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IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED November 30, 2006:
- 25 DAYS TO HEALTH AND WEALTH WORKSHOP DECEMBER 2
- TWO CALS SCIENTISTS AMONG SEVEN FROM UA NAMED AAAS FELLOWS
- NEW BIO5 BUILDING
- CALS AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECEIVES REACCREDITATION
- RECLUSE SPIDERS IN ARIZONA
- CLEANING UP TOXINS WITH MICROORGANISMS
- ARIZONA FIREWISE EDUCATORS RECOGNIZED FOR LEADERSHIP
- UA TURF RESEARCHER INDUCTED INTO ARIZONA GOLF HALL OF FAME
- CALS STUDENT NEW FFA WESTERN REGION VICE PRESIDENT
- ARIZONA AND THE NORTH AMERICAN MONSOON
- PARKER AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMPLEX AT UA CAMPUS AG CENTER
- NEW LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST LYGUS BUGS IN WESTERN CROPPING SYSTEMS
- WESTERN FORESTS AFFECTED BY INSECTS, DISEASES AND ABIOTIC DISORDERS
1 25 DAYS TO HEALTH AND WEALTH WORKSHOP DECEMBER 2
Health and wealth are part of the American dream. Arizona residents who want to get healthier and more financially secure in the years ahead, perhaps lose some weight and save more for retirement can learn how through "25 Days to Health and Wealth."
The program, offered December 2 from 9-11 a.m. at the Pima County Cooperative Extension office at 4210 N. Campbell Ave. in Tucson describes 25 behavior change strategies that can be adopted to simultaneously improve your health and personal finances.
Participants will be led through a discussion of each strategy and encouraged to select 3 or 4 strategies to implement as part of a personal action plan. The class content is based on the book, "Small Steps to Health and Wealth" written by Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty members Barbara O'Neill, CFP, and Karen Ensle, RD.
Participants will be encouraged to register their health/wealth goals for the new year at the UA/Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research online at the url below.
Copies of the book, along with healthy recipes and holiday gift ideas will be included in the registration fee of $25.00.
Linda Block, Pima County Cooperative Extension
To learn more:
http://tcainstitute.org/sshw/
2 TWO CALS SCIENTISTS AMONG SEVEN FROM UA NAMED AAAS FELLOWS
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has named seven faculty members from The University of Arizona as 2006 AAAS Fellows. Two CALS scientists are among those honored.
Ian Pepper, Howard Ochman, Hans VanEtten, M. Bonner Denton, Hsinchun Chen, Aden Baker Meinel and George Timothy Bowden are among 449 new fellows selected from across the nation.
Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin at the February 2007 AAAS annual meeting in San Francisco.
Pepper, professor of soil, water and environmental science and director of the UA's Environmental Research Lab, was recognized for distinguished research and teaching contributions in soil and environmental microbiology specializing in the molecular ecology of the environment.
VanEtten, professor of plant pathology, was recognized for identifying plant pathogenicity genes in fungi and the conditionally dispensable (supernumerary) chromosomes on which they reside.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal Science (www.sciencemag.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more.
Ian Pepper, Soil, Water and Environmental Science
Hans VanEtten, Division of Plant Pathology
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/19.8.html
Thirty of BIO5's more than 140 faculty members, including researchers from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, are moving into the new Thomas W. Keating (TWK) Bioresearch Building beginning in November, 2006. The new building provides critical space not only for faculty, but also for more than 300 researchers who are associated with their labs, 40 percent of whom are students.
The building also will provide a forum where the public can participate in educational programs, workshops/seminars, and interactive exhibits designed to enhance public interest in and awareness of issues in the biosciences. The planned events will draw visitors from around the state and the world, including researchers, bioscience industry leaders, local and state politicians, teachers, and students. The new BIO5 building will become a center for science education and research that will both involve and benefit the Arizona community.
A dedication for the BIO5 Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch Building & College of Medicine Medical Research Building will take place Friday, December 1. The new buildings will be dedicated together during the "Open Doors, Open Minds" celebration, with registration beginning at 1:00 p.m. The program is hosted by UA President Robert Shelton, Ph.D. Keynote speakers are William C. Harris, Ph.D., president and CEO, Science Foundation Arizona; and Thomas M. Grogan, M.D., chief medical officer, Ventana Medical Systems and a UA professor of pathology. Guided building tours and refreshments follow the program and the 2006 AHSC Frontiers in Biomedical Research Poster Forum begins at 2:30 p.m. the same day.
To read a recent story about the BIO5 building in the Arizona Daily Star, visit http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/156796.php
Vicky Chandler, BIO5
To learn more:
http://www.bio5.org/about/about_facility.php
4 CALS AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECEIVES REACCREDITATION
The CALS Department of Agricultural Education recently received a five-year approval recommendation for its teacher certification program. This approval is granted by the State Board of Education, which conducts a rigorous external review of all teacher education programs in Arizona to determine if successful graduates meet the requirements needed to receive the institutional recommendation for a teaching credential (license).
Twenty-one teacher education programs exist at the University of Arizona; the Department of Agricultural Education is the only program recommended for the maximum five-year approval of its teacher certification program.
