2016 HRC-related Sessions at Annual Meeting – Historical Records Committee

August 7-12, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Banner image for the ESA 2016 annual meeting. A transparent image with a building over a circular sun on a yellow background and a ESA 2016 stamp. — 2016 Annual Meeting Ft. Lauderdale.

Julie Mulroy and Zoe Nyssa have assembled a terrific program for the Ft. Lauderdale meeting. We have an exceptionally diverse set of disciplines represented, as you will see from the descriptions below. Steven Armour, who is in charge of ESA’s electronic archives at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia, will be contributing a poster. Many thanks to Julie and Zoe for organizing these exciting sessions. More information will be in the July newsletter.
See also the April 2016 newsletter.

Organized Oral Session and linked Organized Poster Session scheduled for Tuesday, August 9:

OOS: “The Importance of History and Historical Records as Ecologists Confront the Anthropocene” on Tuesday, August 9, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Description: A multidisciplinary set of presentations explores the increasingly important role that historical records play in addressing the accelerating changes that confront us in the Anthropocene. The concept of the Anthropocene compels us to examine the long-term relationship of humans and their environments, and in so doing to draw on diverse types of historical records and datasets. We must consider new institutional structures that facilitate cross-disciplinary approaches to environmental problems. Presenters demonstrate how interdisciplinary approaches, new technologies, and novel institutional structures can assist us in learning from the past to respond to present and future challenges. Opportunities for use of long term datasets and museum collections in research, conservation and education are highlighted. (Organized by Juliana Mulroy, Denison University.)
OPS: “Uses of and Access to Historical Data as Ecologists Confront a Rapidly Changing World,” on Tuesday, August 9, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Description: ESA’s Historical Records Committee promotes the preservation and use of historical records in ecology. We have invited a group of historians, archivists, museum researchers, conservation biologists and ecologists to help us expand our efforts at this critical time in human history. The poster session presents specific applications and case studies using long term data sets, field notes, historical photographs, explorations of digitized literature and other approaches to current ecological and environmental challenges. (Organized by Zoe Nyssa, Harvard University.)
Also of Interest! OOS from Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio)

Deborah Paul, who is contributing to our OOS, is also moderating the session sponsored by Integrated Digitized Biocollections, or iDigBio, which has organized a session on “Leveraging the Power of Biodiversity Specimen Data for Ecological Research,” Wednesday, August 10, 8:00-11:30.
See iDigBio’s wiki for more information.