This is the preliminary schedule; it is still subject to change.
Panel discussions will involve two short presentations of opposing viewpoints on each topic followed by a debate with audience participation. Lightning talks will be four minutes of presentation and one minute of questions while the next speaker sets up. There is also an iEvoBio discussion on software development and software bazaar to allow developers and users to interact.
Pre-meeting:
Symposium and Software School focusing on New Methods for Phylogenomics and Metagenomics (go to link for more info) meets before the official start of the meeting. On Monday it meets 1-5 pm in the Undergraduate Science Building, room 2260. On Tuesday it meets from 9 am to 2:30 pm in the Undergraduate Science Building rooms 2244 and 1250.
Official meeting (starting Wed.)
Wednesday, May 20
Workshops, all day; expect an email after May 1 listing your workshop(s).
Thursday, May 21
All events in University Union, unless otherwise noted. See floor plans on right side of this page.
9:30-11:30am (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel discussion: More data or better models
David Hillis and Antonis Rokas
Moderator: Charles Marshall
“We don’t have better algorithms than anyone else; we just have more data”, Google’s Chief Scientist Peter Norvig recently proclaimed. Will phylogenetic big data end model-based inference as we know it? Is more data always better? Or do we simply need better models? Join David Hillis, “better models” advocate, and Antonis Rokas, “more data” advocate, as they debate the future of phylogenetics.
11:30-1:00 Lunch Break (but see NSF session, below)
12:00-1:00 (Union: Parker, 2nd floor) NSF outreach session
Maureen Kearney and David Mindell
Meet and greet / question answer session with NSF officers. Bring your lunch.
1:00-3:00 (Union: Kuenzel, 1st floor): Lightning Talks A
1:00-3:00 (Union: Pendleton, 2nd floor): Lightning Talks B
1:00-3:30 (Union: Pond ABC, 1st floor): iEvoBio software bazaar
See lightning talk schedule at bottom of page, sections A and B.
We will be running lightning talks in parallel with the iEvoBio software bazaar. Look for a detailed schedule of each after May 1. The software bazaar will be an opportunity for developers of open source software and potential users to informally interact. Developers should bring a laptop with their software available on it. Developers must first register here (free). Space may be limited.
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-5:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel discussion: Species concepts are outmoded and hinder progress in evolutionary biology
Chris Simon and James Mallet
Moderator: David Hillis
Are “species” a special taxonomic rank, more "real" and definable than subspecies or genera? Most species concepts lack realism and are difficult to apply; but are they nonetheless useful as ideals? Do species play a special role ecologically and/or in biodiversity studies? Or can we do away with species altogether? Are subspecies evolutionary dead ends? How have long-term field studies, advances in phylogenetic, population genetic, and genomic methods changed our views of species?
5:00-6:30: Reception in Dinosaur Hall of Museum of Zoology (not the University Union)
Friday, May 22
All events in University Union, unless otherwise noted. See floor plans on right side of this page.
8:00-9:00 am (optional, RSVP required): Tour the NEW University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Facility
We are pleased to offer a tour of the new facility for the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ) and the University of Michigan Herbarium. While our state-of-the-art facility is still under construction, the Herbarium collections, the fluid preserved UMMZ collections and ancillary facilities are accessible for visiting. Both the UMMZ and the Herbarium are internationally recognized centers of biodiversity research and teaching. The UMMZ collections include approximately 15 million specimens of fishes, mollusks, insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. The Herbarium has 1.7 million specimens of vascular plants, algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens. If interested, please contact Priscilla Tucker, [email protected], by May 19. We will have a van for transport leaving the front of the Michigan Union at 7:45am
9:30-11:30am (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel Discussion: Molecular dates are reliable and provide a robust foundation for interpreting the history of life
Charles Marshall and Blair Hedges
Moderator: Elizabeth Jockucsch
Molecular phylogenies enable us to infer divergence times between lineages, even for groups without a fossil record. How reliable are these estimates? Are they sufficiently robust to serve as a foundation for developing evolutionary explanation? When molecular and paleontological estimates of divergence times disagree, which estimates are more reliable and why? Come join Blair Hedges (on the affirmative) and Charles Marshall (on the negative) debate the proposition that “molecular estimates of divergence times are essentially reliable”.
11:30-1:00 Lunch Break
1:00-2:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Lightning Talks C
See lightning talk schedule at bottom of page, section C.
