BES Facebook pageBES Annual Meeting 2007
University of Glasgow, UK
10 - 12 September 2007
The events will begin with a Civic Reception mixer in the beautiful Kelvingrove Art Gallery on the evening of Sunday 9 September. The meeting itself will run for two and a half days, with sessions starting on the morning of Monday 10 September and running until about lunchtime of Wednesday 12 September.
The BES is running a Student Session preceding the main Annual Meeting on Sunday 9th September. All students wishing to attend the main meeting are welcome to come and will be charged an additional fee of £10 to cover lunch and registration.
Together with the plenary lectures given by eminent international scientists, broad ranging parallel sessions and AGM, we also have our hugely popular free afternoon - incorporating Specialist Group meetings, events for students and various topical and challenging workshops and presentations. On the same day will be the British Ecological Society's AGM; all of our members are warmly invited, we will also have an informal drinks reception directly afterwards.
The BES has pleasure in announcing that the Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland, Professor Anne Glover FRSE, FAAM has agreed to give the annual British Ecological Society Lecture at 09:30 on Monday 10th September.
This year, the Tansley Lecture will be held at 17:15 on Tuesday 11th September. We are pleased to say that it will be given by Gretchen Daily: professor of biological sciences, director of the Tropical Research Program at the Center for Conservation Biology, a senior fellow at CESP, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Program on Environment and Resources (IPER).
The BES is keen our delegates not only enjoy the science, networking and social elements of our Annual Meetings, but also take advantage of the host city; Glasgow was voted 'Favourite UK City 2006' by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller magazine.
It was also the UK's 'City of Architecture and Design' in 1999, impressing with an array of buildings from the medieval and Victorian periods through to the present day. But it's most famous for the Art Nouveau 'Glasgow Style' and the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh - one of Glasgow's most celebrated sons. The city has 200 arts organisations, including the Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera, creating the cutting-edge productions and high-profile exhibitions that led to Glasgow being crowned 'European City of Culture'.
Surrounding the city is some of Scotland's best scenery; from the rolling hills of the Clyde Valley to the beautiful walking country of East Dunbartonshire that borders the south-west Highlands. Exploring further, there are towns and villages which make great day excursions, including the amazing New Lanark World Heritage Site.
Thematic Topics:
Risk Assessment for Biodiversity: Pan-European Ecological Research - Till Eggers
Keynote Speaker:
Josef Settele: Environmental Risk Assessment for Biodiversity and Ecosystems: Results and Perspectives of the Large Scale Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research of the ALARM Project
Invited Speakers:
Martin Sykes: Risk assessment based on climate and land use
Montserrat Vila: Assessing the risks of biological invasions
Simon Potts: Risks derived from pollinator loss/change
Ulrich Karlson: Environmental chemicals and the risk they impose on biodiversity
Glenn Marion: Developing a European RAT = Risk Assessment Toolkit for Biodiversity
Endocrine Responses to Environmental Change - Karen Spencer
Keynote Speaker:
Dr Ton Groothuis, University of Groningen, the Netherlands: Hormones as parental tools to adjust offspring to a changing environment
Invited Speakers:
Dr Wolfgang Goymann, Max Planck Institute, Andechts: Measurement of excreted steroid hormone metabolites - validation, application and pitfalls
Dr Øyvind Øverli, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway: Facultative hawk and dove behaviour in a teleost fish, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): When the going gets though, the doves get going
Dr Karen Spencer, University of Glasgow, UK: Adaptive responses to post-natal stress in birds
Dr Camilla Hinde, University of Cambridge, UK: Testosterone and maternal effects in canaries
Mr Tony Robertson, University of Glasgow, UK: Stress hormones and environmental conditions: a study on breeding gulls in Scotland
The Evolutionary Ecology of Senescence - Pat Monaghan
Keynote Speakers:
Professor Robert Ricklefs, Curators Professor, University of Missouri St Louis, USA: The Evolution of Senescence
Invited Speakers:
Professor Marc Mangel, Professor of Mathematical Biology, University of California Santa Cruz
Dr Dan Nussey, Large Animal Research Group, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Margaret Hall, University of Glasgow, UK
Professor Laurent Keller, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Antioxidants as a Signal of Individual and Ecosystem Health - Kathryn Arnold
Keynote Speaker:
Professor Geoff Hill, Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, USA: Carotenoids as feather colorants and antioxidants: is there a connection?
Invited Speakers:
Professor Pauli Snoeijs, Department of Plant Ecology, Uppsala University, Sweden: Antioxidants and vitamins in the Baltic Sea food web
Mr Stephen Larcombe, University of Glasgow, UK: Maternally derived antioxidants and offspring quality
Francesco Regoli, Istituto Biologia e Genetica, Università Politecnica delle Marche Via Ranieri, Italy: Pro-oxidant effects and oxidative responses in organisms from polluted environments
Life in Extreme Aquatic Environments - Elanor Bell
Keynote Speaker:
Professor John Priscu, Department of Land Resources & Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, USA: Earth's Icy Biosphere
Invited Speakers:
Professor David Barrie Johnson, University of Wales, UK: Primary production, microbial webs and geochemical dynamics in extremely acidic environments
Professor David Thomas, Bangor University, UK: Understanding eco-biogeochemical drivers in sea ice - what are we missing?
