Scientists from around the world will converge on San Salvador next month for the 10th Symposium on the Natural History of The Bahamas at the Gerace Research Centre (formerly the Bahamian Field Station).
The biennial conference provides a forum for the presentation of results of relevant scientific research in The Bahamas and nearby areas, and promotes the growth of knowledge in the general area of Bahamian terrestrial and marine sciences.
Tom Moritz, director of library services at the American Museum of Natural History, will deliver the keynote address. A special tribute will also be given to the founders of the research centre, Don and Kathy Gerace. This husband and wife team have been associated with the field station since it was established in 1971 by a group of New York State colleges.
The field station occupies buildings that were part of American military installations built on San Salvador during the 1950s. It offers facilities for students, professors and researchers from around the world to study in a tropical environment.
Field trips during the conference will include diving on Gaulin’s Reef and in Graham’s Harbour, a Columbus tour and an archaeological tour of plantation ruins, an excursion to Green Cay to observe an endangered iguana colony, and an examination of mangroves and of the indigenous vegetation.
The published proceedings of these conferences have continued to expand knowledge in botany, entomology, ornithology and marine science.
