Cephalopod International Advisory Council Symposium: Brazil, 2012

Slide show (pdf)

Brazil will become the first South American nation to host a CIAC symposium, as the country won a majority of the votes of the CIAC Executive Council in Vigo. Brazil is also much in evidence in the world as the first South American country to host the Olympic Games of 2016. In between, the country will also host the 2014 World Cup. It seems that the time has come for Brazil, the largest and the only Portuguese speaking country in South America.
The main rationale for a CIAC symposium in South America was that the cephalopod researcher community has grown considerably in this continent in last few years. This can be partially explained by the development of cephalopod research in nearly all South American countries, but also by the demand of knowledge on important commercially exploited cephalopods (e.g., Dosidicus gigas in Mexico and Peru; Illex argentinus in Brazil and Argentina, and octopus species in Chile). Therefore, there is a clear demand for a CIAC Symposium in South America, what would also help to potentially increase the participation of researchers and students from South America countries.
Brazil encompasses all the desirable conditions to fulfill this demand. The country has an expressive and growing number of cephalopod researches, whom have been delivering scientific contributions to the mainstream science on a regular basis. Operational conditions are attractive to international events, not only because of the excellent infrastructure for congresses and meetings, but also because of the lower costs for accommodations and catering in relation to Northern Hemisphere countries. In addition, Brazil is a tropical country with a multi-ethnic people and breathtaking scenery. Some of the world´s most exciting destinations lie inside of Brazil's borders. From white-sand beaches and tropical islands stretched over more than 8000 Km along the Atlantic coast to inland unique biomas, like the Pantanal and the Amazon and Atlantic forests congregating some of the greatest biodiversity of the planet, there will be plenty of room for entertainment and adventure. Given the country innumerable charms, a CIAC symposium in Brazil will certainly contribute with high standard scientific outputs, while offering the attendees a pleasant and friendly environment with memorable moments of leisure, not to mention the experience of the music, dance, food and nature.
Two cities might host the Symposium, Florianópolis and Curitiba. These cities are located 300 Km apart and are the State Capitals of Paraná and Santa Catarina respectively. Flight times from São Paulo-Guarulhos airport, the main international airport in Brasil, to Florianópolis or Curitiba are less than 1h. Florianópolis, is one of the three Brazilian´s state capital islands and is composed by one Main Island, a small continental part and small surrounding islands. The city has a population of about 480.000, and around 100 beautiful beaches, many of which are perfect places for a number of water sports, like surfing, kayaking, and scuba diving. The diverse scenery offers a tranquil and peaceful stay, while cultural activities and fine seafood and local gastronomy will certainly satisfy a broad range of tastes. The city's privileged infrastructure for scientific meetings is renowned, and a number of important international events had already been held in Florianópolis major resorts. Curitiba is a modern and cosmopolitan capital city with almost 1.8 million inhabitants. It is considered to be the "ecological capital" of Brazil, having a leading position in urban and ecological solutions. The emphasis in Curitiba is protecting the environment with dozens of urban parks and gardens. As a result, the city provides one of the highest standards for life quality within the country and is known as a very pleasant place to live. Curitiba is located 934 m above sea level and separated from the coast by the 'Serra do Mar' a mountain range belonging to one of the most preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest.
The organizing committee is already discussing the logistics for this conference and will offer more details about the meeting in the next CIAC newsletter. We are looking forward to seeing you in BRAZIL!

03/03/10

From Louise Allcock: Red List Assessment for cephalopods: Idiosepiidae

Dear Colleagues,

We are making slow but steady progress with the red list assessment process. Over the coming months I would like to get preliminary assessments out to the International Community (that's you!) for your input. I will do this slowly, one taxonomic group at a time.
I would like to start with the Idiosepiidae. We have amassed all the relevant data we can find in the primary literature on these species and presented it in the manner required by the IUCN. However, I'm aware that very much more information is known by individual researchers.
Hence, if you are interested in contributing to, or commenting on, the red list assessments of Idiosepius species, please would you email me (louise.allcock@gmail.com). I will then send you all or some of the Idiosepius preliminary assessments, as you wish.
I look forward to hearing from some of you!

