The University of Bayreuth welcomed the International Biogeography Society for its 7th international conference. This modern research university has a major focus on ecological research housed in the Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER). Novel concepts for research and teaching are established such as the Ecological-Botanical Gardens and the Global Change Ecology study program.

The conference was marked by four plenary symposia, keynote lectures by the awardees of the society’s Alfred Russel Wallace Award and the MacArthur and Wilson Award, contributed paper sessions, and dynamic poster sessions in the evening. Topical focus sessions spanned the breadth of biogeography, from watersheds to the global scale, from Paleozoic to the Anthropocene, and from microbes to megafauna. Over 600 scientists from more than 50 countries participated in the conference.

Local Organizing Committee:

• Gregor Aas – Welcome Evening (Ecological-Botanical Gardens)
• Leonor Álvarez-Cansino – Conference Guide (Functional and Tropical Plant Ecology)
• Oliver Archner – IT / Posters / Signposting (BayCEER)
• Carl Beierkuhnlein – Meeting Host (Biogeography)
• Jürgen Dengler – Contributed Sessions (Disturbance Ecology)
• Bettina Engelbrecht – Lightning Talk Sessions (Plant Ecology)
• Verena Faßold – Conference Office / Helpers (BayCEER)
• Heike Feldhaar – Lightning Talk Sessions (Animal Ecology)
• Philipp v. Gillhaußen  – Catering (Disturbance Ecology)
• David Harter – Shuttles Nuremberg (Biogeography)
• Stefan Holzheu  – Conference Database / IT (BayCEER)
• Severin Irl – Exhibtion / Symposia (Biogeography)
• Anja Jaeschke – Touristic attractions (Biogeography)
• Anke Jentsch – Conference Banquet (Disturbance Ecology)
• Thomas Köllner – Poster Sessions (Ecological Services)
• Gerhard Müller – Catering / Signposting (BayCEER)
• Christine Pilsl – Hotels and Shuttle Buses (Biogeography)
• Johannes Ransijn  – Conference Guide / Banquet (Disturbance Ecology)
• Manuel Steinbauer – Young Scientists / Workshops (Biogeography)
• Andreas Schweiger – Field Trips (Biogeography)
• Reinhold Stahlmann  – Welcome Evening / Souvenirs (Biogeography)
• Birgit Thies – Coordination (BayCEER)
• Stephanie Thomas – Students / Social Media (Global Change Ecology)
• Nils Tjaden – Restaurants and orientation in town (Biogeography)
• Camille Traini – DFG sponsorship (Biogeography)