From the society: Getting to know IBS Early Career Members

membership corner ISSN 1948‐6596 from the society Looking to the future of the IBS: the 2011 IBS membership sur‐ vey The International Biogeography Society (IBS) was founded 10 years ago, with the goal of promoting biogeographical research, fostering communica‐ tion among biogeographers, and increasing knowl‐ edge of and appreciation for biogeography among the general public. As a neonatal society, growth and stability were crucial: the first practical goals were to organize the first conference (held in 2003) and begin to build a membership base. Five IBS conferences have now been held, the mem‐ bership has grown to 796 members representing 54 countries, an on‐line IBS journal has been es‐ tablished (Frontiers of Biogeography; http:// www.biogeography.org/html/fb.html), and the first IBS off‐year conference (a young investigators conference scheduled for 23‐25 September 2011 at the University of Oxford; http://www.biogeogr aphy.org/html/Meetings/index.html) will be held quite soon. Enthusiasm for the January 2013 IBS conference in Miami, Florida (http://www.biogeo graphy.org/html/Meetings/2013/index.html) is quite high, and we may see record‐high atten‐ dance. Overall, the IBS is now a strong and healthy 10‐year‐old. We all recognize, of course, that we need to maintain regular communication with the mem‐ bers about the details of just how well the IBS is doing: where are there strengths, where are there weaknesses, and where would growth be most effective? Not long after the IBS conference on Crete in January 2011, the Board of Directors of the IBS, newly reconstituted after the meeting, was keen to look to the future immediately. We resolved to perform a survey of members and to use this opportunity to ask important questions about the biennial meetings, the role of Frontiers of Biogeography, the other services the society provides (or does not), and the level of enthusi‐ asm among members for getting more involved in the society. In February, with the Crete meeting still fresh in our memory, the survey went live and IBS members were invited to respond. Background: the IBS membership. The number of members who took the time to respond was, in itself, very encouraging. In total 285 members completed the survey, about 60% of whom had attended the meeting in Crete. Around 30% were students, 3% retired and 67% professionals. About 11% were under 30, 63% were 30–49 and 15% were 50–65; 64% of them were male and 36% fe‐ male. Of the 274 people who responded, about 30% identified themselves as coming from North America, 11% from Central and South America, 18% from northern Europe, 26% from southern Europe, and 5% or less from each of Australia/ New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia. A little over 40% of the survey respondents said that the IBS was their primary professional society. The range of “other conceptual affilia‐ tions” of our members is very broad, ranging from evolutionary aspects of genetics and phylogeogra‐ phy, vertebrate biology (mammalogy, ornithology, etc.), systematics, botany, paleontology, and con‐ servation biology to ecology, which was the single most‐frequently mentioned topic. Clearly, geo‐ graphic and conceptual breadth is a hallmark of the IBS membership. Importance of contact from the IBS. While the danger of communication overload must always be considered, members clearly appreciate com‐ munications from the IBS. This was how many learned about the Crete meeting (58% from IBS e‐ mails or website). Responses to open‐ended ques‐ tions about making IBS better and possible web‐ based member benefits all highlighted the value of information flowing from the IBS to members (also among members). The Crete meeting was deemed a success, with 77% rating the meeting as “great” or “very good”; only 0.5% rated it as “not so good”, and none as “poor”. While most respondents (72%) thought the balance between posters and oral presenta‐ frontiers of biogeography 3.2, 2011 — © 2011 the authors; journal compilation © 2011 The International Biogeography Society

