Women in Science - Dr. Fierro, Forensic Pathologist

An accomplished forensic pathologist, Dr. Marcella Fierro is one of the forefront women in the field of forensic scientist. From humble beginnings at the University at Buffalo to Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia, Dr. Fierro continues to be an inspiration to girls and women interested in medicine and forensic science. During the time when Dr. Fierro was earning her medical degree, women with college degrees made up less than 10% of the US population – women were typically not guided toward the medical field. However, she persevered and proved both to herself and to others around her that women would be just as capable as men in any field.

During her tenure as Chief Medical Examiner, she was the medical examiner that oversaw the first case in the country to use DNA evidence in prosecution as well as the Virginia Tech shooting. She handled both of these cases as a wife and a mother of two. In addition to the many responsibilities she had as medical examiner, she was also a prominent member to multiple organizations and associations such as the National Association of Medical Examiners.

Although Dr. Fierro was a pioneer for women in the field of forensic science/forensic medicine, she has said in interviews that she was not discriminated against, nor did she experience any overt sexism. However, she had dealt with police officers who were doubtful of her skills as a medical examiner. She explained that she overcame these challenges by proving these officers wrong time after time by arriving at every crime scene with professionalism, experience and extreme knowledge of material.

Dr. Fierro has also served as the inspiration for a fictional medical examiner in a popular series written by Patricia Cornwell. While the books are considered fiction, she has continued to motivate for women in science through this medium as well.

By Ashley Cooley

Tired of unprofessional reviews

As a scientist, I am no stranger to rejection. I use it to help improve my writing, my message, and the impact of my science. But I don't appreciate reviews that cannot find anything positive to say about my research. I recently received such a review from AoB plants. Needless to say, I decided not to let such an unprofessional review pass unnoticed. As we help move science forward, we also need to shed light on the downsides of science and the areas that still need improvement. I share my response letter with you to take a stand. Reviews that are poorly written and unkind are useless. It is unfortunate that people use the blanket of anonymity to get away with such things. I give you my response here. I do not do this in haste.

To the editor:

Thank you for the opportunity to have our manuscript “Differential Response of Barrier Island Dune Grasses to Species Interactions and Burial” reviewed at AoB Plants. Although the outcome was not favorable, I understand and accept the reasons provided by the Associate Editor to reject the manuscript without consideration of resubmission. However, I am writing to provide feedback on my extreme disappointment with the review provided by referee #2. I find the review to be unprofessional and written by someone still in the dark ages of science. I am able to glean useful information regarding the clarity of the manuscript; however, review #2 is written by someone that could find nothing positive about the paper, which I find difficult to accept given the completely contradictory review by referee #1.

I am familiar with reviews that at least summarize the overall objectives of the paper. It is not clear from the review that the referee understood the objectives of the paper as there is no mention of burial and species interaction. Also, the referee does not understand that our chosen variables were used to assess morphological and physiological responses of species with biotic interactions and burial (even though it is stated in the objectives). The referee states that our “goals seem way too ambitious for the experiments”; however, connecting our results to published work of these species building different dunes was not an objective of the study, but a broader context to help understand the significance of changes in growth due to these biotic interactions and to provide justification for examining these two species. Had the referee summarized our paper and the objectives, this may have become clear to him/her. Instead, the referee begins the review with “The manuscript seems poorly prepared” and gives vague statements such as “In fact, the traits in this experiment are not well justified for the questions addressed in this paper”, “Details are missing about background”, and “things are out of order”, without providing any further examples or clarification to help us understand what is lacking. I understand that more information and citations regarding replacement studies (which are commonly used in recent ecological literature) woulde useful to focus the reader on our objective. Also, I realize we should discuss species interactions instead of competition and discuss the relative inter vs. intra-specific interactions, but this is not an experimental design flaw, rather a point of clarification.

Overall, I am disappointed that a journal would accept a review that is written in such a scathing and unprofessional manner. This does nothing to help advance science or encourage young scientists to pursue the field. I hope in that writing this letter you will reconsider using this reviewer in the future and you will seek a third referee when receiving reviews of this nature.  I also write this letter in hope that the young scientist who is first author on this paper does not let poorly written reviews which are incapable of finding any scientific value in a paper that is “thoughtful, well-formulated hypotheses; appropriate variables, sufficient data, and adequate statistics to address those hypotheses; and it was well organized and clear (to a native English speaker) if not particularly well written” discourage her from pursuing science in the future. Reviews such as #2 are completely unnecessary for helping any scientist to improve and make better and more impactful contributions to science. I will be hesitant in the future regarding submissions to AoB Plants.

