Inaugural meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology report: the importance of diversity in a multidisciplinary field

We analyze the interdisciplinary state of evolutionary developmental biology based on the diversity of themes, taxa, levels of organization and scientists at the first meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology (2015). We first highlight selected presentations representative of three themes: gene regulatory control, developmental patterning mechanisms, and ecological-evolutionary-developmental interactions. We summarize the questions, approaches, and taxonomic sampling of plant and animal research presented at the meeting. Finally, we synthesize themes from the meeting’s panel discussion and workshops on broadening participation, education, and the role of Evolutionary Developmental Biology in the scientific community and its ability to transcend and integrate fields of inquiry.