THE RUSSIAN PARASITOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND THE SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY FOR PARASITOLOGY

ECOLOGICAL PARASITOLOGY ON THE TURN OF MILLENNIUM INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM St. Petersburg, RUSSIA 1-7 July, 2000

Second announcement

Welcome to Saint Petersburg

The Russian Parasitological Society (RPS) and the Scandinavian Society for Parasitology (SSP) have the pleasure to invite you to the international Symposium “Ecological Parasitology on the Turn of Millennium”. The Symposium will be held in St. Petersburg - Russian “window on Europe”, one of the greatest cultural, scientific and industrial centres of the Baltic Region, a magnificent city with innumerable architectural splendours.

The idea of the Symposium is to strengthen the professional ties between the adherents of the eastern and western branches of ecological parasitology, to enrich the knowledge of both and to develop new cooperative projects. The main trends and achievements in the evolution of ecological parasitology will be presented and discussed as well as the perspectives on the progress in this field in the coming millennium. We expect that the inspiring period of St. Petersburg “white nights” will help to consolidate the existing links between colleagues, initiate new fruitful contacts, promote cordial atmosphere of the Symposium.

St. Petersburg with its remarkable and dramatic history was the first international city in Russia. Many people from different countries, including Scandinavian, took part in the establishment of its glory. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in the Neva Delta in 1703, the young city was soon declared the capital of Russia and the main point for foreign trade. This led to the very rapid growth of its population and territory. The extensive granite embankments of the Neva River and its branches reflecting the facades of palaces, churches and towers of the brilliant Tsar metropolis have given St. Petersburg the name of “the Venice of the North”. One can admire here such masterpieces of the world architecture as the complex at the eastern tip of Vasilyevsky Island - “Strelka” (the building of the Zoological Institute is a part of it); Palace Square with the Winter Palace and the granite Alexander Column - the tallest of its kind in the world; the Peter and Paul’s Fortress - the cradle of the city, and one of the largest domed buildings on the Earth - St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

Nowadays St. Petersburg with its famous scientific and educational institutions, theatres and museums, libraries and archives plays the part of the cultural capital of Russia. The first Russian museum the Kunstkammer was opened here in 1714 (the Zoological Museum is its direct descendant). In 1724 Russian Academy of Sciences was established in St. Petersburg and remained in the city for more than 200 years. In 1819 the well-known St. Petersburg University opened its doors. Many schools of science took rise there: Prof. V.A.Dogiel’s school of ecological parasitology is among them.
 

Time and location

The Symposium will take place from Saturday, 1 July, to Friday 7 July, 2000 at the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences (Universitetskaya nab., 1) and the St. Petersburg State University (Universitetskaya nab., 7/9), Saint Petersburg, Russia. Both places are located close by, right in the historical city centre.
 

How to get there

There are regular scheduled flights from Europe, USA, Canada and the countries of the former Soviet Union to St. Petersburg. The international airport Pulkovo-2 is located within city limits. Municipal transport (bus No 13, every 20 minutes) connects airport with the nearest metro station ("Moskovskaya"). The participants from neighbouring countries can also use the train and bus services. The bus station and all railway stations (Finland, Moscow, Vitebsk and Warsaw Terminals) are very close to the city centre. For further information, please, consult your local travel agency.
 

Scientific program

The Scientific organizing committee is pleased to announce that 14 invited speakers will give lectures at general sessions on the following themes:

Andrew N. Alekseev, Helena V. Dubinina, Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia: Vector (tick) as ecological niche of different parasitic organisms.
Claude Combes, Universite de Perpignan, Perpignan, Cedex, France: Selective pressures and parasite strategies.
Dieter Ebert, Universitaet Basel, Basel, Switzerland : Ecology and genetics of Daphnia-microparasite interactions: which factors determine parasite distribution?
Kirill V. Galaktionov, Andrew A. Dobrovolskij, Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia: Ecological analysis of parasites with complex life cycles.
Eric P. Hoberg, Agricultural research service, Beltsville, USA: Seabirds, historical ecology and parasite life history in the marine realm.
Peter J. Hudson, University of Stirling, Stirling, U.K.: Parasites in wildlife management.
Clive R. Kennedy, University of Exeter, Exeter, U.K.: Freshwater fish parasites and habitat change.
Robert Poulin, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand: The evolutionary ecology of parasite-induced changes in host phenotype.
Oleg N. Pugachev, Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia: Infra- and component communities: comparative analysis.
Andrew Read, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K.: In-host community ecology of malaria parasites.
Arne Skorping, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway: What determines the longevity of parasitic nematodes?
E. Tellervo Valtonen, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland: At the core of the parasite communities: the problem of separating real structuring factors from the background noise.

The Symposium will accept oral or poster contributions on all aspects of ecological parasitology. A separate poster session is scheduled.Two workshops are planned to be organized in the framework of the Symposium: “Ecological-parasitological problems of NW Europe” and “Parasites of marine and coastal birds".
 

Language

The Symposium language is English. Presentations and discussions will be conducted in English. The Symposium materials will be published in English. No translation facilities will be available.
 