Louise

25/02/10

From Susy Camarillo [scoop04@cibnor.mx]: FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT, 5th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PACIFIC SQUID

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOLÓGICAS DEL NOROESTE, SC

Is pleased in invite you to the:

5th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PACIFIC SQUID, October 13-15, 2010, La Paz, BCS, México

4th INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON SQUIDS
SESSION I: "Considerations for in vitro embryonic development in Dosidicus gigas: Theory and Practice", October 9-11, 2010

SESSION II: "Comparisons between Dosidicus gigas fisheries", October 12th, 2010

DEADLINE: June 15th, 2010

For more information please e-mail to: csalinas@cibnor.mx or calamares2010@cibnor.mx

or visit the web page: http://intranet.cibnor.mx/calamares.html (English version is under construction)

25/02/10

International Cephalopod Fishery Symposium: updated information and change of dates

Important: this conference will now be held on 13-16 May. Attendees wishing assistance with getting visas may contact Lu Huaqing.

Registration form - abstract template - 4th announcement

07/01/10

Thousands of dead octopuses wash up on Portugal beach.

For more about this news item, recently picked up by BBC News, please see here.

06/01/10

International Cephalopod Fishery Symposium (20-23 May 2010): second announcement

Lu Huaqing has forwarded the second circular in Word and pdf formats, also a template for articles submitted. If you have any questions, contact details are:

Prof. Lu Huaqing, Tel.: +86-580-2553565; Fax: +86-580-2550753;
E-mail: cephalopodzjou@yahoo.com.cn;
Websites: http://www.cephalopods.org; http://news.zjou.edu.cn/fish-meeting/

Deadlines:

Abstract: 1 March 2010, no more than 400 words;
Manuscript: 31 March 2010.

05/12/09

Website updates

Information on the 2009 best paper award and and updated list of honorary life members has been uploaded.

Preliminary notes on constitutional change have been uploaded. Council would welcome your thoughts on these proposals.

New information on the Encyclopedia of Life, an update on the presentation at CIAC 2009, is now available here.

A report and photos from the 2009 conference have been posted on the conferences web page.

Next year there are two non-CIAC cephalopod conferences. The first is 2010’s International Cephalopod Fishery Symposium in China in May 2010:

This now has an English language website (http://news.zjou.edu.cn/fish-meeting/english-meeting/) and the conference e-mail address will be: cephalopodzjou@yahoo.com.cn.

The first announcement is available as a pdf here here and there is also a form to complete if you plan to attend the conference.

From Prof. Lu Huaqing: "To develop cephalopod fishery, especially its restocking and culture fishery, to exchange scientific views and to do joint research with international partners, China Zhejiang Ocean University, the Yellow Sea Fisheries Res. Inst. Of Chinese Fisheries Academy, Taiwan Ocean University will jointly launch 2010's International Cephalopod Fishery Symposium, which will be held in May 2010 in the beautiful island city, Zhousnan of the East China Sea, an emerald place at the west side of the Pacific. We sincerely welcome you, outstanding cephalopod experts, to attend this wonderful symposium."

Symposium theme: sustainable development of cephalopod fishery.
Symposium contents: 1. cephalopod biology; 2. cephalopod resource and capturing technology; 3. larviculture and restocking technology
Language: English
Date: 20-23 May, 2010; Registration: 20 May, 2010
Symposium venue: Sheraton Hotel (five star). Addr.: No.101, Rd. Qiandao, Lincheng, Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China. Tel: +86 580-2088888; Fax: +86 580-2088889
Deadline of submission: Abstract: 31 December 2009, no more than 400 words; Manuscript: 31 March, 2010.

Secondly, the 8th International Symposium on Cephalopods Past and Present in France in August-September 2010.

