Queensland Museum

The Queensland Museum campus in Brisbane (http://www.southbank.qm.qld.gov.au/) has a large and well-curated myriapod collection. Most of the material comes from the Australian State of Queensland, but this one State is as large as France, Germany, Spain and Sweden combined. Myriapods have been deposited from tropical, subtropical, dry and coastal habitats, but the collection is particularly rich in specimens from the Queensland Wet Tropics. The material is sorted to higher taxa and includes a large number of undescribed species.

Collection manager Dr Owen Seeman has generously offered to assist interested myriapodologists in several ways:

1. Rostered visits

Myriapodologists will be able to sign up to work in the collection, i.e. they are welcome to study specimens using a microscope and lab bench at the Museum. Visits will be rostered to ensure that the time available is distributed fairly among visitors. The collection will be accessible in Museum working hours (0930 - 1700) during the conference and in the weeks before and after.

2. Specimen loans

The Museum will lend specimens that are selected and set aside by visiting specialists. These will be shipped to the specialist's home institution. Dr Seeman asks that the material selected be limited to small groups (e.g., a particular genus or set of species rather than a whole family) on which the specialist plans to work in the near future. The maximum loan term is two years. "If two specialists want the same specimens then I would ask them to negotiate. Two short term loans can be arranged, or transfers between specialists." Note that new holotypes arising from work on loaned material are to be deposited in the Queensland Museum.

3. New collections

If visiting myriapodologists have collected fresh specimens (see Collecting), these can be deposited at the Museum, then borrowed as unregistered specimens. This is easier than obtaining permission to export the specimens directly.

Collecting

Collecting in Australia is regulated by permits. In Queensland, collecting of native flora and fauna is controlled by the Department of Environment and Resource Management (http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/ecoaccess/plants_and_animals/index.html). The DERM system is not simple and getting a permit may take some time.

It is important to understand that biological specimens of any kind (dead or alive) cannot be taken out of Australia without an export permit from the Australian Government. Getting a permit takes time and there is a fee; for details see http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/permits/index.html. A much easier way to export freshly collected specimens is to first deposit them in an Australian museum, then borrow the material from that museum. As noted above, the Queensland Museum will accept freshly collected specimens for deposit and lend them out as unregistered material. The Museum will require documentation of what the specimens are, where and when they were collected, who collected them and by what method, and to what institution (usually not to a private individual) the specimens should be lent.

OPTIONAL PRE- and POST-CONFERENCE TOURING
There are many half and whole day tours that can be taken to enjoy the sights of the Gold Coast and surrounding areas. Tour Ideas

If you plan to spend more time in Australia, there are many options including the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands off the Queensland Coast, the Daintree Fainforest in far North Queensland, Uluru in Central Australia, or Kakadu in the Northern Territory.

Details for Pre-Conference tour are available in the Pre-Conference tour section