Please excuse cross-listings.
Dear colleagues, Please consider submitting an abstract to our organized oral session at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Albuquerque, NM in August 2009. Abstract submission is now open and closes February 26th. General information on the Annual Meeting can be found at: http://www.esa.org/albuquerque/ *OOS 4186: Advances in Biochemical Methods for Studying Organic Matter Dynamics in an Ecological Context* Natural scientists are increasingly adopting and developing new isotopic, molecular, and spectroscopic techniques in truly interdisciplinary ways to gain insight into ecological and biogeochemical processes. Recent technological and methodological advances have improved our ability to characterize the chemical composition of organic matter in small samples, rapidly, and in situ. Particular areas of research that have greatly benefited from new methods are the study of carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils and aquatic environments, and the decomposition and turnover of plant and microbially-derived material. The goal of this session is to promote interdisciplinary collaborations for the increased application of new methods to improve our understanding of ecological and biogeochemical processes. Some of the methods of interest are: compound-specific isotopes, pyGC/MS, 15N-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, NEXAFS, NanoSIMS, fluorescence and quantum dots. We welcome contributions presenting other methods not listed here, but of general interest to ecologists. We hope that one of the outcomes of the session will be the development of novel collaborations or syntheses across sub-disciplines and different fields, including, ecology, biochemistry, geochemistry, soil science, and hydrology. With regards, The conveners: Erika Marín-Spiotta, U.C. Santa Barbara Daniela Cusack, U.C. Berkeley
