Despite women earning similar numbers of graduate degrees as men in STEM disciplines, they are underrepresented in upper level positions in both academia and industry. Editorial board memberships are an important example of such positions; membership is both a professional honor in recognition of achievement and an opportunity for professional advancement. We surveyed 10 highly regarded journals in environmental biology, natural resource management, and plant sciences to quantify the number of women on their editorial boards and in positions of editorial leadership (i.e., Associate Editors and Editors-in-Chief) from 1985 to 2013. We found that during this time period only 16% of subject editors were women, with more pronounced disparities in positions of editorial leadership. Although the trend was towards improvement over time, there was surprising variation between journals, including those with similar disciplinary foci. While demographic changes in academia may reduce these disparities over time, we argue journals should proactively strive for gender parity on their editorial boards. This will both increase the number of women afforded the opportunities and benefits that accompany board membership and increase the number of role models and potential mentors for early-career scientists and students.

Despite women earning similar numbers of graduate degrees as men in STEM disciplines, they are underrepresented in upper level positions in both academia and industry. Editorial board memberships are an important example of such positions; membership is both a professional honor in recognition of achievement and an opportunity for professional advancement. We surveyed 10 highly regarded journals in environmental biology, natural resource management, and plant sciences to quantify the number of women on their editorial boards and in positions of editorial leadership (i.e., Associate Editors and Editors-in-Chief) from 1985-2013. We found that during this time period only 16% of editorial board members were women, with more pronounced disparities in positions of editorial leadership. Although the trend was towards improvement over time, there was surprising variation between journals, including those with similar disciplinary foci. While demographic changes in academia may reduce these disparities over time, we argue journals should proactively strive for gender parity on their editorial boards. This will both increase the number of women afforded the opportunities and benefits that accompany board membership and increase the number of role models and potential mentors for early-career scientists and students.

18"Despite women earning similar numbers of graduate degrees as men in STEM disciplines, they 19" are underrepresented in upper level positions in both academia and industry. Editorial board 20" memberships are an important example of such positions; membership is both a professional 21" honor in recognition of achievement and an opportunity for professional advancement. We 22" surveyed 10 highly regarded journals in environmental biology, natural resource management, 23"and plant sciences to quantify the number of women on their editorial boards and in positions of 24" editorial leadership from 1985-2013. We found that during this time period, only 16% of 25" editorial board members were women, with more pronounced disparities in positions of editorial 26" leadership (i.e., Associate Editors, Editors-in-Chief). Although the trend was towards 27" improvement over time, there was surprising variation between journals. We argue editorial 28" boards should strive for gender parity to increase the number of women afforded the 29" opportunities and benefits that accompany membership, as well as increase the number of role 30" models and mentors for early-career scientists and students. 31"PeerJ PrePrints | http://dx.doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.369v2 | CC-BY 4.0 Open Access |

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Mobile phones equipped with PC-like operating systems, GPS, internet connectivity, cameras, and video capabilities (e.g., smartphones) are used by 49% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 (Smith 2011). Immersed in digital technology from early childhood, members of this "Millennial Generation" are often frustrated with the passivity and isolation inherent in traditional forms of teaching (Chodorow 1996, Lieberman andMace 2010). To meet the pedagogical challenges these students present, faculty are increasingly encouraged to emphasize group-based learning and incorporate technology in the classroom to better engage students and enhance learning (Chodorow 1996, Jonas-Dwyer and Pospisil 2004).Courses in environmental biology provide a unique opportunity to complement traditional course activities with smartphone-based experiential learning. Many university campuses-even urban ones-have arboreta, are landscaped with native flora, or are near parks. To show how teachers can take advantage of these resources for teaching with smartphones, our graduate course in plant-animal interactions created an application (app) for identifying trees on the University of Florida campus. This app includes information on the animals with which these trees interact, a glossary, quizzes, and maps of