FSD 2010

5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

Breaking News

03/11/2010 - Call for oral and poster presentations

The deadline for registration at a normal fee is 15 March 2010. Please, submit your oral and/or poster presentations in advance to facilitate the preparation and edition of the program. If you are willing to participate but lack fund, thus hesitate to register, please, let us know (see our Plenary Pass). It's important for the organizers who are seeking for external support. Don't hesitate to join our FaceBook Group in order to share accomodation cost, or just post information to share with other participants. For Accomodation booking, go to our Hotel pages with online secured payment. To register, you can also pay online (secured Merc@net) or by tranfert for Europe only (ask for bank account information to fsd2010(a)yahoo.fr). Welcome to Montpellier.

03/10/2010 - Call for sponsorship for the organization of FSD2010

Please, support the organization of FSD2010 by donating to our non-profit Association ATBC2008 (pdf). Gain exposure for your organization, or activity, demonstrate your commitment to Biology and Conservation, and enhance your visibility among influential international NGOs, leaders and decision-makers by supporting ATBC2008 association to organize the 5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed-Dispersal in June 2010. More than ever, because of the crisis, many potential participants are unable to attend, and we wished to have a virtual meeting, free for them. Organizations wishing to provide general support for ATBC2008 Association help defray the costs of the FSD2010 meeting, help to lower the registration fee for participants from non high income countries and for students, allow the organizers to rise a fund to offer travel grants to participants with low income, and provide support for an outstanding scientific program. Meeting sponsors will receive acknowledgements on FSD2010.org Web site with the link to your Web site (see ATBC2008.org), their logo in the meeting program as part of their sponsorship package. Illustration : Spider monkey from the Amazon by François Feer. Read the Interview of the FSD2010 Chair at Mongabay.com

03/09/2010 - NEW : Plenary 1-Day and 4-Day Pass are available

NEW : Plenary Pass are available. We created Plenary 1-Day and 4-Day Pass for the plenary talks, plenary symposia and poster sessions between 14-17 June. Pass does not include catering. Restaurants and snacks are located nearby Le Corum. Only participants with a 4-Day Pass may submit a poster if board remained unused by normal participants (full fee) by mid-April. This decision was taken especially to allow local students and academics with low budget to listen to international high-profile scientists at FSD2010. Registration

03/08/2010 - International Women's Day

International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on the 8th of March every year. It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements (source Wikipedia). And we could also add women's scientific achievements. Meet with FSD women, organizers, plenary speakers and the artist who drawn our FSD2010 logo, and more scientist women among participants with link to their home page when available.

1st row : Katrin, Hélène, Martine, Beth ; 2nd row : Joanna, Isabelle, Anna, Nicole - 3rd row: Helene, Kimberly, Elizabeth, Denise; 4th row : Colleen, Estelle, Erin, and her art.

03/08/2010 - Why seed dispersers matter, an interview with Pierre-Michel Forget

There are few areas of research in tropical biology more exciting and more important than seed dispersal. Seed dispersal—the process by which seeds are spread from parent trees to new sprouting ground—underpins the ecology of forests worldwide. In temperate forests, seeds are often spread by wind and water, though sometimes by animals such as squirrels and birds. But in the tropics the emphasis is far heavier on the latter, as Dr. Pierre-Michel Forget explains to mongabay.com. The first in an interview series with participants in the 5th Frugivore and Seed Dispersal International Symposium.

03/07/2010 - Reminder : Old World Monkeys are the Frugivores of the Month

Humans push half of the world's primates toward extinction, lemurs in particular trouble. On February 18, 2010, Jeremy Hance from Mongabay.com was reporting that "Of the known 634 primate species in the world 48 percent are currently threatened with extinction, making mankind's closes relatives one of the most endangered animal groups in the world." He added that "In order to bring awareness to the desperate state of primates, a new report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature highlights twenty-five primates in the most need of rapid conservation action." Most of these are in the Old World, including Frugivores and Seed Dispersers. The Frugivores of the Month are Old Word Monkeys with a special focus on the African Rainforest species. Other Frugivores/Seed Dispersers between July 2008 and March 2010. See Alain Houle's Gallery.

(Photo: Adult male blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) feeding on semi-ripe Ficus exasperata figs - Kibale National Park 2004. © Alain Houle)

View all news