8th International Symposium on Cephalopods - Present and Past, 2010 @ Dijon, France, August 30th to September 3rd:

From the organizing committee: The "International Symposium, Cephalopods Present and Past" (ISCPP) brings together all scientists working on extant or extinct cephalopods. The diversity of this group of mollusks, together with its broad temporal and spatial distribution, makes it a successful model for addressing key scientific issues. We are proud to host the 8th ISCPP at the University of Burgundy, Dijon, France from August 30 to September 3, 2010. It will be a unique opportunity for sharing research ideas and recent findings on all aspects of cephalopod biology and evolution. We strongly encourage young scientists to attend this symposium. Studies using cutting-edge techniques and original approaches are particularly welcome. Dijon is the lively capital city of the Burgundy region, an area that is famous worldwide for its fine wines, gastronomy, and historical patrimony. It harbours a vast array of churches, abbeys, and museums scattered in its scenic streets, and it is surrounded by some of the most notorious vineyards in the world. Dijon is located 310 km (186 miles) from Paris and it takes only about 90 minutes to go there by train. We are looking forward to seeing you in Dijon!

16/09/09

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE - YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED!

CIAC is endorsing the cephalopod pages of the Encyclopedia of Life as the natural successor to the ailing/defunct Cephbase and to offer assistance with managing the assembly of materia. This project needs your input!

To find out more about EOL you can also go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_of_Life, http://www.flickr.com/groups/encyclopedia_of_life/ and http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509185847.htm

Roger Hanlon is co-ordinating the cephalopod content of EOL. Annie Lindgren and Jan Strugnell are CIAC´s representatives in the project.

07/09/09

Yves Cherel and Jose Xavier recently completed their book "Cephalopod beak guide for the Southern Ocean", published by the British Antarctic Survey (preface by Paul Rodhouse). This includes a CD with 3-D imaging visualization of cephalopod beaks from the Antarctic. Some copies of the book are currently ondisplay at the CIAC conference in Vigo.

07/09/09

An obituary for Peter Boyle now appears on the University of Aberdeen web pages: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/biologicalsci/peter-boyle/

03/05/09

Eric Hochberg sent some additional photos of Peter Boyle, which are now shown below: ""Last weekend I found this photo of Peter Boyle when he visited California in 2005 and took a fish printing workshop that the Japanese gyotaku artist, Mineo Yamamoto, and I taught in Santa Cruz. He was an amazing fish printer and produced that beautiful series of fish print cards. He also helped Mineo with a printing session on a pelican here at the Museum in Santa Barbara during the same visit. Gives a whole other side of Peter as a scientist and artist."

26/04/09

Peter Boyle died on 22 April 2009. In the words of his son David: "Peter Boyle (Chapel of Garioch), Marine Biologist and Azorean Mill owner, died on Wednesday 22nd of April after giving an aggressive cancer a serious hammering for many years. It was against his wishes as he still had big plans. He leaves a cavernous gap in the lives of his wife Ann, his 3 children, Alice, David & Catriona, and his 5 grandchildren, Jade, Ruth, Calum, Max & Nova." Donations to Cancer Research UK are invited.

Peter will be greatly missed as a colleague, project leader, researcher, teacher and friend. Lest we forget that he also had a formidable reputation outside the world of cephalopods, I copy here the words of Odd Aksel Bergstad from IMR in Bergen: "It is with sorrow that I have to report to you that Peter died on Wednesday 22 April 2009 at 2000h. Peter was one of the driving forces during the initiation of MAR-ECO in 2001, became ill in the autumn of 2003, and was unable to go to sea with us as planned in 2004. He was a great colleague and friend throughout, and despite his failing health he managed to finish his MAR-ECO book project. This became his last effort after a very active scientific career, marked by both good science and emphasis on high-quality dissemination to the wider public. Even in his final weeks he continued editing and communicating with the publisher. I was able to confirm to him as late as Wednesday morning that all issues had been resolved and that the book will be published as he wished, probably within the next six months. It will have a cover designed by his daughter Alice and also approved by him during Easter. We should remember Peter with joy. I believe he wanted that. Coming to Bergen with Ann last year in July (see picture), he laughingly described himself as a 'living exception' having survived all treatments and difficulties connected with his terminal cancer for much longer than his doctors expected. It is sad to lose a treasured colleague and friend, even when we've been prepared for it. I for one am very grateful to have known and been inspired by Peter. We will make sure that his friendship, scientific efforts, and contributions to MAR-ECO are properly recognised next week."

16/04/09

CIAC has now launched its "Best Scientific Paper Award" as a way of recognising important advances in cephalopod research. Nominations for the best "cephalopod" paper published since the last CIAC conference in early 2006 are now sought, by 15 July 2009. For further details, please see the awards page.

