A wide range of scientific and educational workshops will be presented during Botany 2016.
Please register for the workshops of your choice - you will receive ticket(s) in your registration packet on site.
Pre-registration is required for all as seating is limited.
All workshops will be presented on Sunday, July 31 in the Savannah International trade and Convention Center - Specific rooms will be on your ticket.
Time Subject to Change |
Title | Presenter | Cost TBD |
|
WS 1 | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Introduction to Next Generation Sequencing | Shannon C.K. Straub | $40.00 |
WS 2 | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | IUCN Red List Assessment Training and Bioblitz | Marian M. Chau | $40.00 |
WS 3 | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Using Digitized Herbarium Data in Research: A Crash Course | Pamela Soltis | FREE |
WS 20 | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Introduction to Botanical Drawing with Alice Tangerini | Marilyn Garber Alice Tangerini |
$60.00 |
WS 4 | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Constructing morphological character matrices from taxonomic descriptions using new software approaches | Lorena Endara | $10.00 |
WS 5 | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Using Visual Learning to Improve Comprehension | Bruce Kirchoff | $20.00 |
WS 6 | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Web-Based Retrieval Practice as a Self-Directed Study Tool for Students in Botany and Plant Taxonomy | Niels Proctor | $10.00 |
WS 7 | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Assembly and analysis of genomic RADseq data using ipyrad | Deren Eaton | $10.00 |
WS 8 | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Planting Inquiry in Science Classrooms | Gordon Uno Marsh Sundberg Catrina Adams |
FREE |
WS 9 | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM | We are All Plumbers Now: Toolboxes for Building Unconventional STEM Career Pipelines | L. K. Tuominen Kathryn Theiss |
$10.00 |
WS 10 | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Tools for the International Botanist: Navigating the Nagoya Protocol | Rachel Meyer | $10.00 |
WS 10A | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Stokes Baker and Bruce Cahoon | $10.00 | |
WS 11 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Anna Monfils | FREE | |
WS 12 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Transcriptome analyses for non-model plants: phylogenomics and more | Stephen Smith | $10.00 |
WS 13 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Making a Visual Key: A Lab Exercise with Practical Consequences | Bruce Kirchoff | $20.00 |
WS 14 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Jennifer Mandel | $10.00 | |
WS 15 | 3:15 PM - 5:15 PM | Angela Mc Donnell and Rebecca Povilus | $10.00 | |
WS 16 | 5:15 PM - 7:00 PM |
The U.S. Virtual Herbarium Project
|
Mary Barkworth | Free |
Introduction to Next Generation Sequencing
Next generation sequencing (NGS) describes technologies that produce billions of base pairs of sequence data per experiment. The low cost of these technologies (currently ca. 60 Mbp / dollar) allows an increasing number of biologists to incorporate genome-scale sequencing into their research. The goal of this workshop is to introduce participants to the essentials of NGS, so that they can develop and initiate their own projects in phylogenetics, population genetics, and gene expression using this technology. In the morning, we will describe the available technologies, applications, and protocols for sample preparation and sequencing. We will also describe options for computational infrastructure and analytical pipelines. In the afternoon, participants will then have an opportunity to work with data from the Illumina platform. Topics covered during the hands-on portion will include plastome sequence assembly and probe design for nuclear gene target enrichment (Hyb-Seq). A laptop computer is required. Fees will cover internet access, extension cords for laptops, a coffee break, and lunch.
