November 2002 Volume 33 (2)
ONTA NEWSLETTER
ORGANIZATION OF NEMATOLOGISTS OF TROPICAL AMERICA
ONTA web site: https://ontaweb.org
| VOLUME 33 (2) |
NOVEMBER 2002
|
MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT FOREST ROBINSON
Dear Friends in ONTA,
I’m honored to be your new president and welcome our new vice president, Renato Crozzoli. Renato of course will be communicating with many of us as he and Jenny Escobar, the chair of the 2003 Local Arrangements Committee, develop the scientific program for the ONTA reunion in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Thanks to Antonio Bello and Maurice Moens, who are rotating off the Executive Committee, for their hard work and numerous contributions. Juan Carlos Magunacelaya has joined the Executive Committee as a member-at-large. We also acquired some new editors recently. Ed McGawley and Soledad Verdejo took charge of Nematropica replacingLarry Duncan and Nahum Marbán Mendoza, respectively at the beginnning of 2002. José Andrés Chavarría has replaced Julia Meredith as the Spanish language Editor of the ONTA Newsletter. Like a Belgian work horse, our good friend Renato Inserra continues on with his excellent editorship of the ONTA Newsletter. Whenever you see, telephone, or e-mail Julia, Nahum Marbán, or Larry please say “Thank you”. These jobs require an unbelievable commitment of time and energy. I also want to thank Larry for volunteering to continue to maintain Nematropica on line indefinitely. And finally, please welcome Aurelio Ciancio as the new chair of the Home Page Committee, and thank Jim Rich and the rest of that committee for maintaining an excellent and functional home page for ONTA in two languages. The remaining officers, committee chairs and committee members that work so hard to make ONTA happen are listed elsewhere in this issue of the newsletter.
This year has been for me and your outgoing President, Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana, full of activities related to the Tenerife Congress and the International Federation of Nematology Societies (IFNS). The excellent congress venue was organized by María Arias, president of the European Society of Nematologists (ESN), with of course the assistance of Antonio Bello and many others in Madrid and Tenerife. The scientific program, also excellent, was coordinated by Thierry Vrain, vice president of the IFNS council and included suggestions from all societies. It was impossible for most ONTA members to travel to Tenerife, but the meeting was a big success for those who could go. To increase ONTA representation at the Congress, ONTA participated in a registration waiver project whereby the local arrangements committee paid half of the registration fee for 11 qualified ONTA members from geographically and agronomically diverse regions. Altogether, more than 400 posters were given on a broad range of topics of interest to tropical and subtropical nematology, and many ONTA members presented papers at the 21 symposia convened during the course of the week. I hope everyone will long remember that Antonio Bello and María Arias worked very hard and risked personal friendships and reputations to obtain generous support for the Tenerife congress from several Spanish government agencies. Among these are: el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, el Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, el Ayuntamiento de Vilaflor, el Ayuntamiento de San Miguel de Abona, el Ayuntamiento de Arona, el Ayuntamiento de Arico, al Ayuntamiento de Granadilla, el Gobierno de Canarias, el Ministerio de la Presidencia, el Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, and el Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación.
ONTA and the Society of Nematologists (SON) jointly sponsored a highly successful and well attended student poster competition at Tenerife, open to all students in the world. It was funded by both ONTA and SON as well as by a generous personal donation from Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana. Franco Lamberti appointed and chaired the judging panel, and after judging numerous posters and compiling scores all week, spent most of the day of the awards banquet (which turned out to be a local holiday) searching the island for an open engraving shop to put students’ names on plaques! The awards included the Award of Excellence presented to Paola Lax(Laboratorio de Nematología, Centro de Zoología Aplicada, Unviersidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina), the Award of Distinction to Birgit Meldal (Nematode Research Group, Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum, London, UK), and four Outstanding Poster Awards to Tali Z. Gal (Department of Nematology, ARO, the Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan, Israel), Katrien Carlens (Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement, Leuven, Belgium), Edna Sharon (Department of Nematology, ARO, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan, Israel), and Fernando Correia (Instituto do Ambiente e Vida, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal). ONTA presented María Arias and the Local Arrangements Committee with a plaque-mounted certificate of appreciation, and gave the Past President’s Award to Rodrigo Rodriguez-Kábana. No additional awards were presented by ONTA at Tenerife, with the idea that it is best to present ONTA awards at regular ONTA reunions, where a larger number of ONTA members can be present.
At Tenerife, the IFNS completed its first 6-year cycle between world nematology congresses. The IFNS includes ONTA and 13 other nematology societies representing virtually every corner of the world. Each society appoints one or two representatives to a general IFNS council. ONTA’s current representatives are Rodrigo Rodriguez-Kabana and I, but Renato Crozzoli and Jorge Pinochet also have represented ONTA on the IFNS council in past years. The primary purpose of the IFNS is to foster communication and education in nematology, by holding world congresses, maintaining a web site, and exchanging slide collections, books and databases. Safia Siddiqi of the Afro-Asian Society of Nematologists, has maintained the web site until now with her own resources and donations from Ken Barker; starting this year SON will donate $600 per year to help support the site.
The scientists and organizations within the IFNS come from diverse political cultures. For at least 6 years, understandably I think, there has been intense controversy within the IFNS council regarding funding, centralization, and transparency. Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana and I have tried to persuade the council to increase transparency, limit the authority of officers, and abandon the notion of an independent treasury, with the idea that the existing treasuries of the member societies are sufficient.
