There is a list of participants below and all paper abstracts are available here.

Like many invertebrates, spiders have traditionally received relatively little attention from the conservation community. With only 35,000 of an estimated 170,000 species described and relatively sparse distribution and abundance information available for much of the fauna, conservation needs may be difficult to grasp. However, a growing number of independent efforts to characterize the ecological value of spiders, document threats to spider diversity, and develop effective conservation programs are taking place around the globe. This symposium provided one of the first conservation-focused forums for sharing and synthesis of this growing body of knowledge.

Fourteen speakers from across the globe presented papers that served to increase the awareness of spider conservation issues in the general conservation community and improve communication between arachnological researchers and conservation professionals. Many topics relating to spider conservation were covered by the participants. The ecological role of spiders were highlighted, including techniques for measuring spider biodiversity. Several speakers demonstrated the usefulness of spiders as ecological indicators. Factors impacting spider populations, such as habitat loss and degradation, alien species, and collection pressures were discussed. Speakers from different continents outlined current recovery efforts for threatened species including legislation, habitat protection, captive breeding, and creative management techniques. Conservation challenges and important research needs such as population genetics and systematics were also discussed.

To further these goals, nine papers from the symposium will be published in a Special Issue of the Journal of Insect Conservation in December 1999.

Here is the list of symposium participants and their papers.
 

AUTHOR(S) / INSTITUTION(S)	PRESENTATION TITLE (Follow the link to the paper abstract)
Tim E. New LaTrobe University, Australia	Untangling the web: Spiders and the challenges of invertebrate conservation
Kim Norris University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA	Quantifying extinction and colonization in spider communities: Turnover, predictability, and rarefaction
Barbara York Main University of Western Australia	Ecological disturbance and conservation of Australian spiders
Rosemary Gillespie University of Hawaii, USA	Naivete and novel perturbations: The response of native spiders to disturbance on oceanic islands
Tracey Churchill Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation, Australia	Measuring spider diversity : Effects of sampling method, and different spatial and temporal scales
Karl Brennnan, N. Reygaert, &  J. D. Majer Curtin University of Technology, Perth Australia	The role of driftnet fence length and pitfall trap diameter in sampling spiders in a Western Australian Jarrah forest
Iain Downie Scottish Agricultural College, Scotland	Impact of changes in agricultural land-use on spider biodiversity
Volker Framenau and M.A. Elgar University of Melbourne, Australia	Riparian wolf spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae) - indicators for natural floodplain dynamics
Samual Marshall, W.R. Hoeh, & M. Deyrup Miami University (Ohio), USA Archbold Biological Station, USA	Patterns of species diversity in a genus of Florida endemics: A product of historical biogeography and habitat destruction
Rebecca Harris & Alan York Macquarie University, Australia	Cattle grazing in public forests: The response of spider assemblages
Angelica Arango Instituto de Ecología in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico	Conservation and management of natural populations of Brachypelma smithi (Araneae:Theraphosidae) in Mexico: A proposal
Niall Doran, A.M.M. Richardson & R. Swain University of Tasmania, Australia	The unusual life cycle of Hickmania troglodytes, the Tasmanian cave spider, and its implications for management
Kevin L. Skerl The Nature Conservancy, USA	Including spiders in conservation planning for North America
Martin Ramirez Denison University, USA	Allozyme diversity in spider populations: Pattern, process and conservation implications