SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
Here you will find all the relevant information regarding the scientific program of the congress, including details on the program sessions, keynote speakers, and guidelines for both presenters and chairs.
FINAL PROGRAM
ABSTRACT BOOK
REGULAR SESSIONS
Regular sessions reflect the main proposed topics of the meeting. Submission of transdisciplinary and integrative presentations with broad ecological interest will be most welcomed by the scientific committee. General sessions are open for submission and attendance to all participants.
Proposed topics for the congress
- RS1 Ecosystem processes, functioning and services
- RS2 Ecological connectivity and biodiversity conservation
- RS3 Biological invasions
- RS4 Ecological restoration
- RS5 Ecological research on environmental global changes and extreme events
- RS6 Ecology of species interactions
- RS7 Ecological research in extreme environments – from subterranean habitats to the deep sea
- RS8 Ecology of urban environments
- RS9 Ecotoxicology and emergent contaminants
- RS10 Evolutionary ecology and biogeography
- RS11 Microbial ecology
SPECIAL SESSIONS
The special sessions can address aspects of the main proposed topics (general sessions) of the congress. The special sessions organizers will chair the event, contact the speakers, and review the abstracts. Special sessions should be open to all participants.
Please note that meeting registration is not waived or reduced for anyone participating in these special sessions (keynote speakers included) and that the meeting’s organization will be not able to provide any travel or accommodation allowances.
SS1 - Diversity and Inclusion in Ecology: a long way to walk together
Organizers
SIBECOL Diversity & Inclusion Commission
Short description
Diversity in science refers to cultivating talent, and promoting the full inclusion of excellence across the social spectrum. This social spectrum has many dimensions of difference, that include, but are not limited to, gender, race/ethnicity, disability status, nationality, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background. Diversity matters, and is critical to reach real excellence. For instance, Hong and Page (2004) demonstrated that the diversity of a team is more important than their individual ability when they have to face a problem. However, the scientific community lacks social diversity, especially regarding the participation of women, certain minority groups, and people with disabilities. The underrepresentation of these groups means a social inequity, as well as a great loss of talent. In this regard, many initiatives are trying to increase the visibility of women and underrepresented groups in science, raise awareness of inequities, and develop new strategies to promote their inclusion. In this session, organized by the SIBECOL Diversity & Inclusion Commission, we aim to raise our awareness on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the Ecology community. We welcome contributions of activities that 1) promote the visibility of women and other underrepresented groups, 2) identify the challenges faced by these groups, or 3) share experiences that improve their inclusion in scientific environments.
SS2 - Microplastics in aquatic systems: from monitoring to effects on biota and mitigation
Organizers
Ana Marta Gonçalves and Nelson Abrantes
Abstract
Plastics’ contamination is an increasing environmental problem in aquatic systems because of their ubiquity, high persistence and insufficient management. Microplastics (plastic pieces smaller than 5 mm) are of particular apprehension as they can reach high densities and may interact with organisms and the surrounding environment. The factors influencing the fate, behaviour and effects of particles are complex and can rely on a combination of environmental and biological interactions. As the concern about (micro)plastics started appearing recently, there is the need to define standard methodologies to monitoring microplastics and their fate, as well as to better understand their biological interactions and ecotoxicological effects, either as single materials or combined with contaminants at distinct levels of organization. Research in this area has been focused on marine environments, however, freshwater systems play a crucial role as carriers and sinks of microplastics and it is important to understand the overall fate of microplastics and the interconnectivity of all aquatic systems.
This session is dedicated to studies exploring distinct aspects of the microplastics issues and are open to all contributions (oral /poster) focused on: 1) sources, occurrence, behaviour and monitoring 2) biological interactions and ecotoxicological (single / combined) effects at different levels of organization, from molecules to ecosystems and 3) global solutions and mitigation of microplastic pollution in aquatic (marine and freshwater) systems.
SS3 - Uniqueness, patterns and processes in saline ecosystems, does the salt matters?
Organizers
Anna Romaní, Judith Boadella, Joan Pere Casas, Andrea Buturinni, Jordi Urmeneta, Mª de las Mercedes Berlanga, Paloma Alcorlo Pagés, Mª Isabel Arce, Mª del Mar Sánchez-Montoya, Zeus Freixinos & Rosa Gómez
Abstract
Saline aquatic inland ecosystems (including shallow lakes and streams) are widespread in the Earth, mainly located in arid and semi-arid areas. At global scale, may cover 25% of total freshwater systems surface. The naturally occurring salinity in these aquatic ecosystems may range from 3 to more than 150 gl-1, mainly due to dissolution of evaporitic outcrops. In addition to high salinity, these systems are commonly affected by extreme hydrological fluctuations, which together leads to unique conditions that host a very specific biological community and biogeochemistry, including their riparian and floodplains zones, what gives them a high value of conservation. However these ecosystems are highly vulnerable to the impacts of anthropic activities, with freshwater inputs and complete desiccation among the most common impacts. Despite their singularity and high geographical extension, our knowledge on their structure and functioning is still limited despite being potentially considered as potential “ecosystems model” to anticipate ecological consequences of the climate change on aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this session is to bring together those studies carried out in inland saline ecosystems (streams and lakes including their riparian and floodplains zones and estuaries) from the perspective of their biogeochemistry, microbiology, macrobiological communities or ecosystem processes. Finally, in this special session we will analyze what we know about saline ecosystems, which are our main knowledge gaps and what we have learned about them; aspects that could be applied to the management of freshwater ecosystem under the climate crisis.
Joining empirical results from aquatic and terrestrial ecologists working on these type of systems we expect to better understand how the multi-stress conditions provided by salt and limiting water availability may shape their functioning and/or detect the missing gaps in order to improve their conservation and management.
