Encuesta: curso de la WHS en México?

La Willi Hennig Society (WHS) ha organizado varios talleres internacionales sobre cladística (Finlandia, República Checa, EUA). El taller sobre métodos filogenéticos de este año será en Ohio a finales de Junio. En Latinoamérica ya se ha realizado uno en Argentina (2002) y van dos en Brasil (2008, 2010). El próximo año, durante la reunión de la WHS en Sao Paolo, posiblemente se realizará uno más.

El propósito de esta nota es explorar mediante una encuesta (en la columna de la derecha) cuanto interés hay en traer el curso de la WHS a México. Como parte del inicio de la organización de un POSIBLE curso intensivo de la WHS para ofrecerse en Xalapa (México) en el 2011, necesito tener una idea del interés en este curso. Dependiendo de eso podría solicitar fondos a diferentes instituciones. Ya está en tramite la solicitud de apoyo a la Secretaria del Posgrado del INECOL. También se ha iniciado el contacto con la WHS, por supuesto.

Fecha?
2011. Probablemente Junio. Obviamente la semana todavía por decidir. De concretarse estos planes, el anuncio de la fecha definitiva se hará en aviso posterior en este blog.

Lugar:
Instituto de Ecologia, AC. Xalapa, Ver (México). Sitio web: http://www.inecol.edu.mx/joomla/

Profesores invitados:
Dr. John Wenzel et al.
En las once ediciones anteriores del curso de la WHS han participado varias combinaciones de cuatro a seis profesores. He estado en contacto con el Dr. Wenzel y él coordinará el grupo de profesores, todavía por decidir. Para tener una idea de quienes PODRÍAN venir a Xalapa, la siguiente es la lista de los investigadores que han participado en los talleres anteriores (alfabéticamente):

• James Carpenter (American Museum of Natural History, New York),
• Jonathan Coddington (Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC),
• Cyrille D'Haese (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris),
• James Farris (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm, Suecia),
• Gonzalo Giribet (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University),
• Pablo Goloboff (Instituto M. Lillo, Tucuman),
• Mari Källersjö (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm, Suecia),
• Diana Lipscomb (George Washington University, Washington DC),
• Kevin Nixon (Cornell University),
• Christopher P. Randle (Sam Houston State University), y
• Ward Wheeler (American Museum of Natural History, New York).

Reconocimento oficial:
El curso y taller intensivo consistirá de al menos 40 horas, De Lunes a Viernes. Podrá acreditarse como "curso a nivel posgrado". Se tramitará el reconocimiento oficial, para los que lo necesiten, a través de la Secretaría del Posgrado del INECOL.

Cualquier pregunta, comentario, sugerencia, por favor déjenla AQUI.
Muchas gracias por su participación en esta encuesta.

Si lo desean, pueden enviarme un correo electrónico para hacer una lista de los interesados en recibir los avisos futuros.
Efraín

Inició la Reunion WHS XXIX

Computer cladistics / ¡Cladística a la lata!: Hennig XXIX – Día 1 (23 mayo 2010)

Ayer fue el primer día de presentaciones del Hennig Meeting. He aquí una pequeña reseña de las diferentes presentaciones.

Primero Clifford Morden, Mark Siddall y Jyrki Mouna dieron la bienvenida, Clifford menciono un poco sobre la planta que aparece en el logo del meeting, que es una planta famosa del ecosistema hawaiano. No recuerdo si es Cyrtandra, pero bueno. Luego se dio paso a las presentaciones ya de los papers.

Pei-Luen Lu hablo sobre Dracaena y Pleomele, una grupo de plantas tropicales con una taxonomía bien confusa, su análisis fue bien molecular. Shaena Montanari hablo sobre la filog de los Anguimorfos, un grupo de lagartos que incluye a los Monitores, el mounstro del gila, los extintos Mosasaurios y un montón de lagartillos. Me pareció bien interesante que con su análisis de evidencia completa, si solo se usan los actuales, la topología preferida es la tradicional, pero al incluír los fosiles (que no tienen ADN) el resultado se parece más a los sugeridos inicialmente con moleculas!

LEER MAS ::>>

Picante: R tools for integrating phylogenies and ecology

Picante: R tools for integrating phylogenies and ecology -- Kembel et al. 26 (11): 1463 -- Bioinformatics

Steven W. Kembel,*, Peter D. Cowan, Matthew R. Helmus, William K. Cornwell, Helene Morlon, David D. Ackerly, Simon P. Blomberg and Campbell O. Webb.