editorial ISSN 1948‐6596 Advancing Frontiers, with a retrospective The first issue of a new volume of Frontiers of Bio‐ geography, following soon after a Biennial meet‐ ing of the International Biogeography Society (IBS), provides a timely opportunity to take stock of achievements and to chart the new course for the journal. We aim to do this in two installments: first a brief retrospective herein, followed by a prospective in the next issue. Frontiers of Biogeography is now seven is‐ sues, and not quite two years, old (the first issue was published in September 2009). During this period, we have maintained an average of over 30 pages per issue of diverse content, including opin‐ ions and perspectives, book reviews, news and comment on the current literature, and updates for the IBS membership. That level of output, al‐ though small by the standards of an established journal, is a testament to the support of IBS mem‐ bers in submitting articles and a dedicated edito‐ rial team. We take this opportunity to thank this team of editors, who are listed inside the cover of all the issues of the journal. Many of them are early‐career scientists with a great enthusiasm for our subject: key members of the next generation of leading biogeographers. It is great to have such dynamic, motivated people involved. A key part of our mission is inherited from the antecedent IBS Newsletter: to abet communi‐ cation among all the members of IBS. The mem‐ bership corner remains a pillar of that mission, in partnership with the IBS blog, facebook, and twit‐ ter sites. We have been able to bring some of the latest content from the diverse biogeography lit‐ erature to your laptop, including discussion of top‐ ics in the peer‐reviewed literature. With the Wiley –Blackwell biogeography journals discontinuing their book reviews about four years ago, Frontiers is now the place to look for reviews of, and infor‐ mation about, books in our field; the recent ap‐ pointment of Markus Eichhorn as Book Reviews Editor has made this a strong feature of the jour‐ nal. We also bring early delivery of ideas gestating within the minds of a series of highly regarded interviewees; the interview with Robert E. Ricklefs in this issue brings up to date the series on Alfred Russel Wallace Award winners. In this vein, the current issue again engages with some of the very latest in biogeography in a series of reports from the 5 th Biennial Interna‐ tional Conference of the IBS, convened in Herak‐ lion, Crete. Each report provides a summary of cutting‐edge topics within the field, but we sug‐ gest there are gems hidden in these reports that emerge most clearly when reading the entire is‐ sue’s contents in quick succession, regardless of speciality. Several common themes spring out. To choose just two examples, the importance of body size (see the summaries of the Two Lenses, Hot Topics, and Marine Biogeography symposia) and the role of ecology in species distributions (Two Lenses and Marine Biogeography symposia) have a large presence across nominally distant disci‐ plines. Additionally, the Conservation Biology and Palaeoecology summaries explicitly draw links between symposia. These glimpses of transversal‐ ity are evidence that, by bringing together bio‐ geographers from different areas of research, the IBS meetings are facilitating a multidisciplinary exchange from which conceptual syntheses can emerge. But also, reading the book reviews and interview, we are led to consider the merits of practising biogeography in different ways: focus‐ ing on place, question or taxon, using shallow sampling with great breadth or sampling intensely with depth. In this issue we have the added op‐ portunity of viewing one symposium through the eyes of both the organizers and two student at‐ tendees (fittingly, this is the Two Lenses sympo‐ sium on biogeography and ecology). The diversity of points of view, conceptual and methodological approaches and research topics provided by these discussions, in print, represents the vitality of the meeting, the society and the discipline they seek to represent. Thus, as IBS continues to establish itself as a scientific society, Frontiers of Biogeography also is evolving to take on a broader role in communicat‐ ing biogeography. Our long‐standing series of con‐ tributed opinion and perspective articles (now highlighted on the Frontiers of Biogeography frontiers of biogeography 3.1, 2011 — © 2011 the authors; journal compilation © 2011 The International Biogeography Society

membership corner ISSN 1948‐6596 from the society Honorary Lifetime Membership awarded to James H. Brown The International Biogeography Society (IBS) has established a third award, Honorary Lifetime Mem‐ bership, given on the occasion of a special anniver‐ sary or event involving a prominent biogeographer. Honorary Lifetime Membership is intended to rec‐ ognize someone who has made a large intellectual contribution to biogeography and also has played a prominent role in the IBS or contributed to similar public service roles that have fostered or promoted the discipline. It is intended that there should only ever be a small group of Honorary Lifetime Mem‐ bers—perhaps a half‐dozen or so—reflecting the truly distinguished standing of recipients. Honorary Lifetime Membership was first bestowed on Edward O. Wilson, in 2007 1 , on the 40 th anniversary of the publication of “The Theory of Island Biogeography”, co‐authored with Robert MacArthur. IBS is privileged to announce that James H. Brown is the recipient of its second Hon‐ orary Lifetime Membership, on the occasion of his retirement from the University of New Mexico. Jim is certainly among the best‐known bio‐ geographers of any generation. Beginning with his 1971 publication, “Mammals on mountaintops: nonequilibrium insular biogeography”, Jim has played a central role in the development of mod‐ ern biogeography. His textbook, co‐authored with Arthur Gibson and published in 1983, has been widely adopted and highly influential in the educa‐ tion of generations of biogeographers, and is now in its fourth edition (Lomolino et al., 2010). With his 1995 book, “Macroecology”, Jim defined a new term but more importantly a different perspective on biogeography, leading to a new and still promi‐ nent field of study. He served as one of the editors of the “Foundations of Biogeography” volume (Lomolino et al., 2004) that has helped to shape our understanding of the historical development of our field—a fitting contribution by someone who has himself contributed so much to its develop‐ ment. A quick search of “Google Scholar” with the keyword “biogeography” yielded over 125 titles authored by Jim, an indica‐ tion of his vast output. His research has been charac‐ terized by great breadth and inquisitiveness, with a healthy emphasis on test‐ ing the assumptions of ear‐ lier research and expand‐ ing the nature of the ques‐ tions that are asked. Jim also has played a central role in the de‐ velopment of IBS. He was one of the organizers of the workshop held at the National Center for Eco‐ logical Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Bar‐ bara, California in September 2001. In addition to producing the “Foundations” volume, as planned, the workshop also resulted in the formation of the IBS. Jim then served as the first President of the IBS, including the period of the first IBS conference held in Mesquite, Nevada, in January 2003. In recognition of this award, Jim has agreed to present a keynote paper at the Sixth Biennial IBS Conference, to be held in January 2013 at the Flor‐ ida International University in Miami, Florida 2 . Lawrence R. Heaney 1 and George C. Stevens 2 IBS President. lheaney@fieldmuseum.org. IBS Vice President for Development and Awards. georgecstevens@hotmail.com References Brown, J.H. (1971) Mammals on mountaintops: nonequilibrial insular biogeography. American Naturalist, 105, 467‐478. Brown, J.H. (1995) Macroecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Brown, J.H. & Gibson, A.C. (1983) Biogeography. C.V. Mosby Co., St. Louis. Lomolino, M.V., Sax, D.F. & Brown, J.H. (2004) Foundations of biogeography, classic papers with commentaries. Uni‐ versity of Chicago Press, Chicago. Lomolino, M.V., Riddle, B.R., Whittaker, R.J. & Brown, J.H. (2010) Biogeography, fourth edition. Sinauer Associ‐ ates, Sunderland. Edited by Michael N Dawson 1. http://www.biogeography.org/html/About%20IBS/awards.html 2. http://www.biogeography.org/html/Meetings/2013/index.html frontiers of biogeography 4.2, 2012 — © 2012 the authors; journal compilation © 2012 The International Biogeography Society

