Report on the 2015 workshop of the International Research Coordination Network for Biodiversity of Ciliates (IRCN-BC) held at Ocean University of China (OUC), Qingdao, China, 19-21 October 2015

Abstract

The 4th workshop of the IRCN-BC, entitled ‘Current Trends, Collaborations and Future Directions in Biodiversity Studies of Ciliates’ and convened by Weibo Song and colleagues at OUC, was attended by 53 participants from 12 countries. The workshop comprised oral presentations and posters grouped into three themes reflecting the three dimensions of biodiversity, namely: taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and genetic diversity. The main aims of the workshop were to provide a platform for the presentation of recent findings and to facilitate future collaborations for enhancing research and training.