2011 Courses
Pan American Advanced Studies Institute: Advanced Tunicate Biology: Integrating Modern and Traditional Techniques for the Study of Ascidians
Dates: |
June 9 – 30, 2011 |
Location: |
Bocas del Toro Research Station |
Registration Fee: |
(Includes room and board): $800 |
Organizer: |
Rachel Collin, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama |
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This course is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OISE-1034665, ³PASI: Advanced Tunicate Biology: Integrating Modern and Traditional Techniques for the Study of Ascidians". Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. |
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Course Participants
Course Description
This is a 3-week course for advanced international graduate students, post-docs, and young investigators in state-of-the-art methods and concepts for the study of sea squirts (ascidians/tunicates, Phylum Chordata).
These invertebrate chordates are the sister group to the vertebrates and are the subject of one of the hottest research areas at present: elucidating and understanding the phylogenetic origin of the vertebrates and the origin of vertebrate patterns of embryology, endocrinology, immunology, and other systems. Benthic tunicates are rapidly increasing in profile and importance, as local anthropogenic introductions lead to the rapid invasion of exotic species in coastal areas around the world. Similarly, recent studies highlight the importance of ascidians for the extraction of compounds effective against tropical diseases and cancer.
The PASI will combine lectures, laboratory exercises, and fieldwork led by a diverse group of established experts and young professionals in one of the richest ascidian faunas of the Caribbean (Bocas del Toro, Panama).
The workshop will include:
- Lectures on recent advances in ascidian taxonomy
- Identification and systematics
- Training in methods for DNA barcoding
- Modern imaging and bioinformatics approaches to curation of samples
- Hot-topics lectures on symbiosis, chemical ecology, evo-devo, and invasion biology.
All these, as well as a thorough grounding in basic physiology and developmental biology, which are necessary to a full understanding of ascidian biology. The application of modern bioinformatics and molecular methods has been key in the recent rejuvenation of systematic and taxonomic studies. This intensive training in modern biodiversity methods combined with strengthening of traditional approaches will foster the development of new ideas and methods, which will advance tunicate biology throughout the Americas and the world.