membership corner ISSN 1948-6596 from the society The forthcoming 5th IBS International Meeting (Irakleion, Crete, Greece 7–11 January 2011) is almost here Two years after a successful meeting in Merida, Mexico, the 5 th biennial meeting of the Society is going to be held in Irakleion, Crete, Greece, from 7 th to 11th January 2011. Registration will open by the end of August, so start preparing your ab- stracts and your luggage for this journey to the southeastern corner of Europe. The meeting venue seems custom-made for biogeography, with its thousands of islands, the fragmented landscape, a geographic position on the border- line of three continents, and the long history of human activities. In addition, the historical signifi- cance and natural attractions of Greece, and Crete in particular, will be waiting for you, so there is no excuse to miss this meeting. The scientific part, as in all previous meet- ings, is more than appealing, with four main sym- posia taking place during two days of the meeting, and six sessions with contributed papers during the third day. The four symposia are: current and foreseen challenges in the field. Among the topics covered are new insights into suture zones and island community assembly and novel approaches employing genomics, spatial information systems, climate modeling, commu- nity-scale DNA barcoding, etc. 3. Biogeography and ecology: two lenses in one telescope (organizers: Dave Jenkins & Bob Rick- lefs). Biogeography focuses on large scales, while much of ecology uses the opposite end of the telescope to focus on many of the same patterns and processes at small scales. Despite historical separation, each discipline is now expanding its spatial and temporal scales towards the other: this symposium will match a biogeographer and an ecologist on each of four key topics of shared interest (niche, comparative/macro-ecology, com- munity assembly, and diversity) to seek alignment of the two perspectives. 1. Mediterranean biogeography: where history meets ecology across scales (organizers: Spyros Sfenthourakis & Remy Petit). The Mediterranean is a highly species-rich and complex biogeographic region. It has a complex tectonic and environ- mental history, hosts numerous islands, exhibits strong topographic diversity, and has experienced the impacts of human civilization for more than 8 millennia. This symposium explores novel per- spectives on Mediterranean biogeography across spatial and temporal scales. 4. Analytical advancements in macroecology and biogeography (organizers: Alexandre Diniz-Filho & Carsten Rahbek). The continuous development of computing capacity and increasing data genera- tion allow ever more sophisticated analyses, ena- bling novel insights about biodiversity patterns. This development depends upon continuous input from other fields in terms of methods and theory. This symposium presents new advancements in spatial analyses, phylogenetic reconstruction, and computer simulation modelling. 2. Comparative phylogeography: new perspec- tives, integrative approaches & challenges (organizers: Ana Carnaval & Mike Hickerson). This symposium will explore how innovative, integra- tive studies are expanding the boundaries of clas- sic comparative phylogeography, while discussing novel methodological alternatives to circumvent The contributed papers’ sessions will cover subjects like island biogeography, conservation biogeography, marine biogeography, climate change biogeography, palaeoecology, and other hot topics. Another important event will take place on the last day of the congress, when Bob Ricklefs You can find information about the International Biogeography Society at http:// www.biogeography.org/, and contact with other biogeographers at the IBS blog (http:// biogeography.blogspot.com/), the IBS facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php? gid=6908354463) and the IBS twitter channel (https://twitter.com/biogeography). © 2010 the authors; journal compilation © 2010 The International Biogeography Society — frontiers of biogeography 2.2, 2010

