Academic ProgramSSAR 2015 will feature hundreds of talks and posters by conference participants.

Click Here for PDF of Meeting Program (all attendees will also receive a printed copy at registration)
Update: See blog for important changes to the schedule on Thursday!

Distinguished Lecturers

Keynote Lecturer

Plenary Lecturer

Presidential Lecturer
David Hillis
University of Texas Austin (USA)
"Evolutionary Insights from Studying Reptiles and Amphibians"		 Harry Greene
Cornell University (USA)
"The Life and Times of a KU Herpetological Icon: Henry Fitch and 70 Years of Snake Ecology"		 Miguel Vences
Technical University of Braunschweig (Germany)
"Inventory of an Imperiled Paradise: Two Decades of Herpetology in Madagascar"

Program Highlights

Thursday, July 30
SSAR Board of Directors Meeting
Registration
Presidential Travelogue Lecture
Welcome Social

Friday, July 31
Plenary sessions
Keynote Lecture
Plenary Lecture
Poster sessions and concurrent papers
Reception for all with distinguished senior herpetologists
AV shows

Saturday, August 1
Poster sessions and concurrent papers
Exploring non-academic careers in herpetology student lunch PARC symposium
SSAR and PARC symposia
SSAR student social
Live auction and reception for all

Sunday, August 2
Concurrent papers
PARC and SSAR symposia
SSAR business meeting
Outdoor picnic
AV shows

Monday, August 3
Meetings and tours for the International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology, plus day trips and tours

Dyche Hall, home to the KU Natural History Museum. Image from The University of Kansas Official Flickr Site.

PARC Featured Speaker Tyrone Hayes, University of California, Berkeley, From Silent Spring to Silent Night: A Tale of Toads and Men. Image from Shirin Ghaffary/The Daily Californian

PARC Symposia
Identifying Priority Areas for Herpetological Conservation: Participants include Ron Sutherland, Phillip deMaynadier, J. J. Apodaca, Cyndy Loftin, Bill Sutton, Brian Todd, Kyle Barrett, James Lewis, Stephen Mockford, Stephen Speare, Priya Nanjappa; PARC's Partners Focusing on Habitat: Participants include Jason Daniels, Therese Conant, Joe Robb, Mark Vandever, Jennifer Anderson-Cruz, Tom Jones, Steve Spear, Ken Roblee, Bob Brodman, John Moriarty, and Scott Jackson; Communicating Herpetofaunal Conservation to the Public: Participants include Tyrone Hayes, David Steen, Kristin Stanford, and Christine O’Connell.

SSAR Symposium
Bones, Frogs, and Evolution
This event will celebrate the exceptionally productive 40 years of scholarship of Linda Trueb and will include presentations by Ana Maria Baez, David Blackburn, David Cannatella, Luis Coloma, Eli Greenbaum, Juan Guayasamin, Anne Maglia, Dave McLeod, Greg Pregill, Chris Sheil, Helio de Silva, Erik Wild, and Marvalee Wake. Introduction by Leonard Krishtalka and summary by William Duellman. Organized by David Blackburn, Anne Maglia, and David Cannatella.

SSAR Symposium
Frontiers in Integrative Organismal Biology: Herpetological Horizons: This event will feature a group of herpetologists working at the forefront of evolution-related fields, using amphibians and reptiles as study systems. Topics include speciation, adaptive radiation, convergence, phenotypic evolution, and the evolution of development—all through the lens of genomic approaches to understanding evolution of amphibians and reptiles. Participants include Frank Burbrink, Todd Castoe, Ben Evans, Matt Fujita, Ryan Kerney, Adam Leaché, Emily Lemmon, Jim McGuire, Rachel Mueller, Dan Rabosky, Robert Thomson, John Wiens, and Kelly Zamudio. Organized by Rafe Brown and Rich Glor. Summary by David Wake.

Spooner Hall: Location for Reception for Distinguished Senior Herpetologists and reception for authors and book signings.