Botany faculty @ UW Major's Fair

Freshmen and sophomores enjoyed free pizza and a chance to explore options for academic majors on Tuesday afternoon at the Major’s Fair in the Wyoming Union.

Drs. Brown and Driese had great conversations with prospective Botany majors, who learned about the diverse tracks that Botany offers to students interested in studying plants and fungi from the molecular and cellular level all the way to their role in global processes.

More information about Botany majors can be found in our website

Botany researchers publish on the link between circadian rhythm and plant physiological traits

Researchers in Botany Department (Christie Edwards, Brent Ewers and Cynthia Weinig) along with colleagues at Dartmouth College have published one of the first studies in the journal Genetics, that shows how variations in circadian rhythm regulates physiological traits such as photosynthesis and stomatal conductance.

Circadian rhythm or clock impacts all life forms. For people who travel long distances experience this as jet lag and it takes several days to acclimate to the new location. These findings can lead to better understanding of a plant’s mechanistic controls over photosynthesis, and lead to the development of more drought resistant crops and also improve the efficiency of crop irrigation.

Click here to read the article in Genetics website.

Interested in learning the recent developments of this research? Please contact Dr. Weinig

Botany research work provides tools for plant conversation efforts in Wyoming

Walter Fertig recently completed his doctoral degree requirements. His research focused on a) characterizing species rarity patterns in Wyoming, b) mapping areas at risk for losing species, and c) developing quantitative methods to assess where species at risk are currently present and where they could grow in the state. Dr. Fertig developed a ranking system that evaluates species rarity and identify areas for conservation priority which is used by land management agencies in Wyoming.

Click on any of these links for more information:

1. The BLM modeling report by Fertig and Thurston (2003) (4MB)
2. Appendices for species abstracts and background info on the 44 species(35MB)
3. Species distribution models(31MB).

UW News Article

Contact Information:
Walter Fertig
Moenave Botanical Consulting
1117 W Grand Canyon Dr.
Kanab, UT, 84741, USA
Phone: 435-644-8129
Email: walt@kanab.net

Cloud Forest, Ecuador field course

Interested in adventure and would like to explore the wild world. Live in the Cloud Forests (Ecuador) and be part of a team discovering new life forms in the eastern Andes Mountains. This course is taught as a Honors course (HP-4152-01: Cloud Forest Ecology in Ecuador) allows students "to study forest ecology at a high-elevation cloud forest in the Andes Mountains."

Dr. Greg Brown, Professor and Department Head and Dr. Scott Shaw, Professor, UW Renewable Resources, take students every summer to the Cloud forest of Ecuador for exploring and studying plants and animals in these tropical evergreen forests.

Dr. Brown found a remarkably small orchid

More information about this course can be found in 2010 Reflections (UW College of Ag Publication)

Interested to know more about this course?  Contact Dr. Brown