Phylogenetics and Biodiversity

Overview

This special meeting brings together leading researchers who use phylogenetic trees to study biodiversity and conservation. The field has gained importance in recent years as human-caused changes in the environment have increasingly threatened species. Research has led to new methods and re-thinking of basic concepts. The meeting provides an opportunity for an exciting exchange of ideas in this dynamic area at the intersection of evolution, ecology, and global change.

35 PARTICIPANTS
(coming from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, USA)

Arrivals: 16 April
Departures: 19 April

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Useful Links
Map Directions

Thursday, 16 April

Airport to Suburban Station (train, 20 min)
Suburban Station to hotel (walk, 5 min)

Friday, 17 April

Hotel to Suburban Station (walk, 5 min)
Suburban Station to Temple Station (train, 10 min)
Temple Station to meeting venue - SERC Bldg (walk, 5 min)
Temple Station to Jefferson Station (train, 5 min)
Jefferson Station to Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (walk, 10 min)
Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to Buddakan Restaurant (walk, 5 min)

Saturday, 18 April

Hotel to Suburban Station (walk, 5 min)
Suburban Station to Temple Station (train, 10 min)
Temple Station to meeting venue - SERC Bldg (walk, 5 min)
Temple Station to Suburban Station (train, 10 min)
Estia Restaurant to hotel (walk, 8 min)

Sunday, 19 April

Hotel to Suburban Station (walk, 5 min)
Suburban Station to Airport (train, 20 min)

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Logistical Details

Airport Transfer, Subway, and Buses

There is a train that goes directly from the airport terminal to Suburban Station (cost: $6.50; time: 20 min). Best exit from Suburban station is John F. Kennedy Blvd near 17th Street. From there it is a 5 minute walk south on 17th street to the hotel, Club Quarters, at 1628 Chestnut Street. You could also take a taxi from the airport if you prefer, which is a fixed price, $28.50 (all taxi costs are on-your-own). It also takes about 20 minutes. Once you get to the hotel and check-in, you will be given a transit pass card (“Trail Pass”) valid for unlimited train, subway, and bus rides during your stay, and this will work for your return train to the airport on morning of 19 April.

Trains and Train Stations

Philadelphia has two major types of trains, regional rail and subway, which have different stations. For the meeting we will be taking regional rail, which has larger trains. Although the Suburban Station is large and complex, finding the train you need is easy. Going north to Temple Station take any train on tracks 1 or 2 (usually a train will come within 5 minutes). Likewise, going south from Temple to either Jefferson Station or Suburban, take any train on tracks 3 or 4. Tracks are one level below the main station complex at Suburban (contrary to name, "Suburban" is in the heart of the city).

Hotel and Welcome Social

Club Quarters of Philadelphia (1628 Chestnut Street). 8 PM to 11 PM on Thursday, 16 April: Social is in the Director's Room on top floor. Food and drinks will be provided.

Meals

All participants staying at the CQ hotel will be provided (at hotel check-in) with breakfast coupons for the hotel restaurant, Davio’s. The two lunches will both be catered at the conference. There will be morning and afternoon coffee breaks. Dinners will be as a group on Friday and Saturday nights, at restaurants in the center of the city.

Meeting Venue: Center for Biodiversity

At Temple University (www.biodiversitycenter.org) in the new SERC Building (1925 N 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122). We'll greet you just inside the building entrance on 12th street and get you signed in (security) and escort you in the ID-controlled elevator to the 5th floor. The center is Suite 502, with the meeting taking place in an adjacent conference room (Room 504). It has an 80" digital display, and wireless is available. Let us know if you have special multimedia needs other than normal applications (e.g., PowerPoint) that can display your talk.

The meeting will be over two days: Friday (17th April) and Saturday (18th). Each primary talk will be 30 min (+ additional 15 min for discussion). There will also be shorter 5-min talks (+ 2 min for discussion each), and a general discussion at end of second day. Because every presenter will speak to the entire group, there will be no scheduled poster presentations.

Additional Evening Socials

There will be socials in Old City (17th April) and Center City (18th April) at private residences located near the restaurants.

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Meeting Schedule

Thursday, 16 April

Arrivals
Take regional rail from Airport to Suburban station, then walk 2 blocks south to hotel at 1628 Chestnut Street.
Check-in and get breakfast coupons and information at front desk.

