The cornerstone of the SVP meeting, oral and poster presentations will be given throughout the week in the following categories:
The SVP Program Committee chooses a selection of submitted proposals for topical symposia to be presented at the annual meeting.
Late Triassic Terrestrial Biotas and the Rise of Dinosaurs
Co-convenors: Richard J. Butler, Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich; Randall B.Irmis, Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt Lake City; and Max C. Langer, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto.
The Systematics Association helped fund travel for this symposium. |
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The Triassic is a transitional time interval par excellence. The period began with impoverished diversity levels following the end-Permian mass extinction, and ended with a diverse fauna of terrestrial tetrapods that includes the first stem representatives of the turtle, mammal, lepidosaur, crocodilian and avian lineages. Within the ancestry of the latter, dinosaurs originated during the Late Triassic, rising to dominate terrestrial ecosystems for the rest of the Mesozoic.
The tempo and mode of the transition from assemblages dominated by "Permian holdovers" to those of the later Mesozoic dominated by dinosaurs is a classic macroevolutionary question. The past ten years have witnessed unprecedented scientific interest in dinosaur origins, and in Late Triassic biotic changes as a whole, driven by several crucial factors: 1) improved precision of Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic geochronological boundaries following revised datings of key Late Triassic deposits/fossil assemblages; 2) new data on the age and composition of Late Triassic terrestrial tetrapod assemblages in South and North America, Europe, Africa, and India; 3) development and employment of more objective, numerical methods to examine Late Triassic—Early Jurassic diversity patterns and biotic turnover; 4) discovery of new basal dinosaurs/dinosauromorphs in South America, southern Africa, Europe and the western USA, and reinterpretation of previously collected material from those areas; and 5) accumulation of new data and the proposal of alternative phylogenetic hypotheses for basal dinosaurs/ dinosauromorphs.
This symposium will provide a forum for advancing scientific knowledge of Late Triassic biotic turnovers and dinosaur origins. Early Mesozoic specialists from across the world will convene to discuss the wide variety of current work on the subject, including: phylogenetic revisions of various Late Triassic tetrapod groups; paleobiological aspects of the dinosaur radiation; descriptions and revisions of new and previously known Late Triassic tetrapod faunas; revisions of Late Triassic stratigraphy; and paleoecological and macroevolutionary approaches to Late Triassic biotic turnovers. The symposium will appeal to all of those members of SVP dealing with dinosaurs and other Triassic tetrapods, and will be of enormous interest to those studying the evolution of biotas across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. Bristol could not be a more appropriate venue for a symposium on both early dinosaurs and Late Triassic biotas. The first Triassic dinosaur to be named, Thecodontosaurus, was originally described on the basis of specimens from Clifton, within the Bristol city limits, whereas the nearby fissure fill deposits of southwest England and Wales (which yield early lepidosaurs, dinosaurs and mammaliaforms, amongst others) have provided an exceptional window on the composition and evolution of terrestrial faunas during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic.
Molecular Tools in Paleobiology: Trees, Clocks and linking Geno- with Phenotype
Co-conveners: Robert Asher, Cambridge University and Johannes Müller Museum Fuer Naturkunde, Berlin
In 1987, Cambridge University Press published a volume edited by the legendary British scientist Colin Patterson entitled "Molecules and morphology in evolution: conflict or compromise?" This dichotomy still exists in the minds of some paleobiologists, but in practice the last 22 years have witnessed a substantial level of integration of the tools and data of molecular biology into paleontological research. The degree of integration is substantial enough to be able to rule out the "conflict" portion of Patterson's 1987 subtitle. A symposium highlighting the integration of paleontology and molecular biology, in Darwin's native country, underscores the synthetic nature of Darwinian evolution and is particularly appropriate for the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.
The application of molecular tools in paleobiology is now commonplace due to numerous improvements in laboratory techniques and analytical approaches in phylogenetics and bioinformatics. First, advances in the extraction, amplification and screening of ancient DNA now allow us to perform molecular phylogenetic investigations for completely extinct taxa. In addition, availability of novel bioinformatic tools makes it possible to integrate morphological and molecular data at an unprecedented scale for studies in phylogenetics and character evolution. Relatedly, paleontologists now frequently draw upon evolutionary hypotheses derived from molecular biology as a starting point for novel morphological investigations. Another field in which the combination of molecular and paleontological data is critical concerns the timescale of evolution and the application of molecular clocks to the Tree of Life. Finally, our understanding of the relationships between genes and morphology has dramatically increased, to the point where paleontologists can make direct inferences between genotype and phenotype, even among long-extinct organisms.
