Scientific content

ATBC 2010 offers a unique balance of pure and applied, and terrestrial and marine themes in tropical biology. The oral presentations will be distributed among half-day sessions, the majority of which will be mini-symposia that were independently proposed by one or more symposium organizer. Posters will be arranged by theme ans will be up for two days, and will be presented at a poster session, on 20 or 22 July. There will also be six plenary talks.

Schedule of presentations 

• Download the current schedule of plenaries, verbal session and poster presentations (PDF), current as of 11 July. Updates to this digital version will be made up to the date of the conference.

Symposia 

The following is the final list of symposia selected from the sixty proposals we recieved.

The (#) number is the non-changing symposium code.

• Animal taxa
  • Amphibian population declines in tropical Asia and Australia: differences, similarities and lessons learned (#01); Mirza D. Kusrini, Jodi Rowley (Abstract)

    Amphibian population declines and extinctions have been well-documented in tropical Australia, but there is an almost complete lack of information on amphibian population trends in neighboring tropical Asia. Indeed, Wallace’s Line, dividing the biogeographical region of Asia and Australia, appears to also divide the state of amphibian knowledge between regions. Both Asia and Australia face urgent amphibian conservation challenges. In tropical Australia, amphibians underwent declines attributed to the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis over a decade ago, and present conservation challenges largely relate to managing amphibian populations in a landscape where disease is endemic. In tropical Asia, the foremost threats to native amphibians are habitat loss, overharvesting and a lack of knowledge and there is currently no evidence of amphibian population declines related to amphibian disease. Chytridiomycosis has recently confirmed from the island archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines, presenting a possible new threat to amphibian conservation in tropical Asia. A symposium is proposed to address the current knowledge of the amphibian decline crisis in both regions and discuss how researchers in both regions can work together to combat the amphibian crisis.

    This symposium aims to bring together researchers and conservation practitioners working in tropical Australasia to discuss the current challenges facing amphibian research and conservation in the region, and share lessons learnt. Keynote speakers will address the current knowledge of the amphibian decline crisis in both regions and discuss how researchers in both regions can work together to combat the amphibian crisis.

  • Conserving primates through research and habitat protection (#31); Cheryl D. Knott, Djuwantoko (Abstract)

    The global pressures of food shortage, increasing energy demands and climate change have severely impacted primates worldwide as their habitats shrink from the human-generated activities of logging, mining, poaching and conversion of natural habitat to meet human needs. Because of their relatively large ranges and often specific habitat requirements, primates are particularly vulnerable to such environmental changes and their populations are dwindling. Over 50% of primates are now classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered in the wild. Indonesian primates exemplify this conflict. With over 30 species of primates, Indonesia hosts a wealth of primate diversity, yet many of these are threatened or endangered, with three being on the most endangered list. Indonesia thus serves as a particularly appropriate venue for this symposium that brings together primatologists and biologists from around the globe who are studying primate ecology and behavior and engaging in efforts to save primate habitats. Through sharing of research results and conservation applications we hope to create synergy within the primate research and conservation community for further advancements in the protection and study of the world’s primates. Scientists play a critical role in preserving these populations. Only by understanding the ecology and biodiversity of primates can successful conservation efforts be implemented. Different methods for securing natural primate habitats, such as the establishment of protected areas, sanctuaries, national parks, eco-parks, and conserving non-protected areas, (e.g. production forests or private land) critically rely on an understanding of the primates themselves. This symposium brings together scientists working on primate ecology, behavior and conservation to share the results of their research and conservation efforts with the goal of achieving a greater understanding of primates as members of tropical ecosystems and furthering efforts to decrease the degradation of primate habitats. The objective of the symposium will be to share new results from tropical areas across the globe with a special emphasis on studies that emphasize the intersection of primary research and on the ground conservation actions. One of the goals of the symposium will be to inspire and formulate new ways of studying primates and to highlight the role that primate researchers can play in protecting and conserving primates and their natural habitats. With a number of primate species facing the very real possibility of extinction in the wild, sharing of this expertise will make a real contribution to combating the tropical biodiversity crisis.

  • Open session: Entomology (#63); TBA
  • Open session: The ecology and conservation of large tropical mammals (#61); TBA
  • Orangutan ecology, behavior and conservation (#58); Damayanti Buchori, Noviar Andayani
• Conservation
  • REDD’s Role in the Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity (#32); David Neidel, Nur Masripatin
  • The Praxis of biodiversity conservation in conversion landscapes: A SLOSS debate for the 21st century (#55); Gary Paoli (Abstract)

    Conversion of natural areas to mono-culture plantations for food, fiber and biofuels is among the most significant long term threats to biodiversity in the tropics, second only to global climate change. Estate crops of oil palm, Acacia, soy and sugarcane are replacing forest areas in mega-diverse regions of the Amazon, Indonesia and Congo Basin, causing direct habitat destruction, population fragmentation and increased susceptibility to drought and fire.

    Growing recognition of this threat by consumers, producers and policy makers, however, has created the unexpected opportunity to transform enlightened corporate members of these industries to mitigate such impacts, and even transform select industry leaders into responsible biodiversity stewards.

    To this end, biodiversity conservation is being actively pursued in conversion landscapes by conservation practitioners on-the-ground, and vigorously debated by conservation scholars on-the-pages of peer reviewed scientific journals.

    Two broad paradigms are being debated that differ in the emphasis placed on off-site versus on-site biodiversity gains. The so-called ‘land sparing’ approach advocates putting plantations on degraded lands for ‘pure production’ purposes, thereby maximizing output and alleviating pressure to convert more intact, high biodiversity areas elsewhere. An alternative, more holistic approach sees plantations as multi-purpose landscapes, valued not only for commodity production but also biodiversity protection, achieved by retaining a mosaic of ‘designer landscapes’ elements, including set asides, riparian buffers, and agro-forestry corridors within the plantation.

    Key philosophical and practical points of difference relate to set-aside (‘reserve’) size, species representation, population viability, hunting pressure and resiliency to climate change, concerns not unlike the SLOSS (Single Large or Several Small) Debate of the 1970s and 80s, albeit with more pronounced social factors today.

    This symposium aims to address a number of key questions and tough choices relating to the practice of biodiversity conservation in plantation landscapes.

