On Sunday, 7 August 2005, Cristin Samper, Director of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (United States), will give a presentation entitled, "Forests in the Clouds: Ecology and Conservation of Montane Forests in the Andes," at the public plenary of the Ecological Society of America's 90th Annual Meeting. This free event will be held at the Palais des congrs de Montral, and the public is warmly invited to attend. Please note, this presentation will be in both French and English.
Most of our understanding about tropical forests comes from lowland forests. During his talk, Samper will discuss the unique features and creatures of montane (mountain slope) forests. According to Samper, the differences between lowland and montane forests provide opportunities to better understand tropical forests, including important consequences for their management and conservation.
Carrying on the recent tradition of opening the meeting by acknowledging indigenous peoples and their relationship to the natural environment as well as the cultural heritage of Qubec, the Opening Ceremony will feature Henry Lickers, Director, Department of Environment, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, followed by a performance by La Baratte Buerre Traditional French Canadian Chansons.
The Opening Ceremony and Samper's talk will take place during the ESA-INTECOL joint meeting. The meeting marks only the second time these two major organizations have met jointly. The meeting theme, "Ecology at Multiple Scales", is expected to attract over 4,000 ecological scientists, researchers, educators, administrators, and policy-makers from around the globe.