Mammalogists to convene in Fairbanks for annual meeting

Submitted by Marie Gilbert
Phone: 907-474-7412
06/16/09

More than 400 biologists from around the world will convene at the University of Alaska Fairbanks later this month for the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists.

The conference runs from June 24-28 and includes technical sessions, poster presentations, symposia and workshops on scientific research covering hundreds of species of mammals from little brown bats to big brown bears. The presentations will cover many aspects of the latest mammal research, including genetics, physiology, behavior, morphology, biogeography and conservation.

"There is simply no better way to showcase UAF as a thriving research institution than to invite hundreds of scientists from around the world to visit and see for themselves," said Link Olson, meeting co-chair and curator of mammals at the UA Museum of the North. "It’s also hands-down the single most effective means of recruiting future graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty to UAF."

Hosting professional conferences provides scientists an opportunity to educate colleagues about issues important to Alaska.

"The meeting also gives participants a chance to find out what colleagues are doing at this moment without waiting the year or more it takes for published research to become publicly available," said Kris Hundertmark, meeting co-chair and a wildlife geneticist at the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology.

The meeting includes two events that are free and open to the public, both on Sunday, June 28 in UAF’s Davis Concert Hall. At 4 p.m., UAF professor emeritus and chair of the Idaho State University biological sciences department R. Terry Bowyer will present "Large terrestrial mammals: Population dynamics, politics, and perils." At 7 p.m., Floyd Sandford will present "Darwin Remembers: Recollections of a Life’s Journey." This 90-minute one-man living history performance highlights key milestones in Charles Darwin’s life and scientific work.

The conference is hosted by the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology and the University of Alaska Museum of the North. The meeting is held in a different location each year and was last held in Fairbanks in 1989. No other Alaska community has hosted this national meeting.

CONTACT: Kris Hundertmark, conference co-chairman, at 907-474-7159, ffkh@uaf.edu. Link Olson, conference co-chairman and University of Alaska Museum of the North mammal curator, at 907-474-5998, ffleo@uaf.edu. Marie Gilbert, IAB information officer, 907-474-7412, megilbert@alaska/edu. Kerynn Fisher, UA Museum of the North communications coordinator, 907-474-6941, klfisher@alaska.edu.

ON THE WEB: For more information including registration, schedule, abstracts and author index, visit http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/asm.

MEG/6-16-09/186-09

Talks

Bats
34: The effect of white-nose syndrome on torpid metabolic rates of Myotis lucifugus
35: Hibernation arousal patterns in little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) affected by white-nose syndrome (WNS)

Bears
71: Growth, size, and sexual dimorphism in brown bears: Does size matter?
150: Assessing individual identification, relatedness, temporal and spatial structuring of brown bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve
174: Effect of manipulated den temperatures on body temperature cycling in hibernating black bears (Ursus americanus)

Pikas, rats, shrews, squirrels and voles
22: On raptors and rodents: Reconstructing small mammal community dynamics from their skeletal remains
28: Estrogen, ion channels, and thermoregulation: From hot flashes to hibernation.
57: Diet and food availability of the endemic Prince of Wales flying squirrel: Implications for dispersal
72: Phylogeography of a holarctic shrew: The tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis)
175: Active season changes in resting metabolic rate and body composition of free-living arctic ground squirrels.
180: Tracing the dispersal history of Rattus rattus and R. norvegicus in the U.S.
187: Social mole-rats as aging models - what we have learned, and what is yet to come
173: Body temperature patterns during hibernation in free-living Alaska marmots (Marmota broweri)
162: The fate of alpine specialists in a changing world: Phylodemography of the American pika