[Taxacom] Mediterranean conference announcement: 2nd circular

Wed May 9 09:48:12 CDT 2007

Dear Colleagues, please note the upcoming conference:

"Origin and Evolution of Biota in Mediterranean 
Climate Zones: An Integrative Vision"

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

Registration deadline:  May 30, 2007

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. 
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.

Speakers

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

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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

UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE:
July 14-15, 2007, University of Zurich:

"Origin and Evolution of
Biota in Mediterranean
Climate Zones"

http://www.systbot.unizh.ch/mediterranean/index.htm
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