- ISCE
-
The
International Society of Chemical Ecology, Inc. (ISCE) was incorporated
on 12 September 1983 in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, USA, and received
recognition as a Tax Exempt Scientific and Educational Society in
June, 1984. It is administered by a Council of 16 members and an Executive
Committee which includes the President, Vice-President, Treasurer,
Secretary, Past-President and a Representative of the Journal of Chemical
Ecology.
According
to Article II of its bylaws, the ISCE "is organized exclusively for
scientific purposes, more specifically to promote the understanding
of interactions between organisms and their environment that are mediated
by naturally occurring chemicals. Research areas include the chemistry,
biochemistry and function of natural products, their importance at
all levels of ecological organization, their evolutionary origin and
their practical application".
The
ISCE forms a nucleus for worldwide interdisciplinary cooperation between
biologists and chemists. Its membership directory currently lists
more than 600 scientists from 35 countries.
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- What
is Chemical Ecology?
-
Chemical
ecology came to be recognized as a distinct interdisciplinary research
area about three decades ago. It deals with the intriguing chemical
mechanisms which help control intra- and interspecific interactions
among living beings. All organisms use chemical signals to transmit
information; "chemical languages" are the oldest forms of communication.
Research in the field of chemical ecology is concerned with the identification
and synthesis of the substances which carry information, with the
elucidation of receptor and transduction systems which recognize and
pass on these "semiochemicals", and with the developmental, behavioral,
and ecological consequences of chemical signals.
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- The
Journal of Chemical Ecology
-
The
Journal of Chemical Ecology edited by John Romeo (Chief Editor), Kelsey
Downum, Nancy Targett, and Walter Leal (Associate Editors) is the
official "voice" of the ISCE. This monthly journal publishes about
250 research papers annually. It is available to ISCE members at a
discount which exceeds the membership dues.
- ISCE
Newsletters
-
ISCE
Newsletters, sent to all ISCE members three times a year, provide
news about the Society's activities and offer a useful channel for
the exchange of information among chemical ecologists.
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- ISCE
Annual Meeting
-
ISCE
Annual Meetings which have been held in various countries provide
an international forum for lectures, workshops, and discussions. Participants
come from academic institutions and industry worldwide
- Student
Award Committee
-
ISCE's
Student Award Committee provides financial aid to outstanding young
scientists to help them to attend annual meetings. In addition, the
ISCE is collecting funds to establish a Fellowship Program whose aim
is to support young investigators in their pursuit of field and laboratory
research in chemical ecology.
During
its first two decades, the ISCE has received generous financial support
from over 30 pharmaceutical and chemical companies. Industrial awareness
of and concern for ecological problems, environmental maintenance,
and the need to conserve biological diversity is now growing rapidly.
The ISCE is the only scientific society devoted to the discipline
of chemical ecology. The continued and expanded support of the ISCE
by the world's industrial leaders will play an essential role in studying,
preserving and using the earth's immense biological resources for
sustainable human benefit.
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- The
Göteborg Resolution
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At
the 6th Annual Meeting of the ISCE in Göteborg, Sweden,
the assembled membership unanimously adopted the principles embodied
in the following resolution*:
Natural
products constitute a treasury of immense value to humankind. The
current alarming rate of species extinction is rapidly depleting this
treasury with potentially disastrous consequences. The International
Society of Chemical Ecology urges that conservation measures be mounted
worldwide to stem the tide of species extinction, and that vastly
increased biorational studies be undertaken aimed at discovering new
chemicals of use to medicine, agriculture and industry. These exploratory
efforts should be pursued by a partnership of developing and developed
nations in such fashion that the financial benefits flow in fair measure
to all participants.
* Journal of Chemical Ecology 16 (1990) 643.
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