Anita Franco
Dr. Anita Franco is a Senior Estuarine and Coastal Fish Ecologist at the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS), University of Hull, UK. She has over 10 years experience of research and development into estuarine and marine fish ecology, including structure and functioning of fish communities in transitional waters, resource use and partitioning, relationships with habitat characteristics and human pressures, fish-based indicators of ecological/environmental status assessment. She is a quantitative ecologist, with expertise on experimental design and data analysis and numerical methods in estuarine and marine ecology. In her current position she is responsible for managing research projects and provide scientific and technical advice to statutory bodies (e.g., Natural England, the Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation) and the industry on the status and condition of marine/estuarine ecological features of interest (including fish and shellfish, their essential habitats, fishery, but also benthic ecology and avifauna), on the ecological value of marine habitats in support of marine planning programmes and on the potential risks and impacts to the marine environment of a range of human activities, including offshore wind farms, port developments, gas storage facilities. Anita is/has been involved also in several EU projects, including for example DEVOTES (Developing innovative tools to understand marine biodiversity and good environmental status, FP7), TIDE (Tidal River Development, FP7), WISER (Water bodies in Europe: Integrative Systems to assess Ecological status and Recovery, FP7). She has reviewed manuscripts for over 20 peer-reviewed international journals, is an Associate Editor of Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Sciences and an elected council member of the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA).
You can download the abstract of plenary session here.
Carlos Granado
Dr Carlos Granado Lorencio finished his graduate studies in Marine Biology at the University of La Laguna (Spain), and he joined the Department of Ecology at the University of Sevilla (Spain) to start his research in the ecology of fish in reservoirs of the Tagus River. During his PhD studies he carried out a comprehensive analysis of the fish community in the Arrocampo reservoir (Tagus River). The methodology used and the results obtained for such study allowed to start a line of research in reservoir fish ecology, implementing projects in Guadiana, Guadalquivir, Tagus and Ebro river basins. The comprehensive analysis of data led to the creation of predictive models of biomass and productivity in Spanish reservoirs, as well as the development of a line of research in the application of eco-integration methods for the evaluation of fish populations and biomass. The origin of reservoirs as artificial ecosystems derived from rivers gave rise to approach to the study of fish assemblages in Mediterranean rivers. His research group has carried out studies on species’ life strategies, energy models, territory occupancy and migrant strategies of the most representative species. The need to place the results obtained along these years of studies in the context of aquatic ecosystems functioning and fish species’ origin and evolution has led him to outline studies in rivers such as Yenisei (in Central Siberia) or tropical rivers (Magdalena and Amazonas), specifically dealing with colonisation mechanisms in small streams and floodplain lakes (nestedness). Currently, his interests focus on macro-ecological aspects of fishes, both marine and freshwater. Currently he is Full Professor in Ecology at Department of Plant Biology And Ecology, University of Sevilla.
You can download the abstract of plenary session here.
Fernando de la Gándara
Dr Fernando de la Gándara, who completed his PhD in Biology at the University of Murcia, is a researcher at the Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO). He has wide experience in the comprehensive breeding of Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax, and in the metabolism of Seriola dumerili (1992-2001). He has been the President of the Spanish Aquaculture Society (SEA) from 2006 to 2007. Additionally, 15 years of experience (2000-2014) in the study of reproduction and breeding of the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), participating and coordinating a number of Spanish and international research projects, standing out as the coordinator of the project SELFDOTT (KBBE-2007-1-2-09) (‘From capture based to SELF-sustained aquaculture and domestication of bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus’), co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union and with the participation of 13 institutions and companies from 8 European countries. Currently, he participates in several contracts with private companies and national projects focused on the improvement of techniques to breed juveniles of such species at industrial scale. He is also coordinating the project BIACOP (fisheries control programme, Commission Implementing Decision 2013/410/EU) aimed at estimating the biomass of bluefin tuna in the transfers, by means of acoustic and visual methods. Since February 2015, he is the Director of the Murcia Oceanographic Centre (part of the IEO).
