Successful conference on marine evolutionary biology

Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (CeMEB) celebrated 10 years of research with arranging the first international conference in Marine Evolution 2018 in Strömstad, close to the Marine National Park, Kosterhavet. 156 scientists from 24 countries (e.g. Canada, US, UK, France, Germany, Russia but also China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand and Brasil). Keynotes presentations and sessions on topics such as seascapes genetic structures, hybrid zones and speciation, marine evo-devo and functional genomics, as well as, climate impact, human-mediated dispersal and marine genomes and their evolution engaged the participants not only during presentations but also during informal discussions during "fika" and walk-and-talk.

The conference excursion became a fantastic tour to the Koster Islands in the middle of the National Park. The amazingly flat sea, the 2 hours walk on North Koster (including a rocky shore visit to study a hybrid zone of marine snails) and a cruise in the archipelago gave everyone the impression of the Swedish west coast being as close to the paradise as one can possibly get. "The best conference ever" was the conclusion by a majority of participants.