PLENARY SPEAKERS
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We are excited to announce the participation of three international plenary speakers for the upcoming HAA conference in November 2024 and a Travelogue! The speakers will be presenting on a range of different topics, taxonomic groups, and regions of Africa.
Plenary speakers have been supported by a donation from the
Carl Gans Collections and Charitable Fund
Tuesday - 26 November: Joint Plenary with the African Amphibian Working Group
Dr. Angelica "Engy" Crottini - "Evolution and conservation of the amphibians of Madagascar"
In this talk, Engy will provide a broad overview of Madacascar's amphibians, touching on topics such as taxonony, systematics, biogeography, chemical communication, disease ecology, and invasive species.
Biography: Engy Crottini graduated in Biology (2004) at the University of Milano (Italy), where she also completed a PhD in Animal Biology (2008). She later receive a postdoctoral grant to work on the evolution of Malagasy herpetofauna at the University of Braunschweig (Germany). In 2011 she moved to CIBIO (Portugal), where she secured numerous research grants that enabled her to foster her independent research career in the study of the amphibians and reptiles of Madagascar. Since 2018 she leads the Biogeography and Evolution unit at CIBIO, and since 2019 she is an Assistant Professor at the University do Porto. She is the regional Co-chair of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group for Madagascar. Her research is organised along the following four scientific lines: 1) Taxonomy and Systematics; 2) Biogeography and evolution of Madagascar biodiversity; 3) the role of chemical communication in anuran evolution; 4) Amphibian conservation. In a nutshell, A Crottini is interested describing the biodiversity of Madagascar, understand how this has evolved, and use this knowledge to suggest conservation measures.
Wednesday - 27 November
Dr. Francois Becker - "Whispers of the wilderness: a herpetology travelogue through Namibia, and more"
Namibia contains some of the last remaining vast expanses of arid wilderness, untainted by people. From the lonely Namib Desert to the riparian paradise of the Zambezi, Namibia contains a diverse range of ecoregions, breathtaking landscapes, and rare plants and animals. This travelogue talk will showcase some of the country's roughly 280 reptile and 60 amphibian species. These and other fascinating finds can be found on the backdrop of spectacular scenery, littered with herds of megafauna. Echoes of ancient peoples and bygone ecosystems are easily seen on your way through Namibia, as the land is rich with unique geological features, fossil beds, rock paintings, and archaeological sites. We will cover some quick tips on places to see, routes to drive, and things to look out for.
Thursday - 28 November
Prof. Aaron Bauer - "What We Do in the Shadows"
This plenary will cover Aaron's work on nocturnal geckos, but it also refers to the mysterious side of his work that people may not know about (stay tuned!). The emphasis will be on African geckos, but there will be links to more wide-ranging work as well.
Biography: Aaron M. Bauer is Professor of Biology and holds the Gerald M. Lemole Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA. He has authored 912 journal articles, books, and other publications, chiefly on the systematics, evolutionary morphology, paleontology, ecology, and biogeography of reptiles, especially lizards, and has described more than 300 new species of reptiles, including the largest known gecko and several 100-million-year-old fossils in amber. He first visited southern Africa in 1987 and has made more than 100 trips there since, with an emphasis on Namibia, the Northern Cape and Angola. Aaron maintains an active field research program in tropical Asia and the South Pacific and conducts research on the history of herpetology and museology. He currently serves as an editor or editorial board member of 12 national and international journals and edits the book series Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, Contributions to Herpetology, and The Emergence of Natural History. He has research appointments at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, California Academy of Sciences, National Museum of Namibia, Western Australian Museum, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and Stellenbosch University. He has served as President of the Herpetologists’ League, the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and the International Herpetological Symposium, Chairman of the Herpetological Association of Africa and the International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology, and Secretary General of the World Congress of Herpetology.
Friday - 29 November
Prof. Shai Meiri - "Herpetology in the Levant: reptiles at the crossroads of three faunas"
In this plenary talk, Shai will cover the diversity, distribution and conservation of reptiles at the crossroads of three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Biography: Shai chased lizards as a kid, got older and did a BSc and PhD at Tel Aviv University. He did a stint as a post-doc at Imperial College, London, but then went back to chasing lizards. He currently holds a position at the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University. Really loves reptiles, analysing datasets and discussing all herp related topics!
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