Symposia

For more detailed information about the contents of each symposium please contact the organizers of the symposium you are interested in. The list of invited speakers will be updated continuously.

Download a list of the symposia as a word file

1. Evolutionary genetics of coloration
Organizers: Nick Mundy, University of Cambridge, UK (nim21@cam.ac.uk)
Patricia Beldade, Leiden University, The Netherlands (pbeldade@biology.leidenuniv.nl)
Description: In this symposium we aim at integrating analysis of the molecular and developmental basis of coloration with an understanding of the evolution of adaptively significant variation.
Invited speakers: Nicolas Gompel, Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille-Luminy, Marseille, France
David Parichy, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
2. Conservation genetics: genetic deterioration and adaptation to changing environments
Organizers: Kuke Bijlsma, University of Groningen, The Netherlands (r.bijlsma@rug.nl)
Volker Loesckcke, Aarhus University, Denmark (biovl@biology.au.dk)
Description: We will discuss synergistic interactions between inbreeding/loss of genetic variation and environmental stress/changing environments combining approaches from the DNA to the phenotypic level.
Invited speakers: Juan L. Bouzat, Bowling Green State University, USA
Torsten N. Kristensen, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Aarhus University, Denmark
Markus Fischer, Universität Potsdam, Germany
3 Behavioural Evo-Devo
Organizers: Rinaldo Bertossa, University of Groningen, The Netherlands (r.c.bertossa@rug.nl)
Leo Beukeboom, University of Groningen, The Netherlands (l.w.beukeboom@rug.nl)
Description: The main focus is the question: do developmental processes underlying behaviour influence the evolution of behaviour by the same “rules” that drive the evolution of forms?
Invited speakers: Sebastian Haesler, Freie Universität Berlin/Max Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany
Randolf Menzel, Institute for Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
4. “Plant eco-devo”: ecology and genetics of life history timing in plants
Organizers: Renate Wesselingh, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium (wesselingh@ecol.ucl.ac.be)
Henk van Dijk, Universite de Lille 1, France (henk.van-dijk@univ-lille1.fr)
Description: We aim to discuss the genetics and ecology of the timing of plant life history transitions such as germination and the onset of flowering.
Invited speakers: Outi Savolainen, Department of Biology, University of Oulu, Finland
Sonia Sultan, Wesleyan University, USA
Kathleen Donohue, Harvard University, USA
5. The population consequences of adaptive processes
Organizers: Daniel Rankin, University of Bern, Switzerland (daniel.rankin@helsinki.fi)
Jean-François Le Galliard, University Paris VI, France (galliard@biologie.ens.fr)
Description: We aim to bring people together using very different systems and methods to enrich our understanding of the demographic consequences of evolutionary changes in life history, morphology and behavioural traits.
Invited speakers: Maurice W. Sabelis, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, The Netherlands
Nelson Hairston, Cornell University, USA
6. The role of natural enemies in diversification
Organizers: Steven Vamosi, University of Calgary, Canada (smvamosi@ucalgary.ca)
Patrik Nosil, Simon Fraser University, Canada (pnosila@sfu.ca)
Description: This symposium will gather people working with a mixture of data and theory on the evolutionary consequences of natural enemies on diversification and adaptive radiation of prey lineages.
Invited speakers: Jim Mallet, University College London, United Kingdom
Karsten Schonrogge, CEH Wallingford, United Kingdom
7. Game theory in an ecological context
Organizers: Eva Kisdi, University of Helsinki, Finland (eva.kisdi@helsinki.fi)
Hanna Kokko, University of Helsinki, Finland (hanna.kokko@helsinki.fi)
Description: We welcome contributions using game theory and related fields such as adaptive dynamics, which contribute to the unfolding synthesis between ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
Invited speakers: Olof Leimar, Stockholm University, Sweden
John McNamara, School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, UK
8. Integrating ecology and evolution: a synthesis
Organizers: Nils Christian Stenseth, University of Oslo, Norway (n.c.stenseth@bio.uio.no)
Eli Rueness, University of Oslo, Norway (e.k.rueness@bio.uio.no)
Description: Within this symposium we will bring together people interested in ecological and evolutionary theory with the overall intention of providing a unified analytical framework by combining knowledge from each field.
Invited speakers: Loren Rieseberg, University of British Columbia
Thomas F Hansen, University of Oslo, Norway
9. Evolution of diversity in heterogeneous environments
