A workshop will be held to evaluate the role of food web research as an integrative paradigm in community and ecosystems ecology. The meeting will follow a symposium/workshop format: 32 scientists will present papers with an anticipated 5-10 additional people attending. Invited participants are from the United States, Canada, and Europe, and include people working on theoretical and empirical aspects of food webs. The primary objectives of the workshop include: (1) to define the state of the art in food web research, (2) to explore commonalities in food web research using a variety of approaches and at different levels of organization and complexity, (3) to improve the integration of food web theory with other bodies of theory in community ecology, (4) to critically evaluate existing methodology in empirical food web research, and (5) to review the limitations and potential of food web approaches for resource management and agriculture. Workshop participants will make special efforts (1) to identify major areas of deficiency in the current body of food web theory and in empirical methodology, (2) to construct guidelines to address such deficiencies, and (3) to stimulate greater collaborative research. An edited multiple-authored book will be published by Chapman and Hall Publishers. %%% This conference is an important and timely forum for discussion and dissemination of information on empirical and theoretical food web research. Additional funds have been received from other sources making this a cost-effective workshop.
