Dear All, Please find a link below to a flyer for the interdisciplinary PICES 2011 Theme Session: 'Mechanisms of physical-biological coupling forcing biological “hotspots.”,' scheduled for October 18, 2011 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM in Khabarovsk, Russia. This session will examine the physical and oceanographic factors that correspond to ecological or economic “hotspots” in the North Pacific and North Atlantic and their marginal seas. For the Pacific, this session will focus on the Kuroshio/Oyashio extensions and ecotone, the intersection of the Sea of Okhotsk and the western North Pacific (Kuril Islands region), and the Western Bering Sea. For the Atlantic, this session will focus on the North Sea, the intersection of the Gulf Stream and Labrador Current, in addition to tidally driven systems such as the Gulf of Maine and Gulf of St. Lawrence. “Hotspots” can broadly be defined as areas encompassing high species diversity, high abundance of individuals, especially of important indicator species, or areas of high economic value. Interdisciplinary contributions on physical-biological coupling and resulting seasonal or year-round “hotspots” in primary to tertiary productivity are invited. This includes data on physics, phyto- and zooplankton, forage fish, and upper trophic level predators (e.g., fish, seabirds, mammals, humans). We are particularly interested in simultaneous multi-species multi-use hotspots (i.e., sites of ecological importance that overlap highly with sites of economic value) and potential changes in hotspots under future climate change scenarios building upon the 2004 PICES theme session on hotspots. Modeling and empirical studies are encouraged. We will solicit a special publication in the primary literature pending subscription to the session. The PICES annual meeting will take place on October 14-23rd, 2011 in Khabarovsk, Russia (http://www. pices.int/meetings/annual/PICES-2011/2011-background.aspx). If you would like to submit a presentation for this theme session, please submit an abstract (limit 250 words) via the link above that summarizes the work you are planning to present. Travel support for early career scientists (35 years of age or younger), and scientists from countries with ‘economies in transition’ is available from the PICES Trust Fund (for detail see http://www.pices.int/meetings/annual/PICES-2011/2011-fin-sup.aspx). Additional funding from NSF is available for researchers from U.S. academic institutions, who may ultimately become involved in PICES activities (for details, questions and applications please contact Dr. George Boehlert at george.boehlert@oregonstate.edu). The deadline for all abstracts is 20 June, 2011. Thank you for your interest and consideration. Sincerely, Elliott Hazen, Jürgen Alheit, Oleg Katugin, Robert Suryan, Yutaka Watanuki, and Ichiro Yasuda http://www.duke.edu/~eh23/PICES2011_TS.pdf