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CAERS 2008 ANNUAL MEETING

Arid & Seasonally Arid Estuaries

April 27 - 29
(Sunday evening-Tuesday afternoon)
Hotel Coral y Marina
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico


ABSTRACTS DUE
February 29 2008

(see abstract guidelines below)
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Background

Most of what we know of estuarine processes has developed under the framework of classical estuaries. Implicit in the model of classical estuaries are specific patterns of circulation, nutrient cycling and distribution and abundance of organisms. However, estuaries in permanently or seasonally arid regions, such as the California/Baja California coastline, the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean, are characterized by seasonal or sporadic freshwater inflow events. This leads to distinct hydrodynamics, geochemistry, and community structure and function.

To gain insight into these processes, we encourage the presentation of results that include comparisons between classical and “arid low-inflow” estuaries or that pertain to estuaries that lie along a gradient of freshwater inflow.



Abstract guidelines
Please submit your abstract for oral or poster presentations via e-mail to BOTH:
sherzka@cicese.mx & vcamacho@uabc.mx

Please use the following format: Submit title in all caps, and author names (first & last names) followed by affiliations (use numeric superscript notation). The main body of the text should be in 12 pt Arial font and should not exceed 250 words. Abstracts not meeting these requirements will be returned for formatting.

Example:
SEAGRASS HERBIVORY PLAYS A LARGER ROLE IN STRUCTURING ARID RELATIVE TO TEMPERATE INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES. Billy Bob Jones1 and Suzie Cue2. 1USGS, Menlo Park, CA. 2University of California, Davis, CA.
Abstract main text (250 words max).
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Registration
Registration: The cost of registration will be $110.00 US or 1200.00 Mexican pesos for two days, and includes lunch on Monday and Tuesday, as well as a Cheese and Wine Event at the poster session on Monday evening.

The deadline for making your payment is March 31st.

For Mexican participants, please make an electronic transfer or deposit in Mexican pesos to Banorte account number 0124069318 (Account holder: Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Cuenta Clabe 072022001240693185).

For US participants, please make an electronic transfer or direct deposit to Bank of America account number 02321-02560 (Account holder: C.I.C.E.S.E., Routing Number 1210-0035-8) OR send a check made out to CICESE to Theresa Talley, Dept. of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 by March 31st. Please make sure your name is on the check. For both Mexican and US participants, please fax (+52-646-175-0587) or e-mail (sherzka@cicese.mx) Sharon Herzka with a scanned copy of your deposit slip with your name on it by March 31st. All participants will receive their official receipts during the conference.

Social events
Informal evening gathering on Sunday, lunches and breaks on Monday and Tuesday, poster session on Monday evening.
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About Ensenada
Ensenada is located in northwestern of Mexico, about 70 miles south of the Mexico-US border near the city of San Diego. It takes about 1 hour to reach Ensenada after the crossing the border and connecting to a toll scenic highway in excellent condition. Free transportation will be provided from the San Diego Airport to Ensenada on Sunday starting around noon, and from Ensenada to the San Diego Airport on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. In addition, various car rental companies will allow their vehicles to be driven into Mexico, although an extra fee is charged for Mexican insurance (for example, Dollar).  Please contact sherzka@cicese.mx and vcamacho@uabc.mx for driving directions or to reserve transportation to and from the San Diego Airport. 

Tourist information:
www.enjoyensenada.com/
www.ensenada-tourism.com/
ensenada tourism photo
photo from www.ensenada-tourism.com
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Lodging information
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Hotel Coral and Marina, where the conference will be held (the reservation is for Sunday April 27th to Wednesday April 30th). The hotel’s address is Km. 103 Carrereta Tijuana-Ensenada, #3421 Zona Playitas, Ensenada, B.C. 22860. We have obtained an excellent group rate for Junior Suite rooms: $95.00 (plus 10% tax and 2% lodging tax). Please make your reservation directly with the hotel by March 27th  (call 646-175-0000 in Mexico and 1-877-233-5839 from the US). Mention the group code CAERS when making your reservation. Late arrivals (after 3 pm) must use a credit card to hold reservations. To aid the organization process, please send an e-mail to sherzka@cicese.mx notifying us of your reservation.

Official documents required for visiting Mexico
There is usually not an immigration stop when you enter Mexico. U.S. and Canadian citizens do not need visas. However, please bring official ID. As of January 1 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between Mexico and the U.S will be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security.

Bahia de San Quintin
Randy Brown Memorial Student Fund
Please donate!
This fund will support student travel and attendance at meetings of CAERS or CERF.  Donations can be included with meeting registration.
Meeting Focus
The focus of the 2008 CAERS meeting will be identifying and characterizing the physical, geochemical and biological processes that distinguish arid and seasonally arid estuaries from “classical” estuaries.
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SFB

4 Themed Sessions

I. Hydrodynamics: Residence times and flushing
In the absence of freshwater inflow, circulation and stratification are driven by tides, winds and surface fluxes. Flushing mechanisms exhibit spatial and temporal structures that differ from classical estuaries, and often the innermost basin is characterized by low energy and long-term residence of water.  These estuaries are much warmer than the cool Californian ocean, often hypersaline, and sometimes inverse (reversed density gradient).  Associated with the gradient in energy from ocean to land, these estuaries often exhibit strong longitudinal structures that are reflected in the geochemical and ecological characteristics of the system. Freshwater inflow typically occurs in well-defined events. Steady buoyancy-driven models do not adequately describe estuarine circulation and freshwater residence during such events.  This session will focus on the dynamics of circulation and stratification as well as on the resultant transport patterns that influence particle and solute balances in arid and seasonally arid estuaries.
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II. Dewatering our estuaries: Lessons learned
Due to global climate change and the continuing alteration of river systems, many “classical” estuarine systems may eventually come to resemble extant arid and seasonally arid estuaries. This session will focus on identifying the relationship between freshwater inflow and characteristics of estuaries that are particularly relevant to assessing the effect of restricting freshwater inflow and climate change on estuarine systems. 
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III. Nutrient cycling and primary production
This session will focus on processes related to the sources of nutrients, controls on nutrient availability and primary production, dominant sources of primary production, and interactions of these processes in arid estuaries.
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IV. Adaptations of organisms to arid & seasonally arid estuaries
This session will highlight adaptations of organisms to variable or extreme environmental conditions, connectivity within and among estuarine systems in arid regions, and community level interactions in arid and seasonally arid estuarine systems.
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guadalupe salicornia
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Field trips
We are considering organizing either a fishing expedition out of Ensenada or a field trip to San Quintin Bay.

Please contact sherzka@cicese.mx if you are interested.

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Program Organizers
  • Victor Camacho, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
  • Sharon Herzka, Centro de Investigacion Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada
  • John Largier, Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California Davis
  • Theresa Sincrope Talley, University of California Davis
  • Drew Talley, San Francisco State University