Abstract

Summary: Picante is a software package that provides a comprehensive set of tools for analyzing the phylogenetic and trait diversity of ecological communities. The package calculates phylogenetic diversity metrics, performs trait comparative analyses, manipulates phenotypic and phylogenetic data, and performs tests for phylogenetic signal in trait distributions, community structure and species interactions.

Availability: Picante is a package for the R statistical language and environment written in R and C, released under a GPL v2 open-source license, and freely available on the web (http://picante.r-forge.r-project.org) and from CRAN (http://cran.r-project.org).

BioSystematics. Berlin 2011

BioSystematics Berlin 2011

First Circular
21 – 27 February 2011
www.biosyst-berlin-2011.de
The Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum at the Freie Universität Berlin (BGBM) and the Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin (MfN), are pleased to be the host institutions for the 7th International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology (ICSEB VII), 12th Annual Meeting of the Society of Biological Systematics (Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik, GfBS), and 20th International Symposium “Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology” of the German Botanical Society (DBG).
The scope of this joint congress is to bring together evolutionary biologists and systematists working on plant, animal, and microscopical organisms to discuss and debate topics of common interest. The focus will be on innovative and forward-looking ideas, concepts, and methods in systematic and evolutionary biology. It will also provide a unique opportunity to highlight topics of biodiversity. We hope to attract many researchers from different fields to this congress and look forward to welcoming you in Berlin in February 2011.

Venue
The congress will be held at the Seminaris Science & Conference Center conveniently located in
Berlin-Dahlem, on the campus of the Freie Universität Berlin.

Topics
The congress will open with a plenary lecture on Paradigm Shifts in Systematics and Evolution.
Further plenary talks will be on the following five major conference topics:
• Trends in Taxonomy
• Evolution and Organisms in Time and Space
• The Evolutionary Thought: History, Philosophy and Society
• Evolution of Form and Function
• Inventorying and Managing Biodiversity
An evening lecture on Alexander von Humboldt’s scientific work on tropical biodiversity will be
given.

Call for Symposia
Proposals for symposia are currently being invited. For submitting a proposal, please contact the
congress office at berlin2011@bgbm.org. Proposals corresponding to the five major conference
topics are especially encouraged, but all relevant topics will be considered by the organizers.
The deadline for submission of symposia proposals is 31 May 2010.

Contributed Papers and Call for Abstracts
The contribution of papers for oral or poster presentations are encouraged. All participants
interested in presenting a scientific contribution are kindly requested to submit a one-page
abstract in English to the congress office together with their registration.
Abstract submission and registration start 1 July 2010, deadline for abstracts and early registration is 30 September 2010.

Workshops and Satellite Meetings
Pre- and post-congress workshops are planned on different topics and will be announced in the
second circular. Organizers of additional workshops and satellite meetings are welcome. Please
contact the congress office at berlin2011@bgbm.org.
Deadline for workshop proposals is 31 May 2010.

Time Schedule and Deadlines
31 May 2010 Call for workshops & symposia closes
1 July 2010 Abstract submission and online registration opens
30 September 2010 Deadline for submission of abstracts and early registration
21 – 27 February 2011 Congress

For individual pre-registration please contact the congress office. Your coordinates will be added
to our mailing-list.

Organizing Committee
Prof. Dr. Thomas Borsch (IOSEB President, BGBM)
Dr. Regine Jahn (GfBS President, IOSEB Secretary General, BGBM)
Prof. Dr. Dirk Albach (Section ‘Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology’ of DBG, Speaker)
Dr. Peter Giere (GfBS Council, MfN)
Prof. Dr. Werner Greuter (IOSEB Council, BGBM)
Dr. Christoph Häuser (MfN)
Jana Hoffmann (GfBS Council, MfN)
Dr. Cornelia Löhne (BGBM)
Dr. Diana Mutz (Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, DCPS)
Dr. Michael Ohl (GfBS Secretary General, MfN)

Congress Office and Contact
Birgit Nordt, berlin2011@bgbm.org
Mailing address:
Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Freie Universität Berlin
Königin-Luise-Str. 6-8, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Phone: ++49/30/838 50 383, Fax: ++ 49/30/841 729 52