• Evolutionary biology
  • Biodiversity and conservation in Wallacea (#52); Philip M Wheeler (Abstract)

    The Wallacea region is one of the least studied major tropical eco-regions. It has typically been characterised by relatively low diversity compared to adjacent regions, but high rates of endemism in several groups. However there is emerging evidence that the terrestrial biodiversity of Wallacea may have been significantly underestimated, in some cases by an order of magnitude. The complex biogeographical history of the region has produced a unique combination of flora and fauna that combines influences from the Asian and Australasian continents and yet is distinct from both these. The dramatic faunal transitions that occur in some groups over relatively short distances have led biogeographers, beginning with the father of the discipline, Alfred Russel Wallace to define faunal transition zones at the eastern and western extents of what is now called Wallacea. Wallacea is a region composed of islands, with its largest, Sulawesi, a collection of four peninsulas, each with distinct flora and fauna. In line with most island groups, Wallacea is under significant threat from human activity; most lowland forests on Sulawesi have been removed and montane forests are increasingly threatened by encroachment and a changing climate. This symposium will examine the biodiversity of Wallacea and threats to its persistence. The first papers will explore aspects of the emerging evidence for previously unrecognised diversity in several groups of organisms. The second group of papers will discuss anthropogenic threats to that diversity, monitoring and the state of conservation in the region.

  • Integrating evolution, ecology and biodiversity science (#13); Lúcia G. Lohmann, Andrew Hendry (Abstract)

    Ecology is the science that studies interactions among organisms. Even though the study of evolution fundamentally underlies our understanding of biological diversity, evolutionary biology has just recently started to be incorporated into ecology and biodiversity science. It is increasingly clear, however, that the insight and tools that evolutionary biology has to offer to ecology and biodiversity science are not just useful but critical for these research areas. It is also increasingly clear that we must learn to make use of evolutionary knowledge more effectively in our efforts to promote biodiversity science and conserve biodiversity. Ecological studies can benefit from phylogenies in various ways, namely through studies of (1) the evolution of ecological traits; (2) ecological correlates of diversity; and (3) studies of the phylogenetic structure of communities. The aim of this symposium is to highlight the importance of phylogenies to ecological research and to biodiversity science as well as to stimulate discussion on ecological questions from a phylogenetic standpoint. Talks presented within this symposium will provide a broad perspective on the interface between phylogenetics, ecology and evolution, as well as will introduce the audience to the large realm of research opportunities in this area.

  • Island Biogeography in the Malay Archipelago: Krakatau and beyond (#51); Christian H. Schulze, Damayanti Buchori (Abstract)

    The Malay Archipelago contains several globally important biodiversity hotspots, it is characterized by a huge number of endemic species and represents an important transition zone between the Oriental and Australasian fauna and flora. It consists of thousands of islands ranging from extremely big ones, such as Borneo and Sumatra, to many extremely tiny islands. Therefore, this worldwide largest Archipelago was frequently used as model for testing predictions of Mac Arthur and Wilson’s classical Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography.

    Unfortunately, during the last decades the native vegetation cover of the Malay Archipelago experienced dramatic changes due to the enormous human impact. Particularly on densely populated islands such as Java and Bali only small patches of lowland rainforests, mangroves and other natural ecosystems and habitat types are remaining. Although the archipelago’s biodiversity is still very incompletely known, its island biota may face enormous extinction rates in the very near future. A glimmer of hope is that some recent papers indicate that many island species appear to be more robust against anthropogenic disturbance than formerly expected.

    This symposium will not only address fundamental questions on the biogeography of the Malay Archipelago but also will try to identify and highlight main drivers increasing extinctions rates of its island biota.

  • Phylogenetics in the Tropics: building trees to understand community structure and tropical biodiversity (#30); Nathan Swenson, Vinita Gowda , W. J. Kress (Abstract)

    The question of how so many species coexist in tropical latitudes is one of the largest unresolved questions in ecology and evolution. For decades ecologists have examined local-scale species diversity and coexistence with mixed results. Often the shared, or unique, evolutionary histories of the species within and across communities has been left unexplored. Phylogenetic hypotheses that describe the evolutionary relationships between species have been increasingly employed to inform studies of tropical community structure and biodiversity. The goal of the present symposium is to highlight novel conceptual and methodological approaches for analyzing how phylogenetic relationships influence present day patterns of community structure and biodiversity. Specific topics will include phylogenetic beta diversity, succession and phylogenetic structure, comparing the phylogenetic and functional structure of diverse communities, detecting cryptic species, the phylogeography of mutualisms, and the effects of phylogenetic age on sensitivity to ecological disturbance. As the number of phylogenetic analyses of tropical species continues to grow, it will become increasingly critical to develop and test novel conceptual and methodological approaches to determine when, where and why phylogenetic relatedness influences observed ecological patterns. It is expected that the present symposium will help provide answers to these pressing questions.

  • The Australasian floristic interchange (#15); Craig Costion (Abstract)

    Southeast Asia is renowned for not only its richness of species but the complexity of both its biota and geology. First noted by the world’s first biogeographer, Alfred Wallace, this complexity is now attributed to an ongoing influx and interchange of species from mainland Asia and Australia after the two continents first collided in the Mid-Miocene. Although the Laurasian and Gondwanan affinities of faunal groups have been long established, the affinities and evolutionary history of many plant lineages in the Australasian tropics have remained controversial or unresolved. Recent rapid advances in molecular methods and large-scale barcoding initiatives however hold promise to better understand the evolutionary history of plants in this region. This symposium aims to launch a research group of collaborative scientists focused on understanding a range of long held questions of plant biogeography and evolution in Australasia: 1) What are the Gondwanan and Laurasian affinities of plant lineages in the SE Asian and Australian Tropics and can we quantify the percentage of these lineages for entire biomes? 2) Are there particular lineages that demonstrate a west to east dispersal route across Wallace’s line and/or vice versa. 3) How does the recent molecular data agree/disagree with previous paleobotanical and phytogeographic accounts and how does this updated understanding affect previous assumptions about and justifications for conservation areas? 4) What modern methods are most useful for addressing these questions and how do they supersede previous approaches?

• Terrestrial ecosystems
  • Understanding the dynamics of secondary tropical forests (#37); Robin L. Chazdon, María Uriarte (Abstract)

    Of the many land-cover changes tropical forests are experiencing, one of most significant to ecosystem service provisioning and human well being is the large increase in the extent of secondary forests. The area of degraded and secondary forests in the tropics was recently estimated at 850 million hectares, and this amount is likely to increase dramatically in the future. These secondary forests provide many of the services attributed to primary forests including regulation of water flow and quality, erosion control, carbon sequestration, restoration of nutrients and soil properties in former agricultural lands, timber and non-timber forest products, and biodiversity conservation through relief of pressure from primary forests and enhanced connectivity of fragmented landscapes. In spite of their increasing extent, dominance, and prevalence in tropical countries, the processes of tropical forest recovery and succession are understudied. More information is needed not only on the status and extent of secondary forests but also on the drivers of transitions among different types of land uses with a focus on predicting forest recovery.

    The goal of the proposed symposium is to explore the interactive effects of regional and stand level processes on secondary forest regeneration and on the ecosystem services they provide. Addressing these interactive effects requires a comprehensive, comparative, multi-investigator approach across different regions and landscapes. To this end, we will bring together scientists working at landscape and stand scales in forest sites distributed throughout the tropics. Presentations will examine (1) drivers of forest recovery at the landscape scale using remote sensing, GIS, and plot data; (2) Effects of human legacies on forest structure, composition, and ecological interactions; and (3) ecosystem services of secondary forests.

