Ecology and taxonomy have long been natural bedfellows, particularly in the study of biological populations and communities. Ecology’s focus is, however, moving inevitably to ecosystem processes in the face of global environmental changes and demands on sustainable productivity. The link between ecosystem ecology (with its focus on processes and their rates) and species identity and traits is still crucial because the accelerating loss of biodiversity is itself a major aspect of global change. Species may be lost due to human activities, and often the ‘roles’ of species in nature (i.e. the relationship between species and process rates) are lost before we have even appreciated their value.

Both ecology and taxonomy have now been transformed under the ongoing molecular and Big Data revolutions of the past decade, and it is timely to re-evaluate the relationship between the two. Here, we present an exciting range of keynote speakers to set new questions and help shape the next generation of research, especially in areas that are still huge blank canvases.

Confirmed speakers:

• Mary Power (University of California, Berkeley) - Endosymbiotic versus free-living cyanobacteria in a river food web
• Florian Altermatt (University of Zurich and Eawag) - The Anthropocene’s cascading effects on interspecific interactions, resource fluxes, and ecosystem dynamics
• Jose Montoya (CNRS: French National Centre for Scientific Research) - The sponge microbiome
• Owen Petchey (University of Zurich) - Why ecologists should avoid putting things into groups
• Julia Reiss (Roehampton University) - Weight as a key trait of freshwater invertebrates
• Markus Weitere (Helmholtz Centre of Environmental Research) - Biofilms as microbial food webs: How taxonomic and trait resolution help understanding ecosystem processes
• Alfried Vogler (Imperial College London) - Metagenetics of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities
• Tom Bell (Imperial College London) - Bacterial traits and the functioning of miniature ecosystems
• Anje-Margriet Neutel (British Antarctic Survey)

This is a joint event, sponsored by the British Ecological Society, Linnean Society and Freshwater Biological Association. The FBA are sponsoring 20 free student places - first come, first served.

Refund policy: Please be aware that in requesting a refund you will be reimbursed the event ticket price, subject to our refund policy (seven days before the event), but unfortunately you will not be reimbursed the Eventbrite fee.

If you would like to attend but are experiencing financial hardship as a result of the pandemic please get in touch with the BES at SIGs@britishecologicalsociety.org

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