EOM7

EOM 7 has been organized by Martin Gross and his team on July 25-27, 2011, combined with two workshops. Abstracts as well as instructive papers related to the workshops have been published in Joannea Vol. 11, the journal of the Universalmuseum Joannea. Download the very useful paper Soft body morphology, dissection and slide-preparation of Ostracoda: a primer by Tadeusz Namiotko, Dan L. Danielopol & Angel Baltanás, resulting from one of the workshops.

Report:

More than ninety participants from almost all over the world (24 nations) attended 7th European Ostracodologists’ Meeting. This demonstrates that EOMs are not only meetings for European researchers. Eighty-nine scientific contributions presented 46 talks and 43 posters, dealing with various ostracodological topics.

Two workshops were included in EOM: “Ponto-Caspian region” and “The OMEGA project”. Both intended to enhance international data-exchange as well as to harmonize the current taxonomy.

• The “Ponto-Caspian region”-workshop (L. Bradley & L. Williams) aimed to facilitate a dialogue about taxonomy and distribution of Quaternary and living ostracods in the seas of central Eurasia.

• The “OMEGA project” (D. Horne & A. Smith) focused on the calibration of datasets of non-marine ostracods, which can be used for palaeoclimate modelling. Large datasets are required, which can be achieved by a consensus on ostracod taxonomy as well as by linking regional databases through a geographical information system.

Both workshops included plenary discussions of issues and ideas raised by the given presentations.

On the last day of the EOM (28th of July), parallel to the regular sessions, the special workshop “Northern hemisphere Quaternary and modern nonmarine Ostracoda“ (A. Smith & D. Horne) brought together North American and European experts in order to develop and coordinate new intercontinental research initiatives.

Immediately after EOM 7, the workshop “Methods in Ostracodology 2” offered lectures and practical sessions in a summer school like atmosphere. MIO 2 comprised the subsequent topics: 1. Geometric morphometrics (A. Baltanas & D.L. Danielopol), 2. Stable isotopes (I. Boomer), 3. Transfer functions (P. Frenzel) and 4. Dissection of recent ostracods (T. Namiotko & D.L. Danielopol).

Text based on the 3rd circular by Martin Gross, Claudia Wrozyna, Frank Gitter, Marco Caporaletti, Ingomar Fritz & Werner E. Piller

The organisation committee
Universalmuseum Joanneum & KF University Graz