The symposium will be oriented around three major themes: 1) Trees: the integration of morphological and molecular data into reconstructing phylogenies of living and extinct organisms; 2) Clocks: the use of fossils as calibration points for inference of antiquity based on molecular divergence of living organisms; and 3) Geno/phenotype: the understanding of links between morphology and its genetic basis, and how appreciation of development, micro- and/or macro-morphology may enable inferences of genetic diversity in long-extinct organisms.
Presentations will be given by scientists who have made major contributions in these fields and on a diverse range of organisms, reaching beyond the typical taxonomic divisions often present at SVP meetings. With their help we expect this symposium to demonstrate the sophistication with which the paleontological community has embraced the interdisciplinary nature of Darwinian evolutionary biology.
New Perspectives on the Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida
Co-conveners: Christian Kammerer, University of Chicago and Kenneth Angielczyk, Field Museum of Natural History
Synapsids represent one of the two main clades of amniotes, and in addition to the well-known extant subclade Mammalia, they include a diverse array of basal forms that were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates in the Permo-Triassic. Research on non-mammalian synapsids is key to several high-profile topics in paleontology and evolutionary biology (e.g., mammalian origins and the end-Permian extinction) and early synapsids also form much of the basis for Permian and Triassic terrestrial biostratigraphy.
Recently, early synapsid research has benefited from major advances in methodology. Rigorous cladistic methods are being applied for the first time ever to many synapsid groups, providing a much-needed phylogenetic framework upon which to frame questions of synapsid paleobiology. Fine-scale anatomical data from CT scanning, geometric morphometrics, finite element analysis, and increased histological sectioning of synapsid skeletal elements have brought extensive new data to bear on questions of morphology, function, life history and metabolism in the group, and radioisotopic dating of volcanic layers has lent improved chronostratigraphic rigor to existing biostratigraphic schemes. There has also been a dramatic expansion in the geographic scope of synapsid research, with deposits in Brazil, Laos, China, Antarctica, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zambi, and Niger providing a wealth of new data that complements continuing discoveries in the traditional localities of the American Southwest, Russia and South Africa.
This symposium will highlight the advances described above, and will bring together workers from North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe to foster collaboration and future research. The scope of the symposium will be broad, including phylogenetics, taxonomy, biogeography, functional morphology, biostratigraphy and disparity, to emphasize the breadth of research being conducted on basal synapsids as well as how these topics come together to provide a comprehensive picture of these fascinating animals. The University of Bristol represents a major center for broad-scale study of Permo-Triassic faunas, and coupled with its proximal location to major synapsid collections at the Natural History Museum (London), the University of Cambridge, and Oxford University, Bristol represents an ideal location for bringing together students of the early Synapsida.
The evolution of birds in the Mesozoic: a symposium in honor of Cyril A. Walker
Co-conveners: Gareth Dyke, University College Dublin and Larry Martin, University of Kansas
This symposium is co-organized by: The Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution (SAPE). |
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The Cyril Walker symposium will highlight new research in the burgeoning field of Mesozoic avian paleontology, encompassing systematics, functional morphology, behavior, paleoecology, physiology and the refinement of flight aerodynamics in birds. This is an exciting time; in recent years more fossil birds from the Mesozoic have been discovered and described than were known for the whole of last century, indeed since the first avian fossil was described in the 1840s. Several completely new lineages, unknown until recently, demonstrate that birds in the Mesozoic were just as diverse as they are today. One lineage — enantiornithines — was comparable to modern perching birds in ecological and functional diversity.
Fossil enantiornithine birds were not known until they were described by Walker in the early 1980s. The aim of this symposium is to honor the contribution to Mesozoic avian paleontology of Cyril A. Walker, curator of fossil birds at the Natural History Museum, London for 35 years. Cyril Walker's early work on fossil birds laid the foundations for our understanding of the evolution of Aves and the range of morphologies present in Mesozoic birds. Along with British ornithologist Colin J.O. Harrison, Walker published prodigiously on birds from the Mesozoic and Paleogene, from the UK and around the world. In addition to the discovery of enantiornithines, Walker and Harrison described Cretaceous avian taxa from the UK and published a huge body of work documenting the fossil birds known from the Lower Eocene London Clay Formation, part of the initial evolutionary explosion of modern birds. It is fitting that at the first SVP meeting in Europe we should honor one of Europe's leading experts on fossil reptiles: one hundred and fifty years ago the most famous fossil bird Archaeopteryx was being debated in the context of Darwin's On the Origin of Species.
