LifeWatch ERIC at the British Ecological Society’s Annual Meeting
LifeWatch ERIC is excited to announce its participation in the British Ecological Society’s (BES) Annual Meeting, taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from December 12-15, 2023. This event will brings together ecologists worldwide to share ideas, establish collaborations, and tackle environmental challenges. The primary focus of the LifeWatch ERIC presence will be to engage with early career researchers interested in the Infrastructure’s online tools and services.
As the world’s oldest ecological society, the BES Annual Meeting is Europe’s largest conference dedicated to ecology. In 2022, over 1,500 delegates from more than 50 countries across six continents attended the meeting in person or online – a clear example of the importance of this event in advancing environmental knowledge and promoting sustainable solutions on a global scale.
LifeWatch ERIC’s booth will be a central hub for disseminating information about our services, partnerships, and research initiatives, expected to be of the greatest value to early career researchers. Visitors can access LifeWatch ERIC’s analytical tools, speak with experts, and discover our biodiversity and ecosystem research projects. You can find us at Stand no 3 in the Central Hall.
Nine researchers from LifeWatch ERIC, CNR, and the University of Salento will present their latest findings through papers and posters, including topics like semantic artefacts, invasive alien species, metabarcoding and the CIMPAL workflow.
The BES Annual Meeting features a series of thematic sessions that address specific and timely ecological challenges.
Hot topics in the Anthropocene: Emerging research in fire ecology
This thematic session will explore the latest research on fire ecology in the context of the Anthropocene. While human activities intensify, so does the frequency and intensity of fires, significantly impacting ecosystems and biodiversity. This session will showcase emerging research on fire-climate interactions, fire-regime shifts, and the effects of fire on different ecosystems.
Living laboratories – The nexus between research and practice
This session will discuss bridging the gap between ecological research and real-world conservation practices using living laboratories. LifeWatch ERIC researchers will present their work on using living labs to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and invasive species.
Risks and opportunities from novel land uses and seascape changes
This session will discuss the effects of human activities like urbanisation, agriculture, and coastal development on biodiversity and ecosystems. Researchers will present tools to assess and monitor land and seascape changes. Not only, they will also show strategies to mitigate negative impacts and enhance positive outcomes.
The three-dimensional data revolution in ecology
This session will showcase the power of 3D data in ecological research. The focus will highlight its use in studying plant and animal interactions, ecosystem dynamics, and landscape processes. LifeWatch ERIC researchers will discuss their work on developing and applying 3D data tools for ecological research. The presentations will show the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating 3D data into ecological models and frameworks.
It is expected that LifeWatch ERIC’s cloud computing facilities will attract a great deal of attention. A survey is available to identify the functions that researchers would most value in pursuing their research objectives.