Preliminary symposium schedule

Participants are invited to arrive in St. Petersburg on Saturday, 1July. The registration will take place at the Zoological Institute on Saturday and Sunday, 1-2 July, from 9.00 to 18.00. The "Get-together" will be held on Sunday, 2 July (18.00-21.00), at the Zoological Institute, after 3 hours sight-seeing tour over the City (15.00-18.00).

The scientific program will take up between 10.00-19.00 on 3 July, 10.00-13.00 on 4 July, 10.00-19.00 on 5-6 July. The poster session is scheduled on 5 July. The Symposium banquet will take place in the evening on 6 July. Special excursion to the Hermitage for participants and accompanying persons is planned to be organized after the lunch on 4 July.

A full day Symposium tour to the Imperial Summer Residences, Peterhof and Pushkin, will be arranged on 7 July.

The detailed conference program will be available on registration in St. Petersburg.
 

Submitted papers and posters

All participants, including invited speakers, are invited to submit abstracts. Instructions on how to prepare the abstracts are enclosed (see the ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM). Abstracts should be sent together with the Abstract submission form, the Registration form and the copy of bank transfer (registration fee is to be paid at least by one of the authors) to the Organizing committee before 15 March 2000.

Articles, based on plenary lectures of the invited speakers, should be prepared in comphormity with the enclosed guidelines for invited speakers and sent to the Organizing committee before 15 April 2000.

Articles and abstracts are refereed before being accepted for publication in the Bulletin of the Scandinavian Society for Parasitology. The Symposium issue of the journal will be mailed to the participants after the meeting.
 

Presentations

Plenary lectures should not exceed 30 minutes, followed by a 10-minute discussion.

Submitted oral presentations will be limited to 10 minutes plus 5 minutes of discussion. Speakers are encouraged to keep to these time limits.

Overhead, slide and computer projectors will be available.

Submitted posters should be set up on Monday, 3 July and displayed until the end of the Symposium. The size of the poster boards should be not more than 90 cm wide x 110 cm high. Authors are requested to be at their posters during the poster session.
 

Support for postgraduate students and postdocs

Nordic Academy for Advanced Studies (NorFA) is going to support ten postgraduate students and postdocs from Nordic countries, wishing to give talks at the workshop “Ecological-parasitological problems of NW Europe”. In the case of getting financial support from other requested Foundations, Organizing committee will be able to sponsor another ten postgraduate students and postdocs from Baltic countries and NW Russia. Applications, including (i) an abstract to be presented at the Symposium and (ii) a Curriculum vitae, should be sent before 15 March 2000 to the Organizing committee (together with the Registration and Abstract submission forms).
 

Call for registration

Please, fill in the enclosed REGISTRATION FORM  and send it to the Organizing committee before 15 March 2000. The registration fee for active participants (220 $) will cover transport from airport/railway station/bus station in St. Petersburg, admission to the scientific program, printed materials handed out at registration (Symposium program, list of participants, abstracts etc.), the Symposium issue of the Bulletin of the SSP, coffee and tea breaks, four lunches (3-6 July), "Get-together", City tour. The registration fee for accompanying persons (50 $) includes transport from airport/railway station/bus station in St. Petersburg, "Get-together", City tour, coffee and tea breaks.
 

Accommodation

The Local organizing committee will arrange the hotel accommodation for the participants and accompanying persons. Reservations should be made on the Registration form. Deposit for the Hotel St. Petersburg - 80 $, for the Youth Hotel - 40 $.

The participants, wishing to stay at the Student dormitories, do not need to pay a deposit. Accommodation must be paid directly to the hotel in cash in Russian roubles before departure. The balance will be settled upon arrival.
 

Transportation to hotels after arrival to St. Petersburg

On Saturday, 1 July a shuttle (car or bus) arranged by the Local organizing committee will collect participants and accompanying persons from the airport, railway and bus stations. If you wish to use the shuttle, please, fill in the enclosed TRANSPORTATION FORM and send it by mail or Telefax to the Organizing committee as soon as possible. The service can be guaranteed only if the Transportation form is received before 1 June 2000.
 

Payment

The registration fee and the hotel deposit (see the Registration form) should be paid in US $ only by bank transfer to: The Scandinavian Society for Parasitology, Symposium ECOLOGICAL PARASITOLOGY ON THE TURN OF MILLENNIUM, Acc. no. 0530 0578138, Postbanken International, 0021 Oslo, Norway, SWIFT: PGINNOKK 0530 0578138.

The participants and accompanying persons, wishing to take part in the Symposium banquet (6 July), or/and the excursion to the Hermitage (4 July) or/and the Special Symposium tour (7 July), should add the costs to the sum of registration fee and the hotel deposit (see the Registration form). The name of the participant must be indicated on the bank payment. A copy of bank transfer should be submitted together with the Registration and Abstract submission forms and sent to the Organizing committee before 15 March 2000.

The balance will be settled upon registration in St. Petersburg.
 

Confirmation

Having received the copy of the payment, the Registration form, the Abstracts and the Abstract submission form, the Organizing committee will send you a confirmation of your registration and hotel reservation. Please, present this confirmation to the registration desk in St. Petersburg.
 

Social program

Open to all participants and accompanying persons: