Brazilian ecosystems: History, management and preservation

Field Museum gathers international experts at symposium May 10-11

A symposium May 10-11 at The Field Museum will explore the rich history of Brazilian ecosystems and what this history can tell us about managing and preserving such regions of global conservation importance. Speakers from Brazil, the United States and Europe will address a broad range of topics on Brazil's environment, including the ecology of the Amazon, the history and impact of climate changes, plant and animal diversity, recent archaeological findings and El Ni�o.

"Brazil is a nation blessed with exceptional ecological diversity, and our remarkable resources invite responsible care and management," says Alexander Addor, Consulate General of Brazil in Chicago. "I'm proud of Brazil's role in resource preservation and pleased The Field Museum is gathering scholars from around the world to share their accomplishments and plans."

Open to the public, the symposium is a joint effort between The Field Museum and The Brazilian Consulate General in Chicago.

Scientists from museums, conservation organizations and universities throughout the world will discuss their research projects in the Amazon, the Atlantic Rainforest, and other Brazilian ecosystems. Representing such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, botany, climatology, ecology, evolutionary biology and genetics, these scientists will express a variety of controversial viewpoints and reveal new findings. Noted anthropologist Anna Roosevelt, curator of anthropology at The Field Museum, will discuss how the record of 120,000 years of environmental archeology in the Amazon challenges the theory and practice of conservation biology.

Panel discussions at the end of each day will bring together journalists and speakers to discuss current issues such as the destruction of natural resources, loss of biodiversity and other critical environmental topics related to Brazil.

"The Spring Symposium series has been a great scientific tradition at The Field Museum for more than 20 years," says John Bates, associate curator of birds at the Museum. "Brazil Ecosystems: History, Management and Preservation will yield an outstanding array of scientific presentations and stimulating discussions."

The symposium will be held in James Simpson Theater, accessible from the west entrance of the Museum. Advance registration is $10 per person; on-site registration $20; members of the press free. On-site registration starts at 7:45 a.m. both days. For more information call (312) 665-7805 or (312) 665-7448 or visit http://fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/brazil_symposium/

Brazilian Ecosystems Symposium - Schedule

Friday, May 10

8:30 - 9:00	Welcome, introduction, Robert D. Martin, Vice President, Field Museum
9:00 - 9:30	Environmental changes at the semi-arid Caatinga region during the last glacial age, Augusto Auler (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte)
9:30 - 10:00	Late Quaternary Paleoclimate in the Brazilian Cerrados, Maria Lea Salgado-Labouriau (Universidade de Bras�lia)
10:00 - 10:30	The Glacial History of the Araucaria/Podocarpus forests of Southeastern Brazil, Paulo E. de Oliveira (Universidade Guarulhos; Universidade de S�o Paulo)
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 11:30	The paleoecology of Amazonia, Mark Bush (Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne) and Paulo E. de Oliveira (Universidade Guarulhos; Universidade de S�o Paulo)
11:30 - 12:00	Sea level rise on the Brazilian coast in the last 120,000 years and the predictions for the next century, Kenitiro Suguio (Universidade de S�o Paulo)
12:00 - 1:30	Lunch
1:30 - 2:00	Late Quaternary development of the hydrological regime in central and eastern Amazonia, Georg Irion (Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany)
2:00 - 2:30	El Ni�o and climate change in Brazil, Bruno Turcq (D�parte Centre ORSTOM, France)
2:30 - 3:00	Coffee break
3:00 - 3:30	Historical ecology and origins of Amazonian forests, William Bal�e (Tulane)
3:30 - 4:00	120,000 years of environmental archeology: A challenge to theory and practice in conservation biology, Anna Roosevelt (Field Museum)
4:00 - 5:00	Panel discussion

Saturday, May 11

9:00 - 9:30	Genetic diversity and forest fragmentation in frogs of northeastern Brazil, Ana Carnaval (University of Chicago)
9:30 - 10:00	Phylogeography and the evolution of the Pithicine primates of Amazonia, Wilsea Figueiredo (Universidade Federal do Par�, Santar�m)
10:00 - 10:30	Phylogeography and the evolution of Amazonian woodcreepers, Alexandre Aleixo (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge)
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 11:30	Genetic diversity in birds of the Cerrado and Amazonia: Implications for history and conservation, John Bates (Field Museum)
11:30 - 12:00	Conservation, biogeography of Brazilian freshwater fish, Barry Chernoff (Field Museum)
12:00 - 1:30	Lunch
1:30 - 2:00	Biogeography and conservation of Brazilian ecosystems: What can we learn from lichens? Robert L�cking (Field Museum)
2:00 - 2:30	Cataloguing the plant diversity of Brazilian ecosystems: Progress and priorities, Eimear Nic Lughadha (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK)
2:30 - 3:00	Coffee break
3:00 - 3:30	The large-scale biosphere-atmosphere experiment in Amazonia, Carlos Nobre (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Cachoeira Paulista)
3:30 - 4:00	The lion tamarins of Brazil's Atlantic Forest: Using flagship species in the preservation and protection of endangered habitats, Devra Kleiman (Smithsonian Institution)
4:00 - 4:30	Atlantic Forest: Challenges and opportunities for conserving the most threatened and biodiversity-rich Brazilian tropical forest, Jo�o Paulo Capobianco (Instituto Socioambiental, S�o Paulo)
4:30 - 5:00	Challenges for biodiversity conservation in the major Brazilian biomes, Jose Maria Cardoso da Silva (Conservation International)
5:00 - 6:00	Panel discussion and conclusion