Bylaws
Article 1: NAME.
The official name of this Section shall be “The Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America.”
Article 2: PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Section shall be to promote research and training in that phase of ecology stressing the interrelationship between the environment of an organism and its functional capabilities. The Section shall act as a liaison agency between investigators, societies, or any groups interested in this discipline and other related fields.
Article 3: ORGANIZATION.
The Physiological Ecology Section shall be a subdivision of the Ecological Society of America and shall be governed by the Constitution and Bylaws of that Society.
Article 4: MEMBERS.
Any person who wishes to become a member of the Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America must be a member in good standing of the parent Society. Notice in writing to the Secretary of the Section and payment of annual dues as required by the Society shall be the only other requirements of membership.
Article 5: OFFICERS.
The officers of the Physiological Ecology Section shall be a Chairperson, Chairperson-Elect, Secretary, the Past-Chairperson, and the Web Master. The first three shall be elected by majority vote taken by written ballot of members of the Section. The Web Master is appointed by the Chairperson.
Article 6: CHAIRPERSON.
The chairperson shall preside at the business meetings of the Section, authorize expenditures of Section funds, and promote the interests of the Section. The Chairperson shall serve for a term of two years. He/she shall represent the Section on the Council of the Society.
Article 7: PAST-CHAIRPERSON.
Upon completion of a two-year term, the Chairperson shall serve as the Past-Chairperson of the Section for one year and shall serve as a member of the section Executive Committee.
Article 8: CHAIRPERSON-ELECT.
The Chairperson-Elect shall serve for a term of one year before assuming the duties of the Chairperson. During this period he/she shall assume the duties of the Chairperson whenever that person is unable to serve.
Article 9: SECRETARY.
The Secretary shall keep the records of the Section and shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her. The Secretary shall serve for a term of two years.
Article 10: WEB MASTER.
The Web Master shall promote the section’s interests through maintaining and updating the section’s web page.
Article 11: FINANCES.
The necessary expenses of the Section shall be paid from the treasury of the Society, but in any one year the total expenses of the Section shall not exceed the sum of the amount allotted for this purpose in the annual budget of the Society plus the amount, if any, collected as dues by the Society on behalf of the Section.
The section shall use revenues generated from the “Billings” endowment to grant a cash prize for the best student presentation at the annual meeting. The Society will manage this endowment as part of its restricted funds. The Society will not be liable to provide funds to the section, should the size of the billings edowment fail to generate sufficient revenues for the annual award.
In the event that the section is disolved, its assets, including the Billings endowment, will be transferred to the Society.
No officer or member of the Section shall have authority to incur any expense in the name of the Society, except as specified above.
Article 11: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
In intervals between annual meetings an Executive Committee composed of the Chairperson, Secretary, and either the Past-Chairperson of the Section or Chairperson-Elect may act for the Section.
Article 12: MEETINGS.
A business meeting of the Section shall be held at least once a year. Ordinarily this meeting shall be held concurrently with the regular annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, but if such a concurrent meeting is not feasible, then the Executive Committee of the Section shall decide when and where the business meeting shall be held.
Section meetings may be held at other times and places on call of the Chairperson or on written request by ten members of the Section. Notice shall be sent to each member of the Section sixty days in advance of any meeting.
A quorum of twenty members must be present at the meetings of this Section when legislative action is taken.
Article 13: PUBLICATIONS.
The annual report of the Section and its official notices shall be eligible for publication in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. The Section shall publish a newsletter which shall be posted on the section’s web page and mailed to individual members of the section upon request.
Article 14: AMENDMENTS.
These Bylaws may be amended by two-thirds vote of those members present at any annual meeting of the Section, provided that notice has been given to all members sixty days in advance, or by a two-thirds vote in a mail ballot to all Section members.