  • Ecology, conservation and management of dipterocarp forest: the road to recovery (#11); Chris Kettle, David Burslem (Abstract)

    The lowland dipterocarp forests of Southeast Asia support a substantial proportion of the world’s biodiversity. They are of considerable environmental and economic value at the local, regional and global scales, providing many goods and services to a growing population. The forests of this region are among the fastest disappearing in the world. This symposium will provide a synthesis of our existing knowledge of key ecological attributes of the dipterocarps, including: genetic resources, reproductive ecology, plant-microbe interaction, life history strategy, population dynamics and ecophysiology. The second part of this symposium examines the current conservation status of dipterocarp species, effective conservation strategies and the science behind sustainable management of dipterocarp forest in Southeast Asia. We will conclude with a panel discussion that will discuss novel solutions and policy instruments necessary to achieve a more resistant and resilient dipterocarp dominated landscape for S E Asia, meeting social, economic and biodiversity needs.

  • Fire ecology and management in tropical savannas (#36); Anna E Richards, Alan N Andersen (Abstract)

    Tropical savannas make up one sixth of the globe and are one of the most flammable biomes on the planet with ca. 20 % of savanna landscapes burnt annually. In recent times, modification of historical fire regimes in savannas, through changes in landscape fire management or fragmentation, have resulted in more intense and frequent fire in some areas, or the exclusion of fire in others. The modification of fire regimes in savannas has had significant impacts on their biodiversity and ecosystem function. Savannas also play an important role in the global carbon cycle by contributing 30 % to net primary productivity. Therefore, modification of historical fire regimes impacts global climate through changes to emissions and sequestration of greenhouse gases. The impact of fire on savanna ecosystems poses significant challenges for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This symposium will address these issues by assembling many of the world’s leading savanna ecologists. The symposium will cover a range of topics including fuel dynamics and fire behaviour, and the impacts of different fire regimes on savanna vegetation dynamics, fauna and flora diversity, nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Land reforestation with native species: Case studies in experimental trials and community based initiatives (#34); Mark S. Ashton, Jefferson Hall (Abstract)

    Deforestation for agriculture accounts for an estimated 17.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reforestation is therefore receiving significant attention in climate change policy and management discussions. As a society industrializes and urbanizes, marginal lands are abandoned and agriculture is concentrated on the most productive sites. As marginal agricultural lands are abandoned, they often transfer to pasture and then to forest, or directly to forest. If land has been degraded, natural regeneration is often impossible or impractically slow. Currently most reforestation in the tropics occur at large industrial scales with a few well known exotics which have well accepted markets and known and secure silvicultural technologies. There is a need for reforestation with native species that can provide greater ecological and social values. However, silvicultural and social knowledge of planting native species on lands is lacking. This symposium will focus on degraded tropical lands and reforestation with native species. It can be divided in three parts. The first will be presentations of current experimental and applied ecological work being conducted in Latin America and Asia. The second part will be a series of case studies demonstrating lessons learned in the implementation of community restoration and agroforestry planting programs. The third part will be a panel discussion on how to integrate experimental science within reforestation programs.

  • Open session: Freshwater ecosystems and their organisms (#62); TBA
  • The future of rainforests in a changing landscape and climate (#39); Glen Reynolds (Abstract)

    This symposium focuses on the future of rainforests in the contexts of both a rapidly changing landscape and climate. The goals of the symposium are to demonstrate (1) how current rainforest science can tackle the new challenges and issues posed by the rainforests of the future being found increasingly as embedded patches within agricultural landscapes, and (2) how studies can provide the science to underpin the practice of forest rehabilitation and restoration and the design and targeting of conservational strategies.

    Although the focus is on findings from projects within the Royal Society SEARRP, the symposium also includes invited papers drawing upon findings from elsewhere in the tropics. Four principal themes are covered by sections of the full-day symposium. The first theme focuses on the influence which different land-uses (forest and non-forest) have on carbon dioxide, reactive trace gas emissions and particulates. The second theme focuses on the impacts which logging, different land uses, forest fragmentation and forest restoration techniques have on ecosystems and their functioning. The third theme encompasses the influence which climatic change (past, present and future) and land-use change have on the rainforest and its hydrological and erosional systems. The final theme examines the use of scientific findings in conservation and forest management in the SE Asia region.

  • Tropical forest dynamics: long-term changes, disturbances and climate change (#16); Pieter Zuidema, Patrick Baker (Abstract)

    Tropical forests are changing. Biomass of undisturbed forests has increased over the last decades and rates of tree turnover are changing. In some cases, the drivers of changing forest dynamics are clear (selective logging, drought, fragmentation), but in most cases one can only speculate about what has caused these observed changes (CO2 fertilization, shifts in rainfall). Getting clarity on patterns and causes of changing forest dynamics is crucial to understand responses of tropical forests to disturbances and climate change. Tree ring series and re-measurements of old permanent plots provide unique long-term records of tree growth. And new techniques used in forest dynamics research (stable isotope analyses, sophisticated population modelling) generate additional information and new hypotheses. In this symposium we aim to share new insights into long-term forest dynamics using a variety of methodological approaches. Improved understanding of tropical forest dynamics helps to quantify the roles of these forests in the global carbon cycle.

• Human-Nature interaction
  • Biodiversity-friendly agriculture in the tropics: sustainable food production system (#59); Iskandar Z Siregar, Damayanti Buchori (Abstract)

    One serious threat facing many developing countries in the future is the inability to fulfil food requirements, especially rice and other strategic commodities due to low food production and productivity. In Indonesia, data show that domestic food requirements tend to increase year by year due to high population growth and increased welfare as well as shift in food consumption pattern, including non domestic production food that have high volume and export values (flour, milk, soy bean, sugar).

    The livelihood of the local population in most of Indonesian rural areas critically depends on agriculture. During the past decades, non-sustainable practices of agriculture have resulted in ecosystem degradation in many parts of the country. As a consequence, the gap between impoverished rural areas and quickly developing areas has increased. Therefore, revitalization of the agriculture sector in broad sense aimed at alleviating poverty as well as improving ecosystems, became an important issue. Although there has been a significant development of agricultural technologies in the tropics during the last decade, farming practices within the context of biodiversity friendly agriculture (BFA) are still not yet widely adopted due some constraints in suitable land, man-power, initial investment as well as poor understanding on the local culture, ecosystems, species as well as the status of natural resources.

    The proposed symposium aims to explore the lessons learned and best practices in biodiversity friendly agriculture (BFA) encompassing diverse ecosystem in Indonesia. In this event, BFA will not be discussed as an abstract concept, but as a concrete concept for the development of sustainable food production system.

