Henry Jakubowski, Chemistry) received a $21,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to purchase a spectrofluorometer. Congratulations Mani and Henry!

Dec 13 Christmas Party; 4:30 – 6:00, Old Science Center Student Lounge.

Dec 15 Zoology Open House at SCSU – Central Minnesota Audubon Meeting; 7:30 pm; Brown Hall; St. Cloud State University.

Jan 11 Internship Workshop – 3:30 HAB 102B

Jan 13 Internship Workshop – 4:30 Q247

Feb 10 Internship Workshop – 4:30 Q247

Feb 15 Deadline for Claire Booth Luce Scholarship Applications

Mar 10 Lil’ Sibs Weekend

Mar 31 CSB Senior Parent Weekend

Mar 7 Internship Workshop – 7:30 pm. HAB 009

April 1 SJU Mother-Son Dance

April 8 Biology Subject Test – GRE

UNCF•Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Awards - UNCF•Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Awards are intended to encourage the interest of African American undergraduate students in furthering their science education and pursuing biomedical science careers by providing tuition support and opportunities for research in a state-of-the-art industrial laboratory. At least 15 Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Awards will be made in 2000. Each award consists of a scholarship of up to a maximum to $25,000 and two summer research internships with combined stipends totaling at least $10,000. Eligible candidates will be African American who are enrolled full-time, who are current juniors and who are majoring in life or physical sciences. Candidates must also be US citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Applications must be postmarked by 31 January 2000. Applications are available at the External Scholarship Programs office, HAB 103 - CBS.

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Summer Research at University of Wisconsin – Madison; June 4-August 4, 2000

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Pacific Whale Foundation-Research Internship Possibilities?

There are openings available for Research Interns to work with our scientists in the field during 1999-2000. The internships involve hands-on work and offer opportunities to learn field research techniques. For further information: programs@pacificwhale.org or visit the web site at www.pacificwhale.org.

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Career Seasonal Biological Technician – Job Openings

"Disseminating Natural Resource Information to the Public" – Continuing Education Workshop sponsored by the MN Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. January 19, 2000, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.; Best Western Kelly Inn, St. Cloud, MN. For more information contact Lauire Sovell, MN Pollution Control Agency at 507 389 1925.

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Zoology Open House at SCSU – The Central Minnesota Audubon Society meeting will be held on December 15, 1999 at 7:30 pm. It will feature a tour of the Zoology facilities at St. Cloud State University. Meet in Room 232, Brown Hall. Park next to the ECC building in F or N lots. Admission is free and the meeting is open to the public.

Biology Student and Faculty Potluck Christmas Party. - Monday, December 13^th

4:30 pm; Science Center Student Lounge. This will be a pot luck event, but the students have no obligation to bring food. We are going to use club money to buy some food and beverages on the part of the students. If you have a favorite dish or dessert, please bring it!

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Ways to Simplify your Life and Save the World- (taken from Audubon, July-August 1998)

1) Avoid Shopping; 2) Leave the Car Parked; 3) Get Rid of Your Lawn; 4) Cut Down on your Laundry; 5) Block Junk Mail; 6) Turn off the TV; 7) Communicate by E-Mail; 8) Don’t use a cellular phone; 9) Drink Water; 10) Patronize your Public Library; and 11) Limit the size of your family.

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Plant Puzzler Winner: Kelly Deutsch

The Puzzler: Have you ever eaten a seedless watermelon? They are mighty tasty and best of all, lack the annoying seeds of the traditional varieties. But – here’s the question - if seedless watermelons don’t have viable seeds (which they don’t), then where does the seed come from that a gardener plants to grow a seedless watermelon?

Congratulations to Kelly Deutsch who was the winner of the December Plant Puzzler Competition. Kelly knew that "…Standard watermelon cultivars are diploid, and contain two sets of chromosomes…Seedless watermelons are triploid, which causes them to be sterile, or seedless. The triploid seeds are created by crossing a normal diploid melon (as the pollinator) with a tetraploid parent. Each parent contributes half its respective chromosomes, one set from the diploid parent and two sets from the other. Maintaining the tetraploid parental line by treating seedlings with colchicine is the most difficult part of producing seed for the triploid watermelon. Because of the difficulty in maintaining the parental lines and the usual practices needed to produce hybrid seed, the seed for seedless melons is quite expensive…"

