Pre- & Post-Congress Workshops

Collection and analysis of field data for estimation of primate density or abundance
Venue: St. Andrews University. Dates: 30 July to 1st August 2008

Macaca fascicularis workshop
Venue: University of Edinburgh. Date: August 3rd 2008 (12-4pm)

Collection and analysis of field data for estimation of primate density or abundance

We will model this three-day workshop after our distance sampling workshops that we have conducted for the past decade.  The workshop will be conducted in our facility on the campus of the University of St. Andrews, one hour by train from Edinburgh.

The concepts of distance sampling will be explained and the assumptions of the methods discussed. The focus of the workshop will be on practical application of the methods.

The workshop will start with an introduction to wildlife population assessment methods, and demonstration of how line transect methods are generalizations of sample count methods. The underlying theory and assumptions of line transect sampling will be covered. Computer sessions will follow, training participants in the fundamental use of program Distance.

More sophisticated analysis techniques, such as adjustment for size bias and stratification will be discussed.  We will also make available time for discussion of special topics, selected by participants to discuss issues of special interest. Good survey design is an essential ingredient of a successful survey so design issues and field methods will be covered in detail.

Details of the workshop have been finalized, with dates of 30th, 31st July and 1st August 2008, just prior to the IPS Congress.  For further information on the workshop visit their website (http://www.creem.st-and.ac.uk/ocs/index.php/primates/primates08). [BACK TO TOP]

Conservation education forum: Ideas, achievements, and future goals

People preserve biodiversity because of their attitudes toward nature, learned from family, society and schooling. Education has a crucial role to play in both environmental and social agendas (Van Petegam & Blieck 2006). Attitudes of responsibility, sensitivity, empathy towards living things and ethical decision-making can be fostered through the study of ecology and conservation in both formal and informal environmental education.

Many conservation-education projects exist in and around areas maintaining rare and endangered species, often using primates as their “flagships” However, these projects and the individuals running them are often isolated in their work as well as geographically. There are not many opportunities to share both their successes and also what doesn’t work in their project with other practitioners, or to analyse why some projects or aspects of projects are more successful than others. Moreover, conservation-education projects across the world develop and produce educational resources for their communities. Many of the goals and ideas, as well as some of the actual resources could be shared with other conservation-education projects to avoid having to ‘reinvent the wheel’ each time.

The aim of this workshop is to provide a forum for exchange of ideas and for sharing successful strategies (best practices) and failures, and to analyse why these might have occurred. Shared best practices and avoidance of previously made mistakes will enhance existing projects. The workshop also aims to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas about developed resources (e.g., posters, booklets, teacher’s handbooks, children’s books, etc) and explore the consideration of these resources as “share-ware” with other projects. The exchange of information at a forum of this kind should substantially enhance the progress of conservation-education projects and strengthen ties to the communities in which they work.

Organisers: Alison Jolly (University of Sussex, UK), Hanta Rasamimanana (Université d'Antananarivo), Helen Clarke and Francine Dolins (both of University of Winchester, UK). Venue: University of Edinburgh. Registration fee: £14 (GB pounds) per person. Date: 2nd August 2008. Further information: A full information pack including a registration form is available (Download information pack: MS Word , Adobe PDF). Also see http://www.winchester.ac.uk/?page=8826. Alternatively contact: Francine.Dolins@winchester.ac.uk [BACK TO TOP]

Comparative functional morphology in primates

Functional morphology has been one of the most effective tools in the study of human and primate evolution. Over more than 100 years, countless investigations have been conducted using this tool. There are doubts, however, over the effectiveness of this biological sub-field at present. Given its age, is functional morphology far from the frontiers of biological science? Is it so far behind the times as to be irrelevant? The answer is absolutely “No.” With the advances in recent technologies, such as micro-CT, fMRI and motion analysis technology, functional morphology has entered a new phase, one we would characterise as “morphology meets function.” For example, new equipment has enabled us to see the internal structures and/or compositions of the body or bones that could not be observed previously. Also, progress in motion analysis has enabled easy and exact measurement of locomotion in more natural conditions. The two sides of the sub-discipline are getting together, and functional morphology is now seeing such a large-scale change that it can be called a paradigm shift. Reflecting this situation, relatively young researchers are very active in this field and have begun to play important roles. In this symposium, we invite those young (and young at heart) researchers working at the frontiers of the science of form and function to present and discuss the latest results and exchange opinions. Based on the outcomes of these discussions, we intend to determine the future direction(s) of functional morphology in primates.

Organisers: Todd C Rae (Durham University, England), t.c.rae@durham.ac.uk. Yuzuru Hamada (Kyoto University, Japan), hamada@pri.kyoto-u.ac.jp. Eishi Hirasaki, Osaka University, Japan. hirasaki@hus.osaka-u.ac.jp Venue: Durham University, UK. Registration fee: £15 per person. Date: 10th-11th August. Further information: A full information pack including a registration and accommodation booking form is available (Download information pack: MS Word , Adobe PDF). [BACK TO TOP]

St Andrews University's Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution is pleased to announce a conference on the topic of animal vocal communication. The meeting will be held in St Andrews, Scotland, from 31st July to 2nd August, 2008. The meeting will cover all aspects of acoustic communication in mammals and birds. The metting will also honour Prof Slater who retires in 2008 from the Kennedy Chair of Natural History at the University of St Andrews. Confirmed plenary speakers include Clive Catchpole, Aubrey Manning, Daniel Mennill, Jeffrey Podos, and Peter Tyack. Organizing committee: Vincent Janik, Nicola Clayton, Klaus Zuberbühler. The conference will be open to everyone who registers. Offers of talks and posters are welcome. The abstract deadline is the 31st of March 2008. Please register and submit abstracts on our website (http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/vocom2008/) For those of you who only want to attend an evening to honour Peter Slater, you can just sign up for the banquet on the 2nd of August on the same website without registering for the conference.

Organisers: Vincent Janik (St Andrews University), Nicky Clayton (Cambridge University) & Klaus Zuberbuhler (St Andrews University). Venue: St Andrews University, UK. Registration fee: Before 31st May 2008 - Full: £45 Student: £35. After 31st of May or at conference - Full: £65 Student: £50. Dinner - £30. Date: 31st July - 2nd August, 2008.

Macaca fascicularis workshop: Understanding and managing macaque-human commensalism.

This workshop complements the roundtable discussion on the same subject that will take place during the main Congress. This workshop will consist of a series of presentations (15 mins) and discussions. Workshop registration is open to all that are interested. As numbers are limited please pre-register with the organisers if you would like to attend. The workshop organisers are accepting abstracts for presentations until 15th May 2008 (see contact details below).

The workshop will explore the commensal relationship between macaques, particularly M. fascicularis, and humans with all the attendant issues including those relating to: crop-raiding, urban invasion, disease transmission, conservation, aquisition and breeding for biomedicine, introduced populations, habitat status etc. An improved understanding of this relationship is a vital pre-requisite for enabling appropriate and successful planning and management techniques.

Organiser: Michael Gumert (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), gumert@ntu.edu.sg. Lisa Jones-Engel (University of Washington) jonesengel@bart.rprc.washington.edu Venue: University of Edinburgh, Psychology Building (Room B.21), 7 George Square, EH8 9JZ. Registration: Free. Open to all. To pre-register email M. Gumert (gumert@ntu.edu.sg). Date & time: 3rd August 2008, 12-4pm. (Download details, programme and abstracts PDF) [BACK TO TOP]