Niche evolution conference a huge success
A conference on niche evolution co-organised by Dr Harald Schneider from the Botany Department has been a huge success. More than 130 participants from every continent attended the meeting held at the University of Zurich from 3-4 July 2009.
Tackling major research questions
The conference brought leading experts together to address major research questions concerning the evolution of niches in the context of ecology, microevolution and macroevolution. The main contributions will be published in the Journal of Biogeography.
A stimulating forum for discussion
Dr Schneider commented: ‘How ecological niches evolve and the consequences of this evolution affect a wide range of disciplines, and niche evolution has become a central theme in several biological research fields.
‘The aim of this conference was to bring together systematists, invasion biologists, biodiversity specialists, ecologists and palaeontologists to explore common aspects of niche evolution and to provide a forum to discuss developments and prospects in this area. I was delighted with the interest and discussion the conference generated regarding this fascinating and far-reaching topic.’
Key presentations
Dr Scheider was among those presenting his work at ‘Niche evolution, a unifying concept for systematics, ecology, paleontology and conservation biology’. Key talks and speakers included:
- Niche and biodiversity - R. Ricklefs
- Ecological niche conservatism and macroecological patterns - J. Cavender-Bares, S. Normand, T. Peterson and A. Prinzing
- Climate change - C. Koerner, P. Pearman, W. Thullier and N. Zimmermann Evolution and niches - A. Culham, M. Evans, C. Graham, R. Holt, M. Kearney, S. Jakob, P. Linder and W. Salzburger
- Niches in deep time - W. Bond, N. Salamin and H. Schneider