SS4 - Blurring limits among disciplines: Social Sciences approaches to respond to the current ecological crisis
Organizer
Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano
Abstract
The conservation and management of ecosystems cannot be achieved without considering human perceptions, actions, and interests around them. It is necessary to generate a new science that is capable of responding urgently to the sustainability challenge: researchers must interact with social actors to produce knowledge that is truly credible and applicable to ecosystem management, based on their recognition as socio-ecological systems. This session aims putting together current research that incorporates methodologies from the Social Sciences and Humanities into the Ecology science. The session aims to include, but is not limited to: political ecology, social perception studies, stakeholders’ views, environmental history, communication sciences, multiple values studies, monetary and non-monetary valuations, environmental psychology, discourse content analysis, social metabolism, and aesthetics studies. We welcome all innovative, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary studies, those that combine natural and social sciences, especially research that blurs the boundaries between disciplines. The session will promote mutual learning among participants, hoping to lead into future collaborations. A bigger and more inclusive picture of the Ecology science will provide a better understanding of the ecosystems’ complexity, which should be the base for actionable management outcomes.
SS5 - Ecology and conservation of temporary aquatic ecosystems.
Organizers
Luciana Gomes Barbosa, Manuela Moraes & Carlos Lopez
Abstract
Global climate change is expected to intensify droughts, a critical filter to the biodiversity in temporary systems around the world. The prolonged droughts may promote a general decrease in species diversity associated with the reduction of ecosystem resilience in consequence of human pressures and global warming, for example. This scenario may influence the management and conservation of the temporary water bodies, including lakes, wetlands, small wetlands, rock pools, man-made reservoirs, rivers and streams. Since these temporary ecosystems are a source of several environmental services to human societies, the knowledge about their ecology, functioning and biodiversity is critical to draw effective conservation strategies. Organized by the International Network on Limnology of Drylands (INLD), a Working Group of the Society International Limnology, this special session will bring together specialists in the ecology of temporary ecosystems to present and discuss the result of researchers developed in temporary aquatic ecosystems around the world, including management and conservation in the face the huge challenge to understand the effects of climate change for these ecosystems. Key Words: Global warming, extreme drought, temporary aquatic ecosystems, biodiversity, resilience, management, and conservation.
SS6 - Disturbances and resilience across systems in a changing world.
Organizers
Luciana Jaime, Jordi Margalef-Marrasé, María Ángeles Pérez-Navarro, Cristina Romera-Castillo & Félix Picazo
Abstract
The increased frequency and intensity of disturbances related to climate change, such as heat waves, drought, fire, diseases or algae blooms, are altering the ecosystems functions with critical consequences across freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems. In this context, the resilience, which has been defined as (i) the ability of a system to recover its properties after disturbance (i.e., “engineering resilience”) and (ii) the degree of displacement or variation that a system can experience in its properties without achieving a “tipping point” that promotes a state change (i.e., “ecological resilience”), gains importance. Particularly, understanding, quantifying and assessing the impact of disturbances and the resilience capacity of ecosystems are key for anticipating and adapting ecosystems responses to climate change. Both the impacts of disturbances and the responses of natural systems are rarely confined to a given level of biological organization; rather, ecological processes often connect different levels of organization and go beyond spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, transdisciplinary approaches are required to better understand ecosystems disturbances and resilience. This special session aims to provide a holistic perspective of the effect of different disturbances in a context of global change on the resilience of freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems beyond disciplines. For that, contributions that analyze the impact of biotic and abiotic disturbances on natural systems and their resilience at different spatio-temporal scales are especially welcome, with the objective of increasing and joining our knowledge about the approaches and methodologies currently used to evaluate the responses of different communities and organisms, and improving our understanding of the ecological processes and mechanisms underlying natural systems’ responses. Attendees will benefit from transdisciplinary feedbacks from different study systems, approaches, techniques and scales for the assessment of ecosystems’ resilience in a changing world.
SS7 - Aquatic ecosystems in urban context - benefits and costs for biodiversity and people
Organizers: Maria João Feio, Salomé FP Almeida
Abstract:
Increasing urbanization has been degrading aquatic ecosystems through occupation of land, hydromorphological modifications, over-exploitation of resources, pollution, and invasive species. These pressures act over biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services but the patterns of response remain unclear and are dependent on numerous factors. However, if restored, urban aquatic ecosystems are nature-based solutions capable of increasing urban liveability, climate change resilience, flood mitigation, social inclusion, urban regeneration, public health and well-being.
In view of this, this special session intends to explore (but not exclusively):
- the effect of urbanization in streams, rivers, ponds, estuaries and coastal ecosystems and associated terrestrial systems (e.g. riparian areas)
- the biodiversity and processes of aquatic urban ecosystems
- hydromorphological and water quality alterations of urban aquatic ecosystems
- the role of urban aquatic ecosystems in the urban drainage systems
- restoration/rehabilitation of urban rivers and streams
- the costs and benefits of aquatic ecosystems for citizens
- the role of citizen science in preserving urban aquatic ecosystems
- mechanisms to engage stakeholders in the preservation and restoration of urban aquatic ecosystems
SS8 - The functional role of “non-charismatic” biodiversity in the face of a changing world
Organizers
Pilar Hurtado, Rebeca Arias-Real, Cayetano Gutiérrez-Cánovas
Abstract
Global change and biodiversity loss are crucial challenges that society and researchers must face in the 21st century. Biodiversity is a powerful link between environmental change and ecosystem functioning. As such, there is ample evidence showing that biodiversity tracks environmental change and supports ecosystem functioning and the benefits that nature provides to people. However, studies exploring the functional role of biodiversity and conservation approaches have focused on “charismatic” or “flag ship” species, including vascular plants and vertebrates, paying less attention to the remaining fraction of biodiversity. This bias reduces our ability to understand the impact of global change drivers, and consequently our ability to mitigate their effects. Recent progress has advanced our understanding of the functional role of “non-charismatic” organisms, including benthic, planktonic and soil invertebrates, as well as biocrust, biofilm and lichen communities. These studies revealed that “non-charismatic” organisms play key functional roles in ecosystems, and that global change can alter their contribution to ecosystem functioning and services. However, there is a need to synthesise evidence across ecosystems to improve their management and conservation. In this special session, we will welcome studies exploring the functional role of “non-charismatic” biodiversity and their responses to global change for freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Specifically, we will cover studies exploring how the functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity of “non-charismatic” organisms respond to global change drivers and influence ecosystem functions and services.