The International Biogeography Society and the inaugural Alfred Russel Wallace Award

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 Frontiers of Biogeography, a new frontier for the IBS Welcome to the first issue of Frontiers of Biogeog- raphy - the scientific magazine of the International Biogeography Society. The birth of this publication marks another major stage in the growth of the Society, one that reflects on our history and looks to the future. The magazine results from joining two prior publications: [1] the IBS newsletter, which grew from an update of Society business in 2003 to a publication on current affairs in bio- geography by 2008, and [2] the Frontiers of Bio- geography series, initiated by Mark Lomolino and Lawrence Heaney to publish the symposia of the first annual meeting of the IBS (see Heaney and Lomolino this issue). In conjoining, the magazine will fulfil the goal of the original Frontiers of Bio- geography book: to provide a series of integrative and interdisciplinary volumes published and de- veloped in association with the International Bio- geography Society (Lomolino and Heaney 2004). The title, Frontiers of Biogeography, was chosen to convey the message that this publica- tion will follow the lead of its predecessors, in- cluding diverse contributions on the state-of-the- art and the future of research in biogeography plus its practical application. The magazine aims to distinguish itself from existing biogeography journals by providing an eminent forum for syn- theses and prospectives that will push forward the boundaries of biogeography philosophy and prac- tice. We aim to demonstrate not simply how bio- geography is being done – existing journals al- ready do this wonderfully – but rather to offer insights into how it has been, and how it might be, done. Frontiers of Biogeography will, therefore, publish texts that include new ideas, novel ways to think about existing information, and innova- tive ways to practice biogeography rather than studies collecting new data which are the corner- stones of existing journals. You can see a con- densed description of the sections in the next page. We aim to foster discussion across the field by bringing together diverse topics under one ti- tle, and to promote debate by publishing substan- tiated but perhaps controversial opinions. The subtitle, ‘the scientific magazine of the International Biogeography Society’ was chosen to communicate that this will be a place where you – whatever your walk of life – can find rigorous sci- ence in an easy-to-read format. Everyone is busy, so our goal is to bring a sample of the best in bio- geography to you. By adopting a lighter reading format, we aim to bridge gaps between research- ers, practitioners, and those with different inter- ests. The magazine is created by and for bio- geographers of all kinds: graduate students, post- docs, faculty, and other researchers who study the geography of nature, including ecologists, evolu- tionary biologists, paleontologists and conserva- tion biologists. It can only be a success if it contin- ues the tradition of the International Biogeogra- phy Society, IBS Newsletter, and Frontiers of Bio- geography book of engaging junior and senior bio- geographers around the globe. As well as reading and enjoying the magazine, we hope you will con- tribute! Joaquin Hortal Editor-in-Chief, Frontiers of Biogeography Imperial College London, UK Michael N Dawson Vice-President for Public Affairs & Communi- cations, International Biogeography Society University of California, Merced, USA References Heaney, L.R. & Lomolino, M.V. (2009) From the Foun- dations to the Frontiers of Biogeography. Fron- tiers of Biogeography, 1, 3-4. Lomolino, M.V. & Heaney, L.R. (eds.). (2004) Frontiers of Biogeography: New Directions in the Geogra- phy of Nature. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. frontiers of biogeography 1.1, 2009 — © 2009 the authors; journal compilation © 2009 The International Biogeography Society

IBS)Early Career Conference, which brought together about one hundred biogeographers from sixteen different countries (Fig. 1).This conference offered young researchers the opportunity to present their work and exchange experiences, as well as to attend a workshop delivered by Robert Whittaker, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Biogeography, which provided an overview of the publication process.As this summary aims only to provide the main results of the conference rather than a comprehensive account of all sessions, those interested are referred to the full program 1 .Keynote talks were provided by four IBS board members.Kenneth Feeley discussed the impacts of climate change on tropical forests, identifying four possible responses of species to climate change: acclimation, adaptation, migration and extinction.Catherine Graham showed