06/01/09

From Louise Allcock: Martin Wells

Dear Colleagues,
Sadly, Martin Wells died on 1 January. Please see below a letter circulated by Prof Malcolm Burrows, head of the dept in Cambridge where Martin worked.
Sincerely,
Louise

Dr Louise Allcock, Co-editor, Journal of Natural History; Adjunct Lecturer, Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute, Galway; Honorary Senior Lecturer, Queen's University Belfast; +353 (0)91 495868; louise.allcock@gmail.com

Dear All

It is with great sadness that I have heard from Charlie Ellington of the death of Martin Wells on 1 January. He died suddenly while visiting his son Simon's family in California. I understand he will be cremated there and his wife Joyce will return to the UK later in the month.

Martin was born on 24 August 1928 and was a long time member of the Department. He was a Frank Smart Prize winner in 1951, then undertook research with Wigglesworth before working at the Marine Station in Naples. He was appointed a Demonstrator in 1959, a Lecturer in 1964 and a Reader in 1976. He retired in 1995.

Many of us will have vivid and happy memories of Martin. The legacy of his science, his art and his writing still permeate the Department.

Best wishes,

Malcolm
5.1.2009

Jennifer Ashton j.ashton@zoo.cam.ac.uk; Secretary to Professor Malcolm Burrows, Head of Department, Department of Zoology, Downing Street
Cambridge CB2 3EJ; Tel: 01223 336601; Fax: 01223 336687; Internet: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk

An obituary can be seen at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/feb/25/obituary-martin-wells

Archived news

CIAC is the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (not to be confused with the Conference on Algorithms and Complexity, Computer Incident Advisory Capability, or any of the other CIACs out there!)

Founded in 1983, the aims of CIAC are to stimulate, accelerate and influence the direction of cephalopod research, to provide help and advice on aspects of cephalopod biology, including those relevant to the management of the increasingly important cephalopod fisheries, and to spread information on past and current research. Its main activities are:

1. The holding of CIAC Workshop/Symposia every 3 years and the publication of the results in book or journal form.
2. The organisation of CIAC Joint Meetings with fisheries organisations, societies, or laboratories for exchange of information and usually the publication of papers and/or training manuals.
3. The endorsement of meetings organised by any cephalopod workers who provide evidence to CIAC of the value and feasibility of a meeting being planned.
4. The production of a newsletter, replaced more recently by an e-mail discussion list (fastmoll).
5. Support for various cephalopod-related initiatives. In the past these included the publication and updating of a Directory of English translations of Research Publications in Other Languages, a List of Cephalopod Workers of the World, a Computerised Bibliography of Cephalopod Research, Keys for the Identification of Cephalopods, and State of the Art papers in selected areas of research. Current initiatives include the cephalopod pages of the Encyclopedia of Life.

At present CIAC comprises a "Council", members of which are proposed by delegates at the CIAC conferences and voted on by the existing Council. Council members serve for 6 years (see CIAC by-laws for further details). The Council meets at every designated CIAC Workshop/Symposium. These Council Meetings may be divided into several continuous sittings or sessions. The objectives of these meetings are to plan and implement the aims of the Council as described above.

At all CIAC Workshops/Symposia there will be an Open Meeting, presided over by the President or Executive Secretary of CIAC, to which anyone interested in CIAC and its aims may come and speak on subjects of relevance to CIAC, at which participants will be asked for nominations for membership of Council, and at which proposals for CIAC Workshops/Symposia may be made.

The photograph below shows the members of the first CIAC Executive Council (plus the editor of the CIAC Newsletter, Marion Nixon) in 1985. Standing, left to right: Ron O'Dor, Nancy Voss, Gilbert Voss, John Messenger, Marion Nixon, Eric Hochberg, Richard Young and Malcolm Clarke. Crouching, left to right: Sigurd v. Boletzky, Clyde Roper, Katy Mangold, Angel Guerra, C.C. Lu and John Wormuth. The photo was taken adjacent to the Laboratorire Arago (Banyuls-sur-Mer, France) in June 1985, during the International Symposium on the Early Growth Stages of Cephalopods (CIAC 1985). (Photo supplied by Angel Guerra)