[ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize -- summary of responses
Dear Ecologgers - Thank you very much to everyone that took the time to respond to my original post. I never expected to generate this much discussion. Below is a summary of responses. As a reminder, my original question was, In the statement, the Narraguagaus and Penobscot rivers. is the word rivers capitalized or not? Based on the 31 different responses, it sure seems that the issue is not as cut and dried as I had originally thought. Of the 31 responses, 13 said do NOT capitalize, 7 said YES capitalize, 1 said it didn't matter, 1 said it was context specific, and the rest did not answer the question and just threw out miscellaneous stuff on capitalization styles (i.e., up vs down writing). I was greatly surprised (and delighted) that only 1 person gave a snarky response, and I ultimately got an apology from this person through a personal follow up email. For the 3 cases where a respondent specifically cited a style manual, I have pasted their response below (2 = capitalize, 1 do not capitalize). Clearly, this is not a settled issue, and my belief that I was supremely confident I knew the correct answer (do not capitalize) has been shattered. Cheers, Michael Cooperman, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow of the National Research Council. __ From http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manualdocid=f:chapter3.pdf http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manualdocid=f:chapter3.pdf (The GPO Style Manual is intended to facilitate Government printing.) 3.8. The plural form of a common noun capitalized as part of a proper name is also capitalized. Seventh and I Streets Lakes Erie and Ontario Potomac and James Rivers State and Treasury Departments British, French, and United States Governments Presidents Washington and Adams ___ With regard to topographical names, the University of Chicago Press (Manual of Style) recommends that when a generic term is used in the plural either before or after more than one proper name, the term should be capitalized if, in the singular form and in the same position, it would be recognized as a part of each name. Formerly such plural terms were capitalized only when preceding the proper names, Lakes Erie and Huron Mounts Everest and Rainier the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers BUT the rivers Hudson and Mississippi __ I would defer to the Council of Science Editors manual: Scientific Style and Format. According to my 6th edition (there is one more recent), they recommend not capitalizing rivers in your situation... In a plural construction, lowercase may be used for the generic noun that would be capitalized in the singular unless the common noun precedes a group of proper nouns. Vancouver and Saltspring islandsLakes Ontario and Huron
[ECOLOG-L] To capitalize or not to capitalize
It is important to separate vernacular names from professionally designated common names assigned to species. The American Ornithologists' Union is the authority that names birds in North America, and names of birds are capitalized: Chipping Sparrow, Lovely Cotinga. These names are associated with taxonomic binomials consistent with the recognized status of species. A chipping sparrow is any sparrow seen chipping. A Chipping Sparrow refers to Spizella passerina. All cotingas are lovely indeed, but only Lovely Cotinga refers to Cotinga amabilis. Birds have many common names. A hoot owl means nothing in particular. A rain crow is a Common Nighthawk. When popular magazines, e.g., National Geographic, Audubon, incorrectly refer to chipping sparrows and lovely cotingas they are ignoring the scientific authority and tradition that separates vernacular from science, and in so doing they blur the boundary between common and scientific observations and knowledge. David L. Anderson Ph.D. Candidate Museum of Natural Science Louisiana State University 225-578-5393 dand...@tigers.lsu.edu http://www.museum.lsu.edu/Anderson/index.htm
[ECOLOG-L] Fwd: [ECOLOG-L] To capitalize or not to capitalize
When I write about white-tailed deer I do not mean any deer with white on its tail. Similarly, when I write about a spotted salamander, I do not mean any salamander with spots, nor with spicebush swallowtail, nor a fat pocketbook mussel. Only with birds is this tyranny of capitalization held up as gospel. I think we can all agree that respect for scientific authority is valued by those who study all types of animals, so let's just come out and admit that it's a socially enforced convention among ornithologists to require capitalization. -- Eric Schauber Wildlife Ecologist -- Coop. Wildlife Research Lab Associate Professor of Zoology Center for Ecology Southern Illinois University Carbondale (618) 453-6940 (618) 453-6944 (fax) On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 12:13 PM, David Anderson dand...