You are here

Home    /    

NAEM 2025 - Overview of proposed parallel & workshop sessions

Below, you will find a live overview of the proposed parallel/workshop sessions for the 2025 NAEM Meeting. If you do not yet see your preferred topic of interest listed below, and if you are keen on organising such a session yourself, then please submit your session proposal here. The deadline for submission of parallel session proposals is Thursday 12 September 2024. Soon after the deadline has passed, the parallel/workshop sessions will be selected by the NAEM organising committee, and accordingly, they will be made public on this website. After that, the call for oral presentations in the selected parallel sessions will open. So please keep an eye on this website!!

Session Type : Workshop session
Session Title Conveners Institute Session highlight
Parasites in ecology: from diversity to impacts
Antoine Grenier-Journe
 Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) Despite being ubiquitous and overwhelmingly diverse, parasites have been predominantly studied for their health and economic importance. However, parasitic relationships are increasingly gaining attention from an ecological perspective. This session focuses on the diversity and role of parasites in ecosystems, from microscopic host-parasite interactions to food web modelling. Topics include studies on the impact of parasitism on trophic systems, host evolution and behaviour, as well as its implications in the context of climate change.
Research community Life&Planet (NWO)
Christiaan Both
 RUG This workshop will be organised by the research community Life & Planet (https://www.nwo.nl/en/life-and-planet). The community of biodiversity researchers considers it important to have a national biodiversity research strategy that prioritises inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration. To work towards this, the research community has taken a survey to collect bottom-up ideas within the field. The results have been collected and a vision paper is drafted. In this vision paper, we want to provide a science-wide view of the problem, and indicate what we need as a broad research field to make a greater impact in order to arrive at solutions. In this workshop this vision paper is presented and we will ask further input from the participants.
Tides of Change: Challenges for coastal ecosystems
Jim van Belzen
 Wageningen Marine Research / NIOZ - Estuarine & Delta Systems Coastal ecosystems face challenges including climate change, pollution, and land-use change. Connected through species migration and feedbacks, these ecosystems interact across depth gradients, but each have a unique response and resilience level. This session will explore shared and unique challenges faced by coastal ecosystems, over a gradient from shallow to deep. Speakers are invited to share discoveries and ideas and to discuss the vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive responses of coastal ecosystems to a changing environment.
Faunal impacts on biogeochemical cycles in the Anthropocene
Justine Lejoly
 Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology Biogeochemical cycles and stoichiometry are the fabric that underpins the dynamics and feedbacks of natural ecosystems and human production systems. In aquatic and terrestrial systems, fauna can influence biogeochemical (e.g., C, N, P) cycles. This session will build on different case studies and systems that address faunal impacts on biogeochemical cycles in a human-dominated world. We welcome contributions from both aquatic and terrestrial research using a variety of approaches, including microscale, modelling, and manipulative studies.
Towards sustainable peatlands: conservation, rewetting and paludiculture
Gabrielle R. Quadra
 Radboud University + Ecology Department + RIBES Peatlands are crucial for global carbon storage, water regulation, nutrient cycling and habitat provision for unique biodiversity. However, they are rapidly degrading due to drainage and fire. Landscape-scale restoration and paludiculture can promote fast carbon sequestration, climate adaptation and restoration of unique peatland habitats and hydrology. This session brings together researchers addressing peatlands from various perspectives and scales, including the topics of land use transformation, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient dynamics, and hydrology.
Bridging the gap: soil carbon fluxes through biota
Ciska Veen
 TE, NIOO-KNAW The soil ecology field is divided in studies on litter decomposition and root exudate effects while both of these routes contribute to carbon fluxes into soils and determine how much of this carbon is stabilized or respired. We aim to bring together soil microbiologists and soil faunal researchers to present their work and challenge them to think about the relative importance of rhizodeposit influxes from plants via microbes and the initiation of litter decomposition by fragmenters both leading to carbon fluxes into the mineral soil.
Species traits
Emilia Hannula
 Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University Studying species traits, i.e. the morphological, chemical, physiological and/or behavioral characteristics that differ between species, has been proposed as a powerful approach to reach understanding of both the causes and consequences of biodiversity change. But are species traits delivering on that promise? We highlight recent empirical and theoretical research on using traits to understand how plant, animal, and microbial diversity respond to external factors and how traits drive ecosystem processes and functions.
