NEOBIOTA Conference 2012 - Halting Biological Invasions in Europe: from Data to Decisions

First announcement and call for abstracts

NEOBIOTA 2012 - Halting Biological Invasions in Europe: from Data to Decisions

7th European Conference on Biological Invasions

Pontevedra (Spain), 12-14 September 2012

VENUE
Pazo da Cultura de Pontevedra
Rúa Alexandre Bóveda s/n
36005 Pontevedra

Pontevedra is a fluvial city situated next to the sea, a capital that receives the inland mountains and the wonders of the Ría of Pontevedra and the Ría of Arousa. Situated at the core of the Rías Baixas, 30 minutes away from Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra is a privileged place to spend few days during a visit to Galicia, avoiding the rush hours of the most visited places. The city is historically famous, culturally rich and has a significant number of architectural attractions worth seeing and a very well preserved medieval town centre. Surroundings are littered with beaches and many other natural beauties, among them the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park.

THEME AND BACKGROUND
The progressing and escalating threats posed by invasive alien species in Europe suggest that immediate cooperative, specific planning is necessary if we are to have any chance to halt biodiversity loss. Scientific, technical, political and legal actions need to be put in place urgently in order to diminish the ecological and economic impacts of biological invasions.

In this framework, NEOBIOTA 2012 will provide an international high-level forum to incorporate research into decision making processes and management of invasive alien species. NEOBIOTA will constitute an important opportunity to advance the dialogue and strengthen cooperation between the scientific community, conservation agencies, stake-holders, and policy and decision makers.

Researchers, representatives from governmental entities, non-profit organizations, and any person or party involved in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management are invited to participate and share ideas, new results and opinions in the field of biological invasions.

CONFERENCE TOPICS
•    Impacts of biological invasions

1. Impact on ecological processes and on functional diversity; native species and communities
2. Impacts on economy and health (plants, animals and humans)

•    Management of biological invasions

1. Prevention and early detection
2. Mitigation and control
3. Prioritization of species and pathways
4. Public perception and communication of the risks associated to biological invasions
5. Policy and legislation

•    Ecology of biological invasions

1. Biological invasions under climate change
2. Temporal and spatial trends
3. Biotic and abiotic control of alien species
4. Modeling populations of alien species

•    Evolution of biological invasions

1. Genetic variation of alien species
2. Local adaptation of alien species
3. Hybridization and invasion
4. Founder and Allee effects in alien species
5. All organisms and ecosystems will be considered

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Darren Kriticos
CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences. Canberra, Australia.

David M. Richardson
Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University. Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Gregory Ruiz
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Edgewater (Maryland), USA.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Laura Capdevila-Argüelles
GEIB, Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas. León, Spain.

Emili García-Berthou
Institute of Aquatic Ecology. University of Girona. Girona, Spain.

Piero Genovesi
ISPRA (Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), Rome, Italy.

Stephan Gollasch
GoConsult, Hamburg, Germany

Phil Hulme
Lincoln University. Canterbury, New Zealand.

Johannes Kollmann
Restoration Ecology, Technical University Munich. Freising, Germany.

Ingo Kowarik
Institute for Ecology, TU Berlin. Berlin, Germany.

Darren Kriticos
CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences. Canberra, Australia.

Ingolf Kühn
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ. Halle, Germany.

Wolfgang Nentwig
Zoological Institute, University of Bern. Bern, Switzerland.

Petr Pyšek
Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences. Průhonice, Czech Republic.

Wolfgang Rabitsch
Umweltbundesamt, the Austrian Federal Environment Agency. Vienna, Austria.

David M. Richardson
Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University. Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Gregory Ruiz
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Edgewater (Maryland), USA.

Víctor Ángel Suárez Álvarez
GEIB, Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas. León, Spain.

Monsterrat Vilà
Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla, Spain.

Bernardo Zilletti
GEIB, Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas. León, Spain.
 

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Laura Capdevila-Argüelles
GEIB, Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas. León, Spain.

Emili García-Berthou
Institute of Aquatic Ecology, University of Girona. Girona, Spain.

Víctor Ángel Suárez Álvarez
GEIB, Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas. León, Spain.

Montserrat Vilà
Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla, Spain

Bernardo Zilletti
GEIB, Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas. León, Spain.


HOST INSTITUTION
GEIB Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
We are looking forward to receiving contributions for talks and poster presentations. Participants planning to give a talk or poster presentation are asked to submit an English abstract no later than 31 May 2012 to the conference office, by e-mail to neobiota2012@gmail.com, as an attached Word document.

Please see the “Abstract contribution” section at the conference website.

Background information, a draft programme, and registration information will be sent out shortly at the conference website http://eei2012-neobiota2012.blogspot.com
For questions you can contact the NEOBIOTA 2012 Conference Secretariat neobiota2012@gmail.com.

NEOBIOTA 2012 is carried out under the patronage of the ISSG/IUCN and the Bern Convention.