editorial ISSN 1948‐6596 Whither biogeography, and whence? Bringing our subject to‐ gether Biogeography encompasses the study of all pat‐ terns of life on Earth in both space and time. As such, although it is typically classified within ‘Ecology and Evolution’ (e.g. Figure 1), it is argua‐ bly broader than its category; certainly it extends beyond. Biogeography represents one of the most transdisciplinary (and often interdisciplinary) fields within science, for it merges information from current environment and distribution of spe‐ cies with palaeontological and molecular data on their historical distribution and evolutionary rela‐ tionships, as well as information about the geo‐ logical evolution of islands and continents, and past and future trends in climate. Biogeographers use information from all these fields of science, illustrated by the fact that both Global Ecology and Biogeography and Journal of Biogeography are classified within the Physical Geography cate‐ gory of Thomson Reuters’ JCR 1 , which is predomi‐ nantly ‘Geosciences’ (see Figure 1). There are in‐ creasingly frequent links with journals specializing in computer science, climatology, microbiology and geophysics (mostly not captured by Figure 1, which uses a dataset ending in 2005). Research in biogeography, then, is not only broad but also highly diverse. The great diversity of approaches to re‐ search in biogeography is reflected by the general aim of the International Biogeography Society (IBS) of fostering communication between re‐ searchers working on all aspects of biogeography. Apart from Frontiers of Biogeography—which is an integral part of the IBS strategy along with the blog 2 , twitter 3 and facebook 4 pages—a key tool used by the IBS for strengthening links between biogeographers is international conferences. Dur‐ ing the next six months there will be two interna‐ tional IBS meetings: the IBS Special Meeting on the Geography of Species Associations 5 (Montreal, 15–17 November 2013) and the IBS Early Career 1 http://thomsonreuters.com/journal‐citation‐reports/ 2 http://biogeography.blogspot.co.uk/ 3 https://twitter.com/Biogeography 4 https://www.facebook.com/groups/6908354463/ Conference 2014 6 (Canberra, 08–10 January 2014). More information on these conferences is in the announcements section of this issue. The ‘main’, biennial conference—the IBS International Meet‐ ing 7 —is perhaps the main event in many bio‐ geographers’ calendars. It aims to bring together researchers from all fields within biogeography, who present their most exciting and cutting‐edge research. The abstract book of the last IBS confer‐ ence (Hortal et al. 2012) provides an overview of the wide variety of topics, study subjects and methodological approaches used by biogeogra‐ phers, though some subjects were under‐ represented (e.g. deep‐time biogeography). This conference is therefore the best showcase for the subject as a whole, and an excellent opportunity to get up to date with the latest advances across its breadth. But is also a place for discussion; both the symposia and the parallel sessions that are held during the conference are intended to allow scientific debate and set up the basis of future research in biogeography. Needless to say, many personal meetings over a coffee or (more fre‐ quently, to tell the truth) a beer are also an inte‐ gral part of this process. This makes the IBS bien‐ nial conference the perfect melting pot for the research ideas that will drive our science forward through the next years. Frontiers of Biogeography has previously tried to provide an update of the IBS conferences through symposium summaries that covered the main discussions and trends in each session (Dawson et al. 2011; see e.g. Jenkins and Ricklefs 2011; Sfenthourakis and Svenning 2011). But in this issue, for the Miami meeting held in January 2013, we are offering something quite different. Rather than collecting a series of separate sum‐ maries of the discussions held in the meeting, Mi‐ chael Dawson has coordinated the chairpeople from all the sessions (symposia and parallel ses‐ 5 http://ibsmontreal.webs.com/ 6 http://www.biogeography.org/html/Meetings/2014ECC/ 7 http://www.biogeography.org/html/Meetings/index.html frontiers of biogeography 5.2, 2013 — © 2013 the authors; journal compilation © 2013 The International Biogeography Society

membership corner from the society Update on the 6 th Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society Planning is well underway for the Sixth Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society, which will be held at the Kovens Convention Center located on Biscayne Bay campus of Florida International University in Miami Florida on January 9 th to 13 th , 2012. January climate in South Florida is mild, with temperatures ranging from 17 to 26 °C and only a small chance of rain. The main conference hotel is located directly on the beach. The preliminary program includes four plenary symposia: (1) Predicting species and biodi- versity in a warmer world: are we doing a good job? (2) Beyond Bergmann: new perspectives on the biogeography of traits, (3) Island biogeography: new syntheses, and Convergence of conservation paleontology and biogeography. Plenary speakers will include, among others, James Brown (University of New Mexico), Jonathan Losos (Harvard University), Elizabeth Hadley (Stanford University), Antoine Guisan (University of Lausanne), and Lauren Buckley (University of North Carolina). Over 70 contributed talks will address a variety of biogeographic themes, from marine biogeography to phylogeography. The spacious conference center will accommodate 300 posters. Graduate students will be able to engage senior scientists during specially organized lunch-time sessions. Pre-conference workshops (Jan 9 th ) in development include half-day sessions on the topics of (1) merging ecophysiological data into species distribution models, (2) popular science writing, (3) advice for early-career and non-native English speakers on preparing work for publication, (4) Bayesian modeling, and a full-day session on (5) biodiversity informatics. Field trips are being planned for the beginning (Jan 9 th ) and end (Jan 13 th ) of the conference. These tours, mostly for small groups of less than 20 people, may range from airboat rides, hikes in Everglades National Park, canoeing the historic Oleta River, birding tour of south Florida, sea kayaking, snorkeling, and tours of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Abstract submission and registration will open mid-2012 1 . Daniel Gavin Vice President for Conferences, International Biogeog- raphy Society. dgavin@uoregon.edu Edited by Matthew Heard 1. Further details are posted at http://www.biogeography.org/html/Meetings/2013/index.html. frontiers of biogeography 4.1, 2012 — © 2012 the authors; journal compilation © 2012 The International Biogeography Society