IUCN Red List Assessment Training and Bioblitz
Become an official Red List Assessor for your specialty region or taxonomic group! George E. Schatz of the Missouri Botanical Garden/IUCN Species Survival Commission will provide training, and participating botanists will evaluate several plant species for Red List submission. The IUCN World Conservation Congress will be held in Honolulu in September 2016, which will be the first time the Congress is held in the United States. As botanists in the BSA and other national societies, we can participate in an important global biodiversity initiative and contribute to international conservation goals by conducting Red List assessments of the species that we know best. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is important because it allows us to evaluate the risk of extinction for any given species, providing open-source data that can be used for research, funding, and conservation prioritization - fitting for the Botany 2016 theme “Celebrating Our History, Conserving Our Future.” The workshop will be a full day. Prior to the workshop, participants will be required to complete online training in Red List assessment methodology, and come prepared with data on their species, including occurrences, population size, and threats. The morning session will include a review of terms, categories, criteria, concepts, and some examples. In the afternoon session, participants will assess species on their own or in small groups with assistance from the workshop leader. By the end of the workshop, each participant should have a Red List assessment ready to submit to IUCN. Brought to you by the BSA Public Policy Committee
Keywords: conservation, assessment, biodiversity, endangered species
Web Sites: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (http://www.iucnredlist.org/) Online IUCN Red List Training Course (http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/red-list-training/online-training)
Using Digitized Herbarium Data in Research: A Crash Course
Emerging cyber infrastructure and new data sources provide unparalleled opportunities for mobilizing and integrating massive amounts of information from organismal biology, ecology, genetics, climatology, and other disciplines. Key among these data sources is the rapidly growing volume of digitized specimen records from natural history collections. With over 50 million specimen records available online to date, an ever-increasing number, these data provide excellent information on species distributions, changes in distributions over time, phenology, morphology, and more. Particularly powerful is the integration of phylogenies with specimen data, enabling analyses of phylogenetic diversity in a spatio-temporal context, the evolution of niche space, and more. Beyond testing a priori hypotheses, such data-driven synthetic analyses may generate unexpected patterns, yielding new hypotheses for further study. Ongoing efforts to link and analyze diverse data are yielding new platforms for comparative analyses of biodiversity data. However, the inundation of data and methods can be overwhelming. In this full-day workshop, we will provide hands-on instruction on ways to access and download digitized herbarium data (from GBIF, iDigBio, and other aggregators) and prepare data sets for analysis.We will then offer a series of modules on using georeferencing software (GEOLocate), applying Maxent software to construct ecological niche models and do paleoclimatic modeling, linking specimen data to phylogenetic trees, computing phylogenetic diversity measures, reproducible science, and more. In addition to learning how to use various software packages, we will also discuss the assumptions of the analyses and the interpretations of the results. We will divide into groups based on participants’ experience, so novices and advanced users are all welcome. The workshop is free, and lunch is included; sponsored by iDigBio (www.idigbio.org).
Keywords: digitized herbarium data, biodiversity, informatics, research applications, global change
Web Links: iDigBio Homepage and Data Portal (http://www.idigbio.org)
Introduction to Botanical Drawing with Alice Tangerini
Join Alice Tangerini, Smithsonian Staff Illustrator, for this one day-long workshop on basic botanical drawing in pencil and pen and ink. This workshop will be a hands-on experience. Working from pressed plant material and digital prints of simple plants you will learn techniques used to create an accurate botanical plate. No drawing experience necessary.
Constructing morphological character matrices from taxonomic descriptions using new software approaches
Phenotypic data is part of the evolutionary history of organisms and one of the only ways to integrate fossils into phylogenetic studies. Additionally, this type of data can help researchers address scientific questions beyond Taxonomy and Systematics (e.g., studies of plasticity, adaptation, and evolutionary development). Yet phenotypic data can be challenging and time consuming to obtain. This workshop will teach scientists how to use a new semi-automated approach to extract large phenotypic datasets from taxonomic descriptions and transform them into characters useful for phylogenetic research. We will present the software pipeline used to extract phenotypic characters, and participants will work with a sample dataset to learn the different applications of the pipeline. A laptop computer is required. We encourage participants that would like to analyze their own dataset to contact the organizers a few weeks in advance.