Jack Elliot, Department of Agricultural Education
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/aed/
Arizona recluse spiders have an affinity for dry, dark places. They may be brought into homes on stored items, firewood, or other woody debris collected from the desert. Recluse spider bites in Arizona usually occur when people grasp items in storage without wearing gloves, or when they pick up clothing left on the floor, where the spider can find refuge.
Recluse spiders spin a coarse, sticky, irregular web that is fairly flat and often overlooked by humans. During the daytime they are usually found sitting on their web, and at night they often forage well away from their web in search of prey.
There are eleven native recluse spider species in the United States, also commonly referred to as "fiddleback" or "violin" spiders. Arizona has five native recluse spider species; three of these species are native or confined to a certain region. The two most likely to be encountered in our state--if at all--are the Arizona recluse and the desert recluse.
The true brown recluse (L. reclusa) has a large range, but is native only to a specific area east of the Rocky Mountains--mainly portions of the central Midwest and South. The five Arizona recluse species are not as reliant as the eastern type on urban, man-made structures for their survival, and are found as often living well away from humans as near them.
Dawn Gouge, Maricopa Agricultural Center
To learn more:
http://ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/schoolipm/newsletters/2006/november.pdf
6 CLEANING UP TOXINS WITH MICROORGANISMS
Bioremediation is a water treatment tool that helps fix pollution problems by putting microorganisms to work. "Bio" refers to the biological organisms and "remediation" refers to the job to be done: remediating or resolving an environmental problem caused by toxic chemicals and other hazardous wastes in soil and groundwater.
Biodegradation is a natural process. In a non-polluted environment microorganisms or microbes, including bacteria, algae and fungi, are hard at work breaking down organic matter. Enter an organic pollutant such as gasoline or oil. The result: some of the microbes die while others capable of eating the organic pollutant survive. Bioremediation speeds the process and increases efficiency by providing pollution-eating organisms with fertilizer, oxygen, and other conditions that encourage their rapid growth.
The feeding of the microbes causes more chemicals to be digested and converted into water and harmless gases such as carbon dioxide. The field of bioremediation encompasses numerous strategies to clean up pollution by enhancing the same biodegradation processes that occur in nature.
Bioremediation work at the University of Arizona includes two projects using elemental sulphur to feed naturally occurring microorganisms that will then degrade pollutants.
Joe Gelt, Water Resources Research Center
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/AZWATER/awr/novdec06/feature1.html
7 ARIZONA FIREWISE EDUCATORS RECOGNIZED FOR LEADERSHIP
The national Firewise Communities program recently announced the winners of its inaugural "Firewise Leadership Awards". These awards recognize "outstanding efforts to reduce to reduce wildfire risk by promoting a cooperative approach to reducing the loss of lives, property, and resources in the wildland/urban interface."
Arizona Firewise, a collaboration of agencies and organizations that provides cooperative leadership and oversight in developing and delivering the Firewise education program received one of the state awards. The group has conducted dozens of workshops and seminars, revised and distributed more than 175,000 Living with Wildfire Homeowners' Firewise Guides, established a pilot program for Firewise advisors and assessors, conducted media campaigns including celebrity radio/TV spots and billboards, and supported a youth education curriculum developed by a small-town firefighter.
Arizona Firewise has members from ARizona Fire Chiefs Association, Arizona Fire Districts Association, Arizona Emergency Services Association, Arizona Planning Association, Arizon State land Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, National Park Service, Northern Arizona University, University of Arizona, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Chris Jones, Gila County Cooperative Extension
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/firewise/
8 UA TURF RESEARCHER INDUCTED INTO ARIZONA GOLF HALL OF FAME
Dave Kopec, a turf specialist in the CALS Department of Plant Sciences, has been selected for induction into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame. The recognition is given to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to Arizona golf. Kopec is recognized for his contributions to the field of turfgrass science.
Kopec received a Ph.D. in Turfgrass Science Breeding, Science and Culture from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He also has a Master's degree in Turfgrass Breeding and Pathology from Rutgers University.
Kopec conducts applied research on new varieties of grass; weed control; water use; overseeding and spring transition management; and other concerns that are unique to growing turfgrass in a desert environment. He teaches two courses at the UA: Golf and Sports Turf Management, and Bermudagrass Greens Management, and is also an instructor for the Golf Course Association of America were he co-teaches seminars in irrigation water quality, bermudagrass greens management and irrigation scheduling.
To learn more:
hhttp://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/19.7.html
9 CALS STUDENT NEW FFA WESTERN REGION VICE PRESIDENT
By working with sheep on her family's Arizona farm, Janette Barnard learned that purposeful effort, care and attention builds a good flock. Those same principles will serve her well in the coming year as she works to educate and inspire FFA members across the country. Barnard is the first national officer elected from the University of Arizona in over 40 years.
The Willcox FFA Chapter member was recently named the 2006-2007 National FFA Western Region Vice President at the 79th National FFA Convention. She was among six individuals selected from a field of 41 to hold national office. She is the daughter of Virgil and Helen Barnard. Clint Sanborn, her current advisor in the Willcox FFA Chapter, and Daniel Foster, her former advisor, are both alumni of the CALS Department of Agricultural Education.
