2-6th June, Pontevedra, Galicia
Silvia Castro
Assistant Professor at the Department of Life Sciences and Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra (UC).
Working on: Plant ecology and evolution, pollination and plant-pollinator interactions
Her research id focused on plant ecology and evolution by studying the dynamics of diploid-polyploid plants namely the origin, maintenance and ecological consequences of polyploidy, and the role of plant-pollinator interactions in plant reproductive strategies and phenotypic selection. Also, she interested in threatened and invasive plants, exploring evolutionary changes in plant reproductive strategies during the invasion process, evolution of invasiveness and impacts in native plant communities.
She will tell us about the "Steps towards the development of an action plan for pollinator conservation and sustainability"
Iván Gómez-Mestre
Researcher at the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC).
Working on: Plasticity and macroevolution
His research is focused on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity and the role of plasticity in evolution, specifically on how organisms alter their phenotypes in response to changing environments and the evolutionary role of environmentally induced changes in development. He use various species of amphibians and invertebrates (beetles, daphnia) as model studies, studying their adaptations to abiotic factors, as well as their interactions with predators, competitors, pathogens and organisms from other trophic levels.
Carlos M. Herrera Maliani
Emeritus Professor of Research at the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC).
Working on: Plant-animal interactions
Initially trained as an ornithologist, his scientific work has focused on most facets of the evolutionary ecology of plant-animal interactions, including plant-frugivore, plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore systems, as well as the tritrophic plant-pollinator-fungus system. It aims to contribute to resolving the apparent paradox represented, on the one hand, by the strong historical and ecological constraints on reciprocal adaptations found at the microevolutionary scale and, on the other hand, by the innumerable cases illustrating reciprocal adaptive radiations between plants and herbivores, pollinators and seed predators at the macroevolutionary scale. More recently, it has also added to its research programme the study of microbes potentially consequential for interactions linking plants with their animal pollinators, as well as approaches in population and molecular genetics, molecular phylogenetics, phylogeography and chemistry.
He will tell us about “Subindividual variation, epigenetics and the melting of individuality in plants”
Rafael Marcé
Research Scientist at the Centre for Advanced Studies (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Spain.
Working on: Biogeochemistry, inland waters, global change
His scientific career focuses on how water scarcity impacts continental aquatic ecosystems and their ability to provide essential services to society. He investigates how drying affects carbon storage and cycling in inland waters and its implications for anthropogenic carbon redistribution. He contributes to global modeling efforts through the ISIMIP and GLEON networks, studying climate change impacts on lakes and reservoirs. Additionally, designs predictive tools for water quality in reservoirs, emphasizing the impacts of droughts and extreme weather events.
He will tell us about “A blind spot in terrestrial carbon inventories: when water matters more than land”
Silvia Matesanz
University Professor and Academic Secretary of the Global Change Research Institute (IICG), Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) .
Working on: Microevolution, climate change, phenotypic plasticity
Her research mainly focuses on the evolutionary ecology of plants, particularly on the micro-evolutionary processes that occur within populations and how phenotypic variation is shaped by genetic and environmental factors. She investigates the role of phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution in the responses of Mediterranean plants to climate change.
She will tell us about the "Phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution in Mediterranean gypsum endemics: insights into climate change response"
Beatriz Mouriño
Researcher at the Biological Oceanography group of the CIM-UVigo and Professor at the University of Vigo.
Working on: Physical-biological interactions, phytoplankton, ocean turbulence
Her research focuses on understanding physical-biological interactions in the ocean across a broad range of temporal and spatial scales. In particular, she examines the mechanisms that control marine primary production, such as intermittent nutrient supplies to plankton communities. To do this, she uses a combination of satellite images, time-series data analysis, physical and biological observations from specific cruises, laboratory experiments, and ocean model simulations. Current topics under investigation include the role of microstructure turbulence in structuring ocean microbial communities and the role of biological nitrogen fixation in coastal upwelling systems.
She will tell us about the "Unresolved mysteries in the Galician Rías Baixas"
Elena Ojea
Oportunius Research Professor at the Future Oceans Lab, CIM-University of Vigo (Spain).
Working on: Climate change adaptation, transformative responses, adaptive capacities, marine social-ecological systems
Her research is devoted to adaptive solutions for marine socio-ecological systems that enable sustainable resource management, social equity and care for marine livelihoods. She is currently involved in several European projects conducting risk and vulnerability assessments of marine systems. She has develop fieldwork in Chile, Mexico, Japan and Spain to explore fishers’ adaptive and transformative responses. Her research has a high international impact, participating in international projects for the FAO or the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. More recently, she has been lead author in the 6th IPCC Report on Impacts and Adaptation, in the ocean chapter and is scientific advisor in Stanford's Blue Food Futures initiative.
