African Amphibian Working Group, Trento Italy, 28th May – 31st May 2012
Summary The 15th meeting of AAWG plans to be a big celebration of African amphibian biology. This includes celebration of one of the key contributors to our field -‐ John C. Poynton -‐, and our changing understanding of African amphibian biology since the first African Amphibian Working Group meeting. We also have invited some World-‐class speakers to give keynote talks on a range of subjects, including Caecilian biology and Malagasy Amphibian conservation. We hope you can join us. Timetable The AAWG 2012 meeting will be held between the 28th May-‐31st May (Monday-‐ Thursday), at the Museum of Science. Date Monday
th 28 May
Tuesday
29 May
Wednesday
30 May
Thursday
31 May
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Activity Registration and opening speech Scientific program (Full day)
th
Scientific Program (Full day)
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Scientific Program (1/2 day) HAA meeting
Special Activity th
i), AAWG 15 Meeting Celebration, ii), Herpetological exploration of Africa, where are the gaps? A celebration of John Poynton’s contribution to African herpetology Banquet A free workshop on GIS (please register your interest)
Main Topics to be covered 1. John Poynton’s contribution to our understanding of African Herpetology and Biogeography 2. African amphibian biogeography and distribution 3. African amphibian phylogenetics and taxonomy 4. African amphibian conservation Keynote Talks We have invited several individuals to give keynote talks on a diverse range of topics: 1. Prof. John Poynton (London, UK) will present on his research regarding biogeography of Afrotemperate fauna. 2. Prof. Kim Howell (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) will give a talk on the herpetological contributions of John Poynton. 3. Dr. Louis de Preez (Potchefstroom, South Africa) will discuss South African herpetology. 4. Dr. Franco Andreone (Torino, Italy) will discuss conservation of Malagasy Amphibians.
5. Prof. Alan Channing (Cape Town, South Africa) will discuss our understanding of African Herpetology on the special occasion of the 15th AAWG meeting. 6. Dr. Mark Wilkinson (London, UK) will present on African caecilian biology. Funding opportunities Thanks to funding from the Museum of Science and the Mohammad bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund we are glad to announce funds that, in conjunction with an Eastern Afromontane Amphibian Assessment, are aimed to support regional authorities in East Africa for travel and accommodation costs in Italy for one week. Participants from the following countries qualify, South to North: Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Dijibouti. We have limited funds and would aim to fund persons that can contribute to an updated amphibian assessment for as many species across the Eastern Afromontane region as possible and are ideally a focal point for collating data from other colleagues in their region. We would aim to have at least two to three representatives for the main geographical areas (i. the Eastern Arc Mountains and Southern Rift; the Albertine Rift; and the Ethiopian Highlands). If you are interested in applying, please write directly to Fabio Pupin (
[email protected]) with your CV, and justification including a list of the species or groups that your expertise covers and experience with Eastern Afromontane amphibian captive breeding. Insert in the subject heading of the email: “MBZ funding for African Herpetologists”. Deadline for submission of this application is 29th February, Wednesday, 2012. Accommodation We have booked a limited number of single (54 Euros per night) double (58 Euros per night) triple (72 Euros per night) and quadruple (85 Euros per night) rooms at the Hotel Venezia in central Trento at a lower than advertised rate (http://www.hotelveneziatn.it/en/hotel/venezia/trento). For cheaper options we will book rooms at the “Giovane Europa” Youth Hostel (21,50 euros per person in double rooms, 17 euros per person in quadruple rooms and 14,50 euros in multiple rooms; http://www.gayaproject.org/giovane-‐europa.html) and can also advise you on alternative options to make your own booking. We strongly suggest you to book early. Please state your preferences when registering and we will contact you regarding the arrangements. Contact and Registration Please register online and give preferences for the title and type of scientific presentation and your accommodation and travel requirements. We will subsequently contact you about title and abstract information. If you have already registered we will contact you directly in the coming week. The registration deadline is 29th February 2012. Registration fee is 20 Euros and can be paid upon arrival and this will cover refreshments and lunch during the conference. Please contact Fabio Pupin (
[email protected]) for any questions regarding the conference and arrangements (Travel and Accommodation).