The Biodiversity Crew had a strong presence at the recent international meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), the society which publishes the journal Biotropica. Themed “Tropical biodiversity: surviving the food, energy and climate crisis”, the conference was held on July 19-23 in the Sanur Beach Hotel in Bali, Indonesia (the venue may explain why the many attendees from DBS!).
This was the first time that the annual meeting was held in Southeast Asia and it was a huge and successful event, with over 800 participants from 60 countries, and six parallel sessions of talks. Before and after the course there were various workshops on scientific paper writing and experimental design and analysis, which some of the NUS crew attended. Even the Vice-President of Indonesia dropped in and gave a speech:
The Vice-President of Indonesia gives a speech
Here is the run-down of all the participants from DBS and their presentations:
Faculty
Dr. Navjot Sodhi – “Conservation knowledge for all” symposium organizer
Dr. Richard Corlett – Prospects for the Long-term Survival of Tropical Forest Biodiversity in Conversion Landscapes
Dr. Edward Webb – “Ecology and conservation of mangrove ecosystems along changing coastlines in Asia” symposium organizer
Dr. David Bickford – Impacts of Climate Change on the Amphibians and Reptiles of Southeast Asia
Post-docs
Dr. Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz – Asian Tapirs are no Elephants when it Comes to Seed Dispersal
Dr. Jennifer Sheridan – Shrinking Futures: Climate Change Effects on Body Size
Dr. Dan Friess – Large-scale Threats and Mangrove Dynamics in SE Asia
Dr. Mary Rose Posa – Biodiversity and Conservation of Tropical Peat Swamp Forests
Graduate Students
Lainie Qie – Dung Beetles on Small Islands are not Limited by Food Availability
Brett Scheffers – Global Biodiversity of Canopy Birds, Mammals, and Amphibians
Nanthinee Jeevanandam – The Phenology of Ficus grossularioides in Singapore
Alison Wee – Gene Flow of Avicennia alba and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza in a Fragmented Landscape
Daniel Ng – A pH/Temperature Synergism in Amphibians
Sheila Poo – Parental Care of Amphibians in Southeast Asia
Yan Chong Kwek – Extending Red List Assessments from a Herbarium Database
Enoka Kudavidanage
Grace Blackham
Undergraduate students
Anne Devan-Song – Evaluating the Impact of Reticulated Python Predation on the Fauna of Singapore
Yea Tian Teo – A Habitat Enrichment Project to Encourage Breeding of Kalophrynus pleurostigma in Singapore
Some of the BioD crew at the closing banquet
The Environmental Leadership Training Initiative (ELTI) joint initiative of Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which is based at DBS, also organized a symposium called “REDD’s Role in the Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity”.
There were also quite a few familiar faces: alumni who are pursuing their studies and careers in other pastures, but still doing great conservation research:
Alumni
Lian Pin Koh – Conservation in Human- modified Landscapes: Sidestepping the Tradeoffs of Oil Palm Expansion
Reuben Clements – ‘Killer Roads’ Threatening Endangered Mammals in Southeast Asia
Giam Xingli – Native Latitudinal Range, and Growth Habit Predict Progression Through the Plant Invasion Continuum on a Tropical Island
Norman Lim - Habitat Preference of The Sunda Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) in Tropical Forests of Singapore
Janice Lee – Modeling Livelihood Impacts in the Context of Land Use Changes from Biofuel Expansion in Indonesia
Kang Min Ngo – Dynamics of a 50-Year Old Secondary Forest in Singapore
Current and alumni DBS grad students
It was great opportunity to reunite, meet and mingle with tropical conservation scientists from all over the world. All in all, a fun and fruitful meeting. You can find out more information about the conference at this website: ATBC 2010. Next year the annual meeting will be held in Tanzania – hope there will be another strong contingent from DBS there!
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