You can download the abstract of plenary session here.
M. Teresa Ferreira
Dr M. Teresa Ferreira is a Full Professor at the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Landscape, University of Lisbon. She is a Biologist (1981), with a post-graduation on Limnology (1984), and a PhD (1992) in Natural Resources Management. She works on freshwater ecology and management, with special interest on ecological quality, fish community ecology, fish habitat requirements and riparian ecology. She is responsible for an MSc in Management and Conservation of Natural Resources and a PhD program on River Restoration and Management. The research activities were funded by 48 national and international research projects, and an identical number of applied contracts with the Ministries of Environment and of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries. She is also Adviser for the Water Administration and a Member of the National Water Council.
You can download the abstract of plenary session here.
Ibon Cancio
Dr Ibon Cancio is an Associate Professor in Cell Biology in the Univeristy of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). He is coordinator of the official masters degree in “Environmental Contamination and Toxicology” in UPV/EHU. He is researchers in the consolidated group in “Cell Biology & Environmental Toxicology” of the Basque Government and of the Plentzia Marine Station (PiE-UPV/EHU). Responsible for the incorporation of PiE-UPV/EHU to the European Research Infrastructure EMBRC (European Marine Biology Resource Center- www.embrc.eu) within the ESFRI roadmap.
His research activity is focused on two main interrelated research lines (1) Cell and Molecular Biology of fish sex differentiation/determination (2) Applications of Cell Biology in Toxicology: toxicogenomics, molecular and cellular biomarkers of pollution, endocrine disruption.
European PhD at the Univ. of the Basque Country (1998) on the “Characterization and biogenesis of peroxisomes in mussels”. MSc in Biological Electron Microscopy at the Univ. of Wales, Aberystwyth (1993). He is a researcher in the fields of Cell Biology and Environmental Toxicology since 1993.
Invited conferences at Katholieke Univ. Leuven, Center for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Weymouth, UK), Univ. Thessaloniki, Univ. Santiago de Compostela, National Institute of Bioinformatics (CNIO), Colegio Mayor Miguel de Unamuno, AZTI-Tecnalia, ARCTOS colloquium: ecotoxicology in Akvaplan-NIVA, (Tromsø, Norway), CIC-Biogune, Glasgow Caledonian Univ., Univ. Exeter, Univ. Helsinki.
He is doing research aiming at generating molecular tools for the analysis of pollutant effects in marine organisms. Presently, he directs a project of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SEXOVUM) on the molecular characterization of the process of oocyte differentiation through the reproductive cycle and under exposure to xenohormones in fish; with applications in environmental monitoring, fisheries stock dynamics research and aquaculture.
You can download the abstract of plenary session here.
Paul Kemp
Paul Kemp is the founding director of the International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research (www.icer.soton.ac.uk) and Director of the EPSRC funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Infrastructure Systems at the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton.
His research interests relate to the application of behavioural ecology to understanding and solving challenges in water engineering. Particular interests relate to how the physical environment (e.g. hydrodynamics and acoustics) influence the behaviour and physiological performance of fish, and how manipulation of that environment by engineering means can be used to mitigate for negative impacts of water resource development. Specific applications include fish pass and screening design, assigning compensation flow regimes, and improving habitat restoration strategies. Past and current research funding sources includes EPSRC, NERC, EU Framework 7, ESRC, Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, CEFAS, SNIFFER, Scottish Natural Heritage, River Trusts, Swedish Hydropower Industry, US Army Corp of Engineers, Native American Tribes, CEH, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Spey District Salmon Fisheries Board. Paul has extensive experience advising governmental and non-governmental organisations on fish passage and screening, including the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, DEFRA, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Executive, EU, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, US regulatory agencies, and the Brazilian Hydropower Industry.
You can download the abstract of plenary session here.