The IFNS council held two late-night meetings at Tenerife to seek agreement on several key issues including essential aspects of a constitution. A major question was who would pay losses and who would receive surpluses resulting from world congresses coordinated by the IFNS, with the Tenerife congress being the first example. A consensus of the council was reached that ESN had assumed liability for the Tenerife congress and should have authority over any surplus from the meeting; moreover the IFNS member societies agreed that they trusted ESN to use the money wisely to support nematology outside as well as within ESN and hoped that a significant amount would be available as start-up money to facilitate the next world congress.
Currently, the IFNS council is voting to adopt a constitution and consider constitutional amendments, and before 1 January 2003, we hope to elect new officers. The old officers, president Ken Barker, vice president Thierry Vrain, and secretary/treasurer Martie Botha, finished their terms at Tenerife, and Thierry has been serving as interim president until 1 January 2003. ONTA has nominated Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana to be the new president of IFNS and Aurelio Ciancio to be the new vice president. Another important ongoing IFNS activity is the publication of symposium papers from Tenerife. Thierry Vrain, until recently, only had a quotation fromE.J. Brill in the Netherlands for ca. $30,000, which would exhaust the surplus funds from the Tenerife congress. Therefore, Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana suggested that ONTA could find an acceptable printer cheaper, and with Ed McGawley’s help we compiled and recently submitted to ESN and the IFNS council, three bids between $11,550 and $17,000. The lowest, from E.O. Painter who prints Nematropica, would allow the symposium papers to be printed as a 600-page paperback book of the same quality and format as Nematropica but cheaply enough to pay postage and still leave $15,000 surplus in the ESN treasury, with the expectation that ESN would offer more than half of this as start-up money for the next world congress of nematology.
Among the ONTA projects scheduled so far for this year are the updating of the ONTA Operations Manual and updating of the Constitution, especially the Spanish language versions. Another possible project is the preparation of an updated version of ONTA directory. The electronic version of the old directory is available on line and a hard copy of it can be printed directly from ONTA web site. I need to know your comments about the directory. Please contact me immediately if you volunteer to design and conduct a poll of the membership! In any case, your ideas will be greatly appreciated. We also need ideas about how to boost the ONTA foundation and increase our sustaining members. Finally, if you would like to serve on any ONTA committee, don’t hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to seeing you all in Guayaquil. There’s more information from Jenny about the meeting in Guayaquil (and the Galapagos!) in this Newsletter issue. It looks like a fantastic ONTA reunion!
Forest Robinson
| ONTA Newsletter editors express their appreciation to Forest Robinson for the preparation of the above report on the status of our organization. Forest is very familiar with our organization by serving as Nematropica editor-in chief in the 90s. Since his election as ONTA’s vice-president in 2001, he has done an excellent job by carrying out his duties efficiently and with dedication. As vice- president, he has been in continuous contact with president Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana and members of ONTA executive committee. He played an important role in the preparation of the Fourth International Nematology Congress scientific program in Tenerife. His parliamentarian skills and spirit of cooperation with ONTA’s president made possible for the IFNS Council to accept ONTA’s ideas and views concerning the role of IFNS and the ratification of its constitution. Speaking for all ONTA members, the Newsletter editors extend our gratitude to Forest and Rodrigo for representing our organization. |
REPORT ON THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OFNEMATOLOGY (FICN)
TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS, SPAINJUNE 8-13, 2002
As announced in the previous issue of the ONTA Newsletter, the 34th ONTA meeting was jointly with the Fourth International Congress of Nematology (FICN), which was organized by the International Federation of Nematology Society (IFNS) and sponsored by the European Society of Nematologist (ESN). Maria Arias, ESN President, and Antonio Bello co-chaired the Local Arrangement Committee (LAC) for the Congresss. They organized the Congress with the assistance of LAC members (Susana Cobacho, José Carregno, Miguel Escuer, Avelino García-Alvarez, Javier Gutiérrez (Tenerife), Antonio López-Pérez, Casimiro Martínez, Benjamín Rodríguez, Javier Tello, and Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana). The scientific program was prepared by a Scientific Planning Committee, which included members of the Nematological Societies connected with IFNS. They were: Thierry Vrain (Chair), Maria Arias (ESN), Antonio Bello (ONTA), John Marshal (AAN), Maurice Moens (ESN), Tom Powers (SON) and Forest Robinson (ONTA). ONTA members wish to congratulate and thank the organizers who made this scientific event a reality. The Congress was held in the city of Arona, Tenerife, at the Tenbel Resort (8-13 June). A record number of nematologists (464) and accompanying persons (70) from 64 countries attended the Congress. ONTA was well represented by members from North, Central and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
The Congress was a success for the quality of the scientific program and for the pleasant and warm hospitality provided by local organizers in Tenerife. The agricultural and ecological excursion organized by Prof. W. Rodriguez Brito (Environmental Counselor for the island of Tenerife) enriched the program and enlightened the participants on the agricultural and ecological aspects of this volcanic island, which offered a great variety of different climatic zones with their own particular flora. The program of the Congress included outstanding receptions and banquets, which were kindly provided by the Officials of Arona City Hall. The spousal program offered by the Authorities of San Miguel and Arico City Halls was of special interest and greatly appreciated by the participants. ONTA acknowledges and thanks all the Officials of the Island of Tenerife for making this scientific event a memorable experience for the participants to the Congress. The Congress was also a financial success. Antonio Bello deserves a special acknowledgement by ONTA members and other societies in IFNS for this success. He raised funds from the Canary Island Authorities, specially those Officials with the Arona City Hall and the Environmental Agency of the Island of Tenerife, CSIC and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Spain. Portion of the surplus left over from the organization of the Congress will be utilized for the publication of the Proceedings of the Congress. The remaining part will be retained by the European Society of Nematologists that sponsored the Congress.
