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Dear Malacologists,
on behalf of the Organizing Committee of the 8th European Congress of Malacological Societies EUROMAL, I would like to thank you very much for coming to Kraków, and especially for very interesting presentations and posters, which was acknowledged by many participants. Altogether, there were 139 regular participants, including 32 PhD students. The participants came from 26 countries, with dominating Poland (35), UK and Spain (13, ex equo), and Germany (12). However, we had participants from so distant countries like Brazil (1), Japan (3), or USA (3). There were 73 oral presentations and 66 posters (+ ca 10 pieces of fine art).

The awards of the Scientific Committee for best PhD Student presentations went to:
I - David Willer
II - Alyssa Rita Frederick and Dagmar Rihova (ex equo)

Irina Ekimova have received the Amber Snail award for the best poster.

The next, 9th EUROMAL, will be organized by Karel Douda in Prague, 2020.

Thank you very much for this wonderful week,
finally "feeling relaxed and in control about things",
Tadeusz Zając
chairman of the Organizing Committee of 8th EUROMAL

Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the congress, after reviewing of the applications by experienced senior scientists, we have recommended the assignment for the travel awards, allowing to participate in 8th EUROMAL in Kraków, Poland. We got 7 applications in proper time, all with very good proposals, deserving to be supported. Nevertheless, the total amount assigned is 2000 GBP. According to MSL rules PhD students have priority. Thus, we decided to reimburse all costs to the all PhD students, and, if possible, to give some small money to those who applied; especially in the case of Ukraine, where financial situation of science is catastrophic, we find it important.

travel award winner	amount in GBP
S. Bakayeva	55
E. Somosa	300
F. Tang	464
A. Caro	300
J. Kemp	500
V. Modesto	300

The Society only funds grants after the conference has taken place as they require evidence the person has attended. Since MSL Membership Secretary Tom White will be attending the conference and will hand out travel awards to the recipients in pound sterling in person at Euromal in Kraków.
best regards,

T. Zając
(chairman of the Organizing Committee)

Dear Colleagues,
Due to the high volume of emails we have had over the last 48 hours asking for time extension, we have made the decision to extend the early bird registration and abstract submission deadline, to give few extra days to those that haven’t managed to get through unexpected obstacles.

The DEADLINE has been EXTENDED until 5th JUNE.

EuroMal becomes WorldMal - we registered participants from all continents, except for Australia and Antarctica!

See you in Kraków,

on behalf of the Organizing Committee,
Tadeusz Zając (chairman)

Status, Threats and Conservation of European Molluscs

By September 2017 we will have completed a species threat assessment of all c. 3000 species of land and freshwater Molluscs that occur in Europe. This will create one of the largest data sources for analysing where the species that are most at risk in Europe live, what types of threats are impact most species and the types of actions that will be required to bring species back from the brink.

Over 30 different scientists from many different European countries were involved in this process, which commenced in 2007 and has involved 6 different workshops, in Hungary, Switzerland, Sweden, UK and France.

This session could offer scientists to overview the datasets from several perspectives, from impact of longer term threats such as Climate Change, Invasives, Landscape management and Pollution through to analysis of regional trends, specific biomes (Terrestrial and Freshwater), islands vs continental faunas, karst regions and caves and differing trends between Gastropods and Freshwater Bivalves. National trend overviews would also fit into this session.

Organisers:
Mary Seddon
Eike Neubert
David Allen
Manuel Lopes-Lima

Taxonomy in the 21st century

Taxonomy – that is, in a broad sense, the description, identification, nomenclature, and classification of organisms – is a shrinking branch of science. In the age of molecular phylogenies taxonomy largely based on non-genetic characteristics is often deemed outdated. Particularly paleontologists regularly face criticism as to their limited sources of information. However, despite all the advances in genetics, taxonomy is still indispensable as it forms the basis for studies on biodiversity and biogeography and for assessing a species' conservation status, amongst others. Each analysis based on the evaluation of species traits rises and falls with sound taxonomy. The probably greatest difficulty in taxonomy has been the degree of subjectivity adherent to each taxonomist. Several techniques have been established over the past decades allowing scientists to gain a more objective view on a species' morphology and incorporate climatic, ecologic and (bio)geographic information. Complex mathematical methods such as geometric morphometrics and fractal dimension determination, derived from originally quite different fields of application, have enabled more precise species recognition and discrimination. Moreover, novel probabilistic approaches are being developed to facilitate semi-automated, machine-learning species identification based on a combination of various types of information, from genetic over morphological to ecological data. A major advantage of such techniques is the possibility to assess variation in the contributions of or conflicts among these different datasets.

We welcome all contributions to this session dealing with the abovementioned techniques or problems related to taxonomy, systematics and species concepts, both recent and fossil, with focus on particular case studies or from a general perspective.

Thomas A. Neubauer - University of Giessen

Ancient roots of modern groups

Andrzej Kaim (Institute of Paleobiology PAS, Poland); Steffen Kiel (Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden); Alexander Nützel (Bavarian State Collections, Germany)

Molecular phylogenies, though undoubtedly crucial for understanding the relationships between modern taxa, scratch only the surface layer covering the vast amount of taxa from the geological past—both from extinct and living clades. The fossil record is incomplete but so is also the biological record because only a few species and supraspecific clades are still alive. The meanders of evolution linked to changes through Earth history, including great extinctions and tremendous radiations, shaped the diversity we see today. Therefore, combining molecular with paleontological data, especially through time-calibrated molecular phylogenies, is indispensable in order to fully assess the image of animal tree of life. We propose to discuss several issues on the interface of paleontology and zoology in particular how to understand the fossil record of Mollusca, how to use fossils in calibrations of molecular clocks and how to deal with the vast number of extinct taxa and clades. We heartily welcome all talks dealing with methods or problems related to taxonomy, systematics and species concepts, both modern and fossil. In particular we invite all presentations of case studies dealing with the fossil record of particular major and/or important recent groups of molluscs. We would be happy to accept all contributions on extinct groups, which would address major evolutionary and phylogenetic questions.

THE MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON

Travel Awards to EUROMAL

We are delighted to inform that the Council of the Malacological Society of London (MSL) has agreed to provide Travel Awards to EuroMal:

• Applications must follow MSL rules and use the MSL application form. For example, grants are preferentially conferred on students and researchers without professional positions. The maximum amount for one of these awards is maximally £500 for Society members and £300 for non-members (it can be less). The application should have the support of the project supervisor. The closing date is 15th June. Grants are only given to conference participants, who are giving a talk or presenting a poster.

• All applications for travel to EuroMal 2017 should be sent to euromal2017@iop.krakow.pl, and the 8TH EUROMAL Organising/Scientific Committee will decide, who receives funding and how much, following MSL rules.

• Once the students to be funded have been selected, and the amount of funding for each student estimated, a list of names, email contacts and the amount to fund will be send to the MSL Awards Officer. A list of unsuccessful applicants (name and email) will also be send.

• The MSL will contact students to let them know whether they were successful and handle all the finances.

Invasive Alien Molluscs at the EUROMAL

Invasive alien species (IAS) are considered to be one of the most serious drivers of global biodiversity change, including extinction of native species. They also incur significant economic losses, negatively affect socio-cultural values and put human health and lives at risk. However, the full scale of the problem has only been recognised a few decades ago. This resulted into rapid increase in the number of studies on the causes and consequences of IAS introductions. Still, despite the growing interest and knowledge on the problem, and regardless of recent advancements at national and international regulatory and non-regulatory frameworks, the IAS problem has not been effectively addressed yet.
Infamous representatives of IAS can be found across all taxa, and molluscs are by no means an exception. Gastropods and bivalves have particularly bad reputation in this respect. The IUCN's selection of the 100 worst global IAS includes 6 molluscs and DAISIE lists 11 molluscs among 100 worst European IAS.
We propose to meet in Kraków and discuss the most important issues on the reasons and consequences of mollusc invasions in order to identify threats, main mechanisms of impact and find remedies. The general aim of the meeting would be to identify and focus research on strategic directions and to answer (or at least begin a discussion) some of the following questions: How to reliably distinguish between an alien and native species? What makes a small fraction of alien species introduced into a new area so harmful, while most of them are not? Will the climate change exacerbate or mitigate the problem? What are the mechanisms of alien species impact? How should this impact be measured?

Please join us in always sunny Gold Polish Autumn in Kraków, for both work and pleasure in September 2017 !

Best regards,
Ronaldo Sousa, Wojciech Solarz

Tadeusz Zajac, Chairman of the Organizing Committee

2nd announcement

Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the registration dates, fees and opening of abstract submission for the upcoming 8th EUROMAL.

Key dates:
20 February 2017 - registration & abstract submission open
31 May 2017 - registration, abstract submission, workshop proposals deadline
15 June 2017 - notification of abstract acceptance
15 July 2017 - late registration deadline

Call for abstracts
Submission - details at the abstract submission section; the deadline - 30 May 2017

Workshops proposals
The organizing committee invites proposals for max. half-day workshops to be held on the congress. The topics of the proposed workshops should be aligned with the general theme of the conference. Details on the proposal submissions can be found at the conference website.

1st announcement

Dear Colleagues,
Seven very successful Congresses of the European Malacological Societies have been held, each hosted by a national Society. Now it is our turn, and on behalf of the The Association of Polish Malacologists, it is our great pleasure to invite you to the historic city of Kraków, Poland, for the eighth Congress (8th EUROMAL) from 10th to 14th September 2017.

The Congress acts to bring together both young and experienced malacologists from across Europe and the wider world. The latest advances in all aspects of Malacology will be presented, including the use of malacological research in practical issues of pest control and medicine. It offers the chance to meet potential collaborators from many countries, and to present work in progress for constructive comment. There will be sessions covering all aspects of Malacology, determined by the number and relatedness of contributions as talks or posters. Here is the opportunity to showcase your work and find new contacts. Please join us in always sunny Gold Polish Autumn in Kraków, for both work and pleasure in September 2017 !

We will update the site as we progress.

We look forward to seeing you!

Tadeusz Zając on behalf of the Association of Polish Malacologists.
e-mail: euromal2017@iop.krakow.pl

https://www.facebook.com/euromal2017/