FIRST NATIONAL MEETING ON RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT OF BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS

The "first national meeting on research and management of biological invasions” took place in CIBIO-InBIO Vairão Campus, on June 3, 2015. This event was organized by the AliensWatch work group, and had as main goal the compilation and synthesis of the research on this issue that has been developed in Portugal. The main goal was to define the major future prospects of research on this topic and to identify the most relevant conservation measures that can mitigate the impact of this phenomenon in our country.

The AliensWatch group is a national network, coordinated by CIBIO-InBIO researcher Joana Vicente, which bring together experts from various fields to discuss biological invasions.

Present in this event were representatives from 15 research units from distinct national universities: University of Porto, University of Lisboa, University of Açores, University Nova de Lisboa, University of Évora, University of Coimbra, University of Minho, University of Aveiro and University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV) – National Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research – and the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Florestas (ICNF) – Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests – were also represented in the meeting.

The opening session was presented by CIBIO-InBIO director, Nuno Ferrand de Almeida, and by ICNF representative, Adolfo Macedo. The event was divided in two parts: a morning session, open to the media, in which oral presentations on specific topics pertaining to biological invasions took place; and an afternoon session reserved to guest and focusing on the discussion of ideas for future initiatives, namely related to the identification of the most suitable ways to communicate the study of this topic in Portugal, and the definition of the content and structure of a book on biological invasions, written in Portuguese (with an abstract in English), which will be published in 2016. Other initiatives that are set to take place soon include: the creation of a national group of experts on biological invasions - "AliensWatch_PT” - which will be included in the PORBIOTA platform, coordinated by CIBIO-InBIO; the organization of a special issue in an international scientific journal devoted to the works produced by the AliensWatch_PT group; and the organization of a regular interdisciplinary congress on biological invasions.

The schedule of the event is available online, and can be found here. (in Portuguese only)

To read the press release announcing this event, please, click here. (in Portuguese only)

To read the press release highlighting the main outcomes of this event, please, click here. (in Portuguese only)