Sponsors and supporters

The academic publisher Cambridge Scholars Publishing, with more than 3,500 Humanities and Social Science titles published to date, does the 6th IOTM a great honour by the interest expressed for our meeting and by donating book vouchers to the participants.

The 6th IOTM has been placed under the auspices of the Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA) of the University of Minho. Scientifically and logistically, the CBMA is of great help in the organization of the congress and its representatives that will participate in the 6th IOTM will certainly enhance the level of this event.

How delicious are these little pastries, how full of flavour are all the regional specialities De Lili & C^a, Gourmet^® proposes in its cosy café in the center of Esposende! For sure, the participants of the 6th IOTM will be happy and thankful that this firm dedicated to quality, creativity and tradition will support the conference with its fine delicacies.

Many thanks to Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for the support it gives to the 6th IOTM. This leading publisher of science and health information, publishes inter alia Pedobiologia, International Journal of Soil Biology, well-known among researchers in soil and agriculture science and forestry, microbiologists, biologists, ecologists, phytopathologists, zoologists.

The students of the Escola Profissional de Esposende (EPE) will demonstrate their skills at the 6th IOTM. They will thus acquire more experience and the participants of the 6th IOTM will enjoy a high quality of service. Thank you!

Readiness to support the 6th IOTM with guided tours, information and organization, combined with friendliness and efficiency as well as a justified pride to show their beautiful region to the participants of the conference. This is how the Esposende City Hall and its Tourism service is contributing to make of the 6th IOTM a very special event that combines scientific work with pleasant and culturally enriching moments.

Thanks to Filsat Lda, the exclusive distributor of LEICA in Portugal for research, the participants in the Oligochaete taxonomy workshop at the 6th IOTM will be able to experience the work with one of the most advanced Leica stereomicroscopes with camera and image system. A wonderful gesture!

We can only be thankful to the Kasparek Verlag, Heidelderg, Germany, for supporting our Conference. This publishing house with its eclectic assortment of books and journals (among others Zoology in the Middle East) is engaged in themes such as biodiversity, zoology and fauna, sustainability, ecotourism. We are very proud that it published also the Advances in Earthworm Taxonomy IV (the proceedings of the 4th IOTM) and the Advances in Earthworm Taxonomy V (the proceedings of the 5th IOTM) .

To enjoy some of the most delicate cheeses of Portugal and to spread "one of the best butter of the world" (The Wallpaper, 2008) on a slice of bread ... this has been made possible to the participants of the 6th IOTM by the Lacticínios das Marinhas, Lda (Marinhas Dairy), a company located in the village of Marinhas, near Esposende, famous for its products that are not only traditional but also high in quality.

Exactly what participants of a scientific conference need after a hard day of lectures and technical discussions: to drink a beautiful, fresh, slightly sparkling Vinho verde of Monte Faro. Many thanks to the producers of this wonderful wine for their generous gesture.

Thank you to the Parque Natural do Litoral Norte (PLNL) for accepting to guide the participants of the 6th IOTM among the natural beauty and biodiversity of the 16 kilometers of coastline covered by the North Coast Natural Park. This mid-congress excursion will certainly be a welcome, enriching and fascinating intermission.