CONFERENCE UPDATE 23 May 2017

FINAL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME NOW PUBLISHED

The final programme of conference events is now available on the website (http://www.islandinvasives2017.com/programme) and can be downloaded. 

The programme now includes the full schedule of spoken presentations and a number of side-events. The week is packed full of talks, poster-sessions, workshops, excursions and social events, starting with an ice-breaker reception on Sunday evening, July 9th. This reception will be held at the Discovery Centre, a 10-minute walk from the main conference venue and within easy reach of Dundee's main hotels. Home to the RRS Discovery, the expedition ship of Scott and Shackleton, the Discovery Centre is on the banks of the River Tay. Drinks and food will be provided. 

Names will be checked at the door so please bring some form of ID.

Excursions

Those not involved with workshops on the Wednesday (July 12th) may enjoy a change of scenery and a chance to see something of Scotland beyond Dundee.


Four delightful excursions are available on a first come, first served basis. For those looking to stretch the legs, one tour includes an ascent of Ben Vrackie in the Highlands. Book and pay for your places via the website ( http://www.islandinvasives2017.com/island-invasives-tours/).


Poster presentations

Please ensure that posters can be mounted using velcro. The display boards do not accept pins. Displays up to A0 size (1189mm x 841mm) can be accommodated. The boards will be mounted vertically (portrait format) by default. If any author prefers horizontal (landscape) format, they should please advise the Programme Chair by no later than June 9th. Please bring your posters and display material with you as it is not possible for the conference venue to receive it in advance.

Spoken presentations

All except keynote presentations occupy a 15-minute window, of which 12 minutes is allocated to the talk and any questions. Session Chairs will ensure that each talk commences at the announced time, and will not be able to exercise leniency because of the packed programme. Rather than squeeze too much into their presentation and risk having to step down before their final slide, speakers should concentrate on getting no more than three key points across to the audience and practice their talk to ensure good time-keeping.

Monday evening public lecture

On the Monday evening (July 10th) from 18:15 to 19:30 there will be a free public lecture at the conference venue. The first speaker will be UK Environment Minister, Lord Gardiner, who will talk about management of invasive species in the UK Overseas Territories. He will be followed by your Programme Chair, Tony Martin, former Director of the South Georgia Habitat Restoration project, who will tell the story of this remarkable operation, accompanied by stunning imagery of South Georgia. 

Looking good

Light Mantled Sooty Albatross on South Georgia
Preparations are on track, and already it's clear that this meeting will be attended by a record number of people from around the globe. 

If you haven't already done so, we advise registering for the conference, and booking your accommodation, excursions and dinner/ceilidh tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

Keep spreading the word and connect with other delegates on Twitter by following and tweeting to @ISLANDINVASIVES.

Best wishes to all,

Tony Martin (Programme Chair) and Alison Neil (Local organisation Chair)

Previous Updates

Here are our previous conference updates in case you missed them.

About the Island Invasives Conference, 2017
This will be the third in a series of international conferences focussed on invasive alien species (IAS) on islands, their impact and management. It follows those held in Auckland, New Zealand, in  2001 and 2010* . The Dundee conference will therefore be the first such meeting for seven years, and the first to be held in the northern hemisphere. 


Island Invasives Conference, 2017
Monday 10 July - Friday 14 July, 2017 Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee.