The summit brought together recent research by scientists from all over the world, examining how human activities are altering evolutionary processes. This was the first international gathering that included both evolutionary scientists and policymakers to examine recent research on this topic.

The goals of the summit were:

• To bring together scientists from all over the globe who are using the latest technologies to investigate how human activities are affecting evolutionary processes.
• To examine the effects and implications of these effects with regard to:
  • climate change
  • habitat degradation
  • invasive species
  • captive breeding
  • exploitation
  • pathogens
• To examine the “added value” that understanding evolutionary impacts could have in improving wildlife management and conservation policy, planning, and practice by initiating a dialogue between the scientific researchers and conservation policymakers and practitioners.
• To synthesize the findings of the summit through panel discussions and through a small group convened to outline a series of steps that should be taken to follow up on the summit, including ways to integrate knowledge about the evolutionary impacts of human activities into efforts to conserve and protect habitats and manage plant and animal populations.
• The results of the scientific sessions are available on line at http://www.blackwellsynergy.com/toc/mec/0/0 and here.

Download File: Summit_Report.pdf

Published: Tuesday, February 06, 2007

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