ESF Workshop
Genetics and Genomics of Speciation
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March 26th - March 29th, 2013 Eawag, Center for Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland |
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Goals and objectives
Due to successful integration of molecular population
genetics and phylogenetics with ecology and biogeography, speciation research became
a very strong branch of evolutionary biology. Now the field is challenged with
the need for another newer synthesis that achieves the
integration of population genomic with ecological speciation research.
Many species differences arise in the late stages of speciation or after
speciation is completed. These differences may not tell us much about how speciation happens. For a more complete understanding
of the speciation process, speciation has to be studied at different stages in
the evolutionary continuum from onset to completion of speciation. To put the new
genomic technologies and data analysis methods to optimal use for furthering
our understanding of speciation, they need to be strongly integrated with
ecology and detailed natural history for every individual case of speciation. This
integration is perhaps the most important challenge to speciation research in
the next decade. The
goal of our workshop is to identify elements required, available and those
still lacking for this extended synthesis in speciation research. We wish
to identify ways by which such integration will advance testing existing theoretical
speciation models, and will inform further theory development.
The workshop brings 10-15 senior speciation
researchers together with ~15 early career speciation researchers (Phd students,
Postdocs). Activities include talks by the seniors and posters by the younger
scientists, specifically targeting current questions in speciation research and
how genomic data can help address them, and intensive workshop sessions organized
around three themes.
- genes with major effect on speciation, isolation genes, ”magic traits”.
- genome-wide analyses of divergence during speciation.
- genetic constraints to speciation: role of G-matrix properties, role of standing variation.
Location
The workshop venue is the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry (CEEB) of Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.
Accomodation
Participants will be accommodated on site and will share all meals. We anticipate three days of very intensive interactions.
Meals
All Meals (do-it-yourself breakfast, catered lunch and dinner) are organized by the committee
Fees
The registration fees are: CHF 100.00
Funding:
ESF Networking Program Frontiers in Speciation Research FROSpects
