US-Gabon Workshop 2011: Evolution and conservation of Central African biological diversity: new approaches and avenues for international collaboration

研讨会的主要目标是为积极从事中非赤道热带雨林生物多样性演化研究的美国和外国关键科学家提供一个合作交流的论坛。拟议的研讨会将于2011年在加蓬举行，将由国际和平协会和美国科学家(纽约州立大学奥尔巴尼分校贡德博士；哥伦比亚特区生态与环境公司的拉姆博士)与外国合作者(加蓬马苏库科学与技术大学米卡拉博士；加蓬大猩猩与黑猩猩S站杰弗里博士)合作举办；鉴于刚果盆地的生物重要性和该地区面临的保护挑战，本次研讨会不仅将努力展示我们目前对该地区生物多样性演化的理解，而且还将为未来的进化研究及其在保护方面的应用提供建议。指导委员会选出的35名以上参与者包括一大批进化生物学家、自然资源专家和大学教育工作者。他们的集体专门知识和目前的研究活动涵盖了该区域大多数主要的分类小组和国家。具体目标如下：(I)评估我们目前对中非赤道热带雨林生物多样性分布背后的进化模式和过程的了解(Ii)建立共同的研究优先事项，并确定我们现有知识库中的重要差距(Iii)确定跨学科研究、数据共享的新途径，以及将遗传方法应用于保护管理和政策的方法(Iv)探索将热带进化研究与学生教育相结合的创新方式(V)探索美国、欧洲和非洲科学家之间未来合作授予机会的潜力。智力优势：基于PCR的新技术、非侵入性采样方法的出现，速度更快的计算机和大量的免费软件有望彻底改变我们对中非生物多样性演变的理解。尽管在概念和技术上取得了这些进步，但中部非洲的大多数进化研究都局限于从有限的一组动植物分类群中进行的单一物种研究。此外，分子生态学和多学科进化研究(如景观遗传分析、条形码倡议等)中的许多最令人兴奋的进展。还没有在整个地区得到应用。因此，本次研讨会旨在通过将美国和外国科学家聚集在一起，为未来的研究建立一套共同的研究目标，并探索合作交流和教育的机会，来满足这一需求。通过将学者、资源经理、保护从业者和教育工作者聚集在一起，研讨会还将努力确定基因数据如何为区域保护工作做出具体贡献。更广泛的影响：(1)加强美国和从事中非进化生物学和保护研究的外国科学家之间的合作；(2)为美国研究人员和学生寻找海外培训和研究的机会；(3)为国家科学基金帝国奖计划等大型多研究员拨款申请奠定基础；(4)就未来的研究途径和利用基因数据为保护管理和政策提供信息的方式建立一套建议；(5)出版研讨会讨论综述，并整理教材分发给研讨会参与者。该奖项由国际科学与工程办公室的非洲、近东和南亚项目资助。

The main goal of the workshop is to provide a forum for collaborative exchange between key US and foreign scientists actively engaged in research on the evolution of biological diversity in the equatorial rainforests of Central Africa. The proposed workshop will take place in Gabon in 2011 and will be jointly organized by the PI and US scientists (Dr. Gonder, State University of New York-Albany, NY; Dr. Lahm, Ecology and Environment Inc., DC) in cooperation with foreign collaborators (Dr. Mickala, Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku, Gabon; Dr. Jeffery, Station d'Etudes sur les Gorilles et Chimpanzés, Gabon; Dr. Abernethy, University of Stirling, UK and Prof. Bruford, Cardiff University, UK).Given the biological significance of the Congo basin and the conservation challenges this region faces, this workshop will not only strive to present a coherent synthesis of our current understanding of the evolution of biological diversity in the region but also provide recommendations for future evolutionary research and its application to conservation. The 35+ participants selected by the steering committee comprise a broad array of evolutionary biologists, natural resource specialists and university educators. Their collective expertise and current research activities span most major taxonomic groups and countries in the region. The specific aims are as follows:(i) assess our current knowledge of evolutionary patterns and processes underlying the distribution of biological diversity in the Central African equatorial rainforest (ii) establish common research priorities and identify important gaps in our current knowledge base(iii) identify novel avenues for cross-disciplinary research, data sharing and ways of applying genetic approaches to conservation management and policy(iv) explore innovative ways of combining tropical evolutionary research with student education(v) explore the potential for future collaborative granting opportunities between US, European and African scientists.Intellectual merit: The advent of novel PCR based technologies, non-invasive sampling methodologies, faster computers and a vast proliferation of freeware promises to revolutionize our understanding of the evolution of central African biological diversity. Despite these conceptual and technological advances, most evolutionary research in Central Africa has been limited to single species studies from a limited set of plant and animal taxa. Moreover, many of the most exciting advances in molecular ecology and multi-disciplinary evolutionary studies (e.g. landscape genetic analyses, barcoding initiatives etc.) have yet to be applied across the region. The present workshop therefore seeks to address this need by bringing together US and foreign scientists to establish a set of common research objectives for future research and explore opportunities for collaborative exchange and education. By bringing academics, resource managers, conservation practitioners and educators together, the workshop will also strive to identify ways that genetic data can make a concrete contribution to regional conservation efforts. Broader impacts: (1) Enhance collaboration between U.S. and foreign scientists engaged in evolutionary biology and conservation research in Central Africa; (2) Identify opportunities for overseas training and research for U.S. investigators and students; (3) Lay the groundwork for large multi-investigator grant applications such as the NSF PIRE award program; (4) Establish a set of recommendations on future avenues for research and ways of using genetic data to inform conservation management and policy; (5) Publish a synthesis of workshop discussion and collate educational materials for distribution to workshop participants. This award is being funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering's Africa, Near East, and South Asia Program.