Game of Traits
Dedmer Van de Waal
 Netherlands Institute of Ecology In this workshop, we will play the Game of Traits, which is a card game to learn (students) about plankton and trait-based ecology. It is played with up to four players each representing a different algal group in freshwater or marine habitats. By expanding their deck with traits, players have a better chance to survive abiotic or biotic stressors. It is a competitive game where players can help but also sabotage each other.
Connecting landscapes: Biodiversity in Linear Landscape Elements
Constant Swinkels
 Ecology Dept., RIBES, Radboud University Linear Landscape Elements, such as hedgerows, road verges and dikes, gain scientific and public attention as habitats to promote and conserve biodiversity. This session will highlight studies on their value for different species groups. Topics include studies on the biodiversity in existing elements, environmental factors that affect this diversity and management associated with species conservation in existing and future landscape elements. Moreover, this session will connect researchers and stakeholders involved in landscape elements .
Elements across scales – Ecological stoichiometry from molecules to ecosystems
Annegreet Veeken
 nvironmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University This session explores the application of ecological stoichiometry in understanding global change impacts across scales and ecosystems. We welcome recent research from the freshwater, marine and terrestrial realms on how disruptions in biogeochemical cycles interact with other global change drivers affecting population structure, community composition, food web dynamics, and ecosystem metabolism. The goal is to enhance predictive models of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, to address global change across different ecological realms.
Extreme ecosystems and unusual events
Stef Bokhorst
 Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, VU-Amsterdam Extreme environments, such as polar regions and deserts, restrict organism physiology, growth and population sizes, and are frequently studied through the lens of abiotic limitations. However in the context of climate change, they also face a new suite of extreme events. While these ecosystems have been ideal for testing ecological theories as the abiotic-limitations limit confounding species-interactions. Now they can provide an early understanding on the effect of unusual events.
Organismal evolution within an anthropogenic niche
Ruth Fawthrop
 Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) Humans have been modifying global environments for millennia, driving ecological and evolutionary change. To persist within human-modified environments, populations must respond to diverse anthropogenic selective pressures arising from various factors such as changes in land use, habitat fragmentation, and modified resource availability. This session will highlight the ways human activities influence the evolutionary trajectories of non-human species, considering both rapid adaptation in contemporary human-modified environments and evolutionary responses to longer-term anthropogenic change.
species distribution modelling using the sdm R package
Babak Naimi
 Quantitative Biodiversity Dynamics (QBD), Utrecht University sdm is an R package and comprehensive modelling framework that enables fitting of species distribution models using 20+ machine learning algorithms as well as ensemble modelling approaches. The full-day workshop includes two sessions where first, the concept of data-driven modelling and in particular, species distribution modelling, will be discussed, then the sdm package will be demonstrated. The participants also have the opportunity to practice on their own laptops given the materials (data, codes) provided.
Ecosystem management to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions
José R. Paranaíba
 Postdoc Department of Ecology, Radboud University This session will address the state-of-the-art of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation strategies for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We welcome studies addressing the effectiveness of various GHG mitigation measures—e.g., carbon capture, shoreline preservation, nutrient abetment—and aim to explore potential cross-disciplinary applications, including their likely trade-offs. We encourage the analysis of the broader impacts of these strategies on ecosystem health, resilience, and biodiversity, and into how climate mitigation can be integrated with ecological preservation.
Building Digital Twins of Process-Based Models: From Theory to Practice in Coastal Dune Systems
Frederik Van Daele
 Terrestrial Ecology, Ghent University Get ready to explore the fascinating world of digital twins and process-based models in this interactive workshop. Uncover the secrets behind constructing spatially explicit models that inform nature-based solutions, and get hands-on experience with the unreleased Living Dunes software. Learn to simulate the interactions between demographic processes and aeolian transport, and engage in lively debates on measuring demographic factors for model parameterization. Join us and forecast the faith of ecosystems under global change!
Urban ecology and evolution
Wouter van der Vegt
 Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, VU-Amsterdam Urban areas have been expanding rapidly and will continue to do so. This urbanisation rate can have negative consequences by threatening biodiversity and ecosystem services, but also provide unique opportunities for many species. These urban dwellers can adapt, settle or even thrive in urban environments, showing that cities contain their own ecosystems and drive evolutionary changes. In this session, we welcome contributions on ecological and evolutionary processes of species in urban settings.
How to link critical Nitrogen loads to biodiveristy?
Wieger Wamelink
 Wageningen University & Research Critical loads for Nitrogen deposition: what do these exactly mean, how can these be related to ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, and what is the way forward to enhance our understanding of N-impact on ecosystems in combination with other pressures? We propose a workshop, starting with a compact presentation on the current state of affairs on critical Nitrogen depositions, followed by a question-led discussion. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger new research ideas.
