The History of EGG
The Ecological Genetics Group was born in 1956, following correspondence between J.W.Gregor (Director of the Scottish Plant Breeding Station, Pentlandfield) and K.Jones (Head of Cytology at the then Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Aberystwyth). The first of these letters is dated 13th August 1956.
Today the group prides itself on its relaxed informal atmosphere, where first-time presentations by young graduate students are encouraged, and much lively debate continues in the bar stimulated by that on the conference floor. In 1988 EGG approached the British Ecological Society in the following letter and subsequently became a Special Interest Group of the Society. EGG is also a Sectional Interest Group of the Genetics Society.
50th anniversary meeting 2006
The 50th meeting of the Ecological Genetics Group (EGG) was organised by Dr John Warren and held at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, from Tuesday 4th to Friday 7th April 2006. The meeting included a field visit to Borth Bog National Nature Reserve and was preceeded by a workshop on statistical applications in molecular ecology.
Annual meeting 2005
The 2005 annual Ecological Genetics Group meeting was held at the University of Lancaster, Edge Hill from the 21st to 23rd March. Dr Paul Ashton hosted the meeting, with a programme which was very varied with paper and poster presentations covering plants, animals and fungi. A wide spectrum of ecological genetics topics was covered ranging from taxonomy to biogeography and biological invasions.
The EGG field visit last year was a visit to the Local Nature Reserve at Ainsdale where we were accompanied by the reserve warden who gave us an informative and fascinating insight into the trials and tribulations of managing a site which is so important for nature conservation, but also a popular recreational venue.
Funding
For details of student funding to attend EGG meetings, see the BES Student Claim Form (Link) and links to allied societies and journals on the BES website
Previous annual meetings
Previous meetings have been held at the Universities of Leicester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Southampton and St Andrews. In some years the meeting proper is preceeded by a workshop focussing on different topics including the latest techniques in molecular work and analytical techniques for ecological genetics. The workshop at Aberystwyth in 2001 focussed on 'Molecular Markers in Ecological Studies', and 'Functional Genomics', organised by Dr Mike Abberton from IGER. The programme included presentations on some of the latest techniques and their applications including: QTL analysis and marker assisted selection; molecular genecology, proteomics; and metabolomics, amongst others. The workshop followed EGG's informal style with questions and discussion following the presentations, and ending with a tour of the genomics lab facilities at the Institute of Biological Science UWA.
Guest speakers of significance to the world of ecological genetics are a feature of each meeting and previous speakers have included Janis Antonovics, Remy J Petit, Spencer Barrett and Norm Ellstrand. However, the meetings include a range of speakers, student presenting their first research results being particularly welcome.
Archives
All the old EGG programmes and documents have been deposited in the archives of the National Library of Wales
Previous meeting itineraries
On becoming a Special Interest Group of the BES, Terry Crawford became EGG's first Secretary, followed by John Warren, Colin Ferris and currently Barbara Jones. Meetings have been held annual since 1956 (at Easter when else) at the following venues (Click on relevant venue for details):
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The History of EGG 
