Missing anoles? Or missing anole biogeographers?
As you may (or may not) know, the 6th meeting of the International Biogeography Society (IBS) is underway in Miami, FL.
So here I am, in the anole invasion capital of the world, with the Caribbean on the doorstep, and a look through the conference program reveals a paltry TWO talks on our favourite lizards. Contrast this with Martha Munoz’s reports from SICB, with 18 (or so) anole talks. Of course, there’s something to be said for quality over quantity and the two anole presentations here do a good job of flying the flag. Yesterday Jonathan Losos kicked off one of the symposia with a talk on anole traits, function and biogeography (with a smashing blue / yellow colour scheme), and later today I’ll be searching out a poster on anole fossil assemblages (post forthcoming)
Nonetheless, I still can’t help wonder, where are the anole biogeographers? You can’t look through a text on island biogeography, species area curves or adaptive radiation without finding a dewlap. So the question is, are people not doing anole biogeography anymore? This isn’t the case, so it can only be that either the IBS isn’t on the radar, or people choose not to go. Either way, you’re missing out on a great meeting – it’s an excellent opportunity for the anole research community to radiate and reach a slightly different audience.
- With Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Everyone Who Loves Anoles - October 6, 2021
- Forget Brexit, It’s BrAnolis: An Anole Makes the Cover of the British Ecological Society’s Bulletin Magazine, But What Species Is It? - April 12, 2018
- The Contronymic Effect of Behaviour on Evolution: Does Behaviour Promote or Retard Evolutionary Change? - November 22, 2017
James Stroud
I completely agree! Surprisingly depauperate in all things Anolis, however so far it has been a fantastic conference for all those biogeographically inclined!
Thomas Sanger
“with a smashing blue / yellow colour scheme”
The 90’s are here again! =)
cybokat
i had to LOL.
Yoel Stuart
It does seem like a great conference. I’ve considered going to the past two meetings but just haven’t been able to swing it. Adam, do you know where the next meeting is?
Adam Algar
Bayreuth Germany . . . not as thermally optimal as Miami, but the science is bound to be hot!
Martha Munoz
Well, that settles it. We’ll just have to meet up at SICB in Austin next year.
Yoel Stuart
There are anoles in Austin… The IBS meeting is every two years. I suppose one could do both!
cybokat
But you do have to agree that this was kind of a hard symposium to get into. I’ve heard (through the grapevine) that the talk slots were full pretty soon.
Martha Munoz
Indeed they were! I have a marine biologist friend who is a post-doc who wanted to give a talk and got a poster instead. There is nothing wrong with a poster, but some people strongly prefer talks. It was very tough.