Becas disponibles mediante el programa CNPq (Brasil) + TWAS 2010

CNPq-TWAS FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAMMES
2010 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Young scientists from developing countries (other than Brazil) are invited to apply to the 2010 CNPq- TWAS Fellowships programmes.
The fellowships offered by the CNPq-TWAS Fellowships programmes allow scientists from developing countries (other than Brazil) to study or to do research in natural sciences in Brazil and then to return home to continue their careers.
The 2010 CNPq-TWAS Fellowships programmes offer the following types of fellowships:

- Full-time postgraduate/doctorate fellowships: The CNPq-TWAS Postgraduate Fellowships are tenable at research institutions in Brazil for a period of up to 48 months and are awarded to students from developing countries (other than Brazil) to enable them to pursue studies leading towards a PhD degree in the natural sciences.
- Sandwich postgraduate/doctorate fellowships: The TWAS-CNPq Sandwich Postgraduate Fellowships are tenable at research institutions in Brazil for a period of a minimum duration of 6 months, renewable for up to a maximum of 12 months, and are awarded to students from developing countries (other than Brazil) to enable them to develop part of their PhD course in the natural sciences in Brazil. Under the sandwich programme, applicants must be registered for a PhD degree in their home country.
- Postdoctoral fellowships: The TWAS-CNPq Postdoctoral Fellowships are tenable at research institutions in Brazil for a minimum period of 6 months to a maximum period of 12 months. They are awarded to scientists from developing countries (other than Brazil) to enable them to pursue postdoctoral research in the natural sciences.
----
READ MORE ::>>

Picante's coming out party

The EEB & flow: Picante's coming out party

.... a new R package, picante has been created by Steve Kembel and colleagues which runs many of the same routines as in phylocom, but in the R framework, allowing one to tie these analyses in better with other, non-phylogenetic tests. Picante also has a number of features and tests not found in phylocom, including tests of phylobetadiversity and phylogenetic signal using Blomberg’s K.

LEER MAS ::>>

Beca para Tesis Doctoral en filogenia de crustáceos decápodos ibéricos

Propuesta de beca/contrato para realizacion de Tesis Doctoral - Puerto Real

El proyecto de investigación: “Aplicación de técnicas morfológicas y moleculares en la identificación de estados larvarios planctónicos de crustáceos decápodos ibéricos”(CGL2009-11225) ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Plan Nacional I+D+I), y se desarrollará de enero de 2010 a diciembre de 2012. En el contexto de este proyecto se oferta la posibilidad de solicitar una beca/contrato FPI para realizar una Tesis Doctoral.  
El objetivo principal de este proyecto es optimizar la aplicación de técnicas moleculares, en concreto el análisis de secuencias de ADN mitocondrial, conjuntamente con técnicas morfológicas, para facilitar la correcta identificación de las megalopas de los braquiuros ibéricos colectadas en el plancton y, posteriormente, poder realizar descripciones detalladas de la morfología de las mismas. Las nuevas descripciones junto con las ya existentes permitirán elaborar una clave ilustrada, dirigida a investigadores y técnicos, que facilite la correcta identificación de estos organismos tan importantes en las poblaciones planctónicas. Así mismo se realizarán estudios de filogenia molecular en los taxa (superfamilias, familias o géneros) que están bien representados en la Península Ibérica, y de los que ya existen datos para especies de otras áreas. Esto ayudará a conocer las relaciones filogenéticas, y en su caso modificar la sistemática, de algunos grupos hasta ahora poco estudiados, así como revisar la validez taxonómica de algunas especies. 
La realización de esta Tesis Doctoral implicará el uso tanto de técnicas tradicionales en taxonomía y filogenia (estudio de los caracteres morfológicos de adultos y larvas), como el de técnicas moleculares, particularmente el análisis de secuencias de ADN mitocondrial. Será necesario realizar periódicamente trabajo de campo, colecta de larvas en el plancton, así como trabajo diario de laboratorio. 

Se busca por tanto un/una candidat@ con licenciatura en Biología o Ciencias del Mar, con fuerte motivación por la investigación científica. Con disponibilidad para viajar tanto por España como por el extranjero, e incluso realizar estancias breves en Centros de Investigación de otros países.Se valorará un buen nivel de inglés (hablado y escrito), conocimientos previos de fundamentos de taxonomía y filogenia, experiencia previa de laboratorio en técnicas moleculares básicas, posesión de carnets de conducir y de buceador, y habilidad para el dibujo. 

