This award will support US participation in the IXth Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) - International Biology Symposium. The funds will provide partial travel support for about 25 US participants to travel to Curitiba, Brazil to attend the Symposium. The award will support the participation of under-represented groups, young scientists, and students who will be presenting oral and/or posters at the Symposium, and who are actively involved in research related to the symposium theme. The SCAR Symposium brings together polar scientists from around the world to discuss the latest research on the biology of Antarctica. This symposium is held every four years and will be in South America for the first time. The Symposium brings together the full spectrum of Antarctic biologists, from senior investigators to students, and provides an opportunity to present and discuss the most recent results from research on Antarctic organisms and ecosystems. These studies include research on Antarctic organisms and investigations of polar linkages to global and local climate events. Presentations will focus on studies of plants, animals, microbes and vertebrates, using molecular as well as ecosystem level approaches. Sessions are organized around the following themes: Evolution and Adaptation; Ecological Processes; Monitoring and Management; Patterns and Processes in Biodiversity; Molecular Approaches to Biodiversity; and Conservation Evolution and Biodiversity. Many national and international meetings have limited sessions on these topics, but there are no others that are solely focused on Antarctic biology.