  • Cocoa agroforestry: opportunities and challenges for tropical conservation (#07); Goetz Schroth, Jacques Delabie , Deborah Faria (Abstract)

    The conservation of globally important biodiversity and ecosystem services in the tropics cannot rely on protected areas alone. In the face of a growing human population and increasing demands on tropical resources, the role of agro-ecosystems and agricultural landscapes as habitat of native plant and animal species (including rare and endemic ones) and provider of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water regulation, pest and disease control, seed dispersal and soil fertility regeneration are increasingly recognized. At the same time, it is becoming clear that the intensification of tropical land use poses threats but also offers opportunities to the conservation and restoration of these landscape functions and services. This symposium focuses on a tree crop – cocoa – that is remarkable by being at the basis of some of the most biodiverse and forest-like agricultural systems and landscapes in the tropics. However, the biophysical, socioeconomic and technological contexts under which cocoa is grown in its major production regions differ widely, and so do the interactions between the crop and its natural environment. While cocoa agroforestry systems have been recognized as key building blocks of conservation landscapes in some regions, unsustainable production practices put pressure on natural ecosystems in others. This symposium brings together studies of biodiversity and environmental services in cocoa production landscapes in Latin America, Africa and Asia, combining an overview of the state of knowledge and recent research progress. Cross-cutting topics will include the linkages between native biodiversity and ecosystem services in cocoa landscapes; the identification of the factors and conditions that make cocoa production systems positive contributors to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation; and the opportunities for cross-regional learning and exchange of experiences in the pursuit of sustainable livelihoods and ecosystem conservation in tropical land use.

  • Engaging local people for conservation in South-East Asia (#21); Manuel Boissière, Douglas Sheil (Abstract)

    Despite decades of conservation projects, the best way to engage local people remains one of the most controversial topics in conservation. To what extent can this debate be resolved by research? What is the way to move forward? This symposium will explore a range of experiences and viewpoints in the hope of casting light on this apparently intractable set of issues.

    Numerous approaches have been developed to clarify and facilitate the role local people play in landscapes managed, in part, for conservation. By sharing experiences from participatory to more protectionist approaches, the symposium will initiate a debate between research institutions and conservation NGOs.

    Two contrasting views are generally highlighted regarding the possible role of local communities in conservation: the devolutionists, favoring the full involvement of local communities in conservation management and the protectionists, which consider the communities a threat to be controlled. We shall explore the possibilities for a middle way that includes local people but does not necessarily give them full control. What requirements does this imply in terms of bridging the link between those in charge of the conservation and those who live in or near a protected area? How to improve – or even to initiate- communication between stakeholders with different agendas?

    The symposium will address conservation inside and outside protected areas, and in fragmented landscapes, where human activities represent the main driver of changes. What are the most promising ways to ensure local people the sustainable use of biodiversity in these landscapes?

  • Evaluating economic incentives for conservation: from case-studies to process understanding (#26); Claudia Romero (Abstract)

    Economics are one of the pillars on which decisions affecting the present and future of tropical ecosystems and their resources are based. Thus, it is a discipline that can offer several insights to the community of tropical conservationists. It is thanks to the efforts of researchers willing to recognize the contributions of economic thinking, and to the integration of economics to work of other disciplines more traditionally linked to conservation, that conservation initiatives have increased potential of changing the characteristic path of destruction of tropical ecosystems.

    This Symposium represents a first step, within the realm of ATBC, to bringing economists and their perspectives together with conservationists and researchers, to enhance the growing but still scarce experiences of collaboration and mutual learning towards tropical conservation. The underlying objective is to start a discussion of frameworks for evaluation of the ecological, social, and economic impacts of PES and economic-based incentives for conservation (e.g., tradable development rights, biodiversity offsets, environmental subsidies and taxes, performance-determined transfers between different levels of government).

    Through the presentation of case-studies, attendees interested in understanding the opportunities offered by these incentives will be better able to grasp the numerous and often complex impacts of the implementation of economic-based initiatives. This Symposium will conclude with a panel during which the speakers and attendees will explore ways forward on the important tasks of progress monitoring and problem detection, processes on which ecologists and social scientists increasingly need to be involved.

    The specific focus of this Symposium will be on the methods used to evaluate the progress and impacts, intended and not, of economic incentives-based conservation initiatives. Impacts considered will include ecological, economic, and more narrow financial benefits and costs for the parties involved, as well as for the particular ecosystem services being marketed, and those that are not (e.g., biodiversity costs associated with carbon gains). Likewise, impacts to be assessed will include the cascade of effects above and below the levels of the participating institutions, as well as at various time scales. Finally, the political impacts on decision-making, information transfer, and accountability related to resource allocation and control will be examined. By emphasizing the methods used to quantify impacts, participants will be able to advance towards a more analytical framework that will allow identification of those ‘ingredients’ needed for the success of economic incentives initiatives, and of those characteristics of failures that should be avoided in the future.

  • Governance and the conservation of tropical nature (#10); William F. Laurance (Abstract)

    Corruption afflicts all societies. One need look no further than the financial scandals that engulfed US-based corporations such as Enron and WorldCom, where company executives defrauded investors out of billions of dollars, to be reminded that this is so.

    However, some societies suffer more from corruption than do others. Political corruption, where individuals abuse public office for financial or other private gain, is unfortunately pervasive in many developing nations. This often occurs because government officials in such countries are poorly paid, increasing the likelihood of bribery, particularly when officials control valuable natural resources, such as timber, oil, land, minerals, and gemstones. Other societal phenomena that are relatively common in developing countries, such as weak political institutions, limited checks and balances among different government agencies, and nepotism and political patronage, can also promote corruption. Given that developing nations usually rely heavily on the exploitation of natural resources for revenue and employment, corruption has a corrosive effect on governments and can seriously impede economic and social development.

    Although corruption can reduce environmental pressures by hindering development activity, it is usually perceived as a threat to sustainable development. Corruption can have a significant impact on nature conservation by promoting overexploitation of forests, wildlife, fisheries and other resources, and by reducing the effectiveness of conservation programs. Many ecosystems, such as species-rich tropical forests and coral reefs, which are largely confined to developing countries, are highly vulnerable.

    This symposium will bring together a range of experts to discuss the challenges posed by corruption and weak governance for the conservation of tropical ecosystems and biodiversity, and to highlight strategies to combat them. There will be some focus on the Asia-Pacific region but the symposium will be pantropical in scope. A range of perspectives will be presented, but the broad goal will be to provide a relatively balanced perspective on this pervasive challenge to tropical conservation, and to explore potential solutions and ongoing policy initiatives.

