The European Carabidologist Meeting after 40 years back in the Netherlands

Research on ground beetles at the Biological Station in Wijster, the Netherlands, started in 1959, resulting in the theory of 'Spreading of Risk'. According to this theory large populations are stabilized by a high number of local populations. In these local populations the numbers of individuals heterogeneously fluctuate through time and individuals disperse between those local populations. The wish for discussion on this theme with colleagues resulted in the first European Carabidologist Meeting (ECM) at Wijster in 1969. As the exchange of knowledge in the field of carabidology was regarded as very useful, many meetings followed. Starting as more or less a German / Dutch discussion group, nowadays the ECM is visited by people from more than 20 nationalities and, despite its name, it is no longer restricted to Europeans. This year after 40 years, the 14th ECM will be held again at its origin; the Netherlands. It takes place in Westerbork, close to Wijster, from 13 until 18 September. The central theme will be: 'Carabid beetles as bioindicators - The use of ground beetles in ecological and environmental studies; the usefulness and threats of methods used for monitoring species and populations'. All contributions on carabidology are welcome, but we hope to have many contributions about: the role and usefulness of pitfall trapping, what we can learn of the presence/absence of certain species in different kinds of area and the knowledge derived from and applications of long-term samplings regarding environmental change and management. During the field excursion, the permanent sampling sites at the Dwingelderveld will be visited. Registration can be done by the website www.biological-station.com/ecm/.