More information about the Congress, can be obtained from IFNS website http://www.ifns.org, which includes a farewell and appreciation letter from the Maria Arias, ESN president and Co-chair of the LAC for the Congress.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
The Executive Committee (EC) met on June 8, 2002 at 1:20 PM (Lagomera Room , Hotel Halborada, Tenbell Resort, Las Galletas, Tenerife). The meeting was opened by President Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana. Attending were José Chavarria, Aurelio Ciancio, Jenny Escobar, Renato Inserra, Peggy King, Forest Robinson, Soledad Verdejo, and Charles Weaver. The following decisions were taken during this meting:
1) Approval of the minutes from the Varadero, Cuba Meeting (2001) and Officer and Committee Reports, which are attached at the end of this Newsletter issue.
2) For people who publish in Nematropica and do not pay their printing costs, it was suggested that the Editor, Ed McGawley inform the author(s) about the option of having the paper published in electronic form at no cost at the time of the submission of the paper.
3) For a request by Jim Rich (Homepage Committee member) for funds to offset labor costs of the English language website, it was suggested that he submit a specific budgetary request to the ONTA treasurer.Aurelio Ciancio indicated that no funds are needed from to maintain the Spanish language website. The (EC) acknowledged Aurelio for this service he provides to ONTA. Suggestions were made to expand the topics of the webpage. The need to have more participants on the website committee was emphasized.
4) In regard to the Student Poster Awards presented at the Congress, it was suggested that ONTA and SON will share the cost of the awards with SON paying about $550.00 and ONTA paying $1,000.00. ONTA played a major role in the judging criteria, choice of chairman of the judging committee and types of cash awards given. Upon the suggestions of the Honors and Award Committee chaired and represented by Forest Robinson, ONTA presents six Student Poster Competition Awards and a Certificate of Appreciation to Maria Arias and the Local Arrangement Committee.
5) In regard to the operation manual, Forest Robinson offered to update the Operations Manual.
6) In regard to the uniformity of the English and Spanish versions of the ONTA constitution, the EC accepted the offer by José Chavarria to examine the English and Spanish versions of the Constitution for parallel content.
7) Instead of updating the hard-page version of the directory, it was suggested to update only the electronic version of the directory which is posted in the website, if approved by the members.
8) The EC approved Jenny Escobar’s proposal to host the 35th ONTA Annual Meeting in 2003, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
President Rodríguez-Kábana wanted the EC Board to understand that the Local Arrangements Committee of the Congress was not responsible for the omission in the Congress printed program of a recognition page of the Spanish Government Agencies that sponsored the meeting. A separate page was inserted in the program to remedy this omission. Several controversial issues concerning IFNS were discussed. The Executive Committee decided not to vote on any matter pertaining to IFNS at this time and will relay any information about this issue at the business meeting.
The Executive Committee Meeting was closed at 3:30 p.m.BUSINESS MEETING
The Business Meeting chaired by President Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana, was held on June 9, 2002, at 5:30 p.m. (Hotel Alborada, La Gomera room, Tenbel Resort, Las Galletas, Tenerife. He welcomed everybody to the Canary Islands and appointed a Parliamentarian (Forest Robinson). A minute of silence was observed to honor deceased colleagues (Pierre Baujard, Juan Heyns, Luiz Gonzaga Lordello). Minutes and reports were approved (text attached at the end of the Newsletter). Topics discussed and decisions made were:
1) Expansion of ONTA webpage by posting publications, which are edited by the coordinator (presently Larry Duncan) of the electronic version of Nematropica. The EC decision to publish ONTA directory in electronic version only was approved.
2) A brief discussion took place concerning issues relating to the IFNS constitution and whether ONTA should continue its support of the Federation. Membership approval was given to the earlier decision by the ONTA Executive Committee to not vote on any matter concerning IFNS at this time.
3) A question concerning any money surplus from the Congress and the matter of distribution of such money was discussed. Maurice Moens, who also represented the European Society of Nematologists (ESN) (sponsor society of the Congress) stated that ESN’s position was that ESN retain 60% of any surplus and that 40% be given to IFNS to be earmarked to support the next congress.
4) A motion by Julia Meredith (seconded by Nahum Marban-Mendoza) was approved to let ONTA representatives (Forest Robinson and Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana) at the IFNS convey to the IFNS Council ONTA’s concerns about the IFNS constitution and finances and make suggestions during the IFNS meeting.
5) Approval of a motion by Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana (seconded by Charles Overstreet) to hold the 35th ONTA meeting in Ecuador, to be organized by Jenny Escobar and her Ecuadorian colleagues.
6) Approval of the announcement by Jenny Escobar that there would be a VALIC Award (ex Rhône Poulenc Award) at the 35th ONTA Meeting in 2003.
7) Recognition of the election of Renato Crozzoli to the office of Vice President.
8) Transfer of the presidency from Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana to Forest Robinson who awarded Rodrigo with the Past President Plaque.
