Network for Neotropical Biogeography

Scientific interactions across disciplines and taxa

2nd meeting of the Network for Neotropical Biogeography

Theme: Integrating Neotropical Research

Venue: Montgomery Botanical Center, Coral Gables, Miami, Florida, USA

Date: January 14th, 2013

[i.e., immediately after the 6th Biennial meeting of the International Biogeography Society]

Organisers: Christine Bacon and Alexandre Antonelli (http://antonelli-lab.net)

Rationale:
Tropical America (the Neotropics) offers a splendid opportunity for studying evolution and
biogeography. The region’s outstanding biodiversity, its comparatively
well-known geological history, the relative ease of travelling and conducting
fieldwork (with Spanish as a lingua franca), and the rapid increase in highly
competent Latin American biologists and well-equipped institutions, all
contribute to making the Neotropics a great research arena for a new generation
of students and established researchers alike.

Despite an increasing amount of interest, there is limited coordination and interactions among
independent research groups. This is unfortunate given the scientific and
spatial dimensions of Neotropical research and the scarce funding available.
This one-day meeting aims at improving this situation by bringing together representatives
for as many research groups as possible
working on Neotropical
biogeography and evolution – regardless of methodology, data source,
spatial/temporal scale, or organismal group studied. Talks will therefore be
welcome from the fields of molecular phylogenetics, paleontology, ecology, etc.

Each research group will be given a time slot (e.g., 20 minutes) to present their 
current and planned activities, which will be followed by discussion for feedback and possible interactions with the
other participants (e.g. joint fieldwork, material exchange, scholarships,
etc). The presentations can be done by each group’s PI and/or group members.

There is no need to submit an abstract; but you must send a title (preferably the project title) and the number of
other attendees from your lab group to confirm your participation to Christine
Bacon as soon as possible, and by
October 31st,
at the latest. Please await a confirmation for the
symposium before booking any extra hotel nights or flights, as the maximum
number of participants is restricted to 60 (due to space constraints).

Transportation will be arranged between the IBC 2013 partner
hotel (Newport Beachside Resort; http://www.newportbeachsideresort.com/)
and the meeting site (Montgomery Botanical Center; http://www.montgomerybotanical.org/).

The meeting fee will be calculated depending on the number of registered participants but
will be kept as low as possible. A separate fee will apply for the dinner (a Cuban fiesta to not miss!).

Feel free to distribute this announcement to anyone who could be potentially
interested!

Questions and comments can be directed to Christine
Bacon (christinedbacon [at] gmail.com).


Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith