Symposium > Sessions and program

The symposium will be organized in 4 sessions :

Session 1 : Stress ecology and ecotoxicology

Keynote speaker: Will be announced soon
Conveners: TBD

Organisms naturally experience stress during some part of their life. However, human activities cause unprecedented environmental changes, e.g., through chemical pollution and the release of greenhouse gasses, and thereby greatly increasing stress for many organisms. Efficiently predicting and mitigating the impacts of human activities requires understanding the actions and interactions of stressors on the life history of organisms and up to the functioning of ecosystems. DEB theory has a long history of developing mechanistic models of stress at the individual level. Although it also proved efficient in upscaling those effects at higher levels of organization, this potentiality has been less exploited till now.

This session invites contributions that deal with the action of stressors or combinations of stressors on any level of biological organization, from individuals to ecosystems. Aside from DEB modelling applications to specific cases, presentations of novel model concepts relevant to stress ecology and regulatory developments are also particularly welcomed.

Session 2: Theoretical and methodological developments and new applications

Keynote: Will be announced soon
Conveners: TBD

Since its inception in 1979, DEB theory has been continuously developed and tested in a multitude of applications. This session invites contributions addressing theoretical advancements, methodological innovations, and applications of DEB theory to new scientific questions. Such innovations might include the development of species-specific modules, modules for particular traits and processes, or general theoretical advancements. Contributions introducing new methodologies for parameter estimation, uncertainty assessment, and model validation are also highly encouraged. Furthermore, we invite studies showcasing new applications of DEB theory, spanning diverse fields such as aquaculture, oceanography, conservation biology, terrestrial ecosystems, and beyond—from localized studies to global-scale analyses.

Session 3: Metabolism across levels of biological organization

Keynote: Will be announced soon
Conveners: TBD

DEB theory offers a comprehensive framework for mechanistically describing and explaining metabolic processes at the individual level, within clearly defined scales of space and time. By design, it can be scaled up and down to other levels of biological organization, from enzymatic processes at the cellular level to population and community interactions and dynamics.

This session welcomes contributions leveraging DEB theory to explore biological processes at various levels of organization, from cellular up to individual level. Environmental factors significantly influence metabolic rates, shaping how organisms interact with their environment and other species of the community. Studies showcasing innovative approaches that address the challenges associated with further upscaling models to populations and ecosystems, thus enabling a better understanding of their functioning and dynamics under fluctuating environmental conditions, are especially encouraged in this session. Contributions focusing on characterizing the impacts of intra-species variability and environmental variability on population responses; resolving interactions between multiple species; and investigating how connectivity, habitat, and biotic interactions influence species distribution in the context of climate change and global warming are also welcomed.

Session 4: Traits, evolution, and biodiversity

Keynote: Will be announced soon
Conveners: TBD

Understanding the diversity of life on Earth requires unraveling the complex interactions between organismal traits, evolutionary processes, and environmental conditions. The role of biodiversity in ecosystem structure and function is central to conservation, environmental quality management, as well as biospherics and earth system research. Biological systems can be meaningfully compared through an evolutionary lens: organisms within and accross species share certain traits while exhibiting variations that have emerged gradually through evolution. Hence, biodiversity encompasses not just the number of species present, but also the number and nature of the various characteristics and functions that comprise a community or ecosystem, often known as traits. Trait-based approaches can shed light on critical issues, including estimating ecosystem resilience in the face of rapid environmental change.
 
This session invites contributions that use DEB theory to characterize the shared and divergent features of organisms, pushing biology beyond descriptive limitations and maximizing the explanatory capacity of theoretical framework.