Primate researcher Dr Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón, from the University of Queensland (Australia), recently attended the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Colombia. Here she reports back on the conference in general and why it was so special for her in particular, finishing with a vital message for conservationists. Late last month, between July 23rd and 27th, the 28th International Congress for Conservation Biology … Continue reading Insights for Sustaining Life on Earth
Our own Blog Editor Sarah Marley was fortunate enough to attend the International Mammal Congress earlier this month. Here, she gives us the conference low-down from the land down-under! Earlier this month, the International Mammal Congress (IMC) was held in my adopted city of Perth, Western Australia. Held every four years, IMC is considered the premier international mammal conference, providing an important forum for professional … Continue reading Advances in Mammalogy in a Changing World
Earlier this month, the European Cetacean Society (ECS) held their 31st annual conference in Middelfart, Denmark. Established in 1987, ECS has several hundred members from more than 25 European countries as well as several countries outside Europe. It aims to promote and advance the scientific studies and conservation efforts of marine mammals, and to gather and disseminate information about them to members of the Society … Continue reading Marine Mammal Conservation in the Light of Marine Spatial Use
In late September, as the UK was enjoying the last vestiges of summer I was lucky enough to head to Orlando in Florida where the 25th International Congress of Entomology was being held under the banner of “Entomology without borders”. This year, Orlando welcomed over 7000 delegates working in all areas of entomology; the largest gathering of entomologists at any one time – as far as we know! I first attended this enormous event, held every 4 years, as a young PhD student in 2000, in the beautiful city of Iguassu Falls in southern Brazil. I have been able to attend 3 of the 4 subsequent meetings, and co-hosted a session on Ecological immunology of Insects in each one, first in Brisbane, Australia (2004), then in Durban, South Africa (2008), and finally in Orlando. Much as I would like to have a clean sweep, maternity leave put paid to my plans to attend the 2012 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.
The number of hits for the terms “ecological immunology” or “eco-immunology” in Web of Science from 2000 to 2015. The red dots represent the percentage of papers with the word “ecology” that also used the word “immunology”.
Ecological immunology aims to understand how ecological pressures have shaped the evolution and expression of the immune system. In 2000, this was a very new concept that was just gaining ground in the ecological literature. Over the last 16 years this has grown into an established field. A quick search on Web of Science for the terms “Ecological immunology” or “Eco-immunology” shows a steady increase in publications over time. Of course, this does not find all of the papers in the field of eco-immunology, just those that specifically use that term, but it is indicative of how the field has rapidly grown. Continue reading “Ecology meets immunology at the biggest insect conference in the world”
Animal Ecology in Focus 