2014 Predator-prey Interactions "From Genes to Ecosystems to Human Mental Health" Gordon Research Conference; Ventura, CA - January 5-10, 2014

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal provides funding to help graduate students and postdoctoral researchers attend the inaugural meeting of the Gordon Research Conference on Predator-Prey Interactions in January 2014. This conference, subtitled "From genes to ecosystems to human mental health", brings together a wide array of researchers from fields such as ecology, evolution, physiology, and psychiatry to explore how predation risk (and, more broadly, the threat of bodily harm) affects organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. While many researchers have examined these questions within a given system or species, there has been no opportunity for them to compare their findings and identify fruitful avenues for cross-disciplinary work. This conference aims to provide that opportunity, identifying areas of research synergy and spurring the interdisciplinary collaborations necessary to address them. This proposal targets students and postdoctoral researchers, with priority given to those individuals who are also members of under-represented groups. Partial funding will be provided to enable them to attend the conference. Giving them the opportunity to meet with leading researchers and present their own work will broaden their career opportunities. To share results of the conference with the widest possible audience, we will publish a mini-review of the research discussed in Open Ecology Journal, an open-access online journal indexed in Google Scholar.