Number 11 February, 1997

Congress on Palaearctic Mollusca. Don't forget the "International Congress on Palaearctic Mollusca", Munich, September 1-4, 1997, organized by Gerhard Falkner on behalf of U.M., under the auspices of the Friedrich-Held-Gesellschaft. Compared to the well-known three-yearly U.M. congresses, this meeting is an intermediate U.M.-supported international congress on a more restricted theme. During the General Assembly in Washington, 1998, we will discuss this kind of U.M. activity. I would like to thank Gerhard Falkner and his Committee most cordially for their initiative and all the work that they have done.

World Congress. Much progress has already been made by the Washington, 1998, Congress Organising Committee, as can be read elsewhere in this Newsletter. They deserve our warmest thanks! I would like to emphasize once more that having a U.M. Congress in the U.S.A. is not a problem for our European members. It's not very far, it's not very expensive, and it's certainly no less international than before! We hope to see many European members in Washington in 1998.

Travel Grants. There will be a limited number of U.M. travel grants for the 1998 Congress, for registered students and "needy" malacologists giving papers or posters. For rules and an application form, ask the Secretary.

New Council Members. The present Secretary will not be standing again. Thus a successor is needed, to be elected during the General Assembly in Washington in 1998. Please, think about candidates for the position of Secretary and members of the Council, or ask for information. We need volunteers prepared to work hard for Unitas and malacology. Voting forms will probably be send with the next Newsletter.

Next millennium. The U.M. Council will soon be deciding on the venue for the 2001 U.M. Congress. Council has decided that it should be in Europe, but no decision has been made as to where. We need proposals, so please write the Secretary, or another Council Member.

U.M. Web site. The NL is on WWW and a home page will probably be developed associated with Mollia, thanks to David Lindberg.

Edmund Gittenberger.

Last summer and autumn I sent reminders and invoices to members for payment of membership dues. The response was very favorable. Not less than 50 % of members payed their dues, many of them one to three years in advance. May I add a gentle reminder to the other 50 % of the invoiced members ?

Many thanks also to those who contributed voluntarily to the Trust Fund: Sergio Angeletti, Bram Breure, R.A.D. Cameron, Barry Colville, Fernando Ghisotti, Toshie Kawano, Winston Ponder, Willy Sleurs, Brian Smith, Jezus Troncoso, André Verhecken, Thomas Wilke and special thanks to Dr.h.c. J.G.J. Kuiper.

Jackie L. Van Goethem

International Congress on Palaearctic Mollusca. Munich, Germany, 1-4 Sept. 1997.

See announcement in NL 10 and the separate announcement and registration forms with this newsletter.

This congress will include a two-part conference on the Ecology and Taxonomy of Freshwater Mollusca, the first part to be held in Salzburg, Austria, between 19th and 21st February 1997 (see below), and the second part between the 1st and 4th August 1997, in Munich.

 As part of the UNITAS Congress on Palearctic Mollusca, this symposium will be held at Salzburg, Austria on February 20-21, 1997. Details and program available from Dr. Robert A. Patzner, Institute of Zoology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria. Phone 43 662 8044 5619, Fax 43 662 8044 5698, Email robert.patzner@sbg.ac.at.

 A joint meeting, combining the 13th International Malacological Congress of Unitas Malacologica and the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Malacological Union. Saturday, 25 July - Friday, 31 July, 1988.

 Three symposia will be at the center of the '98 Congress, beginning with keynote addresses on the afternoon of July 26, and continuing in the plenary morning sessions during the following three days:-

 Refining Molluscan Characters. (Organizers: Dr. Timothy M. Collins, Florida International University,

Miami; Dr. Gerhard Haszprunar, Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich; Dr. Diana Lipscomb, George Washington University, Washington, DC; Dr. Winston F. Ponder, The Australian Museum, Sydney). The underlying evolutionary framework of modern comparative biology requires phylogenetic reconstruction. However, hypotheses of phylogenetic relationship are only as good as the characters on which they are based. Major progress has occurred in the analysis of molluscan data, but our embracing of cladistic methodologies also requires a similar maturation in how we recognize, select and define characters and their states. This symposium presents an overviews of each of the major classes of data sets, including anatomy (gross, histological, ultra-structural), shell morphology, molecular, behavioral, and development. It will also examine how we define characters and their states, assess character homology, deal with noise and gaps associated with each of the data sets, as well as future directions in the refinement of molluscan characters and their states.

 Interactions Between Molluscs and Humans. (Organizers: Dr. Philippe Bouchet, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris; Dr. George M. Davis, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dr. F.G. Hochberg, Santa Barbara Museum, California; Dr. Gerrardo Vasta, Center for Marine Biotechnology, Baltimore, Maryland). Molluscs have provided us with food, tools, barter, and decoration. They have also killed us with venom, poisoned us with toxins, and infected us with parasites. We use them as model organisms to study ecological interactions, physiological tolerances, and as bio-indicators for the health of our mutual environment; we have also driven many of them to extinction. In this symposium we present examples and overviews of current uses of molluscs in medical research, biodiversity studies, and fisheries. The intent of this symposium is to: (1) bring to the international malacological community's attention molluscan research and applications that reside outside our typical scope, and (2) explore and establish contacts, potential interactions, and information exchanges between these disparate group all of whom share molluscs as the common denominator in their work.

 The Molluscan Fossil Record -- Bridging Temporal Scales in Molluscan Biology. (Organizers: Dr. Satoshi Chiba, Shizuoka University, Oya; Dr. Douglas Erwin, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Dr. David Reid, The Natural History Museum, London). The fossil record for molluscs is one of the deepest and richest available for the direct documentation of evolutionary pattern. However, too often research programs in malacology draw artificial boundaries between living and fossil molluscs, thereby depriving workers of the insights and continuity that the fossil record provides. During the last 15 years sophisticated geochemical, morphological, statistical, and even molecular analyses have been used to investigate fossil patterns and explore associated processes. Molluscan-based research into biomineralization, extinctions, stratigraphic completeness, and paleoecology have greatly benefited from these new approaches. This symposium will feature the newest techniques and methodologies for unlocking the history of molluscan biology from the rock record as well as exploring potential future malacological research venues devoid of temporal limits.

 In addition to the Symposia, there will be numerous focus sessions of contributed papers covering a wide range of other topics. These focus sessions, scheduled for the afternoons of July 27-30 (and, probably, for July 31) will also attempt to address broader themes in the field of malacology. Rather than providing a forum only to taxonomic or geographic subunits, contributed papers will be grouped into themes to facilitate broader interaction. This approach is a deviation from past meeting arrangements, in which all cephalopod workers may end up in room A, freshwater bivalve people in Room B, and the marine snail types in Room C. While the former arrangement enhances interaction within the individual taxon-based community, it may be somewhat counterproductive to the idea of coming together for a world meeting of malacology and exchanging thoughts, approaches, and data amongst ourselves. Rather than "locking" participants by the default of the particular taxon they study into a room for the duration of the meeting, we hope that the plenary sessions in the morning and the "theme" approach in the afternoon will encourage a wider interaction across our individual niches. This does not slight focused taxonomic activities. Instead, it is an attempt to look beyond the usual "in-groups" of meeting participants, by sharing our data and interpretations following common threads of our biological discipline - malacology. For the necessary shoulder rubbing with our respective in-group peers, there will be "Taxon Night" to compare notes.

 Topics of the potential focus sessions as currently envisaged are:

Assessing Biodiversity

Behaviour

Biomechanics

Conservation Efforts

Ecology

History & Philosophy of Malacology

Life History & Reproduction

Phylogenetics

Phylogeography & Biogeography

Population Genetics

Taxonomy.

 Site and Housing.