The Business Meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. by our new President, Forest Robinson.2003 ONTA REUNION
GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR, JULY 21-25, 2003As mentioned in the Business Meeting minutes, it was approved that the 35th ONTA Reunion will be held in Guayaquil , Ecuador. The meeting will be organized by Jenny Escobar and her Ecuadorian colleagues and to be held at the Hilton Colon Hotel in Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 21-25, 2003. The meeting will be sponsored by INIAP, AGRIPAC, BASF and BAYER. The banana corporation NOBOA-Ecuador and the cut-flower farms of Ecuador will sponsor a portion of the program. Formal paper and poster sessions and field trip will be included. Following the meeting (July 26-29), a four day boat trip to the Galapagos Island is planned.
More details about the meeting will be posted in the ONTA website and in the April issue of the Newsletter.
For more information contact Jenny Escobar (Chair) of the Local Arrangements Committee (jenny.escobar@bayercropscience.com).ONTA AWARDS
As reported by ONTA president Forest Robinson in his message to the members, no ONTA awards were given in the year 2001-2002. .A Certificate of Appreciation was presented by ONTA to María Arias and the Local Arrangements Committee for their role in organizing the Fourth Internationl Nematology Congress in Tenerife. The Past President’s Award was given to Rodrigo Rodriguez-Kábana for his outstanding leadership. Student competition awards sponsored by both ONTA and the Society of Nematologists (SON) were given to meritorious students who are listed in the president’s message.
NEWS FROM ITALY
Many active Italian ONTA members, who provide excellent scientific contributions to our organization, work at the Agricultural Nematology Institute of the Italian National Council of Research (CNR) located in Bari, Italy. Recently, the institute has been reorganized. As a consequence of this reorganization, the Institute was merged with other Institutes into a larger scientific entity throughout Italy named the Plant Protection Institute whose head quarters are in Florence under the direction of Prof. P. Raddi. Aurelio Ciancio has been appointed biological administrator of the Nematology Section in Bari. The ONTA Newsletter editors congratulate Aurelio and wish him success in this his new assignment.
RETIREMENT
Daniel (Dani) Orion from ARO, the Volcani Center, Ben Dagan, Israel, retired from his position as Research Nematologist. He is well known by ONTA members and nematologists worldwide for his work on the biochemistry and physiology of plant parasitic nematodes and for his contribution to the management of nematode pests in tropical and subtropical agriculture. Dani has served in many ONTA Committees and as associate and senior editor of Nematropica during the last decade. Speaking for all ONTA members, the Newsletter editors express appreciation to Dani for the services and contributions provided to our organization. We all wish him a pleasant and enjoyable retirement.
ONTA OFFICERS
(Executive Committee)PRESIDENT: A. Forest Robinson, USDA, ARS, SCRL, 2765 F & B Road, College Station TX 77845, USA. Tel: 1-979-260-9234; FAX: 1-979-260-9337; e-mail: <frobinson@cpru.usda.gov>.
VICE-PRESIDENT: Renato Crozzoli, Univ. Central de Venezuela, Instituto de Zoologia Agricola, Apartado 4975-A, Maracay, Aragua 2101, Venezuela. FAX: 58-43-507085; e-mail: <rencro@telcel.net.ve>.
PAST-PRESIDENT: Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana, Department of Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5409, USA. Tel:1-334-844-4714; FAX:1-334-844-1948; e-mail: <rrodrigu@acesag.auburn.edu>.
SECRETARY: Peggy King, Department of Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5409, USA. Tel. 1-334-844-4714; FAX: 1-334-844-1948; e-mail: <pking@acesag.auburn.edu>.
TREASURER: Roberto Vargas, Department of Crop Protection, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus, P.O. Box 9030, Mayagüez, PR 00681-9030, USA. Tel: 1-787-265-3859; FAX: 1-787-265-0860; e-mail: <r_vargas@rumac.uprm.edu> or <nematodes4rva@hotmail.com>.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEMATROPICA: Edward C. McGawley, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University, 302 Life Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, U.S.A. Tel: 1-225-769-0748; FAX: 1-225-388-1415; e-mail:<emcgawley@agctr.lsu.edu>.
SPANISH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEMATROPICA: Soledad Verdejo, IRTA, Departamento de Protección Vegetal, Carretera de Cabrils S/N, Cabrils (Barcelona), Spain, Tel:34-93-750-7511; FAX:34-93-753-3954; e-mail:<soledad.verdejo@irta.es>.
EDITORS OF ONTA NEWSLETTER: Renato N. Inserra, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Nematology Section, P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville FL 32614-7100, USA. Tel: 1-352-372-3505, Ext. 115; FAX: 1-352-955-2301 or 2300; e-mail:<inserrr@doacs.state.fl.us> José A. Chavarría, Department of Crop Protection, Mayagüez Campus, University of Puerto Rico, P. O. Box: 9030, Mayagüez, PR 00681-9030, U.S.A.; Tel:1-787-265-3859;FAX:1-787-833-7765;email:<j_chavarria@rumac.uprm.edu>,
or <jachavar@hotmail.com>.BUSINESS MANAGER: Charles Weaver, Department of Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn AL 36849-5409, USA, Tel. 1-334-844-4714; FAX: 1-334-844-1948; e-mail: <cweaver@acesag.auburn.edu>.
MEMBERS AT LARGE: Robert McSorley, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110620, Gainesville FL 32611-0620, USA; Tel: 1-352-392-1901, Ext. 137; FAX: 1-352-392-0190; e-mail:<rmcs@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>. Juan Carlos Magunacelaya, Universidad de Chile, Fac. de Agronomia, Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile. Tel: 56-2-6785821; FAX: 56-2-6785812; e-mail: <jmagunac@abello.dic.uchile.cl> or<jmagunac@aix1.ucv.cl>.