SS9 - Meta-systems ecology across boundaries: new insights to advance the science and management of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
Organizers
Nuria Cid, Núria Bonada, Clara Ruiz, Dr. Jofre Carnicer Cols, David Cunillera & Jose María Fernández Calero
Description
The meta-system theory acknowledges that both local (i.e. environmental filtering and biotic interactions), and regional ecological processes (i.e. dispersal of organisms, and spatial flows of material and energy) interact to determine the spatial and temporal organization of populations, communities, and ecosystem processes in a given landscape. This recently emerged theory integrates a more dynamic view of ecosystems into classical concepts of landscape ecology, and acknowledges the role that regional processes play for the different organizational levels. This session welcomes contributions aiming at understanding the general effects local and regional processes to understand spatio-temporal dynamics of organisms, matter and energy in both aquatic and terrestrial environments, and across them. It will include both theoretical and empirical studies on metapopulation and metacommunity ecology, considering different biodiversity facets (e.g. alpha, beta-diversity, genetic diversity), and on the dynamics of ecosystem processes and services at the landscape scale. It will also welcome presentations on applied aspects considering the interaction of local and regional scale processes for improving environmental and conservation management.
SS10 - Achieving land-based climate neutrality in agroecosystems
Organizers
Sílvia Poblador, Stefania Mattana, Àngela Ribas, José Luis Vicente-Vicente
Abstract
Global warming is one of the most pressing environmental and societal issues that humanity faces. Following the new EU Soil Strategy for 2030, safe and scalable negative emission technologies (NETs) and related techniques, which actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere and ensure long-term carbon (C) sequestration, will be needed to achieve a rapid decarbonisation together with conventional mitigation agreements. Indeed, some of them are being incorporated as changes in agricultural and forestry management practices with the objective to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by enhancing soil organic C sequestration and fostering other ecosystem services (e.g. soil health, fertility, and biodiversity). This includes practices such as biochar or silicates amendments, conservation tillage, sown diversity or poly cropping; many of them included already under the framework of agroecology and representing a shift in the paradigm in agroecosystems management. Modification of conventional agricultural and forestry practices, as well as moving towards a more sustainable ecosystems management, is a key opportunity to reduce the impact of humans to the environment without compromising food and soil security. This session aims to give a broad overview of the potential benefits of land-based NETs to deal with climate change. We welcome contributions investigating the effects of other practices aiming at sequestering organic C into the soil on managed and/or natural environments. In particular, we are interested in studies exploring the effectiveness of land-based NETs on C sequestration as well as their effects on other ecosystem services.
SS11 - Pollination Ecology
Organizers
João Loureiro and Sílvia Castro
Short description
Pollination is a critical event in the sexual reproduction and life cycle of flowering plants, and its study is fundamental to understand gene flow and genetic recombination, with impacts in the development of seeds. Pollination ecology is the study pollen grains movement from an anther to the stigma through understanding the interactions between plants and pollination vectors and their relation to the prevailing habitat. Also, pollination, is a very important ecosystem service, with about 90% of all flowering plants requiring biotic vectors to reproduce, and 75% of the world’s crops producing fruits and seeds for human consumption depending, at least in part, on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality. Considering the impacts of anthropogenic drivers, including habitat loss and fragmentation, agrochemicals, pathogens, alien species, climate change and the interactions between them, to study how these drivers impact pollination, pollinators and its interactions with the environment is uttermost importance, and will be the focus of this special session.
SS12 - Scaling population and community responses to abiotic and biotic factors
Organizers
Juliana Mafalda Polido Monteiro, Alejandra Zarzo-Arias
Abstract
Understanding the factors determining species occurrences requires working at multiple spatial and temporal scales, seeking for commonalities between the definitions of processes used in different disciplines, identifying which elements can be transferred (or translated from one scale to another), and how do these transitions operate. The establishment and survival of local populations, the coexistence of species in communities, their co-occurrence in landscapes and their geographic distributions along regions are determined by multiple processes, including individual and group movements, limiting similarity and facilitation, niche filtering, dispersal, adaptation and coevolution. Understanding all of them requires the dialogue between different disciplines, from movement ecology to community ecology and biogeography. These disciplines have many times developed different theoretical backgrounds, with distinct technical jargons and analytical tools. This Special Session will discuss the scaling of the processes shaping biodiversity variations in space and time, including: (i) variations in the importance of different factors and processes across scales; (ii) the techniques and tools that can be used to study multi-scale processes; and (iii) how to integrate contributions coming from different disciplines into a common theoretical framework. Contributions from all ecological and evolutionary approaches to the study of the spatial and temporal scaling of the processes behind species occurrence, adaptation and coexistence will be accepted.
SS13 - Salinization of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: the challenges at a global scale
Organizers
Isabel Lopes & Cátia Venâncio
Description
At a global scale, the ion composition of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is changing, causing its salinization. The main causes for this are diverse and include climate change, sea level rise, application of de-icing salts, irrigation, inappropriate application of fertilizers, among others. In ecosystems affected by salinization, the increased osmotic stress may induce severe changes that leads to the loss of important services and functions aside the evident lessen of biodiversity. Additionally, salinity perturbation frequently coincides with other environmental pressures (e.g. chemical contamination), which contributes to aggravate the threats posed to the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the abundant evidence regarding the impacts that salinization may cause to the individual components of ecosystems, much scientific knowledge is still needed under more complex ecological scenarios, including landscape-levels, and, as well on how we should manage the salinization threat. Thus, this session welcomes presentations providing new data on: (i) salinity-induced direct and indirect impacts on aquatic and terrestrial biota and resources; (ii) new and effective approaches to promote the mitigation and adaptation of ecosystems to salinization; (iii) public perception on the impacts of salinization and recommendations for management and regulation.