 The Smithsonian Institution will host the meeting, which will take place at the S. Dillon Ripley Center and the National Museum of Natural History. Inexpensive dormitory housing and meal plans will be available at George Washington University (GW), which is situated a short distance from the Smithsonian Institution in Foggy Bottom (yes, that is a place name). A large block of university rooms has been reserved for participants seeking inexpensive accommodations. (A smaller block of rooms also will be reserved at a nearby hotel for those who are not so constrained.) Participants will be housed in GW's largest residence hall, Thurston Hall, which is located at 1900 F Street, Northwest. This is in close proximity to the Smithsonian's conference facility on the Mall, which is accessible by metro (subway), taxi, or car. Participants may walk the short distance to the metro station, approximately four blocks, for a ten minute ride to the Mall. Parking is available at GW at an approximate rate of $10 US per day. Washington is served by three major airports, including Dulles Airport, which is a hub for international arrivals.

 Single and double occupancy rooms will be available at the residence hall (we assume that many participants will opt for a double occupancy room). The cost for this will not exceed $40 per person. Additionally, rooms for three, four, and five persons will be available upon request. Each air-conditioned room has a private bath and is furnished with a single bed, dresser, desk, and chair for each person. Sheets and towels are provided.

Smoking is permitted in the rooms, although in cases of shared rooms, all individuals must agree on this. Breakfast will be provided (for an extra fee) for participants each morning in the Thurston Hall cafeteria. Thurston Hall also is located within easy walking distance of other sites of interest in the Washington, D.C. area. The dorm is three blocks from the White House and only minutes away from various monuments and museums. The Georgetown area, which is well known for its shopping and fine restaurants, is an approximate 15-20 minute walk from the dorm. And, yes, there will a variety of evening events and entertainment.

 1998 Congress Organizing Committee.

Dr. Robert Hershler (hershler.robert@nmnh.si.edu) - AMU President '98 & Local Organizer

Dr. Rüdiger Bieler ( bieler@fmnh.org - President, Unitas Malacologia

Dr. Philippe Bouchet ( bouchet@cimrs1.mnhn.fr)

Dr. Elinor Michel ( emichel@biology.lsa.umich.edu)

Dr. Pablo Penchaszadeh ( ppenchas@usb.ve)

Dr. Winston Ponder ( wponder@extro.ucc.su.oz.au)

Dr. John Taylor ( j.taylor@mailserver.nhm.ac.uk)

 Rüdiger Bieler, President, UM, Dept. of Zoology/Invertebrates, The Field Museum, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, U.S.A. Phone 312 922-9410 (ext. 270), Fax 312 663-5397, Email bieler@fmnh.org.

The organizing committee for the 1998 World Congress of Malacology in Washington invited the submission of designs for a logo symbolizing this event via Mollusca. The logo will be used in official correspondence associated with the meeting and also in the design of T-shirts and possibly other memorabilia to be distributed during the meeting. The closing date was last Dec. Dr Hershler, who organised the competition, received about 6 entries and a choice will be made by March 1st. The "winner" will receive free registration for the 1998 meeting as well as other amenities.

Worldwide mollusc species database. See last newsletter. Contact: Gary Rosenberg. Email rosenberg@say.acnatsci.org.

CLEMAM (Check List of European Marine Mollusca). See last newsletter for details. Available at http://www.mnhn.fr/base/malaco.html. Managed by Jacques Le Renard and Serge Gofas. Email gofas@cimrs1.mnhn.fr.

 There has been some debate, initiated on Mollusca by Alexandre G. Soares (Zoology Department, University of Port Elizabeth, P.O. Box 1600, Port Elizabeth - 6000, South Africa), as to whether there should be an electronic molluscan journal similar to The Fish and Fisheries Research e-journal (http://www.lsoft.com/FFResearch/). Suggestions include using such a format not only for refereed papers but also for illustrations (including animation and audio), non-refereed reports and faunal lists. However, Barry Roth (on Mollusca) warns against undocumented faunal lists because the reader cannot check identifications. There will no doubt be much further discussion on this matter.

