9th International Seminar on Apterygota in Görlitz, Germany

Abstract

The 9th International Seminar on Apterygota – which took place in Görlitz, Germany in September 2014 – highly successfully provided new and exciting insights on this (paraphyletic) group of primary wingless Hexapoda. Presentations were at a high scientific level and ranged from deep phylogeny (using information from phenomics, ultrastructure, embryology and molecular biology) through taxonomy (including population-level studies) and basic biology and life history studies to the ecology of these animals. Thereby, many aspects of zoogeography, community ecology, adaptations to specific habitat types and reactions to environmental influences (including temporal changes, climate change and eco-toxicology) as well the role of these animals in ecosystem function were presented and discussed. Although often tremendously underrepresented in zoology, research in this group of Hexapoda is indeed global, very diverse and deals with almost all areas of biological sciences to a degree often not found in the research of other animal groups. The presentation of these diverse aspects of ‘apterygotan’ science (and the meeting of the scientific community involved) was once again found to be highly fruitful, with the different viewpoints of the varied aspects of biological science expanding and augmenting individual studies with new insights. This could be seen in the discussions, which often went beyond the individual studies to discuss higher order ideas and theories. Thinking ‘outside the box’ became commonplace.