[Taxacom] Mediterranean conference announcement

Tue Feb 6 07:50:46 CST 2007

Dear Colleagues,

Please, find below and attached the first 
circular of an upcoming conference at the 
University of Zurich.  I would be grateful if you 
could circulate it broadly among your colleagues 
and students.

Thank you.

Elena Conti

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International Conference Announcement:

'Origin And Evolution Of Biota In Mediterranean 
Climate Zones:  An Integrative Vision'

Webpage for registration and additional information
http://www.systbot.unizh.ch/mediterranean/index.htm

July 14-15, 2007, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Conference language:  English

Understanding the biotic and abiotic processes 
that contribute to high species numbers in 
biodiversity 'hot spots' is one of the major 
tasks of biology. The exceptional biological 
richness of the five Mediterranean climate zones 
of the earth - the Mediterranean basin, South 
Africa, Australia, Chile and California - makes 
them an ideal case study to investigate the 
evolutionary and ecological dynamics that 
generate elevated species numbers. By focusing on 
the Mediterranean basin, the conference will 
synthesize the current state of knowledge on the 
origin of mediterranean biota, while charting a 
map for pushing the frontier of conceptual and 
methodological advances in biodiversity studies. 
The goal of the conference is to clarify the 
history of biotic assembly in mediterranean 
climate zones by integrating evidence across 
multiple disciplines, including evolutionary 
biology, systematics, ecology, paleontology, 
paleoclimatology, and paleogeology.

Plenary Speakers:

Michael Donoghue - Yale University, USA
"Phylogenetic Biogeography: Past, Present, and Future."

John Thompson - CNRS, Montpellier, France
"The dynamics of plant populations in the 
Mediterranean mosaic landscape: Ongoing 
adaptation and response to contemporary changes"

Invited Speakers:

Ackerly, David - University of California, Berkeley, USA
Case studies, Ecology: "Climate and the 
California flora: Past, Present and Future"

Arroyo, Juan - University of Seville, Spain
Case studies, Ecology: "Sex polymorphism in 
Mediterranean plants: insights from heterostyly 
and floral biology".

Cheddadi Rachid - Université Montpellier II, France
Methods, Paleovegetation reconstruction: "Past 
climate changes in the Mediterranean and 
potential impacts on some plant species".

Comes, Hans Peter - University of Salzburg, Austria
Case studies, Microevolutionary patterns: "Plant 
evolution in the Aegean region"

Conti, Elena - University of Zurich, Switzerland
Case studies, Macroevolutionary patterns: "Dating 
the origin of plants endemic to the 
Corso-Sardinian Plate: a window on the 
biogeography of the Western Mediterranean Basin"

Cozzolino, Salvatore - University of Naples, Italy
Case studies, Ecology: "Pollination strategies, 
reproductive isolation and speciation processes 
in Mediterranean orchids".

Fady, Bruno - INRA, Avignon, France
Case studies, Microevolutionary patterns: 
"Biodiversity at gene level in Mediterranean 
conifers"

Feliner, Gonzalo Nieto - Royal Botanic Garden, Madrid, Spain
Case studies, Microevolutionary patterns: 
"Species distribution modeling matches 
phylogeographic patterns in the 
Atlantic-Mediterranean disjunct Armeria pungens"

Kadereit Joachim - University of Mainz, Germany
Case studies, Microevolutionary patterns: 
"Determinants of phylogenetic structure in 
Mediterranean coastal plants"

Krijgsman, Wout - University of Utrecht, Netherlands
Methods, Paleoclimate reconstruction: "The 
Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Mediterranean"

Lamont Byron - Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Case studies, Ecology: "Plant adaptations in Mediterranean Australia"

Linder, Peter - University of Zurich, Switzerland
Case studies, Macroevolutionary patterns: 
"Evolution of the Cape flora of Southern Africa, 
and the influence of the Mediterranean type 
climate"

Magallon, Susana - UNAM, Mexico
Methods, Integration of fossils in molecular dating

Medail, Frederic - University of Marseilles, France
Case studies: Macroevolutionary patterns: 
"Importance of historical biogeography in shaping 
plant diversity in the Mediterranean basin"

Medel Rodrigo - University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
Case Studies, Ecology: "Evolutionary ecology of
mutualistic animal-plant relationships in Mediterranean ecosystems".

Moore Brian - Yale University, USA
Methods, ancestral area reconstruction: "A 
Maximum Likelihood framework for Inferring 
Biogeographic History"

Oberprieler, Christoph - University of Regensburg, Germany
Case studies, Macroevolutionary patterns: "The 
temporal, spatial, and ecological differentiation 
of Compositae-Anthemidae in the 
Circum-Mediterranean area"

Ree, Rick - Field Museum, Chicago, USA
Methods, Ancestral area reconstruction: 
"Stochastic models of geographic range evolution 
and likelihood-based inference of ancestral 
ranges"

Rosenbaum, Gideon - University of Queensland, Australia_
Methods, Paleogeological reconstruction 
_"Geological history of the Mediterranean basin"

Rossello, Josep - University of Valencia, Spain
Case Studies, Microevolutionary patterns: "Plant 
evolution in a continental archipelago:  The 
Balearic islands"

Sanmartin, Isabel - Uppsala University, Sweden
Methods, Ancestral area reconstruction: 
"Inferring reticulate biogeographic history using 
event-based methods: the Mediterranean case".

Stuessy, Tod - University of Vienna, Austria
Case studies, Microevolutionary patterns: 
"Microevolutionary patterns in Hypochaeris of the 
Western Mediterranean"

Vargas, Pablo - Royal Botanic Garden, Madrid, Spain
Case studies, Macroevolutionary patterns: 
"Reconstructing micro and macroevolution in 
snapdragons (Antirrhinum and relatives)"

Verdu, Miguel - University of Valencia, Spain
Case Studies, Ecology: "Evolution of plant traits 
under Mediterranean fire-prone environments".

Wilson, Tony - University of Zurich, Switzerland
Case studies, Microevolutionary patterns: 
"Environmentally-mediated reproductive variation 
in a nearshore European Pipefish species"

Target audience:  The conference is aimed at 
scholars from various biodiversity disciplines at 
different stages of their careers, from beginning 
Ph.D. students to established scholars.

- POSTER SESSION: There will be an open poster 
session on both conference days (July 14-15, 
2007). Deadline for abstract submission: May 30, 
2007

- Maximum number of conference participants: 130 
(excluding the invited speakers)

- How to register: Registration deadline: May 15, 2007. See conference website
http://www.systbot.unizh.ch/mediterranean/index.htm

- Registration fees:  110 CHF for researchers, 
professors, and established scholars; 60 CHF for 
students.  The fees include the abstract book and 
coffee breaks. 

Organizing committee: Elena Conti (Chair); 
Guilhem Mansion (post-doc); Gabriele Salvo (Ph.D. 
student); Alessia Guggisberg (Ph.D. student). 
Technical support: Alex Bernhard (webmaster); 
Corinne Burlet (administration); Niklaus Mueller 
(IT expert).

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Prof. Elena Conti, Ph.D.
University of Zuerich, Institute for Systematic Botany
Zollikerstrasse 107, 8008 Zuerich, SWITZERLAND
Ph: 0041 1 634 8424  Fax: 0041 1 634 84 03
email: ContiElena at access.unizh.ch
http://www.systbot.unizh.ch/institut/personen/person.php?l=d&id=24

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