She will tell us about the "Chances to adapt in traditional fishing communities"
Sara Palacio
Tenured scientist at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Spanish Research Council (IPE-CSIC).
Working on: Extreme environments, functional plant ecology, ecophysiology, evolution
Her research analyzes the mechanisms used by plants to adjust their form and function to the abiotic and biotic limitations of the environment where they live, and how these processes have forged plant evolution. These questions are fundamental to understanding the response of plant species to global change and its possible consequences on the functioning of ecosystems. In her research, she uses a combination of botanical, ecological, ecophysiological, molecular and physiological tools to study processes at the whole plant level. In recent years, she has specialized in the mechanisms that plants have to survive in extreme environments. Her research ranges from mountain peaks to the driest deserts of the planet, with a special emphasis on gypsum soils.
She will tell us about the "Plant life in extreme environments: how extreme environments can help advance ecological theory"
Mario Pansera
Oportunius Research Professor affiliated to the University of Vigo and affiliated Researcher at the Autonoma University of Barcelona (UAB) .
Working on: Post-growth, Science and Technology Policy
Mario is the PI of ERC Starting Grant for the project PROSPERA (947713) and Coordinator of the H2020 project JUST2CE. His work focuses on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Innovation for degrowth/postgrowth. He gained a PhD in Management at the University of Exeter Business School in 2014. After his Marie-Curie post-doctoral fellowship in Brussels, he worked as a research fellow at the University of Bristol from 2017 to 2020. Mario is currently employed as OPORTUNIUS Research Professor affiliated to the University of Vigo, Associated Researcher at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and in the International Faculty at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where he teaches Responsible Innovation in the ExeMBA.
He will tell us about “From Creative destruction to People’s Science: How science would look like in a post-growth world?”
Carlos Pérez Carmona
Professor of Functional Ecology, University of Tartu.
Working on: Trait-based ecology, macroecology and biodiversity
His research aims to uncover how traits shape community assembly and ecosystem processes across different environments, scales, and organisms. He achieves this by linking traits to species performance and examining macroecological patterns of functional diversity and how they are affected by global change drivers. His work integrates experimental, analytical, and global approaches, combining field studies with the development of new methods to measure and interpret biodiversity.
He will tell us about “Towards a unified trait space: the search for a permanent center of gravity in plant functional ecology.”
Bernardo Quintela Oleagoitia
Assistant Researcher at MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences.
Working on: Fish migrations, biotelemetry
His research focuses on fish migrations through an integrative approach combining distinct methodological tools (artificial tags and natural markers) to study movements at different spatial and temporal scales. One of the innovative natures of his research is that it covers migrations within freshwater (potamodromous), at sea (oceanodromous) or between realms (diadromous). He is particularly interested in partial migrations, understanding why some individuals move while others don't is, in essence, understanding the migratory behaviour.
He will tell us about “Fish partial migrations across realms”
Christina Richards
Researcher at the University of South Florida & University of Tübingen.
Working on: Plant plasticity, genomics and epigenetics
Christina is an associate professor at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, Florida, USA. She received her PhD at the University of Georgia and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Stony Brook University and NYU. She uses genomics to understand how plants and animals respond to challenging environmental conditions. Recently as a Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) laureate at the University of Tübingen in Germany, she started a global collaboration to investigate mechanisms of plant invasions. Together her team has collected field data and run experiments in common gardens with plants from native and invasive populations of Japanese knotweed in the USA, European Union, and China. She is also interested in understanding how studies of invasive species in natural systems can help us understand the diversity of human cancers.
She will tell us about the "Unraveling response to complex environmental conditions in non-model plants"
Andrea Sánchez Messeguer
Researcher at the Real Jardín Botánico (RJB-CSIC).
Working on: Phylogeny, Diversification, Biogeography
Her recent research combines genomic tools and macroevolutionary models to reconstruct the evolution of lineages and biomes, with particular emphasis on the patterns driving biotic assemblage over long temporal and broad spatial scales. To this end, she combine probabilistic approaches, fossils and molecular tools to reconstruct the evolutionary history of organisms at macroevolutionary scales. She is also interested in the fossil record and its integration with current evidence to provide more realistic scenarios of the past.
She will tell us about “Deep-time environmental legacies on biodiversity: From lineages to large scale diversity patterns.”