@tigers.lsu.eduwrote: It is important to separate vernacular names from professionally designated common names assigned to species. The American Ornithologists' Union is the authority that names birds in North America, and names of birds are capitalized: Chipping Sparrow, Lovely Cotinga. These names are associated with taxonomic binomials consistent with the recognized status of species. A chipping sparrow is any sparrow seen chipping. A Chipping Sparrow refers to Spizella passerina. All cotingas are lovely indeed, but only Lovely Cotinga refers to Cotinga amabilis. Birds have many common names. A hoot owl means nothing in particular. A rain crow is a Common Nighthawk. When popular magazines, e.g., National Geographic, Audubon, incorrectly refer to chipping sparrows and lovely cotingas they are ignoring the scientific authority and tradition that separates vernacular from science, and in so doing they blur the boundary between common and scientific observations and knowledge. David L. Anderson Ph.D. Candidate Museum of Natural Science Louisiana State University 225-578-5393 dand...@tigers.lsu.edu http://www.museum.lsu.edu/Anderson/index.htm -- Eric Schauber Wildlife Ecologist -- Coop. Wildlife Research Lab Associate Professor of Zoology Center for Ecology Southern Illinois University Carbondale (618) 453-6940 (618) 453-6944 (fax)
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Fwd: [ECOLOG-L] To capitalize or not to capitalize
Well, when you write about it, it might be obvious to you because you know what you mean, but to me, it is not because I have to extract this out of the context, the name itself is generally ambiguous. The key is the discussion is whether or not names of animals are common nouns or proper nouns. Once the species within a group have each has a single established name, it becomes a proper noun. For most species, except birds, there is no such standardization. I personally would prefer to treat each name as a proper noun, but unfortunately that kind of clarity will take a long time. Kim Eric Schauber wrote: When I write about white-tailed deer I do not mean any deer with white on its tail. Similarly, when I write about a spotted salamander, I do not mean any salamander with spots, nor with spicebush swallowtail, nor a fat pocketbook mussel. Only with birds is this tyranny of capitalization held up as gospel. I think we can all agree that respect for scientific authority is valued by those who study all types of animals, so let's just come out and admit that it's a socially enforced convention among ornithologists to require capitalization. -- http://www.kimvdlinde.com
Re: [ECOLOG-L] To capitalize or not to capitalize
I suggest Mr. Anderson learn more about what it is like to be in a newsroom. (Most scientists should do so, but that's another matter.) If I was an editor -- and I have been at various times in my career -- I have too damned much work to do to learn what one group of biologists does with its favorite species and what another group of biologists does with another group of species. I need a consistent style to use for ALL organisms I might refer to in a publication. Capitalization is a question of style -- not substance, such as spelling or grammar. If the birders are all up (stylewise), but the ichthyologists, herpetologists, and botanists are all down (stylewise), I'm more likely to use a down style. If the tradition for my publication is to use a down style, I'm not inclined to change it just to make a few scientists (most of whom don't buy my paper or magazine) happy. Whatever style I choose to use, I am going to use it for ALL SPECIES. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition, entry 8.136) uses the down style for common name -- unless that common name includes a proper noun or adjective based on a proper noun. For example, Dutchman's-breeches versus jack-in-the-pulpit; Cooper's hawk versus rhesus monkey. If my publication follows Chicago style, then I will follow Chicago style, AOU be dammed. If my memory serves, the down style has been prevalent in most publications for more than a century. It's ridiculous to change to something different because a subset of the universe of organismal biologists decided to change the way they did things. To paraphrase the old joke, I don't care how you capitalize it, as long as you SPELL the name right. Dave David Anderson wrote: It is important to separate vernacular names from professionally designated common names assigned to species. The American Ornithologists' Union is the authority that names birds in North America, and names of birds are capitalized: Chipping Sparrow, Lovely Cotinga. These names are associated with taxonomic binomials consistent with the recognized status of species. A chipping sparrow is any sparrow seen chipping. A Chipping Sparrow refers to Spizella passerina. All cotingas are lovely indeed, but only Lovely Cotinga refers to Cotinga amabilis. Birds have many common names. A hoot owl means nothing in particular. A rain crow is a Common Nighthawk. When popular magazines, e.g., National Geographic, Audubon, incorrectly refer to chipping sparrows and lovely cotingas they are ignoring the scientific authority and tradition that separates vernacular from science, and in so doing they blur the boundary between common and scientific observations and knowledge. David L. Anderson Ph.D. Candidate Museum of Natural Science Louisiana State University 225-578-5393 dand...