NaGISA World Conference

October 15-18 2006 Kobe International Hall, Kobe Japan

Symposium Details
Beginning on the evening of October 15 with a public lecture the scientific
symposium will follow on the 16, 17 &18 with sessions on rocky shore and
seagrass bed communities, nearshore taxonomy (macrofauna, macroflora and
meiofauna) and an open poster session. Panel discussions on the 18th will
address a variety of topics including the integration of NaGISA into
national and regional monitoring programs as well as application of new
technologies useful for biodiversity studies.

Session Themes
Patterns in biodiversity
Nearshore taxonomy of macrofauna, macroflora and meiofauna
Community ecology in rocky shore and seagrass habitats
Long-term monitoring programs and community integrated marine research

Call for Papers
Abstracts for both Oral and Poster presentations are been accepted under the
session themes. All nearshore related researchers are welcome to submit 300
word abstracts online at nwc_registration@seto.kyoto-u.ac.jp along with the
author`s full name, contact address, e-mail and an indication of whether an
Oral or Poster presentation is preferred. Abstract deadline extended till
July 31, 2006

Registration
Online registration through the NaGISA Webpage www.nagisa.coml.org includes
access to hotel bookings and travel information. Online registration
deadline: Sept 29 23:59 (GMT+9). On site registration will also be available
before the meeting and the public lecture at International Conference Center
on the 15.

Further Information
Please visit the NaGISA webpage or contact us at nagisaonline@yahoo.com

Best,

Jorge Brenner

21st Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology

Please follow the links to the call for proposals for Symposia,
Workshops and Organised Discussions
http://compworx.isat.co.za/scb/callsym.htm; and Short Courses
http://compworx.isat.co.za/scb/callcour.htm

Kind regards,


Margot Collett

SCB 2007 Conference Project Manager

Centre for African Conservation Ecology (ACE)

P O Box 77000

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Port Elizabeth, 6031

tel +27 41 504 4278

fax +27 41 504 2946

www.conbio.org/2007

Best,

Jorge Brenner

Practical Remote Sensing Methods for Conservation Biologists Course

Applications are now being accepted for a course entitled: Practical Remote
Sensing Methods for Conservation Biologists. This course will be offered at
the American Museum of Natural History's Southwestern Research Station
located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona from Monday 9
October to Friday 13 October 2006 . The course will focus on the practical
aspects of remote sensing with the goal of providing sufficient information
so that participants will be able to download and display satellite imagery
for their area of interest, learn to interpret the imagery by making the
connection between abstract image information and the landscape, and use
this information to support a range of conservation objectives. Participants
will work with visual image products and an overview of the automated land
cover classification process will be presented including an assessment of
the advantages and drawbacks of these map products. The target audience is
conservation researchers with little or no remote sensing experience. For
more information on this course and others taught through the American
Museum of Natural History visit our web site http://geospatial.amnh.org.

The course involves a mix of lecture, computer lab applications,
discussions, and field work. Each participant is encouraged to bring with
them a project they would like to work on so lessons learned during the
course can immediately be applied to a meaningful example. These projects
can be discussed with the course organizers in advance to ensure they are
appropriate. If participants do not have their own project one will be
assigned to them during the course.

The fee for the course is $1,000 for a single participant (space is limited
to 15 desktops). Applications will be accepted on a first come first served
basis. The cutoff date for accepting applications is September 9, 2006. The
course fee includes room, board and instruction in the class. Unfortunately,
we do not have scholarship funds to defray course expenses. Participants
will have to provide their own transportation to and from the station.
Students should plan to arrive at the Station by Sunday evening. The course
will begin Monday morning at 8:30AM and will wrap up on Friday morning
before noon.

Station surroundings: The Southwestern Research Station
(http://research.amnh.org/swrs/) is located at 5400 ft elevation in riparian
habitat, surrounded by oak-juniper-pinyon pine woodlands. Within a short
drive up or down the Chiricahua Mountains, which reach nearly 9800 feet
elevation, five life-zones can be encountered; Lower Sonoran, Upper Sonoran,
Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian. Biogeographically, the Chiricahua
Mountains are located at a crossroads between distinct desert and mountain
biotas. At lower elevations, some species are derived from the Sonoran
Desert to the west, whereas other species are elements of the Chihuahuan
Desert to the east and south. At higher elevations, there is a mixing of
plants and animals from the Rocky Mountains, to the north, and the Sierra
Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico.

Those interested in participating in the course should send a short
paragraph with the following information: Name, address, current position
(student, academia, government, etc.), brief reason why you want to take
this course, overview of prior GIS or remote sensing experience if any, and
a brief description of a project you would like to work on if you have one
in mind. Please send applications and questions about course logistics and
contents to Ned Horning, horning@amnh.org. For information about the
Southwestern Research Station please contact Diane Smith, Southwestern
Research Station, P.O. Box 16553 , Portal , AZ 85632 or e-mail
dsmith@amnh.org.

Best,

Jorge Brenner

NEW - Conservation GeoPortal. A Conservation Commons Innitiative

The Conservation Geoportal is a collaborative effort by and for the conservation community to facilitate the discovery and publishing of geographic information systems (GIS) data and maps, to support conservation decisionmaking and education. It is primarily a data catalog, intended to provide a comprehensive listing of GIS data sets and map services relevant to biodiversity conservation. The Conservation Geoportal does not actually store maps and data, but rather the descriptions and links to those resources, known as "metadata."