 A wife and her husband were having a dinner party for all the major status figures in Rome, Italy. The wife was very excited about this and wanted everything to be perfect. At the very last minute, she realized that she didn't have any snails for this dinner party, so she asked her husband to run down to the beach with a bucket to gather some snails. He grudgingly agreed. He took the bucket, walked out the door, down the steps, and out to the beach. As he was collecting the snails, he noticed a beautiful woman without a bikini top strolling alongside the water just a little further down the beach. He went back to gathering the snails. All of a sudden he looked up, and the beautiful woman was standing right over him. They got to talking, and she invited him back to her place. They were at her apartment and started messing around. It got so hot and heavy that he was exhausted afterwards and passed out.

 At seven o'clock the next morning he woke up and exclaimed, "Oh no!!! My wife's dinner party!!!" He gathered all his clothes, put them on real fast, grabbed his bucket, and ran out the door. He ran down the beach all the way to his apartment. He ran up the stairs of his apartment. He was in such a hurry that when he got to the top of the stairs, he dropped the bucket of snails. There were snails all down the stairs. The door opened just then, with a very angry wife standing in the doorway demanding to know where he's been all this time. He looked at the snails all down the steps, then he looked at her, then back at the snails and said: "Come on, guys, we're almost there!".

Arthur E. Bogan has taken up a new postion as Curator of Aquatic Invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences where he will be curating and building a small but growing collection of molluscs, especially freshwater taxa. The museum is rapidly expanding, currently building a new building due to open in 1999, and a new wet collectiion facility scheduled to be completed later this year. Contact: North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, P.O. Box 29555, Raleigh NC 27626, USA. Tel. (919) 733-7450, Fax. (919) 733-1573, Email AEbogan@Zeus.Jersey.Net.

Andrew McArthur, the coordinator of DEEPSEA, has successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation and taken up a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship with Dr. M.G. Harasewych. The DEEPSEA Research Newsgroup: BIONET.BIOLOGY.DEEPSEA will continue - Email subscription info: http://darwin.ceh.uvic.ca/deepsea/deepsea.html(see also under Theses below).

Paula M. Mikkelsen has moved from the Delaware Museum of Natural History to the Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural History Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024-5192, USA. Phone 212 769 5244, Fax 212 769 5783, Email < mikkel@amnh.org (pending).

Timothy A. Pearce is now in residence (since Jan. 1997) at The Delaware Museum of Natural History (see details on the DMNH below).

Janice Voltzow has moved to the Dept. of Biology, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510-4625, USA. Phone 717 941 4378, Fax 717 941 6369, Email voltzowj2@uofs.edu.

Tim Pearce invites members of the malacology research community to take advantage of the extensive molluscan collection at DMNH through on-site visits, specimen loans, and computer search requests. He offers these notes about the Museum. It specialises in molluscs and birds, having 2 million+ mollusc specimens of 15,000+ species in 200,000+ cataloged lots, thus ranking as one of the top ten malacology museums in the U.S.A. Worldwide in scope and covering all major molluscan groups, holdings comprise marine Gastropoda (ca 50%), land and freshwater Gastropoda (25%), marine Bivalvia (15%), freshwater Bivalvia (5%), as well as Cephalopoda, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, and Aplacophora. Most specimens are Recent and dry-preserved; but there is also a notable amount of alcohol-preserved and Cenozoic fossil material. The type collection contains 1215 lots. The library (about 10,000 volumes) includes journals, an extensive reprint collection, and many rare and old books on molluscs. The DMNH is the newest major malacology museum in the U.S.A., having grown rapidly since 1957 largely through acquiring collections. The collection is presently 71% computerized. Loans can be made to individuals at bona fide institutional addresses. A $500 scholarship for travel expenses is offered this year to a graduate student to use our malacology collection and library for collections-based research leading to publication. In addition to our various displays on molluscs, the Museum's 25th anniversary is to be celebrated with the opening of the new long-term exhibit, the Wall of Shells, in March 1997.

