Announcement of ChEss Sponsored Workshop
Siboglinidae: a model system for the understanding of evolution,
adaptive radiation, microbial symbioses and ecology at extreme
environments
Organizing committee: Dr Adrian Glover, The Natural History Museum,
London; Dr Ana Hilário, University of Aveiro; Dr Thomas Dahlgren,
University of Göteborg; Dr Maria Baker, University of Southampton; Dr
Eva Ramirez Llodra, Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona
A 4 day workshop to be held October 28-31 2008, at the East-West
Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Details to be posted on the ChEss website soon: http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/chess/
Rationale. Recent years have seen a revolution in our understanding of
Siboglinidae – an enigmatic clade of deep-sea worms known from extreme
deep-sea environments such as hydrothermal vents, cold hydrocarbon
seeps and the carcasses of dead whales. Molecular systematic methods
now place the former phyla Pogonophora and Vestimentifera within the
highly derived polychaete clade Siboglinidae. Within the last 4 years,
an entirely new radiation of siboglinids, Osedax, has been discovered
living on whale-carcasses. New advances in our knowledge of siboglinid
anatomy coupled with molecular characterization of microbial symbiont
communities is revolutionizing our knowledge of host-symbiont
relationships in the metazoa. The unique evolutionary association of
siboglinids with both geology, in the formation of spreading centres
and seeps, and biology with the evolution of large whales, offers
opportunities for studies of vicariant evolution and the calibration
of molecular clocks.
Despite these advances, there has been a lack of synthesis between
research teams working on different aspects of Siboglinidae. The mud-
dwelling frenulates remain poorly studied. Vent and seep siboglinid
research has largely been separated from that going on within the
polychaete community, and the recent discoveries from whale-falls need
to be integrated with that from vents and seeps. The goals of our
workshop will be to:
• Present and discuss the latest research on siboglinids within a
small, informal workshop/discursive environment
• Inspire and train young researchers in the evolution and ecology of
siboglinids from extreme environments
• Highlight taxonomic gaps and develop new break-out teams with future
taxonomic exchange proposals to CoML
• Integrate systematic, ecological and microbial research using
Siboglinidae as a model system
• Develop an outline and writing-tasks for a large multi-author review
paper for Advances in Marine Biology (or similar journal) to coincide
with CoML 2009 events
Funding. The workshop is funded by ChEss who will cover the
registration fees, tea, coffee, lunch, social events etc. for all
participants. Additional funding for travel and subsistence is also
available, priority will be given to junior researchers, graduate
students and those with co-funding. Funding applications for travel
and subsistence need to be submitted by June 15 2008, as a max 400
word email outlining your research interests, talk to be presented and
reason for requiring funding to thomas.dahlgren from zool.gu.se
Applications will be reviewed by the organizing committee by July 15
2008.
For further information please contact:
Dr Adrian Glover a.glover from nhm.ac.uk
Dr Ana Hilário ahilario from bio.ua.pt
_____________________________________
Dr Adrian Glover
Zoology Department
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Rd, London SW7 5BD, UK
_____________________________________
+44 (0)20 7942 5056 (office)
+44 (0)77 666 48 440 (mobile)
_____________________________________
mail: a.glover from nhm.ac.uk OR adrianglover from mac.com
web: http://web.mac.com/adrianglover
