ABS 2015
University of Alaska Anchorage
10 – 14 JUNE
http://abs2015.org/
A message from 2015 meeting host Debbie Boege-Tobin
The 52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society will be held in Anchorage, Alaska from Wednesday, June 10th to Sunday, June 14th, 2015.
Hello, everyone! As host of the 2015 Animal Behavior Society annual meeting at the University of Alaska Anchorage, I invite you to attend what we expect to be an engaging conference surrounded by majestic mountains and charismatic wildlife in beautiful Southcentral Alaska. We have worked hard to keep costs low and thus are offering very reasonable registration rates, especially for student and developing nation ABS members.
The Program Committee is putting the finishing touches on the program, but has confirmed the following plenary speakers: Alison Bell, Jeff Galef, Susan Alberts, Steven Swartz and Regina Macedo. This year’s symposia include the Peter Marler Memorial Symposium; New Frontiers for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior; It’s About Time: Understanding Temporal Variation in Behavior; and Northern Marine Mammals. Rest assured that, as always, there will be fantastic keynote speakers, the Allee Competition, contributed talks, poster presentations, Public Day and the Outreach Fair, and several workshops both before and during the five-day gathering. Additionally, we will have a newly formatted way to view your favorite behavior films at the ABS Film Festival, with optional concession stand food available for dinner.
In addition to the meeting itself, several pre- and post-conference group excursions are being planned to get as many as would like out into the beautiful environments of Anchorage, nearby Denali National Park, Whittier, Seward, Alyeska and even 4.5 hours down the Kenai Peninsula to my incredible town of Homer! Board one of several nature cruises and/or the Alaska rail trains to see awe-inspiring glaciers, mountains, and flora and fauna which you rarely see collectively in most other places around the world. Perhaps you’d also like to take a ride with a dog-sled team, or fish for salmon and halibut, go tide-pooling, or view Mt. McKinley, seabirds, shorebirds, sea otters, Steller sea lions, migrating and resident whales, salmon, eagles, moose, caribou, mountain goats, ermine, bears? Much of that can be enjoyed in the same day, especially when you consider the meeting will be held roughly a week before summer solstice! So when making travel plans consider arriving early and/or staying a few extra days to take advantage of all the exhilarating opportunities Alaska has to offer!
Please visit www.ABS2015.org to register now and make your plans. Please note that the website is still a work in progress, so please keep checking back for updates on the program, housing and travel options (book now!), opening ceremony, closing banquet at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, along with many of the pre-/post-meeting group activities and suggestions for independently enjoying the nearby majesty that is Alaska. Also, be advised that UAA sits on the outskirts of the City of Anchorage next to our primary medical campus so housing and meal options are somewhat minimal. We strongly suggest that you purchase the lunch option meal plan to socialize during the midday break with your ABS friends while enjoying a meal in our brand new Alaska Airlines Center. Nearby breakfast and dinner options will be available on campus, plus buses will be available some evenings to transport folks to downtown or midtown for those who would like to get their dinner and explore these off-campus areas when more time permits. Don’t forget, the sun won’t set until close to 11:30 pm while you’re here so there will be plenty of time to play each night, on and/or off campus!
I very much hope you will join us at the University of Alaska Anchorage for the 52nd annual Animal Behavior Society meeting. We expect it to be a truly spectacular event!
I look forward to seeing you this June!
– Debbie Boege-Tobin
