Registration is now open for the 5th Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society (Heraklion, Crete, Greece; 7-11 January 2011)

ISSN 1948-6596 from the society Registration is now open for the 5th Biennial Conference of the Interna- tional Biogeography Society (Heraklion, Crete, Greece; 7-11 January The International Biogeography Society’s biennial conference is coming up this January 7-11 th in Crete. Registration fees are currently set at 350 USD (150 USD for students), but will rise to 420 USD (190 USD for students) on November 1 st . Register now to take advantage of the lower rates and availability of workshops. Note that you need to be a member of IBS in order to register and attend the meeting. Symposia and contributions The meeting is built around four successive sym- posia (8th & 9th January) on broad foundational and cutting-edge topics and approaches in biogeography and macroecology, each with a suite of leading international scientists and open- ings for contributed papers: 1. Mediterranean biogeography: where history meets ecology across scales (organizers: Spyros Sfenthourakis & Remy Petit). The Mediterranean is a highly species-rich and complex biogeographic region. It has a complex tectonic and environ- mental history, hosts numerous islands, exhibits strong topographic diversity, and has experienced the impacts of human civilization for more than 8 millennia. This symposium explores novel per- spectives on Mediterranean biogeography across spatial and temporal scales. 2. Comparative phylogeography: novel integrative approaches and challenges (organizers: Ana Car- naval & Mike Hickerson). This symposium will ex- plore how innovative, integrative studies are ex- panding the boundaries of classic comparative phylogeography, while discussing novel methodo- logical alternatives to circumvent current and foreseen challenges in the field. Among the topics covered are new insights into suture zones and island community assembly and novel approaches employing genomics, spatial information systems, climate modeling, community-scale DNA barcod- ing, etc. 3. Biogeography and ecology: two lenses in one telescope (organizers: Dave Jenkins & Bob Rick- lefs). Biogeography focuses on large scales, while much of ecology uses the opposite end of the telescope to focus on many of the same patterns and processes at small scales. Despite historical separation, each discipline is now expanding its spatial and temporal scales towards the other: this symposium will match a biogeographer and an ecologist on each of four key topics of shared interest (niche, comparative/macro-ecology, com- munity assembly, and diversity) to seek alignment of the two perspectives. 4. Analytical advancements in macroecology and biogeography (organizers: Alexandre Diniz-Filho & Carsten Rahbek). The continuous development of computing capacity and increasing data genera- tion allow ever more sophisticated analyses, ena- bling novel insights about biodiversity patterns. This development depends upon continuous input from other fields in terms of methods and theory. This symposium presents new advancements in spatial analyses, phylogenetic reconstruction, and computer simulation modelling. The meeting also has six sessions of contributed papers (10th January) on key topics: i. Island biogeography ii. Climate change biogeography iii. Conservation biogeography iv. Palaeoecology v. Marine biogeography vi. Hot topics in biogeography - Submission of Abstracts for posters, contributed papers, and symposium speakers. The Abstract deadline is 15 November 2010 for invited speak- ers, posters, and contributed papers. There will be 270 available openings for posters, 6 openings for symposia presentations, and 36 openings for con- tributed talks. Please register early as availability © 2010 the authors; journal compilation © 2010 The International Biogeography Society — frontiers of biogeography 2.3, 2010

Registration is now open for the 5th Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society (Heraklion, Crete, Greece; 7-11 January 2011) The International Biogeography Society's biennial conference is coming up this January 7-11 th in Crete. Registration fees are currently set at 350 USD (150 USD for students), but will rise to 420 USD (190 USD for students) on November 1 st . Register now to take advantage of the lower rates and availability of workshops. Note that you need to be a member of IBS in order to register and attend the meeting.