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 Frontiers of Biogeography, a rapid forum for biogeographical advances and debate With this issue we open the second year of Fron- tiers of Biogeography – the scientific magazine of the International Biogeography Society, which we edit for you! Intended to foster communication between biogeographers, it provides continuity between our biennial meetings (about which you can read more in the membership corner section). In this journal, you can communicate your devel- oping ideas and/or opinions, share experiences in applied or academic work and at conferences, learn about new approaches and cutting edge re- search, and help other biogeographers keep up- to-date with what is happening in your field, all from the comfort of your home. How can you get involved? If you have read a paper published in the last few months and feel excited about it, you could submit a commentary or update. If you recently returned from an excit- ing symposium, workshop or congress where bio- geographical ideas were discussed, tell us what happened. If you recently evaluated a Ph.D. Thesis on any biogeographical topic, or attended a thesis defence, encourage the student to submit a sum- mary of their Ph.D. dissertation; if you just gained your Ph.D., send us your summary, and highlight the manuscripts from your dissertation already accepted for publication. If you have time to read a book (lucky you!) then you must also have time to write a short review (lucky us!); Oxford Univer- sity Press and University of California Press, among others, have kindly provided complimen- tary copies to reviewers for Frontiers of Biogeog- raphy. Or maybe you have the nugget of an idea for a book that’s yet to see the light of day; why not compose your thoughts and get some early critical feedback via an opinion, perspective, or review? Whichever way you choose to get in- volved 1 , get in touch with your local Frontiers of Biogeography editor. He or she will help you bring your article to press! We strive to provide a quick and high- quality vehicle for important opinions and debate in biogeographical concepts, methodology and theory. Sometimes, the time between meetings is too long for good ideas to wait, a gap that Fron- tiers of Biogeography aims to bridge. All manu- scripts are peer reviewed and acceptable ones are published online between one and six months af- ter the initial submission. Check the editorial in- structions and former issues at http:// www.biogeography.org/html/fb.html, or contact us at ibs@mncn.csic.es or frontiersofbiogeogra- phy@gmail.com and start the process now – Fron- tiers of Biogeography 2.2 is just three months away! Joaquin Hortal Editor-in-Chief, Frontiers of Biogeography Imperial College London, UK Michael N Dawson Vice-President for Public Affairs & Communi- cations, International Biogeography Society University of California, Merced, USA 1. Being a magazine, there is also room for articles on more practical issues, such as how to teach and/or disseminate biogeographical knowledge, or incorporating research and conservation policies, as well as biographies of eminent biogeographers, and views on the historical development of biogeography. And do not forget that we regularly include announcements of jobs and meetings. You can find information about the International Biogeography Society at http:// www.biogeography.org/, and contact with other biogeographers at the IBS blog (http:// biogeography.blogspot.com/), the IBS facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php? gid=6908354463) and the IBS twitter channel (https://twitter.com/biogeography). © 2010 the authors; journal compilation © 2010 The International Biogeography Society — frontiers of biogeography 2.1, 2010

Proceedings of the Sixth biennial conference of the International Biogeography Society, an international and interdisciplinary society contributing to the advancement of all studies of the geography of nature. Held at Miami, Florida, USA, 9 – 13 January 2013.Abstracts include:(i) the Opening, MacArthur & Wilson Award and Alfred Russel Award Plenary Lectures;(ii) four symposia entitled "Island Biogeography: New Syntheses", "Beyond Bergmann: New perspectives on the biogeography of traits", "The Convergence of Conservation Paleontology and Biogeography" and "Predicting species and biodiversity in a warmer world: are we doing a good job?";(iii) oral presentations from contributed papers on Phylogeography, Marine Biogeography, Biogeography of the Anthropocene, Hot Topics in biogeography, Island Biogeography, Neotropical Biogeography, Global Change Biogeography, Historical and Paleo-biogeography, Conservation Biogeography and Global-Scale Biogeography; and(iv) contributions presented as posters on Phylogeography, Geospatial techniques and land cover, Biodiversity gradients and macroecology, Biogeography of traits, Island Biogeography, Neotropical Biogeography, Conservation Biogeography, Disturbance and Disease Biogeography, Climate Change Biogeography and Historical and Paleo-Biogeography.