Dr Nicola King, Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, UK: ECOMAR - Ecosystems of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Sub-Polar Front and Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone
Dr Andrew Clarke, British Antarctic Survey, UK: How extreme is the polar marine environment?
Dr Terry McGenity, University of Essex, UK: Hypersalinity can invigorate or inhibit life - it depends largely on the ions
Self-organised pattern formation at ecosystem and landscape scales - Lisa Belyea
Keynote Speaker:
Johan van de Koppel, NIOO, The Netherlands: Testing principles of pattern formation in intertidal ecosystems
Invited Speakers:
Max Rietkerk, Utrecht University, The Netherlands: Spatial self-organization in ecosystems: what does it tell and why is it important?
Pierre Couteron, IFP, India: Detection and characterisation of periodic vegetation patterns from remotely-sensed data: towards a worldwide perspective
Andy Folkard, University of Lancaster, UK: Investigating the hydrodynamic impacts of spatial structure in seagrass meadows and their ecological implications
John Wainwright, Sheffield University, UK: Holistic approaches to a patchy problem: ecohydrological interactions in desertification
Lisa Belyea, Queen Mary, University of London, UK: Pattern formation in peatlands: from theoretical mechanisms to real-world patterns
Ecological networks: food webs and beyond - Guy Woodward
Keynote Speaker:
Dr Jose M. Montoya, Queen Mary University of London, UK: Ecological Networks - Untangling the Complexity of Ecosystems Invited Speakers:
J. I. Jones, CEH Dorset, UK: Palaeo food webs - the potential for hindcasting long-term change in lakes
P.H. Warren, University of Sheffield, UK: Foraging behaviour and individual-based food webs
N. Bluethgen, University of Wuerzburg, Germany: Quantitative patterns in plant-pollinator networks and other mutualisms
K. Abjornsson, University of Lund, Sweden: Indirect and trait-mediated effects in food webs
F.J.F van Veen, Silwood Park CPB, UK: Quantitative insect food webs over time and across guilds
BES Annual Meeting
Social Events
The BES is always keen to develop the social aspect of the meeting and this year is no different.
We have a number of field trips and excursions which take place during the Free Afternoon, Tuesday 11 September from 14:00 to 16:30 (when tea will be served in advance of the Tansley Lecture, given by Professor Gretchen Daily) as well as a number of events happening throughout the meeting.
Details of the workshops and special sessions during the free afternoon can be found by clicking here. Specialist Interest Group (SIG) meetings will be taking place at various times throughout the meeting, please consult the Programme for more details. These will be available in your delegate bag, collectable from the BES Registration Desk.
Listed below are a number of confirmed events:
Sunday 9 September
19:00 - 20:30 Welcome Mixer with Civic Reception at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Monday 10 September
18:45 - 19:15 Organ Recital
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565): J S Bach (1685-1750)
A Church Service interrupted by a Thunderstorm: David Clegg (1867-1923)
Badinage: Ronald Watson (b. 1936)
Basso Ostinato: Dick Koomans (b. 1957)
For a biography of Kevin Bowyer, the organist, and history of the chapel organ, click here.
Tuesday 11 September
13:00 - 13:30 Members Wine Reception
If you are not yet a member and would like to attend this informal get together, please visit our membership page.
13:00 - 16:30:
Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment
In 1946, the University of Glasgow established the first scientific field research and teaching station in Britain on beautiful Loch Lomond in the southern Scottish Highlands. With easy access to habitats of international conservation value, the field station allows for field teaching and research in the biological and environmental sciences in a way that is probably unsurpassed in the UK. To sign up for this trip, please visit the BES Registration desk.
Guided tour of the urban wildlife and Kibble Palace of Glasgow, by Glasgow Natural History Society
Delegates are invited to sign up for this excursion at the BES Registration desk. Numbers are limited, so first come are first served.
Self-guided tour of the University Library Collection
The university is offering the chance to view some of the wonderful natural history books now in their care. On display, there will be a range of groundbreaking texts and beautifully illustrated natural history books, collected over the centuries; these include:
- a volume of John James Audubon's mammoth Birds of America, probably one of the most famous bird books ever produced and renowned for its huge format, dictated by Audubon's determination to depict life size all the known species of birds in North America
- a copy of the first edition of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, the seminal work in which the controversial theory of natural selection was introduced to the Victorians
- Micrographia by Robert Hooke, a seventeenth century text on microscopy renowned for its detailed illustrations
- Robert Thornton's Temple of Flora, one of the greatest eighteenth century flower books
- Tortoises,Terrapins and Turtles with outstanding lithographs by James Sowerby and Edward Lear
- a French medieval manuscript on hunting and the chase, with marginal illustrations of hawks
Please note: owing to the small size of the room in which the books will be displayed, we are unable to accommodate drop in visitors: delegates will therefore be visiting the actual display in small groups in half hourly sessions. The numbers in each group will be limited and places must be booked in advance via the sign-up sheet at the BES Registration desk.
Guided tour of the University
For a guaranteed place on the tour of this beautiful building, please visit the BES Registration desk to sign up.
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
The Hunterian is celebrating its 200th birthday this year and will be open to delegates throughout the meeting.
20:00 - 23:00
Ceilidh
The BES couldn't have a meeting in Scotland without holding a ceilidh (a traditional Scottish dance). We're delighted to have the Chulainn Ceilidh Band playing for us and their callers have lots of experience with complete novices so there's no excuse for not joining in. This is free event with a cash bar.