ONTA FOUNDATION COMMITTEE: Charles Overstreet (Chair), Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, P.O. Box 25100, Baton Rouge LA 70894-5100, USA; Tel: 1-225-388-2186; FAX: 1-225-388-2478; e-mail: <coverstreet@agctr.lsu.edu>; Mario Araya, Aptdo. 390-7210, Guapiles, Costa Rica, Tel. 506-763-3260; FAX: 506-763-3055; e-mail:<investigaciones@corbana.com>.Joseph E. Eger, Dow AgroSciences, 4880 Bay Heron Place, Apt. 213, Tampa FL 33616, USA; Tel:1-813-835-8358; FAX: 1-813-835-4856; e-mail: <jeeger@dowagro.com>; Jenny Escobar, Junin 116 y Panama, Guayaquil Guayas 09-13293, Ecuador;e mail: <jenny.escobar@aventis.com>; Jim Rich, (see address under Nominations Committee); Marta Susana del Toro, Laboratorio de Nematologia Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Almirante Brown 500, 5505 Chacras de Coria, Luján, Mendoza, Argentina. Tel:54-61-960004, ext.2030; FAX:54-61-960469; e-mail:<mdeltoro@fca.uncu.edu.ar>.
ONTA HOME PAGE COMMITTEE: Aurelio Ciancio (Chair), Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante, C.N.R., Sezione Bari, via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy;Tel:39-80-5484189;FAX:39-80-5484165;e-mail:<ciancio@area.ba.cnr.it>; Erwin Aballay, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 1004, Santiago Chile; e-mail:<eaballay@uchile.cl>. Javier Franco, Man Cesped 0293, Cochabamba 4285, Bolivia. E-mail:<jfranco@supernet.com.bo>. Khuong B. Nguyen, Dept. of Ent. and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611-0620, USA Tel: 1-352-392-1901, ext.193; FAX: 1-352-392-0190; e-mail:<kbn@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>; Jimmy Rich (see address under Nominations Committee). Larry W. Duncan, (Coordinator of the electronic version of Nematropica) University of Florida, Citrus Research and Education Center, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred FL 33850-2299, USA; Tel:1-863-956-1151; FAX: 1-863-956-4631; e-mail: <lwdn@lal.ufl.edu>.
ONTA HONORS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE: Robert McSorley (Chair) (see address under members at large).Ignacio Cid del Prado, Colegio de Postgraduados, Km 35.5 Carretera Mexico-Texaco, Montecillo, Edo. De Mexico, Mexico CP 56230. Tel/Fax: 91-595-(1-02-20) or (1-15-80) or (1-15-87); e-mail:<icid@colpos.colpos.mx>. Marcelo E. Doucet, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Lab, de Nemat, Centro de Zoologia Aplicada, Casilla de Correo 122, 5000 Córdoba, Argentina. Tel: 54-51-322055; FAX: 54-51-332054; e-mail:<mdoucet@gtwing.efn.uncor.edu>; Franco Lamberti, Istituto Nematologia Agraria CNR, Trav. 174 Di Via Amendola 168/5, 70126 Bari, Italy; e-mail:<f.elia@area.ba.cnr.it>. Jesus Mena Campos, Ceneter for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, PO Box 387, Camaguey 70100, Cuba. Tel: 53-322-61014; FAX:53-322-61587; e-mail: <plantas@cigbcam.cigb.edu.cu>.
ONTA LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE FOR the 35th Annual Reunion (Ecuador): Jenny Escobar (Chair), Junin 116 y Panama, Guayaquil Guayas 09-13293, Ecuador; e-mail: <jenny.escobar@bayercropscience.com>.
ONTA NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE: Patrick Quénéhervé (Chair), ORSTOM Laboratoire de Nématologie, BP 8006-97259 Fort de France Cedex, Martinique (French West Indies). Tel: 596-645750; FAX: 596-717316; e-mail:<queneherve@ird-mq.fr>. Renato N. Inserra, (address under ONTA Newsletter Editors); Nahum Marban-Mendoza Departamento de Parasitologia Agrícola, Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo, Montecillo, Edo. de Mexico, Chapingo 56230, Mexico. FAX: 52-595-40692; e-mail:<nahumm@taurus1.chapingo.mx>. Jim Rich, University of Florida, 30 Research Road, Quincy FL 32351-9500, USA. Tel: 1-850-875-7130; FAX: 1-850-875-7148; e-mail:<JRich@mail.ifas.ufl.edu>. Renata C. V. Tenente, EMBRAPA, CENARGEN, Sain Parque Rural, Cx. P. 2372, Brasilia D.F. 70849-970, Brazil. Tel: 55-61-348-1623; FAX: 55-61-348-4700; e-mail:<renata@cenargen.embrapa.br>.
ONTA REPRESENTATIVES IN THE IFNS: Aurelio Ciancio (seee address under ONTA Home Page Committee). and Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana, (see address under Executive Committee).
