I am happy to announce that the 9th World Congress of Herpetology will hold a symposium on the Sociality of Amphibians and Reptiles! The details are:
SUMMARY
Sociality of herpetofauna, and the impact it has on their ecology, evolution, and conservation, has long been overlooked. Recent research in this field has shown that many reptiles and amphibians aggregate, either seasonally or over extended periods of time, and some of these social aggregations consist of kin. Even still, group living has only been investigated in less than 1% of all extant squamates. This symposium is an opportunity to share recent research, across the globe, on sociality of reptiles and amphibians, and discuss how their social behaviour may impact their ecology. This includes topics like: researching the presence (or absence) of kin-based sociality, parental care, using herpetofauna as a model for examining the evolution of vertebrate sociality, testing for social learning, quantifying the impact social behaviour has on reptile and amphibian fitness, and/or discussing how sociality of herpetofauna could benefit their conservation. The broad scope of this symposium is meant to facilitate connections between researchers focused on sociality of reptiles and amphibians, and allow us to gain a good understanding of the current state of this field.
ORGANIZERS
Dr Julia Riley, Stellenbosch University
Melissa Amarello, Advocates for Snake Preservation
Dr Eva Ringler, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Dr Christina Davy, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Do you have research on social behaviour or parental care you’d like to present? Contact me to get more information.
