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PBESA Meeting: Free Virtual Symposium on Sensory Physiology

UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal is organizing the symposium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal is organizing the symposium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal is organizing a free, virtual symposium on “Recent Advances in Sensory Physiology,” zeroing in on such organisms as mosquitoes, honey bees, butterflies and fruit flies, as part of the April 20th meeting of the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA).

Since PBESA canceled its 104th annual meeting, initially set April 19-22 in Spokane, Wash., “this year's conference will be virtual,” announced PBESA president Elizabeth Beers of Washington State University.

As of Tuesday, more than 230 individuals from 18 countries have registered for the sensory physiology symposium, said Leal, a chemical ecologist and distinguished professor with the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. As the recipient of the PBESA's 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, he will be among those honored at the conference.

Countries represented are United States, France, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Spain, Colombia, United Kingdom, India, The Netherlands, Grece, Finland and Sweden.

The symposium, featuring eight scientists, begins at 1:30 on Monday, April 20, Pacific Daylight Time, via Zoom. Each will speak for 15 minutes, and a five-minute question and answer session will follow each presentation. To register for the symposium, access this Google document site.  Each registrant will receive a link to the meeting.

The schedule:

1:30 to 1:50
Genevieve Tauxe, University of Washington
“The Nose Knows: Olfaction in Host-Seeking Behavior”
(See news story from UC Riverside)

1:50 to 2:10
Walter Leal, University of California, Davis
“Reception of Carbon Dioxide in Mosquitoes”

2:10 to 2:30
Dennis Mathew, University of Nevada, Reno
“Mechanism Underlying Starvation-Dependent Modulation of Olfactory Sensory Neurons in the Drosophila Larva”

2:30 to 2:50
Anand Ray, University of California, Riverside
“Control of Insect Behavior Using Odorants”

2:50 to 3:00
Virtual Coffee Break

3 to 3:20
Jeremy Chan, University of Washington
“Change Is in the Air: Atmospheric Chemistry Impact on Floral Scent and Plant-Pollinator Interactions”

3:20 to 3:40
Claire Rusch, University of Washington
“Closed-Loop Behavioral Control and Attention-like Processes Modulate Neural Activity in the Medulla of the Honey Bee”

3:40 to 4
Aide Macias-Muñoz, University of California, Irvine
“Evolution of Phototransduction Genes in Lepidoptera”

4 to 4:20
Kate Loudon, University of California, Irvine
"Mechanical Damping in Sensory Structures"

4:20 to 4:35
General Discussion

PBESA encompasses 11 western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming), U.S. territories, and parts of Canada  and Mexico

For more information on PBESA and to register for the virtual conference, see https://www.entsoc.org/pacific.