@tigers.lsu.edu http://www.museum.lsu.edu/Anderson/index.htm -- -- David M. Lawrence| Home: (804) 559-9786 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: d...@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com -- We have met the enemy and he is us. -- Pogo No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku -- Richard Brautigan
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Fwd: [ECOLOG-L] To capitalize or not to capitalize
So, Dr. Schauber, with this logic you advocate not italicizing scientific names and never capitalizing genus, family, order, whatever? Because when I write about hemionus or cervidae I'm not writing about just any mammal, and it's only the tyranny of biologists that keep those conventions alive. Of course then, I started this incorrectly by that logic too - dr. schauber (because I'm not talking about just any schauber, I know who I'm talking about). Yes, I'm being silly, but I'm applying the logic you outlined. There may be other reasons to cap or not to cap - newspapers don't do it for any animal, as I've been told over and over by my Communications Major museum editors. Trained as an ornithologist, it drives me nuts, but I live with it. Robert Hole, Jr. On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 2:08 PM, Eric Schauber schau...@siu.edu wrote: When I write about white-tailed deer I do not mean any deer with white on its tail. Similarly, when I write about a spotted salamander, I do not mean any salamander with spots, nor with spicebush swallowtail, nor a fat pocketbook mussel. Only with birds is this tyranny of capitalization held up as gospel. I think we can all agree that respect for scientific authority is valued by those who study all types of animals, so let's just come out and admit that it's a socially enforced convention among ornithologists to require capitalization. -- Eric Schauber Wildlife Ecologist -- Coop. Wildlife Research Lab Associate Professor of Zoology Center for Ecology Southern Illinois University Carbondale (618) 453-6940 (618) 453-6944 (fax) On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 12:13 PM, David Anderson dand...@tigers.lsu.eduwrote: It is important to separate vernacular names from professionally designated common names assigned to species. The American Ornithologists' Union is the authority that names birds in North America, and names of birds are capitalized: Chipping Sparrow, Lovely Cotinga. These names are associated with taxonomic binomials consistent with the recognized status of species. A chipping sparrow is any sparrow seen chipping. A Chipping Sparrow refers to Spizella passerina. All cotingas are lovely indeed, but only Lovely Cotinga refers to Cotinga amabilis. Birds have many common names. A hoot owl means nothing in particular. A rain crow is a Common Nighthawk. When popular magazines, e.g., National Geographic, Audubon, incorrectly refer to chipping sparrows and lovely cotingas they are ignoring the scientific authority and tradition that separates vernacular from science, and in so doing they blur the boundary between common and scientific observations and knowledge. David L. Anderson Ph.D. Candidate Museum of Natural Science Louisiana State University 225-578-5393 dand...@tigers.lsu.edu http://www.museum.lsu.edu/Anderson/index.htm -- Eric Schauber Wildlife Ecologist -- Coop. Wildlife Research Lab Associate Professor of Zoology Center for Ecology Southern Illinois University Carbondale (618) 453-6940 (618) 453-6944 (fax)
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Hi Michael, On page 87 of the Suggestions to Authors of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey 7th Edition I found the following: Proper names of geographical entities, such as regions, political division, populated places, localities, and physical features, including marine, are capitalized in both the singular and the plural: Among the 52 examples following this statement are the following: Great Lakes Gulf States High Plains Middle Atlantic States Potomac and James Rivers atorregr...@usgs.gov Alicia Torregrosa Western Geographic Science Center US Geological Survey 345 Middlefield Road MS 531 Menlo Park, CA 94025 office:650-329-4091 fax:650-329-4722 ... - In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov - .
