Since the last newsletter, there has been a tremendous amount of activity with the Flora of the Greater Antilles project. We are now geared up and just about ready to actually start producing manuscripts. The major events are outlined below.
In November 1991, the Director of the Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba, Dr. Pedro Pérez , invited William R. Buck (NY) to visit Cuba to discuss Cuban involvement in the Flora of the Greater Antilles project. Since Dr. Pérez requested that the visit take place before the organizational meeting in Puerto Rico in January. Buck flew to Cuba on 9 December 1991 for 10 days of discussions. During this time there were extensive discussions with scientists at both the Instituto and at the Jardín Botánico Nacional, as well as at the Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos . Without except ion, Cuban botanists were interested in participating in the project as fully as possible. Many of the other questions raised in the first two issues of this newsletter were also discussed. As a result of the meetings in Cuba, the New York Botanical Garden extended invitations to Drs. Miguel Vales (HAC) and Rosalina Berazaín (HAJB) to attend the Puerto Rican meeting.
Discussions were also initiated with the U.S. Interest Section in Havana about scientific materials being shipped by diplomatic pouch to insure their safe arrival. Although not finalized, it appears promising that both Cuban and American diplomatic services may be used in the future to ship herbarium material and scientific literature between the two countries.
For the moment, though, the best alternative is to have the materials hand-carried by one of the ever-increasing scientific travelers. When Buck returned to the United States in December, he carried herbarium specimens for HAJB and numerous Cuban books from HAC for the Library of the New York Botanical Garden.
As announced in the last newsletter, an organizational meeting for the Flora of the Greater Antilles project was to be held in Maricao, Puerto Rico from January 13-19, 1992. The meeting met as scheduled and was a great success. Pedro Acevedo, in conjunct ion with Jim Ackerman and Frank Axelrod, arranged transportation for the nonindigenous participants from the airport in San Juan to the Hacienda Juanita in Maricao. The meeting site is one of the islands paradors and is under new management, who went out of their way to be cooperative.
The participants were (in alphabetical order): Pedro Acevedo (US). Jim Ackerman (UPRRP), Nilda Aponte (MSM), Frank Axelrod (UPRRP), Rosalina Berazaín (HAJB), Bill Buck (NY). Linda Escobar (UPRRP), Jim Grimes (NY), Dick Harris (NY), Walt Judd (FLAS), Alain Liogier (UPR), Jean Lodge (± RPPR), Dick (George) Proctor (SJ), Roger Sanders (FTG), Charlotte Taylor (MO), Sue Thompson (CM), Miguel Vales (HAC), and Tom Zanoni (JBSD) .
To make the meetings as palatable as possible to the participants,we met the mornings of January 14, 16, and 18, went into the field locally those afternoons, and had all day field trips on the 15th and 17th, Field trips covered many local types of habitats, including vegetation over serpentine, limestone, and chert.
During the meetings, three significant areas were discussed and decisions reached: format, organization, coordinators. Very shortly a Guide for Contributors will be ready to those who will be preparing manuscripts for the flora. Although no single meeting participant was pleased with every aspect of the format, we all believed it to be a workable compromise.
The organization decided upon has numerous levels, so as to spread the responsibility as widely as possible. There is a permanent editorial board of William R. Buck, James D. Ackerman, Thomas A. Zanoni, Walter S. Judd, and Miguel Vales. Under this level, there are coordinators for each major group of plants/fungi. These are: David L. Ballantine (marine algae), Augusto Comas (freshwater algae), Sabine Huhndorf (Ascomycetes), Jean Lodge (Basidiomycetes), Richard C. Harris (lichens), William R. Buck (mosses), Deisi Reyes (hepatics), Pedro Acevedo (vascular plants). Additionally, Dr. Richard A. Howard will coordinate an introductory volume for the flora. Below the group coordinators are coordinators for each of the volumes. Many of these individuals have already been contacted. but a few are still outstanding. When all are in place, a list will appear in the next newsletter.
Additionally, there are geographic coordinators who will assist with field work in their islands, and will read the manuscripts for geographical accuracy. These are: Frank Axelrod (Puerto Rico), Jorge Gutiérrez (Cuba), Tom Zanoni (Hispaniola), George Proctor (Jamaica and Cayman Islands), and Pedro Acevedo (Virgin Islands). As one can see, the Cayman and Virgin Islands were added to the scope of the flora since these islands are both geologically and vegetationally Greater Antillean.
