Alun SaltTweets and highlights from International Botanical Congress on Tuesday.
Tuesday opened at the Congress and twitterers appreciated that improvements were made.
| “ | #ibc18 plenary lost the distracting arty fuzzy border filters to slides. *much* better. thanks. | |||
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| “ | Organising committee listening! RT @Jim_Croft: #ibc18 plenary lost distracting arty fuzzy border filters to slides. *much* better. thanks | |||
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| “ | YAY!!! RT @TimEntwisle Organising committee listening! RT @Jim_Croft: #ibc18 plenary lost distracting arty fuzzy border… *much* better… | |||
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Though there are some things to be fixed.
| “ | Since organising committee is listening, would love a slightly more Aussie-looking background too… #neverhappy #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Same train to #ibc18 as yesterday and this one’s packed. Maybe commuters in Melbourne have Mondays off. They were better groomed yesterday. | |||
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The day opened with Dr Gerard Oostermeijer: Integrating genetic and ecological data in plant conservation
| “ | Gerard Oostermeijer – integrating genetic & ecological data in plant conservation = translating models to on-ground actions #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Gerard: Plant conservation biologist needs to be jack of all trades #ibc18 Conservation involves on-ground citizen scientists too. | |||
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| “ | Distribution mapping is bad predictor: by the time pop decline is monitored its almost too late. Don’t fisheries people say this too? #IBC18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Oostermeijer. easy to get funding for on-ground action, not so for e.g. population viability analyses, etc. | |||
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| “ | Oostermeijer: Citizen botanists critical to research & monitoring, but not (along with scientists!) effective early-warning systems. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Primula in Netherlands: only 6 populations left, one has pin morph only left. But there is hope with some seedling recruitment. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Liparis is pioneer species. But responding to soil acidity not open-ness of habitat. Dynamic habitat means pops are short-lived #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Oostermeijer: Distribution of plants between islands in Netherlands may be due to "botanists with muddy boots". #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Decision tree: Often genetic rescue is necessary, but there is fear of outbreeding depression (Franham et al. 2011) #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Conservation/restoration work> external factors (habitat quality) important but Intrinsic factors are also critical to success. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Oostermeijer most conservation actions based on belief in importance of external factors, but many are intrinsic to the population. | |||
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The followed Plant modelling by Professor Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz.
| “ | #ibc18 plenary. Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz: Plant modelling. Gross morphology. Principle of hierarchical self organization. | |||
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| “ | Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz: Branching the one of most conspicuous feature of plants – how does such complexity come about? #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz: Basic Ulam (1962) model of branching: if enough space, grow; if not enough space, don’t grow. #ibc18 Me: good life rule! | |||
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| “ | Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz: Plant modelling based around self organization. Has excting paper in current @AnnBot http://bit.ly/qiG3n2 #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz: Comparing Fibonacci series and ‘golden angle’. Are they related? (Cool graphics. Love this stuff.) #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | plant models. ‘the golden angle’ c. 35 deg. for optimal packing. #onscreensimulation #majorfibonaccifix #plantgeekheaven #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz: plant models. Sorry, the golden angle = 137.5 degrees #rememberthisnumber #useonlyforgood #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | great full-screen graphics! But roll on plant ethanol fuel-cells for laptops as I move to door to find power ! #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | "Molecular biology provides insight" – Me: First time its done that, then. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | As PP makes clear, insight only comes when the data/techniques are linked to these models & hypotheses eg regarding auxin transport #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz: hypnotic diagrams of spiralling floral primordia. To think yesterday I had no idea what plant modelling was. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz: plant models. ubercool animated simulations of apical meristem growth! & raceme! &cyme! #ubercool #plantgeekwetdream #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Never thought a talk about racemes and cymes could make me blush. #plantporn #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | … and presentation is stunning. It’s very tricky to talk to a big audience, standing up while controlling live graphics/animations #ibc18 | |||
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Photo by Pathh1 on twitter
| “ | Prusinkiewicz: plant models. growing virtual plants on screen. better that the real thing! #wherecanidownloadthisstuff? #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | @Jim_Croft Website http://www.algorithmicbotany.org – see current @AnnBot http://bit.ly/qiG3n2 I’ve asked to make it open access (UK day) #ibc18 | |||
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Photo by TimEntwisle on twitter
| “ | @TimEntwisle Nice photo of Eden sculpture. I’ve one on a very sunny day and one on ultra-dull day and neither show the bumps! #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Fibonacci numbers are so damn cool. cooler that pi. way cooler than pi. #plantscancounttoo | |||
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| “ | YES simply incredible models and graphics, phyllotaxis etc! Prusinkiewicz presentation #ibc18 RT @Jim_Croft @TimEntwisle | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz citing a favourite botanist, Hallé! Look out for ‘In Praise of Plants’ (why plants more interesting than animals) #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Prusinkiewicz: buds as sources and destinations of grow/nogrow signals; add light signals and tropisms and build *realistic* trees! #ibc18 | |||
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Photo by TimEntwisle on twitter
| “ | Development = hierarchy of self-organizing processes. Best definition I’ve heard, especially when supported with wonderful models. #ibc18 | |||
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The reception for Prusinkiewicz’s talk was unanimous admiration.