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Is this the case in animals too? Lets say common-toad which is not a species of Toad (Bufo/Anaxyrhynus)? Man, this is getting complex! On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 10:52 PM, Don McKenzie d...@u.washington.edu wrote: Sometimes a hyphen (Douglas-fir), or sometimes two words are just concatenated (e.g., western redcedar = Thuja plicata, family Cupressaceae). Perhaps a better way to phrase it is not the species or family you might think it is. Caveat -- I'm not a botanist. On 1-Oct-09, at 7:02 PM, Warren W. Aney wrote: A botanist may correct me, but my understanding is hyphenation is used to indicate the common name is not a true species, e.g., Douglas-fir is not a true fir. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist Tigard, OR Don McKenzie, Research Ecologist Pacific WIldland Fire Sciences Lab US Forest Service Affiliate Professor School of Forest Resources, College of the Environment CSES Climate Impacts Group University of Washington desk: 206-732-7824 cell: 206-321-5966 d...@u.washington.edu donaldmcken...@fs.fed.us -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Texas AM University-Texarkana Fall Teaching Schedule: Vertebrate Biology - TR 10-11:40; General Ecology - MW 1-2:40pm; Forensic Science - W 6-9:40pm Office Hourse- TBA 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
I agree with Elmer that this is the real issue--singular vs. plural. There is no such thing as Narraguagus Rivers or Penobscot Rivers. They only exist in the singular--Narraguagus River and Penobscot River. When they are combined, rivers is not capitalized because it is no longer a proper noun. DP Elmer J. Finck wrote: Michael -- I was taught that rivers are like counties in that they are capitalized when in the singular, but not capitalized in the plural. For example, Lyon County, but Lyon and Chase counties. Likewise, it is the Missouri River, but Missouri and Mississippi rivers. mas tarde, EJF Michael Cooperman michael.cooper...@noaa.gov Sent by: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU 09/30/2009 01:27 PM Please respond to Michael Cooperman michael.cooper...@noaa.gov To ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU cc Subject [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael
[ECOLOG-L] Fwd: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
I agree with Mike. While you can make a reasonable argument for either choice and neither would be strictly wrong, treating rivers as a common noun is the better choice. 1) if you choose to capitalize rivers you loose parity, which forces the reader to slow down and think. 2) Capitalizing rivers implies that the phrase Narraguagus and Penobscot Rivers is functioning sort of like a single noun, which unless the rivers are always or nearly always mentioned as a pair, this is really not the case. 3) I googled tigress and euphrates rivers assuming that this pairing was more famous and commonly used, and nearly all results came back with Tigress and Euphrates rivers. While there were only a few high-quality, edited sources, they consistently used rivers as a common noun. One thing to remember with English style is that while you can break stylistic rules and even grammar rules for rhetorical purposes to change emphasis or meaning, you should have a clear understanding of what the precedent is and what your choices will do. If you're unsure, look for a similar example in a few professionally edited sources or grab a style guide. (In this instance, I checked my grammar text and the APA style guide and found nothing.) -Hanno -- Forwarded message -- From: Mike Marsh sw...@blarg.net Date: Oct 1, 2009 12:30pm Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize To: ECOLOG-L@listserv.umd.edu CC: It did not appear to me that Warren addressed the issue posed. Michael Cooperman asked a question that frequently give me pause. What if we analyze by parts of speech. Then Narraguagus would be a proper noun, but in Narraguagus and Penobscot rivers, isn't rivers, a common noun, modified by Narraguagus and Penobscot? Mike - Warren W. Aney wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, eg, Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, eg, Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, eg, Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, eg, write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Fwd: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Here's what the Associated Press Stylebook says: Capitalize as part of a proper name: the Mississippi River Lowercase in other uses: the Mississippi and Missouri rivers Hope this helps Pedram Rowhani From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Hanno Murphy [hanno.mur...@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 5:07 AM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Fwd: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize I agree with Mike. While you can make a reasonable argument for either choice and neither would be strictly wrong, treating rivers as a common noun is the better choice. 1) if you choose to capitalize rivers you loose parity, which forces the reader to slow down and think. 