Thematic sessions
Biodiversity at local to global scales is a key feature that constrain and control ecosystem function and key biogeochemical processes. In this session we welcome contributions addressing various aspects of biodiversity, including how to assess it, key drivers affecting biodiversity and the consequences of change (and loss) of biodiversity. We particularly encourage presentations that emphasize large scale patterns and processes that move beyond the local scale.
We invite contributions to an oral session about mechanistic ecological models, i.e. models that explicitly represent causative agents of ecological change and their interrelations. Using models to extrapolate in space and time is key to understanding and predicting ecological change. Mechanistic modelling satisfies a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for robust extrapolations. Moreover, models based on first principles are less likely to produce the right results for the wrong reasons. However, model realism does not guarantee predictive performance, while data requirements for model parameterization and validation can be a difficult challenge. Lack of information is particularly restrictive in situations where the generation of precise and accurate predictions requires models of high complexity. Model complexity can benefit application, interpretation of empirical data and theory development, but it can also increase uncertainty of predictions and limit model transferability. We aim to discuss old and new ways to address such challenges, and explore novel opportunities for mechanistic modelling. We welcome contributions about theoretical or applied models of ecological or evolutionary processes that operate at any spatiotemporal scale or level of biological organization, employing analytical or simulation techniques, from population projection matrices and partial differential equations, to agent-based simulations and structural equation models.
Plant-pollinator interactions is a key component of natural biodiversity and is currently under threat due to ongoing pollinator declines and other changes in pollinator assemblages. In this session we will consider all aspects of pollination ecology and the evolutionary consequences of plant-pollinator interactions. This includes studies of pollinator biodiversity and conservation, pollinator cognition, crop pollination and pollinators in agricultural landscapes, studies of floral function in the context of pollination, and pollinator-mediated floral evolution.
The diversity of life is made up of webs of interacting species. Unlike natural selection that adapts populations to physical environments, selection that adapts populations to interactions has the potential to generate rapid evolutionary feedback and reciprocal evolutionary change, i.e. coevolution. A current major challenge in biology is to understand the importance of the coevolutionary process in shaping and maintaining biodiversity at a time of rapid anthropogenic change in ecosystems worldwide. In this session, we hope to bring together speakers that study evolutionary consequences of the species interactions that ultimately shape the web of life..
Loss of biodiversity due to human activities has resulted in a global biodiversity crisis. In this session, we welcome all contributions related to ecological and/or evolutionary research that aim to improve understanding and mitigation of this crisis. We particularly encourage research on the interface between ecology and evolution that may provide novel perspectives on how biodiversity may be generated and maintained. We thus welcome basic science contributions, ranging from theoretical to experimental approaches and field studies..
Urbanisation is one of the largest current threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. With habitat loss and fragmentation many species vanish from urban environments, yet some species persists and even thrive. These species need to deal with increased pollution levels, ambient temperatures and changed nutrient availability among many other anthropogenic changes and disturbances. These complex biotic and abiotic interactions provide an outstanding opportunity to address core questions in conservation, ecology and evolution and we welcome contributions of all taxonomic groups. This session will bring together participants with a shared interest in the effects of urbanisation on living organisms and in sustainable urban development.
The past decades have witnessed a generalized awareness that ecology and evolution often operate at similar timescales, hence their reciprocal impact has been the focus of a solid research agenda, mostly within the field known as Eco-evolutionary dynamics. Still, Ecology and Evolution are vast fields that have been also growing on their own in the past years. Therefore, maintaining solid bridges between these fields requires an active effort to identify and explore biological processes in which the interaction between these bodies of knowledge is key, This will allow us to improve our understanding of the natural world. The aim of this session is thus to foster synergies between Ecology and Evolution.
Description coming soon.
Over 350 000 chemicals and compounds are registered for commercial use worldwide. Although the impacts of climate change and habitat loss are established, anthropogenic chemical pollution as a global change factor has received considerably less attention. Ecologists are well equipped to tackle this challenge, because environmental contamination varies along familiar axes of space and time, while the effects of this contamination are dependent on the level of biological organization. Accordingly, in this session, we aim to showcase the breadth of ecological approaches to understanding and counteracting the negative impact of environmental pollution, including, but not limited to, the effects of fertilizers, industrial chemicals, metals, pharmaceuticals, persistent pollutants, and pesticides.
Biodiversity may be essential for human wellbeing, yet this relationship is often hard to work with due to the plurality of scales and dimensions behind both concepts, and the non-linearity and feedbacks in the relationship. In this session, we invite researchers engaging with different parts of the biodiversity-functioning-ecosystem services/nature's contribution to peoples-human wellbeing cascade from both fundamental and applied perspectives, to share and discuss their approaches and findings. We aim for strong and positive effects on participant enlightenment through diversity in terms of scales, study systems, methodological approaches and disciplines.
This session will cover all aspects of plant ecology, from the micro to macro scale, from the individual to the community.
This session will cover all aspects of zoology and animal ecology, from the micro to macro scale, from the individual to the community.
Description coming soon.
We invite contributions to a session dedicated to exploring the transformative impact of Computer Vision (CV) in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. CV, the automated extraction of meaningful information from digital images, has the potential to revolutionize the analysis of imagery data across various scientific domains. It has already contributed significantly to fields such as medical research and agricultural sciences. However, its potential in ecology and evolutionary biology remains largely untapped. In an era of digital imaging, the use of camera traps, drones, and satellites has greatly enhanced our capacity to observe and record the natural world. While image capture has expanded our ability to gather data across space and time, the bottleneck in transforming these images into meaningful ecological insights remains a significant challenge. CV offers a solution by automating this process, enhancing efficiency, repeatability, and accuracy, while reducing the cost and logistical challenges. Therefore, the use of CV in ecological and evolutionary research can offer invaluable insights into population dynamics, phenotypic diversity and adaptation processes.