This workshop is unprecedented in bringing together applied evolutionary biologists from across disparate disciplines. It builds on related meetings from within disciplines, including the February 2007 Summit 'Evolutionary Change in Human-altered Environments' (Institute of the Environment, UCLA, co-organized by Louis Bernatchez, and the May 2007 NESCent Conference 'Evolution in Contemporary Human Populations: Medical, Genetic, and Behavioral Implications,' organized by Stearns et al.
Program Committee
- Scott Carroll, UC-Davis, chair
- Michael Kinnison, U Maine
- Louis Bernatchez, Laval University.
Organizing Committee
- Scott O'Neill, UQ, Gary Fitt, CSIRO, Scott Carroll, co-chairs
- Sharon Strauss, UC-Davis
- Meron Zalucki, UQ
The morning of the first full day, Monday January 4, 2010, begins an all-day design charrette to address evolutionary issues using Pacific Rim examples as case studies. (A charrette is a collaborative session in which a group of designers drafts a solution to a problem). The challenge assigned each team is centered in one of our theme areas, but each team consists of experts from across the theme areas. At the end of the first day, each team will share its findings with the group.
Charrettes accelerate solutions by starting communication quickly and by integrating aptitudes and attitudes of a diverse group (Condon 2007). We commence in this fashion to create a collaborative mindset that we will cultivate throughout the workshop- an approach reinforced by the complementary needs and approaches of the participants, plus the historical, physiographic, climatic, economic and social similarities between the partner nations. The next day (Tuesday), we follow with an exemplar problem in the field: response of coral reefs to climate change (sea warming, sea level rise, and increased CO2 in sea water, which dissolves reefs). The Pacific Rim's warm-water fisheries are largely reef dependent, and while fisheries-induced evolution has recently been addressed in pioneering studies, that work is limited to cold-water fisheries in simpler, high-latitude marine communities. Our focus on the Great Barrier Reef will consider challenges to this biodiverse and ancient ecosystem. Experts will relate what we observe to the greater context of sustainable exploitation of near-shore tropical Pacific environments. Targeted discussions and a plenary presentation (Brook) on climate change and coastal environments will follow.
Days three and four consist of individual talks and planning sessions between scientists, government and industry. Speakers will be challenged to shift beyond the bounds of conventional academic presentations, building on the charrette experience to consider direct applications. Keynote presentations (all confirmed) on Darwinian Medicine (Nesse) and Eco-evolutionary Management (Smith) will underpin discussions each evening. These discussions will be organized to build recommendations for implementing solutions, monitoring progress, collaborating with stakeholders, and promoting evolutionary applications in public policy.