2) Capitalizing rivers implies that the phrase Narraguagus and Penobscot Rivers is functioning sort of like a single noun, which unless the rivers are always or nearly always mentioned as a pair, this is really not the case. 3) I googled tigress and euphrates rivers assuming that this pairing was more famous and commonly used, and nearly all results came back with Tigress and Euphrates rivers. While there were only a few high-quality, edited sources, they consistently used rivers as a common noun. One thing to remember with English style is that while you can break stylistic rules and even grammar rules for rhetorical purposes to change emphasis or meaning, you should have a clear understanding of what the precedent is and what your choices will do. If you're unsure, look for a similar example in a few professionally edited sources or grab a style guide. (In this instance, I checked my grammar text and the APA style guide and found nothing.) -Hanno -- Forwarded message -- From: Mike Marsh sw...@blarg.net Date: Oct 1, 2009 12:30pm Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize To: ECOLOG-L@listserv.umd.edu CC: It did not appear to me that Warren addressed the issue posed. Michael Cooperman asked a question that frequently give me pause. What if we analyze by parts of speech. Then Narraguagus would be a proper noun, but in Narraguagus and Penobscot rivers, isn't rivers, a common noun, modified by Narraguagus and Penobscot? Mike - Warren W. Aney wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, eg, Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, eg, Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, eg, Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, eg, write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Sometimes a hyphen (Douglas-fir), or sometimes two words are just concatenated (e.g., western redcedar = Thuja plicata, family Cupressaceae). Perhaps a better way to phrase it is not the species or family you might think it is. Caveat -- I'm not a botanist. On 1-Oct-09, at 7:02 PM, Warren W. Aney wrote: A botanist may correct me, but my understanding is hyphenation is used to indicate the common name is not a true species, e.g., Douglas-fir is not a true fir. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist Tigard, OR Don McKenzie, Research Ecologist Pacific WIldland Fire Sciences Lab US Forest Service Affiliate Professor School of Forest Resources, College of the Environment CSES Climate Impacts Group University of Washington desk: 206-732-7824 cell: 206-321-5966 d...@u.washington.edu donaldmcken...@fs.fed.us
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Michael -- I was taught that rivers are like counties in that they are capitalized when in the singular, but not capitalized in the plural. For example, Lyon County, but Lyon and Chase counties. Likewise, it is the Missouri River, but Missouri and Mississippi rivers. mas tarde, EJF Michael Cooperman michael.cooper...@noaa.gov Sent by: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU 09/30/2009 01:27 PM Please respond to Michael Cooperman michael.cooper...@noaa.gov To ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU cc Subject [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov -
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
It did not appear to me that Warren addressed the issue posed. Michael Cooperman asked a question that frequently give me pause. What if we analyze by parts of speech. Then Narraguagus would be a proper noun, but in Narraguagus and Penobscot rivers, isn't rivers, a common noun, modified by Narraguagus and Penobscot? Mike - Warren W. Aney wrote: pre wrapIn my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael /pre/body /html /html
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Ornithologists, and a growing majority of herpetologists are using all capitals. American Robin American Toad. However, grammatically these are NOT proper nouns. Proper nouns by definition both identify and individualize. Fred, the american toad, is a good example. Here, Fred is the proper noun as we have individualized the specific american toad. However, common names lists are now capitalizing the common names, and I usually do this as well. Frankly, I just think it looks better. As for rivers, I have never heard of someone calling it the Mississippi river as river is part of the proper name of this specific river and this proper noun should be entirely capitalized as Mississippi River. However, if you were talking about the rivers of Mississippi, you might state the Mississippi rivers, in which case the river would be in lower case. Furthermore, the Mississippi river would use Mississippi as the modifier of river such that you are referring to some river in Mississippi. For example, the Alabama river was more polluted than the Mississippi river. This would be better written, though, as: The river in Alabama was more polluted than the one in Mississippi. I hope this helps!!! :) malcolm On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:15 PM, Warren W. Aney a...