SS14 - A journey towards the impacts of wildfires on aquatic ecosystems
Organizers
Isabel Campos, Nelson Abrantes, Ana Marta Gonçalves & Ana Ré
Abstract
Wildfires are recognized as an evolutionary driver of forest ecosystems, playing an important role to keep and shape the ecosystem dynamics and promoting biodiversity and productivity. However, driven by human land use change and global climate changes, the wildfire natural regime has been changed and constitutes presently a challenging problem worldwide. Wildfires can create serious socioeconomic and environmental impacts, such as loss of human lives and properties, cost of suppression and damages to ecosystems and services provided by them (e.g., destroying wildlife habitat and vegetation, among others). Besides those effects, wildfires may pollute the atmospheric, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with the release of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) either primarily or via physicochemical transformation leading to toxic effects on species and endangering human health. Of particular interest are the impacts of wildfires on aquatic ecosystems as wildfires enhances greatly runoff generation and the associated transport of sediments and ashes and a substantial part of the PTEs attached to sediments and ashes can end up in downstream aquatic habitats impacting their quality. This session encourages contributions dealing with the wide variety of short-to-long term effects of wildfire environmental issues in connection with the aquatic resources. With the above context in mind, contributions related to the impacts of wildfires on aquatic ecosystems (freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems) and in human health are welcome. Restoration and mitigation strategies to reduce wildfire impacts on aquatic systems is also another topic of interest.
SPECO awards special session - gathering excellence in a new generation of ecologists | NOT OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS
Organizers
Maria Amélia Martins-Loução, José Alves, Joaquín Hortal
Description
The SPECO PhD Award & SPECO Young Pos-Doc Prize are international awards that recognize innovative research by investigators just finishing and discussing a PhD work within a Portuguese University who are working on Ecology.
The PhD Award, under the financial support of Amadeu Dias Foundation, nominates 3 young researchers, that have presented a science project with potential to contribute to our understanding of terrestrial, aquatic or marine ecology. The winners of this PhD Awards are chosen by a committee of independent scientists, a member of the Amadeu Dias Foundation and chaired by the president of SPECO. They can be foreigners or Portuguese, the only condition is that they have defended PhD in a Portuguese University.
The Young Pos-Doc Prize is an award given by SPECO in 2020 that has submitted and defended his project in front of a jury to those researchers that develop his career in a Portuguese Research Unit. Within this session both the 3 winners and the Pos-Doc will present their work and at the end will receive the financial award.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Josie South - Lecturer in Ecology, University of Leeds, UK
Title: African crayfish invasions: status, opportunities, and implications
Brief resume: Josie did both her BSc Hons in Marine Biology and PhD in predicting impacts of the twin threats of climate change and biological invasion on Irish Sea fisheries at the Queens University of Belfast. She then completed two post-doc fellowships in South Africa at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Centre for Invasion Biology, predicting the ecological impacts of freshwater invasive species. Amongst other things, this involved leading the first strategic assessment of the Upper Zambezi crayfish invasion for the WWF and completing final phase monitoring of endangered fish species after a rotenone intervention in a biodiversity hotspot. She is currently a lecturer in ecology at the University of Leeds.
Current research: Josie’s research interests lie in the complex dynamics of aquatic invasion ecology, particularly improving capacity for predicting ecological impact. She is mainly interested in what animals eat and how they eat them, so unpacking the nuances of trophic interactions form the basis of her work. The flip side of invasion ecology also allows her to dabble in restoration and native species conservation projects, as well as interdisciplinary work to address the social conflicts around invasive species used for aquaculture and sportfishing. She currently works on a diverse set of projects, including African and European crayfish invasion ecology, functional ecology of Brazilian fish assemblages, small fish ecology of Java, and assessments of southern African inland fisheries.
Javier del Campo - Microbial ecologist, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC, Barcelona) / University of Miami , Florida
Title: Deconstructing the Coral Holobiont
Brief resume: Javier completed his bachelor’s and Ph.D. in Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Institute of Marine Science – CSIC (Barcelona), followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Barcelona, the University of British Columbia (Vancouver), and back to the Institute of Marine Science. In February 2019 Javier joined as Assistant Professor at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami and in February 2021 he joined the Institute for Evolutionary Biology.
Current research: Javier’s research has focused on the study of the ecology and evolution of microbial eukaryotes but recently, he has expanded his scope to the prokaryotes in order to have an integrated view of the microbiome. Javier is currently investigating the ecology and evolution of microbial communities in marine animal-associated environments using cutting-edge sequencing technologies and computational biology. He hopes that his research can help to have a better understanding of the role that microorganisms play in the response of animals to climate change. Javier del Campo lab website: delcampolab.com
Sergi Sabater - Professor of Ecology, GRECO, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Girona, Spain. Senior Researcher at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA)
Title: A reflection for Science in Ecology. Does river flow show a path?
Brief resume: Sergi Sabater did his PhD at the University of Barcelona under the supervision of Professor Ramon Margalef. Since then, his research has dealt with the ecology of fluvial ecosystems, especially the structure and ecological functions of primary producers and heterotrophs in the benthos and water column, the metabolism and functioning of rivers, and the effects that global change causes on freshwaters. Sergi Sabater has co-edited several books and published peer-reviewed papers on ecology and environmental sciences in international scientific journals, most of them as research outputs arising from the collaboration with colleagues, PhD students, and post-Docs. Dr. Sabater has shared research with teaching, first at the University of Barcelona and later at the University of Girona, and then with management duties, currently at the Catalan Institute for Water Research, and with editorial commitments in scientific journals.
Current research: In Dr. Sabater’s words: “Within the global change components, I am particularly interested in the effects of water scarcity and the impact of contaminants, as co-occurring stressors which configure the present state of riverine ecosystems. My research has greatly benefited from long-lasting collaborations with ecologists, chemists, modelers, and geomorphologists from Spain, Latin-America, and elsewhere, from whom I learned the complexity of river systems and the magnificent role water has for life”.
