Important DATES |
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| Symposium and Workshop Submission Deadline | March 1, 2009 |
| Notification of acceptance | April 5, 2009 |
WORD COUNT: Abstracts = 250 / Symposia & Workshops = 500 |
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CALL FOR SYMPOSIUM & WORKSHOPS:
The Scientific Program Committee launches an open call for proposals for Symposia or Workshops which relate to the conference theme: One World, One Health: Parasites in a Changing Landscape.
A Symposium should consist of a series of presentations on a common theme and involve the integration of complementary findings in the field of the theme, rather than a series of individual and unconnected original research reports. Symposia will have a total time available of either 60 or 120 minutes (most will be 60 minute time slots), including presentations and discussion, made up of 10 – 15 minute presentations. Discussion can be after all presentations, or after each separate presentation, depending on the wishes of the convenor who shall chair the symposium. With either discussion format, the symposium organizer(s) should try to draw together some common and concluding ideas from the presentations towards the end of the session.
A Workshop should consist of a forum for discussion of a topic in veterinary parasitology in which the convenor(s) or their delegate will make an opening presentation to provide the framework of the workshop (e.g. a series of questions/sub-themes to be addressed). The sub-themes in the workshop will be open for discussion from the floor, although the convenor may call up individual delegates to make short presentations (e.g. 2 - 5 minutes) to highlight different sub-themes relating to the topic and to raise questions for debate. A workshop should not consist of a series of conventional (e.g. 10 – 15 min.) presentations, but should rather be a discussion of a topic with a majority of the time being available for comments from the delegates present. It should be less structured than a symposium. However, it will be important that convenors encourage participation from the floor and ensure that many different view points receive exposure. The convenor who will normally chair the workshop should attempt to summarize the conclusions from the workshop in the final few minutes. The total time available for a workshop will be 60 minutes.
Abstracts should be submitted online through the conference website, at:
The submission process for Symposia uses the same submission process as for abstracts, however there are categories for Symposia and Workshops. Please follow the instructions carefully. |
For detailed information and instructions please click on the link below.
Call for Symposium & Workshops
Information and speakers needed to participate in a Symposium? |
Should we worry about parasite extinction?
Despite the fact that most species on the planet adopt a parasitic life style, parasitism is still widely viewed as something we should try to eliminate. Even with numerous pleas from some parasitologists for almost twenty years, parasite conservation still seems a bizarre aim to most. In fact, however, parasites can play a fundamental role in host population regulation, competition and community structure, and are a prime selective force for animal evolution. We now realise that conservation efforts should not focus solely on the large charismatic top predators, or necessarily the environment as a whole, but instead the processes within that environment, especially those that underpin ecosystem stability. That probably includes host-parasite relationships.
This symposium will explore documented and potential negative effects of parasite removal on natural populations and processes, and consider what, if any, action should be taken to conserve them. Since this is rather a new subject area within veterinary parasitology, the conference organisers have taken the unusual step of encouraging potential contributors to write to the convenor with a brief outline of their proposed presentation. Speakers will be invited from this list to join other more established investigators, in the interests of a fresh debate. It is anticipated that outcomes will be submitted for publication in a leading parasitological journal.
Convenor: Dr Eric Morgan, University of Bristol, UK. Eric.morgan@bristol.ac.uk