Society of Systematic Biologists

Past symposia sponsored by the Society of Systematic Biologists, with links to journal issue symposium papers were published in (if applicable).

2007 SSB symposia, Allan Wilson Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand

Cultural phylogenetics: dispatches from the frontier. Organizers: Fiona Jordan, University College London and Russell Gray, University of Auckland

• Cultural phylogenetics. Fiona Jordan, University College London
• Spoken word frequency predicts rates of lexical evolution throughout Indo-European language history. Mark Pagel, University of Reading
• Tongues and trees: phylogenetic tests of agricultural dispersals in the Americas. Russell Gray, University of Auckland.
• Pacific settlement and the evolution of Austronesian languages. Simon Greenhill, University of Auckland.
• Coevolution of structural features of language. Michael Dunn, Max Planck Institut.
• Matriliny and male absence: natural selection or nice story Fiona Jordan & Ruth Mace, University College London
• The mode and tempo of linguistic evolution. Quentin Atkinson & Mark Pagel, University College London

Phylogenetic diversity: towards a synthesis of concepts and applications for biodiversity conservation. Organizer: Dan Faith, Australian Museum

• Toward a phylogenetic diversity synthesis: problems and prospects. Dan Faith, Australian Museum
• Links between phylogenetic diversity and evolutionary distinctiveness. Arne Mooers, Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, David W. Redding, Klaas Hartmann, Mike Steel, Wayne Maddison
• Measuring phylogenetic diversity and originality with quadratic entropy. Sandrine Pavoine, Museum National d’Historie Naturelle, Paris
• Phylogenetic diversity theory and computational challenges. Mike Steel, Allan Wilson Centre,,University of Canterbury, New Zealand
• Towards practical phylogenetic diversity analyses for conservation biologists. Dan Rosauer & Shawn Laffan, University of New South Wales, Australia
• Phylogenetic diversity at the mesoscale in South Africa. Vincent Savolainen, Jodrell Laboratory, Kew Gardens.
• Conservation prioritization and climate change impacts on the phylogenetic diversity of endemic rainforest flora and fauna. Susan E. Cameron, University of California, Davis
• Phylogenetic diversity at the community level: some results and prospects. Michael Donoghue, Peabody Museum, Yale University

2006 SSB symposia, State University of New York, Stony Brook

Species delimitation: new approaches for discovering diversity. Organizer: John Wiens, State University of New York, Stony Brook
Morphology, molecules, and species delimitation. John Wiens, State University of New York, Stony Brook

• Species concepts and species delimitation. Kevin de Queiroz, U.S. National Museum
• When do gene trees mislead? Separating signal from noise in genealogical information. Lacey Knowles, University of Michigan
• Species limits in naturally fragmented systems. Marshal Hedin, San Diego State University
• Detecting hybridization and species limits with phylogeographic data. Jack Sullivan, University of Idaho
• The nature of species. Loren Rieseberg, University of British Columbia
• Species, SNPs, and systematics:Defining species in a post-genomic age. Brad Shaffer and Robert, University of California at Davis
• Using niche modeling and phylogenetics in species delimitation. Leslie Rissler, University of Alabama
• Using niche modeling to discover new populations, new species, and cryptic species. Chris Raxworthy, American Museum of Natural History
• DNA barcoding. Paul Hebert, Guelph University
• Web-based taxonomy. Charles Godfray, Imperial College of London
• Implications of species delimitation for conservation biology, Keith Crandall, Brigham Young University

Patterns of co-diversification in specialized communities, Organizers: David Althoff and Kari Seagraves, Syracuse University

• Introduction. Kari Segraves, Syracuse University
• Symbioses in the sea: patterns of coevolution in host-Symbiodinium (symbiotic dinoflagellate) association. Scott Santos, Auburn University
• Coevolutionary dynamics within the fungus-growing ant–microbe quadripartite symbiosis. Cameron Currie, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• The evolutionary history of the fig-fig wasp mutualism. Carlos Machado, University of Arizona
• Cophylogeny of figs, pollinators, parasites and parasitoids. George Weiblen, University of Minnesota
• Cascading host-associated differentiation in insect communities and the evolutionary diversification of parasitic insects. John Stireman, Wright State University.
• Comparing patterns of parallel diversification across independent origins of obligate mutualism in the Epicephala-Phyllanthaceae association. Atsushi Kawakita, Kyoto University
• Diversification in yucca moths and their parasitoids. David Althoff, Syracuse University

