Symposia (in-person, live-streamed)
SSE - W.D. Hamilton award symposium
A symposium of finalists for SSE's Hamilton Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation. For information on how to apply, see here.
Organizer: Katy Heath
Date: Sat, June 25
Speakers: TBD
Organizer: Katy Heath
Date: Sat, June 25
Speakers: TBD
SSB - Ernst Mayr Award symposium
A symposium of finalists for SSB's Mayr award. For information on how to apply, see here.
Organizers: Liliana M. Dávalos
Date: Sat, June 25
Speakers: TBD
Organizers: Liliana M. Dávalos
Date: Sat, June 25
Speakers: TBD
tri-society DIVERSITY SYMPOSIUM - Field Safety & Ethics in Evolution & Ecology: Experiences & Tools for Inclusive Practices
Organizers: Susana Wadgymar, Rich Kliman, and Cathy Rushworth
Field work is a critical part of many biologists’ lives. It serves an entry point to a career in science, and it provides vital data for dissertations and funded projects. However, field work also presents physical, psychological, and emotional safety hazards for many, especially scientists from historically excluded groups. In the first ever tri-society Diversity Symposium, we discuss experiences in the field, colonialism and field work, and tools for creating safer, more inclusive, and positive field experiences for all.
This symposium includes a workshop component that runs during the 3rd session (2:30 - 3:45 pm) of this 4-session, day-long symposium. Sign-up during conference registration is encouraged for the workshop component, but those not registered will still be welcome at the event. There is no sign-up for the other (i.e. non-workshop) sessions of the symposium.
Speakers: TBD
Field work is a critical part of many biologists’ lives. It serves an entry point to a career in science, and it provides vital data for dissertations and funded projects. However, field work also presents physical, psychological, and emotional safety hazards for many, especially scientists from historically excluded groups. In the first ever tri-society Diversity Symposium, we discuss experiences in the field, colonialism and field work, and tools for creating safer, more inclusive, and positive field experiences for all.
This symposium includes a workshop component that runs during the 3rd session (2:30 - 3:45 pm) of this 4-session, day-long symposium. Sign-up during conference registration is encouraged for the workshop component, but those not registered will still be welcome at the event. There is no sign-up for the other (i.e. non-workshop) sessions of the symposium.
Speakers: TBD
ASN - Evolution in action
Organizers: John Benning, Ruth Hufbauer, and Christopher Weiss-Lehman
Recent years have thrown into sharp relief an intimidating set of global issues. Drug resistance, invasive species, global pandemics, species extinctions, threats to biodiversity from climate change — these are existential crises with no easy answers. Solutions to these problems will depend in large part on basic research into the evolutionary processes underlying these phenomena. This symposium will be a timely assessment of how evolutionary biology is helping to solve pressing problems in society today, while seeking to catalyze a closer integration of basic and applied research moving forward. Symposium speakers will explore the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change adaptation, conservation, drug resistance, invasive species, and the history of evolutionary biology as a tool for societal progress. These talks will highlight how fundamental evolution research informs our understanding of, and solutions to, this varied set of global issues. At the same time, talks will demonstrate how these so-called “applied” research topics offer unique opportunities to advance our understanding of basic evolutionary patterns and processes. The speakers span a range of career stages and study organisms from across the tree of life using a variety of experimental, theoretical, and molecular approaches. By highlighting exciting junctures of basic and applied research, we hope the symposium will help to chart a course for the role of evolutionary biology in society moving forward.
Speakers
Recent years have thrown into sharp relief an intimidating set of global issues. Drug resistance, invasive species, global pandemics, species extinctions, threats to biodiversity from climate change — these are existential crises with no easy answers. Solutions to these problems will depend in large part on basic research into the evolutionary processes underlying these phenomena. This symposium will be a timely assessment of how evolutionary biology is helping to solve pressing problems in society today, while seeking to catalyze a closer integration of basic and applied research moving forward. Symposium speakers will explore the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change adaptation, conservation, drug resistance, invasive species, and the history of evolutionary biology as a tool for societal progress. These talks will highlight how fundamental evolution research informs our understanding of, and solutions to, this varied set of global issues. At the same time, talks will demonstrate how these so-called “applied” research topics offer unique opportunities to advance our understanding of basic evolutionary patterns and processes. The speakers span a range of career stages and study organisms from across the tree of life using a variety of experimental, theoretical, and molecular approaches. By highlighting exciting junctures of basic and applied research, we hope the symposium will help to chart a course for the role of evolutionary biology in society moving forward.
