U.S.-Mexico Second International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal; Veracruz, Mexico, June 3-6, 1991

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This award will support a second international workshop on frugivores and seed dispersal to be held at the Estacion Biologica "Los Tuxtlas" in Veracruz state, Mexico on June 3- 6, 1991. The workshop is being organized by Prof. Theodore Fleming of the University of Miami and Prof. Alejandro Estrada of the Instituto de Biologia of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico in Veracruz, Mexico. The activity will consist of oral presentations, posters sessions, informal discussions between participants, and explorations of the rain forest at Los Tuxtlas. Expected outcomes are a book consisting of the edited papers given at the workshop and potential collaborations between U.S. and Latin American ecologists. As was the case five years ago, the topics of the conference- -fruits, frugivores, and seed dispersal--are of major ecological concern because they bear importantly on the conservation of species-rich tropical and subtropical terrestrial habitats. In these habitats, many plants produce fleshy fruits and depend on fruit-eating vertebrates to disperse their seeds. This mutualistic interaction is very complex and the ultimate role played by frugivorous vertebrates in maintaining the structure and diversity of tropical and subtropical forests is not yet clear. Periodic assessment of the progress being made in this field is critical so that new approaches can be initiated and conservation recom- mendations formulated. Personal contacts among established researchers and graduate students is one way in which the rate of progress in this field can be maximized.