@coho.net wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov - -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Texas AM University-Texarkana Fall Teaching Schedule: Vertebrate Biology - TR 10-11:40; General Ecology - MW 1-2:40pm; Forensic Science - W 6-9:40pm Office Hourse- TBA 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Warren, I grew up in the news business and have working in it on-and-off for 30 years. I think you're misremembering some of what you were told. ALL PARTS OF A PROPER NAME ARE CAPITALIZED. Picking up on Malcolm's example, there is no Mississippi River versus Mississippi river. The reason why: The Yazoo River is a Mississippi river. The Mississippi River originates in Minnesota and empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. A Mississippi river is a river that is located, in whole or in part, in Mississippi. Referring to mississippi river is plain incorrect, as Mississippi is a proper name. An exception would be Yazoo River/yazoo river. Yazoo River is a named river, whereas yazoo river describes a river with a particular type of floodplain structure. Dave malcolm McCallum wrote: Ornithologists, and a growing majority of herpetologists are using all capitals. American Robin American Toad. However, grammatically these are NOT proper nouns. Proper nouns by definition both identify and individualize. Fred, the american toad, is a good example. Here, Fred is the proper noun as we have individualized the specific american toad. However, common names lists are now capitalizing the common names, and I usually do this as well. Frankly, I just think it looks better. As for rivers, I have never heard of someone calling it the Mississippi river as river is part of the proper name of this specific river and this proper noun should be entirely capitalized as Mississippi River. However, if you were talking about the rivers of Mississippi, you might state the Mississippi rivers, in which case the river would be in lower case. Furthermore, the Mississippi river would use Mississippi as the modifier of river such that you are referring to some river in Mississippi. For example, the Alabama river was more polluted than the Mississippi river. This would be better written, though, as: The river in Alabama was more polluted than the one in Mississippi. I hope this helps!!! :) malcolm On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:15 PM, Warren W. Aney a...@coho.net wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov - -- -- David M. Lawrence| Home: (804) 559-9786 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: d...@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com -- We have met the enemy and he is us. -- Pogo No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku -- Richard Brautigan
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
With regard to topographical names, the University of Chicago Press (Manual of Style) recommends that when a generic term is used in the plural either before or after more than one proper name, the term should be capitalized if, in the singular form and in the same position, it would be recognized as a part of each name. Formerly such plural terms were capitalized only when preceding the proper names, Lakes Erie and Huron Mounts Everest and Rainier the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers BUT the rivers Hudson and Mississippi As for vernacular names of plants and animals, Common names of plants and animals are capitalized in a bewildering variety of ways, even in lists and catalogs having professional status. It is often appropriate to follow the style of an 'official' list, and authors doing so should let their editors know what list they are following. It recommends a down style for names of wild plants and animals, capitalizing only proper nouns and adjectives used with their original reference, or suggests consulting a standard dictionary: Dutchman's-breeches mayapple black-eyed Susan New England aster Michaelmas daisy rhesus monkey Cooper's hawk Canada thistle Virginia creeper jack-in-the-pulpit Rocky Mountain sheep black bass Nothing like a bit of editorial inconsistency to confuse matters further, eh? Ann ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ E. Ann Poole, MSc, JP, Principal Poole Ecological Environmental Consultancy PO Box 890, 741 Beard Rd Hillsborough, NH 03244 (603)478-1178 e...@gsinet.net www.eannpoole.com ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
Ichthyologist convention to date is to NOT capitalize common names, unless they include a proper noun. For example, Topeka shiner. However, I heard or read a rumor (or maybe a forewarning) recently that common names of fishes are soon going to be capitalized, as has been convention for ornithologists. For example, Common Shiner. Anyone else aware of this? Is it true? Katie N. Bertrand Assistant Professor Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences South Dakota State University Box 2140B, SNP 142A Brookings, SD 57007 USA phone: 605-690-8582 fax: 605-688-4515 katie.bertr...@sdstate.edu -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of malcolm McCallum Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 10:35 PM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize Ornithologists, and a growing majority of herpetologists are using all capitals. American Robin American Toad. However, grammatically these are NOT proper nouns. Proper nouns by definition both identify and individualize. Fred, the american toad, is a good example. Here, Fred is the proper noun as we have individualized the specific american toad. However, common names lists are now capitalizing the common names, and I usually do this as well. Frankly, I just think it looks better. As for rivers, I have never heard of someone calling it the Mississippi river as river is part of the proper name of this specific river and this proper noun should be entirely capitalized as Mississippi River. However, if you were talking about the rivers of Mississippi, you might state the Mississippi rivers, in which case the river would be in lower case. Furthermore, the Mississippi river would use Mississippi as the modifier of river such that you are referring to some river in Mississippi. For example, the Alabama river was more polluted than the Mississippi river. This would be better written, though, as: The river in Alabama was more polluted than the one in Mississippi. I hope this helps!!! :) malcolm On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:15 PM, Warren W. Aney a...@coho.net wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov - -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Texas AM University-Texarkana Fall Teaching Schedule: Vertebrate Biology - TR 10-11:40; General Ecology - MW 1-2:40pm; Forensic Science - W 6-9:40pm Office Hourse- TBA 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