Speakers
- Sally Otto, Univ. British Columbia -- SARS-CoV-2: an evolving pandemic
- Lauren Buckley, Univ. Washington -- A complex interplay of evolution and plasticity has shaped insect responses to recent climate change
- Amrita Bhattacharya, Pennsylvania State Univ. -- Exceptions to the rule: Why does resistance evolution not undermine antibiotic therapy in all bacterial infections?
- Susana Wadgymar, Davidson College -- Can assisted gene flow rescue populations that are threatened by climate change?”
- Felipe Eguiarte, Univ. Minnesota -- Masters of tomorrow: how technocracy shaped the visions of the future of science for three British Scientists –J. B. S. Haldane, J. D. Bernal, and Julian Huxley
- Ben Phillips, Univ. Melbourne -- The role of evolution in the dynamics and management of biological invasions
- Robert Colautti, Queen's Univ. -- Contrasting limits to adaptation along environmental stress gradients in native vs. invasive species
ASN VICE presidential symposium: Re-viewing adaptive genetic variation
Organizer: Deepa Agashe
Genetic variation is central to evolutionary change, and has always featured prominently in attempts to understand biological diversity. Our understanding of its provenance, maintenance and impact have advanced substantially in the past few decades, and this symposium aims to integrate these advances. Focusing on the importance of new mutations and standing genetic variation during adaptation, we will aim to bridge across molecular and ecological perspectives on how mutational input shapes evolution in natural populations. We will address questions such as: what is the relative role of new mutations, standing genetic variation, and selection, during adaptation? What is the impact of mutation rate and bias? What can we say about these effects in natural populations and their ability to survive the coming decades?
Speakers: TBD
Genetic variation is central to evolutionary change, and has always featured prominently in attempts to understand biological diversity. Our understanding of its provenance, maintenance and impact have advanced substantially in the past few decades, and this symposium aims to integrate these advances. Focusing on the importance of new mutations and standing genetic variation during adaptation, we will aim to bridge across molecular and ecological perspectives on how mutational input shapes evolution in natural populations. We will address questions such as: what is the relative role of new mutations, standing genetic variation, and selection, during adaptation? What is the impact of mutation rate and bias? What can we say about these effects in natural populations and their ability to survive the coming decades?
Speakers: TBD
SSE - Evolution in the tropics: 70 years since dobzhansky
Organizers: Kathleen Kay and Oscar Vargas
Tropical diversity has long fascinated biologists, but most research to-date has addressed the ecological mechanisms maintaining diversity rather than evolutionary mechanisms generating diversity. This symposium seeks to synthesize macro- and micro-evolutionary work on patterns and mechanisms of diversification in the tropics, and specifically addresses Janzen and Dobzhansky’s classic hypotheses about physiological tolerances and biotic interactions. With a recent resurgence of studies into tropical evolution, the time is right to assess the current state of knowledge and identify productive avenues for future research.
Speakers
Tropical diversity has long fascinated biologists, but most research to-date has addressed the ecological mechanisms maintaining diversity rather than evolutionary mechanisms generating diversity. This symposium seeks to synthesize macro- and micro-evolutionary work on patterns and mechanisms of diversification in the tropics, and specifically addresses Janzen and Dobzhansky’s classic hypotheses about physiological tolerances and biotic interactions. With a recent resurgence of studies into tropical evolution, the time is right to assess the current state of knowledge and identify productive avenues for future research.
Speakers
- Kathleen Kay, Univ. California, Santa Cruz -- Dobzhansky, Janzen, and speciation research in the tropics
- Jonathan Rolland, CNRS -- Macroevolutionary approaches and the construction of the latitudinal diversity gradient
- Oscar Vargas, California State Univ., Humboldt -- Testing hypotheses for neotropical plant diversification using comparative methods
- Kimberly Sheldon, Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville -- Janzen's mountain passes and diversification in the tropics
- Dale Forrister, The Univ. Utah -- The role of plant diversity and divergence: evolution of defense chemistry in the tropical tree genus inga
- Michael G. Harvey, Univ. Texas, El Paso -- Standing species richness shapes the tempo and mode of avian speciation across the neotropics
SSE PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM - Species distributions and coexistence: the intersection of evolution and ecology
Organizers: Laura Galloway and Lynda Delph
Talks in this symposium will explore threads such as what determines species’ distributions, the extent to which coexistence between congeners impacts distributions, and how reproductive isolation impacts distributions and rates of speciation. In other words, what keeps species apart both genetically and spatially?
Speakers: TBD
Talks in this symposium will explore threads such as what determines species’ distributions, the extent to which coexistence between congeners impacts distributions, and how reproductive isolation impacts distributions and rates of speciation. In other words, what keeps species apart both genetically and spatially?