Andrea C. Encalada - Provost Laboratory Aquatic Ecology BIOSFERA Institute, Universidad Sam Francisco de Quito, Ecuador
Title “Biodiversity and ecosystem function along elevation gradients in Andean-Amazon Rivers and Streams”
Brief resume: Andrea C. Encalada is an Ecuadorian ecologist with over 30 years of experience in the field of stream ecology and conservation. Andrea obtained her Bachelor’s degree at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and did her Ph.D. at Cornell University, USA. In 2004 she founded the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory at USFQ and in 2016 the BIOSFERA-USFQ Research Institute. Andrea’s research seeks to develop and use scientific information as a tool to promote biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, and sustainable use of water resources, resulting in more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, six book chapters, and two books. Andrea is the recipient of the 2018 “Matilde Hidalgo” National Research Award and was admitted to the Ecuador Scientific Academy. Between 2019 and 2021, Andrea served as Co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon, a Global project to systematize available scientific information and promote long-term conservation of the Amazon basin. Since 2021, Andrea serves as Provost at Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Current Research: Andrea´s research encompasses a broad range of topics across the ecological hierarchy, from the description of the life history of aquatic insects in temperate mountains to the patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem function of mountain streams in the Tropical Andes.
Luísa G Carvalheiro - Adjunct Professor at Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG, Brazil)
Title: Connecting soil & atmospheric quality, pollinators, and trade markets to find pathways towards sustainable development
Brief Resume: Luisa did her first degree in Biology at University of Lisbon (Portugal, 2002) and PhD at University of Bristol (UK, 2008). She was a postdoctoral fellow at University of Pretoria/SANBI (South Africa, 2008-2010), University of Leeds (UK, 2010-2015) & University of Brasilia (Brazil, 2015-2017). From 2010-2016 she was linked to Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Netherlands) as a guest researcher. Currently, Luísa works as an Adjunct Professor at Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG, Brazil), also linked as guest researcher to CE3C (University of Lisbon, Portugal).
Current research: The main interest of Luísa’s research is to understand how environmental changes are affecting biodiversity through time and space; how such biotic changes affect ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services (e.g. crop pollination and pest control); and how the complex network of ecological interactions in which species are integrated mediate such changes. Luísa’s ab website: https://sites.google.com/site/lgcarvalheiro/home
José Alves – Principal Researcher, CESAM – Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Title: Too close to the edge: how can migratory shorebirds deal with environmental changes from the Arctic to the tropics?
Brief resume: José completed a first degree at the University of Minho (Portugal) followed by a PhD at the University of East Anglia (UK) investigating migratory trade-offs in a subarctic breeding shorebird that winters across western Europe. His studies focused on habitat segregation, energetic costs of wintering and migration, and associated carry-over effects. He then completed two post-doctoral positions, first at UEA and University of Iceland and then at the University of Aveiro and University of Iceland, where he studied range expansion, population demography, and migratory behaviour in several wader species linking (sub)arctic, temperate and tropical areas. He is currently a principal researcher at CESAM – Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies at the University of Aveiro.
Current research: Jose’s research interests currently span from fundamental questions on species’ responses to environmental change (e.g., changes in phenology, distribution & migratory behaviour) to applied issues, specifically the conservation of wetlands across species’ flyways. Migratory shorebirds lay at the forefront of environmental change as global warming is particularly prevalent in their Arctic and subarctic breeding areas, and the coastal wetlands they use outside the breeding season currently experience high levels of habitat change, making them great models in which to address such questions. José, therefore, follows the spatio-temporal dynamics of the migratory systems he studies, spending quite some time in Iceland, Portugal, and West Africa. But owing to recent technological advances you can now also follow him @_JoseAAlves_ and his team @eco_flyway
Gender & Science Group of the Iberian Association of Limnology
Plenary abstract
Conferences are ideal platforms for studying the dynamics of scientific communities. This
plenary will analyze and debate the involvement and visibility of women and other historically
excluded groups in scientific conferences. We will show the results of the study carried out
during the first SIBECOL Meeting by the Gender& Science AIL group members and
collaborators, which analyzed the representation, behavior, and perception of attendees from a
gender perspective. We will also show the demographics of the Second SIBECOL Meeting and
compare them with those from the previous gathering. After the presentation, we will invite the
audience to share their experience, opinions, and solutions to reduce gender barriers during
future SIBECOL meetings. The aim of this talk is to promote inclusive meetings where
everyone has equal opportunities.
Speaker info
The Gender & Science Group of the Iberian Association of Limnology (AIL) was launched in
2014 with the aim of acting as an external observer of gender biases within ecological societies,
fostering women’s visibility within the scientific community, and proposing recommendations
for improving gender equity in academic institutions related to limnology. Since then,
the Commission has proposed and developed several activities, including the exhibition
“Women in Limnology ” (2018), inclusive teaching materials (Project LimnoEDU), and several
publications focusing on the inequity in limnology. Currently, the Commission is formed by
more than 20 researchers from different institutions and backgrounds. Last year, the group
received the “Contribution to diversity” award from the Spanish Society of Terrestrial Ecology
(AEET). More information about the group and its fascinating projects can be found
at www.genderlimno.org.
AIL Best thesis awards
Best 2020 and 2021 PhD theses in limnology of the Iberian Peninsula
Every year the AIL launches a prize to select the best PhD thesis on limnology defended in a Spanish or Portuguese institution. Awardees are invited to present a short plenary talk during the AIL/SIBECOL meeting in Aveiro, July 2022
Elizabeth León-Palmero
(awardee 2021)
Title: Greenhouse gases in reservoirs: from watersheds to functional genes
Brief resume: Elizabeth León-Palmero studied her bachelor’s degree in Biology, and her master’s in Environmental Microbiology at the University of Granada. After that, she completed her PhD in studying the emissions and production of CO2, CH4, and N2O in twelve reservoirs at the University of Granada. In January 2022 she joined the Nordcee group at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) as postdoctoral researcher.