2:00-3:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): iEvoBio Panel Discussion: Break on through to the other side: How to start in software development
Many of the researchers presenting workshops on their software started out as empirical biologists with no programming experience. With the rise of scripting languages like R and Python this has become an even easier career path. This will be a series of short presentations and then panel discussion about adding the ability to write open, reusable software to your toolkit. It is open to all attendees of this meeting; dropping in after seeing some lightning talks, or leaving to see others, is possible.
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-5:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel Discussion: Accurate inference with comparative methods? The field isn’t paying enough attention to learning the limits of what we can know
Wayne Maddison and Cécile Ané
Moderator: none
What are the limits of knowledge that can be gained by studying biological diversity today? It is recognized that evolutionary trends over time cannot be seen in modern taxa without comparisons to fossil data. Does this have implications for geographical ancestral area reconstructions? More generally, should our field be paying more attention to learning about limitations? For instance, can gradual evolution be distinguished from evolution by jumps in the absence of paleontological data? Even with the availability of paleontological data, how can our statistical models properly account for pseudo-replication?
Panel discussions will involve two short presentations of opposing viewpoints on each topic followed by a debate with audience participation. Lightning talks will be four minutes of presentation and one minute of questions while the next speaker sets up. There is also an iEvoBio discussion on software development and software bazaar to allow developers and users to interact.
Pre-meeting:
Symposium and Software School focusing on New Methods for Phylogenomics and Metagenomics (go to link for more info) meets before the official start of the meeting. On Monday it meets 1-5 pm in the Undergraduate Science Building, room 2260. On Tuesday it meets from 9 am to 2:30 pm in the Undergraduate Science Building rooms 2244 and 1250.
Official meeting (starting Wed.)
Wednesday, May 20
Workshops, all day; expect an email after May 1 listing your workshop(s).
Thursday, May 21
All events in University Union, unless otherwise noted. See floor plans on right side of this page.
9:30-11:30am (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel discussion: More data or better models
David Hillis and Antonis Rokas
Moderator: Charles Marshall
“We don’t have better algorithms than anyone else; we just have more data”, Google’s Chief Scientist Peter Norvig recently proclaimed. Will phylogenetic big data end model-based inference as we know it? Is more data always better? Or do we simply need better models? Join David Hillis, “better models” advocate, and Antonis Rokas, “more data” advocate, as they debate the future of phylogenetics.
11:30-1:00 Lunch Break (but see NSF session, below)
12:00-1:00 (Union: Parker, 2nd floor) NSF outreach session
Maureen Kearney and David Mindell
Meet and greet / question answer session with NSF officers. Bring your lunch.
1:00-3:00 (Union: Kuenzel, 1st floor): Lightning Talks A
1:00-3:00 (Union: Pendleton, 2nd floor): Lightning Talks B
1:00-3:30 (Union: Pond ABC, 1st floor): iEvoBio software bazaar
See lightning talk schedule at bottom of page, sections A and B.
We will be running lightning talks in parallel with the iEvoBio software bazaar. Look for a detailed schedule of each after May 1. The software bazaar will be an opportunity for developers of open source software and potential users to informally interact. Developers should bring a laptop with their software available on it. Developers must first register here (free). Space may be limited.
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-5:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel discussion: Species concepts are outmoded and hinder progress in evolutionary biology
Chris Simon and James Mallet
Moderator: David Hillis
Are “species” a special taxonomic rank, more "real" and definable than subspecies or genera? Most species concepts lack realism and are difficult to apply; but are they nonetheless useful as ideals? Do species play a special role ecologically and/or in biodiversity studies? Or can we do away with species altogether? Are subspecies evolutionary dead ends? How have long-term field studies, advances in phylogenetic, population genetic, and genomic methods changed our views of species?
5:00-6:30: Reception in Dinosaur Hall of Museum of Zoology (not the University Union)
Friday, May 22
All events in University Union, unless otherwise noted. See floor plans on right side of this page.
8:00-9:00 am (optional, RSVP required): Tour the NEW University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Facility
We are pleased to offer a tour of the new facility for the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ) and the University of Michigan Herbarium. While our state-of-the-art facility is still under construction, the Herbarium collections, the fluid preserved UMMZ collections and ancillary facilities are accessible for visiting. Both the UMMZ and the Herbarium are internationally recognized centers of biodiversity research and teaching. The UMMZ collections include approximately 15 million specimens of fishes, mollusks, insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. The Herbarium has 1.7 million specimens of vascular plants, algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens. If interested, please contact Priscilla Tucker, [email protected], by May 19. We will have a van for transport leaving the front of the Michigan Union at 7:45am
9:30-11:30am (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel Discussion: Molecular dates are reliable and provide a robust foundation for interpreting the history of life
Charles Marshall and Blair Hedges
Moderator: Elizabeth Jockucsch
Molecular phylogenies enable us to infer divergence times between lineages, even for groups without a fossil record. How reliable are these estimates? Are they sufficiently robust to serve as a foundation for developing evolutionary explanation? When molecular and paleontological estimates of divergence times disagree, which estimates are more reliable and why? Come join Blair Hedges (on the affirmative) and Charles Marshall (on the negative) debate the proposition that “molecular estimates of divergence times are essentially reliable”.