Symposia and contributions
The meeting is built around four successive symposia (8th & 9th January) on broad foundational and cutting-edge topics and approaches in biogeography and macroecology, each with a suite of leading international scientists and openings for contributed papers: 1. Mediterranean biogeography: where history meets ecology across scales (organizers: Spyros Sfenthourakis & Rémy Petit). The Mediterranean is a highly species-rich and complex biogeographic region. It has a complex tectonic and environmental history, hosts numerous islands, exhibits strong topographic diversity, and has experienced the impacts of human civilization for more than 8 millennia. This symposium explores novel perspectives on Mediterranean biogeography across spatial and temporal scales.
2. Comparative phylogeography: novel integrative approaches and challenges (organizers: Ana Carnaval & Mike Hickerson). This symposium will explore how innovative, integrative studies are expanding the boundaries of classic comparative phylogeography, while discussing novel methodological alternatives to circumvent current and foreseen challenges in the field. Among the topics covered are new insights into suture zones and island community assembly and novel approaches employing genomics, spatial information systems, climate modeling, community-scale DNA barcoding, etc.
3. Biogeography and ecology: two lenses in one telescope (organizers: Dave Jenkins & Bob Ricklefs). Biogeography focuses on large scales, while much of ecology uses the opposite end of the telescope to focus on many of the same patterns and processes at small scales. Despite historical separation, each discipline is now expanding its spatial and temporal scales towards the other: this symposium will match a biogeographer and an ecologist on each of four key topics of shared interest (niche, comparative/macro-ecology, community assembly, and diversity) to seek alignment of the two perspectives.
4. Analytical advancements in macroecology and biogeography (organizers: Alexandre Diniz-Filho & Carsten Rahbek). The continuous development of computing capacity and increasing data generation allow ever more sophisticated analyses, enabling novel insights about biodiversity patterns. This development depends upon continuous input from other fields in terms of methods and theory. This symposium presents new advancements in spatial analyses, phylogenetic reconstruction, and computer simulation modelling.
The meeting also has six sessions of contributed papers (10th January) on key topics: -Submission of Abstracts for posters, contributed papers, and symposium speakers. The Abstract deadline is 15 November 2010 for invited speakers, posters, and contributed papers. There will be 270 available openings for posters, 6 openings for symposia presentations, and 36 openings for contributed talks. Please register early as availability is limited. Details for abstract submission can be found here.
-Awards for Students and Early Career Scientists. The International Biogeography Society, the Biogeography Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers and the journal Ecography are awarding travel grants for students, post-docs, and early career (pre-tenure) faculty to attend the 2011 IBS biennial meeting, January 7-11, 2011 in Iraklion, Crete. Grants will be awarded to individuals giving oral and poster presentations at the meeting. Please check out the 'travel awards' link for more details. Also, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation is offering registration fees for 20 Greek students. For information contact the local organizers (sfendo@upatras.gr).
The last day of the congress Robert E. Ricklefs will give his keynote lecture, after receiving the Alfred Russel Wallace Award.

Workshops
In addition, before the meeting, on the 7th of January, three workshops will be held, 2 half-day workshops (Spatial Analysis in Macroecology and Phylogenetic Analysis in Macroecology; up to 40 participants each) presented by Alexandre Diniz-Filho, Richard Field, Thiago Rangel and Mauricio Bini, and 1 half-day workshop (Communicating Biogeography; up to 20 participants) led by Rob Whittaker.
-Spatial and Phylogenetic Analysis in Macroecology. Alexandre Diniz-Filho, Thiago Rangel, and Mauricio Bini have presented over 20 courses on spatial statistics in graduate courses and at conferences worldwide, using the SAM software that they developed (see http://www.ecoevol.ufg.br/ sam/). Along with Richard Field, they presented the initial tests of SAM version 2.0 and 3.0 at two very popular workshops at the 2007 and 2009 IBS meetings, and will be using the newly released SAM 4.0 in Crete. A new software for Phyloge-netic Analysis in Macroecology (PAM) will be launched during the 2011 IBS, in a workshop similar to those previously developed for SAM software in Tenerife and Merida.
-Communicating biogeography. An overview of how to put together a paper for journal submission, and examining the role and responsibilities of the manuscript reviewer -will be led by Rob Whittaker. Rob Whittaker was sole editor and then editor-in-chief of Global Ecology and Biogeography from 1995 to 2004, and has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biogeography since 2004. He takes a keen interest in assisting writers, particularly graduated students, to improve their ability to communicate their research through publication.
Space in each of these workshops is limited, so sign up soon to be assured a spot.