ONTA SUSTAINING MEMBER COMMITTEE: Saad L. Hafez (Chair), University of Idaho, Research & Extension Center, 29603 U of I Lane, Parma ID 83660, USA; Tel:1-208-722-6701, Ext. 237; FAX: 1-208-722-6708; e-mail: <shafez@uidaho.edu>.Greg J. Burger, ILLOVO Sugar, Ltd., New Product Development, P.O. Box 31003, Merebank 4059, SOUTH AFRICA; Tel: 27-31-450-7700; FAX: 27-31-469-4922; e-mail:<gburger@illovo.co.za>; Ricardo J. Garcia, PMB 82-297, 705 Martens Ct., Laredo TX 78041-6010, USA; Tel:1-52-462-35802; FAX: 1-52-462-36313; e-mail:<central@corporacion-tri-com.mx>; Claudia Riegel, Dow AgroSciences, 8733 Siegen Lane, PMB 372, Baton Rouge LA 70810, USA; Tel:1- 225-767-8073; e-mail:<criegel@dowagro.com>; Richard Steckler, Organic Solutions, L.L.C., 10720 McCune Ave., Los Angeles CA 90034, USA; Tel: 1-877-467-4765; FAX:1-310-838-0337; Ely V. Vea, ENTEK, 6835 Deerpath Road, Suite E, Elkridge MD 21075, USA; Tel: 1-410-579-1633, Ext. 528; FAX: 1-410-579-1633; e-mail:<evea@entekcorp.com>.
ONTA OFFICERS REPORTS ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES
SECRETARY REPORT
2001-2002
The Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America (ONTA) has 382 members. This is the total membership. Our library membership seems to be decreasing.
Mailouts this year included call for nominations and ballot information (for Jim Rich) and call for honors and awards (for Forest Robinson). Dues notices were mailed and various correspondence received replies from the secretary.
Ballots were received and votes were counted on May 15. Renato Crozzoli is the elected Vice President following the term of Forest Robinson. Renato will take office at the annual meeting in 2003.
I express my appreciation to Rosa Manzanilla for recording the Minutes of the Varadero, Cuba Meeting in my absence.
As always, we need new members. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to become member of ONTA.
Submitted
Peggy S. King
SecretaryBUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORT
2001-2002
Updates to 2000-2001 Report
NEMATROPICA Vol. 28, No. 1: One bill in the amount of $412.00 has been paid over the past year. We still have three outstanding bills totaling $716.00.
NEMATROPICA Vol. 28, No. 2: The one bill in the amount of $286.00 remains outstanding.
NEMATROPICA Vol. 29, No. 1: The three bills totaling $915.00 remains
outstanding.
NEMATOROPICA Vol. 30, No. 2: Seven bills have been paid on this issue totaling $2,690.00. Four bills totaling $1,501.00 remains outstanding.Total printing charges for NEMATROPICA Vol. 31, No. 1, amounted to $6,282.32. Bills were mailed to all authors. To date, we have collected on 10 bills totaling $3,236.00. Four bills remain outstanding totaling $1,494.00. If we collect on all bills, our payment recovery will be $4,730.00.
This issue will have thus cost ONTA $1,552.32.Total printing charges for NEMATROPICA Vol. 31, No. 2, amounted to $9,496.06. Abstracts
of the XXXIII annual meeting in Varadero, Cuba June 11-15, 2001 were published in this issue
totaling 46 printed pages, the cost of which was absorbed by ONTA. Bills were mailed to all the authors. The date, we have collected on nine bills totaling #3,620.00. We still have six outstanding
bills totaling $2,392.00. If we collect on all bills, our payment recovery will be $6,012.00.
This issue will have thus cost ONTA $3,484.06.
Charles F. WeaverBusiness Manger, ONTA
Annual Report of the Vice President and the Honors and Awards Committee, 2002
Vice President’s Report:
Last summer I solicited and compiled suggestions for symposia from the ONTA executive committee and submitted these to the Scientific Program Committee chaired by Thierry Vrain, for the upcoming Fourth International Congress of Nematology (FICN) to be held in June 2002 in Tenerife, Spain. The symposium list submitted by ONTA apparently stimulated many additional ideas contributed subsequently by other nematology societies. In October 2002, I attended a meeting in Madrid to put the scientific program for the FICN into more or less final form. Also attending this meeting were: Antonio Bello (ONTA Past President and Local Arrangements Committee member), María Arias (President of European Society of Nematologists and Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee), Tom Powers (President-Elect of SON), Maurice Moens (Secretary/Treasurer of ESN), John Marshall (Austral-Asian Society of Nematologists), Thierry Vrain (Chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the IFNS Council), Rafael Sanz (a researcher in Antonio’s lab who provided a fresh perspective, clarification of English/Spanish translations when needed, and transportation for several excellent meals!). After 2 days of discussion, we achieved very good agreement of the overall program, including adequate time early in the program for local officials (who have graciously arranged for substantial financial support), and 25 specific symposia (21 of which have now materialized), with requests of participation by a number of ONTA nematologists around the world.
During February 2002, I solicited and compiled ONTA applicants for a registration waiver project that the local arrangements committee made available to all participating nematology societies. According to this project, each society pays half the registration ($150) for a small number of its members and the local arrangements committee pays the other half. Due to short notice, it was necessary to advertise this project b-mail and telephone. However, several hundred ONTA members were notified and after careful review by President Rodríguez-Kábana and the ONTA Executive Committee, names of 12 ONTA participants for the project were submitted to María Arias on February 28.
Honors and Awards Committee:
During the last 3 months, I worked closely with Howard Ferris (Chair, SON Award Committee), Tom Powers (SON President Elect) and Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana (ONTA President) to develop a joint ONTA/SON Student Poster Competition at Tenerife. Amazingly, we were able to agree rather quickly on the composition of the judging panel, the rules for judging, the number, names, and cash value of awards, and the artwork for the plaques to be presented at the banquet on the last evening of the conference. Professor Franco Lamberti has agreed to chair the judging panel. Cash awards were made possible by a very generous donation from Rodrigo Rodríguez-Kábana, supplemented by some money from the SON Awards Committee. We are going to try to have the students’ names engraved on plaques in Tenerife so they can go home with a finished plaque.
