Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 20, 2006|Volume 35, Number 7

Symposium to explore impact of 'Bayesian Invasion' on phylogenetic biology

A symposium on the "Bayesian Invasion," to be held at Yale on Saturday, Oct. 28, will focus on phylogenetic biology -- the genealogical understanding of ancestor-descendent relationship -- and explore the central role it has come to play in the study of an ever wider array of scientific phenomena.

Molecular analysis now provides a vital framework for the inference of many diverse historical events, including changes in population size, rates of migration, past episodes of speciation and extinction, the timing of past biological events and understanding the assembly of ecological communities.

In the past five years, Bayesian inference -- a new statistical approach -- has generated a variety of new methods that are relevant to the research in these areas.

The forthcoming symposium features an international panel of invited speakers -- widely recognized as authorities in their respective areas of research -- to discuss new applications of Bayesian inference to several key problems in phylogenetic biology. Speakers will stress both the conceptual and theoretical aspects of these issues, as well as applications to their own work.

The event will feature presentations by Michael Donoghue and Joseph Chang of Yale, John Huelsenbeck of the University of California-Berkeley, Paul Lewis and Daniel Fan of the University of Connecticut-Storrs, Bruce Rannala of the University of California-Davis and Fredrik Ronquist of Florida State University.

The conceptual breadth of the subject matter is designed to encourage graduate students to identify and forge interdepartmental connections with other members of the community, and to interact with experts in the area of Bayesian phylogenetic research.

The "Bayesian Invasion" symposium will be held 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in Rm. 102 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High St. All are welcome to attend free of charge. For more information and online registration, visit the symposium website www.phylodiversity.net/bmoore/symposium/symposium.html.

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