Scientific Program and Structure

The conference will take place over 4 days.

Each day will begin with an invited plenary address followed by two parallel sessions.

Scientific sessions will include invited and contributed papers. Contributed papers will be selected for oral and poster presentations.

Duration of Talks: 20 min (17 min talk + 3 min questions)

The conference theme “Climate, Oceans and Society: Challenges and Opportunities” will broadly address interactions among the natural processes of the ocean and human activities affecting, and affected by, marine ecosystems, including sustainability of marine resource management. One of the challenges is to become more socially and environmentally conscious, while taking greater responsibility for maintaining ocean ecosystems through sustainable ecological and resource management. Contributions should address one of the following session themes:

Theme 1: Climate effects on physical, chemical and biological processes

Climate change influences marine biogeochemistry and ecosystems through changes in physical processes such as currents, eddies, mixing, and thermohaline circulation. Understanding these changes at various spatial-temporal scales and exploring their effects on biogeochemical cycling, species distributions, ecophysiology, and marine food-webs is fundamentally important. Interconnecting physico-chemical changes and their effects on marine ecosystems provides a more comprehensive understanding of the balance in the climate system and the consequences if this balance is disrupted.

  • Session 1A: Climate change and the effects on the ocean
  • Session 1B: Cross-scale interactions and trends of climate change
  • Session 1C: Coastal dynamics: changes in sea level, geomorphology and ecosystems

Theme 2: Anthropogenic effects on the marine environment

Human activities significantly impact the marine environment by directly utilizing coastal land and marine resources. Developing mitigation strategies and management tools based on scientific knowledge of biogeochemistry, life cycles, and ecosystem processes is critical for the concurrent achievement of sustainable use of marine resources and maintenance of healthy ecosystems. This theme focuses on monitoring, assessment and management of anthropogenic effects on the marine environment in order to support both the sustainable use and the maintenance of the marine ecosystem and its surroundings.

  • Session 2A: Introduction of anthropogenic substances to the ocean and their impacts
  • Session 2B: Ecosystem-Based Management – Get the big picture
  • Session 2C: Evaluation of best management practices

Theme 3: Patterns and processes in marine ecosystems

Investigating the patterns and processes in marine ecosystems is of great interest to marine scientists and managers, and is fundamental to modeling ecosystems, predicting change, determining effects of human impacts, and managing marine populations. Abstracts submitted to this theme will explore marine life and its dynamics, from individuals to ecosystems, as well as present the tools and models suitable to explain them.

  • Session 3A: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
  • Session 3B: Marine population dynamics and community ecology
  • Session 3C: Marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles
  • Session 3D: Ecological forecasting in marine ecosystems

Theme Sessions

S-1A: Climate change and the effects on the ocean

Convenors:
TBA

Physical changes, such as temperature, precipitation and ice cover lead to altered water circulation and ocean chemical composition that can influence ocean ecosystems. This session will examine climate change impacts on marine physical, chemical and biological processes and their interactions. This topic seeks contributions exploring multiple stressors such as temperature rise, salinity changes, ocean acidification, deoxygenation and their effects on physiology, ecology, species distribution, population and ecosystem dynamics.

S-1B: Cross-scale interactions and trends of climate change

Convenors:
TBA

Downscaling global climate and ecosystem models to regional and local scales is important for understanding small scale ecosystem structure. Contributions are welcome that focus on shifts, trends and variability in the marine environment and biota at seasonal, interannual, decadal, and century timescales.

S-1C: Coastal dynamics: changes in sea level, geomorphology and ecosystems

Convenors:
TBA

Coastal areas are important for humans and marine ecosystems. It is there that water and land meet, marine life is rich and diverse, and human populations are concentrated and reliant upon services provided by the ocean. Climate change will have strong effects on coastal morphology and erosion through processes such as variation in sea‐level and related storm surges. This session seeks abstracts on topics related to the impacts of sea-level rise, upwelling and downwelling, altered nutrient cycling, wave energy and ocean currents on coasts, marine habitats and their biota.

S-2A: Introduction of anthropogenic substances to the ocean and their impacts

Convenors:
TBA

The assessment of anthropogenic effects requires a sound knowledge base of the complex spatial and temporal relationships between human activities and the sensitivity of marine ecosystem components. The monitoring and evaluation of impacts such as pollution, including marine debris, petrochemicals and other toxics, coming from human activities, is essential. Particularly important are observation-based results demonstrating temporal trends, fates of pollutants, pollution sources, transport pathways (current, river, atmosphere, submarine groundwater etc.) and the impacts on the ecosystem.

S-2B: Ecosystem-Based Management – Get the big picture

Convenors:
TBA

Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) is a holistic approach to management that considers the entire ecosystem, including humans. Its goal is to maintain the ecosystem in a healthy, productive and resilient state while exploiting natural resources for the benefit of the society, and assuring that the ecosystem services it provides are available for current and future generations. This topic explores the assessment of direct and indirect effects of diverse human uses (e.g. fisheries, mariculture, marine energy, transportation and other sectors) on coastal systems. Abstracts are welcome that address the management of those effects in relation to ecosystem integrity and resilience.

S-2C: Evaluation of best management practices

Convenors:
TBA

This topic addresses the evaluation of management strategies/options and their consequences for marine ecosystems. With the implementation of links between science and management, future risks, conflicts or synergies (e.g. between wind farm development and aquaculture) can be identified, and trade-offs might be eased. Outcomes will offer decision support and thus facilitate the communication between scientists, stakeholders, planners and decision makers. Abstracts are invited that address how science will contribute to better management practices such as Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), and how science and policy need to interact to lead to wise decisions.

S-3A: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

Convenors:
TBA

Marine biodiversity has a global conservation value and is an important factor in marine ecosystem functioning. This topic will embrace studies that characterize marine biodiversity patterns, describe biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships and link community and species’ traits to ecosystem function.

S-3B: Marine population dynamics and community ecology

Convenors:
TBA

Abstracts will address the ecology of individuals, populations and the interaction of species within marine communities using modeling and observation techniques. The session invites studies that link evolutionary and ecological dynamics, examine multi-taxonomic and/or multi-habitat interactions, such as bentho-pelagic coupling, and investigate other biological relationships in the ocean.

S-3C: Marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles

Convenors:
TBA

Marine ecosystems play a key role in the cycling of carbon and other important elements, but many biological processes directing these biogeochemical cycles remain poorly understood. This topic welcomes studies that explore the importance of biological processes for biogeochemical cycles. It will include studies on plankton dynamics, primary/secondary production processes, the microbial community, carbon transport to the deep (biological pump), and studies that link ecosystem models with biogeochemistry.

S-3D: Ecological forecasting in marine ecosystems

Convenors:
TBA

The forecasting of marine ecosystems under changing conditions will be explored in this session. Abstracts will be research focused on forecasting the changes in ecosystems that may result from environmental drivers, predicting how human populations may be affected by ecosystem dynamics, and dealing with uncertainty in projections. Additionally, investigations of various tools supporting ecological forecasting may be included.