Madison to host ecologists Aug. 6-10

About 3,000 scientists are expected to attend the Ecological Society of America’s 2001 annual meeting in Madison Aug. 6-10, focused on the theme “Keeping All the Parts: Sustaining and Restoring Complex Ecosystems.”

The current ESA president is Stephen Carpenter, UW–Madison professor of limnology and zoology. The four-and-a-half day program will include a full agenda of symposia, several scientific field trips and workshops, and a large exhibit hall. Exhibits will feature scientific texts and new publications, with a special focus on ecological technology.

The meeting’s theme was chosen as a tribute to one of the city’s best known sons, Aldo Leopold, who was president of ESA when he died in 1948.

Current president Carpenter’s priorities include promoting a stronger international approach to solving large-scale ecological problems, such as global climate change, ozone depletion, habitat destruction, ecosystem management and restoration, extinction and loss of biodiversity. Carpenter’s research focus is on biocomplexity, which is helping build a greater understanding of how living things at all levels interact with their environment. Dozens of scientists at UW–Madison will also be presenting research findings at the conference.

The 7,800-member Ecological Society of America is a scientific nonprofit organization founded in 1915. Through ESA reports, journals, membership research, and expert testimony to Congress, ESA promotes responsible application of ecological data and principles to the solution of environmental problems.