2005 SSB symposia, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Teaching phylogenetics at introductory undergraduate and precollege levels. Organizers: David Baum and Samuel Donovan

• The challenge of teaching tree-thinking: major misconceptions and their remedies. David A. Baum, University of Wisconsin
• The advantages of using phylogenetic trees in biology teaching. Susan Offner, Lexington High School, Massachusetts
• Simulation-based tutorials for teaching tree thinking. Jon C. Herron, University of Washington
• Reading topologies: A study of students’ understanding of relationships displayed in trees. Samual S. Donovan, University of Pittsburgh
• Lessons from the tree of life: The use of language in teaching phylogenetics. Kirsten Fisher, University of California, Berkeley
• Using trees to teach biodiversity. Manda Clair Jost, University of Texas.
• Using phylogenies as a framework for ecology and biogeography. Michael J. Donoghue, Yale University

Genome analysis and molecular systematics of retroelements. Organizer: Andrew Shedlock, Harvard University
Published in Systematic Biology vol 55, issue 6

• Mobile elements and primate genomic diversity. Mark Batzer, Louisana State University.
• The SINE method: History, development and future. Norihiro Okada, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Toyko, Japan
• Evolutionary history of SINE retroposons in plants, Jean-Marc Deragon, University of Blaise Pascal Clermont-Ferrand II, Aubiere Cedex, France
• Evolutionary genomics of chromoviruses in eukaryotes. Dusan Kordis, Josef Stefan Institutie, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Penelope-like elements in eukaryotes: properties and distribution. Irina Arkhipova, Harvard University
• The origins and evolution of non-LTR retrotransposons. Thomas Eickbush, University of Rochester
• Assaulting genomes: Retroelements- the usual “LINE”-up and partners in crime. Astrid Engel, Tulane University
• Retroposition in mammals and evolutionary implications. Jurgen Schmitz, University of Muenster, Germany
• Reflections in sequence: genomic and phylogenetic approaches to understanding LINE-1 propagation. Sandy Martin, University of Colorado
• Genome informatics of interspersed repeats. Arian Smit, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle
• Statistical inference from integrating retroposon insertions and DNA sequences. Masami Hasegawa, Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo, Japan
• Exploring the limits of retroposon insertion analysis. Andrew Shedlock, Harvard University

2004 SSB Symposia, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

The convention on biological diversity: What is it and why should systematists care? Orgranizer: R. Geeta

• The CBD: An historical overview. Christian Samper, National Museum of Natural History
• The CBD: A view from the world of global environmental politics. Jackie Smith, SUNY Stony Brook
• The CBD: A view from the globalizing world of agriculture. Shailaja Fennell, University of Cambridge
• The CBD: A plea for DNA banking. G. Reeves. Kirstenbosch Research Centre
• The CBD: One US scientist’s perspective. Marvalee Wake, University of California, Berkeley

Theoretical and empirical concerns in estimating clade ages: the placental mammals as a test case. Organizers: Anne D. Yoder and Ziheng Yang

• An empirical overview of clade age estimation. Anne D. Yoder, Yale University
• A theoretical overview of clade age estimation. Ziheng Yang, University College London
• Why we should believe what the fossil record is telling us. Mike Foote, University of Chicago
• Bayesian inference in the fossil record. Simon Tavaré, Charles Marshall, and Robert Martin, Oliver Will, and Christophe Soligo University of Southern California, Harvard University, Field Museum of Natural History, (University of Washington, and Natural History Museum, London
• Bayesian estimation of evolutionary rates and divergence times from molecular sequence data. Jeff Thorne and Hirohisa Kishino, North Carolina State University and University of Tokyo
• Empirical estimates of crown placental ages. Mark Springer, University of California – Riverside
• Time Scale of Placental Mammal Evolution Estimated Without Assuming a Constant Rate of Molecular Evolution. Masami Hasegawa, Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo
• Are microevolutionary processes sufficient for macroevolution? Tests using mammalian phylogeny. David Penny, Massey University