Organizers: Sara Magalhães, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, Portugal (smagalhaes@igc.gulbenkian.pt)
Virginie Ravigné, CIRAD, Montpellier, France (vravigne@hotmail.com)
Ophélie Ronce, Université de Montpellier II, France (ronce@isem.univ-montp2.fr)
Description: This symposium will explore models and experimental work on the evolution of specialist versus generalist strategies as a result of the interaction of ecological factors such as habitat heterogeneity, migration, and density regulation.
Invited speakers: Thomas Lenormand, Montpellier, France
Graham Bell, McGill University, Canada
10. Evolution of sex chromosomes
Organizers: Dmitri Petrov, Stanford University, USA (dpetrov@stanford.edu)
Peter Arndt, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany (arndt@molgen.mpg.de)
Description: We will discuss the evolution of non-recombining, unisexually restricted chromosomes and the genes located on these chromosomes, which can shed light on the key genome-wide evolutionary processes.
Invited speakers: Doris Bachtrog, University of California, San Diego, USA
Antonio Bernardo Carvalho, Universidad do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
11. Gender perspective on evolutionary biology
Organizers: Malin Ah-King, Stockholm University, Sweden (malin.ah-king@zoologi.su.se)
Måns Andersson, Uppsala University, Sweden (mans.andersson@gender.uu.se)
Description: In this symposium we will examine the ways that social biases have influenced science in the study of sex and gender as well as discuss recent development and future directions in sexual selection theory.
Invited speakers: Patricia A. Gowaty, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA. 
Marlene Zuk, University of California, Riverside, USA (marlene.zuk@ucr.edu)
12. Association mapping in evolutionary biology: emerging concepts and insights from model species
Organizers: Martin Lascoux, Uppsala University, Sweden (martin.lascoux@ebc.uu.se)
Thomas Bataillon, University of Århus, Denmark (tbata@daimi.au.dk)
Outi Savolainen, University of Oulu, Finland (outi.savolainen@oulu.fi)
Description: We will discuss the new conceptual and technical developments in genomics that can bridge traditional QTL mapping with approaches seeking to make inference on quantitative traits in nature and their evolutionary and ecological relevance.
Invited speakers: Isabelle Godringer, INRA, France
Carsten Wiuf, Bioinformatics Research Center, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Stephen Wright, York U, Canada
13. Evolutionary epidemiology and its implications for disease control
Organizers: Olivier Restif, University of Cambridge, UK (or226@cam.ac.uk)
Sylvain Gandon, IRD, Montpellier, France (sylvain.gandon@mpl.ird.fr)
Description: In this symposium we will discuss the novel experimental and theoretical approaches that have started to unravel the short-term evolution of pathogens on the same time scale as transient epidemic dynamics, which can help to understand the evolution of virulence or antibiotic resistance.
Invited speakers: Troy Day, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
Andrew Read, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
14. Host-parasite evolution: consequences of parasite communities and host species assemblages New title!
Organizers: Mark Brown, University of Dublin Trinity College, Ireland (mabrown@tcd.ie)
Thierry Rigaud, Université de Bourgogne, France (thierry.rigaud@u-bourgogne.fr)
Description: This symposium will examine the evolutionary consequences of complexity in host-parasite systems, focusing on (i) multiple parasite species sharing the same host and (ii) single parasite species utilising multiple host species.
Invited speakers: Sylvain Gandon, Génétique et Evolution des Maladies Infectieuses, Montpellier, France
Dieter Ebert, Universität Basel, Switzerland
15. Social evolution in microbes and parasites
Organizers: Ashleigh Griffin, University of Edinburgh, UK (a.griffin@ed.ac.uk)
Sarah Reece, University of Edinburgh, UK (sarah.reece@ed.ac.uk)
Description: We will bring together researchers who have contributed to our expanding appreciation for the complexity of social interactions in microbes and parasites and discuss insights gained from the recent synthesis of evolution and medical microbiology.
Invited speakers: Angus Buckling, University of Oxford, UK
Greg Velicer, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany
16. Cytonuclear coevolution and the evolution of hybrid zones
Organizers: Johan Lindell, University of Toronto, Canada (johan.lindell@utoronto.ca)
Staffan Bensch, Lund University, Sweden (staffan.bensch@zooekol.lu.se)
Description: Small genetic changes can cause cytonuclear incompabilities and reduced fitness in laboratory hybrids, the effect on genetic introgression in nature will be assessed in this symposium.
Invited speakers: Ronald S. Burton, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, USA
David M. Rand, Brown University, USA
