Newswise — Dr. Marinus Otte, professor of biological sciences at North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D., USA, has been named the new Editor-in-Chief of Wetlands, (http://www.sws.org/wetlands/) an international scientific journal. The Society of Wetland Scientists Board and Executive announced the appointment, which begins immediately and extends to 2016. Dr. Otte succeeds Dr. Darold Batzer who served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2011.
The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) is an international organization of about 3,500 members dedicated to fostering sound wetland science, education, and management.
Wetlands is an international journal that includes all aspects of wetlands biology, ecology, hydrology, water chemistry, soil and sediment characteristics, laws, management and regulations, according to Springer, which publishes the journal six times per year. The publication includes peer-reviewed material that covers pioneering work in wetland science across many disciplines. As a global company, Springer publishes books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, technical and medical (STM) publishing, with approximately 2,000 journals and 6,500 new books published annually.
“I consider the appointment as Editor-in Chief of Wetlands a great honor, and an opportunity to promote NDSU and North Dakota, and am very excited to take on this position,” said Otte. He notes that submissions to the journal have more than doubled over the past six years, with the majority of submissions by international scientists. “I am looking forward to the work and to meeting new people through this position over the coming years,” he said.
Dr. Otte is a lifetime member of the Society of Wetland Scientists and from 2002 to 2006, served as chairperson of the Society’s International Chapter. “Wetlands have been the theme of my research and teaching throughout my career; during my Ph.D. research in the Netherlands, my postdoctoral on the saltmarshes of South Carolina in the U.S., my 14 years in Ireland, and now in the Upper Midwest of the U.S.,” said Otte.
Dr. Otte has led the Wet Ecosystem Research Group at NDSU since 2006. The group trains graduate and undergraduate students in scientific research, particularly wetlands, plants, biogeochemistry, watershed ecology and metals in the environment. The group collaborates with soils scientists, geologists, environmental engineers, microbiologists, as well as with groups underpinning management of natural resources.
In addition, Dr. Otte serves as co-director of the North Dakota IdeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Metal Analysis Core, providing laboratory facilities and mentoring for researchers in undergraduate colleges throughout the state. Otte is also a member of the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Dr. Otte’s research interests include wetlands, ecology, ecotoxicology, ecophysiology, and biogeochemistry.
About NDSUNorth Dakota State University, Fargo, is notably listed among the nation’s top 108 public and private universities in the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education’s elite category of “Research Universities/Very High Research Activity.” As a student-focused, land grant, research institution with more than 14,000 students, NDSU is listed in the top 40 research universities in the U.S. without a medical school, based on research expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation. www.ndsu.edu/research