DMNH is five miles north of Wilmington on route 52, located conveniently close to the Eastern corridor (I-95). We are 2.5 hours north of The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, 1 hour south of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and 2.5 hours south of the American Museum in New York. Be sure to schedule a visit to DMNH when you visit these other museums. For more information contact Timothy A. Pearce, Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike, P.O. Box 3937, Wilmington, DE 19807-0937, U.S.A. Phone 302 658 5004 or 302 658 9111, Fax 302 658 2610, Email tpearce@wittnet.com.

Unitas meetings - see listing above.

11th. International Pectinid Workshop, 10-15 April 1997, La Paz, Mexico. Contact: Esteban Felix Pico, Cicimar-Ipn, A. POstal 592, La Paz B:C:S: C.P. 23000. Fax 52 112 25322, Email efelix@vmredipn.ipn.mx.

Special Sesssions at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association (NSA) . April 20-24 in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, USA.

Association For Tropical Biology, Organization For Tropical Studies, Annual Meeting and Symposium "Tropical Diversity, Origins, Maintenance, and Conservation", 15-20 June 1997, San José, Costa Rica. For further information: Dr. Jorge A. Jimenez, OTS, P.O. Box 676-2050, San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica, Tel Phone (506) 240-6696, Fax (506) 240-6783, Email: atbots@ns.ots.ac.cr www: http://www.ots.ac.cr/www: http://www.ots.duke.edu/.

63rd Annual Meeting, The American Malacological Union, Santa Barbara, California, June 22-27, 1997. The meeting will be held jointly with the 30th annual meeting of the Western Society of Malacologists. Two major symposia are scheduled: (1) Deep-Sea Mollusca, convened by Jerry Harasewych [Division of Mollusks, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560. Phone 202 786 2073;, Fax 202 357 2343, Email mnhiv006@sivm.si.edu], and (2) Traditional vs. Phylogenetic Systematics, convened by Gary Rosenberg [Malacology, The Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195. Phone 215 299 1033, Fax 215 299 1170, Email rosenberg@say.acnatsci.org]. There will also be a special ses sion on the cephalopods of the North Pacific chaired by Eric Hochberg [Invertebrate Zoology, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Rd., Santa Barbara,California 93 019. Phone 805 682 4711 (ext. 318), Fax 805 569 3170, Email inverts@sbmnh.rain.org]. General informati on from Eugene V. Coan, President, AMU, 891 San Jude Avenue, Palo Alto,California 94306-2640 , USA. Phone 415 493 8242 (Home), 977 5681 (Office), Fax 415 977 5799, Email gene.coan@sierraclub.org OR Henry Chaney, President, WSM, Invertebrate Zoology, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, Santa Barbara, California 93105, USA. Phone 805 682 4711 (ext. 334), Fax: 805 569 3170, Email inverts@sbmnh.rain.org.

XV Brazilian Malacology Meeting (XV EBRAM), Federal University of Santa Catari na, Florianoplois, Brazil, July 21-25 1997. President of organising committee Prof. Dr. Maria Cristina D. Mansur. For information write to XV EBRAM, XV Encontro Brasileiro de Malacolog ia, Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul - Pucrs, Instituto De Biocirncia s, Av. Ipiranga, 6681, predio 12A, sala 211 90619-900 Porto Alegre - RS, Brazil. Phone/Fax 0055 5l 3391511 3148 Email ebram@music.pucrs.br or Prof. Alvaro Fonseca, Av. Ipiranga, 6681, pridio 12 sala 34, 90619-900 Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil - Cx.P. (Box) 1429. Phone 051 339 1511 R. 3340, Fax 051 339 1564, Email afonseca@music.pucrs.br.