  • Human health, food security and forests (#17); Carol J. Pierce Colfer, Bronwen Powell (Abstract)

    During this decade, an increasing amount of evidence has been accumulated linking human health and food security to biodiversity and forest maintenance. Clear links on the positive side include the provisioning services of forests (foods, medicines, shelter), the cultural implications of forest lifeways (emotional and cognitive connections that give meaning to forest people’s lives), and cultural services such as indigenous knowledge and traditional health care systems.  On the negative side, forested areas tend to be home to many diseases, some of which derive from habitats that favour disease or disease vectors, and some related to the remoteness (and resulting lack of health services) in such areas.

    The Human health, Food Security and Forests Panel will focus on research highlighting the importance of forests for health and especially food security of local populations. Research on forests and food security is particularly timely as increasing international attention to climate change fuels increasing interest in climate change mitigation. For many forest and biodiversity researchers this term tends to be considered as “mitigation of the effects of climate change on forests” however amongst social and health scientists the term refers primarily to “the mitigation of the negative effects of climate change on the well-being and livelihoods of human populations”. This panel will expand awareness of the links among human health, food security, biodiversity, and forest maintenance among scientists; strengthening inter-disciplinary communication and thereby helping to bridge epistemological gaps.

  • Living with Nature; lessons from Bali (`Tri Hika Karana’) and Japan (`Satoyama’) (#56); A. A. G. Raka Dalem (Abstract)

    In many ways human activities have polluted and have been disastrous to nature. Illegal logging, land clearing, discharging of untreated sewage into waterbodies, inefficient use of natural resources, etc has been a global concern. This causes poroblems, such as land slides, water pollution, decrease of biodiversity, and extinction of species. Burning of fossil fuel have increased the release of carbon dioxides and other ozone depleting substances into the atmosphere which then causes global warming.

    The concern about environmental problems has increased recently. Now people are asked not only seeking for money but also looking after the environment, and in their daily lifes should also be friendly with local culture. This trigers the ermegence of the movements of ecotourism, green productivity, and push the people to live in harmony with nature.

    Some efforts have been conducted internationally as an alternative solution on environmental problems occuring recently. Implementation of programs for achieving MDGs, declaration of 2010 as The Internanaional Year of Biodiversity (IYB) are examples of the efforts. “Environmental sustainability” becomes one of 8 Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

    Implementation of Green Globe or ISO 14001 certifications are also other alternatives for creating sustainable development. These certifications have been widely participated by industries and other parties. The Government and Non Government Organization (NGO) have also had an important role in this issue. Implementation of programs to achieve MDGs 2015 has also been one of solutions in looking after the nature.

    Managing nature by living in harmony with nature based on indigenous knowledge has also been encouraged. This include the implementation of the concept of Satoyama in Japan, Tri Hita Karana (THK) phylosophy in Bali-Indonesia, etc. In Bali, for example, the movement for implementation of the philosophy of THK (THK means three sources of happyness/weathyness, as a result of harmonious and balance relationship between human beeing and the God, human beeing and other humans, and between human beeing and the environment) has been considered to be very important in creating a harmonious life with nature and sustainable life in the future.

  • Managing invasive alien species (#19); Bambang Purwantara, Sri S. Tjitrosoedirdjo (Abstract)

    Indonesia has been benefiting greatly from foreign crop species in so many ways. Crops such as rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), coffee (Coffea), cacao (Theobroma cacao), and cassava (Manihot utilisima), to mention a few, have been fulfilling household and industrial needs for foods and feeds since they became domesticated. In the same way, some ornamental plants and exotic fishes and pets have been providing enjoyment and enhanced social life to various groups of people. However, the importation of these foreign beneficial species also carried with them unwanted species which have become nuisance such as Crassocephalum crepidioides, a weed from South America contaminating coffee seeds. Some imported species meant for beneficial purposes have unfortunately become a menace. For instance, Mikania micrantha, intended as medicinal plant, is now considered an invasive alien plant species threatening plantations and logged over forests. Iguana as a pet is now regarded as a pest since its release in some forests in Indonesia as it consumes eggs in the nests of local birds. Widelia trilobata (now recognized as Sphagneticola trilobata) used to be a beautiful garden plant but has become a difficult weed to control in rubber and coconut plantations and even in newly established forests. These species and several others, now aptly considered as invasive alien species (IAS), have already been recognized as causing reduction in biodiversity in terms of altering nutrient cycle and posing competition with other crops, and becoming pests in some production systems.

    In most cases, areas that are susceptible to invasive alien species are those considered disturbed areas which can be of natural origin though the greater fraction of them is man-made. These areas are prevalent in Indonesia such as logged over forests aside from overgrazed pasture lands, various inland aquatic ecosystems, and agricultural plantations. The challenge for Indonesia is to manage these areas well to prevent the introduction and proliferation of IAS, if not to control or totally eradicate them whenever appropriate. Are there best practices in managing IAS that are already documented? What management aspects need improvement? Do we have the necessary manpower and infrastructure to sustain such practices? How could all these be integrated toward developing a national regulatory framework for managing IAS?

  • Tropical forest road impacts and mitigation (#35); Miriam Goosem (Abstract)

    Clearings for linear infrastructures, especially roads, are a burgeoning feature of the tropical forest landscape. Roads, powerlines and other linear clearings provide a means of ingress to mostly unmodified forest for a variety of organisms which can result in differing scales of forest alterations. These range from invasions by native species adapted to habitats other than rainforest, through invasions of weeds, pests and diseases imported from other tropical areas, to human hunting and potentially forest clearing, colonisation and land development. Roads also have the potential to increase forest changes resulting from natural disturbances and from climate change.

    Tropical rainforest fauna and flora often are particularly susceptible to road impacts. Many species are ecological specialists adapted to the complex architecture, and low light, high humidity and relatively stable temperature regimes found below the rainforest canopy. These may avoid clearings and forest edges or fail to survive in the altered conditions found there, causing both edge and barrier effects. In contrast, many long-lived, large animals may not necessarily avoid edges but can be vulnerable to vehicle collisions, hunting and forest clearing encouraged by road development. The goal of this symposium is to explore what is known of road impacts in tropical rainforest regions and how we currently assess these impacts. We aim to identify gaps in knowledge regarding linear infrastructure impacts, particularly where studies are lacking regarding particular taxonomic groups or geographical regions. We will discuss means of mitigating both small- and landscape-scale impacts and how far we have progressed in the evaluation of these mitigatory measures.

• Information and education
  • Biodiversity informatics for biological conservation and management: CBD meets RDF (#04); Teguh Triono, Campbell Webb (Abstract)

    Recent years have seen an explosion in technological capabilities for organizing and cross-linking biodiversity information. At the same time, the loss of natural habitats continues rapidly in megadiversity countries, and the conservation needs for biodiversity data are greater than ever. Many developing countries are struggling to meet the taxonomic reporting requirements for the Convention on Biological Diversity deadlines for 2010. At this key time (also the International Year of Biodiversity), we want to bring some leading developers of biodiversity informatics together in a symposium at a conference focused on tropical biodiversity, to expose some of these new technologies and to demonstrate their real-world applications in conservation and management. We hope to bring the energy and content of exciting recent meetings like eBiosphere and TDWG 2009 to a wider audience of tropical field biologists, because it is upon the latter that the future of biodiversity data collection in megadiversity areas depends.

