Phylogeography - the history and formation of species, John C. Avise (2000)
(Keynote lecturer - new: download lecture  (MP3, 60 Mb))

Sustainable development and the conservation of biological diversity have become a major topic for science and politics since the Rio Convention in 1992. One of the key objectives of the convention is the conservation of inter- and intraspecific variability across the globe. Current diversity patterns are strongly influenced by both historic effects such as ice ages, and recent effects such as land management. Of particular importance in this context is the understanding and conservation of postglacial relict species, which give key information on the distribution of genetic diversity in today’s world. Therefore, the proposed meeting will focus on relict species in the context of biodiversity protection.

Relict populations usually suffer more severely from environmental stochasticity than non-relict populations. This situation has recently changed to the worse due to anthropogenic landuse changes resulting in increasing fragmentation and decreasing habitat sizes. As a consequence, the numbers and sizes of many relict populations have decreased as well, often combined with the loss of genetic diversity and reduced individual fitness. To stop and finally reverse this development, numerous conservation efforts have been introduced, for example the Habitats and Birds Directives in the European Union.

This meeting will provide a platform for scientists to discuss the phylogeography of species and their conservation management. Population biology and phylogeography are crucial for the conservation of relict species and their genetic diversity. The meeting provides a unique opportunity in bringing together representatives from natural sciences and applied conservation management. This combination will enable participants to develop new ideas on how to manage these endangered populations of major importance.

Payment details

• IBAN: LU54 1111 1329 0010 0000
• BIC code: CCPLLULL
• Beneficiary name: TRESORERIE DE L'ETAT CPTE MUSEE NAT D'HIST. NATURELLE
• Address: 'P&T Luxembourg, L-1090 Luxembourg'
• Please use the conference abbreviation (relicts 2007) as the payment communication

Organizing institution

• MNHN - National Museum of Natural History (Musée national d'histoire naturelle de Luxembourg)

Partner organizations

• BfN - German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
• CRP - Centre de Recherche Public Gabriel Lippmann
• IUCN - World Conservation Union
• Ministère de l´environment Luxembourg
• SNL - Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois
• University Lüneburg
• University Trier

Funded by

• FNR - Fonds national de la recherche Luxembourg