My experience in botany is that most people only capitalize words in common names if they would be capitalized in regular writing (in the down style, I guess). Example: Here are a few easy ways to distinguish Norway maple, sugar maple, and black maple. You would also capitalize adjective versions of proper nouns (English, Chinese, etc.), and people's names (Short's aster). Traditionally, two-part common names were hyphenated (Norway-maple), but I don't see this in the recently-published literature too often. In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I say yes, because (along the same lines as what Malcolm McCallum said) the lowercase rivers would imply the rivers of the regions called Narraguagus and Penobscot. If you capitalize rivers, it implies the two rivers called Narraguagus and Penobscot more clearly to me. Jim Crants On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:15 PM, Warren W. Aney a...@coho.net wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov -
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
A botanist may correct me, but my understanding is hyphenation is used to indicate the common name is not a true species, e.g., Douglas-fir is not a true fir. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist Tigard, OR -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of James Crants Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 7:54 AM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize My experience in botany is that most people only capitalize words in common names if they would be capitalized in regular writing (in the down style, I guess). Example: Here are a few easy ways to distinguish Norway maple, sugar maple, and black maple. You would also capitalize adjective versions of proper nouns (English, Chinese, etc.), and people's names (Short's aster). Traditionally, two-part common names were hyphenated (Norway-maple), but I don't see this in the recently-published literature too often. In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I say yes, because (along the same lines as what Malcolm McCallum said) the lowercase rivers would imply the rivers of the regions called Narraguagus and Penobscot. If you capitalize rivers, it implies the two rivers called Narraguagus and Penobscot more clearly to me. Jim Crants On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:15 PM, Warren W. Aney a...@coho.net wrote: In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov -
[ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov -
Re: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize
In my journalism and technical writing classes I learned there are two accepted styles for capitalization: An up style and a down style. In the up style you would capitalize river, lake, stream, county, etc. if it's part of the proper name, e.g., Penobscot River, Penobscot County. Many up style adherents would also capitalize the proper names of species, e.g., Mule Deer. In the down style you would be very stingy with capitalizations. So you would write Narraguagus river and mule deer. And then ornithologists have a policy of always capitalizing bird species names, but since I always write in the down style I tend to ignore that policy for the sake of consistency, e.g., Canada geese and pileated woodpecker. Some newspapers write in the down style but most in the up style -- and as you've probably noted, MSWord spellcheck keeps nagging you to use the up style. You can also mix styles, e.g., write about Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River. That's part of the frustration (or beauty) of writing -- it's an art and not a science. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist 9403 SW 74th Ave Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 246-8613 phone (503) 246-2605 fax (503) 539-1009 mobile a...@coho.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Cooperman Sent: Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 11:19 To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] to Capitalize or not to capitalize In the following statement: the Narraguagus and Penobscot riversshould the word rivers be capitalized? I have my opinion, but in the spirit of not biasing responses I'll keep it to myself; my office as a whole is split 50/50. One way or the other, half the people in my office are wrong! Michael -- - Michael Cooperman, PhD National Research Council - Research Fellow in residence at NOAA-Fisheries, NE Fisheries Science Center - Maine Field Station Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task 17 Godfrey DR., Suite 1 Orono, ME 04473 (work) 207-866-7409 (cell) 207-974-9846 (fax) 207-866-7342 (pls call before faxing) email: michael.cooper...@noaa.gov -