Thank you for your time,

Julie Zinnert


As an addendum, I did receive a very respectful response to my letter. I hope that in providing feedback I can encourage others to do so, and also to ultimately move towards a standard in etiquette for reviews. It is difficult to accept a review as objective that is terse and only highlights faults without being written in the context of the goals of the study. We all have bias and it comes out in peer review too easily.

3 months in Cordoba, Spain

We are back in Cordoba, Spain for the next three months to continue developing our collaborations. We are focused both on research interests of plant ecology - hydrology and to establish formal research and training that focuses the ecohydrology of the James and Guadalquivir rivers for better predictions of ecological consequences to sea-level rise. As coastal plant ecologists, we have a great understanding of salinity effects on functional responses of plant communities. As part of the Virginia Coast Reserve, we work with many physical and environmental scientists to fully understand the ecological - physical feedbacks and interactions in barrier islands. We are partnered with Professor Maria Jose Polo, an excellent hydrologist at the University of Cordoba (UCO), and will continue establishing relationships with other UCO ecologists and physical scientists to expand our understanding to riverine systems and associated terrestrial communities. In addition to our work, we will also learn the language and the surrounding environment to fully appreciate the issues and importance of global change to other communities.

On a personal note, we are here with both of our children and have found the city and country to be very kid friendly. As a science mom for over 9 years and partner of a scientist, we have taken (now both) children on travel - whether to scientific meetings or to foreign countries for work. Every time I have visited Spain, I have never felt awkward or out of place having the children with me. Here, they are very accepted.

Driving into Cordoba

Outside the botanical gardens

 Lunch at La Casa del Agua - notice all the children

Flowers are already in bloom

In the historic district

Outside the Mezquita-Catedral of Cordoba

Read more about it here - fascinating history!

Mechanisms of Native Shrub Encroachment on a Virginia Barrier Island

 

Recent shrub encroachment is generally recognized as a response to anthropogenic disturbance and often a threat to ecosystems, although historically, shrubs represent a shift in successional states after a natural disturbance.  Negative effects associated with recent shrub expansion include decreased species diversity, extreme alteration in community structure, the creation of irreversible alternate stable states, nutrient cycling shifts, and increased susceptibility of shrubland compared to previous ecosystems.  On the Virginia barrier islands, Morella cerifera thickets clearly represent a different community structure compared to grasslands, and decreased plant diversity as well as increased soil nitrogen has been observed with the shift to shrubland. Joseph Thompson's master's research evaluated the effects of Morella cerifera on fine-scale abiotic and biotic factors upon encroachment into grassland. Species composition, temperature, soil nutrients, and leaf area index (LAI) were recorded across three encroaching M. cerifera thicket edges and three free-standing shrubs on Hog Island, Virginia to characterize the effect of shrub thickets on the plant community and microclimate. Electron transport rate (ETR) was taken on shrub leaves to determine if microclimate benefits M. cerifera physiology. Species richness was lowest inside shrub thickets. Soil water content and LAI were higher in shrub thickets compared to grassland. Soil organic matter, N, and C were higher inside shrub thickets. Summer and fall maximum temperatures were more moderate in shrub thickets and at free-standing shrubs. Fall and winter minimum temperatures were warmer inside shrub thickets. ETR was higher at the free-standing shrubs compared to the thicket edge. Morella cerifera significantly changes the microenvironment including temperature, edaphic factors, and plant species composition. These results show that expansion of M. cerifera in coastal systems has an immediate and significant impact on the surrounding environment.

 

 

Emergent interactions influence functional traits and success of dune building ecosystem engineers