  • Conservation knowledge for all (#08); Navjot S. Sodhi, Paul R. Ehrlich (Abstract)

    The global biodiversity crisis must be dealt with rapidly; what can be saved in the developing world will require an educated constituency both in the developing and developed world. Sadly, developing world conservation scientists have found it difficult to access an authoritative textbook, which is ironic since it is these countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. We will present on a project that will provide free and open access to cutting-edge but basic conservation science textbook to developing as well as developed country inhabitants. The project represents an effort that the conservation community has deemed worthy of support by donations of time and effort.

• Marine biology
  • Coral reefs and climate change (#09); David Smith, Stuart Campbell (Abstract)

    Coral reefs are amongst the most productive and diverse marine ecosystems and support ½ billion people world-wide. They provide many key ecosystem services and support the economy of many maritime countries. Despite being physically robust systems they are susceptible to environmental change as demonstrated by the devastating 1998 El Nino event that killed 16 % of the worlds coral reefs and up to 90 % in some countries. The 2004 Tsunami and numerous Caribbean hurricanes have also demonstrated the fragility of corals when faced with high intensity storm and wave activity. Being carbonaceous based systems they are also likely to be heavily impacted by ocean acidification and although productivity might initially increase the key ecosystem architecture is likely to be greatly reduced and thus the structure of the system altered with major consequences for associated diversity and productivity. These key environmental issues all directly relate to predicted climate change variables and scientific interest in the subject is extremely high. However and perhaps as would be expected, there is much contradiction in the recent literature and this symposium aims to bring the most advanced research and current thinking to the conference by inviting world experts in their respective fields. The symposium will focus on coral reef responses to the key climate change variables and will highlight both experimental, study and modeling based research that aims to predict the future fate of reef systems. Importantly the Symposium will also highlight the connectivity that exists between coral reefs and adjacent systems that support reef diversity and productivity namely seagrass beds and mangrove forests. The consequences of climate change on these connected systems are largely unknown and the degree to which reefs will be impacted both in the negative and potentially positive remains unaddressed. Finally the symposium will focus on the human element and examine the socio-economic implications of climate change, and national and international initiatives and policies that are aimed at mitigating the potential impacts of climate change. The trans-disciplinary symposium will provide a unique opportunity for conference participants to be exposed to cutting edge research from some of the world research leaders whilst also being introduced to international attempts to mitigate against the potentially devastating impacts of climate change on coral reef systems.

  • Ecology and conservation of mangrove ecosystems along changing coastlines in Asia (#22); Edward L. Webb (Abstract)

    Loss of tropical habitats may have severe consequences for the ecology of plant and animal species. This is especially true for mangrove ecosystems along coastlines that are undergoing changes from urban development, aquaculture, mining and overexploitation for natural resources. Furthermore, mangroves may be subjected to novel threats or opportunities not seen in terrestrial ecosystems, such as coastal squeeze, increased sediment loading, and sea level rise.

    In this session, oral presentations will focus on the relationship between human-produced coastal landscape change and predicted / observed alterations in mangrove ecology. Topics may include reproductive ecology, conservation genetics, propagule dispersal, biogeography, and degradation and restoration. Linkages with biophysical changes of deforestation, land use change and fragmentation, and associated conservation implications, are necessary to maintain thematic continuity.

  • Experimental approaches in tropical marine biology and ecology (#23); Karen von Juterzenka (Abstract)

    Biological diversity generally describes the variety of living organisms and their environment in a defined area at a given time, in the sense of genetic, species and habitat diversity. In tropical countries which host unique marine communities and rely on diverse marine ecosystems for sustainable living and human development, it will be crucial to understand the driving forces for marine community and biodiversity shifts. Local anthropogenic influence and global climate change have countless implications for marine ecosystems as well as related resources and ecosystem services in general. Although changes of abiotic parameters and biological consequences will be complex, there are indications that climate-driven impacts on specific species, like substrate providers or significant predators, might cause substantial changes on the community level.

    Experimental approaches help to understand organism responses to natural factors as well as anthropogenic stressors and to explain and predict changes in community compositions. Different level of sensitivity towards various stressors may lead to the survival or decline of a species, and to biological invasions causing a cascade of subsequent shifts in species interactions. Global comparisons can provide insights in the ecological capacity of marine organisms and their readiness to adapt to changes.

    The symposium will focus on experimental approaches in tropical marine biology and ecology related to organism or community responses to environmental factors, as well as marine species interactions. Contributions addressing capacities of marine organisms towards temperature change, ocean acidification, marine pollution, current flow and current patterns, light regime and sedimentation are especially welcome.

  • Frontiers in marine conservation planning (#40); Carissa Klein, Hugh Possingham (Abstract)

    Systematic conservation planning identifies configurations of complementary areas that achieve explicit, quantitative objectives. Since its origin in the early 1980s, the field has influenced conservation decisions and policy around the world. For example, systematic conservation planning methods and tools were used to inform the rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

    Most approaches to solving complex problems start simply and evolve; systematic conservation planning is no exception. The approach was originally used for simple problems, that is, to identify potential new reserves that meet a set of conservation targets for minimum expenditure. It is continually evolving to address complex and more realistic factors better, such as considering multiple actions, species persistence requirements, threats, spatial connectivity, and socioeconomics.

    The increasing influence of systematic methods on conservation spending and actions underlines the importance and urgency of further advances. The aim of our symposium is to highlight new ideas and techniques in the field with a focus on marine ecosystems. Marine conservation has captured the interest of regional, national, and international agencies and, as a result, many initiatives are being established to protect marine biodiversity (e.g., Coral Triangle Initiative, Australia’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, World Commission on Protected Areas).

    We will discuss theoretical advances in marine systematic conservation planning and feature applications of these ideas to on-the-ground conservation decisions, including case-studies from the Coral Triangle (i.e. East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands). We will focus on three main topics (summarized below): 1) Integrated land and sea planning; 2) Zoning inclusive of socioeconomic factors; 3) Incorporating ecosystem dynamics.

  • Geographical evolution, genetics and conservation of marine biodiversity (#25); Paul Barber, Craig Starger , Eric Crandall (Abstract)

    The Coral Triangle Biodiversity Hotspot is the most biologically diverse marine ecosystem in the world. It is also the most threatened. While conservation of this region is complex, two key issues must be considered in conservation planning to yield long-term preservation of this biodiversity hotspot. First, it is critical to understand patterns of connectivity among populations. Connectivity provides the demographic exchange required to promote population stability and genetic exchange required to maintain the genetic exchange needed to maintain the ability of populations to respond to environmental change. Knowledge of connectivity is essential for developing functional networks of marine reserves. Second, although often overlooked, preservation of the Coral Triangle Biodiversity Hotspot requires conserving the processes that are creating and preserving this pattern. Identifying the origins of high marine biodiversity in this region is important so that these processes can be considered in region-wide conservation planning.