The process of selecting the other ONTA awards for 2002 (to be given at the Annual Business meeting in Tenerife) is still underway.
Respectfully submitted Forest Robinson 29 April 2002
ONTA TREASURER’S ANNUAL REPORT
Period April 30, 2001 through March 29, 2002
I. Balance: On April 30, 2001 in Check Account #33-430179 II. Credits: a) Publication and Reprint Charges b) Regular Membership Dues c) Drawn Interest (Saving Certificate) d) Drawn Interest (Check Account) TOTAL (Credits) GRAND TOTAL (Balance + Credits) III. Debits: a) Printing and Postage Nematropica 31(1) b) Printing and Postage Nematropica 31(2) c) Award Plaques for XXXII Annual Meeting d) Materials/Postage for ONTA Secretary f) Materials/Postage for ONTA Treasure g) Bound Check TOTAL (Debits) BALANCE (Grand Total + Debits) IV. ONTA Resources: BALANCE ON MARCH 29, 2002 CHECK ACCOUNT #33-430179 CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT #15956-1090000001 TOTAL Report by,
Roberto Vagas, Treasurer
The undersigns, regular members of ONTA, certify that we have audited the accounting records for the period of April 30, 2001 to March 29, 2002 and found that the deposits and payments were made in accordance with the regulations.
José A. Chavarría REPORTS OF PAST EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF
NEMATROPICA
Report of Activities 2001-2002
Editorial Board: Larry Duncan and Soledad Verdejo-Lucas, Editors; M. Mota, and P. Queneherve, Senior Editors; P. Baujard, R. Carneiro, I. Cid del Prado, Dirk DeWaele, Marcelo Doucet, J. Franco, R. M. Giblin-Davis, S. Gowen, N. Greco, R. N. Inserra, N. Marban-Mendoza, G. R. Noel, D. Orion, J. Rich, P. A. Roberts, F. Robinson, R. Rodríguez-Kábana, J. L. Sarah, Associate Editors.
Peer Reviewers: A sincere expression of gratitude is extended to the following colleagues for providing peer-review of manuscripts since Januar 2000: Byron Adams, J. O. Becker, Ernie Bernard, Rigina M. D. Gomes-Carneiro, Lynn Carta, Edward P. Caswell-Chen, Renato Crozzoli, William Crow, Mauro DiVito, John Eisenback, Juiz Carlos Ferraz, Scott Gardner, Robin Giblin-Davis, Simon R. Gowen, Mario Inomoto, Renato N. Inserra, Isgouhi Kaloshian, Nancy Kokalis-Burelle, Terry Kirkpatrick, Stephen Koenning, Jaime Maia, Edward McGawley, Manuel Mota, Romero Moura, Terry L. Niblack, James P. Noe, Greg Noel, Daniel Orion, Charles Overstreet, Enrique E. Perez, Antoon Ploeg, Thomas O. Powers, Patrick Quénéhervé, Claudia Riegel, Robert D. Riggs, Rodrigo Rodriquez-Kabana, James Starr, Stephen Thomas, Soledad Verdejo-Lucas, Nicole Viaene, Koon-Hui Wang Gary Windham.
Activities: Thirty-one manuscripts were submitted to Nematropica in 2001. Of these manuscripts, 25 have been accepted, and four were rejected. Nematropica 31 (2001) consists of 305 pages and contains 29 articles (23 research papers, 5 Research notes, 1 review) and the abstracts of the annual meeting in Varadero, Cuba.
Nematropica has been freely available on the internet since January 2001. Back issues of Journal of Nematology were released on the same site in April 2002. Articles of all but the most recent two years’ issue of JON will now be searchable along with those in all issues of Nematropica. The easiest access to the site is through the ONTA webpage (ontaweb.org). Florida Center for Library Automation manages this site at no cost to either Society.
The Editorial Board of Nematropica suffered and immeasurable loss with the death of Pierre Baujard on 4 December, 2001. Pierre’s many important contributions to nematology and mematologists will be remembered in an upcoming issue of the journal.
Dr. Edward C. McGawley replaced Larry Duncan as Editor-in-Chief in January 2002, following publication of the December 2001 issue. On behalf of ONTA, I wish him the best of luck and thank him for the enthusiasm with which he accepted his new post.
Respectfully submitted
Larry Duncan
REPORT OF THE NEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEMATROPICA
E.C. McGAWLEY
Dear fellow members of ONTA,
Although establishment of our summertime research plots prevents me from attending this meeting in Tenerife, I would like to report to you that Nematropica has settled nicely into its’ new home here at LSU, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Due almost entirely to the excellent mentoring by my EIC predecessor, Dr. Larry Duncan, I believe I have now transitioned into this new responsibility in a manner which will not drastically reduce the excellent standards which Larry established during his term as EIC. At this point I ask in absentia for those of you in attendance to rise and give Larry a well-deserved round of applause.
The June 2002 issue of Nematropica has been sent to the printer and seven manuscripts for the December issue are now in review. In closing, I thank you for your confidence in the ability of myself, Soledad Verdejo-Lucas, Senior Editors Manuel Mota and Patrick Quénéhervé and the Associate Editors to serve as Editorial committee of ONTA. I hope that over the next three years we will see a continued growth in the distribution and quality of our Journal.