The Seventh Marine Sciences Latin American Congress, 22-26 September 1997, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The languages of the meeting will be Portuguese, Spanish and English. In formation from:- Comissao organizadora do VII COLACMAR, a/c Silvia Helena de Mello e Sou za, Instituto Oceanografico da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Praca do Oceanografico, 191- Ci dade Universitaria, Butanta, 05508-900, Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. Email colacmar@org.usp.br.

3rd International Abalone Symposium. (See UMNL 9) October 1997, Monterey, California.

The 3rd. Latin American Malacological Congress, 13-17 October 1997, Ensenada, Mexico. Organised by the Committee for the Latin American Malacological Meetings. The first was held in Caracas, Venezuela in 1991, the second in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1995. Contact: M.C. Claudia Farfan, Jefe Departamento de Acuicultura, CICESE, Baja California, Apdo. Postal 2732, Ensenada, BC, Mexico. Phone 617 44501/06 or 45050/53, Fax (in Mexico) 617 44880 (in USA) or 011 52617/44880. Email contact: Dr. Martha Reguero reguero@unamvm1.dgsca.unam.mx.

The 3rd Latin American Congress of Malacology will be held together the Fourth Mexican Congress of Malacology and Conchology, in Ensenada, Baja California, 13 - 17 Oc t, 1997. Information is available at: http://www.cicese.mx/oceano/acuicultura/iiiclama.htmlor by writing to Claudia Farfan, Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior d e Ensenada, Baja California. Km. 107. Carretera Tijuana - Ensenada, Apartado postal 2732, E nsenada, BC. Mexico. Phone 617 450 50 to 53, ext. 24421, Fax 617 642 25, Email cfarfan@cicese.mx, IIIclama@cicese.mx or cfarfan@cicese.mx, or Martha Reguero Reza, Email reguero@mar.icmyl.unam.mx.

 The other 99% - The Conservation and Biodiversity of Invertebrates. Aust ralian Museum, Sydney, 9-12 Dec., 1997. For further information contact Dr. W.F. Ponder (see contact details on first and last page).

 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (formerly the American Soci ety of Zoologists), Boston, Jan. 3-7, 1998. Symposia of special interest include 1 ) Coral Reefs and Environmental Change: Adaptation, Acclimation or Extinction? 2) Evolut ionary Relationships of Metazoan Phyla; 3) Development and Evolutionary Perspectives of M ajor Transformations in Body Organization, and 4) Origin and Further Evolution of Circula tory Systems. The last will "review current knowledge on the origin of circulatory syste ms, including fluid mechanical design, the function of molluscan circulatory systems, an d the evolution of red blood cells." For further information on the meeting, contact the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60 611-4267, U.S.A. Phone 800 955 1236, Fax 312 245 1085, Email sicb@sba.com. Alan Kohn (President).

 Reports on meetings

Molluscs 97. Symposium on the molluscs of the Indo-West Pacific and Australasian region, Rottnest Island, Western Australia, organised by Dr F. Wells for the Malacological Society of Australasia was held on 1-4th Feb., 1997. About 60 participants from 16 countries attended. This is the first of regular three yearly meetings planned by the MSA in the Asian-Australasian region. The next meeting will be in Sydney, in 2000.

 The first meeting of the Southern California Unified Malacologists (SCUM) was held on 11 January 1997 at San Diego State University. SCUM is an informal group of malacologists and does not have any officers, dues or publications. There were twenty-one attendees from the San Diego, Los Angeles and Berkeley areas. The next meeting will be held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History on an unspecified date in 1998. Contact Terry S. Arnold, 2975 B Street, San Diego, CA 92102,.USA. Phone (619) 235-8181, Fax (619) 235-0016, Email tarnold@cts.com.

 List of meetings. Coan, E.V. and Kabat, A.R., 1996. Annotated catalog of malacological meetings, including symposia and workshops in malacology. American Malacological Bulletin, 13(1/2): 129-148. A very useful addition to the literature, even though a few Australian meetings were missed!

 Proceedings