    Recent years have seen tremendous advances in genetic methods. These methods are increasingly being applied to the waters of the Coral Triangle, providing novel insights into the processes driving diversification in this region. Perhaps more significantly, these methods are increasingly able to bridge the gap between processes occurring on evolutionary time scales and those occurring on ecological time scales, providing the ability to inform both ecological and evolutionary components of marine conservation.

    This symposium will focus on the application of genetic methods to marine conservation. Specifically it will 1) explore the progress is applying genetic methods to the understanding of genetic connectivity and the processes shaping that connectivity across the Coral Triangle, and 2) the insights from genetic studies on the processes contributing to the creation and maintenance of the Coral Triangle Biodiversity Hotspot, and 3) how this information can be applied to conservation planning.

  • Small-scale fisheries and the tragedy of the commons revisited (#42); Suseno Sukoyono, Elvira C. Ablaza (Abstract)

    Unlimited entry to common property resources constitutes a huge challenge to resource conservation and sustainable development. As different interest groups have their respective perspectives, which are likely to be biased and self-serving, it is important to seek a common understanding of why there is a need for resource conservation, protection, and management, and when limited (rather than common) access to the resources needs to be enforced. Due to gaps between science/knowledge, governance, and policy making, the common property resource (CPR) regime has long been a stumbling block to the development of basic trust and harmony, which are essential to the avoidance of conflicts and which are vital prerequisites to successful conservation and sustainable development.

    Through this Symposium, a holistic understanding of common property resources will be sought to improve the crucial links between science and policy, leading to coastal community welfare based on the attainment of a consensus as to when limited access to common property resources should be implemented.

    The Symposium will aim to foster multidisciplinary reflection, assessment, and dialogue on the management of common property resources as a tool for fisheries conservation and sustainable development in the tropics. More specifically, the Symposium will (i) explore array of interlinked among various disciplines of ecology, economics, and social sciences, as they apply to the empirical perspectives of small- scale fisheries; and (ii) assess the policy implications of various strategies in different geographic locations.

  • The Poseidon Adventure: climate change, marine biodiversity and food from the sea (#24); Agus Heri Purnomo, Ahmad Hezri bin Adnan , Natasha Stacey , Marion Glaser (Abstract)

    Illegal, uncontrolled, unregulated exploitation of marine resources has continuously challenged the existence of species and shifted ecosystem balance. Climate change further threatens the ecosystems, thus placing human interests and overall sustainability of the natural resources at increased risk. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that global warming will trigger enormous physical and social changes. Physical effects such as higher average surface and ocean temperatures and rising sea levels could trigger adverse socio-economic impacts such as famine and drought, shifts in economic output and migration patterns. Major sources of concern for developing countries associated with climate change are the anticipated negative effects on their marine resource biodiversity, economies and development prospects.

    Specifically, significant impacts of climate change on global food system, and particularly on market prices, are possible. The potential impacts of climate change on food security must therefore be viewed within the larger framework of changing earth system dynamics and interrelated changes of multiple socio-economic and environmental variables, including climate change and biodiversity. Although generally perceived as having negative impacts only, climate change may also provide positive impetus to move towards sustainability. For example, development of technology for sustainable food supply or transformations in social values and associated behaviours towards the natural environment. Moreover, the resilience and adaptive capacities of aquatic resource ecosystems, fisheries and aquaculture production systems, and of the human communities dependent on them can be enhanced by principles and approaches such as good governance, social-ecological systems and resilience management, adaptive sustainable resources management, as well as careful application of biotechnological innovations.

    Managing marine resources biodiversity normally include the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) and the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA). These include practices of adaptive and precautionary management based on appropriate social, economic, political and institutional incentives. In response to the global marine crisis, new approaches that focus on supporting and sustaining social-ecological system resilience have to be developed. Such approaches contest current management and metrics and stress the significance of multilevel adaptive governance systems for marine and aquaculture management. Such governance systems need features that can deal with cross-scale socio-economic drivers of globalisation that cause coastal and marine vulnerability. Only with such approaches can we anticipate unwanted regime shifts – (or, conversely, promote desirable ones) and improve understanding of the complex dynamics and processes that support or undermine social-ecological resilience and manage the socio-economic drivers and governance systems that shape the future of living marine resources and the services they provide to humanity.

    Considering that challenges and solutions are multi-layered and multi-dimensional, the establishment of sustainability criteria for the conservation and use of marine biodiversity calls for multi-disciplinary empirical perspectives leading to holistic understanding that will enable the wise use of natural resources on one hand and an equitable and sustainable approach to human and societal interests on the other hand.

• Microbiology
  • Exploration of tropical microbial diversity and their role in overcoming food, energy and climate crisis (#27); I Made Sudiana, Kyria Boundy-Mills (Abstract)

    Tropical microorganism are vital to maintaining global ecosystem health and ecosystem services. The vast metabolic diversity of tropical microorganisms enable them to play key roles in terrestrial and marine food webs, and they are responsible for the cycling nutrients. This diversity is underpinned by novel enzymatic functions and metabolites or pigments, or stress tolerance, while microorganisms have already proven to be a rich source of biologically active compounds.  Recently a large scale microbial survey indicated the existence of phylogenetically distinct microorganisms. Both culture-dependent and independent studies have provided an opportunity to also access the seemingly microbial diversity of microbial communities associated with plants, and animala.

    From the biotechnological prospective, the productions of toxins, signaling molecules and other secondary metabolites as effective competition and defense strategies by endophytic microorganism constitute an unparalleled reservoir for the discovery of renewable energy sources, new drugs, therapeutic agents, and bioactive molecules, with application across medical, industrial and environmental settings.

    In agricultural sectors, microorganisms have great potential for increasing crop productivity, drought tolerance, pest resistance and thus exploitation of beneficial microorganism for sustainable agricultural practices are interest for both developed and developing countries. On a global scale, microorganism can even influence climate change, and they are importance actors of green house gas emission, and reduction.

    To enhance research on microbial resources, microbial culture collections are an important asset for facilitating research on taxonomy, ecology and bioprospecting. Despite the significant importance of tropical microorganism in sustaining ecosystem services, and maintaining global ecosystem health, and key actors in bio-industrial processes, our understanding on the species and metabolic, and ecological diversity is still limited. Thus intensive and integrated researches on global scale are required. The goal of the proposed symposium is to explore tropical microbial diversity, metabolic diversity and its applications, as well as understanding ecological and functional diversity in relation with climate crises.

