Journal of Experimental Biology Symposium 2027
Mechanisms and Adaptive Significance of Cross-Tolerance
Organisers: Patricia Schulte, Craig Franklin and Essie Rodgers
Date: 14-19 March 2027
Location: Hotel Eiger, Mürren, Switzerland
Protective responses play a pivotal role in organismal function, performance and persistence, especially in complex, multi-stressor environments. Traditionally, multiple-stressor studies have focused on the deleterious effects of concurrent stressors, i.e. synergistic interactions, where the sum of the impacts of the individual stressors are greater when combined. However, encountering one stressor can sometimes confer heightened tolerance to a second stressor – a phenomenon known as ‘cross-protection’ or ‘cross-tolerance’ – i.e. an antagonistic interaction, where the impact of the combined stressors is less. This phenomenon has been documented across diverse taxa and habitats, spanning bacteria, fungi, plants and animals. In this symposium, we will explore the mechanistic basis of cross-tolerance and discuss its adaptive significance. Cross-tolerance allows species that are exposed to environmental challenges in complex environments to reproduce and survive, and this may confer some advantage in responding to future climate change. By quantifying the longevity of cross-protection responses and understanding associated costs, we can make robust predictions about species’ resilience in complex environments.
This symposium aims to explore the interplay between multiple stressors (abiotic and biotic), and the underlying mechanisms of cross-tolerance across diverse species and across a range of physiological and molecular processes.
Organisers & speakers
Organisers
Patricia Schulte (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Craig Franklin (University of Queensland, Australia)
Essie Rodgers (Murdoch University, Australia)
Speaker list to be confirmed.
Programme
The symposium is open to invited speakers and delegates only.
However, all presentations will be published as a special issue of Journal of Experimental Biology in early 2028.
Venue
The Symposium will be held in the Hotel Eiger in the charming Swiss village of Mürren, which is easily accessible by train from international airports at Zürich, Bern, Basel and Geneva. As the highest altitude ski resort in the Bernese Oberland, car-free Mürren is perched on a high terrace facing the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains.
Hotel Eiger Mürren
Aegerten
3825 Mürren
Switzerland
Tel: +41 33 856 54 54
Fax: +41 33 856 54 56
E-Mail: info@hoteleiger.com
Website: www.hoteleiger.com/en/
Travel
Mürren is 154 km/96 miles from Zürich. Travel time from Zürich airport is approximately 2.5 hours by car and 3.5 hours by train. The resort is 231 km/144 miles from Geneva and 72 km/45 miles from Bern.
Mürren is located in the Bernese Oberland. It is a car-free mountain resort on a rock ledge at 1650 m altitude, reachable either via Lauterbrunnen (cable car + tram) or via Stechelberg (two cable cars).
Public transport in Switzerland is well-known for its reliability and is the easiest way to get to car-free Mürren.
By air
Zürich (ZRH) is the largest airport in Switzerland, with the most scheduled flights. You can also get international flights to Bern (BRN), Basel (MLH) and Geneva (GVA). Zürich and Geneva have good rail connections from within the airport and we advise you to use the rail system to get to Mürren (see below).
By rail
The Swiss Federal Railway (SBB) has an online booking system and you can plan your route and pre-purchase your tickets online up to six months prior to your date of travel (for further information, see FAQs for purchasing tickets online). A variety of ticket offers are available (which may provide savings if you also intend to take some vacation as part of your trip) but most people will only require a return ticket from the airport (Flughafen) to Mϋrren (Mürren BLM). You may need to search for Muerren online.
Tickets purchased online can either be printed or downloaded to your phone, tablet, etc. Alternatively, you can buy a return ticket at the ticket counter or the ticket machines in the airport. A second-class return ticket from Zürich Flughafen (airport) to Mϋrren BLM via the route below is currently CHF 193 online and the journey takes approximately 3 hours 10 mins. Detailed instructions for all train and platform changes can be viewed online on your chosen route.
Route from Zϋrich airport to Mϋrren BLM:
- From the airport, take the train to Interlaken Ost directly or, if not available, to Bern. Please check the SBB website for details.
- At Bern, if needed, change platforms and take the train to Interlaken Ost
- At Interlaken Ost, change to the Bernese Oberland Railway (BOB) to Lauterbrunnen.
- From Lauterbrunnen, take the mountain railway (BLM) to Mürren via Grütschalp.
- The BLM station is directly opposite the hotel.
If you are flying into Basel, you will need to get a bus from the airport to the railway station and then take a train to Interlaken Ost and follow steps 3-5 above.
If you are flying into Geneva, take the train from the airport to Bern and then follow steps 2-5 above. Note that the journey will take at least 4 hours 15 minutes.
If your flights are delayed, note that the last BLM connection from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren (step 4 above) generally leaves Lauterbrunnen at 8.35pm (arriving in Mürren at 8.55pm). If you arrive at Lauterbrunnen later than this, you will need to take a bus to Stechelberg and then take the Schilthornbahn cable car to Mürren. The last cable car departs Stechelberg at 11.45pm (arriving in Mürren at 11.55pm).
By road
If you are driving to the venue, you will need to park your car in Lauterbrunnen and take the Mϋrrenbahn mountain railway (BLM) to car-free Mürren. Train timetables and online booking are available at the SBB website. The multi-storey car park in Lauterbrunnen is connected internally with the BLM, and parking can be reserved if you stay minimum 5 days (click here for details). Alternatively, you drive to Stechelberg, park your car at the Schilthornbahn station. From there, you take the cable car up to Mürren.
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