It includes the following capabilities:

• Search for data and maps by keyword, category, geography, or time period
• Save your search queries for future use
• Use the built-in Map Viewer to display, manipulate, and combine live map services
• Create, save, and email custom maps using data from various map services
• Publish metadata for your maps and data so others can find them

Webpage: http://www.conservationmaps.org/index.jsp

Best,

Jorge Brenner

Marine ecosystem modelling workshops at Plymouth, UK

Following on from the success of the 2005 AMEMR symposium, the UK Natural
Environment Research Council has provided funding for a series of modelling
workshops, covering travel and subsistence costs for up to 25 national and
international scientists per workshop. 

The purpose of these workshops will be to:-
. Review the status of current models and modelling systems with respect to
current knowledge.
. Assess the availability datasets from for model testing and development.
. Consider emerging scientific issues and relevant policy drivers.
. Identify gaps in current model capability.
. Produce recommendations for future modelling (and observational)
activities designed to address the identified gaps in understanding and
capacity. These will be fed to the relevant UK and International program
offices with a view to influencing the scope of funding programs.
. Identify synergies between research groups that may form the basis of
subsequent funding bids.

Each Workshop will be devoted to one of the following topics
. The response of marine ecosystems to increasing levels of CO2, including
acidification and warming. (Feb 07, contact Jerry Blackford, jcb@pml.ac.uk
to register your interest.)
. Model validation, analysis and quantification of error. (Feb 07, contact
Icarus Allen, jia@pml.ac.uk)
. Bridging the gap between lower and higher trophic levels.
. DMS production in the upper ocean.
. Operational biophysical oceanography


The ~3 day workshops are to be held in Plymouth, UK, during 2007. We aim to
bring together modellers and experimentalists, established and younger
researchers / students. We will welcome suggestions for program items and
intend the workshops to be informal. If appropriate we can consider writing
an overview paper for submission to a peer reviewed journal. 

This is an initiative of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK.

Source: MARINE-B@LISTSERV.HEANET.IE

Best,

Jorge Brenner

MARBEF - Workshop on European marine biological valuation

Location: Ghent (Belgium)

Event Type: Workshop

Event Date: 2006-12-06
End Date: 2006-12-08

Event Description:
WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT
FIRST CIRCULAR

As announced during the last MARBEF General Assembly (Lecce), the MARBEF Theme III RMP organizes a workshop on European marine biological valuation in Ghent (Belgium) on 6-8/12/2006.

With this email we would like to trigger your attention and curiousity to the subject of marine biological valuation as well as launch an open call for participation in the workshop.

MARINE BIOLOGICAL VALUATION: WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT…
Marine biological valuation encompasses the determination of the value of the marine environment from a nature conservation perspective. As such, marine biological valuation aims at providing an integrated [view] on nature’s intrinsic value (i.e. without any reference to anthropogenic use), as opposed to socio-economic valuation aiming at the quantification of the goods and services.
Because there is an ever increasing use of the marine environment, practitioners, stakeholders and policy makers request clear and simple baseline maps in order to allow them make well-deliberated choices: e.g. usage maps may be used to detect conflicts in spatial distribution of human activities, whereas sedimentology maps allow to deliberately identify suitable aggregate extraction zones. These maps are indispensable within the process of spatial planning. A protocol to develop baseline biological valuation maps, differentiating between the intrinsic value within an area, however do not exist. Consequently, when such maps are needed, one is often obliged to trust on the available best expert judgement.
Taking the success of the terrestrial biological valuation maps of Flanders (Belgium) as an example, the MARBEF Theme III team set the development of a widely applicable and scientifically acceptable valuation protocol for the marine environment as one of their major goals. Doing so, a prototype protocol was developed, making optimal use of (1) the lessons learned from the terrestrial valuation experts, (2) existing national initiatives and (3) existing international directives (e.g. Habitat Directive and European Marine Strategy).

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES: THE NEXT STEPS…
During this workshop we would like to make use of your expertise and thoughts on this subject. Only such wide and interactive cooperation might lead to a protocol that is widely accepted and applicable.
The main objectives of the workshop are therefore:

- to have a general discussion on the prototype valuation protocol, with emphasis on the applicability in marine/coastal habitats
- to come to a preliminar consensus on the biological valuation protocol
- to agree on the project outline and timing for the coming years
- to SELECT case study areas for protocol testing and to make practical arrangements on these tests.

A detailed agenda for the workshop is expected to be circulated by early October.

WHEN TWO EUROPEAN INITIATIVES MEET UP: A KEY TO SUCCESS…
The workshop will be a joint venture of the EU NoE MARBEF (www.marbef.org) and the EU CA ENCORA (www.encora.org). By organizing a workshop for both MARBEF and ENCORA members we feel that this cooperation will drastically increase the expertise, needed to reach the final goal of this workshop. The MARBEF community mainly consists of marine natural scientists, providing the necessary critical mass of biodiversity, whereas ENCORA, focusing on end-users, will bring in the indispensable input of practitioners and stake holders as well as their experience with decision support systems.

WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM YOU?
If you are interested to contribute to this workshop we would like you to send your expression of interest to Sofie.Derous@UGent.be by mid September. Because such interactive workshops can only be successful when a limited number of persons (max. 40) is participating, a selection of participants might follow (end September).

Contact email: Sofie.Derous@UGent.be

Event programme:
A detailed agenda for the workshop is expected to be circulated by early October.

Collaborators and organisers:
Your conveners:
Steven Degraer, Sofie Derous & Magda Vincx

Marine Biology Section, Biology Department, Ghent University
Krijgslaan 281 - S8, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
Tel. int32 9 2648522 Fax int32 9 2648598

Source: http://www.marbef.org/modules.php?name=Calendar&file=index&type=view&eid=241

Best,

Jorge Brenner