4th International Symposium of Carabidology

Dear Carabidologist Colleagues,

Forty years ago, the First International Symposium of Carabidology (ISC) was held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. as a satellite meeting of the XV International Congress of Entomology (ICE).  It was a hugely successful meeting bringing together the giants of the field (e.g., C. H. Lindroth, P. J. Darlington, G. R. Coope) with an enthusiastic bunch of younger carabidologists. This inspiring meeting lead to publication of a classic landmark book, Proceedings of the First International Symposium of Carabidology [Erwin, TL et al. (Eds.)], in 1979 that crystallized the international focus on carabid beetles as a topic for study.

Much has happened since in all aspects of carabidology.  We suggest that it is time to convene another International Symposium of Carabidology, a 4th by our count. The timing of the upcoming ICE in Orlando, FL, that will bring many entomologists to the southeastern USA provides an excellent opportunity to do so. In addition to being the 40^thanniversary of the first ISC, 2016 is perfect for such a meeting because two of today’s giants of the field, George E. Ball and Piet den Boer, mark their 90^th birthdays in 2016.  Although Prof. den Boer is unable to travel, Prof. Ball is determined to attend the meeting.

Thus, we are organizing a meeting to be held on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, GA, in close association with the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 20-23 September, 2016, just before the ICE opens in Orlando.  Dr. Kamal Gandhi and her associates at the University of Georgia are handling local arrangements and registration. It appears that we will be able to put on an excellent two—and-a-half-day session of science and discussion about ground-beetles. Drs. Pietro Brandmayr (University of Calabria), Lucija Šerić Jelaska (University of Zagreb), David Maddison (Oregon State University) and John Spence (University of Alberta) will organize the scientific program of oral presentations and posters. Details about each of these matters are provided below.

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FOR ISC4

20 September. 

·      Travel to Athens.

·      Icebreaker social:  6:30 PM @ Creature Comfort, a microbrewery within walking distance of the Hotel Indigo.  Participants will be on their own for the entrance fee ($12 including 6 beer tastings).

21 September.

·      Poster set-up at 8:30 AM Flinchum’s Phoenix, Whitehall Forest.  

·      Talks 9:00 AM-12:00 PM.

·      Lunch & Posters 12:00-2:00 PM.

·      Lightning Talks 2:00-2:30 PM.

·       Talks 2:30-5:00 PM.

·      Participants on their own for supper in Athens.

22 September. 

·      Poster set-up at 8:30 AM, Flinchum’s Phoenix, Whitehall Forest.  

·      Talks 9:00 AM-12:00 PM.

·      Lunch & Posters 12:00-2:00 PM.

·      Lightning Talks 2:00-2:30 PM.

·      Talks 2:30-5:00 PM.

·      Open Bar 5:30 PM.

·      Conference banquet at 6:30 PM.

23 September.

·      Talks 8:30 AM-11:30 AM, Flinchum’s Phoenix, Whitehall Forest.  

·      Conference closing 11:30-12:00 PM.

·      Lunch & Posters until 2 PM.

REGISTRATION FOR ISC4

The venue can accommodate up to 150 participants. For this reason we have decided to ‘invite’ the approximately 150 people who are receiving this circular to consider attending, and allow news of the meeting to spread by word of mouth. We are unsure of the level of interest or possibilities for people to attend, but will have to cap registration at 150 with early responders being assured of a place.

The registration fee for the meeting is $100 and $70 for students in (US funds). In addition to some standard ‘house-keeping’ funds for venue, programs, etc., registration will include the cost of shuttle service between downtown hotels and Flinchum’s Phoenix Hall, three lunches and coffee/tea/health breaks during the three days of presentations and the conference banquet featuring a selection of tasty southern food and drink to be held at Flinchum’s Phoenix immediately following the second day of presentations.  

This registration fee must be paid in advance no later than 1 September and submitted together with the ‘Registration Form’ provided below to Brittany Barnes <brittanybarnes8@gmail.com>.

Registration can be paid by check, money order or wire-transfer with instructions as follows:

For checks or money orders, please write the check or money order to ‘Warnell School of Forestry’, and put ‘Warnell Beetle Conf Gandhi’ in the memo field. 

For wire-transfers, the routing particulars are as follows:

For each wire transfer, delegates must fill out the form to be found at the following website to ensure proper crediting of their payment:http://www.bursar.uga.edu/elec_funds_transfer.pdf, and send it together with their payments to:

Kamal Gandhi/Brittany Barnes

Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

180 E Green Street

University of Georgia

Athens, GA 30602, USA

ACCOMODATIONS

We have made arrangements for a block or rooms to be held until 22 August with the Hotel Indigo in downtown Athens: 500 College Avenue, Athens, GA 30601 at a conference rate of $109/night for either King or Double Queen rooms. Under the arrangement we may add rooms at the conference rate if we surpass 40 reservations, subject to availability.  Delegates may book at the Hotel Indigo online at http://www.indigoathens.com/, or by phone toll-free at +1-866-808-1483. Please mention the conference code ‘FIM’ when making your booking to ensure that you receive the conference rate.

In the event that rooms are unavailable at Hotel Indigo, we recommend: 

·      Hilton Garden Inn Athens Downtown: 350 E. Washington St, Athens, GA

(706-353-6800)

·      Holiday Inn Athens-University Area: 197 East Broad St, Athens, GA (1-888-465-4329)

GETTING TO ATHENS

Although alternative routes are possible, we suggest that participants make their way to Athens via the Atlanta International Airport and then onto Athens either by renting a car at the airport (visit Kayak.com to see alternatives for rental), or by using the Groome Shuttle service (http://athens.groometransportation.com). The shuttle will drop passengers at the Hotel Indigo and pick up there for their return flights as well.  Given pressures on the Groome Shuttle service, we advise that trips be booked at least week ahead of time to avoid disappointment. It will be useful for organizers to know whether delegates will be driving on their own or require shuttle transportation between the hotel(s) and Flinchum’s Phoenix, which is 8 miles from the downtown hotel. Delegates should understand that Flinchum’s is isolated; nothing but nature, including some carabid populations, is within walking distance.

THE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

We will be able to accommodate about 30 orally-presented papers of 20 minutes each, and about 12 ‘lightning talks’ of 5 minutes and display up to 90 posters. Lightning talks provide excellent opportunities for a student to present the central focus of their work in three or four slides, or for someone to crisply present a new idea or discovery that may be of interest to the group. Spoken talks will be strictly timed.

We request that all proposals for presentation be made and abstracts be provided, as email attachments, through John Spence at carabid2@ualberta.ca no later than 1 August 2016.Please use the form on the last page of this document for your attachment.

The proposals considered to best represent themes pursued by Profs. Ball and den Boer will be given priority for longer spoken presentations.  The program committee will make these decisions.  We suggest that any talks that cannot be accommodated within the program constraints be presented as posters.  We will alert presenters to our decisions by 15 August.

REGISTRATION FORM

ABSTRACT FORM

OFFICIAL INVITATIONS

If you require an official invitation to secure funds to attend ISC 4, please advise John Spence through an email to carabids2@ualberta.ca.

We hope to see you in Athens!

Pietro Brandmayr

Lucija Šerić Jelaska

Kamal Gandhi

David Maddison

John Spence