El proyecto se desarrollará en el Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía, CSIC, situado en Puerto Real, Cádiz (www.icman.csic.es). Para más información contactar con José A. Cuesta (email)

OSU Cladistics Workshop, 2010

OSU Cladistics Workshop: "workshop on phylogenetic methods"

The Ohio State University will conduct its fourth workshop on phylogenetic methods in Columbus, Ohio, June 28 - July 2, 2010. The purpose is to provide further instruction and experience to students who already have some familiarity with phylogenetic analysis. The format is a series of lectures and laboratory sessions that will give students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the logic of the phylogenetic method, parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, tree search strategies, measures of support, DNA alignment, morphological character coding, and analysis of multiple and large data sets.

Lecturers are expected to include Cyrille D'Haese (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris), Kevin Nixon (Cornell University), Christopher P. Randle (Sam Houston State University) and John W. Wenzel (Ohio State University). The software used for the course will include WinClada, Encino, Mesquite, TNT, PAUP*, Clustal, POY, RaxML, GARLI, and MrBayes, and will be distributed with a course packet and workbook. You can see the planned syllabus here.

Cost for the workshop, is $1200. The workshop will be limited to 40 participants. Twenty Fellowships will be made available on a competitive basis. Fellowships cover lodging in a bloc of rooms rented by the workshop and $600 of fees paid directly to the workshop. Thus Fellows will be responsible for only a workshop cost of $600, the cost of transportation to and from the Ohio State campus, and meals. Other enrollees will be given a list of local motels that are close to campus.

An application consists of a completed application form, a current CV for the student, and a letter from the student’s advisor regarding the relevance of the course to the student’s career goals. Applications are due May 15, 2009, and notification of acceptance will begin by May 25. Please email all application materials to osuphylo@osu.edu. Further information may be obtained by emailing the same address..

This workshop is sponsored by the Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity (http://mbd.osu.edu), Department of Evolution Ecology and Organismal Biology (http://eeob.osu.edu) Organized by Marymegan Daly, John V. Freudenstein, and John W. Wenzel.

Rudimenthos: Revision Darwin, Metagenòmica y la "Nueva Ecologìa"

Rudimenthos: Revisiòn Darwin, Metagenòmica y la "Nueva Ecologìa"

.....
Éste es una breve revisión de metagenómcia y sus recientes avances en metagenómica y la aplicación de las herramientas de la biología molecular a la ecología. A nuestro entender, los enfoques metagenómicos representan una culminación del legado de Darwin como la aproximación al mundo natural visualizando individualmente a los organismos como el producto de su historia evolutiva delineada por su funcionamiento e interacción con su entorno abiótico y con otros organismos.
.....

LEER MAS:>>>

PhyloSeminar anuncia: Philippe Lemey speaking on Phylogenetic diffusion models

The next speaker will be Philippe Lemey speaking Friday, July 16
at noon PDT on "Phylogenetic diffusion models and their applications
in viral epidemiology."

Emerging infectious diseases continue to appear all over the world,
and importantly, they have also risen significantly over time after.
Having the potential to quickly adapt to new hosts and environments,
RNA viruses are prime candidates to emerge as global threats to human
health. Their rapid rate of evolution, however, also turns viral
genomes into valuable resources to reconstruct the spatial and
temporal processes that are shaping epidemic or endemic dynamics. In
this seminar, I will highlight recent developments in phylogenetic
diffusion models that tie together sequence evolution and geographic
history in a coherent statistical framework. Both discrete and
continuous phylogeographic models have recently been implemented in a
Bayesian statistical approach. I will position this approach among
other popular phylogeographic methods, and then focus on applications
in viral molecular epidemiology to demonstrate their use. Finally, I
will hint at future extensions that may provide entirely new
opportunities for phylogeographic hypothesis testing.

I hope you will be able to attend this exciting talk.

To attend this and other talks, learn how to connect ahead of time, and join the email list by sending an email to phyloseminar+subscribe@googlegroups.com.
If you can't make it, don't fret-- you can always watch the recording.


Thanks,

Erick

Nueva revista sobre Mastozoologia: Therya

La Asoc. Mex. de Mastozoologia ha lanzado THERYA, una nueva revista que pretende dar salida a la publicación de artículos sobre todos los aspectos de los mamíferos.