membership corner ISSN 1948-6596 from the society Your IBS peers – An overview Over the past 10 years, the International Biogeography Society (IBS) has grown from modest numbers to a wonderfully diverse and expanding membership. As of February 29 th , 2012, the IBS has 634 active members. About 29% of the membership base is made up of students, and the remaining are academics, professionals and post- docs. In terms of geographic make-up, the society is largely European (43%) and North American (38%) based but spans an increasingly wide number of countries. Central and South America makes up 9% of the remaining membership, the South Pacific 6%, Asia 3%, and Africa 1%. One hundred fifty-three new members joined the IBS in 2011 – split almost exactly 50/50 between student and non-student members, with 3% taking advantage of the developing country reduced rates. The majority of new members came from Europe (44%) and the US (29%) but included memberships from a total of 35 different countries. Since the IBS’ inception in 2001, a total of 67 countries have been represented by members of the society, which is impressive. One of the key topics being worked on by the IBS Board is increasing geographical diversity to make this truly a more international society. If you have suggestions on ways to reach out to under- represented areas, please drop us a line at biogeography.ibs@gmail.com – we always welcome the input! The IBS changed its membership fee structure in 2011, offering decreased membership fees for people from developing nations, maintaining fee levels for students at the same low level, and providing a tiered fee structure based on income beyond student memberships. There have been a few issues that have come up with some people’s renewals. If you’re due to renew during the next half-year and run into any problems, please don’t hesitate to contact me. And thank you for considering the new structure when renewing or signing up – your membership fees help the IBS continue to be a thriving society! With the upcoming conference in Florida in January of 2013, we expect to see an influx of up to 200 more members later in the year. Thanks for helping to get the word out to your colleagues about the society and upcoming event – it’s shaping up to be a fantastic conference! Karen Faller IBS Manager of Membership Services; karenfaller@gmail.com Edited by Matthew Heard Did you know that any member of the IBS may raise an issue or appeal a decision of the gover- ning Board of Directors by placing a matter before the Board of Directors for discussion? If there is a matter you would like discussed at the next Board meeting, write to the society's Secretary (check current list of officers at http://www.biogeography.org/). © 2012 the authors; journal compilation © 2012 The International Biogeography Society — frontiers of biogeography 4.1, 2012

membership corner ISSN 1948-6596 from the society News from the January IBS meeting in Crete The 5th Biennial Meeting of the International Bio- geography Society is now less than one year away. The meeting will be held in Irakleion, Crete, on the finally agreed dates of 7-11 January, 2011. The meeting will be built around four suc- cessive symposia (8-9 January) on established key and new cutting-edge topics and approaches in biogeography and macroecology, each with a suite of leading international scientists as well as openings for contributed papers: (1) Mediterranean Biogeography: Where History Meets Ecology Across Scales, organized by Spyros Sfenthourakis and Remy J. Petit The Mediterranean is a highly species-rich and complex biogeographic region. It has a composite tectonic history, has experienced the impacts of human civilization for more than 8 millennia, hosts numerous islands, and exhibits remarkable topographic diversity. This symposium explores novel perspectives on Mediterranean biogeogra- phy across spatial and temporal scales. (2) New Perspectives on Comparative Phy- logeography – Novel Integrative Approaches and Challenges, organized by Ana Carnaval and Mike Hickerson The boundaries of classic comparative phy- logeography are expanding by increasing connec- tions with new and emerging fields such as ge- nomics, spatial information systems, climate mod- eling, community-scale DNA barcoding, host– parasite interactions etc. This symposium will ex- plore innovative, integrative studies in the field, while discussing novel methodologies to circum- vent current and foreseen challenges. (3) Biogeography and Ecology: Two Lenses in One Telescope, organized by Dave Jenkins and Bob Ricklefs Biogeography views nature through a large-scale lens, while ecology views nature through a lens built from local-scale evidence. Yet both disci- plines focus on processes causing natural patterns and are approaching each other at intermediate spatial and temporal scales. The symposium brings together biogeographers and ecologists to discuss the shared key subjects: niche, compara- tive/macro-ecology, community assembly, and diversity. Different and shared conceptual do- mains will be addressed within and among eight talks (two per subject), plus a synthesis. (4) Analytical Advancements in Macroecology and Biogeography, organized by Alexandre Diniz- Filho and Carsten Rahbek The continuous development of computing capac- ity and increasing data generation allow ever more sophisticated analyses, enabling novel in- sights about biodiversity patterns. This develop- ment depends upon continuous input from other fields in terms of methods and theory. This sym- posium presents the new advancements within spatial analyses, phylogenetic reconstruction, and computer simulation modeling. In addition to the four symposia with in- vited speakers, on January 10th the meeting will have six sessions of contributed papers on core topics in biogeography: (i) Island biogeography, (ii) Climate change biogeography, (iii) Conservation biogeography, (iv) Palaeoecology, (v) Marine bio- geography, and (vii) Hot topics in Biogeography. On the days just before and after the con- ference (7 and 11 January), there will be field ex- cursions to a number of Crete’s most exciting loca- tions, historically and biologically (and biogeo- graphically). In addition, on January 7th, a series of workshops will be held, covering spatial analy- sis in macroecology, phylogenetic analysis in macro-ecology, and communicating biogeogra- phy. The registration for the meeting will open in June 2010. For more updated information, please check http://www.biogeography. org/html/ Meetings/2011/index.html. Jens-Christian Svenning V. P. for Conferences Spyros Sfenthourakis Local Organizing Committee of the 2011 IBS meeting Did you know that any member who has retired and who has twenty years of continuous membership in IBS shall be eligible for Emeritus membership? frontiers of biogeography 2.1, 2010 — © 2010 the authors; journal compilation © 2010 The International Biogeography Society