Current research: Elizabeth’s main interest is to understand how microorganisms interact with the aquatic environment and influence the biogeochemical cycling of elements and the production of greenhouse gases. During her PhD thesis, she studied the spatial, inter-seasonal and daily variability of CO2, CH4, N2O emissions in twelve reservoirs in southern Spain, as well as the environmental factors driving these emissions. She also explored the abiotic and biotic origin of the CH4, and N2O in the water column of reservoirs. Currently, she investigates the oceanic sink for nitrous oxide.
Jorge García-Girón
(awardee 2020)
Title: Geographical variation of aquatic macrophyte biodiversity: an integration of scale and ecological organisation.
Brief resume: Jorge García-Girón is a postdoctoral researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute (Finland) and the University of León (Spain). Jorge is interested in the biogeography of present-day and extinct organisms.
Current research: His research interests mostly centre on community ecology, macroecology and applied statistics to tackle issues of freshwater biodiversity and global change. His current works span taxonomic, spatial and time scales ranging from studies of local communities to continental and global diversity patterns across plants, insects and dinosaurs.
Bryan Brooks - Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies, Baylor University
Title: Towards Sustainable Environmental Quality: Identification of Multidisciplinary Research Needs through the Global Horizon Scanning Project
Brief resume: Bryan Brooks received a BS in biological sciences and an MS in biological sciences (limnology emphasis) from the University of Mississippi, and a PhD in environmental science (environmental toxicology and chemistry emphasis) from the University of North Texas. For the past two decades, he has been a faculty member at Baylor University, where he is Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Public Health and Director of Environmental Health Science. With students and other colleagues, Bryan has contributed over 250 manuscripts in international journals and book chapters. He leads the Global Horizon Scanning Project, which aims to identify key environmental quality research questions among disciplines and sectors around the world. This presentation will examine some cross-cutting lessons learned from the project with a particular focus on aquatic contaminants of emerging concern. Bryan serves as Editor in Chief of Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Current research: Bryan’s research interests are multidisciplinary and routinely have examined aquatic stressors, particularly in urbanizing regions, across scales of biological organization. Current research focuses on water quality and reuse, environmental, aquatic, and eco- toxicology, comparative pharmacology and toxicology, environmental and green chemistry, chemical hazard and risk assessment, environmental public health practice, and the ecology, chemistry, toxicology, and management of inland harmful algal blooms.
Maurine Neiman - Professor, Department of Biology & Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, University of Iowa, USA
Title : Sex in the Wild (and especially in New Zealand)
Brief Resume: Maurine did her B.A in Biology at Carleton College (USA) and completed her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology, Minor in Genetics at Indiana University (USA). She was a postdoc fellow at University of Virginia (2006-2007), University of St. Thomas (2006-2007) and University of Minnesota (2007-2008). Currently, she is a Professor at the Department of Biology, University of Iowa, working on the evolution of sexual reproduction and ploidy level. She has a joint appointment in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, and since 2021, she is also serving as a Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Current research: Maurine’s research focuses primarily on the study of sexual reproduction and why sex is so common, one of the most important unanswered questions in evolutionary biology. In particular, she’s interested in using comparison of sexual and asexual individuals, lineages, and genomes to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of sexuality, evolutionary constraints that limit asexual success, and why sex persists in some natural populations but not others. More information about her work can be found at her website:http://bioweb.biology.uiowa.edu/neiman/
Ana Hilário - Assistant Researcher. Department of Biology and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
Title : Tales of ice and fire – exploring hydrothermal vents in the Arctic Ocean
Brief Resume: Ana is a deep-sea biologist at the Centre for Environment and Marine Studies of the University of Aveiro. She holds a BSc in Aquatic Sciences from University of Porto (Portugal) and a PhD in Ocean and Earth Science from Southampton University (UK). In the last 15 years Ana has led several projects and participated in more than 20 oceanographic cruises dedicated to the study of deep-sea ecosystems and have a vast experience in seafloor sampling. Currently she co-leads Challenger 150 (www.challenger150.world), a 10-year programme of deep-sea biological science endorsed by UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Current research: Ana’s research focuses on 3 topics in deep-sea biology: 1) biodiversity and biogeography of chemosynthetic ecosystems, 2) life-history traits and 3) population connectivity and its implications for conservation.
WORKSHOPS
All workshops will be scheduled for Sunday, 3rd of July 2022.
Please check any prerequisites needed to attend. Workshops will be open to all meeting attendees on a first-come first-served basis. Please select the workshop you want to attend during your registration.
Introduction to meta-analysis in ecology
Organizer
Verónica Ferreira
Description
Meta-analysis is a statistical tool for combining the results of primary studies on the same topic, taking into account study precision, to allow general conclusions, evaluation of consistency in results across studies, and identification of research gaps. As it is an objective and powerful tool for summarizing evidence, researchers are increasingly considering meta-analysis as a possibility when deciding on the approach to address specific questions; consequently, the number of meta-analyses in ecology has been rising in recent years. This course will introduce the basics of meta-analysis and make participants aware of this tool as well as prepared to evaluate its quality and interpret its results. These skills are needed for meta-analysis practitioners, but they are also useful for readers, reviewers and editors who need to be able to assess meta-analysis quality and understand its results. In this workshop, theoretical topics will be accompanied by the performance of a live meta-analysis, using the open-access software OpenMEE. To be able to run the meta-analysis, participants should bring their own laptops, where they should have installed OpenMEE in advance (http://www.cebm.brown.edu/openmee); the matrix to be used will be provided to the participants in due time.
