Spring Meeting 2009

Update: The abstract submission deadline has been extended to 30th March.

25-26th April

The Ostracod Group will hold its Spring Meeting in 2009 (Darwin Year) at Down House in Kent, the former home of Charles Darwin which re-opens to the public in February following extensive conservation and restoration work. The meeting, on the theme “Ostracods and Evolution”, will take place on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April. The organisers are Dave Horne (Queen Mary University of London) and John Whittaker (The Natural History Museum). The provisional schedule is as follows:


Saturday 25th April:

10.00. Meet at Down House.
10.15 – 12.15. Multimedia tour of the house and gardens (public access).
12.15 – 13.00. Light lunch in the Tea Room at Down House.
13.00 – 17.00. Private meeting in the Board Room of Down House: talks on the theme of “Ostracods and Evolution”.

Sunday 26th April:
Field trip to Lower Thames interglacial sites, with a focus on the theme of “Ostracods and Human Evolution”, considering the occupation of Britain by hominids (Homo heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens) and what ostracods tell us about the environments and climates in which they lived. The main site will be the SSSI in Greenlands Pit at Purfleet (MIS 9), featured in a new multi-proxy study (Bridgland et al. in press) but may include visits to other key sites such as Swanscombe (MIS 11) and Aveley (MIS 7).

Accommodation will be arranged at a convenient location, with the option of (1) Friday and Saturday night or (2) Saturday night only; further details will be circulated to those who have expressed interest in the meeting and will also be posted on TMS website.

Due to the small size of the Board Room and its hire cost the meeting will be limited to a maximum of 25 participants and a registration fee of £10 per person will be charged (but this includes the multimedia tour, for which the normal charge for an adult is £9). Expressions of interest and offers of talks (with a title and a short abstract) should be submitted 30th March to Dave Horne.  This is a fantastic opportunity to participate in a scientific meeting at a unique venue!