17. Why MHC makes the difference – its role in various fields
Organizers: Tobias Lenz, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Germany (lenz@mpil-ploen.mpg.de)
Christophe Eizaguirre, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Germany (eizaguirre@mpil-ploen.mpg.de)
Description: We bring together the maintenance of the exceptional polymorphism of the Major Histocompatibility Complex and its implications for cells, individuals and populations.
Invited speakers: Gabriele Sorci, Université de Bourgogne, France
Simone Sommer, Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research, Germany
18. The origins and spread of agriculture: an evolutionary perspective
Organizers: Terry Brown, University of Manchester, UK (terry.brown@manchester.ac.uk)
Martin Jones, University of Cambridge, UK (mkj12@cam.ac.uk)
Description: This symposium will review the progress as well as address the controversies of the evolutionary origin and spread of crop plants.
Invited speakers: Wayne Powell, NIAB, Cambridge, UK
Robin Allaby, Warwick HRI, University of Warwick, UK
19. Plastic and evolutionary responses to temperature
Organizers: Jacintha Ellers, Vrije Universiteit, The Netherlands (jacintha.ellers@falw.vu.nl)
Klaus Fischer, University of Bayreuth, Germany (klaus.fischer@uni-bayreuth.de)
Description: In this symposium we will highlight the progress in the understanding of temperature adaptation, stress tolerance, temperature reaction norms in growth and development and seasonal timing.
Invited speakers: George W. Gilchrist, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, USA
Volker Loeschcke, Arhus University, Denmark
20. Mating competition and sex-role dynamics
Organizers: Tony Wilson, University of Zürich, Switzerland (Tony.wilson@zm.uzh.ch)
Ingrid Ahnesjö, Uppsala University, Sweden (ingrid.ahnesjo@ebc.uu.se)
Description: This symposia will consider recent theoretical approaches questioning the presumed link between potential reproductive rates, operational sex ratio and sexual selection, which together with new genetic data have provoked a reconsideration of classic paradigms.
Invited speakers: Stephen Shuster, Northern Arizona University, USA
Charlotta Kvarnemo, Göteborg University, Sweden
21. Floral evolution: mechanisms behind shifts in pollination strategies
Organizers: Johanne Maad, Uppsala University, Sweden (johanne.maad@ebc.uu.se)
Miguel Rodriguez-Girones, CSIC, Almeria, Spain (rgirones@eeza.csic.es)
Description: The focus of this symposium is on the evolutionary processes behind differentiation and speciation in plants associated with changes in pollination strategies.
Invited speakers: Steven Johnson, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Elizabeth Elle, Simon Fraser University, Canada
22. Process and implications of phenotype-dependent dispersal and settlement
Organizers: Pim Edelaar, Texas A&M University, USA (pim.edelaar@ebc.uu.se)
Jean Clobert, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France (jean.clobert@snv.jussieu.fr)
Description: We will discuss how phenotype-dependent dispersal can promote differentiation and speciation as a result of assortment of genotypes into locally adapted populations.
Invited speakers: Ben Sheldon, Oxford University, UK
Dan Bolnick, University of Texas at Austin, USA
23. Gene mapping in natural populations
Organizers: Jon Slate, University of Sheffield, UK (j.slate@shef.ac.uk)
Christian Lexer, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (c.lexer@kew.org)
Description: We will discuss recent progress in mapping and identifying fitness-related genes and genomic segments in wild populations.
Invited speakers: Hopi Hoekstra, University of California at San Diego, USA
Loren Rieseberg, University of British Columbia, Canada
24. Sexual selection: testing the alternatives 25 years later
Organizers: Tom Tregenza, University of Exeter, UK (t.tregenza@exeter.ac.uk)
David Hosken, University of Exeter, UK (d.j.hosken@exeter.ac.uk)
Description: We will discuss how the thinking on sexual selection has changed over the last 25 years and the recent disconnect between theoreticians and empiricists in sexual selection as well as recent controversies.
Invited speakers: Russel Lande, University of California, San Diego, USA
Michael Wade, Indiana University, USA
Rauno Alatalo, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
25. Evolution of unusual gene organization: an exception or rule?
Organizers: Kateryna Makova, Penn State University, USA (kdm16@psu.edu)
Anton Nekrutenko, Penn State University, USA (anton@bx.psu.edu)
Description: In this symposium we will discuss how recent discoveries of overlapping genes, chimeric transcripts, antisense genes, and elaborate epigenetic control mechanisms provide new insights into genome evolution.
Invited speakers: Wen-Hsiung Li, University of Chicago, USA (whli@uchicago.edu)
Laurent Duret, Université Claude Bernard, France (duret@biomserv.univ-lyon1.fr)
     
