Adelaide Conference on Mathematical & Evolutionary Biology 09

Monday

9:30am Delegates prepare for 10am departure to Pt Elliot. Meet at War Memorial, cnr of Kintore Avenue and North Terrace, Adelaide City. Close to Uni Campus, see here for Map of Adelaide
ETA at Pt Elliot around 12pm. Lunch is provided followed by presentations.

Venue at Pt Elliot: Surf Life Saving Club, right on Horseshoe Bay, #8554 3155

2pm start - Welcome address by Conference Convener, announcements about group activities and any schedule alterations.
Keynote talks

2:15-3:00 Mike Steel, Probability, trees and evolution
3:00 - 3:45 Peter Lockhart, A genetic view of New Zealand plant evolution
3:45 - 4:00 Mark Pagel, Phylogeneies, branch lengths and theories of speciation
4:00 pm Close
5:30 pm Welcome BBQ

Tuesday

----morning session Phylogeography ----

9:30 for 10:00am start
Steve Cooper, Comparative phylogeography of crustacean stygofauna from calcrete aquifers of central Western Australia: are they climate relicts?
Jeremy Austin, Historical phylogeography reveals extensive loss of phylogenetic diversity within Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi

---- afternoon session Phylogenetics ---- (lunch between 12:30-2:00pm)

Mareike Fisher, Curious properties of Maximum Parsimony in estimation evolutionary trees and ancestral sequence states
Mike Steel, Mixed up trees: The geometry of phylogenetic mixtures
Alethea Rea, Improved neighborNet networks
Peter Lockhart, Heterotachy and aequence evolution: Problems for phylogenetics
Alan Cooper, Issues surrounding temporal dependency of molecular rates
Pancho Pinilla, Student Talk, title TBA

Wednesday

--- Recreation Day, visit Things to do at Pt Elliot below---

Require a minimum of 14 for the Wine Tour. Please RSVP to Maria asap

Thursday

---- morning session MacroEvolution----

9:30am for 10:00am Start

Idalina Williams, Amino acid experimental research supporting origin of living cells incubated between muscovite laminae
Alan Cooper, Reconstructing mammoth haemoglobin
Ellen Nisbet, The evolution of photosynthesis

---- session on Population Genetics / Pacific----

Steffen Klaere, Inferring historic demographic changes from large SNP databases
Charles Pearce, New Zealand Maori Paleodemography

(lunch break 1:00pm - 2:30pm)

---- Models session ----

Klaus Schliep, Model-based clustering of gene trees
Michael Woodhams, Likelihood on heterogeneous data
Peter Jarvis, Symmetry groups and the systematics of phylogenetic models
Nigel Bean, Adaptation of Coral Reef Ecosystems

Conference Dinner at the Flying Fish - see here for Menu. Priced at $65 for 2 course meal or $75 for three course meal (exc dinks).

Interested folk should rsvp to Maria to secure a booking.

Transfers from Adelaide to Pt Elliot and return are available to delegates as part of their registration fee. Note this covers a transfer only at the start (Mon 20th April) and end (Frid 24th April) dates of the conference. Delegates who choose to arrive or depart outside the dates of the conference will have to make their own travel arrangement to Pt Elliot/return.

Premier Stateliner Coach operates a daily bus service. Please check their service times. Depart from Adelaide Terminal, 85 Franklin Street, Adelaide City. Service is from Adelaide City to Pt Elliot, Stop 10. Times of service are: 9:30am, 12:00pm; 3:00pm and 4:30pm. Return from Pt Elliot to Adelaide depart times are: 6:22am; 7:42am; 9:12am; 12:42pm; and 3:27pm. Allow for a 2hour drive.

Conference Bus service from Adelaide, City to Pt Elliot (allow for a 2 hour drive): Departs Adelaide (time TBA), expected time of arrival at Pt Elliot (TBA).

Things to do at Pt Elliot

Site seeing in South Australia

Wine tours(incl lunch)- Optional at $90 per person. Minumum of 14 people required in order for the Tour to go ahead. Please contact us and let us know if you'd like to do this to secure a booking

McLaren Vale Wine Tours, Wed 24th April 2009 with Alfie's Wine Tours. Bus is fully licensed so alcohol may be consumed in transit. An all important esky on board keeps those important beverages cold!!!

9:00am pickup form Pt Elliot, Surf Club
10:00am Pennys Hill Wines (anipasto platter after winery visit)
11:00am Woodstock Wines
11:45am Australian Boutique Premium Wines
12:45pm Parrie Estate. A three course lunch is provided at the winery amongst the gum trees. Lunch includes: Entree, Spring Rolls, Somosas, Mini Dim Sims with sweet chilli sauce. Main: Chicken, cashew, hokkien noodles & vegetable stir-fry. Sweets: fruit platter with a dipping chocolate fondue. Can cater for vegetarians.
3:00pm Oxenbery Farm Wines. Cafe latte and Brocegirdle fine chocolates are on offer for purchase.

5:30 Arrive back to Pt Elliot, Surf Club

Discovery Trail - Port Elliot
A brochure available at the Port Elliot Historical Centre, Railway Station (between The Strand & Young Street) includes a map and outlines nearly sixty attractions in the area around Port Elliot. There are 13 sites on the Coastal Walks including Aboriginal middens, the local blowhole and Watsons Gap at the end of Boomers Beach. There is a list of 28 buildings in the heart of the town (this is the Port Elliot Red walk) including the Hotel Elliot (built 1868), the Council Chambers (1879) in The Strand, the Library (1880) and Institute (1882) in Young Street, Young's General Store (the original was built in 1853) in The Strand, the Court House (1866) and Police Station including old court room (1853). There are a further 24 places of interest surrounding the central town area (this is the Port Elliot Blue walk) and this includes a number of particularly interesting buildings at the seaside end of The Strand.

Horseshoe Bay
Go for a swim in this sheltered bay. Follow the rugged cliff around the coast and explore the little bays and beaches.

Middleton Beach
This is a good spot for experienced surfers as well as for beginners. For surf-gear hire, head to Southern Surf Shop (8554 2376; 36 North Terrace, Port Elliot) or Big Surf Australia (8554 2399; Main Road, Middleton).

In Victor Harbor (info: http://www.tourismvictorharbor.com.au/)
Go to Port Elliot Station and take one of the heritage trains. The Cockle Train travels along the oldest steel railed railway in Australia dating back to 1887. After leaving Port Elliot the train climbs to the top of the coastal cliffs and passengers then experiemce some of the most picturesque coastal scenery on the Fleurieu Peninsula, with nothing separating you from the beach below and a perfect view of the Southern Ocean. Adult single $9, return $12, cash only. Timetables available at http://www.steamranger.org.au/marketing/CT_Apr.htm. For group bookings (10 people and more, 10% discount), please call Bev (8277 6020) so they can arrange for a supplementary carriage.

Granite Island Nature Park (free entrance. Info: http://www.graniteisland.com.au/)
You can walk over the causeway to Granite Island, or even ride the 1894 double-decker horse-drawn tram (one way $5). Then the Kaiki Trail (1.5km circuit) heads to truly spectacular views on the Southern Ocean. The island is also a rookery for little penguins, and the Penguin Centre ($6) details their breeding, habits and behaviour. You can also stay until dusk and enjoy the Guided Penguin Tour, a unique opportunity to witness the penguins haul out of the water then along the shore (6.30pm-7.30pm; $12.50, bookings are essential. Phone 8552 7555).

The Steam Train
The steam train, a reminder of the origins of the town and the whole region, only runs during the school holidays but it runs three times a day from Goolwa to Victor Harbor stopping at Port Elliot.

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