Keywords: phenotypes, Taxonomic descriptions, morphological, characters, legacy literature, Natural Language, Processing, phylogenetics
Web Links: Text Parser - ETC (http://etc.cs.umb.edu/etcsite/start.html#HomePlace:)
MatrixConverter (https://github.com/gburleigh/MatrixConverter/tree/master/distribution)
AVAToL Phenomics project (http://avatol.org/ngp/)
Using Visual Learning to Improve Comprehension
Visual learning is a powerful modality that allows students to master complex material in a short amount of time. In the workshop you will learn to use free software to increase learning in your classes. The program, IQ, has been successfully used to improve student learning of plant life cycles, plant terminology, and organic chemistry functional groups. Results of the use of the program will be presented and discussed. IQ can be easily adapted to any knowledge domain where images play an important role. This includes the use of schematic images such as life cycles that summarize large amounts of information, and images that teach the proper use of terminology. Participants will have the opportunity to work with the software during the workshop. A few weeks before the workshop you will be contacted with instructions on how to download the software and sample images for use in the workshop. The workshop will be even more meaningful if you bring your own images, but sample images will be provided. In order to use the software you will need to bring your own Mac or PC computer as these will not be provided.
Keywords: teaching, learning, education, visual learning, evaluation, life cycles, terminology
Web-Based Retrieval Practice as a Self-Directed Study Tool for Students in Botany and Plant Taxonomy
Students who are learning to identify plants to family or species need a way to practice those identification skills. Self-testing with collected plants carries the risk of learning the features of a particular specimen, rather than the diversity of the broader group. Self-testing with unknown plants in a natural area provides no feedback and carries the risk of learning a misidentification. But widespread access to the internet and to high-quality digital cameras has now made it possible for instructors to provide a web-based study tool where students can practice their identification skills. This workshop will look at web-based retrieval practice sites that have been used in undergraduate plant identification courses at the University of California at Davis and at the University of Florida. We will look at student usage of those sites and talk about how interface design decisions affect usage patterns. We will also go over the steps involved in taking the necessary plant photos and building a new site for a particular course. Participants will have the chance to try using a botanical retrieval practice site and will receive a copy of the HTML/javascript files for setting up their own sites.
Keywords: Botany, Species Identification, Family, Recognition, Retrieval Practice
Assembly and analysis of genomic RADseq data using ipyrad
Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) and related methods (e.g., ddRAD, GBS) provide a simple and fast way to sample sequence data from thousands of genomic regions across many sampled individuals. The goal of this workshop is to introduce participants to the software ipyrad, which can be used to assemble and analyze RADseq data sets. We will begin with an introduction to what RADseq is, how the data are generated, and what the raw data look like. We will then learn the general workflow of ipyrad, and use it to assemble empirical test data sets. This will be followed by an introduction to more advanced Python scripting using the ipyrad API. We will end with methods for visualizing assembled data and analyzing results with population genetic summary statistics and tests for introgression. This workshop will be taught through the use of Jupyter Notebooks, with a goal of introducing participants to how this tool can be used to create reproducible published bioinformatic workflows. No previous coding experience is required. Attendees will need a laptop running either mac or linux.
Keywords: Genomics, Bioinformatics, Python, RADseq, Reproducibility
Planting Inquiry in Science Classrooms
Science practices play prominent roles in the Next Generation Science Standards, the revised AP Biology Curriculum, and undergraduate teaching reform efforts. In this interactive workshop, we share simple yet effective techniques to help students develop skills ranging from generating questions based on observations of the usual and unusual to exploring alternative explanations. Leave with tested examples, ideas for using them in your own classroom, and increased confidence to up the ante on student-centered learning or introduce inquiry into what you already do. Workshop participants receive a print copy of Inquiring About Plants: A Practical Guide to Engaging Science Practices.
