ECN Meetings

[Wesley E Hall]

>From Paul Johnson regarding the ECN meetings (this appeared in Entomol):

Recently, I have had a spate of inquiries regarding the 1999 Entomology
Collections Network meeting.  Although the agenda is not yet complete and
registration materials are being prepared for mailing in September, a bit
of information is now available for people needing to make early plans.

The meeting is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 11-12 December, at the
Georgia Center, University of Georgia, Athens.   Drs. Joe McHugh, John
Pickering, of the Entomology Department, and Elizabeth Reitz, director of
the Georgia Museum of Natural History, are our hosts.  As tradition
dictates, the ECN meeting immediately precedes the Entomological Society of
America national conference that runs 12-16 December, in Atlanta.

Athens is approximately a one hour, or a bit more, drive from downtown
Atlanta; shuttles are available from to and from the Georgia Center to
downtown and the airport (details later).  Joe McHugh will have the UG
Arthropod Collection open and available for visitors on Friday afternoon
and evening.  A selection of water extracted botanical alkaloids and other
refreshments will be available by 8:00 am, if not earlier, on Saturday.  On
site registration will be at the same time (early registration information
will be available soon).  Sessions will run from 8:30-12:00, and 1:30-5:00.
John Pickering will host a reception at his home on Saturday evening.  The
morning ritual will repeat on Sunday, and a session from 8:30-10:30.  The
business meeting will complete the schedule from 10:30-12:00.  The meeting
will end at noon on Sunday to allow an expeditious return to Atlanta for
those planning on attending the ESA conference, or early departures for
those returning home or to the fi!
eld.

Presently, the tentative agenda includes inventory project reports on the
Great Smokey Mtns ATBI, the Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera TWIGS of
the INBio inventory in Costa Rica, the NAWQA, a biodiversity study of
Canadian Great Plains grasslands, and the APHYTIS project.  Reports on
various collection upgrades, status, and trends will be made; hopefully,
this will also include comments on repatriation issues.  There will be an
overview of significant changes present in the new Zoological Code.
Additional topics and issues will include interactive key software, BIOTA,
the Canadian Biodiversity Information Inititative, and barcode use and
technology trends.  Topics are being added, almost daily, so more is to
come.

The business meeting will focus on plans for ECN 2000 in Montreal, and an
introduction to matters regarding a possible closer affiliation with ESA.

Organizers for the 1999 ECN meeting are:

Cheryl Barr, U.C.-Berkeley, Essig Museum - cbarr at nature.berkeley.edu
Paul J. Johnson, S. Dakota State University, Insect Research Collection -
        paul_johnson at sdstate.edu