As
part of our training in systematics, Team
Scarab brought Dr. Jorge Crisci (Museo de La Plata, Argentina)
to the University of Nebraska to present a workshop entitled "Biogeographic
Theory and Analysis." Crisci is a world authority on plant sytematics,
biogeography, phylogeny, and conservation. He is the author of
over 110 scientific publications and three books on these subjects.
His newest opus, "Historical Biogeography: The Geographic
Distribution of Organisms as an Evolutionary Process in Space-Time" (with
co-authors Liliana Katinas and Paula Posadas) will be published
by Harvard University Press in
March 2003 and promises to be an excellent synthesis of the foundation,
history, and methods of this complicated subject. Crisci has led
workshops and symposia on biogeographic theory and analyses, systematics,
and molecular phylogenetics for several institutions, including
the National Science Foundation. Crisci led a week-long workshop
at the University of Nebraska and was assisted by Federico Ocampo
(PhD Graduate Student at the University of Nebraska).
The
biogeography workshop was held May 13-17 at the University
of Nebraska in Lincoln. The goal of the workshop was to provide
participants with: 1) methods for analyzing patterns of biogeography
and 2) a better understanding of the theoretical foundations of
biogeography. The workshop included lectures and discussions on
biogeographic theory, review of current literature, and data analysis
using computer programs. On May 13, Crisci began the workshop with
a seminar entitled "Historical Biogeography: Limits, Prospects,
and Opportunities."
The
workshop was funded by the generous support of NSF-PEET, UNL's
Convocations Committee of the Academic Senate, UNL's
Initiative in Ecology and Evolutionary Analysis, Harvard
University Press, and Sinauer
Associates, Inc.
For
additional information, please contact the workshop organizers,
Mary Liz Jameson (mjameson1@unl.edu) or Federico Ocampo (focampo@unlserve.unl.edu).