Extending the Classroom Walls: A Unique Biology Course/Research/Field Experience. During the Spring Term 2001, the Biology Department will be offering students a unique opportunity to mix course work with a field research opportunity. This program will be offered as part of the Learning Communities project sponsored by CSB/SJU and the Bush Foundation. Students who enroll in the program will spend the first half of the term on campus studying evolutionary ecology, field research methods, writing, and a related Upper Division Humanities or Senior Seminar. During the second half of the term we will travel to the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina where we will spend five weeks at the Highlands Biological Station doing field research in this ecologically fascinating area. We will also spend a week on the coastal islands of the Carolina’s or Georgia, examining a very different ecological setting. If you are interested, contact Dr. Poff (Phone 3179; email jpoff).

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Bean Counter Winner: Lyz Anderson – Congratulations to Lyz Anderson for submitting the winning guess in the "Bean Counter Contest". Her guess of 340 seeds was the closest answer to the correct number of seeds which was 10,093 seeds (actually she was the only entrant!). The Seed Identification Contest was a little less popular than the bean counter contest – there were no entrants! If there had been an entrant, he/she would have easily known that the container held the following seeds: millet, kidney beans, soybeans, castor beans, sorghum seeds, lentils, field corn, buckwheat and lima beans.

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Tobacco-Free

Great news – the bookstores will no longer sell tobacco products as of December 30, 1999. This is an important step towards a healthier new year/century/millenium.

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Looking for a good place to study?

Check out the Herbarium or Natural Science Museum. You are welcome to sit and relax or study in a wonderful biological atmosphere.

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Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station

There are a variety of interesting courses being offered this summer at the Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station. The courses are listed below. As an aside, Dr. Saupe is scheduled to teach Pbio4811. For more information, check out their web site or contact the Director (Dr. David D. Biesboer, biesboer@maroon.tc.umn.edu; website: http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/itasca/

Summer Session I - June 12 through July 8 (Orientation Day is June 11):

Biol 2822: General Botany; Biol 3807: Ecology; Biol 3811: Introduction to Animal Behavior; Biol 4850; Special Topics in Biolog; Section 1: Practical Environmental Assessment

Section 2: Freshwater Algae; Section 3: Field Biology Photography; Section 4: Landscape Ecology; EEB 4817: Vertebrate; EEB 4834: Field Ornithology; EEB 4839: Field Mammalogy; PBio 4811: Flowering Plant Systematics.

Summer Session II - July 10 through July 28 (Orientation Day is July 9):

Biol 4850: Special Topics in Biology; Section 5: Behavior/Telemetry; Section 6: Ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles.

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Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships - Iowa State University, Ames, IA

The Plant Physiology Interdepartmental Graduate Program at Iowa State University is pleased to announce the availability of graduate fellowships and assistantships for study in plant physiology and plant molecular biology. The Plant Physiology Program includes 28 research-active faculty from seven different departments and provides research opportunities stressing the development of a strong background in fundamental biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. The available Assistantships and Fellowships provide outstanding candidates with funding for the first year of study, during which time students perform laboratory research rotations with any of the Plant Physiology Faculty. Continuing funding will be provided by the major professor, who will be chosen by the end of the first year. To obtain application

forms and more information about the Plant Physiology Program, please contact us by email (ippm@iastate.edu), visit our Homepage (http://www.public.iastate.edu/~ippm) or send inquiries to: Plant Physiology Graduate Admissions, 353 Bessey Hall, Iowa State University,

Ames, IA 50011

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Biology Department Gets a Freeze-Drier

The Biology Department recently acquired a new toy – a VirTis freeze-drier. Unfortunately, when the technician came to install, the refrigeration unit was defective so it probably won’t be operational until January. Once it’s up and running, it will be on a movable so it can be used in a variety of labs.

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List of Medicinal Plants that are at "Risk" in the Environment

Once upon a time there was a lonely frog who was sick of being lonely and without a date so he decided he would go to the psychic to find out if there was anyone in his future. Once he got to the psychic, he said, "I'm really lonely and I want to know if there is anyone in my future". The psychic replied, "Well, as a matter of fact there is...you will meet a nice young woman who will want to know everything about you" Excited, the frog asked, "Where will I meet her...at the pond??" "Oh no" the psychic replied, "You will meet her in biology lab".