El contenido del primer número puede ser consultado en línea en:
http://www.mastozoologiamexicana.org/therya.php
Los artículos de este primer numero no son ni taxonómicos ni filogenéticos. Pero estemos pendientes de los próximos números y veremos si esta revista publica investigación filogenética.

IX Reunion Argentina de Cladistica y Biogeografía, Ciudad de La Plata

IX Reunión Argentina de Cladística y Biogeografía
15 al 17 de noviembre 2010 La Plata-Buenos Aires
SEGUNDA CIRCULAR
IX REUNIÓN ARGENTINA DE CLADÍSTICA Y
BIOGEOGRAFÍA
La Plata-Buenos Aires
15 al 17 de noviembre 2010
Organiza:
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo - UNLP

Nos dirigimos a ustedes para hacerles llegar la Segunda Circular de la IX Reunión
Argentina de Cladística y Biogeografía, que se realizará en la localidad de La
Plata, Buenos Aires, los días 15 al 17 de noviembre de 2010.
La Comisión Organizadora los invita a visitar la página web: http://www.racb2010.com.ar
En la misma encontrarán la información actualizada sobre la Reunión.
Sede
La Reunión tendrá lugar en la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo (FCNyM) de la
Universidad Nacional de La Plata, con sedes en el edificio de la avenida 60 y 122 y en
el Museo de La Plata situado en el Paseo del Bosque s/n, La Plata, Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
Actividades
Se organizan conferencias, simposios, comunicaciones libres y taller pos-reunión.
Programa preliminar
Las Conferencias plenarias estarán a cargo de:
-Dr. Jorge V. Crisci, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, UNLP, Argentina.
-Dr. Gonzalo Giribet, Harvard University, USA,
-Dr. Miguel Angel Arnedo, Universidad de Barcelona, España

Los Simposios agruparán una serie de ponencias sobre las siguientes temáticas:

• Problemas metodológicos Coordinador: Dr. Pablo Goloboff (CONICET, UN de Tucumán)
• Problemas empíricos Coordinador: Dra. Adriana Marvaldi (CONICET, IADIZA-CRICYT, Mendoza)
• Biogeografía Coordinador: Dr. Sergio Roig (CONICET, IADIZACRICYT, Mendoza)

Las Comunicaciones Libres podrán ser presentadas en forma oral o poster y serán
sometidos a evaluación por un Comité Científico.
El envío de resúmenes se realizará a través de esta página web (modalidad on-line),
entre el 1 de junio y el 31 de agosto del corriente. Al menos uno de los autores deberá
estar inscripto.
Las indicaciones sobre el formato de los resúmenes se brindarán en la próxima
circular.
Inscripción
Se realizará a través de la página web de la Reunión ( http://www.racb2010.com.ar )
a partir del 1º de junio.
Montos de inscripción
CATEGORÍAS 
Profesionales $300, Hasta el 31 de agosto de 2010 $400, Desde 1 de septiembre de 2010
Estudiantes de grado $150 $200
Formas de Pago
El abono de la inscripción podrá realizarse a partir de 1º de junio a través de:
- Depósito a la Cuenta Corriente BBVA Banco Francés Denominación: Fundación
Museo de La Plata “Francisco Pascasio Moreno”
Nº de Cuenta: 300379/6
Sucursal: 093 (Calle 47 nº 641, La Plata)
CBU: 0170093020000030037960
CUIT: 30-62526995-0
SWIFT: BFRPARBA
Para acreditar el pago, una vez realizado el depósito bancario, se debe escribir a la
dirección de correo electrónico: fundacion@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar, consignando los
siguientes datos: Apellido y nombres del inscripto, monto depositado, fecha del
depósito, nº de comprobante, banco y sucursal. Junto con este aviso adjuntar una
copia de la boleta de depósito.

- Mediante efectivo, tarjeta de crédito (Visa o Mastercard) o cheque (a nombre
de Fundación Museo de La Plata “Francisco Pascasio Moreno”) en la Secretaría de la
Fundación Museo de La Plata “Francisco Pascasio Moreno”, Museo de La Plata, en el
horario de lunes a viernes de 9 a 13 hs.
Contactos e Información
Para mayor información, consultas o sugerencias escribir a través del link “contacto”
de la página web de la Reunión.
Próximamente en la página web y en la tercera circular se ampliará la información
sobre:
-cronograma de actividades
-formato para el envío de resúmenes
-listas de hoteles y promociones de alojamiento
Le agradeceremos que difunda este documento entre sus colegas.

