Society of Systematic Biologists

SSB will sponsor symposia in Minneapolis on “merging phylogenetic biology and spatial ecology” and “estimating species trees from gene trees”.

The Society of Systematic Biologists invites proposals for symposia at the 2009 Evolution meeting to be held at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho 13-17 June 2009. The meeting will be held jointly with the American Society of Naturalists and the Society for the Study of Evolution. Proposals should include (1) a descriptive title, (2) one or two paragraphs explaining the purpose of the symposium and its relevance to systematics, (3) a list of presentations including proposed speakers, their institutions or affiliations, and their presentation titles, (4) an indication of whether the speakers have been invited and whether they have agreed to participate, and (5) the proposed length of each talk. Symposia are restricted to half-day sessions. The society is particularly interested in symposia whose topics do not overlap with those from previous meetings, that introduce new ideas or synthesize important concepts, or those that are particularly good examples of the analysis of empirical data. Proposals that unite systematics with other fields are also desirable. We encourage participation from young investigators and others typically under-represented in symposia. Limited funding is available. Proposals will be discussed and two will be selected at the SSB Council meeting during the 2008 annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Soon after, organizers will be notified of the status of their proposals. Proposals should be sent by email to the Program Chairperson, George D. Weiblen, gweiblen@umn.edu (Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 1445 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108 USA).