Stability of coastal systems are threatened by oceanic and atmospheric drivers of climate change.  Sea-level rise compounded with increased frequency and intensity of storms emphasizes need for protection of inner island systems by dune formations.  Dune building processes are affected by interactions between growth of ecosystem engineering dune grasses and environmental factors associated with disturbance such as sand burial and salt spray.  Climate change may also cause latitudinal expansion of some species, resulting in emergence of competitive interactions that were previously absent.  Topographic structure of coastlines, traditionally influenced by sand burial, could change as a result of competition emergence.  The master's work of Joseph Brown was to determine if species functional trait responses to common abiotic factors are altered by novel and current biotic interactions.  He performed a multi-factorial greenhouse experiment by planting three common dune grasses (Ammophila breviligulata, Uniola paniculata, and Spartina patens) in different biotic combinations, using sand burial and salt spray as abiotic stressors.  He hypothesized that biotic interactions would cause these dune grasses to shift functional trait responses to abiotic factors that are associated with dune building.  The results of this study found that plants consistently decreased in biomass when buried.  When grown together, competition between A. breviligulata and U. paniculata negatively affected dune building function traits of A. breviligulata.  This indicates that competition, if future northward expansion of U. paniculata continues, could lead to dune engineering alterations, especially in the Virginia barrier islands.  In comparison A. breviligulata had a positive interaction with S. patens which increased functional trait responses to abiotic stress. Coexistence between these three species is possible via competitive intransitivity.  In intransitive competition, varying species-to-species interactions create a rock-paper-scissors scenario in which competitive hierarchy no longer exists. Current models suggest that within plant communities, intransitive interactions are most commonly found between dominant species, and dependent on short disturbance intervals and abiotic stress. Overall, these results can be used to make implications on cross-scale consequences of novel competitive events. This experiment also provides evidence that consideration of biotic interactions is important in substantiating connections between plant level dynamics and large-scale landscape patterns in high stress environments.

Joe will defend his thesis on March 29, 2016!

Conceptual model by Joe Brown on how plant functional responses ultimately affect island level processes

High habitat complexity co-occurs with high dune ridge formation

Low habitat complexity co-occurs with overwash and small hummock dunes

Species interactions affect dune grasses

 

Barrier islands are on the forefront of sea level rise and climate change. High disturbance regimes and sediment mobility make these systems sensitive, dynamic, and sentinels of climate change. Island foredunes act as protective structures against storm included overwash. Dune grasses are integral to the biogeomorphic feedback that create and alter foredunes. Shifts in dune grass dominance on foredunes could have implications on dune morphology and susceptibility to overwash, altering island stability. In a recent study by MS student April Harris, two dune grasses Ammophila breviligulata and U. paniculata were planted together and subjected to a 20 cm burial to quantify morphological and physiological response. These species form different types of dunes based on vegetative propogation strategy. Ammophila breviligulata uses a network of horizontal rhizomes to stabilize substrates and U. paniculata exhibits a dense compact growth form that binds substrates. The effect of these different strategies is seen in the types of dunes formed (ridge vs. hummock). In the glasshouse experiment the most significant finding was a decline in physiological and morphological performace in A. breviligulata when planted with U. paniculata while U. paniculata was not affected when planted with A. breviligulata. As U. paniculata migrates into A. breviligulata dominated habitat, changes in dune formation could result in altered island stability via increased overwash due to reduced growth in A. breviligulata. Burial had a positive effect on both species as indicated by increased electron transport rate and total biomass. This is typical of dune grasses as the need to rebound after burial is necessary to survive in foredune environments which frequently experience sediment deposition. The decline in growth of A. breviligulata when interacting with U. paniculata can alter foredune community structure by shifting dominant species. Overall, due to the biogeomorphic feedbacks that couple dune morphology to vegetation type on barrier islands, any shifts in dominance could alter island stability and structure over time leading islands to experience new, previously unachieved states.

April Harris will defend her Master's thesis next Thursday!

 

 

 

 

Ammophila breviligulata

Uniola paniculata

 

 

The importance of species and functional groups to barrier islands

We are continuing to understand the importance of woody vegetation to barrier islands, especially in stabilizing sediments and reducing overwash/limiting rollover. In a forthcoming paper in Ecosphere "Woody expansion facilitates liana expansion and affects physical structure in temperate coastal communities", we show the prevalence of lianas on barrier islands and the strong dependency with woody vegetation. The harsh abiotic conditions (e.g. high light, salinity, varying water availability) of these communities are most influential in structuring woody vegetation while liana species are primarily generalists associated with any woody plants. Interacting and possibly synergistic effects of woody expansion and liana proliferation appear to alter the traditional successional processes in coastal environments. Using a space-for-time geographic substitution (i.e. chronosequence) on two stable, unmanaged barrier islands, we show the lack of maritime forest regeneration due to the high leaf area index of woody shrubs and associated liana tangles. Historical photos from the Virginia barrier islands shows significant pine-oak forests that have been washed away from several islands due to erosion. New maritime forest does not appear to be establishing on the islands but replaced by new functional groups. We are continuing to investigate the ecological and ecosystem service consequences of this shift in succession and community structure.

Historical photo from Hog Island shows extensive maritime forest

 

Ghost trees due to erosion of maritime forest from Parramore Island

 

Present day woody vegetation - shrub thicket and lianas on Hog Island