11:30-1:00 Lunch Break
1:00-2:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Lightning Talks C
See lightning talk schedule at bottom of page, section C.
2:00-3:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): iEvoBio Panel Discussion: Break on through to the other side: How to start in software development
Many of the researchers presenting workshops on their software started out as empirical biologists with no programming experience. With the rise of scripting languages like R and Python this has become an even easier career path. This will be a series of short presentations and then panel discussion about adding the ability to write open, reusable software to your toolkit. It is open to all attendees of this meeting; dropping in after seeing some lightning talks, or leaving to see others, is possible.
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-5:00 (Union: Rogel Ballroom, 2nd floor): Panel Discussion: Accurate inference with comparative methods? The field isn’t paying enough attention to learning the limits of what we can know
Wayne Maddison and Cécile Ané
Moderator: none
What are the limits of knowledge that can be gained by studying biological diversity today? It is recognized that evolutionary trends over time cannot be seen in modern taxa without comparisons to fossil data. Does this have implications for geographical ancestral area reconstructions? More generally, should our field be paying more attention to learning about limitations? For instance, can gradual evolution be distinguished from evolution by jumps in the absence of paleontological data? Even with the availability of paleontological data, how can our statistical models properly account for pseudo-replication?
Lightning talk schedule for Thursday (Sections A and B, running in parallel) and Friday (Section C)
You can download the lightning schedule in tab-delimited text here. We have also extended the lightning timer app from past Evolution meetings to use our schedule; to put this on your computer (Mac), download the zipped application here (it is large (35 MB) since it includes its own copy of Java, which is absent on many Macs). Source code is at https://github.com/bomeara/lightningtimer, and it can be run within Processing or compiled for Windows or Linux.
| ssblightning.tsv |
| Section | Time | Category | Name | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1:00 | Next gen | Dan Gates | A genomic approach to resolving the backbone of Iochroma (Solanaceae) |
| A | 1:05 | Next gen | Richard Hodel | More than SNPs: mining chloroplast sequences from a RAD-Seq data set |
| A | 1:10 | Next gen | Oscar Vargas | Genome Skimming Elucidates the Phylogeny of the Recent Diplostephium Radiation on the Andes and Uncovers Two New Genera |
| A | 1:15 | Next gen | Liz Alter | Phylogenetics of river cichlids using ddRAD data |
| A | 1:20 | Next gen | David Salazar-Valenzuela | Phylogenomics of the ultimate pitviper (Bothrops asper), an almost-model organism |
| A | 1:25 | Next gen | Elizabeth Wade | Resolving the cicada genus Kikihia phylogeny using hybrid enrichment data |
| A | 1:30 | Next gen | Matthew Miller | ultraconserved elements at the tips: using UCEs to explore secondary contact in a Panamanian avian suture zone |
| A | 1:35 | Next gen | Lukas Musher | Untangling phylogenetic relationships in the Neotropical Becards (Pachyramphus) |
| A | 1:40 | Next gen | Felipe Zapata | Better integrating the components of phylogenetic analyses |
| A | 1:45 | Next gen | Gregg Thomas | Accounting for error in next generation sequence data |
| A | 1:50 | Next gen | Rachel Schwartz | Rapid identification of phylogenetically informative data from next-gen sequencing reads |
| A | 1:55 | Next gen | Kevin Liu | Stochastic Models and Algorithms for Large-scale Comparative Genomics under Complex Evolutionary Scenarios |
| A | 2:00 | Next gen | Jeremy Brown | The effect of sequencing strategy on the amount and quality of phylogenetic information |
| A | 2:05 | Next gen | Jason Macrander | Transcriptomics with a scalpel, not a hatchet. |
| A | 2:10 | Next gen | Gregory L. Wheeler | Tuning knobs, transcriptomes, and functional microsatellites |
| A | 2:15 | Systematics | Alex Pyron | Total-Evidence Timescales in Amphisbaenia |
| A | 2:20 | Tree inference | Joseph Walker | Simulating the issues involved with using mitochondrial data to resolve mammal phylogenies |