Keywords: teaching, inquiry, student-centered learning, science practices
We are All Plumbers Now: Toolboxes for Building Unconventional STEM Career Pipelines
Research on the representation in academic science of women, people of color, and people who have experience(d) disability has shown a pattern of decreasing participation at every career level. This phenomenon, commonly known as the “leaky pipeline” effect, is familiar to most science educators, and multiple structural changes to institutional policies and training processes have been proposed to help improve retention of diverse scientists. In this workshop, we will move beyond the familiar data and common focus on institutional change to discover ways in which early career botanists, especially graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and contingent faculty, can apply our problem-solving skills to address our current career challenges and continue towards satisfying science careers. While we will begin from the assumption that all present at the workshop are facing or have faced at least one challenge that has caused them to wonder, “Am I the Leaky Pipeline?”, such challenges need not be disclosed to other participants. Mentors seeking to support human diversity in botany are encouraged to participate.
The goals of this workshop are to:
All participants will receive a workbook that will walk through a step-by-step process to address a current career challenge. An electronic copy of the workbook and online notes from workshop discussions will also be available to participants through the end of 2016.
Keywords: human diversity, leaky pipeline, nonacademic careers, contingent faculty, postdoctoral researchers, professional development, student mentorship
Tools for the International Botanist: Navigating the Nagoya Protocol
The Convention on Biological Diversity produced the Nagoya Protocol that has been ratified by 197 countries and dramatically changes the landscape of botanical research abroad. The Protocol is a transparent legal document with a full name of “The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity”. It is meant to help establish a fair framework for the providers and users of genetic resources and to protect providers of traditional knowledge by requiring negotiations with appropriate parties to ensure equitable benefits are given in exchange of that knowledge. Many scientists fear the enforcement of this protocol, that in many ways is focused on corporate utilization of genetic and traditional knowledge resources for economic benefit, will dramatically decrease basic science research data and collections because of the additional hurdles it creates. If you do international fieldwork or have international collaborations, it is important to understand how to adhere to the Protocol. Just as the Protocol creates new challenges and considerations, it also provides a platform to leverage new opportunities, such as lasting research partnerships and increased intellectual collaboration. In this two-hour workshop, we break down the Protocol so it becomes more interpretable and provide examples of how researchers have met the new standards and successfully completed projects that involved sensitive genetic resources or traditional knowledge. We also cover essentials for grant proposal applications that now require language about how the Protocol and other documents like the International Treaty will be followed.
Keywords: genetic resources, germplasm, economic botany, fieldwork, international research, ethnobotany, intellectual property, human rights, biodiversity
Integrating RNA-Seq Into Undergraduate Teaching
In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has become a mainstay of modern biology. Two groups have been established to facilitate the integration of RNA-seq (i.e., whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing) data analysis into undergraduate biology curriculum, The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: NextGen Sequencing Group (GCAT-SEEK; http://lycofs01.lycoming.edu/~gcat-seek/), and iPlant Collaborative’s DNA Subway (http://www.iplantcollaborative.org/). In this workshop, resources developed by these two groups will be presented. Workshop participants will learn about how to utilize RNA-seq data repositories and how to use freely available on-line and downloadable software tools to analyze RNA-seq data. Examples of instructional materials developed by the two presenters will also be presented. Workshop participants will be required to bring a laptop with wireless Internet capabilities. Since software will need to be loaded, the participants need administrative rights to their operating system.
Making a Visual Key: A Lab Exercise with Practical Consequences
In this workshop you will make a completely visual key – a key a key based exclusively on images – and learn about why these types of keys are more effective than traditional text-based keys. This will be a hands-on workshop in which everyone can participate. The procedure you learn can be easily adapted to the classroom and used, with the appropriate modification, at any level from high school through graduate school. Although illustrations have played an important role in identification keys and guides since the 18th century, their use has varied widely. Some keys lack all illustrations, while others are heavily illustrated. Even within illustrated keys and guides the way in which images are used varies considerably. During this workshop we will review some best practices for image use in keys, and create a completely visual key. These types of keys have been made possible by advances in digital imaging, which has allowed the rapid collection of standardized photographs of plants. Characters in visual keys are visually, not verbally defined. During the workshop participants will learn how to create a visual key, and will create a visual key to a group of taxa.
