ASPT banquet transitions to mixer

Dear ASPT Members,

After thoughtful discussion over the past two years, the ASPT Council has decided to expand the Mixer to include food and drinks and to combine it with an Awards Presentation, rather than having a formal banquet. Prior to the Mixer, we will hold a Business Meeting, followed by the Incoming President’s Address open to the public, as we did last year. Following the talk, we will have the Mixer with heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cashless bar (conference drink tickets and credit cards will be accepted). Tickets are priced at $25/professional member and $5/per student member. After everyone has had a chance to get a drink and a plate of food, and to briefly visit with new and old friends, we will have the Awards Presentation so we can congratulate and celebrate our winners. We understand that this is a big change for many of us, but we are confident that we will all enjoy it as much as we have our past events. Please join us!

Best regards, 
ASPT Council

Call for Papers: "Spatial Phylogenetics" Systematic Botany Special Issue

Spatial phylogenetics is an emerging discipline that combines spatial data with encompassing phylogenies, and employs various hypothesis tests to assess patterns of biodiversity on the landscape, both for academic studies in ecology, evolution, and biogeography as well as for applied purposes such as conservation (for a brief review, see Mishler, 2023, Spatial Phylogenetics, Journal of Biogeography, https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14618). A special issue of Systematic Botany will be published in 2024 on this topic, handled by guest editors Brent Mishler and Israel Borokini.  We encourage submission of papers dealing with methodology, new empirical analyses from anywhere in the world, or both.  Papers can be on any group of organisms, plants, animals, fungi, or microbes.

To be considered for this issue, submitted papers should relate phylogenies to spatial data and incorporate appropriate hypothesis tests to match its stated goals.  Within these boundaries, we are open to innovative ideas for sourcing/building the phylogenies, sourcing/cleaning spatial data for terminal taxa, and developing statistical tests for hypotheses.

The deadline for submission of papers is May 1, 2024.  Please follow the author guidelines available at: https://www.aspt.net/publications/sysbot#.ZGMEjexBw0Q —all papers will be evaluated using the normal Systematic Botany peer review process.  For questions on this special issue, please contact bmishler@berkeley.edu or iborokini@berkeley.edu.