Demonstrating that the Island Invasives field likes to live life on the edge, more than half of the Abstracts submitted to the Dundee conference were received in the final 48 hours before the deadline. However, the final count exceeded 180 Abstracts, comfortably setting a new record for this series of meetings and demonstrating keen interest in attending ii17 from all over the globe. Not only was the number of submissions high; so, too, was the quality. We can all look forward to a really excellent and wide-ranging series of presentations in July.
All Abstracts were assessed and scored by at least two people from the reviewing panel. The number of authors seeking to give a talk greatly exceeded (by more than two to one) the conference's capacity without parallel sessions, so the Programme Committee decided to opt for some parallel talk sessions. Even so, many authors preferring to give a talk have instead been offered a poster presentation. Although some will be disappointed, in fact posters offer far better interaction between presenter and audience, and likely better attendance. There will be no parallel poster sessions and, additionally, talk sessions do not benefit from free drinks and nibbles!
All authors have been advised of the outcome of the review process and their allocation of presentation type. Speakers will learn of the day and time of their presentation within a few weeks.
The window for requesting new side events has now closed.
Excursions
A range of excursions for the middle Wednesday (July 12th) will soon be available via the website.
They include tours of St Andrews (home of golf, among other attributes), Dunkeld and the highland town of Pitlochry, in addition to a strenuous climb up Ben Vrackie (841m) and visits to a whisky distillery and a nature reserve.
Travel to and from venue
Free coach transfers are available at particular times from Edinburgh airport to your conference hotel in Dundee. These must be pre-booked by following the link below.
This will be the third in a series of international conferences focussed on invasive alien species (IAS) on islands, their impact and management. It follows those held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2001 and 2010*. The Dundee conference will therefore be the first such meeting for seven years, and the first to be held in the northern hemisphere.