ISSN 1948-6596 from the society Registration is now open for the 5th Biennial Conference of the Interna- tional Biogeography Society (Heraklion, Crete, Greece; 7-11 January The International Biogeography Society’s biennial conference is coming up this January 7-11 th in Crete. Registration fees are currently set at 350 USD (150 USD for students), but will rise to 420 USD (190 USD for students) on November 1 st . Register now to take advantage of the lower rates and availability of workshops. Note that you need to be a member of IBS in order to register and attend the meeting. Symposia and contributions The meeting is built around four successive sym- posia (8th & 9th January) on broad foundational and cutting-edge topics and approaches in biogeography and macroecology, each with a suite of leading international scientists and open- ings for contributed papers: 1. Mediterranean biogeography: where history meets ecology across scales (organizers: Spyros Sfenthourakis & Remy Petit). The Mediterranean is a highly species-rich and complex biogeographic region. It has a complex tectonic and environ- mental history, hosts numerous islands, exhibits strong topographic diversity, and has experienced the impacts of human civilization for more than 8 millennia. This symposium explores novel per- spectives on Mediterranean biogeography across spatial and temporal scales. 2. Comparative phylogeography: novel integrative approaches and challenges (organizers: Ana Car- naval & Mike Hickerson). This symposium will ex- plore how innovative, integrative studies are ex- panding the boundaries of classic comparative phylogeography, while discussing novel methodo- logical alternatives to circumvent current and foreseen challenges in the field. Among the topics covered are new insights into suture zones and island community assembly and novel approaches employing genomics, spatial information systems, climate modeling, community-scale DNA barcod- ing, etc. 3. Biogeography and ecology: two lenses in one telescope (organizers: Dave Jenkins & Bob Rick- lefs). Biogeography focuses on large scales, while much of ecology uses the opposite end of the telescope to focus on many of the same patterns and processes at small scales. Despite historical separation, each discipline is now expanding its spatial and temporal scales towards the other: this symposium will match a biogeographer and an ecologist on each of four key topics of shared interest (niche, comparative/macro-ecology, com- munity assembly, and diversity) to seek alignment of the two perspectives. 4. Analytical advancements in macroecology and biogeography (organizers: Alexandre Diniz-Filho & Carsten Rahbek). The continuous development of computing capacity and increasing data genera- tion allow ever more sophisticated analyses, ena- bling novel insights about biodiversity patterns. This development depends upon continuous input from other fields in terms of methods and theory. This symposium presents new advancements in spatial analyses, phylogenetic reconstruction, and computer simulation modelling. The meeting also has six sessions of contributed papers (10th January) on key topics: i. Island biogeography ii. Climate change biogeography iii. Conservation biogeography iv. Palaeoecology v. Marine biogeography vi. Hot topics in biogeography - Submission of Abstracts for posters, contributed papers, and symposium speakers. The Abstract deadline is 15 November 2010 for invited speak- ers, posters, and contributed papers. There will be 270 available openings for posters, 6 openings for symposia presentations, and 36 openings for con- tributed talks. Please register early as availability © 2010 the authors; journal compilation © 2010 The International Biogeography Society — frontiers of biogeography 2.3, 2010

a case study to evaluate how some science stories influence the media, and peoples' resulting perception of biodiversity loss.She and her colleagues explored the emergence of the words "biodiversity crisis," in the media from the 1987 to 1992, and suggest that the toad was instrumental in shifting society's perception of biodiversity loss.More broadly, they emphasized that conservation biogeographers (and conservation biologists in general) know little about how the media perceives their work and the impact it could have on societal views towards the conservation of biological diversity.In summary, these talks touched on many of the themes and challenges to conservation biogeography outlined by Ladle and Whittaker (2011).A critical challenge is to implement and disseminate the new knowledge and tools to conservation practitioners and the public.