REPORT FROM ONTA NEWSLETTER EDITORS (2001-2002)
Two issues of the ONTA Newsletter for the year 2001 were prepared and distributed to ONTA members.
The April 2001 issue , vol. 32 (1), was prepared in the English version only and posted for retrieval by the ONTA members on the ONTA Web Site https://ontaweb.org, in May 2001.
The November 2001 issue, vol. 31 (2), in both English and Spanish versions was posted for retrieval by the ONTA members on the ONTA Web Site: https://ontaweb.org, in December 2001. A few copies were also sent at no cost by regular mail to ONTA members who asked for a printed and mailed copy. There were no expenses for the preparation and distribution of these issues of the Newsletter.
The English and Spanish versions of the April 2002 issue, vol. 33 (1) were completed and posted on the website in May 2002.
Renato N. Inserra and José A. Chavarría
ONTA NEWSLETTER EDITORSMay 3, 2002
ONTA Foundation Report
23 April 2001- 23 April 2002The foundation received eight generous contributions during the above period. The contributors were Anna Maria Casassa, Jenny Escobar, Charles Tarjan, Ron Mankau, Charles Overstreet, Renato Inserra, David Chitwood, and Jim Starr. The only expenditures of the foundation were costs associated with the ONTA Foundation, R. Rodriguez-Kabana Best Student Poster Competition. The costs ($U.S.) were: cash awards-$800.00, plaques-$90.75, Western Union and mailing fees-84.99, for a total of $975.74. Members of the ONTA Foundation Committee are Charles Overstreet (Chairman), Joe Eger, Jenny Escobar, Jim Rich, and Marta Susana del Toro.
ONTA FOUNDATION CONTRIBUTORS TO 23 April 2002
SPONSOR ($U.S. 5000 and up) CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS ( $U.S. 10-99) Rod Rodriquez-Kabana Joe Kimpinski PRESIDENTÕS CLUB ($U.S. 1,000-4999) Luis Payan Antonio Bello Karin Gerber Anegda Overman Ken Evans BENNFACTOR ($U.S. 500-999) Javier Franco Jenny Escobar-Goyes Juan Bacanegra M. Susana del Torro Andy Nyczepir Fields Caveness James Starr PATRON ($U.S. 250-499) C. Batista Ron Makau Ken Barker Jimmy Rich A. Coomans SUPPORTING MEMBERS ($U.S. 100-249) Marco Arevalo Ana Maria Casassa Padron Hernando Dominguez Renato Inserra Robert McSorley Alfredo Valiente Maria Scurrah W. F. Mai Fred A. Gray Robert Dunn Jorge Pinochet Soledad Verdjo-Lucas Charles Overstreet Carmen Trivino David Chitwood W.J. Caroll Chris Hogger Larry Dunn Hiram Mercado Pearz The annual audit of Foundation records is currently being undertaken and will be sent to the Executive Committee soon. Should any ONTA member or contributor have questions or comments, please contact on of the Committee members.
ONTA NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT: 2001-2002
The ONTA Nominations Committee was composed of Jim Rich (Chairman), Renata, C. V. Tenente, Nahum Marban Mendoza, Patrick Quénéhervé, and Renato Inserra. The Committee, appointed by ONTA President Rod Rodríguez-Kábana, was asked to develop a list of possible candidates for ONTA Vice President (President-Elect). A call for nominations was prepared by Jim Rich and mailed to all ONTA members by Secretary Peggy King in January 2002. Additionally, a notice for nominations was placed in the ONTA NEWSLETTER. The nominations Committee received four responses from ONTA members who nominated three individuals for Vice-President. These nominees were approved and ranked by the Nominations Committee, and candidate names and rankings were forwarded to the ONTA Executive Committee for changes or approval. Two Vice-Presidential candidates, Drs. Renato Crozzoli and Aurelio Ciancio, were selected and each graciously agreed to serve is elected. Ballots containing their brief biosketches were mailed to all ONTA members (March, 2002), a minimum of 12 weeks prior to the Annual Meeting (as prescribed by the Constitution). The ONTA Secretary received and counted the returned ballots, and the new Vice President (2002-2003) will be announced at the ONTA Annual Meeting in Tenerife.
We would like to thank the candidates for agreeing to serve ONTA, and also, give special thanks to Peggy King for her help with the balloting.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jimmy R. Rich, ChairmanONTA Nominations Committee
ONTA Home Page Committee Report
2001-2001
ONTA has two worldwide web sites, one in English (www.ontaweb.org) and one in Spanish (http://area.ba.cnr.it/~e085ac01/ONTA/Ontaweb-S.html), and these sites are linked to each other for easy access. The Web sites were revised over the course of the year and changes included updating current ONTA membership and officer information, adding an announcement of the FICN meeting in Tenerife, providing new links to Nematological sites, and publishing two volumes of the ONTA Newsletter online. Additionally, metatags were added to the English Language site to allow key word access (e.g. ONTA, nematode). The Committee instituted, for the first time with ONTA, email messaging of announcements important to the membership. Members of the ONTA Homepage Committee are Aurelio Ciancio (Chairman), Jimmy Rich, Khuong B. Nguyen and Larry Duncan. All suggestions for improvements and additions to the Web sites will be appreciated.
Respectfully Submitted,
Aurelio Ciancio, ChairONTA Homepage Committee
