No abstract

The population structure and reproductive biology of Saururus cernuus (Lizard's Tail; Saururaceae; Piperales), is documented in five sites in southern Louisiana (Mississippi Delta). The species is common throughout the southeastern United States in marshes, along streams, edges of lakes, and in the understory of moist forests. The clonal species exhibits sexual and vegetative reproduction. Wind and insects both play important roles in pollination. Pollen may be borne by insects directly. Alternatively, the pollen may be borne by wind after its release is triggered from pendulous floral spikes (the “Lizard's Tail”) by either wind or insect landings (insect‐mediated wind pollination). The plants are self‐incompatible and seed set results from a combination of pollination modes with wind pollination being the primary mode (rare in the Magnoliidae). Inflorescence and floral structure exhibit adaptive features that facilitate the various modes of pollen transfer, viz., numerous, small scented, protogynous flowers with no perianth, ultraviolet patterns produced by stamen filaments, small pollen grains, curved inflorescences, and exerted stamens, etc. Fruit production and seed germination are documented and plant growth and densities are compared in sunny versus forest sites.

Higher education is experiencing a period of both external and internal evaluation of its efficiency. For the most part the external reviews are outcome based, comparing expenditures to some measure of student performance. In contrast, internal evaluations are largely focused on curriculum and how well the current curriculum reflects the current state of knowledge in the field.For many departments, colleges and universities, the outcome of these internal and external reviews has created a situation in which the faculty is expected to do more for a larger student body, usually with fewer resources. In response to this situation, we have developed and placed into use an interactive CD for students of the general biology courses at the University of Tennessee. The underlying premise of this project is that while the student's ability to directly interact with faculty or to have class or lab time for learning through mistake and repetition is diminishing, an interactive CD has the potential to provide much of that inquisitive experience.There are several advantages to working in a multimedia environment. First is the ability to utilize graphics, text and video to reinforce a single concept. Second is the viewer's ability to organize information in a way that is individually meaningful. The parallel/attendant problem is the potential for the viewer to become lost in the information as well as requiring that all of the links need to be programmed, whether they are useful or not.