Symposia

Symposia

The 2000 SICB Annual Meeting in Atlanta will feature 11 symposia on a diverse range of topics. The following page provides a brief look at each one. Hyperlinked titles provide access to the organizers’ own symposium page.

Antarctic Marine Biology Wednesday, January 5
The unique environment of Antarctica supports a rich and diverse marine life that has attracted the attention of many of our members. This symposium will highlight recent work on community dynamics, energetics and thermal adaptation of this biota, with an eye toward future research. Organized by Jim McClintock and Charles Amsler, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Bill Baker, Florida Institute of Technology.
Intermittent Locomotion: Integrating the Physiology, Biomechanics and Behavior of Repeated Activity Wednesday, January 5
The primary goal of this symposium is to initiate an integrated approach to the study of nonsteady-state locomotion. Such research will advance previous paradigms based on steady-state locomotion, which is the next logical step in the development of a general theory of activity in swimming, running and flying animals. Organized by Randi B. Weinstein, University of Arizona and Robert J. Full, University of California, Berkeley.
Osmoregulation: An Integrated Approach Wednesday, January 5
New experimental approaches on cell signaling and cytoskeletal function, and cloning relevant proteins and genes, are beginning to unravel the mechanisms of osmoregulations in a wide variety of groups. These studies will be brought together in this symposium, incorporating overviews on organisms not typically represented at SICB, particularly bacteria, yeast and plants. Organized by David W. Towle, Lake Forest College and Joan D. Ferraris, National Institutes of Health.
Nitric Oxide in the Invertebrates: Comparative Physiology and Diverse Functions Thursday, January 6
Nitric oxide is a simple molecule that plays diverse and significant roles in cellular and organismal functions, as revealed in the past decade. Most work has been done on vertebrates, but within the last few years distinctive functional themes have emerged from studies on invertebrates. These findings will be explored with this symposium. Organized by Esther M. Leise, University of North Carolina Greensboro and Henry Trapido-Rosenthal, Bermuda Biological Station for Research.
Beyond Reconstruction: Using Phylogenies to Test Hypotheses About Vertebrate Evolution Thursday, January 6
The recent explosion of phylogenies generated from gene-sequence data and new discoveries in vertebrate fossils puts us in the position to make tremendous strides in our understanding of the patterns and processes of evolutionary transformation. This symposium will present new insights into these patterns in vertebrates as implied by their phylogeny. Organized by Donald Swiderski, University of Michigan.
An Integrative Approach to the Studies of Terrestrial Plant-Animal Interactions Thursday – Friday
January 6-7
Studies of terrestrial plant-animal interactions have been a vital part of ecology for several decades, but have approached the subject from different perspectives. This symposium will bring together speakers from diverse, specialized subdisciplines to begin to integrate these perspectives. Moreover, by alternating the sessions of this symposium with those of the following symposium over two days, we hope to help integrate studies in terrestrial and marine systems. Organized by Peter D. Smallwood, University of Richmond and May Berenbaum, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign.
New Approaches to Studies of Marine Plant-Animal Interactions Thursday – Friday
January 6-7
This symposium will help rejuvenate the study of plant-animal interactions in marine environments, both by presenting exciting new approaches and by its close association with the symposium on these interactions in terrestrial systems. Organized by Dianna Padilla, State University of New York, Stony Brook and Kathy Van Alstyne, Western Washington University.
Hom/Hox Clusters and the Evolution of Morphology Friday, January 7
Clustered Hox/Hom gene complexes coordinate animal development in time and space. The tremendous increase in new data on them over the past three years for will be brought together by speakers of this symposium to enhance our understanding of gene regulation, development, morphology and evolution. A wide variety of animals will be studied. Organized by Billie J. Swalla, University of Washington and Jeffrey L. Ram, Wayne State University.
Recent Progress in Crustacean Endocrinology: A Symposium in Honor of Milton Fingerman Friday, January 7
Milt Fingerman’s contributions to the field of crustacean endocrinology and the education of scientists in the field are immense. This symposium will honor him by presenting recent advances in crustacean endocrinology as more and more crustacean genes are cloned, revealing evolutionary and functional relationships. Organized by Penny M. Hopkins, University of Oklahoma and David Borst, Illinois State University.
Evolutionary Developmental Biology: Paradigms, Problems and Prospects Saturday, January 8
This symposium will inaugurate SICB’s new Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology (DEDB). It will both re-examine the work of biologists in this area in the last century and highlight the exciting new advances that make possible a modern synthesis of molecular, developmental and evolutionary processes at the end of this century. Organized by Richard M. Burian, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Scott F. Gilbert, Swarthmore College and Billie J. Swalla, University of Washington.
Swimming in Opisthobranch Mollusks: Contributions to Control of Motor Behavior Saturday, January 8
Mollusks, especially opisthobranchs, have contributed as much to the field of neural control of motor behavior as any other animal group, vertebrate or invertebrate. This symposium will consider how work on these animals has enhanced our knowledge of rhythmic motor systems, motor system function and motor control systems with the intent of fueling speculation about conserved circuitry, convergent similarities and phylogenetic relationships. Organized by Richard A. Satterlie, Arizona State University.
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