Saturday, August 2, 2008: 8:00 AM-8:30 PM Sunday, August 3, 2008: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
201 B, Midwest Airlines Center
WK 1 - Ecology and Evolution of Plant-Pollinator Interactions
Studies in pollination biology provide fundamental insight into many biological processes, including mutualism, exploitation, mating systems, animal cognition and behavior, and evolution by natural selection. Like many fields in biology, innovation in the study of pollination has often involved specialization in a particular sub-discipline. However, this specialization may cause fragmentation of understanding and conceptual frameworks, which can hamper progress if unaddressed. The study of pollination biology has experienced a recent surge of growth in two related fields. On the one hand, studies in community ecology are breaking new ground in addressing patterns in plant-pollinator networks, the strength of interactions in pollination webs, and the repercussions of disturbance, land-use change, and invasion to population and community dynamics. On the other hand, evolutionary biologists are now armed with advanced molecular and genomic tools which enable them to delve into the processes and consequences underlying the dynamics of pollen transport, the evolution of obligate mutualisms and plant mating patterns, and the genetics of floral evolution. The goal of this symposium is to highlight the most exciting recent advances in community and evolutionary pollination biology, and foster interaction among pollination biologists. We aim to encourage a unified framework for the study of community and evolutionary approaches, and draw attention to largely unexplored questions at the intersection of community and evolutionary pollination biology to inspire future research. This two-day symposium will feature 24 speakers from nine countries, as well as a poster session with approximately 150 participants. Our conference web site is: www3.uakron.edu/biology/pollination.
Organizer:	Jeffrey D. Karron, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Co-organizers:	Randall J. Mitchell, University of Akron Rebecca E. Irwin, Dartmouth College

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See more of The 93rd ESA Annual Meeting (August 3 -- August 8, 2008)