High-throughput species recognition for ecological research
Niels Raes
 Naturalis Biodiversity Center Camera-traps, video and sound recorders, e-DNA analysis, and remote sensing technology are revolutionising biodiversity monitoring, but generate large volumes of material. To scale up the deployment of these high-throughput techniques and to generate usable data needed to answer ecological questions the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for species identification is critical. In this session, we will highlight the latest developments in the domain of high-throughput biodiversity monitoring and AI through several ecological cases.
Urban ecology
Roy Remme
 Institute of Environmental Sciences CML, Leiden University Urban ecology is growing as a major, interdisciplinary field focused on understanding the present and future of cities and their ecology, biodiversity, and sustainability. This session aims to highlight Dutch contributions to the field and discuss their (inter)national relevance. We aim to emphasize urban ecology’s broad scope, encouraging diverse perspectives and approaches to solving urban challenges. Contributors are asked to answer: "What is one thing from your research that peers should know about urban ecology?"
Session Type : Pre-determined session topics
Session Title Conveners Institute Session highlight
Using spatial data for understanding biodiversity and ecosystems
Jenny Lazebnik
 Wageningen Environmental Research We are curious about how ecologists are combining spatial datasets to understand diverse ecosystems (terrestrial, marine or freshwater). The session will bring together technologically savvy ecologists that demonstrate different ways for combining and integrating diverse spatial datasets. Talks could answer ecologically challenging questions about the state of biodiversity, effects of different drivers like climatic stressors, invasive species, eutrophication, sea level rise or anthropogenic activities, or changes in ecosystem functions, structure or land use.
Hurdles in Applied Conservation Science
Esther Swankhuisen
 Conservation Ecology Group, GELIFES This session explores the challenges and expectations researchers face in applied conservation science. Translating scientific findings into clear advice requires navigating public opinion, policies, and regulations, and collaborating with various stakeholders such as conservation and animal welfare organizations, farmers, hunters, and others. Researchers must balance the demand for quick results with the need to communicate effectively with the media and the public. How can we overcome these hurdles to ensure lasting success in conservation efforts?
Ecological scaling
Yann Hautier
 Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University This session will highlight research advancements in bridging the gap in our ability to predict and manage ecosystem properties at the landscape level, especially when multiple ecosystem functions need to be maintained. Topics include innovative approaches to scaling ecological data, developing predictive models for local and landscape dynamics, and case studies of successful management practices. The goal is to provide insights and strategies for effective policy and conservation, ensuring ecosystem stability amid global changes.
Insect symbioses across the mutualism-parasitism continuum
Aileen Berasategui
 Ecology and Evoltution, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam This session focuses on species interactions involving insects along the symbiotic continuum, with an emphasis on the mechanisms driving their origin, maintenance, and evolution. From mutualistic to parasitic, insect relationships are shaped by genetic, ecological, and behavioral processes. The session will highlight the latest developments in the field and deepen our understanding of insect biodiversity, co-evolution, and ecological resilience.
Animal movement ecology
Jan Geisler
 Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) Movement is a characteristic trait of animals that is acting at different scales, from local foraging trips to long-distance migrations, and plays a crucial role in a wide range of ecological and evolutionary processes. Current developments in (tracking) technology allow researchers to track animals and their movement at the individual and population level in unprecedented detail. In this session, we welcome submissions ranging from foraging behavior to long-distance population migration.
Connected by Water (pre-determined session 2, 4, or 6)
Arie Vonk
 University of Amsterdam (department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, IBED) Water connects terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, thereby playing a crucial role in the exchange of elements, energy and organisms. The importance of water for connectivity becomes especially clear when flows are deviated or obstructed, or if new pathways arise for (non-native) species. In this session, we aim to highlight the role of water for the connectivity along a range of ecosystem types, focusing both on used techniques and efforts to restore these connections.
Session Type : 3
Session Title Conveners Institute Session highlight
Tips and tricks for establishing your own microclimate monitoring network
Jonas Lembrechts
 Ecology & Biodiversity, Utrecht University Drawing from two new manuscripts, large-scale citizen science projects, and years of experience with the SoilTemp network, we offer practical guidelines for setting up your own microclimate network. This session provides a step-by-step workflow with hands-on advice for sensor selection, guides you through the field campaign process—from design to data communication—and introduces a helpful R toolkit for location selection. Ample time will be given to discuss your specific use cases.