| A | 2:25 | Tree inference | Hernan Vazquez Miranda | Comparing trees based on structural metrics from phylogenomic data |
| A | 2:30 | Tree inference | Deren Eaton | Efficient and adaptive search of quartet tree space for phylogenomics |
| A | 2:35 | Tree inference | Luay Nakhleh | Inference of reticulate evolutionary histories |
| A | 2:40 | Tree inference | Ruth Davidson | Species Tree Inference in the Presence of HGT and ILS |
| A | 2:45 | Tree inference | Mark Miller | The CIPRES RESTful services for Tree inference on large compute resources |
| B | 1:00 | Biogeography | Guanyang Zhang | Biogeography of Caribbean weevils highlights the importance of founder-event speciation |
| B | 1:05 | Diversification | Paola Pulido-Santacruz | Extinction as a key driver of avian latitudinal diversity gradients |
| B | 1:10 | Diversification | Lillian Hancock | Parakeelya, the amazing Australian radiation you have never heard about |
| B | 1:15 | Gene tree species tree | Fabio Kuriki Mendes | Apparently accelerated rates of substitution can be caused by gene tree discordance |
| B | 1:20 | Gene tree species tree | Yuan Tian | Distribution of gene tree histories under coalescent model with gene flow |
| B | 1:25 | Morphometrics | Jonathan Chang | Crowdsourced morphometrics for large-scale analysis of phenotypic data |
| B | 1:30 | Phylogeography | Pascal Title | Landscape genetics of Australian skinks |
| B | 1:35 | Phylogeography | Brian T. Smith | Large-scale phylogeography of New World Birds |
| B | 1:40 | Phylogeography | Arianna Kuhn | Phylogeography of an endemic group of Malagasy snakes |
| B | 1:45 | Phylogeography | Karen Ober | Phylogeography of trogolobitic beeetles |
| B | 1:50 | Species delim | Melissa DeBiasse | Discordance between morphological and molecular species boundaries among Caribbean species of the reef sponge Callyspongia |
| B | 1:55 | Species delim | Vijay Ramesh | Identifying cryptic lineages within an endemic frog genus (Indirana) in the Western Ghats |
| B | 2:00 | Species delim | Ron DeBry | Species delimitation in Ravinia |
| B | 2:05 | Species delim | Ariadna Morales | Species delimitation of the westernlong-eared Myotis Bats using approximated likelihood |
| B | 2:10 | Species delim | Priscilla Tucker | The role of genome functional organization in shaping the species boundary |
| B | 2:15 | Trait evolution | Shauna Price | Ecological opportunity triggers a congruent burst of lineage and phenotypic diversification in a Neotropical ant lineage |
| B | 2:20 | Trait evolution | Paul Larson | Evolution of brooding in Sea Anemones |
| B | 2:25 | Trait evolution | Jennifer Hodge | Sexual selection and diversification of coral reef fishes |
| B | 2:30 | Trait evolution | Nathan Upham | Testing for adaptive radiation and ecological constraint in a major lineage of rodents |
| B | 2:35 | Trait evolution | Caroline Parins-Fukuchi | Using phylogenetics to understand reproductive evolution in primates |
| B | 2:40 | Taxonomy | Liz Miller | Equivalency of genera across the Tree of Life? |
| C | 1:00 | Comparative methods | Eric Goolsby | Comparative methods for function-valued and other high-dimensional traits |
| C | 1:05 | Comparative methods | Jan Schnitzler | Integrating fossil and molecular data to study modes and rates of trait evolution. |
| C | 1:10 | Comparative methods | Rosana Zenil-Ferguson | New Mathematical Model for Ploidy Evolution and Diploidization |
| C | 1:15 | Comparative methods | Dean Adams | Permutation tests for phylogenetic regression: What you shuffle matters |
| C | 1:20 | Comparative methods | Julienne Ng | Teasing apart tippiness |
| C | 1:25 | Tree inference | Orlando Schwery | MonoPhy: A simple R function to find and visualize monophyly issues |
| C | 1:30 | Tree inference | Nicholas Matzke | BEASTmasteR: Tip-dating with fossils in Beast2, using R to convert NEXUS data files to XML input |
| C | 1:35 | Tree inference | Ruchi Chaudhary | Constructing and Employing Tree Alignment Graphs for Phylogenetic Synthesis |
| C | 1:40 | Tree inference | James Degnan | Estimating rooted species trees from splits |
| C | 1:45 | Tree inference | Joanna Wolfe | Methods for dating trees in the absence of fossils |
| C | 1:50 | Tree inference | Cody Hinchliff | Software from the Open Tree of Life |