Field excursions
On the 7th & 11th of January, arranged field excursions will visit a number of Crete's most exciting historic and biogeographic locations, including: -Lassithi Plateau -"Dicteon" Cave -Kera Monastery. The Lassithi Plateau is one of the few areas in the Mediterranean with permanent inhabitants at an altitude >800 m. "Dikteon cave", where Zeus was born, is also located there. The place is described as 'the plateau of 10,000 windmills'. Originally, the locally constructed windmills made their appearance in the valley at the end of the 1800s. During the 1950s, about 4,000 of the structures offered invaluable assistance to local farmers. Exiting the Lassithi Plateau and heading towards Irakleion, there's an area by the village of Kera, where 24 stone flour mills, dating back to the 1800s, once stood. They operated until the end of WW II, but today most are in various stages of ruin, with only three restored so far. Just beyond this area is the "Kera" Monastery, famous for its beautiful frescoes. You can find information about the International Biogeography Society at http:// www.biogeography.org/, and contact with other biogeographers at the IBS blog (http:// biogeography.blogspot.com/), the IBS facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php? gid=6908354463) and the IBS twitter channel (https://twitter.com/biogeography).
-Knossos Archaeological site and "Archanes" traditional village. Knossos, also known as the Labyrinth or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. It is also a tourist destination today, as it is near the main city of Irakleion and has been substantially restored by archaeologist Arthur Evans. Archanes also hosts an archaeological site of ancient Minoan settlement in central Crete. The discovery of ancient roads leading from Archanes to a variety of nearby and more distant locations, indicate that Archanes was an important hub in the region during Minoan times. Archanes was probably a summer palace for the Knossos kings.
-"Anogia" Traditional village -Ideon cave. Anogia is a municipality in the Rethymno Prefecture. Τhe original settlement was probably founded by villagers from Axos, at the location where the Minoan city Axos was situated. It is located at an altitude of 740m up the north face of the mountain Psiloreitis, very close to the stunning Nida Plateau and the Ideon cave, where Zeus grew up, according to Greek mythology.
-"Vai" palm forest, "Zakros" Archaeological site and city of "Siteia" (with lunch at Sitia Beach Hotel). The palm beach of Vai is one of the largest attractions of the Mediterranean island of Crete. It features the largest natural palm forest in Europe, made up of the Cretan Date Palm (Phoenix theophrasti). At the beginning of the 1980s Vai was full of backpacker tourists from the whole world, leading to a mixture of chaotic campground and garbage dump. Vai was enclosed and declared as a protected area. The unique forest recovered, the beach became clean. Individual Cretan Date Palms can be found in several places around Crete and at a few other sites in Greece, and a small stand is present also below Preveli monastery, but unfortunately was severely burnt this summer. So, Vai remains as the only site with an extensive forest-like grove of these palms. The palace at Zakros is the fourth in terms of size, among the Minoan palaces. It was located at an advantageous strategic position, at a protected bay, and was the centre of commercial exchange with the countries of the East, as is indicated by the excavation finds (elephants' tusks, faience, copper etc.) The palace was the administrative, religious and commercial centre, and was surrounded by the town. In an isolated area, the monastery looks like a castle.
Several half-day trips are also available, including visits to the Archaeological and the Historical Museum of Irakleion, as well as the Central Irakleion Market. In addition, all participants will have a free entrance to the Natural History Museum of Crete (http://ww.nhmc.uoc.gr/) during the congress.
For updated information about the conference, and to register, please visit http://www.biogeography.org/html/ Meetings/2011/index.html. Ecography published in July a special issue with a selection of contributions that arose from the Mérida meeting, representing the diversity of current biogeographical research. The issue is available at http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0906-7590.