Call for Abstracts
Urban Wildlife Ecology and Management: An International Symposium on Urban Wildlife and the Environment University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts June 21-24, 2009 The Urban Wildlife Working Group of The Wildlife Society, together with the Massachusetts Division of Wildlife, University of Massachusetts, and USGS Massachusetts Cooperative Research Unit, is sponsoring a Symposium on Urban Wildlife Ecology and Management. The program committee for the symposium is soliciting abstracts for oral presentations and posters, to be submitted by February 2, 2009. Information on how to submit abstracts will be available on the conference website: www.people.umass.edu/sdestef/urban_conference We are also accepting proposals for symposia and workshops. Anyone interested in organizing a symposium or chairing a session should contact the program committee chair, Seth Riley, at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Potential topic areas for presentations or symposia may include: Ecology of wildlife in urban areas. -- Taxonomically oriented sessions, e.g. ungulates, carnivores, small mammals, songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, fish -- Conceptually oriented sessions, e.g. roads and urban wildlife, disease and urban wildlife, predator-prey interactions in urban wildlife, behavioral responsse to urbanization, etc. Management of human-urban wildlife conflicts. -- Unique methods/approaches to conflicts -- Population control for urban wildlife -- Hazing/aversive conditioning of urban wildlife -- Individual species of particular interest or concern, e.g. white-tailed deer, Canada geese, beavers, coyotes, raccoons, crows, gray squirrels, bats, etc. Symposia on particular species could include both ecology and management. Improved conservation of and coexistence with urban wildlife through urban planning, landscape architecture, and wildlife-friendly development -- Planning for wildlife in urban areas -- Wildlife-friendly landscape architecture -- Wildlife-friendly urban development -- Creation and management of open space in urban areas Humans and Urban Wildlife -- Educating the public about urban wildlife -- Attitudes towards wildlife in urban areas -- Value of wildlife for people in urban areas International urban wildlife ecology and management -- We hope to have extensive participation from our colleagues studying urban wildlife in Britain, Europe, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. This could involve specific sessions about work being done in other countries, international presentations throughout the sessions of the conference, or both.