Duration
5 h
Minimum and maximum number of participants
10 – 30
From Listen to the Science to Listening between scientists
Organizers
Javier de la Casa , Scientist Rebellion
Description
The aim of this workshop is to generate a space for collective thinking oriented to researchers of ecology and environmental issues, to share our ideas and impressions over the climate and ecological crisis. The workshops generate a facilitated space to discuss the ecosocial issues that slither through the rational and the emotional; the abstract and the prepositive. Our shared visions will create a map of thoughts of how we, environmental scientists, perceive the ecological challenge. Moreover, initiatives empowered by other scientist will be presented and discussed, from start-ups to civil disobedience actions. The participants will acquire a wider scope of how our colleagues perceive and face the ecological crisis and tools for networking with active or starting their own initiatives. But more important, it will be a space to listen to a feel listened to, respecting the grief and the diversity of opinions.
Duration
2-3 h
Minimum and maximum number of participants
9-42
DNA barcoding: From gene sequences to identification of species
Organizer
Seena Sahadevan
Description
Theory
This workshop aims to understand what is DNA barcoding, the different genetic markers used, the challenges associated with the methods, reference databases. Focus is also aimed on how to retrieve and analyse sequences and various uses of DNA barcode data in biodiversity science.
Skills
Students will attain both theoretical and practical background and knowledge to understand, perform the analyses and assess DNA barcodes. They will receive hands-on experience on how to manage data available via open access databases.
Required skills
Some experience on molecular data and software is an advantage. It would be an advantage to familiarize with databases such as NCBI, BOLD and UNITE databases.
Timings
One day- 10 to 12:30h and 13:30 to16:00 h.
Softwares required
Download MEGA (https://www.megasoftware.net) and BioEdit (https://bioedit.software.informer.com/7.2/)
Minimum and maximum number of participants
10 to 15
Are there microplastics in the water near you?
Organizers
Ana Marta Gonçalves, Mariana Rodrigues and Nelson Abrantes
Description
Plastics, in particular microplastics (- 5 mm), are persistent pollutants that, when interacting with the environment, can affect biodiversity, the economy and human health. Due to the increased production of plastic and its insufficient reuse / recycling, these particles appeared in abundance in aquatic systems. Thus, this activity intends to assess the existence, or not, of microplastics in water from places close to the community (e.g. lake, tap water, sea). A methodology that will allow the separation of microplastics, if any, will be applied to each water sample. Participants will then select, look under a stereoscopic magnifier and categorize these categories whenever possible.
In this workshop a cost-effective and accurate method to be applied in environmental monitoring programs is assessed. Since MPs represent contaminants of emerging scientific and societal concern their monitoring is important, in particular in aquatic environments. The research and regulatory community should adopt an unified method which not differ according to work aims. Moreover, it is also important the adoption of a lower size limit of microplastics in order not to underestimate concentrations and to allow comparison between different works. This urgent situation needs to be clarified to enhance MPs research and monitoring across the world.
Minimum and maximum number of participants
6 to 20
Duration
2:30h
How to attract funding: opportunities for ecologists
Organizers
Young-AIL representatives (Daniel Morant, Edurne Estevez, Isabel Fernandes, Jose Fernández-Calero, Nieves Rodríguez)
Description
In this workshop, participants will get in touch with different opportunities for funding for early career researchers (from PhD positions, to post-doc, contracts and projects). The objective is to make participants aware of the different opportunities available to be involved in the scientific career, and hear in first person from success cases. The workshop will focus on special requirements for these kinds of grants, how to decide when to apply, and keys to writing a successful proposal for these grants. Some of the points to be discussed during the workshop will be focused on identifying and analyzing all types of funding opportunities; learning how to develop a research agenda and create a funding plan and how to prepare a proposal step-by-step; and understanding funding agencies and reviewing proposals. The speakers of the workshop will be scientists who have obtained different grants to start or continue their research work, as well as evaluators of some of these programs. The workshop will be a sharing platform where everyone can intervene, and the ultimate goal is to motivate young researchers to face and pursue a research career. The workshop will have a duration of 3 hours, including a coffee break.
Specific prerequisites
no prerequisites are needed; all interested people can attend, although it is focused for early career researchers: from Master and Bachelor students to phD students and postDocs.
Minimum and maximum number of participants
5 to 40.
Duration
2:30h
GUIDELINES
Presenters
Guidelines for Presentations
- All presenters must be registered for the in-person meeting to make a presentation.
- All presenters must follow the code of conduct of the meeting
- An invitation to present at the meeting does not include financial support. Invited speakers for Special Sessions are bound to specific registration rules and have been contacted by organising committee.
- When preparing your presentation (poster or oral communication), define your purpose and goals. Why are you making this presentation? What do you want the audience to take away? Structure your content. Be clear in your delivery and summarize major points at the end.
- Present clearly. Introduce yourself. Presenters should speak clearly at a moderate pace. This facilitates understanding by the audience. Define acronyms on poster/oral communications. Use appropriate graphics with axis in appropriate font size to be read in the screen/ poster
- Use bold for emphasis, rather than highlighting, underlining, or italicizing. Avoid text which is angled or uses special effects, such as shadows. Align text to the left or centrally; do not justify both sides.
- Avoid colour schemes providing low contrast and busy backgrounds. Avoid white writing on a dark background. Dark text on a pastel background works best;
Avoid using jargon. Indicate whether the resources highlighted in your oral communication / poster are available in different languages. Note that you must communicate in a manner appropriate to a professional audience coming from diverse backgrounds. - Be inclusive and respect diversity:
– try to use colour-blind palettes.
– Avoid inherently sexist words: avoid using different words for men and women who perform the same job and avoid using a masculine noun to encompass both; instead, use a non-gender specific title (i.e., use people/humanity and avoid mankind/man, use police officer and avoid policeman, use the pronouns they/them if the gender of the person is unknown). When welcoming, referring to or interacting with your audience, do not use: ladies and gentlemen, men and women of the audience, he or she, sir/ madam. Instead, use esteemed guests, that person, friends and colleagues, everyone, the participants, faculty members.
-If you use case studies, scenarios and vignettes, provide examples that reflect diverse cultural perspectives. When giving examples of your work, consider including examples from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. To the extent possible include images, graphics and visual aids that both incorporate people with disabilities and display reflection of culturally and ethnically diverse groups and the communities in which they live.