Also at the meeting, a group of phanerogamists. Walt Judd, Roger Sanders, Pedro Acevedo, Jim Grimes and Tom Zanoni, completely rearranged the families of vascular plants into volumes. The new system is basically a modified Cronquist system that reflects recent ideas by Dahlgren and others. All deviations from Cronquist will be explained by Judd in the introductory volume of the flora.
The next organizational meeting of the Flora of the Greater Antilles will be held in Havana, Cuba, at the IV Simposio de Botanica, on 21-25 June 1993.
On February 3-4, 1992, a roundtable discussion was held in Washington, D.C. on Cuban biodiversity. The meeting was the idea of Dr. Wayne S. Smith, a former U.S. diplomat to Cuba and current director of Cuban studies at Johns Hopkins University, and was organized by Dr. Don E. Wilson, director of the Biological Diversity Program at the Smithsonian institution. The meeting was attended primarily by Smithsonian staff and eight Cubans, but there were also representatives of the New York Botanical Garden, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Center for Marine Conservation.
The first day was occupied by opening ceremonies and greetings (in the morning), and the botany session (in the afternoon), and was held in the Natural History Building of the Smithsonian. The second day dealt with zoological topics and met at the National Zoo. Botany was less represented than zoology, with two Cubans, Miguel Vales, president of the Sociedad Cubana de Botánica, and Angela Leiva, director of the Jardín Botánico Nacional, and four Americans, Pedro Acevedo and Larry Dorr of the Smithsonian, and Brian Boom and Bill Buck of the New York Botanical Garden.
Despite the under-representation, it was obvious that botanical cooperation between the two countries has progressed much further than zoological cooperation, primarily as a result of the Flora of the Greater Antilles project. During the zoological session, both Cuban and American scientists pleaded for cooperation and interaction, while the botanists were already cooperating in several areas.
After the meeting, the New York Botanical Garden sponsored a trip to New York for Angela Leiva and Miguel Vales. Because of other responsibilities, Dra. Leiva was only able to stay a week, while Dr. Vales stayed two weeks. The two Cubans were shown all aspects of operation at the New York Botanical Garden and were able to meet informally with most of the staff at various social events. They were even interviewed by a local newspaper. At Sue Thompson's invitation, Miguel Vales traveled to Pittsburgh for a visit at the Carnegie Museum for several days. All parties found the Cuban visit in the United States worthwhile.
During the visit of Bill Buck to Cuba in December (see opening article in this newsletter), in addition to discuss ins Cuban participation in the Flora of the Greater Antilles, he also worked out, with Miguel Vales, a draft of an agreement between the New York Botanical Garden and the Academia de Ciencias de Cuba.
The document was signed in Washington on February 3, 1992. during the biodiversity roundtable discussions, by Sergio Pastrana, head of the Departamento de Colaboracion of the ACC, and Brian Boom, Vice-President for Botanical Science at NY. The purpose of the agreement is to increase cooperation between the two institutions and to make it easier for their staffs to visit each other.
Because the ACC does not want to enter into agreements with numerous American institutions, NY can act as the representative for other botanical institutions. In other words, if a systematic botanist in the United States wants to visit Cuba, they can contact NY to make the arrangements for them. Naturally. they must adhere to the points of the agreement. The collaboration includes, but is not limited to: plant systematics, biodiversity, and economic botany. As part of the agreement, the ACC will facilitate the processes for obtaining visas, housing, phytosanitary documents, etc. within Cuba and NY will perform the equivalent functions within the United States.
For fieldwork within Cuba by Americans:
1) The first set of collections, including holotypes , will remain in Cuba and will be deposited in either HAC or HAJB.
2) The Instituto de Ecologia y Systematica will provide a driver, a Cuban botanist, laboratory facilities, and possibly a vehicle.
3) The American will pay for all fuel and other field costs of the driver and Cuban botanist, and if necessary, the costs of renting a vehicle.
Although there are several other points in the agreement, the most interesting permits NY to develop the facilities at the Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos (Harvard's former Atkins Botanical Garden) as an international biological station.
