Special Symposium announcement: Comparative Ecological Research (SMM '07 Conference, Cape Town) Researchers working with various mammalian taxa are often focused on particular species, sometime a group of closely related species, too often to the exclusion of understanding or benefiting from work done by other mammalogists. With a vast body of knowledge of various mammalian species accumulated over past decades, the time is now ripe to promote a broader comparative approach, within and between taxa. This Special Session will draw together experts and students that represent a broad spectrum of research in mammalian ecology, behavior, and conservation; both marine and terrestrial; it will comprise both invited plenary talks and submitted paper presentations. As much as possible, talks will be assembled thematically to indicate the similarity of issues and compatibility of concepts, and to exemplify the benefits of a broader comparative outlook when dealing with any specific scientific question. Date: Wednesday, 28 November 2007 8:30 through 17:00 Venue: Lecture Theatre at Iziko South African Museum, 25 Queen Victoria Street. Costs (including tea/coffee break): a) Residents of high-income countries: US$ 25 (or R 180) per person b) Students from high-income countries: US$ 20 (or R 140) per person c) Residents of countries not defined as high-income: US$ 10 (or R 70) per person We classify a country as High Income according to the definitions of the World Bank Web-link: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:204214... All interested in attending this Special Session must RSVP by 31 August 2007, so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Please RSVP to the following e-mail addresses: karczmal@tamug.edu leszek@hawaii.edu with a CC to: sciprog@marinemammalogy.org Make sure you copy your e-mail to all addresses listed above. Indicate subject: Special Session: Comparative Ecology The registration fee will be collected at the door on the day of the workshop. Call for abstracts: All interested in giving a spoken paper presentation, please e-mail your abstract for consideration to the following address: karczmal@tamug.edu leszek@hawaii.edu with a CC to: sciprog@marinemammalogy.org Make sure you copy your submission to all addresses listed above. Indicate subject: ABSTRACT - Special Session: Comparative Ecology Abstracts should be submitted as Word.doc attachments, roughly 300 words or less; font: Arial; size 12 points. Make sure to include the e-mail address and full contact details of the corresponding author, and affiliations details of all co-authors. Deadline for abstract submission is 6 August, noon South African time. Decision on acceptance will be sent out on 8 August. It is understood that all submitted abstracts are drafts only, and they can still be edited at a later stage. The final versions of all accepted abstracts will need to be received by 15 October. All presentations will need to be done in PowerPoint. Specific audio-visual presentation requirements should be included both in the body of the email and as a statement underneath the abstract. Organizer and Symposium Chair: Leszek Karczmarski, Ph.D. Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria c/o S.A. Museum, 25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa Tel: +27.(0)21.481.3860 Fax: +27.(0)21.481.3993 E-mail: leszek@iziko.org.za and Institute of Marine Life Sciences, Texas A&M University 5007 Avenue U, MMRP, Galveston, TX 77551, USA Tel: +1.409.740.4718 Fax: +1.409.740.4717 E-mail: karczmal@tamug.edu