Daily Workshop Schedule and Topics
Monday, November 17th
Morning: Welcome and Workshop Overview - Hank Bart and Paul Skelton
Fish Biodiversity Research Needs and Challenges in Africa – Presentations and panel discussion by scientists from African countries will discuss status of fish biodiversity research in their respective countries: What is working and where are improvements needed? What resources are available for fish biodiversity research (fish collections, research laboratories, libraries/literature)? Can fruitful partnerships be established with neighboring countries to leverage/ expand resources?
Presenters/Panelists: Rashid Tamatamah, Justin Mbimbi, Dorothy Nyingi, Alice Ekwu, Philippe Laleye, Ernst Swartz
Click on names to view presentations.
Afternoon:
Field collecting in Africa – Topics to be discussed include permitting, biodiversity hotspots, field collecting and archiving, and coordination across projects/taxonomic study interests.
Presenters: Frank Pezold (Biotic Survey and Inventory in Guinea), Rashid Tamatamah, Justin Mbimbi (Congo Project), John Friel (All Catfishes Species Inventory), Paul Skelton (SAIAB)
Click on names to view presentations.
Evening: Posters/Networking (refreshments provided), Eden Grove.
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Tuesday, November 18th
Morning:
Establishing Biodiversity Research Resources in African Countries (fish collections, networks for accessing collection data in other countries) – Strategic collection building, repatriating specimens from European and North American museums, databasing and georeferencing collection data. Opportunities afforded by Central African Natural History Museum Initiative (http://canhmi.org/), the Royal Museum of Central Africa (RMCA), American Museum of Natural History.
Presenters/Panelists: Hank Bart, Nelson Rios, Frank Pezold, John Friel, Gavin Gous (SAIAB Biomaterial Bank)
Click on names to view presentations.
Afternoon:
Biodiversity Research Methods – Presentations on new computer and information tools for rapid data collection and analysis, research in a distributed (Internet) environment, morphological databases and ontology, and DNA bar coding, will close out Day 2 of the workshop.
Presenters: Dorothy Nyingi (Species Discovery Methods), Paul Mabee (Morphological Image Databases and Ontologies), Brian Sidlauskas (Morphometric and Osteological study methods), Ernst Swartz and Monica Mwale (FISHBOL)
Click on names to view presentations.
Evening: Workshop Dinner/Social
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Wednesday, November 19th
Morning:
Training African Fish Taxonomists – Panel discussion led by African ichthyologists and leaders of fish biodiversity projects on topics such as recruiting students, tapping indigenous knowledge systems, opportunities for scientific exchange, and collaboration with fish biodiversity projects.
Panelists: Frank Pezold, Rashid Tamatamah, Philippe Laleye, Paul Skelton
Click on names to view presentations
Afternoon:
Building Successful Biodiversity Research Networks – Examples of successful, ongoing fish biodiversity research projects and proposals for new collaborations involving African fishes.
Panelists: Frank Pezold (Guinea Biotic Survey and Inventory), Justin Mbimbi (Congo Project), John Friel (All Catfishes Species Inventory, Hank Bart (CToL), Brian Sidlauskas (Characiformes Tree of Life)
Click on names to view presentations
Evening: Dinner, sight-seeing in Grahamstown
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Thursday, November 20th
Morning:
Funding Fish Biodiversity Research in Africa – Opportunities and experiences of workshop participants winning funding for biodiversity research projects. This will be followed by open discussion of new research that can be proposed based on ideas discussed at the workshop.
Panelists: John Friel, Paul Skelton, Hank Bart
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Afternoon:
Special Presentation: Native fish conservation in Addo Elephant National Park - Olaf Weyl, Rhodes University
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Late Afternoon - Tour of SAIAB
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Friday, November 21st
Morning:
Depart Grahamstown for day-long excursion to Addo Elephant National Park (lunch provided)
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