NeAT Meeting on Polar Regions

November 11, 2016

Over 50 scientists from 10 different countries met at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies 15-16 November 2016 for the inaugural meeting of the Network for Arthropods of the Tundra (NeAT). NeAT is an international group focused on studying arthropods in Earth's rapidly changing polar regions. They hope to build collaborative capacity over two days of scientific presentations and discussions.

Keynote speakers included Jane Uhd Jepsen from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and Peter Convey from the British Antarctic Survey. These keynote speakers framed a meeting that explored arthropod science at both poles, including aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, invasion ecology, ecosystem function, and responses to environmental change.

Dartmouth graduate students Melissa DeSiervo, Jess Trout-Haney, and Christine Urbanowicz, all from the Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Society (EEES) graduate program presented their dissertation research. Lauren Culler, PhD, Lecturer of Environmental Studies and Science Outreach Coordinator at the Institute of Arctic Studies at the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth, co-organized the meeting and also presented her work. Dartmouth hosted a planning workshop in April to coordinate NeAT activities including the November meeting.