Category: Conferences & Workshops

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Conferences & Workshops

10th ISBW – Fieldtrip and Wrap up

It’s been almost two weeks since the end of the 10th International Seagrass Biology Workshop in BĂşzios, Brazil and I’ve decided to do a blog post before the memories get too fuzzy. Here’s a re-cap of what we did the last three days of the conference:

Day 3: Geting into the swing of things
We started the morning with the third plenary speaker for the Worshop, Sophie Arnoud-Haund who gave us a round-up of the state of seagrass genetics and clonality. She offered insights into clonality and how it affects conservation of seagrass meadows. This was followed by a second day of 10-minute talks with the theme of .
In the afternoon we had two workshop sessions – mapping and ecosystem services. The workshop on mapping discussed and listed the various methods used by researchers and the challenges faced when mapping seagrass – and we learnt of some pretty creative methods used for mapping and detecting seagrass like for example, strapping a camera on the back of a manatee! The second workshop was on seagrass ecosystem services which really got us thinking about the value of seagrasses and the services they provide as it required listing the services of seagrass by genera.

Day 4: Field trip Day & Poster Session
We went out to hunt seagrass on Day 4 and we were brought to a meadow of Halodule wrightii seagrass. When we got to the site, it was windy and threatening to rain, but some of us decided to brave the cold and jump right in. This enthusiasm was perhaps fueled by rumours of a seeker’s prize for the first person to find Ruppia maritima in the meadow, but despite our best efforts, I don’t think anyone managed to find it. Just as we were wrapping up, the sun came out and the weather became more of what we had hoped for for a field trip day.

We also had an evening poster session, with some very simulating discussion aided by a large spread of yummy cheeses and wine 🙂

Day 5: Wrap up and dinner!
Gary Kendrick gave the last plenary of the ISBW and gave us an overview of seagrass dispersal and connectivity. After the last session of talks and workshop, we were rewarded with a conference dinner – a buffet style affair which everyone enjoyed. The student presentation and poster awards were also given out to the top 4 oral and best poster presentation.

And that concluded ISBW10 – there were some bleary-eyed farewells the next morning but in all everyone agreed that it was a successful workshop. Congratulations to Joel Creed and his team for a wonderful job done. See you guys in China in 2014! 🙂

 

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Conferences & Workshops

10th International Seagrass Biology Workshop – BĂşzios, Brazil

On the 25th of November 2012, the beach town of BĂşzios, Brazil was invaded when approximately 100 scientists from every continent (except maybe Antarctica) descended on the unsuspecting local population to talk about grass, seagrass to be exact.

The constant dribble of rain did not dampen (pun totally intended) the atmosphere as the seagrass pilgrims gathered at the conference venue to talk shop. Old ties were re-affirmed and new ones forged over a buzz of excitement – and we were only at registration!

After receiving the welcome pack which includes a conference t-shirt – which many have deemed a godsend (a few of us under-packed) – and paid our dues (I for one, thoroughly shortchanged the committee when making a bank transfer), we were herded downstairs for the first plenary of the conference where Jim Fourqurean gave us an overview of carbon storage in seagrass meadows and what the latest advances are on the issue of blue carbon. Afterwards, live music and drinks fueled the mingling and discussions into the early evening.Plenary 1

We hit the ground running on Day 2 of the conference with a series of interesting talks starting with our second plenary speaker, Margareth Copertino, who gave us an overview of the status of seagrass research in Brazil. This was followed by the first oral session on management, followed by oral session 2 on disturbance, recovery and mitigation.

After lunch we had a productive workshop session on Seagrass and Blue Carbon. I was in the Economics of Blue Carbon group and there was a lively discussion, led by Kate O’Brien, who kept us on track with identifying the key issues. The group then re-convened to present the outcomes of their group discussions.

The organizing committee treated us to a Pizza night for the hard work we put in on the first full day and we were also treated to a slide show of photo contributions of seagrass and seagrass researchers. That’s a wrap up of Day 1 & 2, stay tuned for the field trip updates!

 

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Conferences & Workshops

Reflections from the Mediterranean Seagrass Workshop, Morocco

Giuseppe pens his thoughts on the Mediterranean Seagrass Workshop in Morocco.

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Every three years, I tell myself “this is the last time”, and then every time I change my mind. I have been involved in the organisation of three Mediterranean Seagrass Workshops (MSW), and the effort and time dedication are worthwhile every time. On May 24, I got on a plane and soon after touched down for the first time in Morocco. True enough, conferences always take us to new places, meet new people, experience new cultures. After a couple of days in a confusing, overwhelming and crowded Marrakech, we got on a bus to Essaouira, where the MSW would be held. The road to Marrakech is pulverous, but with stunning landscapes, changing from the arid land of central Morocco to the olive trees and the green pastures of the Atlantic coastline. The landscape is intermittent with local agriculture fields, some times scattered by grazing goats and sleepy donkeys.

Essaouira: La ville du vent


Essaouira, we would soon discover is “la ville du vent” and for good reason. The wind blows 24/7 over the long stretch of beach, that goes as far as the eye can see. On Monday afternoon (May 28) the participants start trickling in from all directions; this year we have a smaller group than usual, but it’s great to see some of the same people that carry on the legacy, since the first workshop in 2006. Tuesday morning, we are ready to begin. The MSW has always been a great opportunity to maintain a Mediterranean network of seagrass scientists and managers. Only few people from the region attend the global ISBWs and other conferences are often a potpuorri of themes, topics, fields. So we stick we our own seagrass community, at least every once in a while!

Participants greeting each other at the MSW

The other interesting thing, to me at least, is that the MSW is an indicator of Mediterranean seagrass research: the majority of talks generally reflects the trends of what Mediterranean seagrassers are up to, what funding is available and what large processes are underway. I’ll give you examples. In 2009, on the beautiful island of Hvar (in Croatia) a lot of the presented work was focused on the Water Framework Directive, which at that time, the European Union was implementing for the monitoring of European waters. I tell you “monitoring” and “intercalibration” were the key words in those days. This year, no single presentation talked about “intercalibration” – that is clearly done and over with, but climate change is now the word on everyone’s lips.


The fact that conferences take us to amazing places is not just a nice treat. It also gives the opportunity of hosting countries (and their neighboughrs) to increase the representation and participation of their scientists. Given that  European conferences don’t often see a good deal of North African participants, we were particularly happy to see a larger delegation from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Most of us had to dust off our french and start talking. But as usual, these efforts (not just improving language skills) pay off. New collaborations are fostered at each MSW, new partnerships, new ideas and projects. But most importantly new friendships.

Participants of MSW 2012

In pure Mediterranean style, long lunches in front of delicious cous-cous, afternoon chats with posters and swimming pool gatherings make the difference. This is what keeps the community together. And every time, new students, new members, new countries (even the USA and Australia) participate. We were through four days pretty quickly and it was time to get home. Except that the bus back to Marrakech broke and left us stranded in the middle of nowhere under a burning sun. One more story to tell next time. We look forward to the next MSW, each of them has a different flavour and its own character. As they say in Morocco “Ă  la prochaine, inshAllah”.