This project will help support the continued development of the field of biogeography, an interdisciplinary study that integrates topics of importance in evolutionary biology, paleo-biology, conservation biology, and ecology. It will accomplish this through funding the travel costs of 40 US graduate students and post-docs to attend the annual meeting of the International Biogeography Society (IBS) in Merida, Mexico, in January 2009. The conference is organized to provide young scientists with networking and educational opportunities that will provide many benefits of broader impact to their professional development, as well as their intellectual development. The IBS meeting emphasizes interaction among scientists from diverse countries, institutions, and career stages, and is designed to highlight and explore the frontiers of the field, fostering the intellectual development of scientists and progress of the field. Additionally, this project significantly enhances international contacts between U.S. graduate students, foreign students, and other scientists of all career stages.