Coming up: Botany 2010

Botany 2010 Conference Overview

BOTANY 2010 will be held in Providence, Rhode Island July 31– August 4, 2010.

Societies participating in BOTANY 2010 will include:

• American Bryological and Lichenological Society (ABLS),
  
• American Fern Society (AFS),
  
• American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT), and
  
• Botanical Society of America (BSA).

READ MORE ::>

Marzo 29 en PhyloSeminar: Probabilistic analysis of gene families with respect with gene duplication, gene loss, and lateral gene transfer

On March 29th, phyloseminar.org will present Jens Lagergren speaking
on "Probabilistic analysis of gene families with respect with gene
duplication, gene loss, and lateral gene transfer."
NOTE: the seminar will begin at 10h PST, which is three hours earlier
than the previous seminars.
ABSTRACT
Incongruences between gene trees and corresponding species trees are
common. Gene duplication, gene loss, and lateral gene transfer are
three types of evolutionary events that can cause such incongruences.
I will first describe a probabilistic process that contains standard
models of nucleotide substitutions (i.e., such that underly
probabilistic methods for phylogenetic tree reconstruction) as well as
gene duplication and gene loss. This process takes place in a given
species tree and can be used to reconstruct a gene tree for a gene
family of interest and simultaneously reconcile the gene tree with the
species tree. I will describe the algorithms available for this model
and also describe how they perform on biological data compared to
competing methods. Finally, I will describe an extension of this model
that also contains lateral gene transfer and show how it performs on
synthetic data.


Hope to see you there!

Erick Matsen

Internship opportunity at the NHM, London

Taxonomy Trainee Scheme: Natural History Museum
As a response to the widely perceived decline in taxonomic and curatorial expertise, the Natural History Museum, London invites expressions of interest for taxonomy trainees. The aim is to enthuse and help train a number of people with a demonstrable interest in taxonomy and museum collections, by giving them an opportunity to learn taxonomic and curatorial skills under guidance from experienced staff in the environment of the Natural History Museum’s world famous specimen collections.
The traineeship will equip you with a range of basic taxonomic and curatorial skills and are suitable for individuals seeking further development in this discipline and who wish to experience this type of work.
This project is intended to be rolled out as a fee paying traineeship, but for the first year, as a trial, a small number of short-term (three month) traineeships will have the fee waived, and instead the Museum will provide daily allowances toward accommodation, subsistence and travel.
Traineeships will be available in the Departments of Botany, Entomology and Zoology. Dates of traineeships are negotiable with supervisors, but must take place between March and October 2010.
Successful applicants will have:

• a good general education to A-level or equivalent
• a demonstrable enthusiasm for natural history
• previous experience, however small, of handling animal or plant specimens
• attention to detail
• the ability to work with others
• the ability to work to deadlines
• a willingness to take on tasks with a positive attitude
• familiarity with standard computer software e.g. Word, Excel.

If you wish to apply, please send a letter outlining you interests, qualities and reasons for applying to the following address not later than 15th March 2010. Please state which department you have a preference for (you may apply to all of them but please make clear how your interests fit with each department).
Shazima Tejani
Taxonomy Traineeship Scheme
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 9BD
Email: s.tejani@nhm.ac.uk
The successful candidates will be involved in one of the following projects:
Taxonomy Traineeship Scheme:
1. Botany. Identification of type specimens in the Liverwort Herbarium This project involves tracing which specimens represent type material. It is very strongly taxonomy oriented and provides an opportunity to work in an internationally important botanical collection, learning the core skills of curation as well as specimen-based research.
2. Open Air Laboratory (OPAL) surveys. This is an opportunity to take part in a citizen science project. Some field work is involved and there may be limited week-end work.
3. Taxonomic and curatorial work in the Natural History Museum’s beetle collections. Beetles are the most diverse group of organisms on the planet, and the Natural History Museum’s collections are probably the most comprehensive in the world. The successful applicant will spend three months working on designated taxonomy and curatorial projects in the collections, learning essential skills from the Museum’s renowned team of coleopterists.
4. Taxonomic and curatorial work in the Natural History Museum’s Zoology Department. The Zoology Department's collections comprise 30 million specimens, 22 million of which are in spirit. The successful candidate will experience the diverse challenges of identifying and curating specimens from one, or several, zoological groups possibly including, but not necessarily limited to, fish, birds and lower invertebrates. Please state your preferences in your application.