Hi all, Next year will be the centennial meeting of the Ecological Society of America and the Society is currently soliciting proposals for designated oral sessions. The theme of the conference is "Ecological science at the frontier: Celebrating the ESA Centennial" and the organizers specifically want proposals which incorporate past and future perspectives on dynamic ecological issues. We intend to propose a session entitled 'Biomarkers in Trophic Ecology - Past, Present and Future Perspectives'. This area of ecology has grown rapidly from fundamental work on bio–accumulation of mercury, to stable isotope and fatty acid analysis, and most recently the combination of both of these techniques in compound specific stable isotope analysis. A variety of tools are now in place and regularly used to identify trophic links and energy pathways in almost every ecosystem on the planet. However, as most researchers specialize on a single method, many are unaware of the possibilities presented by adjoining fields. Our hope is to bring together a diverse panel of experts who will each present their perspective on the past developments and future opportunities in their field, with the aim of fostering knowledge transfer and collaboration within the community.
The session will consist of 10, 20 minute presentations and, pending approval, I also hope to organize a separate discussion period during the conference. Unfortunately we are not in a position to cover travel or related expenses, but can at least guarantee some beer should you sign up to contribute! The deadline for proposals is the 25th of September and as eight of the ten speakers must be confirmed prior to submission time is of the essence. I know this is very short notice, but we feel that it is worth making a last minute attempt to put together a session. If you plan on attending the meeting or work in this area and would like to share your ideas with a broad community of colleagues please contact me in the coming days to be included as a speaker. Many thanks and apologies for cross-posting, Brian Hayden Chris Harrod Davis Soto Rick Cunjak Dr. Brian Hayden Science Manager Stable Isotope in Nature Laboratory (SINLAB<http://www.unb.ca/research/institutes/cri/sinlab/>) Canadian Rivers Institute Department of Biology University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada Tel: +1 (506) 451-6892 Skype: brian.hayden.work Twitter: @DrHaydo<https://twitter.com/DrHaydo> Web: www.brianhayden.org<http://www.brianhayden.org/> Social Media Editor for The FSBI, an International Society for Fish Biology, find us on Twitter @TheFSBI<https://twitter.com/TheFSBI> and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheFSBI
