Evolutionary Change in Human-altered Environments: An International Summit to Translate Science into Policy

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This proposal requests funds to support registration and travel costs for students and postdocs to attend a conference on evolutionary change in response to human-altered environments that will be held Feb 8-11, 2007 at UCLA. The organizers have invited evolutionary biologists to present recent research findings on the effects of habitat degradation, climate change, captive breeding, exploitation, introductions of invasive species, and the spread of pathogens. In breakout working groups, conservation practitioners from state, federal, and international agencies, as well as major non-governmental organizations, will work with the scientists to develop implementation plans that incorporate these findings into specific recommendations. Throughout the meeting, policy makers will provide practical political perspectives and obtain first-hand scientific information regarding legislative needs. The list of participants is suitably diverse, including individuals from science and policy as well as from underrepresented groups. Student participants will be chosen based on the quality of their abstract, quality of supporting statement, and under-represented status of the candidate. The conference has the potential to lead to important policy recommendations and foster future collaborations between participants.