CAnMove Winter Newsletter 2013

One more year has passed with CAnMove activities and it has been a highly active year with extraordinary progress and development. We have now passed the midterm and move on to the final part of the 10-year program. Some of the recent activities are listed below.

1    1)      I wish to welcome Caroline Bolmeson to her new job as a project assistant for CAnMove. She will start her job in January 2014. Caroline will assist in CAnMove administration 40% of full time. Her first day at work is 8 January 2013. We look forward to work with Caroline and welcome her to CAnMove. 

      2)      The CAnMove book “Animal movements across scales” is now sent to the Publisher, at Oxford University Press. It will be printed in late spring 2014. I would like to thank Lars-Anders Hansson for coordinating the book production in the most excellent way, and thanks also to all authors who made the book possible within the stipulated time. The production of the CAnMove book was one of the milestones we set out to achieve within the first half of the program period and I am happy that we have been able to meet the goal as planned. I also hope for many readers among upcoming PhD course participants.    

      3)      This year’s PhD course on “The Ecology of Animal Migration” was a true success with 35 participating students. The course was excellently coordinated by Rachel Muheim, Anders Hedenström, Tom Evans and Christina Rengefors with helpers, and was much appreciated by participants, visiting lecturers and in house participants. Thank you all for your great work! 

      4)      The latest workshop on “Dispersal” was also excellently coordinated by Sylvie Tesson, Karin Rengefors and Katarina Hedlund welcomed some 50+ participants to gather in Lund and discuss the progress of this topic. The most recent ideas and future perspectives are summarized in upcoming publications as a result of the workshop. In line of several workshops held at CAnMove the one on dispersal has contributed to make CAnMove a melting pot where research ideas and progress of animal movement are discussed involving members and international expertise.  Well done!

      5)      I am very grateful to Helena Westerdahl for all her work for CAnMove in the steering committee and I wish her best of luck with her new job coordinating the research school GENECO. Maren Wellenreuther has taken on the new position in the steering committee and will continue to be a member in the new Board which has been formed and will start the work in January 2014. The CAnMove Board consists of Susanne Åkesson (head), Staffan Bensch, Lars-Anders Hansson, Dennis Hasselquist (new member), Anders Hedenström, Maren Wellenreuther, and Kaj Hultén (PhD representative). Cecilia Nilsson is serving as the substitute PhD student representative in the Board. I am looking forward to work with the new board for future development of the program.

      6)      Helena Osvath is updating our home page and there are currently several new projects which have been published. Please, make sure that your projects are updated, and contact Helena for new presentations or if you wish to modify old presentations. The aim is to get the English version of the home page updated first and to translate all texts into Swedish as a second step.

      7)      You may present your recent research findings at the CAnMove blog. Blog posts are most welcome, and to facilitate use you may contact Helena Osvath to be able to join the group of bloggers. However, if you need help to publish your blog, please contact Helena or Christina and they will assist.

      8)       The technical development of novel microdataloggers is proceeding as planned and the CAnMove database is now taking form. There will be update meetings and invitations for closer interactions with members of CAnMove the coming half year to facilitate progress. Please, support Johan Bäckman, Arne Andersson, and Mats Svensson in their work to make this possible when requested.

      9)      The 28 January 2014 the VR evaluation committee will have a site visit at CAnMove and the initial part of January will be dedicated to prepare this site visit, involving members of CAnMove. More information will be sent out in January.
   
      Last but not least I would like to thank all CAnMove personnel for their dedicated, excellent and most appreciated work for CAnMove in 2013. I also wish to acknowledge all members of CAnMove for making our Research Centre such a creative and inspiring place to interact and work. I hope there will be many exciting scientific discoveries to come in 2014!
   
      Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
      Susanne