Keywords: keys, visual learning, teaching, learning, laboratory exercise, plant identification, imaging, pictures, Quercus, Oaks, identification guides
Principles of Visual Key Construction (http://aobpla.oxfordjournals.org/content/2011/plr005)
Image Use in Field Guides and Identification Keys (http://aobpla.oxfordjournals.org/content/2011/plr004)
Applying to Graduate School: Tips for Success
This workshop is a panel discussion designed to introduce undergraduate students to the specific requirements for applying to graduate programs in plant biology. Topics include considering a graduate degree, becoming a competitive applicant, establishing a timetable for application, picking a mentor, preparing a strong application, the campus visit and funding options. Panelists will include both current graduate students and faculty experienced in graduate admissions.
Transcriptome analyses for non-model plants: phylogenomics and more
Transcriptomic sequencing has become more common for non-model organisms as costs have lowered. Often, however, the full utility of these data are not realized because of barriers to data analysis. In this workshop, we will examine many different uses for transcriptomes including phylogenomic analyses, phyloGWAS, differential expression, and more. Workshop participants will be given the necessary scripts, instructions, and test data. No other special knowledge required. Instructions and dependencies to install will be handed out for participants to install and test before workshop. For those who are not familiar with command line interface, additional tutorial instructions will be provided.
Keywords: transcriptomes, phylogenomics, phyloGWAS, differential expression, phylogenetics, Genomics
Information Website: (https://bitbucket.org/blackrim/botanyworkshop2016)
Targeted next-gen sequencing for plant phylogenetics
Next-generation sequencing and phylogenomics hold great promise for elucidating complex relationships in plant lineages. In this workshop, we will present an overview of the use of targeted sequence capture and next-generation sequencing for phylogenetics addressing questions like:
We have successfully implemented targeted capture of low copy sequences followed by next-generation sequencing on the Illumina platform in the large and diverse angiosperm family Compositae (Asteraceae). In this workshop, we will describe the probe design process and the wet lab protocol for performing sequence capture including helpful information for designing similar experiments in your own research system. Our method generates nuclear data and chloroplast genomes (from off-target capture reads) enabling the comparison of nuclear and chloroplast genomes for phylogenetic analyses. We also analyze multi-copy nuclear genes in our data set using a clustering method during orthology detection, and we apply a network approach to these clusters—analyzing all related locus copies. The organizers will demonstrate the bioinformatic and phylogenetic workflow, walk participants through the process, and ample time will be provided for questions at the end. As time allows at the end, materials and software information will be distributed and participants are encouraged to bring their laptops to try out the bioinformatic workflow. Examples will be given for implementing this method in the Compositae and will generalizable to other species groups.
Crafting an effective elevator speech and Communicating Broader Impacts of Your Work: A Workshop for Students and PostDocs.
For each of us, a professional conference is an opportunity to develop skills as scientists and to communicate with an ever-growing network of colleagues. The “elevator speech” has received attention recently, particularly in the sciences as the need for effective science communication has increased due to a variety of factors. Whether we share our work with colleagues, at job interviews, or even your family, crafting an effective elevator speech requires us to think outside of our discipline and address the broader impacts of our work. This workshop will bring together students and post-doctoral fellows at different stages of their career to hone an elevator speech they have already prepared. Following a brief introduction with helpful tips for crafting your speech, we will have a breakout session to revise and modify our elevator speeches using tips from our keynote speaker. Finally, we will organize into groups to share these elevator speeches with each other. The social atmosphere of the event will contribute to opportunities for candid, constructive feedback and we encourage participants to use this interaction as practice toward pitching your elevator speech throughout the rest of your time at Botany 2016.
The U.S. Virtual Herbarium Project
The 2016 Annual Meeting of the U.S. Virtual Herbarium project will be held at 5:15 p.m., Sunday July 31. It will last about an hour. The two main items on the agenda are: