By José Leal

Join us to examine the threats faced by the world’s second most diverse group of animals

On May 22–24, 2016 the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island, Florida, will host a conference devoted to the threats to the second most diverse group of animals on Earth.

The 2.5 day Mollusks in Peril forum will bring together the country’s foremost experts on current large-scale threats to molluscan populations to discuss, through presentations and panels, the challenges facing mollusks. 

As our planet is subjected to unprecedented rates of human-induced environmental change, populations of mollusks inhabiting a wide range of habitats are being exposed to exceptional amounts of ecological stress. These stressors include, but are not limited to, alterations caused by climate change and other large-scale environmental disturbances. 

Mollusks in Peril will facilitate an in-depth conversation on the possible ecological drivers of extinction risk, the synergies that enhance ecological stress, and the taxonomy, ontogeny, and geography of change in and risk to marine, freshwater, and terrestrial mollusks. Join the forum to discuss the results of pertinent research on the effects of large-scale change on mollusks.

More information? Check the forum’s web site www.mollusksinperil.org for more information and updates. See you on Sanibel in 2016!