Barnard, an Agricultural and Resources Economics senior at the University of Arizona, serves as an Ambassador for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and for the Arizona National Livestock Show. She also is the co-chairperson of the UofA Student Leadership Committee and is a member of the Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority.
Jack Elliot, Agricultural Education
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/12.6.html
10 ARIZONA AND THE NORTH AMERICAN MONSOON
The official definition for the word "monsoon" is a persistent surface windflow pattern caused by differential heating that shifts direction from one season to another.
A new 8-page Cooperative Extension bulletin discusses how monsoons throughout the world work. It includes full color weather graphics, descriptions of how different systems--such as agriculture, wildfire and electricity--are affected by the monsoon and a table of weather statistics from throughout the state.
Arizona is on the northern border of the core region of the North American Monsoon System (NAMS), and receives most of its annual precipitation in two distinct seasons, winter and summer. Winter precipitation is produced by large-scale surface low pressure systems that traverse the Southwest, drawing in moisture from the Pacific Ocean and producing widespread rain and snow.
Summer precipitation in Arizona is the result of very different atmospheric features. The mid-latitude jet stream retreats far north during the summer and the subtropical jet stream is replaced by a large high pressure system anchored over the eastern Pacific Ocean. A subtle change in circulation patterns during the summer opens up a flow of moisture from the south that dramatically increases convective thunderstorm activity across the state. That subtle change in circulation patterns is the North American Monsoon.
To learn more about monsoons in Arizona visit the link below.
Michael Crimmins, School of Natural Resources
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1417.pdf
11 PARKER AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMPLEX AT UA CAMPUS AG CENTER
The environmental factors that affect reproduction in farm animals are the focus of studies at the UA Agricultural Research Complex (ARC). Completion of the laboratory portion in the highly technical, state-of-the-art facility allows faculty and students to better understand how animals respond to desert conditions.
The newly named William J. Parker Agriculture Research Complex was dedicated in late October at the Campus Agricultural Center, 4101 N. Campbell in Tucson. William J. Parker immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1921. He was a founder of Shamrock Dairy. His family now runs the Parker Dairy which moved in 1989 to Congress, Arizona.
Parker's son, Jim says one reason the family wanted to name the facility after their father is because of their desire to leave a lasting legacy and because the UA helped the family to be successful in their business.
Colin Kaltenbach, Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/7.9.html
12 NEW LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST LYGUS BUGS IN WESTERN CROPPING SYSTEMS
Recent gains in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Arizona have been substantial, largely through the adoption/integration of new insect control technologies.
Further progress in IPM and opportunities to better manage risk (economic, environmental and human health) are now largely rooted in the ability to better manage the agroecosystem overall. There is a major need to develop innovative, ecologically-based areawide systems of management, especially for mobile, multicrop pests like the Lygus species, which can undermine gains in IPM and stifle new opportunities by requiring pesticide sprays that could disrupt the established pest managment strategies that are less toxic.
At the same time, growers require the training and tools to better understand and incorporate these landscape level processes into their individual and areawide IPM plans.
A team led by researchers at the CALS Maricopa Agricultural Center has been awarded a 4-year, $2.5 million grant from USDA to develop and implement multi-crop strategies for reducing damage caused by Lygus bugs. This grant enables a unique multi-state, regional research and extension collaboration and synergizes an innovative outreach, demonstration, and delivery system that will serve as a model for understanding and implementing landscape level IPM in other systems.
Peter Ellsworth, Department of Entomology, Maricopa Agricultural Center
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/apmc/RAMP.html
13 WESTERN FORESTS AFFECTED BY INSECTS, DISEASES AND ABIOTIC DISORDERS
Insects, Diseases, and Abiotic Disorders in Southwest Forests and Woodlands is a new CALS publication in the Climate Change and Variability in Southwest Ecosystems Series. The bulletin was written by Tom DeGomez, associate specialist in natural resources, and Gregg Garfin, program assistant for Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS).
The authors note that ponderosa and piņon pine mortality due to bark beetles during 2002-2003 and the decline of aspen from 1999 to 2004 are examples of events that appear to be tied to recent climatic episodes. Recent bark beetle outbreaks throughout the West may be linked to warmer than average temperatures in the past decade.
An additional factor influencing pine tree mortality in the late 1990s and early 2000s points to increased stand density in pine. Increased stand density contributes to lowered soil moisture levels, which can contribute to reduced resistance to bark beetle attack.
Based on aerial survey data, aspen tree mortality started to become evident in the late 1990s. Aspen defoliation in Arizona and New Mexico averaged ~ 20,375 acres from 1990 to 1997. A series of events has contributed to the decline of aspen since 1997. In 1998, 85,980 acres were defoliated in New Mexico and Arizona by western tent caterpillar, large aspen tortrix, black leaf spot, and one of the species of Melampsora rust.
You can view the four-page bulletin by going to the link below.
Tom DeGomez, Coconino County Cooperative Extension
To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1418.pdf
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