26. Ageing and senescence in wild animal populations
Organizers: Anne Charmantier, CNRS, Montpellier, France (anne.charmantier@cefe.cnrs.fr)
Dan Nussey, University of Cambridge, UK (dhn24@cam.ac.uk)
Description: An increasing number of empirical studies of natural populations have examined patterns of ageing from ecological, life-history, quantitative genetic, physiological and molecular perspectives, which highlights the need for cross-diciplinary symposium in this field.
Invited speakers: James R. Carey, University of California, Davis, USA
Anne Bronikowski, Iowa State University, USA
     
27. Evolutionary histories beyond organelle DNA
Organizers: Gerald Heckel, University of Bern, Switzerland (gerald.heckel@zoo.unibe.ch)
Maarit Jaarola, University of Lund, Sweden (maarit.jaarola@cob.lu.se)
Description: We aim to examine the extent of congruence between evolutionary inferences based on organelle DNA and other genetic markers, and the relative value of multi-marker or genomic approaches versus single locus surveys.
Invited speakers: Kerry L. Shaw, University of Maryland, USA
Rémy J. Petit, INRA, Cestas, France
     
28. Ecological and evolutionary immunology
Organizers: Yannick Moret, Université de Bourgogne, France (yannick.moret@u-bourgogne.fr)
Michael Siva-Jothy, University of Sheffield, UK (m.siva-jothy@sheffield.ac.uk)
Joachim Kurtz, ETH-Zentrum, Switzerland (joachim.kurtz@env.ethz.ch)
Hinrich Schulenburg, University of Tübingen, Germany (hinrich.schulenburg@uni-tuebingen.de)
Description: Recent advances in invertebrate and vertebrate immunology have revealed new mechanisms and insights that will be discussed in this symposium.
Invited speakers: Tom Little, University of Edinburgh, UK
Louis Du Pasquier, Universität Basel, Switzerland
Paul Schmid-Hempel, ETH-Zürich, Switzerland
     
29. The paradox of mixed mating in plants
Organizers: Elizabeth Elle, Simon Fraser University, Canada (eelle@sfu.ca)
Mark Johnston, Dalhousie University, Canada (mark.johnston@dal.ca)
Description: Observed intermediate selfing rates are at odds with theory, and we bring together theoretical, genetic, and ecological perspectives to synthesize current knowledge and propose avenues for further research.
Invited speakers: Emmanuelle Porcher, Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
David Moeller, University of Minnesota, USA
     
30. When is a hierarchical model not appropriate in plant systematics
Organizers: Bengt Oxelman, Uppsala Univeristy, Sweden (bengt.oxelman@ebc.uu.se)
Katharina Huber, University of East Anglia, UK (katharina.huber@cmp.uea.ac.uk)
Description: We will discuss the use of phylogenetic networks rather than a tree in cases of extensive hybridisation as is common in plants.
Invited speakers: Peter Lockhardt, Allan Wilson Centre Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Massey University, New Zealand
Vincent Moulton, School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom
     

Last updated 2007.05.25
Conference Secretariat: Academic Conferences
e-mail: ESEB2007@akademikonferens.uu.se fax +46 18 67 35 30