| “ | Wow, TreeSketch for the iPad on iTunes. I have an iPad right here. Considering career change. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | I think Przemy just gave me permission to buy an iPad. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 tweeps who didn’t come to the Prusinkiewicz plenary on plant models, you missed something very special. #nosympathy | |||
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| “ | RT @Jim_Croft #ibc18 tweeps who didn’t come to the Prusinkiewicz plenary on plant models, you missed something very special. #nosympathy | |||
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| “ | Prisinkiewicz best talk so far of #ibc18 IMHO. | |||
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To plug his paper again, Towards aspect-oriented functional–structural plant modelling is online at Annals of Botany. We also have a standard policy if you want to blog about an AoB paper we can provide free for you. As far as we’re concerned botanical bloggers are science reporters. If you want to blog about a lot of research, the Research Blogging site can help you get more readers for your posts.
| “ | Any of these #ibc18 talks being videoed / streamed? #justasking | |||
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| “ | No. Pasting together the tweets is as good as it gets. RT @peterneish: Any of these #ibc18 talks being videoed / streamed? #justasking | |||
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And now on with the sessions.
| “ | Peter Crane heads off one of the Keynote Sessions today ‘The past, present and future of plant diversity’ #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Keynote. Peter Crane: patterns in the history of plant diversity. history of angiosperm fossils, x-ray & electr. flower dissections. | |||
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| “ | Why study plant fossils? Peter Crane lets us know in no uncertain terms, with review of amazing new understanding since IBC1999 #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Crane: describing cone-like things w/ peltate sporophylls w/ sporangia underneath. #ifitlookslikeanequisetumandquackslikeanequisetum? | |||
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| “ | Crane: Early cretaceous (136-108 mya) with bits and pieces of angiosperms – many families and orders. Aroids recently identified.#ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Crane: the Cretaceous is a very long period (80 m yrs). A lot happened on the angiosperm scene, basal and eu- dicots. | |||
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| “ | #ibc18. Crane describing ‘comfortable consistency’ between the phylogeny of current angiosperms and palaeontological record. | |||
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| “ | New understanding from Mesofossils (lignified/carbonized), non-angiosperms, techniques, phylogentic framework, flowers, missing taxa. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Crane – now the hard stuff – what to do about missing data in the record? especially at the base of the tree, the early divergences. | |||
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| “ | Crane: fossils give us sense of order of synapomorphies but still problems in flower development, need more on structures & full data #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 David Coates, Keynote. The future of plant diversity. Starting with the goals of the #GSPC. ‘The need for knowledge’ | |||
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| “ | David Coates on the future of plant diversity: global implications from Western Australia data. Global strategy targets given #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | David Coates: Some optimism warranted for the conservation of plant diversity. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | some pessimism also 🙂 #glasshalf RT @TimEntwisle: David Coates: Some optimism warranted for the conservation of plant diversity. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Coates gives shoutout for Australian Network for Plant Conservation http://www.anbg.gov.au/anpc/ #ibc18 12% of Australian land is protected | |||
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| “ | Coates: Need to bridge, and use bridge, between in situ and ex situ conservation. Both can help each other. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Coates mentions ‘quasi in situ’… not term I’m familar with. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18. Coates. Large number of insufficiently known species, many may become extinct before they are listed. | |||
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| “ | Coates: Key threats for Australia: Phytophthora root rot (40% of taxa susceptible), climate change, small/declining populations. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18. Coates stressing the importance of the links between in-situ and ex-situ conservation programs. #integration | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Coates describing the mayhen and gore of Phytophthora in SW Western Australia. describing some control and management successes. | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 keynote talk Peter Crane we need further study of enigmatic seed plants and on order of appearance of key angio characters. | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 David Coates, Plant Diversity http://t.co/zXTBqkL | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Coates. Translocations. Need sort out the difference between ‘gardening’ and viable populations. #persistence | |||
