[Taxacom] ABSTRACT DEADLINE EXTENDED: DNA Barcoding of Pacific Invasive/Pest Species

[Schindel, David]

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
DNA Barcoding of Pacific Invasive and Pest Species 
22nd Pacific Science Congress
14-17 June 2011:  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:  EXTENDED TO 1 MARCH 2011

Researchers, institutional officials, and students are invited to submit abstracts for oral and/or poster presentations concerning DNA barcoding for the identification and control of invasive and pest species in the Pacific region.  

"DNA barcoding" is a technique proposed by Dr. Paul Hebert (Univ. of Guelph, Canada) in 2003 for identifying species using a short standardized gene sequence.  Since making this proposal, barcodes have been determined for more than 1 million specimens from approximately 100,000 species.  Barcoding is becoming a widely used tool for:

   * Basic taxonomy, 
   * Identifying species in ecological studies and biodiversity monitoring; and
   * Identifying species of concern to government regulators and others, such as:
       o Agricultural pests and invasive species,
       o Endangered and protected species, and
       o Disease vectors.

iBOL, the International Barcode of Life project, and QBOL, the Quarantine Barcode of Life project) are building DNA barcode reference libraries of invasive and pest species.  CBOL, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, is promoting partnerships and support for the use of DNA barcoding to these and similar problems.  
This full-day symposium/workshop has three goals:

   1. Disseminate information on DNA barcoding and the International Barcode of Life Project;
   2. Provide an opportunity for local and international initiatives on the identification and control of invasive species to share information (e.g., QBOL, IPPC); and
   3. Identify opportunities and priorities for DNA barcoding activities on invasives in the Pacific.


Guidelines for Submission of Abstracts

All abstracts must be submitted through an online form available at http://www.dnabarcodes2011.org/barcodeAbstract.php. 

Abstracts can be submitted for:
   * Longer oral presentation (15-20 minutes) on major initiatives by regions, countries, networks or other associations to improve scientific collections in the Pacific and their access and use;
   * Short "lightning presentation" (5 minutes) on specific initiatives to improve collections in an institutions; and/or
   * Presentations for poster display. 

Please be sure to designate the type of presentation you would like to make on the submission form.
Abstracts not accepted for oral presentation will automatically be considered for presentation as posters. If you want your abstract considered only for oral presentation and do not want to be considered for poster presentation, please select "Oral presentation only" under Preference on the submission form.

Review and Selection of Abstracts

All abstracts will be reviewed by a Steering Committee for the relevance and quality of their scientific content.  Authors will be notified if their abstract has been accepted by 1 April 2011.

Preparation and Submission of Abstracts

Abstracts should be written in English using the online form (http://www.dnabarcodes2011.org/barcodeAbstract.php).  The text you submit will be used by the Technical Program Committee to review your abstract.  Some formatting (bold, italics, underlining) will be lost.  If your abstract is accepted you will be asked to upload a Word file with the abstract exactly as you would like it to appear in the Conference Program.

We look forward to receiving your abstract and to seeing you at the Pacific Science Congress in Kuala Lumpur in June!

Dr. David Schindel, Consortium for the Barcode of Life
Email: schindeld at si.edu