  • Tropical fungi: an under-explored biodiversity frontier (#48); Atik Retnowati, Brian Perry , Anne Pringle (Abstract)

    The fungi are a megadiverse group of eukaryotic microbes and function as mutualists, parasites, and decomposers. Fungi may drive the diversity of other groups of organisms, including plants: an increase in the numbers of symbiotic mycorrhizal species may increase the local diversity of plants, and fungal pathogens may mediate the Janzen-Connell model. Introductions of novel fungal pathogens may devastate native species of plants or animals. Saprotrophic fungi are also critical to biogeochemical cycles, as fungi are the primary decomposers in terrestrial soils. Most work on fungi has focused on species of temperate latitudes, and there is comparatively little information about tropical fungi. The scarcity of data is such that even basic trends remain a mystery, for example, there are no data to support or refute a latitudinal gradient in fungal diversity. In fact, it seems clear that some fungal groups demonstrate a reverse gradient, and are more diverse in temperate latitudes. This symposium will focus attention on an important but poorly studied kingdom, with the aim of generating excitement about unanswered questions, and fostering a community focused on tropical fungi.

• Plant-animal interactions
  • Mutualism in a changing climate (#45); Rhett D Harrison, Martine Hossaert-McKey (Abstract)

    The release of greenhouse gases and the consequent changes in global temperature and rainfall distributions is changing tropical environments. In Amazonia, different authors have recorded directional changes in plant species composition, which they attribute to CO2 fertilisation. In SE Asia the severity and frequency of El Niño-associated droughts appear to be increasing, and these have been associated with widespread fires, changes in plant composition, and local extinction of mutualists. Meanwhile, on tropical mountains, increased temperature has led to elevational shifts and extinction of species.

    The aim of this symposium is to examine the consequences of these changes for mutualistic interactions. Climate change may affect the outcome of mutualistic interactions, through compositional changes in the partners involved or through other changes in the biotic environment, including the composition of competitors or organisms ‘parasitic’ on the mutualism. Moreover, the degree to which mutualistic interactions are affected will depend on levels of redundancy and evolutionary plasticity. Talks are invited on topics pertaining to the direct effects of climate change on mutualistic interactions or on their functional consequences.

• Location-based
  • African ecology (#54); Robert Nasi, Rob Pringle
  • New Guinea biodiversity and ecosystems (#53); Charlie Heatubun

Evening events 

Open, free of extra charge, to all registered participants and registered spouses/partners.

• 20 July:
  • `Emerging technologies for tropical biology and conservation: genomics and beyond,’ an expo (Contact: Chai-Shian Kua and Chuck Cannon)
  • Roundtable discussion on international cooperation and tropical biodiversity access and benefits sharing (Contact: Didi Indrawan and Koh Lian Pin; Abstract)

    Tropical biology researches are often hampered by lack of effective international cooperation between scientists living in northern and southern latitudes. Yet, with good faith and understanding, there could be increased opportunity for win-win cooperation. Synergies will only benefit science, conservation and sustainable development across the divide. To bridge the gap of international cooperation, an open discussion should help to facilitate better understanding of key drivers that govern the priorities of scientists across the contemporary resident-visiting divide. The RTD is geared to encourage increased synergy across the divide for the making of science and knowledge, both of which should effectively contribute to conservation and sustainable development. In other words, the goal is to harmonize the different perspectives for the conduct of research in the tropics, and where possible contribute to better establishment of principles and practicalities of increased cooperation. The main objective of the round table discussion is to better understand the key considerations for doing research in tropical countries by both resident and visiting scientists, and eventually to provide recommendations to inform the way ahead.

  • Open discussion: ‘Combating conservationist burnout: strategies for finding hope’ (facilitated by Cynthia Ong; More…)

    People working in nature conservation fields are daily assaulted with bad news about loss and destruction of species and ecosystems. The sense of frustration and despair is even harder when particular, beloved places are damaged. In public, a stoic optimism is expected as the appropriate response, while in private, gnawing despair can sap the will to continue, leading to ‘burnout’ and growing cynicism. There are few opportunities to discuss the management of despair and the need to sustain our hopes, and publicly acknowledge that sustaining our internal motivation is fundamental to effective work. At this evening event at ATBC 2010, we will be asking several prominent biologists and conservationist to speak briefly on their own strategies for finding hope, and then open a facilitated discussion.

• 21 July:
  • ATBC Conservation Committee General Meeting
  • Australasian Floristic Interchange Group, kickoff meeting (organized by Craig Costion)
• 22 July:
  • ‘The Biodiversity of Indonesia,’ a slide show by National Geographic photographer and biologist, Tim Laman.
  • Introductory meeting: ‘Developing a knowledge base for forest restoration in Southeast Asia’ (organized by David Neidel)
  • Biotropica editorial board meeting

Workshops and side meetings 

Workshops and courses will occur either before or after the main meeting (i.e., ending on 19 July, or beginning on 24 July). We have arranged the use of the beautiful Bali Botanical Gardens (owned and managed by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences), in Bedugul, but some short workshops may also be in Sanur.

Registration for workshops is managed by workshop organizers, not by the ATBC 2010 secretariat. Some workshops may be free, some may require additional payment. You may attend as many workshops as is logistically possible. Accommodation for Bedugul-based workshops should also be planned for and arranged separately. If you are interested in one of the titles here, you are encouraged to email the organizers directly.

• Pre-meeting
  • Experimental Design and Data Analysis course (12-16 July; contact: Rhett Harrison; Bedugul)
  • Plant Ecology and Diversity Observation Network and Capacity Building in Indonesia (16-19 July; Puri Dalem Hotel) Organized by Ecological Society in Indonesia (HEI), LIPI, Japan Society of Tropical Ecology; Sponsored by JSPS. Organizing committee: Eizi Suzuki (Kagoshima University), Dedy Daenardi (RCB-LIPI), Tukirin Partomihardjo (RCB-LIPI), Alhamd Laode (RCB-LIPI), Joeni Setijo Rahajoe (RCB-LIPI), Ngakan Putu Oka (Hasanuddin Univ.), Ruliyana Susanti (RCB-LIPI)
  • Scientific Paper Writing course (17 July; contact: Rhett Harrison; Bedugul)
  • ATBC 2010 Media workshop (17-19 July; Budhy Kristanty, CIFOR); Bedugul)
  • Participatory biodiversity monitoring as a tool for conservation in tropical forests (18 July; Manuel Boissiere and Doug Sheil; Sanur)
  • Introduction to and applications of the systematic conservation planning software, Marxan and Marxan with Zones (18 July; Hugh Possingham and Carissa Klein; Sanur) See website.
  • BioGENESIS Council meeting (19-20 July; Sanur)
  • ATBC Council meeting (19 July; Sanur)
  • ATBC Asia-Pacific Chapter Council meeting (19 July; Sanur)
• Post-meeting
  • Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainable Development field course (six weeks, after ATBC 2010; contact: Rhett Harrison)