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| “ | Coates: 78% of 63 species translocated in W Australia reproducing successfully, 15% still juvenile and only 7% failed. #nottooshabby #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Coates: Gondwanalink – ambitious project linking conservation areas through land purchase and restoration – non government initiative.#ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Coates: In W Australia deficiencies in knowing which taxa threatened;1500 taxa recognised not published; 10-15% unknown to science. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | David Coated: plenary giving a thorough coverage of current biodiversity conservation issues, with a Western Australian focus.#ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18. Coates. Gene flow across the landscape despite habitat fragmentation. But is it enough to maintain populations? | |||
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| “ | Coates: Repeats again that need to improve our communication to government and community. Now… #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18. Eimear Nic Lughadha: plant diversity today – how well do we know what we have now? … "knowledge is actionable" | |||
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| “ | Lughadha plenary, estimate 352,000 plant accepted names in IPNI database based on rates of synonymy. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Eimear Nic Lughadha: The Plant List delivered just in time, late Dec 2010. Having been involved in the process, it was quite a run. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | No wait…just under 300,000 accepted plant names in The Plant List. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Lughadha shows map of world mooshed together, turned sideways. #vertigo #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Lughadha: Most new species of plant likely to be in areas already identified as biodiversity hotspots, or alternatively in herbaria! #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | I guess herbaria are *the* (taxon) diversity hotspots now. A shame they are mostly dead (a nod to seeds and spores). #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | @TimEntwisle it seems identified hotspots for undescribed species were not as high in SE Asian rainforest…I am surprised by that.#ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Eimear Nic Lughada: we gave users IPNI, they told us they wanted a checklist of accepted names. Story of my life… #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Lughadha: taxonomy and what is known about accepted species…upshot, still much undescribed diversity. taxonomists know this. | |||
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| “ | Lughadha: Plants are more threatened than birds and as threatened as mammals "a shock to politicians" #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Lughadha: Recurring theme of the importance of herbaria #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | #ibc18 Eimear NicLughada, Speaking on plant diversity. http://t.co/CxoZQig | |||
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There was a limited number of tweets from the small RNA session.
| “ | Damn. Other session has changed order of speakers without notice. Heard last question answered by Rob Martienssen. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Anyway, not Olivier Voinnet’s fault. Into nice talk Endogenous RNA & endogenous hairpins that resemble hairpin used as RNAi trigger #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Small RNA moving through plants – mobile (nice images) – Voinnet #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Voinnet: Systematic transgene RNAi. siRNA is mobile & can visualize at leaf-level. Endogenous delivered siRNA similar to invivo siRNA #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Mobile small RNA may also affect gametophye – Voinnet #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Voinnet: consequences. Small RNAs reach meristem, de novo methylate meristem DNA & pattern transmitted to new growth –> epivariant #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Dynamic system allows smallRNA pool activation, moves through plant, adaptation in real time, also transmitted to next generation #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Voinnet: mobile small RNAs serve plants for adaptation. Hairpins act as RNA reservoir that activate with stress and move systemically #ibc18 | |||
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Next came an ePoster session – which is new to me. There’s nothing to see here alas.
| “ | Rapid Fire ePoster Session: "Photography & video recording are not allowed during presentations." < Wha? Why?? #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Speakers concerned about IP (from dedicated repeated photos). Audience distracted. Think that’s logic. @chrisfreeland: no photo/video #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Flash indeed distracting in smaller rooms. MT @TimEntwisle concerned about IP. Audience distracted… @chrisfreeland: no photo/video #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | @TimEntwisle Huh. Seems out of character w/ rest of conf, first time I’ve seen that appear. Given # of flashes, guess no one heeding. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Impressed by breadth & quality of presentations in rapid-fire e-poster session #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Be sure to check out Michael Whitehead’s e-poster on orchid pollination & wasp sex – Awesome!! #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | And @DrSway in rapid-fire talk! Orchids, insects, sex and video! Pitfalls and perils… #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Missing rapid-fire e-poster presentations while standing by our oldschool p(aper)-poster. Can’t do it all. #ibc18 | |||
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| “ | Posters packed @ #ibc18 http://t.co/YoW1FQj | |||
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Photo by Gardenboi on twitter
And that wraps up the morning sessions. Storify is creaking and deleting tweets, so I’ll catch up the afternoon tweets in a following post.