The SVP sadly reports the passing of Cyril Walker on May 6 at the age of 70. Learn more about Cyril Walker.
The Scientific Legacy of Mary Anning — Recent Advances in Marine Reptile Paleobiology and Evolution
Co-conveners: Erin Maxwell, University of Alberta and Patrick Druckenmiller, University of Alaska
Mary Anning Jr. (1799-1847) was an active collector of Mesozoic-aged fossils in early 19th century England. Her most famous finds were arguably the marine reptiles skeletons she collected from rocks exposed along the Dorset Coast near her hometown of Lyme Regis, and these discoveries made a significant and lasting impression on both the science and historical development of marine reptile paleobiology. Our understanding of the evolution of Mesozoic marine reptiles has increased greatly since Mary collected the first complete plesiosaur and ichthyosaur skeletons nearly two centuries ago, and the last decade has been a particularly active period for new research on this broad-ranging assemblage of animals. This renaissance can be attributed in part to exciting new discoveries from around the globe, but it also stems from the reexamination of historical specimens and the application of new techniques and methodologies.
The symposium will commence with a historical perspective on Mary Anning, and the importance of her discoveries to marine reptile paleontology and to the nascent Bristol Institution. It will go on to cover a broad range of topics dealing with all aspects of marine reptile paleobiology and evolution, including descriptions of important new localities and specimens, osteology and histology, systematics, functional morphology and biogeography. This symposium will bring together an international cadre of speakers studying most of the major groups of Mesozoic marine reptiles, including Triassic sauropterygians, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and turtles, to discuss progress and future research directions in the field. It will be relevant to paleontologists.
Abstracts are accepted for oral and poster presentations in the following categories:
Edwin H. and Margaret M. Colbert Award
(Previously known as the Student Poster Prize)
Selected and presented on site at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's Annual Meeting, the Edwin H. and Margaret M. Colbert Award recognizes an outstanding poster presentation by a student. The award was named in honor of the Colberts' contributions to vertebrate paleontology. All abstract entries for the Colbert Poster Session and, ultimately, the Colbert Award, are submitted through the SVP abstract submission site during the abstract submission period.
The final awardee is chosen on site by the Edwin H. and Margaret M. Colbert Award Committee.
Romer Prize Session
The Alfred Sherwood Romer Session (and Prize) recognizes an outstanding scientific contribution in vertebrate paleontology by a predoctoral student. The Romer Prize is awarded on the basis of the scientific value and quality of an abstract summarizing an original research project in vertebrate paleontology, in the broadest sense, and an oral presentation of the research during the Romer Session at the SVP annual meeting. The abstracts presented during the Romer Session are selected by the Romer Prize Review Committee from abstracts submitted for the Romer Session through the SVP Abstract Submissions system.
Preparators' Session
Note: in 2009 this session is being held in conjunction with the SPPC (The Symposium of Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation).
A forum for presentations on current issues in paleontological preparation, ranging from field and lab techniques to specimen curation and exhibition design. Presentations will be selected by a panel from SVP Preparators' Committee from abstracts submitted during the SVP abstract submission period.
A Special Call for Papers for Preparators:
The Geological Curator Journal [published by the Geological Curators' Group (GCG)] has agreed to publish a joint initiative between the GCG and the preparators of SVP and SVPCA/The Symposium of Paleontological Preparation and Conservation (SPPC): a special volume marking the one-time occasion of a joint collaborative Preparators' Session between the SVP and the SVPCA/SPPC at the SVP 69th Annual Meeting. The issue will form a tangible memory of the joint meeting as well as a useful volume of reference.
All are encouraged to put forward a technical paper on preparation or conservation materials, methods and applications.
Everyone who will present at the meeting (Preparators' Session poster or podium paper) will be invited to submit a
manuscript of their presented work for consideration for publication in this volume.
Non-presenters are encouraged to submit, as well.
After the meeting, the volume will be made available through the GCG and the SVP Preparators' Committee at a modest cost.
For more information on how to submit a manuscript for this special issue, contact: Matthew Parkes: mparkes@museum.ie and Paolo Viscardi: PViscardi@horniman.ac.uk or visit the SPPC or the GCG Web sites: www.preparator.org or www.geocurator.org.