Speakers: TBD
SSB - Towards the network of life: Phylogenetic networks as a tool to understand complex evolutionary histories
Organizers: Kevin Kong and Rejuan Haque
While phylogenetic trees have been essential in understanding how species evolve and are useful for a tremendous range of practical applications, they cannot adequately describe some types of evolutionary processes, such as hybrid speciation, introgression, recombination, horizontal gene transfers, and gene duplication and loss. In these cases, a phylogenetic network, a modification and generalization of a phylogenetic tree that allows two branches to merge into a single node to create a directed acyclic structure called a reticulation, represents the true evolutionary history more appropriately than a phylogenetic tree. The talks in this symposium will be focused around the development of techniques for inferring phylogenetic networks from multilocus data and on their application to empirical problems. Speakers in the session will address computational challenges that arise from analyzing large-scale data, challenges in interpreting the inferred networks, as well as future directions for solving these challenges.
Speakers: TBD
While phylogenetic trees have been essential in understanding how species evolve and are useful for a tremendous range of practical applications, they cannot adequately describe some types of evolutionary processes, such as hybrid speciation, introgression, recombination, horizontal gene transfers, and gene duplication and loss. In these cases, a phylogenetic network, a modification and generalization of a phylogenetic tree that allows two branches to merge into a single node to create a directed acyclic structure called a reticulation, represents the true evolutionary history more appropriately than a phylogenetic tree. The talks in this symposium will be focused around the development of techniques for inferring phylogenetic networks from multilocus data and on their application to empirical problems. Speakers in the session will address computational challenges that arise from analyzing large-scale data, challenges in interpreting the inferred networks, as well as future directions for solving these challenges.
Speakers: TBD
SSB - How do we make decisions about data and analyses in systematic biology? It depends!
Organizers: Natya Hans, Alexandra Hernandez, and Chloe Nash
When conceiving and developing evolutionary studies, scientists must confront a vast array of difficult questions, such as how to choose among different data types and methods of data collection, and determine which analyses will best address hypotheses. These decisions can affect study outcomes, and often depend upon the scope of the question, the data currently available, and other logistical challenges. In this time of ever-expanding quantities of data and elaborate statistical and computational tools, what is the best way for systematists and evolutionary biologists to make informed decisions about data collection and analysis? The answer we often encounter is “it depends,” which causes confusion among new scientists entering the field or those exploring a new topic in evolutionary biology. The first step towards dispelling this confusion and guiding the future work of systematists is assembling a catalog of benefits and pitfalls of current approaches. This symposium brings together a wide range of experts studying molecular and morphological evolution, paleobiology, and biogeography to discuss practical and theoretical considerations faced when designing and conducting research in each of these fields. Experts will discuss the caveats and assumptions they grapple with when choosing data and methods to apply to a particular question, focusing both on successful approaches as well as setbacks they have encountered throughout the process.
Speakers: TBD
When conceiving and developing evolutionary studies, scientists must confront a vast array of difficult questions, such as how to choose among different data types and methods of data collection, and determine which analyses will best address hypotheses. These decisions can affect study outcomes, and often depend upon the scope of the question, the data currently available, and other logistical challenges. In this time of ever-expanding quantities of data and elaborate statistical and computational tools, what is the best way for systematists and evolutionary biologists to make informed decisions about data collection and analysis? The answer we often encounter is “it depends,” which causes confusion among new scientists entering the field or those exploring a new topic in evolutionary biology. The first step towards dispelling this confusion and guiding the future work of systematists is assembling a catalog of benefits and pitfalls of current approaches. This symposium brings together a wide range of experts studying molecular and morphological evolution, paleobiology, and biogeography to discuss practical and theoretical considerations faced when designing and conducting research in each of these fields. Experts will discuss the caveats and assumptions they grapple with when choosing data and methods to apply to a particular question, focusing both on successful approaches as well as setbacks they have encountered throughout the process.
Speakers: TBD
ASN early career investigator award symposium
Talks by the 2022 winners of ASN's Early Career Investigator Award
Date: Tues. June 28
Speakers: Pavitra Muralidhar, Kim Hoang, Chuliang Song, Rachel Moran, and Laura Melissa Guzman
Date: Tues. June 28
Speakers: Pavitra Muralidhar, Kim Hoang, Chuliang Song, Rachel Moran, and Laura Melissa Guzman
SSE - theodosius dobzhansky prize symposium
2022 Dobzhansky prize talks
Date: Sat. June 25
Speakers: Jennifer Coughlan (honorable mention) and Philip Brand (winner)
Date: Sat. June 25
Speakers: Jennifer Coughlan (honorable mention) and Philip Brand (winner)