2002 SSB Symposia, Univerisity of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana

Untangling Coevolutionary History; Organizers: Kevin P. Johnson and Dale H. Clayton
Published in Systematic Biology vol 53, issue 1

• Untangling cophylogenetic patterns. Kevin P. Johnson, Illinois Natural History Survey
• Cospeciation of mutualistic bacteria and their insect hosts: Molecular evolution of ant and aphid endosymbionts. Jennifer Wernegreen, Patrick H. Degnan, and Adam B. Lazarus Marine Biological Lab, Woods Hole
• Evolutionary relationships and host switching in avian malaria parasites. Robert E. Ricklefs and Sylvia M. Fallon, University of Missouri-St. Louis
• The origin and maintenance of a coevolved mutualism. George D. Weiblen. University of Minnesota
• Coevolution of the brood parasitic finches (Vidua spp.) and their estrildid hosts. Michael D. Sorenson and Robert B. Payne, Boston University
• Biogeography explains cophylogenetic patterns in toucan lice. Jason D. Weckstein, Louisiana State University
• The ecological basis of coevolutionary history. Dale H. Clayton, Sarah Al-tamimi, and Kevin P. Johnson, University of Utah

Visualizing the Phylogenetic Complexity of Evolutionary Radiations; Organizers: Sydney Cameron, Jim Whitfield and Peter Lockhart

• Visualizing the Phylogenetic Complexity of Evolutionary Radiations; Organizers: Sydney Cameron, Jim Whitfield and Peter Lockhart
• An introduction to trees and networks. David Penny, Massey University, New Zealand .
• Haplotype networks: New uses for an old technique. Alan Templeton, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
• Phylogeography of leaf beetles at different geographic scales. Patrick Mardulyn, Free University of Brussels, Belgium.
• Representing complex evolutionary relationships with median networks. Kathi Huber, Swedish Agricultural University, Sweden
• Phylogenetic networks: Splits graphs and beyond. Vince Moulton, Uppsala University Sweden
• Neighbor-net. D. Bryant, McGill University.

2001 SSB Symposia, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Developing uses for phylogenetic tree shape in the study of evolution. Organizer: Arne Mooers and Stephen Heard

• Descriptors and theoretical models of tree shape, patterns in tree shape among published trees. Stephen Heard, University of Iowa & Arne Mooers, Simon Fraser University
• Beyond long-branch-attaction: How can tree shape constrain, bias, or inform efforts at phylogeny reconstruction? Benjamin Salisbury, Yale University
• Tree shapes in the fossil record: revelations from sampling among the temporal axis. Paul Pearson, University of Bristol
• Cladistics vs. stratocladistics: Does the value of fossils in phylogeny estimation depend on tree shape? David Fox, University of Minnesota
• Tree shapes and processes of clade diversification. Alan de Queiroz, University of Colorado
• Tree shapes and the phylogenetic comparative method. Emila Martins, Indiana University
• Using tree shape to understand extinction, and extinction to understand tree shape. Stephen Heard, University of Iowa & Arne Mooers, Simon Fraser University
• Using tree shape to study historical demography and population genetics. Oliver Pybus and Paul Harvey, University of Oxford

2000 SSB Symposia, Indiana University, Bloomington

Applied evolution. Organizers: R. Wichman and J. Bull

• Phylogenetics of HIV on trial. David Hillis, University of Texas
• Predicting influenza evolution with phylogenetics. R. Bush
• Using evolution to build computer software and hardware. J. Foster
• Using evolutionary biology in designing engineered crops and engineered crop pests. F. Gould

Major evolutionary radiations: Evidence from the fossil record and comparative biology. Organizers: J. Alroy, G. Eble & P. Wagner

• Major evolutionary radiations of North American fossil mammals. J. Alroy
• The evolution of animals with eyes: was a major radiation predictable? Alan de Queiroz
• Comparing evolutionary radiations among sea urchins. G. Eble
• Evolutionary rates of ecological interactions between insects and plants: Connecting paleontology and molecular evolution. Brian Farrell, Harvard University
• Morphological and ecological evolution in the late Paleozoic radition of seed plants. H. Sims
• Species richness in angiosperms: A time-calibrated phylogenetic analysis. S. Magallon & Michael Sanderson, University of California, Davis