20:00 Social in Director's Room on top floor of hotel.

Friday, 17 April

08:00 Leave hotel by 8AM, which will allow time to transit by foot and train to meeting venue (see map and info links).
08:45 Welcome and overview (Hedges)
09:00 Dan Faith (Australian Museum): Can phylogenetic diversity be the basis for a planetary boundary for biodiversity?
09:45 Sudhir Kumar (Temple U, USA): Next generation methods for timetrees
10:30 Break
11:00 Catherine Graham (Stonybrook U, USA): Phylogenetic scale in ecology and evolution: what can we learn from different trees and metrics?
11:45 S. Blair Hedges (Temple U, USA): The relationship of speciation, diversification, and adaptation
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Ben Holt (Imperial College, UK): Should temporal banding be represent the future for delimiting higher taxonomic groups?
14:15 Arne Mooers (Simon Fraser University, Canada): How do weighted edges measure biodiversity?
15:00 Break
15:30 Julie Marin (Temple U, USA): Using phylometrics to investigate the latitudinal diversity gradient
16:15 Depart for Old City Philadelphia (Historic sites, etc.) by train and foot. Most sites will be closed, but you can view the Liberty Bell through glass, and walk around the historic buildings such as Independence Hall. Then walk to Buddakan Restaurant.
18:30 Dinner at Buddakan Restaurant, 325 Chestnut Street. (seating in front of giant buddha). Walk to nearby social.
21:00 Social at Kumar residence (press 130 on keypad to be buzzed in). (afterwards, return to hotel; 25 min walk west on Chestnut St or take bus or subway)

Saturday, 18 April

08:00 Leave hotel by 8AM, which will allow time to transit to meeting venue (see map and info links).
09:00 Hélène Morlon (Ecole Normal Supérieure, France): Impact of past climatic changes on rates of evolution and diversification
09:45 Robert Ricklefs (U Missouri, USA): Regulation of diversity in avian clades
10:30 Break
11:00 Ana Carnaval (City College of New York, USA): Thinking big to improve biodiversity prediction: lessons from merging gene trees, environmental information, ecological thinking, and trait data
11:45 Jonathan Davies (McGill U, Canada): Human population density correlates with tree phylogenetic diversity in southern Africa
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Matthew Helmus (Vrije University, Netherlands): Methods to estimate phylogenetic signal in ecological communities and species interactions
14:15 Thomas Brooks (IUCN, Switzerland): Interactions between phylogeny & conservation science with the IUCN Red List and other knowledge products
15:00 Break
15:30 Short talks: (5 min + 2 min for questions)

Laurelene Faye (Simon Fraser University, Canada): phylogenetic networks and conservation prioritization

Eric Lewitus (Ecole Normal Supérieure, France): A graph-theoretical approach to characterizing and comparing phylogenies

Jayme Lewthwaite (Simon Fraser University, Canada): butterfly phylogenetic conservation in Canada

Ignacio Morales (McGill University, Canada): Using phylogeny to improve single species distribution models

Brunno Oliveira (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil): Global analysis of mammals supports a decoupled evolution of functional and species diversity.

Will Pearse (McGill University, Canada): Linking community ecology, macroecology, and diversification: what do we know, and what can we model?

Will Stein (Simon Fraser University, Canada): Galliform bird diversification and conservation

16:15 General group discussion and wrap-up
17:00 Depart for Center City (Temple to Suburban Station, exit 15th Street)
17:30 Social at Hedges' residence.
20:00 Walk 1 block on Broad to Estia Restaurant, 1405 Locust St.
20:15 Dinner in Banquet Room 2 of Estia, downstairs. (afterwards return to hotel at 1628 Chestnut Street; ~8 min walk)

Sunday, 19 April

Departures
Use transit card for train to airport.

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Additional Participants

Gabriel Costa (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil)
Erik Cordes (Temple University, USA)
Faye Flam (Freelance Journalist)
Amy Freestone (Temple University, USA)
Sarah Hanson (Temple University, USA)
Tonia Hsieh (Temple University, USA)
Allison Loveless (Temple University, USA)
Angela Lu (Temple University, USA)
Robert Sanders (Temple University, USA)
Brent Sewall (Temple University, USA)
Rachel Spigler (Temple University, USA)
Bruce Young (NatureServe, USA)

Funding

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE) and Temple University

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