– Do not use imaginary that contains sex, violence, or might hurt the sensibility of your large multi-cultural audience.
– Indicate whether the resources highlighted in your oral communication / poster are available in different languages.
Oral communications | Formats, Guidelines and Suggestions
- Electronic PowerPoint or PDF presentations are the accepted medium for oral communications. The electronic projection equipment provided in each session room will include a computer equipped with Operating System Windows and PowerPoint. If you are a Macintosh user, we recommend that you test your presentation on a PC to verify it converts to Windows format accurately. There will NOT be any MAC equipment available at the meeting.
- Each oral presentation has 12 minutes followed by 3 minutes for questions & answers. Presentation length in Special Sessions may vary and speakers will be contacted by sessions organizers in that case.
- AIL/SIBECOl meetings allow for presentations in the official languages (Portuguese Spanish and English). However, we strongly recommend that presenters prepare slides in English so that all attending the meeting can easily follow presentations.
- Presentations should include a title slide; slides stating the question or hypothesis to be addressed, the overall approach and methods used to address the question; slides presenting the results obtained; and final slides should give the conclusions of the study. Avoid excessive details on methods unless your presentation is focused on the approach/method.
- Lettering and numbering on your slides must be readable from the back of the room. Text or tables should not be used extensively, and effort should be made to reduce clutter on slides.
- Don’t try to cram too many slides into your presentation. Give the audience time to read slides.
- If a presentation includes a video, that video must be captioned. Please minimize as much background noise as possible to ensure audio quality.
- Please allow some time to rehearse your presentation to ensure you finish within the given time and the take-home message of the presentation is clear. Review your presentation on a different computer from which it was originally prepared to ensure the backgrounds, transitions, video clips, graphics, and linked images appear properly.
- Try to upload your presentation on the on the computer in the session room the day before your presentation. You should also upload any movie or audio files that you want to be associated with the presentation. More information and instructions regarding the onsite upload will be made available in the coming weeks.
- Please bring a backup of your presentation to the meeting on a USB Memory Device.
- Be in the session room at least 15 minutes before the beginning of your session and introduce yourself to the session Chairs.
- Stay on schedule. You have been allotted 15 minutes for your presentation (12 minutes for presenting and 3 min for Q&A). Note that timing may be different for special sessions). Session Chairs are instructed to require all speakers to adhere to this limit. A general rule for the number of slides to be presented is one per minute available presentation time.
Poster presentations | Formats, Guidelines and Suggestions
- Poster orientation should be portrait, NOT landscape. Poster size should be A0 format (84.1 cm (33.11”) wide by 118.9 cm (46.81”) high
- AIL/SIBECOL meetings allow for presentations in the official languages (Portuguese Spanish and English). However, we strongly recommend that presenters prepare posters in English so that all attending the meeting can easily understand the poster.
- Text and graphics in posters must be readable from 2 meters away. Choose a large font size and make graphs large enough to read. Use no more than 3 different font sizes (use sans-serif fonts). The body of the poster should have at least 24-point font.
- Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read
- Try as much to be at your poster during the poster sessions and coffee breaks to discuss your work with all visiting your poster.
- In the planning of your poster presentation, remember that the poster will be available for viewing and discussion for several hours/days. The poster should be understandable without an oral explanation.
- Please try to avoid excessive use of organisation logos/advertisements
- The organisers nor the conference centre have the facilities to print your poster. You can contact a copy in the city centre (15 minutes from the conference centre) to print your poster. Please contact the organising committee in advance if needed.
- All posters will be in the poster area in the exhibition hall and presenters will receive the poster number before the meeting. More information on poster numbering and how they can be fixed to boards will be provided soon. Voluntaries or members of the organizing committee will help in the exhibition area.
- Presenters are responsible for the setup and take-down of the poster during the meeting.
- Provide an envelope where people can leave their business cards for requests for more information. If possible, provide your own business card.
Chairs | Organizers of the sessions
Before the meeting
- Check your” session” to see what instructions the presenters have been given and if there are any additional guidelines or notes on your specific session.
- Update yourself on all abstracts related to your session and prepare questions to the presenters in case you need to initiate a discussion.
- Check time and location as well as status and order of the presentations for your session shortly before the conference starts in case of any last-minute changes.
- Should circumstances prevent you from attending the conference and/or chairing the session, you must arrange with a substitute and notify the organising committee immediately by sending an e-mail to sibecol-ail-meeting2022@ua.pt
At the meeting – Chairing the session
- Please try to be in the session room at least 10 minutes before the session starts to introduce yourself to the presenters and the room hosts and get familiar with the room (technical equipment and emergency exits).
- Make sure all speakers are present and have uploaded and checked their presentations.
- Make sure you have the name pronunciation and affiliation of the presenters correct. Introduce each presenter with name, affiliation, and title of presentation.
- Start and end the session according to schedule. Welcome the audience and the presenters, and state briefly the name of the session, and your names and affiliations as session chairs at start. Close the session by thanking the audience and the presenters for their contributions. If time allows, make a very short summary of the session at the end.
- Make sure the presenters do not exceed the scheduled time for each presentation.
For standard sessions: Open up the floor for Q&A period ( 3 min) from the audience directly after each presentation. The organizing committee will try to have at least one Portuguese and one Spanish speaking chair in each session. Try to help with translation if needed. - Use good judgment to include as many people as reasonable to participate. Ensure as much as possible that diversity (gender parity, seniority, geographic representation, minorities) is represented also during Q&A period (e.g., who asks the first question).
- Ensure that questions are clear and are easily heard throughout the room. Intervene if questions become unprofessional. A microphone will be available for questions from the audience in larger rooms. Be prepared to initiate the discussion if there are no questions from the audience.
- Do not change the order or timing of the program. If a talk is missed for some reason, replace it with the next scheduled presentation and take the last slot as a concluding discussion. Try to keep the time according to schedule for each presentation. It is important to respect the audience and upcoming presenters and all sessions should be in sync with each other to allow the audience to move from one session to the other.