The XVIIIth (New) International Congress of Zoology
Le XVIIIème (Nouveau) Congrès International de Zoologie
ATHENS, GREECE
28 August - 2 September 2000
The Protozoan-Metazoan boundary was an evolutionary jump whose origin (or origins) are being studied by researchers working independently in several different fields of science. As a result, breakthroughs in one field may have little or only a much delayed effect in another field. This symposium brings together leading experts from four of these fields who will present the state-of-the-art in their own backyard as a sound basis and potential trigger for debate. Firm evidence for this evolutionary leap can only be found in the palaeontological record. Recent fossil discoveries, such as metazoan embryos and sponge spicules from rocks of Proterozoic age, as well as improvements in geochronological dating, have helped us make significant strides in Proterozoic biostratigraphy, and are shedding light on the true course of early animal evolution (see Bengston below). Much can be learned about the environmental context (including changes in atmospheric composition, tectonic activity, biogeochemical cycling, global glaciations) in which these evolutionary transitions took place using both traditional and pioneering geological and geochemical methods (see Brasier below). Several strands of geological evidence suggest at least a temporal connection between metazoan evolution and surface oxygenation, however, there are robust arguments against what seems to be such an obvious link (see Hackstein below). Most speakers will address to what extent they believe it possible to marry the late appearance of metazoans as fossils with recent research in molecular phylogeny and zoology, which invariably imply earlier beginnings. Zoologists themselves have been at the forefront, having proposed several models for the transition of the phenotype from uni-to multicellular animals, which will need to be rigorously tested in the years to come (see Rieger below). The associated interdisciplinary discussion will highlight these and other topics; your active participation is most welcome.
The "Brush Phenomenon" - A Common Problem in Classical and Molecular Protozoan and Metazoan Phylogeny
Dr. Wilhelm Foissner
Institut für Zoologie, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
The Transition of the Phenotype from Uni-to Multicellular Animals
Dr. Reinhard Reiger
Innsbruck University, Austria
Metazoan evolution and the snowball earth: new perspectives on the Cambrian explosion
Dr. Martin Brasier
Oxford University, United Kingdom
The Protozoan-Metazoan Boundary: A Molecular Biologist's View
Dr. Johannes Hackstein
Nijmegen University, The Netherlands
Tracing Metazoan Roots in the Fossil Record
Dr. Stefan Bengtson
Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Sweden
POSTER CONTRIBUTION
Origin and Diversification of Metazoa: Superorganisms among the Ediacarans
R. A. Dewel, W. C. Dewel and F. K. Mckinney
ICZ XVIII RESOURCES