Workshop: Follow the food! Using food webs as indicators of ecosystem functioning

Évora, Portugal 17-18 January, 2023

 

Ecosystem based bio-assessment is a fundamental tool to understand the effect of anthropogenic pressures and global climate changes on ecosystem’s health. Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires that European Union Member States achieve “Good Environmental Status” (GES) in respect of 11 Descriptors. The Food Webs descriptor (D4) is highlighted as the most difficult to implement due to significant lack of knowledge on the functional aspects of marine food webs.

However, new emerging state of art methodologies can contribute to increasing our understanding of natural processes, while modeling approaches can advance our knowledge on food web theory and deliver a more integrative image of the food web dynamics in different systems.

 

Objective:

The objective of the workshop is to bring together specialists working on different aspects of food web ecology and discuss the current and future state of food webs in the context of the indicators of GES. The workshop also aims to strengthen the cooperation between scientists from different areas (modeling vs empirical approach vs ecosystem perspective) to produce more integrative data that would eventually assist in delivering process-based indicators, capable of capturing multiple anthropogenic pressures.

One important aspect of the workshop is to understand how to provide a better link between fundamental scientific knowledge and their application to assess the ecosystem conditions. For this reason, we invited two representatives from the Portuguese Environmental Agency to discuss how scientists, working on food webs, can better impact the decision-making process and the implementation of D4 in marine ecosystems.

 

Who is it for?

The workshop is directed to anyone (master students, PhD students, postdocs, Professors, managers, stakeholders etc.), who is working on some aspect of the food web and would like to learn, share, and contribute to an emerging discussion on the topic.

 

PROGRAMME:

(download the full programme PDF)

17 Jan: Food-web ecology: cutting-edge methods and approaches

09h00

Welcome session

09h30

Tom Moens (University of Ghent)

"Applying cutting-edge analytical tools on food-webs research"

11h00

Coffee break

11h30

Michelle Jackson (University of Oxford)

"Food webs under stress: the application of stable isotopes"

13h00

Lunch

14h30

Ferenc Jordan (University of Parma)

"Key nodes and critical interactions in marine food webs"

16h00

Coffee break

16h30

Roundtable discussion

18 Jan: Food-web research applications on decision-making contexts

09h00

Representative from APA - Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente

10h00

Representative from APA - Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente

11h00

Coffee break

11h30

Roundtable Discussion

13h00

Lunch

14h30

Member from MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Center

"How can we strengthen the cooperation among MARE scientists that work on food webs"

15h00

Roundtable Discussion

16h00

Coffee break

16h30

Roundtable Discussion cont.

18h00

Summary and take-home message

 

Registration Fees:
40€ for MARE members
60€ general public

(Maximum of 15 participants)

 

How to register:

The registration deadline is December 20th, 2022. Register through the following link: https://sge.uevora.pt/eventos/ver/980

1 - You must first sign in on the platform https://sge.uevora.pt/users/register (you'll receive a confirmation email to conclude your sign in)
2 - Log in through https://sge.uevora.pt and access the event "Follow the food! Using food webs as indicators of ecosystem functioning - Workshop"
3 - Click on the option "Register" on the right side bar and then click "Confirm registration"
4 - You'll receive the payment information.After you've proceeded to the payment, choose the option "Confirm Payment". Complete your invoicing details and upload your payment proof. Your payment will then be validated along with your registration.

 

 

 

Format: The workshop will be held in person, at the University of Évora, exclusively.

Training hours: 13h

 

Location:
Colégio do Espírito Santo, Room 124
Universidade de Évora, Portugal

 

For more info contact the organizers:
kasia@uevora.pt
snpires@fc.ul.pt
mare@uevora.pt

Date: 
Tuesday, 17 January, 2023 to Wednesday, 18 January, 2023
Workshop