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)

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