ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS: SEARCHING FOR COMMON GROUND TO IMPROVE RIVER MANAGEMENT
STUDENT SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION
River ecosystems are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide due to multiple pressures including overexploitation, water pollution, flow modification, destruction or degradation of habitats, and invasion by exotic species. Nevertheless, river ecosystems provide several crucial ecosystem services to human societies including clean water, energy and food. Current pressures not only endanger freshwater biodiversity, but also compromise the provision of key ecosystem services. In addition, global change processes are expected to further aggravate these trends. In this context, of high human-biodiversity interdependence and increasing pressures, several international strategies, and legal frameworks at the European level, have underlined the need to safeguard biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services and benefits to society. Therefore, effective river management must address spatial congruence and trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision.
In this talk Ana Paula Portela will present her PhD project, which aims at investigating the spatial relationships between freshwater-related ecosystem services and the conservation of river plant communities across scales, to identify management and conservation solutions that accommodate conservation objectives and sustainable management of water resources.
Ana Paula Portela graduated in Biology and holds a MSc in Ecology, Environment and Territory from the Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto. Ana Paula is currently beginning her 2nd year of the BIODIV PhD program. She is working in the group ECOCHANGE, under the supervision of Professor João Honrado (FCUP, CIBIO-InBIO), Dr. Cristiana Vieira (MHNC-UP) and Dr. Isabelle Durance (Cardiff University). During her PhD she is exploring ecosystem services approaches as an interface between biodiversity conservation and human well-being in freshwater ecosystems, focusing on river plant communities and freshwater-related services.
[Host: João Honrado, Predicting and Managing Ecological Change]
Image credits: Ana Paula Portela