For additional information on the agreement, contact: William R. Buck
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458-5126, U.S.A.
or
Miguel Vales
Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, ACC
Carretera de Varona km 3 1/2
Capdevila, Boyeros
A.P. 8010, C.P. 10800
La Habana, Cuba
Although it has been going on for several years, it has just been brought to our attention that there is a newsletter specifically dealing with Cuba. It is called CubaINFO Newsletter and primarily reports on political and economic news relating to Cuba. However, as these issues impact on science, it is of interest. It is published every three weeks during the academic year and once a month during the summer and holiday season at a subscription price of $50/year (for individuals). The address Is:
CubaINFO
Cuba Policy Project
Johns Hopkins University
1740 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington. D.C. 20036-1983
On February 17-21, l992, the Academia de Ciencias de Cuba celebrated its 30th anniversary with a well orchestrated program of events. Brian Boorn represented the New York Botanical Garden at the program. High-technology kinds of science were highlighted, but during an informal session Brian discussed the Flora of the Greater Antilles project. He was also able to visit the Instituto de Ecologia y Sistematica and the Jardín Botánico Nacional. The Jardín Botánico Nacional features a brand new vegetarian cafe in their Japanese garden, the first vegetarian eatery in Cuba. The food is grown on the grounds of the Jardín.
During the organizational meeting in Puerto Rico, Sue Thompson of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History informed the participants that entomologists at CM would be willing to identify insects associated with plants and fungi. The information thus gained could be used in the Ecology section of manuscripts to list pollinators, dispersers, herbivores, etc. The following guidelines have been provided:
The Section of Invertebrate Zoology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a special interest in the Caribbean insect fauna with emphasis on lineages associated with plants and fungi.. In order to facilitate biological studies of the Caribbean flora, we are offering to accept insect specimens collected in association with Caribbean plants or fungi as gifts for determination in order to broaden the biological and ecological content of the Flora of the Greater Antilles. The Carnegie herbarium and research collection of insects are adjacent to each other in the same building, a proximity facilitating documentation of plant/insect associations pertinent to this Flora. The following conditions apply:
A. Carnegie will accept for determination any insect taxon in any stage of development (eggs, nymphs, larvae, pupae, adults) that were found in association with a given plant or fungus by collectors or contributors to the Flora. Hosts may include mosses, liverworts, algae, and lichens (the last being especially interesting to Carnegie staff).
B. Carnegie will be responsible for preparation, labelling, and permanent preservation of the specimen in its collection. cross-referenced to an appropriate plant/fungus voucher.C. Carnegie will provide to the contributor a determination to whatever level feasible or possible. Determinations will be done by Carnegie staff, or solicited from entomological specialists worldwide as part of our regular loan network.
D. Each specimen (or batch of specimens) must be associated with a distinct plant/fungus voucher clearly identified by collector number or other unique indication. Collection data (time, place, collector, etc.) for the host voucher should be provided and will be the source of data attached to the insects. When possible and convenient, a duplicate of the insect-associated plant specimen should be deposited at Carnegie Herbarium). In any case, the herbarium of deposit for the host voucher should be clearly indicated.
E. The presumed nature of the association between insect specimens and plant/fungus host should be specified. Examples include: visiting flowers of, emerging from gall on, boring in twigs of, in runways under moss, reared from seeds of, browsing soredia of, feeding on leaves of, feeding on sporophores of, and any other conceivable association with a specific vascular plant, alga, moss, lichen, fungus, etc.
F. Field collections of insects are basically of three types: 1) large-winged specimens like butterflies should be placed in paper envelopes; 2) the vast majority of specimens may be placed in vials containing 70 to 85% alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol), or if necessary in FAA; 3) large thick-bodied larvae (like caterpillars or grubs) should be captured alive, dropped into boiling water for a minute or so, and then placed in 70-85% alcohol. Vial labels should be inside vials in ink, permanent marker, or pencil, and should mention the collector and plant voucher number at the very least.
G. The most valuable plant/insect interactions will come from rearings, although only a few field botanists will have time or interest in attempting these. These involve confining galls, seeds, infructescences, or other plant parts in containers and then preserving whatever insects (often tiny) that emerge over a period of 1-4 weeks. Especially rewarding are associations discovered by rearing wild- caught larvae found feeding on a particular plant or fungus, but this requires providing fresh host material over several days until a pupa (and later adult) are obtained to verify insect determination.
H. Please address questions, comments, and securely packed specimens to Dr. John Rawlins, Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213. U.S.A.
If anyone has information that is appropriate and that they would like placed in this newsletter, please write to:
William R. Buck
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458-5126
